The edge of the dagger expanded as heat kept accumulating.
Blood rushed outside from his mouth, eyes and ears all at the same exact moment of the creature's presence, his mind was continuously filled to the brim with the sounds of the radiators that clicked. Each click draws him closer to the cold embrace of insanity.
As the damage to his brain added, the dagger whistled steam, warning that it was about to explode.
Cale didn't stop focusing on the blade's heat, even as his willpower was crushed to shards, he made sure that the blade would explode on him no matter what may occur.
Wheeeee!
Its final warning set off, chains of last bit of restraint crumbled, a flash full of flames washed over the entire corridor.
Cale's vision manifested a white line, a line his body instinctively strengthened itself to accomplish the guide it set.
The space then grew quiet, silent and afraid to make a murmur.
The light dimmed, two pairs of white dots crunched closer.
Cale wasn't in front of it, that present fact made its curved upturned smile lower into its opposite.
However, soon its smile returned after observing the puddle of blood left behind.
No one could escape unscathed after an explosion that powerful, it thought, inching a tad closer to the trail.
Its fog-like body waved toward the corner, it flicked its two white dots to the right and observed the corridor for a while.
———?
Lowering its gaze to the abrupt end of the blood trail, its expression festered confusion.
Knowing that what Cale was using was an artifact that bound itself to the unique blood of the user and evolved into 'Bloodline Equipment,' it decided to be careful and make sure it wouldn't be used on its fog-like body.
Since the thing that possessed that gun absolutely detested anything connected to that demon, Cale would be able to harm it simply out of the hatred the tool in his hands held for their existence and anything related to it, even Gardenia.
Originally, that was the plan, but seeing Cale on his last legs and breathing his last breaths, it couldn't help but to try and kill that eyesore, finally getting rid of that darned ghost that posed the only real threat to its master.
It knew that without the weapon, Cale wouldn't be capable of even putting a scratch on them.
Of course, it also hadn't known that the ego shard inside Cale's soul would have already progressed to the point of altering his sense of fear.
So naturally.
———!
It would be astonished to see the cold silver gleam at it from the darkest corners of the corridor.
Bang!
Fwoosh!
The bullet left, its speed and power now in an entirely new league than when first used.
Shattering through the black mist as if it were glass, its velocity zeroed upon impact, it bulged before unleashing yet another flash of light that now attempted to light up the entire cabin.
Formations of ice towered to the ceiling, unable to truly break through it due to an immovable force rejecting their advance.
Cale heaved heavy breaths, lips dry and throat parched for water as ice froze his wounds with another layer of cold. Stretching his survival a few more minutes.
"Haa...Haa..."
The glacier broke into pale particles that seamlessly seeped into Cale's skin. Turning him colder than before.
Cale flicked his eyes toward the metal cage door where the colored keypad gleamed with a pale light.
Blinking, he let out a dry laugh.
"Ha ha....Cold was the answer?"
His eyes saved the image of the 4 symbols on the keypad, making sure not to forget. After memorizing the symbols and the numbers next to them. Cale's attention then shifted to the glowing dots of white crawling away.
Step.
He took a step on the velvet carpet, his hand ruffling through his hair as his other hand constrained tightly on the gun.
"Is it me...Or am I seeing an awful lot of you disgusting animals crawl for survival the moment I'm even close to beating you?" He flatly said, throat prickling under the mild strain.
Though the pair of two white dots had a head start, it didn't mean it would be faster than a bipedal creature like Cale.
It had lost, for an absurd reason at that.
Cale was too tired to even care about its struggle. However, there was one thing he was genuinely curious about. So, he asked, wanting to satiate his curiosity to the brim.
"It doesn't matter whether you answer or not, but I'll ask anyway."
The last bit of dark smoke stopped its pitiful attempt at escaping, its white dots quivering.
"Who is and what exactly is the demon?" Cale asked, then as if realizing his mistake he corrected himself.
"Ah I don't mean about Feigling, for all I know that kid could very well be dead with the amount of death flags swarming him. I'm specifically asking for the demon that dares to wear the skin of the dead child."
Silence mixed with the tension of the room, it stayed that way for a while.
Below the two white dots, its smile had long been wiped clean.
It was going to die. So, since it was going to die no matter what happened, it began to recite its last words that no one would care for, that no one would even sympathize for.
And it was right, Cale would try to understand, but he'd never sympathize with an animal.
[I...] Its thin lips oozed smoke and liquid as it decided to open up on the brink of absolute death.
[Am subservient toward my master and my master only... In his name I make sure not even the history of the souls he buried pass through here.]
It remembered the day when it was created, the day it saw the real face, the real and twisted nature that its master's body took heavy inspiration from. The cruelty behind every action.
All in order to escape this hellish prison that nailed its existence in place.
And now, after a century, after a century of the storiem shifting and changing due to T███ influence. In the shape of a little boy, it had finally seen the rope of escape descend.
The jewel prison appeared in the form of a collar. As its master recalled.
A tool so rich in value and history it could even serve as the vessel for a factor of sin.
But obviously it also had a catch, a catch Feigling could easily look past as long as he was set free. And it wasn't that hard to fulfil, simple mental manipulation was all it took to ensure incarnation could be achieved.
As the servant, it would naturally assist in that manipulation, even if it cost it its life.
It spoke slowly, making sure not to say anything that would jeopardize its master's plan.
[My...Master's words...If you wish to escape...Listen to them.]
At the parting words, the corridor recorded the last sounds of the creature.
On Cale's face marred an unreadable expression, then it twisted into clear disappointment.
Cale sighed, as the two white dots turned to ash and the sun rose in the east. He turned on his heel, walking away from the scene to walk back to the living room, his mutters vibrating through the wind.
"It didn't answer my question...."
He said, his figure fading in the distance as the sun rose up from its short sleep again.