CHAPTER 44: WHAT IT’S LIKE TO DIE AGAIN (2)

Shimada took a moment as he thought about it. "Honestly I’m fine with sticking out the journey, I’d be dumb if I skipped out with all these beautiful girls around!" Shimada shouts with excitement after giving his answer.

That’s the answer I was kind of expecting him to give after seeing his ship at the docks for the first time. It suits him all too well to just give up when women are involved.

He’s a sucker for them above all else so that settles everything for the rest of our journey.

"Then let’s continue on, we’re almost there." Liora interrupts before letting out a small sigh.

It was interesting to take in the different scenery around us since everything was used to scare people off typically. I think it gives me an idea of what to expect ahead of this all.

The party continues onwards for a bit while keeping a close eye on their surroundings since this was enemy territory after all. A lot of people could be lurking in the shadows for all they know.

I’ve definitely got a lot of different thoughts going through my mind right now but I don’t know what kind of enemies to expect. The general was Strong and Liora warned of way stronger people that we aren’t ready for.

That’s kind of got me wondering if we’ll be able to handle the enemies here or not since we don’t know anything.

Within a matter of seconds everything changed from good to absolutely terrible, terrifying even. An arrow came flying towards Shimada without any sort of idea where it came from.

It struck him with brutal force, forcing him to fall to his knees as he gasps, struggling to breathe. The arrow had pierced his throat and left him crippled before he finally hit the ground.

Shimada was dead as the others panicked... No clue what they could do with no information about where the arrows came from.

"We need to get out of the open!" Artemis shouts while trying to keep his composure.

I could see the panic in everyone else’s eyes as they look towards me for guidance but I don’t even know what to do. Other than finding cover I’m completely clueless on how to handle this situation.

But before anyone else could move Artemis turns to see a few more arrows pierce Liora without fail. Four arrows to her back that force her to fall to the ground as well, leaving her body lifeless.

Why is this happening now of all times?!?! Everyone is dying without a way for me to stop it from happening...

Blood started to form in a puddle around Liora and Shimada as their bodies laid on the floor. Artemis, Cynthia, and Amelia were all that remains after the current attack with no clue on how to react to it all.

"I can’t pinpoint the direction that they are attacking from." Cynthia speaks up with a bit of fear in her voice.

I’ve got no choice but to rely on my abilities here if I’m going to beat whoever the hell is attacking us. This can’t be the way that we all die right?!?! No, I’ll come back.

I won’t let this be the end of everyone’s lives— We’ve all come this far together so I won’t let everyone else die like this. Not in a place like this of all places.

Artemis dashes towards the last place he saw arrows come from with his sword out and ready to go. But as he moves away from the girls he just barely hears someone rushing pash him, slicing his left hand side.

Splurt!!!! Splatter!!!! Blood gushed out from his side as it quickly hit the ground. It didn’t take long for him to fall to his knees as he turned to look at his remaining allies.

This pain is even worse than the being that first killed me back on the ship but maybe it’s because this wasn’t aimed at my heart. This was just a simple attack to throw me off so it could deal with the others.

Come on, I need help... Please don’t let it happen like this.

Before his eyes he could see the attacker easily slashing through Cynthia and then Amelia not long after. Leaving two more bodies on the ground next to the others.

Everyone in my party was dead and I couldn’t keep true to my pact with Amelia. What happens if she dies while I’m still under the pact with her...?

Drip. Drip. Blood continues to hit the floor as Artemis feels a sharp pain go throughout his body, piercing his soul. Thud. His body soon hits the floor after, his vision slowly begins to get darker and darker as he lays there.

Everything in my body feels like it’s shutting down, I guess this is one of the side effects of the pact. Other than the excessive blood I lost from that slash across my side... Me failing to stick to the terms of the pact will cost me after all...

His heart stops within the next few seconds as everything disappears around me— The abyss starts to form around him once again as the light gets further and further away.

The same feeling was consuming him once again, he was all alone here.

I knew I was going to have to die with how everything went to begin with but I didn’t think I’d have to deal with the abyss again. Then again, the abyss is something I should be welcoming with how my abilities work.

"You should take advantage of everything you know now, use it to help save your party." The girls voice echoes around him.

That’s the biggest advantage I have with this whole power of being able to return by death— except I don’t know how far back it will take me.

It’ll definitely be quite interesting to see what happens this time with my resurrection into the world...

"I won’t let them all die this time." Artemis speaks up as he floats in the abyss.

Everything is consuming me here, did the girl even hear me say that?