Oblivious to Oblivion

The first sound D1 was greeted by was the rumbling of an empty stomach accompanied by the sight of complete darkness and a pounding headache.

A lack of fluids in his mouth and a dry throat as ghasts of wind breeze by him.

His ribs and abdominal area were pounding in pain. A mushy, flexible fabric surrounded him entirely as it swayed from side to side as if he was hanging from a ceiling of some sort... And an intense feeling of heat surrounded him inside that fabric, making him sweat profusely...

'No doubt about it... This is spider silk... They've put me in a fucking cocoon to feed on my guts... Am I in their fucking nest?'

His forehead was burning, but not as much as before. The rash grew very, VERY violent. He felt as if 10,000 tiny leaves tickled every bit of his now-reddish skin...

But, resting refilled his [FORCE] which provided him extra strength... He is able to go on a little bit longer... However...

'Fuck.... FUCK... I'm still not dead, but this ain't any better...'

Unable to move and encased within a thick layer of cobweb... D1 wriggled his body in any way he could - to no avail... Every movement triggered a pained reaction in his body somewhere, besides his arms - which he felt nothing at all - as if they disappeared. Most of his body had to be broken or torn in some way or another, he concluded.

'I won't be able to withstand much of this heat... I need to get the fuck outta here... But how will I do this...' He wriggled around some more trying to somehow make the cocoon fall from where it was hanging.

But the spider's silk was hard. Tougher and sturdier than the ropes sold at the villages, despite being softer and more flexible. He could tell by touch... He was familiar with these common tools... He could tell that not even his teeth could pick at this material.

Yet, as he wriggled around, he heard a tearing sound coming from near his waist - where his hands which grew numb lay. A small speck of dim light shined through some sort of tear where that noise came from.

D1 tightened his neck muscles and tilted his head towards the place inside the cocoon. There wasn't much space to move, but his sweat helped smooth the movement of his head. When he turned fully and looked down at that tear, he saw - His numb hand was still tied to his Broken Moon from when he attached it earlier to fight the Stalker Spider.

'Haha... Now, you're fucked...' He giggled as he was suspended in the intense heat within his feverish body. But, the silk was smothering and cutting off the blood supply to his arms... All he could do was lift and raise his shoulder in order to cut the silk that was rashly strung around him.

Seconds pass...

Minutes...

D1 was getting thirstier and hungrier by the minute. His body was more burdened and pained, but his arm turned less and less numb as the tear grew larger and larger.

Zekke: 'Look at you, Mr. Second Strongest. Having fun barely surviving and getting destroyed all the time...?'

D1 panted heavily as he fought against the muscles on his shoulder as he moved frantically. Grinding his teeth as he cuts the silk slowly, while sweat runs down his already itching skin, wetting and staining his dirty and muddy rags.

Zekke: 'Hmm... Speaking of fun, this tight space closed on your body as you struggle to break free to no avail... Reminds you of anyone special...? keke...'

D1 blinked several times in quick succession, squeezing his inner thighs shut and tightening his abdominal muscles, curling up for a second as his heart rate spiked before continuing to wriggle his shoulder to move his numb arm which was holding onto the blade.

'You just fucking wait, shitmunch. JUST... FUCKING... WAIT... When I get out of here, I'll...'

Zekke: 'Let me guess, you'll-'

Zekke: 'Kill me?'

'Kill you..!'

D1 kept on moving his arm, slowly cutting away the fabric as his body grew more and more exhausted and strained.

Zekke: 'D... You couldn't even lay a scratch on me. You've grown so arrogant, so predictable and weak it's just funny.'

'Wow, just fuckin' look at you, shitmunch. Look at how much shit you can spew right now. Cornering me... And ganging up on me... In a fair fight, I'd have taken you all down.'

Zekke: 'You're still saying that? We all gave you a fair chance at beating us 1v1, except Julian, of course - since we both know you will never be able to-'

D1: "-SHUT UP!!!" D1 yelled as he moved his arm with all his might. The tear in the silk was now as long as he was. He immediately fell out of it as he finished cutting.

3-meter drop. The light was dim but brighter than the swamp area he was previously at. He was going to fall on wood... No... A gigantic tree branch connected with silk to other branches of other trees...

'This is... On top of the fucking trees! They have a nest up here?'

D1 braced himself for the fall as the feeling returned almost completely to his arm that held the broken moon, as the other was still numb as he couldn't move it.

'Shit..!!'

SMASH!

D1 landed with his legs bent as he was defending his face with his arm, which resulted in a roll that braced the fall. He wasn't quick enough to use [FORCE] on his body to lighten the fall... He got hurt.

D1: "Gaaaah!! Shh... Fuckk!!" Whatever was not broken in his body was about to be. He started to feel the pain in his arms as blood circulation was allowed to flow... He couldn't help but let out a small scream as he tried bracing himself for the pain as he lay on the giant branch of the tree.

