Chapter 52: Monster

"Task"

[Tasks]

[Slay the Goblin King in the Castle]

(Completed)

(Will be summoned to the next area in: 5:55 minutes)

[Hunt Disasters] - {Failure: Human Extinction} — (Disasters identified: Cynthia Vespertine, Shin Hae-Ryung, ???, ???) - (Disasters Slain: 1/16)

[???]

Zayn had just under six minutes to sort out the situation.

He dashed over to the man he thought was dead, bloody footprints trailing behind him.

’Please... please say he had been unconscious this whole time.’

Zayn dug him out of the rubble and dragged him onto flat ground, then positioned himself between Maks and the carnage behind him.

’Please, goddess, god, or whatever being is watching over me, don’t make me kill again today.’

Zayn examined Maks’s condition. Surprisingly, he looked relatively okay considering the hit he had taken. His right arm was destroyed, and it seemed he had only gotten knocked out after striking his head.

Though who knew what sort of brain damage he had suffered.

Maks cracked open his eyes and squinted up at Zayn.

"Zayn, is that you?"

Zayn dropped to his knees next to Maks.

"Yeah..."

Maks clutched his head with his left hand and asked:

"D-did we kill it?"

"Yeah..."

Zayn’s voice was tinged with a depth of regret that he couldn’t hide.

Maks frowned.

"Why do you sound so solemn? Where are the rest, and I swear I heard Claire’s voice a moment ago."

Did he not know anything? Had he really been unconscious this whole time? Could Zayn... use this?

Was there a way he could spin this so he didn’t have to kill him?

Maks attempted to sit up, but Zayn pressed him back down, angling his body to block as much of the throne room from view as possible.

"Zayn!"

His sudden scream caught Zayn off guard, making him shudder.

Maks twisted his head, managing to peer around Zayn. His expression froze.

"What happened to Claire?! Why is she over there surrounded by a pool of blood?!"

’No! Fuck! Do I have to kill him now?! No... no, I can’t. No more blood, please. There has to be a way out of this!’

’Think... think... oh, I could... yeah, I could try that... that could even be good! But it’s messed up, wrong...’

’Ha.’

’Messed up? Wrong?’

’I already threw my morals away — what use is trying to backtrack and adhere to them now...’

Maks had only seen a portion of the scene. As long as that was all he saw, Zayn could use it. He’d said he would do whatever was necessary to complete his goal, but killing Maks wasn’t necessary. At least, not yet...

Besides, Maks had value.

Zayn slowly shifted aside, no longer bothering to conceal the scene.

"That’s why I wanted you to lie down... I didn’t want you to see. You and I are the only ones left alive in this room."

Maks snapped his gaze toward him with fury in his eyes.

"Explain now before I strangle you! Why is Claire here?! How did she die?! How did someone as strong as Axel die?! Why are you uninjured, yet red blood drips from your hands?"

’Shit!’

Zayn had been too panicked to realize he had Claire’s blood all over him! How could he have overlooked something so significant?

Did he have to kill Maks after all?

’No! There has to be a way out of this...’

Something dastardly clicked into place.

’That’s it! That’s the only way!’

Zayn composed himself as well as he could and responded:

"This... this is Axel’s blood."

"Are you meaning to tell me you killed Axel?! Did you kill Claire, too?! Why? For what possible reason?! Or are you going to lie and say you bloodied your hands trying to save him?!"

Maks surged upright, only for pain to halt him almost immediately. He collapsed onto his back again, clutching his head.

Zayn adopted an emotionless tone and, with dried tears on his face, said:

"Stay down... I’ll tell you everything. Remember, on the first day, when I told you about my task to kill disasters?"

Maks glared up at him.

"Why bring that up now?! Don’t dodge my questions!"

Zayn ignored him and continued:

"Axel is one of the disasters in my task..."

Anger filled Maks’s voice as he barked back:

"What are you trying to say?! Are you saying Axel caused all of this? Bullshit!"

Zayn answered immediately, his voice flat.

"No... no, it wasn’t Axel. It was a power that controlled Axel. We killed the Goblin King, but Axel was seriously injured and collapsed. We rushed to help him, but then a dark miasma started leaking from his body. He stood up as if possessed and started attacking us. We tried to fight back, but he slaughtered us one by one. Claire, having seen the message of the Goblin King’s defeat, had rushed to check on you, but she just became an unfortunate victim of Axel. Eventually, I-I managed to slay him when he was distracted, but I was too late — he had already killed everyone else."

