Chapter 11: Ctesias

Christoff's grip on sanity had been slipping rapidly, though Biall had been sent back to check on him and bring him back to the rest of the party, Biall also found himself in a dangerous position at the moment. He knew that he was cursed somewhat, after all being a rogue pays in kind with information.

Biall noticed Christoff's eyes were glassed over and his words had been slurred. They were no longer in the chamber, but further in the passage that the rest of the party went down in. Christoff however, had been in rough shape. His right arm had been maimed pretty badly, his right leg had also been messed up. Blood was trickling down a hole that had been made in his plate armor but he moved as if there was nothing wrong.

Christoff was hurt, more so than the others. Biall knew he had to get him to the rest of the group, but how? Carrying him would prove too much of a hassle and going back for the group would take too much time. If only he could think of a way to get Christoff to follow him.

"Christoff, over here," Biall spoke, observing every movement.

Christoff did not obey, with every breath the man took he was shaking until his visor had locked with the brown eyes of Biall. He white-knuckled his glaive, before letting out a howl and charging towards the Rogue as if he was ignoring any sense of pain that had afflicted him.

His plate armor clanged as he ran, his wound on his leg was getting worse as it squirted out more blood with every step that he took. One wrong move was all it took and that was one wrong move that Biall had made.

Before he knew it, he felt a gnawing pain across his side. Christoff's glaive had made the connection as he slashed clean through the man's leather armor. This did not stop Christoff, he kept advancing and Biall knew that he was in trouble.

The Rogue had underestimated Christoff, not in a combat sense but that his curse would affect his movements. It did not, all he could hope to do was wear him down if Biall even lasted long enough to do so.

"How could you betray us all? I can see nothing but the damage caused!" Christoff shouted, Biall attempted to climb over him but it did not work. Christoff's glaive had reached him the second he attempted to vault over the man. His arm had now been slashed, Biall used his free hand to cover the wound but had felt the blood trickling down that hand and heard it splash onto the floor.

Christoff was truly engulfed in his curse now, if he could even come out of such a state was beyond anyone's belief. A prayer had been answered, using one of his abilities he could sense the other two were closing in on their position.

All Biall had to do was hold off for a few more minutes, but that was easier said than done. Christoff continued to scream, those screams turning into howls of anger as he would crash his Glaive into the ground where Biall was just standing. Pebbles flew up, peppering Christoff and with another fluid movement, he raised his glaive and drove it towards Biall once again.

Biall dodged, he dashed backward narrowly missing the piercing blow. He had scrambled at his sides and finally unsheathed his two daggers before letting out a sigh. He had no choice at this moment, he had to defend himself from the howling maniac whose mind had been in another world.

Blades clash, Biall uses his daggers to deflect the blows that were coming from Christoff. The clanging of the two had echoed throughout the tunnel.

More blows had been deflected from their path as Christoff, without slowing down continued to assault the man.

Ainz

He was fighting the dreaded Sorcerer King, that is what Christoff thought. He would be the one to save the kingdom of Re-Estize. His skull looked as if it was contorted by rage, though he was not speaking. Every attack that Christoff had made, had been blocked, and that only infuriated the cursed knight more.

Two more blows had been deflected from their path, each parry Biall made had been rushed but that was the only thing he could do in this situation. He was not suited for combat. He attempted to parry again, the glaive slashed his hand and caused him to release a dagger. The dagger hit the floor, making a clang as if it signaled a turning point in this fight.

Three more blows had followed. One smashed the other dagger to the side, the second Christoff had cannoned a headbutt at the rogue, landing on his nose, breaking cartilage with a wet crush. The third, his Glaive had hit the intended target. His glaive carved a canyon of flesh into the Rogue's chest, his armor doing little to protect him against such a blow.

With the two daggers gone, it made this easier for Christoff and all of this happened within a span of seconds.

Christoff had walked forward, his glaive still in his hands. Through his visor slit, he was still looking down at the Sorcerer King. This was a Christoff that no one had seen before, not even on the field of battle. He was consumed by his curse now, he truly believed he was fighting Ainz so all the hatred and every other ill-feeling had been unleashed.

