Soul Digger-Chapter 71: PAST THE NIGHTMARE

WHOOOSH!

I heard the wind mourning. My view was pitch black, and a huge weight pressed down on my lids. Gradually, I felt the strain easing; my eyes slowly opened, and the first thing I glimpsed was the dull sun blinding my eyes.

My body lay flat on the expanse of snow, motionless. I could still move my fingers and hands, but my thoughts were in disarray, steadily reassembling themselves. I blinked a bit, gazing at the sky as though fantasizing; reality felt so close yet equally distant. The previous events flashed through my mind: Martin and Simon’s sacrifice, our leader’s disappearance, and the Stunted Lesion faction members.

I sat up, my hands intertwined as I brushed the area with my eyes. A putrid stench hung in the air like a cloud. The smell made sense; what I saw was gruesome, leaving me dumbfounded. To my left, right, and behind me were the torn-apart corpses of the Stunted Lesion Indulgers.

I weakly stood on my shaking legs, my jewelry drenched in the oppressing cold while glittering like newfound gems. Staggering through the snow, the scenery made me feel like my heart was being poked by the edge of a spear. Amongst the severed limbs and bodies, I searched for Martin’s corpse, a gentle prayer repeating in my head.

’Please don’t be among them.’ I kept a weak flame of hope burning. In the end, I searched through every corner and body, but I didn’t see him; rather, the corpses of my other teammates were mixed in the snow.

Frankly, I barely remember their faces even now. The only way I recognized them was through the pins fused into our palms. Each time I passed the corpse of a fellow rookie, my palm tingled unpleasantly. Out of my teammates, I could only identify Martin and our leader; with confidence, I could confirm they weren’t amidst the massacred.

SCREEEEEEEEECH!

A Man-Eater dug itself out of the snow. The first thing I saw was a horn similar to a reindeer’s and abnormal fur, along with a warm sensation invading my senses. It was the same Man-Eater I had engaged in a fight with, the one you saved me from.

"That’s about all I remember, at least," Velonica concluded, her eyes buried in the snow, her face glum.

Rolan stroked his chin, processing all he heard. ’So my first assessment was wrong. An Indulger wasn’t behind the strange events?’

’NO! It’s too soon to cross out the possibility.’

"Your story is kind of odd. Before I reached here, I only saw human footprints and the Man-Eaters," he spoke with a considerate suspicion. "Are you sure everything you’re saying is accurate?"

Velonica remained silent, her face darkened by what seemed like guilt and regret as she tightly clutched Rolan’s uniform. Beneath the darkened face was a harsh stare saturated by obvious hatred.

"How did you even survive, anyway?" Rolan inquired, raising his right brow.

"I’m not too sure. All I know is I heard a snapping sound before my senses went off."

’Snapping sound, huh? Looks like the Deity is still at work. Nice that she hasn’t forgotten about me.’

Rolan crouched beside her. "Setting that aside for now, would you like to avenge your team?" He spoke calmly, waiting for her response.

"It’s not about revenge," she spoke. "This trial, the forces involved... they’re all messed up. I’m not as smart as Nagita, so this was only natural, but still..." A withheld pain crept into her tone.

’I understand where she’s coming from. Experiencing all that must have been traumatizing, but I need her. She has more knowledge of the Indulger world than me and has actually witnessed the supernatural entities involved.’ He pondered deeply. ’I need her at full functionality.’

"Are you scared?" Rolan asked bluntly.

Velonica stammered, the response hanging at the edge of her tongue. She rolled her lips and squeezed her eyes shut as though she had swallowed bitter medicine. "I’m not sure..." she finally replied.

"That’s no problem. You’ll soon die anyway."

"What do you mean?!" The girl burst out, her body wavering from exhaustion.

"Someone like you, who is too incompetent to acknowledge their fear and work on it, won’t last long. If you had done so, I’m sure you could have avoided everything that happened to your group, but you didn’t... Shall I tell you why?" Rolan spoke in a robotic voice, his face hollow. "It’s because of your pride, greed, and dependence on others. You depended on your leader to make the trial easier for you; that’s why you joined his group. And when he didn’t meet your expectations, you turned on him."

