The hall was now a living nightmare.
Torches flickered faintly on the cracked walls, casting long, trembling shadows that danced like black fingers. The air was heavy, suffocating, saturated with a pungent odor of burnt sulfur, dried blood, and something metallic, like hot iron. Only a few minutes ago, the place had been empty, cold, and silent – an oppressive void. Now, a hundred demonic creatures filled every corner, like a living carpet of hatred and hunger. Their red skin, streaked with black, seemed to pulse under the torchlight. Their yellow-red eyes gleamed with intelligent cruelty, and the black curved horns jutted from their foreheads like scythes.
It had all begun with that magic circle on the floor – the luminous lines, the strange runes, the reddish mist from which they were born. Now there was no turning back.
A guttural howl, like distant thunder, echoed from the middle of the horde:
"Grrrr… GRRRRRRR!"
As if by an invisible signal, they all began to advance.
They didn't run. They weren't in a hurry. They walked slowly, with perfectly synchronized steps, as if savoring every second of the terror they inflicted. Wide smiles, full of sharp fangs, illuminated their hideous faces. They laughed at me without making a sound – only their eyes shone with pleasure.
I started to back away, with small, uncertain steps.
My legs were trembling. My knees threatened to give way at any moment. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat, in my ears, in my temples – an insane hammer deafening me.
"I have nowhere to run… the doors are blocked. This time I won't escape."
Three meters. Two and a half meters. Two meters.
The distance narrowed with every heartbeat. Every step they took was a blow to my chest. I looked desperately to the left and right.
And then the idea came to me – stupid, desperate, but the only one I had left.
If I can't run in a straight line… at least I can make them chase me in circles.
I started moving sideways, tracing a wide circle. They turned their heads as one and changed direction. I repeated the movement. Again and again. I was running in ever-smaller circles, like an animal caught in an invisible trap. My breath burned in my throat. The soles of my feet were on fire. My leg muscles pulsed with pain, as if I were running on hot coals.
For minutes on end – maybe five, maybe ten – I kept it up.
Until my knees finally gave out.
I fell hard onto the cold stone floor. My hands were scraped, my breath was ragged, my body was a mass of throbbing pain. Sweat streamed down my forehead and ran into my eyes, burning them.
The creatures stopped abruptly.
A wide, ear-to-ear smile bloomed on their faces. A collective, hideous, and sharp laugh filled the hall like a wave of knives.
"Heheheheee... HEEE!"
They were mocking me. They had been waiting for exactly this – for me to fall to my knees, exhausted, humiliated.
I tried to get up. My legs wouldn't obey me. I was shaking all over.
"Now what? Is this the end?"
I closed my eyes. I let my hands drop limply by my sides. Memories flooded in like a wave: Kenji laughing in front of the class, Aiko posting humiliating photos, my parents standing by the lake and discussing whether to throw me in the water, the house full of empty bottles and the smell of mold.
"Why me? Why always me?"
But then, in the darkness behind my eyelids, something else ignited.
A small fire, weak, but stubborn.
"I don't want to die…"
I opened my eyes.
"I don't want to die like this… I don't want to give them this satisfaction… neither them, nor my classmates, nor my parents, nor these hideous creatures!"
I gritted my teeth so hard I tasted blood in my mouth.
"My legs won't obey me? Then I'll use my hands."
I put my palms on the floor and started to crawl.
Slowly. Painfully. Humiliatingly.
Like a worm. Like a baby.
But I was still alive.
Their laughter grew even louder, wilder.
I kept going. Ten meters to the corner of the hall. Eight. Five.
Behind me, the horde split in two. They formed a wide semicircle, blocking any escape route. They were slowly pushing me into the corner like a caged animal.
I reached the wall with my back to it.
There was nowhere left to turn.
I looked back. The demons were two meters away.
"If I'm going to die anyway... I'm taking at least one of you with me."
I put my hands on the wall and stood up.
My legs were shaking like reeds, but I managed it. I turned to face them, leaning against the corner like a rat cornered by a cat. I raised my fists to my chest – the only weapon I had.
"Come on, hideous creatures! Come get me!"
The laughter stopped abruptly. They looked at each other, as if they couldn't believe it.
A single creature took a step forward. Then one more. It stopped less than a meter from me. Its yellow-red eyes fixed me with amused cruelty. It tilted its head to one side. A wide smile spread across its face.
"Hahahaha... HAHAHA!"
It laughed like a madman.
Then its claws shot out of its fingers – long, black, sharp as daggers. It raised its hand high.
I took one last breath.
"If this is the end..."
The claw slashed down like lightning.
I blinked.
When I opened my eyes, the world was red.
Blood spurted from my throat like a fountain. I tried to breathe, but no air came in. I fell to my knees. Blood flowed from my mouth, down my chest, onto the floor. Darkness was closing over my eyes.
"This... is the end..."
The last thing I saw was their wide, victorious smiles.
Then everything went black.
[DS] [Notification]: Candidate has died 1/? times.
[DS] [Notification]: Respawn in 10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…
The pain was completely gone.
I was standing, in the same corner, perfectly healthy.
The creatures were still there. The same horde. The same hall.
But something new was burning in my chest.
Not fear.
Not despair.
Rage.
Pure, cold, cutting rage.
I smiled for the first time since I arrived in this place.
"Fine... you wanted to see me dead?"
I took a step forward.
"This time... the game changes."
[DS] [Notification]: Hidden condition has been partially fulfilled. [Temporary Ability Unlocked: "Rage of the Humiliated"] Effect: +500% to all stats while hatred is active. Duration: until the end of the confrontation or until mental exhaustion.
I clenched my fists.
My fingers no longer trembled.
Now... it was my turn.