Angel Touch

A slow moan escaped from the faceless doll. It raised its right claw as it walked, elegantly swaying its hips from side to side with every step. Teri was gasping for breath, his stomach churning and begging him to vomit. His hand trembled. He endured his desire to touch his face and scuttled backward, leaving his focus to crumble before it had the chance to form.

Teri couldn’t look away at the doll in front of him. He shivered at the sound of its heels tapping against the dungeon’s cold, paper-like floor. The room should have been bright, if not brighter. But his eyes seemed to focus on the shadows cast by the statues themselves. They were grinning. They were fucking grinning. He couldn’t even move his jaw to laugh. The statues were already mourning his death, their gathered hands creating spaces where the darkness could sink its teeth into his flesh, to tear through his skin, to make him picture his body getting ripped piece by piece.

Tears welled up in Teri’s eyes. He begged them not to fall as he faced his death with a bright smile. He couldn’t believe that being killed again by something faceless would be this terrifying and painful.

“BIND!”

Taku’s dramatic voice rang. Teri blinked. Strings of light surged from the floor and wrapped around the doll, swallowing it in a blinding sphere. The shadows pinning Teri to the ground vanished as the bindings tightened to stop the doll from punching a hole in his chest. It moaned, struggling to move. It would be at least for the next few seconds.

“I’m still here!” Taku screamed.

Teri gritted his teeth to stop a laugh. He cringed at the feeling, but his friend’s voice seemed to carry some power that made him forget where he was and what he was feeling. He could barely feel his legs, but he had to perform—especially at the thought of Taku talking shit after this. He scrambled forward, choosing not to find his breath as he picked up his weapon with both hands. The monster was still bound. This was a free hit.

And with all the time in the world, he planted his feet on the ground and roared in rage as he used his entire body as wide and powerful as he could.

“POOOOWEEEEEERRRR—”

Teri dragged the word, screaming even louder until his voice was cut by the sound of his weapon exploding into the doll’s face. Its skin shattered. Its skull bent under pressure. In the next second, the better part of the doll’s head was ripped off and slapped the floor as the nails from his weapon carved through. The monster forgot to moan and instead convulsed backward with its legs shaking. It wanted to fall, but Taku’s magic wouldn’t let it.

Within the same breath, Teri dropped his blood-ridden club, pulled out a dagger from his side, and sank it deep between the doll’s modest chest. Teri smiled as the doll struggled to breathe, even more so when he twisted the dagger to squeeze the last puff of air from its lungs—if it even had one. For good measure, he kicked it away just when Taku’s spell was about to fade.

The fight was weirdly satisfying and fun. But the tiredness quickly caught up to him, making him fall onto one knee as soon as he saw Taku wobbling toward him. On that note, he gave his attack a pretty terrible name. And Taku, who he expected to give him a gross hug for a job well done, passed him, picked up his spiked club, and heaved to the monsters they defeated.

“Die monster! You do not belong in this world!”

Taku screeched like a rat while bashing what was left of the doll’s head again and again until it turned into a squelching pile of mush. This went on for a few seconds until Taku ran out of breath and proclaimed that the monster was truly dead. Only then Taku turned his head to his friend, telling him to stay in place and rest while he checked out the room for himself.

Teri naturally gave him a thumbs up. Left without anything to do, he leaned against one of the praying statues to catch his breath and beg his legs not to tremble.

The room was surrounded by the same walls vandalized by ikemen graffiti. These bone-colored and paper-like marble statues seemed to also be arranged randomly. Upon taking a closer look, they all bore the same beautiful, motherly face paired with some kind of office attire.

There were also four dead people in the room, which Taku carefully and respectfully dragged into the shadows after giving him a thumbs up. He knew that it sounded like a terrible “fun fact” for him to notice that. But what could he do? Teri hit his leg. It kept shaking. He clicked his tongue. He could only imagine how they died. He could ask, but he also didn’t want to approach Taku with half-dead legs.

Teri also found his gaze on the doll they just killed. He covered his left eye by instinct. He could’ve died. He barely defeated one. Nothing could ever change the fact. What if there were two of them? There could also be more. What if these dolls didn’t just have claws? What if he literally fought the weakest one? His focus shifted to the door on the western side of the room. His fingers felt cold at the thought of touching it.

“Sneak attack—”

Taku’s playful whisper was cut as Teri turned, his eyes widening with fear and his fist clenched white, ready to be thrown. Teri’s glare trembled as concern softened his face. He was only able to stop himself because it was easy to tell Taku’s face from the statues and the doll he just killed.

Taku kept his cheerful smile and patted his head. “Heal.”

