《The Insurrection of the Inept Hero》 Chapter 1: Prologue Chapter 1: Prologue (Note: All elements disyed in this novel are purely fictional and should not be taken seriously. Proceed with caution) . . . "You useless piece of shit!" Said a man who violently kicked a boy who was huddled up in the corner. "How could you fail such an easy test?! Did all those hours of studying make your brain mushy?! Should I remind you what happens when you show me a failing grade, boy?!" The man continued to beat the boy in the corner and showed no sign of stopping. "I think that''s enough beating, leave him alone or you won''t be able to do that to him again," A woman said and the man stopped. The man took deep breaths as he watched the boy stained with blood crying in the corner. He walked up to the table and threw a towel at him. "Clean yourself up, you look like shit." Then the man walked away. The boy covered himself with the towel and shivered as he red at the people in front of him. That boy in the corner... is me. My name is Naoko Akujin. I''m 17 years old, 160 cm tall, physically unfit, and a 2nd-year high school student who has barely passing grades. I was left back a year so... yeah. That man who just beat me was my father and the one who stopped him was my mother. They are... abusive parents you can say. I don''t know how they turned out that way but they were much nicer when I was younger until my 6th birthday. They constantly beat me whenever I make the slightest mistakes. Make that be dropping a crumb on the floor to taking a single buck out of their wallets. However, despite their abuse towards me, they were at least nice enough for me to get aputer despite the fact they were in debt. They bought thatputer just for me to study, which I did until I found video games. They could range from RPG games to ero games. After that, I yed and yed without giving a care to studying until my parents found out. Their abusive behavior resumed immediately. What can I say? It''s hard to resist the urge to y video games. I hate my parents and wished I was never born into their family, but what can I say about it? This world is cruel after all. Now you may think it''s only my parents, but that is not the case. I also get bullied at school. I hide all the scars I received from my parents with makeup when I go to school. But I leave the scars I get from one man. "Heh, look who it is, how''s it going loser?" I turned towards a tall boy with blonde hair, gray eyes, and tanned skin. His name was Murai Kurasu, my senpai. He''s 185 cm tall and considered one of the best athletes in the school. He''s considered attracted among everyone in the school and has a bunch ofckeys following him. He was also a rich guy and I bet if he weren''t wealthy, he''d be in my position unless he tried in life. I gave up years ago. Now I feel like retorting to his idiotic insult, but it''s best I just stay quiet, I don''t want another scar from this guy. I ignored him and begun walking towards the school until he put his hand on my shoulder. "Where do you think you are going? Greet your senior properly." Hisckeys behind him snickered as they waited for me to say something. "Good morning... Mura-" "What? Aren''t you supposed to call me whatever you call seniors in those awful games you y? Or those shows." "Good morning... Senpai." "Say it louder! And also greet the others as well while you are at it." He''d suddenly push me towards the ground face first and ced his foot on my head. "G-good morning, Senpai!" "Ahh, that''s more like it." God damn it, I can never get a rest from this dude. "You at it again, Murai?" A girl''s voice spoke. "Jessica, good morning." He''d let his foot off my head and walked towards the girl with light blonde hair and green eyes. The two then kissed and I looked away in disgust. She is Jessica Phillips, a senior and considered the hottest girl in the school. If you can''t tell by now, she is dating Murai, meaning they are a couple. "Why don''t you just leave him for today? He''s had enough, hasn''t he?" Jessica spoke as she looked at me with a worried face. But she can''t fool me, I know deep down that she also enjoys my suffering. It''s not my intuition, it''s just in obvious. I''m impressed she is able to get away with things with those shitty acting skills. Might as well throw an Oscar her way. "Yeah, but his face is just asking for more. C''mon boys, let''s leave him alone." Theckeys following him walked past me and snickered as they followed Murai into the school. Piece of shit... "Are you okay, Nao?" I heard an elegant voice behind me and I turned around where a ck-haired beauty stood before me. "Come on, let''s get you up." She lent me a hand and I hesitated before taking it. Jessica may be the hottest, but she ain''t the prettiest. This girl in front of me is Risa Esumi. She is the same age and grade as me, but she''s taller than me as she is 170 cm tall and she also was held back a grade, but that''s only because she started schoolte. She has perfect grades, a highlypatible athlete, and also my childhood friend. I owe her for showing me that this world has at least one nice thing to offer. She is also the only person to call me Nao, which I allow only her to call me. "Th-thank you..." "No need. Come on, let''s go." Since we were in the same ss, we''d walk to ss together. As I entered ss, Risa waved bye to me and met up with her friends. I walked to the back of the ssroom and looked out the window. I''m bored with this life, it has literally nothing to offer to someone like me. If only there was some kind of... event. If only something different happened. "Hey, how''s it going... loser!" Said an irritating voice. I deeply sighed and turned around to see a guy with brown hair walk up to me with a grin on his face. "I saw what happened at the entrance today. How stupid are you to cross paths with Murai?" His name was Kai Wyatt. Same age and grade as me and about 180 cm tall. He''s like Murai, just less dangerous and more annoying to handle with. Him and Murai... well they are on good terms and they have one thing inmon; they are both douchebags. "How am I supposed to avoid him if he''s standing right there waiting for me?" "Tch, you!" Suddenly he grabbed my head and mmed it into the table. Ahh fuck, that hurt! "D-don''t be mad just because I stated facts!" I yelled back at him as I attempted to lift my head up, but he was stronger than me so it was useless. "Let go of him!" Risa came to my aid and pushed Kai away. Kai stumbled and fell on his back. "Are you ok, Nao?" Risa asked me as she ran towards me. "Yes, I''m alright." Though that did hurt a bit, it wasn''t much. "Tch, piece of shit. If only she wasn''t with him," Kai muttered as he returned to his seat followed by his own group ofckeys. I suddenly felt a murderous aura filling the ssroom and they were all directed towards me. It was obviously the other boys in the room. They''re just jealous because Risa is talking to me and not them. If only there was a change... I''d be happy to settle with that change as long as it''s better than my current situation. I regret thinking that in my mind when suddenly light emitted from the ground. When I looked down, there was some kind of... white magic circle thing below me. It wasn''t just me as well. I looked over at Risa and she also had one below her which was green mixed with white. "Wh-what is this?" I looked over at Kai who also had a magic circle below him which was dyed green and brown. Then instantly, my vision was clouded with light and I felt myself losing control of my body. And then everything went dark. . . . Chapter 2: The Inept Hero Chapter 2: The Inept Hero When I opened my eyes, I was faced by a number of robed men. I looked around and noticed it wasn''t just me they were looking at. There were 8 others around me with puzzled looks on their faces. There was Murai, Kai, Jessica, Risa, and a few others that I don''t know. "What the hell? What is this? Where the hell are we?!" Demanded Murai, shouting at the robed group. "Wee o''heroes from another world." Everyone looked at each other with puzzled looks. "Heroes?" "Yes, heroes! You are all chosen to help our kingdom from the horde of demons! Please, we are desperately in need of your aid." From a horde of demons? "Why and how should we help you? We are nothing but normal people," Kai asked as he approached the group. "If you didn''t notice, you were all handpicked by the goddess that judges those from the otherworld and sent here to save us. She has granted you powers and titles that specialize what abilities you use." Powers and titles? This is starting to look like an RPG game. Or should I say an anime with the situation we are given? "Please,e and ce your hand on this mirror. It will disy what your title of hero you are." Hero? I was brought here so I must also have a title of hero as well, right? This is awesome. Finally, my luck has finally gotten better for once. "Which one of you wants to go first?" Everyone looked at each other and eventually, Murai went first. "Heh, let''s see what I am." When he ced his hand on the mirror, it glowed a gold and blue color and eventually, words began to form in the mirror. [Murai Kurasu, the Warrior Hero(Lvl 1)] "Sir Kurasu, the warrior hero, we are blessed with your presence." Murai smirked as he walked away from the mirror. It seems this mirror shows our level as well. He''s at level 1, like all starters should be. Next was Kai. [Kai Wyatt, the Archer Hero(Lvl 1)] "Sir Wyatt, the archer hero, we are blessed with your presence." "Sick." I noticed that he looked at me and gave me a grin. Just you wait, I''ll definitely get a better title than you. The others went and this was their status. [Jessica Phillips, the Mage Hero(Lvl 1)] [Risa Esumi, the Healer Hero(Lvl 1)] [Michael Kole, the Berserker Hero(Lvl 1)] [Akira Nura, the Assassin Hero(Lvl 1)] [Asuka Takeda, the Summoning Hero(Lvl 1)] [Eiko Masaki, the Enhancing Hero(Lvl 1)] I recalled Michael being a troubled kid, and I think he''s a senior. If there is anyone more dangerous than Murai and Kai, it would be him. The other three that went up were first years in my school, which would be why I don''t recognize them. Anyway, it was atst my turn. I can''t wait to see what I am! I walked up to the mirror and took a deep breath, before cing my hand on the mirror. Glow~ White words began to form and when they were in sight, I heardughtering from Murai and Kai. Why? Well, that is because... [Naoko Akujin, the Inept Hero(Lvl 0)] I was an Inept Hero. Wait, why is my level 0?! "Wait, what does that mean?" I asked the robed people around me and one of them spoke. "That means you don''t have a ss. The goddess... never granted you any abilities." Are you kidding me? Why don''t I have a ss? What is this bullshit? "Hehe, it''s nothing personal but you were always a loser, to begin with. Maybe the goddess didn''t feel like granting you any powers considering you aren''t fit for any," snickered Kai. "I''d lend you my power if I want but looking at your level... Nah." He was mocking me and along with Murai,ughing. This can''t be... why is it that a person like Murai gets powers but I don''t?! "Anyway, the king is currently requesting your presence so let us move." One of the robed men said and a massive door opened behind us. We then followed them as they walked out. Along the way, Risa met up with me and patted my arm. "It''s alright Nao, I''m sure she''ll grant you abilities... even though-" "I appreciate you trying tofort me. I''m ok." "I see..." After a while, we arrived in front of an elderly-looking man sitting on a throne. He was wearing attire fit for a king and also had an aura of one. No doubt about it, he is definitely a king. "My name is Authorian Paragon. I ruled this country, Paragon. You must be the heroes sent here by the goddess, Kuruna." "Indeed, we are," Murai said as he stood proudly. When was he speaking for us again? "First of all, can you tell us why we are here?" Kai asked. "Yes, as one of my servants may have told you, we are being invaded by the demon army. The demon emperor is sending demons to destroy our viges and cities. We are in need of your help to fight them." "And what if I don''t want to fight? Will I be sent back to my world?" What an idiot, of course, we aren''t gonna be able to be sent back to our world. "Sadly no, you cannot reject a trial that has been provided to you by Kuruna. Look at this as a trial for you. If you managed to rid the demon emperor''s presence from this world, you will be given passing judgment and may return to your world. However, if you refuse, you will be stuck here for the rest of your life." Kai recoiled back and scratched his head. "I see." How cliche. "Well then, we should prepare you with gear that suits your sses. Do not worry for you will bepensated for your participation in our mission tobat against the demon emperor''s army. Now-" "Wait!" Everyone and the king himself turned their attention to Kai. That look on his face... it''s not a good sign. "We all have titles and all that, but one of us here doesn''t have a ss." Then he turned his attention towards me and grinned. This bastard, of course he''s gonna point that out. "Will he be able to fight?" The king stared at me and rubbed his chin. I spotted a contempt look in his eyes, but it quickly faded away. I must''ve been dreaming. Then he spoke. "If he is unable to fight, then I won''t treat him any different from you. He was brought to this world by Kuruna so he must also have a trial given by her holiness." A slightly irritated look appeared on Kai''s face. Hmph, he thought he could harm me with something like that. Well too bad. "My servants will now show you to your rooms and provide you with the resources you need. There will be information sent to you soon." And then we were sent off. *** I was sitting on arge bed in arge room. Such luxury. I was given information on how to raise your level which was unneeded since it was pretty obvious. Just kill some monsters and that''s it. We were also provided with coins which had royal symbols on it. From what I heard, their value is worth about 3 and a half mansions. Just in case I get robbed, I should ce some in my shoes. That''s what I always do since no one would want to touch a coin that has been stained with the smell of toes. Unless of course, they have a foot fetish. Though... What a pain in the ass... I''m an Inept Hero, and a level 0. How stupid. Of all the things I could''ve gotten, I was given an empty ss and I have no level. What bullshit. I walked over to the mirror that was in my room and looked at myself. My rugged ck hair was all over the ce and the left side of my face was slightly red. It still hurt after what Kai did to me. I hate how he also has a ss. Some bullshit... I looked out the window and it was already getting dark. I should get some rest, despite me having nothing to do. And so I fell face t onto the bed and dosed off. ... ... ... Suddenly, when I woke up, I was tied up and there was a soldier in front of me dressed in white. Wait, what the hell is happening right now? Why am I tied up? "Do not fret inept hero, you are just being relocated," the soldier spoke. I couldn''t see his face as it was masked by a white hood. "Wh-what?! Where am I being located?! For what?!" I asked as I struggled to escape from the ropes. "Sadly, his majesty has no use for an ipetent person like you in the castle. I am task to just relocating you to a ce where you would belong." "And where is that?!" Suddenly we stopped and I was untied. Then when I stood up, the soldier kicked me and Inded on the dirt ground. Wha-?! "In the wild where no one will find you. By the way, watch out for the wolves," The soldier said while sitting back down in the wagon where he faded away from my sight. I was baffled! Why?! Just because I''m useless doesn''t mean you have to throw me away! I can be stronger! Why can''t I be given a chance?! As I was drowning deep into my thoughts, I suddenly realized. "Did he say... wolves?" I looked up at the dark sky and I suddenly heard a growling from the bushes. I turned and multiple wolves emerged from the bushes. One thought flew past my mind. You wanna know what it is? ...run. . . . Chapter 3: Qliphoth Chapter 3: Qliphoth I quickly took off as I was chased by hungry, violent wolves. I knew that I wouldn''t be able to shake them off but what other choice do I have? Luckily since they all lunged towards me, they hit each other in the process, buying me some time. Entering the forest, I quickly climbed up a tree and got up to the highest branch. They definitely can''t get me now! However, when they arrived, I heard what sounded like wood chipping. When I looked down, I saw that the wolves were wing on the tree and it was thinning as the seconds passed by. Shit, how the hell did I get myself into this mess? Why must I face this situation? Damn it, I knew the look on the king''s face was suspicious. How did I not figure that out? Of course, royalty is going to have no use for the weak! Why can''t I be given a second chance?! "Bastards!" I yelled as I snapped a stick off the branch and threw it down towards the wolves. I regret doing that because right after, the wolf which I had hit swung its ws which seemed to glow and suddenly the tree I was sitting on slowly fell down. "Oh shit!" I quickly jumped towards another tree branch and watched as the tree I was just on fall, crushing a wolf. Whew... that was close. Snap! "Huh?" The branch which I was holding on suddenly snapped and I fell onto the ground. "Oof!" Crap, that hurt. "Grrrrrr~!" I heard growling and I immediately got up on my feet. There were 5 wolves ring at me with hostile eyes. I gulped as I slowly back away and waved the branch like a weapon. But in a panic, I threw the stick at them and ran away. Oh, what the fuck, like hell I can take them on. I''m useless, I can''t do a thing against them! If only I had a ss, then I might stand a chance. But no, the goddess that sent me here made me inadequate. As I was deep in thought, I wasn''t focused on the road ahead of me. So... I tripped. "Huh?" I fell face t into a puddle of mud. Shit, what the hell? I then felt something grab my right leg and immediately I felt a sharp pain. "AAAHH!!!" I turned and one of the wolves had gotten a hold of my leg. It had already sunken its fangs and I could feel it sinking in deeper. Fuck, that hurts! Using my other leg, I kicked the wolf in the face repeatedly until it let go. I then got up and continued forward. With an injured leg, I was unable to run normally now so I resorted to limping. I could hear the wolves behind me catching up as I struggled to flee. "Why... just why?" Why must I be cursed? Why must misfortune follow me wherever I go? Why can''t I just live a life where I don''t have to live under everyone''s shadows and move forward as a normal person could? Have I not suffered enough?! I''m like a lonely pawn against the entire chessboard. A puppet that has no use and tattered. Crumble! "Huh?" The ground below me began caving in and I fell down the endless hole. I watched as the surface slowly appeared further and further, then I collided with what felt like water. I watched as the moonlight slowly became dimmer and blurrier. I was starting to drown, but I didn''t even try to swim up. What is the point... in trying anymore? Even if I did get a new chance in life, I''d still y by destiny''s rules. I can''t do anything... it''s useless to fight something that you can''t see... Curse the king... curse everyone that has treated me harshly... curse that goddess... for transferring me here with no worth... I''ll just die... no need to do anything else... if that''s what everyone wants... My life... sucks... Then... my vision went ck. ... ... ... "How boring... you''re giving up like that?" ... ... ... Huh? What was... that voice? ... ... ... "Hmm, you don''t look much, but I can sense intense hatreding from you. Maybe it chose you." I slowly opened my eyes as I saw a figure clouded in ck smoke chained to a spiky throne. I looked around and there was nothing but darkness. The floor felt wet and I looked down to be standing on water. However, it was extremely shallow so I could just stand and walk through it like nothing was there. But anyway, I looked over at the dark figure and questioned him. "Who are you?" I couldn''t tell if the figure had any eyes since I didn''t see any but I''m sure I was looking at his face. "I am Noctis, guardian of the Qliphoth, the devil''s tree." "Qliphoth? A tree? What tree?" "Look behind you." I turned around but I saw nothing. There was no tree behind me and I was wondering if this guy was lying to me. "You need to look closer, it''s bigger than you think." I eventually looked up and I saw it. The base was probably pitch ck so I couldn''t have seen it but the leaves definitely exposed it. It was dark violet, red, and blue. Vibrant colors that were blinding yet dark. This is the Qliphoth? The devil''s tree? "What... the?" "So... I have a question for you..." "Naoko. Naoko Akujin." "Naoko, I see. Naoko, I can see that you are weak, haunted by tragedy, and possess a massive amount of hatred. Am I correct?" "...that... is correct." "I see... so Naoko, do you know why you are here instead of being sent to the underworld?" "This isn''t the underworld?" "No, this is a dimensional area created by the Qliphoth itself. I was chosen to watch over the Qliphoth''s every move in case it would decide to one day attack Yggdrasil, the god''s tree." "Umm, no, I am clueless as to why I''m here. I know I died but this doesn''t look like the hell to me." "If you want to, I can send you there but first I must tell you why you are here." The figure cleared his throat and began to speak. "Naoko, you were chosen by the Qliphoth to possess its powers." ...w-what? "You heard me, you are chosen." "M-me? Chosen? Why?" "The Qliphoth was a tree built from the fragility, misfortune, and hatred that the first demon emperor had for the surface dwellers, mostly, humans. Once every Millennium, the Qliphoth will grow a fruit that will grant unimaginable power to those that consume it. The Qliphoth will choose souls that are moving or are currently in the underworld to this realm and allow them to consume the fruit if they wish to. However, if that person doesn''t meet the 3 requirements, they will suffer and die." "So, I was chosen by that tree?" "Yes, precisely." "And you aren''t going to stop me if I do anything?" "My objective is to simply warn those that choose to consume the fruit. So I ask you, will you consume the fruit that the Qliphoth is going to provide to you?" "...is there a downside?" "Yes... you will need to abandon your humanity. The fruit is filled with dark demonic energy, a human is unable to possess. You have two choices. One, decline and enter the underworld to be judged, or two, consume the fruit and cast aside your former life and be anew." I hesitated as I stared at the tree. ...my former life sucked... I am given a second chance by this... extraordinary tree. But will this fruit that this tree provides change anything? My life... is full of misfortune. ... I don''t want to go to the underworld to be judged by some stupid god. If I''m gonna get a second chance, then I''ll do it right. The tree suddenly glowed and slowly descending from the tree was a small fruit. It was small, about the size of an apple. "So you''ve chosen this path... I will not stop you but I wish you luck." Noctis said. I took ahold of the ck fruit and held it in my palms. It was glowing purple, giving off an uneasy vibe but it didn''t matter to me anyway. I''m already dead so who the hell cares? As long as I get what I want, I don''t care whatever this fruit does to me after I consume it. "So I just eat it?" "Yes, whole." Without even thinking, I immediately consumed the fruit. It tasted... good. It was sweet. I continued to consume it until nothing was left. Then suddenly, I felt power rushing through my veins and it burned. I looked at my hands that had red glowing cracks appearing all over them. Not only that but a blue aura appeared around me and I felt my heart tightening up as it did. [Host has severed all ties with humanity...] "Ah... AAAAHH!!!" "Bear with it, Naoko! Think of the one thing that will anchor your mortal self to your body! The fruit will sever the consciousness of all ties with the mortal body that has consumed it! Those prior to your arrival have never been able to seed but I believe you are special! Think of anything that can keep you sane! Otherwise, you will be a mindless beast that will only cause havoc and eventually captured, then used as a vicious beast!" Something that can keep me sane... what... can keep me sane? What is the only thing... to keep me sane? Then I remembered Risa, the only person that never treated me cruelly. The only reminder that says that the world isn''t so cruel. [Host has managed to attain his consciousness...] "Y-you are doing it, Naoko! You are absorbing the Qliphoth''s power! Do it, Naoko, DO IT!" I watched as the aura around me was absorbed into the center of my chest along with the cracks around me. They were all centered to my chest and I felt all the power inside me calming down to the point where it was freezing. [Host has consumed the power of the Qliphoth...] What is that voice? It sounds like a demonic female voice. However, I didn''t have time to think of it. As my consciousness slowly left my body, I only heard the demonic voice talk to me. [Host has passed the trial of fallen...] [Host has been granted ess...] [Greetings... Host...] . . . Chapter 4: Awakened Chapter 4: Awakened When I opened my eyes, I saw the moon. I was floating around in ake and I felt something nibbling on my back. I quickly spun around and grabbed whatever it was and pulled it out of the water. It was a fish. It looked like a salmon to me but I can''t be sure. Hmm I can move my body. Looks like I''m back in this awful world. I looked at the fish as it struggled to escape. It even pped me across the face which hurt. I touched my cheek and immediately felt a rush of adrenaline fill my body. "You piece of shit!" I immediately grabbed the fish by the head and began to squeeze it. In a matter of seconds, it''s head exploded into blood and brains. Ding! "Huh?! What was that noise?!" I yelled as I looked around. It sounded like a bell. [Leveled up!] A demonic female voice spoke and I looked around again. "Who is saying that? Come out?" [Do not fret my master] "M-master? Who are you? Where are you?" [I am the Qliphoth reborn. As a reward for passing my trial, you are granted the ability to wield my power at its fullest...] "Qliphoth reborn?" [I am taking the appearance of what is mostmon to you. In other words, I can be what you call a system. Please say or think status and I will provide you with your current stats...] S-status? Tti-ring! Immediately, a purple and ck window appeared in front of me with words and numbers on it. It read- {Status} Name: Naoko Akujin Title: Inept Hero ss: None Status: Normal Level: 1 Mana: [10/10] Strength: 3 Agility: 9 Technique: 0 Perception: 1 Charisma: 0 Stat Points: 3 {Abilities} Passive Skills: None Active Skills: None Skills: None ------------------ "Interesting so I was able to level up. Wait, why is my charisma 0? Are you calling me ugly?" [Yes and no] Wow, how blunt. So straightforward, eh? [Charisma is not only appearance but it is also how good you are at convincing. Of course, you can just speak however you want but the higher your charisma is, the higher chance people have of listening to you] "Interesting" [Now normally I would tell you what you need to do in order to level up but I assume you already know everything] "I know some, but you''re gonna need to walk me through just so I can make sure." [Affirmative. I will now exin] As I trampled through theke I was walking around it, the Qliphoth exined the whole thing to me. It''s like this. Strength is exactly what it says, but it also counts towards my defense as well. So two for one. Agility is the same as speed and dexterity. Technique is kind of like intelligence; the higher technique is, the more skills you can learn. Perception is the same and Charisma was already exined. All these stats can be raised by leveling up and the use of skill points. However, Charisma will be unaffected. It seems that I need to do that myself with the use of demonic critters. "Demonic critters?" [Demonic critters are creatures that canpletely alter one''s appearance. They can take the form of any animal butmonly they take the form of centipedes as it is easier for them to move around the body. However, they can only be used by demons. If they were to enter a human''s body, they will be eaten from the inside] "So I can''t use it?" [Normally no but you have me. My presence will make the demonic critter think you are a demon and it will do whatever you want it to do] "What happens when it enters my body?" [When it enters your body, it will strap itself to the heart and provide you the ability to change your appearance. However, this can only be done once, and once you change, you can never change back to your previous appearance] "Even if I use another critter?" [Precisely. When you are done, the critter will fuse with your heart and be a part of you] Hmm, sounds disgusting but worth it. "So that is the only way for me to raise my Charisma?" [Yes] I see, so I just need to find this demonic critter and I can change my appearance. But right now I don''t have the need to change it unless somethinges up. But I should get one just in case. "Can you show me one?" [Yes but it will take a while...] "How long?" [Approximately 3 days...] "Well jeez, that''s a bit long but whatever you need to do I''ll let you." When I got out of theke, I suddenly heard a growl. [Danger nearby!] "Yeah, that was pretty obvious." I turned and there were 4 wolves in front of me. Hmph, their numbers shrink every time I see them again. "This was a bad time to get out, wasn''t it?" [Yes, you are currently too weak to fight against them, let alone face one...] Damn... [The rmended action for this situation is to run...] "No... I want to see just what powers you were supposed to grant me." [Unfortunately, you''ll need to level up to gain those abilities. This is a rule that all beings in this universe must follow. As a rmendation, please upgrade your agility stat...] Level up to gain abilities. Makes sense. I opened up my stats and poured all my skill points into the agility stat. [Agility 9 --> Agility 12] [Passive Skills Obtained: Sprint] [Sprint: Automatically activates once the host starts running| Effects: x2 Agility] Guess my only choice is to run... Well, there is no other way. I quickly turned and ran away. I was never a really good runner to begin with but for some reason, I was running like I never did before. My legs were light and I felt like I could run forever. I looked over my shoulder and the wolves were chasing me. But with this sprint skill, they weren''t catching up to me likest time. Instead, I was running at the same speed they were chasing me. An improvement, but not enough to shake these bastards off me. Along the way, I saw a broken branch hanging from the tree. I quickly jumped and broke it off. I inspected the stick as I ran and I was focused on the sharp end of the stick. ...perfect. I turned around and waited till the first wolf got close to me. I didn''t care whether or not I''d fail. As long as this works out, I won''t regret my decision. As it leaped towards me, I quickly thrusted the sharp end of the stick through the wolf''s neck and it instantly prated. "Yelp!" I watched as the blood of the wolf dripped onto my face and into my mouth. Ding! [Leveled up!] I felt no pity when I killed it but instead satisfaction. So this is what it''s like to kill... It feels... great. I dropped the stick with the wolf still attached and quickly pulled it out. I just need to do the same for the others... But those three are going to huddle up once they see one of their own dead. I should n if I''m gonna want to take them out. And I have just the n. I broke off two more branches and sharpened their end. Then I climbed up a tree and waited till the rest showed up. That''ll only work if I don''t mess up so I only have one chance. Eventually, the other three arrived and they inspected the dead wolf. That''s when they all got into a defensive stance. Perfect. I took a stick and aimed for one of them. Then I threw it, the stick instantly prating one in the head. [Leveled up!] The two remaining wolves turned as they watched another one of them die. I quickly caught them off guard as Inded between them, shanking one with another stick. "Yelp!" [Leveled up!] Just one more now. I turned and thest wolf was already in a position to run. "Running? What makes you think you can run?" I took a step forward and the wolf backed up. It growled at me weakly and backed up against a tree. As ast resort, it attempted to tackle me. It managed to scratch me across my face and I quickly pulled away. It attempted to tackle me once more. However- Shink! I had impaled it with thest stick and its blood leaked down my arm. [Leveled up!] [Passive Skills Obtained: Bloodlust] [Bloodlust: Automatically activates once the host bears cruelty| Effects: x2 Strength] [Skills Obtained: Wolf''s Blood(Locked)] "Hmm? Why is the skill that I just obtained locked?" [You do not meet the requirements| Strength: 15; Agility: 15; Perception: 15] "Hmph, of course." I opened up my status and inspected my current stats. {Status} Name: Naoko Akujin Title: Inept Hero ss: None Status: Fatigued Level: 5 Mana: [38/38] Strength: 7 Agility: 16 Technique: 4 Perception: 5 Charisma: 0 Stat Points: 12 {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sprint, Bloodlust Active Skills: None Skills: Analysis, Wolf''s Blood(Locked) ------------------ 12 stat points. I can put 8 into strength which would give me 15 but that would leave me with 4. If I put that into perception, it''ll only be 9. I need to level up more. The more I level up, the stronger I be. For now, I''ll deposit my stat points. [Strength 7 --> Strength 15] [Perception 5 --> Perception 9] I fell onto my knees and took heavy breaths. Crap, I''m already running out of stamina. My face hurts from that scratch. I overworked myself too hard as well. [Status: Fatigued] That would make sense... I think I''ll just... take a nap here... . . . Chapter 5: Town Chapter 5: Town The next morning... When I opened my eyes I felt all groggy. I sniffed myself and I recoiled in disgust. I need to take a proper bath and a new change of clothes. "Hey... uhh..." [Yes?] "Hmm, what should I call you? Qliphoth?" [Hmm, I am no longer the Qliphoth as I am in you. You may name me whatever you want...] "Ok then, how about Yukie?" [I like it... I will now be called Yukie...] "Alright. Yukie, are there any towns nearby?" [Yes... give me a few seconds...] After a few seconds, Yukie spoke. [There is one not far from here. About 2 miles away in the southern direction...] "2 miles... fuck... I don''t want to walk that far..." [There is no need for you to rush. Along the way you can defeat any creatures you encounter...] "That''s smart. I guess I can do that. But I''ll need a weapon and a stick is not going to be enough." [With bloodlust, your strength will be doubled. As of your current state, the best you can beat is a wolf...] "I see." I looked down at the rotting corpses of the wolves I had inst night. For some reason, I felt a sense of uneasiness when I stared at them and I noticed my hand began to tremble. [Do not fret for your body is still adjusting to my presence...] "I... see..." After a while, my hand calmed down and I wasn''t trembling anymore. "Well then, I should get going now... Which way is south by the way?" [The way you are facing currently...] Oh... convenient. I took a few steps forward and eventually my legs began to walk on their own. As I continued forward, I passed by theke and decided to wash myself up. I stared at my bloodied face that my reflection projected. I had three scratch marks diagonally across my face. Luckily my eyes weren''t scratch but with a torn mouth like that, I doubt I''d be able to eat anything normally. "Is there no regeneration ability I am able to have?" [There is, but you need to learn it. There are scrolls in this world that allow those that have used them to obtain the skills stored inside...] "I see... and where do I buy these scrolls?" [Town. You can also buy them from merchants but I doubt they will have the spell you are looking for...] "Crap... I guess I''ll just have to deal with this..." Though... "Will a demonic critter do?" [Demonic critters can change one''s appearance so yes, they will be able to heal the injuries that you have as well...] "Well then, you better hurry. I can wait but it would terrify others to see me in this state." [Affirmative, I am working on it...] Alright, for now, I should wash the blood off me. After I did that, I continued to walk forward. *** Along the way, I had encountered a couple of wolves. As Yukie stated, my strength when bloodlust is activated is enough to majorly harm an animal. Though I can''t break their bones, I was able to make them yelp and eventually disable them. I was now level 12. It''s not much but it''s progress. "Status." Tti-ring! {Status} Name: Naoko Akujin Title: Inept Hero ss: None Status: Normal Level: 12 Mana: [405/405] Strength: 22 Agility: 23 Technique: 11 Perception: 16 Charisma: 0 Stat Points: 21 {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sprint, Bloodlust Active Skills: None Skills: Analysis, Wolf''s Blood ------------------ I encountered a few more wolves and I decided to test out the skills I was given. First, I used analysis. Analysis is obvious, but I''ll tell you anyway. Analysis allows me to check the level of the target I am facing and their attributes. It also tells me their level cap, but that only works on humans, demi-humans, and so on. I can also tell what form of magic they are able to perform and even their abilities as well. Along with that, I can see their talent rates which tell me what their percentage to sessfully learn a skill is, but I have to switch that out with seeing their abilities. However, I can just switch from one to another but it would be better to look at their rates since the higher it is, the more skills they can learn, though this is useless for heroes like me. Unlike others, heroes have no level caps and our talent rates are always 50% so my secondary stat inspection won''t be useful on them. These wolves that I was facing had levels ranging from 2 to 6. As of my current level, they are nothingpared to me. The second was Wolf''s Blood which I unlocked when I hit level 10. Wolf''s Blood increases my perception whenever it is active and consumes 15 mana. However, that is not the only thing it does. When I activated Wolf''s Blood, I was able to see the creatures around me. I could tell whether they were a danger to me or just a pest. This is shown by their outline. Red meant they were a danger and green meant they were harmless or weak. This might sound overpowered but there is a limit. My range is only 5 meters so I can''t see that far. But even with that, it is still useful for avoiding ces where I shouldn''t be. Right now, I am walking on a road that leads to the nearby town. A momentter, a few carriages passed me and I noticed that they were carrying figures that were chained up. [very... mostly directed to demi-humans...] Of course... it wouldn''t be a fantasy world if there wasn''t very. How cruel this world is, and I bet the government in this country doesn''t give a shit to them. I hate it... No one should be chained up to their will... As much as I felt sorry for them, I have my own safety to worry about right now. I should get myself a room and a new set of clothes. Walking into the town, it was pretty busy. People were buying stuff from stands, entering restaurants, etc. There was also a stage that was in the middle of the town. There seems to be arge crowd, I wonder what this is about. "Andst but not least, the bounty list!" The man on the stage yelled. Everyone around me cheered as they heard that. Bounty list? "Oh? It seems there is only one bounty on today''s list and I bet all of you will want to take it." Hmm, I''m guessing everyone around me right now is a bounty hunter, considering they all have gear on them. "This is a bounty from his majesty himself!" That''s when everyone around me began to get excited. "A bounty from the king? I bet he''ll be offering a load!" "Yes, yes, enough for us to drink and party as much as we want!" "Maybe get me a pedicure." How stupid are these people? To waste their money on something so useless. Actually... the pedicure doesn''t sound so awful considering my state right now. "His majesty was harmed by an apostle sent by Kuruna herself! He is one of the 9 heroes, but he is the weakest one. He is the Naoko Akujin, the Inept Hero!" I gulped and began to back up. What? Me? "Despite his weak appearance, he is still dangerous who dared to injure his majesty! Here! Look at it closely!" Suddenly he threw paper up into the air which fell from the sky. I took a hold of one and inspected it. Sure enough... it had my full name and there was a drawing of me with a bounty of 1,000,000,000 at the bottom. I don''t know how much money is worth in this world but it has to be a lot if there are this many zeroes. Despite me being a fugitive now, I was only a bit relieved as the drawing of me was just me before I received these gashes. A man looked at me but he ignored me a secondter. These gashes are the only thing keeping me from getting caught but they''ll eventually fade away. I need that Demonic Critter... fast. I just need to wait a day or two without getting caught and I''ll be able to get it. Please hurry up, Yukie. [I am doing my best. For now, I suggest you find a ce to stay and get a set of clothes. I also rmend you stay low until the timees...] Find a ce to stay. I''ll figure that out once I get a new set of clothes because currently, I am standing out as I''m still in my school uniform. Just need to find a ce to get clothes. After walking around town, I found a shop that sold clothing. Entering the shop I quickly browsed through the clothing that was disyed and eventually got myself a gray tunic, ck trousers, and some shoes. I paid with a royal coin I had stuffed in my shoe and the reaction on the ountant almost fainted at the sight. I quickly ran out to avoid getting unnecessary attention. I couldn''t find anything in the clothing store that could hide my face so I had to resort to another measure. The only thing I was able to hide my face was a tattered cloak on the street, which I took without hesitation. Alright, I got what I need. I just need to find a ce where I cany low until I can alter my appearance. I''ll just wait till it gets dark. When I enter an inn till then, it''ll be empty and I can get a room without getting attention. *** It was soon dark and I entered an inn. The girl at the counter greeted me and I ced a royal coin on the table. "I want to stay here for a month. How many nights is this able to get me?" The girl looked at me with widened eyes and she spoke while stuttering- "Y-you can stay here for almost 3 years with that." Huh, so that''s how much this is worth. I only had ten and now I''m left with nine. With this, It''ll be eight. Oh well, it doesn''t matter. I''m not staying here for long anyway. "A month is all I need." "N-noted." When the girl gave me the key to my room, I told her not to tell anyone and also not to bother me. As I entered my room, it was fitted with arge bed, a closet, essentially anything a room would contain. I would take a shower but the bathhouse was currently closed so I couldn''t get this awful smell off me. I should just rest since I have nothing else to do. I just need to wait till the day after tomorrowes. As of now, I need... rest... [Status: Fatigued] No need... to remind me... . . . Chapter 6: Demonic Critter Chapter 6: Demonic Critter Two days passed and Yukie had finally managed to find a Demonic Critter. I was currently walking through a forest from Yukie''s information. Most Demonic Critters like to hang around in the wild, and they are very distinct. They have a mark on their head that''s simr to a goat. After wandering around, I approached a hole. When I looked down, it was filled with centipedes. I felt a chill go up my spine as I watched them crawl over each other. Christ [There it is, a Demonic Critter!] Demonic Critter? All I see arerge regr looking centipedes that look like they can tear me apart if I were to drop in there. But eventually, I spotted one with a goat crest on its head. Guess she wasn''t lying. The question however is how I am going to get it? I looked around for anything that I could use as a rope or fishing line. I could see that the centipedes were attempting to climb up the hole but failed. Maybe they need something for them to cling to better. I snatched a long vine from a tree and threw it down the hole while holding it in my hand. A few seconds after I threw it, I saw a few centipedes climbing the vine. It''s working alright I walked over to a tree and tied it there. Then I climbed the tree and sat on a branch above the hole. I waited till the Demonic Critter climbed up the vine. Once it got onto the surface, I activated Wolf''s Blood and tracked the Demonic Critter. It was easy to tell which was which even when I couldn''t see them because the Demonic Critter had a red outline unlike the regr centipedes which had green outlines. Though I''m a bit worried since red means it is dangerous. [Do not fret, for it is harmless] "Huh, I don''t know whether I should trust you or the Wolf''s Blood." [Trust me, it will only hurt when it enters your body but you will feel pleasure immediately after] "Hmm, we''ll see." I eventually found the Demonic Critter trying to climb a tree and I grabbed it when it wasn''t looking. The Demonic Critter shrieked and attempted to wriggle out of my clutch but it just acted like a rebellious baby. "So what do I do now?" [You will have to consume it] "What? I have to swallow this thing?" [Either that or you risk getting hunted down for the rest of your life] Crap, that is true. But it''s a little inhumane to eat a bug live. [Reminder that you have already abandoned your humanity] "Really? I still feel human." [But you don''t feel remorse when you ughter a creature nor do you feel disgust holding a Demonic Critter in your palms] I must say she is right. After killing those wolves, I didn''t even feel the slightest of regret. It attacked me so I just did what was natural. This centipede or Demonic Critter is no different than a stick in my hands. "But wait, if I abandoned my humanity, then what am I right now?" [That is for you to figure out] So I''m not human anymore not only did I cast aside my humanity but I also became something else. What did I be though? All I know right now is that I''m still mortal as Noctis said so I definitely can''t be some god or immortal being unless he was talking about it mentally. I could be an immortal being, but I received pain and it still hasn''t healed up. But I can do that now since I have a Demonic Critter in my hand. "I guess I''ll have to figure it out so" I''ll just have to eat this. Once I do, I can abandon my former appearance and live a new life. I was given a second chance and I will use it right. I''ll change my appearance and my name. I am no longer Naoko, the weakling with no future. I''ll give myself a name and throw away the one that was given to me at birth. A name that will fit my new awakening! I quickly shook my head and pped myself. What am I doing, monologuing to myself? But I will change my name. After all, I need a new identity. Hmm Neiro... Nero... Nero Akuma... That will be a perfect cover up to my original name. After I do this, I can register myself an ID and Naoko is no more. Now all I have to do is consume this. I''d hover the Demonic Critter over my mouth and let it crawl inside. At first, it felt painful as the Demonic Critter was traveling through my body. But after a while, I felt ittch on to my heart and I eventually felt my consciousness fade away. *** When I awoke, I was in a dark area. There was nothing but darkness and I was walking on shallow water again. Then I spotted something. Is that... my body? I looked down and I couldn''t see my body at all. Was I separated from my body? [Tell me your preferences and it shall be granted...] Yukie spoke but I couldn''t see her anywhere. Oh yeah, I forgot she is only a spirit or system. Preferences... I want to be handsome. Dangerously handsome. [Processing...] Give me an athletic but slim body. I don''t wanna look weak you know. Make my height average. 175 cm could do. For facial appearance, fair and pale skin would do. My hair can stay the same. My eyes... I''ll leave that up to you actually. [Processing...] Hmm, I should also go with cosmetics. That wouldn''t hurt to add. But first I want all the scars on me to be removed. Can you apply tattoos? [Yes...] How about some torn wings? They''d look good on me. I''ve always wanted a tattoo but never had the money to get one. [Processing...] Lastly... a bigger- But suddenly I felt exhausted and I dropped onto the ground. [Limit is up, host will now be returning...] W-wait, I didn''t say myst one yet! [Don''t worry, I already know what you want...] Well then, you better... *** I woke up and I was blinded by the sun. As I picked myself up, I felt a little different. I looked at my hands and they looked a littlerger than usual. Then I looked at my arms and they were fit. I looked at my chest and it was muscr. I noticed that my skin tone was also palish yet fair and I felt a little taller when I stood up. ... Looks like it worked. I''d run towards ake I had passed along the way and once I arrived, I inspected my face. Sure enough, I looked handsome alright. I had a narrow facial shape, a prominent chin, etc. No signs of e or anything that would affect the face. I also noticed that my eyes were blue with a hint of purple on the inside. I had shadow trims around my eyes that made me look a bit... gothic. My hair had also be longer down to shoulder level. I''ll have to tie that up once I get back. Well... guess I can''tin. This is exactly what I needed. I wonder what my charisma is now. "Status," I spoke and my voice sounded different. It was high-pitched or low, it was somewhere in the middle. Ding! {Status} Name: Naoko Akujin Title: Inept Hero ss: None Status: Normal Level: 12 Mana: [405/405] Strength: 22 Agility: 23 Technique: 11 Perception: 16 Charisma: 666 Stat Points: 21 {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sprint, Bloodlust Active Skills: None Skills: Analysis, Wolf''s Blood ------------------ 666?! [Consider yourself lucky master. Normally all demons who used the Demonic Critters would get points up to 100. That is only because they do not know how to abuse the appearance changing ability the Demonic Critters provide. Reviewing the preferences you''ve provided me with, this is the oue...] "I see... but 666 is a cursed number, right? It''s got to have some downsides." [Yes, your appearance will only affect humans with weaker and same psychological resistance than you. This goes the same for demi-humans but not as much. Demi-humans will be a difficult one for you to enchant and persuade. For demons, it does not affect them...] "I see. So I''m only charming to most girls. Wait demons? There are female demons?" [Yes, however-] "Nevermind, don''t tell me." Well... at least I don''t need to worry about my appearance anymore. With this new body, I can redo my life... in this world, that is. Fate won''t y with me anymore. All ties will be abandoned and it won''t toss me around like it did when I was Naoko. I will not walk under the shadows of those in my past life. I am Nero... and I won''t allow my new life to be of waste. Everything will be different, I''ll be the one to control my own destiny. [Name registered!] [Moniker has been altered!] [...] [Passive Skill Obtained: Allocation(Locked), Exceed(Locked)] [You do not meet the requirements to use these skills...] "Hmm? Why?" [You must figure it out yourself...] New skills yet they are locked. Looks like I''ll just have to figure them out. I took the royal coins out of my pocket and stared at them. I''ll need clothes, gear, and someone to protect my back. Recalling to those ves from two days prior, I heard a shop opened up. As inhumane as it is, I just need one that can protect me until I be stronger. With my current stats, I won''t be able to go up against another adventurer, let alone one of the heroes. I''ll exact my revenge once the time is right... . . . Chapter 7: Black Market Chapter 7: ck Market I went to the town hall to register myself an identification paper under my new alias, Nero Akuma. With this paper, I can register for stuff like the adventurer''s guild. But I don''t think I feel like adventuring right now. I don''t feel ready yet. Once I hit a higher level; maybe level 50, then I''ll think of it. For now, I need some stuff. The next day First I walked over to a clothing store which had clothes that are suited for adventuring. This ck tunic and trousers aren''t going to do so great soon. I got myself a ck sleeveless zippered-turtleneck beneath a ck and silver waist vest, ck slim pants, ck long leather gloves, and dark boots covered by silver gaiters with several straps. After paying, I quickly left so I wouldn''t get more attention than I needed. Stares from the girls passing me were enough to handle. What I need next is some gear. I walked to a gear shop so I could get some armor and weapons. I asked for anything that was light but durable and a weapon that was the same. I was suggested a padded armor stuffed with chain-mail made of mithril, a powerful metal that''s made in this world. I tried it on and it was lighter than I expected considering how heavy mithril is supposed to be. The weapon I was rmended was a long sharp dagger alongside a bow and quiver. It didn''t sound much but I took it. I also saw a cloak on clearance and decided to buy it as well. I bought a few just in case I lost one or two. Of course, I left as soon as I paid. After donning the cloak, I went down the street towards where the ve trader had decided to dwell. Now I have two choices. Either get one from the merchants that reside here or get one from the ck market. The ones from the merchants often sell ves used for pleasure andbor and the ones in ck markets do the same but they include children. Reading all those books at the library really paid off. I studied for an entire night just to understand everything in this world. How money works, politics, and even some of the history. If my parents saw me now, I don''t know whether they''d be happy that I''m studying or mad that I''m not studying about things that would make me a sessful person in life. Not that it matters anymore. Eventually, I arrived in front of the ve trader''s shop. This one I think is under the ck markets branch. Most ck markets are extremely good at disguising themselves as regr ve shops but they always give themselves away if they have an underground dungeon. How repulsive though I can''tin as I''m going there to get a ve myself. But still Upon entering, there were a few people entering and exiting the building where the ve trade was held. I noticed that most of them were men and dragging along with them were female demi-humans. I even noticed that one of them had an elf. So elves exist in this world as well. Swiftly with my Analysis skill, I inspected their levels and their attributes. As I expected, they were all normal humans with no powers at all. Only rich bastards that buy ves to use as toys. Anyway, I entered the building and I smelt a faint foul smelling from my right direction. It seemed to be leaking from that door to my right. Looks like I stand corrected. Only a dungeon would have that kind of smell. "Greetings, sir. How may I help you?" greeted an elderly man dressed in a robe. "Hello, I''m here to get myself a ve." I looked around and on one end I could see demi-humans, elves, and even humans ced in cages. The other end was but a wall, but past that wall were children. I was only able to see because I had activated Wolf''s Blood. How vile... not even going to hide them in the dungeon but instead in another room. I looked down and I noticed there were more. This is definitely a ck-market ve trade. The merchant was looking at me with a disdainful look. Probably because I don''t dress like one of his regr customers, aka a noble or wealthy person. "I see but sir, the ves here are extremely expensi-" I dropped a royal coin into his hand and signaled him to shut up about it. The old man looked at the coin for a while and then snuck it into his sleeve. "What sort of ve do you seek? One forbor? One for pleasure?" "Is there one suited forbat? Specifically, one that you can get from down there," I whispered thest part into the merchant''s ear as I pointed down to the ground. The old man rubbed his chin and thought about it. He did it while looking at the door that was giving off that awful smell earlier. "Yes there is. Follow me." The old man walked to the door and looked around for a second, then he quickly unlocked the door and I followed him down while shutting the door behind me. As expected, the door led down to an underground dungeon housing even more ves, kept in jail cells. Passing through the dungeon, almost all of them were demi-humans. I used my analysis skill as we passed by, inspecting each and everyone''s level, talent rates(or TLR for short), and level cap. "Here we have the me lizard race, they are more proficient in magecraft and have good endurance. We also have the night rabbits which are better for melee and have higher agility than most, they can maybe even be used for theft if you want to. There is also the harpies, better for aerialbat." I nced and inspected them. [Level 12; TLR: 21%; Level Cap: 56] [Level 23; TLR: 6%; Level Cap: 41] [Level 31; TLR: 1%; Level Cap: 32] I noticed that the older ones had a lower level cap than the younger ones. Looks like the older they are as of now, the more restricted their level caps are and the less their Talent Rates are. That goes the same for those with lower levels, higher-level caps, and higher talent rates. "Does anything catch your eye?" "No." "Well, that''s good because we have more." I could''ve chosen one right there but there are still more. I want to see everything, even if I find one that is in my favor, I still want to see the others. We took an entirep around the dungeon but couldn''t find one that I wanted. But ck markets are usually full of surprises. "Do you have anything on the... exotic side?" I asked the old man and he nodded. This dungeon was really big as the old man led me down to a second level. This time there weren''t any demi-humans, this time there were beastmen (demi-humans but more on beastly looking), monsters likes goblins and such, andstly, spirits such as fire sprites, nymphs, etc. Like the demi-humans on the upper floor, the beastmen had simr level caps and talent rates. The monsters were weak, ranging from level 1 to 10. Most of the spirits were the same as well so I didn''t find a single one that was in my preference. "Will anyone of these satisfy your requests?" "I saw some but no." Even though I saw some with promising stats, none of them would be useful for guarding me. In just two days if I grinded, I could reach level 40 or even 50. Maybe I should just find another ve shop, this one is useless. However, when I turned to walk away, a sinister roar echoed through the hall, scaring everyone around me, including the old man. "What kind of ves are those?" I asked. "Those are... sorry but they are those beyond our control. Even with every torture method, they are still unable to be subjugated." "Lead me to one, I want to see one with my own eyes." "Sorry but they are-" I tossed another royal coin at him. He hesitantly held it in the hand but eventually snuck it in his sleeve. As much as some don''t want it, they just can''t deny money. Another floor, this time it was really deep underground. It would make sense since I couldn''t sense them with my Wolf''s Blood. When we arrived, there were only a few cages. I noticed there was one that looked like a zombie as it had torn flesh and exposed bones and limbs. They are stupid if they think they were gonna tame that thing. There was also a human but looking at his dim yellow eyes, he must be a werewolf. He was slim and weak. Looks like they don''t feed the ones down here. As we passed some others, I heard the same roar but it was more clearer and feminine. Then my eyes were drawn towards a girl inside a cage. It was a fox girl, or Kitsune if you''d call it. I almost didn''t notice her as mostly every part of her body was ck; her long, silky hair, her ears, and her four tails. The only way I was able to recognize her was her pale skin and her icy-blue eyes which zed in the dark. She was wearing only a tattered rag which exposed a part of her breast. When she spotted us, she lunged at us and I almost received another scar on my face with those long ws of hers. I used Analysis and inspected her stats. [Level 51; TLR: 61%; Level Cap: 101] I couldn''t help butugh like a maniac. This one... she''s strong, beautiful as well. Though she may be famished, if she was fed correctly, she''d definitely grow to be an elegantdy. But to why I really need her. Her level, her talent rate, her level cap, they arepletely different than the others. I want her. She''s perfect. "I want this one." "Are you sure? Out of every ve in this room, she is the most stubborn. We can''t make any progress in subjugating her. That werewolf over there will show signs of submission, but she is theplete opposite. We tried bringing her to submission, but theher regions of the designated trainer had been dismembered. Even with the ve cor around her, she won''t surrender." Hearing that, I''d roar inughter. A rebellious one, huh? There are many things they are doing wrong. Kitsunes are creatures full of liberty; they do whatever they want. If you capture one and attempt to ce them under very, well, let''s just say there will be serious consequences. Even if this one won''t submit, there is always one solution. I''d take out my identification paper and hand it over to the merchant. "I''ll take it, and get me amandment crest." "A-are you sure?" "Positive." The merchant paused, then he nodded as he ran away. Amandment crest... consider them asmand seals, just with endless regtions. With the rightmand and the right amount of mana, it can bring one even a dragon to submission if they received the mark. "You will be of use to me." I gazed at the Kitsune, which in return gave me a malevolent re. Those eyes, they are burning with hatred for the ones that robbed her of her freedom. I know exactly what this one wants, after all, it is also what I want. . . . Chapter 8: The Rule of the Black Market Chapter 8: The Rule of the ck Market "Bring her here!" The old man said to two men wearing horned helmets. They were buff and had countless scars over their shoulders and upper body. They were currently holding down the Kitsune with chains and forcefully bringing her over to us. "Hey! Be careful with her!" I''d yell, scolding the two knuckleheads. She''s already in a state where you could break one of her bones so she needs to be handled gently. The Kitsune kneeled in front of us and I looked at the old man. The old man looked at me and handed me a pill. I''d take it and take off my left glove. Eventually, a mark appeared on my left forearm. It was a ck symbol of a serpent. Commandment Crests take the appearance of one''s inner spirit. So mine is a snake huh? The old man then handed me a knife and a saucer. I used the knife to cut a little bit of my finger, letting a few drops on the dish which was mixed with ink. After that, he coated a metal rod with a crest shape at the end. That crest would then slowly morph into one simr to mymandment crest; a serpent. This process was to enchant the crest that would be branded on the ve to belong to whoever blood was fused with, and link with themandment crest. It''s a simple but efficient spell. The old man ced the rod in a raging fire and when he took it out, it was glowing and gave off an insane amount of heat. Now... the painful process. The old man gave me the rod and I looked at the Kitsune. "Hold her still, but don''t hurt her." The knuckleheads beside her grabbed her shoulders and held her still. The Kitsune struggled and thrashed around to no avail. I then pressed the iron above her left breast. Sizzle~! "GYAAAAAAAAAH!!" She''d roar in pain and my ears began ringing. Crap, I forgot, Kitsunes have a powerful cry that can shatter one''s eardrums if they don''t have the required resistance. I''d hold my ground after 3 seconds and then I threw the rod aside while holding my ears. The old man went to pick up the rod, then he tossed it intova. Quickly I put 8 stat points into strength and technique as technique also means my resistance to magic and the remaining into agility. [Strength 22 --> Strength 30] [Technique 11 --> Technique 19] [Agility 23 --> Agility 28] Eventually, the cry didn''t affect me and the Kitsune soon passed out. That outta do it. I''d get up on my feet and took deep breaths. [Skill Obtained: Mark of Fidelity] [Mark of Fidelity: If one pledges their loyalty to the host, they will receive the host''s insignia of fidelity| Effects: Marks one as a subordinate and added to the party] [New Function Unlocked!] [Party Management] [??? has joined the party] Hmm, interesting. Since I don''t know her name, she''ll just be marked as question marks. As I regained myposure, I turned towards the old man. "Guess that''s done." "Yes indeed." The old man then brought out a piece of paper and ced it on the table. It was a contract to never speak of this business. There is a serious rule in the organization of ck markets, once you are associated with them, you can never speak of them or reveal any of their locations. If you ever do reveal them to a person that has absolutely no rtionship of the ck market, they have two choices. Either be associated with them, or die knowing that they''ve been found out and with a bonus to that, eliminate me. I''m good at secrets so this wasn''t much of a problem to me. However, I''ll have to sign this contract in order for me to be trusted. I''d stamp the contract with my blood and the old man took a quick look at it. Then he faced me and bowed. "Thank you for your business." I''d smile and turned towards the unconscious Kitsune which was now under my control. *** After that, we were back on top. It had already gotten dark so the shop was pretty much empty. I was carrying the Kitsune in my arms and I was now walking back towards the inn. When I entered, I quickly passed the counter and went to my room. Since the Kitsune was unconscious right now, I ced her on the bed and covered her in a nket as she was half-naked. She had bruises all over her body. Must''ve been from the torturing methods they attempted on her. I heard there was a pharmacy nearby that sold healing potions. I should also get some clothes for her. Luckily, I don''t have to run now. I asked for some regr coins from the old man and he gave me enough to get myself a mansion. There are 4 coins that are used as currency in this world, not including the royal coin. From least value to the most, copper, silver, gold, and tinum. 