Chapter 14: Protagonist isn't omnipotent (3)
Three days had passed.
Knock knock.
The sound echoed twice before the door creaked open. A man stood at the threshold, dressed in dark robes . His face was unreadable, like a statue carved from old stone.
"You're being summoned," the man said flatly.
Nafees sat up. "Summoned? By who?"
The man didn't answer. Instead, he stepped aside and motioned with a slight tilt of his head. "Follow. As instructed."
He followed the man out into the corridor, his footsteps silent against the stone floor. The lights dimmed as they moved deeper into the facility,
It was an underground facility used by the cultist to entertain themselves.
At the end of the stairs, a door stood open. Nafees walked in and his eyes widened in shock.
"...!?"
It was a round, multi-level gallery. Seven floors high, with a huge open ground in the middle. It looked like a twisted version of a Colosseum.
The guide led him to a seat in the gallery. Nafees sat down, still looking around in confusion.
In the center of the arena, a man was chained to the floor. In front of him was a strange machine woth numbers on it. Across the arena, behind iron bars, stood a woman.
The man looked at her and asked, "Honey, what is the number?"
It seemed like a number was displayed in the woman's room, and the man had to press that number on the machine Infront of him.
"Huh? What kind of game is this?" Nafees thought, disturbed.
He heard two people nearby whispering.
"They're husband and wife. They were brought here to be sacrifices."
"Yeah. It's sad… They looked like a good match. This world is really cruel."
But the way they grinned waiting eagerly for what would happen next made Nafees uncomfortable.
He turned back to the arena.
The woman behind the bars called out,
"It's number four. Press number four, darling. We'll be free!"
"Yes.We can be free."
the man said, hopeful
Beep.
He pressed number four.
Suddenly, a gate opened. A loud roar filled the room. Hundreds of snakes slithered out, flooding the ground. The man turned to look at his wife in horror.
She stared at him coldly. Her face was twisted ,as if sacrificing him was worth her freedom.
"You… you traitor…ahhhhhhh" the man was shocked as his wife's betrayal.
The woman broke down in tears, her voice trembling as she said,
"Hic... sob...I did all of this for my child....hic...forgive me… I'm not like you. I could never abandon my child."
Listening this his expression become stiff.
Hiss—thwip!
Before the man could say anything, the snakes attacked
"No... no, please..." he gasped.
A deep, guttural cry tore from his chest. raw, feral, and full of agony.
"AHHHHH!"
"Why?! Why You wench"
His voice cracked as the venom from the snakebite coursed through him, filling him with burning pain.
Snake bit and tore at him while the crowd erupted in laughter.
"Heh heh! Haha! Hoho!"
everyone caught up in the moment, reveling in the fun.
On the top floor, nobles watched from glass rooms, drinking and throwing money, enjoying the show.
Nafees felt sick. His stomach twisted, and his hands shook.
In seconds, the man was gone. Erased like he never existed.
The woman in the cage sobbed.
"I did it… You promised you'd spare us if I gave my husband the wrong number… Please… keep your word"
* * *
On the highest floor, four nobles sat together, including the branch leader. One nobel said in a mockery,
"Fools speak of love. But when death knocks, even a lover sells your name for one more breath."
"Exactly I stopped expecting loyalty the day my brother sold me for bread. Since then, I only deal in leverage."
"So branch leader. if pressing the right number could've saved them both, why did she betray him"
Hearing this the branch leader spoke in a cold voice with grin
"They had a son. A boy around four years old. The rule said both parents could escape if the right button was pressed. But what about the boy?"
"..."
"hohoho..You're cruel, branch leader," one of the nobel said.
Another laughed.
"So the man abandoned his son, and the woman betrayed the man. What a twist."
"No," the branch leader said, grinning. "That's not it."
"Then what?"
"I offered her a deal. If she betrayed her husband, I'd let her and the boy go."
The nobles burst out laughing.
* * *
Nafees watched the twisted game unfold, horrified. His mind struggled to process what he had just witnessed. On Earth, he had never seen anything so cruel. it felt like something straight out of a horror movie.
Then a voice echoed across the arena.
"Tonight, we have a new recruit. Let's welcome them to the stage."
A masked man stood at the center, holding a glowing, orb-shaped microphone. He had just finished cleaning the bloodstained floor.
Nafees froze.
'What? Are they calling me? Are they going to make me play that same game?'
His body tensed up. Cold sweat trickled down his back. Fear gripped him like a vice.
To be continued...