Dual System: Ascension of A Nameless Nobody

Chapter 44 Unspeakable Despair

"Hyun!" Ara called out to him.

He turned around, barely managing to lift his sword as another object crashed against it, wielded by the towering, heavily-breathing man who had sprinted the length of the ominous chamber in the blink of an eye.

Though he guarded against the sudden attack, it was nothing short of a miracle, and even then, he was pushed back immediately as his soles slid across the ground.

"...Little man…Little woman…"

The enigmatic giant of a man spoke in a bellowing voice, pushing his curved, blood-stained claymore against his much smaller blade.

His eyes were unable to be seen through the dark holes poked into the makeshift mask he wore, though his gaze could be felt as he struggled against the monstrous strength possessed by the tall man, gritting his teeth.

"Ara…run–!" He yelled out again, though strained as he was pushed back further.

It didn't take long for his back to meet against the wall, having little room to resist the push of the large, unclean weapon wielded haphazardly by the hunched-over giant.

His arms trembled, quivering as he used both hands to grip his sword, already breaking into a heavy sweat as he focused his entire being on pushing back against the towering man.

The entire time, he could feel the hot, unpleasant breath of the man befall him, overshadowed completely.

"Cast: Stone Seal!"

–Ara invoked her magecraft, assisting her sibling as stone-made chains protruded from the ground, wrapping themselves around the wrists and ankles of the lumbering brute.

"What's…this…?" The giant man bellowed.

Rather than being frightened or angered, the man only simply seemed curious, looking at his bindings as the much smaller, orange-haired man finally escaped from his push, ducking and rolling away as he runited with his sister.

Getting a complete look at the giant again, who was bound in chains of pale-gray stone, the system simply returned back to him an "error" when retrieving player information.

"...It's just like before–with those other people…! He's a player hunter!" Ara said anxiously, gripping onto his sleeve.

"Yeah…let's get the hell out of here!" He said, beginning to turn back towards the stairs.

"We can't go back though–it's sealed off!" She reminded him.

He paused for a moment, hastened with anxiety as he could see the giant man fiddling with his bindings.

"...Peculiar…New magic…" The giant man mumbled, tugging on the stone chains.

The thought occurred to him to use the sword in his hand and strike the man while he was bound, but something screamed at him to run instead.

Still, he was stifled by the thought of traveling even deeper into the domain, but it was looking to be the only option as he grabbed his sister's hand, taking off in a sprint through the dreadful chamber and into the next hall.

They didn't exchange words while running, only concentrating on getting away from the giant man. His heart thumped wildly in his body, slamming against his chest as he concentrated only on moving one foot in front of the other, as quickly as possible.

He hardly even digested his surroundings, not realizing until it was too late, after taking sharp corner after sharp corner with his sister's hand held in his own that he was in some sort of dark, sooty labyrinth.

The air was thick and hard to breath; filled with abhorrent particles that filled his lungs with a particular disgust, fueled by the clammy walls that were slick with grime, blood, or a mixture of both. From the walls, chains hung, some holding bits and pieces of what looked to be flesh–some of animals, and some questionably of something more dark.

"What's this…?" He said quietly, coming to a stop.

There was no response from his muttered question as he looked up at the ceiling, which seemed to to be inhabited by silver spikes.

"Ara–?"

Looking back after receiving no response from his sister, he clenched her hand, feeling no feedback as he finally turned around to see–nothing.

"Ara…?"

Everything went cold; his ears rang, and his heart stifled.

What he held in his quivering grip was indeed his sister's hand, but it was attached to nothing else. There was nothing he could do but stand there–frozen–for the moments that dragged on like an eternity of utter horror.

He immediately dropped it out of sheer terror, falling onto his rear as his legs gave out from beneath him. Even his blade fell from his grip, tumbling onto the floor below as the steel rattled, echoing off of the narrow, deathly walls as he began hyperventilating.

It felt as if his breath was forever lost from his lungs, unable to manage the rapid compression and expansion of his crazed respiratory system.

"Ara…Ara…Ara…!" He repeated her name, beginning to scream it out in hopes of getting a response in turn.

–No such luck came.

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

Heavy steps appeared, vibrating the ground he sat on in horror with each slow step. Even still, he could hardly process such a thing as shock enveloped his body, running along his skin in the form of a pale, unseen sheet of ice.

"...Little sheep…fleeing…"

It was that harrowing, bellowing voice that met his ears as a large figure began to become visible from the shadows clinging to the corridor.

Each heavy step caused the chains shackled to the walls to chime as the sound of something being dragged across the floor filled his ringing ears with a repetitive scratch.

"Sinners must be…saved…"

He finally came into view–unfortunately for the trembling eyes of the orange-haired man.

Being dragged in one hand by the giant, hunched-over man was the broken and beaten, bloodied body of a girl familiar to him.

"...Ara…!" He called out, straining his throat as tears fled his eyes.

To the fortune of his sanity, she was still alive, though hardly conscious as he looked at him, being held by her hair as she reached out to him with her singular, blood-soaked hand.

"Hyun…"