Chapter 5: Visions of Blood (warning: this chapter contains sensitive material not suited for some readers)

  “FRIAEL ON YOUR RIGHT!”

  “AGHH!” Friael screamed in horror just as Trusk stepped in to slice its neck. “What’s this thing made of?!” the higher life form was still unblemished despite the swordman’s actions. Trusk, the party’s swordsman, was drenched in sweat from all the vigorous movement. His hands were worn, and the skin on his palms were slowly pealing due to the tight grip needed to wield the sword.

  “RUBIN, LISTEN...” he shouted, “I NEED YOU TO IMBUE MY BLADE!” He just barely evaded the monster’s strike, nearly dying instantly. “RUBIN HURRY!” he cried out, thoroughly spent.

  “YEAH, ON IT!” Rubin responded, tired as well, “AARON, I NEED YOU TO HOLD IT OFF FOR A MINUTE!”

  “Okay, on it...” Aaron, the party’s female secondary magic user, ran in front of Rubin and Trusk and began chanting, “Oh divine overlords, let us seek out your rich and abundant nourishment and receive your unparalleled powers in exchange, X–BARRIER!” an advanced caste barrier protection spell was cast to stall the monster. As it was bashing Aaron’s spell, Rubin concentrated his mana into his palms and transferred saint caste fire magic into Trusk’s steel sword. Even though his mana pool was depleting he didn’t bat an eye. Friael was just standing on the side with widened eyes and a hopeless expression. “we’re... going to die...” Friael fell to her knees with tears streaming down her face.

  “Friael, it’s going to be okay...” Rubin looked behind and stared Friael in her eyes with sincerity. When he looked back at Trusk, he focused everything he had into his hands. The magic he was spewing out wasn’t normal anymore. Rubin poured his heart and soul into his mana pool and his magic evolved into pure magic. A pure form of mana only excreted by complete higher life forms or solely obtained through heavily extensive experience and training. It was simply impossible for saint caste magic users to unlock. While Rubin was using more mana, his hair began to become a darker and darker shade of blue.

  “RAGHH!” Rubin yelled as he spewed more and more mana into Trusk’s sword. What was once saint caste fire magic has now been transformed into a pure form of magma. Aaron, Friael, and Trusk’s eyes all widened in shock, and they were completely speechless. Once Rubin was finished, Aaron’s barrier spell was cracked by the monsters and only one hit away from shattering. One of the consequences of using more mana than your body can handle is life threatening. At the very least it would cause you to be in a temporary coma and the very worst it could easily cause death.

  Rubin fell back to the ground, as he finished imbuing the sword. His hair was almost completely bck and his body was swaying back and forth, feeling heavily, and his arms were almost failing to keep him upright. “HEY!” Trusk screamed, “RUBIN!” Rubin slowly started to lose consciousness from all the mana depletion. The room got darker and darker. Friael, the party’s healer tried to keep him awake by using her intermediate caste healing magic, but it was in vain, she was far from composed to utilize her mana correctly. “Rubin, it’ll be okay... we’re here...” Friael’s tears were like the great waterfall of Viata, fast and beautiful. “I’ll finish this... I’ll end them all!” Trusk got up on his knees and banced himself to stand with tears forming in his eyes. “I WON’T LET YOU DIE!” quickly, he sprinted at the enemy, which just a moment ago seemed to be a higher life form compared to humans. Now though, they had a clear view of the orcs which were actually some of the lowest creatures in this world.

  “YOU’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!” Trusk leaped into the air and swung his magma imbued sword toward the Orc Leader, closing the distance between the two. But because Rubin, the strongest member of the party, was now knocked out, the orcs had now gained the upper hand. And also taking into consideration the state that Friael, Trusk, and Aaron were in from seeing their friend on the verge of a coma or death. In this moment, they were completely helpless. The Orc Leader raised his arms and started emitting a red light from his hands, exerting a bright beam of energy that blinded everyone. The Orc Leader aimed it towards Trusk, and his flesh slowly began peeling off and falling to the ground below, effectively burning his whole body down to the muscle. Some of his bones were even poking through his muscles. Once his body hit the floor, Aaron and Friael stood in shock screaming in horror, “AGHH!”

  Aaron tried to stay calm but was visibly shaking in terror. Her brother’s skin immediately had a fifth degree burn and his muscles were easily visible, as well as his bones. This was no ordinary monster. Aaron ran over to Trusk’s seemingly lifeless body and checked his pulse. His body was completely burnt to a scorched crisp and was burning to the touch. Aaron looked at Friael, who was sitting in panic and spoke ... “he’s... dead.”