Calla: 'So pathetic. Forget me, anyone in our party would've walked away from a... 'fall' like this like it was nothing. Any average warrior from my clan... Or even from the human's Royal Capital, really. You're just that much below us.'

D1 looked up. The trees' purplish leaves and the small and gigantic branches were merged with the silk all over the top of the trees. That was the reason why everything is so dark below in The Dark Forest... The Spider monsters block it with their webbing above the treeline.

'Ooooh, well, well, well, if it isn't *cough* our trash eater. How've you been these days, you fucking bitch? Ahhhh haha, let me *cough* guess, threw up some hairballs in your fiance's mouth while making out so they had to replace him because he choked to death...? Nah, *cough* I bet he died because of the smell...'

D1 was trying to find the strength to get up as he fought the urge to scratch his skin off as he lay on his back on the arm of the tree.

Calla: 'Oh... Good old D... So desperate to hurt my pride, not realizing that you've already deprived yourself of your own from your own actions.'

'What the fuck ever...' D1 giggled as he rose up slowly only to be knocked down again powerfully against the tree trunk... He was ambushed again! But the slam wasn't as powerful as before... It still hurt like hell. His chest felt as if it was imploding from the force.

D1: "Gaaaah!!" He screamed as he was slammed against the tree.

Salem: 'Completely ignorant of your surroundings... Full of openings... You are going to die again, forgotten in this place... Well, at least you took care of your presence issue that way...'

D1 looked at his ambusher as he was pushed against the tree. It was a Stalker spider in this color pattern, but it was smaller... An offspring. It was around D1's size, maybe a bit larger... Definitely heavier. D1 coughed blood on it as he raised his hand which was tied to the Broken Moon and drove it in between that spider's 8 eyes...

But the spider didn't relent. It wasn't deep enough.

As dark-blue blood poured out of the dark spider who only tightened the pressure on D1's body the more D1 tried to drive the broken greatsword in, the more D1 lost his strength and was beginning to lose consciousness again...

Xander: 'Why look at you, D. Of course, you would die here. It was inevitable. Who was it that lead you through nature's strife and magnificent traps, carefully tuned by our Goddess? Did you actually think you could survive here by yourself?'

... But D1 didn't give up. He raised his other arm and slammed on the broken greatsword that was stuck inside of the spider's head; using his arm like a hammer as he gritted his teeth and grunted with every blow, worsening the existing damage he already has on his body. His blood and the spider's blood both mixed together as it splattered around the silk and tree trunk... However, it was still not enough. It wasn't deep enough for a grave injury, even as he used [FORCE] behind his every blow... Indeed, the front was in no way a spider's weak spot or a good place to attack... Especially with a low-tiered [FORCE] Like D1's currently.

Another spider appeared behind the stalker spider of the same size. It seems like a leaping spider, an offspring.

Memories and flashbacks of his beatdown from the 12 Apostles arose. Anger resurfaced...

His waist was starting to make weird noises, any more of this and it would also be broken alongside his insides. He has to end it now... But the greatsword won't get any further no matter how hard he hits it with his other hand.

This seems to be it...

Elys: 'D, since you'll be going to the afterlife now and not sooner as intended... What's the excuse going to be for the devil?'

D1: "!!!"

Elys: 'Was it the fact you were weakened? Maybe the poisonous leaves? The murky water that hindered your movement? Your hunger and thirst? Maybe the fact that you got distracted thinking about me... And not noticing you were being followed? All of the above? Man... I can't wait to hear it... I'll surely get a kick outta that..'

As his consciousness was fading and his eyes were closing, he pulled his head backward as he was pinned against the tree by the spider.

D1: "Ain't gonna be no fuckin' excuse..." He whispered as he looked at the silk ceiling mixed with the purplish poisonous leaves, covering the sky.

D1: "Cuz I'm gonna live, and...!"

He then swung his head forward, headbutting Broken Moon's handle as it stuck between the spider's eye, driving it all the way through, and exiting down below the spider. A fountain of blood gushed through the spider as it slowly lost its strength while dying.

D1: "...DRIVE MY BROKEN MOON UP YOUR ASS!!" He screamed triumphantly as his forehead bled tremendously.

But, he wasn't concussed. He could still go on. As the Stalker Spider fell to its final resting place on the silk-tree arm ground, D1 raised his arm once more - getting into a knife stance before the remaining leaping spider.

D1: "Let's rock, mother fucker...!" He whispered with a coarse tone while he glared at the spider as he stepped on the corpse of the Stalker Spider. The Leaping Spider took a few steps backward with his 8 legs as it faced D1.

