Chapter 10: Insanity 3

Chapter 10: Insanity 3

"Hum. I don't like to repeat myself, but I'll repeat. What you're eating... is human flesh."

As soon as the masked cultist said those words, silence fell like a blade. Then...chaos.

Huurghk! Bleergh!

One of the prisoners dropped his plate, gagging violently as he fell to his knees. Another clutched his stomach, bile rising up his throat as the realization hit.

Screams followed. Some tried to claw the food out of their mouths, others slammed their heads against the cage bars in horror.

Plates crashed to the ground, metal clattering, rice and curry splattering everywhere.

Nafees stared blankly at his hands, still holding what moments ago he had thought was a lifeline. Now it was a nightmare served on a plate. His body shook, breath hitching.

His vision blurred.

His thoughts shattered.

And then

Aahhhhhhh! AHHHHHHHH!

A scream ripped from his soul as madness began to sink its claws into him.

And then, the masked man tilted his head and spoke again, his voice cold and casual.

"Bring him in."

The door creaked open.

Footsteps echoed.

A man was dragged into the room.

Nafees's eyes trembled the moment he saw him.

It was....Ciel.

His face was pale, lifeless. His eyes were empty, like glass shattered beyond repair. His body swayed with each step, barely conscious... but the most horrifying part....

Both of his hands were gone.

Blood still dripped from the stumps, poorly bandaged. He looked like a broken doll, discarded after being played with too long.

The masked cultist laughed, a low, mocking chuckle.

"This brat had the nerve to stab one of our men," he said, his tone amused, almost entertained.

"He screamed, he begged but after a while, it stopped being fun."

He casually waved a hand toward the scattered plates on the floor, the room still thick with the stench of horror and disbelief.

"So, we decided to make better use of him. We tore off his hands... cooked them into curry... and fed them to all of you."

He grinned behind the mask, basking in the silence that followed. a silence louder than any scream.

And then

Crack!!

Something inside Nafees shattered.

His eyes turned bloodshot, veins bulging beneath his skin like dark rivers of fury. Tears flowed from his eyes hot, bitter, relentless.

When Nafees first arrived in this unfamiliar world, it was Ciel who found him .

Ciel was the first face Nafees saw in this strange land,

He offered shelter, kindness, and a safe place to rest when Nafees had nothing.

Whoosh

Black smoke began to rise from Nafees's body, slow at first, then surging violently. It twisted like dark tendrils, clawing at the walls, the floor, the very air.

The cultists stepped back, feeling the change in the room.

But it was too late.

Hiss...Rumble...

In an instant, Nafees disappeared from his spot. He was still trapped in his cage, but with a deafening crack, the cage burst open, its bars snapping like brittle twigs.

He reappeared in front of the masked man.

Slash

A wave of darkness tore through the room. The masked man didn't even have time to scream.

His body split cleanly in two, falling to the ground in a spray of blood.

Aaagh

The other cultists screamed in terror.

But Nafees stood still, breathing heavily, his eyes glowing with fury.

The start of his descent into madness.

Without hesitation, he leaped toward the nearest cultist, his movements swift and merciless. With nothing but his bare hands, he ripped through them one by one, tearing flesh and breaking bone with a brutal, terrifying force.

The sound of battle filled the air. A deafening clash of bodies, the screams of dying men, and the sickening splatter of blood echoed through the room.

More cultists rushed in from outside, drawn by the chaos.

But their fate was the same. They couldn't do anything except be torn apart, shredded into pieces before they even knew what hit them.

The prisoners, trapped in their cages, saw nothing but black smoke swirling where Nafees passed.

Only the elf girl stood still, her eyes wide.

Nafees moved like a shadow, silent and unstoppable, leaving broken bodies behind him.

Even in his half-unconscious state, Ciel's eyes widened in shock.

He had thought Nafees was just a quiet noble from the countryside.

But what he saw now… was something else entirely.

Suddenly, the air grew heavier.

A man stepped forward, his presence overwhelming. Power rolled off him like waves. The cultists immediately dropped to their knees.

"Makaram!" they cried out.

He was the favored warrior of the cult leader, the strongest in this branch.

Makaram drew his sword, its blade humming with dark energy. Without hesitation, he swung.

Nafees raised his arm to block.

Clang.

"Ugh..!"

The force slammed into him like a boulder. He was sent flying back, skidding across the blood-soaked floor, stopping only after seven heavy steps.

But Nafees didn't fall.

Black smoke poured out of him again. His eyes gleamed with fury. With a roar, he charged.

RAAAAGHH

They clashed.

Steel met shadow.

Slash.

Punch.

Crack.

Step after step, the room shook from their strikes. Makaram was fast, precise, and brutal. Every blow was aimed with deadly intent but not to kill. He was testing, measuring, holding back just enough.

Because Nafees was using something dangerous. Something forbidden.

Dark magic.

Magic that the Daemon Cult and many was known to wield.

Nafees moved like a beast unleashed. He clawed through the air, dodged attacks by inches, and countered with wild strength. The smoke around him pulsed and writhed, feeding off his rage.

For a moment, it seemed Makaram was faltering. A deep cut opened across his shoulder. Another tore through his leg. The cultists gasped.

"N-no way..."

Nafees roared, black smoke spiraling upward like a storm. He charged again, ready to end it

But Makaram's eyes sharpened.

In one clean move, he vanished and reappeared behind Nafees.

A slash of energy burst forth.

"Grgh...!"

Blood sprayed as Nafees was sent crashing into the stone wall, the impact cracking it wide.

He fell to one knee, panting. The smoke around him faded.

Makaram stepped forward, calm and composed, his blade now stained red

"You're unusual," Makaram said coldly, his eyes narrowing. "What are you? How did you end up here?"

He looked at Nafees with suspicion, studying him carefully.

Nafees collapsed to the ground, his vision dimming.

The fight was over.

Makaram didn't kill him. Instead, he grabbed Nafees and dragged him away.

Ciel was taken too.

As they were hauled from the room, the echoes of chaos faded behind them, leaving only the silence of what was to come.

The darkness inside Nafees stirred, but for now, all he could do was endure the unknown path that lay ahead.