Once more, he watched.
A decisive moment in his life, the moment that marked his powerlessness and painfully uncovered the wound.
And as such, all Arthur could do was scream. His body refused to move, even if his brain was fully alert, begging it to prevent her death.
But it mattered not.
…
Those familiar screams, which marked the guaranteed end of that particular "loop" rang inside of Sayu's ears.
She called out for Sylvia not to help Arthur, as doing so would only lead to him hurting her. Sylvia hesitated, not wanting to forsake the cries for help and weeping, but also wanting to follow the lead of the child whose ability assumedly allowed her greater knowledge than most.
Rugsibar and Raiden both rushed over to Octav. Arthur's cutlass was still embedded in the heart, the greatsword in the lung, and the lance had penetrated the other lung, so all that needed to be done was one final attack to the head.
However, Octav turned around, and ran away, forming a barrier between him and the others to keep them from closing in on him.
Was it a tactical retreat? Perhaps. The main thought of Octav at that time was "no thanks," so do with that what you will.
Rugsibar shattered the batter after a few seconds of attacking it, before sprinting at Octav. Unfortunately, his shorter stature made him slower in terms of running speed, as his strides weren't all that long to begin with.
So, Rugsibar gave Raiden the lance, and Raiden spotted Octav retreating.
A large barricade of trees appeared, having uprooted themselves and quite literally ran over, blocking the way, while a storm began to appear.
After all, storms were natural, so it was perfect for Raiden, who looked up at the dark clouds leapt up into the air, being struck by several lightning strikes at once before channeling them and blasting the demon with lightning strikes.
As they were obviously very fast, they struck Octav, causing him to fall to the ground, as vines wrapped around him. Raiden sprouted wings and flew down at Octav with that lance, aiming it right for his head.
The demon, helpless to move, was struck in the brain with the lance, which blew it apart and killed him nearly instantly. His regeneration wasn't able to work, as he'd been destroyed thoroughly enough.
The battle had been won.
…
"Don't blame others for yourownweakness."
The group surrounded one of the supposed legendary heroes, who was currently digging his face into dirt, speaking words which they had no clue as to the origin of.
"Crud, is there anything you can do?" Raiden asked. "I remember him being like this when his mind itself was directly targeted by a Mind Dragon. Actually, I don't know if it was exactly like this. He was more messed up then than now, but—"
"His mind is being corrupted," said Sylvia, the most expert magic user there.
"I figured," Rugsibar said, crouching down and looking at Arthur. Raiden looked down on him, the man who was weeping so terribly before them.
"I-if, if you don't defeat me, I, I am goi-going to kill that woman…"
Arthur was the one speaking. He held the back of his head, sniffling.
"Don't kill, don't kill, don't, kill her, don't," he begged.
Just a moment later—
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH! IT, IT'S NOT ATTACHED!"
Sylvia restrained him with vines, before attempting to extract the curse placed upon him.
With most of her talent in healing magic, she was successful, though the effects would linger for some time after. Arthur looked up, his left eye dangling like a googly eye, while his right looked straight at him.
"A-aw, waha, aja, no, you're, not. Not. Her."
"You alright? You were struck with a spell that targets the mind," Rugsibar said. Arthur looked down, clenching his fists before standing up.
"I'm… whatever."
Arthur walked over to the demon's corpse, grabbing the cutlass and draining the blood from the body. Due to the power of the demon's blood, the cutlass became even stronger.
Then, he ripped the blade out, before reeling his foot back and kicking the corpse in the head, launching the body across the forest and hitting a burning tree.
"Stupid fucker," Arthur said, before putting his hands in his pockets and walking away. As he walked off, he saw the little girl who saw him.
"Oh. I meant, 'stupid fricker,'" Arthur apologized, before going back to the carriage.
The riders and horses had been saved and protected by Sylvia, though the carriage was awfully banged up, having had a boulder thrown through it.
Sayu, after hearing that their new method of transportation was going to be a problem, grabbed a long dagger from the equipment area, and pointed it at her throat.
Sure, it was the only time they had won, but if a new problem had arrived, then maybe it was best if she redid everything.
'To get the "perfect" try—'
"What're you doin' with that thing? Put it down, young lady."
Sylvia, who typically would have been more the type to step in, was currently conversing with the riders. Arthur, who was mostly along for the ride, brooded away, eventually seeing the girl doing such a thing.
Arthur grabbed the dagger and snatched it from her, tossing it back inside. Sayu began to cry, seeing an older person so "angry" at her. It didn't help that Arthur looked like a monster, so he was particularly scary to all women, regardless of age.
"But—"
"Do you want to die?" Arthur asked. She was hesitant to answer, just in case she didn't die to repeat the loop. Eventually, she shook her head, and Arthur turned away, looking at everyone else.
"I'm in no position to give advice on wanting to live. But don'tcha think you're a little young for suicide? Wait until you're a grown up, then you can really decide whether life is worth living or not."
Arthur walked away, leaving the child alone.
…
Ultimately, they had opted to ride Raiden's dragon form to their next location. The riders would ride their horses normally in order to notify them that they would go by dragon, to not set off any alarms.
…
Upon arrival, the party stayed at an inn for the night. Ultimately, they had two rooms, one bedroom for the ladies and another for the men. Arthur had a habit of sleeping on the floor at hotels, and as both rooms had two beds, each person got a bed except for Arthur.
They brought their things down and began to decide on what to do for the night.
"Well," Rugsibar said, "we're on the way to defeat the demon king. There's no guarantee we'll live, so why don't we just party?"
Sylvia was initially hesitant, but believed it might be for the best, since Arthur was someone who clearly needed to be cheered up. So, firstly they went to a restaurant, and would then get drinks.
