Horrifically

Author's note: Sorry about last chapter, ignore that. This is the correct chapter.

Citrinas stiffened, feeling Fenri wrap her arm around her and leapt upwards, abiding by Verdi's growing fear. She didn’t quite understand why he wanted Evangeline gone, but she had grown to trust his fighting instincts. She looked at Eren, the hero continuing to back away from Evangeline's expanding flesh as Verdi desperately ran forward, his entire figure clad in mist as he froze his body. Yet, a sense of dread filled her as Eren stopped backing away from Evangeline, her flesh now encompassing most of the arena. With all the patience in the world, Eren finally took a step forward, his foot sinking into the meaty bog as corrosive juices oozed forth, his boot dissolving from the slightest touch.

In the next moment, Citrinas felt her legs dangling in the air while her lungs were burning, her mind swimming as she instinctively clutched her throat. She felt leather on her hands as she reached to her neck, her throat on the verge of outright snapping as she heard Fenri coughing underneath her. Forcing her eyes to look down, she saw the hero pinned face down to the ground by a half dissolved leather boot, her face soiled by the liquefied remnants of Evangeline’s flesh. To Citrinas' surprise, no acid oozed forth to dissolve her face while her skin was not devoured by the cancerous growths.

Nearby, she could see Evangeline embedded in the coliseum’s outer walls, the angel’s body systematically torn apart by someone’s bare hands and beaten into unconsciousness. She was nothing more than a torn open torso and a head missing all identifying features, her face thrown haphazardly to a nearby audience member. Rather than kill the masochistic angel, Eren left her alive, her subconscious magic use causing the arena to passively regenerate albeit at a slower rate than before. Rather than corroding any biological matter it touched, her flesh seemed to be content processing whatever biomass Eren had broken down with his bare hands. Yet, despite being able to see Evangeline and Fenri, she couldn’t see the one person she needed to see.

Where was Verdi?

She couldn’t see a scrap of flesh, a strand of hair, tatters of clothing, or even his boots. The only thing she could see was a thick crimson mist and a dented canteen where he was once standing, the two serving as proof he was ever there. It wasn’t like Evangeline who was beaten into submission. Verdi was outright gone. Had he been thrown out of the Coliseum?

Just before she could scream for his name, the mist began to coalesce, tiny particles clashing with one another and sticking to each other like putty. Meat coagulated from the residual powder as nerves and tendons formed from the primordial ooze, gravity finally taking effect as the clumps of meat writhed and twitched, much to everyone’s disbelief. Rather than rise up like an undead, the meat flopped around, squirming like a worm in the sun as a solitary brown eye emerged from the biomass, staring silently at Eren as it assimilated the destroyed biomass.

“Tch.” Eren said, clicking his tongue as Citrinas as she watched something crawl out from the pits of hell itself. Bones of magical ice jutted out in predefined angles as flesh grew around it like mold. Before the skin could form on the regenerating figure, blood shot out from its arteries and wrapped around the figure, freezing itself to adhere to its body. It was less than half a second in time, yet Verdi had somehow come back, regenerating from the stray cells left in the air.

As soon as he finished healing, Verdi stared up at Eren and raised a foot, his movements jerky and uneven from his lack of a skeleton. He was barely alive. His entire body was held together by sheer magical **** and willpower. Yet, as he took a step forward, Citrinas felt Eren tense up. He was afraid.

“One step closer, and I’ll snap their necks.” Eren said quickly, pressing his boot harder on Fenri’s throat while he squeezed Citrinas’ throat, the pair **** up as Verdi remained motionless, letting only his murderous intent pour out from him. Even with the blood concealing his face and the fog wafting off his body leaving him as nothing more than a dark, vague shape, they could still feel the anger emanating from him.

The muscles underneath his armor tensed up, his eyes stared daggers into Eren even with his face hidden by crimson armor. His instincts screamed to rip Eren apart while his brain kept his body restrained. The bloody armor coating him was no longer a tool to protect him from harm, but to restrict him from inflicting it. Before either of them could speak, Fenri shouted, her face still pinned to the ground by Eren’s boot.

“Fuck you! I’ll fucking k-HHHHHHHHHHNNG!” Fenri began, only for Eren to move his foot and stomp downwards. Her back bent in an irregular direction, an audible snap echoing through the now silent Coliseum as her legs went slack. She clenched her fists and bit down on her arm, stifling a scream as she felt everything below her waist go numb, her spine breaking in a single blow. Verdi clenched his fist, the fog around him intensifying as he let out a low, almost bestial growl.