100 copper coins equal 1 silver, 100 silver coins equal 1 gold coin, and so on. As of right now, I have 6 tinum coins, 42 gold coins, 69 silver coins, and 101 copper coins on me. I ran out of the inn to go to the pharmacy and got myself some potions. I got some for myself and some for the Kitsune. When she wakes up, I''m gonna have to ask her name because I don''t want to name someone who already has a name. After all, it would meanpletely taking their freedom. My n is to get her trust so I don''t have to refer to her as a ve. I only bought her because she has the strength to protect me, for now. After getting the clothes, I stopped by a bakery and got some bread I can feed to her, along with some milk. I then returned to my room. The Kitsune was still unconscious, so I guess I can hang around for now. I should feed her the potion but she''s asleep right now. If I waited till she woke up, she might not ept anything from me since... well, she probably already bears hatred for me. I should just give it to her mouth to mouth. I''d walk over to her and pop the potion, then poured it into my mouth. I also poured a sleeping potion which I bought as well, mixing it with the healing potion. It won''t affect the drinker until they swallow it so I''m safe for now. She must be tired after everything she did this afternoon. I gently picked her up and ced my mouth against her, pouring the liquid into her mouth and feeding it to her. Quickly after I did that, her eyes suddenly flung open and when she saw what I was doing, she swiftly pushed me back and swung her ws. I used my arm and blocked her ws, only leaving a faint scratch mark on my sleeve. With themandment crest, I spoke amand. "Stay still." I felt energy depleting from my body and even my mana. [Mana: 59/405] The Kitsune immediately stopped but gave me an intense re. That''s when I realized that the cor around her neck glowed dimly. Hmm, gonna have to find a way to remove that. But anyway, it''s a good thing I upgraded my agility and perception. If I didn''t I would''ve gotten an eye gauged out. Even the Kitsune looked weak and she was about to fall. I ran and caught her, thenid her back on the bed. She''s probably in a bad mood right now considering all that she''s gone through. She''ll be better the next morning though... I think. For now, I should go grind some levels. There are more monsters during the night anyway. I''d cover the Kitsune in the nket and headed out, locking the door behind me. I can trust this inn as the only people in here are stupid drunk people. I doubt they would be able to pick a lock. Walking over to the forest, I encounter more wolves and with my new dagger and bow, I was able to shred them to pieces and snipe some of them for afar. [Leveled up!] [Leveled up!] [Leveled up!] . . After that, I was now level 21. It seems that the more creatures I kill, the less I level up. I killed more than 20 of them and I only leveled up 9 times. Well, it would make sense since they are weak. I also learned a few skills as well. A passive skill, Daggers arts, a regr skill, sh step, and Charged Arrow. Here are their descriptions. [Dagger Arts: The host will understand and gain all knowledge with the dagger| Effect: Proficiency with the dagger] [sh Step: Concentrating mana into the feet, the host will be able to move from point A to point B faster than the speed of sound| Effects: Teleport anywhere in a 5-meter radius| Conditions: Consumes 100 mana per use] [Charged Arrow: By concentrating mana into an arrow, the damage output will be raised and the arrow will fly faster| Effects: +20% damage(Can be charged up to 3 times; Maximum output: +60%)| Conditions: Consumes 100 mana per use] I can now use the dagger like a professional. Even though I''ve never used it, my body acts on its own, but ording to my will. sh step is like a teleportation spell. However, with that range, it will just be useful for dodging. Charged arrow, by consuming 300 mana, it can inflict 60% more damage. That can actually be useful. It can also fly faster as well. [Status: Fatigued] Well, I am getting tired. I guess I should get back. Tomorrow, I should start getting her information and her trust, and maybe help her with some other stuff, as long as it is within my power that is. . . . Chapter 9: The Kitsune Chapter 9: The Kitsune The next morning came by. The Kitsune was still sleeping but she''d ought to wake up soon. Good thing she was unharmed though... Last night when I returned, I saw two thieves trying to break into my room. I waited till they gave up and when they saw me, they attempted to assault me. Luckily with sh step, I had easily evaded them and knocked them out. As they were rendered unconscious, I dragged them to an alley inhabited by stray dogs and watched as they got mauled. It was a delightful sight to see two thieves get what they deserve. Anyway, the Kitsune had woke up. She looked around the room and stared at the window, probably going to attempt to use it to escape when she finds a chance. Then her eyes shifted over to the door. Another way to flee, and then they were settled on me. Looks like the information I got was right, Kitsunes are smart, really smart. She''d get up into a defensive position and red at me with murderous eyes. I''d slowly get up and walk up to her. "Don''t worry, I''m not going to hurt you." I''d drop my dagger and my bow and arrows on the table and continue forward. She''d back away an inch every time I took a step further. Guess this is the farthest I can go if I don''t want her to flee. I slowly backed up to the table and grabbed the basket of bread and ced it on the bed, along with the clothes I had picked out for her. I''m not really an expert at picking out female clothes, but I''m sure she''ll be satisfied with what I picked out; a white blouse, blue jacket, long ck skirt, high ck stockings, and ck boots. I also got some undergarments for her, but I''m a virgin, so once I took a sneak at her to check her size, I got a nosebleed from that. She hesitantly looked at them and me at the same time. But eventually, she couldn''t resist it because her stomach rumbled. She went for the bread first. She quickly munched on it and a satisfied look appeared in her eyes. I bet she wasn''t fed for the entirety of her stay down there. She suddenly began to cough from eating too fast and I grabbed the ss of milk on the table and handed it to her. She grabbed it and quickly drank it. "Now, now, don''t eat so quickly or your body won''t be able to process it correctly. You don''t want to die from eating too quickly do you?" The Kitsune looked at me with puzzled eyes as she chewed the bread. I watched as she continued to eat and couldn''t help but admire how cute she was. If she lives on a healthy diet, she will no doubt turn out to look gorgeous. It''s like raising a kid. Raising a kid... I scratched my head and walked over to the table. I grabbed a chair and ced it closer to the bed in front of the Kitsune and watched as she continued to feast. When she was done, she had crumbs all over her mouth and I giggled at the sight. "Here, clean yourself," I said as I took out a handkerchief and ced it on the nket. She looked at it curiously and took it. "It''s to wipe your mouth," I said. She understood and begun cleaning herself as an elegantdy would. I''m guessing she learned some manners from whoever raised her until she was held captive. Now that she was done eating, it was time for her to change her clothes. I''d walk towards the door and turned to her. "You change into those new clothes I got for you, I''ll be outside." She looked at me with doubtful eyes, but I then walked out the door and closed it. Even though we are separated, I can still look at her with Wolf''s Blood. Since she is at a higher level, her outline was red. Looks like she was currently putting on the clothes right now. I''m not using Wolf''s Blood to peak at her for your information, I''m just making sure she doesn''t try to escape for two reasons. First, she is too weak and frail to fight anyone and second, I did buy her, making her my property. Surprisingly, even after inspecting the room, she didn''t even attempt to escape. She just sat there on the bed like a child waiting for their parent. Seeing that she was done, I opened and reentered the room. I sat in the chair in front of her and stared into her eyes. Those beautiful eyes really do stand out in my opinion. I quickly used Analysis and inspected her abilities. [Level 51; ss: Mage; Level Cap: 101] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sage Arts, Ninjutsu Proficiency, Fox Fire Maniption Active Skills: Transformation Skills: Swift sh, Soaring Dragon Fist, me Pirs ------------------ This is interesting. She''s a mage ss. Sage Arts, Ninjutsu Proficiency, Fox Fire Maniption. If she were in a healthy state right now, she would easily take me down, even kill me if she wanted to if it was not for her current state and not under mymand. I''m guessing her Transformation skill allows her to transform into her fox state, if she had enough energy to do that. Swift sh, that would definitely work if she wasn''t so weak right now. Soaring Dragon Fist? Sounds cool, must be powerful. me pirs, I can already imagine what that does. Now, my current n is to get her back to shape. It would be abusive if I had her fight in her current state. Anyway... "May you tell me your name and age?" I asked her. She nervously gazed at me. Guess she still doesn''t trust me. I''d get up and walk over to the table to get myself some bread as I was hungry as well. Then she spoke in an elegant voice. "K-Kiyomi... I''m 19." "Kiyomi... that''s a beautiful name." Ding! [??? --> Kiyomi] Kiyomi blushed lightly and turned away from me. How cute. Though it''s a good thing she is a grown woman and not a child, otherwise, she would''ve definitely been forced into submission. I clenched my hands thinking about it. To forcefully take someone''s freedom, vile piece of shits. Kiyomi must''ve noticed how I felt because she was inching away from me. I''d calm down and lie back, showing no signs of bloodlust. "So then Kiyomi, I have a proposition." "P-proposition?" "Just a little ticket that could get you your freedom. I only bought you as of now as a bodyguard since I am weak but I will release you once you are used up of your use to me. During that time, I can grant one wish. Just one." Kiyomi looked at me suspiciously, thinking whether or not I was telling the truth. Sure, I could be lying since I am her master and she would think I would just be lying to her but I am not a dishonest person. I don''t break a promise. "I... I want revenge." "Hm?" "Revenge... I want revenge..." "Revenge on who?" This was starting to get interesting, I knew she was going to say that. "I want to get revenge on those who kidnapped me and sold me to very. They took me from my family 2 years ago. I want to kill them..." She then looked at her long ws. "With my own hands." Hearing that, I chuckled. So that''s the path she is going to take. It''s amazing, I wouldn''t show mercy to those that took my freedom as well. "Then consider it a promise. You will serve and protect me until you get your revenge while I continue to strengthen you till you hit your limit. After that is done, the rtionship between us will be severed and we can part our ways. And to seal that promise, I''ll give you a little gift." I''d walk up to her and take off my gloves. When she spotted themandment crest on my left arm, she flinched, but Imanded her to freeze and she did. That however took some of my mana. [7,294/8,367] I''d ce my hand on the cor around her neck. This thing will harm her if she disobeys amand given by me and it''ll cause more unnecessary pain to her. If I remove it, I canmand her without her getting harmed. I attempted to break it but the cor was too strong. I then activated bloodlust and I could feel the metal bend, but I still wasn''t strong enough to break it open. So I deposited every single stat point I had into the strength stat. [Strength 39 --> Strength 66] With that, my strength is now doubled since I have bloodlust activated. Crink! I could hear the cor begin to break and with all my might, the cor broke apart. ng! I''d fall into the chair and took deep breaths. Despite managing to break it, I felt as if all my energy was drained just from doing that. Well, at least I broke it. [Status: Fatigued] Well, I do feel a little bit tired. Probably because I didn''t take a single restst night. Well... I guess it wouldn''t hurt to... take a nap... . . . Chapter 10: Skills Chapter 10: Skills When I woke up, I was met with a slender beauty. I gazed into her eyes curiously. Who is this woman? "Who are you?" I asked. "I-it''s me" That voice, Kiyomi? "Hmm, you look different." She wasn''t a Kitsune anymore, but human. "I thought it would be best if I was in a form best suited to your preference. Do you not like it?" "No, you look great, though I''d prefer your original form better. You can use this when we have to go out." So this is the transformation skill. Interesting "Why?" "Hmm?" "Why did you break my cor? It was to make sure I''d follow every order you give me so why?" "Because I don''t like to cause harm on those who don''t deserve it." "But how can you be so sure?" "Because that hatred of yours isn''t directed to me and I can sense it. It''s towards the ones that captured you, right?" Kiyomi looked off into another direction and nodded. "I want to get my revenge." "Right however, you won''t be able to in your current state." She was skinny,cking nutrition; you can almost see her ribs. She''s gonna need to be fed properly. I get up and fix my clothes. Then I walked over to the door. "You stay here, you are probably hungry." "No, I''m fi-" But her stomach said otherwise. "Just stay here, I wouldn''t want you to get hurt." I then exit the room, shutting the door behind me. I went down towards the first floor and ordered some food. I got her some vegetables and meat while I just got myself some bread. After that, I returned to my room and ced the food on the table. Kiyomi stared at it with a doubtful look, probably thinking there is something in there. She even took a few sniffs. "Don''t worry, it''s nothing bad. Here, eat." I moved the te to her and she hesitated. She took the corn on the te and took a little nibble. After that, she began eating like a savage would. "H-hey now, calm down, don''t eat so fast." She took my advice and ate it at a slow pace. I offered her a ss of water whenever she was having trouble swallowing. When she finished, she gave me eyes wanting more food. Hmm, it wouldn''t hurt to continue spoiling her. After all, I have plenty of time. *** When it got dark, I went out to go hunting again. But this time Kiyomi had tagged along. I suggested she stayed back at the inn but she insisted oning. So here we are. We wandered into the forest and encountered a pack of wolves. I was about to fight them myself but Kiyomi insisted on fighting them herself. I pointed out her current condition but eventually after a minute of bickering, she had her way. Despite looking weak, she was quick and always on her feet. In a matter of seconds, the 6 wolves that were around us were shredded to pieces by Kiyomi and her ws. [Leveled up!] [Leveled up!] [Party Member Kiyomi has leveled up!(1)] Interesting, so if a party member takes out an enemy, the XP is shared with me as well. If I guess in the future, it would go the same for other party members. Suddenly, Kiyomi fell to the ground. I ran up to her to help her up but she said she was fine and didn''t need my help. I backed off and let her do her thing. Another wave of wolves came and this time, Kiyomi showed off a few of her mage skills. Fox Fire Maniption is simr to regr Fire Maniption, just that it burns hotter and can be shaped into anything that has physicalponents such as a sword or a spear. They were even useful as a torch, though I never needed to bring one since my eyes can adjust to the dark pretty quickly. I also got to see a nce at me Pirs. From the name, it''s pretty obvious. mes erupting from the ground like a volcano just busted. I also got a glimpse of Sage Arts. To make it short, the user draws energy in the air and uses it as their own to create a being made of that energy. When manifested, it takes on the true form of the user. Of course, Kiyomi being a Kitsune, ites out as a spiritual version of her, just in her fox form. I looked at the crest on my arm. If I was able to get Sage Arts, I could probably do the same. But anyway, a few hours have passed and we leveled up quite a lot, for me anyway. I was now level 32 while Kiyomi was level 57. I have to say, she did a lot of work today, though I told her she didn''t have to, she did it anyway. Kiyomi passed out after we were done so I was now bringing her back. After cing her onto the bed, I grabbed a chair and ced it at the door, then sat on it. [Status: Tired] Yeah... but I don''t feel sleepy right now so I''ll just stay awake for the night. While I do that, I can check my stats. {Status} Name: Nero Akuma|(Former: Naoko Akujin) Title: Inept Hero ss: None Status: Normal Level: 32 Mana: [338,820/338,820] Strength: 77 Agility: 48 Technique: 39 Perception: 36 Charisma: 666 Stat Points: 33 {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sprint, Bloodlust, Allocation(Locked), Exceed(Locked), Dagger Arts Active Skills: None Skills: Analysis, Wolf''s Blood, Mark of Fidelity, sh Step, Charged Arrow ------------------ Hmm, I''ve been wondering for a while now. Since they are skills, shouldn''t I be able to level them up? [That function is locked as of now...] When will I be able to unlock it? [Required level is 65...] I see, so I''ll just have to keep leveling up and I will be able to unlock it. Does this go the same for Kiyomi? [Yes...] Alright, that''s good. So as long as I keep leveling up, I''ll be able to unlock that function. I''m guessing there will be more functions to unlock in the future, am I correct? [Affirmative...] Well then, that''s that. So for now, I should focus on getting Kiyomi back into shape. That shouldn''t take long unless they have the same digestive system as humans. If so, then it might take a few months. Tomorrow, I should go buy myself some scrolls and learn some magic, otherwise, I''ll just be dead weight and Kiyomi will just take my ce. I''ll lose my dignity if that happens. *** When the next morning came up, I bought some food and ced them on the table for Kiyomi to eat when she wakes up. I am walking down the street towards the scroll shop to buy myself some scrolls. I want one that can be used for healing and one that can be used for defense. Since Kiyomi deals more damage than me, it''s better if I back her up whenever she is in trouble. Upon entering the shop, the inside was almost like a library. Scrolls were lined up on the shelves. It was specifically organized; fire-rted scrolls were in one section, water-rted scrolls in another, you get the idea. I inspected the healing scroll section to find the healing spell I wanted. I wanted a spell that can allow me to heal others and myself in a short amount of time and not consume so much mana every use. Eventually, I found one lying on the ground. It was called "Quick Regeneration." It''s pretty much in the name. I walked up to the counter and an olddy walked up. "How may I help you?" "Is there a spell that can... create a shield?" "A barrier spell?" "Yes." The olddy scratched the side of her head and began thinking. Then she told me to wait and walked to the back. When she returned, she had three scrolls in her hand and ced them on the counter. "Choose one to your liking." I took them and inspected them. However, they were all the same and I didn''t know which one to pick. Ding! [Analysis not only inspects another being but can inspect an item as well...] Ho? Should''ve told me this earlier. Using Analysis, I took a look at what they could do. [Energy Shield: Cast a wall made of condensed energy provided by the host| Effects: Make an energy shield that can be cast onto any target| Conditions: Consumes 200 mana per use] [Earth Dome(Unable to learn): With the power of the earth, create a mighty dome to shield against projectiles| Effects: With earth magic, cast a giant dome around you| Conditions: Earth Magic, Consumes 500 mana per use] [Aura Barrier: Cast a barrier made up of the host''s energy that can cover a 360-degree radius| Effects: Enwrap an aura around you, deflecting any projectiles away| Conditions: Consumes 300 mana per use] Hmm, the reason why I probably can''t use earth dome is because I can''t use earth magic. Well, not like I really have to. Energy Shield and Aura Barrier are pretty trusting, I should get them. I took a quick nce at Quick Regeneration too before I purchased the scrolls. [Quick Regeneration: Heal and restore the target to their original state before getting injured| Effect: Restores one to Normal Status| Conditions: Consumes 1,000-10,000 mana per use depending on the condition the target is] I see, that''s useful. "These two, and this." "Very well." After that, I paid for them and returned to the inn. So, how do I use them? [Focus your mana into the scroll and you will be able to absorb the spell...] Hmm, is that so? Well, guess I can only try. I picked up the scroll and begun to focus my mana into it. [Mana: 336,294/338,820] Then I felt the scroll vanish, just vanish. [Skill Obtained: Energy Shield] Nice. So I guess I''ll have to do the same with the rest. [Skill Obtained: Aura Barrier] [Skill Obtained: Quick Regeneration] This will be useful, I can protect myself with Aura Barrier and protect others like Kiyomi with Energy Shield. Heh, you could even call me a support hero, but I think I''ll stick with Inept for now since being a "support" isn''t really my style. But if I ever do get the chance, then maybe I''ll take my chances. . . . Chapter 11: Crimson Bear Chapter 11: Crimson Bear A month has passed And well not much has happened. Kinda. I decided to get Kiyomi to get a job as a waitress in the inn we are staying at as she needs to get familiar with other humans. I had her under the identity of my younger sister(though she''s older than me) so it wouldn''t look weird for us to be sharing the same room. It''s perfect too. She has the same hair color as me, our eyes are kind of simr(of course this is in human form), and whenever another human other than me walks up to her, she shies away. She''s like the shy imouto type. But eventually, she warmed up to others, though of course under my watch. Whenever some idiot tries to touch her, I immediately stop them and well, teach them a lesson in the back alley. After that, they learn their lesson and it seems that also went for everyone else in the inn. I think I was given the title of overprotective brother, but that doesn''t really matter to me. I just hope it doesn''t show up as my title. Anyway, whenever night falls, we leave the inn to hunt any wolves we encounter on the way. In this world, the poption of wolves surpasses that of the slimes, and there are a lot of them. Kiyomi and I managed to level up quite a lot in that period and these are my stats now, along with Kiyomi''s. {Status} Name: Nero Akuma|(Former: Naoko Akujin) Title: Inept Hero ss: None Status: Normal Level: 49 Mana: [100,000,000/100,000,000] Strength: 94 Agility: 65 Technique: 56 Perception: 53 Charisma: 666 Stat Points: 84 {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sprint, Bloodlust, Allocation(Locked), Exceed(Locked), Dagger Arts, Deadshot Active Skills: None Skills: Analysis, Wolf''s Blood, Mark of Fidelity, sh Step, Charged Arrow, Energy Shield, Aura Barrier, Quick Regeneration ------------------ Kiyomi [Level 65; ss: Mage; Level Cap: 101] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sage Arts, Ninjutsu Proficiency, Fox Fire Maniption Active Skills: Transformation Skills: Swift sh(Lvl.1), Soaring Dragon Fist(Lvl.1), me Pirs(Lvl.1) ------------------ I only got one skill which was Deadshot. It doesn''t really do much except disallowing me from missing any of my shots when I use the bow. But aside from that, we didn''t get any cool skills on our grind, but we did level up a lot, though we could level up a lot more. Kiyomi managed to get to level 65 which now allows her to level up her skills. But of course, it''s not gonna be easy, the more we level up, the harder it is to level up. I think I said level up too many times there. I do feel like attaining more skills but I focusing on the skills I haven''t unlocked yet. I''m still trying to figure out how to unlock Allocation and Exceed but now matter what I do, I still can''t unlock them. Judging by their names and how I still haven''t unlocked them yet, they must be useful skills. Well, I still have plenty of time. However... I''m a little intrigued by howrge my mana capacity is. Just what multiplications are you using Yukie? [...] Nothing to say huh? "Master!" Oh, that reminds me, remember how Kiyomi used to be a skinny, short girl that was famished? I don''t think I ever mentioned she was short but she was short, and still is, just not that much. You can say that she grew up in other areas though. You''d probably mistake her for someone else. She was more mature-looking now, still slim but not famished anymore. She had a fit build which made her look stunning and she was roughly around 166 cm tall. She weighed pretty light and I know that because I''ve carried her back to the inn whenever she gets tired. It was nice seeing her grow though, it''s almost like seeing your child grow before your eyes There is also a good thing about having a cute sister type on your side. The owner of the inn was nice enough to give me and Kiyomi our own bath time since Kiyomi is always working so hard. There was also another reason why we got a private bath time as well. I may or may not have snuck some coins into his pocket. I wanted it for specific reasons. "Master?" "Hmm?" Seems I was daydreaming there. "It''s already night." "Huh?" I looked outside and it was already dark. Wow, time flies by fast. All I''ve been doing all day is eat, drink, and stare at Kiyomi''s as- I mean watch over Kiyomi. Fuuu as time passes on, the temptation just rises higher and higher. I''m almost at my limit here. I think I should take a rest from bathing with Kiyomi. A man can only take in so much. Not to mention that she looks absolutely stunning in her Kitsune form. Those fluffy tails, those ears, you can''t me me for wanting to want to have sex with a fox girl. Wait I mean Well I do masturbate to her now and then. It''s just so tempting Shit But anyway- "Right, get ready now, we''re going out." "Yes, master." Ahh, how it feels to be called master. It''s like my otaku wet dreams havee true. Being called master by a fox girl, how delightful. Now, I bought her some gear after knowing that her ws get dirty now and then, and I get worried that they might break unexpectedly. So I got her some metal ws. She didn''t need armor so I didn''t have to get her any. The only thing I bought besides ws was new clothes. The clothes I gave her still fit but she needed one suited for adventuring. Sure she goes with the same clothes but they get dirty every time wee back. Good thing I bought extras. For her adventuring outfit, I got her a ck kimono, silver obi, and a ck pelt with silver snakes and lines patterned all over it. I personally got it made just for her since well it''s better to see a Kitsune in a kimono. It also shows off her beauty more. It is also the traditional clothing she wears as well. She can also alternate between outfits whenever she transforms from human to Kitsune. I never seen her fox form, but I''m guessing it''s not really necessary. As we exited the inn and went into the forest, we walked around to search for any wolves to hunt. But the thing was, there were no wolves. Either we took all the wolves out in this area, or they are just inactive this night. But that wasn''t the case. Lately, there has been news about some kind of giant creature terrorizing the forest. Though me and Kiyomi and never encountered it, we could sense traces of its energy lying around. Whatever it is, it must be strong. So I''ll just do these people a favor. We just have to take this thing down and maybe we can get a ton of XP from it. Yeah. That''ll do. "Master, look." Wandering through the forest, we stumbled upon somerge footprints which awfully looked like bear tracks. There were crimson particles emitting from where the footprint was. "Bear tracks, huh? It could be a Crimson Bear." The tracks went north, so we go north. We followed the tracks while watching our surroundings. I used Wolf''s Blood and looked around to spot anything suspicious. Luckily, there wasn''t anyone or anything following us. However, we found the Crimson Bear. It was feasting on the flesh of the wolves we usually hunt. So this is what has been taking my supply of XP. This scum. It was called the "Crimson Bear" because of how it gives off crimson light particles. It''s nothing special, just special effects, though it does give the bear immeasurable strength. [Level 69] Level 69, it''s higher leveled than us, but if we work together, we can take it down. I drew my bow ready and Kiyomi had her ws ready. "You ready Kiyomi?" "Yes, master." I pulled the bow back and performed a Charge Arrow. I waited till the arrow glowed three times which signals that it is at its maximum damage output. When I fired it, the effects of Deadshot activated and the arrow traveled straight towards the bear''s head. The bear noticed the arrow and quickly ducked, but that didn''t stop the arrow from not hitting it. The arrownded on the bear''s side and dug in deep. The bear roared in pain and swiped the arrow, attempting to get it out. Kiyomi ran up and performed Swift sh, leaving a massive gash on the bear''s side. The bear turned towards Kiyomi and swiped its ws. However, it was immediately countered when she performed Soaring Dragon Fist, sting the bear several meters back. The effects of Soaring Dragon Fist allows the user to blow its enemies back. It can even be used as a means of transportation using propulsion, but that''s only if the user knows how to use it correctly. Anyway, I fired three more fully charged arrows and they headed towards the bear. It only took one swipe for the bear to disrupt my attack. But it shouldn''t have worried about me and should''ve focused its attention on Kiyomi. When it turned around, its head immediately disconnected from its torso, blood sttering everywhere. Huh... that wasn''t much of a challenge for a level 69. [Leveled up!] [Leveled up!] [Leveled up!] [Leveled up!] [Leveled up!] [Leveled up!] [Party Member Kiyomi has leveled up!(3)] As expected, we leveled up. Though not that much, it''s better than nothing. Ding! [The host has reached the required level...] Required level? Level for what? [Host must be unconscious to choose a ss...] So I can use a ss now, huh? Interesting. We''ll have to head back though, I am feeling a bit tired. God, I''m gonna have to work on my stamina... . . . Chapter 12: Class Selection? Chapter 12: ss Selection? {The Royal Pce of Paragon} It was nightfall. A man entered the hall, walking up to the king sitting on his throne. "Your majesty, my men have searched everywhere but we couldn''t find a single trace of him," the man dressed in white cloth said, kneeling to the king. "Not a single trace?" "Not even a bone, sir. The only thing we''ve found are dead wolves with sharpened sticks stuck in their throats." The king began biting his fingernails. "The Inept Hero... how the hell can one so weak be able to escape a pack of wolves?" "Seems even I underestimated him," said a figure in the shadows with an aura emanating various colors. Their voice was also anonymous, as it was both the tone of a man''s and a woman''s. "You..." "If I were to guess, he''d probably have gotten himself a new identity. I didn''t think he was even smart enough to fight against some wolves. He''s only level 0, but he probably attained some kind of power through some cliche. That is how the anime characters in our world get their powers." "What do you mean by that?" "What I''m saying is he''s probably not even recognizable anymore. What you need to do is look through your records. He could''ve registered himself as a citizen under your country. If I were him, he''d probably have reorientated his name." "Don''t you think we are taking this too far... hero?" "No, it''s necessary. He''s useless. What can he possibly do for your kingdom? When the demon wave hits next week, he''d have no use in fighting them. It''s not personal, just facts." "I see... then we will go with your n." "Good. Now then, I''ll be returning to my room. After all, my party needs to rest before tomorrow." "Yes, may the gods be with you." And so that figure exited and vanished. The king looked at the men dressed in white and ordered, "Have the kingdom''s records checked and bring me anyone that may be of an acquaintance of or is the Inept Hero himself." "Yes, your majesty." Then the man in white vanished himself. When the throne room was quiet, the king took a deep breath, then rxed. "I''m guilty of this... but if they are correct, then there is no choice." The king held his left arm, the area where he was stabbed. Of course, the n to get rid of the Inept Hero, Naoko Akujin, was none other nned by the king, and one among the heroes. However, the king has no idea who hispanion was as their identity was a mystery. All he knows was that one of them was behind it and that they had a grudge against Naoko. Despite knowing this, the king went with their n. The Inept Hero was useless and in the past, those who received that title either died a death due to unknown cause a few days after their arrival, or they vanish, leaving no trace behind, and this figure was determined to have this one die. "Father? Are you alright?" A man asked in a worried tone. The king looked up and a man entered the throne room. He was the prince of Paragon, Mordros Paragon, heir to the throne. "No, I am fine, what are you still doing at this hour?" "Nothing, just checking if you are fine." "It''s alright, I was just... reminiscing about your mother." "...I see..." Mordros then turned around. "Have a nice rest." Then he disappeared. The king stroked his beard as he was once alone again. "The heroes... their growth is... extraordinary," he said as he opened up a scroll that was recording the heroes and their levels. "It''s only been a month but... this was unexpected." Murai Kurasu - Warrior Hero Lvl.74 Kai Wyatt - Archer Hero Lvl.66 Michael Kole - Berserker Hero Lvl.67 Akira Nura - Assassin Hero Lvl.59 Jessica Phillips - Mage Hero Lvl.70 Asuka Takeda - Summoner Hero Lvl.64 Eiko Masaki - Enhancer Hero Lvl.60 Risa Esumi - Healer Hero Lvl.69 "But... I''m a little worried about him..." When he looked at the bottom, he gulped. Naoko Akujin - Inept Hero Lvl.? Though his level wasn''t disyed, it was definitely not at zero anymore. If it was, it would''ve shown if he had signed the contract that all heroes are supposed to sign when they are brought to this world. "Knowing what has happened, he''s probably plotting revenge. I need to find him quickly." *** Kiyomi was sleeping peacefully in what was formally my bed. Me? I don''t need to sleep in somethingfortable. I''m used to sleeping on the hard cold floor and even broken chairs. Leaning against the wall, I slowly dose off so I can initiate the ss choosing process. . . . [Initiating...] . . . [Error!] . . . WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN ERROR?! . . . [Due to the host''s title, he will be unable to choose a ss...] . . . WHAT?! WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS?! IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?! . . . [Due to the host''s title, the ss themselves will choose the host...] . . . What does that even mean? . . . [These are the ss choices...] [Warrior] [Mage] [Assassin] [Archer] [Berserker] [Cleric] [Summoner] [Necromancer] . . . [Due to the host''s title, he is ineligible to choose his ss, therefore the sses will choose whether they will choose the host as their sessor or not...] . . . Are you kidding me? So it''s a lottery? I can''t choose my ss? Tch, whatever, as long as I get one. . . . [The selection has started] . . . [24%] . . . [51%] . . . [86%] . . . [99%] . . . Ding! [The sses have spoken...] . . . [Your ss is...] . . . [Jack of All Trades...] Jack of All Trades? [Jack of All Trades: The host is all none. Everything and nothing. With no limitations and setbacks, you can use every ss freely without fault. The more that the host upgrades this ss, the more sses you can use at the same time. However, it will be nearly impossible to master andplete a ss. As of now, you can only switch from one ss to another. Each ss however requires the host to possess a certain skill in order to use that ss. Currently, you can only use 5 sses...] How many sses are there? [Approximately 40+] Christ... I guess I''ll just stick with the sses I can ess. [New Function Unlocked!] [ss Switching] [sses: Assassin, Guardian, Trickster, Healer, Archer] I see, I have the Assassin ss because of Dagger Arts, the Guardian ss because of my shield skills, Trickster is probably because of sh Step and Sprint, Healer is because of Quick Regeneration, and Archer is probably because of Deadshot and Charged Arrow. Tch, archer... reminds me of that scum hero, the Archer Hero. I''ll kill him if I see him again. No... I must control myself. If I let rage take me over, then I''m just marking my own grave. Who knows what his level and power are right now. I need to closely watch his move. If I heard, the hero party ising to this town because the next demon wave is hitting this ce. Hmph, it''ll be perfect, I can inspect everything he does. Though of course, I''ll have to be on low profile. The Assassin Hero is who I need to watch out for. His skills allow him to collect information and since I''m marked as a fugitive, he''s no doubt probably searching for me as well. If he finds out who I am, it''ll all be over for me. I need to continue to level up, or else I''ll just be weak like how I was before. The more levels and skills I obtain, the stronger I be. I believe it''s time for my consciousness to take over my body now. Time flows quickly in this empty space. Now then... . . . "KYAAA!" When I woke up, I heard a scream and looked around the room. Eventually, I saw Kiyomi in the corner, crying. "Mama, Papa, Big Brother, Big Sister..." She was muttering about her family, what''s going on? "What''s wrong, Kiyomi?" I walked up to her and when she spotted me, she tackled me with a hug. "Whoa, Ki-" "Please don''t die on me." Hearing her cries and her pleading, I let her weep. "I couldn''t protect them... because I was weak..." Hearing those words, I immediately figured the situation. The ones that kidnapped her, they probably murdered her family. Whoever these bastards are, they must be at a higher level, meaning they are stronger than her. Having family taken away... how cruel... however if it were mine, I wouldn''t mind. "Don''t worry, you have me," I said, patting her head softly to calm her down. "I will always be by your side." I let her cry into my arms and after a while, she settled down. "Now then, today is a busy day. Let''s get downstairs, shall we?" I turned around to open the door but then Kiyomi grabbed my shirt. "Do you promise?" She said. "Hmm?" "Do you promise you won''t leave me?" Ahh, that... "Of course... if you can promise you won''t leave me." "Then it''s settled." Suddenly her lips connected with mine. Then she pulled back and blushed. "Th-that''s to seal the deal." I touch my lips and my mind slowly processed what happened. She kissed me... Hmm, I don''t remember setting this girl''s g. Actually, now that I think about it, I don''t recall ever trying to aplish her route. Wonder when it began... Anyway, she eventually changed and we went downstairs. Today there were fewer customers than before so I basically just let Kiyomi be. I hung around... and loitered. But suddenly, I heard shattering noises and I turned to see that noiseing from Kiyomi''s direction. "Kiyomi, what''s wrong?" I looked at her and she had a petrified look on her face. I realized she was staring at a group of individuals. "What''s wrong, Kiyomi?" I whispered into her ears and she slowly turned away. "Th-the... they''re the ones... who enved me... and killed my family..." . . . Chapter 13: Faster Leveling Chapter 13: Faster Leveling So the men that kidnapped and sold Kiyomi off to very are right here in this inn. From what I heard, they are staying at this inn to safeguard this town when the demon wave hits. Along with that, they are still doing their ve selling business. I looked outside to see a wagon parked in front of the inn. That wagon it either contains supplies or ves to sell to the ve dealer in this town. Hmm I spoke with the owner of the inn and told him that Kiyomi was sick today so she couldn''t work. But that was just a cover-up. When we returned to our room, Kiyomi did nothing but sit at the table with empty eyes, probably remembering what happened at the time she was kidnapped. "Kiyomi when did you get sold to very?" "three years ago" That''s a surprise. Three years and she''s still a virgin. Her virginity shield must be strong. Ahem, I mean it''s a surprise she evensted that long with the state I saw her in when I first saw her. Famished. Hmm, I would help her right now but with the current state she is in, it would be difficult to restore her to her original mentality. How boring I ced my arms around Kiyomi and she looked up at me. "M-master?" "Kiyomi didn''t you want revenge?" "What?" "Remember what you told me when we first talked to each other? You said you wanted revenge on those that enved you. Isn''t that what you told me?" "Y-yes bu-" "But what? Are you really going to allow them to live after what they''ve done? Your family, they were all in by them but only you lived. Do you want to know why you were the only one that lived?" She opened her mouth to talk but nothing came out. "That''s because you were weak, they couldn''t even see you as a threat. They could''ve toyed around with you and probably could have done worst than just toy. You were let off easy because they belittled you. There are two reasons why you are still living in this world today. One, because you were weak. You didn''t have the strength to protect your family and to fight them off." She clenched her hands and gritted her teeth. She knew what I was saying was the truth. "I I have the strength I need." "Don''t get so cocky. I inspected their stats and they are much higher level than you," I lied, I haven''t inspected their levels just yet but they had to be strong if they were able to subdue her. "If you want to kill them, you''ll have to reach your limit," I continued. "And by doing that, you''ll have to release the beast inside. The one you''ve shown to me when we first met. That beast, where is she now?" "I I buried it I didn''t want to lose control." "Why?" "Because of you master! I didn''t want to harm you if I did lose control. The best I could do was forget that beast." So that''s why she wasn''t so hostile to me. Probably when I broke her cor, that beast slowly died away and couldn''t bear tosh out because of my presence. But "If you don''t bring that beast out, then how will you avenge your family?" "Huh?" "After all, they did kill your family, am I correct?" "yes." "And I bet you not only want to get revenge because they kidnapped you and sold you to very, but you also want to avenge your parents, right?" "yes." Her body began to heat up and I knew it wasing. "Good however, don''t let that beaste out just yet. It is a bit too early to do that." I stroked her cheek and she purred, which then helped her rx. "I still haven''t said the second reason as I assume you already know. However, do you want to know?" She nodded. I leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "So you can get vengeance." *** Kiyomi was now resting on the bed while I was patting her head. It was just as nned. I tamed the beast. Now all I have to do next is help her get her revenge. But first, I need to scout our enemies. I went down to the first floor and looked at the group of individuals, or should I call them envers. From the second floor, I positioned myself above them and used Analysis. [Level 82; ss: Mage; Level Cap: 84] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Fire Maniption, Water Maniption, Earth Maniption Active Skills: None Skills: Dual Elemental st(Lvl.3) ------------------ [Level 79; ss: Assassin; Level Cap: 80] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sprint, Dagger Arts, Dart Arts Active Skills: None Skills: Stealth(Lvl.1), Shadow Fist(Lvl.2), sh Step(Lvl.1) ------------------ [Level 85; ss: Berserker; Level Cap: 85] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Extreme Might, Hammerhead Active Skills: Rage Skills: Headbutt(Lvl.2), Heavy Tackle(Lvl.1), Fallen Descent(Lvl.1) ------------------ A Mage, Assassin, and a Berserker. Judging from their skills, the leader must be the mage. I can tell that the berserker isn''t smart enough to lead a group, though I could be wrong so I can''t risk dropping my guard. From our stats, the best we could do is team up against the Berserker as he''s probably the dumbest one. However, for the others, it will be hard, especially the assassin. His skills are dangerous, especially Stealth and sh Step. With thosebined, there is no telling where he could be. I opened up my stats and inspected them. {Status} Name: Nero Akuma|(Former: Naoko Akujin) Title: Inept Hero ss: Jack of All Trades Status: Normal Level: 55 Mana: [100,000,000/100,000,000] Strength: 100 Agility: 71 Technique: 62 Perception: 59 Charisma: 666 Stat Points: 102 {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sprint, Bloodlust, Allocation(Locked), Exceed(Locked), Dagger Arts, Deadshot Active Skills: None Skills: Analysis, Wolf''s Blood, Mark of Fidelity, sh Step, Charged Arrow, Energy Shield, Aura Barrier, Quick Regeneration ------------------ I''ve been saving up my stat points since I didn''t know where to deposit them into. But since we are going to be facing against a stealth assassin, a massive knucklehead, and a magician that can use 3 elements, I''m gonna need perception and agility even more, or else I won''t be able to evade their attacks. So I deposited 26 into perception and agility and equally divided the remaining points to the rest. [Perception 59 --> Perception 85] [Strength 100 --> Strength 125] [Agility 71--> Agility 97] [Technique 62--> Technique 87] Ding! Hmm? [Skills Obtained: Stealth] [Stealth: Conceal your presence and aura to move around without being detected| Effects: Your presence and aura will be hidden from all enemies. However, if you are in their line of sight, they will be able to spot you| Conditions: Consumes 100 mana per second] [Passive Skills Obtained: Excess, Grave Robber(Locked)] [Excess: For every creature in, you gain double the XP. However, this won''t apply to skill levels| Effects: Gain x2 XP for every kill] Must''ve been because I just upgraded my stats. Well, at least I can match up against the Assassin. However, I''ll have to think about the other two. ... Well, there is no other way but to keep on leveling up. Since Grave Robber is locked, I''ll have to figure out how to unlock it. Now that I think about it, would I gain XP from killing others? ... Well... There''s only one way to find out. *** I left the inn and wandered into the forest. After we took that bear down, the wolves seemed to be appearing again, this time in bigger numbers. Anyway, I came out just to test how good stealth was. When I used it and stood in the wolves'' line of sight, they didn''t seem to be showing hostility. Does it really work that well? Eventually, I took a step forward and when I was about 7 meters near them, they spotted me. Guessing if I keep upgrading the skill, that range shrinks, allowing me to get closer. But since I was in their line of sight, I was spotted pretty fast. If I hid, I could''ve probably gotten closer. But oh well. Time to start grinding. After an hour, I slew about 4 packs of wolves, gaining a ton load of levels. [Leveled up!] [Leveled up!] . . . Ding! [Do you want your levels to be summed up next time?] Yes, I don''t wanna keep seeing "Leveled up!" appearing in my sight. Just keep it simple, like how Kiyomi levels up. Speaking of Kiyomi, she also leveled up quite a lot even though she''s not here. Looks like the passive skill excess is doing its job. [Party Member Kiyomi has leveled up!(13)] Let''s see just how many levels we''ve gotten. Status! {Status} Name: Nero Akuma|(Former: Naoko Akujin) Title: Inept Hero ss: Jack of All Trades Status: Normal Level: 69 Mana: [100,000,000/100,000,000] Strength: 139 Agility: 111 Technique: 101 Perception: 99 Charisma: 666 Stat Points: 42 {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sprint, Bloodlust, Allocation(Locked), Exceed(Locked), Dagger Arts, Deadshot, Excess, Grave Robber(Locked) Active Skills: None Skills: Analysis, Mark of Fidelity, Wolf''s Blood(Lvl.1), sh Step(Lvl.1), Charged Arrow(Lvl.1), Energy Shield(Lvl.1), Aura Barrier(Lvl.1), Quick Regeneration(Lvl.1), Stealth(Lvl.1) ------------------ Kiyomi [Level 81; ss: Mage; Level Cap: 101] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sage Arts, Ninjutsu Proficiency, Fox Fire Maniption Active Skills: Transformation Skills: Swift sh(Lvl.2), Soaring Dragon Fist(Lvl.1), me Pirs(Lvl.1) ------------------ I can now level up my skills. But excess won''t count towards those, even though it should. But, at least excess is doing its job. It''s basically faster leveling. Oh well, I can''t protest what the system provides to me. I looked up at the sky and it was dark. Good... this is perfect. We can strike them while they are sleeping. But if I want to be prudent, we can wait before the demon wave hits. After that happens, we can escape while the fight happens. But we can still strike them today. Even though Kiyomi is still lower leveled than them, a few level difference isn''t going to be a problem. The only thing levels do is show a difference in potential. Though it''s a 3v2, I doubt they would be able to handle what ising next. Only five days before the demon wave hits, that is plenty of time to n. . . . Chapter 14: Unsuspecting Event Chapter 14: Unsuspecting Event The next morning, I woke up to an unsuspecting event. At the front door of the inn, there were people dressed in armor walking in. When I got closer, I realized that they were the guards that reside here. They usuallye here to get a few midnight drinks and eat but the looks on their faces meant business. When they spotted me, they began approaching me. "Mr Akuma, right?" "Yes, what do you want?" "Pleasee with us for a second, we just need to confirm something." "Alright" I followed them out the door and there was a tent ced on the other side of the street. Ding! [New Function Unlocked!] [Title Switcher] [Title: Inept Hero] Ding! [Title Obtained: Human] Hmm? What''s this all about? [In this world, all beings are born with a title. All being''s titles start out as the name of their race but some can gain titles such as the title of "Hero." These guards are searching for one with the title of "Inept Hero." In other words, you] So that''s why I''ve been called out here. Looks like they found out where I was staying. [Title switched: Human] [Notice: Host can unlock Title effects when they reach the required level(200)] That''s going to take some time. But it''s not like I need to rush. After all, what effects is the title "Inept Hero" going to give me? [None] Christ, you really are blunt. When we arrived in front of the tent and entered it, there was a familiar mirror in front of me. "Please ce your hand on the appraiser." I looked at my hand hesitated for a second. Let''s hope this works. I ced my palm on the mirror and white letters began to form. [Nero Akuma, Human(69)] That was what appeared on the appraiser. I looked back at the guards and they put on an embarrassing face. "Sorry for wasting your time." I could feel that they were still suspicious of me but when I red into their eyes, their suspicion faded away. "It''s no worry. Not that I was busy anyway." I''d leave and walk back towards the inn. "Of course he couldn''t be the Inept Hero. How could someone with that title have such an intimidating look?" "Yeah, the king must be overreacting. By the way, have you heard? The heroes areing to this town." "Well of course they are! After all, a demon wave is going to attack this town. When are they arriving?" "I think in four days." I stopped in my tracks. Four days? Well, isn''t that nice to know? The demons attack in five days. They''ll arrive just before they invade. I say that they have a horrible schedule if they have to arrive here a day before they attack. They won''t even get the chance to see the sights around here. Well, that is if this ce holds up. When I arrived back at the inn, I spotted the group from yesterday drinking and eating. I turned my attention and saw who was serving them. I''m impressed she is even able to act normal around the ones who took her life away from her. She has good self-control. Hmm since they have their guards dropped, I should go give them a greeting. A nice one. "How is the food here?" I said as I walked up to them and gave them a content smile. Though I''m faking it, first impressions are always an important thing. "Huh? Greetings!" The Berserker hollered at me in a wasted like state. Wow, I never seen anyone get this drunk this early. Well, judging on how much he has drunken, I bet he''d be able to continue drinking until nightes. Anyway "I hope my sister has been treating you guys well," I said as I looked over at Kiyomi. "Right?" Kiyomi stayed silent for a while but eventually uttered a yes. "Your sister? Hmm, well you guys do look a bit alike," The Assassin said as he downed a bottle of vodka. "Hey! Stop drinking so much you two! How the hell are we going to do business if you guys are wasted?!" The mage shouted at hisrades. "Business?" "Hmm? Oh, we sell ves." I almost bursted out inughter but stopped myself once I saw Kiyomi''s bitter smile. I never knew ve traders blurted out they sold ves just like that. Though considering that ve trading ismon in this world and being a ve trader is one of the jobs you can take being a merchant, I can''t say much but that they have no shame. "I see May I ask a question?" "Sure, go ahead." "What do you have in that carriage?" "Oh, that? Just some supplies." "I see" Surprised that there aren''t any ves in there. Guess I was right about the supplies part though. Anyway, I should change the subject before they get suspicious of me because I can already see the Assassin ring at me. "So what are your thoughts about the Inept Hero?" "Oh him?" The Mage smirked. "Well, from the looks of it, he couldn''t have gotten far. Last I''ve heard, he was around the forest near this ce. I-" "He betted 600 silver that the Inept Hero would be dead. But without any evidence and how the bounty is still up, he must be alive somewhere," The Assassin said, interrupting the Mage. "Yeah, that!" The Berserker said. "We are still waiting on the money you know?" The Assassin said to the Mage. "Tch, I''ll give you guys the silver when we get our next pay." As they kept on talking, I could see Kiyomi shaking. I got up and walked over to her. "Go to our room, you must be tired." Kiyomi stared at me hesitantly, then nodded. "Hey boss, Kiyomi needs to take a break. She''s a little tired." "Kiyomi?" A chill went down my spine when I heard the Mage say her name. "Heh, who knew someone would have the same name as that fox girl we captured 3 years ago." I turned around and the Mage was wasted. Looks like he''s gotten into the alcohol. "The Kitsune? Yeah, she was a tough one if you ask me." "A feisty one too." "Heh, I can''t believe we had trouble taking down a girl than her family. It was fun ying with that other girl." The groupughed as they ranted about Kiyomi''s family and how they did things to them. The more they ranted, the more Kiyomi shook. Then they began talking about Kiyomi herself. I suddenly felt heat emitting from Kiyomi as they kept on talking. I patted her head and walked her up the stairs while covering her ears. "Don''t worry, you''ll be able to end them. Soon" I whispered into her ear. *** After that event happened, I had Kiyomi rest as she''ll be needing energy for tonight. The n was we get them while they were asleep. I knew after all that, Kiyomi would be at her limit and that she would be unable to contain the beast. So, I decided to farm some levels for her. When I arrived at the forest, it was silent. Very silent "Hmm, that''s strange. I don''t remember this ce being so quiet. It''s always so packed with wolves." Maybe the wolves didn''t want toe out tonight? Or maybe another one of those bears came again. Well, I was correct about thetter. When I stumbled upon a river, I encountered a pack of Crimson Bears. Using Wolf''s Blood, I spotted 2, 3, 5, 8 of them. 8 Crimson Bears. Inspecting all their levels, they were some with the same level as the first one we met and two with the level of 74. My level is the same as the majority of the bears, but numbers won''t change anything. I think I can take these guys no problem. Though to be safe, I should take them out one by one. I threw a rock at the nearest one and it turned its attention to me. That''s when I shot a charged arrow straight between its head. It had no time to react. When the first bear fell into theke, the other bears turned their attention. I quickly pulled out 7 arrows and began to charge them. With Deadshot, I can kill them all easily. All I need to do is aim one, and the rest will follow wherever I want them to go. When all the bears turned their attention and when my charged arrows were finished, I fired them and all I could hear next was the sound of bear corpses dropping and sshing. Ding! [Charged Arrow Leveled up!] [Leveled up!(32)] [Level: 101] [Party Member Kiyomi has Leveled up!(20)] [Party Member Kiyomi has reached the maximum level!] [Party Member Kiyomi has unlocked dual sses] [Party Member Kiyomi has learned a new ss: Assassin] Wow, I didn''t expect to get that many levels. Who knew these bears would give so much, not to forget that Excess doubles the XP. It also seems that Kiyomi is not only able to use the Mage ss, but also the Assassin ss now. This must be due to her reaching her level cap. Since Kiyomi is at her limit now, that means taking care of those three won''t be a problem. Not to mention that I also have reached the same level. Tonight, there is going to be so much fun. . . . Chapter 15: Bloody Night Chapter 15: Bloody Night Tonight was when it would start. I went to the boss of the inn and offered him a royal coin to leave the bathhouse open and ignore anything that happens next. Good thing he was extremely gullible and greedy. All he needed to do now was to keep quiet and say he had nothing to do with the events that are about to proceed. Anyway I had Kiyomi wait in our room while I wander down the hall, making sure those three were going to the bathhouse. All they''ve been doing was drink and eat so if I was guessing correctly, they would go to the bathhouse any minute now since it is open. We only told them that the bathhouse was open and only them. The others in the inn took the regr bathtime schedule. Soon I encountered two of them in the hall. The Berserker and the Mage. When they spotted me, they waved and I waved back while giving them a bright smile. As I continued down, I looked over my shoulder and watched as they entered the bath. Looks like the Assassin stayed back. Well, guess we can kill him first. I walked back and knocked on our room door, then I went to blow out the torches in the hall. I then approached the Assassin''s room. From the information the Innkeeper has given me, this is his room. I quickly used stealth and waited till the door opened. Creak~! I watched as the door slowly opened and then the Assassin himself poked his head out. "Hello?" Quickly, I drew my dagger and sh Stepped in front of him. I swung my dagger swiftly, but he managed to dodge. "Hmm?" I watched as he stepped back and threw thin needle darts at me. I quickly ducked, barely managing to avoid the needles. Once I got on my feet, I used sh Step. When I appeared in front of him, I swung my dagger again which shed with his own. "Who are you?" He said as we wrestled with our daggers. It''s a good thing this disguise really helps. I was wearing a ck scarf that covered my nose and below. Though I had nothing to hide my eyes, I doubt he can see much in the dark. Suddenly, I felt a powerful force hit my stomach and I stumbled back. "Heh, bet you didn''t see that!" Hmm, that must''ve been Shadow Fist. I couldn''t see it but judging by the name and force of his attack, it''s some kind of offensive force that uses the dark to engulf itself, making it invisible. I''m going to have to watch out for that. I dashed forward and swung my dagger once more but he used sh Step and appeared behind me. Luckily I was able to notice and I dropped onto the ground when he swung his dagger. When he realized I was on the ground, I swept his feet and he fell on his side. "Oof!" Quickly, I appeared on top of him and grabbed his throat. He then began to choke as I lifted him off the ground. When he was high enough, I''d m him into the ground. "Ough-ough!" Hmm did this guy really contribute in killing Kiyomi''s family? If they were weak, then I''d understand but it''s a bit of a disappointment to see this guy in this state. Oh well, at least it makes this easier. I''d pick him up and punch him square in the face and then spun him around. Then I slipped my arms under his underarms and then lock my hands on his neck, hindering him from moving his arms. "let go of me" "Ho? What''s wrong? Can''t use sh Step eh? Well of course you can''t. sh Step can''t be performed if you are pinned." "You! Your voice! I remember you!" "Oops, I just couldn''t help it. Anyway, it''s not me you should be worried about, it''s her." I''d face him towards the open door and there was the sound of someone scratching wood. Then a figure appeared at the door with ws extended. "Kiyomi, there you are." "Kiyomi?! That little girl?! Your sister?!" "Sister well, to be honest, I never had a sister to begin with." Kiyomi walked out from the shadow and red at the Assassin. "W-who are you? For real?" He asked. I couldn''t help butugh. "Who is she? She''s that Kitsune whose family you guys raped and murdered. Now, I think it''s pretty obvious what she''s here to do." "B-but we sold her to very! Unless-" "Yes, I bought her. First I wanted her as a bodyguard but after seeing the look in her eyes I just knew I had to help her. She wanted revenge, and I''m offering that to her." "Tch, you!" Kiyomi slowly approached us while giving off an intense heat. "Now, stay still, or else this will be extremely painful." "You! How can you do this for a phantom like her?!" "Because I also yearn for revenge! Revenge against those that tossed me aside like useless trash. Revenge against those that dare to take my privilege to live away." I''d let go of him and kicked him towards Kiyomi. "Revenge against my former self for being such a worthless coward who''d let himself get thrown around. And revenge against the goddess who gave me the insignificant title of the Inept Hero." "what?" The Assassin said with a shocked expression before his jaw was mauled off my Kiyomi. He fell to the ground and Kiyomi jumped on him. Then she continued to swing her ws in a frenzied manner. Blood sttered everywhere and after a few seconds, the only thing left of him was an eyeball. I watched as blood stretched across the ground. I couldn''t help but put up a smile at this scene. The Assassin''s eyeball rolled towards me and I stomped it. Hmph, that wasn''t much of a challenge. I must''ve overestimated him. Ding! [Leveled up!