They left the inn, and now were not busy, so the aliens could gawk at the pretty town they were in. It was the typical fantasy town, but that in itself had its charm, enforcing the idea that they truly were inside of another world.
It snowed quite beautifully. To which, Arthur went over to Sylvia.
"Do you guys celebrate any holidays during this time?" He asked.
Back on Earth, there was the holiday known as Wintmas. As should be obvious, it was winter, but as the idea of any religion did not exist, there was no Christ for Christmas, leading to it being known as Wintmas, and took place on the 28th of December, about a week away.
But on this new world,
"Yes! We have Celemas. It celebrates the day the Celestial Hanma stopped the Gluttonous Demon, Silver, from killing the king of Lazar. We celebrate it by giving gifts to those we love, as a way to reflect the celestial's protection."
Arthur nodded his head with an "interesting," before they all went to the restaurant.
Sitting down to eat, they ordered their nonalcoholic drinks, as they, or at least Raiden and Rugsibar, were saving room for the good stuff. For food, Arthur ordered the meal which most closely resembled bread and steak.
This world, whilst seemingly magical and fantastical (though it definitely was), was also quite modern seeming in certain areas.
A knight entered the room. He had directly teleported over, as was his ability, and he handed a book to Raiden.
"Sir! I've come from the king! Here, this book contains instructions for lightning magic! Due to your Talent, and your ability to learn magic, it is recommended that you learn lightning magic in tandem with your Talent! As well, here is a magical artifact which boosts one's ability for magic, sir!"
Raiden nodded his head, taking the book and glowing purple artifact.
"Thanks. Yeah, I'll do that," Raiden said, to which the knight left. He held the book and artifact at his side, as he didn't plan on reading it right away.
The group received their drinks and food, and then began to chat away.
"Dang, this is good!" Exclaimed Raiden, taking a bite out of monster-like cow meat. Sylvia laughed, saying, "glad it's to your liking. I went here on vacation a year ago, and I've always wanted to return, so I was glad when I found it would be on our route."
This brought up the idea.
"Hey Sylvia, Rugsibar," he began. "What do you guys usually do for jobs?"
After all, of the entire party and army that could have been summoned to aid them, those two, plus a child who got in by connection, were sent to aid the supposed heroes of prophecy defeat the demon king.
"Well, as for me," Sylvia said. "I spend most of my time as a healer for the soldiers, which is why they recruited me. I'm actually the most talented healer available, and I also had nature magic, so they must've thought I'd be a good fit."
Arthur nodded his head, and looked at Rugsibar.
"Ah, me? I'm the chief captain of the Lazar Knights. I'm quite acquainted with Sylvia, so it was a pleasure seein' her on the team."
Arthur was satisfied with that information, before sneaking a glance at Sayu, who ate quietly. It wasn't just that she didn't talk, but rather that she chewed slowly with very, very little noise. She was shrunk off into the corner, sitting against the wall and taking up as little space as possible.
Arthur himself understood being asked to speak when you didn't really want to, as by his 5th grade year, his mom made some friends from work and invited her to dinner.
The woman commented on Arthur's quietness, which had made him feel a bit afraid, as earlier in the day he'd been yelled at for trying to talk to a girl to ask for an eraser.
So, naturally, Arthur didn't really want to probe her for her quietness, mostly looking out the window as he had the window seat on his side of the booth.
Though, upon seeing the snow, and being reminded of the holiday, it reminded him of something.
"Oh, and by the way, Sylvia," he said. "Thank you for saving me earlier."
Though he tried not to show too much emotion, since he was still very much a miserable person, he felt it right to give thanks, as she'd eased his pain.
"It must have hurt a lot," she said. Arthur nodded his head solemnly, agreeing to that fact.
"If you don't mind me asking, who was the woman?" She asked. Arthur's eyes widened, and he sharply looked at her, frightening her a bit.
"Oh, was it uncomfortable? I'm sorry, you don't need to talk about it," she apologized. Arthur said it was fine, and continued to eat his food.
"Actually, I think I know who it was," Raiden said. "Wasn't it—?"
Raiden could not finish speaking, before Sylvia smacked his hand as he was eating. It wasn't an absolutely thunderous slap, of course, but it was more than a love tap.
Raiden looked at her with surprise.
"Even if you know who it was," she began to explain. "It's not right to give out such details if the person who's affected most isn't comfortable with it."
Arthur was relieved with her words, as he himself was quite afraid of Raiden telling them things that would hurt him.
'Aw, she's kind of sweet.'
Arthur smiled faintly, something which he himself was curious about. He covered it with his mouth and continued eating, however.
'What is this thing I'm feeling?'
It was a new emotion within himself. No, it was not new. It was something he'd experienced before.
'This is… is it joy? Appreciation?'
He found himself happy that, even if it was just one person, in this new world there was someone who at least treated him like a human being.
A human being with their own vulnerabilities, regrets, and secrets that they would prefer for others not to know, especially strangers.
Actually, after seeing them there with him after he'd been struck with such a flashback, of reliving that horrible memory, something had been planted.
His heart was an ugly flower. The seeds of hatred were planted when he was attacked by the Assas family the night of the party. Those seeds were watered, and blossomed into an ugly flower when Sally was killed.
And everything since then—the murders, the cannibalism and consuming, the hunting, the threats, the pain, the pain, the pain, the relationships made, the relationships broken, the battle, and the pain, the imminent death, and the transportation to a new fantasy—was just the ugly flowers blooming, and consequent aroma.
But it felt like, perhaps, perhaps, a new seed had been planted. A flower that was not so disgusting, so putrid and gross. A flower that, perhaps was, one that could clean him.
'Why am I happy right now? That's not right. I can't be happy. That's now who I am.'
'So why do I get the feeling that this moment is a… a reason to live?'