My eyelids were heavy and my head was throbbing. It felt like someone was hitting my skull over and over again using a hammer. To make things worse, one of my arms was hurting too....
'Ah....what the fuck happend?'
My eyes slowly opended. Everything was blurry for a few seconds, then I saw a breathtaking beauty kneeling beside my laying body.
'Isabella? Thank goodness she is okay...."
I tried sitting up, but my body refused to move. I felt exhausted and every inch of my body, for some reason, was sore. What exactly happend while I was knocked out?
'The tiger....'
I only remembered Isabella standing before the Tiger, with my royal Retainer in Hand. Did she win the fight? Is that why she was fine? Is she that impressive....?
**Bang!!**
A violent explosion suddenly shook me to the core, distracting me of my thoughts. I tried turning my neck to get a good look, but all I could do was stare up at Isabella with wide eyes. What was going on? She looked distressed for some reason. Did something happen? Was the tiger alive, after all?
My ringing ears halted for a moment, I noticed that her lips was moving and I managed to catch what she was saying.
"....No, no. It's a good thing. It was injured. Mortally injured. Unless that tiger has a healer ally, it would be impossible to recover from those wounds."
I blinked. What? Just what happend while I was out?
"What are you talking about?"
I asked, suddenly able to move my mouth. My jaw felt sore, but I'm slowly regaining strength. I supposed that I was stunned for a moment, having never experienced being straight up knocked out like that— besides being strangled to death, of course.
Isabella stared down at me with an incredulous expression, a mixture of relief and annoyance on her beautiful face.
"You're awake."
I didn't say anything else and glanced down at my arm. Wasn't it severed? But as I did, I realized that Isabella had stopped by bleeding using a cloth. Presumably from her own tunic. Is she a medic now, too?
"Uh....thanks for going out of your way to save me."
I coughed, then awkwardly tried to sit up. Isabella had to help me.
"What exactly happend when I passed out?"
Isabella shifted. She was silent for awhile, then, began to recount everything that had happend.
"Once you passed out, I fought the tiger and managed to stop it from trying to eat you. I also learned a few things. The tiger has an ally, or maybe more than one. It's blessing abilities doesn't grant it the ability to create loops, atleast, I think so. It's more offensive."
I listened intently, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"How did you even learn this?"
She smiled mischievously.
"Oh? The tiger told me, of course! It was going on and on about how your much tastier than me. I couldn't help but be offended."
My eyes widened in shock, my face growing pale. She's joking, right?
"A–a talking animal....?"
Isabella laughed at my reaction, clearly enjoying herself. I couldn't help but glare at her.
"Yes. Some animals can gain a certain level of awareness and intelligence after being bestowed their own blessing and curse. The tiger is one of them, but you don't need to worry. It's still not smart enough to compare to an average human being in resourcefulness and cunning."
Isabella then slapped her own cheek.
"I'm getting distracted! Anyways, as I was saying, the Tiger's Blessing ability is pretty simple but hard to deal with. It can become tangible and intangible whenever it want. It can't attack while intangible, but can while tangible."
I stared at her in confusion, unsure of what these fancy words meant. Prompting her to sigh in exasperation and explain.
"Intangible is similar to being like a ghost. You can't touch it and it can't touch you. Tangible, well, the opposite."
I nodded in understanding.
"Anyways, I managed to wound it earlier from the explosion. It won't be showing up anytime soon. So, for now, we need to focus on finding the animal responsible for this loop."
That explosion.....it was done by her? My mouth went agape.
"You are able to explode stuff? I thought you can only manipulate air!"
Isabella giggled.
"Oh, you naive boy. Yes, I can only manipulate air, but that's exactly how I created an explosion. By compressing the air into a dense sphere, I can just let the laws of the world do the rest. Sure, an explosion like that might not be as strong as a grenade, but it worked. That's stupid tiger just run into it!"
Then, she slowly sat up and dusted off her torn tunic.
"Let's get to moving. Im gonna die from thirst at this rate."
'How many times will you say that?'
I rolled my eyes, but stood up on unsteady legs and followed her. I felt.....strong for some reason. Im able to recover much faster and last much longer too. The physical attributes might have gone through quite the change. The last time I checked, Balance was the highest, but it could have changed now.
However, right now, I don't have the luxury of checking it out and I'm not in the mood for it either. The lake.....we need to get to it before some other humans do, if there are some around here, anyway.
"Did you manage to figure out the animal behind the loop, then?"
Isabella shrugged.
"Nope, but we will eventually. Since it's hiding itself and not daring to show itself, we can easily realize that it's weak. Atleast, physically. That thing relies on the tiger to hunt its prey."
I nodded. It made perfect sense, but it could also be a deception. Im not gonna jump to conclusions yet, but simply assuming that this enemy is clearly weaker than the tiger can be some confidence. We might be able to make out of this situation alive. Just maybe. Since I have placed my trust in Isabella, I have to trust her.
"So, how are we gonna find it? Lure it out using some bait? Or are we gonna search for the tiger?"
Isabella didn't spare me a glance and continued walking ahead. She didn't answer for a few seconds, before halting.
"We are gonna kill every single living thing we come across, of course! How else?"
I stared at her in shock, but then I laughed, assuming she was joking. But her stare said otherwise.
