Part Two - New World - Chapter [029]

Arslan was rummaging through the room, trying to get things together and putting them inside his backpack. 

He was moving swiftly and seemed like the situation was dire. I on the other hand could barley comprehend the situation. That is until I looked out the window. 

The sky had turned tinted red, and a portal so massive had opened up that it covered the horizon. I could see through it, on the other side horrific creatures so ugly looking, only hell was the right place for them. 

Then a structure unlike anything I had ever seen started coming through. It almost resembled the red spider Lilly's. Except purple and giant in size. 

They touched down on the earth and started to open, but a purple dark mist started flowing out of it. 

Arslan suddenly pushed against my side, looking out the window too. 

"Dam those bastards, they've already pushed the red lilies!" He said with a despicable tone. 

He rummaged again through the room and brought me something I could only describe as a breathing mask. 

"Breath through this, the miasma from the lilies can make you go insane." He said with little hesitation. 

I wasn't sure I fully understood, I held the mask in my hands. It was big enough to cover half my face. Arslan quickly placed his. 

It almost resembled an oni-mask, with fangs and horns at its side. I did the same. As I started breathing I could smell fresh air. Fresher than fresh, the mask was filtering out even the tiniest of impurities. I could feel how my lungs filled with air so clean. It was truly like taking a breath of fresh air. 

I looked out the window once more, and what I saw made my mind go into instant shock. 

The guards at the front gate suddenly started shouting and fighting, demons had already reached the front of the estate. Red goblins and creatures beyond my wildest imagination started pouncing on the guards. Killing them in cold blood. It was truly horrific. Shouts of pain and anguish could be heard across the estate. 

The demons were already inside the castle, and they were bringing the miasma with them, as one of the flowers had landed in the courtyard, a goblin wizard was casting magic so the purple clouds moved towards the inside. 

"It's better if you don't look," said Arslan as he grabbed my hand and started pulling me away from the window. 

We grabbed our things and then slowly started peering through the door. It seemed no one was outside, but I could already hear bloody screams of murder. 

Arslan deemed it safe to go forward and grabbed my hand pulling me along, he knew the best route, and all of the hidden corridors. We walked through the corridor until we reached a seemingly dead end. 

Not before Arslan touched the wall, and a magic rune sigil revealed itself. The walls opened up and a secret passage was revealed. 

"Come on …" he said pushing me along.

From the corner, a red goblin appeared. 

It locked eyes with me and instantly started shouting and making a ruckus, it seemed like it was alerting the others that he found me. 

Arslan touched the sigil again and the door started closing - not fast enough. 

As the goblin saw this it started screeching towards us. Arslan waited until the last second and pushed the door on the goblin, it closed just as its head was between the fringes of the wall. 

It cut its head right off. 

It splattered blood goblin blood all over me. 

I wanted to puke. 

But the breather made the smell go away and my stomach settled.

Arslan seemed unaffected. 

Through queasy feelings, I managed to stand up and continue. We walked with haste through what seemed like a secret passage through a dungeon. 

Arslan held my hand as we walked. 

"What about everyone else, won't they have a hard time getting out?" I asked. 

"This is no time to worry about others," Arslan explained.

"The orb confirmed you're the Shepard, as you're inamorato it's now my official title to keep you safe." He explained as we walked rapidly. 

"Shepard? What does that mean?" I asked unsure. He stopped and turned back at me, holding me with both hands and squeezing my shoulders. 

"Listen to me - the Shepard only appears once per century, he or she has incredible powers beyond human comprehension - and this time, it's you Aiden. I have to get you out of here, and we'll hold reconnaissance with the guild masters once we reach L'reus." He explained. 

"Has the captain escaped?" I asked. 

"I don't know -" Arslan continued.

"Let's hope so - now from here on out, you must do as I say if you wish to live, do you understand me?" his face had turned serious and intense, in a way I had never seen him before. I couldn't take my eyes off him. 

"Do you understand? Aiden this is life or death!" 

