Simon tried.
He tried so hard to resist the madness and pain that was threatening to overtake his mind.
But he knew that he would fail.
It was like an infestation, a corruption... No... A second personality.
This second personality seemed to be him without Fearless but with Madness instead.
"Let’s play a game."
Critter
"Let’s play a game."
Critter
"Let’s play a game."
Critter
Both sounds constantly echoed and reverberated in Simon’s mind and throughout his body.
’No. No. No.’
’I don’t know what this is and why this is happening to me, but NO!’
’I refuse to give in to the MADNESS!’
Unfortunately for Simon, once the trigger was pulled... the bullet would definitely be fired.
The words- Play and Game- were the trigger, and Simon now knew that there was a much bigger problem he never knew of.
He clutched his tightly, veins slowly appeared in his eyes on his forehead, and unknown to him, he was gritting his teeth like a mentally deranged person.
And his aura became chaotic.
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to roar.
He wanted to shout.
But for some reason, he just could not.
And a few seconds later, his hands slowly fell and his aura receded back to normal.
The world was silent for a moment, and Lucien, First Blade, and the Winter Monkey looked at Simon with frowns.
Was he back to normal?
Simon suddenly inhaled deeply before exhaling softly.
He looked at First Blade who was floating in the air, then he tilted his head at the old demon.
"Hey... old bastard." Simon said.
First Blade frowned, but he said nothing.
Simon smiled, and though it was a light smile, his eyes were filled with madness.
"You talked about games, right? Let’s play a game called... Simon says."
"What?" First Blade frowned.
And even Lucien and the Winter Monkey could not help but give Simon strange looks.
What in the world was he talking about now?
What game was... Simon says?
"Is something wrong with you?" First Blade could not help but ask.
Simon chuckled softly, but he didn’t give an answer.
Instead, wind chaos runes appeared around him, then the wind carried him to the air.
To everybody’s surprise, he was approaching First Blade!
"What the fuck is that bastard doing?" Lucien cursed with wide eyes when he saw Simon approach First Blade.
The Winter Monkey said nothing, but he too had a baffled expression as he watched Simon and First Blade.
Meanwhile, Simon finally got close to First Blade.
To First Blade’s surprise, Simon was standing close to him. If he swung his sword, he would definitely cut Simon.
’Wait. No... At this distance, if I swung my sword without taking a step forward... I’ll miss. The tip of my sword is going to miss this bastard by an inch.’
First Blade’s eyes flickered with a shocked light, and he could not help but look at Simon who still had the unnerving smile on his face.
’Did he do it on purpose? Or is it just a coincidence? Could it be something he did instinctively because of his talent for swords?’
’I want him even more now.’
Snap Snap
"Hey."
Snap Snap
"Hey."
Simon snapped his fingers at First Blade, forcing First Blade to come out of his realm of thoughts.
"What?" First Blade frowned.
Simon tilted his head with the same smile.
"I asked a question... Do you want to play Simon says?"
First Blade’s frown deepened.
"What is Simon says?"
Simon chuckled.
"Well, it’s simple. I’ll be Simon."
He gestured at himself.
"I’ll tell you to do some things as Simon and you have to do them no matter what. If I don’t tell you to do those things as Simon, you must not do them."
"If you fail to comply with these simple rules of the game, you’ve failed and there’ll be a punishment."
First Blade gave Simon a completely strange look, and he was not the only one that did so.
Lucien and the Winter Monkey had the same expression as First Blade.
’This bastard has definitely gone crazy. I need to find a way to escape.’
Just as Lucien had this thought, First Blade spoke.
"And why do you think I’ll play this stupid game of yours?"
Simon gave no response, but his smile widened, and the broken ring around his pupils started rotating.
First Blade shook his head when he saw that Simon was not saying anything.
"I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but this has gone on for too long. Follow me back to the clan and become my disciple. I promise you that Ormon would do you no harm."
"Hmm." Simon placed his fingers on his chin, making it seem like he was deep in his thoughts.
However...
First Blade’s instincts suddenly screamed at him and his expression drastically changed.
The two arms at his back moved and crossed the swords they were holding in an attempt to block the sword they were holding.
However...
Cut!
One of First Blade’s four arms was severed and it spun in the air multiple times before falling into the sea below.
Silence
There was silence for a moment, but it was shattered by First Blade’s scream of pain.
"ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!"
The old demon screamed in pain when his brain finally realized the loss of his arm.
First Blade could not recall the last time he felt such pain, but there was something else that baffled him.
The pain he was feeling from the severance of his arm was too much.
This would not be the first time that his arm would be severed, but he always found a way to attach it back or heal it.
So why was he feeling so much pain?
And who attacked him?
He gritted his teeth and he quickly distanced himself from his attacker.
As he moved, he turned and to his disbelief and shock, he saw that Simon was the one that attacked him.
He could not help but feel a chill across his spine.
’What sort of illusion ability is this? Have I been talking to an illusion all this while?’
First Blade felt fear for the first time since he appeared before Simon in this frozen land, and the mad smile on his face and in his eyes made the old demon to realize that he was in danger.
Meanwhile, Simon stretched out his hand and the chaos wraps moved.
"Simon says..."
Whoosh!
The chaos wraps shot through the air like a bullet, and in the blink of an eye, they wrapped themselves around First Blade’s waist.
Simon tilted his head slightly.
"Simon says fall."
He held the chaos wraps, then he swung it up before swinging it down.
First Blade’s eyes widened in shock as he was swung like a piece of trash.
’I need to cut it before-’
His words were cut short as he suddenly felt a terrifying heat engulf the insides of his body.
He screamed.
"AHHH-"
But his scream was cut off when the chaos wraps turned his body to ash.