Doomed to Die in 3 Minutes

Dealing with Death

f**k, I can’t believe I didn’t notice them sneaking up on me. Ah s**t.

“Uhm… no way you’d just let me go right? I’m just a traveller, I didn’t want any of this!”

The knife pressed harder against my neck, forcing a small trickle of blood to fall from the thinnest of skin-deep wounds. The wet warm feeling was sickening.

“You… dispel your curse, immediately or else your death will be most painful.”

I blinked several times and looked at my would-be murderer carefully.

That voice was quite high and now that I can pay attention… ah there are some slightly noticeable curves…! “Hrk!”

Her thick black boots sudden pressed against my crotch.

“I’m not really into this sort of thing.” The elf woman stared daggers into my eyes for my not so witty remark. Well with such a response to humour I think I can kill a few seconds by getting on her nerves. I look at the knife again. It’s pretty sharp but what really matters is the quality of the weapon. With my ridiculous HP stat… if she cuts my throat, I might not die immediately but bled out of my neck for around, eh 3 hours maybe?

Well, that’s assuming she thinks I’m dead after the cut.

If she did, then maybe I could play dead and win that way… but I’d much rather not bleed out geysers of blood for several minutes at the minimum. Also, I’d need to find cleric or healer rather fast, or at least a way to stop myself from dying of blood loss.

It’d be all very inconvenient.

I looked back into her eyes and found myself shrinking from their intensity, their blood-coloured irises and hair reminded me of my best-case scenario in the worst outcome and I grimace.

“I can’t dispel it. Once it’s cast it just keeps going. Even if you kill me, it won’t change anything.

“All that will happen is that we’ll go to hell together.”

The response that would make her want to question me more, sure if she was the emotional type she’d just kill me and call my bluff… though I doubt it.

“You’re lying. You’re quite bad at that. This is your last chance.”

She presses her knife closer to my neck and her foot deeper down. Urgh. The metal on my flesh is much preferable to the threat of getting my balls stomped on by her boots.

“You’re not really giving me any options here. When the choices I have are slitted throat or a beating to death, well at least if you take the latter option you’ll die with me. It wouldn’t be that bad to die with a beautiful woman on top of me either. I’m a bit of a petty person so you should change how you address me.”

She scowled something fierce and her face became rage itself.

“I’ll let you live. Just remove your hex!” I roll my eyes at her new offer.

“You’re obviously just going to kill me after I accept with a tone like that you know.”

Her expression became fury as her brows narrowed and her lips were visibly shifting into a snarl under the bandanna covering her lower face.

“I won’t kill you. I… swear it. By the forest and the honour of the elves. I will not kill you.”

She spoke every word with spite that could kill from hearing the venom in her voice alone.

“Pft. At best, you’re going to beat me an inch from death and then just leave me on the floor painted in my own blood. You also didn’t say anything about your arrogant and brutish friends over there. You know, the lot all kowtowing, bowing, praying and begging to what’s not much better than a big bonfire.”

She was getting increasingly more pissed off but it seemed to be working.

She had to negotiate in a way I found favourable for me if she wanted to get out of this alive.

It seemed like a foreign concept to her but still, she was doing her best and started to mull something over in her head and her mouth quivered ever so slightly.

My curiosity is getting the better of me. “Ah, perhaps you don’t like them very much?” I can’t help smiling.

“ I… how I feel doesn’t matter. They are-” I smirk as she speaks, she cuts herself off and kicks me in the gut. “Gouraghahahaha...ahaha...ahaha…” I weakly chortle as I regain the wind she just forced out of me.

“Of course how you feel matters. Everyone matters. Who are they to tell you what to do?”

I’ve caught a thread. Time to trap the spider in her own web.

“I can’t... !” She looked over to her allies with a sharp glance, though admirably she doesn’t loosen her grip on my life. It would have been much easier to run away if she had though.

“You know, sometimes people say that magic imitates its user. I’m not particularly enthused about the idea of hurting a woman, let alone killing one. Especially one as beautiful as yourself.”

She returned her attention to me with a sharper scowl but her eyes were darting frantically and boring holes into everything they fell upon. Ah, doubt.

“How about we make a magical contract? You won’t kill me and I will try to release you, just you mind, from the effects of my spell. I’ll even get us started. I, Corai Sil will do their utmost to prevent your death and you… ah, what’s your name?” Act confident. Act as if all the cards have been in your hand the whole time. I actually don’t know if I can save her but I can try.

Try being the keyword here in both the contract and to myself.

 “It’s Olivia…! Wait, no! That’s not... “ Ah, her heart betrays her mind.

“Olivia, what? I need a last name to make a binding magical contract you know.”

I offer her freedom from the devil’s palms. She’s willing to bite.

The timers on my arms begin to fall and she gives them a hard and long stare.

00:27

“Olivia Evergreen.” Her name comes out as a yelp of frustration, from the tornado of emotion that had the self battle against the needs of the many. People like that are the easiest to manipulate.

“Alright, Olivia Evergreen will not kill me or intend to harm me in any fashion in exchange.”

She pulls down her bandanna and shows sharp white fangs uncommon for her kind.

“Really!? I can’t try to hurt you at all? This is far too one-sided!”

I can only grin like a bastard in response.

“Yup. I guess you can say yes and live or say no and die. Eh, I’ve lived a good twenty-eight years. If this is the way I go out, well I’ll chalk it up to bad luck… though you, you’ve only just begun to see the world. Trapped for who knows how long in a secluded home, no better than a bird in a cage. How cruel for your story to end here!”

Said with such drama that Shakespeare would blush.

“Krgh! Okay! Okay! I…”

She runs back several paces, freeing me from immediate danger.

“I swear I will not try to kill or hurt you… I promise it!”

However, as she began to speak the necessary words to seal the deal she threw a knife at me.

My mind and body had no time to react. The magical contract had been made the moment she accepted the terms but the knife was fired just before it was finalised.

A bloody loophole to kill me and get what she wants. A lie and a way of cheating herself, as if saying she can have honour and freedom all at once this way.

That or she hated my guts the moment she laid eyes on me.

00:05

The blade buries itself in my throat and I gargle blood as sharp and hot pain surges through my body. I see Olivia run away when she had confirmed to herself that I would probably die from this wound. Goddammit! I need to try to save her though. I begin to weave mana and focus my will.

“Dispel Status. Undo Curse. Cancel Doom. Cure All.”

I made the command in my heart and let it reach out to her.

I’m not sure if it’ll work but I tried with every option I could think of. That was enough.

I try to move my body but it seems the blade went all the way through my neck and is keeping me pinned to the tree behind me.

Oh, this sucks. I’m not losing as much blood as I would from an open wound but unless someone helps me out of this mess, I’m going to just be stuck here for god knows how long.

Maybe I could force myself out by rocking my body back and forth until it gets loose?

It’ll really hurt though. Worst case scenario I rip chest open or tear most of my neck apart.

00:00

The timers strike the promised time and I hear several bodies fall.

My wonderful illusion faded from view. Everyone from the caravan still alive probably got away in the confusion but anyone still around should be safe now if they weren’t before.

Ah. Alright. I’ll wait like… thirty minutes. An hour tops. If no one finds me by then I’ll go with the plan that makes me suffer excruciating pain. Sigh. Someone, please help me.