(4)] [Level: 105] [sh Step Leveled up!] [Grave Robber skill Unlocked!] [Grave Robber: Attain a single skill from the one you executed| Effects: Gain 1 skill from your deceased target] [Skill Obtained: Shadow Fist(Lvl.1)] [Shadow Fist: Fist imbued in mana will allow the Host tounch a force cloaked by the darkness| Effects: Launch an invisible force with the power of darkness| Conditions: Consumes 1000 mana per use; Can only be used in the dark] Hmm? This is what Grave Robber does? So I gain a skill from the one I killed. So if we seed in killing the other two, then I can get a skill from them as well. Or I slowly looked at Kiyomi and my hand twitched. I can also get a skill from her as well if I kill her I could feel a grin slowly imprinting onto my face but I quickly turned away from her and walked outside. "What are you waiting for Kiyomi? There are still two more left." She turned towards me with blood on her face, hands, and clothes. "yes" *** Upon arriving at the bathhouse, I told Kiyomi to wait till I''ve gotten them pinned down. But she stopped me, saying that she wanted to do it herself. "You sure you don''t need my assistance?" "They killed my family. I should be the one to avenge them, and me alone." "Well then, I can''t stop you." I opened the door and she walked in. "Hmm? Who''s that?" I heard the Berserker say, followed by the Mage who said- "Wait, isn''t that a Kitsune? Now that I see it, she looks a bit familiar." I walked behind her and stood there, watching. "Hey, aren''t you the guy we met this morning? Wait, why are you-?" "Kiyomi, go for it. Leave an eye for me though." That''s when an intense wave of heat sted from her back and she flew forward. The Berserker got up and ran towards Kiyomi. She jumped over him when he attempted to tackle her. Kiyomi dove and swung her ws, shing the top of the Berserker''s head and his back. The Berserker quickly turned around and his right fist began to glow. Then he smashed the ground, causing some kind of force to blow Kiyomi away. I noticed that even though she managed to swipe the Berserker''s head, it wasn''t that deep and all it did was leave a scratch. Hmm, could be the effect of his hammerhead skill. Shended in the water, blood spreading. When she got up, she dashed towards the Berserker in blinding speed and immediately, the Berserker''s head fell onto the ground. Hmph, he may be thickheaded but his neck ispletely vulnerable. Immediately after that, she was hit by a barrage of waterballs. The Mage got up and continued tounch balls made of mana and water. When he saw that Kiyomi wasn''t being affected by the waterballsunched at her, he resorted to other methods, demonstrating his Dual Elemental st skill. I saw as water and fire mixed with each other and that made me think how it was possible. Then he began chanting. "My the mes of the fire god and the water made of-" I yawned as he continued to chant. Damn this is boring. Kiyomi was the same as well and she didn''t hesitate to sh the Mage''s arm off. The Mage cried in pain and fell back, blood spurting out from his arm. Kiyomi approached the Mage and I already knew the job was done. "Pl-please! Spare me!" I heard the Mage say. Like that''s going to work. But when I kept on hearing the Mage beg for mercy, I turned around to see Kiyomi on the Mage with her ws ready, however she was hesitating. What is she doing? I walked towards her and ced my hand on her shoulder. "What are you waiting for? Aren''t you going to finish it?" But I saw tears go down her cheeks and she fell onto her knees. "If I kill him, will my family be brought back?" I clenched my hands. You think of that now?! "It''s a bit toote to be saying that. You''ve already dealt with the other two, so what are you doing, hesitating to kill him?" I say as I pointed at the Mage. "I I just want my family back." She continued to weep. The Mage took this as a chance to try to escape but I stabbed a dagger through his other arm, pinning him down and hearing him cry. "Don''t you remember the purpose you are doing this for? Their lives are to pay for what they did to your family. If they don''t die, how will your family rest in peace? Are you really going to let him go?" Kiyomi didn''t say anything and continued to weep. But I spotted a nod, and that was it. At that point, I didn''t care about our promise. The only way to calm me down was to resort to the only thing able to satisfy my bloodlust. "Fine" I took off my left glove and the crest began to glow. "Then get out of the way and let me kill him myself." Kiyomi nced at me with a horrified look as her body began to move against her will. When she backed off, I stood above the Mage with my dagger in my hand. The Mage gave me a terrified look as I brandished my dagger. "Now that I think of it, I''ve never killed anyone in this world. Guess you can be my first." I ced the de of my dagger on his neck and he begged for mercy. I ignored his screams and cries for agony as I was intoxicated by my own rage. But before I was able to execute him, Kiyomi pushed me aside and I fell into the water. When I got up, I red at her. "Why''d you stop me?!" She clenched her hands and ced her hand over her breast. "I want to finish the job." Hearing that, I understood. Thest thing I heard was the Mage''s faint cry as he had his throat torn off. [Title Obtained: Homicidal Tendency] I walked over to Kiyomi and patted her head. "Good job." . . . Chapter 16: The Outcome Chapter 16: The Oue I walked over to the Berserker''s corpse, but something looked a bit off. "Hmm, wasn''t his head severed?" I stood over the Berserker where his head was connected with his body. I crouched and took a closer look. "Hmm, I swore it was detached." Then suddenly, the Berserker''s eyes opened and he let out a loud booming roar. But then everything went quiet when I hastily shed his throat. Blood spurted and eventually, the light in his eyes disappeared. [Leveled up!(3)] [Level: 108] [Skill Obtained: Fallen Descent(Lvl.1)] [Fallen Descent: With the power of the fallen angel, m the ground with sheer will and unleashing a devastating shockwave| Effects: Direct your power into a single blow, directed at the ground and discharge a shockwave| Conditions: Consumes 50000 mana per use] [ss Learned: Berserker] I took deep breaths and took a minute to assess what happened. I couldn''t think of any other reason how he was able toe back except that it was his rage skill. Well, it''s a pretty weak rage skill if I must say. After that, I walked over to the Mage''s corpse. I stood over the Mage and sank my dagger into his skull. [Leveled up!(2)] [Level: 110] [Passive Skill Obtained: Fire Maniption] [Fire Maniption: Blessed by the mes of the fire god, you are granted the ability to control mes| Effects: Manipte, bend, and create fire at will] [ss Learned: Mage] This Grave Robber skill is really useful. Though I wished it worked on monsters. After I did that, I nced at Kiyomi who was standing at the entrance. I walked up to her and ced my left hand on her shoulder. "You are set free." Then the crest on her breast vanished. [Kiyomi has left the party] I walked towards the exit to leave until she grabbed my sleeve. "Hm?" "that''s it we''re done?" "Precisely. That is what we agreed on, correct?" She slowly let go of my sleeve and looked away. I turned towards her and opened her hand. Then I handed her a few gold coins. "This will help you on your journey to wherever you need to go. Once we separate, we don''t need to see each other again. You''ve hit your limit so you have no use to me, nor am I of any use to you. From here on out, you are on your own. Anyints?" Kiyomi looked down at the floor and shook her head. "Good, you should get going." Kiyomi nodded and turned to leave before giving me one more look. Then she vanished. I could''ve told her to stay but a promise is a promise. Now then, time to drink my problems away. The drinking age in this world is 16, so I don''t have to worry about being caught. *** When I woke up, I was lying on the floor with a vodka bottle in my hand. Fuck I feel like shit. It was quiet. Really quiet. Well, that would make sense since I''m the only one in the room. Today is the day that the demon wave attacks. Crap, this week flew by fast. Not much happened. The heroes sent toe here were located in another part of town, so I didn''t have to bother to look out the window and see their stupid faces. I''ve been drinking these past days ever since that event. When the guards came to investigate about a murder, they found no clues except w marks. Like the simple-minded people they were, they assumed that those adventurers or envers in my eyes were brutally attacked. They didn''t even stop to think how a wolf managed to get into the inn itself and kill the Assassin. Despite that, everything was pretty much normal except that Kiyomi wasn''t here anymore. I had to make up a story to everyone in the inn that our parents called her back to our home. Of course, they were naive and easily took that story in. Kiyomi made a name for herself in the inn and they were pretty much sad to see her go away just like that. Well, I''d be lying if I said I didn''t miss her too. But that doesn''t matter anymore. I threw the vodka bottle away and approached the door. I think that''s enough drinking for now. If I drink anymore, I''ll end up like my old man. As I roamed the halls, the entire inn was quiet. Considering everyone went off to meet with the demon wave, it would make sense. It''s a surprise that almost everyone in this town is an adventurer. Since I wasn''t an adventurer, I could stay back. But if it''s necessary, then I might join in. I''ve been scoping out the area where the demon wave would attack. It''s a wide field with ake and arge cliff to its side. Seeing the cliff, I''ve been thinking if I should use it as a camping spot. It would work well since I have Deadshot and Charged Arrow. I have been leveling up just in case I ever needed to join the battle and I''ll say that I haven''t really been as motivated as before. {Status} Name: Nero Akuma|(Former: Naoko Akujin) Title: Human ss: Jack of All Trades Status: Normal Level: 121 Mana: [100,000,000/100,000,000] Strength: 240 Agility: 212 Technique: 205 Perception: 200 Charisma: 666 Stat Points: 0 {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sprint, Bloodlust, Allocation(Locked), Exceed(Locked), Dagger Arts, Deadshot, Excess, Grave Robber, Fire Maniption Active Skills: None Skills: Analysis, Mark of Fidelity, Wolf''s Blood(Lvl.5), sh Step(Lvl.4), Charged Arrow(Lvl.7), Energy Shield(Lvl.1), Aura Barrier(Lvl.2), Quick Regeneration(Lvl.2), Stealth(Lvl.6), Shadow Fist(Lvl.1), Fallen Descent(Lvl.1) ------------------ I''ve been working on leveling up my skills but it''s a bit hard to level up my barrier skills since it''s more of a support skill. I''ve been flying solo, so I didn''t really have the time to do that. I could''ve probably leveled up more if there were more Crimson Bears but I''ve only been encountering wolves. Didn''t get any new skills or passives from upgrading my stats so I think I''ve run out of options. The best thing I could do is kill the boss of this demon wave. In every RPG game, the bosses are mostly the ones that grant the yers new equipment and skills. So, I''ll be killing the boss of this wave. However, I won''t be able to do that unless I defeat the wavesing after me and there will be apetition on who kills the boss as I won''t be the only one there. I''ll have to find a way to sneak past everyone. The cliffs would be a good ce to watch the battle and examine my enemies, both the demons and the heroes. Of course, not all the heroes will be my enemy but for now, I just need to avoid them as I am still a fugitive. I''ll need to get stronger if I''m gonna want to get my revenge. Revenge against the king for throwing me away. When I got to the first floor, I walked towards the exit and left. The shops in town were still open, so I went over to the pharmacy to get myself some potions. After that, I went over to the gear shop to get myself a new bow. The bow I''m currently using is almost about to wear out so I needed a recement. Looks like using Charged Arrow repeatedly took a toll on my bow. I got myself a foldable longbow and a foldable recurve bow. Both were ck, just how I liked them. I bought two because though they may be the same kind of weapons, one is better for sniping and the other is suited for closebat and a faster firing rate. After that, I went ahead over to the battlefield where the battle was held. An hourter, I arrived at the battlefield and let me just say that theke that was supposed to be there waspletely gone. Looks like the Mages went wild. There was a giant crater steaming with leftover mana in theke''s ce. I wonder... how many demons were there that they had to resort to decimating the entire thing? Speaking of demons, they were just how I expected them. Large, befoul fiends with dark auras surrounding them. They looked like reptilian creatures with armor that was made up of some kind of creature''s vertebrae and carried a sword that also looked like it was made of vertebrae. From the close-up, they would look like the elites of an army but that was not the case. They were only ordinary soldiers, weaker than the real elites. ording to a book I found, they were called pawns. Their levels ranged from 80 to 100. Those elites were the giants. They were basically the same as the pawns except they looked about 5 times bigger, more terrifying, and had giant hammers instead of swords. I could see multiple skulls around them and I''m guessing those are human skulls. They were called rooks. Their levels ranged from 100 to 125. Well, since I''ve seen that, I should wait till the boss shows up. That is the only one I''ll be going after. Though, it didn''t take that long for it to appear. . . . Chapter 17: Demons Chapter 17: Demons Thump-thump-thump~! I looked over to the right where the demon wave approached from and I saw a massive mutant-like crocodile with four massive tentaclesing from its back wreaking havoc. If I were topare its size with the elites, it would be about three times bigger. So that must be the boss. That''s cool but Why do I get a feeling that it''s not? I used Analysis and inspected it. [Level 150] That''s why. It''s just a demon, not a boss. I''d know if it was a boss because if it was, Analysis would''ve shown its skills and ss. I also doubt that a mindless demon lumbering around, destroying its own kin would be the leader of a demon wave. Not to mention there are more of them. I didn''t get to find out what these things were called but if you ask me, they would be behemoths. I deactivated Analysis and rubbed my eyes before using Wolf''s Blood. Thanks to it leveling up, the range is now far enough to cover an entire field. The outlines of the pawns and rooks were green so that meant they were lower level than me. I also looked at the other side; the adventurers. I mostly saw green outlines and even yellow which meant some of them were equally leveled to me. I bet that those were the heroes. The behemoths were obviously red since I am a lower level. And that''s all I''ve spotted. But eventually something caught my eye. I noticed that there were an excessive amount of rooks in front of a cave entrance. Weird, why are they over there is the battle is on the open field. Either they are too scared to fight or they are defending someone. I''d walk closer from the cliff and that''s when I spotted an outline from the cave. However, it wasn''t green, yellow, or red. It was purple. I knew that who or whatever was in there must be the boss. I know that because the amount of energy emitting from that area was immense and I almost fell off the ledge just breathing it in. That''s where the boss is Good I''ll just need to take out the rooks at the entrance and I''ll be able to fight it. I couldn''t control theughter that bursted from my mouth. I can''t believe it! In the average eyes, they''d think that those behemoths would be the leader of this attack. But no! The boss is hiding in a cave and I spotted him! And I''ll kill him myself. I jumped down from the cliff and used Fallen Descent to break my fall, creating a crater in the spot Inded. This Fallen Descent skill makes a shockwave when I hit the ground. Not only does it affect others but it also affects me as well. All it does though is that it breaks my fall, to others, depends on the situation. I used stealth and walked towards the cave while shuffling through the bushes. After a while I ran out of bushes to sneak through, but I had already arrived at the entrance. Using Wolf''s Blood, I inspected the amount of enemies guarding the entrance. 13 pawns and 5 rooks. Luckily no behemoths and I think whoever is in that cave is relieved as well, else they wouldn''t be residing in there. Now then I pulled out my longbow and readied 5 arrows. I''ll take out the rooks first so I don''t get overwhelmed so easily. With an arrow to the head, I can dispose of them with ease. Unlike video games, there are no health bars. All it takes is a deadly blow to the vitals and you''ll stun or kill the enemy. The pawns, I think I''ll be able to take them out with ease with my dagger as long as I don''t mess up. I could just snipe them but I need to stretch my muscles once in a while. When my Charged Arrows were shing at their brightest, I released them and they instantly pierced the side of the rook''s head. [Leveled up!(29)] [Passive Skill Obtained: Derivation(Locked)] Another locked skill, just what I needed. How many is that now? Three? Well, it doesn''t really matter. I''ll unlock them soon I hope. When the rooks copsed, the pawns turned their attention towards me. I folded my longbow and hung it on my waist, then I drew my dagger. The first one rushed towards me and I quickly sh Stepped behind it. In a split second, it was instantly beheaded. [Leveled up!(2)] Two more rushed after me with their weapons swung towards me. I ducked and shed their legs off, or that''s what I thought when it shattered on impact. I used sh Step and managed to not get myself cornered. I stared at my broken dagger. Welp, had some good memories with this one but it was inevitable. I tossed my dagger away and rose my fist. If I can''t sh them, then I''ll just beat ''em. Using fire maniption, I wrapped my fist in mes and eventually all I felt was heat. The pawns flinched at the sight of the mes. Are demons scared of mes? Well, isn''t that new? They must not possess resistance to mes. Oh well, better for me. I sh Stepped and appeared in front of the closest pawn. I swung my arm, mming the side of its head and knocking it down onto the ground. I''d wrap my legs with mes and stomp on the pawn''s head. It cried in pain as its face melted. The only thing left was a skull. [Leveled up!(1)] I turned to the rest of the pawns and sneered. "Who''s next?" Saying that, all of them rushed towards me. "So eager to die, huh?" I jumped and used Fallen Descent. When my fist struck the ground, not only did a shockwave send them flying away, they were also caught on fire. I managed to get seven of them, the others managed to survive. [Leveled up!(3)] One of their weaponsnded in front of me and I picked it up and as soon as I did, I gained another skill. [Passive Skill Obtained: Sword Arts] [Sword Arts: The host will understand and gain all knowledge with the sword| Effect: Proficiency with the sword] Hmm, just one touch and I obtain Sword Arts. Wonder why it didn''t just give me Dagger Arts when I first held it, but that must''ve been because I was too weak. Well, if I had known this earlier, I''d buy every weapon in the gear shop. Though, I still prefer the dagger, unless I''m given a Katana While I was absorbed in thoughts, the pawns were heading towards me. Oh, they finally got here. Let''s see what kind of sword moves I can perform. Due to my perception, they came at me slowly so I had plenty of time to react. I walked forward and swung the sword, beheading one of them. [Leveled up!(1)] Two of them came after the first one and I cut them in two so their torsos would disconnect from their hips. [Leveled up!(2)] After the ones that I defeated dropped onto the floor, there was only one more pawn. It turned to run away but I had already impaled it with the sword. [Leveled up!(1)] I tossed the sword away and looked down the cave. Using Wolf''s Blood, I got a closer look at how the boss looked. He was small and his outline kind of reminded me of a goblin. But that''s just me. I saw their figure move deeper into the cave. Fleeing huh? That''s not going to get you anywhere. I ran inside and triggered Stealth so they would be unable to sense me going after them. After following them down the cave, I arrived at some kind of undergroundke. There were stctites hanging down from the ceiling with water droplets falling down, strange glowing crystals, and one small ugly demon in ragged clothes. When the demon noticed me, it shrieked. "Eek! H-h-h-how d-d-d-did a human m-m-manage to get through my d-d-d-d-defenses?!" He said with a frightened tone. "Defenses? They were pretty weak to be so-called bodyguards." "I-i-i-i-impossible! N-n-n-not even I am able to take them on all at once!" I used Analysis and checked his stats. [Level 175; ss: Mage/Puppeteer; Title: Sin of Gluttony] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Darkness Maniption, Earth Maniption, Fire Maniption, Water Maniption Active Skills: Den of Gluttony Skills: Analysis, Inferno(Lvl.5), Shadow Puppet(Lvl.7), Earth Dome(Lvl.3) ------------------ Upon seeing this, I crossed my arms and wiped my own smirk. Alright... I shouldn''t get cocky for this. He has Analysis, just like me so he can also see my skills. Wait... why does he have a title? Of all the other people I''ve used Analysis on, he is the only one to have a title. Maybe it''s because he''s a boss? I noticed that his eyes glowed green and suddenly he began tough. "Aha, aha, AHAHAHAHA~!" I tilted my head. What is heughing about? "Pardon me, I was just a bit worried that I was facing a strong enemy considering the amount of mana you possess. However, you are a lower level than me." Huh, he didn''t stutter. "Who cares if I''m a lower level than you? Levels don''t matter, it''s skills. And I think you are short on that." "Cocky human. Once I defeat you, I''ll feed your corpse to my pets. Or... I can just eat it myself." Then he took his cloak off and in his ce was a fat ugly pig holding a wicked staff. "You won''t be able to defeat me, the one of many thatmitted the sin of gluttony! HAHAHAHAHA-" The only thing that could be heard was hisughter. He continued tough and snort at the same time. Then when he spotted the dissatisfied look on my face, hisughter died down. "U-uhh..." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before a wave of uncontrobleughter filled the interior. "W-what are youughing at?" I dropped onto the ground and continued tough. T-this thing was a pig?! I really thought he was a goblin for a second but this is unexpected! When I came down, I got on my feet and wrapped my hands in mes. "Sorry, it''s just funny how a mere pig thinks he can kill me." "Cocky human! In the name of the demon king, you will die by my hand!" . . . Chapter 18: Battle Against a Demon Chapter 18: Battle Against a Demon I took one step forward, just one. When that happened, I was surrounded by countless spikes made of water. When they closed in on me, I quickly used sh Step and avoided getting skewered. Iunched a fireball at the pig and he jumped out of the way. Huh, I''m surprised he''s able to do that considering how fat he is. ... Let''s see just how long he can keep that up though. I began to throw multiple fireballs at him and I watched as he managed to keep his tail from getting caught on fire. "Dance pig, dance!" "Y-you-!" I threw another wave of fireballs and they managed to hit him. That was until the smoke cleared that I saw a dome made of stone. Earth Dome... right. When the pig thought everything was alright, he let down his Earth Dome. Iunched a Shadow Fist at him, sending him crashing into the wall. I smirked as I fired countless fireballs at the ceiling above him. The stctites broke and they were now plunging towards him. However, the stctites stopped right when they were about to hit him. Slowly, they were repositioned and now they were facing me. Oh... shit. They soared towards me and I used Fallen Descent to send the spikes off course. I took a few steps back while sending a wave of fireballs at the pig. In return, he sent a wave of water spikes at me. I''d jump to move but I couldn''t lift myself. That''s when I realized that my feet were trapped in the ground. This bastard, he caved my feet in! Not only that but I also felt some kind of rope tighten my arms. But when I took a nce, there weren''t any ropes, it was chains of dark energy pinning me into the ground. The pig snorted as he approached me. "Foolish human, you really thought you can stand a chance against me huh? Sadly, you are just like every other human. Weak and naive! Soon the demon king will take over this world and none of you will be able to stop it. Not even the heroes, especially you, Inept Hero." ... "Hmm? What''s wrong? Are you feeling epting that you aren''t speaking?!" He then whacked me with his staff. "How wea-" WHAM! "Oof!" The pig flew back andnded in the pool. "What the-?! How-?" "Aura Barrier, not only is it useful as a shield against magic but it''s also good for nullifying mana. Though it only works if I''m not pinned. You should''ve tightened the chains a bit harder," I said as there was a red and white aura circling around me. "You-!" Suddenly, the pig opened his mouth and a stream of blue mes burst towards me. I quickly jumped away before tossing another round of fireballs, this time I made them deliberately slower. "Hmph, you should know that I myself also know how to control mes. Ha!" But when the pig tried to take control over my fireballs, it didn''t work. That''s when the fireballs began to glow and then they exploded. "Gyaaaaah!" [Skills Obtained: Vtile Orbs(Lvl.1)] [Vtile Orbs: Using mes, send rounds of fiery orbs that detonates near your target(s)| Effects: Throw ming Orbs that cause an explosion to ensue near your enemy| Conditions: Consumes 100,000 mana per round] ...interesting... I watched as he fell deeper into theke. I walked over and ced my hand into theke. "Have fun turning into bacon," Then I began venting mes into the water, immediately creating vapors. [84,719,420/100,000,000] [84,214,624/100,000,000] Hmph, despite having so much mana, it''s decreasing by a hundred thousand per second. I can keep this up but I''ll eventually run out. I took my hand out of theke and it was surrounded by smoke. Hmm, I have resistance to mes, but not hot water. Kind of stupid... ncing back at theke, I saw the pig struggling to swim up to the surface. Then mes came out of his mouth again and even out of the water. I sh Stepped back and watched as the level of theke declined. Those mes, that must be his Inferno skill. Pure blue mes, meaning they are extremely hot. My mes aren''t at that level yet so I doubt I would be able to avoid a burn or two. Once theke was drained, the pig climbed his way back up. "I''m surprised you haven''t been cooked yet," I taunted. "Cocky hero, I''ll send you to the underwor-!" Before he finished his sentence, I struck him with a Shadow Fist which sent him back into the hole. I''d run to dive and attack him there but my feet were stuck once more. "Tch, bastard." I used Fallen Descent and smashed the ground into pieces, then I jumped down and followed after the pig. Ssh! Inded in the water and swam up to get some air. Looks like there is still some water left. "HA! YOU FELL FOR IT, FOOL!" The pig yelled as the water around me began to move. I looked around and swam for the nearest wall but I could feel it getting stronger. I looked over my shoulder and watched as a whirlpool formed. Quickly I used sh Step to get out of there and I managed to do it. I used Wolf''s Blood and turned my attention back to the pig. "Tch, you managed to get out of there. Not surprisinging from a hero." "I prefer you don''t call me that." "A hero is a hero, so let''s continue this unless you are willing to give up." "I won''t give up until you be part of my breakfast. I am getting a little hungry." "Tch, stubborn hero." I threw another round of fireballs at him but he controlled them and sent them back at me. I did the same and controlled them to go back after him. Then he controlled them. It went off for a while but I eventually let theme to me before I dodged. Hmm, maybe I should try thosest fireballs I did. Iunched a round of Vtile Orbs and they slowly moved towards the pig. Again when the pig attempted to control it, he was unable to. "W-w-why can''t I c-c-c-control it?" When they got closer, they glowed brighter and exploded. "Even though you are a demon, you are no different than a pig. I think I''ve toyed with you enough." I jumped and broke two spikes off the ceiling. "Time to die." The pig used his staff to get up and stumbled as he did. He red at me and snorted before mming the end of his staff into the floor. "You''ve given me no choice but to use this." A red and ck aura appeared around him and he suddenly began to chant. Hmm, this doesn''t look good. I took a step forward to try to stop him but I suddenly tripped. Then I felt something wrap around me and I couldn''t move anymore. "Hmm?!" "Stay still, you are one of the first to witness this." He then resumed chanting as I struggled to get out of whatever he bound me with. Suddenly, I saw some kind of portal appear behind him. 1... 2... 3 of them appeared and the entire cave began to shake. "I open... the Den of Gluttony!" And out of those portals came out behemoths. They mmed into the ground and I was suddenly free of the binds. When I got onto my feet, I noticed he was fleeing down a tunnel. Fuck, I just realized there was another exit. I would go after him now but I have a bigger problem right now. The behemoths in front of me began thrashing around, breaking the walls and creatingrge craters in the floor while bellowing. I drew my recurve bow out and began to fire at them, however when they hit, it didn''t affect them. I took out all the arrows I had and began charging them. sh! I looked up and suddenly one of them was above me. I quickly sh Stepped out of the way before I got crushed. sh! I mmed into a wall but when I turned around there was only arge hungry behemoth with an open mouth, ready to devour me whole. Again I managed sh Stepped out of the way before I was eaten. sh! My charged arrows were ready and I released them at the behemoths. The arrows flew around and flew towards the behemoth but the tentacles on their backs were troublesome as they managed to deflect some of my arrows and they even ate some too! I went to get another arrow but I realized I had just used them all. I folded and strapped my bow back while retrieving another round of stctites from the ceiling. However, when I jumped to get one, the feeling in my legs disappeared. I looked down at my legs and they weren''t there. Below me was a behemoth with half of my legs in its mouth. I fell onto the ground and almost fell into the whirlpool. F... FUCK! [Status: Critically Injured] I rolled back to watch that the three behemoths were fighting over my legs. Those fuckers! I used Quick Regeneration on my legs and I watched as they slowly began to grow back. Thump-thump-thump! I heard footsteps and I nced at the behemoths. They had stopped fighting over my legs, but now they were headed for me and they looked hungry. That swine! Once I see him again, I''ll kill him. I will! But I don''t think I''ll be able to get the chance. The behemoths were already headed towards me and the only thing I could do was throw Vtile Orbs, but that will only slow them down. I can''t use sh Step because I need legs to perform that. I looked over at my legs but they won''t be able to heal in time. So this is it, huh? I looked down at the whirlpool and then back at the behemoth. ...maybe. But it''s risky... but do I have a choice? I stretched for the ledge and I was ready to fall down until- BOOM! I felt and heard a loud explosion or what sounded like an explosioning from the direction of the behemoths. When I turned over to see what it was, there was a ck Kitsune standing in front of me. Could it be-? "Master, are you alright?" Kiyomi rushed to my side and lifted me up. My legs had fully regenerated too. How convenient. "Y-yeah... Kiyomi, why are you here? Didn''t I set you free? Why did youe back to me?" "I... I don''t have anywhere to go." "So you came back to me?" She was silent and shuffled around before saying yes. "Besides, without me, master won''t be able to clean his room." I scratched my head knowing she was right. My room is beyond messy right now. "GROOOOOAAARRR!!!!" The behemoths got back up and mmed into each other before noticing us. "Go master, I''ll take care of them, you go after that demon," she said as she extended her ws. "Right. I''m counting on you," I said before I rushed into the same tunnel that pig had fled through. "Good luck, master..." Kiyomi whispered before she refocused her attention on the behemoths. . . . Chapter 19: Sin of Gluttony Chapter 19: Sin of Gluttony I ran down the cave to catch up with the pig. Knowing him, he probably hasn''t gotten that far considering his stubby legs. That bitch, I''ll kill him! I used Wolf''s Blood and searched for his outline. When I spotted him, I knew I was close. Eventually, I caught up with him. Pff! Looks like he was struggling to climb some steps. "You really thought you could get rid of me that easily, huh?" The pig squealed as he turned around. "H-h-h-h-how?! N-n-n-no one is a-a-a-a-able to avoid m-m-m-m-my Den of Gluttony!" "Bitch, please. You shouldn''t underestimate humans that much, especially me." I threw two rounds of Vtile Orbs at him and he quickly defended himself using Earth Dome. However, since there were multiple explosions, his shield was quickly shattered. "N-no!" "Not so funny now, huh? Come on, keep dancing for me, pig!" I threw another round of Vtile Orbs at him. He stabbed the ground with his staff and multiple spikes protruded from the walls and my Vtile Orbs exploded even though they weren''t near him. I quickly pulled out Aura Barrier, protecting myself from the flying debris. When the smoke cleared, I noticed that the pig was attempting to flee again. I noticed that the exit led to a forest. If I''m guessing, this leads to the forest on top of that cliff. No wonder I felt like I was climbing up a set of stairs. Hmm, if I block his exit, then that''ll hinder him from running. I rapidly sh Stepped my way up till I appeared in front of him. "Huh?" "Go back to where you belong, pig." I then kicked him in the face and he tumbled back down. He managed to stop himself when he created an erosion. Watching him stand up, I sent another wave of Vtile Orbs at him. However, my arms froze when I was just about tounch it. Suddenly, my other hand punched me across the face and I fell down but managed to hold onto a ledge. However, my hand seemed to let go on its own and I tumbled down the tunnel. I passed the pig and there was a massive grin on his face. This bastard! I fell and violentlynded on my head. Snap! [Status: Critically Injured] you gotta be kidding me "HAHAHAHA! Fool! You should''ve known not to mess with me! With my Shadow Puppet skill, I can control your movements however I want! It''s useless to try to get in my way!" My vision was slowly dyed red as I had also split my head. I quickly used Quick Regeneration so my bones would mend back into ce. Noticing my current state, instead of finishing me off, he went ahead and fled. "you" After the feeling in my neck returned and the pain subsided, I lifted myself off the ground and chased after him. He managed to notice that I was back up on my feet again and used Shadow Puppet once more. I froze and couldn''t move a muscle. Of course, like the pig mind he has, he fled. "Coward" Does he think he can just get away just by freezing me in ce? No, I won''t let some stupid spell fuck me over, I won''t! If I do, then all this power I have obtained will be put to no use if I let some stupid demon flee, I won''t! With all the will in my body, I moved my arm. Then my other arm. Eventually, I moved my entire body despite resisting the spell the pig had cast. "I''m almost there," The pig said as he continued to climb up. I followed after him while activating Stealth. He won''t detect me. That swine probably thinks I''m frozen at the bottom. The pig had finally arrived at the surface and he took a deep breath of air. "Finally, I can see the light again," he said as he rxed his muscles. Clutch! The pig turned around startled and squealed. "EEK! How did you-!?" "You can''t stop me! I did say I''ll kill you, and I don''t ever take back my word!" I smirked at him as he struggled to shake my hand off. "Tch, get off me!" He''d kick my head repeatedly with his staff which shed my left eye. Then he attempted to use Shadow Puppet again but I was still holding onto his hoof. "Huh?! How?! No one is able to resist my Shadow Puppet spell unless they have a strong will!" "It''s exactly as you say, my will is strong enough to defy your stupid little spell. You can''t hold me down, nothing can!" I''d pull his leg so he''d fall. He fell t on his belly and I got up on my feet. I''d then start to kick him repeatedly. He attempted to use Earth Dome but I kicked his staff away before he was able to. "What''s wrong? Can''t do your little spells without your wand?" I then used Fallen Descent and sent him flying towards a tree. Once I nced at him, I knew I had won. "Damn h-h-h-h-hero" I healed my left eye and looked over at the trees. Once I saw tree branches, vines, and rocks, a grin appeared on my face. Snapping two branches off, I collected some rocks and began shaping them into a sharp point. Then I strapped it onto the end of one of the sticks using the vines. I also did the same for the other. Turning my attention back to the pig, I couldn''t help but chuckle at the sight of the pig. "H-h-how how is a mere human able to do thi-" Schunk! "AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!" I''d stab the pig directly in the chest and with my strength, I lifted him off the ground. He''d hover above me as blood leaked down the pike. "Anyst words, pig?" I positioned my other pike near his throat. "I I will get my revenge just you wait, human! I wi-!" sh! The sharp point of my weapon shed his throat and blood spilled from the open wound. Since he was above me, that blood poured into my mouth and I swallowed it. And suddenly, a wave of energy surged through my veins. "Ha" Ding! [Derivation Unlocked] [Derivation (Unique Skill): By consuming the blood of your enemies, you gain half their life force and skills| Effect: Gain 1/2 of the target''s level and a few of their skills| Condition: Must be a demon, human, etc. Consuming normal monsters will not grant any skills or levels using this skill] [Leveled up!(90)] [Level: 250] [Vtile Orbs Leveled up!] [sh Step Leveled up!] [Fallen Descent Leveled up!] [Quick Regeneration Leveled up!] [Stealth Leveled up!] [Shadow Fist Leveled up!] [Wolf''s Blood Leveled up!] [Passive Skills Obtained: Darkness Maniption, Water Maniption] [Skills Obtained: Inferno(Lvl.1), Shadow Puppet(Lvl.1)] [ss Learned: Puppeteer] [Title Obtained: Sin of Gluttony] [Title Effects Unlocked!] [ss Boosts Unlocked!] [Sin of Gluttony: Your desire for food hinders your senses when you are ravenous but will sharpen if you are satiated| Effects: Perception 1/2 if Status: Hungry; Perception x2 if Status: Full] [Jack of All Trades: Obtain the effects of the sses you have obtained| Effect: +boost from (ss)] After that, the pig''s corpse turned into ashes and fell onto the ground. Then it was blown away by the wind. I stood in silence as I dropped the pikes. "What a waste, could''ve cooked me some bacon. Though, I doubt he would''ve tasted good anyway. Well, at least I know I won," I''d say as I licked my fingers stained with blood. As I idled around, I heard a faint crye from the cave. "Kiyomi." I quickly sprinted down the cave. Crap, I''ve been too pinpointed on killing this pig that I forgot Kiyomi was fighting the behemoths. Kiyomi has already reached her level cap, which is 101 and the levels of those behemoths are higher than that. I know I said that a level difference wouldn''t make a difference but I''m actually concerned if she is even able to take on three berserk behemoths on her own. When I reached the cave, the behemoths were nowhere in sight. I eventually spotted Kiyomi lying on the ground near the ledge. "Kiyomi." I ran to her side and quickly performed Quick Regeneration on her while ncing around. I''m surprised. There aren''t any behemoths around. Did she really take them all out by herself? "M-master?" I looked down and Kiyomi had opened her eyes. "Kiyomi, are you alright?" "Yes I defeated them" "Good though I''m curious how you managed to get rid of them." "That''s simple they fell down there," Kiyomi said as she pointed down at the bottom of what was formerly ake. I took a nce and there were three behemoths at the bottom, trapped by the whirlpool that pig had created earlier. "Smart, you did well." Kiyomi smiled at mypliment and rose up. "Master" "Hmm? You are still calling me that? You know you aren''t my ve anymore." "I know, but I still want to serve you." "Why is that?" "Because you are the only person left that is important to me." I''ve never heard anyone say that in my life. "I want to give my everything to you. I want to stay by your side forever." so this is what a confession is like, huh? [Notice: Mark of Fidelity is ready to be used] I see But before I do that, I must ask her something. I''d stand up and walk over to Kiyomi. "Kiyomi, staying by my side means you are tossing your only chance to live life normally again. Are you sure you want to do this? There won''t be any turning back." Without hesitating, she said yes. "It doesn''t matter as long as I get to be with you." I see "Then with your permission, I will implement another crest onto you. This will prove your loyalty belongs to me." "Understood." I ced my hand on her upper left breast and performed Mark of Fidelity. A ck snake patterned crest appeared on her left breast which extended to her shoulder and her upper arm, almost like a tattoo. [Kiyomi added to the party] "Done." When I looked back at Kiyomi, there was a warm smile on her face. "Thank you..." . . . Chapter 20: End Results Chapter 20: End Results After an hour or two, the demon wave was eventually defeated. Kiyomi and I were resting on top of the cliff as we observed the aftermath. The field was dyed in red and covered in corpses. The legion defending the town was mostly injured. There were men missing an arm or a leg, some covered in bandages, and some with their bones sticking out their arms. I''d feel bad, but I just had my legs ripped off a few hours ago. Right now, I need a new set of boots and pants. Good thing I have a spare set. "Master, is it true you are the Inept Hero?" Kiyomi gave me a curious look and took a deep breath. Right, I never told her that but it slipped when I started monologuing to that Assassin. "Yes, I am. Though I prefer you don''t mention that ever again. Why''d you ask?" "No it''s just an honor to be serving a hero like you." "Would it have also been an honor serving under another hero?" I''d ask as I red at Kiyomi. "N-no, of course not! I only serve you and you only," She said thest part with a bright red face and buried her face into her tails. "Is that so?" I drifted my attention back at the battlefield, and I noticed a green light. That green light eventually glowed brighter, and suddenly a dome of energy appeared. The adventurers and soldiers that were injured a minute ago were suddenly healed. Their legs had grown back, the same went for their arms, those with bandages were fully restored, and those with broken bones were moving their body as if they never broke a bone in the first ce. This must be the work of the Healer Hero in other words, Risa. Of course, she is still working under the royal bastard but I can''t me her. This king managed to frame me for a crime I nevermitted. But once I see him again, he''ll regret ever throwing me out and mark me as a criminal. But for now, I still need to get stronger. There is no doubt that the king has strong allies on his side and it''ll be reckless to attack him at my current state. Sure I may have be level 250 but I bet there are people with levels higher than a thousand. Hell, there could even be one with over a million levels. Anyway, the fight is over. We should return to the inn. My feet are getting real chilly right now. *** In a few hours, we returned to the inn and everyone was surprised to see Kiyomi again. I just exined to them that Kiyomi was called back here by our parents. A simple but effective lie. News about the defeat of the demon wave had reached town before we arrived and pretty much everyone in town celebrated. I bet they were all worried about the behemoth trampling into town but if they met that pig, they would''ve definitely been more worried. Den of Gluttony if he had managed to sneak into town, he would''ve been able to destroy it within a few seconds considering how destructive behemoths are. I''m d I didn''t get that skill from him. Anyway, I should check my stats. Derivation not only gave me plenty of skills but levels as well. And levels mean stat points. And I think I have a lot {Status} Name: Nero Akuma|(Former: Naoko Akujin) Title: Sin of Gluttony ss: Jack of All Trades Status: Normal Level: 250 Mana: [100,000,000/100,000,000] Strength: 369 Agility: 341 Technique: 334 Perception: 329 Charisma: 666 Stat Points: 387 {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sprint, Bloodlust, Allocation(Locked), Exceed(Locked), Dagger Arts, Deadshot, Excess, Grave Robber, Fire Maniption, Derivation, Sword Arts, Darkness Maniption, Water Maniption Active Skills: None Skills: Analysis, Mark of Fidelity, Wolf''s Blood(Lvl.6), sh Step(Lvl.5), Charged Arrow(Lvl.7), Energy Shield(Lvl.1), Aura Barrier(Lvl.2), Quick Regeneration(Lvl.3), Stealth(Lvl.7), Shadow Fist(Lvl.2), Fallen Descent(Lvl.2), Vtile Orbs(Lvl.2), Inferno(Lvl.1), Shadow Puppet(Lvl.1) ------------------ Tch, I still haven''t unlocked the passive skills Allocation and Exceed. Just what do I have to do to unlock them? I''ve already killed and even consumed a pig''s blood. If these skills are so hard to unlock, they gotta be good. But what more do I have to do?! Do I need to kill more?! Just unlock already, I need skills to gain more power, more power! I clenched my hands but took a deep sigh and rethought it over again. I just need to keep on moving forward. I''ll eventually unlock them soon. Just need to be patient. Anyway, enough of those two skills, I have a lot of stat points to deposit. 387 Let''s see 387 divided by 4 is 96... right? I should have focused in math ss. Anyway, I''ll just deposit 96 in each for now. [Strength 369 --> Strength 465] [Agility 341 --> Agility 437] [Technique 334 --> Technique 430] [Perception 329 --> Perception 425] Now, how many stat points do I have remaining? [Stat Points: 3] Alright, just put them in Agility. [Agility 437 --> Agility 440] After that was done, I needed to get myself some new gear, and a refill on arrows. But before I do that, I need to get Kiyomi some identification papers. When we arrived at the town hall, it was mostly filled with adventurers drinking and eating, celebrating their victory against the demon wave. I''d say they are getting a bit cocky since I was the one who defeated the boss, but I think I''ll let them have this one. As Kiyomi was in the process of filling out her form, I told her to keep her age the same and she curiously asked what my age was. "Seventeen." "S-seventeen?" "I mean, my birthday ising up tomorrow, so there is that. But just keep your age the same. The little sister act will only stay in this town." Time in this world is the same as time on earth. The same 12 months, just with different names, which I don''t really like to dive deep into much since it''s kind of hard to pronounce. My birthday is June 9th and the day in this world right now is June 8th. "Who knew master was so young?" "Hey, I''m not that young. You''re young as well, you know." The age to officially be recognized as an adult in this world is 16, so I''m technically an adult in this world right now. Though I don''t expose my age to others since that would make them underestimate me. I like to keep my age a secret, unless it''s to those I trust, like Kiyomi. "Master," Kiyomi tugged my sleeve. "Yes?" "About this part." She''d point to a section on the form and I nced at where she had pointed. [Surname] "You don''t have one?" Kiyomi looked down and shook her head. Weird, phantoms like Kitsunes should have a surname strange they don''t. "Then why don''t you use mine?" "Huh? Is that really ok?" "Well I mean, we kind of are like family, just that the only thing you do is clean up after me." "T-thank you." "Simmer down Kiyomi, just hurry so we can get the hell outta here. Hearing this much chatter gives me a headache." After she filled that in, she eventually got her identification papers and we left the town hall. I walked over to the gear shop and got myself a new dagger along with a new batch of arrows. I also bought myself a sword, considering I can use swords proficiently now. It was a longsword made of adamantite fused with silver which gave it a silvery glint. Though the de was thin, it was extremely sharp and was remarkably durable too. After purchasing that, I went out into the forest to test out my new sword. Kiyomi followed me as well, though I told her she can just watch since she couldn''t level up anymore. That''s a problem, I need to find a way to break her level cap. It''s possible, but it''s quite difficult. There are scrolls in this world that can raise a person''s level cap, but their cost is equal to half a royal coin. A royal coin''s worth is a hundred tinum coins. Right now, I only have 5 royal coins left, so I can get 10 of them. However, it would be a waste to spend all of them on level cap-breaking scrolls that only raise the number by only a few numbers. It''s just a bit unnecessary to put a high price on something that only raises the level cap by 3. I''ll need to find a different solution. I can make my own but the process isborious. It needs to be perfect as the highest a level cap breaking scroll can raise is 10 but if I mess up, it''ll just go back to 1. But aside from that, I think it''s best I leave this town and move on to another one. In some RPG games, there are towns that only allow yers that meet the level requirement. That town will sell higher equipment, armor, and even spells. The average level in this town is between a hundred fifty to eighty, and my level is beyond that. The longer I stay here, the more I hinder my growth. I can''t hide in this town forever, so it''s about time I started moving. But I think staying a few more nights wouldn''t hurt. . . . Chapter 21: A Lovely Night (R-18) Chapter 21: A Lovely Night (R-18) (WARNING: This chapter AND the next chapter will contain Smut. You are free to skip it if you want...) . . . A dayter after staying in the forest, it eventually got dark when we returned to the inn. It''s a good thing I nned to leave tomorrow because the monsters in this forest are unable to help me level up anymore. After ying 10 wolf packs, I still didn''t level up. Despite me not having an XP bar, there is still one for me to fill up except that it''s just invisible. Gaining XP from wolves that only rank from level 1-10 will only give me a small amount. If I kill higher leveled monsters, then I get more XP. I should apply to be an adventurer since not only will I be able to get money, I can also kill monsters as well. And not just any monster, monsters that can drop valuable materials which you can sell for a huge price as well. There are special events like dungeon raids as well as there are dungeons in this world. Though they only open up once in a while. That''s why there are over a thousand of them everywhere. And it''s also possible to capture one, though that''s a difficult task to handle. For now, I should stick with what I have. Anyway, it was my birthday so I was officially 18, but I didn''t really care about it since I never really had a proper birthday. I was currently rxing in the hot spring, inspecting the new skills I had obtained with a towel over my eyes and my hair tied back. [Inferno: Obtain the mes from the fiery depths of hell and scatter them upon your enemies| Effect: Manipte even the hottest of mes| Conditions: Fire Maniption; 100,000 per min] [Shadow Puppet: Like a puppeteer, control one''s movement by intercepting their shadow| Effect: Achieve domination over one''s shadow(Limit: 1)| Condition: 10,000 mana per shadow and 100 mana per second] "I see. So Shadow Puppet not only allows me to control a person''s shadow, but I can also control multiple as well. I''m guessing that limit rises every time the skill levels up." [The max level for each skill is 10] "Is there a possibility to raise that limit?" [No, but you can obtain a skill stronger than that skill. For example, the passive skill "Sprint" can be reced when you achieve the passive skill "Haste", a skill that allows you to run much faster] "So it also works for passive skills as well huh? And how do I obtain this ''Haste'' skill by the way?" [Figure it out yourself] "Quit being stubborn and just tell me. You are supposed to help me, right?" [Something so trivial should be solved by you] "Fine then, don''t tell me. I bet I just need to keep raising my Agility stat." [] "So that is it!" [Of course, idiot] "Jeez, when did you learn to talk like that?" [Humannguage is not that hard to learn] "Whatnguage did you originally speak?" [] "Hmm, I''m guessing it''s demonnguage or something like that. Anyway, I''m interested in the title and ss effects. Mind showing me the title effects first? I already know what Sin of Gluttony does, so just show me the others." [Affirmative] Ding! [Inept Hero: ???] [Human: None] [Homicidal Tendency: The effects of "Bloodlust" are doubled] "Hmm, pretty simple. By the way, why is the effect for Inept Hero unknown?" [I do not know] Well, that isn''t good. If Yukie doesn''t know then it''s a real mystery. "Alright then show me the ss effects." Ding! [Assassin: Allows Host to learn Assassin rted skills] [Guardian: Allows Host to learn Guardian rted skills] [Trickster: Allows Host to learn Trickster rted skills] [Healer: Allows Host to learn Healer rted skills] [Archer: Allows Host to learn Archer rted skills] [Berserker: Allows Host to learn Berserker rted skills] [Mage: Allows Host to learn Mage rted skills] [Puppeteer: Allows Host to learn Puppeteer rted skills] [Notice: The sses you have learned are at their base level. If you continue to level up, you will eventually be able to unlock the function "ss Routes"] "And when do I unlock that?" [Level required: 300] Alright, so I''m not far from unlocking it. I just need to level up 50 more times. Though I''m still a little confused on why I unlocked this feature which doesn''t give me anything "Curious, is there a ss route for Jack of All Trades?" [] No response so she doesn''t know. Strange "Master? Who are you talking to?" I heard Kiyomi ask. "Nothing, I like to think out loud sometimes." "I see" Now that I think of it, didn''t I lock the door so I can have a bath to myself? I usually let Kiyomi take her bath before me so I can dose off in the hot spring. "Kiyomi, why are you here? Didn''t you already take a bath?" I''d take the towel off my face and look over my shoulder. Standing at the entrance was Kiyomi. Not in her human form, but she was a Kitsune. She was nude. I could see everything: her slim body shape, her voluptuous breasts, her smooth fair skin, her long beautiful legs sporting amazing thighs, she was just beautiful. Kiyomi noticed I was staring and she hid behind her tails. "Master''s gaze is making me embarrassed." Well, I can''t help it Kiyomi. If I see a naked woman, I''d rather take a look instead of looking away. But anyway- "Why are you here? You still haven''t answered the question." "I just wanted to wash master''s back." "I see. I guess you can do that." Hmm, weird... *** Right now I was having Kiyomi washing my back for me. I could feel her moving up and down as she continued to scrub my back. But then she paused. "Kiyomi?" I''d turn my head to look over my shoulder. "Ki-?" Suddenly I felt her arms wrap around my chest and the next thing I knew she was embracing me, naked. "Master, I can''t hold it anymore." "Huh?" "I''ve always liked you, master. I''ve always had feelings for you." I''d turn to look at her face, which was bright red. "Master, I want to not only serve you as a servant, but also a woman. I I want you to take my first time." I got up and turned around. Kiyomi lifted her head and looked up at me. "Stand up," I said sternly, and she stood up. Then I lost all resistance. I pushed her against the wall and began kissing her. Her neck, her breast, etc. She didn''t resist and reciprocated back by kissing me. I''d bring her closer to me and nibbled on her ear, and she let out a cute moan. "Master" I could feel her rubbing her thighs against my cock. "Master so big." I''d grab her by her ass and lifted her up while continuing to kiss her. I was doing this purely on instinct, and I didn''t even resist. It is said that men are ravenous creatures that have higher libidos than women, and I don''t think that''s wrong. But this wasn''t just my body''s choice, but mine as well. As we kissed each other passionately, sharing our saliva as we ovepped our tongues. Eventually, we''d take some breathers in between while staring each other in the eyes as we panted. "Let''s do this somewhere more suited for this," I''d say and Kiyomi nodded. When we got down to our room, we immediately unwinded at the door. Entering the room, I''d m the door shut with my foot. Me and Kiyomi continued to kiss. Then I pushed her onto the bed as I dimmed thentern, letting only the moonlight into the room. I took my shirt off and hopped onto the bed, continuing to kiss Kiyomi again. I pulled her in closer to me and spread her legs, exposing every bit of herself. She didn''t resist; she was submissive and calm. We breathed in each other''s faces, inhaling in each other''s breath. "I''m going to put it in now." "Please be gentle. It''s my first time." I''d move my hand down her body until I reached her pussy. I could feel her love juices leaking as I continued to caress her body. I''d start it off by fingering her lightly. She tried her hardest not to moan as the surrounding walls were thin, but I grabbed her hands away from her mouth. She''d begin to let out another moan, but I managed to kiss her, suppressing that moan. "Master please, I can''t hold back anymore." Me too I wanted to put it inside her already. I rubbed the tip against her tight cunt. She flinched even though I hadn''t pushed it in yet. I stroked her hair and caressed her face, calming her down. "Here I go, Kiyomi." "Nn." I pushed and the tip managed to slip in. Kiyomi winced but I continued. I pushed it harder and I could see it entering little by little. And then I thrusted forward,pletely breaking her hymen. "Aaaaaah!" Tears began to fall down from her eyes and I froze. "Are you alright?" "Yes. You can continue." "Alright then." I slowly moved my hips back and forth as her vaginal walls tightened around my rod. She was leaking love juices which acted as lube, allowing me to slide it in and out smoothly. "M-master" Kiyomi had an alluring look on her face which turned me on even more. "Aah! I can feel it getting bigger!" "Kiyomi" We kissed again as I continued to thrust. Kiyomi began to moan in my mouth as we kissed amorously. "Ma-master!" Each time she called me I would thrust harder, piercing the entrance of her womb. The rhythm of her moans matched with every thrust I made. "Master I''m gonna-!" "Me too!" Before I was about to ejacte, Kiyomi wrapped her arms and legs around my body, hindering me from pulling out. "I''m gonnae!" I ejacted, releasing my seed inside Kiyomi. "Haa haa haa" I attempted to pull out but Kiyomi was hugging me tightly, so I stayed still as sheid back on the bed in exhaustion. "You-" "I didn''t want it to go to waste." She lifted herself and nibbled on my neck. This girl Ding! [Allocation Unlocked] [Exceed Unlocked] . . . Chapter 22: Departure (R-18) Chapter 22: Departure (R-18) [Allocation Unlocked] [Exceed Unlocked] [Allocation (Unique Skill): By copting with someone, you are able to take a skill from them| Effect: Obtain a skill from your partner; If you obtain a skill you already have, that skill will go up by one level(Once only)| Conditions: Can only be used once a day for every person] [Exceed (Unique Skill): By giving your bodily fluids to someone, you increase their level limit by 10-20| Effect: Increase a person''s level cap by 10-20] [Skill Obtained: Swift sh(Lvl.1)] [Kiyomi''s Level Cap has been raised by 13(Level Cap: 114)] Upon seeing the messages in front of me, a smile appeared on my face. So this is what those two skills do. Now that I think about it, I''ve never asked what a unique skill was. [Unique Skills are skills that are limited to a single person. These skills are notmon and only a few are born with these skills. If you can already guess, they can only be wielded by one person. For example, if you have a skill that can manipte fire, you and you alone have that skill, no one else can. Of course, that is just an example since wielding fire magic is a possibility for everyone. All those that possess Unique Skills have only one but in your case, you have multiple] I see but why do I have to get this one? [Are youining?] no wait, did you say I have multiple? [Indeed. You have more than just two Unique Skills-] And how do I unlock the rest? [You will have to figure that out for yourself] Damn but at least I know I have more. Anyway After Kiyomi began to nibble on my neck, she also began to rub her breast against my chest which instantly made me erect again. "Master isn''t tired?" "Not after what you just did, turn around." Kiyomi obeyed as she turned with her ass raised high, rubbing my rock-hard cock. I could see her curves in full view. Brush~ Her four tails brushed against my chest and I grabbed one. "Yaaa! M-master, that''s my tail!" "I know." "It''s really sen-" I began stroking it and her moans echoed through the room. "Aah...aaah-!" As she moaned, I slowly slid my cock back into her vagina and began thrusting again. Now that I had broken her hymen, it was easier to slide in. Her insides were slippery as I just finished inside her a minute ago. I pulled on Kiyomi''s tail and her moans suddenly became louder. I ced my hand over her mouth before she could get any louder. I had a clear look at her back and her nape. It was a wonderful sight to see and that got me turned on even more. I again finished inside her. [Kiyomi''s Level Cap has been raised by 17(Level Cap: 131)] When I turned her around to face me, I saw tears umting from her eyes. For a second I thought those were from earlier but after seeing the smile on her face, I realized those were tears of joy. She lost her family 2 years ago and has gone through so much. She''s probably been longing for someone that she could call family. Well, I guess I fulfilled another one of her wishes. "Master I love you. I love you so much." I caressed her face and wiped her tears away. She threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. In return, I hugged her back. "It must''ve been painful losing your family," I whispered into her ear. "Don''t worry, I''ll always be at your side." Her cheeks immediately went red and shied away. That action however was just adorable that I got hard once again. "Kiyomi..." "Master..." Kiyomi kissed me and stirred my mouth with her tongue which I responded by doing the same. As we did that, we switched positions. I sat cross-legged and she sat on myp. She hovered over my rod and inserted it inside her. "Nnn!" After it was fully inside, she wrapped her legs around me and we hugged each other. This time she was moving, slowly bouncing up and down. "Haa...haa...haa-!" Her grip began to tighten and she nibbled on my ear while I grabbed her tit and began sucking on them. "Aah!" She moaned in pleasure as I began to shake my hip, continuing to prate her. "M-master! I''m gonna cum!" I thrusted my hip once more and we both reached our climax. Her insides tightened up as I came inside her. [Kiyomi''s Level Cap has been raised by 16(Level Cap: 147)] She twitched for a few seconds before limping onto my arms and Iid back on the bed. "Haa... haa... haa~" We looked each other in the eyes once more and shared a passionate kiss. "Thank you... master." Her eyelids drooped before passing out on my chest. I patted her head and hugged her tightly before I also fell asleep. *** I woke up to the blinding sunlight that poured through the window. "Ugh..." I groaned as I got up from the bed before I noticed Kiyomi''s hand on my chest. She was sleeping on my right. She was lying on her side and clutching my right arm. In my eyes, she was like a sleeping beauty. "..." I couldn''t help but smile. Now that I think of it, I could hardly call myself a virgin after the events that just unfolded. Must''ve been watching too much porn and hentai. Anyway, I think that was the best sleep I''ve ever experienced. So this is what it feels like to sleep with a girl. I sat up and got off the bed but with Kiyomi''s grip, I sat back down. She wouldn''t let go of my arm even though she was asleep. "Nn." She tugged on my arm and her eyes slightly opened. "Master... don''t leave..." "Don''t worry, I''m not going anywhere... yet." Her grip on my arm loosened and I gave her a head pat while stroking her ears as well. "Eek!" She let out a squeak and I chuckled. "Looks like I found another sensitive spot." "Master, don''t tease me... like that." She groaned as she got up, letting out a yawn and stretched. I smiled as I got up from the bed and walked over to the table, getting a ss of water. After that, I tossed Kiyomi her clothes and told her we were going to leave this town. "Why?" "Well, we could stay here and get you to max level again since I managed to raise your level cap-" "You did? How?" "By sleeping with each other." Her face immediately became bright red when I said that. "Master, you aren''t being a perv, are you?" I sighed and shook my head. "I''m being serious, that is what the skill says. That reminds me, I think I let it inside you... three times. Won''t you get... you know, pregnant?" Last night I didn''t even think about it. It was just my instincts. I also think that is how it works. You cum inside a girl and that gets them pregnant... right? Hmm... To my response, Kiyomi blushed so hard she covered herself with the nket and I could hear her muffled scream. ...is she ok? Eventually, she settled down and she turned towards me again. "No, I''m not pregnant. But... I am always ready to bear your child." This time it was my turn to blush. So those words do exist! "J-just put on your clothes. We''re leaving soon." After we donned our clothes, I went out to get us some food before we left. Along the way, everyone was giving me a strange look and some even snickered at me. "Why is everyone looking at me like that?" I said to the girl serving me food. "Well... you two were pretty loudst night," She responded with a grin. And that''s when I understood the situation. I didn''t even think about how loud we werest night as we indulged in pleasure. And judging by their looks, they probably thought I was doing it with Kiyomi, which I did. However, it looks like they were still convinced we were siblings so they thought we weremitting the act of "Incest." I shook my head and headed back to our room. After we ate, we said our goodbyes and left the inn. I was quick to get out of there because if we did, we''d probably beughingstock. When we left, I headed down towards the scroll shop to get myself a specific spell. Entering the shop and walking up to the counter, the olddy immediately knew what I wanted as I requested this spell not long ago. After waiting for so long, it was done. Handing me the spell, I said farewell before I left. We eventually left town, but before we head to the next one, we went to a secluded barn that resided not that deep in the forest. "Master, what are we doing here?" "Just here to pick something up. Stay out here, I''ll be back quick." When I opened the barn door, there was a wagon inside, and inside that wagon were a bunch of supplies such as food, wine, camping equipment, etc. That''s right, when we killed those three, I imed their wagon before it was confiscated. Though I am kind of concerned whether we should travel through wagon or not since we''ll need horses or any kind of animal suited for pulling heavy things. But I have a solution to carry these things without having to carry them at all. I took out the scroll from earlier and absorbed it. [Function Unlocked] [Item Box] [Skill Obtained: Spacial Storage (Lvl.1)] [Spacial Storage: Store any object no matter the size or weight in your personal space| Effect: Open a portal leading to a dimensional storage that can only be essed by you| Conditions: Store a maximum of 100 items] This is an alternate version of a spell called "Gctic Space" which requires dimensional magic. Unlike Spacial Storage which has a limit, Gctic Space allows you to store an infinite amount of items. That''s not all. The spell Gctic Space can also be used to trap and seal any monsters which also makes it some kind of sealing magic. This spell is overpowered and pretty hard to learn, but that''s not even the hardest part. It all starts at the first level. Learning dimensional magic... well, I''ll just say that you''ll have to at least be a god to learn that. Anyway, I opened up the Spacial Storage and instead of just depositing the materials in, I just rolled the whole wagon in. [Item Box (69/100)] {Items Stored} Wagon x1 Barrel of Bread x24 Barrel of Wine x27 Fruits x10 Stove x1 Kettle x1 Tent x2 Sleeping Bags x3 ------------------ Huh, it has just about everything we need for a week-long trip. Though I don''t think we''ll be needing another tent... well unless that tent gets teared up then yeah... Anyway, after that, I left the barn and met up with Kiyomi again. However, we hadpany. "You! You killed them, didn''t you?!" I turned and there were a group of men dressed in bulky armor. "Killed who?" I tried acting innocent. "You killed Bob, Jeff, and Chandler didn''t you! The Mage, Assassin, and the Berserker!" "Hmm, never heard of them... but I do remember meeting three individuals with those sses. Maybe you have the wrong person?" I responded with a worried smile. "Pff, then why did you just take their supplies, huh? We found this yesterday and deliberately left it there so we could find out who killed them." Is that so... The light smile on my face quickly became a grimace. "Guess it can''t be helped. I guess you guys were associated with them. Now... if you guys don''t want to end up like them, I suggest you get out of my way." I said as I pulled out my sword and Kiyomi took her cloak off, changing into her real form. "A Kitsune? What is a-?" But before he finished his sentence, I had appeared next to him and used Swift sh. A secondter, his head slid off and blood sprayed everywhere like a water fountain. I quickly looked up and opened my mouth, swallowing his blood. The effects of Derivation then kicked in. [Leveled up!