I stare. I stare. I stare.
I stare in front of me, my gaze empty. Nothing exists in my field of view, yet exists all the same. I'm not going to throw up. I'm not going to cause a scene. Furthermore, I'll do all of that later. Right now, everyone is near me, and they'll see.
They'll see. I don't want them to see.
I died, and fell within a universe where the events leading to my death didn't occur yet.
Death's Detour. The curse that I utilize as a power.
I stare.
A hand makes contact with my shoulder, prompting me to turn to my right. I'm met with Samuel's features, an understanding look present on his face. I already…
"To be honest—I'm quite terrified as well…"
He's repeating his dialogue, like some kind of npc.
Alright, so there's two devils within that fog. Or at least two that I know of. The first being the giant lycan arm thing, and… Maria. This time, I need to remain as close as I can with the group, not separating from them no matter what.
"Kaito?" Samuel asks.
I nod, half listening.
He takes the hint and walks away, next to Navi. The members of Sable Veil line up against the back of the carriage, ready for Kors to snap the Lionels into position. They've unsheathed their swords.
I'm the last one left, standing there.
"Kaito, what are you waiting for?" Asakawa asks, turning her head to my position.
"Uh, just wait a second!" I call out.
Turning to my right, I head over to the edge of the bridge. Once I'm there, I turn my head towards the group, making sure none of them are watching me. Once my qualms are resolved, I take a deep breath.
I shove my index and middle fingers into my mouth. A sudden nausea begins building up within the confines of my gut. It isn't enough however.
There's still something inside.
"Kghahh…
I quickly jerk my entire hand inside, forcing me to gag. I can feel bile building up, the salt pushing against the confines of my esophagus, but nothing arrives. There's only sweat and saliva, bobbing up and down my mouth. My body heat increases as my eyes tear up.
Once again.
I jerk my hand further, the feeling of my Uvula brushing against the back of my hand.
And finally—
"Bgahhh!!"
A milky white liquid shoots out of my mouth, spilling onto the lake below. Small chunks of food are present within the liquid, but I can't see too much due to how fast it moves. Well, all that matters is that I feel better.
When I die, it feels better to make myself throw up, as the physical relief can provide some kind of cushion for the trauma. Maybe it's a habit I've made. I don't know anymore. All I know is that it helps.
Wiping my mouth with my sleeve, I slick my hair back and walk over to the group.
"All right, ready." I say with a smile.
'Why don't you tell them that there's a devil waiting?' Is the question anyone would ask. But the issue is I can't. There's a curse known as a recreant truth that's attached to my ability. I can verbally say it, but the person I'm saying it to will never believe it, no matter who they are.
Let's say I know there's a ball that's going to hit someone. I tell them, and from their perspective, three things can happen. One, nothing comes out of my mouth. Two, they literally cannot believe it. And three, the events change, ever so slightly.
So if I were to say a Devil was to attack us, something different would happen just to screw me over. In a way, it's like I'm spoiling the world's plans for us, and as retaliation, it throws a curveball.
"Remember everyone, stay close to the carriage!" Kors calls out.
Everyone adjusts their facial accessories.
We enter the fog, the world shifting to a deep grey, and our visibility significantly dropping by a considerable margin.
________________________________________________________________________
I'm back, next to the same church as before. It still remains tall, as if it had remained this way from the very start. Well in a way, this area has never seen me prior to now. But from my perspective, I've already seen it.
My eyes scan across the roof, watching for even the slightest movements. My hand is held close to my dagger, which is unsheathed. I'll cast Aeronis-23, Sever. It's a projectile-based spell, and a Devil, which I assume is different from an Aberration, will take damage against it.
Every single shape that's new along my scan gains a tense shiver from my end. I'm seriously focused.
"Ahh! Stop, Asa! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Arivia exclaims, causing me to jump in surprise. Her voice is seriously high-pitched, it's annoying. I turn towards the red-haired girl, who's clutching a pillar belonging to the carriage, wailing.
I feel like Asakawa has a smirk on her face, happy that her efforts have culminated in her friend's fear. Seriously, what kind of friend are you? Well, it was Arivia's fault, since she was the one that started it.
I glance at Kors, who's got a revolver in one hand, and a map on the other. I'm not sure if a Fog Zone has a map correlating to it, but he's got to be looking at it for some reason, right? Maybe it's a general map for Lagomia as a whole.
"Are all Fog Zones this derelict? It feels like a bathroom after a large elephant walked in and clogged it, leading to those within to be vaporized by the smell." Samuel says with a straight face, towards Navi, who had been spinning her Saber.