"That’s not true..." she whimpered.

"Same with Martin. You saw him as an object because his looks didn’t appease you, and then switched up when your life was in danger. If you didn’t listen to your greed, the other rookies wouldn’t have gone along and died. If you didn’t treat others like disposable tools, then perhaps you wouldn’t have gotten caught up in that battle. All the misfortune that befell your group is the fault of only one person..."

"Please stop."

Rolan pointed towards her with a smug look. "You!"

"That’s not true!" she burst out in a loud holler. "It wasn’t, I swear!"

"Then whose fault is it? Your leader’s?"

She gasped, the thought striking her head like a heavy brick.

"If you want to prove that and avenge your teammates, as well as pass the trial and become an Indulger, we have to work together to flush out the culprit and annihilate them." Rolan glowed with a dense presence. "Don’t let the life Martin gave you go to waste by forfeiting to fear. You’re too beautiful for that."

Her face stiffened. Partly understanding yet riddled by confusion, she asked, "What’s in it for you?"

Rolan smiled softly and gave her a gentle stare. "I, too, have a bone or two to pick with the mastermind. He stole my aunt whose someone important to me. Also, completing the trial brings me closer to my goal."

"What goal?" Her face flushed blank.

His smile twisted into something menacing as the aura around him heated. "To kill Cole Raden, that bastard accomplice."

"What grudge do you hold against the accomplice?"

"There’s no grudge," Rolan answered, his truth merged with lies. "I simply want to go up against him. A battle to the death with glory and fame on the line."

’His imagination is quite active, it seems,’ Velonica thought.

She chuckled at his words; a slither of relief seeped out of her gloomy demeanor.

Rolan played his last card, aiming to sway her to his side. "Plus, Martin might still be alive. You owe him a lot; the least you can do is find him and thank him."

’You’re too beautiful to die in a place like this.’ Martin’s parting words blessed her chaotic mind. She pressed her eyes shut and curled her lips into a strange smile.

’Did it work?’ Rolan wondered, curiously observing her behavior.

"You might be on to something," she uttered, her voice less shallow than before.

Rolan stretched out his hand. "Does this mean you’ll accept my offer and become my partner?"

"I don’t really have a choice now. You saved my life, and the others in my team are dead. I’ll only agree because our interests align and we’re both searching for something." She scowled. "Especially since we owe those bastard creatures hell tenfold."

"I agree fully," he blurted. "From now on, both of us have an allegiance. All the information we gather stays between us and us alone."

Velonica took his hand. "I agree to that. For the rest of this trial, we’re partners in vengeance."

’Two pieces of human trash, hopelessly searching for something as good as lost with a fool’s hope burning in their chests,’ Rolan concurred. ’Either way, the trial comes first, and she’s probably my best card.’

"Hey Rolan, I always wondered... why didn’t I ever see you in previous training sessions? This trial is the first time I’m seeing you."

’Damn, surprise question!’ Rolan maintained his tranquil facade. ’What do I say?’

"I didn’t usually go for training sessions because I wasn’t too fond of people. Either I did mine exclusively or skipped entirely. Since day one, I was always a special case."

"Oh..." Her face held skepticism.

"By the way, I want to show you something." Rolan swept her off her feet and carried Velonica past the corpse-filled snow, through the tough drifts, until he arrived at the Man-Eater’s deconstructing corpse.

"If you still have a little energy, how much can you assess from this thing?"

Velonica’s pupils shrunk at the sight; the dissipating creature’s remnants were still larger than she expected. Her emotions were stuck between amazement and strong repulsion.

"Did you take this Man-Eater down yourself?" she asked Rolan with trembling lips.

He simply smiled and spoke back, "Why does it surprise you so? I did tell you from the start I was a special case."

The cold winds darted past the area. From beneath the snow, a glimmer of red pierced out, observing them like an evil spirit.