Programmer in Another World

EPISODE 18 - Failure and Tragedy

 Pallitra is on the table strapped to the chains.

"You. How did you get out of the preservation room?" Odenna asks.

He chants, "ICICLE BARRAGE!"

A magic circle forms from his right hand and icicles shoot toward her.

"MAGIC?"

She instantly dodges to the right and casts magic.

"Magic Bullet!"

Within his own thoughts, he unconsciously said, "CANCEL!"

Odenna' magic circle breaks and fades out immediately after he thought of the word.

"Wh-What happened?"

Zagia and the second witch come down the stairs from the ruckus.

"What happened?" the second witch asked.

Zagia sees Phize sweating nervously looking at his surroundings, "YOU LITTLE PRICK!"

"I don't get it... my magic circle disappeared. And I still have a lot of mana inside of me too," Odenna asks as she stares blankly at her hands.

"PHIZE! ARE YOU GOOD WITH ROCK FORMATION MAGIC?" Pallitra asks him.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

"BETTER PREPARE!"

"OH NO, YOU DON'T!" Odenna interrupts as she grabs the butcher knife and aims it toward Pallitra.

Zagia and the second witch in the background raise their hands and aim toward Phize.

"BESETH HILD-"

"Fire Spreadin-"

Quickly, he chanted in an absurdly fast rate, "ROCK WALL!"

"GET READY! CONTINUOUS EXPLOSION!"

Upon chanting, she immediately thought, "Spirits come to my aid and give me strength."

A big explosion occurs coming from Pallitra's direction. The explosion blows away the witches, Zagia and the second witch are both pushed to the doors of the kitchen while Odenna is propelled toward the door of the disposal room.

The rock wall blocked the explosion incoming from his side.

"So this is what you meant, Pallitra."

Another explosion occurs coming from her direction yet again.

"ANOTHER ONE?!"

The rock wall begins to crumble from the explosive force.

"I HAVE TO MAKE ANOTHER WALL."

The rock wall breaks and another explosion occurs. Phize is launched up, he hits the wooden 1st floor and is launched even higher, immediately hitting the ceiling of the cabin. The ceiling was very old and weak so it broke upon impact.

"It hurts," he thought whilst flying through the air.

He falls to the ground with his arm taking the full force of the fall.

"AHHH!" he shouts in his mind.

He tries to stand up.

"That hurts so bad... Ow."

He dwelled upon his swelling right arm, "I felt that. I think my right arm is broken."

He stands up slowly while trying to regain his balance.

"Ow. Ow."

He holds his right hand with his left arm.

"PALLITRA!"

Pallitra calls out to Phize in the distance. She is in front of the cabin while he is behind the cabin.

From his view, it can be seen that her clothes are torn with her body suffering scratches near the face and arms.

"PHIZE! RUN! I'LL FOLLOW YOU!"

"NO! THAT WOULD TAKE LONG! GO TO THE LEFT! WE'LL INTERSECT WHILE WE RUN!"

"GOT YOU!"

Both of them run to the left of the cabin.

"Wait, I have a question," he asks while panting.

With a huff, "What" and a pant, "is it?"

"How did you survive the continuous explosions?"

"I called for the spirits' help" she pants, "and I protected myself with some advanced form of technique my father taught me."

"I understand," he catches his breath, "How much mana do you have left?"

"Not much considering the amount of mana I just used to protect myself."

Zagia shouts from away.

"YOU LITTLE BRATS! YOU THINK YOU CAN OUTRUN US?"

She runs toward them at a very fast rate.

They both look at Zagia and then stare at each other's faces.

"Pallitra, what do we do? She'll outrun us at this rate!"

"Wait, let me think."

"SHOOT!"

A magic circle forms from Zagia's right hand and a strong fast force shoot at them. It passes between Phize and Pallitra.

"EEK!"

It hits an old oak tree.

"That was close."

"It sure was."

The oak tree falls perpendicular to their direction.

"LOOK OUT!" he warns.

"AHH!"

The two ran faster and the tree misses them by an inch. The tree falls toward Zagia but she stops the tree and carries the tree with her two arms.

"TAKE THIS!"

She throws the tree toward them.

"INCOMING!"

Pallitra chants, "WIND!"

She launches herself mid-air.

He chants, "BLIZZARD!"

He points his arm towards the projectile and the strong gust of wind is launched. The strong wind destroys the oak tree and blows its parts away.

Pallitra lands back on the ground and runs.

"You should've told me, you were gonna try and destroy the tree!"

"I had no time, sorry!"

"COME BACK HERE!"

Tia teleports ahead of Zagia holding Odenna's hand.

"Zagia, go back to the cabin," Tia commanded.

"BUT THOSE BRATS ARE GOING TO GET AWAY!"

"Idiot. I'm here. Besides, I know you're almost out of mana from that sudden array of explosions, you should head back."

She grunts but then calms down.

"Fine then. But why is Odenna with you?"

"She was already healed by Filq. We can take care of this," she confidently states.