"What the hell is that comparison!?" She yells.
"Ah, I apologize. I meant a pink elephant."
"No…."
"....What the hell is an elephant!?"
Shouldn't you be confused at the pink part!?
"I do not know, I had heard Kaito saying it to himself, so I merely repeated it."
Arivia's head suddenly bobs in between the two.
"It might be a spell of sorts!" Arivia chirps, before standing up and placing two fingers on her mask. Then, she quickly flicks her arm forward.
"Special beam cannon… elephant!!"
No comment.
"That sounds so artificial." Asakawa crosses her arms. "Besides, I feel like it's an animal. Samuel did give the quality of 'walking' to the elephant in his original sentence. Only two things in this world could possess the ability to walk. Living things and Homunculi. I believe it is the former. As for its appearance, you could turn to its etymology. Ele, in latese, refers to an arch. Phant, I am not familiar with, but perhaps it is referring to Phaki, which means large in Latese. So it must be a large animal shaped like an arch of sorts."
Everyone is staring at her.
"Way to kill the mood, dude." Arivia deadpans.
"Yeah, ain't that deep." Navi deadpans.
"Don't worry Ms. Asakawa, I appreciate your—" Samuel begins.
"Kamigakari no Kaze…"
"Why use it on me!? They are the ones that have an issue with you! It's like a fish with teeth that slaps another fish, and the victim pulls out a gun on an innocent puppy!" Samuel yells, pointing at Arivia and Navi.
"Haa… Maybe she's after you because of those stupid similes…" Arivia sighs, her head tilting to the side.
"No, it's because you all shut down her attempt to provide insight on what an elephant was! Right, Ms. Asakawa?" Samuel yells, turning to Asakawa.
"...."
"Those stupid similes…" Asakawa unsheathes her blade.
"Hah?!"
"Everyone! Silent! We're in a Fog zone!" Kors yells from the front. "And Mr. Volara! Stop with the stupid similes!"
Samuel Volara has been utterly drained of his faith in humanity. He's truly learning what it feels like being with these people.
"Pfft…" Arivia snickers, before she begins laughing.
…
….
…..
...
My eyes travel back to the church ceiling.
It's alright. I don't have space in the river for these people. It's just me. There are millions of people out there, all of them different from these. It's alright if I'm not amongst the group. I'll replace them with three times the amount.
Suddenly—-
I quickly slit the back of my left hand with the dagger, and fling my body to the left.
"Aeronis-23, Sever!!" I yell, my vocal cords pushing to their limit. An immense pressure builds up within my elbow, and builds up till my fingertips, where it explodes in the direction I point.
The fog warps around the trajectory of the spell, cascading to different positions.
"Devil!" I yell, pointing at the horned creature. It's the same one as the previous world.
The creature, noticing it's been caught, shakes its body in anticipation of my attack. Using the momentum from shaking its body, it flings its large arm upwards, blocking the spell. Due to the intense wind, the fog is momentarily blown away from it, revealing the hidden details pertaining to its body.
It's covered in fur and a sinew like substance. It's a sickly deep blue, and its teeth are all surprisingly white in color. Its mouth is a bright scarlet as well, both consisting of its own color, and blood. Its eyes, piercing through the night, glow a bright yellow.
But perhaps the most horrifying detail of it all is its arm. That's right, its arm is not just an 'arm', it is an arm in every sense of the word. This devil's arm consists of hundreds, if not thousands, of arms that all cling together, forming a large mass.
Fingers curl and extend, palms grind against each other, elbows rub against each other. This is a Devil.
The spell makes contact with the Devil, evident with the sudden jerk its body performs in the opposite direction it's facing. It quickly lets out a rumble, then a loud cry into the night.
"It's too far for us to engage, our only option is to run!" Kors yells as he snaps the reins on the Lionels. With a shriek, the creatures begin kicking into a sprint, obeying the command of their rider.
"Hop on!" Arivia orders, hopping on the side of the carriage, hanging on with her right arm. Navi does the same as well, prompting Samuel to follow after.
Me and Asakawa are the farthest away from the carriage, so we need to actually run a bit further than the others in order to catch up. However, it's too fast—at least for me—to hop onto.
As I run, I turn my head to the right—
The devil is above me, its body arched back as it lifts it's arm above the area in front of me.
"Shit—-!"
The world goes dark
______________________________________________________
My eyes slowly open.
Huh?
Am I on a pillow?
What's so soft, yet hard at the same time?
My eyes fully open.
"Ah."
"Kaito, if you do not get off me within the next second, I will skewer your cranium."
A familiar, black-haired girl commands.