Another three blows had been delivered at the same speed as the last time, his other dagger with a clang, skidded across the stone floor. Biall had taken a fist to the throat and then a boot to the stomach, knocking him back with enough force to send him crashing against the damp stone floor. Biall looked up at Christoff and through the slit in his helmet, he saw his death. He saw hatred like he had never seen before. Christoff returned the gaze, clearly allowing him to retrieve a dagger. So Biall did before he got up once more.

With a dagger in his hand, Biall knew that he would have to attack. He attacked, showing the speed and intensity that had granted him the rank of a Mithril adventurer. His dagger had slashed through empty air, again and again, Christoff had weaved aside from every blow, all within what seemed like a blink of a second. The injuries had been catching up to the rogue. The last blow was parried by Christoff's Glaive.

Biall had expected the hatred that he saw in Christoff's eyes, but what had surprised him more was the amount of fury that had been in the glare. His glassed-over eyes had shown him the accusatory glare that he would show any enemy of the Kingdom.

"The Palace still stands!." He roared

Three more blows and Biall had been on the ground before he even knew what had happened. Pain had flared across his chest, hot and urgent as it almost matched the throbbing of his face. He reached to touch the wound on his chest with a hand that had no longer been attached to his hand.

His hand. His hand was on the deck, several meters away. Blood leaked from the chewed veins nestled in the meat of his severed limb. Turning unbelieving eyes downwards, he saw where his arm now ended at the wrist.

Biall looked at Christoff again. Christoff had been twitching in place, shuddering with every breath as if he was a rabid dog.

Biall finally found the strength to rise up, but Christoff did not wait this time. The man closed the distance, with a blood-curdling howl. The blows this time had been the bloody blurs of the Glaive ripping through the air and the sound of the blade tearing his flesh. The pain had exploded throughout his body and he was facedown on the floor before he even managed to get up from the last time. He tried his hardest with his only remaining hand to reach into a satchel and grab a health potion but Christoff had interrupted it, stepping on the hand the smashing the Health Potion along with hearing the snap of his bones.

Biall could no longer bear the pain and he screamed in agony. This garnered no response from Christoff.

"I shall deliver you the justice of dying a warrior, a fate that you denied the defenders of the city. Know this vile undead, the palace yet stands." Christoff had spoken, his words not his own.

Biall had actually tried to get up but he couldn't even if he wanted to; he froze when he felt the blade pressing against his spine.

Not in a million years did the Rogue foresee a duel like this happening. He still had much he had left to do, he had to get to the Theocracy with his party. He owed Scama a great deal, but it seemed as if it would be cut short by a madman.

Almost as if his prayers had been answered, a voice cut through the are [Sunlight]

Christoff had been blinded and Biall used the chance to roll away from his glaive as he had staggered backward. As his vision came back, he saw three skeletons and everything had gone red. With another wild howl, he charged toward Scama and Lilyette but he had been cut short as an Ethereal tomahawk slammed into his left arm causing him to unhand his glaive.

Scama made her move.

Though to Christoff, he saw an undead moving at a speed that would be tough to match; he had no weapons so he resorted to his fists. He tried raising his arms, but nothing. They would not obey, he had no choice but to resort to a head but. He tried slamming his head against hers when she got close enough but it was to no avail, the zombie had missed.

With the blunt side of her Tomahawk, she swung at Christoff. The impact dented the side of his helmet and soon after he had collapsed.

Lilyette had immediately begun to render aid to Biall, while Scama rushed to her side.

'Biall!" She called out "What happened?"

"He lost..his mind." Biall managed to speak, blood escaping his mouth along with the words.

Scama raised her eyebrow, she knew he was cursed but did not know it was this bad. A ticking time bomb that she had tried to control and it blew up in her face. What was worse, she did not know if the priestess would even be able to heal the Rogue fully. They would be down to two adventurers then, as much as she did not want to, she knew that Christoff could not come with them because what would happen if he saw the plate of the Slane Theocracy while being damned by this curse?