(10)] [Party Member Kiyomi Leveled up!(1)] Now beforehand, I didn''t evaluate their stats, but judging by how many levels I just got and getting no skills, they were pretty weak. I turned towards the others. There were four of them and I suddenly lost the motivation to kill them. Killing them won''t do me much, but at least I can level up. Though I''d say I''ll give them a chance to run, that is if they are willing to. "Leave, or you''ll end up like him." The four looked at each other and hesitated. And then they ran towards me. How foolish... I''ll just let Kiyomi take care of them. She needs the levels more than me. They probably can''t sense it, but I can still sense vengeanceing from her. Well, they were associated with them so I''d understand. [Party Member Kiyomi Leveled up!(3)] After taking care of the five, I left a nice message for anyone that passes them and we began to venture to the next town in the east. . . . Chapter 23: Other Heroes Chapter 23: Other Heroes {The Royal Pce of Paragon} "Is that so?" "Yes, your majesty. That is the message he wrote using the blood of those men." The King was once met again by the same knight dressed in white and he had just delivered some news. That news being a message the Inept Hero had written using the blood of five men. "The Inept Hero was here" That was the message left by the Inept Hero. The King pondered, think about what he should do next knowing the Inept Hero was able to kill 5 men who were around level 20. "To be able to take on 5 men like that he''s not so weak after all" A smile appeared on the King''s face. "I just need to convince him toe back. Maybe that will work!" "But your majesty, considering the fact YOU abandoned him, I doubt he woulde back willingly," The knight reminded the King and the smile disappeared from his face. "Y-you are right. But I think I have a solution for that. Get the heroes, they must''vee back by now." "Yes, your majesty." *** The King sat on his throne waiting for the heroes to arrive. While he did that, a woman dressed in silver armor walked next to his side. "Father." "Anastasia." Anastasia, the first daughter of Authorian Paragon. Though she is a princess, she decided to be a warrior, unlike her other sisters. Through hard work and days of training, she became a personal bodyguard for her youngest sister. Though she may be working for her younger sister, she is still the firstborn. "So this Inept Hero. Is he causing trouble?" "Yes, but I believe we can fix our rtionship. We may have started down the wrong path but I know we can unite again." "Hmph, I wish you luck. You threw him and even put a bounty on him. If that is what you think then so be it. But father, do remember how gullible you are, I do not want a hero to end up like mother." The King gulped as Anastasia gave him a grim re. Three years ago, the Queen was executed by the hands of Anastasia. The reason for the execution was because shemitted treason, helping a warring nation. Though she was her mother, she never felt love orpassion except for her sister. "Y-yes" The king muttered. "Now then, I''ll be on my way." Vwoomp! She then vanished from the spot and at that same time, the doors opened. Walking in were the heroes and their parties. "Hey, what''s the catch?" Kai asked while crossing his arms. "Is it another wave? If so I think it''ll have to wait cause we just got back." "Kai, shut up and just let him talk," Marth said, smacking the back of his head. "I''ve called you all here today to talk about the Inept Hero. Naoko Akujin." The smile on Kai''s face immediately turned upside down and his face was now filled with disgust. "Why the hell are we talking about him? Isn''t he dead?" "He is not dead!" Risa yelled at Kai. "Shut up, just because you had a crush on him doesn''t mean you have to always back him up every time. Look, he''s been marked as a criminal and you should just ept that fact." Risa flinched when she heard that and stayed quiet. "Why do you hate him so much?" She managed to mutter. "Hate him? Well, let''s just say we have a dark history before you arrived to rush by his side. He is not the only person I despise you know, you are also on that list," He said pointing a finger at her. That made Risa quiet once again and she turned away. "Uhh, anyway. Since you guys were from the same world, I reckon one of you will be able to talk it through with him." The King said. "Talk? Pff, I''ll give him something he can too. Maybe an arrow to the head would do." Kai scoffed. "Sir Wyatt, I understand your feelings but for the sake of this country, we need him alive. Without him, the danger of the demons will be a difficult task to handle." "Why the hell do we need him? There are 8 heroes in this room, what is 1 more going to do?" "It is said that when 9 heroes reach the pinnacle of power, the ultimate hero destined to destroy the demon king will be born. That has happened in the past twelve wars. Of course, even though we''ve always won, a new demon king is always born." "Ultimate hero? And we need that guy? Isn''t there another hero we can work with? Maybe just summon another hero, that would do, right?" "Sadly, we can''t summon anymore. But we could get a different hero. However, getting one from another country would be a difficult task." "There are other heroes?'' "Yes, precisely. You are not the only heroes in this world, including the Inept Hero. There are more than ten countries on this continent but only 5 countries are able to summon heroes. Each country can summon a maximum of 8 but we are a special case. In total, 41 heroes can be summoned." "R-really? Then why not just get one of them?" "I would, however, we were unprepared for this war and they need at least a month to start summoning. And that is not the only reason. Coup d''tat in one kingdom and a war between two of them. That leaves us with one more. However, gathering the required warlocks will be difficult for them. So for now, we need the Inept Hero. If in one month we still don''t have him, then we''ll settle with another hero. Now I ask again, will any one of you volunteer to attempt to bring the Inept Hero back?" Everyone in the room stayed silent until Risa raised her hand. "I will. I''ll talk it through with him. I am his friend after all." The King stared at Risa with a confident look on her face. "I see, then you will search for him and bring him back unharmed. However, if the negotiations don''t go well then do it by force." "I-I will try." "Now then be on your way." Risa left and her party consisting of 4 members followed her. When they left, Kai had his hands clenched. "Bastard, don''t forget what you''ve done to me 10 years ago. You''ll pay" The King noticed Kai''s expression and took a deep breath before sending the heroes off. *** It''s been a week since we left that town. Not much has happened and barely any creatures showed up. But whenever they did, we managed to take them out. Though I didn''t level up, at least Kiyomi did. You can also say I raised her level cap this past week... by a lot. Her level cap is 401 now, and her current level is 210. Me? I didn''t level up at all. She managed to gain a few skills as well. Those skills being sh Step, Stealth, Bloodlust, and Sprint. And of course, I got her skills in exchange: Ninjutsu Proficiency, Soaring Dragon Fist, me Pirs, and Sage Arts skill. However, that is locked. I didn''t get her Transformation skill and Fox Fire Maniption skill, but that is because it is only usable by Kitsunes and other races capable of using them. I could use Sage Arts but I need the proper training to use it. That is what Yukie told me. Anyway, we were currently walking down a long path towards the next town peacefully. We hadn''t encountered any monsters in a while but it was better since I was a bit tired. Then it got foggy. Along the way, we passed a massive graveyard and I felt an eerie vibeing from it. It wasn''t because of all the dead people since that doesn''t really affect me anymore; it was something else. The longer we walked down the path, the foggier it got and the harder it was to walk. Then we heard some voices. And then we walked out of the fog. When we walked out of the fog, we were met with a group of adventurers with their weapons pointed at us. Kiyomi who was in her human form was about to change but I managed to stop her before she did anything. "You two, who are you?!" One of them asked. I held my hands up and opened my mouth. "Please calm down, we are just travelers." "Impossible. How are you able to survive the deadly mist then?" "Mist?" "The mist behind you!" I turned around to look at the wall of mist. Deadly mist? We just walked through it like nothing was there and I didn''t sense anything "Deadly" about it. "Could you be one of the undead that the hex sent!?" They were inching in closer and if this keeps continuing, I''m going to have to fight back. And right now I am not in the mood to fight. "Halt!" A man yelled from behind them and they turned. There was a bald man with a ymore on his back walking towards us. "I sense no hostility from them. It is alright, put your weapons down." Everyone hesitated and looked at each other but eventually they put their weapons away. The man nodded and then turned towards me. "Sorry about that, they are just a bit fearful after this... mist arrived." "Yeah... it''s alright though." We shook hands in greetings. "Though I am a bit interested, how were you able to walk through this mist?" "Hmm, I thought it was just fog. But to bepletely honest, I have no idea." The guy nodded and began to mutter to himself. "I see... maybe it doesn''t affect everyone..." I crossed my arms and inspected the scenery. It was like any normal town and a few people roaming the streets. There was a guildhall down the street and conveniently an inn right next to it. However, this ce was clouded by fear. And I''d say their fears are all directed towards this... mist. Hmm... . . . Chapter 24: Guild Chapter 24: Guild "Wow, this room is spacious!" Kiyomi remarked as she flopped onto the queen-sized bed. "It sure is" I knew there would be a high-ss inn in one of these towns. A personal bath,rgefortable beds, and even room service but I tend not to use room service. If there weren''t a high-ss inn around, then I''d rather sleep on the street. There are low-ss inns but that''s like saying you want to be robbed. That is the problem with low-ss inns, they just want to steal your money. They drug you with sleeping pills and take your stuff while you are unconscious. If you''re a female, well, let''s just say things aren''t going to be good for you. I think the inn we stayed at in thest town was alright. It was a middle-ss inn, after all. Of course, since it is high ss, it''s much more expensive than other inns but it''s worth it. Now about the mist business, it seems that some kind of witch has been terrorizing this ce with that fog. That is what the guy told me. It was weird because I didn''t actually feel anything strange from that mist. "Kiyomi, was there anything off about that mist to you?" "The mist? Umm, I don''t think so." "Don''t think so?" "Well, it didn''t really feel like how mist would feel like, except the cold feeling. It was almost as if I felt pressurized mana." "Pressurized? What does pressurized mana feel like?" "Well, it makes it so that you''d walk harder and sometimes even make you puke if you aren''t strong enough. But there was something different about this one." "How so?" "I could smell poison, but very lightly. It almost made me dizzy but we managed to walk out of it just in time." Is that so? It''s a good thing she lives in this world. I''m gonna have to get some lessons about mana when we have the time. One thing Yukie told me is even though I may be able to use mana to perform spells and skills, I still don''t know how mana works as I''m still a newbie on it. Even after spending three weeks in the library, I still didn''t understand. I should''ve really focused on my studies. But I''m the kind of guy to learn as I do things. Anyway, at least I know that mist wasn''t just some ordinary phenomenon in this world. Who knows? The blizzards can rain fire and ashes instead of snow or they can shower sub-ze- oh wait a minute, that''s literally what a blizzard is. Strange things do happen in this world, just not in this part of the world. Tomorrow, I''m nning on applying as an adventurer, and maybe Kiyomi as well. But if I do have the time, I might help out with whatever this mist problem is. I managed to get a quick peek at that guy''s stats from earlier, and it was not really impressive as I thought it would be. [Level 219; ss: Berserker; Level Cap: 219] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sprint, Invincibility, Great Sword Proficiency, Extreme Might, Berserker Arts Active Skills: Unbreakable Skills: Wolf''s Blood(Lvl.2), Fallen Descent(Lvl.3), Beastly Warcry(Lvl.4), Heavy Gash(Lvl.9), Heavy Tackle(Lvl.6) ------------------ Though he did have some skills that were new to me, his level had already reached its limit. The bad thing about reaching your limit is that it hinders your growth. Well, I don''t think I actually needed to point that out. Once this guy maxes out his skills, it''ll take him a long time to learn a new one. Also, his talent rate is really low. It was at 7 percent. I also checked the levels of every adventurer in this town and none of them were even near his level. Only a few were higher levels than him, by on 6 to 14 though. So in other words, I am technically the strongest person in this town, well if you ignore whoever created this deadly mist. Hmm, I''m interested in this "hex." Whoever she is must be terrifying if she was able to scare everyone in this town. I like that. That means she''s strong, and the stronger she is, the more skills I can get off of her when I consume her blood. I''ll be looking forward to that. However, I should do that when I have the time to. I should get more information about this woman before I meet her. As for now, I should get some rest. "Master, catch!" I turned around and I caught Kiyomi''s shirt. My eyes then slowly focused on her. My vision traced from her feet to her face and she was in ck lingerie. The weird part is, I don''t think I ever bought those for her unless she got them when I wasn''t around her. Hmph. "Naughty girl, you need to be taught a lesson." A mischievous smile appeared on her face as I joined her in bed. *** The next day we went to the adventurer''s guild. It was a ratherrge establishment, both far away and up close. I could hear many individuals inside chatting remarkably loudly. I opened the doors and there was a crowd bunched below an old man standing over the balcony. Wonder what''s going on here? "Old man, what the hell are we going to do? The longer we leave this witch alone, the more the mist will spread!" "What should we do?" "Come on! We''ve already lost a few lives and we can''t lose anymore." A few people in the crowd seemed to beining about the mist. This mist already took a few lives it seems. Moreover, they seem to beining to this old man. He must be the master of this town''s adventurer''s guild. "Oh hey, it''s you from yesterday." I turned and the same dude from yesterday walked up to me. He was now d in full leather armor. Being a berserker ss, I''d expect him to wear metal armor. Well, I guess if he wants to wear leather and he can go for it. "Hello," I greeted. "So what brings you guys here?" "Nothing much, just came to get us a job. We are running out of funds." "Oh I see. We do have some tasks on the quest board, just not that much but they are enough to pay the bills. You should go to the registration desk first. I assume you" His attention was focused on Kiyomi. Kiyomi opened her mouth. "H-hello, I''m Kiyomi. I''m his s-" "Lover," I calmly interrupted, and Kiyomi''s face turned bright red. Heh, that was the exact reaction I was looking for. "Oh so you guys are a couple. I see, I see. Try not to get all lovey-dovey around here. People tend to get jealous," He whispered with a smirk. "Oh, that reminds me, we never really introduced ourselves. My name is Tyid Jaeger, I run a cksmith but I''m also an adventurer. I already know thedy''s name, so it''s just you." "Nero. Akuma." "Nero, huh? Pretty cool name I must say. Anyway, I''ll stop bothering you guys. If you ever need help, just call me. I''ll be right at that board." He said pointing at the quest board. "See ya." And then he ran away. I must say, he''s nice. Though I''m just gonna keep my guard up just in case. "Master..." Kiyomi was putting on an embarrassed face and I patted her head. "We don''t need to pretend anymore. And are we not?" "Right..." Kiyomi responded as her face became brighter. *** After filling out the guild form which required name, birth date, and identification to verify that information, andstly a bit of our mana ced into the card. Soon we got our guild cards which ck and had a white gemstone in the middle. Thedy at the counter told me it was to show our rank and we were at the bottom right now. The guild card was also enchanted to be indestructible and to always return to the owner using mana tracing, some kind of technique that traces one mana back to the caster, etc. After that was done, we''d walk towards the quest board and inspected the quests. The quests were specifically organized for each rank. There are 10 ranks and each rank has a different color. From order is white, brown, blue, green, pink, yellow, purple, orange, red, andstly ck & white. Thatst one is pretty weird and I don''t know how it would fit for a ck card, but it must work out. I also received a title after getting the card. [Title Obtained: White Rank Adventurer] [White Rank Adventurer: None besides disying your rank] Anyway, inspecting the board, we didn''t find a single interesting quest. Not even one including wolf hunting which I thought would bemon since there are so many wolves. Did I mention that there are more wolves than slimes in this world? Well, there is. Honestly, I just need a quest that can get me to level 300. I think that''s when I''m able to unlock "ss routes" so I can get a ss effect. "Attention!" A voice shouted. When I turned to see who it was, it was that same old man on the balcony. Seems like he''s gonna say something important. "As this witch is causing trouble; causing deaths, disease, and fear, we will have to resort to confronting her up close. To confront this witch and disperse the mist, I will need volunteers willing to sacrifice their lives to take her out. Is there anyone in this room right now willing to risk their lives for everyone in this town?" Then there was an uproar. "Is he crazy? How the hell are we going to confront her if the mist is in the way?" "If we kill the witch, then the mist will go away." "But how are we GOING to kill the witch if the mist is IN the way?" Everyone seemed to beining about what the old man said. Wow, even after the old man had the balls to say all that, they are stillining. Idiots. "Hey, why don''t you go volunteer?" I turned around and Tyid was behind me. "Hmm?" "I mean, you guys did somehow resist against the mist so you guys should volunteer! But I mean, that''s if you guys want to." Volunteer should I though? I mean what will be in it for me? I''m not gonna do something for free you know. I want a reward. "What will be in it for us if we manage to defeat the witch?" I rose my hand and said to the old man. "Yeah, what is in it for us, huh?!" "Yeah!" "Tell us, old man!" Everyone began joining in and eventually the whole guild joined in. The old man closed his eyes for a few seconds before mming the ground with a stick. "Simmer down. If you manage to defeat the witch ande back alive, then you will be rewarded with 100 tinum coins and a promotion to the next rank for each person, and I may throw in a transfer to Maroon. However, I will only be picking 10 of you. We can''t have everyone rushing in." With that, everyone began raising their hands, wanting to volunteer. 100 tinum coins and a promotion to the next rank? Well, I guess that isn''t such a bad price. This is even counted as an official quest. But what is thatst part he said? I didn''t seem to hear it correctly. But anyway- "Kiyomi, you want to volunteer?" "Of course." "Well then, that is settled." We rose our hands and waited for us to be picked. And guess what happened next? We were part of the group that was going to defeat the witch inside the mist. We were scheduled to meet up in front of the mist tomorrow. Guess this''ll be my first official quest. Or myst... . . . Chapter 25: Street Fight Chapter 25: Street Fight Before we returned to the inn, we were provided with some kind of mask. It was said to be enchanted with low-level anti-magic. It''s not strong, but it''s able to resist the kind of mana used in this mist. I''ve also been given a little more background. Seems this mist had been cast 2 months ago. About 50 people died due to this mist and it wasn''t just the mist too. There have been cases when the town was infested with skeletons and zombies. So judging by that information, this witch must be a necromancer. That makes this even more exciting. I could gain the skills of a necromancer. However, since I''m human, I''ll have to be wary, especially the zombies. Most zombies in movies are dictated as slow flesh and/or brain-eating reanimated corpses but in this world it''s different. Their strength is double that of a normal human, they can run and catch up to a human if they have a leg intact, that is, and that is pretty much it. They are still the same, just a bit more fearful. One bite from them and you''ll be infected. Luckily, no gues have been reported so this necromancer must be controlling them. I haven''t heard much about these skeletons but I''m assuming they are the same as zombies. Now then, I''m going to need some arrow refills because I''m already running out. But I was worn out from shopping for supplies earlier. My item box was empty and I needed to get more food to fill it up. Thus I was tired. So I managed to get a goodnight''s sleep. Cuddling with Kiyomi made it even better. *** The next morning came and I woke up early to go get a new sword. It waspletely worn out and I don''t think there was any hope for it. Itsted a week. The mission doesn''t start in 3 hours so I had plenty of time. After walking around town for ten minutes, I eventually stopped in front of a cksmith shop. Hmm, I should just buy a dagger while I''m at it as well. I should also dispose of my longbow since the strings look faulty. My recurve bow was surprisingly still in perfect condition even though I use it more than the longbow. I walked into the shop and there was a loud noiseing from the back like something being struck. Ignoring that, I walked over to a wall of arrows and picked out the sharpest one. There are many kinds of arrows in this world specifically designed for different bows and situations. My favorite arrows are the swift and sharp arrows. Now that I have the arrows I wanted, it''s time for me to pick a dagger. I should get one that''s light, cheap, has tough durability, and easy to draw. After inspecting the wall for about 10 minutes, I couldn''t find a single one I wanted. Maybe I should just stick to my sword. "Having trouble there?" A voice spoke and I turned around. Walking up to me was Tyid who had multiple ck marks all over his face. So this is where he works? How convenient... "Oh, it''s you! What are you doing here? Buying arrows?" He asked as he cleaned off the ck marks on his face with a cloth. "Well, I came to get a dagger too, but I don''t know which one to pick," I responded. "What kind of dagger do you want?" "One that is sharp, light, durable, and has a good grip." Tyid crossed his arms and thought for a moment. Then his face lightened up. "Ahh, I think I have one in the back. Stay here, I''ll be back." "Oh, can you get me these arrows while you''re at it?" "Sure." After a while, he returned with the arrows I requested and a dagger. I picked the dagger up and brandished it. Light, just how I wanted it. The grip was also perfect, and there was absolutely no inconvenience. I rubbed the tip of the dagger and it was sharp that I almost cut my finger with it. The durability I haven''t found out yet but once Tyid told me it was made out of Mythril, I knew exactly just how durable it was. Mythril is considered one of the best materials to craft a weapon with, and I must say I can''t disagree. After I paid for what I wanted, I headed towards the exit. "Hey, Nero." I stopped and looked over my shoulder. Tyid lit a cigarette and spoke. "Good luck out there. You should be lucky you weren''t one of his victims." "Who?" "Oh, we have a serial killer in this town. Though they''ve been inactive for two months now, but so far a few dozen lives have passed away because of them. One of them being my... sis..." Tyid''s expression would then darken. Judging by that, it must''ve been a major loss. "I see..." "Oh, and I also need to warn you, try staying away from Simon." "Who?" "You won''t know who he is until you''ve met him. He''s a green rank adventurer, and that man is dangerous." "How so?" "Well, one time he went on a quest with a few others to defeat a mountain dragon. They managed to defeat it but when they came back, it was only him." "And how does that make him dangerous?" "That''s not all. He went on a quest to defeat a sea serpent with a few others as well. And again, only he came back. What I''m saying is, that man is a renegade. He backstabs his fellow teammates to im all the glory for himself, and I bet that is what he will do for this task. Not to mention that there is a special offer to Maroon." "Is that so... Wait, Maroon?" "Hmm? Maybe you don''t know, well I''ll tell you. Maroon city is one of the many ces where adventurers want to be. You can get high-tier quests and you can even be personally hired by aristocrats. You can be rich, well-known, or even both! Basically, it''s a gold mine for adventurers. Only a few adventurers have been sent there but trust me, you''ll definitely want to be transferred there." Then he sighed and turned. "Man, maybe I should''ve volunteered." Hmm, he seems to be daydreaming now. So this Maroon city, a ce for chosen adventurers to take on high-tier quests and even get hired by nobles huh? That is not a bad proposition. But that''s only going to be a distant dream for now if I continue to idle around. "Well then, farewell," I said before I left the shop. As I walked back towards the inn, I bumped into a mean-looking guy with two giant swords on his back. "Oh, apologi-" "What the hell?! You dirtied my shirt! You''re gonna have to pay!" ...what? He was wearing armor so I don''t know what shirt he was talking about. "You''re overreacting a bit. Now excuse me, I''ll be on my way." I went to walk past him but he grabbed onto my shoulder. "Not so fast." I turned and looked him in the eyes. "Hands off, I have no time to y around with a fool." "You-!" He threw his fist at me which I easily dodged. He continued to throw his hands at me but his movements were slow, making it easy for me to see when and where he would strike next. As he struggled to hit me, I used Analysis and inspected his stats. [Level 246; ss: Berserker] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Bloodlust, Invincibility, Great Sword Proficiency, Extreme Might, Berserker Arts, Hammerhead Active Skills: Rage Skills: Wolf''s Blood(Lvl.4), Fallen Descent(Lvl.4), Beastly Warcry(Lvl.6), Tornado sh(Lvl.8), Inertia Fist(Lvl.2) ------------------ Yeah, I got tired of seeing people''s level cap so I just decided to leave it out. Anyway, inspecting his stats, he was pretty much near my level, just not that much. But his performance is terrible for someone his level. I shook my head in disappointment and stopped. His fist approached my face but I caught it. However, upon contact, it was as if I was hit by a truck. Doom~! From his attack alone made me slide across the floor and I almost got knocked off bnce. When I regained myposure, I quickly turned my attention back to the man. He is slow, but he is definitely strong. Guess I''ll have to fight this guy cause he is definitely not backing down. I sh Stepped and appeared in front of him. When he noticed, I had performed Soaring Dragon Fist and he was instantly blown away. Wham! "GAAAAAH!" Crash! That should teach him to not go messing around with strangers. However... I clutched my left cheek, the spot that he had struck. I don''t know what he did but whatever it was made my mouth sore. I got up and walked towards the man. There were a few people watching us but no crowd, yet. "He really just punched him just like that." "That''s what he gets for leaving his team." "Why is he even still allowed to stay in this town?" Hmm, looks like most people don''t like this guy. Leaving his team? The only guy I know who would leave his team based on Tyid information is... Simon. So that''s who this guy is. Hmph, he is exactly how I imagined him to be. "Whoa, what''s going on here?" Tyid asked who just approached us. "Nothing, just taking out the trash." "Tch, you!" Simon got up and attempted to tackle me, but he was intercepted by Tyid who tackled him back and he stumbled. "You-!" "Is that all you say?" I asked since he just kept on saying "You." "Tch, better watch your back." Simon couldn''t make aeback, so instead, he just walked away. A cowardly but smart move to make. Guess he has some intelligence in him after all. When he walked away, there was a familiar eerie feeling emanating from him. That feeling... it was definitely no surprise because that feeling was definitely bloodlust. . . . Chapter 26: The Undead Chapter 26: The Undead That guy, Simon. He is really suspicious. When we had our little street fight, I noticed that there was a bloodstain on his neck before I bumped into him. At first, I assumed it was probably just sauce but a hungry sensation filled my mind telling me it was blood. I''ve been having this condition ever since I obtained the title of Sin of Gluttony and Derivation. It''s almost as if I''m a vampire; I''m more attracted to blood than regr food. But anyway, as I was saying, that blood was not mine neither was it his. It was someone else''s. I''ll have to keep a close eye on him from now on. When the time came, Kiyomi and I went towards the ce where we were supposed to meet up with the others. Upon arriving, there were eight others including Simon. When they spotted us, we were greeted by a young man wearing sses. "You must be the remaining members. My name is Kyle just in case you wanted to know who I am. Anyway, now that we have everyone here, let''s ge-" "You!" I closed my eyes and shook my head hearing that voice. Of course, he''s gonna want to fight right here. "What tough guy? Looking for another beating?" I walked up to Simon who red down towards me. I returned the same re and there was a clear feeling in my hands to punch him in the face, but I held myself back. I''m gonna need him for this, maybe as bait when the timees. "H-hey now, let''s not fight. Maybe when weplete this mission ande back alive, you guys can go at it. Doesn''t that sound good?" Kyle said as he pushed us away from each other. Kiyomi ran in front of me just in case Simon decided to try and tackle me. "It''s alright, you can stay back for now." I patted Kiyomi''s head and she blushed as she stepped away. "But big brother, he-!" "Shut up Simon, you''ll get what you wantter." Kyle quickly retorted. Simon scowled before turning away. "Anyway, let''s get to it now, shall we?" Kyle said as he took out a staff. Considering how everyone follows his orders, I''m guessing he was assigned to be the leader. From what I heard, he is a green-rank adventurer so he must be pretty experienced. Before entering the mist, we put on our mask and then entered the mist. As we walked through the mist aimlessly, we were all cautious and wary of our surroundings. If one of us got lost, it would be a hassle to group up again so we need to stay together. Though that doesn''t really need to apply to me, and especially Simon over there. We both do have the skill Wolf''s Blood so find each other won''t be difficult. I''ve used Analysis and inspected everyone''s levels and skills. As I guessed, they were all around level 200. They had plenty of skills, but not any skills that were in my interest. Well, not like I wanted to get their skills or anything. I just want the skills from this witch. But Kyle over there had some skills that might suit my interests. [Level 254; ss: Mage] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Wind Maniption, Fire Maniption, Water Maniption, Earth Maniption, Lightning Maniption Active Skills: None Skills: Aura Barrier(Lvl.5), Ice Armor(Lvl.4), Earth Dome(Lvl.7), Five Elemental st(Lvl.6),Lightning Field(Lvl.3), Frost Bolt(Lvl.2) ------------------ However, I think I''ll just savage those off of a demon or a boss monster. That''ll be much more convenient unless somethinges up, that is. Rattle~! "Huh? What was that?" Kyle said and we all stopped. Rattle-rattle~! This sound, there is no doubt. I activated Wolf''s Blood and inspected my surroundings. Sure enough in the mist, there were countless figures approaching us. Their outlines were light green, meaning their levels were below mine, but definitely above 200. Then came lunging towards us was a zombie. I got into a stance and got ready to attack it but I realized its hostility wasn''t directed at me. I stepped aside and it ran past me. When I saw who it was heading for, my suspicions rose even more. The zombietched onto Simon but Simon was quick to react, shaking it off before jamming his de into its skull. More zombies came and I slid past them. They were all targeting one man, Simon, or that''s what I thought when one pounced at Kyle. "Everyone! Hold the line!" Kyle yelled as he began casting spells that lit the zombies on fire. My suspicions were increasing by the minute. Zombies have one thought that echoes through their heads when they arise. That thought is to get revenge on those that killed them. If they died by natural causes, then they will just be mindless corpses with absolutely no objective but they can easily be influenced by anyone with a mind-controlling skill which is the ability most necromancers have. In this case, whoever those zombies were formerly must''ve had some business with those two brothers. For now, I should keep watching. But I should also fight as well. While zombies have an objective, skeletons on the other hand have no objective and are mainly controlled by their casters. With no flesh and brains, theyck durability, meaning they are weak, fragile, and easily destroyable. However, they are surprisingly agile and they are fueled by the caster''s hatred which increases their strength. A skeleton approached me with a rusty sword in its hand, and I quickly kicked it away. When it attempted to tackle, I performed Soaring Dragon Fist, sending it flying and its bones disconnected and shattered. [Leveled up!(5)] [Soaring Dragon Fist Leveled up!] Now that''s a message I haven''t seen in a while. Another wave of skeletons rushed towards me and I quickly drew my dagger and used Swift sh, cutting them into pieces. [Leveled up!(13)] [Leveled up!(17)] [Passive Skills Obtained: Haste, Extreme Might, Invincibility] Interesting... I don''t think I''ll need an exnation for what these skills do. [Notice: Haste will automatically rece Sprint. Proceed?] Sure. Why not? [Haste has reced the skill Sprint] [Haste: Automatically activates once the host starts running| Effects: x4 Agility] After fighting another wave, I noticed I had separated from the others. Well, at least I don''t have to watch them anymore. Kiyomi had also separated, but I eventually spotted her wrecking a horde of skeletons. She was also leveling up pretty quickly. [Party Member Kiyomi has leveled up!(53)] All the zombies had passed us and went towards the others. I had noticed that the zombies and the skeletons wereing from one direction and after a few seconds of thinking, I knew exactly where they wereing from. They were alling from that cemetery. It must be the cemetery that we passed two days ago. If that''s where they areing from, then that must be where the witch is located. "Master, I''m here." Kiyomi said as she appeared next to me. "Huh, just on time. Let''s head to that graveyard we passed days ago." "Ok." *** When we arrived at the graveyard, the whole ce was in ruins. Every single grave and coffin was empty and the only thing that remained was... well, vacant coffins. As I guessed, those zombies and skeletons must''ve risen from this cemetery. Walking through the cemetery, I noticed there was a building located in the center. It was the size of a shed and the gates were unlocked. When I poked my head in to take a sneak peek, there was a passageway leading underground. Ehh, I hate underground ces. It just reminds me how close I was to losing against that pig. I shouldn''t be remembering those kinds of stuff. The witch must be down there. After all, where else is she gonna hide? In a coffin? Maybe... I told Kiyomi to head back to the group while I entered alone. She was worried at first and insisted oning with me. "Why can''t Ie?" "Because I need you to watch those two?" "The brothers?" "Yes, them." My suspicions told me that told two must be somehow rted to the serial killer. Though they haven''t done anything suspicious, getting targeted by zombies is already suspicious enough as zombies are all driven by revenge instead of wanting to eat brains and flesh... which they still do. "I just need you to join back with them and if they decide to abandon the others, take them out. When that is done, I''ll reward you. Understood?" Kiyomi''s face turned bright red before she nodded. I gave her a pat on the head and she went on her way. "Now then..." I began walking down the dark passageway. As I kept on walking down, I could hear bones ttering and deep, scratchy groaning sounds. Those were skeletons and zombies, but what was that other sound? I could hear someone whispering and I felt mana waves in the air. I attempted to activate Wolf''s Blood but it didn''t work. Well, judging by how heavy my legs feel right now, this must be pressurized mana in addition to anti-mana. I activated Aura Barrier and a faint red color appeared around me. My legs eventually began to feel lighter and I could breathe normally again. Good thing I have my own anti-mana spell. Now then. When I reached the bottom, I ended up in arge vacant chamber. There were skeletons and zombies roaming around but some of them were... kneeling? I activated Stealth and approached the crowd. Then that whisper from earlier got louder and that''s when I spotted a woman sitting on a throne made of bones. When she noticed me, I got a quick nce at her appearance. She had pale skin, empty white eyes, long ck hair tied in a twin-tail, wore a ck gothic dress with a purple jacket and ck leggings with ck boots. The aura emanating from her gives me gothic vibes. I swear if she starts saying something about her right eye, I''m gonna end my life right here. Though if I ignore all that, she did look a little appealing. "How did you get past my mist?" She demanded as she got up from her seat. The throne behind her copsed. "Hmm I don''t really know, all I know is I want my prize." I drew my sword and pointed the end of the de at her. "Soe on." "Tch, your arrogance will be yourst undoing." The skeletons and the zombies rose and turned towards me. Not only that but when her hands glowed, more skeletons rose from the ground. "I''m giving you a chance to flee, or I''ll resort to killing you." "How sweet. I think I''ll take the third choice where I kill you instead." "You-! Attack, all of you!" The skeletons and the zombies obeyed her and they lunged towards me. I sighed and got into a stance. "This''ll be fun." . . . Chapter 27: Necromantic Battle Chapter 27: Necromantic Battle When the horde was in range, I quickly performed me Pirs. Pirs made of mes bursted from the ground and bodies flew everywhere. I jumped and performed Swift sh, slicing and dicing every single entity in my range. Landing on the ground, another wave approached me. I amassed energy into my hands and threw three rounds of Vtile Orbs. Explosions followed right after. KA-BOOM! I sheathed my sword and looked around. Though I keep taking them out, more just seem toe. After a while, I just knew I was just wasting my time fighting her minions so I decided to end it quickly. It''s time for the main show. I ced my palm on the ground and waited till the horde neared me. And when that happened, I used me Pirs and countless eruptions urred, sending every single entity in a 15-meter radius on fire. [Leveled up!(31)] [me Pirs Leveled up!] [ss Routes Unlocked!] [ss upgrades will be avable once the host is unconscious] I smiled. Looks like I''m definitely gonna have to get out of this one. I don''t wanna unlock something and then never be able to use it. I pped my hands and faced the witch. "Well, how about it? I think we''ve yed around enough." The witch gulped as her hands glowed. A dozen skeletons appeared by her side and they were a bit intriguing. They weren''t humanoid skeletons, but almost beastly ones. So humans are not the only ones buried in a cemetery like this huh? They had spiky long tails which probably measured about 8 feet in total but I''m just assuming. However, they do look a bit intimidating. One looked like a skeleton of a lion and the other looked like a wolf. Well, let''s just say that I''m dealing with a bunch of dead pups and kittens. Using Analysis, I quickly inspected their levels and their levels were near 250. Then when I looked over at the witch, I just knew this was going to get harder and harder. [Level 369; ss: Necromancer] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Darkness Maniption, Reaper''s Evil Eyes, Reaper''s Favor, West God Martial Arts, Undead Domination, Necromancy, Pain Negation, Curse Resistance, Bloodlust Active Skills: Bane Mist Skills: Reanimation(Lvl.Max), Boneyard(Lvl.Max), Shadow Harvest(Lvl.9), Shadow Puppet(Lvl.8), Necrosis(Lvl.4), Dark Armor(Lvl.5), Shadow Fist(Lvl.7), Shadow Shift(Lvl.6), Tartarean Shackles(Lvl.5) ------------------ Her level was higher than mine. She had two skills maxed out and a lot of dark skills. Reaper''s Evil Eyes, Reaper''s Favor, Undead Domination, etc. Should I also mention she has Pain Negation? I think that is a bit overpowered. And she also has West God Martial Arts, a type of martial arts practiced in, well, the west. Since Paragon is in the west of the continent, people here practice West God Martial Arts. Ninjutsu, which is simr to Ninjutsu in our world, is a minor martial art that is only practiced by some so it''s not counted towards the four main styles. I''m looking forward to seeing what that can do. It seems she also has Darkness Maniption, but that wasn''t much of a surprise. However, I think she''s more proficient in that than me so I''ll have to stay away from the dark. But that is the problem. We are underground and there is no light except the fire. But that isn''t enough to cover the entire room. It seems I''ll have to stop ying around. "Get him!" The witch yelled and the skeleton creatures pounced towards me with their jaws wide open. I turned around and right when I could hear their growls, I spun around and sent them flying away using Fallen Descent and Soaring Dragon Fist. A superpowered punch that strikes the ground and causes a shockwave which is extremely potent for anyone in a 1-meter radius. But despite being such a powerful move, there was just one problem. My body may be able to perform a spell but sometimes it''s unable to withstand the power created by two skillsbined. Thest time I tried thisbo, my left arm which I use to perform heavy punches by the way would always snap and/or break sometimes. But today was my lucky day. When I struck the ground and the skeleton creatures flew away, the feeling in my left arm was still intact. I wonder why? [Notice: The effects of Extreme Might is the cause] Is that so? Well it''s a good thing I unlocked that. Though I wished I could''ve gotten that days ago but whatever. Anyway, back to the witch. [Leveled up!(24)] Now that I had defeated her skeleton creatures, she had no more tricks left. "It''s only me and you now. Don''t worry, I''ll take it slow with you," I taunted with a grim smile on my face. "I''ll end you!" She retorted sharply. Then what happened next really caught me off guard. The energy in my body suddenly vanished and I fell on my knees. "Wh-what the-?" [Status: Exhausted] I was actually stunned! How did she just do that!? I was so energetic a second ago but it was as if my energy just vanished in a snap! I attempted to lift myself up but I just fell back onto the ground. After a few more attempts, I still couldn''t get my face off the ground. "Sh-shit" I whispered to myself as I continued to struggle. What skill is this? Now that I remember, I think I saw a skill like Shadow Harvest I looked around and noticed there was a ck line from the witch''s shadow connected to my shadow. Is she draining my energy from my shadow? "All talk? You really are a fool." "You may have drained my energy but not my mana" "Are you sure about that?" Sure enough, I was proven wrong when I saw my mana decreasing at a plunging rate. [Mana: 84,853,912/100,000,000] [Mana: 83,419,053/100,000,000] Every second that passed, a million of my mana would fade away. I need to react quickly before I lose all my mana. Quickly I activated my Aura Barrier and the line was immediately disconnected. I quickly bit myself and drank my own blood. "Yukie, switch my title to Sin of Gluttony!" [Affirmative] [Title Equipped: Sin of Gluttony] Yes, I can drink my own blood to restore my energy as long as I have the title Sin of Gluttony equipped. Though it shouldn''t be able to do that, it works. [Status: Normal] When I felt my energy running through my veins again, I healed myself and got up on my feet. "What?! How are you still able to stand even though I just drained your energy?! You shouldn''t even be able to move!" "You think you''ve won just by draining my energy?" I charged up three rounds of Vtile Orbs in each of my hands and threw them at her. She ced her hands on the ground and suddenly, multiple skeletons jumped out from the ground and they were within range of the Vtile Orbs, causing them to ignite and explode. BOOM!! When the smoke disappeared, I was suddenly hit in the back and fell forward but I managed to catch myself. Crap, I can''t sense her. My perception must be too low. I quickly bit my arm once more and drank my own blood. I continued to do that while encasing myself in an Aura Barrier. [Status: Full] Once that message appeared on my screen, my senses went haywire for a second. After that, my sense became sharper and I could eventually feel her presence. She wasing from behind and I quickly used Fallen Descent, sending a shockwave through the room. However, when I turned around, there was no one there. How strange, I swore I felt her presence. "Behind you." I quickly turned and swung my dagger. Once again, she was nowhere to be seen. Even though I sensed her presence, she wasn''t there. Just where was she?! Suddenly, I was met with a chain around my neck. That wasn''t all. When I tried to get the chains off my neck, more and more chains came from the ground, walls, and even the ceiling. I was trapped and encased in chains made of dark energy. No matter how much I struggled, I couldn''t move. Even when I activated Aura Barrier, the chains didn''t go away. I couldn''t use sh Step either because I was pinned down. Rattle~ I re-diverted my attention at the witch and behind her was an army of skeletons; both beastly and humanoids with weapons in their hands. Hmm, maybe I was a bit unprepared for this, but there is no time for regret. Using the power of Fire Maniption, I used Inferno and I could feel heat venting from every part of my body. The chains that had trapped me gradually melted and I was free. "What?! Why won''t you just give up?!" The witch yelled as she ordered the skeletons to attack me. As they ran towards me, I noticed she was summoning a horde of zombies as well. "I won''t be able to help you guys unless he is out of the way! Get him!" She yelled at the zombies and they obeyed. Help them? What does she mean by that? Help them with revenge? I didn''t have much time to think about it since there was a hordeing after me. I threw countless rounds of Vtile Orbs at them, each and everyone taking out dozens. I also used me Pirs, causing those affected by it to be ashes. Although I had taken out a majority of them, more just seem toe. I kept on destroying them and more just kept on appearing. This eventually ticked me off, and I just resorted to using Inferno, drowning the entire cave in mes. [Leveled up!(32)] [Level: 382] After there was nothing but bones and corpses on the ground, I looked around for the witch but she was nowhere to be seen. "H-how are you able to use such a variety of moves?! From different sses?!" I nced up and she was hanging down from the ceiling while holding onto a ck chain. "Jack of All Trades. That''s all I''ll tell you. Nowe on down, unless you want to run then that''s up to you." The witch clenched her teeth and a fire lit in her eyes. "I can''t lose to you. Not to anyone! If I do, then all I''ve been doing would be for nothing!" Her hands began to glow once again and the ground began to shake. Don''t tell me she is going to summon another army of skeletons again. But that wasn''t it. Instead what arose from the ground was not a mere skeleton or a zombie, but arge wing made of bones and tattered flesh. It hovered above me and plunged towards me. I quickly stepped out of the way and the wing smashed into the ground, making the cave shake. Once it had fully emerged from the ground, there was arge skeletal dragon standing in the middle of the cave. After inspecting its level with Analysis, I was getting anxious. "You gotta be kidding me. Level 400 and it''s a dragon." The dragon bellowed and I noticed that its center which was d in darkness dimmed a purple color. Interesting... But first, I''m gonna have to focus on trying not to get crushed by this thing. The dragon gaped its mouth and a piercing cry echoed through the cave. RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING~ . . . Chapter 28: Ethos Arsenal Chapter 28: Ethos Arsenal RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING~! I fell to the ground while covering my ears from the dragon''s roar. My ears! Crap! My vision started to blur and the energy in my body once again began to seep away. I bit my lip and my stamina eventually returned to my body but my senses were dulled to the point that I can''t even think properly anymore. I need to get rid of this thing fast. Standing up, I fired Inferno, a stream of blue mes immersing the skeletal dragon. When the mes cleared, the dragon was still standing as if my mes didn''t affect it at all. Next, I threw another countless wave of Vtile Orbs. Once they detonated, I was kicked from behind. "Ack!" The witch had appeared from behind and delivered a kick to the head. Once I met with the ground, she grabbed my hair and begun tossing me around. Then she threw me towards the skeletal dragon. I managed to regainposure and vented mes throughout my body which managed to push the skeletal dragon back a few feet. But a few feet is nothing to a dragon of its size. Dropping back on the ground, I quickly sh Stepped around the room while sting it with Inferno. The skeletal dragon shielded itself with its wings. I used me Pirs, multiple pirs of mes erupting beneath the dragon, eventually submerging it in mes. I wanted to make sure that the dragon was down but I didn''t have enough time and I was eventually taken off topic when I received a kick to the face. The witch then proceeded to punch me in the stomach, hips, legs, and arms. Even when I attempted to block, she just managed to trick me and hit me in another spot. Luckily, I wasn''t really affected much, except that she kept on aiming for my vital spots. I attempted to fight back and even though I didn''t get a hit on her, I managed to block some of her attacks. "Take this!" Her left hand dimmed and I ducked just in time to dodge her attack. That''s when I found an opening and I took it. I swept her feet and she fell on the ground. On my feet again, I performed Fallen Descent and Soaring Dragon Fist. Though she managed to roll away, the impact of my attack sent a violent shockwave which sted her to the other side of the room and there was a crater in the ground. When I stood up and looked over at her direction, she had vanished. She''s like a ghost; you see her for one second and when you blink, she just vanishes. It must be one of her skills, an annoying one to be specific. I quickly turned around when my instincts came back to me and I managed to parry her attack. She flew back andnded on the wall. For some reason, she wasn''t falling down. Maybe gravity had stopped. Then I realized she was walking on the walls. "Took you long enough to fight back." "Don''t-" I drew my dagger and my sword. "Get so cocky." A stream of water sted from the end of my sword and bolted straight for the witch. She vanished when she sunk back into the darkness and I stabbed the ground with my sword. Sending mes into the ground and through the entire room, there were no shadows left for her to use. She fell from the ceiling andnded in the sea of mes. But when I noticed that she hadnded on tattered wings, I immediately turned around to face the dragon which was still alive. It towered above me and swung its ws which I blocked with my dagger. Damn! Earth Dome would be a useful move right now. Aura Barrier and Energy Shield are only effective against projectiles and spells but not against physical attacks. I was being pushed by the dragon and I knew my strength wasn''t enough to beat it. So I sh Stepped away and appeared above the dragon. I stabbed the top of its head with my sword and it easily went through. However, even though I had impaled its head, it somehow still had consciousness. Even when I threw a round of Vtile Orbs into its mouth, it still didn''t fall. Then I recalled when it bellowed and something inside it glowed. That''s it! Even though skeletal creatures don''t have a heart, some of them have a core. That is what I need to aim for, the core. I skidded back and threw another wave of Vtile Orbs. However, that was just a diversion so I can get near and under the dragon. Vtile Orbs won''t affect me as long as I have Aura Barrier activated, though that won''t prevent it from shattering. The force of Vtile Orbs is deadly and powerful enough to break at least sixyers of Aura Barriers. All I need is to get close, that is all that matters. I quickly ran forward behind my Vtile Orbs and the dragon was ready to swipe its ws. I slid under my Vtile Orbs and right when I was under the dragon, they ignited. Activating multiple Energy Shields and an Aura Barrier, I managed not to get caught in the explosion and the dragon began to bellow again. When I nced up, I could see the light glowing inside it. This is my chance! I quickly wrapped my hands in dark energy which glowed purple and dug my hand into the dragon''s chest. Ever wonder what pressurized dark energy feels like? Feels like slime and cold mist at the same time. Liquid and gas, water and air, etc. Anyway, the core''s light began to fade away and I couldn''t find it anymore. The only solution I had was to enter it with my entire body. So I did what came into my mind, and eventually, I was inside the dragon. As I rummaged through the dark energy circling around its center, I eventually came in contact with something small and spherical. When I pulled it closer to see what it was, the dragon cried in pain. When I pulled the sphere towards me, there was a small purple shining orb in my hand. Finally I activated my Aura Barrier and the dark energy around me disappeared and all that was around me was mes and bones. I sh Stepped away with the core in my hand and the dragon suddenly copsed and fell into the sea of fire. The witch had just woken up and when she saw that her dragon had fallen, she jumped in the air and hung from the ceiling using a dark chain. "Impossible even the dragon?" A frantic look appeared on the witch''s face. Dmmmm~ The dragon''s core in my hand began to glow. That''s when I felt a massive wave of energy st into my face. A weird sensation filled my hand, and that''s when I had absorbed the core. "Huh?" Ding! [Leveled up!