“Now tell me where the jammer is.” Eren commanded as Verdi twitched, listening to Fenri curse at Eren and give **** threats in her mother tongue, each word incomprehensible to everyone but her. He looked ready to talk.

“Don’t…” Citrinas choked out, realizing what Eren was planning. Killing Verdi wasn’t an option. For all intents and purposes, he was immortal. Ripping him apart would only delay him. The only way to get rid of him was to seal him away in the Apollyon. She had to make sure he didn't give Eren the means to seal him away. To her relief, Verdi obeyed Citrinas’ words, averting his eyes as though he had done something worthy of shame. Rather than mince words, Eren calmly reached to Citrinas’ hand.

Gingerly, he took her index finger and gently pulled it open as though he were trying to play a game with her. She fought against him, trying desperately to break free as he continued to push, straightening her finger out into a perfect 180 degrees. He continued to push, waves of pain emanating from her finger as she felt bone begin to creak. She grit her teeth, bracing herself for what was to come as she tried to stifle her growing fear. Rather than the pain, the wait itself was what inspired dread in her as she clenched her eyes, unable to watch him maim her.

“I won’t scream. I have to stay quiet. If he thinks I can't handle it, he'll talk.” She thought, bracing herself for what was to come. She felt her bone finally give way moment after speaking, snapping like a twig as her finger made a perfect 225 degree angle. It was a sharp, stabbing pain like being cut with a knife as she felt warmth run down her hand, her skin and flesh tearing as bone was exposed. Just before she could speak and give some words to reassure Verdi she was fine, she yelped as Eren twisted his wrist faster than lightning.

What little flesh connecting her finger to her hand tore like paper, the tendons and connective tissues yanked out and dangling out of her body like rope as Eren tore her finger off. She tasted blood in her mouth as she bit on her own tongue, stifling a scream as Eren threw the finger forward, the digit falling to Verdi’s feet as he trembled. His bloodlust magnified, the passive holy aura he gave off now a mere memory as Verdi’s breathing grew strained, resisting his urge to kill. Citrinas could feel Eren’s gloved hand around her throat tighten while pressing on Fenri’s throat, reminding Verdi of his place as he remained still.

“Where. Is. The. Jammer?” Eren repeated as he gently grabbed Citrinas’ thumb.

“Don’t… Do… It…” Citrinas mouthed, clenching her fist and bracing herself. 9 more fingers. 2 ears. A nose. There was only so much Eren could do to her without killing her. As long as she didn’t scream and remained strong, Verdi wouldn’t talk. He wouldn’t let Eren seal him away in the Gates as long as she remained silent and endured. As soon as she spoke, Verdi’s murderous rage died away as he looked away in shame, unable to watch any further as Eren continued the gruesome show.

“What happens to these girls will be your fault.” Eren warned as Citrinas prepared to have him rip off another finger. She could handle this level of pain. Even if he ripped off all her fingers, she could bear it. It was a matter of holding out until Tristiana could get to them and help. All she had to do was not scream. Seeing the conviction in their eyes, Eren casually made a thumb’s up with his left hand, as though he were approving of their resistance. In one swift, almost casual movement, he pressed his thumb into her eye while loosening his grip on her throat.

She screamed.

She screamed like a banshee while flailing around like a wild animal.

She screamed a shrill, ear piercing shriek that caused the arena itself to flinch.

The stabbing pain was agonizing, the sensation of his thumb digging into her eye socket was horrific. But the worst part by far was the loss of half her sight. Of all senses a human had, vision was by far the most used of them. The terror of not knowing half of the world, the helplessness of being unable to see the next blow, it was too much. It was all too much. She couldn’t handle the pain.

She could feel his fingernail digging into her head as he went deeper and deeper into her eye socket. Eye jelly and blood spewed forth from her head, spilling onto the ground in a thick, murky pool as she felt Eren twist his wrist. She grabbed at his hand and kicked her legs, serving to only bruise her heels and spread blood from her severed finger stump to her other eye.

She could only cry louder as she felt him sever the optical nerves in her skull, his fingernail like a red hot poker. After a few more seconds of digging around, she felt Eren bend his thumb and pull it out of her head. New sensations of emptiness filled her as she felt him rip out chunks of meat and nervous tissue from her skull. She whimpered as she found a white orb impaled to this thumb, the slightest hint of blue jelly at the base of his thumb. On the other end was a length of optical nerves crudely ripped out of her head. At that moment, she saw a fluffy white tail seemingly emerge from nothing.

