Chapter 23- Mining Guard (Part 2)

"I wish I was never attached to a world where my only salvation is a bunch of pills. You're a part of that god-awful world." 

That was a sentence Malice heard from his dad once after he tried to beat him up for no real reason. It was an instance of many where he would wake up from the Mindworm session and before he could sober up, he would be a violent, almost mindless monster for at least an hour or so.

That was the effect of the Mindworm on the brain of an addict. It eats away their sanity, step by step, and drowns them in the pleasure of its world. But, once one realizes what they have reached, it is already far too late.

Malice naturally grew accustomed to that and learned how to hide and where to hide when he knew that his dad would do something like that. But, that one particular day, it was really bad. The man went around the small apartment and destroyed everything in his way as he searched for Malice.

The latter was hiding and he could hear the ruckus outside. He was terrified, shaking subtly as he hugged his legs and closed his eyes. 

'If he finds me, he will kill me.' He thought to himself as he prayed his hiding spot was good enough.

After a long time, the man finally sat down, heaving violently as he stared at the chaos he created. Then, with a cold, almost emotionless tone, he uttered those words. The worst part was, he didn't even sound angry. Instead, he sounded defeated… Broken, perhaps even shocked that the situation had reached such a low.

He sounded like a man who realized fully well that he had reached a point of no return. His life was in the gutter, forever. There was no saving it.

That was the very first-time Malice felt something… He felt something crack inside of him. He wasn't someone to cry, and he never cried in his life, not even when he was born into such an unforgiving life. Yet, those words… They made him cry silently.

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he struggled to keep quiet. He knew that his father blamed him for everything, and he knew he had no fault in it. But, it still hurt, greatly. If he had an ounce of love for that man before, then it definitely burnt down at that very moment.

That was when he lost whatever was left of his soul.

***

*Present*

The flames coiled around Malice's arm, dancing silently like an ethereal light. Malice was unaware of what he did as his only focus was that ember of fire. He felt its temperature around his arm, but it didn't hurt him. Instead, it felt comforting, like the embrace of a caring mother… Not that he ever felt that.

The monster took a few steps behind, trying to understand what was happening. Its target was near its death a second ago and yet it was now doing something different.

'It's moving…' Malice thought. 'Could it be my grace? Is this the light I'm looking for? Save me… You must save me…'

His borderline nonsensical thoughts were the only thing he had at that moment. As if it heard his words, the flames suddenly moved again, forming on the palm of his hand as a beautiful, flaming red sphere.

The ball of energy condensed to fit the size of his fist. Malice's red eyes shone with its light as he dazedly moved his hand.

"..." Then, without uttering a word, he closed his eyes. 'I'm ready…'

At that very moment, the sphere suddenly launched from his hands as it cut through the air like an arrow. Before the monster could even realize it, the flames hit him square in the face as it exploded into countless smaller embers that covered his body.

"RAAAAAAAA!!!" The creature howled in pain as it grabbed its face. The fire slowly ate away at his skin and burnt his eyes. Falling to the ground, he started tossing and turning maniacally. Its moves were frantic and unstoppable.

It smashed here and there, rolling, tossing, jumping, and doing everything it could to try and stop the horrible pain. Smoke rose from its body slowly as it got cooked alive.

Those screams were so loud, they even snapped Malice's brain out of its weird, almost insane train of thought.

"H-Huh?" Looking around him in shock, he noticed the monster on the ground struggling for its dear life. "What… Happened?" He muttered.

He could vaguely remember what he did, but it wasn't to the point where he wouldn't be shocked by what just happened. However, he knew that he didn't have time to think about that. With whatever energy he had left in his body, he started crawling toward his sword which was not that far away.

Each move he made felt so painful he wanted to vomit. His body was a complete mess at that moment. 

'I need… To reach it!! This is my chance!' But, he bit his tongue and forced the pain down his throat as he continued moving. He didn't know how long he had before the monster recovered again and he didn't even want to know.

So, he did everything he could to reach the sword. Even if he hurt himself more in the process. A few crucial moments passed as Malice watched how the monster's moves slowed down slightly as he started rising up.

'No, no, no!!' Turning his head to the sword, he quickly grabbed it and started moving toward the monster. Luckily for him, even though the abomination had calmed down a little, its face was completely burnt beyond recognition.

Blood was seeping out of its empty eye sockets and the skin was peeled off completely. It cannot see at all.

'This is my chance!' Forcing himself to stand up on his only working leg, he moved toward the monster. The latter started swinging its arms around, trying to find its target. So, Malice stopped for a moment.

"RA! RA!! RA!!!"

The boy wiped the blood off his face and exhaled a long, tired, and very painful breath. "You almost killed me, bastard… Haha! I don't know how I survived, but I ain't letting it happen again!"

Then, with a loud cry, he lifted the sword and rushed forward, stabbing the monster right in the face. Since the injured spot was already as fragile as it could get, the sword pierced cleanly through it. Blood and brain matter exploded everywhere as the monster stopped moving, and then fell dead.

[You have killed an Unranked Mining Guard.]

[You have gained 7 Soul Essence.]

[Your power has increased.]

[You have gained an item.]

Malice heard the subtle voice in his head, but he couldn't care less. His body gave out as he fell to the ground.

"I can't… I-I can't move anymore…"

Whatever adrenaline helped him move a few moments ago was gone, and what was left was a whole lot of pain. Gritting his teeth, he moved his tired arm and pulled out the small healing potion he got.

'This is for minor injuries… Well, this is minor enough…' He thought to himself as he opened the bottle and chugged it down. The potion tasted a little bitter and heavy, like syrup but with minimal sugar.

But, its effect was noticeable immediately. The gush in his head started burning a little as he felt the skin move subtly and the blood stop. A few minor scratches on his body also vanished in real time. Then, the effect vanished.

Even as he anticipated that, it was still so underwhelming how it didn't do much. Sighing, he finally focused on the most important thing.

'I need to get back now… I don't want anything else to attack me…' 

He already had enough of this horrible place. It has been at least 2 hours and they were the worst 2 hours of his life. Granted, he had gained a lot from them, but that wasn't without a price. Now, he was on the verge of losing consciousness, only remaining awake by the sliver of strength moving through his body. The 7 Soul Essence points had truly saved his life.

"Get me out of here…" He muttered tiredly.

A few moments passed and nothing happened, he didn't receive any notification or sign that Avatar had heard his cry for help. 

'Did it not work?' Suddenly, he felt a cold sensation run through his body. "I request… that I get back…" He muttered again.

'Please, this needs to work…' Feeling a little fearful, and very worried, he was about to cry for help a third time, only for the scenery to shift out of nowhere. 

Suddenly, a bright light assaulted his eyes, making him squint. Then, all the pain he was feeling vanished as if it was never there and his exhausted body rejuvenated in an instant.

[Welcome back, Marked Malice. How was your first day?] Avatar spoke in its usual monotone voice.

'... I didn't know I would be this happy to hear her speak again…' The boy exhaled a long breath of relief as he stood up. "Took you long enough."