Zayn used the weird dark energy he had seen in his memories as the basis for his fabrication.

He could have pinned the others’ deaths on the Goblin King, but that wouldn’t serve him nearly as well. Axel needed to sound terrifying — dangerous enough to make the lie believable.

Maks threw up his good arm and held onto Zayn’s shirt with all the meager strength he could muster.

"Quit the bullshit! Why would I believe you? You probably killed them all! I had a suspicion something was off about you with how tame you were with this whole situation, and it seems I was right! You’re a sadistic maniac! I’ll kill you and get revenge for them all, revenge for Claire!"

Zayn needed him to realize one simple thing: if he really had murdered everyone in the room, absolutely nothing was stopping him from killing Maks too.

However, he couldn’t just use that as his defense. He needed Maks to reach the conclusion himself.

For now, he would twist the narrative to make Maks feel like the villain for even accusing him.

If Zayn could bury the man beneath enough guilt, perhaps he could make him swallow the lie — and avoid adding another body to the room.

If Zayn failed to convince him thoroughly, however... he would do what was necessary.

’T-this is my line of thought...? I really am becoming a monster.’

Zayn began to cry fake tears that hid real pain.

"Maks, you know nothing! Do you think I wanted to kill Axel? No! Why would I want to do something so heinous?! I had to! I tried to protect everyone, but I failed!"

Zayn let the tears spill faster. His voice climbed until it cracked beneath the strain.

"I-if you want to break me down for that, go right ahead! I failed at protecting everyone! B-but please... don’t accuse me of their murder... It’s just too much. You know nothing of how I feel. You know nothing of the horror I witnessed! Nothing of what I just went through... You’re lucky... You’re lucky you’re so damn weak! If you were stronger, maybe you would have been the one forced to watch your friend being controlled and forced to slaughter your allies. Maybe you would have been the one forced to kill your friend! Maybe you would be the one who had to listen to his final words when he regained control of his dying body — his thanks for your sword plunged in his heart! Maybe you would be forced to bear it all! But, no! You’re weak! And because of that, you got to rest in the corner while I had to watch everyone die helplessly!"

The performance bled into something real.

Zayn seized Maks by the shirt and slammed him back against the ground.

"I was only able to kill Axel because he was distracted by killing the others! I’m only alive because of their sacrifice! Don’t accuse me like you know anything! I didn’t want any of this! You know nothing of how I feel! Is all of this too much to handle, so you try to blame me for this when you know nothing?! I’m sorry, but I can’t accept that! I already failed to protect my friends! If you insist on calling me a murderer for my inability to stop him, you’re just as at fault for their murder as I am!"

Maks tried to speak but could barely form a word.

"I..."

Zayn hovered over him, tears streaming down his face and Claire’s blood still wet across his hands. Then, he covered his face with them, smearing crimson across his skin. His rage fractured, each scream collapsing into anguish.

"No! I’m sorry! I take it back! You’re not the person who shoved a sword into their friend’s chest! I am a murderer! I alone! I killed them all! I could have done something, but I didn’t! I found out that Axel was a disaster early on, but I refused to acknowledge it. He was too nice and caring. He did nothing that showed any signs of hostility. If I had done something, anything, I c-could have prevented all of this, but I refused to believe someone like him was evil. I didn’t even consider the notion that a disaster wasn’t a being but a power that controlled a being. If... if I had taken action, Claire, Ryon, and Connor would still be alive. I could have killed Axel and prevented all of this! So yes, I am a filthy murderer. Please, don’t make me suffer through this cursed world anymore, Maks. Pin all of the blame on me! Hate me and resent me! Then kill me! Please, for your sake and my own, let me be free of this world!"

Zayn released Maks, then reached for his bloody sword lying nearby and tossed it onto the ground beside him.

Maks let go of Zayn’s shirt, and his good arm fell limp beside him.

Whatever fight had remained in Maks vanished. Tears welled in his eyes.

"I-I’m sorry..."

Zayn couldn’t let go of the momentum.

’I hate myself.’

Even if he felt he’d never be able to face Alina with a smile again, he had no path but forward.

Zayn seized the opportunity.

"W-what are you doing...? What are you doing?! Why stop now?! Don’t look at me with such pity in your eyes! Please! I can’t take this anymore! Hate me! Kill me! Please, I don’t want to do this! I don’t want to do this damn task! I’m not fit to kill the disasters! I don’t want to kill another human! Free me from my suffering!"