She had stood silent for a moment, a million outcomes raced through her mind and most were not pleasant. This evacuation was not supposed to go like this, not in the slightest. The crushing weight of guilt had weighed heavy on her shoulders as she struggled to look at the ruined body of Biall.

Christoff had been in a horrible shape also, his right arm and left leg had been ruined and it was doubtful that the priestess would be able to heal him…even if she wanted to. Mangled corpses had laid around the chamber, the only reminder that there was a fight there that had driven Christoff deeper into this curse. This was all her fault. She clenched her fists, feeling the plate of her gauntlet dig into her knuckles. She truly had no idea what to do, she turned to Lilyette who was dripping sweat with the amount of mana she was depleting in an attempt to save Biall who was now unconscious.

"What should we do, Lily?" She asked her, her voice wavering

"I don't know." Lilyette had said, her focus still on the man in front of her.

It had taken about an hour for Lilyette to finish what she had to do, but there was not much more she could do. As it stood, the man was going to die as Lilyette could only cast up to third-tier magic. The magic that would save Biall was fourth tier, a tier that she did not know. Everything about this evacuation had been falling apart, if only she had left when the Black Scripture offered to escort them out this would have never happened.

Lilyette did not even bother to tell Scama about Biall, she could tell Scama already knew as tears began to form in her eyes. The blonde-haired priest looked towards Christoff who was unconscious in disgust, utilizing every ounce of willpower so she would not spit at him. Lilyette knew that he had been cursed, his mind was not his own but still he was the only person to blame for the loss of their comrade. The Four Armaments had now lost two original members.

"We should just leave him, Scama. Christoff will bring us nothing but ruin." Lilyette had finally spoken, her gaze meeting Scama's.

Scama did not speak, she tried but the words would not leave her mouth.

"I take it you intend to run the risk of letting Christoff stay with us, even though he has just killed Biall?"

"I do." She finally spoke "If we go to the Theocracy with just as two, we may not have a chance to accomplish anything significant. Not just being mingled in with their military might, but we may achieve a victory of true consequence. Strike a blow that would hurt the Sorcerer Kingdom."

"After all he has done…" Lilyette had sighed "Is that the cost for us to win?"

"I do not know if we can win, Lilyette to be honest. All we may be able to do is strike a blow, Christoff is a strong warrior. A time bomb he is, but without him, I do not see this party getting very far." Scama replied

"There is a chance we could be condemning our future allies to their deaths until someone stops him." Lilyette spoke, struggling to find the words. "They cannot find out about him or this ruse of yours fails."

"I know.' Said Scama "It is not how I ever thought I would plan. It is a burden to bear, especially if we want to ensure the greater good."

A loss it would be to leave Christoff behind, but a calculated one at that. They had not known how much of his sanity remained. His body shuddered slightly, the cursed knight had been waking up. Scama gripped her Tomahawk as the man's body began to move but it stopped suddenly. A moment later, it started up again and he awoke.

Christoff could not move, the wounds to his leg had been horrid. His right arm was shot also, he was as useless as a Copper adventurer it seemed like.

'The Palace…will hold." He managed "You..will…see."

Lilyette with great reluctance put both hands on him, emitting a green glow trying to stop the bleeding. Scama also rushed over, she was angry of course but seeing him awake pushed whatever thoughts to the side.

"Christoff!" She exclaimed "Remember where you are, remember who you are, stay with me!"

The knight nodded sluggishly "I am Christoff and you..you are Scama Elbero."

"That's right, I am Scama." She said with a nod "You must stay with us, stay focused on the here and now do not let your curse take over again." She said with obvious worry.

"Yes," He muttered, "I see them, the visions. Scama, I will not fall to the curse. I swear."

She obviously did not know the truth of that statement, it was as if he forgot everything that just happened.

"Help me get him up." Scama said to Lilyette.

They both grabbed his arms, putting them around them so they could assist him out of the area. She wanted to bury the body of Biall, but there was no time to do such a thing. They made their way further down the passageway, where it cut into what looked like a proper accessway. A patched door was there, they had no idea where they had been but as time dragged on, they knew they must have closed some distance.

