Fall

Proofreader : Tsu

The light… faded away…

Koko was no more. The only thing left that would prove his existence is the mascot costume he took off before the fight.

“Is it over? Thank god I can regrow my visual sensory organs or else I would be blinded by that,” Yateveo opened up the leaves that covered his eyes.

The first thing he saw was, however, not so pleasant. Melting Love was still at the same place. Her beautiful form now melting- no, decomposing back to her original slime form all the while screaming. The sound of the scream was not just from all the pain that she was feeling; her soul quite literally got ripped; her godly power torn away. It was mixed with a hint of confusion and sadness.

Eventually, it ended. Melting Love was now returned to her seductive pink slime form.

“Please let it be over,” Yateveo pleaded.

“No…no- NO!” Melting Love cried out loud before launching a few skulls that were left inside of her at Yateveo.

“I shouldn't have said it!” Yateveo ducks, or more accurately retreat back into the soil to evade getting his head bashed with the dead.

“...MY WORK! ...MY EFFORT! ...MY LOVE! IT SHALL BEAR FRUIT! I have gone too deep to back out now… I'M DEFINITELY NOT GONNA LET MY BROTHER HAVE THE LAST LAUGH, YOU HEAR ME?! Even if my power from philosopher stone got removed... I STILL HAVE ENOUGH MASS TO ASSIMILATE THIS WORLD!” Melting Love was now completely losing it, starting to rush towards Yateveo like a flood breaking through a dam.

Yateveo thought to himself, there is now a giant raging slime trying to use him as a vent for her frustration. How did meeting a man in a mascot custom led to this? A lot of people died for us to get here. He couldn’t care less. But...but...it is nice talking to them. Since we are already in this deep, might as well finish what they started.

“Well, since I already lost my pihanra plant army. I might as well go all in and use everything I saved up for the annihilation of the village that no longer exists... thanks to you.” Yateveo sighed.

“Come out! Come out! Spring has come! O flower of antimony! Time to spread thy seed!”

Yateveo chants a spell, causing a one-meter-tall weird poppy looking flowers to pop out of the ground everywhere. One of them grows just right in front of Melting Love. She could flow right through it of course, but the moment it touched her, it exploded into a wonderful fireball.

Pieces of Melting Love flew everywhere. And everywhere that it ends up at, more explosions follow.

“Ah...farewell, my 50 years of work.” Yateveo emits some sad noise.

“What...what the f\*\*k is that? How can a plant explode?! Wait….this taste and smell...oil?” The regrouped Melting Love said.

“Most people think fire beats trees. But nature ain't that so simple and straightforward. Wild trees happen all the time that some of us rely on to flourish. There are even those that took arson as a way to have an edge on competition. Evolution is full of surprises isn’t it?” Yateveo elaborated.

“Flower field but instead of flower it’s proximity mine, huh? In that case, I just have to tear the ground asunder then!” Without pause, Melting Love changes her appendage to that of a gigantic shovel blade and starts flipping the topsoil over. Causing quite a number of explosive poppy to explode by crushing it with earth, stone and themselves.

“Noooooo! My flower!!” Yateveo cried in pure sadness.

“I’m coming for yo-,” Melting Love stopped mid sentence as she noticed a blazing blue spear tip with a chain getting awfully close to her core. If she didn’t harden the slime around it any slower she would already be dead. But this weapon...only one person can use this.

Melting Love turns her head around to witness the perosn that impaled her.

“You do remember that I can’t actually die correct?” Waiter said with his cold pale face juxtaposing with the fire surrounding him. He gripped the chain tighter. Azure flame bursted out from his clench and quickly spread throughout the chain as if they were electricity conducting through wires.

“Time to punish a thief that stole one of my treasures!” Waiter said with a smile.

Seeing this, Melting Love quickly ejects herself from the chain in time before its tip turns into another firework. Her vision is now however, being greeted by a blue butterfly made out of flame.

“Lamentum Aeternale Flamma,” Waiter whispered out as he snapped his finger.

The butterfly detonates like a flashbang. In that brief moment, Melting Love felt as if she got strangled, pierced, stabbed, scalded, burned, drowned, and various other physical pain all at the same time. She could not comprehend most of this type of pain however since her anatomy is that of a slime.

“How does it feel to humans, huh?” Waiter asked.

“You idiot! To free you guys people from this kind of torture is why in the first place!” Melting Love replied.

“Well clearly you fail to do that just now.” Waiter smirk.

“Let me erase the cause of that pain then!” Melting Love starts releasing a barrage of acid sludge at Waiter, forcing him to relocate himself out of the blast zone. However, his speed is clearly not enough to evade all the rain, this prompts him to use his chain and fire spell more defensively.

