Necromancer’s sick creation

'Kill me, painfully, she says. Haa… that's what the Aurora I know from the game said during her last scene… Fuck.'

I saw her smile, which would have looked much better had she been in a good shape, both physically and mentally.

Her pale face, especially her dead eyes which had lost their light, alone personified how miserable she felt and how much of a sorry state she was in, currently.

I knew it all… Or so I wanted to believe. Since this Aurora was a real person, I couldn't simply judge her based on her game self and the <Observe> page showed only a crisp portion of her entire state.

I sighed slowly as I spoke.

"… I'm really sorry for doing this. It'll hurt. A lot, probably. Those sick bastards really overdid themselves here."

I walked closer to her.

She looked straight into my eyes, or where my eyes were supposed to be behind the metallic helmet I was wearing.

Her smile widened.

"I'd really like that. Make it as painful as you can."

I sighed internally, but I finally reached close to her, then moved past her, and then shoved my blade into it.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

I pulled my blade out and shoved it again.

"Kieeeeekkk!!! Gyaaaa!!! Aaaaaaaa!!!"

The screams of the barely physical apparition, greyish green in color, echoed as it started to lash out and tried to run away or fight, but couldn't since it was too malformed.

'She used her magic instinctually this time. But still, a Tier-4 Advanced Dread Husk created just like that, even with the help of this fucking magic circle and in such a state is pretty nuts…'

Though, the shape of this thing was… quite surreal, to put it in curt terms.

I was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to have so many appendages and eyes, all deformed and even leaking gross fluids. It couldn't walk, let alone fight properly.

But it was still feeding on her sanity and magic, trying to get stronger.

'Disgusting thing. Leave her alone.'

One had to wonder if this grotesque thing was actually an analogy of what was going on in her head right now. What little I knew from <Observe> looked quite creepy.

The Aurora I knew from the game was known to produce creepy and crooked things. Vile undead beings that fed on the lifeforce and fear of others… and also her sanity. But this was created especially from her in a rather bad mental state, so it came out worse, even as a supposed grotesque superior undead.

'She could've lost her mind if I hadn't intervened. Damn it, I was almost too late.'

Turning my mana into the fire element type, I willed it into my mithril sword and burned the husk completely, which tried to resist, screaming and flapping his hideous appendages, but it was all in vain. Even if it was a prime Dread Husk, that is a tier-5 undead, it was fated to die by my hands. I couldn't let it suck her sanity any more than it already had.

Once the monstrosity was finally gone, I turned back to Aurora.

She looked blankly, almost seeming entranced, at the place where the Dread Husk was before disappearing into thin air, not leaving anything behind.

She probably didn't realize— or maybe she did but didn't care— but she now was bleeding a lot from her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. And her blood had a slight purple tinge to it, signs of her mana mixing with her bloodstream.

And I knew for a fact she was likely feeling a lot of pain from this as well.

She had used part of her soul to create that undead and not just her mana.

I quickly pulled myself together and spoke to her.

"You probably don't realize, but you just lost a fair portion of your soul and maybe sanity too. Don't create undead like that so carefreely again. EVER. Now, I don't have time, so listen carefully."

She finally turned to see me, still not showing any signs of speaking up.

Ignoring that, I spoke, my voice clear and even on the outside.

"I know I don't have anything to back myself up here and you've got no reason to trust me. But I still hope you'll listen to what I have to say. If you don't like my offer, you're free to refuse. But! Know that I'll be forced to take you out of here in such a case, even if it's against your free will… Because sooner or later 'they' will come here and once they see the state this place is in (because of me) and feel your mana, they'll make your life a living hell, even worse than this shithole. You'll become their disposable toy."

The people who were keeping her here were doing so specifically to break her mind and turn her into a "more convenient tool" for the cult.

'The nobles, the knight order's higher-ups, the merchants, and many of the authoritative figures in this small town are in cohorts with those fuckers. This town is fucked-up. I don't know how they manage to fool the outsiders.'

I waited patiently for the entirety of 30 seconds, hoping she'll reply, move, or do anything; but when she didn't and my patience ran out, I sighed and moved.

'Eh, fuck it. I'll just take her away(kidnap) from here. I can deal with her problems later.'

***

[Aurora's POV]

Aurora watched silently as the armored man ripped the thick chains that were binding her down to the wall. It would have been quite surprising and joyful to her until a year ago when she was still struggling to get out of them. Now they felt like they were meant to be.

It was surreal feeling those seemingly unbreakable chains tear off so easily in the might of this strange armored knight.

She never once thought of him as a simple chivalrous knight. Something about him was very off. He was here for her and she didn't know why. She didn't know him. Or his objectives. But she didn't yet dare to ask.