She had white skin like ivory and golden eyes of an ancient being with wisdom beyond its years. A pair of white, fluffy ears decorated her head while 13 white fox tails flowed behind her, each one containing unfathomable power. Despite her beauty, there was no emotion on her face as she stood before Eren, a leather Glove of Purification on her left hand pulsing with divine power. How long had she been in the Coliseum and hiding herself with light magic? Did she expose herself because of her screams?

“Stop.” Tristiana commanded, her eyes faintly glowing as she clenched her fist. The air around her faintly shimmered, her emotions causing the light around her to fluctuate as she let out a wave of killing intent. Yet, like Verdi, she remained completely still as she tried not to look at Citrinas and focused on Eren.

“I thought you’d be here.” Eren said quietly as he eyed the leather Glove of Purification on her left hand. “Give me the Glove and tell me where you hid the jammer.” He demanded succinctly, mincing no words as Tristiana chuckled at the brash demand.

“And why should I give up my one card?” She asked, refusing to outright reject the demand as Citrinas tried to think of a way to break free of Eren’s hold. The second he no longer had hostages, he was doomed. Verdi could distract him and if there was someone that could hurt Eren, it was Tristiana.

“Because if you work with us and help neutralize that man over there, this world and the home worlds of every hero you ever summoned to this world will be saved.” Eren said as Tristiana blinked, the offer causing even her face to crack for a moment. Citrinas tried to speak up, yet she felt Eren squeeze tighter, forcibly silencing her as he continued to speak. “She will never plot against any world, conquer it, or claim it for her own even if the world was offered to her. She will not send her armies or her pawns against you. They will all be safe from Her.” He continued as Tristiana **** a smirk.

“You want me to backstab the one person who might be able to fix everything because you promise you’ll keep your end of the bargain? Did you think he wiped my memories like everyone else?” She asked, throwing a quick look to Verdi as Citrinas thought back to Kolderia. Tristiana only ever saw Verdi after Fenri tore his face off. She had never seen his face until recently. She knew Verdi, and he was undoubtedly on her side.

“Your plan is in shambles. That man is a walking corpse.” Eren said while Verdi stared at him, the bloody armor hiding his expression. “Your odds of success are near zero.”

“The fact that you’re willing to give hundreds of worlds for one life means he’s still a threat.” Tristiana countered as Eren pulled out his final negotiating card, holding it in the air with one hand.

“Then, here’s a deal for you.” He said, holding Citrinas up like a sack of meat as Verdi summoned several ice tendrils from his back, each one preparing to strike while the arena turned pitch black from Tristiana's light magic. Despite the pair ready to kill Eren then and there, they remained silent, Citrinas’ presence continuing to keep them in line. She looked at them hoping to tell them to ignore her, only to regret it as her torn out eye socket broke their resolve.

“If you don’t take this deal, I’m going run out of this city. I’m going to open the Gates and throw this one in.” He stated as fear ran across Tristiana’s eyes. “Even if you save the world, your sister will be a broken husk by the time you get to her.” Eren said light returned to the Coliseum, Tristiana’s spell dissipating while Verdi’s tendrils slowly returned to his body. She knew both of them well enough to know what they were thinking, their body language like an open book to her. Citrina struggled, trying to grab onto Eren’s hand only to stain it with blood from her missing index finger as she let out a choked beg.

“S-stop… Don’t…” She begged as Tristiana reached to her hand, removing the Glove of Purification and tossing to the ground in front of Eren. The divine artifact flopped in front of Fenri’s face as she looked at Tristiana, **** in her eyes.

“Fucking… Kill… You…” She said as Tristiana ignored her, her golden irises cast downwards to Verdi’s feet.

“I’m sorry.” She apologized as Verdi nodded, as if to reassure her that she had done the right thing. Citrinas flailed around, **** to tell them they were making a mistake. Whatever was happening affected entire worlds. Two lives were a cheap price to pay! How could they do something so stupid!? How could they give up so many lives just for the two of them!? She wanted to tell them this was a mistake, but she could only watch helplessly as Tristiana pointed up to the announcer box.

“It's on top of the announcer box.” She said as Eren grabbed Citrinas by the waist with his other hand. In one swift movement, he threw her full speed at Tristiana, the two girls knocked to the ground while kicking Fenri, the hero’s broken spine causing her to flop around as she tried to use her hands to slow herself down. Reaching down, Eren grabbed the other Glove of Purification with his left hand while pulling an Apollyon Gate Key from his inventory, holding it in his right hand.