"I do! I do understand!" The situation was finally washing over me. 

Suddenly he pinned me against the wall and reached for his pocket. 

"What are you doing? This isn't the time for this!" 

He didn't respond - but then got real close to me and pushed his backpack on me, I held it to my chest. Then he whispered in my ear. 

"Eat this -" he said, pushing a funny-looking object in my face, it was round and had a green mossy texture to it, he looked like he wanted to push it down my throat.

"Trust me, you'll need it." 

I removed my mask for a second, and took it without asking questions then took a bite out of it. I quickly noticed the interior was gooey and soft, it looked a greenish color. Instantly its flavor filled my mouth. 

It was incredibly bitter and tasted like medicine. 

"What is this?!" I said with the small piece still in my mouth. I didn't want to swallow just yet, the bitter taste was harsh to my stomach.

"I know it tastes bad - but you'll need it to concentrate, I recommend you swallow it in one gulp," Arslan advised. I felt like crying at how bad it tasted. 

"Aiden - this is a demon invasion, and they're looking for you, so from now on, you'll have to do as I say if you wish to get out of here, we need to reach L'reus and tell them what's happening here - HQ will know what to do next," he was so close to me, using his arms to stun me against the wall. Only his backpack between us. 

He was so tall, towering above me, using his muscular body to pin me against the wall. I had no choice. His expression was clear, he wasn't moving until I chowed down this medicine. 

I ate it all and just swallowed it. 

It was like swallowing a big pill, I could feel its slimy texture against the back of my throat. It was gross, it was smelly as well. Like I had to eat some type of mold. 

I looked at him when I was done. 

"Show me…" he said without a second hesitation. I opened my mouth and pulled out my tongue, it was green in color now. 

He grabbed my chin and pulled at my tongue with his thumb, I had no choice but to grab his arms and tug at him, I tried wriggling out of this, but his strength overpowered me. I felt like he was about to crush my chin. 

He inspected the inside of my mouth. 

How the hell was I supposed to hide a moss ball that big?!

"Good boy -" he said with a sultry smile. This was no time to be flirting like this. I did blush a little and took a seat as he started prowling the rest of the room. 

Instantly the room started feeling funny. 

Apollo what the fuck did I just eat?!

["It seems Arslan has given us a concentration pill, this will highly improve your focus and stamina, also it seems your empathy stat is quickly decreasing - "]

Apollo made a pause. 

["Oh - no…"] he stated. 

What is it?

"Well - it's reaching negative numbers," 

I could feel it, all emotion leaving my body. I didn't care anymore - not about this demon invasion - not about Arslan - not about this silly little game. 

My vision was double and I was spinning. Until I was no longer and the world stood still. 

My hearing became small, I looked at Arslan as he moved rapidly across the room. Time was distorted. 

Then he was in front of me. 

"You starting to feel it yet?!" He said as he grabbed both my shoulders. 

I could only nod. 

"You robbed me of emotion," I said coldly. His face grimaced, but I couldn't read him anymore. I didn't know what it meant anymore. 

"It's for the better shorty- it'll wear off in a day or two, we're about to go out there, and you'll see some stuff - I don't exactly want you to remember." He hugged me. I could only feel the warmth of his body against mine. But I couldn't bring myself to hug him back. 

"I can't lose my newly wed husband - sorry - my newly wed inamorato - it's for your own sake, you'll only think rationally for a couple of days." He stood up. And offered me his hand. 

Did he just call me his husband?

What a fucking creep. 

I never agreed to that.

I stood up and slapped his wrist - letting him know I wasn't interested in his help. I walked over to the corner of the room - grabbed the backpack he gave me, tossed it on my shoulder, and covered my face with the oni gas mask once more, then placed a hood over my head. 

I looked back at him. 

"Let's go -" I said tasteless. 

Arslan looked like he was on the verge of tears. 

"You're right - let's go," he said with salt in his voice hiding his face in shadow.

I could tell I had hurt his feelings. 

I didn't exactly care.