'… Perhaps, my vile powers?'

It was only now that she started realizing she was feeling a sharp pain emanating from her very core. It hurt, a lot. Her very soul felt like it had been torn apart from her. Her flesh felt like it was burning. Her stomach felt like it had multiple holes in it.

It was a lot worse than the first time it happened. That one had only stung and she had felt strange.

Still, rather than whining or groaning from it, she relished in it.

It felt good. It felt right. She deserved to feel like this for being so crooked and deranged.

Instead of focusing on the pain, she was once again reminded of that 'thing' just now.

'Did I create that? It was crooked, just like me.'

She'd never used her magic properly. And just like the first day she had, today too her magic activated on its own. She wasn't consciously controlling it.

She glanced back at the place where it was before it was killed mercilessly by this armored knight.

Seeing it die really hurt her body and soul. It felt like a part of her was being burned there. It was true too, apparently, if what the knight said was true.

She remembered what the man had just warned her about, in a rather grim and serious tone. She almost felt sincerity from his words. And it seemed to make sense.

She once again silently watched the man free her from her shackles, tearing all the remaining chains that figuratively and literally were binding her to this dark place.

"You know who 'they' are, right?"

The man spoke.

"The Baron family. The ones who… got your family killed and put you here under a false accusation, all so they could hide the embezzlements done by various figures of authority. Well, they were also planning to do much worse things to you. There are many others who are together with them and you have no idea about it. This town is actually a fucking shithole under the hood."

Hearing those words, the rage that had almost calmed down inside rekindled, with more fury and she gritted her teeth, letting more blood flow from her.

'I will kill them. I will kill them all for what they did to me. Turn them into the disgusting creatures that they actually are. Iwillkillthem.Iwillkillthem.IwillkillthemIwillkillthemIwillkillthemKillKillKillKillKill…'

The sound of loud metallic snapping brought her out of her once again degrading head.

"Ah, my bad. That was insensitive of me to say. Anyway, I—"

The man quite casually spoke, until he suddenly stopped speaking and stilled.

She noticed she was now free. She tried once again to stand back up but found doing so unbelievably difficult. Her body was not in a good shape at all.

Instead, she had to spit the pool of blood filling her mouth, almost starting to choke her. It tasted viscous and rotten, like her mental state currently.

She too was starting to turn into a disgusting creature, she figured. This was her true self, a gross monster hidden in the guise of human flesh.

"Here. Drink this for now, quickly. It's an advanced Healing Potion. It's not going to heal the damage to your soul but should work on stopping the blood and all the other physical issues. Probably should have given you this sooner, but my apologies, I'm a little tense and distracted right now for reasons. This place isn't safe."

She didn't react to the man giving her a vial containing a red liquid. She just stared at it blankly, wondering if she should accept it.

But, the man, seemingly losing his patience instead pulled her chin up, parted her lips and teeth with his armored fingers, and slowly shoved the viscous red liquid down her throat.

It tasted sweet yet bitter. But it was doing its work and it also worked to sate her thirst a little.

The way he did it wasn't too forceful, in her opinion, even if it appeared so from the outside. He was being quite gentle with her. But even if he were more forceful she wouldn't have resisted. He could hurt her all he wanted right now.

She was just letting him have his way with her, watching only his actions for now.

"Once your body is in decent enough shape, we can leave—…"

The man stilled again.

"Damn, they're here already."

He muttered.

"Well, I guess I wasn't being that subtle… Nebula won't be able to deal with them. Gotta go.

Hey, you stay here and heal your wounds. I'll, uh, deal with the pests then we'll leave, okay? Don't move from here, no matter what. And do NOT approach the sounds! Trust me. You're not in the right state of mind. You'll break down and your mana will lash out if you do."

With that warning, the man left, but not before he put a jug and a plate containing simple but proper food. The jug contained crystal-clear water.

"..."

It had been 3 days since she ate or drank something. Did the man give this to her knowing that? She certainly didn't look good, she knew that.

As she drank the crystal clear and almost refreshing water directly from the jug, she muttered.

"Thank you… but you shouldn't be so kind to me… I'm not worth this."

She was not trustful of this person at all, even if he had just freed her. She couldn't, after what had happened. She had already made her choice and this was just an opportunity presenting itself to her.

She'd take it. He'd be her first step toward her goals.

She laughed in her own delusions as she filled her stomach with the tasty food.

Once she was done, she focused back on the mild noises coming from the outside.

He'd told her not to leave or follow the noises.

'What he's doing? Who is that person? What does he want from me?'

[End of Aurora's POV]

***