“FUCKER!” Fenri bellowed, raising a knife and throwing it at Eren, her poor angle and broken spine sending the knife just in front of him. Raising his foot, Eren threw a kick at the knife, a sonic boom accompanying the blow as the blade was redirected straight at the announcer’s box. A blast was heard as metal struck metal, the illusion magic hiding the spark gap transmitter fading away as the electromagnetic waves it emitted ceased in an instant.

“Run!” Citrinas shouted as Verdi seemingly misunderstood her, his armored body sprinting towards Eren with **** in each step. Eren, on the other hand, was unafraid as he raised the Apollyon Gate Key, his finger on the trigger. Citrinas prepared to fire a wind spell, a compressed blast that would knock Verdi backwards and build space between them. Even with the pain of her lost eye, she could calculate a basic spell. Yet as Eren pressed the button, she felt her mind go blank.

The air shimmered around him as space itself folded, arcane powers coming to life and altering reality itself. In time, an orb exactly 20 feet in diameter formed in the air as a portal appeared before them. Yet, as the Gate coalesced, Citrinas felt her mouth go dry as a primal, almost instinctive dread filled her.

It was not a normal Gate.

Apollyon Gates were a pitch black void where time did not exist. It was a common theme for those who escaped the Gates that there was nothing in there. It was the universal truth from every world that there was nothing in the Gates worth talking about. Yet, at this moment, she could see light emanating from within the tear in space. It was a tiny trickle barely a millimeter in diameter, barely able to overcome the infinite darkness and it was constantly changing location, firing off in thin rays in random directions. It was like watching someone try to block a raging flame with their own body, endlessly readjusting themselves as tiny cracks of light broke through.

The first man struck by the light gasped, his pupils dilating as he stared blankly forward, the effect continuing despite the ray changing location in half a second. There wasn’t the slightest hesitation as he reached to his waist and slit his throat, the pain not even registering as his face twisted from blind terror to relief as he died. The next one to react was a centaur woman, the light striking her arm as her eyes watering. A tear fell across her cheek. Then another. Before long, she was weeping like a newborn baby, clutching her eyes as she wept. Yet, that reaction was not what drew Citrinas’ attention. What truly terrified her was when a fly lazily flew past her head.

Insects were a common enough problem in the city, attracted to whatever rotted foods were nearby. She could tell that the fly had likely been circling the local trash bins before wandering around to the Coliseum, its primitive mind unable to comprehend its surroundings. As the Light struck the fly, she watched it lower itself to the ground, landing on a solid chunk of flesh. Its forelimbs were extended forward as it pressed its head against the ground, bowing to the Gate in utter submission. That was the only warning she had before the Light found its way to her, striking her remaining eye as she saw what lay beyond the darkness of the Gates.

It was no incomprehensible horror or some unspeakable terror. It was a woman. Just a human woman. She was around Citrinas’ age with pale white hair and peach skin. She had a slim build with purple eyes and wore a flowing dress and long white gloves that stretched to her shoulders, the textiles smoother than silk. Despite her plain outfit and slim build, Citrinas couldn't help but feel awed at the sight of her.

It was like seeing perfection incarnate, a being who surpassed the Goddess of Beauty herself, every detail of her crafted by hands with talent beyond the gods themselves. And it was that perfection that made her seem uncanny, her lack of flaws leaving a gnawing sensation in the back of Citrinas’ head, screaming that this was no human. She glanced over at Citrinas’ direction for the briefest of moments, yet that infinitesimally small moment felt like an eternity as Citrinas began to cry, the woman’s perfect face plastered with existential depression and despair, the mere sight of her causing Citrinas to feel a sympathetic despair. She wanted to slit her own throat at the sheer despair the women felt, break down crying at her beauty, bow in utter submission to her power, and kill herself from fear. It was the fact that all 4 choices were equally attractive that she was left paralyzed, unable to move. She could feel her sanity slipping, the urge to commit all 4 acts only growing in intensity the longer she stared.

It was only when she felt her hands grip her knife that she realized she had made her choice. She could hear Fenri and her own sister doing the same thing, pulling out knives of their own and preparing to slit their throats to halt the dread. As she felt the cold steel against her throat, the light stopped abruptly as a shadow was cast over the three of them. She blinked, sanity returning to her as she found Verdi standing between her and the Gate, his shadow embracing her like a lover as he took on the full **** of the Light.

