Chapter 23 Personification of Death

A death goddess.

Personally I didn't expected even in my wildest imagination that this girl in front of me was really a dangerous being from the start. I thought that she was just a trapped person inside a cave just like me but then, she got me with her grand reveal of herself.

She really got me, if I were to admit.

And now, my life is on the red zone again for the nth time.

"...I'll return the favor...for freeing me from that seal, big brother." She said to me while having those blue eyes of hers looking at me as if devouring my soul, all while being held captive by blue chains that entangled all around my body. "...I should be grateful to you but, with your indifference and lack of reverence it has caused me to have a desire to kill you instead."

She propped up her head a little closer to me, making her big eyes look even bigger in my sights.

'Dug, dug-dug-dug, dug, dug-dug, dug, dug', I'm palpitating right now as she kept on making eye contact with me, all right.

Oh, crap. I forgot about that.

My palpitations only occur whenever I'm in a situation that could possibly put me into a really dangerous or embarrassing state. The last time that I had such attack was when I'm in fourth grade, when I almost got hit by a motorcycle on the road while I was about to go to school with Rin. Luckily I didn't have any injury but, the young me got so scared that my palpitations lasted for about three hours.

After that my palpitations didn't trigger anymore. Except now.

Thinking of it further, I noticed that it didn't triggered after the whole class got transferred into this world. It didn't triggered also while I was training with the [Cannon Fodder], even while Arteim was under attack by the traitor Trajan and his demonkin crew, and not even while I was trying to survive in the abyss until I reached the inside of this cave. I expected that any of those events could trigger it, but it never happened.

To think that my palpitations triggered only this time could possibly mean that, I've never been through that great of a tragedy all this time? Does that mean that, I've never suffered much enough to make my heart go crazy like hell? That, right now I'm in a situation where I'll die for real, like, absolutely real?

Dug, dug-dug, dug, dug, dug-dug-dug...

Looking back, this girl finally caused my heart skip so many beats that it has became painful for me to bear. That little drummer boy inside my heart, is he having a hard time trying to beat his drum in a regular rhythm? Poor fellow.

Again, a death goddess?

Her appearance misled me into believing that she's just a little girl. I mean, all this time I always picture Death as a skeleton wearing dark robes while wielding a huge scythe and having a very deep, deathly voice that could send shivers to one's spine moments before his or her life could be harvested. A Grim Reaper, that is.

And yet this one, this one...

"...You...What's with your face...?" The so-called Death Goddess asked me with a monotonous voice, her eyebrows frowned as our gazes didn't falter.

"..."

I kept on being silent as I only looked at her face in detail.

She's letting out all these dark aura around and yet, I can't remove the fact that her expression still looked childish to me, as if she's just making a tantrum. My heart's beating irregularly and yet, my breathing's still normal. She could kill me anytime because of my imprudence to her, and yet...

"...The way you look at me...you want to get killed...?" she said as her face showed temper gradually rising from within her.

Ah, I must've provoked her in some way with my eyes alone. I don't know how I did it, but it's super effective.

Angrily she raised her right hand to create a large black magic circle then after a few seconds it formed a huge black ball of flame, which she placed overhead on me.

The place where we currently are has a very high ceiling, and for her to create such thing about as large as room itself is unimaginable to me. Whether I manage to free myself from these chains that bind me or not, I won't make it if I try it on that huge black ball.

"...Die, big brother." She said to me with a hateful look, condemning me for all eternity.

With a slow gesture of her hand, she made the fireball above me to gradually fall. Though it looked like one, I didn't feel any heat coming from it, rather I felt that the surroundings became colder and colder as the fireball's altitude gets lower and lower.

As cold as death, that's what it felt like.

Dug, dug-dug-dug-dug, dug-dug, dug, dug-dug, dug, dug...

My heart went even more crazy when I looked up overhead to check how much time left before I get crushed by the huge object.

Dug-dug-dug, dug, dug, dug-dug...

Meanwhile the girl's expression remained stoic as she kept me captive. She's angry at me, and yet she didn't make the fireball above me drop faster. Seems like she prefers killing anyone who angers her with patience than killing them instantly.

Dug-dug-dug-dug-dug-dug-dug-dug-dug...

My heart suddenly felt the rush of death looming around me. I may be tensed right now, but it's not because of me approaching my end. In fact, I'm more worried that my heart won't endure it before the ball drops on me at this rate. Worst comes to worse, I would die of cardiac arrest before that happens.

"...Consider yourself fortunate...that your life will end in the hands of someone like the Death Goddess herself...", the little girl spoke to me again.

Fortunate, huh.

Indeed, I'm quite fortunate reaching here alive, if not I'm already dead back there in Arteim. However, luck has nothing to do with this. My life...I don't want to say that I survived until here with just luck alone.

Well, If being fortunate means getting killed here and now, I'd rather be the most unlucky man in Earth, and in this world as well. Even so, if this is what my fate holds for me then I have nothing to ask anymore.

"...For you to remain calm even at this state...did you already accepted your fate...?" The little girl asked me.

"..."

I didn't see her reaction as I'm just staring at the fireball above me, but I think she became more mad at me when I didn't answered her question. She also stopped calling me 'big brother' for a while now, so my assumptions became more and more concise.

"...Y-You", she called me. "...It's been a while since someone drained my patience by this much. Looks like I have to make you suffer a bit more."

