The Horror III

The warmth texture of Blood oozed steadily onto the dusty wooden floor, forming small crimson pools that stained the surface.

Jade's trembling form collapsed to the ground, a strangled scream tearing from her throat.

Her right arm — the one she had stretched out to the box — was gone, severed roughly.

Kai's mind reeled, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

'What just happened? It happened so fast I couldn't even...'

He didn't remember much — just the box lid suddenly flipping open and then...well, after that he didn't see much again.

But here she was, bleeding profusely, screaming in agony as painful tears rolled down her cheeks.

The box trembled slightly on the ground, almost as if it were alive.

Once more, a low, ominous hum resonated from within, causing Kai's thoughts to splinter further.

' The bell... again?'

The haunting chime of the bell sound filled the air once more, drowning out Jade's desperate cries.

'She needs help... but I can't even move... I can't even speak... I'm too scared to do anything!.. what's wrong with me?!'

At that moment, the ringing abruptly ceased, leaving behind a deafening silence that pressed down on them like a weight.

The last time this had happened, Jade had ended up with a severed limb, and once again, the same bell had stopped ringing. It could have only met one thing- trouble.

Right then, a small, grotesque tentacle-like appendage rose from the box, an unsettling eye perched at its tip. It swiveled unnaturally, locking onto Kai and Jade with a chilling gaze.

" What the hell is even that? " Jade muttered under her breathe.

Fear seized Kai's limbs, but instinct took over. Gritting his teeth, he dragged Jade up and stumbled out of the door in no time.

"Come on."

"We have to get out of here."

They barely made it a few steps when a thunderous crash echoed behind them.

The door they had just exited exploded into splinters as something barreled through it, smashing straight into the opposite wall.

Kai caught only a fleeting glimpse — a massive, undulating form, like a worm but impossibly large, with thicker armor like exterior and its glistening body stretching across the entire hallway.

'It's fast. If it keeps moving at this pace it might get to us. Should I leave Jade behind? She's been a bitch to me ever since she met me. It'd be a fairy tale ending right?' He thought inwardly as he caught a glimpse of Jade, wailing in pain and anguish from the loss of her limb.

Casting his gaze back to the hallway he gnashed his teeths, unable to carry out his plan. It must have been a selfish idea which might have given him a chance of survival, but his flaw- irrational kindness- didn't let him carry it out.

"Damnit!"

Heart pounding wildly, Kai tightened his grip on Jade and broke into a desperate run.

The walls shook violently as the creature tore through them, gaining distance to then by each passing second. All that could be heard was the sound of the moving Devil and Jade's wails of fright.

'I can't keep this up... but if I stop, we're dead. Why? Why did I end up here!'

The beast smashed through another wall, sending chunks of stone flying as it pursued them relentlessly.

At the end of the hallway, a door loomed ahead — their only chance of escape. The worm was right on their table, so this was the closest they could get to a hail mary.

'Almost there... just a little more... We can-'

The creature let out a guttural roar, its head finally bursting through the corridor they were at, its grotesque form writhing as it began to crawl directly toward them.

"Move faster! Move faster!" Jade ranted, petrified.

'I'm trying...Goddamnit.'

Kai didn't think, nor did he even attempt to catch his breath. With a desperate loud yelp, he slammed into the door with his shoulder, the force sending both him and Jade tumbling through.

The monster's jaws snapped shut just inches from them, splintering the doorway as Kai and Jade hit the ground hard. Dust and debris filled the air but.... the creature had missed them.

Kai lay there, attempting to catch his breathe as he tried to process the situation.

'I'm... alive? I'm actually alive?! Yess!'

Disbelief washed over him as he touched his chest, half-expecting to find it torn open. But he was intact and safe, but all that was left was-

"Jade." he rasped, turning his head toward her.

"Are you okay? Let me see your wound."

His voice faltered as his gaze landed on her. Horror gripped him, causing a shallow whimper to escape from his lips.

Jade's lower body was gone...and she was long dead.

Her lower torso and legs had been severed, just like her hand was. There was nothing but a gory mess of flesh and bone and guts. Her lifeless eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, her blood-soaked hand resting limply at her sides.

Kai's breath hitched, a strangled gasp escaping his lips.

"No... no, no, no... this can't be real..."

He scrambled backward, his hands shaking violently.

"She's... she's dead." he whispered, his voice breaking.

"Jade... she was the strong one...she was the one that I planned to rely on...No...no.. this can't be happening, I made it in on time. I did."

He held his head with his hands, gazing at the grotesque scenery in utter fright.

" What do I do now? Should I stay here? Wait for Muri and the others? Maybe they can save me... Yes. That's the best course of action. They'll probably have a better chance against that Devil than I will."

He didn't know why. His instincts had been kicking ever since he heard the box ring for the first time. It was as though he was connected to it. Like he could tell when the Devil was close, and at this moment Kai's instincts screamed at him — louder than it ever had.

Without thinking, he scanned the room, his eyes landing on another door.

Wasting not even a single moment, Kai bolted for the exit. As he passed through the doorway, the wall beside him exploded, the creature's massive jaws crashing through, narrowly missing him.

The monster was relentless, tearing through walls as it chased him.

The hallway opened up ahead, revealing the staircase he had come from.

'The stairs... if I can just get down... I can can make it to Muri.'

He sprinted toward the stairs, tears streaming down his face as he desperately ran for his life.

'I can't die here... I have too much to live for... I was going to ask Alisson out after the mission was done... I was going to slay this monster... I can't die like this. Not like this. I have to go out with a bang! I have to-'

Kai reached the edge of the stairwell and, without thinking, leaped into the air.

Time seemed to slow as he soared through the void, the monster smashing through the upper stairwell just behind him, its jaws snapping wildly...and then-

Kai hit the ground hard, rolling violently until his back slammed against a door.

Pain exploded through his body, but there was a relief, he was alive.

'I made it... I actually made it...'

But at that moment, the relief washed away.

A sharp, searing pain shot through his left arm.

Kai's breath caught in his throat as he turned his head.

His forearm was gone- bitten of just like Jade's- and now oozing profusely onto the floor.

A loud scream tore from his lips, reverberating through the entire mansion.

"Ahhhh!"

The agony was blinding, but it only served to attract the monster's attention.

Through tear-blurred eyes, Kai saw the creature rise once more, its tentacle eye as a guttural brawl escaped from its jaws and then....