As the Light struck him, there was no fear or submission in his eyes, only grim determination as he resisted the madness. The ray of light intensified, boring a hole through the darkness and engulfing Verdi's body, his shadow now a pitch black void against the overwhelming light. The ice around his head fizzled and evaporated as his nose and eyes began bleeding, the crimson droplets evaporating before they could hit the ground..

“So it's you…” He mused to himself, recognizing the evil sealed within the Gate. At that statement, he slowly marched forward, his face beginning to change the closer he got to the Gate. His long hair began to grow gray streaks and thinned, only to return to its usual brown color in the next moment. His skin grew wrinkled like an old fruit, only to grow taut at the same rate. Time itself was shifting as Verdi's regeneration was slowly overwhelmed, the aging effect enhancing the closer he came to the Gate.

He was but one step away from leaving their world. She could tell he didn’t want to go, that he was just as if not more terrified than them. The effects of merely standing before the Gate had left him on ****’s door. His hair was snow white and coming out in clumps, his skin was saggy and loose like a rotted fruit. To even breathe took active effort on his part, his mouth drying out the second he opened it. One more step, and he'd be aged into dust. Yet, she could tell he would not back down. It was at this moment he looked up at the Gate one final time. His eyes, now cloudy from disease, remained filled with grim determination. His chapped, dried out lips moved, his desiccated skin cracking as his dried tongue **** out a single word.

It was a forgotten word of an ancient tongue, not uttered in this world or any other for 40,000 years. A blessing of a deity long gone, whose very concept of existence had no place in the present. The same one who had taken his memories 8 years ago.

“Sacrifice.”

As he spoke that single word, black vines erupted from his flesh, the power he invoked giving an ominous aura unlike any other god’s. Rather than empowering him, his Blessing seemed to be restraining and harming him as the black vines grew thorns, digging into his body and ignoring the bloody armor protecting him. Like overgrown mosquitos, the vines seemed to drink from him, the blood coalescing into blooming flowers. No, not just flowers.

Roses.

It was beyond the masochism of the Goddess of Pain or the sadism of the Goddess of Suffering. She could hear him grimace in pain, stifling a scream as the flowers drank from him like leeches, the Divine magic from his own goddess like poison to his erosarkic body. Rather than turn the tables on the evil within the Gates, it seemed he had only traded a **** by aging to a **** by exsanguination, his gray hair’s color returning while his body continued to weaken.

His body was punched full of holes that resisted his own regeneration from Divine magic, he was nearly drained to the last drop of blood from the cursed roses feeding off him, and he was only barely able to overcome the aging effect inflicted upon him, leaving him with the body of a man in his 50s. The psychological effect of gazing into the light should have driven him to the brink of madness from such prolonged exposure, and she could tell he was on the verge of cracking. She couldn’t blame him for faltering at this stage. No, she wanted him to falter. At the very least, they’d die together. Instead, he took one final step forward, entering the Gates.

He did not look back. He did not hesitate or show fear as figures emerged from the light, their shapes too sharp and angular to be creatures of nature moving with a fluidity beyond any human. She could see vast seas of metal flowing out from the light, endless armies of horrors that would decimate her world the day they entered it emerging like creatures of the sea. And at that moment, as if the universe itself had plotted against him, the Gate closed.

Citrinas blinked her remaining eye, hoping that she was hallucinating. It had to be an illusion. She wanted to believe it was an illusion. Her missing eye and lack of depth perception somehow tricked her. There had to be a plan for him to come home. Verdi always had a plan. No matter what he faced, he always rose to the challenge and found a path to victory. There had to be another step, something she was missing. There had to be a hint he left behind, some strategy. Yet, life had not been content in ruining what hope she had left as she heard soft clink of steel upon stone nearby.

A giant in rusted armor carrying a sword as tall as him. A hobgoblin carrying a similar sword wreathed in holy fire. A pair of vampires, the pair wearing hoods to protect them from the sunlight. Varrick, Belsach, Daria, and Bell were here. Verdi’s plan of neutralizing them failed. He had underestimated their healing magic. It was like some sort of cosmic joke, their timing impeccable as they returned to support Eren’s escape from the city.

The odds of defeating Eren were slim, but they weren’t zero. If they all ganged up on him, they could have had a small chance of victory. Now their numbers advantage was gone. Any hope they had of victory was gone. Verdi was gone.