She doesn’t have much time playing with Waiter however, as another thing seems to have once again invaded her body trying to reach her core. This time instead of chain, it’s Yateveo’s root tendril.

“You have prepared for trouble but did you expect it to be double?” Yateveo said.

“It's gonna explode, isn't it?” Melting Love sigh.

“Sorry but this root is not that of a potato mine but does have another trick….SUCC!” Yateveo proclaims as he is covered by a green aura.

“Y...you draining by mana?! No...you also drain my water and nutrients! ...n...nu! TWO CAN PLAY AT THAT GAME!” Melting Love bodies now also start glowing green.

“OH MOTHERFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” Yateveo screamed. He now has to endure the tug of suck between him and Melting Love. It doesn’t last that long however. As Waiter who had caught some break, shot several fireballs at Melting Love just like any wizards in DnD session. This constant back and forth between a tree and an edgy man anger Melting Love greatly.

Melting Love decided to grab Yateveo by his root, uproot him from the ground and try to smack him at Waiter.

“I’m sorry for what I’m about to do to you tree man.” Waiter said as he created more chains to cut down the root that connect him to Melting Love. Due to the rule of physics dictating that momentum is a thing, Yateveo is now likely the first living tree that experienced flight for a solid amount of time before hitting and sliding on the ground. It’s good that Yateveo covers himself with leafage as much as possible before returning to earth. This made him look more like a tumbleweed than a tree.

It’s worth mentioning that while all of this is happening, Yateveo is always screaming.

“Never before have I been so grateful with the body I have.” Yateveo said after his velocity reached zero.

“So how long do you intend to keep playing this game, huh? You two may keep me busy for a while but eventually your mana will run out before mine.” Melting Love mock.

“Oh, I know. But you see, as a man who has died many times before. I happened to have a chance to talk with your brother when I was crossing back from another side of the river.” Waiter smiled back.

“W...w...what? You’re bluffing!” Melting Love faces instantly change when the word ‘brother’ comes out of the conversation.

“I’m not bluffing. And that me give you some hint, slime princess. Taking away your power that you received from philosopher stone is not the only thing your brother has done. He also uses the philosopher stone to something else that he bet with his own life, quite literally, that will be your ultimate downfall.” Waiter explained.

“What do you mean…?” Melting Love asked.

“Why should I spoil the ending of a story for you? Doing that, in my book, is illegal.” Waiter replied wait a smug.

This incitement of aggression keeps the fight to continue.

While all of this is happening...on the other side.

……….

…….

…………..It’s cold.

…..The sensation...is bad. I felt no air. I hear no sound. Taste doesn’t exist. Slight? It’s like trying to look with an eye that is closed while the other one is still open. But it somehow happens to both of your eyes.

But….why does it feel so similar?

Out of nowhere, I can see again, but everything is still dark. In front of me sit an ashen hood figure on a swing with its ropes that go up to nowhere.

“So….Thou have acquired actual sentients? But how come thee return to see me so fast, my friend? Don’t tell me thou still don’t know how to properly use that body?” Hooded figure asked.

“Friend..?” I answered with a question.

“Oh….Ah! Sorry, that was idoitic of me. I forgot that thy memory must be a newly formed one as well...I suppose we can finally do a proper introduction exchange!”

The hooded figure stood up, took a bow, before continuing the speech.

“Greeting, I’m from the land where all the living will eventually return to. I’m as old as life itself. In my sight, the king, the bishop, the child and any other person are all the same. The ace of spades. The 13th of the card. The fourth of the seven seals. The pale rider. My name is Death. I am in charge of all the beast of the earth. Nice to meet thee.”

“You are Death?!...Does that mean I died?” I asked?

“Well yes but actually no...I will tell thee more about thy situation later. Please, now that I introduce myself. May thee introduce thyself as well?” Death replied.

“W...well...I’m just a guard plus an odd job of some random tow--”

“No, that is not thee.” Death cut me off before I can finish my sentence.

“Hm? What do you...mean...” I was about to ask...but I suddenly felt dizzy...my head started throbbing with a painful movement. Some weird pictures start flashing in my head. A broken horse carriage. Corpses. The sound of human screaming. A vision of blade crossing each other. Glimmer of gold. Spark of gun fire. My hand….missing?

“I am….a bandit? ...a highwayman? ...an outlaw?” I breathe as hard as I can but it doesn't dull the headache that I feel even a tiny bit.

“No, thou are not.” Death said.

“I am...” The thing I see is getting worse. There are corpses everywhere. Building abandoned. Farmland overgrowned. Doors with x marks on them. Bat. Mosquitoes. Blood…

“I am...” My breathing becomes more stable.

“My name is Yersin...” I answered.

“Yes...Does thou remember thy occupation?” Death asked.

“Yes...And you are my co-worker.” I answered.