A strange liquid soaked Nero's unconscious body.
Centipedes, rats, and cockroaches swarmed around him, eager to make him their meal.
One of the rats—the hungriest—began to scurry toward Nero.
The ravenous rat bit the black-haired man's arm, tearing at his skin and flesh.
Nero opened his red eyes in obvious surprise, then swatted at the rat, sending it flying.
"Uhm..."
Nero clutched his arm, feeling little to no pain. Although his skin had been torn and his flesh cut, he felt little, only the blood trickling down his arm and a feeling of discomfort.
It was at that moment that Nero realized his situation.
He was surrounded by darkness...
The ground was nothing more than a platform of stone bricks, which hurt his skin at the slightest touch.
A crimson liquid traced a trail of thick blood on the floor.
Nero felt the liquid flow through his body, his mouth filling with saliva.
Suddenly, a putrid smell assaulted Nero's nostrils.
He sat up, his red eyes glowing in the darkness like stars in the sky.
Blood trickled from his clothes to the floor, leaving a stain on the gray ground.
He realized he couldn't see anything...
Nero began to walk, completely blind, his arms outstretched, reaching for anything.
Is this a cell?
Nero was consumed by cold and fear.
He walked a little further until he felt a cold lump at his feet.
What's this?
Nero began to kick the cold lump weakly, thinking that if this thing was a human, he didn't want to hurt it.
"Ah..."
The thing let out a pained groan and shifted slightly.
Nero crouched down to get a better look...
His eyes had already adjusted to the darkness; he could only see 10 centimeters, but it was better than nothing.
The thing opened its eyes and raised its head with a confused expression.
"Who are you?"
Nero heard Kōri's feminine voice.
"I'm Nero."
Kōri got up, her back throbbing, and Nero helped her up.
She grabbed the arm of the young man with black hair...
"Where are we?... Ah! How disgusting!"
Kōri covered her nose with her hand.
"It smells like death..."
She froze when she touched the bloodstains on Nero's clothes.
"A-are you dying?" The small, blue-eyed lady said with a hint of concern.
"Unfortunately, no."
Kōri smiled slightly...
"Where are the others?" She squeezed Nero's arm.
Nero shrugged, a gesture Kōri couldn't see, but could sense.
The two walked in silence, not separating by even an inch.
"I'm cold," Nero murmured.
"Do you want me to warm you up?"
Nero thought for a moment, then said with a sharp seriousness:
"Focus, we're in danger..."
Kōri laughed, trying to hide her terrible fear.
Nero's hand touched something solid, damp, and silky, like grass.
"The wall is covered in mold."
"Cough... Cough..."
In the distance, someone—hidden in the shadows—coughed twice, a sound of pain and weariness.
Kōri took a step back, fearful of the danger, and said with more fear than courage:
"Wh-who or what are you?"
The silence fell heavily, the weight of the situation seeming to double.
Nero instinctively pulled Kōri behind him...
"Cough... I think my name is Merlin."
Kōri and Nero both wore expressions of relief.
Merlin opened his eyes to find nothing. He felt around several times, checking if his eyes were closed.
"Uhm..." he murmured.
The smell of death, blood, filth, and decay filled his nostrils, forcing him to cover them with his hand.
Merlin stood up, feeling a liquid trickle between his feet.
Blood... Merlin thought.
Nero and Kōri started walking toward where they had heard Merlin. With Nero's faint eyesight and Kōri's heightened senses, they were able to reach where Merlin stood.
"3 out of 5," the hatless wizard murmured.
Nero leaned against a wall.
"Do you have any spells to see in the dark, like night vision?"
Merlin began searching his mind for all the spells he knew.
"I don't have a spell for night vision, but I do have one for illumination."
That's even better!... Nero smiled in the darkness.
"But I need a wand."
Nero's smile faded at those words.
Nero connected two neurons and snapped his fingers in realization, remembering that he was a Sinner and, more importantly, that his primary ability was creation.
"Activare."