(53)] [Passive Skill Unlocked: Ethos Arsenal] [Ethos Arsenal Unlocked!] [Ethos Arsenal: With the souls obtained from specific defeated opponents, you are able to manifest them as physical weapons] [Soul Absorbed: Osiris] Interesting I could feel another presence inside me and it was brimming with anger. A dragon''s fuel is anger if I''m correct, it must''ve built up a massive amount of rage when it was still alive. Well, I''ll be happy to let it blow some steam. My body began to glow when I allowed the soul of Osiris to form. When the light died down, there was something different about my body. On my arms, legs, back, and face, I was equipped with some kind of armor made of bones. The gauntlets on my arms that kind of resembled a reptilian w were slim and fitted perfectly onto my arms. That went the same for the w-like greaves on my legs. The back armor was made up of many vertebrae which made a spine and had ribcages guarding the side of my chests. In addition to that, there was a tail that resembled the skeletal dragon''s tail; long, skinny, and had a pointed tip. Lastly, around my face was a mask that covered my mouth and my nose when equipped. [Osiris: Bones of the Grim Dragon imbued with necromantic energy that has been watched over by Osiris, one of the many lords of the underworld, grants the host monstrous power which can terrify even the undead| Effect: Augments host''s strength by 150% to 300% depending on status; Damage dealt to undead will be doubled; Host will be resistant to toxic substances when the mask is equipped] Interesting... "...wh-what are you?" The witch asked frighteningly. "I''m just a normal human," I responded. The witch gulped and she headed for the exit. Before she left, she summoned a horde of skeletons to attack me and buy her some time. I readied my fist and the skeletons flinched. The closer I got to them the more they moved back. Eventually, I reached the exit without even fighting them. I unted Osiris and smirked. Using Fallen Descent, I caused the entire cave to copse and sealed the entrance. Then I sprinted back up. It didn''t take long for me to catch up to her. Once she had run past the gate, I grabbed her shoulder and threw her against the wall. "Eek!" "If you don''t want to die, I suggest you listen to everything I say. Got that?" She shook as she nodded and huddled up against the wall. I backed up a few feet away from her before crossing my arms. Suddenly, my mask activated. Oh, that''s right, this mist is still active. Guess I should tell her to remove it, just not now. "Now then, answer my question. What is a witch doing in an underground chamber under a graveyard? Do you know that your mist is killing others?" The witch didn''t respond and looked off into another direction. I kneeled and turned her face towards me. "Talk, or I''ll just end you now," I said as I ced the ws on my gauntlets near her neck. "You can try, but it''s useless. Even I can''t kill myself." "What?" "I''ve already died, but instead of rotting away as a zombie would, I became a ghoul." Hmm, that would make sense. Ghouls are simr to zombies except they keep their human appearances with nigh-immortality due to their super regenerative abilities, enhanced strength, agility, perception, and feed on human flesh. They can also eat human food, but that doesn''t satisfy their hunger much. They also age slower than humans, but I don''t think I needed to say that... maybe. Anyway, I noticed a tear dripping onto the ground and I turned back towards the witch. "I just... need to avenge them." "Avenge who?" "The dead ones in this cemetery. As someone watched over by a reaper, I need to avenge everyone in this ce." I slowly withdrew my ws. She''s doing this to avenge the zombies huh? Interesting... "Keep talking, you have my attention." . . . Chapter 29: Cursed Witch Chapter 29: Cursed Witch The witch sat down and huddled herself as I sat on a dead trunk. "There are rare times when those that die are resurrected as ghouls," She began saying. "When theye back, they are tasked by the reaper to fulfill the wish of everyone in the cemetery that they are ced in. Troubled souls that won''t rest until their wish is fulfilled. Everyone in this cemetery... wants their murderer in." "I see. So you were tasked to avenge them." "Yes... and I know exactly who. But..." She gritted her teeth and then ced her hands over her head. A terrified expression would then show up on her face. "They''re scary! I can''t! How am I able to kill those that killed me!?" She was shaking and hugging herself. Suddenly her eyes shed andrge thorns made of bones protruded from the ground. Luckily they were nowhere near us, but it did make me a little cautious. "The ones that killed them is the one that killed you?" "Yes..." "What''re their names?" "I... I don''t remember... but they are currently in this mist right now. They should be dead but it''s impossible if they are being protected by that mask," She said, pointing to the mask that was wrapped around my neck. It was broken now since it was reced by Osiris. "Can you at least tell me what they look like? I''m sure you are able to do that." "Well... one wasrge and he looked menacing while the other had sses." It was pretty obvious who those two were. I just had to make sure if I was correct and this witch definitely proved me right. "Simon and Kyle. Are those two the ones you are talking about?" "Yes. You know them?" "Know them? Well, let''s just say that Simon really pisses me off and Kyle would make a bit of a good liar. Yes, I do." The witch nced at the floor and she stopped shaking. She then stood up and walked towards me. She would bump into me and I tilted my head a little confused. "Please... for the sake of everyone in this cemetery crying for revenge... and me, kill them. And if you can''t do that, at least give them the punishment they deserve for murdering these people from town. I don''t want my older brother to be their next victim. I''ll give you my life in exchange for their deaths." "Is that so...?" "They aren''t near the cemetery and due to the Reaper''s Favor, I am unable to leave this ce due to my mission to help everyone here. But that doesn''t prevent me from asking others. As long as they are gone, my mission here will bepleted and I may be able to rest." So this witch wants me to do the dirty work for her. Well, I can''t me her since she can''t leave this ce. But it''s also a good thing for me... After all, I''ll be the one spilling the blood. "If that is what you wish, then consider it done. I already have one person on the job, however, I don''t think they will be able to take out two at once." The witch looked up at me and there was a smile on her face. Damn, now that I look at her up close, she''s actually a little cute. I grabbed her shoulder and nudge her off my chest. "I''ll take them out. But first, tell me who killed the most." "I... I think it was Simon." Well, now I know who to definitely kill first. "Thank you. Now, I''ll take my leave. After I take them out, please withdraw your mist. I reckon you know how many lives you''ve already taken." The witch nodded as she dropped back on the ground. Before I exited the graveyard, I asked her what her name was. "My name...? It''s Ravyn. Ravyn Jaeger." My eyes widened at that answer and a smile appeared on my face but it was probably covered by Osiris'' mask. "I see..." I left the graveyard and pondered down the road. Tyid''s little sister, she died after being murdered by those two and she is supposedly dead, but she was resurrected by the reaper. Hmm, the weird thing is they look nothing alike though. Isn''t that interesting... and to think her level is higher than Tyid''s. I wonder what her level cap is. I didn''t check so I might as well do it now. On top of that, let''s see her talent rate. [Level 369; TLR: 61%; Level Cap: 369] Well, looks like these siblings have something inmon. They both already reached their max level and can''t level up any further. I wonder... "How long has it been since you''ve died?" "It''s been..." Ravyn got up and ran towards a grave. She knelt and looked at it closely. Then she turned to me. "What day is it?" "Hmm, let''s see... it''s the 18th of the 6th month. The year is 1201." That is what the year in this world is. They started counting years after the appearance of the first group of heroes. "Then it''s been almost 3 years since I''ve died." I walked over to the tombstone and took a look. [Here lies... Ravyn Jaeger] [1180 - 1198] That was what was written on the tombstone. So this is her grave. Well, the here lies really didn''t apply to her. "It''s been almost 3 years since I''ve separated from my family. I hope they are still doing ok." "One thing I can say is that Tyid is doing alright." "You know my brother? I-is he alright!?" She said as her expression lightened. "Well, I''ve met him and he''s definitely alive. We''re on good terms." "What about my father? My mother?" She said with an excited tone. "Calm down, I haven''t met them yet, but I''m sure they are still alive." "I hope so..." Hmm, she really turned friendly pretty quickly. But judging by the years on her date, she died at the age of 18. Since she is still alive, she is technically now 21 years of age. "Let me ask a question. Were you always born with dark powers? Or did this happen to you after you came back from the dead?" "My dark powers? Well, I was always born with them. It was fun since I was able to resurrect a few skeleton pups or two. I could also manipte shadows and make them do whatever I wanted to. But gradually as I kept on growing, my powers eventually became a threat." She looked over at the skeletal thorns. "My Unique Skill formed." "Your Unique Skill... the Reaper''s Evil Eyes?" "Yes. My eyes were formerly green before they were reced with these cursed white eyes. Everyone saw me as a creep whenever they saw my eyes. Whenever I was nervous or excited, I''d lose control of my energy and this would happen." She said pointing to the bone spikes. She then tapped the spikes, sending them sinking back into the ground. Green eyes, I recall Tyid having green eyes as well. Maybe they have one thing inmon... Cursed eyes... I wouldn''t really call them that, considering I sense significant power in them. "I wouldn''t call them cursed." I crossed my arms and turned my attention to the empty field in front of me. "What?" "They are lovely, considering they hold immense power just waiting to be noticed. I''ve also never seen such beautiful eyes in my life. Well, second." I like Kiyomi''s eyes more; they are just like ice, but Ravyn''s eyes arepletely white, like snow. Once I said that I noticed that there was a glint in her eyes. They weren''t empty anymore, and her eyes were much prettier than before. "N-no one has everplimented my eyes like that. My family has said simr things but not like that..." She began to hide her face with her twin tails. I grabbed her hands and gently took them away from her face. "Don''t hide your face, you''re beautiful. Were you always this beautiful before you became a ghoul?" "W-well... I really don''t know..." Her face began to redden and I couldn''t help but want to make fun of her more. "Hehe, so cute." "D-don''t say that about me...!" After fooling around with her a little longer, I eventually remembered what I was supposed to do. "I will be back. You stay- well, I don''t think I really needed to say that." As I walked out of the graveyard, Ravyn called out to me. "Wait!" I turned and asked what''s up. "What''s your name? You already know mine so... I want to know yours in exchange!" "My name huh?" I cross my arms and thought about it. Should I give her my name? Well, I already know hers so I might as well give her mine. "Just call me Nero. Now, I have two people to kill. See youter, Ravyn." I would then leave the vicinity, leaving Ravyn alone in the graveyard. I''m sure she''ll be talking to her undeadpanions while I''m off to kill those two. I haven''t spilled human blood ever since that day and to be honest, I am a bit excited. My hands were aching. I licked my lips as I could already see the oue of this fight. . . . Chapter 30: Punishment at Nigh Chapter 30: Punishment at Nigh Ding! A message popped up from the system as I was running in Kiyomi''s direction. [Osiris Skill Set has been Unlocked!] [Skill Obtained: Grim Dragon Cage(Lvl.1)] [Grim Dragon Cage: Encase your enemies in a cage made of the Grim Dragon''s bones| Effects: Summon an indestructible cage made of the Grim Dragon and trap them for 10 seconds or more if you have the required mana;| Conditions: Consumes 500,000 mana per use and 10,000 every second after the timer is up] [Skill Obtained: Grim Dragon Maw(Lvl.1)] [Grim Dragon Maw: The jaw of the Grim Dragon devours your enemies without hesitation| Effects: Summons the jaw of the Grim Dragon to trap or consume your foes| Conditions: Consumes 1,000,000 mana per use and gain 100,000 every entity consumed] [The further you level up the more skills you get] Interesting I''m looking forward to seeing what these can do. Once I''ve felt Kiyomi''s presence be higher, I stopped in my tracks and began to walk. Along the way, I saw people lying on the ground and I assumed they were the bodies of dead zombies. But upon closer inspection, I recognized that they were the bodies of the six others that had tagged along with us. I noticed some of them were severed into pieces and some were encased in mes, ice, anything able to be created by mana. Looks like those two managed to kill these guys. Since I don''t see Kiyomi''s body, I''m guessing she''s safe. But she won''t be able to take on two at once so I should go and help her. When I took a step forward, a body came flying at me and I quickly caught it. Once I saw the face belonging to this body, I was a bit relieved and a bit angry at the same time. It was Kiyomi, however, she had multiple wounds on her body and she was in her Kitsune form. Her clothes were slightly tattered and her breath was ragged. She turned her head and looked me in the eyes. A smile appeared on her face. "Master, you''re here." "Sorry to keep you waiting, Kiyomi." I cast Quick Regeneration on her and the injuries around her body began to heal. Once she was healed, Iid her against a tree. "You''ve done enough. I''ll take over now." "Master, they are strong. Please be careful." "Don''t worry, they won''t be able to kill me." I got up and appearing from the smoke were the two brothers. "Where is that Kitsune at...?" Simon said as he wandered around until he spotted me. "Hey, it''s him, brother! Let me at him, I''ll kill him in one go!" "No, Simon! I can sense his energy it''s too much! We can''t risk it, we must leave!" "But brother, I want him dead... you know what happens when I don''t kill my target!" "No, Simon! We are leaving now before we get caught!" While the two were arguing, I had thrown Vtile Orbs into the air and they became invisible after a few seconds. I''ll just leave those there and let them ignite themselves when they get in their range. It''s a good thing too because Vtile Orbs multiply every few seconds so after a minute has gone by, there won''t be just three or four, but around a hundred. Luckily, they can only split if they are sizable. "How about you guys stop arguing and focus on me?" I said as I walked closer to them. "Yeahe closer, I''m gonna smash you into pieces." "So much talking from a knucklehead. Did you really kill so many people with that tiny brain of yours? Must''ve been embarrassing every time they escaped and you needed your brother to stop them for you." "You!" In a fit of rage, he stomped the ground and he yelled. I felt a wave of mana heading towards me so I activated my Aura Barrier. "Disrespectful. It''s my turn now." "YOU-!" WHAAAM! A loud sound echoed through the air after I had punched Simon in the liver. "How did you-?" Simon who was in a bent position eventually fell unconscious and dropped onto the ground. I stretched my left arm and heard many of my bones cracking. Man, I should practice with my left hand more. Now that Simon was down, I turned my attention to Kyle. "Eek!" He shrieked as he dropped his staff and struggled to gain a proper stance. In fear, he began to back up. "I wouldn''t move if I were you," I warned him. He turned around and slowly moving towards him were many small bright orbs. "There is no escape for you. I''m going to give you guys a taste of your own medicine. Punishment is at nigh." Kyle turned around with a frightened look on his face. Suddenly he dropped his staff and dropped to the ground. "PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I BEG FOR YOUR FORGIVENESS! I APOLOGIZE FOR EVERYTHING I''VE DONE, FOR THE LIVES I''VE KILLED!" He was crying as he continued to beg. Is he really begging for forgiveness right now? Who the hell does that when he knows what''s going toe next? I walked over to him and wrapped my right leg in mes. "Forgiveness? I''m not the one you should be begging, you know." "Eek!" He yelped once again. I slowly rose my right leg pointing the end of my foot up in the air. Then, without any warning, I quickly brought the heel of my leg downward, delivering a devastating ax kick to the back of his head. ng! Crinkle~ When I looked to see what I had hit my right leg began to freeze. I quickly retreated as I melted the ice off my leg. "HAHAHA! Bet you never saw THATing!" Kyle cackled as he picked up his staff. There was ice all over his body but he was moving around as if that didn''t affect him. He also had a helmet made of ice, but that shattered a few secondster. "What the-?" Kyle himself was confused about how that happened, but I already knew how. Looks like his Ice Armor can only withstand a single powerful blow. So if I had hit him one more time, he would''ve been dead. That would''ve ruined the fun... "Come on." I beckoned. Kyle pointed his staff at me and a shard of ice flew straight towards me. I quickly weaved and sh Stepped to the side to regain my posture. Kyle proceeded to summon more ice shards at me, which I easily dodged. Then he pointed his staff towards the sky and a stream of ice bolted out from his staff. The ice stream traveled through the air and then it headed for me. Luckily, my Vtile Orbs were in the area. Ka-boom~! The ice stream was quickly neutralized. I threw another round into the air and let it do its thing. Returning my attention back to Kyle, he had an angered look on his face. "Y-you have dual sses? Are you perhaps a member of a hero party or the holy church? Or perhaps you are a demon!" "Who knows? I don''t even know what I am myself." In order for one to gain dual or more sses, they must be a part of a hero''s party, part of a church, or they''re demons. It is also possible for one to achieve dual sses without being any of those but that is a rare asion and mostly associated with nobles. Heroes, however, don''t need those limits and can have up to 4 sses. But that is different for my case. Now then, back to the fight. "I''m going to kill you, take this!" He tapped the ground with his staff and suddenly I felt an electrical charge run through my body. Quickly, I activated Aura Barrier before an electrical field surrounded us. "I see..." That was a close call... "A nice little trick you have, but I can do better." I ced my hand on the ground and amassed mana into the floor. When I performed Grim Dragon Cage, the results were... satisfying. Immediately from below Kyle, bones erupted from the ground and wrapped around him, preventing him from moving. "Wha-? Let me out at once!" "You''re in no position to talk. Now quiet down." It''s time for the other brother''s turn. However, when I turned to look at Simon, he was gone. Just disappeared. Clutch! "Hmm?" Huge muscr arms wrapped around me and squeezed me in. I didn''t need to look over my shoulder to know who it was. "AHAHA! You are mine!" He began to tighten his grip to try to suffocate me. However, he had some time struggling as my armor was preventing him from strengthening his grip. "What the-?" "Looks like you brothers have some things inmon, one being weak." "You-!" Krrsh! Simon''s gaped his mouth open and blood spat out. He''d let go of me and look at his stomach, noticing he was impaled by Osiris'' tail. "So that''s what the tail was for. I thought it was just for show." I grinned as I returned my gaze back at Simon. "Don''t worry, you aren''t going to die... yet." I withdrew the tail and cast Quick Regeneration on Simon; the hole in his stomach closing up. I turned towards Kyle who was trapped in the Grim Dragon Cage and I released him. "Honestly, I thought you two would put up more of a fight. But I guess trash will always be trash." Walking over to him, I grabbed his hair and begun dragging him. I also dragged Simon with Osiris'' tail. "Wh-where are you taking us?" "Just dragging you guys back to town, what else?" . . . Chapter 31: Retribution Chapter 31: Retribution "W-why are we going to town?" "Huh? Isn''t that where you want to be? I''m just doing you a little favor." A look of distrust came upon his face and that was exactly the look I wanted to see. Just wait, you''ll see exactly what I have in store. When we reached the outskirts of the mist, I tossed them out into the town. I could already sense many citizens standing outside the mist. Now then... Deactivating Osiris and drawing my dagger, I''d sh my face and my arms. I also tossed the mask away. Then I sheathed my dagger and purposely limped out of the mist while breathing heavily. The vigers were a bit shocked to see the two brothers but they were terrified when they saw me. I''d put up a horrified face as the old man from the guild came towards me. "What the hell happened?!" He demanded as the crowd eventually got bigger and noticed the state I was in. "Th-these two..." I spoke in a shaky and scared voice. "They murdered everyone in front of my eyes! I saw everything! They even tried to kill me!" I purposely coughed up some blood and fell to the ground. Some of the citizens rushed to my side and helped me up. "No! That''s not true! W-we would never do that!" Kyle tried to talk it out as his arms shook. "Do you have any proof?" The old man asked me. "No... I don''t... but this mist... it doesn''t kill people. All it does is slow one down and make it hard to breath-" I responded until someone in the crowd interrupted. "So why did people die when they came out of the mist?" "They died because these two murdered them! They killed them as they were breathing in the mist to make it look like they died from the mist!" I clutched my arm in pain and hyperventted. "I can prove it... after all I did... breathe in some of the air..." I looked around and asked someone for water as my throat was a little dry. After I was refreshed, I stood back up on my feet. "The witch..." Everyone focused their attention onto me when I mentioned her. "I''ve met with the witch face to face. She said she would spare my life for the souls of these two... for what they''ve done to the others..." A nervous look appeared on both Simon''s and Kyle''s as everyone red at them. "The witch is able tomunicate with the dead... and she''s found out that they''ve killed them. That serial killer... they are them." "That''s not true! W-we would never do that!" Kyle tried to retort but when so many people are looking down on you, the pressure is... intense. "If their souls are offered to the witch, then she will step away from this town and you''ll be set free. With the crimes they''vemitted, will you let them go? The many lives they murdered... will you really let them get away with that!?" Everyone stared at each other and it was quiet. ... "We... should throw them away!" Someone in the crowd shouted and soon people began to join in. "Yeah! Toss them to the witch!" "They murdered our families and friends, kill them!" In a matter of seconds, everyone now agreed with me. "They deserve to die!" "My mother, my father, they''ve killed them, so we should kill them in return!" The brothers got up and attempted to flee. However, the old man appeared in front of them. "O-old man!?" "You two... now I know... who killed my daughter..." A figure slowly appeared behind the old man and it snatched the two by the neck. The old man then turned towards me. "She requests you to bring them to her?" "Y-yes sir..." "Then do it... I want these two out of my sight." He then tossed the two in front of the mist. Someone from the guild cast a healing spell on me and my injuries faded away. I walked towards the two and grabbed them by their back cor. "I will return... with the others..." Then I entered the mist while dragging the two with me. *** "You-!" "Impressive, right? I think I would make a great actor. However, I''m not that confident in my... abilities." A minuteter, we appeared in the graveyard. "Why are we here?" Kyle asked before I kicked him into Simon. "I wonder... how many people have you killed? Cause I''m not going to count." I created a single Vtile Orb in my hand and threw it up into the air. Once it reached a certain height, I remotely detonated it. Boom! A bright sh followed the explosion and a few secondster, a horde of zombies appeared and surrounded us. The savage and lifeless looks on their face were directed at the two brothers. "Well, isn''t this a lot? You must''ve killed a lot of them. Though, I''m still wondering what the exact amount is...?" "163... including me..." That''s when Ravyn appeared, and she was standing right behind the two brothers. They yelped and fell to the ground. Ravyn''s eyes glowed and they were suddenly held down by skeletal arms. I equipped Osiris and walked up to them. "Now then, I wonder how I should kill you two. Should I... dissect you and feed your guts to them? Behead you slowly and painfully? Or perhaps you want me to rip your arms and legs off one by one? No matter, you die either way." Kyle grit his teeth and attempted to persuade me. "P-please think about it. We are all killers, you know. Y-you really think our lives should be so useless to be tossed away just like that? Think about what we can do together. We can ughter everyone, everyone!" A sadistic look appeared on Kyle''s face and his true nature was released. I shook my head in disappointment. "Yes, we may be killers. However, you murder innocent lives. Ravyn here... was one of your victims. Even if I did join forces with you, she won''t let you get away." The brothers began sweating as they turned their heads toward Ravyn who had a furious look in her eyes. "There is no escape for you two." I pointed at them. "You either die by my hands, or hers. Choose. I''m giving you a chance you know. My methods may sound torturous, but there is no knowing what she''ll do to you." The brothers'' fear was clearly visible now. They may enjoy killing and causing death, but they definitely fear death itself. I chuckled as they looked at me and asked for mercy again. "P-please... spare us..." The smile on my face quickly turned upside down. I would give them a face of disgust as I grabbed their necks. "Say that to the ones you''ve killed... in hell that is." The brothers screamed as I tore their throats and they fell onto the ground lifelessly. I took a few steps back and the zombies eventually jumped them, devouring their flesh and tearing their bodies into pieces. I dripped their blood into my mouth and gulped them down. [Passive Skills Obtained: Allotment(Unique Skill)] [Allotment (Unique Skill): Share the spoils obtained using Derivation and Allocation to your subordinates| Effects: Distribute the levels and skills you''ve gained using Derivation and Allocation to your party members if you want to] Allotment... a skill that allows me to share power that I obtained using Derivation and Allocation. That''s interesting... Well, I guess it wouldn''t hurt to give Kiyomi some of these levels. [Levels in store: 250] [Passive Skills in store: Extreme Might, Great Sword Proficiency, Berserker Arts, Wind Maniption, Water Maniption, Lightning Maniption] [Skills in store: Inertia Fist, Wolf''s Blood, Lightning Field, Ice Armor, Frost Bolt] I distributed Wolf''s Blood, Ice Armor, and Frost Bolt to Kiyomi with the addition of Extreme Might and Water Maniption. I distributed as many levels as I could to Kiyomi until she reached her level cap and imed the rest of the skills and levels for myself. "Thank you, Nero," Ravyn said, expressing her gratitude. "It''s no big deal. Those bastards deserve it anyway." I should check up on Kiyomi. Kinda dumb for me to just leave her there. "I want to express my gratitude. So... if there is anything I can do for you, you can always say it." She gave me an attentive look, and I kinda got suspicious. Anything... I didn''t really know what to think of... "Uhh, I don''t really know, but I''ll think about it. Now I think it''s about time you take this mist down. I had to lie that you never killed anyone so just take it down before I get caught." "Will do." After that, Ravyn had withdrawn her mist and everyone was brought back to town. Luckily it turns out they were still alive and would''ve died if Kiyomi hadn''t saved them in the nick of time. However, they don''t really know it''s Kiyomi since she was in her Kitsune form. "A Kitsune saved you?" "Yeah, she was... pretty." I looked at Kiyomi and she blushed from my gaze. No disagreeing with that statement. *** I was pretty tired when I got back and decided to sleep early. ... ... ... [Loading...] ... ... ... [ss routes loaded...] [One ss is avable for an upgrade...] [Please choose one of the three paths you would like to walk through...] [Chaotic Mage: An agent of chaos, destined to be a god of destruction. This path will provide the host with destructive and unfathomable power| Effects: Fire, Lightning, and Dark Magic attack damages will be doubled; Chances to learn new skills will rise| Limitations: None] [Tranquil Mage: Man of tranquility, always at a peaceful state of mind. Walking this path will always keep the host in a peaceful state| Effects: Water, Earth, and Light Magic attack damages will be doubled; Chances to learn new skills will rise| Limitations: Hostility will be suppressed] [Arcane Mage: Wizard of the arcane, mysterious in both physical and mental aspects. Down this path leaves unknown results and prevents one from learning any new abilities in exchange for a better skill| Effects: Chances to learn stronger skills will greatly rise| Limitations: Lose the ability to learn new skills meaning Derivation, Allocation, and Grave Robber will be taken away] Wow... thatst one kinda sucks not gonna lie. Sure it may sound intriguing but looking at the limitations, that kinda sucks. To lose the ability to learn new skills means the effects of Derivation and Grave Robber will be taken away. Yeah, I''ll pass on that option. Tranquil Mage sounds nice and all but my hostility is what makes me... me! Sure my magic attacks will rise but I only have 1 out of the 3 so... another pass. That only gives me the option of choosing the first one... which I was going to pick from the start. I should''ve just said that but whatever. I choose Chaotic Mage. [Chaotic Mage has been selected] [Loading...] ... ... ... [Done!] [Mage --> Chaotic Mage] Good... now that that is done... LET ME SLEEP! . . . Chapter 32: Second Party Member Chapter 32: Second Party Member The next day had passed. After this event, the citizens all thanked me for managing to get rid of the serial killers, aka the two brothers. The reward that the old man had offered was given out to the others. 100 tinum coins and a ticket to the next rank. Now, I was a Brown Rank... yeah that doesn''t sound cool. Anyway, since the mist was gone, people got to visit the graveyard again which was cleaned up before Ravyn took down her mist. People got to visit the cemetery again to mourn for their deceased ones. The corpses belonging to Simon and Kyle, the two brothers were nowhere to be seen when I got back there but I did see a spot that was stained with their blood. All I can say is that they are definitely gone. Currently, it was dark and I was wandering through the graveyard when I noticed there was someone sitting in front of Ravyn''s grave. It didn''t take me long to figure out who it was. "Mourning you little sister?" I asked as I walked up to him. Tyid turned around and nodded. "Yes... today is the day she died after all." "Is that so?" Rumble~ I looked up at the sky as thunder boomed behind the dark clouds. In just a few seconds, it began raining again. "Nero..." "Yes?" "Thank you for avenging my sister..." ... "So you knew... How?" I asked curiously. "I just know. I can see it. The killer in your eyes. It''s just my intuition, but I know you were the one to kill them." Tyid stood up and faced me. He ced his hand on my shoulder. "Nero... have you killed innocent people?" He asked. "Please, don''t lie." "..." "..." Hmph... "Of course not. Who do you think I am?" I nudge his hand off my shoulder as I cracked my neck. "I don''t go killing people because I want to. I only do it when it''s necessary or when they deserve it." I waited for Tyid to say something and a smile appeared on his face. "I see... guess you aren''t lying." I picked a rose off the ground and ced it on Ravyn''s grave. "Tyid, tell me about your sister. What was she like before she died?" I was curious. Ravyn only told me how she became a necromancer but not her childhood, so I might as well get it off of her brother. "Ravyn... she was... a nice girl. Friendly, adorable, charming, and always curious. She was only a harmless girl, even after she awakened her powers." A contented looked appeared on Tyid''s face. He then continued. "At first, she was feared by others as she had the ability to control the dead. But the only thing she did was reanimate a dead puppy. Of course, everything is fine as long as you don''t get bitten." Tyid went on about Ravyn and I managed to learn a couple of things about her. Though most of them weren''t important. "Ravyn''s eyes changed when she became an adult. She was never guaranteed a normal life after that. It just... angered me." He began to clench his hands. "Who the hell judges someone because of their eyes? Just because of a slight change in appearance and she''s be a creep." I patted his shoulders as he began to tear up. Luckily the rain was masking his tears but I can tell. "Did you love your sister? Even after that?" "Yes... no matter what she was, I still loved her to the very end." Is that so...? "Tyid, I have a question for you." "What is it?" "If I had the ability to revive your sister from the dead, would you want me to do it? Think about it, you could meet her once again. I may not have the power to do so but if I did, would you ept the offer?" Tyid hesitated for a minute and looked up at the dark sky. I can tell he was considering the option but what came out of his mouth was totally unexpected. "No... never." Even I was a little surprised there. I asked why he would decline the offer. "I don''t want my sister toe back to this... hellhole. She''s already in a better ce so it would be rude to bring her to this wretched ce. I... would decline your offer... as much as I want to see her again." "Is that so...?" "Now... I should get going," He sniffed and wiped his tears away. "It''s getting dark and I''m betting your lover is getting worried about you since you are out here sote." "Hmph, I guess you are right. But I''ll be staying here for a little longer." "Ahh, I see. Well then, I''ll head back first. Oh Nero, want to uhh... get a couple of drinks?" "Hmm, maybe next time." He nodded and before heading off. When I was certain he was gone, I walked over to the small shed in the middle of the graveyard. "I must say, your brother loves you very much and even cares about you even when your dead." The gates opened and Ravyn walked out with swollen eyes. "He''s still the same... even after I''m gone. He''s still the kind brother I know." "Yeah, I wished I had a brother like that. Now Ravyn, has your curse been lifted?" "Yes, I can roam around freely now. Though I will still be watched over, I can do anything I want now unless the reaper says otherwise. However, I don''t have any ce to go. I could go back to my family but I don''t want to cause them any more trouble. They are all humans and I''m a ghoul, who knows when my hunger will take over and I consume them because of it. I think it''s best I stay here and seal myself." She turned around and grabbed the gate to close it but I snatched her hand before that. "Huh?" "Well, there is always one thing you can do. But that''s only if you want to do it." "And what is that?" "How does joining my party sound? Of course, you can decline, but it''s up to you. If you do decline, I''ll leave you be. But if yo-" "I''ll do it!" She quickly responded. "I didn''t- are you sure?" "Yes. I won''t regret my decision. I want to serve you." "Well then, you''ll have to pledge your fidelity. Then I''ll ce a crest on you, showing me your loyalty." Ravyn nodded and began pledging her fidelity to me. After that, I implemented the Mark of Fidelity onto her right arm. [Ravyn added to the party] Whoosh~ I noticed that there was a spiriting towards us and I was about to equip Osiris until Ravyn stopped me. "It''s the reaper, it''s alright," Ravyn said as she walked up to the reaper. The reaper began to speak in anguage I couldn''t understand but Ravyn understood him perfectly. I just assumed it was speaking thenguage of the dead since she knows that. After a few secondster, the reaper vanished. "What did it say?" I asked. "I was assigned another mission." "Another one? In another graveyard?" "No, this is much different." She then looked at me and smiled. "My mission is to serve you until you die. That means I''ll be in your care from now on." I see, so it''s just another curse to chain her to me. I''d say it isn''t necessary, but I''ll let it slide this time. I don''t like forcing others to do things but if it''s the reaper telling her to do this, then I won''t take my chances. I don''t want my soul reaped before I have the chance to aplish my mission. "Well, now that that''s settled... I gotta exin a few things to her..." I said as I began biting my nails. "Her?" Ravyn asked as she tilted her head. "Yes... her..." *** I was in my room sitting on my bed with Kiyomi sitting next to me. She had an exasperated look on her face. "Master... you pervert." "H-hey now." Yeah, returning to the inn, I had brought Ravyn along with me. Actually, she just followed me and I didn''t really say anything. I bought her a room next to mine and I felt like introducing her to Kiyomi... but she came to us instead. The thing is, she caught us and she thought I was... "cheating" on her. "Look, Kiyomi, we didn''t do such things." "Then why were you both in the same room?" "Well, a few things happened and she pledged her fidelity to me as you did. She''s another party member. There is nothing affectionate going on between us two alright?" "Master, do you really trust her? Wasn''t she the one that terrified this town because of her mist?" "Well yes, that is true but I''m giving her another chance. She may have been the root cause but those two brothers were the real problem. They''ve done more damage. And either way, her skills as a necromancer will be useful." Kiyomi still didn''t trust me. "I would never lie to you. Trust me, Kiyomi. Would I ever lie to you?" "...fine." I sighed in relief as I took off my wet clothes. "A-achoo!" I sneezed as I took my vest off. Aah, great, I knew I should''ve bought an umbre. "Master, are you sick?" "N-no Kiyomi, just a little cold." "Well, if master is cold, he can always warm up using... me." When I turned around, she had taken her pajamas off and was lying on the bed. "Is that so...?" A grin appeared on my face. "Well then, I don''t think I''ll be getting any sleep today, but I think I deserve something for my hard work." . . . Chapter 33: Transfer To Maroon City Chapter 33: Transfer To Maroon City The next day came. I helped Ravyn register herself a new identity. Since her appearance would look a bit frightening in front of others, I bought her a mask and provided her with a cloak. Her new alias was Ravyn Yeager. Yeah, not much has changed. I asked her if she could just change a bit of her first name but she refused. She said changing her surname was enough. I couldn''t do much but listen to herints. Then I just gave up. Anyway, I was also in the process of helping her be an adventurer but then someone called for me. "Mister Nero?" I turned and there was a woman looking at me. "Yes?" "The master wants to see you." "Master?" Oh yeah, the old man. Wonder what he wants from me. Kiyomi took my ce to help Ravyn register as an adventurer and I followed the woman. We arrived in front of the old man''s room and entered. Inside, the old man was sitting behind a table which was piled with a lot of papers. Must be tough being a guildmaster in a town like this. Considering so many lives have been lost. I bowed to the old man before sitting down. The old man opened his eyes and looked at me to inspect me. Then he nodded. "Mister Nero, do you know why I called you here?" "Nope. No clue." "Y-you really don''t know?" I tilted my head. "Know what?" "Hmm, normally one would be extremely excited by this but I guess you really are clueless. Very well, I will tell you why you are here." He cleared his throat before speaking again. "Nero, I have brought you up here today to tell you that you are going to be transferred to the guild branch residing in Maroon city." ... "Oh... that''s it?" "Yes." "I see... so when am I leaving?" "Oh... well you can leave when you want to. You can even leave now if you wanted." Aah... is that so? "Am I the only one getting this invitation?" "Well, some of the others did receive this invitation, but they declined it." "Then can I have them? I just need two for two others." "Well, it depends how strong they are." "Oh trust me, they are skillful, just not strong enough to beat me... but they could if they worked together, but I doubt that would happen." I whispered thest part to myself. Yeah... I wonder how strong they would be if they worked together. "Anyway, we would like to leave tomorrow." "Is that so? Then I will ready a ride for you tomorrow. What time do you want it ready?" "The afternoon would do alright." "I see then." I got up and took the invitations to Maroon city and shook his hand. Then I was shown my way out the door. The girls were at the quest board looking for any tasks to do. Of course, there was nothing interesting. "Hey, you two." I greeted. "Eek!" Ravyn yelped under her mask and my confusion levels shot up. "Wee back, master," Kiyomi said as she walked to my side. "What''s up with her?" I asked pointing to Ravyn who looked panicked about something. "Nothing, we just had what you call a girl''s talk." "Girl''s ta- nevermind, don''t tell me." Girls... never can really understand them... "Anyway, we should get anything we can. We''ll be leaving tomorrow to head to Maroon city." I then handed Kiyomi a tinum coin and several gold coins. "You go with Ravyn to buy whatever, I have someone to meet up with." It was getting dark and I needed time for myself. So I went to the bar located near the inn. "Nero! You''re here." "Tyid... what the hell?" There was Tyid, sitting at the bar with many bottles behind him. There were others drinking too... well actually everyone in here was drinking. I didn''t see a single customer not drinking alcohol except the bartender, of course. This ce... well, it reeked of alcohol and the smell was just invading my nose. I would''ve passed out there and then, but luckily I have a high tolerance to alcohol. Being born in a family of nothing but abusive drinkers is a bit of a good thing. I walked over and sat next to Tyid. "Here ya go!" He poured me a ss of some low quality beer but I snatched the beer bottle away and gave him my ss. "Tyid, how much did you have before I got here?" "Huh? Eeh... six?" "He had eight," The bartender answered and I palmed my face. "I think you had enough. Now, I''ll drink while you go sober up." Jeez, can''t even handle his alcohol. Maybe I should buy a few for the journey to Maroon. I heard it''s pretty far away from here and it would take at least a few weeks to get there. Once I get there, I won''t be dealing with low-level adventurers anymore. I heard from the old man that Maroon city is mostly inhabited by adventurers with levels reaching up to 5,000. So if I were topete with them, I''d be the underdog. I''m gonna need to continue getting stronger. The problem is how I''m going to get stronger. There are barely any high-level monsters for me to take out and there hasn''t been news of any demon invasions. But despite all that, I did get something new. Ethos Arsenal, that''ll be useful for the future. Getting weapons using the souls of the foes I''ve defeated. "S-sir... I think you''ve drunk enough." The bartender says and I turned. "Huh?" "Sir, you''ve drunken over 40 bottles." I looked over to the side and there was a stack of empty bottles. Man, I think my alcohol tolerance has risen ever since I''ve been reborn. That would make sense since I''ve drunken all the wine in my Spacial Storage already. "Oh... get me one more and then I''ll be on my way," I said as I ced a tinum coin on the table. "By the way, get me that, that, and that," I added as I pointed to the drinks on the top shelf. Once I bought those, I carried Tyid back to his ce and then I went to mine while chugging down my bottle of beer until I heard a scream. "AAAAAHH!" The scream came from the dark alley next to me. Oh great, what is it now? As I approached the alley to get a closer view, I noticed that there was a young girl who was being chased by demonic-looking dogs. What the-? "S-sir! Save me!" The girl yelled. Suddenly she was knocked down by one of the wolves and they began chewing her shoes. I palmed my face before entering the alley. I walked up to the girl and got her up on her feet. I then took another sip from my beer before giving it to her. "Hold this for me and wait out there... because what''s about toe next is rated R." The girl didn''t understand thest part because I meant it that way. She eventually left either way. I''d begin cracking my knuckles as multiple demonic-looking dogs began to appear from the shadows. "Don''t worry. I''ll give you all a share of what E-rated fist tastes like." I''d say as I equipped Osiris. "And while I''m at it, I think I''ll feed the dragon too." My gauntlets bellowed as if the dragon was actually still alive and the demon dogs began to whimper in fear. But then I got dizzy, and just decided to kill them off quickly using Grim Dragon Maw. Grim Dragon Maw was kind of insane. Out from the ground came a jaw simr to a dragon''s and it ate up the dogs like they were candy. I got 2 levels out of that. Sadly, they didn''t get to taste my fists. But I didn''t want to get dirty, and I was also tired. I walked out of the inn and the little girl was waiting. I grabbed the bottle from her hand and took another sip. Eventually, her parents came and that was my cue to leave. After getting back to the inn, my mind was beginning to feel fuzzy. Looks like I''ve hit my limit. 49 bottles... I managed not to fall as I walked up the stairs and it took me a while to find my room since my vision was blurry. Oh god... it''s a good thing I booked a ride for the afternoon and not the morning, or else I would bete. I''ll just take a... goodnight''s rest. When I took my clothes off, I jumped onto the bed and began to dose off until I heard the door open. "Oh... Kiyomi, I don''t think I can do it tod-" But when I expected Kiyomi, what I saw was actually Ravyn. Kiyomi was nowhere to be seen, but for some reason, I felt her presence. "N-Nero... I want to talk," Ravyn said as she shifted around nervously. "Uhh... ok?" . . . Chapter 34: Naughty Girl... (R-18) Chapter 34: Naughty Girl... (R-18) Ravyn entered and sat herself on my bed. I went ahead and casually sat next to her. She was wearing a ckce nightdress which revealed her long slender arms and legs. She had her smooth and silky hair down and I would''ve mistaken her for another woman if I hadn''t noticed her smooth pale skin and eyes. Her beauty right now was currently on par with Kiyomi''s... Anyway, the atmosphere was silent. Not a noise was made. I eventually noticed that Ravyn had her gaze set on me. I wondered why for a few seconds but remembered I didn''t have a shirt on and it was showing my muscr physique. I got up and picked my shirt off the ground. "W-wait." I turned around as Ravyn squirmed around nervously and I squinted my eyes in suspicion. Why is she here in my room again? Oh yeah. "Didn''t you have something to say? You didn''te to me because you had a bad nightmare didn''t you?" I teased and Ravyn became flustered. "O-of course not! I''m not a child!" "You sure act like one." Ravyn pouted. She then turned and crossed her arms. "Meanie." I couldn''t help but snicker as I went to the door. "By the way, where is Kiyomi?" "Huh? She said she went out but she didn''t take her coat with her." "I see... well, I''ll be right back. I''m just getting myself a coffee." "O-oh... alright." I closed the door behind me, leaving Ravyn alone in my room. After I got my coffee and arrived in front of my room door, I heard noisesing from the other side. I used Stealth and pressed my ear against the door. "Nnn...!" What the...? From the other side of the door, I heard what sounded like a muffled moan. With Wolf''s Blood sight, I''d take a look through the door. On my bed, Ravyn was touching herself. Her hand beneath her crotch as she fondled with her own boob. "Mmmph...Nero...!" My, my... Ravyn, naughty girl aren''t you? Is this what you were nning on doing? To charm me with your seductive body so I''d take you to bed. How dirty... I also saw something else... but it wasn''t really important. I knocked on the door and I could see Ravyn stop and fix herself. "Sorry it took a while, there was a line." "I-is that so...?" She was breathing heavily and I could clearly see the steaming from her mouth. I pretended not to notice but I could see the stain on my bed. I took another sip of my coffee and then sat back on the bed, away from the stain. I waited till she looked like she had settled down, then I grinned. "I wonder who you were thinking about?" Her face quickly turned bright red and she jumped away from the bed. "Y-you heard me?!" She said, flustered. I chuckled lightly at her reaction. It was just what I was looking for. "I-I...!" She was trying to think of an alibi, but it was practically useless. I got up from the bed and ced my hand on her shoulder. "If you want, we could do it." I then ced my mouth next to her ear and whispered. "All you have to do is say it. Of course, you can decline, but either way, I already know." She stood still with a flustered face and didn''t say a word. "If you stay quiet, then I''ll take that as a no," I said giving her a choice. After I finished my coffee, I put on a mantle and walked towards the door. "I''ll be going out to find Kiyomi, I think it''s prettyte to be out." I grabbed the handle and opened the door. But just before I walked out the door. She spoke. "W-wait...!" I turned around and she tackled me onto the ground before giving me a rough kiss. I grabbed her arms. When I got back on my feet, I pushed her onto the bed and locked the door. "You''re a lewd girl, you know? Could''ve just asked from the beginning." I''d say as I took my clothes off. Ravyn had an embarrassed look on her face as she stared at my cock. She tried to hide behind her hands, but it was useless to hide it away from me. "You were ying with yourself earlier but you were interrupted when I entered. I apologize so to pay you back, I''ll help you out." Iid next to her and stroked her legs before touching her important part. "W-where are you tou-! Aaaah...!" She moaned as I inserted a finger into her vagina. I could feel her insidespress my finger as I move it in and out. When I think it was time, I inserted another finger. "Aaah...Nnn...!" Ravyn was holding her moans back as she was drowning in pleasure. "N-Nero, not so fa-! Nnn...!" It was inly obvious she liked it, but she was holding herself back. "It''s useless, you are contradicting yourself every second you hold back." "B...but people will hear us! Ngh...!" "Let them... you don''t have to hold anything back. I''ll be taking care of you now." Soon she reached her climax and an expression full of ecstasy was imnted on her face. I noticed there was another spot on the bedsheets which is bothersome to clean, but it doesn''t matter since I''ll be leaving tomorrow. But anyway- "It''s a bit rude to climax first before I do, you know?" "I-I''m sorry... it just felt so good..." "I''m thankful for thepliment. But don''t you think you should save that after the main event?" I''d whisper into her ear as I grabbed her legs and pulled her closer to me. "P-please be gentle. It''s my first time you know?" She said bashfully. "Will do. After all, you are already wet enough down here." I gently rubbed the tip of my rod against her pussy. Then I began to push it in. "Eek!" Ravyn yelped. "Rx, that was only the tip." "The tip-!?" I pushed in deeper and a sharp cry of pain uttered from her mouth. She wrapped her arms around my back, pulling me closer. Then she sank her fangs into my shoulder and began sucking as a vampire would. Now I''m wondering if she''s actually a vampire and not a ghoul. It stung, but the pain eventually subsided as pleasure took over. On the other hand, I saw blood leak from her vagina as I thrusted slowly. I basically had already made my payback. "Aaah...Aaah...Nero..." Ravyn''s sharp nails dug into my back and just like her bite, it stung. They were definitely sharp enough to prate my skin but definitely not my flesh. That was a good sign. Her grip began to loosen up but then she wrapped her arms around my head and I was buried in between her soft breasts. Crap, she definitely rivals Kiyomi in looks! If I was blind, I would definitely mistake Ravyn for Kiyomi and Kiyomi for Ravyn. Ravyn grabbed my head and kissed me on the lips. Our tongues entwined and shared our saliva. But not even that was enough. She eventually took over and began to invade every inch of my mouth as I thrusted harder. Wait a minute! I''m a bit curious now. Doesn''t giving someone my saliva also count as bodily fluids as well? Meaning the skill Exceed should activate by now considering that we are kissing for so long. Ding! [The chances of Exceed activating with bodily fluids such as blood or saliva only grants an extremely small chance. However, semen has a definite chance of activating Exceed as it ispletely made of your own life essence] I see... Meanwhile, I was about to let loose and I could tell Ravyn was also about to reach her climax as well. Crap, my libido is slowly taking over and I''ll eventually be a beast that can think of nothing but sex. It was because of Ravyn. As she was a virgin, she was tight. It was just like the first time I did it with Kiyomi. I can cum any minute now, but I was holding back on purpose just so I can satisfy Ravyn. I also did the same with Kiyomi my first time. "Haa... Haa... I''m gonnae!" Ravyn''s expression eventually became that simr to an ahegao. At that moment, I came immediately inside her. "Nnnnnnnn! It''s so... warm..." Ding! [Ravyn''s Level Cap has been raised by 15(Level Cap: 384)] [Skills in Store: Reanimation] I pulled out and sperm poured out from her pussy. Ravyn twitched as she made a face only you would see in ero games. "Nero... I love you." I heard her mutter. I didn''t respond... because I wonder what she would say. "It felt so... good. I want to do it... again." Ravyn said as she slowly prowled towards me. "We will... but I want to see what she has to say first." I got up and walked towards the closet before opening it. Inside the closet was none other than Kiyomi. . . . Chapter 35: Dirty Girls (R-18) Chapter 35: Dirty Girls (R-18) "Ma-master-!" Kiyomi gasped in surprise. I snatched her by the arm and pulled her out of the closet. Then I threw her onto the bed. "Must''ve been hard watching me do it with another girl considering you left a wet spot in the closet." Earlier when I used Wolf''s Blood, I had noticed that Kiyomi was hiding in the closet. I didn''t know why but she must''ve nned this considering she had Ravyn lie for her. A few thoughts were wandering through my mind but the main thought was why she was hiding there. She didn''t even try to stop us when we started doing it. "I-I''m sorry" Kiyomi apologized meekly as tears began to trail down her face. I was still confused why she did is so I asked for answers. "Why were you hiding in the closet away from me? You do know it''s kind of useless since I can see you even through walls. Also, why did you even allow this to take ce?" Unable to make an excuse, she confessed. "I figured that Ravyn had feelings for you and she had difficulty expressing them. I saw that she was suffering because of that and that reminded me when I held these feelings for you. After hearing Ravyn''s story, I couldn''t help but want her to feel happiness as well. She wanted to confess to you, as that thought was paining her. I didn''t want her to suffer so I came up with this n." Is that so? She did all this for Ravyn I sighed as I couldn''t get mad at her. Her kindness is not to be taken advantage of. But to think she had to hold herself back for this to happen. A feeling of guilt wandered around my heart but to think she would do that for others. She values other people''s happiness more than hers... that I respect. "I see..." I red at Ravyn who flinched and cowered behind Kiyomi. "I believe you owe her an apology. If it wasn''t for her kindness, this wouldn''t have been possible." Ravyn nodded and apologized to Kiyomi. "I''m sorry, Kiyomi." "It''s alright. At least your feelings were requited." The twoughed it out and gave each other a hug. Hmm, I don''t think I ever said I liked Ravyn out loud but I can''t deny that I do like her so I''ll just let them believe whatever they want. I turned around and drank another sip of my coffee. Crap, I think I need an energy drink or something better than coffee because I''m getting tired. Usually, I''d be more energetic when I have sex but I think it''s because of that beer. Well, I did drink a lot of them after all. "It seems master is tired... but his little one isn''t," I heard Kiyomi say. "It would be inappropriate to call that... little," Ravyn whispered. "Hehe, you are right," Kiyomi spoke. I turned around all confused until Kiyomi wrapped her arms around me and gave me a passionate kiss. "Eeh! That''s not fair!" Ravyn yelled. Kiyomi continued to kiss and circle her tongue around mine until she pushed me onto the bed. That''s when my body began to heat up. "Just a little candy and you''ll be all energetic again." Kiyomi had an eerie grin on her face and I knew exactly what she had done to me. She had an aphrodisiac in her mouth and had me take it. No wonder I suddenly feelpletely aroused again. I took breaths before grabbing onto both Kiyomi and Ravyn, throwing them onto the bed. "We''re going to do it until I''m satisfied..." I''d say as I turned the lights off. They both looked at me with a seductive smile and nodded. I grabbed Kiyomi first and took her underwear off. Grabbing her waist, I began thrusting. Earlier she was ying with herself as she watched me do it with Ravyn so she was holding it in till now. That meant that she was wet, making it easy for me to go in and out. "Dirty girl aren''t you? You must''ve been waiting for this." "Haah...more...!" Seems she couldn''t hear me as she was getting ecstatic. I can''t me her as I also zone out sometimes. "M-master, I''m cumming!" At thest second, I thrusted deep enough to prate her womb. [Kiyomi''s Level Cap has been raised by 11(Level Cap: 501)] After pumping it inside her, I dropped her on the bed and moved on to Ravyn. She was already prepared as she had her vagina fully spread. I inserted the tip and rammed it inside her without warning. "Aah...Aah...Nnn...!" Her moans were slowly beginning to match the rhythm of my thrusting. Slowly my instincts began to give in and the next thing I knew I was a feral beast. I began sucking on her tits and kissing her, in return, she squeezed my rod with her insides and the stimtion was so intense that I immediately came inside her. "Aaaaaaaaaah!" She fell back onto the bed and I pulled out, a stream of white fluids pouring out. [Ravyn''s Level Cap has been raised by 13(Level Cap: 397)] Even though I had done it three times which is usually when I think I''ve had enough, I was still raring to go but my legs were beginning to give up on me. Iid back on the bed fatigued when I suddenly felt a hand- no, two hands grab onto my meatstick. "What are yo-Nnnnn...!" I''d let out a wimpish holler as I felt two tongues making contact with my lower part. This sensation... it''s too intense! I-I... I haven''t even experienced fetio by a single woman yet, and here I am already getting one from two! This... this is the greatest high! "Mmmm... so warm..." Kiyomi said before licking the tip. "Mmmph..." Ravyn tried to say something but I didn''t hear her as she joined Kiyomi. The stimtion of Kiyomi both Ravyn licking my tip was enough for me to burst again. But then they stopped. I was about to ask what happened until my rod was squished between tworge and soft pairs of boobs. "How does it feel, Nero? Getting serviced by us two?" The sensation was so overwhelming that I think the answer was imprinted on my face. This feeling of pleasure... it was so good. "It feels so good~" Those words spilled from my mouth as they continued, eventually speeding up. "Fufu, what a pervert." "Master, who do you enjoy more?" "C-crap, I can''t choose, you both are making me feel good." I was so close to climax, this feeling was too much even for me! "Crap, it''s useless, I''m going to cum!" "Spray it all over us, Nero. Give us your seed!" At that moment, I climaxed, ejacting onto the two. "Kyaaaa~!" "So much...!" Looking at them they were dirtied with my sperm. The two with their hands wiped my semen off their faces, then they drank it. [Kiyomi''s Level Cap has been raised by 13(Level Cap: 514)] [Ravyn''s Level Cap has been raised by 13(Level Cap: 410)] Huh... so even swallowing my bodily fluids uppers their level caps. [Status: Fatigued] The effects of the aphrodisiac that Kiyomi had given me were starting to wear off and I could feel my weariness returning again. It must''ve been some weak drugs if it wears off in such a short span of time. But I noticed when I looked at the clock, one hour had already passed. Looks like I haven''t been keeping track of time but at least I know how long this drugsts now. Anyway... I''m gonna pass out... "Master, you aren''t tired... are you?" "That''s all you have to offer, Nero?" I focused my attention on the two who were now lying next to me. Even though I was tired, my little one had other thoughts. Kiyomi grabbed my cheeks and forced her way into my mouth, giving me a deep french kiss before making me take another stimnt. The energy in my body quickly returned and my sense began to sharpen intensely. Something must''ve awakened inside me because as soon as Kiyomi had finished her kiss, I lost all self-control. "Huh? M-maste-Heee!" I grabbed Kiyomi by the waist and lifted her up, ferociously forcing my tongue into her pussy. "Aah...AAH...!" Kiyomi began letting out moans of pleasure which she couldn''t hold back anymore. Eventually, when I was tired with my tongue, I lifted her up and ced her above my penis. Without hesitation, I shoved it in. "Nnnnnnn! Master... so rough!" I ignored herment and continued pounding her until we both came,st thing I saw on her face was ecstasy. "Oh my god...!" My head immediately shifted towards Ravyn when she spoke and I snatched her shin, dragging her towards me. "Get over here." I spread her legs wide so her beautiful pussy was in view. She didn''t resist to my actions, but instead, the look on her face told me she really wanted it. I couldn''t wait as well and I jabbed it into her, prating her womb in an instant. We all did it for hours and I couldn''t count how many times I hade into both of them. These beautiful sublime figures were to me for this. I have never been this energetic in my life... Eventually... we did it till 6 o''clock. I was tired... really tired... the feeling in my lower crotch was still there, but very faint. So this is what it feels like to have everything sucked out of you... We slept together in the same bed for 4 hours and I was thest one to wake up. The two were already in their clothes and had everything packed up. "M-master, you finally woke up." Kiyomi noticed me wake up first and she handed me my clothes. "Let''s go..." Ravyn said and I nodded. Hmm, this is strange, why are they blushing so hard? Was it because ofst night? Well, actually that wouldn''t make them flustered at all. But now that I think of it, I sometimes talk in my sleep, I must''ve said something that caused them to be flustered. I wondered what I said...? . . . Chapter 36: Off to Maroon City Chapter 36: Off to Maroon City Our ride finally arrived at the front of the guild. It was a wagon pulled by two horses with wings, otherwise known as a pegasus. For some reason, they were both afraid of me and Ravyn, but I think it''s because we have a dark aura around us. Luckily Kiyomicked that so she