  Friael had a total outburst and screamed, “it’s over, it’s all over...” she yelled, “I’m sorry, Aaron... it’s all my fault.” – “I don’t think I can take it anymore... Trusk... he's dead because of me... and Rubin... there’s nothing we can do to save him...” she steadily grabbed the small knife in her back pocket and put it up to her neck. “Goodbye, my friend.” she formed a teary, hopeless smile across her face and shot the knife into her throat.

  “FRIAEL NO!” Aaron ran to Friael and jumped on her, stealing the knife away right before the worst would happen. “Think this through...” Aaron pounded on Friael’s shoulder with her fist, crying, “Don’t do this.” – “Rubin, he’s still alive, right?” she said, wiping her tears, “We can at least try to save him... right?” Aaron said, “Please, Friael...” The party’s healer looked down defeated with guilt and nodded, unable to speak. The orcs were watching them in amusement but swiftly walked over to Rubin, who was still unable to move a bone in his body.

  This world’s orcs spoke a foreign nguage unknown to humans, “Vento silka dorantra, kazulo peniva!” the Orc Leader’s minions picked up Rubin, who was still unconscious, and yed him down on a sb of stone engraved with mysterious incantations. An Orc Priest created a barrier between the orcs and the two party members. “NO, NO, STOP” Aaron banged on the barrier as it was being erected, her hands forming bruises from the constant punches. Friael was still sitting right next to Aaron, desperately waiting for someone to come and save all four of them. The two of them looked up at the orcs while trembling and Aaron stopped punching the Orc Priest’s barrier. One by one the orcs broke and ripped off each of Rubin’s fingers right in front of his party members. They dug their nails into his flesh and painfully ripped it off as well as surrounding the bone. They broke the bones in his fingers into little fragments once they got finished with the muscle. “wha- what are they doing to Rubin...” Friael said confused. Their hearts sunk to the bottom chest from the horrific sight in front of them.

  Multiple orcs gathered up to taste his blood and they shared what was left of his fingers to the other orcs. The Orc Leader’s underlings began drinking Rubin’s bone marrow from his dismembered appendages. Rubin let out a scream of agony and pain, “AAAHG!” the moment they started doing the same to his toes. The orcs spoke again, “Lovianta drika solvini, kaltura brivana!” the two remaining party members yelled and screamed while in tears to let Rubin go, and that they would sacrifice themselves if he could be set free.

  The orcs ignored their plea and grabbed an old handcrafted stone axe and cut open the stomach of Rubin. Though it took some force because it was a rusted tool, they mutited his insides until it looked like an unrecognizable pile of spaghetti and meat balls. Rubin wasn’t dead. He could feel everything. Every organ being torn out. Every deep wound. Every scratch. And even every pinch. The leader spoke once more, “Vorenta sovinet amegra perdo mivelo untra elyka!” he cast a forbidden magic spell to keep Rubin alive and awake just so they could watch him feel the pain. Trusk was on the orcs’ side of the barrier, so the Orc Leader ordered its underlings to grab what was left of his lifeless corpse. Once the Orc Leader had Trusk’s dead body, he took the liberty to bash his skull open with a club. What was a crispy piece of meat was now a clump of human brains and dead flesh.

  The underlings ripped out the remains of Rubin’s kidney and chopped it up, combining Trusk’s brain and Rubin’s muscles and entrails into a stew-like pasta consistency, with chunks of meat. The blood and other bodily fluids acted as the base. The flesh and bones were only meat in the mixture. The Orc Leader used its hands to throw it across the barrier and said, “Eat.” in perfect human nguage, “NOW!” Friael and Aaron obviously tried to fight back but it didn’t change their fate. Infuriated by the human’s decision, the Orc Leader cast a Stone Spike spell at Friael’s arm, mangling it off from her body, blood gushing all over the floor, creating a nonstop puddle. “Do as I say or Die... Lowly humans.”

  Friael was the first to give in. She bent over to the gruesome concoction of and used her left hand to scoop it up from the dirty bridge floor. The blood from her arm mixed in with the ‘food’. Friael gnces at Aaron desperately, “I’m sorry.” and looks at Rubin, half dead, “Please forgive me, Rubin...” and she starts to eat her friends, swallowing their organs.