Kōri and Merlin were surprised to hear and see Nero activate his aura.
"Tell me what the wand should be like," Nero exclaimed, his bright red eyes fixed on Merlin.
Merlin realized what Nero wanted to do and began to explain:
"It has to be shaped like a stick, 20 to 30 centimeters long, brown, and with a hard texture."
Nero nodded and began to imagine.
Stick-shaped... 25 centimeters... brown... hard texture...
The wand appeared in Nero's hand. He stared at it with envy.
I want to learn magic...
Nero handed the wand to Merlin, his eyes shining with a supernatural gleam of desire.
Merlin held the wand in one hand, while with the other he snapped his fingers, "pretending" they were a lighter.
"fulgeo" Merlin murmured.
Merlin snapped his fingers one last time.
Light, not normal light, but blinding light, and combined with the fact that they had been in darkness for about 10 minutes... let's just say his eyes weren't having a good time.
As for Merlin...
"Argh!"
The poor wizard dropped his wand. His legs buckled on the floor, leaving him on his knees, clutching his head in agony.
He covered his eyes and scratched his face, drawing blood.
"Merlin?" Nero asked, worried.
Kōri grabbed the wand and pulled it away from Merlin.
"Light..." the wizard murmured, opening his eyes.
He raised his head, looking directly at Nero.
His eyes were red...
Nero froze, then helped Merlin to his feet.
The wand illuminated half the room, revealing a trail of crimson liquid, walls covered in dark green mold, and two bodies lying on the floor.
The small group of three approached the two bodies with trembling steps.
Kōri focused her gaze, trying to identify the two people.
"Lux... Sunday...?"
The two bodies moved a few centimeters, then opened their eyes and sat up, confused.
Lux's face turned an unnatural green, and he covered his nose.
"What the hell is that damn smell of death?!"
Sunday, for his part, simply observed his surroundings cautiously.
"Where is that smell coming from?" He asked.
Silence filled the room, leaving it heavy with tension.
The five people turned to the unlit part of the room.
"Kōri, the wand," Nero ordered, his red eyes fixed on the black mist.
The white-haired woman tossed her the magical artifact.
"Don't go too far, or I won't be able to emanate any more aura," Merlin whispered, shielding his eyes from the intense light.
Nero cautiously approached the darkness.
I hope a banshee appears... Nero thought, a half-smile playing on his lips.
Inside the darkness stood a man with his chest and abdomen ripped open, revealing his bones. His intestines were exposed, and his body was riddled with bites. And there were also...
Two yellow eyes?
Wait... two yellow eyes?!
The faceless, yellow-eyed, human-shaped creature lunged at Nero, sending him flying and causing him to drop his wand.
That's not a banshee!. Nero somersaulted in midair and landed on his feet.
"Activare!" they all exclaimed at once.
Sunday opened his hands, palms exposed. He created a blue lightning bolt, which bathed the entire room in an overwhelming blue light.
Sunday launched it, striking the faceless monster squarely in the chest.
Nero could see that the thing was completely gray and seemed to have suffered no damage from Sunday's lightning.
What the hell is that thing?
Kōri created a frost knife, while Lux activated his night vision.
The blond-haired man grabbed the wand and threw it toward the center, the same way one throws a flare.
Nero created a playing card and simply observed, waiting for his moment to attack.
Lux charged into the fight, leaving Nero and Merlin behind.
Merlin created one of his golden knives and exchanged glances with Nero.
Lux slid across the floor, causing blood to splatter.
"Hey," he said, drawing the monster's attention.
The thing turned and stared at Lux. It seemed completely mesmerized.
Merlin took advantage of the opening to lunge at the creature and stabbed it in the stomach.
The monster screamed from who knows where...
This reverted it to its aggressive state. It sent Merlin flying, the knife still embedded in its belly and black blood dripping from its body.
Lux unleashed a flurry of blows, while Kōri stabbed it in the back.
Sunday helped Merlin to her feet, and Nero filled his aura card.
