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Day 42: Arbiter Reawakened(pt.3)

Light weakening, the explosion was slowly dissipating and the aftermath of said event was not something that one would call "pretty". Indeed, standing still, all I could see were remnants of the living liquid scattered everywhere in the room, from ceiling to walls and furnitures. Blank eyes witnessing said result, a movement was felt to my left and when I took a look, a part of said liquid was resting on my shoulder.

Y/N: !

Quickly attempting to get rid of said impurity, I observed the thing fall down on the ground without a single motion. In a scenario like this, where the beast of my nightmares was defeated, I would have jumped in joy but nothing happened, I merely stood still like a broken machine.

Something in my body broke, it was so painful that I could not muster a single emotion, my heart aching like it was pulled from many directions at once.

Zeta19: Woah, that's a sight to behold for sure. Plus, why that long speech when she'll just reappear back in her room?

Mumbling to himself, the ex-clerk kicked the floor below him and heaved a sigh. Turning around, he peeked at the monitor with the manager's orders written on it and a sweat fell down his face. Spinning around to face me, he quickly excused himself and rushed downstairs.

...Come on Y/N, you can't stand there, you have to help everyone else! Come on, move! However, no matter how many times I tried to force my body to budge, it was like something was pulling my skin off, breaking me apart from the inside. Gritting my teeth, I dropped on the floor, placing the pink rifle on my legs.

???: She's going down, don't let her get away!

A voice resonated and barely reached my ears. My mind knew that there was a massive emergency, I couldn't sit there and do nothing. Yet, my body was pinning me to the ground with pain worse than anything I've felt so far.

That demon, it must be the cause behind all of this, it has to be! This is what my body was instinctively fearing, that poisonous snake digging its fangs into me. Silently sitting, the chaos of war grew closer but it was the least of my concerns.

On the other side of the room, something akin to dark claws were emerging from the floor and slowly making its way to me like a machinery marching on. If I were to get caught in it, I couldn't assure my safety, I needed to get away. Pushing with all of my efforts, I desperately begged my body to move, no response except my pain receptors screaming in panic.

Y/N: ...

The mere thought of speaking was enough to make the sensation worsen and my tongue experience hundreds of lashes. I couldn't even call for help but it's not like anyone was going to respond anyway, everyone was busy dealing with their own share of trouble. Seeing the threat making grounds, my body felt more like a painful shell or cocoon more than anything else right now.

...Is this how I'm going to die? No, even that won't happen, I know from experience. If my eyes even attempt to close for the final time, that AI witnessing this madness would manage to undo the day like it was nothing and force everything to repeat, I was truly trapped.

That all-knowing face, the way she keeps looking at me, she's one that I would probably never be able to casually confront, it was like facing a final boss. Plus, her own intelligence made it even harder for me to keep my cool whenever she was around.

....

Following that trail of thought that seemed to have emerged from basically nowhere, my body began to become lighter and raise itself. For a moment, my eyes widened in hope that I was finally able to control my limbs in a coherent way but it was not the case. Slowly turning around, my gaze met another's, a certain abnormality that helped us defeat the Red Mist.