managed to get a feeling of their wings which we wanted to touch. But to think that adventurers heading to Maroon city get treatment like this. Looks like my hard work paid off. Inside the wagon, there was plenty of supplies for us tost during the trip. If I recall it takes at least 2-3 weeks to get there so this amount is plenty enough. We were provided with a wagon, however, we didn''t have a driver and that was something we needed to take care of. The pegasi won''t go near any of us except Kiyomi, so we already knew who was going to be taking care of them. Anyway, we began to head out before I noticed something from the corner of my eye. When we exited through the gate, I heard a familiar voice pass by. And when I turned my head, entering town was a ck-haired beauty followed by others. I thought it was Risa until she turned around and she was a different woman. My hopes immediately became suppressed and I sat back down. As much as I wanted to meet up with her right now, I couldn''t. There is no doubt that she is still following that king''s orders. They are probably still trying to kill or capture me. However, I know Risa won''t kill me, at the very least though she will try to capture me. Tch, the thought of her being used angered me. But for now, our little reunion will have to wait. As of now I''m tired. I was just about to fall asleep before I was suddenly pped in the head with a book. "Ack! What the hell was that for?!" I yelled at Ravyn who tossed me a book. "Start studying, you did want us to help you, right?" "Oh right." I forgot that I requested this. I haven''t learned the basics of mana and I need that in order to unlock the skill Sage Arts which hasn''t been unlocked yet. The process is going to be difficult because of two reasons. One, it''s not easy to understand the basics of mana and master control of it. It takes more than a month to master the use and Sage Arts is the highest form of mana concentration, therefore I''ll know if I mastered it when I unlock that. The second reason, well it''s studying, of course! I believe I''ve said this before, I am not one to study my subjects. But right now I will make it an exception at least that is what I think. "By the way, why do you need us to teach you? This is basic stuff you learn in school." Ravyn asked curiously. I was going to answer but Kiyomi answered for me. "Master is not of this world. He is a hero, one from a different world." "Wait, really!?" I nodded and Ravyn froze. "Wait, which hero are you? The Mage Hero? The Assassin Hero? Or are you perhaps-?" "I''m none of those." There was a long pause before Ravyn asked again. "So... which hero are you then?" "...just think of me as a hero that''s not associated with this kingdom. Now, are we going to do this or not?" "Uh...r-right..." Anyway, Ravyn and Kiyomi will be taking shifts to help me. Ravyn''s shift is from the morning to the afternoon and Kiyomi is after that before the evening. Basically 6 hours from both of them. And so the lesson begins. Oh yeah, that reminds me, I had gotten some skills from our... session. [Passive Skills in Store: Necromancy] [Skills in Store: Reanimation, Ice Armor, Frost Bolt] I noticed I had gotten the skills that I shared with Kiyomi. Now that I think of it, I could have Kiyomi learn it and then copy them as we-wait I''m not a pervert kinda. I''ll think about it but anyway, I''ll be iming these skills. [Passive Skills Obtained: Necromancy(Locked)] [Skills Obtained: Reanimation(Locked), Ice Armor(Lvl.1), Frost Bolt(Lvl.1)] [ss Learned: Necromancer(Locked)] Wait, why is the ss locked? I''d understand the skills but why the ss? [The Necromancer ss is extremelyplex as there are many types of them. Their evolution processes are different from the others since they all start from a branch. For example, Ravyn''s Necromancer ss is "Avenger of the living dead" which is thebination of three branches. The reason it is hidden is that Analysiscks the power to do so. The skill required to see every stat of a target is Appraisal.] An extremelyplex ss? Well, you could''ve told me this earlier. Oh well, I should get used to this now. "Hey! Are you paying attention!" Whack! "Aaah! What the hell!? When the hell did you learn to be so violent!?" "Who else?" She looked away with bright red cheeks and I clicked my tongue as I rubbed my head. Jeez, maybe I shouldn''t have asked for help from Ravyn if she is gonna hit me like that. Kiyomi wouldn''t do that probably. As Ravyn continued to help me study, I was looking over their stats. Since they were part of my party, I was able to take a peek at them. Not that it was pretty obvious already. Kiyomi [Level 444; ss: Mage/Assassin; Level Cap: 594] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sage Arts, Ninjutsu Proficiency, Fox Fire Maniption, Bloodlust, Sprint, Extreme Might, Water Maniption Active Skills: Transformation Skills: Swift sh(Lvl.8), Soaring Dragon Fist(Lvl.6), me Pirs(Lvl.7), sh Step(Lvl.4), Stealth(Lvl.5), Wolf''s Blood(Lvl.3), Ice Armor(Lvl.1), Frost Bolt(Lvl.1) ------------------ Ravyn [Level 369; ss: Necromancer; Level Cap: 567] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Darkness Maniption, Reaper''s Evil Eyes, Reaper''s Favor, West God Martial Arts, Undead Domination, Necromancy, Pain Negation, Curse Resistance, Bloodlust Active Skills: Bane Mist Skills: Reanimation(Lvl.Max), Boneyard(Lvl.Max), Shadow Harvest(Lvl.9), Shadow Puppet(Lvl.8), Necrosis(Lvl.4), Dark Armor(Lvl.5), Shadow Fist(Lvl.7), Shadow Shift(Lvl.6), Tartarean Shackles(Lvl.5) ------------------ I noticed that their level caps were significantly higher than what I remember them to be It''s best that I don''t think about it as it''ll be distracting me from my studies. After hours, we eventually stopped and set up camp in an open field. I used Wolf''s Blood, which now covers up at most 80 meters. The only thing that was around us were birds, wolves, and other critters. Then there were giant frogs. For some reason, I was ticked off and I killed it. I just had the feeling that I was going to end up getting swallowed up by it if I hadn''t taken it out. Anyway, after eating breakfast and everyone went to sleep, I walked over to a vacant area. "Good, no one''s around. Let''s try this..." I umted dark energy into my right hand and a Stygian presence clouded the air. [Host has attempted to use Necromancy] [Host has failed] I heard from the distance that the pegasi were waking up and I immediately stopped. Crap, from the books, necromancy requires a heavy amount of dark energy to perform, but it seems that I am still incapable of using it. I attempted once again but this time I was further away from the camp. I eventually settled by doing it on top of the hill. Over a period of time, I continued to vent dark energy over and over again, but to no avail. "Crap, why is this so difficult?" "That''s because you are doing it wrong!" I turned and Ravyn was watching me from a distance. "Ravyn, what are you doing here? How did you even find me?" "Well, it''s not that hard considering you have clouded such arge area with dark energy. Anyway, you are doing it all wrong and also, you don''t have the aptitude to-" "No, I do. Borrowed it from you." "W-what? How?" "Oh yeah, I didn''t tell you, did I? Well..." After exining what my skills Allocation and Exceed do, she understood before having a flushed look on her face. "S-so you got it from... doing it?" "Precisely." "I-is it possible for you to get unique skills though?" "Hmm, I don''t know myself." [It is possible for most, but not every skill. The unique skills that you are able to attain from Ravyn are Reaper''s Evil Eyes] Interesting. I see. "Some, but not all." "Aah, I see." "So you said I was doing necromancy wrong, correct? You mind helping me?" "Sure..." I ced my hand on the ground once more and began amassing dark energy, but Ravyn stopped me. "You are doing it all wrong! Did you even pay attention when I was teaching you?" "Well, all I remembered was I had to collect energy and then unleash it at the same time." "The word is umtion!" "Look I don''t know the terminology alright? Just tell me what I''m doing wrong." Ravyn took a deep breath before sighing. "First, you are venting out too much dark energy and absorbing too little. You need to know how to control your mana flow." Huh... that would make sense why my mana is decreasing so fast. [Mana: 53,420,369/100,000,000] "You need to concentrate. Concentrate on discharging your energy but don''t do it so forcefully. You are going to have to bnce discharging and absorb power. The best way is to discharge energy on one arm and absorb it in the other. Try it though I doubt you would get it on the first try." I followed her instructions and began collecting energy in my left arm while releasing it into my right arm. It took a while for me to get used to the energy flow as it left my body and got absorbed at the same time. Eventually, I got the hang of it and I was umting energy perfectly. "Impressive, you did it in such a short span of time. It took me about a week to do that." "Huh, that was easier than I thought. You know Ravyn, you''re a good instructor. If you hadn''t ''died'' then you would''ve been a great teacher." Ravyn blushed at myment. "I-is that so...? Teaching others is well not really my thing unless it''s you... and maybe..." "Hmph, maybe once I get the hang of this, I''ll give you a reward." "That reward being...?" "I think you already know, but that''s only once I master mana control. Don''t worry, I''m a quick learner." . . . Chapter 37: A Nightmare... Chapter 37: A Nightmare... During midnight in a room belonging to Murai and Jessica, the Warrior and the Mage hero, Murai was having a dream. It was a dream of a young boy who was being tossed around by older kids after ying alone in the park. "Hehehe, look at him. He''s such a loser." "So fat and ugly, are you really a rich kid?" The boy cried as they continued to kick him and beat him. After a while, they left him alone all beaten up. The boy wanted to know why he was being treated this way. Was it because they were jealous of him because he was a rich kid? Or was it because he was ugly? The boy didn''t know himself as he was still oblivious to the truth of this world. The kid was only 6 years old and it was the start of him being bullied... but also the first time he met "him." "You''re weak, aren''t you...?" A muffled voice spoke behind the boy. The boy turned around and looking down from the wall was a boy, a younger one. His face was blurred and his voice was unrecognizable. "W-who are you...?" He asked the younger one. "My name is not important as you''ll forget it anyway. But it''s a shame that someone like you is treated like this. Tell me, is this the same when you are at school?" The boy was surprised to even hear thising from the younger boy. He doesn''t know him nor has he even seen him before, but he knew. He was bullied not only outside but also in school. No one besides his parents has treated him nicely. Only tormented by his peers and seniors. He only wished for one thing and that was to be respected. He didn''t want to be respected because of his rich parents but of who he was, however, they wouldn''t give him a chance because of his appearance. Though bodyguards were assigned to him, the boy declined their services. That''s how dedicated he was to being respected. The boy was too innocent to the dangers of the world, but that was about to change. "A rich kid wants to be respected but can''t because of appearance. I can tell since you didn''t try to fight back." The boy was shocked at how this younger boy knew what he was thinking. He was eventually feeling creeped out. "H-how did you know?" He asked. "Well, once you''ve been exposed to dark secrets, it''s obvious to figure out. It''s also easy to break people as long as you know exactly what they want, and exactly what they fear. But I haven''t done that to anyone... but soon I will." The atmosphere eventually became dark and the boy gulped in fear. Then a girl''s voice could be heard. "Hey! What are you doing? We need to get home!" The younger boy turned his head and responded, "Alright, just a second." He turned his attention back at the boy. "This world is cruel and unfair. If you want to be treated with respect, I suggest you start fighting. If you continue to be meek, you''ll just be prey. You should start unting your ce, otherwise, others won''t take you seriously. To me, you''re an insect..." The boy turned around before saying, "Soon you will discover just how tragic life is..." Then the younger boy left and the entire scenery began to blur. Murai woke up hyperventting. His heart was pounding and he was sweating furiously. It took him a while to settle down and he was breathing normally again. "Fuck... not again..." "What''s wrong?" Besides him was Jessica, who was also covered in sweat. She wore a worried expression on her face. "N-nothing..." "Was it... that again?" "...yes..." Jessica also had the same dream, but just slightly different. The only simrity though was the boy. Their dreams yed the exact scene of "that day," When they were exposed to the impurities of life by this same young boy. Of course, they didn''t really understand at first but as they aged, they began to figure it out. "We should... forget about it..." "Yes... just ignore it..." Knock-knock! A knocking could be heard at the door. "Yes? What is it?" "Please get ready immediately! There is a demon attack at Colosseum Albion!" Murai sighed in annoyance and got up to equip his gear. "Tch, another one? We just had onest week." "Well, it is best to strike during midnight I suppose." As the heroes had stayed here for months, they have been taught the demon''s tactics since they have been recorded over the years. Knowing this to their advantage, they can tell what tactics they are going to be using. The two had donned their equipment and headed down towards the courtyard where they would be teleported to Colosseum Albion. Colosseum Albion was one of the most famous ces to go watch warriors sh for honor and if not, their life. However, the sport of two people fighting for their lives was a bit too inhumane, as ording to the king that ruled Paragon several centuries ago. Now it serves as a kind of tourist attraction, but now it was the base of the demons. They would be teleported only a few miles away from the camp that the demons had set up but to defeat them entirely would be nearly impossible considering they would be using the colosseum as defense. Their only choice was to take it down, so that''s what they were nning to do. The two arrived with the other heroes waiting except Risa. They were all extremely cautious than before. Knowing that Risa, their most valuable asset due to her healing abilities was gone, they must keep their injuries at a minimum till shees back. "You two took your time. Perhaps your private time was interrupted." Kai jested as he was walking up to them. "Don''t get so cocky, has your little nightmare continue to haunt you?" Kai immediately red and Murai did the same. "Don''t ever talk about that. I don''t want to be reminded of it." "Then don''t go babbling your mouth, otherwise I''ll trounce you." "Hmph, you can try, but you''ll never be able to do that." "We are at equal levels, but at this range, I have the upper hand if you didn''t know." The two continued to have a staredown and they released their auras, plunging the entire courtyard in pressurized mana. This continued on until they were stopped by the guards. Considering they were around level 600, their energy signals were extraordinary. Their growths surpassed that of the others and even of the royal magicians who had to take around 10 years to get to where they were at. If these two continued to grow, who knows how far their energy levels could surpass. The two eventually pretended that their little quarrel never happened and they entered the teleportation ring where they would be teleported. And then they vanished. *** About a week has passed. I''ve been managing to keep up with my studies, and that was the only thing I was focused on. It took me not that long to master mana control and in just 4 days, I could control my mana umtion like a pro. After that, I decided to try out necromancy under the supervision of Ravyn. After she found out I was younger than her she suddenly became all mighty and high towards me, but that was only when we weren''t in bed. Anyway, we had conveniently shown up at a graveyard and I decided to test out necromancy here. Standing in the middle of the graveyard, I began amassing a huge amount of dark energy and spread it across the cemetery. When everything was covered, I began chanting a phrase that allowed me to reanimate the corpses in the range of my spread energy, otherwise called an Aura Domain which consumes 100,000 mana and 10,000 every second after a minute has been up. "Rise and serve me." That was the phrase I went with. It was necessary for me to say this since that''s what the description of the skill Reanimation said. I think I heard the phrase Ravyn used when she uses Reanimation, I think it was "Heed my call and rise" or something like that. Anyway, upon saying that, the corpses or zombies, began to rise from the ground. Their flesh-torn arms poked out of the ground and then they fully emerged. I noticed that they were allrger than a normal human, about 7-9 feet tall. The zombies all spotted me and suddenly they began attacking me. Quickly I dodged and mmed them all into the ground by using sh Step and Sage Art fighting moves which I had unlocked prior to unlocking Mana Control. After subjugating them, Ravyn quickly abolished them back into their graves. "I wonder why they began attacking me like that?" "That''s because you don''t possess a dead crown." "Dead crown?" "All necromancers need a dead crown or at least be watched over by a reaper. Otherwise, the undead you summon will turn on you. This is crucial and you would''ve probably been in trouble if you hadn''t had me by your side," She said thest part proudly and I bonked her head. Huh, that would be the reason why I don''t have the necromancer ss unlocked. "Tell me then what I need to do to get this dead crown. Or at least how I can be watched over by a reaper." "Hmm, to get a dead crown you have to...well defeat another necromancer that possesses a dead crown. If you want to be watched by a reaper, it depends, and it''s decided upon birth. But you can also get it another way by finding a reaper''s shrine. But it''s not thatmon to-" "Is that the shrine you are talking about?" I quickly interrupted. I was looking at a tall monument that had multiple sickles sticking out of it. "Yeah... like the one over there..." . . . Chapter 38: Reapers Trial Chapter 38: Reaper''s Trial Upon getting a closer look at this "reaper shrine" I noticed it was also made of skeletons. "By the way, not all reaper shrines guarantee a guardian reaper. It''s all luck when ites to encountering one." "And what if I do meet one from this?" "Then you''ll have to pass a trial. Since I was born with one, I didn''t need one. Those that search for a reaper''s power needs to pass a certain trial. Of course, I have no knowledge of this trial as it''s randomized depending on the person''s nature." I see. A trial that sees if you are worthy of gaining the power to rule over the dead. There was no reaper shrine back in the cemetery where I met Ravyn so maybe it''s not in every graveyard. Now then, I going to test how good my luck is. I walked up to the reaper shrine and ced my hand on it. When I made contact, a sudden wave of energy coursed around my body and I was suddenly in a dark ce. I took a step forward and realized that I was walking over a transparent ocean. I knew because at the very bottom which I couldn''t grasp was some kind of light. The color was somehow ominous. It was a mixture of every color and swirling lights everywhere. To be honest, if someone used this as art for their art projects, they''d probably get a perfect grade or higher. "eman ruoy etats ,rebmuls ym detpurretni sah ohw uoY" A sinister, distorted voice spoke from behind. I turned and there was no one behind me. Hmm, I could''ve sworn I heard something. Also, what did he even say? I didn''t understand a single word. "Who''s there?" I asked the voice but there was no response. I''d ask the same question again and he spoke once again. "..trom ,eman ruoy etats ,dias I" For some reason, this reaper was speaking in some sort of dialect. Is this undeadnguage? Or could it be some kind ofnguage that''s so ancient it''s unable to be tranted? Then I suddenly realized, could this be the first trial? I recall that I have toplete a set of trials given by the reaper that inhabit this shrine. Maybe I have to figure out what he is saying and respond back. "Can you please repeat that?" "..trom ,eman ruoy etats ,dias I" Hmm, maybe I should try reversing it. After all, I could tell that they were pronounced with English vowels. trom ,eman ruoy etats ,dias I." Let''s see I said state your name mortal? Is that what this reaper is saying to me? It wants my name huh? "My name is- ahem! amukA oreN si eman yM." I responded. A slight pause urred before the reaper spoke again. "rebmuls ym gninekawa rof nosaer ruoy etats ,oreN" Hmm Nero state your reason for awakening? My slumber "Ehh ramorcen a emoceb ot redro ni rewop ruoy worrob ot emoc ev''I." Huh, who knew thenguage of the dead was just English reversed? It''s a bitplicated but I think I''m getting the hang of it. "?ydaer uoy erA irt eht liaf uoy ,demusnoc yletelpmoc si ytinas ruoy fI .emit taht gnirud dicul eb tsum uoy dna erutuf tnatsid eht fo noisiv a evah lliw uoY .daed eht foirt eht ssap ot uoy seriuqer rewop ym ssessop oT" "seY." "?siht rof ydaer era uoy erus uoy erA .noisivrepus ym seod os dna ,ecirp hgih a ta semoc ramorcen eht fo rewop eht ssessop oT .kcab nrut ot gninraw rehtona uoy evig lliw I" "seY." "Then let it begin..." The voice then spoke in normally and the lights at the bottom of the sea darted towards me. I was shown visions, visions of millions of people dying. The entire sky was polluted in dark energy and there were gigantic creatures roaming the sky. I couldn''t tell what they were as they were above the dark clouds but I could see what looked like tentacles or arms plunging from the sky. As I turned around, the ce I was in was decimated and bodies were everywhere. And on top of a mountain of bodies was a man looking down at me. So this is the distant future. I don''t know how many years this is into the future, but since I''m being shown this, I probably won''t be present during this. Though, that man staring at me is giving me some eerie vibes. He waspletely d in ck energy, but his eyes glowed vibrant colors. The man pointed at me and then everything went ck. A skeleton wrapped in dark energy appeared and walked towards me. I noticed that his jaw shape was unusual and jagged, like a beast. His aura was so deep and dark that I almost fell to the ground because of it. Is this... the reaper of this shrine? "Remarkable, no mere mortal has ever been able to stare at such a scene unphased. It seems I have no other choice but to deem you worthy of my power." The reaper spoke as he began to chant. "Under the name of the progenitor of the reapers, I shall grant you the power of necromancy." My body felt a surge of energy and the reaper continued. "King. Death. irvoyance. Shadow. Ravage. The title bestowed onto you by the progenitor and the god of the dead is the Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead." Once he said that I felt all the dark energy inside me mix in with an even darker source. It was this heavyweight of foreign power invading my body. "I expect great things from you Nero." And then I was back in the real world. I fell back and my body waspletely frozen. "Nero!" "Master!" Ravyn and Kiyomi appeared next to me and caught me before I hit the ground. My vision was super blurry and my hearing was dulled. "Are you alright!? Nero?" Their voices eventually faded away and I passed out. ... ... ... [Title Obtained: Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead] [Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead: You are the tyrant of the dead. Break, bend, and enve the dead to do your bidding. No living dead will be able to oppose your supremacy and you are the pinnacle of all necromancers. Your domain over darkness matches that of the endless void itself| Effects: You will be able to learn the skills of the necromancy from these 5 branches (King) (Death) (irvoyance) (Shadow) (Ravage)] [ss Unlocked: Necromancer] [!] [Necromancer --> Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead(ss)] [Notice: The Necromancer ss paths arepletely different from most sses. They will not have the same evolutions as those sses] ... ... ... [Passive Skills Obtained: Shadow Maniption, Reaper''s Life Energy(Unique Skill), Undead Domination, Skeleton Maniption, Premonition, Curse Resistance, Indefinite Aura] [Reaper''s Life Energy: All your dark energy hasbined with the reaper''s| Effects: +10,000,000 Mana; +10,000,000 Mana every 100 levels hit; +1000 on all stats; +1000 stats every 1000 levels hit] [Notice: Charisma has been changed to Aura] [Notice: The more points ced into Aura, the more refined your attacks are] [Active Skills Obtained: Shadow King Domain] [Shadow King Domain: Swallow your enemies inplete darkness| Effects: Create a 50-meter radius dome that can negate, absorb, or reverse any form of mana performed by your opponent trapped in this domain; Overwrites any current domainid out; Enemies trapped in this domain will have their senses messed up| Conditions: 10,000,000 mana for 1 minute and 100,000 every second that passes and activates when the incantation is said| Cooldown: 1 hour after use] [Notice: The Incantation has been etched into your mind] [Skills Obtained: Boneyard(Lvl.1), Shadow Harvest(Lvl.1), Necrosis(Lvl.1), Dark Armor(Lvl.1), Shadow Shift(Lvl.1), Shadow de Assail(Lvl.1), Doppelganger(Lvl.1), Shadow Envement(Lvl.1)] ... ... ... [The Progenitor and the God of the dead have taken a liking of you...] [They expect great things from you...] *** I opened my eyes and I was staring at a ceiling. I was a bit absent-minded so it took me a while to realize I was inside of a tent. When I got up, I noticed Kiyomi and Ravyn were sleeping next to me with their arms across my chest. Kiyomi was the first one to wake up and when she noticed I was up, she tackled me with a hug. "You''re awake! I was so worried..." She hugged me tightly and I got a sniff of her hair. Ahh, the fragrance of sweet citrus... "Ahem!" I could sense another re on me, so I quickly told Kiyomi to stop, though I didn''t want it to. "What happened to me?" I asked them. Turns out, I had a minora whichsts for three days. But when I told Ravyn what had happened, it turns out that it was normal for every necromancer. They have to rest for three days while they are bestowed the power of necromancy. "So I''ve gotten all this power. I should check what new skills I''ve obtained." I haven''t opened up my stats in a while so let''s check it out. {Status} Name: Nero Akuma Title: Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead ss: Jack of All Trades Status: Normal Level: 506 Mana: [110,000,000/110,000,000] Strength: 1721 Agility: 1726 Technique: 1686 Perception: 1681 Aura: 1666 Stat Points: 642 {Abilities} Passive Skills: Haste, Bloodlust, Allocation, Exceed, Dagger Arts, Deadshot, Excess, Grave Robber, Fire Maniption, Derivation, Sword Arts, Darkness Maniption, Water Maniption, Ninjutsu Proficiency, Sage Arts, Extreme Might, Invincibility, Ethos Arsenal, Allotment, Great Sword Proficiency, Berserker Arts, Wind Maniption, Lightning Maniption, Necromancy, Mana Control, Shadow Maniption, Reaper''s Life Energy, Undead Domination, Skeleton Maniption, Premonition, Curse Resistance, Indefinite Aura Active Skills: Shadow King Domain Skills: Analysis, Mark of Fidelity, Wolf''s Blood(Lvl.8), sh Step(Lvl.6), Charged Arrow(Lvl.8), Energy Shield(Lvl.5), Aura Barrier(Lvl.4), Quick Regeneration(Lvl.5), Stealth(Lvl.7), Shadow Fist(Lvl.2), Fallen Descent(Lvl.2), Vtile Orbs(Lvl.6), Inferno(Lvl.2), Shadow Puppet(Lvl.2), Swift sh(Lvl.4), Spacial Storage(Lvl.1), Soaring Dragon Fist(Lvl.2), me Pirs(Lvl.2), Grim Dragon Cage(Lvl.1), Grim Dragon Maw(Lvl.1), Inertia Fist(Lvl.1), Lightning Field(Lvl.1), Reanimation(Lvl.1), Ice Armor(Lvl.1), Frost Bolt(Lvl.1), Aura Domain(Lvl.1), Boneyard(Lvl.1), Shadow Harvest(Lvl.1), Necrosis(Lvl.1), Dark Armor(Lvl.1), Shadow Shift(Lvl.1), Shadow de Assail(Lvl.1), Doppelganger(Lvl.1), Shadow Envement(Lvl.1) ------------------ W-what the...? My stats were... they were boosted? That''s also the same with my mana. Christ, I also got new skills. I think I''m gonna have to start training if I''m gonna get used to these skills. "Master, we should get going soon. We are almost there." Kiyomi handed me my clothes and I put them on. Before we left to go to Maroon City, I was testing out my new skills while they were packing stuff up. "Now then, let''s see what my new skills allow me to do." So after testing them all out, this was what they could do. Shadow Maniption allowed me to control shadows, literally. I could even have someone''s shadow beat them up. Skeleton Maniption allowed me to bend, break, and create skeletons with organic material at will. It was kind of like Ravyn''s Reaper''s Evil Eyes. That reminds me, I think I can get that skill from her. Maybe I''ll get it tonight if I''m lucky. Premonition... ording to its description, I''m able to peer 2 seconds into the future but only when I''m in a tight situation or it just happens randomly. So I''ll just leave it at that. Indefinite Aura was an interesting skill. It was simr to Aura Barrier, but I could activate it without consuming mana. The best part about this skill was that I was able to absorb any stray mana loitering in the air and make it part of mine. Basically, it''s kind of like an infinite mana source and basically a visible version of my aura. Now I had gone over most of the new passive skills I''ve got, it''s time for my new skills. Shadow Shift was like sh Step and I think Ravyn had demonstrated it to me, well technically she used it against me but it''s not really an offensive move and more of an evasive skill. It consumes 10,000 mana every use. Shadow de Assail. The name was cool but what it did was even better. With the newfound dark energy inside me, I could bend my aura and use it as projectiles. Raining thousands of dark energy des onto my enemies is going to be entertaining to watch. It consumes mana from 1-1,000 per de fired. Doppelganger. Well judging by the name it''s pretty obvious by now. I could create a shadow image of myself and use it to fight. It''s also a little immortal as it can''t be destroyed by anything unless there is anti-mana or if I want it to disappear. A million mana to summon an indestructible clone. Pretty worth it, if you ask me. Andst but not least, Shadow Envement. From the description, it says I can absorb the spirit of those that I''ve killed. These, however, only limit to most monsters. They also must be dead too. Also, the name of the skill kind of goes against my morals... but I''ll let this one slide. After that, we were back on the road again. During that time, I deposited my stat points since I realized I was stacking a lot. And also, I can now deposit points into Charisma, or Aura. It now serves a better purpose than looks and persuasion. It now refines my attacks. [Strength 1721 --> Strength 1849] [Agility 1726 --> Agility 1854] [Technique 1686 --> Technique 1814] [Perception 1681 --> Perception 1809] [Aura 1666 --> Aura 1794] The ridested a peaceful 3 hours. Until we were almost struck by a ming meteor. We all exited the wagon to see what had happened and it turns out we had stumbled in the middle of a demon attack. After we hid the wagon and the pegasi, we headed towards where the battle was. I noticed there was a huge colosseum where they were fighting and from the looks of it; it was heavily fortified... or polluted. It was covered in crimson vines and nts and mixed withrge blue ice spikes. I also noticed a few skulls hanging from the vines. If I''m gonna guess, that''s where the boss is gonna be hiding. There is no doubt the heroes are already here and they are probably busy with the demon army right now. But I''m not here for the army, I''m here for the leader. "Let''s go, we aren''t going to stand here all day," I''d say to the girls, and they agreed with no objections. Instead, they had battle-hungry looks in their eyes. Kinda scary not gonna lie. "Alright, let''s get going." . . . Chapter 39: Well See About That Chapter 39: We''ll See About That It wasn''t difficult to get to the colosseum''s entrance, as most of the demons were already fending off against the heroes. But there will probably be some guarding the entrance, or maybe more demons have already been called as back up. Arriving at the entrance, it was guarded by four nauseating figures made of nothing but flesh and bones. They had 3 eyes that were implemented in random parts of their bodies. To me, they looked like disgusting blobs of flesh. I couldn''t help but justugh at the sight of these creatures. It was just too funny. The demons spotted me and immediately rushed towards me. However, they didn''t get the chance once they entered my range. "How foolish if only demons like you had the intellect to run away." I snapped my fingers and my aura activated. Originally it was a red aura that simply wrapped around my body but now it was different. It was a ck and dark purple aura that not only encased my body entirely but also towered 5 meters into the air like a beacon. I used Shadow de Assail, sending thousands of dark two-pointed des made from my aura towards them. They were showered with my des; the des shed and skewered every part of their bodies. Not a single spot was left out. I walked up to them and ced my hand on them. The bones began to shift and with Skeleton Maniption, I shaped them into sharp and curved des. Then I balled my fist and both the dark and bone des plunged deeper into the demons, killing them. Hmm, Skeleton Maniption would''ve definitely been an overpowered ability if I didn''t have to make physical contact with my target. Touching a blob of flesh to finish it is not on my bucket list. Hmm, judging by how I didn''t receive any experience, they must''ve been low level. I hope the boss can at least put up a fight. Now that I dealt with them, the entrance into the colosseum was now clear for me. "You girls stay out here and deal with them." I''d turn around, pointing to the iing wave of demons. The girls nodded and got ready. Kiyomi turned into her true form, a Kitsune and Ravyn summoned her own personal army of undead. "Ravyn, use your Bane Mist, but don''t cover the colosseum." "What? But what about Kiyomi? She''s going to get affected you know?" "Don''t worry about that." I summoned my doppelganger. It would kneel on the ground as it let out its aura and it cast Aura Domain. A dome made of its aura would materialize around us and we were now protected from her Bane Mist. "As long as she doesn''t leave my aura, she''ll be safe from your mist. My Aura Domain will absorb any mana outside the domain, even your mist. But don''t worry, you can feed off my doppelganger with Shadow Harvest since it''s just another source of mana," I exined before heading into the colosseum. "You two have fun now. Don''t take it too far." Before I entered, Ravyn activated her Bane Mist and the area around me eventually turned foggy. The fog disappeared when I entered the colosseum. When I arrived at the inside of the colosseum, there were countless demons lined up at the walls watching two demons fight in the middle. It was a fight between one of the demons I killed outside against a humanoid-looking one. It had silver skin with icy blue eyes, long white hair, and long pointed ears like an elf''s. It was also equipped with two daggers and silver light armor. It was giving off a chilly aura and judging by the ice trail it''s leaving, this must be an ice elf, elves that live in the far north. What are they doing here? Hmm, there was something different about these elves. I noticed they had ck marks all over their bodies. I also noticed they were using demon daggers which are made with flesh and bones instead of the standard metal daggers. Using Analysis, I checked out their levels and they all ranged from the levels 350 to 400. My level was around 500 so there was only a 100 level difference but I just couldn''t help but snicker. I must''ve been a little loud because the two stopped fighting and they directed their attention to me. Without hesitation they ran towards me, ready to strike. I swiped my hands and they were immediately razed by the des forming from my dark aura. Clenching my hand, the des quickly sank deeper and they were torn apart. The demons on the side turned and they rushed towards me all at once. I was prepared to skewer them but they froze when a female voice shouted. "Halt!" They all froze but kept theirbat stances. "A human? How did one manage to get past my subjects?" This time, multiple male voices spoke at the same time. I looked up and noticed there were two figures sitting in the top area of the cavea. They were both young ice elves, or old in human age since elves age slower than humans. But anyway- "You two gonna stay up there? Or are you gonnae down here and do something? The more the better." I motioned my finger, beckoning them. "This human-" "No brother, that''s a hero." "Heroes!? How did they get here so fast!?" "Idiot, he''s alone. It seems he must not be connected to the heroes currently battling our army. But I bet the ones outside of the entrance is associated with him." "Correct," I answered. The elf girl stood up. She was wearing a ck robe and a witch hat. In her hands was a broom that was made of pure mana as it looked transparent. "I sense a dark aura surrounding you, hero. Are you perhaps a necromancer?" "Something like that, but the term would be-" "Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead?" Hmm, if she already knows then she must also possess the Analysis skill. Or maybe she has Appraisal. I quickly inspected their stats using Analysis. [Level ???; ss: ???; Title: ???] {Abilities} Passive Skills: ??? Active Skills: ??? Skills: ??? ------------------ This is interesting I''m not able to see her stats at all [Notice: The target possesses the skill (Portiere) which hides the person''s stats. The required skill to break this effect is Appraisal, which youck.] Aah, that would make sense why I can''t see her stats or her abilities. Looks like I can''t mess with her till I know more. Though she might have her stats protected, her brother didn''t. [Level 750; ss: Mage/Puppeteer; Title: Soldier of Cocytus] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sub-Zero Resistance, Ice King''s Blessing, Thread Creation, Flesh Maniption, Heart Marite, Pain Negation, Dark Maniption, Water Maniption, Earth Maniption Active Skills: Red String of Pain, Cocytus Skills: Steel Threads(Lvl.Max), Razor Threads(Lvl.Max), Puppet Control(Lvl.Max), Automaton Puppet Control(Lvl.Max), Dark Armor(Lvl.Max), Freezing Threads(Lvl.Max), Frost Bolts(Lvl.Max), Frozen Land(Lvl.Max), Ice Weapon Creation(Lvl.Max) ------------------ Eeh... the number of skills this guy has is... a little disappointing from someone 250 levels higher than me, but their levels are a bit worrying... When he stood up, he was wearing an oversized cloak and he had five coffins strapped onto his back. "What''s with the coffins? Preparing your own funeral?" I taunted with a smirk on my face. "This human is arrogant. Let me finish him where he stands," The brother said. "His body will be a fine addition to my collection." But his sister didn''t seem to care. "Go ahead, I''m not going to clean up your corpse though." "Are you saying I''ll lose?" "Exactly, you don''t stand a chance. Even if you go all out, it''ll just end horribly for you. Your levels may be different but it doesn''t change a thing. You might not know but you are extremely pretentious." "You-!" "Before you insult me, I''m stronger than you and I have full control of the army. There is a reason why I was made themander and not you." The brother couldn''t make aeback so he just turned away with irritation and anger on his face. "Grrrr! Whatever! I''ll just kill him myself." He jumped down with his coffins andnded violently on the ground, creating a crater. "All of you, attack him!" He ordered the demons and they sprinted towards me. I directed my finger at them and let my dark aura do its thing. In a matter of seconds, there were des everywhere and bodies lying on the ground. Hmm... even after all that, I still didn''t gain experience. Looks like it''s gonna be hard to level up from now on. "Is that all? Just going to use demons and your own race to try and kill me?" "Hehe, they are nothing more than mere pawns. They may have been given power but I possess something strong than a simple power-up. Behold-!" The coffins behind him opened up anding out of them were 5 ice elves. I didn''t notice at first but I noticed that their hearts were exposed and they had some kind of string on them. I quickly inspected their stats to get better information on them. [Level 500; ss: Assassin] [Level 440; ss: Enhancer] [Level 510; ss: Hunter] [Level 430; ss: Archer] [Level 490; ss: Trickster] Looks like most of them are high level and each possesses a different ss. However, they are also puppets, meaning he''s gonna have a hard time controlling all of them. That''s going to be a good thing for me. "You won''t get past my puppets, hero. It''s time for you to die by the hands of Myran!" He shouted as his puppets flew towards me. "We''ll see about that." . . . Chapter 40: Ice-Cold Puppeteer Chapter 40: Ice-Cold Puppeteer The first one came from behind and I swiftly turned around. Our legs shed, forming a small crater beneath us. This one is... the trickster if I''m correct. Best I deal with this one first. With a sweeping kick, it quickly took the bait and I sted it with Inferno. Boosh! mes erupted from the ground and the puppet immediately drowned in the fire. That''s one down, just four more puppets to go. I stomped and let my aura spread out, eventually forming a wall. Out of that wall, a storm of des flew towards the other puppets and Myran. "S-shit! Come and defend me!" Two of the puppets quickly appeared in front of him and he was shielded from the des of my Shadow de Assail. The puppets managed to hold their ground from such an assault. However... I''m not the one to hold back after one round. "There''s still more!" I sent another wave and the two puppets were swiftly mauled by my attack and their bodies fell lifelessly onto the floor. "Tch, you-!" Myran got up and the two remaining puppets flew to his side. It was just the enhancer and the hunter left. No. Wait a minute, there''s still one more behind me! I turned around and received a kick to the face. Luckily I managed to catch it before it hit me and mmed the puppet into the ground. I opened its mouth and shoved a Vtile Orb into its jaw. Then I kicked it away before it blew up. An object flew towards me and I caught it. When I stared at the item in my hand, a look of disgust was crossed my face. It was still beating in my hand as the blood leaked down my hand and dripped onto the floor. "A... heart?" Now that I remember it, wasn''t one of his passive skill Heart Marite. "It''s exactly what you think. You see, once I have my hands on someone''s heart, they fall under my control and they can do nothing about it! They''ll just be my puppet, living puppets! These poor souls had no choice but to submit to me!" So that''s what the thread on their hearts is for. "With the connection to their body, that also allows me to manipte their flesh even from a distance." ...shit! I turned around and a piece of flesh which quickly formed into a spike headed for my heart. I used Shadow Shift, swiftly dodging the life-threatening spike. "There''s more!" Looking over my shoulder there was a storm of flesh spikes heading straight for me. I quickly activated my Aura Barrier and shielded myself before countering with a wave of Vtile Orbs. "Such explosive power..." the elf girl said as she spectated from the top of the colosseum. Is she not going to join in? The calm and small aura around her... looks like she has no intention of fighting me. Well, it''s good since I''m already struggling to get to this guy with his annoying puppets. Or should I say his ves? Those aren''t just any normal puppets, but they are beings, ice elves, his own kind. To think he enved them to do his bidding like that. I''m gonna have to teach him a lesson. "Attack!" Myran shouted to the remaining puppets of his and the hunter attacked. Actually, it pounced! The hunter was hooded so I didn''t notice until he actually got me. His face was messed up; Razor-sharp teeth, wed out eyes, and torn cheeks, revealing his side jaws. Poor bastard, he must''ve been tormented by that guy. He''s taking things too far if he wanted to break this guy. Looks like I''ll just have to end his misery. However, as I was holding him back from wing my eyes out with his sharp curved nails, he suddenly became stronger and I could feel him slowly attempting to crush my hands but I was pushing him back since my strength stat was much higher. This magic, must be the enhancer boosting his strength. I''m gonna have to put both of them out of their misery. I could save them but he''ll just use them as meat shields. It''ll be better if I just end their lives right here. I quickly got the hunter off me and pinned him on the ground. I then finished him off with a Fallen Descent. Turning my attention back towards Myran, there was now a look of panic on his face. Exactly the expression I was looking for. "Damn it, boost me!" He said forcing the enhancer to boost him and she did what he said. "Take thi-!" GRAM!!! With a powerful punch to the stomach, I sent him crashing into the wall. I then turned to the enhancer and tripped her before finishing her off with Necrosis. Her body slowly shriveling up before rotting. Whoa... I didn''t think Necrosis did this. To be honest, I think I''m a bit scared to use this skill now. Good thing that didn''t happen to me when I fought Ravyn. But anyway... I approached Myran as he struggled to stand on his feet. "Must''ve been fun ying with their lives until now since I took care of them. Now-" I pointed my hand at him and I made a spinning shadow de. "I''m going to end you. Anyst words?" Myran didn''t say anything but fell forward and grabbed onto my ankle. "I''m guessing that means you''ve given up. It''s disappointing since you didn''t put up a good fight. Though there were a few close calls, that was nothingpared to my fight with the pig." He didn''t say anything but attempted to freeze my leg. I countered it by wrapping my leg in mes and he leaped back. I threw my shadow de at him and pinned his cloak. I made one more before I grabbed his arm and sank it deep into his hand. But what happened next was unexpected. Krrsh! I felt a sharp pain in my left arm and once I looked at it, what appeared was a hole. "When did... this happen?" Did I get hit and I didn''t notice it? No, that can''t be it. I was never hit once and that trickster puppet didn''t have any weapons on him. I got this right as soon as I stabbed his left hand. "Hehehe, aren''t you going to finish me off?" Myran snickered as he grabbed my right arm. I smacked his hand away and proceeded to cut his middle finger off. sh! Another sharp pain and this time, it was my middle finger. I pulled away and quickly healed my hand. "It hurts, doesn''t it? Well, luckily for me it doesn''t hurt at all." Myran chuckled as he grabbed the shadow de stuck to his cloak and sank it into his left arm. I watched as blood spilled from the gradually opening gash on my left arm. Crap, what am I doing? Watching him do his dumbass magic trick. I ignored the pain in my left arm and dashed towards Myran, but then he shed his left leg and I tripped. "Ack!" Damn it, how is he even doing this in the first ce? "Confused, aren''t you? That''s because you were foolish enough to approach me that I managed to trap you in my Red String of Pain!" "Red String of... Pain?" "Hehehe, yes, the Red String of Pain. When I link my heart with my foes, our senses will be shared, that also goes for pain. However, judging by the look on your face, I have Pain Negation, and you don''t." Aah, so that''s what this is. "And may I question how this can be undone?" "Hmm. Well, I''ll tell you since... you can''t do it, anyway. In order to break out of my Red String of Pain." Then he pointed at my chest. "You have to rip your own heart out!" ... "Aha, AHAHAHAHAHAHA! You can''t do it, can you! Of course, nothing can survive without a heart besides the undead. So unless you''re an undead, you can go ahead and break out of my Red String of Pain. Oh wait! You can''t, because you''re not an undead!" He cackled with his face high in the sky. So I just need to detach my own heart from my body huh? Seems easy enough. Using Swift sh, I dug into my chest and grabbed my heart before ripping it out of my chest. Once Myran noticed I had done that, the smile on his face quickly vanished. "Are you crazy? You''re a human... you can''t survive without a heart." "I know, but you said all I need to do was detach it, right?" I opened my chest and ced my heart back. My organ mended itself back into my body and I healed my wound. "Get lost!" I quickly shouted before sending him flying with a Soaring Dragon Fist. He flew back and crashed into the wall once again. I stepped back and made a distance between us. "Your Red String of Pain won''t affect me now, and I think I''ve yed around long enough." "You bastard, I''ll kill you!" "Try if you can, but you''ll just end up dead after this." . . . Chapter 41: Cocytus Chapter 41: Cocytus I could hear a growling noise reverberating through my head as I healed my left arm. "Come out and y Osiris, I already know you''re itching for a fight." Readying my fist, Osiris appears on my body. It let out a deep bellow as its skeletal tailshed the ground with violent intent. "Grrrr~" I turned to Myran who gave me a look of disgust. "Don''t think you''ve won just because you''ve powered up!" "Powered up? I haven''t even shown you my full power yet. Stop talking and let''s fight." Myran yelled andunched a wave of flesh spikes at me. I turned around and Osiris'' tail quickly swatted them away like bugs. "What!?" "Neat, right? Not only can I control this tail at will, but it can automatically deflect any iing projectiles." Using sh Step, I''d close the distance between us in a sh. "Now I believe it''s my turn to attack." With an Inertia Fist to the stomach, he was sent flying. "Bastard!!!" He sent Frost Bolts at me which I countered with a wave of me Pirs. When that wasn''t enough, he sent strings made of ice towards me. I deliberately let him get my arm and I could feel him using his Red String of Pain again. "Got you now!" Yes, he got me, but he also got Osiris as well. "ROOOAAAAAARRRR!!!!!" A piercing cry would echo through my head but I stood unaffected. Myran on the other hand wasn''t so lucky. "Aaauuggh!!" After disconnecting my heart and cing it back again, I started creating bones. Collecting the organic material around me, I shaped a few bones enough for me to perform Boneyard. "Rise and serve me." The bones quickly connected and rising from the ground was an army of skeletons. I ordered them to attack Myran, which they obeyed. As the skeletons approached Myran, he began to ce his hands on the ground and suddenly the entire arena ground was encased in ice. The skeletons slipped and broke apart on impact. Some managed to stay up and continued forward. Suddenly I felt a bad premonition and a secondter, I was impaled by an ice spike. However, I didn''t feel the pain and when I blinked, I was on the ground unscathed. "What the-?" Then my sense went haywire and I performed Fallen Descent, smashing the ice beneath me. An ice spike must''ve protruded exactly when I smashed the ground because when I did that, ice flew everywhere. "Hmm, so that''s how Premonition works." At first, I thought I was just seeing things, which I was. If I get hurt and I don''t feel the pain, then that must mean Premonition is active. Going to have to be careful since I could easily ignore it by ident. "Die, die, die, die!" He sent me another wave of Frost Bolts. I used sh Step and quickly closed our distance. In return, I kicked the side of his head. Hended on his side and I heard a few bones crack. I should get a grip of him and finish him there. However, when I took a step forward, I felt a sharp pressure on the back of my neck. Then I realized I was surrounded by thin threads. "Hehehe, you took the bait." I didn''t move since I would immediately get decapitated if I did. I could feel it. The threads have some sort of razor on them. I''d lean a bit forward so the pressure on the back of my neck would subside. "Hehe, you can''t escape, can you? Otherwise, you''ll die." Hmm, I would sh Step away right now, but maybe I''ll just y with him just a little longer. "I may not be able to escape but that doesn''t mean I can''t fight." I''d snap my finger and my aura materialized. I began infusing mes into my aura and the surrounding threads began to melt. "Tch." "That''s not all you know." I pointed my finger at him and my aura quickly turned into thousands of shadow des. They relentlessly darted towards Myran. He didn''t have the time to react and he was nailed in his legs and chest. Most of my shadow des missed since I was covering up arge area but I managed to hit him. Although he has Pain Negation, I''m still able to damage him. All I did though was hinder him from standing or walking. I hit the ground and generated a Grim Dragon Cage around Myran, trapping him inside. "Wha-!? Let me out this instant!" "Nah, I don''t think so." I clenched my hands,pressing the cage to be smaller and smaller. "Better get out of there fast or you''ll end up squished and die." As the cage got smaller and tighter, Myran had no choice but to use whatever trump card he has hidden under his sleeve. "Damn it!" There was a sudden chill in the air and I stopped. Why did it suddenly get so cold? "DEMON LORD FROM THE IMMORTAL LAND OF ICE, LEND ME YOUR POWER-!" Myran yelled and a sudden chilling breeze blew against me. "LET ME FREEZE THE ENEMY STANDING IN FRONT OF ME AND IN RETURN I''LL GIVE YOUR THEIR SOUL-!" The ice on the ground a while ago was slowly returning to Myran. It covered my Grim Dragon Cage and that made me lose control. "I WANT A SCENERY OF NOTHING BUT ETERNAL WHITE! ICE THAT NOT EVEN THE FLAMES OF HELL CAN MELT! ONCE I CALL YOUR NAME, COVER THIS INSIGNIFICANT WORLD IN NOTHING BUT ICE! COCYTUS!" At that moment, a blinding light erupted and I could feel intense energy surrounding me. Ice traveled everywhere and when I opened my eyes, around me was a gigantic dome of ice. Crackle! I took a step forward and ice instantly encased my leg. I tried melting it but that didn''t do anything. Luckily it was thin so I was able to break out of it without breaking a sweat. So this is Cocytus? It may be unmeltable ice but it''s still ice so I can still break out of it. I performed Fallen Descent, smashing the ice-encased ground, but I didn''t even manage to make a crack. Just a tiny dent. I tried it again and again but I was unable to scratch the surface. "It''s useless." Myran broke out of my Grim Dragon Cage and approached me. "Once one is inside Cocytus, they are unable to escape. No matter how many times you punch the ice of Cocytus, it will just form over and over again. It''ll just be an endless cycle." I looked around and many icicles began to form on the ceiling. Is that so...? "I''m impressed you were able to bring me this far. No one besides my sister has forced me to use Cocytus. It''s been a while since I''ve fought someone like you." Myran took his cloak off, revealing his appearance. Like I expected he was a young elf boy but that ice on his back was a bit abnormal. He had some sort of spiky shell made of ice that almost made him look like a tortoise. "It''ll be fun to freeze you to death. Now it''s time to die!" He motioned his hand and I saw spikes protrude from every direction. I was stabbed but I didn''t feel the pain. A premonition! As soon as he motioned his hand, I quickly performed sh Step and got out of there quickly. When I appeared behind him, I took the opening and went for an Inertia Fist, only to be blocked by a wall of ice spikes. Falling back, I used Inferno and engulfed the entire area in mes, but even that was negated. The mes just died out. "You thought!" Myran quickly appeared in front of me and I received a blow to the chin. Luckily Osiris had shielded me just in time. That gave me the time to run away. "Running away? You think that''s going to help you?!" He threw multiple Frost Bolts at me which I managed to dodge. When he stopped I delivered multiple waves of Vtile Orbs. But then the icicles from the ceiling began falling. I quickly performed Grim Dragon Cage to protect myself and it managed to take the blow despite the thousands of sharp-pointed ice mercilessly striking it. When it was over, I dashed towards Myran with a Soaring Dragon Fist prepared. [Mana: 31,252,429/110,000,000] I know I was using a lot of mana but as long as I have mana left, I can do "it." A wall of ice stood in my way and my attack was wasted on that. "Behind you!" I quickly turned around and parried his iing strike. He had a sword made of ice in his hand but it was a good thing Osiris'' bones were tougher than it. "This isn''t all you''ve got... right?" Myran said with a creepy smile. I didn''t say a word as I attempted a reverse roundhouse kick to his face which he bent back to dodge. I then took the chance and performed Inertia Fist, sending him flying. "Yes, I''ve been saying I wasn''t going to y around but I just did anyway." I withdrew Osiris and began to let my dark aura spill out. "So, let me show you just how powerful I am." Myran stared at me in confusion. "Your Cocytus, if I guess correctly, it''s a domain... correct?" "Huh? So what if it isn''t?" "That means Cocytus will be no match for mine." "What?" The words were etched into my mind so I knew exactly what to say. "Before light, came darkness. An infinite void housing fear and nightmares." Myran must''ve noticed what I was doing because he quicklyunched a wave of Frost Bolts at me. My dark aura quickly shaped into shadow des and deflected his attacks. I''d continue to chant. "Even if it is erased by light, it''ll continue to exist. Light is but a pest to the god of darkness living deep in the eternal abyss, eternally shielded from brilliance." My aura would begin to darken and soon it waspletely ck. Not a single particle of violet wandered in the air. "Divine god, grant me the absolute power of darkness to trap my enemy from the light, for they will never set sight on it again." My aura shrunk and all of it was absorbed back into my body. "Bury the light and embrace the darkness." Myran dashed towards me, but it was already toote. I pointed my finger at Myran and a panicked look crosses his face as I finished the incantation. "Your nightmare begins here. Shadow King Domain." . . . Chapter 42: Shadow King Domain Chapter 42: Shadow King Domain "Shadow King Domain." Right after Nero spoke these words, the space around him seemed to shatter like ss. His aura expanded and diverged, covering Myran''s Cocytus, his domain of ice, at an rming rate. Eventually, there was nothing but eternal ck. In just a span of two seconds, Myran was standing in nothing but darkness. He looked down at his body and he couldn''t see himself. He could feel his own body, he could also hear his own movements; his senses were working except his vision. "What just... happened...?" Myran asked as he wandered around in this empty, dark ce. He was confused. Moments ago he just had the situation under control. He had Nero where he needed and he was certain he''d win after using Cocytus, the domain of ice, his ultimate trump card. "Where is... my domain? I know Iid it out... so where is it?" Myran crouched and pressed his hand against the floor. However, when he made contact, he felt his hand sink underneath. "What is going on?" His hand was tingling and a weird feeling crawled up his arm. He recoiled back and fell down. "This is... mana, but why is it so... dense? No, I was able to touch it, but my hand went through it! What the-!?" Myran was in dismay. He was able to feel it; the energy sticking onto his skin. It was so disordered that he could feel it everywhere in his body, but yet it was like it never existed at the same time. "How can such mana be so chaotic yet refined?" He began hyperventting as the energy slowly seeped through his body. The weight of it was light yet so heavy that his senses were going haywire. He felt his arm moving, but then a secondter he couldn''t feel it anymore. It was then when Myran realized- "Could this be-?" "Correct. This... is my domain." Myran was startled and quickly spun around before receiving a sharp blow to the head. Another blow followed but it was delivered to his back, damaging his ice shell. "Ough!" Blood came out of his mouth as the strike was delivered. As he fell, he couldn''t stop himself from puking blood. "What is this... feeling?" There was an irregr sensationing from the ces in which he was stricken. It took him a while but he figured it out. "This is... pain... but how?!" Myran has always lived with the ability to negate pain. He was born with it ever since birth. He never experienced any sort of pain, whether it was emotional or physical. When he was injured, he''d shrug it off as if it never happened, but he was feeling pain, it was his first time and he had no idea how to react. "Simple." Nero''s voice spoke again but he was nowhere to be seen. "My domain can do three things. It can negate, absorb, and reverse any sort of attack performed. Not only that, but I can mess around with any mana floating inside my domain. Since every living thing is born with mana inside, this also goes for that as well." Myran felt a hand touch his shoulder. "In other words, I control your energy. It is not me that you should be worrying about anymore, it''s you. Your own life force is your own enemy." Nero pat his shoulder and Myran was dumbfounded. "Go ahead, try it." He pulled his hand away and Myran quickly turned but Nero was nowhere in view. "Behind you." He turned and his vision was restored. When he spotted Nero, he was giving him an amused look. Seeing that, this enraged Myran and he began umting mana into the shell on his back. "Don''t get so cocky!!" When he fired his Frost Bolts at Nero, they seemed to hit but Nero was somehow unaffected. "Huh?" Myran gasped in confusion. "Hmm... did you miss?" Nero said as he patted his body down, checking for any damages. "Tch." "Hmm, maybe try again." Myran clenched his teeth and created Steel Threads. At the end of those threads, he created sharp ice des. "I won''t miss this time, you''ll die right here!" Nero shrugged the statement away and walked forward. When the ded threads were only a few inches away from hitting him, they suddenly seemed to move out of the way. Then they came back, going after Myran himself. "Huh?!" Myran ducked and the threads flew past him. When he focused his attention at the threads, they disappeared. "Damn it, just die already!" Creating an ice de, he swung it at Nero but it was easily blocked. "Seems you weren''t listening. Now, doesn''t it feel... cold?" Myran gulped as he felt his whole body begin to freeze. "No... how? I''m supposed to be resistant to the cold!" "Looks like you really didn''t listen huh?" Myran swung his fist which Nero caught. Nero then pulled Myran closer to him and struck him in the stomach with his palm. POW! "Awk!" For his whole life, Myran has never thought this would happen to him. He was the one that was supposed to deal pain to others, not the other way around. When Myran fell to the ground, he thought Nero was finished, but he was wrong. "There''s still more!" Another palm strike was dealt to Myran''s stomach. The force of his attack was so powerful, it instantly shattered the shell on his back. Nero continued to thrash Myran with his palm which was now infused with Sage Art energy. After repeatedly pounding Myran in the stomach, he eventually began to deal damage to his organs. As Myran was being battered like a punching bag, a voice echoed through his head. "Promise me you''ll return home safely..." It was the voice of his mother, reminding him of the promise he made when he was a child. A surge of adrenaline rushed through his veins and he roared. "DAMN YOOOOUUUUU!!!!" Another blow was dealt to Myran''s stomach, but he managed to withstand it. "I''LL KILL YOU, I''LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!" Myran''s left arm which Nero had a hold of began to glow. An icy aura wrapped his hand, signaling the beginning of his counterattack. "FREEZE!" "Sure." Crackle~! But that went wrong quickly. It wasn''t Nero''s arm that was frozen but Myran''s. Myran was in terror as he saw his arm encased in his own ice. He couldn''t move or feel it. After a few seconds, it eventually felt irritating, something he never felt before. It was too cold, too cold that he was beginning to tear up. "H-h-how?" He stuttered as Nero began pulling on his arm. "I believe I did say I can reverse your attacks on you. It''s your own fault for not listening closely." A grim smile appeared on Nero''s face as he quickly pulled Myran''s arm, ripping it off. When his body finished registering the pain, an agonizing howl emitted from his mouth. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He fell to the ground as he watched blood spill from his shoulder. "It hurts, doesn''t it? How is it? Doesn''t pain feel amazing?" Myran was in too much pain to respond. All he could do was whimper as the pain seeped through his body. "Y-you..." "Hey, I know! How about you use that domain of yours? Ahh, Cocytus, was it? Yeah, go ahead, I''ll lend you the required mana too if you need it." Nero was crouching beside him while holding his detached arm. Myran couldn''t do anything but watch in horror as his arm was reattached. "Go on. Let''s see what you got." Nero lifted Myran up and allowed him to walk. He gulped as he walked away from Nero. "Come on." Nero urged Myran to perform Cocytus. ''This bastard... how dare he!'' This thought wandered through his mind and a smile appeared on Myran''s face again. ''How ignorant... he really thinks he can counter Cocytus? No one that I''ve fought has ever been able to beat Cocytus, not even my sister! He''ll get what''sing!'' As Myran umted energy into his hands, he began the incantation. "Demon Lord from the depths of immortalnd of ice, lend me your power... Let me freeze the enemy standing in front of me and I''ll give you their soul... I want a scenery of nothing but eternal white... Ice that not even the mes of hell can melt!" An icy aura began to materialize as Myran shouted. "Once I call your name, cover this insignificant world in frost! Cocytus!" A blinding light erupted, covering the dark walls, and a violent breeze of frost flowed through the air. But then the light was covered and everything was gone, once again, leaving nothing but darkness. Myran stood in shock as his attack had quickly been neutralized. "I-impossi-" Snatch! "Ack!" Nero appeared and snatched Myran by the neck, lifting him off the ground. "Impressive, right? Not only can I neutralize attacks, but I can even nullify other domains as well... even if they are stronger than mine." With a firm grip, he mmed Myran headfirst into the ground and vanished. Myran quickly got up but froze right after. "In this world, my ability to manipte darkness and shadows is limitless. This very darkness itself is my shadow. Your shadow... is merely an insect. I''ve already taken control of you, exining why you can''t seem to move." Nero appeared in front of him and grabbed the top of his head. Myran yelped as Nero''s grip tightened up. "You better do some serious self-reflection in the afterlife. Of course, I''m talking about hell since heaven wouldn''t suit someone like you who offered their loyalty to a demon lord." With no mercy, his strength instantly increased as a result of his bloodlust. "Be grateful that I''ve decided to kill you this way. I was nning on torturing you with my shadow des, but I''m already running out of mana to keep up this domain." Myran took onest second to think of what his mother would say if he died like this, but he was toote when Nero''s hand crushed his skull before tearing his head from his body, silencing him for eternity. . . . Chapter 43: Enter the Warlock Hero Chapter 43: Enter the Warlock Hero Myran''s headless body limped onto the ground. Hmph, he never stood a chance. I''d drop his head, his head rolling across the ground towards his body. I looked at the blood on my hand and licked them off my fingers. Ding! [Multiple Skills have Leveled up!] [Title Obtained: Enemy of Cocytus] [Levels in Store: 375] [Passive Skills in Store: Sub-Zero Resistance, Thread Creation, Pain Negation, Earth Maniption] [Active skills in Store: Cocytus(Locked)] [Skills in Store: Steel Threads, Razor Threads, Freezing Threads, Frost Bolts, Frozen Land] I see, it would make sense that Cocytus is locked since I don''t have the required passive skill. If only I could pick what skills I wanted but I guess you can''t have everything. Now, I believe that''s all I can do. My mana reserve is almost gone. I withdrew my Shadow King Domain. My Shadow King Domain was made up of two parts: my aura and my shadow; the dome and the atmosphere being my aura and the floor being my shadow. My domain hadpletely consumed Cocytus so it was clear when I withdrew it. I dropped to the ground after withdrawing my domain. Looks like I''ve also exhausted a lot of stamina. He was a tough enemy I must admit. [Mana: 1,603,000/110,000,000] I''m a little astonished that I consumed so much. If this continues one when I fight stronger enemies, it won''t end so well for me. I also can''t rely on Shadow King Domain every time I fight an enemy. It''s not that easy to summon it considering it takes a while to start it up. "So you killed him" His sister descended,nding next to his body. I got up and crossed my arms. "You gonna kill me for it?" She turned to me and then back to her brother. "No." "May I ask why?" "If you managed to beat my brother''s Cocytus, I must acknowledge you as a dangerous man. However, I will not kill you. My main reason is that I want to fight you in the future." Hmm? Is she serious? "I''mpletely vulnerable you know? You could kill me right now." "That wouldn''t be fun now, would it? What would the point in killing you achieve anyway? Vengeance? Revenge for my brother? I don''t get it." She crouched and ced her hand on Myran''s deceased body and it was instantly encased in ice. "I will retreat. My army has already been taken off and the heroes areing. I will leave with my brother''s body." She sat on her broom and floated into the air, her brother trailing alongside her. "We will meet again. Goodbye." And she flew off. I sighed. Guess I lucked out again. "Master!" "Nero!" I turned. Looks like they took care of the army. "Good job you two." I took a step forward but my legs gave out, luckily Inded in between their breasts. Aah, today must really be my lucky day. "Let''s go now, I''m pretty tired." The two nodded as they began carrying me towards the exit. Suddenly, I was shot in the back of my neck, the tip of the arrow sticking out from the front of my neck. And then, everything was normal again. A Premonition! "Both of you get down!" They obeyed and I quickly equipped Osiris. Osiris'' tail thenshed at the iing arrow. ng! I equipped the mask and turned around while letting down my hair. "Damn it, he blocked." Kai said as he got another arrow. Well, well, couldn''t this day get any better? I smiled under my mask as I turned back to Ravyn and Kiyomi. "You two retreat, I''ll meet you back at the wagon." "R-right." "Will you be ok Master? We can help." Kiyomi asked me. "I appreciate your offer but this is my fight. Don''t worry, I won''t die." Kiyomi looked a bit distressed but she eventuallyplied. "Ravyn, let me borrow your mana." "Huh? Alright." [Mana: 41,324,127/110,000,000] As I borrowed her mana using Shadow Harvest, Kai had his bow readied, this time aimed at Kiyomi. "Tch, you aren''t escaping." He fired but I caught it before it struck her. "Damn it." I looked over my shoulder and used Wolf''s Blood. The two were now out of range. Thank goodness. I turned towards Kai and behind him were the other sev- no, there were six, one was missing. Risa "Are you the demon general?" Kai asked as he readied another arrow. "No, but if you are looking for a fight, then let''s fight." "Hmph." I saw that everyone had their weapons ready. Hmm, I should make this easier for myself since I just had a fight moments ago. "I have no business with the four of you." I said pointing to the Berserker, Assassin, Summoner, and Enhancer hero. "You three are the ones I want to fight." I pointed to Kai, Murai, and Jessica. The three looked at me confused. "Tch, just shut up!" Kai fired an arrow which came at me at ultra-speed. I managed to Shadow Shift in time and went forward. I first went for Kai, as he would be a bother when I''m fighting the others. However, Murai stepped in front of me. "Lion''s Roar." A powerful force struck my stomach but I managed to resist it. "Hmph, Soaring Dragon Fist." I returned a punch that blew Murai back. He would crash into Kai in the process. sh! I turned and Jessica had a bright light at the end of her staff pointed towards me. "Light Beam!" Her staff shot out a bright beam that darted towards me. I mmed the ground and the beam fell off course, hitting Murai and Kai. "Shit!" Jessica would charge up another attack but I punched the ground and trapped her in my Grim Dragon Cage. I also did the same with Murai and Kai. "Tch, damn it! Let us out!" Kai yelled at me as he reached for his bow. I sh Stepped in front of him and snatched his bow away before using Swift sh, shing the side of his cheek. "Hmph I missed." I was aiming for the neck but I couldn''t reach any further since the spaces in Grim Dragon Cage were only so small. Hmm, now that I had them trapped. I could kill them right now. But it would be a shame if they didn''t know who killed them. "How does it feel to be the one kneeling now?" I''d release them from the cage before striking all of them in the stomach and throwing them against each other. "It''s not so fun now, right Murai?" "H-how do you know my name?" "Hmm, maybe you would know Kai." "bastard." At least someone knows what''s going on. "Kai, you know him?" "You''re an idiot, it''s obvious who you think he is!" "B-but he lookspletely different!" I watched as they panicked and attempted to fight back but I already trapped them in another cage. "How long has it been since we''ve met? About a month, or maybe longer?" "Tch, Naoko. So you finally stopped being a pussy, huh?" "A few things can change a man you know? I expect you are still the same snobby faggot I still remember. Well, that''s pretty obvious actually." "So what are you gonna do, huh? Kill us?" "Precisely, and then I''ll kill the king." "Pff, don''t make meugh, you wouldn''t do such a thing." He quickly drew another bow from under his cloak and fired an arrow at me which I dodged. I saw Jessica perform a spell and my Grim Dragon Cage was quickly dispersed. She began firing multiple rays of lightning at me. I Shadow Shifted back and deflected the beams before charging forward with Shadow de Assail. I noticed Kai was off his feet and I targeted him first. Vwoomp! "Huh?" I grabbed his face and mmed him to the ground. "Hmph." I then headed over to Murai. I did a sweeping kick, knocking him off his feet. "Whoa-!" He fell. I stamp on his face as he attempted to get up onto his feet. "Not so entertaining now when you''re the one facing the ground, huh?" I pushed him down, pressing his face against the floor. The others saw what I was doing and ran to stop me but I stomped the ground and activated Grim Dragon Maw. A dragon''s jaw erupted from the ground and blocked their paths. It didn''t bite down because I didn''t want it to. "You interfere and I''ll kill you as well." My words seemed to make them understand what their positions were. I resumed. "Maybe I should deal the first blow to you." I umted all my mana into my right fist, charging up Fallen Descent. However, I stopped when I felt an overwhelming energy source approach us. I quickly withdrew my attack and sh Stepped away as a sphere struck the ground. There was no explosion, but it left a crater where it hadnded. Descending from the sky was a man dressed in a white short-sleeve coat over a ck turtleneck, skinny red pants, and ck boots. His short hair was divided in two colors; the right was ck and the other was white. The same went for his eyes as the one was silver and the other was like a diamond. He had pale skin and tattoos covering his arms with many ck rings and bracelets on his arms. "Am I interrupting something?" He asked. I used Analysis on him and inspected his stats. [Level 1793; ss: Warlock/Sorcerer; Title: Warlock Hero] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Analysis, Explosion Magic, Disintegration Magic, Cursed Red Arts, Cursed Blue Arts, Cursed White Arts, ck Magic, Void Magic, Transcend Active Skills: Void of Suffering, Violet Nephilim, Aura of Incineration, Fatal Detonation Skills: Scornful Orbs(Lvl.9), Dissipating Sphere(Lvl.6), Burning Curse(Lvl.7), Obscuring Strike(Lvl.8), Meteor Explosion(Lvl.7), Banshee Bolide(Lvl.6), Blue Devil Arm(Lvl.Max), Red Angel Palm(Lvl.Max), Cerulean Cyclone(Lvl.Max), Scarlet Storm(Lvl.Max) ------------------ His power, his level they were very high, higher than mine. I also noticed he was a hero. The Warlock hero, to be exact. "I thought the other batch of heroes wouldn''t be summoned until a monthter. When did youe here?" "Hmm, I think I came here a week ago." A week ago, huh...? Damn it, only a week? A week and he''s already over a level one thousand? He''s... on a whole ''nother level. I doubt that he came here alone. But it wouldn''t matter, considering that the warlock ss is one of the strongest sses in existence. "Looks like this is as far as I can go." I slowly began to back up against the dark corner of the arena. "I may be arrogant, but I am not so cocky to fight someone of your caliber," I said to the warlock hero who in return said- "At least someone knows their ce." I may know his abilities, but to underestimate and fight a warlock is like going up against a nuclear bomb. A warlock alone can destroy an entire army or if they had the power, an entire country. They are essentially weapons of mass destruction. "My strength has run out after fighting the earlier guy. I am retreating, but before that, may I ask you your name?" The warlock hero nodded and opened his mouth. "Giuseppe Valentino, you can call me Joseph." "I see, I will bear your name in mind." With that, I fled using Shadow Shift. . . . Chapter 44: Back on the Path Chapter 44: Back on the Path On my way back, I used Stealth to cover my tracks. To think that one of the other kingdoms has already summoned their batch of heroes and it just had to be the one including the warlock. But who would''ve thought he would be nice enough to let me go. He had no hostile intentions toward me, but I still have doubts. Either he was willing to let me go or he was just good at hiding his bloodlust. Along the way, I tripped and fell onto the floor. I couldn''t lift myself up because I had run out of energy. Crap seems this is as far as I can go Osiris which I was still equipped with was returned to Ethos Arsenal. I rolled myself, facing the sky. A week and he''s at that level? That''s hardly believable, but if what Yukie says is true, then I will not question. [Transcend: With their shackles unleashed, they are granted overwhelming growth| Effect: XP earned ying enemies x100(Applies to skill levels as well)] Transcend and to have it on someone with such monstrous power I say someone is being a little prejudiced. Oh well it doesn''t matter, I have Derivation. But it''s nothingpared to Transcend I''m gonna have to get my hands on that but getting near him would be difficult. I should also not forget that those two are also higher level than me. Kai Murai those two were around level 600. I took a quick look at them while fighting and they had no skills that boosted their growth. Luckily, due to the boost from Reaper''s Life Energy, I managed to overpower them, but they''ll eventually catch up. I''m cking very. If I continue growing at this pace, then I''ll end up back where I was, at the bottom. I need to get offensive. Once I arrive at Maroon, I''ll take whatever quests they can offer. I''m bound to be going up against a powerful beast. I can even get the chance to get another weapon like Osiris. But for now, that''s a distant dream, I need to get stronger. After a while, I gained a bit of my strength back and headed towards where west left the wagon. "Master, what took you so long?" Kiyomi asked as she ran to my side and helped me towards the wagon. "There was a bit of a miscalction, but luckily nothing major went wrong." The warlock guy Giuseppe, he''s gonna be a hard obstacle to get rid of. Looks like I''ll have to pause my n for revenge until he''s out of my way or until I have enough strength. My objective now should be to get stronger. Giuseppe isn''t the only one I should be worrying about. That ice elf the energy she gave off was calm but its density is massive, making Giuseppe''s energy level a mere ant inparison. If I were to guess, she''d probably be around level 10,000, or higher. We''ll fight soon, huh? I guess I''ll be looking forward to it. As we were now back on the road, I looked through the skills that I had gotten from Myran. [Passive Skills in Store: Sub-Zero Resistance, Thread Creation, Pain Negation, Earth Maniption] [Active skills in Store: Cocytus(Locked)] [Skills in Store: Steel Threads, Razor Threads, Freezing Threads, Frost Bolts, Frozen Land] Thread Creation, something I don''t have. I guess I can take that for myself and the skills along with it. I can give the skill Frozen Land to Kiyomi, along with Cocytus. Pain Negation, I would give that to myself but my body itself has been able to endure any sort of pain, including tearing my own heart out. For some reason, I didn''t feel much pain from that. It still hurt, just not much. Guess I should give that to Kiyomi since she doesn''t have it. I think I''ll also grant her Earth Maniption and Sub-Zero Resistance. I think I''m favoring her a little too much over Ravyn but looking at Ravyn''s stats, she''s pretty much set. Now the levels. I''ll give them both 50 and then rest for myself. They already got some levels from fending off the army I told them to take care of, so this should be fair. Ding! [Leveled up!(275)] [Passive Skills Obtained: Thread Creation] [Skills Obtained: Steel Threads(Lvl.5), Razor Threads(Lvl.5), Freezing Threads(Lvl.5), Frost Bolts(Lvl.5)] [Notice: If the skills you obtain are at max level, they will start at level 5] [Notice: Host already possesses the skill Frost Bolts. Levels will be added instead. (Lvl.6)] Ding! [Skill Obtained: Grim Dragon Thorns(Lvl.1)] [Grim Dragon Thorns: With one powerful stomp, a line of countless thorn bones will appear from the ground towards your enemy| Effects: Summon a line ofrge thorns at your enemy, impaling them from below| Condition: Consumes 100,000 mana per use] [Passive Skills Obtained: Ameliorate] [Ameliorate: For every creature in, you gain more XP. This will apply to skill levels| Effects: Gain x10 XP for every kill] [Notice: Ameliorate will automatically rece Excess. Proceed?] [Ameliorate has reced the skill Excess] [Notice: Sub Titles have been unlocked!] Sub Titles? [Titles that you can have active under your main title. The effects of your titles in these slots will still be active] [Current Title: Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead] [Sub Title(0/3): None] Sub Titles, so I can only have three of them? Well then if I must, add Homicidal Tendency and Sin of Gluttony. Also, switch the current title with Brown Rank Adventurer, I can''t be walking around in the public with an intimidating title like that. [Title: Brown Rank Adventurer] [Sub Titles(3/3): Homicidal Tendency; Sin of Gluttony; Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead] Now that I think about it, I did get a new title, didn''t I? Enemy of Cocytus, was it? [Enemy of Cocytus: Marked as an enemy, beings from Cocytus will be after you| Effect: Your aura will have a small chance of attracting enemies from Cocytus] I see, this could be troublesome but at the same time useful. Enemies from Cocytus, if I ever encounter one, they''ll meet the same fate as Myran did. Just more food for me. Guess I should equip that as a title since it won''t take effect unless it''s equipped. I guess I can switch it out with Homicidal Tendency. [Sub Titles(3/3): Sin of Gluttony; Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead; Enemy of Cocytus] "Nero." I turned to Ravyn who was looking out the wagon. I asked her what''s wrong. "Don''t you feel it?" "Those presences? Yes, I have, I just don''t bother caring." "Are you sure? They seem to be attached to your shadow though." I shifted my attention and looked out the wagon to see five stray souls wandering around in the wagon''s shadow, which was connected to mine. "Kiyomi, stop the wagon for a second." "Yes." When the wagon was stopped, I stepped out of the wagon. "What do you want?" The shadows stepped out and appeared in physical forms. They were the shadows of the ice elves that Myran was using as his puppets. I must''ve absorbed their shadows on ident while absorbing my domain. "We''d like to thank you for freeing us from his control." The shadow of the assassin spoke as the others began to kneel. "In return, we would like to serve you." Is that so? Well, I haven''t used Shadow Envement which bends all shadows to my will. Guess these five are willingly serving me. But before I do ept their fidelity- "What made you want to serve me? Was it because of my disy of power that you were so infatuated with my power? Or was it because you fear what I would do if I had enved you instead?" "It was the first and another reason. We believe you will hear us out when we tell you what this reason is." "Ho? I''m listening." "We elves have lived for many years and gained vast amounts of knowledge. Whether it''s light elves, dark elves, ice elves, we know all. With that knowledge and power, we have prophets, oracles, sses not many can unlock." "So you are telling me you can show me my future through prophets?" "Precisely." "I see" "Please let us serve you, we owe your our life for freeing us from Myran." "Now that I think of it, how did you fall under the hands of Myran?" "Myran along with his sister are heirs to the Glynna family. We originally served under his father until he was murdered and took his ce, then used us as his puppets." Is that so? "We were never loyal to him, only his father. He was filled with avarice because his sister was chosen as one of Cocytus''manders. He was fascinated by Cocytus'' power and he wanted to be his right-hand man, but his sister took that from him." So he was basically a little child swallowed by his own greed and envy. "I see. Then he marked himself for death after encountering me. Makes sense." "So-?" "You can serve me. However, I need to take precautions if you ever try to betray me. You wouldn''t mind, would you?" "As long as we get to serve you, we do not mind." I snapped my fingers and chains erupted from my shadow. They slithered over to them andtch onto their ankles. "Those are to make sure you don''t betray me. I take measures pretty seriously." "We understand." "However, I have one condition." "What is that?" "Don''t talk to me unless it''s important and don''t interrupt me when I''m doing something important. You got that?" The shadows looked at each other before nodding. "Good..." The shadows nodded before returning to my shadow. Heh, they''ll be useful. Especially since most of them are good for stealth. Now... I need to rest. As we continued down the road, I was beginning to fret about the hero situation. I read in a history book about how heroes are summoned. Now that another batch of heroes has been gathered, there are now a total of 17 heroes, including me. Though I bet the others are small fries, only he worries me the most. I''m going to have to step my game up if I ever encounter him again. . . . Chapter 45: Transcendent Warrior Chapter 45: Transcendent Warrior About a week ago "What is this divine presence?!" One of the warlocks probed as he watched the sight in front of him along with a few others. The kingdom of Romanus. Unlike the kingdom of Paragon, demi-humans, beastmen, and other species are treated like humans; equally. In the chamber where heroes are summoned, 7 out of 8 have already been assembled and their titles are given. However, only one has yet to be evoked. "Why is there such powering from this one?" Another one spoke. "I don''t know, but such power!" The circle began shing and shined even brighter until the entire room was plunged in light. Then a tremendous force poured out, sending everyone flying. "GAAAAAH!!" The force was powerful, powerful enough to cause the entire castle to shake. One could mistake this as an earthquake but it was not. To be exact, this was the vast amount of one''s inner potential or a god. Eventually, a man appeared in the middle of the circle, crouching down like the terminator. "Jeez, what a shy entrance. Why couldn''t I have had that?" Said one of the other heroes. The man stood up and swept his hair back. "W-wee eeh?" One of the warlocks tried to greet him but when he turned towards him, he flinched. The man had a striking appearance. It was so stunning that it would make you think he only appears in novels or mangas. He had hair both ck and white, eyes silver and diamond, tattoos all over his slim athletic body, and 190 cm tall. "Hmm" He looked around and inspected the chamber. The look in his eyes was simr to a person that is prudently watchful and discreet in the face of danger or risk. "Where am I?" He asked, turning to one of the warlocks. "Y-you have been summoned here by the goddess, Kuruna. You are tasked to help rid the demon king from this world." The man rubbed his chin and thought about it. "Kuruna? Was that who she was?" He mumbled before shrugging. "May you please ce your hand on the mirror?" The warlocks asked as they presented the mirror to him. He walked over to the mirror and ced his hand on the mirror. However, instead of words appearing, the mirror only fractured, eventually giving up and splitting into many pieces. Shatter! As the pieces fell onto the floor, the warlocks gasped in surprise while the man only tilted his head in confusion. "Was that supposed to happen?" He asked, turning to the warlocks. "N-no. P-please wait here, we''ll get you a new one this instant." The warlocks exited the chamber, leaving him with the other 7 heroes. "Hmm, strange." He crouched, picking up one of the pieces of the mirror to inspect it. "H-hey." Someone tapped his shoulder and he turned. Standing in front of him was a young teenager. He had ck curly hair, green eyes, and a pair of ck sses. "W-what''s your name?" He asked nervously and the boy tilted his head. "Giuseppe Valentino, but you can call me Joseph." "M-my name is Tadashi Tomo." "Tadashi, huh? It''s nice to meet you. By the way, why don''t you go back to them and tell them to talk to me themselves?" Joseph said as he pointed to the three watching Tadashi in the background. "Wait, how did yo-?" "For now, you should stick with me if you don''t want to get bullied." "I see" "By the way, what was that about?" "Oh, that mirror you somehow broke is supposed to show your status. Like what hero and level you are. Though I think all of us start at level 1." "What hero are you?" "Oh, I''m the Bard Hero. Basically, all I do is support while ying music." Tadashi tried to keep up a smile but inside he hated his role. The others around him got better titles such as Sentry Hero, Sorcerer Hero, Enchanter Hero, Trickster Hero, Knight Hero, and Witch Hero. Despite not visible, Joseph could sense the uneasiness inside him knowing he didn''t like his role. "Don''t worry, if I get a better title, I''ll be sure to protect you." "Heh, thank you." After a while, the warlocks returned with a brand new mirror. "Alright, may you?" Joseph smiled and he ced his hand on the mirror once again. Letters began forming, but somehow it was different than the rest. The ss had shattered once again but then it was as if time had reversed. The shattered ss floated and the mirror fixed itself. Then the words appeared, and what was on it surprised the warlocks. [Giuseppe Valentino, the Warlock Hero(Lvl 100)] Instead of starting at level 1 like all the other heroes, he was already at level 100. "This is truly-!" "Fascinating" "To think that we would have a warlock hero and already level 100!" Joseph took his hand off the mirror and the moment he took it off, the mirror shattered again, this time into more pieces. "W-what?" One of the heroes from the group that was bullying Tadashi a while ago was stunned. "How?" Joseph noticed this and smirked. "Wow amazing," said Tadashi. "Well then, what do you know?" "Heh, to be honest, I''m a bit jealous that you got a better title than me." "Honest? You are probably really jealous aren''t you." "Heh heh, yeah" "Ahh don''t worry, as long as you stay near me, nothing will happen to you probably." "Yeah wait what?" As these two continued to talk, the three from the group started to get jealous. Why? Well when you have a group of three hardcore otaku''s that have a heroplex, they''ll obviously want to be the center of attention. Not to mention that the three other heroes are girls. "Wow he''s handsome isn''t he?" "Yeah" "I want to talk to him..." The leader of this group: Fujita Botan, was ring at Tadashi and Joseph, mainly Joseph though. "Tch, he thinks he''s better than me just because he has a boost? I''ll catch up to him in no time. After all, I am the Knight Hero! I''ll have all the bitches love me!" "Yeah, the Sorcerer Hero is with you bro!" Said the short fat guy next to him. "The Sentry Hero is also at your side!" Said the tall muscr guy also next to him. As the three cheered, they didn''t know they were getting a face of disgust from the three girls. Joseph shook his head as he chuckled and went on first to follow the warlocks out of the chamber. They were brought over to the king, August Romanus. He gave them all a warm greeting and even threw a party for them. It was a fun time for everyone and August was fascinated by the heroes, principally Joseph due to his talent. "I can''t believe that someone like you was summoned to me!" "Well, you must''ve done a good deed in order to have me here." It was true. Of the five main superpowers on this continent, only Romanus doesn''t have a history of violence. It was vast in both military power and wealth. August Romanus has done the best for his country and has almost most of the other kingdoms backing him up. After the party was over, everyone was brought to their rooms, and the next day, their training began. The trio; Knight, Sorcerer, and Sentry hero were sparring with each other to raise their levels. There are many ways to level up other than ying monsters. You can spar with others or consume relics to level up. The thing is they won''t level up as much. The king had his own arena where he keeps monsters for knights and mages to train against, that''s where the other heroes were. After training for 2 hours straight, they were already around level 30. "I think that''s enough sparring, let''s head over to the arena!" When they arrived at the arena, they spotted Joseph leaning against the wall watching the others train. "Not training huh? Are you confident in your abilities?" Fujita said in order to provoke Joseph but all he did wasugh. "What are youughing about?" Fujita questioned. "Why don''t you just use Analysis on me huh?" The heroes were gifted with a scroll that granted the skill Analysis before they started training so they can keep track of other''s progress. Fujita used analysis and his draw dropped upon viewing his status. [Level 312; ss: Warlock; Title: Warlock Hero] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Analysis, Explosion Magic, Disintegration Magic, Transcend Active Skills: Aura of Incineration Skills: Scornful Orbs(Lvl.3), Dissipating Sphere(Lvl.4), Burning Curse(Lvl.3) ------------------ "L-l-level 312!?" "Hmm, I think I''m cking on skills a little bit. I should learn some tomorrow. Good thing I have ess to the library." "What!?" The king allowed the heroes to go anywhere they want, except the library. The reason why is because the library holds scrolls and knowledge that should not be exposed to the public. It''s only essed by those that the king allows and the king himself. "Why the hell is he getting special treatment?" An enraged Fujita mumbled under his breath before walking away to train. Another day had passed and Joseph was given a title by the warlocks and the king himself. That title was Transcendent Warrior. . . . Chapter 46: Overwhelming Strength Chapter 46: Overwhelming Strength The demon king''s army has invaded most countries on the continent. About half of them have already been destroyed and subjugated. Late at night, August was sitting on his throne as he thought about what to do next. If one were to attack his kingdom right now, it would put everyone in fear. As he has no thought of what to do, he decided to ask his friend who was a warlock residing in Paragon. "What do you think I should do, Celestia?" He said speaking into the crystal orb. "Well, Authorian has already sent his heroes out to take them on. Though I say he is rushing things a little. Right now, it''s a mess." "Why is that?" "You see, only the people of Paragon know, but I''ll tell you. One of the heroes has betrayed the kingdom, or that''s what they are saying." "Which hero?" "The Inept one." "Huh but why?" "Well, judging by the name, you can guess why. The Inept Heroes in the past are known for not being able to grow because of well, you know. However, this one managed to make a name for himself. His name was N-Naoko, I think." "I see, I will bear that name in mind." "Yeah, I bet he''s yearning for vengeance, but seeing how Authorian has the powers of the kings just like you, it will be a difficult journey for him." "I see a hero out for vengeance, huh?" August was not surprised. He knew Authorian for a very long time and he knows everything about him. He knows just how gullible and foolish he is. He knew he would not have made a good king but Authorian was an only child with no siblings, so he was made king nheless. "I rmend you send your heroes to take care of the iing army arriving tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, Authorian wants to speak with you at his castle." "Is it about the hero?" "I believe I have nothing else to say, do I?" "Yes, old friend. I''m hoping you are teaching duke Oria''s daughter well." "She has potential, but shecks confidence. If this continues, I might have to hire an assistant. Well anyway, I''m taking too much of your time and I''m tired. Let''s talk again soon." "Yes. Goodbye." *** The next day, the heroes had assembled in the courtyard. August walked up to them and handed each of them a bracelet. "What is this?" Fujita asked him. "This is a telepathy bracelet. It will allow me tomunicate with you from far distances. I am heading to Paragon today while you will be heading to the front lines to fight the demon army." August began to notice that there were two heroes missing. "Where is the Warlock Hero and the Bard Hero? Joseph and Tadashi?" "We''re here." Everyone lifted their heads up and watched as Joseph descended from the sky with Tadashi floating next to him. "What the-? Is this flight magic?" One of the warlocks said as they watched Joseph float in the air. "You could say that, but it''s actually Cursed White Arts," Joseph responded. "Cursed White Arts? But that is sorcery!" "Precisely." Cursed White Arts, one of the many sub arts under Sage Arts in the Cursed category. Cursed White Arts allows one to control what is known as Hue energy. Hue energy is only essible from the void so it is impossible to manipte this kind of energy unless one possesses the ability to ess the void which is not easy. However, Joseph managed to gain this ability. Everyone used Analysis on Joseph and inspected his status. [Level 1412; ss: Warlock/Sorcerer; Title: Warlock Hero] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Analysis, Explosion Magic, Disintegration Magic, Cursed Red Arts, Cursed Blue Arts, Cursed White Arts, ck Magic, Void Magic, Transcend Active Skills: Void of Suffering, Violet Nephilim, Aura of Incineration, Fatal Detonation Skills: Scornful Orbs(Lvl.9), Dissipating Sphere(Lvl.6), Burning Curse(Lvl.7), Obscuring Strike(Lvl.8), Meteor Explosion(Lvl.6), Banshee Bolide(Lvl.6), Blue Devil Arm(Lvl.Max), Red Angel Palm(Lvl.Max), Cerulean Cyclone(Lvl.Max), Scarlet Storm(Lvl.Max) ------------------ "S-such growth!" "He really is the definition of a transcendent warrior." "H-he even possesses Void Magic!" As everyone inspected his status in awe, Joseph''s right hand was wrapped around in blue energy and the telepathy bracelet that August had in his possession flew towards him. "I''ll be taking this, though I''d say I don''t have enough room for them." He looked at his arms covered in ck bracelets and rings. "Here Tadashi, hold on to it for me." "Right!" Everyone knew why Joseph was floating, but they were confused why Tadashi was also floating until they inspected his status as well. [Level 482; ss: Bard/Supporter; Title: Bard Hero] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Analysis, Illusion Magic, Sound Magic, Blessing of Apollo, Blessing of Ihy, Blessing of Orpheus, Excess, Cursed White Arts Active Skills: Deafening Wave Skills: Notes of Destruction(Lvl.Max), Magic Boost Ultima(Lvl.Max), Strength Boost Ultima(Lvl.Max), Banshee Disruption(Lvl.Max) ------------------ Everyone was also in awe upon seeing Tadashi''s stats. Though he was a bard and not much was expected from him, his level was five times higher than Fujita''s. Considering the two had gone off to train, the results were tending to be surprising since they were under the tutge of a warlock. "Damn it, now he''s more powerful than me!" Fujita gritted his teeth as he was only level 103 with only a few skills. "Now then, we''ll see you guys at the battlefield," Joseph said. Joseph and Tadashi rose higher into the sky before he opened up a portal and entered it. *** In the south of Romanus, the border separating Romanus and Paragon had been taken over by an armyposed of 10,000 demons. Located in one of the towers was themander of the demon army. Like most demonmanders, they tend to rx and only fight if there is a major threat. Upon arriving, Joseph took off one of his bracelets located on his right forearm. "Activate, Mystic Eye of Interspace." Activating this, Joseph''s eyesight suddenly became enhanced, and he was able to spot the slightest of details from miles away. The Mystic Eyes of Interspace allowed him to see from far distances measuring up to a 100-mile radius. This also boosts the range of his attacks and anything involving eyesight. This might sound extremely useful(which it is), however, the amount of mana this ability costs to handle such a far distance would take up a vast amount, so he would always limit it to a few hundred feet. Joseph inspected the field and eventually found themander residing in the tallest tower. He deactivated his Mystic Eyes and equipped his bracelet, sealing the ability. "Should I give you a buff?" "No, there is no need." He then took off another one of his bracelets on his left arm. "Hold this." "Huh? A-alright." Joseph floated above the army which was in the middle of cheering and began amassing energy into his palm, using his spell "Dissipating Sphere." A yellow ball of energy appeared in his hand. He would bless the orb with Meteor Explosion, blowing onto it and an orange particle would circle the sphere. "In the name of God, you will all be sent to the underworld... painfully." He dropped the sphere and it slowly traveled towards the vast army. Then, right before it hit the ground, he used another one of his sealed skills. "Multiply." At that moment, multiple explosions erupted and the entire army was wiped out. The only thing left after the bombardment was an enormous crater. Tadashi handed Joseph his bracelet, and he sealed his ability once again. ''Impressive as always! Such overwhelming strength! If he had taken off all his bracelets and rings, he would be able to decimate anything! If only he could control it though,'' Tadashi would think while adoring Joseph''s strength and confidence. Those rings Joseph had on his fingers were called limiting rings and the bracelets were called sealing bracelets. Both of these were to suppress Joseph''s power due to hisck of control. "Now then, that should be enough to draw him out." Sure enough, themander of the demon army stepped out of the tower. It took him a while to spot the two flying in the air. Themander used his skill analysis and inspected the duo. "Hmm, both heroes. One is a bard, don''t need to worry about him. However, the other..." "Shall we take care of them?" One of his subordinates questioned. "All of you will go after the bard, the warlock I can take." "I think I''ll take all of you on..." Joseph''s voice quickly interrupted as he appeared floating in front of him. His subordinates quickly dashed forward but they were quickly neutralized when Tadashi used his spell, Notes of Destruction, and Joseph using Banshee Bolide, quickly sending them to the ground. They quickly plummeted to the ground while holding their ear. They couldn''t hear a thing but when they did, it was the cries of the souls in the underworld. In other words, they were already dead. They were deafened and weakened by Tadashi''s spell and killed by Joseph''s Banshee Bolide. "N-no way..." Themander swallowed his saliva as he fixed his attention on Joseph. "Now then... let''s start the party." . . . Chapter 47: Blue Devil Arm Chapter 47: Blue Devil Arm Themander quicklyunched a wave of energy spheres at Joseph but Tadashi had used Banshee Disruption sending them off course, passing Joseph. "Tch, you" Themander clenched his fist and he looked up at Tadashi. "Tadashi, stand down for now. I can take him on." "Alright then." Tadashi turned around and flew away. Themander took this as a chance to attack him while he wasn''t looking and fired fireballs at him. "What makes you think I''ll allow that?" Themander noticed the fireballs vanished as they entered a dark hole that suddenly appeared. A secondter he received an attack from his back. When he turned around, he realized he had attacked himself. "Wha-?" Wham! A sudden blunt force struck themander. He looked down to see Joseph''s fist thrusted into his stomach. "Burning Curse." A heated feeling began to build up in themander''s stomach, but then that feeling eventually turned into a scorching nightmare. "Tch!" Themander used sh Step and escaped from Joseph''s clutch, however that didn''t stop the burning pain in his abdomen. "Y-you!" Despite themander being able to resist fire, he couldn''t resist the energy that came from the void. Joseph watched as themander fell to the floor in pain and descended to the ground. "Seems I was wrong I''ll just put you out of your misery as you don''t prove much of a threat to me at all." He smashed his left fist into his right palm, creating a tiny void. "Blue Devil Arm." His right arm was engulfed in blue energy before it transformed into a devil-esque arm. "I''ll give you a chance to perform any trump cards you have up your sleeve. Otherwise, I killed you for nothing." The pain in themander''s chest eventually subsided away. Now that he was free of pain, he focused his attention on Joseph. "So be it. Be proud! For you are the only human worthy of witnessing my full power!" The ground shook, and a massive fiery aura appeared around themander, engulfing him. "Phantasm, God of mes!" The entire area was covered in malice energy and the floor immediately turned to dust due to the heated energy. The only thing left after the smoke cleared was ash. Standing in the ce of themander was a young boy with three horns on his head and he donned ck clothes covered in flowing white mes. "God of mes?" Joseph watched as mes vented from the side of the God of mes'' bright eyes. The God of mes rose his hand and pointed his finger at Joseph. "Mortal, die!" A ray of fire shot towards Joseph which exploded on impact. "Hmph, to think I would be summoned for such trivial reasons..." The God of mes would turn to leave. "Trivial you say?" The God of mes turned around as he heard Joseph''s voice. When the smoke cleared, Joseph had the ray in his devil arm which was then absorbed. "What...? How is that possible?" "The legendary arm of convergence. Otherwise known as the Blue Devil Arm. With this power, I am able to absorb the energy that this arm makes contact with. Then, I can convert that energy as my own." The God of mes seemed to be pissed as he watched Joseph stand around as if nothing had happened to him. "You... have you no shame possessing an arm forged from the void?" "Hmm... not really, but with this, I can kill fakers like you." "Fakers?" "People who think they can be God." "Fool... I am a God!" Joseph began umting energy into his devil arm, creating a small blue sphere. "Then try to survive this. A void that absorbs all life in its path." The God of mes began amassing energy which formed a giant orb made of mes and shot it towards Joseph. "Burn!" He threw his attack at Joseph as he was still in the middle of charging it. Joseph took off one of his bracelets and his ring. When he finished charging his attack, he threw it at the massive fireball. "Cursed Blue Arts: Cerulean Cyclone" The tiny sphere that was heading for the fireball transformed into a massive moving void, absorbing all matter, substances, and mana in its path. The God of mes'' fireball was quickly neutralized and it was now heading for him. He attempted to flee but it was as if he was being sucked in. "What-?" "Activate, Mystic Eyes of Interspace." The exerting force that the void caused was now stronger, pulling in the God of mes even more. "No... NO!! I cannot be defeated by a mere mortal such as you!" Joseph said nothing as he watched the God of mes get sucked into the void. "I will retur-!" But he was cut off as he waspletely swallowed by the void. The void then closed and Joseph deactivated his devil arm. "No one should use the father''s name so foolishly." He ced his limiter ring back on, then he looked at his bracelet. "Hmm, seems I unsealed the wrong ability. Well, if he was defeated by Cerulean Cyclone like that, then he was too weak." As he began to equip his bracelet again, he had forgotten to deactivate his Mystic Eyes. His vision was at maximum due to hisck of control, and he was now seeing everything from a far distance. In his sight, he saw an arena located in Paragon and even what was unfolding inside. "Hmm... to think the other heroes are having trouble." Joseph turned to Tadashi. "Tell the king I''ll be gone for a while." "Huh? R-right. Wait, where are yo-?" Joseph quickly opened up a void connecting him to the arena and walked through it. As soon as he approached from the other side, he threw down a Dissipating Sphere at the man who had pinned down the Warrior Hero. The man seemed to have noticed Joseph and quickly stepped to the side. Joseph''s Dissipating Sphere hit the ground but it didn''t explode, only leaving a small crater. The man looked up at Joseph as he descended from the sky. "Am I interrupting something?" Joseph noticed the man had some kind of skeleton mask on his face and couldn''t figure out how he looked like except for his eyes. The man''s eyes glowed green and the look on his face was as if he was inspecting him. Then the man spoke. "I thought the other batch of heroes wouldn''t be summoned until a monthter. When did youe here?" "Hmm, I think I came here a week ago." The man closed his eyes and seemed to think for a second. Then all signs of hostility faded away. "Looks like this is as far as I can go," He said as he began backing up into the corner. "I may be arrogant, but I am not so cocky to fight someone of your caliber." Joseph nodded, understanding. "At least someone knows their ce." "My strength has run out after fighting the earlier guy. I am retreating, but before that, may I ask you your name?" Joseph nodded and answered. "Giuseppe Valentino, you can call me Joseph." "I see, I will bear your name in mind." Then the man disappeared into the shadows. Before the man had disappeared, Joseph did manage to get a peek at his stats as he had taken off another bracelet, unveiling another hidden ability: Appraisal. With this ability, he not only got a look at his skills and level, he even got information on his stats and his titles. "I see... so that''s who he is..." Joseph understood as he sealed his abilities once again with his bracelets. "But why...? Hmm..." He didn''t want to think about it, so he just shrugged it off. He would then turn towards the other heroes. "Pretty embarrassing being defeated by someone with a lower level than you. Get stronger and you might stand a chance. Now then, I''ll take my leave." He said before disappearing into another void. *** It''s been 4 days before that event. Currently, we were traveling down the road headed towards Maroon City. In just 4 days, we''ll arrive where we need to be. On our way, I took a look out the wagon and spotted what looked like an entrance to a mineshaft. It was heavily covered in bushes and trees but with my vision, I was able to spot it in the corner of my eye. "Kiyomi, stop the ride." "Yes." As I got out, I walked over to the entrance and looked down the dark corridor. I eventually spotted what looked like some kind of door all the way at the bottom. "I see... so even they can be out here." The underground... looks like even the ck market resides in hidden and/or abandoned areas. I guess I should take a look and see what it has to offer. Maybe some skills would be fine. After encountering Joseph, I should prepare myself. "You two, hide the wagon and camp out. I''ll be gone for a day or two so you can do whatever you want up here." "Do you need us toe with you?" Kiyomi asked but I shook my head. "No, just me alone would do." I snapped my fingers and my shadow servants appeared. "What shall we do for you, my lord?" "Guard the perimeter and don''t allow anyone to get near them or this entrance." "Affirmative." The shadows then dashed away and vanished. "Stay here. When I get back, then we''ll hit the road." "Yes, master." I watched as they left to go hide the wagon and then entered the mineshaft. As I walked deeper and deeper, I could hear many noisesing from the bottom of the mine. When I opened it, it revealed some kind of underground city. The underworld... not to be mixed with the underworld from hell. ces like these are home to criminals and ck market businesses. You could say that I belong here since I am a fugitive myself. "Now then, let''s start exploring." . . . Chapter 48: Underworld Auction Chapter 48: Underworld Auction Walking through the streets of the underworld, I expected it to be inhabited by criminals only, but I spotted a few rich people and even those that looked like knights as well. It looks like it''s not just felons that upy this ce. The underworld really is a dirty ce to be. I searched around for anything that looked like a shop and stumbled upon arge building. I noticed that there were many rich people entering and the sign outside read that there was gonna be some kind of auction. So an auction, huh? I wonder what kind? Well, if I remember anything from auctions, they either put up rare items such as gear, spells, clothes, maybe even monsters that have been tamed. However, if I were to guess, there would probably be ves as well, probably either high quality or rare ves with favorable talent. I guess I should stick around and see what there is to offer but I''m mainly here to get myself some spells or two. Maybe even get me a pet. After thinking of what I should get and checking the amount of money I have on me, I would enter the building. The inside was a giant auditorium. Guess this is where they''ll be presenting the merchandise. Most of the seats were upied by the rich and the only ce left was the front. Guess I''ll be standing. I walked over and idled around, waiting for the auction to start. While that happened, I looked around and inspected everyone''s level in this room. Looks like no one in here has a level over 300, so I guess I''m safe from any threats for now. Suddenly, the room became dark, and spotlights appeared on stage. A man would then appear from thin air. He wore a formal suit and some kind of mechanical eye patch over his right eye. "Ladies and gentlemen, Lads andss, this year''s event is going to be a little special. Of course, the usual will be high-ss items that everyone here would want to own. There will also be dangerous beasts, spirits for you shamans to use, andst of all, useful disposable bodyguards." The man then walked to the side and an item appeared floating in the middle of the stage. I couldn''t see what it was at first, but then it came to view. It was some kind of armor piece that guards the chest. "Crimson Lava Armor, very rare in the southern parts butmon in the west! The opening bid is at 25 gold coins." That''s when people began to raise their hands and the price just got higher. "50 gold coins!" "50 gold coins! Any more?" "60!" "60 gold coins! Going once, going twice, sold!" One of the rich people stood up and rubbed his hands together. Recalling to when I inspected his stats, he was a warrior ss. I don''t know how foolish he thinks he is to wield armor like that because it''s way out of his league, but since he''s rich, he could have bodyguards able to wear this kind of armor. Anyway, the auction continued on. The next item was some kind of staff made with some kind of stone able to store tons of mana. It was interesting, but I didn''t really need it since my mana reserve is already so high. Next was a robe made of a legendary lion''s fur. This item got everyone''s attention, mostly the mages. Not only is it highly durable against des, but it is also able to take on any fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning spells. In other words, it''s resistant against the five main elements. The bidding was so high that the robe was now worth 5 tinum coins. It waster sold to some wizard. After a few more high-quality products, the beasts were brought out. The first one was some kind of giant wolf with blue mes spewing out from its mane. The amount of mana that it was emitting had filled the entire room, spreading fear due to its intimidating power. Though it could do all that, it wasn''t much of a threat to me considering its level is only 300 levels below mine. I am level 781 if you didn''t know. Myran''s death really did well for me. Despite its appearance, it was on high demand and eventually sold for 13 tinum coins. Next was a giant serpent. However, we only got an illusion of what it looked like since it was dangerous to keep it directly on chains. From what I heard, it was locked in some kind of prison enchanted with sealing magic. After the beasts came the spirits. There wasn''t really much to them and no one really wanted them except shamans. A ss that specializes in using spirits. Although some of them looked promising, none of them quite had the potential I was looking for. The only thing that was interesting to me was this small spirit made of nothing but light. Last came the "useful disposable bodyguards," but it was pretty obvious that it meant ves. The first one brought out was a rabbit girl. She had a petite build, long rabbit ears if that wasn''t already obvious, and donning silver armor. She also had aicallyrge sword on her back. Using Analysis, my assumption was correct. She was a berserker. [Level 546; TLR: 61%; Level Cap: 550] Her talent rate was also good. The only problem was her level cap. She looks promising, but I think it''ll be a pass on her. It would be a little dicey to show her to them. She was eventually sold at the price of 8 tinum coins. Next was a dragonewt boy. Despite being young, his talent was especially favorable. [Level 463; TLR: 77%; Level Cap: 463] He was a mage ss and even had formidable spells, but as the rabbit girl, his level cap was almost at its max. So again, a pass. He was sold at 2 tinum coins. More ves were presented and sold but none of them were suited to my interests. I needed one with a level cap at least 50 levels away from their current level or at least have a talent rate over eighty percent. At this point, I was getting bored and ready to leave. As I headed for the exit, thest ve was presented. "Last but not least, I present to you, a yer from the Dragon Oni Tribe." I quickly stopped where I was and turned around. Did he just say Dragon Oni Tribe? A rather tall girl was presented on the stage. She had a very fairplexion, which would make her look human if you ignored the horns and the eyes. She had two long horns that seemed to flow out from her head instead of protruding horns like an Oni would possess. They were curved, and they went from ck to red. Her eyes were blood red and diamond-shaped. Her long ck hair falling past her shoulders, which would suit her slender figure. While I was busy studying her, I realized that the bidding was going up fast! "5 tinum coins!" "9 tinum coins!" "17 tinum coins!" Crap, I was gonna leave, but this changes everything. Of course, anyone would want a piece of a Dragon Oni. They are what you can call a warrior race. Their strength, their agility, everything about them makes them considerably strong. They are also very rare as they are on the brink of extinction. They are basically priceless. Whoa now, calm down. I can''t get my hopes up because she''s a Dragon Oni, I need to see her potential. [Level 714; TLR: 92%; Level Cap: 853] Well, this just got even harder to decide. She is definitely a promising specimen. Her talent rate is especially what makes her special. It wouldn''t hurt to maybe buy her... "49 tinum coins!" "49 tinum coins! Going once, going twice, sol-!" "100 tinum coins!" I would yell out before he finished. Everyone turned to me as I rose my hand out. "100 tinum coins! Going once, going twice, sold! Sold to the man dressed in ck and silver!" Yes... I did it... at the cost of my prize from the old man. It may have been a waste to waste so much, but it''ll be worth it. "And thatdies and gentlemen will be the end of the auction. Please doe back." After the auction, those that were able to get their hands on something went to get their prize. The auctioneer was walking over to me with the Dragon Oni girl behind him who was in a cloak. "Mr..." "Nero is fine." "Ahh I see, you may call me Drew." We''d shake hands. Drew then took my hand and chanted the incantation which transfers the ownership of the ve which is connected to the ve cor. "Nero, you are really lucky, I must say. Never had such a high bidder before. Not even the wealthy ones that visit my auction have that much money." "Well, I can say the same for you." "Heh, if you are interested, there is one being held 2 months from now in the region under Maroon City." "How convenient, I''m actually heading there." "Oh? An adventurer?" "Yes." "Well, you are definitely a lucky one. Not many adventurers can be admitted to a city like Maroon. Unless they were born there, of course." "I see." "Heh, sorry for taking up most of your time. Now then, I''ll put her care into your hands." Drew then left, leaving me and the Dragon Oni girl alone. Let''s see, it should be dark by now, so I should find an inn. Even if it''s underground, there''ll be one nearby. "Now then," I pointed to the Dragon Oni girl, "Let''s find a ce to stay." . . . Chapter 49: Dragon Oni Chapter 49: Dragon Oni I found an inn not far from here. It was also a little cheap which got me a little cautious since I don''t trust low-ss inns, but since it was all an underworld city could offer, I just decided to deal with it. Now I could go back up to the surface anytime and travel to Maroon now, but that would be rushing things a little. First of all, I''m gonna have to gain this girl''s trust. The Dragon Oni girl sat on the bed, not making any movements. At first, I just thought she was a little shy to speak or maybe she was just building up rage, but that wasn''t the case. She had a stoic expression on her face and her eyes seemed to be empty. I nced at her and made contact, but then I felt a breeze go down my spine. I recoiled slowly, but she still didn''t make a move. Well anyway, I''m gonna need her name. "So, what''s yo-?" "Akane Tsuki." Hmm, I didn''t even finish my question. Under Akane''s cloak, I could see a Katana wrapped in bandages strapped to her waist and a glimpse of what looked like samurai gauntlets and assets made of crimson and ck scales. I used Analysis and checked her stats and skills. [Level 714; ss: yer/Assassin; Level Cap: 853] {Abilities} Passive Skills: yer Arts, Sage Arts, Sword Arts, de Proficiency, Ninjutsu Proficiency, Oni Arts, Dragon Arts, Blood Maniption, Dragon Skin, Excess, Bloodlust, Quicksilver, Dragon Might, East God Martial Arts, Dragon Fire Maniption, Dragon Heart, Space Maniption Active Skills: Deep Crimson Moon, Crimson Bloodcrest, Bloodmoon Dragon Call, Muramasa Ryuu Skills: Swift sh(Lvl.Max), Stealth(Lvl.Max), sh Step(Lvl.Max), Dragon''s Blood(Lvl.Max), Dragon w sh(Lvl.9), Soaring Dragon Fist(Lvl.8), Afterimage(Lvl.Max), sh Down(Lvl.Max), Crimson w sh(Lvl.8), Blood Armor(Lvl.Max), Deep Concentration(Lvl.Max), Blood Eclipse(Lvl.4), Blood de Assail(Lvl.3), Vacuum sh(Lvl.4), Muramasa Flurry(Lvl.2), Rising Dragon(Lvl.Max) ------------------ Wow... I''m stunned. With all these skills, she could definitely be called... the Crimson Dragonyer... or something like that. "So, what is it that you want?" I asked, but no response came out of her mouth. Hmm, this will be a difficult one, she''s not making any sort of movement. It''s almost as if she is deeply concentrating on something. If only she was like Kiyomi, then I might get some answers out of her. Well, I do have one solution, but I''m gonna have to put my guard up. I walked over to her and she looked up at me. I reached for the cor on her neck and got a hold of it before crushing it in my hands. Akane watched as the pieces of her cor drop onto the floor. I ced the shattered cor on the table. "Willing to talk now?" I asked her, but the second I turned around she had vanished. That''s when I felt a hostile presence from behind. I swirled around and equipped Osiris, countering the iing strike. As we created some distance between us, I gazed at the long Katana in her hand. The de was vermillion red, the tsukamaki handle''s pattern was almost simr to a real Katana, giving it the traditional diamond shape in the negative space. The guard was a miniature dragon head which gave it an intimidating look. She had taken her cloak off. She was wearing a ck turtleneck, ck leggings, and a ck scarf attached to her red armor piece on her right arm. Anyway, she''s finally moving now. I already know why she is doing this. She''s going to be testing me to decide whether or not I am worthy of being her master. This is the nature of some Onis. Some are free, while some can do nothing but serve. It''s... pitiful. To have the privilege of life only to serve another''s. Now then, I just need to pin her down, and I win. I dashed forward and she quickly swung her sword. I quickly ducked, evading her attack, and went for an uppercut. Akane was quick to react as she quickly teleported backward. Looks like she has great control with sh Step. Releasing mana from my hands, I shot Steel Razor Threads all over the room, creating a web. I stepped over to the table and blew out the candle, plunging the room into darkness. I had the advantage now since my powers are best suited in this kind of environment. I watched Akane, seeing what she would do next. She began breathing while positioning herself in a samurai stance. She continued breathing and eventually I saw her de glow. She continued to breathe until she stopped. Then she spun around and swung her sword horizontally. Though her sword collided with my threads, they didn''t snap until she sheathed her de. Clink! Snap! I heard every single one of my threads snap right after she sheathed her de. Not only that but I felt myself getting pulled forward. Akane then turned towards me with her eyes glowing and quickly unsheathed her sword. I bent backward, dodging her swift attack and countering with a quick jab to the side of her abdomen. She managed to withstand the blow and turned to deliver a kick to the side of my head. Luckily, my mask had managed to equip in time to suppress the impact. I performed Fallen Descent but noticed Akane was in a position to do an upper sh. I quickly used Shadow Shift and managed to escape her attack. I quickly got back on my feet and released my aura. My aura quickly dispersed and shaped itself into countless des. Akane responded by pressing her de against her palm and shed it, blood dripping onto the floor. That''s when I saw it float and shape itself into des simr to mine. I see... the ability to manipte blood. This girl has skills. Iunched my des at her while she did the same. Our des shed and created