Chapter 386: Devil’s Tale
"Pardon me for saying this, but a mere succubus can never defeat a dragon."
Fulgur’s voice remained eerily calm despite the blood flowing steadily from the numerous wounds covering his body. He neither panicked nor raged. Instead, he looked toward the endless pink mist with quiet certainty, as though speaking to a stubborn child rather than an enemy worthy of caution.
"It is like claiming a cat will someday surpass a tiger simply because it was well fed and properly trained. "It is an outrageous belief."
His silver eyes narrowed slightly.
High above the battlefield, Damian slowly raised his fan until it covered the lower half of his face while his shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly. Beside him, Rin had both paws pressed firmly over his mouth, his cheeks puffed out as he fought desperately to suppress the laughter threatening to escape.
The two quietly exchanged glances.
"You know..." Rin muttered awkwardly without taking his eyes off the battlefield. "If you really think about it, he’s making a little sense."
Damian slowly nodded.
"A little."
The next instant, a murderous killing intent exploded across the mountain.
"Shut the fuck up."
Racheal’s irritated voice echoed from every direction at once.
Damian immediately looked away as though he had suddenly become fascinated by the clouds while Rin coughed loudly into his paw, pretending nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, laughter once again drifted through the pink mist.
"We’ll see about that."
Swoosh!
The space directly behind Fulgur peeled apart like fragile paper before Racheal stepped out with both arms spread wide as though preparing to embrace an old friend. The smile upon her face remained gentle.
Only the murderous pink glow within her eyes betrayed her intentions.
Bang!
Without warning, a pillar of blue lightning descended from the heavens.
The bolt struck her directly. Yet instead of flesh burning, her body simply dissolved into drifting pink mist.
Fulgur slowly turned his head toward the fading illusion.
"You cannot reach me."
There was neither arrogance nor mockery within his voice, only certainty.
The Dragon of Storms had complete confidence in Raikiri’s protection.
When no answer came, he frowned slightly before instinctively glancing toward Damian. Only then did he notice something strange. Neither Damian nor Rin was looking at him. They were both staring upward.
Fulgur instinctively followed their gaze and his pupils contracted. Far above within the inverted mountains hanging upside down across the false sky...
Another Fulgur stood motionless, behind that mirrored version of himself Racheal gently embraced him from behind.
One slender arm rested across his chest while the other delicately held a pale white crescent shaped dagger. She leaned close enough for her lips to brush lightly against his ear.
"Let me tell you a story."
Her whisper was impossibly soft. Yet somehow Fulgur heard every syllable as though she had spoken directly beside him.
His expression finally shifted to confusion. He instinctively attempted to step away but nothing happened. He tried lifting his arm and it refused to move.
He then tried to opened his mouth but no sound emerged. His breathing remained normal and his heartbeat remained steady. Everything felt real, yet his body no longer belonged to him.
His eyes widened slightly.
Was this an illusion?
If it was, why could he physically feel the warmth of her body resting against his back?
Why could he feel the delicate pressure of her fingers against his chest?
None of it made sense.
"There was once a traveler who found himself wandering through the Forest of Horror beneath the light of a full moon." Racheal began softly. "It was said that no one knew where the forest began because anyone who entered could never find the path they came from."
"The traveler wasn’t weak. Quite the opposite. He was brave enough to keep running after hearing the first howl."
Pfft!
Without warning, a shallow claw mark opened across Fulgur’s shoulder. Blood immediately seeped through his black robes and his brows widened ever so slightly.
He had actually been injured. But by what?
"The poor man looked behind him only to discover dozens of creatures chasing him. Some crawled upon six legs. Others possessed no faces at all. There were women whose necks stretched endlessly between the trees and wolves whose mouths split all the way to their stomachs."
Pfft!
Another deep wound opened across his ribs.
Bang!
An invisible force struck him squarely in the chest. His enormous body was hurled several meters through the air before crashing back onto the mountainside. Stone shattered beneath his boots as he struggled to regain his footing. He staggered backward twice before finally dropping onto one knee, blood steadily flowing from beneath his robes.
High abov, the silver moon acquired the faintest crimson hue.
"The traveler kept running. Every monster he killed was replaced by two more."
Pfft!
Pfft!
Fresh bite marks appeared along Fulgur’s forearm. Another claw ripped open his thigh. Dark blood rolled steadily down the mountain stones, painting them crimson and slowly the crimson color in the full moon began to spread.
"The funny thing about the Forest of Horror..." Racheal continued almost playfully. "...is that the monsters don’t actually need to catch you."
Pfft!
Several puncture wounds suddenly blossomed across his back.
"The traveler only needed to believe they were close."
She chuckled softly.
"Anyway... the moon changed every time the traveler was hurt. Eventually he realized something terrifying."
Her voice became quieter.
"No matter how fast he ran the monsters were always one step behind."
Fresh claw marks suddenly tore open both of Fulgur’s legs. Blood streamed freely down the mountainside. Despite this, he slowly pushed himself up to his feet.
"The moon slowly turned crimson and the traveler became slower."
Pfft!
One of Fulgur’s knees twisted violently with a sickening crack. His face tightened for the first time. He staggered, yet somehow remained standing.
"...then slower."
Pfft!
His opposite ankle snapped sideways. This time both knees struck the mountain.
"...then slower."
Crunch!
Several ribs shattered simultaneously beneath his scales. A muffled groan escaped between clenched teeth.
Above them, the moon became entirely red.
Racheal’s smile softened with genuine compassion.
"And then the blood moon rose."
Crunch!
Both of Fulgur’s arms twisted violently. His left leg buckled beneath him while his right shoulder collapsed inward with a sickening sound.
His massive body slumped helplessly against the broken stone.
"The traveler couldn’t run anymore. The monsters had done their job. They never intended to kill him."
Within the mirrored world above, the white crescent dagger slowly rose until its polished edge rested gently against Fulgur’s throat.
"They only wanted him to suffer."
Her free hand slowly brushed a loose strand of hair away from his face. She lovingly wiped the blood trailing down his cheek with her thumb.
"Then a beautiful woman emerged from behind.She pitied the poor traveler. She knew no one deserved to suffer like that."
Her smile became impossibly warm.
"So out of kindness and out of love..."
Shhk!
The crescent blade swept gracefully across his throat. At that exact same instant a deep crimson line opened across Fulgur’s real neck.
Blood burst outward.
His hands instinctively flew toward the wound, desperately trying to hold together flesh that had never been touched. His silver eyes widened with utter disbelief.
He stared at Damian, then at the empty mist and finally upward toward the smiling woman embracing the mirrored version of himself.
His lips parted but no words came. His body slowly collapsed onto the mountain without resistance and blood pooled silently beneath him.
"...she relieved him of his suffering. The end."