The yellow-eyed monster returned the blow to Lux, then quickly turned and kicked Kōri in the stomach.
Kōri took two steps back, clutching her stomach, and slipped on the blood, falling to the floor.
The entity noticed her and charged to kill her.
Wham!
Nero's card flew across the room and exploded against the faceless monster.
The creature quickly recovered. It lunged at Nero, then struck him repeatedly with uncontrolled fury.
The faceless creature grabbed the injured Nero by the neck and threw him against the wall.
Pam!
The room shook as the red-eyed creature's body slammed into it.
Nero vomited blood...
The thing tried to continue attacking him, but a kick from Lux stopped it.
The entity attempted to counterattack...
Pam!
Another blue beam struck its ribs, shattering them completely.
Sunday—whose aura had been depleted—began to pummel the creature's head.
"Activare..." he whispered, dodging a punch.
Nero quickly began to analyze the situation:
He knew that if the battle continued and became a war of attrition, no one would survive.
We've stabbed it, punched it, electrocuted it, and even thrown a bomb card at it, and it still doesn't die!
Is it immortal?... no, an immortal entity doesn't suffer or bleed...
Nero got up, utterly exhausted and in excruciating pain.
He understood that if they continued attacking head-on, they would be killed by the blows.
Sunday was struck about four times in different parts of his body, causing him to gasp for air and cough up blood.
Merlin created two more golden knives and threw them at the creature's back. Fortunately, they pierced it.
Kōri's hands trembled. She ran toward the creature.
She dug her long nails into the thing's face, making it bleed and suffer.
Lux seized the opportunity and hooked it in the head, causing the thing to back away.
"If we had our artifacts, it would be easier," Kōri murmured, panting and clutching her stomach.
"Deactivare, I'm out of aura..." Merlin replied.
The creature tried to strike Nero, but he dodged.
Nero focused his aura on his eyes. His irises turned black, while his senses sharpened.
The monster lunged at Nero again, but he counterattacked.
He delivered a knee strike to its already wounded ribs. Kōri slipped into its guard and stabbed it in the stomach.
Nero knew that with his dwindling aura, the Zero Stage would only last a minute or less if he created another card.
The thing tried to strike Kōri, but Nero read its movement like a book.
He struck the faceless creature's forearm, deflecting the blow.
The monster retreated and stood still, "staring" at the group of five.
Gripping, black, sharp horns sprouted from its head. Its body grew larger, giant claws grew from its nails, and a mouth with crooked teeth appeared.
What? It evolved?
Nero felt an agonizing pain in his chest. Gushes and gushes of blood poured down his body, and a claw mark was etched like a scar across his chest.
"Nero!" Sunday screamed.
The Zero Stage faltered from the pain and then shut down.
Kōri was tackled by the faceless monster with incredible speed.
That horrible abomination bit Sunday's shoulder, rage coursing through every fiber of its being.
Sunday screamed and managed to break free from the creature, gasping in agony.
With incredible speed, the creature managed to stab Merlin's arm with one of its claws.
Merlin screamed in even more pain than Sunday. But the mage didn't have Sunday's strength to break free from such a monstrous being.
Lux yanked the monster's head, bringing it down.
It had all happened so fast; everyone was critically injured after barely 20 seconds.
The thing turned its attention back to Nero...
With terrifying speed, it grabbed Nero by the shoulders and threw him into the still river of blood.
Feeling the blood and on the verge of death, Nero couldn't control himself...
He turned and drank a handful of filthy blood. Nero didn't want to, but his body moved on its own, like a wounded animal.
Nero felt his strength, stamina, speed, and senses increase dramatically.
The creature approached with incredible speed.
Nero kicked the faceless monster's leg, then climbed on top of its body and placed his fingers where the eyes should have been.
He squeezed hard...
Pam!
The monster's head disappeared in a thick, black bloodstain.
Nero's wounds regenerated.
Kōri fell to her knees.
"Finally."
Lux lifted his head and swallowed.
"It's my turn to ask the most important question, well... where are we?"