Meanwhile, Phize and Pallitra have traveled a lot of distance and no signs of light are to be seen.

"I'm" he gasps, "almost out of breath."

"Keep" she pants, "going."

He looks behind to see if someone was tailing them.

"Did" he pants, "we lose" pants, "them?"

Chuckling is heard in the distance.

"Did you hear that?" Pallitra asks cautiously.

"Yes, I did."

"Stop running for now."

They stopped running and begin to look around them. More chuckles are heard though it is unsure where the eerie sound originates.

"Where is it coming from?" Phize frustratingly asks.

Someone, a black tall figure walks from a tree and then disappears at the next tree it crosses.

"HERE!" Pallitra points to wherever the black figure was seen.

More chuckles permeate through the surrounding.

"Such cute little children," Tia says.

The black figure once again passes by a tree and vanishes by crossing the next one.

"SHOW YOURSELF!" he agitatedly shouted.

Odenna appears in front of them looking bitter.

"We don't wanna do this. We're doing this because we have to. Just submit to your fate,"  she said.

He chants, "ICICLE BARRAGE!"

A magic circle forms from his right hand and icicles shoot toward Odenna. However, the icicles pass through her.

"WHAT?"

Tia teleports behind them and gently touches both of their cheeks.

Pallitra is dumbfounded, "HUH?"

Tia chants her spell, "Teleportation."

In a blink of an eye, all three of them teleport back to the first wooden floor of the old cabin.

Tia kicks them and they both fall to the floor.

They are surrounded by Hagah, the second and fifth witch, and Zagia.

"I caught the culprits," Tia reported.

"Ow..." Phize thought to himself as he begins to take notice of his injuries.

The two children stands up.

Zagia gets closer, completely vexed, she stated, "Everyone stand back. I want to deal with them personally."

Phize looks at Hagah. She looks away.

"Playing like not knowing anything, eh?" he suspected.

"Phize."

"Yes?"

"When I say go, you make a run for it."

"What are you talking about?"

Ignoring the two, Zagia prepares her spell, "Beseth Hildus."

She points her magic circle at Pallitra.

"SHOOT!"

A strong burst of wind comes from Zagia's magic circle. It disappeared when it approached Pallitra.

"Phize, be ready."

"Pallitra, don't tell me you seriously intend to fight her all alone?"

"There's no time, Phize," she tells him with an aloof tone.

"SHOOT!"

A strong burst of wind comes from Zagia's magic circle yet again. The wind fades into the atmosphere upon going near.

"I don't know how long I can keep her company, I want you to use that time to escape."

"SHOOT!"

A strong burst of wind comes from Zagia's magic circle again and like last time, it fails to lay a scratch on the little 5-year old girl.

"GO!" she shouts.

He stands still. Within his mind, he is having trouble coming up with a decision.

"W-WHAT DO I DO? AM I SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW HER WISH? OR..." he scratches his head, "NO! THAT SHOULD BE OBVIOUS! I SHOULDN'T LEAVE MY BEST FRIEND ALL ALONE AGAIN! NOT EVEN MY BEST FRIEND, THE ONE I LOVE!"

"NO! I'm gonna stay here and fight with you."

"WHY?!"

"I'm not gonna leave you here. DO you think I'd be satisfied with you leaving you here alone?"

"SHOOT!"

Yet again Zagia's spell fails.

"Please, Phize. Not now."

"SHOOT!"

Zagia's spell fails for another time.

"I will fight with you. Together we'll win! IF we have each other then..."

"Phize, no matter how you look at it, we are surrounded by 6 witches, every single one of them is leagues above us. We won't last a second against them," she discusses trying to invoke the severity of the situation.

"SHOOT!"

Another failed attempt.

"Please... I don't want to leave you. Not like this. Not again."

Tears come down his eyes.

A dilemma is formed causing his mind to go erratic, "Am I seriously so pathetic where Pallitra can't even rely on me? Am I so powerless? Can't I protect the one I love? Am I useless?"

"SHOOT!"

The wind from the spell disappears upon reaching her.

Pallitra touches Phize's left hand.

"Phize, please don't take this badly, but I want you to live and escape, I don't think you are useless, in fact, you're splendid for someone your age. It's me who lacks the power to protect you. It's due to that powerlessness that we ended up in this situation."

"But-"

"SHOOT!"

A strong burst of wind comes from Zagia's magic circle, it disappeared when it approached Pallitra.

"I wonder how long you'd last against me..." Zagia asks trying to provoke them.

She releases a chuckle, a chuckle formed from the suffering of others which goes to show just how twisted the witches truly are.

"Please... go."

"No... it's because of me..."

She firmly holds his hand.

"Promise me. You'll save me once you get stronger then, okay?"

Her hand trembled as she said these words of encouragement to try and remove his indecisiveness.

Within his mind he noticed what she was feeling in this precarious situation, "Her hand... she's scared too..." he grits his teeth, "DAMMIT!"

He was extremely resentful at himself but after hearing these words, he chose to finally act.

