「Somewhere else」

A young man entrenched in blood leaned against the cold, rough stone walls with trembling feet. He was breathing loudly for air while dropping to his knees since even standing took too much energy.

In front of him laid a bunch of corpses, of humans and monsters alike. If Gab or Enota were here, they would be surprised why these Goblins looked quite different compared to the ones against whom they were fighting.

These goblins had slightly reddish skin with multiple visible mutations. These mutations ranged from having acne to having a third eye or even an extra limp. Most of the modifications were useless and hindered their hosts/victims since an underdeveloped arm is useless for anything.

But a third eye that can do funny things or a skin mutation that gives you better blunt or stab damage absorption is much more intimidating.

All in all, these goblin mutants were on a different level than the human mutants they had fought on the first and second floors. Killing them was way tougher since they walked in bigger groups. The fact that their mutations made them slightly different from each other turned the matter even more annoying, but at least the man killed most of them.

As for the dead humans, they were… let's put it simply, unlucky since they crossed paths with him.

After whipping tiredly, some of the purple blood from his face, one could see a tear rolling down the man's fiery cheeks. The tears he wasted were neither out of joy nor out of sorrow for those he had killed earlier. They were out of regret for his impulsive choices, which led him to a path of no redemption since he still hasn't found a way to nullify the pact, which he regretted making. Till then, the man will be at the mercy of someone else, who could choose or change his destiny at the whim.

After calming himself down, the man closed his eyes, thinking that he could get a piece of mind, but as one might have expected, the author isn't so keen when it comes to escapism, which is why old memories began surfacing.

The memories of him accepting the deal with the devil were clearly flashing through his head again. There he saw it, the devil, and how it manipulated his memories before taking advantage of his anger with poisonous promises of fulfilling his desires of revenge and survival. Unfortunally he took the deal that got offered to him while ignoring the small price that came with it, without thinking it through.

How far would you go to see your wishes fulfilled? Which demands are too much? Which price is too high? Would you be willing to lose your bodily autonomy/freedom for a certain amount if it meant that your destiny will be set in stone?

Don't get the man wrong he's still happy to see the other party of the deal keeping their promises, but the problem is the journey to that goal, and that's beyond disgusting.

Is it worth killing so many innocent people who are just trying to survive in this hellhole just so that your wishes will be fulfilled? It's not like you are killing them. Whenever a group of humans finds you in the wild alone, Odebus takes over your body and kills them all before turning them in the end to his minions.

But unfortunally, they still weighed on his mind, and Alex couldn't take it anymore. By now, his anger reached a boiling point. How long would one plan to ignore such injustices before one voices out their annoyment? After five, ten, twenty, or after killing fifty of them? It just can't continue like that in the long term.

"Odebus…could we please change the terms of the contract. I'm fine destroying the pact as long I … you… no, I mean us can we spare them all? They don't even have anything to do with my plan, so why are we killing everyone? And why… why are we also planning on killing people dear to me?" pleaded Alex on his knees, hoping to swerve Odebus opinion.

Unfortunally, the latter replied to his questions with silence, which merely put fire onto the fuel, making the latter even angrier since pleading didn't seem to work. Through gritted teeth, he began asking Odebus once again.

"Just … tell me… What is the price for your mercy? Is it my soul? Is it my dignity as a human being? Is it my future? Just name a price."

But once again, silence was the answer Alex got, which is why he screamed in frustration: "TELL ME THE FUCKING PRICE!"

Laughter. A loud burst of laughter was the answer he got from the other party, who seemed to be amused by the matter.

"Well, that was lovely, Alex. But how many times do I have to answer that question of yours, Alex? I can change the terms of the contracts with your consent. The small problem is that I just don't want to do that," Osebus replied to him after stopping with his laughter.

Hearing that the latter could change his destiny but just doesn't want to for whatever reason made Alex angry as he balled his hand into a fist. But before he could even ask him why the other party continued.

"The reason for that is quite simple. I feast on despair and hatred of others. What do I have to gain from it if I help you achieve a happy end? Nothing. But seeing how you all fight and kill each other in confusion, hatred, and despair as you slowly massacre them all one by one is more entertaining. Don't you think, Alex?

In the end, you will be leaving this goddamn place in confusion to take your revenge. But there you will realize that even after achieving it you won't find any peace of mind or happiness. You will just feel empty… I'm already curious what you will be doing after fulfilling your desires, heheheh," chuckled Odebus as he watched Alex in amusement.