Maks grimaced on the ground, his own tears escaping now. Finally, he shouted:

"Stop! Shut up! I said I’m sorry! I get I’m weak, and you suffered for it! I get it! So stop! There’s no reason for you to die! If you feel guilty about your actions, then make up for it!"

Zayn punched Maks weakly, busting open his lip. Then, he screamed:

"How, how could I possibly do that, Maks?! How can a murderer be absolved of a crime they committed with intention?! I intended to stab Axel through the heart, and that’s exactly what I did!"

Maks spit out blood, then shouted back:

"Y-you’re wrong! If it is as you say, then you stabbed the disaster through the heart, not Axel!"

’Ironic...’

They had switched sides somewhere along the way.

Of course, the reversal was exactly what the manufactured monster wanted.

Zayn shuddered and screamed:

"That doesn’t change the fact that I can’t make up for my mistake. I’m responsible for the deaths of Connor, Ryon, Axel, and Claire."

Maks looked Zayn dead in the eyes and spoke:

"You can make up for it..."

Zayn made his body tremble even harder.

"How could I possibly do that?!"

Zayn hated what he was doing. But if he didn’t, he’d have to take another innocent man’s life... No, that wasn’t entirely true. He could simply let Maks go.

But doing so would betray every action he had taken thus far.

And Zayn... Zayn was done being a filthy hypocrite.

’I should give Amaya credit for telling me to practice my acting.’

Even if she’d said it jokingly.

Maks wiped at his tears and, when he spoke again, his voice carried none of the rage from before. Only grim resolve remained.

"You said there were sixteen disasters, correct?"

Zayn yelled back through a wall of tears:

"Y-yes... But why does that matter?!"

Maks uttered quietly:

"Because it means that this situation is bound to happen again."

"M-Maks, what are you trying to say?"

Zayn gripped his shirt as hard as he could, turning the parts of his knuckles not covered by Claire’s blood pure white.

"I’m trying to say you can make up for this by killing the other disasters."

"You want me to... to kill again? How is killing more people going to make up for their deaths? How will it ever rectify my mistakes?!"

Maks swatted Zayn’s hands away with all the remaining strength he had before retorting:

"I’m saying that we should look past this and save others from a future situation like this."

"D-did you not hear what I said earlier?! A disaster is a power that controls innocent people! Don’t tell me you are asking me to kill innocents!"

Maks roared back:

"If it has to be done to stop something like this from happening again!"

"You would make me live as a murderer?!"

"I have no intention of making you walk this path alone."

Zayn couldn’t believe it...

With Claire, Zayn had no chance of hiding his deed nor guaranteeing her silence, but Maks already knew about his task and had witnessed only fragments of what happened. That gap had given Zayn room to bury the truth.

And somehow, he had twisted that lie far enough to gain an accomplice.

Zayn avoided his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I’ll help you," Maks murmured.

"Why would you do that? I got your lover killed. Should you not be filled with anger and hate directed toward me? Helping me won’t bring her back! You have no reason to help me!"

Zayn prodded at the wound one last time, hoping to cement their new partnership. If he had misread Maks, though, he risked unraveling everything he had just built.

Maks screamed, his voice consumed by rage:

"I get that she’s dead, so stop saying it! You’re right, I’m angry! I’m terribly mad! But taking all that frustration out on you is not what Claire would’ve wanted. I’m not asking for her or anyone’s life back. I’m saying that we need to commit evil to stop a greater evil!"

’Success... A pitiful success.’

It was a success marred by falsities. Zayn felt disgusting.

No — he was disgusting.

Nobody should ever forgive him — especially not himself.

"I-I’m sorry..."

Zayn apologized to Maks for tricking him, hiding the confession behind words Maks could never understand. As though that made any difference after what he had done.

Maks let a few tears roll down his cheeks and spoke solemnly:

"Stop apologizing, there’s no need. You did nothing wrong... so don’t apologize. Take this situation as an example of the dangers of the disasters, and resolve yourself to kill, even if that leads to killing an innocent person who knows nothing of the power hidden within them. So tell me... are you willing to move forward, even if that means walking a path filled with blood?"

Zayn paused for a moment before slowly nodding.

A smile threatened to creep across his face. Not because he had successfully gaslit Maks.

Because there was now one less person he had to kill.

[You are being summoned to the next trial]

The grating voice filled his ears, and a window popped up in front of him, signaling that the evidence of his crime here was about to be forever hidden.

A blue light surrounded Zayn and Maks, swallowing them whole before hurling them into an unfamiliar area.

’Dirty...’

’I feel dirty.’