At that instant, several black spikes as thin as the one used in rebars burst from behind her and one by one stabbed right through my limbs and shoulders. The pain made me writhe and scream, like I was shot by multiple bullets at the same time.

"KH--GHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!"

I writhed so violently that the chains has started to leave bruises and wounds on my arms and feet.

The little girl, seemingly satisfied with the situation, moved closer towards me who's starting to lose my sanity from the pain and whispered something.

"...Say, would you believe now that I'm a real Death Goddess?"

And then, she kissed me on the cheek.

"H-Hiiih--?!" I yelped in fear because of her abrupt action.

Th-This girl...what in the world did she do just now? K-Kiss...?!

Having her see me flustered and suffering in pain at the same time, her expression changed into a faint smile as she did something unexpected again.

"...Did you got scared of me, big brother?"

When she asked me that, she waved her hand upwards to disperse the huge fireball that's currently going down halfway towards me. She really dispersed that huge thing as if it was just nothing.

"U-Uhhh..." The confused me wanted to know from her what's going on.

"...Oh. I forgot, you're still in a bind, right? One moment please."

With a snap of her fingers, everything that's been coiling around me for quite some time now also dispersed like smoke. Having freed from all of those restraints, my battered body collapsed to the ground, falling down towards her direction.

"...H-H-Hey! You can't collapse here yet!" She yelled at me.

I noticed that, her dark aura changed back into normal as she rushed towards me who's lying face down the floor. I can't see her face, but the tone of her voice showed despair and worry for me.

"...Oh no, did I just went too brutal against him? I...I only wanted to prove to him that I'm saying the truth but at this rate, I might...I might..."

My wavering sense of hearing still made me hear her say those words.

"...It was not my intention to kill big brother...k-kh, it's not my real intention..." She said as she started to cry.

So what she did to me is just for show, huh. I never expected her to do that, but with her realizing afterwards that what she did was wrong, is something that's more surprising for me to hear from someone who has powers that could easily kill people.

"...K-Kuh...I...I don't want...big brother to...d-die..."

Even if I can't have a look at her face right now, I could tell that her feelings was sincere. To hear from a death goddess that she doesn't want me to die, it sounded all too bizarre for me.

I've seen and heard too many bizarre things already, but she got the record for being most bizarre in any way I could imagine.

Talk about being killed by a child.

"...T-This is..."

Before my consciousness could fall down into the abyss of eternity, I felt something warm covering my body.

"...D-Does this mean..."

Meanwhile the little girl, fell into shock when she saw that something strange is happening to me.

"M-My body...--SO HOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!"

All of a sudden my body temperature rose sharply as if I'm being deep fried in a huge tub of boiling oil. The raging heat caused me to jolt upwards in panic, allowing me to see clearly what's going on.

"I-I...I'm being healed again by these flames..."

Just like when I got injured by the golems, the flames covered the wounds on my body and caused me to regain my lost stamina, but the phenomenon right now is stronger and faster. It took only half the time for me to go back into normal condition.

"B-Big brother, you..."

Feeling enthralled with what happened, I almost forgot about the little girl.

S-Shoot, I need to ask forgiveness to her!

"P-Please...FORGIVE ME FOR MY SINS!!!" I said as I hurriedly prostrated in front of her.

"...H-Hah?!" The Death Goddess muttered in surprise.

"FORGIVE ME FOR NOT BELIEVING EVERYTHING YOU'VE SAID! FORGIVE ME ALSO FOR TREATING YOUR DIVINE PRESENCE WITH SUCH DISRESPECT AND IGNORANCE! I-I-I WON'T DO IT AGAIN SO PLEASE, FORGIVE ME!!!!!!"

Right now I don't care anymore what will happen to me next. If she would still forgive me after everything I've said and done to her, I would be happy but if not...

Seeing me repeatedly bump my forehead against the floor, the Death Goddess spoke to me in a panic.

"...B-Big brother! It's okay, so please stand up!!!"

She rushed to me who is still prostrating on the ground and pulled my left arm to lift me up.

"...I should be the one who should ask for forgiveness, you know? I won't forgive myself should something bad happen to you because of me. Indeed, I'm sorry, big brother!" She said to me as she looked at me apologetically.

"R-Really...?" I asked her sluggishly. "Y-You won't kill me?"

"...Why would I do that?! Rather, I'm so thankful that you freed me from the seal after being trapped for thousands of years! I may be the Death Goddess, but even I knows how to appreciate other people's goodwill!" She told me while pouting her lips.

When I heard her say that, I felt so relieved.

"So...will you forgive me for treating you badly just a while ago?" I asked her.

At first the girl contemplated on my words but after a few seconds she leaped towards me with her arms open wide.

"H-Hey--"

"...Of course! You're my big brother after all!!!" She said as she hugged me tight.

For some reason my arms moved on their own and wrapped her also in a warm embrace. I don't know why, but it felt like it was an obligation for me to do the same to her.

"...Ah, so this is what being free feels like...I love it!" She said as she rubbed her cheeks vigorously on my chest.

As for I, I can't move my body because if I do, we'll lose our balance and we might fall down into the ground, which I don't want to happen. Looks like she's that type of girl who clings around me whenever I go. If I have to get out of this place, I must bring her as well. She's just like that, but I don't feel any sense of displeasure inside me.

I admit. This Death Goddess has killed me...in a good way.