Chapter 3
As if directly responding to the disbelief on his face she stated "It was your face. You were trying to hide a smirk, which reminded me of that little stunt you pulled off earlier. Unlike your comrades, at least have solace in the fact that you drove me further than all of them together ever could." As she begins to remove her blade Tibaut grabs her arm.
She is somewhat shocked by this but thinks nothing of it as the man in front of her can barely speak much less restrain her. Then her ears are assaulted by a deafening boom. A smokescreen is formed by an explosion which she promptly backs out of. She surveyed her surroundings and her body and came to an unnerving realization. Her arm was gone.
Everything below the elbow was presumably scattered all across the ground. She was in complete shock, the only thing her brain in this predicament was allowing her to do was stare at her lost limb. It might have been half a second or three but it was more than enough time for Tibaut to crawl from the smoke and grab her leg.
Just like that, she was no longer able to run, all she could do was scurry away and hope the shock of the blast put him away for good. As if living only to defy her thoughts, not only was he alive, he was now standing up as well. As he was walking towards her, instead of feeling fear or trying to run away all she could think about was his hands. Those things on his arms could no longer be called hands. Every bone visible was broken beyond repair and the flesh on his hand looked like it had been removed by a shoddy chef with a dull trimming knife.
("Why, why is he doing this? If he had this much energy left, he could have run away") but before she could finish her thought, he placed his 'hand' on her neck. He summoned a fireball. And another. And another. And another. Another. Another. Another. Another. Another. Another. Another. Another. Another. Another. Another. Another. He fell to the ground exhausted. Next to him lay an unidentifiable piece of charcoal that was vaguely in the shape of a woman with a few pieces missing here and there. As he slowly faded he had but one thought. ("Was I reborn for this? Was my only purpose for being reincarnated just to slay this monster?")
But before he could finish his thought, he heard a wet, squelching sound. He witnessed the blackened mass quickly develop flesh and grow back the parts that were lost. Next, the skin was restored followed by the eyes with lastly the hair regrowing. All he could do was lay there dumbfounded as the woman he had sacrificed himself to defeat came back better than ever. He felt an odd sense of relief at this sight. "Hehe, I never stood a chance." His head fell to the ground, taking him to an eternal slumber he may never awaken from.
The man is given a few gentle taps to the face "Zzzz, give me five minutes" a less gentle slap this time "Give me a break, Cillia" Tired of waiting she delivers a quick punch. "AW, What was that fo-" Tibaut complains before realising one very strange thing. He's alive. In fact, he felt amazing. For the first time in nearly four years, he had gotten some proper rest. He briefly believed his battle may have been delirium caused by a poisonous mushroom. However, there were two damning pieces of evidence against this.
Exhibit A: He was currently tied to the bed, which was in and of itself self was bizarre since he hadn't slept on a bed that wasn't made of hay or dirt in the past four years.
Exhibit B: Blondy was sitting in a chair next to his bed.
"So are you an illusion master or are we both in hell right now?" She puts her hand on his reddened cheek and it starts to glow a comforting gold. Within an instant, what little pain he even noticed was removed entirely. "Okay, now I have an even better question for you. Why?" he asked.
"You're the only lead I have on the cult, so until you tell me what I want, you're not allowed to die" she quickly responded.
Tibaut twists his face in confusion. "The cult? Yeah right, you just made that up. Was the cult really the best thing you could come up with? Stop wasting my time and kill me already you banshee."
She stabs him in the leg. He holds in the pain the best he can but he still makes a whimper. With a smile on her face, she continues her interrogation "Sorry about that, you aren't called the cult, my mistake. So why'd don't you tell what you call yourselves Mr. Fireball." All Tibaut could think was ("Why the hell did I have to become this immortal sadist's plaything.")
Just as Tibaut was about to resign himself to his faith a young girl entered the hut they were in. That young was the same one that had her throat slit. "You're a real piece a shit, you know that?" he blurted. "Not only did you heal me, just to satisfy your sick kicks and turn me into a pin cushion, but you've also now decided that torturing someone your own size is too-" the girl raised her hand "Um, mister"
"Huh, what is bra- little girl"
"Miss Elizabeth saved me".
The blonde woman presumably named Elizabeth interjects "You see, I happened to be near this place when I heard a scream. Apparently, there were cultists here so I took care of them. Imagine my surprise when I was about to heal the girl when you showed up."
"oh" Tibaut replied. He was starting to see the picture and he didn't like what it was showing him. ("I pissed off this once in a millennial monster for no reason. But, I mean who starts a conversation with 'Are you one of them' in a village full of dead people? No one can blame me for thinking she's evil right? Right!?") He tried to rationalize. ("Welp looks it's the end of the road for this life. I wasn't able to avenge anybody. Why the hell was I even born in this world to begin? Was my old life too cushy? Did God think I needed some adversity in my life? Well, I got it you bastard, enough to last several lives worth. I'm done, I don't care anymore, do whatever you want with me.")
"Um, mister are you alright?"
"Oh, I'm fine kid. You might want to leave though, me and, uh, Miss Elizabeth have grown-up things to discuss"
"Okay!" She exclaimed.
Now the two of them were finally alone in the room. "So, did you really attack me, thinking I caused all this?" she asked.
"What do you think?" He dejectedly replied.
She begins to hold her head almost as if in anguish deliberating over something. She starts mumbling which makes her look like a woman possessed. "Be careful, you might burst a vein"
"Shut up you walking pig-stye". After continuing for a few more moments she stops.
"Oh, whatever." She pulls her sword out of Tibaut's leg and strikes directly at him.