Christoff let out a few groans, that was the only response he would give.

"I do not think he is with us anymore." Lilyette had said, panting following her words.

Scama remained silent, she did not want to see Christoff drift off to the insanity that had overcome him.

"Christoff, we are almost there." Scama said, lying through her teeth. She was only trying to reassure the man.

No response.

She could hear Christoff breathing, she hoped that she wasn't all too late. The tunnel had grown darker and damper, and tiny bits of stone had been scattered throughout the walkway. The walls had been cracked and the ceiling looked as if it would cave in at any moment. The two had no choice but to stop, bringing Christoff along had been exhausting for them. They gently placed him against the wall, as they caught their breath.

"I do not think the end result will be well, Scama." The priestess said

"We won't know until we get there." Scama had replied, kneeling down to get on Christoff's level.

His breathing had stabilized, and his wounds were no longer bleeding which was a good thing. She didn't know what would come of his leg and arm, though surely in the Theocracy they had people to heal such a thing. Maybe someone could even cure him of his curse. She looked at his face for a moment and let out a sigh. Lilyette couldn't help but laugh at her, of course, she was only trying to lighten the mood.

"Maybe if you kiss him, he will wake up." Lilyette said in a sarcastic manner

Scama let out a sigh, part of her wanted to but the other part did not. If she did somehow wake him up, there was no telling if it would actually be Christoff. She closed her eyes and removed her helmet, her head inched closer to Christoff.

"You..are actually going to do it?" Lilyette questioned "I was only joking."

Her face continued getting closer to Christoff until her lips had touched his. The moment had been short-lived, Christoff awoke.

Scama had flown backward as Christoff pushed her off of him, had his leg not been so damaged he would have gotten up. She crashed into the other side of the narrow hallway, and the sound of metal crashing echoed throughout the tunnel. If they had any surprise guests they surely would have heard the commotion. Scama rubbed the back of her head, her head had also hit the wall and she looked towards Christoff and Lilyette.

"This…is not a fairy tale. I do not need a kiss to be awakened." Christoff had spoken, his voice was rather low and his voice slurring.

Lilyette bit her lip trying to hold back her laughter.

"You didn't have to push me!" Scama exclaimed, finally rising to her feet. Her face beat red and appeared as if steam would be blowing out of her ears at any moment.

Christoff did not respond, he was still lost in the clutches of his curse. He had been trying to stay on this plane of reality but he could feel it slipping. Scama and Lilyette kept flickering in and out of his vision. A figure in dark armor had taken the place of Scama, he could not make out the armor or any details as it kept flickering.

Scama had gone back over to him, she kneeled in front of him to see if he was conscious. He still was, his eyes had been glassed over completely and his face was blank. His gaze finally met hers, his right arm would not move and only his left one slightly functioned. The battle that had happened before took a toll on him, the explosions had almost taken him out. Thanks to the curse he was afflicted with, he could not feel any of the pain.

Her eyes were full of worry, Christoff disregarded it with a sneer. Perhaps she expected him to return a kiss, but the woman he loved had already left the kingdom with her adventurer group. Perhaps if he lived long enough, he would get to see her again.

What a horrible situation.

Christoff closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, even when his eyes closed he was not safe from the visions he was afflicted with.

"Let's get moving." He managed to speak, his voice full of bravado that had clearly been forced

Scama bit her bottom lip and gestured to Lilyette to help him up and so they did.

Further in they had come across more doors that were cold Iron. As Lilyette looked at them, her mind ached causing her to recoil a bit. Lines had been cut into their surface, scratched deep in the dull gray, words and symbols flowed together in a web that looked as if it was glowing. Rust and decay had crawled all over the door, Blooms of fungus hung from the ceiling, and milk-white moisture beaded the walls. In places, the stone they were standing on had become soft as skin.

"What…is this?" Scama had asked

Lilyette remained silent at first "I do not know, whatever magic was used here was foul."

Soon after, the door began to hiss as it opened. It was almost as if it were on que, as if something or someone had expected the group to enter. As the door opened, they saw light up a flight of stairs. Scama was cautious, she did not know what matter of magic this was nor who had set this up for them. Lilyette for once had been the same, Christoff did not care, how could he? He was having a hard time recognizing reality as it was.