"You're joking, right?"
Isabella smiled slowly.
"No. Im not joking, Morgan. Chop-chop! Get to work!"
Isabella was already moving, killing every insect or other animals she can by, but mostly insects. There isn't much of other types of animals around, but this was the most surefire method of ending the loop. As much as I left bad killing these insects, it had to be done. Now that I think about it....
These insects don't count as kills. Is it because they are fake? Are they here just for show? Isabella did mention that The Mulligan invites every living Creature that died within the same hour. So, there should be a bunch of insects. They should be the group occupying most of the millions and yet....these don't count.
'Huh.....was Isabella lying to me?'
That strange thought entered my head, as I felt something pecking my neck. I glance at each side of mine, but found nothing.
'Isabella is acting suspicious....'
Once again, I thought of something I didn't intend on. I spared Isabella a glance, who also at the same time, stared at me. Both of our stares were intense, filled with doubt and suspicion for each other.
But then I shook my head.
'Hold on, why am I feeling this way? I was happy about being by her side just a moment ago, but now....'
Once again, I felt something sharp pecking the nape of my neck, making that thought disappear. I was unsure of what was happening, but shrugged and continued with the task at hand. I had to kill these insects and find a way out of this loop. Yeah, that's right...
"But is it, really?"
I heard a voice. My voice. From the shadows beneath the tree, a perfect replica of myself appeared. This one didn't look as frail as me and the features weren't that ordinary— in fact, one could say that I even looked slightly handsome. So, I was a bit shocked to say the least and proud.
'I look this good?'
I was momentarily distracted by everything else, just staring at myself. Then, the duplicate opended his mouth and spoke once more.
"Isabella was the one who found out about the loop. Somehow, she did it in just one run. Isn't that suspicious? She also seemed to have "fought" a tiger that was bigger, stronger and more agile than her, yet came out victorious, with her body barely wounded. What does this mean, Morgan?"
The other Morgan slowly circled around him, sewing the seeds of doubt inside me. If I was in the right state of mind, I would of been shocked that another me existed and would of rationally realized that this was a blessing ability meant to turn me against Isabella, but I'm not like that. I never had too great mental defenses. So, my head was slowly turning to face Isabella, my eyes burning with suspicion and pain of betrayal.
"She really betrayed me?"
I asked my other self. Who chuckled in response and nodded.
"Yes, she had. Did you know? When you were asleep, she was complaining about how naive and retarded you were. That the only reason she stuck with you was because you had a decent blessing ability. You think she cared for you? God's, no! She never did! It was all a ploy. But now.....but now that you know, you must kill her. Kill her for me, Morgan."
I hesitated. Something about those words felt wrong. Something was saying that I shouldn't listen to them, but it was weak and so easy to disregard. My other self was right. Isabella has always been suspicious. She already stabbed me in the back once, who's to say she won't do it again? Now here she was, doing exactly that. I won't allow her to treat me like this any longer.
Burning with fury, I suddenly felt my body strengthen and my mind become void of any thoughts besides—
'I'm gonna kill that bitch.'
________________________________________
I was leisurely stopping down on the insects using my bare feet. It was a strange feeling. They felt so real, yet I knew they were fake. If they were real, the overseer would of whispered in my ear of it's death. But there is no whisper.
'It's an illusion.'
I came to that conclusion, but then I heard something move in the bushes behind me. Alerted, I stepped back and turned to face where the sound came from.
"Isabella."
A familier voice echoed, causing my heart to race. From the shadows.....another me? Appeared. It was a perfect replica, from my height, figure, hair colour and skin tone. I was almost amazed by how beautiful I was, but then I stared at the duplicate warily.
'It must be some strange Blessing ability. Is Morgan also going through the same thing?'
The second Isabella took a step forward and smiled.
"Why must you waste your precious time on that useless fellow? He is worth nothing because he knows nothing and knows how to do nothing. Yet here you are, protecting him so fiercely, as if you didn't meet him just three days ago. Haven't you considered how easy it would be to just betray him, the same way he would to you?"
My heart stirred at those words. I knew this was some sort of mental manipulation, but it was so strong. I couldn't help but listen to these words with utmost interest.
"It's because.....because he is useful."
The second Isabella shook her head.
"Do you really believe that? Sure, he is useful. He follows your orders and does exactly what you ask of him, no questions asked. He is also fun to tease, isn't he? But haven't you thought about what goes on in his head? You are a beautiful women, Isabella. Just how long will that man be able to control his desires? How can you be sure he won't force himself onto you? The Mulligan has no laws against rape, you know...."
My breathed hitched at those words. That's right. How can I be sure? I can't. I cant be sure at all. In fact, it's been one of my worries ever since I met him. I knew he stared at me that way, that he didn't dare to act upon those desires, but how long will he be able to resist? I'm sure I'll be able to defend myself when the day comes, but what if I'm unable to and my trust towards him becomes my undoing?
I imagined the scene and it made me shudder. The duplicate of mine just grinned.
"That's right, Isabella. You can't take the risk. You have to kill him. Your much stronger than him, much more experienced and skilled. Kill him before it's too late."
I suddenly turned around and glared at Morgan who was a distance away from me. Only one thought was echoing in my mind—
'I'm gonna kill that retard.'