  “no... Friael...” Aaron says, desperately as well. Despite her words to Friael, Aaron also began eating the ‘meal’. Rubin opens his eyes, still on the stone sb and watches his friends eat his and Trusk’s innards powerlessly. Watching Friael and Aaron eat with their tears falling down into their ‘food’ made Rubin absolutely furious. With the little life left in him, Rubin revolts back and yells at the Orc Leader, “IS THIS ENTERTAINING TO YOU? YOU UGLY MONSTERS WILL SEE ME IN HELL... YOU’LL ALL DIE BY MY HANDS WITH THE HELP OF THE DEVIL HIMSEL–”

  Aaron and Friael stopped consuming the runny chunk of their disfigured friends for a moment to look up at Rubin. The Orc Leader striked back to his words, “You pathetic human. You can’t even save your own party.”

  The Orc Leader ordered his underlings to retrieve Trusk’s sword, which was still slightly imbued from Rubin’s magic. The Orc Leader started to shove it inside Rubin’s abdomen, which was already torn apart. The slight magma left behind from earlier was searing his stomach, but because of the spell the Orc Leader cast upon Rubin a few minutes ago, Rubin’s misery wasn’t able to end.

  “HAGH!” Rubin’s breath was faint. Almost gone. “WAIT STOP!” Aaron rebelled for the st time. She spit out the human meat stew and it hit the floor. “Please stop this...” she confronted the Orc Leader. “And what if I don’t?” the Orc Leader questioned her thought process. “I- I’LL KILL YOU!” Aaron yelled with vengeance. Friael stepped in, spitting the ‘food’ out her mouth as well. “Please calm down, Aaron... if we don’t, he’ll kill us.” Friael protested quietly, using her spit to cleanse her mouth of the atrocious taste. “Okay, okay... you’re right... but we won’t die... someone’ll come to save us, i'm sure of it.” Aaron said to Friael, still in a defenseless tone. “promise?” Friael asked Aaron. “promise.” Aaron reassured Friael with tear drops falling from both of their faces.

  Right in front of Friael’s eyes, Aaron’s head was sliced off abhorrently. “SILENCE!” the Orc Leader demanded ferociously. Friael sat there silently, as Aaron’s head nded in her arms, blood and clumps dripping on to her legs. She wasn’t even able to grieve the death her brother and now this. Her life fshed before her eyes; all her life’s dreams came rushing back. Friael was no longer able to compose herself. Not now, not never. These newly inflected permanent mental scars couldn’t be healed. No one would be able to recover after witnessing this.

  “no... no... no... why...” Friael hopelessly looked up to ask God, “why Aaron... why Trusk... why Rubin... why me...” she fell to the floor and punched the ground, infuriated, breaking her knuckles. “You monster...” Rubin said, exhaling with his dying breath, “I’ll see you in hell...” he smirked at the Orc Leader and tried to conjure up his mana, but it was no luck.

  Rubin realized that his mana pool was completely spent. Again, right in front of Friael’s eyes, the Orc Leader used Trusk’s imbued bde and stabbed it through Rubin’s throat, leaving him to suffocate on his own blood and ck of air. It was a slow and painful way to die. Friael’s magic was too low and inadequate to heal Rubin, and Aaron was already dead. With healing magic in this world, it is simply impossible to bring the dead back to life, no matter what caste you are. This fact still applies to the Divine Caste and even God Caste, the two most powerful levels of magic in the world.

  Friael, in horror, threw up everywhere. The human meat stew from Rubin’s kidney and Trusk’s brain was regurgitated from her mouth. Friael and Aaron had no choice but to eat their friends and swallow their organs just a few seconds ago. Thinking about that was enough to make Friael puke. But not just that. Seeing her childhood friend, Rubin, getting mercilessly and brutally killed by a disgusting orc as well as Aaron and her brother, Trusk.

  Rubin, in the corner still at the orc's mercy, was still able to see. But as the light faded, he saw a dark, tall, shadowy figure walk towards them. Rubin was too tired to care if it was the spawn of God sent to save them, or a spawn of the devil sent to end their misery. As his light was dimming, he slowly closed his eyes from his eminent death just as the dark shadow man began shooting some sort of magical beam that forced the orcs to retreat. Once every st orc escaped, including the Orc Leader and Orc Priest, the shadow man was able to lead Friael out to the exit of the bridge, leaving Rubin behind.

  The st words Rubin heard from the st standing member of his party before his death were screams and pleas from Friael to the shadow man to not leave her party behind. Dead or alive, she didn’t care. She just wanted to retrieve the dead bodies of her fallen friends, dismembered or not. “why me... why couldn’t i die too...” Friael quietly asked herself. Though Friael was talking to herself, the mysterious shadow man replied, “You’ll soon understand... Friael..” and walked back into the bridge, which was now devoid of any hostile monsters or creatures. He was now inside, and he looked at the dead bodies of Rubin and his party members and spoke once more....

  “See you soon, Hai-Chi Sakka...”