A warm golden light enveloped Teri’s body as a sudden wave of comfort filled his heart. He found it within himself to laugh as his whole body relaxed like he was taking a massive shit. He resisted the urge to touch his ass for that very reason. Taku invited him to sit down and he followed, still smirking as he watched little strings of light stitch the wound on his forearm together.

“Monster’s dead. Room’s clean too.” Taku brought their backpacks, but he had another one that looked more… proper. “Well, not really but you get my point.”

Taku took out a piece of bread from his backpack, broke it, and placed the smaller half on Teri’s thigh. Teri glanced at the bread and then at his friend. Both of them had rations, so it was unnecessary for him to do this. But he found little to no room to say his words. Taku went ahead and started eating happily, so Teri shrugged, picked up his half, and joined his friend in this very welcome snack.

“You did good out there.” Taku broke the silence.

“You too,” Teri replied. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Had to take a moment to really draw the line, you know. But I was amazing back there.”

Teri chuckled. He decided to focus on the bread’s taste to distract himself from the awkward air between them. The taste wasn’t much. “I like your confidence.”

“Thanks. Though, I think you’re not as confident as you should.” Taku finished his bread and drank some water from their waterskin. Before Teri could ask for a drink, he pulled another from the other backpack and handed it to him. “Drink up. It’s a bit bloody, but it should be clean. Checked it for leaks too.”

“Oh, you looted the corpses?”

“Yeah.” Taku tapped his other backpack. “I moved the bodies to the other side of the room. I couldn’t bury them, so I’m putting them there for now. Oh yeah. That reminds me, we may have to look for a fire spell in the future.” He gave Teri two thumbs up. “Did my ritual and everything. I told them that I was going to borrow their stuff. Then, I wished them well and hoped that they would also do the same for us.”

Taku pulled out a few items from his other backpack: a thick sleeveless shirt, some kind of armor—which Taku eagerly called a gambeson; a pair of thick bracers, made from the same material; a blood-covered scroll; and a few pieces of stale bread and pouches of dried berries. To top it all off, he set down a long stick, about a meter and a half, in front of Teri.

“The rest of their gear was badly damaged or soaking in blood,” Taku continued.

“We can split the bread as normal.” Teri started getting his share of bread. “Have you checked the scroll?”

“Yeah. It teaches you a barrier spell. There’s also this sick staff—it’s broken so it’s probably only half as good. Can I keep it? I think it’s supposed to increase the oomph of my spells. You interested in learning a spell? I can give the scroll to you.”

“Does it need anything?”

“Dunno. I didn’t look too deeply into it. But for reference, I believe that I can cast my spells through a verbal command if I get used to it enough.” Taku crossed his arms. “I think you can take the rest, you need it more. Kinda looks good on you too.”

Teri picked up his loot and started wearing them one by one. He remembered Taku’s smile, which begged him to question how the guy could have this much fun. With that in mind, the silence that followed felt natural for him to break.

“So… you… aren’t affected?”

“Affected by what?”

Taku was in the middle of posing with his new sick staff. He looked so serious, so focused, as he swung it around and mimicked the sound of spells being fired and the applause from a very eager crowd.

“Everything,” Teri continued.

“I mean… Yeah-ish?” Taku faced him, his expression sincere and without conceit. There was a sense of pity in his demeanor, but Teri could tell that it wasn’t directed to him. “Being dead made it easier. But when I woke up here, I kinda decided right then and there to take things one step at a time and have fun. So… if you’re asking me if I feel bad that people are dead and we’re experiencing this right now, I mean yeah. I’ll treat them respectfully too. It’s just that I chose to prioritize myself. And it’s really fun, so…”

“What is? Specifically?”

“Adventuring.” Taku smiled, his gaze a bit afraid of what he was about to say. “With friends. With you. The thought of having more people to go on adventures with, to share meals with. And despite everything… You enjoyed it too, didn't you?”

Teri glanced at the monster and then to Taku. “We almost died—”

“But a win is a win.” Taku clapped his shoulder. “Really should own that more. If you think about it, the fact that we struggled doing so changes nothing. If anything, it lets us know that we have to approach our enemies carefully and try to get the jump on them as much as possible.”

Teri grinned. “So, that’s how you stay positive?”

“In the most twisted and possibly fucked up way. Yes. Besides, dungeons are supposed to be fun—the fact remains even when it’s a horror one.” Taku laughed as he gave him two finger guns. “So, take your time and rest. We won’t be moving forward until you’re feeling fine.”

“Thanks.”

The smell of blood lingered in the air and added to it was the scent of soap. The floor was cold. Teri felt the same fear grip him every time he looked at the door on the western side of the room. But somehow, its grasp loosened whenever Taku—while posing with his sick-ass staff—came into view.

He wasn’t alone.

The silence wasn’t so bad after all.

“So… about the cat girls—”

“Oh god.”

Teri was wrong.