"GO!"

Just as she commanded him to, he runs to the entrance door and then...

Clash. Plop. These were the sounds that were heard behind him.

An object rolls in front of Phize. It was something he had not expected, a scenery so obscene. It was Pallitra's head, it was lifeless, her eyes were open to see the utter fear she had just experienced moments before this.

"Huh?"

He had trouble processing what had just happened so he proceeded to look behind to confirm his suspicions just to see Pallitra's headless body fall to the ground and cause blood to fill the whole room.

"Gosh, I got bored so I went with a faster spell," Zagia commented.

"No..."

He laughs hysterically.

"This... can't be real can it?"

He looks at Pallitra's head. Tears flow continuously, no pauses or breaks in between. He was utterly dismayed that he didn't even blink.

He gently hugs Pallitra's head.

He shouted the loudest he has ever shouted in his whole life, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHAAHAH!"

He looks at her head once more, there were hints of tears coming from her eyes, it just makes it even more painful.

"NOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOO!"

He cries intensely, like a little baby having a tantrum.

"PALLITRAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Can you shut up?" Zagia butts in.

He looks at Zagia.

"She's nothing more than a lifeless body now," she chuckles, "I see no reason for you to cry over a dead body.

He recalls this event...

"This was the first time that my 20-year old mind from my old world and 5-year old mind combined to form an unsightly appearance."

He closes Pallitra's eyelids and then stands up.

"YOU MONSTERS! I'LL KILL YOU ALL! I'LL FUCKING KILL ALL OF YOU!"

He lets go of her head and it drops to the ground instantly.

A magic circle forms from Phize's right hand.

He chants, "ICE!"

An ice shard forming something similar to a sword forms from his right hand.

"DIE!"

"SHOOT!"

A strong burst of wind comes from her magic circle and disappeared when it approached him.

He runs toward Zagia.

"DIEEEEEEEE!"

She tries to punch him but he dodges to the left. The ice sword approaches her face.

"DIEEEE!"

She goes under the attack range and performs an uppercut hitting Phize's chin. He is launched into the air for a few seconds and then hits the wall of the old wooden cabin. Due to the strong impact, he unconsciously let go of the ice sword.

"The same trick won't work on me again, fool."

She picks him up by his neck and lifts him up.

He tries to squirm but he can't reach her yet he still tries to remove her firm grasp.

"DAMMIT! SHE'S TOO STRONG!" he thought.

She chuckles, mocking his pitiful attempts.

"This is the end for you."

She places her right hand next to his heart.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOI-"

"Crater."

An extreme force runs through Phize ultimately making a hole in his chest and piercing his heart.

"B-BLEGH!"

He coughs up blood.

She lets go of him and he drops to the ground.

"P-pain... it... burns..." he thought.

He looks at Pallitra's head one more time. Tears come from his eyes one last time.

"I... failed you... I'm so sorry..."

The witches talk in the distance. However, due to the severe blood loss, he couldn't fully concentrate on what he could overhear in their conversation.

The dialogue that is heard resembles Hagah's voice, "...believe he's the one..." 

From Zagia's voice it is heard, "...illed him..."

"My eyesight... is going black," he inferred.

His vision completely fades.

An unknown voice is heard, "...'ll fix hi..."

He is unable to hear anything more.

...

..

.

Phize is outside the forest shirtless with stitches around his heart.

"The officials said I was found outside the forest of the witches..."

...

..

.

In the clinic of the school...

Phize is on the bed with dead and hopeless eyes.

Right outside the door, Vhint and Lexia come rushing in and they hugged him.

"PHIZE! I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!" Vhint spouted.

Lexia was crying, she was in extreme pain seeing her son in this state.

...

..

.

Phize is right outside the school, on the pathway. Right there, from the walking students, it is apparent that a grown man is outside the school.

The man asks the students and officials walking by, "Has anyone seen this girl?"

He holds a picture of Pallitra.

The man sees Phize walking to the school.

"You..."

The man grabs his shirt and punches Phize in the face.

"IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU! WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR DAUGHTER?! CURSE YOU!"

The man kept punching Phize in the face, the guards took notice of this and tried to stop the man all while Phize was staring blankly in the distance.

"Pallitra's parents blamed me for her sudden disappearance."

...

..

.

He sits in his chair inside the classroom.

He looks over to where Pallitra sat.

He cries.

There is chatter around the classroom.

"The teachers and students kept asking me about her disappearance but I didn't answer them. At first, they seemed to care, but as days went by, they one by one forgot about her existence. This world is... its just too cruel."

"Everything I've ever done, after everything that happened, I thought I'd finally changed. But after this event, it made me feel that every change I thought I'd undergone amounted to nothing. I was just as useless as before. I couldn't protect my best friend in my previous world. I was given another chance... and I blew it. I couldn't protect my first best friend yet again, let alone the one I loved. And unless I ever changed myself, history would always repeat itself. No matter what world I lived in, no matter what body I was in."

END OF EPISODE 18