'That fucking thing follows the command of the Stalker Spider, no doubt about it. With the stalker gone, and with me this close to the spider nest... That thing will, undoubtedly...!'

The spider then leaped towards D1.

'... Rush towards me with no plan whatsoever...!!'

D1 used a bit of [FORCE] to power the muscles of his legs and jumped forward toward the spider but at a much, MUCH lower angle. Just when D1 was below the spider, he jumped upwards; driving Broken Moon into the middle of that thing's stomach - as a result of the spider's initial jump and D1's drive in his direction - the broken greatsword almost instantly ended up on the other side of the spider's body, piercing it entirely.

D1: "Chrrrrrschhhe!!" D1 screeched as his body howled in agony; while using the momentum to get on top of the spider as it fell to the ground on its back. D1 pulled out the greatsword and began repeatedly stabbing it as he lay on top of it - until his entire body was stained with its blood.

He panted heavily as he planked on top of the spider. Both of the youngling spiders are now dead, while D1 still remains alive.

D1's breathing rhythm slowly returned to normal. Just before he relaxed though, he jumped up and stood with a knife stance again - carefully looking around to examine his surroundings for any imminent threats that may lead him to a tough spot again.

The entire area was covered with Silk. The silk wasn't sticky at all... The moon was high up in the sky and its moonlight seeped in between the cobwebs, illuminating the area more easily as this area was close to the tree top.

'Tsk... Hahh... If I cut through the silk, the whole thing might go down... Not to mention the leaves of the Dark Forest that are mixed with the silk... They're poisonous. I'm already in a tough spot, I can't allow myself to get another handicap...! FUCK..!' He tensed his face as he began to scratch his body frantically, while still looking around his surroundings.

'W... What the fuck...?' He noticed more cocoons as he looked at the one he was trapped in... They were all the same size as the cocoon made for him.

'... Probably some big animals. The Dark Forest doesn't have humans, I know that for a fact. I need to get out of here quickly before those big spiders show up...'

Just as D1 was about to turn, he noticed one of the cocoons wriggling. And then, another question arose in his head.

'FUCK... Even if they're not animals, I can't waste my time on this shit.'

D1 turned around again and started walking in the opposite direction.

'It is what it is... Sucks to be them.'

Lilian: 'Do you... Really believe that, D?'

D1 slowed his pace but kept walking away from the cocoons.

'.... Screw you, Lilian. You're as guilty as the rest of them... I'm coming for you too, don't you worry. Besides - You believe I'm guilty as well. You wouldn't FUCKING HAVE JOINED THEM IN THEIR TORTURE-FEST IF YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE IT YOUR-FUCKING-SELF!!'

Lilian: 'It isn't about what I believe. It is about what you believe-'

'I BELIEVE. THAT I HATE ALL OF YOU MOTHER FUCKERS. THAT ALL OF YOU DESERVE THE SAME TREATMENT I GOT. Too bad you don't have balls so I can rip them the FUCK OUT AND LET YOU EXPERIENCE WHAT I BELIEVED BACK THEN.'

Lilian: '... Despite everything... You still saved people when you were with us.'

'Hahahaha, ignoring the fact that I only did that because I had to while I was with you... Well - that was before I was cast off to the demons and made some sort of deal with one just to be released, right? No. I'm DONE. FUCKING DONE.'

Lilian: 'D... Please... Please just try to-'

'Man, even when you're not here - you JUST WON'T SHUT THE FUCK UP, huh!? Morals this, bad that - good here. GET REAL, LILIAN! LOOK AT ME!!! LOOK AT MY CONDITION!! SAVE PEOPLE? FUCK PEOPLE, I GOTTA SAVE MYSELF!! I gotta save myself for alllllllll of you pricks...'

Lilian: 'It isn't about me or the rest of the Apostles. And you know that more than I do... And I know that you didn't save people just because you had to.'

D1 stopped in his place and turned around to look at the cocoons again.

'Oh my FUCKING GOD. You HYPOCRITE. You want me to entertain your childish ideals!? FINE. Look at the cocoons, now fucking look at me. Back at the cocoons, now back to me. It took all I GOT to escape my silk trap, and this is ME we're talking about. Broken Moon's getting duller by the minute and look how tall those things are hanging. FUCK THAT. I won't be able to extract even one of them in my condition without keeling over as I try to slowly tear at that fabric with my Broken Moon. If I'm gonna save ANYONE, if AT ALL, it's going to be when there's 100% chance for me to live afterward.'

'And the only way I'd 100% live, is to rescue them quickly, efficiently, and most important of all, easily. But there is no way to do that because the only way to destroy silk that quickly would be...-'

D1: "!!!" D1's expression soured as he examined the cocoons and looked at the tree next to it. He clicked his tongue swiftly and vigorously.

'... Fuck you, Lilian..!'

He started walking back to the cocoons.