"Did he die!?"
"A man… you should have been a man!"
She flinched when she heard that same terrifying voice again. Before she could even blink, he appeared right in front of her. His massive body swayed unsteadily as her eyes widened and her hands covered her mouth. Only now could she make sense of what had just happened. She glanced down at the rotting corpse by her feet, then up at the giant creature before her. It matched the woman's description from the story she had heard.
His grayish-purple skin was covered with strange red and blue markings. The ends of his white hair looked burnt, and his skin, darkening with every pulse of rage, stood right before her eyes.
"You are a death-bringer…"
Her voice was barely above a whisper, trembling.
"No… no, you're the death-bringer!"
I can't believe this. I'm literally inside a story right now. Standing before me is the Death-Bringer himself, the one whose tale I've been listening to for weeks. He's real, alive. I never imagined he'd be this terrifying, but now I can smell death all over him. No wonder the soldiers dropped dead in seconds.
"You should have been a strong man!"
"I strengthened that body, and you've already turned it into a woman!"
He wasn't even looking at me while he said that, just staring off, thinking. This was definitely Gralik's body. I lowered my head and looked at myself; maybe I didn't look exactly like in the story's description, but it was close enough.
Oh no… the princess didn't know he was a death-bringer, did she? If I change this body, she'll never see him again.
"I didn't come here willingly. I don't know how it happened, but I'll leave this place, and then this body can be yours again."
"What the hell are you talking about!?"
His shout startled me. What is he angry about now? I swallowed hard; my heart was so exhausted from racing that I could hear the blood rushing in my ears.
"You'll never return. When I'm done with you, I'll kill you anyway."
So that's it? Just like that? This damn monster, does he think a human life means nothing?
Wait, what am I saying? That is his job.
"Then confess to the princess!"
The Death-Bringer's eyes widened ever so slightly before narrowing again. His unstable body tensed. In a flash, his large, strange hand gripped her throat.
I couldn't breathe. My hands grabbed at his wrist; I could feel his body, it was different, making my fingers tingle.
"Silence."
It wasn't a command. It was a threat.
"Keep your mouth shut. Don't ever stand before her. If you do, don't speak. If you tell anyone anything-"
"Then take this body! I- I don't want it!"
The tighter I spoke, the harder his grip became. My body thrashed wildly, desperate to pull in any precious bit of oxygen. When my eyes met his face, I saw his grin. With the last bit of strength I had, I squeezed his wrist as hard as I could.
"I'll take this body back..now"
He hissed, his fury visibly rising. Her weakness made his bloodlust worse; if his body allowed it, he would've beaten her senseless. His face twisted in disgust before he slowly released his grip.
My new body trembled violently, my knees buckled, and I fell to the ground on my knees. Unable to get used to this bigger frame, my hands went not to my neck, but to my burning, flushed face.
Finally, air. I breathed in deeply, over and over; my vision was fading from the lack of oxygen to my brain.
"Look at you. Pathetic. You'll destroy that body at this rate."
"Take it! Take it, I don't want it!"
My throat burned, tears streamed down my cheeks. I had never experienced anything this chaotic in my life, and I never thought I'd mean this so much, but I wanted to go home.
"I was going to take it anyway."
I barely managed to lift my head to look at him. He stood above me, his expression dark and twisted into a grin. He leaned down-way too close.
"What are you doing!?"
I gasped; he was right in my face. His skin brushed against mine, it wasn't pleasant, it felt like static electricity.
"Shhhkk!"
He jerked back violently, even crashing into something like a cabinet. No- he didn't pull away. I think I pushed him? Did I shocked him?
Oh my! he tried to switch bodies with me! But why didn't it work? Wasn't I supposed to die for that to happen?
"WHAT!?"
His eyes went wide in shock as he looked down at Gralik's body. This had never happened before, he had taken countless bodies, every one he wanted. But now? Why couldn't he?
Pieces of strange clothing fell over him; from the colors and cuts, they were clearly women's clothes.
Did… did a bra just land on his head? No, no, don't laugh, idiot! you're going to die!
Pressed my lips together holding back my laugh. The tense atmosfere makes me want to laugh even more.
Suddenly, the door burst open.