Agony

A few seconds after Regis exited the red space, a giant eyeball appeared in the sky.

The eyeball had emerald-green pupils.

It looked around as it seemed like it was trying to find something.

This went on for a few minutes.

However, the eyeball seemed to be disappointed as it wasn't able to find that something and disappeared afterwards.

***

Near the entrance of the Goblin Forest, a boy with white hair could be seen sitting beside a black-haired girl who seemed to be sleeping.

A pair of blood-red eyes opened as the boy looked around alertedly.

"Phew, it seems like we're safe."

Regis muttered as he glanced at Pandora.

"Hmmm, it seems like she still hasn't recovered."

He then closed his eyes and tried to sense what evil craft he was able to receive in the strange red space.

After a few minutes, a frown appeared on his face as he opened his eyes.

"Huh?"

Regis tilted his head in confusion.

"What kind of evil craft is thi—"

BA-DUMP!!!

"Arghhh!!!"

Before he could finish his words, he suddenly let out a pained groan.

BA-DUMP— BA-DUMP—

The sound of his heart beating felt deafening to him as it was the only thing he could hear.

"Ack!"

Regis clutched his left chest as his body curled inwards.

The pain he was feeling overwhelmed his senses, almost making him blank out.

Fortunately, the pain seemed to fade with the help of his Perfect Adaptation.

Huu— Crack— ARGHHH!!!

However, just as the pain was fading, his fingernails suddenly cracked as another wave of pain enveloped him.

This time, the pain worsened.

"Arrgh— Grrrrr!"

Not wanting to wake up Pandora, Regis gritted his teeth in order to prevent himself from screaming.

'What the fuck is happening!?'

He thought as he felt the overwhelming pain gradually spread throughout his body.

His past sufferings couldn't even compare to the current agony he was feeling as his body collapsed on the ground.

"Kurkkk!!!!!!"

Regis let out all sorts of inhumane sounds as the pain tormented him.

He first felt pain in his heart, then his fingers.

Crack— Crack— Crack— Crack—

Audible sounds could be heard as all the bones in his body broke by themselves.

"N-No…"

Regis had difficulty speaking as his teeth also broke, they were bones too, after all.

However, he set his sight upon the entrance of the Goblin Forest.

'... need…. ..o.. g.. ther…'

He couldn't even think properly, yet he moved his body with all his strength.

He clutched the soil with his broken hands.

Despite the overwhelming pain, he slowly crawled towards the forest.

Although he didn't know what was happening to him, he knew that he must never let Pandora see him in this state.

As he crawled, the pain he was feeling only worsened even more.

Regis could even feel blood seeping out of his body and orifices, almost making him scream loudly.

However, he instantly bit a mouthful of soil as he crawled.

He didn't know how to explain his situation to Pandora if she ever saw him in his current state.

Fortunately, he was able to enter the forest after a few minutes of crawling while being tortured.

"ARGHHHHHH!!!!"

Feeling that the distance was sufficient, he let out the screams that he had been holding.

"WAHHHH!!!! ARRR—"

That was until his vocal chords suddenly collapsed, depriving him of the ability to even make a sound.

Thud—

His body soon collapsed on the ground, but he didn't fall unconscious.

His head was still looking ahead.

'Wh…t …he…. ..ell?'

He cursed repeatedly in his mind in order to keep himself from going insane.

Regis could feel the pain all over his body.

His bones broke, his fingernails fell, his blood seeped out from his skin, and something seemed to be squeezing his heart.

He didn't know why, but his body seemed to be breaking down on its own.

Slowly, he was starting to give up.

Regis didn't know what went wrong.

However, what happened in the next moment almost made him give up in that instant.

It was because he noticed that the surroundings were unusually silent.

He still heard the chirping of birds and the swaying of leaves earlier, but there was none now.

It didn't take long for him to notice.

That he had lost his hearing.

After a few minutes, the world before him turned black.

He had lost his vision.

And soon enough, he couldn't even feel anything.

He couldn't feel that he was still on the ground.

It was as if he was floating, and yet he was not.

All that remained to him was the feeling of pain, suffering, and agony.

However, he couldn't scream, hear, see, and touch anything at all.

He couldn't fight back.

He could only accept the pain passively.

The pain continues to worsen.

Until Regis felt pain on his head.

A tremendous pain that seemed eternal.

However, everything went blank.

It seemed like his existence itself suddenly disappeared for a moment.

Rustle— Rustle—

"Kurkkk??"

A small creature with green skin suddenly emerged from the bushes.

It was a goblin.

Seeing a boy who had collapsed on the ground, it slowly approached.

The boy had white hair and a disfigured body that was covered in blood. 

The goblin licked its lips as it prepared to eat the snack in front of it.

Kuk! Kuk! Kuk!

As it felt the life from the body disappearing completely, it let out a loud sound as it took a bite of the boy's body.

Crack— Kurk!!!!

However, the goblin's teeth broke.

It looked at the area it bit and saw pitch-black scales covering the boy's body.

The goblin could only look ahead in horror as the disfigured "corpse" of the boy suddenly moved.

The boy's hands were replaced with black claws that gleamed mysteriously.

A black tail sprouted behind the boy.

What was stranger was the two, pitch-black horns that sprouted from the boy's head.

A pair of blood-red eyes stared at the goblin.

The goblin slowly felt pressure as a primal fear gripped its heart.