MTLNOVEL Chapter 5: The Horror IV
The Devil, not wasting a single moment, launched itself towards Kai. Its Jaws were spread wide, exposing its monstrous spiral canine teeths situated at all sides of its mouths in different segments.
Time slowed as a sudden blur streaked through the air, and Kai, for that very moment, saw no escape for himself.
However, right out from the blue, Muri sprang in from the side, executing a thunderous drop kick with his might, that connected with the monster's grotesque head.
The impact distorted its movements, sending the creature crashing violently into the wall.
Landing gracefully on his feet, Muri straightened, his expression hard as steel. For once, Kai felt something akin to relief.
"Good timing." Kai muttered through gritted teeth.
"You're actually useful."
Behind Muri, Jaya, Alisson, and Sia appeared, their faces tense with fright as they glanced at what was left of Kai.
They rushed to Kai's side, concern etched into every line of their expressions. Jaya, the group's healer, knelt swiftly, extending his hands over Kai's mangled arm.
A soft green light glowed from his palms, illuminating the scene as the profuse bleeding gradually subsided.
"Oh God," Jaya breathed, his voice thick with a bit of disbelief.
"Your arm is gone. Are you okay?"
Kai, ever sarcastic despite the agony twisting through him, managed a strained response.
"Yeah, I'm all good. Gee, why do you ask?"
He let out a sharp whimper as a surge of pain coursed through his body, shattering the facade.
Sia's voice broke through the tense atmosphere.
"What about Jade? Is she...?"
Kai, at that moment, averted his gaze, guilt and sorrow tightening his throat.
"She didn't make it," he whispered, his voice barely audible.
"I'm sorry... I tried to save her but-"
" Don't...Don't do that Kai. Not now." Alisson cut in, in hopes to ease outthe tension.
Muri's voice cut through the somber moment like a blade as he caught a glimpse of his team.
"Jaya, can you heal him?"
Jaya shook his head, frustration evident in his furrowed brow. It wasn't just a matter of choice, it was more or less a matter of skills skills which Jaya did not possess.
"I'm a Seeker-class healer. I'm not equipped to handle severed wounds like this, but I'll do my best."
The beast, dazed but recovering, let out a guttural growl, its tentacle-like eye writhing as it slowly turned toward them.
"He's bleeding out Muri. My healing isn't gonna have much effect on him." He added.
"We'll have to get him to a hospital," Alisson urged.
"It's the only way he gets to live."
Sia nodded, concurring with Alisson.
"She's right."
Muri, however, stood unmoved, his gaze locked onto Kai for quite a moment, as though he was observing Kai for himself.
He was the leader, so regardless of how the members of the group felt, failure to obey instructions irrespective of the situation they were in would be regarded as insubordination. This in turn could lead to revokement of a sorcerers license by the operation.
Therefore, Muri was the one and only decision maker in this conflict.
At last, he spoke.
"If we leave now, the association will record this mission as incomplete. They'll say we fled."
His voice hardened as he tightened his fist.
"Jade already died for this mission. We can't let her death be in vain."
Annoyance flickered across Alisson's face.
"Are you seriously thinking about your record right now?" she snapped.
"Kai is bleeding out by the second, and you're worried about some stupid promotion?"
Sia's voice joined the protest.
You see, in other to rise the ranks of sorcery, a sorcerer must have been acknowledged by the Sorcery association. In other to be acknowledged, one might have to be consistent in mission completion.
Muri, in this case, was one of the most consistent Seeker in the class and so, for quite the while, had been aiming to be promoted to the Vanguard class regardless of if he would be deemed weak in the class or not.
The pay was great and that was what he needed. And despite coming off as a kind and caring leader, he wasn't going to let a weakling, who he had asked to sit the mission out previously, be the reason why he would miss his promotion.
'Secret Weapon my ass!' Muri thought inwardly.
"He's going to die, Muri! We have to leave now, or he won't make it!"
Kai's thoughts, however, swirled in a haze of pain and disbelief.
'She actually cares about my health? Too bad I'm dying right now.'
The blood loss was taking its toll. His vision blurred, and consciousness teetered on the brink of collapse as fresh blood oozed from his severed arm.
Muri's jaw clenched, as he remained stubborn to his previous statement.
"If you care about him so much," he challenged,
"then help me slay the devil... If we slay it fast enough, we can help him out."
A tense silence followed before Alisson let out a frustrated huff. There was nothing she could have done in that moment. Failure to comply would be deemed as insubordination by the association. Another option would be to kill the leader, if this happened, they'd atleast have free will to do escape as they wish.
But, the punishment for killing was far to grave for her to take the risk, so ofcourse, she had to comply.
"Fine." She summoned her weapon, a normal sized hammer, emitting Ray's of mana which shimmered with raw power.
Sia followed suit, her elegant fan gleaming ominously in her grip.
The two women moved to stand beside Muri, determination etched into their features.
The beast, its grotesque tentacle eye swiveling to observe its opponents, before it let out one last uneasy snarl. It readied itself, muscles coiling for another strike. And then, it striked!
There was no use. Evan couldn't follow up with their movements. His eyes could only see a faint glow of the mana colors of his teammates, clashing and slashing with the worm Devil.
The thing is, Kai being unable to follow his teammates movements with his eyes didn't mean entail that the fight was sophisticated. It was rather that he was more of a human than a sorcerer, so ofcourse he couldn't keep up with Seeker class battles.
Meanwhile, Jaya continued his desperate attempts to keep Kai alive, beads of sweat forming on his brow. The healing glow flickered, its effectiveness waning.
Kai's thoughts spiraled into despair.
'Useless... I'm useless. I've got the love of my life fighting for me while I just lie here, dying. I never even got a chance to actually feel a women's touch. I'm actually gonna die as a damn virgin.'
Jaya's voice broke through the fog, cutting Evan's thoughts back to reality in a jiff.
"You're going to be okay, Kai. Just hold on."
But even as the healer's words reached him, Kai knew the truth — his strength was slipping away, and time was running out.
'Jaya. You sweet fool. If only you knew how I truly felt about you, maybe you wouldn't be trying so hard to keep me alive...but, to be honest, the person I despise the most is...'
Right then, he gritted his teeths and turned his gaze over to Muri and his comrades, who were in an endless battle with the Devil as they attempted continously to penetrate its armor plated exterior.
'...He thinks he's better than all of us. He doesn't even regard our lives. All he wants is his stupid promotion. Fuck him! He should be the one dying, not me! I wish he was dead, goddamnit!' He roared in his mind as his brows furrowed.
However, right at that very moment, a faint blood red glow appeared right afront of him, displaying a text which left Kai's eyes widened to as far as they could go.
[User wish: I Wish He Was Dead]
[Progress: 0..59...82...99....success!]
[Your wish is my command]