"I am Ctesias." A voice called out, almost as if it was from the light itself. Scama had reached for her sword, but the only response she received was a laugh from the male who had been looking down on them.

"I cannot fault you for wanting to draw your blade, given that your Kingdom has been destroyed."

"Who are you?" Scama questioned

"Someone that is going to get you into the Theocracy." The voice had answered back with an unhurried calm.

Scama hesitated for a moment and looked at Lilyette, Lilyette nodded slowly and they slowly walked up the stairs. The area had been surrounded in thick brush, the figure had been leaning against a tree. He was wearing Gray plate armor with different colorings on it as well as having an axe on his back.

"I was told there were four of you." He spoke, looking toward the group. "Nonetheless, allow me to begin Introductions. I am Ctesias of the Clearwater Scripture."

"I am Scama Elbero and the Priestess is Lilyette. The wounded man is Christoff." Scama spoke, keeping eye contact with the armored man.

Ctesias nodded. He would not have much use for this group after they had crossed the border, Christoff had already looked as if he would be fitting the prerequisites for one of the experiments the Theocracy had been conducting. His medical condition alone merited him a trial run, though death would be a much better alternative than going through what he had in mind.

"I was informed the Black Scripture would be coming to collect us." Scama had spoken

"They were supposed to, but they were more pressing matters for them to deal with. They have recruited many adventurers, we are here to collect the stragglers until our mission here is complete." Ctesias said

Scama acknowledged him with a sigh before her blue eyes had turned to Christoff who had not spoken a word. "What about Christoff?"

"We will make sure he is taken care of." Ctesias said before he stepped away from the tree. "There is plenty of ground to cover, let us hurry, we are only a day or so away from the border."

The trio departed, vines and thorn bushes scraped across their armor. Lilyette had gotten it the worst, her white dress had been torn up, and cuts from the thorns appeared on any opening of her skin. She flinched at first but as they continued through the brush, she had grown used to the feeling of a thornbush slashing against her visible skin.

The Sorcerer Kingdom did not seem to care about this area as of yet, as there had been no undead showing up. This had bought a feeling of relief to the trio who had been trying to get out of the kingdom, it seemed that at every other turn they had run into undead from the Sorcerer King's rampage. No scent of burning bodies or decaying flesh, for once it had just been the air they had been breathing in.

The trip itself had taken about three days, nothing of note happened within those days. Christoff had gotten in worse shape, his wounds reopened, and was losing consciousness as they neared the border. His line of reality had been blurred heavily as he was wheezing names that no one present had heard.

"Are you going to be able to fix his cure?" Scama asked, her eyes showing a hint of remorse as she looked at Ctesias

"Certainly." Ctesias said "Without a doubt in my mind, he will be cured."

Ctesias was lying of course, though Scama had held onto hope that he would be cured. The plans for Christoff would have to get approved, but he would be better off dead. He let out a yawn as he noticed a sign on a tree, it was marked in code that only agents of his scripture and select other scriptures would understand.

"We are close." He said.

Scama had been sleep deprived at this point, she spent most of her time tending to Christoff and watching over him. Lilyette had gone back to her usual self, though she was also worrying about Scama as she was spending too much time looking after Christoff and not enough looking out for herself. This had always been the mindset of Scama, she prioritized her party members but even then, she had been going an extra mile for the sake of Christoff.

"At least we are almost there." Lilyette said, stretching her arms out and interlocking her hands behind her head as she walked

Scama nodded, Ctesias had taken up the mantle to carry Christoff as they grew closer. Her gaze almost never left Christoff's until Ctesias stopped.

"Head straight for about three miles, you will be met there."

"What about you?" Scama asked

"I will be taking your wounded friend to get treated, that is in a different direction." He replied

"Then I am coming with you." Scama countered

"I am afraid, that is not possible." Ctesias said as he walked away "Remember, three miles and you will be received by a welcoming party who will let you into the Theocracy."