sparks. While she was distracted by that, I used Shadow Shift and appeared behind her. I quickly swept her feet, but then she vanished. I then noticed she was behind me. Damn, she''s quick! She jumped, about to perform a downward sh. I went for an uppercut, but then she vanished again, this time appearing on the ground. ...right... sh Down, a move like sh Step but instead of appearing anywhere else it makes the user shift to the ground and cancels any other movement they were performing. She would go for another upper sh but using Osiris'' tail I blocked. Landing on the ground, I grabbed her knee and threw her at the wall. This was my chance. I ran towards her and grabbed her by the neck before mming her to the ground. I then charged up a Fallen Descent and I was just about to hit her face but I stopped myself before that happened. She stared at me in surprise as I pulled my fist away and deactivated Osiris. "Done now?" I asked. I grabbed her arm and got her on her feet. She stared at me for a while before sheathing her Katana into her ck sheath. Then she kneeled and bowed her head. "I have recognized your power and will respect you as my master." I smiled as I walked over to the table and relit the candle. I would then walk over to the door. I turned to Akane who was still kneeling. "What are you doing?" She lifted her head and turned to me. "Let''s go. We aren''t going to be staying in this room all day, you know?" She hesitated before nodding and got up on her feet. I exited the room with her trailing behind me. As we walked downstairs, I realized that she was about the same height as me. Crap, I should have chosen to be at least 180 cm... or 190 cm! I only chose to be 175 cm because I don''t like to be too tall or too short, and 175 cm was the best height for that. Anyway, as we got to the first floor, there was a guy mming a girl into the table, causing a mess everywhere. "Useless bitch! I wanted more beer! Beer!" Therge guy said as he lifted the girl''s face up. "S-s-sorry! I''ll make it up!" She said as she wept. Watching this kind of pissed me off. Getting upset over some simple mistake, not to forget that she''s so young. I think this guy deserves to die. I walked up to confront him but Akane stopped me. She then walked up to the man herself. "Stop it," She said sternly. The man lifted his head and turned to Akane. "Or what? You gonna hurt me with that sword of yours, Oni?" He dropped the girl who copsed on the ground and then picked up what looked like arge hammer. I walked over and performed Quick Regeneration on her. "I''ll do more than hurt you," Akane said and the man clenched his fist. "You...!" Everyone around seemed to back up and ready to flee. I sighed as I walked up to them and suggested we take this outside. So we did. It was like a western standoff, except one has a sword and the other has a hammer. The man was a Tank ss, a ss simr to berserker but specializes in mostly defense and uses a hammer alongside a shield. However, this guy didn''t seem to have one. His skills weren''t much and he was only a level 395. I would''ve felt bad for him if he knew who he was dealing with. "I''ll smash you to pieces." He hollered a threat to Akane but that didn''t seem to phase her. Instead, she just kept up that same stoic expression. "Then I''ll beat you with only my fist." She said, getting into a fighting stance. The Tank held his hammer with both hands and red at Akane before dashing towards her. . . . Chapter 50: Raiding an Underground Casino Chapter 50: Raiding an Underground Casino "GrrrRAAAGH!!" Smash! The Tank mmed his hammer into the ground, creating a mini crater. Akane had jumped up into the air and she spun around, ferociously kicking the side of his head. He stumbled and fell on one knee. Akane appeared in front of him and punched him across the face, breaking a few of his teeth. The Tank got up and wiped his mouth. He swung his hammer at Akane''s horn which manages to hit. However, Akane began to phase, and she vanished. Then I noticed that she was running towards the Tank. But that''s when things got confusing. I saw another Akane behind the Tank who was in a position to perform an uppercut. It took me a while but I eventually figured it out. Afterimage. The Tank swung his hammer at the afterimage but it vanished as soon as he hit it. "Huh? Wha-" sh! Akane''s fist shed red and the Tank spun around. Akane then thrusted her fist straight towards the Tank''s chin, uppercutting him. GRAAAM!!! The impact was so powerful that the Tank seemed to float in the air. In a few seconds, he fell to the ground, unconscious. The fight was over and Akane had won. However Akane''s face became enraged, and she grabbed the Tank and mmed him into the ground. She did it repeatedly and wouldn''t stop even when his face was all bloodied up. I stood there and watched in amazement. Yes show no mercy I realized that I was sinking into my desires and decided I should stop her. I walked up to her and ced my hand on her arm. "That''s enough, he''s not worth anymore." She stared at me hesitantly before letting go of his head. We quickly left the premises before we got into any further trouble. I wanted to go to the scroll shop and get myself a new healing spell. Quick Regeneration is a good spell but when I was healing the girl from earlier, it took me an excessive amount of mana to fully heal her to her normal condition. It also takes me a while to mend up body parts such as when my arm was detached once when I was fighting that pig. Good thing I got him back by taking his life. Anyway, I noticed along the way that Akane''s hands were shaking as the blood dripped onto the ground from her hands. I stopped. "You know I could''ve done it myself, right?" She stopped and shifted her attention to me. "Tell me, why did you want to do that yourself?" We stared at each other for a brief moment. I noticed that her eyes were still glowing which seems to be the effect of one of her skills. I don''t know which, but it must be a powerful one if it emits such an intense amount of energy. "I couldn''t stand the way that child was being treated." Well, it''s natural if you see a child being abused like that. Almost gave me shbacks to my fa- old man doing the same. My hands clenched on their own and trembled. I took deep breaths to calm myself down, knowing that it won''t happen again. "I see guess you and I are a bit alike. However-" I began walking again and she followed me. "I would''ve killed him instead. I only stopped you because there were too many people watching," I said to her before entering the shop. *** I bought a scroll housing the skill "Instant Heal." It consumes more mana but at the cost of healing one to their normal condition. It''s best used when one is in a fatal condition and it also reced Quick Regeneration. I was going to use Instant Heal on Akane; she had a gash on her palm and some of her blood must''ve been mixed in with the Tank''s blood from earlier. However, her wound had already closed up. She told me it was one of the factors of being able to manipte blood. Interesting As we were walking back to the inn, we encountered the same girl from the inn on the streets. She was once again in a beaten state. I could sense the anger building up in Akane as she stared at the girl. Anger was also building up inside me. I walked up to her and cast Instant Heal. "Did he do it again?" I asked her as she returned to her normal condition. "Nn..." She nodded. I patted her head as I got her up on her feet. "Do you know where he is?" "Nn..." She nodded again. She told us where he had headed and that he was followed by a gang. I told her to return to her family and lent her some money before heading off. On the way, I could see remnants of Akane''s aura trying to manifest. "Don''t worry. Once we find him, you can let loose." I was also ready to beat the crap out of him. I also asked the girl what got her to be associated with that guy. The girl told us he was her family''s debt collector and that they can''t manage to pay that debt because they couldn''t earn that much. She told us that he was located in some casino and that is where we are headed right now. We''ll be raiding that ce. As we continued to the casino, I realized something. Why was I worried about that girl? I stopped and sank into my thoughts. What am I doing? Beating some thug for a little kid? What is even making me want to do this? ... Maybe it''s because I couldn''t stand to see a kid get beaten up like that since I''ve experienced the same thing. I''m doing it... to save others... right? Or am I just doing it to appease myself from my past? I shook my head and continued forward. *** We arrived at a door in an alleyway and we could hear loud noisesing from within. They must have some kind of party inside. Or maybe that''s just how loud casinos are. I never went to one before. I knocked on it and waited. When they opened the door to see who was outside, I snatched the guy by the face and yanked him out. Akane then entered and the massacre began. I continued to pound the guy I had just grabbed and for a minute I lost control of myself. As I was pummeling him, I had a massive grin on my face as I smashed his face to pieces. "Hehe... heheha... hahahaha..." A balefulugh leaked from my throat as I continued to pound this man. His face... he reminded me of my old man. This... This is truly fun... "Ahahaha... AHAHAHAHA!!!" ... By the time I realized, I was now punching the ground covered in blood. I couldn''t stop myself and I felt like I was having the time of my life. I don''t know how many minutes had gone by, but when I was about to use Fallen Descent, Akane caught my fist, stopping me. I came back to my senses to see that he waspletely obliterated. I stopped as blood leaked from my hands. Crap, my bloodlust got the best of me. I wiped the blood off my hands. It was definitely a casino inside since there was so much money everywhere, though they were all covered in blood. I used Wolf''s Blood and located the guy through the walls. Seems he is surrounded by others. Two of them. Their outlines were yellow, so they must be around our level. Using Soaring Dragon Fist, I opened a hole in the wall to the other room. "Huh?" The Tank turned towards me and hispanions did as well. "What the!? It''s you!" The Tank yelled as he picked his hammer up. With a quick peek, the two besides him were at level 800. Looks like it''s best to deal with them first. Akane went for therge guy while I went to attack the other. Before I did that, though, I sealed the exit with my threads. He swung his fist towards me, which I caught. Equipping Osiris, I returned a powerful blow to his face. He stumbled back as I kicked the side of his abdomen before piercing his stomach with Osiris'' tail. A feeling of satisfaction filled my heart before I was hit across the face with a Mithril hammer. I flew to the side and stumbled as I saw small pieces of Osiris'' mask fall onto the ground. This is... curious. Is he not the same guy that was beaten up by Akane a few hours ago? I turned and noticed that he was taking off a ring. I used Analysis and thingspletely changed. He wasn''t level 300 anymore, but instead 1000. "Heh, this is a limiting ring. I may look like I''m at the same level as these weaklings, but I am actually much stronger. Now..." He grabbed his hammer, and the veins on his muscles bulged. "Time to die." I got up and he swung his hammer once again. I sh Stepped back, evading the hammer. I dashed forward and jabbed his stomach before dodging another one of his attacks. I would go for a quick uppercut, but he managed to avoid it. Hmm, not only is he stronger than before, he''s even faster. Well then, guess I should get a little serious. After evading a few of his attacks, I jumped back and summoned my doppelganger. A figure emerged from the shadow and took my shape, even with its own version of Osiris equipped. "Now then..." I hopped around before taking a beckoning stance, my doppelganger following. "Let''s have some fun," I said before finishing with a crooked smile. . . . Chapter 51: Reawakened Feelings Chapter 51: Reawakened Feelings While Nero was busy fighting the Tank, Akane was struggling to take down the enemy standing in front of her. "Hya!" The man who was a Berserker ss swung his giant sword, but Akane easily evaded his attack. Akane drew her de and shed with the Berserker. ng! Sparks flew as their weapons shed, but the Berserker seemed to have the upper hand in strength. Akane struggled to fight back as his strength was slowly towering over her. "Hehehe, can''t wait to decimate you!" The Berserker arrogantly stated. Akane quickly sh Stepped back and began breathing. She continued to breathe in and out before activating her skill, Deep Concentration. Her eyes dimmed and she waspletely focused on the Berserker. Her skill Deep Concentration allows her to focus on an enemy and the more she focuses on that enemy, the more her strength and her speed grow. This also goes for perception as well. The Berserker dashed at her as she got into a stance. When the Berserker brought his sword down on her, she used her skill, Dragon w sh, knocking the sword out of the Berserker''s hand. "Tch!" The Berserker lost his weapon but not his will to fight. He tackled Akane, but she evaded. She sheathed her de and clutched her hands before charging towards the Berserker. The Berserker threw an overhand which she easily dodged. She appeared below the Berserker and prepared to perform an uppercut. However, he noticed and went for a hammering move. Akane sh Stepped away, appearing above the Berserker. She had the upper hand, but then the Berserker got ahold of her leg. Her concentration was interrupted and she was mmed repeatedly into the ground. "..." Akane could only keep up her stoic expression. Akane didn''t let out a cry of pain due to her passive Dragon Skin. Her defense was equal to that of a Tank or Berserkers, but since she was an Oni, it gave her even more durability than them. This was due to her Oni physiology, as they are known for their strength. The Berserker mindlessly continued to thrash Akane around, but she wouldn''t feel the pain. Something she''s never experienced. As she allowed him to do that, she turned her attention to Nero. Nero with his doppelganger was dominating the Tank as he struggled to hit Nero. He was hit in the face, the chest, the legs, any other body part that could be named. Akane assumed that Nero had everything under control over there. She was checking if her master was safe or not due to her nature as a servant. Unlikes most Oni''s, Dragon Oni''s have two purposes. They are either given freedom like most are given or they are cursed to serve others. It is unknown why some are cursed to serve as Oni''s are known to be a proud species who serve no one but it could be about something between the ancient war between Dragons and Onis. Not much was recorded about this incident but it started because of an affair between the Oni prince and the Dragon princess. At the time, Oni''s were ruled under a king and they still are, except that the current king is of a different bloodline. The war was murderous and itsted for several decades before agreement was formed. However, changes were made to the royal family of the Onis, and a new king was established. The results from this war created the Dragon Onis. Hybrids between Dragons and Onis. They were also cursed as half could attain freedom as the other must serve, stripping them of their freedom. It wasn''t just the prince and the princess that created this result as many others did as well. It is unknown as to who is the descendant of the prince and the princess is but they are alive, or they could''ve already been wiped out. Akane was one of them, one stripped of their freedom. The only thing she could do was to serve. She doesn''t have much of a purpose in this life but to serve. But she couldn''t do that if she was being thrashed around. Akane struggled to escape from the Berserker''s clutch as he had both of her legs. Akane couldn''t escape with sh Step as she was pinned. The only choice she had was to wait it out. But luckily Nero managed to notice. He left his doppelganger to deal with the Tank and dashed towards the Berserker, delivering a sharp punch across his face. The Berserker let go and Akane was free. She got up and watched as Nero pummeled the Berserker. She watched as a grin slowly appeared across Nero''s face. Just the sight managed to give her chills. As an Oni, she should not be able to feel fear just by watching someone grin, even if it''s her master. It would make sense if he disyed an abnormal amount of power that she has never witnessed before but she''s seen this kind of stuff. When she was a child, she trained under the tutge of a Blood Oni, giving her the power to manipte blood, and a Dragon Oni. She was blessed at a young age to be the guardian of a young Bloodmoon Dragon, a dragon only seen when a Bloodmoon appears or when she calls for it under a Deep Crimson Moon. She''s witnessed brutal events that have never phased her. She''s held her ground against any sort of danger and not once has she felt the need to fear. In other words, she had abandoned her emotions. However, they''ve slowly begun to awake. And it was all because of him. The man in front of her. Nero continued to bash the Berserker into bloody bits and Akane continued to watch. However, they hadn''t paid attention to another. "Got you now!" Akane''s focus snapped back and when she turned around, a sudden force mmed against her horns, shattering one of them to pieces. She flew to the wall and a painful sensation erupted where she was hit. She tried her best to hold back a cry of pain and sessfully managed to, but she couldn''t stop the tears from overflowing. She held on to her broken horn as the feeling of pain filled her entire body. An Oni''s horn is considered a part of their life-force. If that part of the Oni is broken, they will feel as if half of their life-force had just been robbed from them. That''s the feeling she was feeling right now. The Tank approached her as he lifted his hammer. He managed to take out Nero''s doppelganger as Nero hadn''t given it mana. Meanwhile, Nero was still busy pounding the Berserker to even notice what was happening around him. He was intoxicated by his bloodlust once again, which hindered his senses. "You should''ve never messed with me, you bitch!" The Tank said as he brought down his hammer upon Akane. Akane has been called many things in her time of servitude. ve, servant, monster, bitch, etc. This never phased her because she never really cared. It was just normal for her. She thought that this would be the end of her and she was going to ept it. She closed her eyes, ready to embrace the attack. But right when the hammer was about to collide with Akane, something else had gotten in the way and it collided with that instead. "Huh?" The Tank gasped as a sharp blow was delivered to his stomach. Akane opened her eyes and nced at the hammer stuck in the floor. Not only that, but there was an arm holding onto the hammer''s handle. However, it was disconnected. She shifted her attention to Nero who had his fist up the Tank''s stomach. She then noticed that he was missing his left arm. Despite missing an arm, Nero started his assault on the Tank and pinned him down. He had his grip on the Tank''s face and slowly began to tighten his grip. "Y-you... you''re a monster!" The Tank said. "A monster?" Nero tilted his head with a puzzled expression until a grim smile appeared on his face. "No no no no," He shook his head before giving out a terrifying grin. "I''m nightmare incarnate." He then unleashed his bloodlust and used Necrosis, the Tank''s body eventually beginning to rot. The Tank didn''t even cry because he was already dead before he knew it. The Tank and the Berserkers were dead. Nero stood up and took a deep breath. Then he sighed as he turned around. Akane had gone unconscious due to the loss of stamina. Nero walked over to the hammer and picked his arm off, eventually mending it back into ce with Instant Heal. He managed to snap out of his rampage and noticed what was going on. He had used sh Step and caught the Hammer by the handle and push it to the side to avoid hitting Akane. Since it was in motion, it had managed to rip his arm off. If it had been smashed to pieces, he would''ve lost his arm. Small cuts and gashes were easy, but regenerating body parts was something else. Nero eventually realizing that everything was done. It was time to head back. He picked Akane up and exited the casino. Along the way back to the inn, Akane''s eyes fluttered open, and she saw Nero who was carrying her. "Don''t worry Akane, you''ll be fine." Akane felt a certain warmth inside her when her name was mentioned. It was because that was the first time that someone has ever called her by her name. . . . Chapter 52: Freedom...? Chapter 52: Freedom...? We eventually returned to the inn. I ced Akane on the bed as she was unconscious from losing one of her horns. I heard Oni''s can''t grow back a horn they''ve lost and that they lost half of their strength when they lose one which is not good. Luckily, I went back and had managed to get every piece of her broken horn back. It took a while since some were a little hard to find, but luckily with Wolf''s Blood I was able to find them. After that, I pocketed every coin I could find. I mean, who would leave money lying around like that? I''m just gonna hold on to it for safekeeping. I managed to salvage about 142 tinum coins in total. It was worth it. Looks like 4 hours weren''t wasted for no reason. Now, I was currently casting Instant Heal on the broken pieces of Akane''s horn. Since it was part of her, it should be heble. Eventually, it was back to normal and I walked over to Akane and mended it back to ce. That should do. [Status: Fatigued] Well that''s a message I haven''t seen in a long time. I guess I should be tired after going on a mindless rampage. I''ll just sleep at this table My eyes fluttered open. I rubbed my eyes and let out a long yawn. As I began stretching, I eventually realized that I was covered in a nket. Hmm? Wonder where this came from. The door opened, and I shifted my attention to whoever entered. Akane walked in with a cup in her hand. She then approached me and ced the cup on the table. "What''s this?" I asked in curiosity. "Coffee." She replied. I grabbed the cup of coffee and took a little sniff. It smelled a little funny, so I just put the cup on the table. I''ll drink thatter. "So Akane, how do you feel?" I asked, pointing to her horn. "I feel alright. I don''t know how you managed to reattach it, but thank you." A little smile appeared on her face, but she quickly wiped it away and wore her stoic look. I shook my head and walked up to her. "You look better when you smile." When I said that, her face began to redden up. "I-is that so?" She said with a flustered expression and I couldn''t help but chuckle. "Of course. Is there something wrong with smiling?" "M-my former masters never allowed me to smile and I was forced to always keep up an unemotional look. They said that it makes me look vulnerable." Well, she wasn''t wrong. She actually looked a little cute when she smiled. Almost like a little girl. "I have a proposition." I dered. Akane stared at me with a puzzled look. "You can either serve me. Or, you can walk away and be free." We stared at each other. The air became tense as I waited for her answer. I know why she was struggling to answer. Dragon Onis like her whose sole purpose is to serve is being given the chance to be free. No one knows, but an Oni with no freedom can be liberated. Books sold on the ck market are really useful to have. Then she opened her mouth. "I I want to be free." That was her answer. "Is that so?" "Yes." She said confidently. "Then you may go." Akane looked around in confusion and didn''t know what to do. She headed for the door but then headed for the window. I watched in sympathy as she struggled to leave. There is another fact. When Dragon Oni''s are given the chance to be free, they go into a state of confusion. With no goal, the only thing they can do is fret as they struggle to think of what to do next. In other words, they''ll eventually be insane. They never experienced freedom, so they won''t know what to do. I watched as Akane dropped to the ground and begin to weep. It was sad. She must think this was how it feels to be free, to be confused and distressed. I got up from my seat and walked over to her, patting her shoulder. "It''s alright I''m here. I will show you the true meaning of freedom." *** Eventually, she settled down. As she rested in bed, I got curious and took a look at her sword. I''ve been curious ever since my eyesid upon it. It was the first Katana I''ve seen in this world and my instincts just told me to swing it around, but I held myself back. Analysis allows me to also see the sort of materials that things are made of, which is quite a useful aspect. The material that this sword was made of originated made from materials only found in regions where Oni lives. Well, it would make sense since she probably grew up around her brethren. Oni''s leave their domain to venture out when they reach the age of 18. I wonder just how long she''s been separated from her family. I looked over my shoulder and Akane was still sleeping. I should get Appraisal soon. To have an enhanced version of Analysis would be better. Anyway, one day has already passed. I''ll be leaving this ce tomorrow. So much has already happened in one day. I''m a bit surprised. I also gained a new title, but looking at makes me a little embarrassed. [Blind Berserker] Not really fitting unless you have seen my rampage. I guess I kind of deserve it. It doesn''t really do anything except that it doubles my strength whenever I''m bashing someone into bits. I managed to consume their blood and got a ton of levels. However, in return, I barely got any skills from them. Only one. [Levels in store: 1252] [Passive Skills: Warhammer Proficiency] Well, at least I got free money and a few skill levels. I looked out the window and watched as people passed by. It''s a good thing that the underworld isn''t controlled by any form of government besides gangs, but I already dealt with that. I could control this ce if I wanted since I am technically the strongest one here, but I think people deserve freedom. Freedom... I always say freedom, but do I really know the true meaning of freedom? What is freedom? Is it the choice to do anything without worry? Is it to escape any sort of problems that have been harbored? Or is it the privilege to speak out whatever? There should be one to answer my questions, but for now, I have multiple goals I need to fulfill. One of those is to gain more power. This world survives on the concept of the strongest shall survive. If I am at the bottom, that will be the end of me. I just need to get stronger... but I''m already running out of ideas. A dungeon would be nice to find but clearing it would be difficult. Maybe I just need to kill more demons... or wait for them toe to me. After all, my title "Enemy of Cocytus" should be attracting enemies but none havee to me yet. I can be patient but I need to get stronger soon. Without strength, you cannot protect anything... I know that. Eventually, I got thirsty and took a cup of cold coffee. I took a little sip and headed for the door when suddenly my vision blurred. Oh crap... I forgot... never drink something from... a low-ss in- Then everything went ck. ... ... ... When I woke up, I watched as two thieves went through my stuff, searching for anything they could find. They eventually walked over to me and patted me down. I tried to move but my body wouldn''t respond. Crap... They would find my pouch of coins and grab me by the legs. Wait... where are they... taking me...? I don''t know where but I didn''t get the chance to find out because they didn''t know that someone was watching. Akane was standing at the door. She put her hand on one of the thieves'' shoulders and the confused thief turned around. "Huh?" Suddenly, blood erupted from his nose and eyes. Then he fell on the floor, deceased. The other thief realized, and he shrieked in fear. "EEK!" Akane approached the other thief. He slowly back off and went for the window, attempting to open it. However, he was quickly killed once Akane put her hand on his shoulder. After that, Akane picked me up and ced me on the bed. Then I cked out once again. When I woke up, the room was empty; no signs of blood anywhere. I got up and stumbled a bit until I got to the table. There was a note and I picked it up. When I scanned through the note, I couldn''t help but smile. Freedom... I''m d she''s found out her own meaning of it. Well... we will meet again... soon. . . . Chapter 53: Deep Crimson Moon Chapter 53: Deep Crimson Moon So I didn''t know soon meant tomorrow. When I exited the underground city and reached the surface, there was a little surprise waiting for me at my wagon. Here was the situation. When I arrived at the surface. My shadow servants returned to me and gave me a message. "What is it?" I asked them. "My lord, there seems to be someone speaking with your partners." "Someone? Who could that be?" "She''s a Dragon Oni, and she says she knows you." That''s when I realized who it was. I quickly walked back to the wagon and sure enough, standing there chatting with Kiyomi and Ravyn was Akane. Kiyomi was the first to notice me and called out to me. "Master!" She ran to me and hugged me. I was a little flustered as she hugged me but I just let it slide as it felt warm. "Master, we found someone who said she knows you. Do you by any chance know her?" I looked over at Akane who seemed to be shuffling around. "Yeah, we met in the underground." "I see, she dide out from where you came from." "Yeah" I told the two to ready up the wagon. I walked around to find Akane petting one of the pegasi. I approached her and hovered the note in front of her face. Her face then turned red as she attempted to grab the note from my hand. "You know, you spelled some of the words wrong." "I-I" It was a funny sight seeing an Oni, a proud warrior struggle to get a piece of paper. I eventually pocketed the note and Akane stopped with an embarrassed look on her face. She even pouted which was cute. "Freedom huh? Weren''t you going to go off by yourself to find out?" I would ask. "I did but I was a little lost." I couldn''t help but snicker. "W-what''s so funny?" "Nothing. However, I do want to know why you returned to me? Actually, do tell me how you knew those two were connected to me?" I asked pointing to Kiyomi and Ravyn. "W-well they were talking about you when I got out." "Talking about me? About what?" "Well they said something about you doing stuff to them in bed." I gulped. "Y-yeah I wonder what that stuff is" Do the girls not have any other topic to talk about? Is this what girls talk about? Sex? Judging by how Akane doesn''t know it yet, she must be a virgin. "I see so then you just walked up to them and said you know me?" "Yes." I''m gonna have to teach them about stranger danger. They should be lucky that I know Akane but if it was someone else, that would be troublesome. "Well then, answer my previous question. What made you want to return to me?" Akane stayed quiet for a few moments but then she spoke. "I want to know what freedom is. I believe if I follow you, I''ll find out the meaning of freedom." "Hmm, so that''s why?" "No, I also want to return the favor." She inched closer to me and I lifted a brow. Return the favor? How? By the time I figured it out, her lips had connected with mine. "Gasp!" I separated myself from Akane and turned to Kiyomi and Ravyn, who had seen the whole thing. "Master you have me you know." Kiyomi put her hand over her mouth as she began to cry, but I already knew she was faking it. Though Ravyn on the other hand was giving me a face of disgust. "Womanizer." She said bluntly, and I scratched the side of my head. "Well guess you cane along with us." I turned back to Akane, who smiled and nodded. "Yes." We got on the wagon and got back on the road. Along the way, Akane pledged her fidelity to me so I can use Mark of Fidelity on her. I ced it on her back. I also found out that she had some kind of tattoo on her back that resembled a dragon. Though I was surprised for a bit, I just shook my head. Of course, she''s gonna have a dragon tattoo, she is a Dragon Oni after all. I''m so stupid sometimes. She also had a very nice back... As we continued down the road, I realized something. How the hell are we gonna get Akane to enter Maroon? She doesn''t have identification, an adventurer card, nor an invitation into Maroon. I asked Akane if she had any of that and she said no, so that got me worried. We could travel back to the town where Ravyn used to live but it''s toote for that. "I actually have a solution," Akane said. "You do? For us to travel back to that town?" "Yes, but we will have to wait till midnight." When the sun fell, we went off course and hid in the forest. We waited till the moon was in full view. Akane walked forward into the moonlight and held her hand up in the air. "The moon I wish for it to drown in crimson hell, and emerge deep crimson." Suddenly, her crimson aura burst out from within and ushered a powerful force. The leaves were blown back and even the wagon rocked a little. That''s when I saw it. The moon was slowly being dyed red and it continued until it was exactly the color Akane wish for. Deep Crimson. I''m impressed she''s able to convert the moon just like that? Could this be due to her ability to manipte space? Well, I''m notining. I exit the wagon and walked over to Akane but she had her arm out. "Not yet." "Hmm?" Akane would then take in an excessive amount of air before letting out a cry simr to a dragon. Momentster, something flew past from above. No way and here I thought I wouldn''t be able to see one with my own eyes. From the sky descended a dragon. The dragonnded in front of Akane and bowed its head to her. She patted the dragon''s head which snorted in return. "A dragon!" "No way!" It seems the girls were as excited to see a dragon more than I was. They ran up and tackled it with a hug. The dragon seemed to be ok with it. I walked forward with my hands out. My curiosity was slowly getting the best of me. However, it looks like I''ll be the one to get a different reaction than the girls. When I got close to the dragon, it quickly turned to me and charged towards me. I thought it was just going to give me a hug but the air became tense and I quickly used Shadow Shift and got out of the way. "Hmm I wonder why it went after me?" Do dragons not like me? That''s gonna be a problem in the future The dragon crashed into the trees and when it got back up, it red at me and growled. Akane ran to its side and began calming it down. "Well, looks like I''m not gonna be riding that anytime soon," I said as I looked away. Damn, and I really wanted to ride it too. Since I won''t be able to ride, I guess I''ll leave it to the girls. "You two, ride back with her and help her register. Help her write too, she can''t spell very good." "Hey!" I snickered as the girls got on the dragon. "Wait, before you three head off, take these." I went to the wagon and brought out three cloaks. I handed the girls one each and then sent them off. As I watched them fly away, I finally sighed in relief. Finally, some time alone been a long time since I''ve been by myself. I really needed a rest from the girls. It''s hard to attend to their needs. Though, we haven''t done it in days. I went back into the wagon and took out a book. Then I started reading. I don''t feel tired, so this is what I will do for now. Hmm, now that I think of it, I have a question. [Yes?] Is there a way to simplify the stats that Analysis gives me? I also want a way for my stats to be simplified as well so I don''t get a wall full of skills in my face. [Hmm...] [Configuring...] [Please open your status...] Ding! {Status} Name: Nero Akuma Title: Brown Rank Adventurer Sub Titles(3/3): Sin of Gluttony| Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead| Enemy of Cocytus) ss: Jack of All Trades Status: Normal Level: 794 Mana: 130,000,000 Strength: 2137 Agility: 2142 Technique: 2102 Perception: 2097 Aura: 2082 Stat Points: 864 {Abilities} Passive Skills: Indefinite Aura, Curse Resistance, Premonition, Skeleton Maniption, Undead Maniption, Reaper''s Life Energy...(+26) Active Skills: Shadow King Domain Skills: sh Step(Lvl.9), Shadow Shift(Lvl.6), Shadow de Assail(Lvl.8), Fallen Descent(Lvl.7), Wolf''s Blood(Lvl.9), Vtile Orbs(Lvl.8)...(+32) Newest Skills: Grim Dragon Thorns(Lvl.1), Freezing Threads(Lvl.5), Razor Threads(Lvl.7), Steel Threads(Lvl.7), Shadow Envement(Lvl.1), Doppelganger(Lvl.2)~ ------------------ [Skills will now show the skill that you have used the most and any new skills you obtain will go in the newest skill part. I will also do this for passive skills. Only 6 of them will appear in the New Skills section, Skills section, and Passive Skills section] [If you want to browse your skills, just simply ask] Hmm... this is better. I can deal with this. Do this for Analysis as well. [Affirmative...] So... a few minutes passed and it was pretty peaceful. The crickets in the grass chirped. Fireflies wandering around in the air. The leaves being brushed by the wind. It was all quiet, just enough to make me sleep. Until a chill reverberated through the air. "My lord, look out!" One of my shadow servants jumped out and pushed me out of the wagon which was then encased in the ice. I was safely caught by my four other shadow servants and they got me up on my feet. When I looked back at the wagon, it was then shattered, with everything inside it as well. Well, at least I know the title works. I shifted my attention to the two figures standing under the moonlight. "Cocytus, I wonder just how much of you there are?" I asked before equipping Osiris. One of them was tall, equipped with full-body armor made of ice. He had a giant sword in his right hand and a hammer in his left. The other was in a robe, and I got a glimpse of what looked like an arm encased in ice. I used Analysis and got a quick look at their skills. [Level 842; ss: Summoner/Tranquil Mage; Title: Soldier of Cocytus] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Sub-Zero Resistance, Ice King''s Blessing, Water Maniption, Ice-Augmented Arm, Curse Resistance, Wind Maniption...(+1) Active Skills: Cocytus, Ice Army Skills: Ice diator(Lvl.Max), Frozen Land(Lvl.Max), Frost Bolts(Lvl.Max), Ice Shield(Lvl.Max), Ice Weapon Creation(Lvl.Max), Frost de Assail(Lvl.Max)...(+3) ------------------ I see... so he''s a summoner? That would make sense why I can''t use Analysis on the diator. A summon''s level depends on its skill level. Since its max, its level is equal to that of its summoner. So, I guess I''ll be dealing with two level 842s. I do wonder if they have those limiter rings. Now that I think of it, didn''t that Joseph guy have limiter rings... ten of them? That means the level I saw wasn''t his true level... he was hiding more, wasn''t he? Anyway, I shouldn''t underestimate them since this is a 2v1. I could summon my servants or my doppelganger, but I think I can take them on myself. After all, I should let loose sometimes. It''s been a while... since I could let loose... I always held back when I was in the presence of the girls since I didn''t want to frighten them. I wonder... I wonder what Risa would say if she saw me now... Now that I think about it... No... it doesn''t matter now. This is my choice... my freedom... Yes... that''s it... that is what my freedom is... The freedom... to let my rage let loose... I jumped into the air and a grim smile was marked on my face. "Come on, I''ll make sure you die a painful death. Hehehehe..." I chuckled before snapping. . . . Chapter 54: Wrath Chapter 54: Wrath "Hehehehe AHAHAHAHA!!!!" I couldn''t stop theughter theughter of pure joy, that is. In other words, I wentpletely insane. I''ve held myself back for so long, I''ve never experienced such a feeling! I''m free free from holding myself back! The hidden wrath I''ve held back will bring hell. I charged towards the Ice diator. It swung itsrge hammer at me but I ducked and grabbed onto it. I was pulled away, but I managed to use that force for my own use. I was flung into the air which was exactly what I needed. Activating my Aura Domain, I smiled confidently. "Get them," I said before activating my skill Boneyard. The floor glowed a dark color and popping out from the floor were countless skeletal arms. Momentster, the floor was polluted by skeletons with swords in their hands. Since I haven''t leveled them up, they''ll be weak. Well, I only need them to distract them for me. The skeletons tackled the Ice diator while the Summoner and dealt with them easily using their Frozen Land spell. However, it''s powerless when you are fighting someone who has the ability to manipte fire. Inded on the ground and activated Inferno and me Pirs, plunging the entire forest and the field into mes. BOOSH!!! The mes erupted around the Ice diator who was pinned down by my skeletons. It attempted to escape but it was no use. As it melted, my skeletons were turned to ashes due to the temperature of the heat. I could see that the summoner was shaking as it watched the mes spread. Using sh Step, I appeared in front of it and pointed my fingers at it. "You should''ve known better than to attack me." Activating my aura, I performed Shadow de Assail, bombarding the Summoner with countless numbers of shadow des. It managed to block using an Ice Shield but it eventually broke due to the overwhelming amount of shadow des it received. However, once I thought I had gotten it, I felt a chilly presence from behind and quickly Shadow Shifted away. Up in the air was the Summoner who was an ice elf had they had some kind of monstrous ice arm. They were giving off a cold heavy aura but that didn''t affect me. Why? Because only the weak will fret. I on the other hand -Am past that. I pointed my finger at them as I activated my Aura Domain. "I''ve been meaning to test out abo, so I''ll use you as a test subject." The Summoner dashed towards me while summoning another Ice diator. When they got in 5-meters of my range, I began thebo. Using sh Step to move around repeatedly, I filled up my entire domain with Vtile Orbs, trapping both the Summoner and the diator. I escape from my own domain so I wouldn''t get caught in the explosion. "Detonate." I snapped my fingers, detonating my Vtile Orbs. BOOOM!! The explosion erupted and after the smoke cleared up, the only thing left was a giant crater. Iughed. Iughed because I was surprised how the Summoner actually managed to escape it. I bent back and nced at the Summoner whose entire body was covered in bruises and burns. I noticed they were androgynous, so I couldn''t tell whether they were female or male. All I can say is that they were my enemy, regardless of gender. "Is that all? I expected more," I said as I activated my aura and prepared another wave of shadow des. The ice elf didn''t speak, but instead, it mmed the floor with its ice arm and the entire field was covered in ice once more. This time, emerging from the ice was countless soldiers encased in ice. I see, so even some Active Skills can be activated without an incantation. That or they just chanted the entire thing in their head. Maybe that''s something the mute could do. Well, it doesn''t matter. I regained myposure and stomped the ground, summoning thorns made ofrge bones from the ground which impaled half of the soldiers. I did the exact same thing whileunching my shadow des, killing every single one of the soldiers. Looking around, I noticed the Summoner had disappeared. Now where have they gone off to? That''s when I noticed that they were floating in the sky. What the-? [Notice: The enemy has the skill, Flight] Is that so? So if I kill them and devour their blood, I''ll get the skill? Interesting how interesting I cackled and nced at the Summoner. "You time to die." The Summoner activated their aura which was a light blue color. He then formed what looked like ice des andunched them towards me. I did the same with my aura,unching shadow des. Our des shed and I took that as a chance for me to get past them without them noticing. I quickly activated Stealth while using Shadow Shift to get below them. Once I did that, I punched the ground and used Grim Dragon Maw. Amassing all my energy and turning the life around me into bones with my ability to create bones, I could create a maw ten times bigger than its normal size. My maw was massive and when it closed its maw, it managed to trap the Summoner within. The Summoner quickly got up and it attempted to use Cocytus, the domain of ice. There was no need to worry since it takes a long time to activate. Now then There are three ways to activate an Active Skill. One, to chant the entire incantation. Two, chant the incantation in their mind. Or summarize the incantation into a simple sentence, like how Akane did. So then by umting the energy required to activate Shadow King Domain, I just need to say the incantation and destroy him from the inside. "By the power of eternal darkness, disappear into the abyss that is the Domain of the Shadow King." Then the interior of the Grim Dragon Maw was engulfed in darkness and there was nothing left except ck. The Summoner braced itself for any attack that would head for its way. It attempted to activate its aura but it didn''t even get the chance to materialize. "Quit trying, I''ve already set my Domain to devour any mana lying around. I am already gaining mana as we speak, or should I say just me?" I was shifting around in the shadows. As this was my domain, I could move around freely without limitations. I can alsomand my domain to do whatever I want it to do. I faced my palm towards the Summoner and the walls formed into spikes. The spikes instantly headed towards the Summoner. The Summoner jumped, avoiding the iing spikes but when theynded, their feet sank into the floor which was my shadow. They tried to escape but to no avail. "Meaningless, you can''t escape my domain. Now then I''m getting hungry, I think I''ll kill you now." I appeared below them and uppercut them before pinning them to the floor. I began pounding them while they were pinned to the ground. The more I struck them, the more I felt myself losing control of my body. The more I lost control, the more I forget about who I am. "Hehehehe hehehehe hahahaha-!" I continued to cackle as I pummeled the Summoner into pieces. Then to finish it off, I ripped their head off from their body. The spine also came along too. Blood sttered everywhere and some of it went into my mouth. I gulped it down, receiving my reward. [Levels in store: 1673] [Passive Skills: Warhammer Proficiency, Curse Resistance, Ice-Augmented Arm, Spirit Soul] [Skills: Flight, Frost de Assail(Lvl.5), Ice Weapon Creation(Lvl.5), Ice Shield(Lvl.5)] After that, I canceled my domain, letting the crimson moonlight make contact with my body. I stared at my hands stained with blood and my fingers were broken, some even hanging by the flesh. It seems that I must''ve deactivated Osiris without noticing and continued my rampage. The pain was trivial, so it was practically nothing. Healing my hands, I walked under a tree and fell to my knees before my face kissed the burned floor. [Status: Gravely Fatigued] It seems going all out drained my energy. I can''t move a muscle. Well... I was just going to sleep anyway. Now... to sleep... *** I was woken up by the blinding sun and Ravyn pping me across the face. "NERO!! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE WAGON!? WHY IS HALF OF THE FOREST BURNT TO THE GROUND!? AND WHY IS THERE A DEAD ICE ELF!? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?" She yelled and threw questions in my face as she shook me violently. "Well, it''s pretty obvious by the ice elf. Also, stop shaking me, I don''t feel so good." I felt like throwing up. No, I actually needed to throw up. I pushed Ravyn away and ran to a tree before puking blood. I stared at the blood that I had just puked out. What the hell? What''s going on? Ring! [Title Obtained: Sin of Wrath] [Sin of Wrath: Your power will significantly increase when you let loose, however, you will temporarily lose a part of yourself when you are enraged. Host will also experience symptoms of illness for a day or two after this is active| Effects: Strength x10; Status: Ill after Free from Shackles is activated] [Active Skills Unlocked: Free from Shackles] [Notice: The Active Skill, Free from Shackles will automatically activate when the host wishes so] [Status: Ill] I see. So that''s why. It''s only a day or two, right? I guess I can deal with that for now. I walked back to the girls but stumbled. Luckily, Kiyomi caught me before I hit the ground. "Aah... thank you, Kiyomi." So soft... my vision is too blurry to see what I buried my face into, but this sensation can only mean one thing. I need to rest, I still feel fatigued even after sleeping for who knows how long. As I slowly fell unconscious, I could hear Ravyn''sints fading into nothingness. Then I fell asleep. . . . Chapter 55: Recovered Chapter 55: Recovered Since we lost the wagon and most of our supplies, we decided to drop by at any towns nearby. Akane got her adventurer''s card and she even got an invitation into Maroon. I told Kiyomi to tell the old man at the guild that she''s part of my group and that seemed to have worked. While they were there, they also bought a ck veil for Akane to hide her horns. Turns out she is able to retract her horns, though only to a certain limit so she basically has two little horns sticking out whenever she retracts them. We came across a town not far from Maroon. We n to stay for a day or two so I can recover. We got two rooms, one for myself and one for the girls since I worry that this illness can spread. I am slowly getting better but my fatigue gets the best of me and I just can''t seem to move more than 10 feet so I have no choice but to stay bedridden. Luckily, I am being treated by the girls. Kiyomi''s an expert atforting me whenever I get a random headache and Ravyn has some experience in treating the ill as her brother often get ill sometimes. However Akane on the other hand Since she has done nothing but train and fight her whole life, she''s not really suited for nursing. Every time I cough, she starts panicking about what to do and I have to make an effort to calm her down. I can take care of myself since I''ve dealt with this before, but this sickness is different than a fever. Anyway, I eventually got better as night came. When it was lights out and everyone was asleep, I got up and entered the bathroom. I sshed myself with cold water and looked at myself in the mirror. I took off the hair tie that kept my hair up and stared at my reflection. I felt like my hair got longer these past few weeks and I''ve been thinking about getting it cut. If I let it grow any longer, I''ll be ending up looking like a homeless person. I created Razor Threads and grabbed a portion of my hair. Maybe just past the ear would do ok, or maybe I should just shorten it a little. Wait, but then... Hmm... never was a barber... Well, I eventually figure it out. *** "Wow... master you look... a little different," Kiyomi said as she stared at me strangely. "Yeah, I wonder what changed," Ravyn mumbled. I scratched my hair and sighed. I decided to just cut it short while leaving it messy like I always do. It was uneven so I had a few bangs falling past my jawline on my right side. "Master, are you still feeling a little sick?" Kiyomi asked me. I ced my hand on her head and stroked it. "Yes, I''m fine now." "Should we umm... head to Maroon now?" Kiyomi murmured as I continued to stroke her head. I couldn''t help but smirk as she tried not to moan. Even if she''s in human form right now, she still has her senses as a kitsune. This is a little amusing since she was making a cute face. "What are you grinning for?" Ravyn said as she smacked the back of my head. I turned around while rubbing my head. "Jeez, when did you get so violent? Are you perhaps getting jealous?" Ravyn''s face turned red. "N-n-n-no! It''s just that-" "It''s alright, I''ll give you them as well." "What?" I walked over to her and patted her head, causing her to be bright red. "A-a-a..." she stuttered, thinking of what to say next. I took my hands off her and realized that Akane wasn''t around. "Hey, where is Akane?" "I don''t know, she wasn''t around when we woke up." That''s when Akane opened the door with coffee in her hands. "Sorry, I needed to get some coffee." "I-is that so?" She nodded as she sipped on her coffee. Hmm, she must be a coffee person. I can''t say I''m not the same. "Mind if I get a sip?" "Sure." She gave me her cup and I took a sip. Then I heard gasping and I turned around. "What is it?" I asked and they shook their heads. "Nothing." I tilted my head before taking another sip. After that, I looked out the window and looked up at the sky. Hmm, now that I think about it, didn''t I get a flight skill from defeating that ice elf? Ding! [Levels in store: 1673] [Passive Skills: Warhammer Proficiency, Curse Resistance, Ice-Augmented Arm, Spirit Soul] [Skills: Flight, Frost de Assail(Lvl.5), Ice Weapon Creation(Lvl.5), Ice Shield(Lvl.5)] Aah, that''s right, the Flight skill. I guess I can give that to myself. Let''s see, I also have other skills. Frost de Assail, I''m guessing that''s the same as my Shadow de Assail. Ice Weapon Creation, I''ve seen Myran perform that before but I''m already using Osiris so I don''t really need it. Well, maybe. Ice Shield... well it''s pretty obvious what that does. I think I''ll just give them to Kiyomi. Now then, passive skills. I''ll give Kiyomi Curse Resistance and the Ice-Augmented Arm and the rest to me. Hmm, I wish there were more skills to give out but so far I can only give them to Kiyomi since she is the only one that can use them. I''m hoping she''ll be able to learn her own skills in the future. It''s inevitable, but maybe just not yet. Giving myself Warhammer Proficiency and Spirit Soul made me learn the sses Tank and Summoner Levels... been storing that up for a while. I guess I can give them to the girls and the rest to me. [Kiyomi (Lvl 541) --> Kiyomi (Lvl 594)] [Ravyn (Lvl 493) --> Ravyn (Lvl 567)] [Akane (Lvl 714) --> Akane (Lvl 853)] [Levels in store: 1407] Hmm, looks like they hit their limits. Maybe I should lift their level caps, but I just somehow can''t get in the mood. Well anyway, I should give some of that to myself, maybe up to level 1000. [Leveled up!(206)] [Reaper''s Life Energy is active...] Ding! [Stats] Mana: 160,000,000 Strength: 3137 Agility: 3142 Technique: 3102 Perception: 3097 Aura: 3082 Stat Points: 1482 [Reminder: Use your stat points] [Passive Obtained: Dragon Might, Quicksilver] [Skill Obtained: Grim Dragon Eruption(Lvl.1)] [Active Skill Obtained: Grim Dragon Nightmare] [Dragon Might has reced the skill Extreme Might] [Quicksilver has reced the skill Haste] [Levels in store: 1201] Hmm, even after that I still have over a thousand levels left. I think I''ll just hold onto it for now. The stat points... maybe I''ll just let Yukie choose. Maroon isn''t far from here, and I could leave now since I am well and ready. But... why not have some fun while I''m at it? I think I deserve it. . . . Chapter 56: Having Fun Chapter 56: Having Fun The town that we hade upon was actually famous for being a tourist attraction. Well, that''s what I''m saying since it''s so well known. Now that I think of it what is fun in this world? I''ve been distracted by so many things that I''ve forgotten what fun even is. Though, the only time I think I had fun was when I was smashing my enemies to pieces. I never had fun in my life before well I bet I must''ve done something when I was younger but that''s just a distant memory now. We first stopped at a clothing store because the girls were bugging me that I''ve been wearing the same clothes for a long time, not that they''ve done the same. "Just try out something new," Ravyn said. "Can''t I just get the same set of clothes? That would be more convenient." I responded. "No, you''re looking nd the more I see you in this outfit. Just get a new set of clothes!" "Fine." While the girls went off to buy their own clothing, I was struggling to pick out what clothing was best for me. I wasn''t really much of a fashion-type guy and I don''t even know what kind of fashion they have in this world. Maybe I should get something that isn''t so formal looking. Well, that is what I am wearing currently. Now that I think of it, I''m not wearing attire suited for adventuring. Well, the upper half that is. My boots are fine so I''ll keep that. I need a new set of gloves because the one I have on right now has been soaked and dried in blood. Actually, I can even smell the stench. I think I''ll just throw it out right now. Anyway, I eventually found what I wanted to buy. I got a ck tunic with a dark blue jacket that was short-sleeved, ck leather pants with a ck belt with silver ents, and blue fingerless gloves. I looked kind of in but after a while, I liked how I looked. The only problem is that I look like I used makeup to make my eyes look darker, but that''s just the shadow trims that I was given. After buying the clothes, I stuffed my old clothes in my spacial storage and went to check up on the girls. Walking inside, the girls were well still buying their clothes. Noticing the pile of clothes on the counter, I gulped. I just hope those aren''t worth more than 10 tinum coins. After dropping off our stuff, we were now heading towards a restaurant. The girlsplimented my new attire, but I noticed Akane was being really silent. Her silence was a little suspicious. I don''t know, I can just tell by her expression. Anyway, we got ourselves a table and the waiter came to us, asking what we wanted. I didn''t know what to get so I just let Ravyn choose for me since she knows more than I do. Kiyomi and Ravyn already told me what they wanted. Now I was just waiting on Akane. The only problem was she didn''t know how to read. Well, it was pretty obvious since she couldn''t write well so I had to help her. I moved my chair next to her and read out the choices for her. From the corner of my eye, I noticed her face was getting bright red. Ohh so that''s why. A mischievous grin appeared on my face but I quickly wiped it off when the others red at me. After receiving and finishing our meals, we explored the rest of the town. I was dragged by the girls to countless shops and restaurants, which was alright, just that my expenses weren''t doing well with this. If this keeps continuing, I''m gonna be broke. But, the point of today is to have fun so I can''t reallyin if they are having fun. Before the day ended, we visited onest clothing shop and it was the most expensive one. I sighed. I''m gonna be broke after this. As the girls tried on some clothing, I looked out the window at the sky. Dark clouds were slowly approaching us. Looks like it''s going to rain soon, probably gonna be heavy rain judging by the clouds. I turned and walked over to the girls to tell them to hurry up. "Hurry up, it''s gonna rain soon." Then the curtains for the changing room slid open and when I turned, I recoiled back with a blushed expression on my face. Despite seeing their beauty countless times, I just can''t get over how pretty they look in different clothing. Kiyomi was the definition of an angel. She wore a white blouse with a ck jacket, a blue skirt, and ck heeled knee-high boots. Ravyn had the aura of an elegant, nobledy. She was wearing a ck dress with violet patterns, ck stockings, and ck heels. These two were just too beautifulpared to other women. "How do we look?" Kiyomi asked. "Y-you two look fine," I responded, trying not to stutter, but my expression said everything. "Heh, even you can get flustered," Ravyn said while poking my shoulder. "Anyway, where''s Akane?" I asked, changing the subject. "Akane? Hmm..." Ravyn walked over to one of the other changing rooms. "Akane are you done?" "N-no..." She took a peek inside and I heard Akane yelp. Strange. Never heard her yelp before. After a while, Akane finally stepped out and once I looked at her, I almost couldn''t take my eyes off her and I would''ve continued staring if I hadn''t been smacked across the face by Ravyn. Akane was wearing a white cotton dress that fell past her knees and a straw hat that most girls would wear at the beach. "H-how do I look?" Hmm, what would be the correct answer for this? I would say she is beautiful, but that won''t be enough to describe her charm right now. "You look..." I purposely stayed silent as if I was lost at words. "Hehe, he''s speechless." Kiyomi chuckled. "M-meaning?" Akane questioned. "He thinks you''re pretty," Ravyn answered. "R-really?" Akane nced at me and I gulped. "Y-yeah." Akane gave me a cute smile, and I turned away before I got even more flustered. "A-anyway, I''m guessing those are the clothes you three want so let''s pay and get out of here. It''s going to rain soon." After paying for the clothes, we left and headed back to the inn. Returning to our rooms, I looked out the window as it began raining. There was thunder in the sky and heavy amounts of rain pouring down from above. Seems it was the right call to hurry up since a storm was approaching. It would''ve been bad if we got caught up in the rain. Rumble~ Hmm, even after eating so many tasty foods, it seems I''m not satisfied yet. Guess I should get myself something downstairs. As I left my room, I walked down towards the first floor. There were more people than before and I''m guessing they were people that got caught in the rain. When I scanned the area, I noticed a group of cloaked figures who were soaked to the brim. It was almost a funny sight, but there was something about them that made me ufortable. Heroes? No, their numbers are a little short to be them. Then, when the first figure took its cloak off, I felt a pain in my heart. The pain was almost physical that it was almost as if they were wrapped around in thorns. The figure, she was none other than Risa. . . . Chapter 57: Consequences Chapter 57: Consequences That night I couldn''t sleep with the pain in my chest. Even after performing Instant Heal countless times, the pain still wouldn''t fade away. I stumbled towards the bathroom and sshed my face with some water. When I stared into my reflection, it shattered instantly and the pain in my heart increased. I fell onto the floor and looked into one of the broken ss on the floor, that''s when I saw myself, my past self. I grit my teeth and punch ss. "What the hell is happening to me?" Ding! [Notice: Consequences have been delivered] "C-consequences?" [Please forgive me for not mentioning this earlier. The chain that holds you down from bing a monster, in other words, this woman who you hold dear, is the cause of your pain] "What? So I''m being cursed? But shouldn''t-" [Curses given directly from the Qliphoth cannot be resisted] [The consequences are dire but it gets worse] "Wh-what are you talking about?" [I will now exin the consequences] [There are five of them and I will only exin once so listen carefully. The first consequence starts when you catch sight of that specific person. Once you catch sight of her, you will feel pain around your heart] "So that''s why my heart''s been hurting. How long does itst?" [Usually one day or two. However, due to youmitting two sins, that number will be multiplied, causing you to feel pain for more than a week] "So this is technically atonement for the sins I''vemitted?" [Not exactly] Shit, looks like I''m going to have to extend how many nights I can stay here. "So what''s the next consequence?" [The second consequence begins once you make eye contact with that person] "So I can''t look her in the eyes?" [Precisely] "Damn it, are all of these going to be rted preventing me from making contact with Risa!?" [Yes and it doesn''t matter if she doesn''t recognize you or not. However the chances of the third consequence would increase definitely if she were to know your true identity] Damn just when I finally saw her again. The pain in my heart was beginning to be unbearable that I was slowly losing consciousness. "Crap not yet hurry and tell me the rest of the consequences!" [The second consequence will] Huh? What is this her voice is fading [The third consequence begins once youan] Her voice began to fade away and eventually I lost consciousness. My eyes fluttered open, however, my vision was too blurry and my eyelids felt heavy, making me want to go back to sleep. "Master!" A voice faded in the background and the door opened. I felt a hand lift me up from the ground and the next second I was ced on the bed. The pain in my heart, it was still there. It hurt why did it hurt again? I don''t know, but something doesn''t feel right. However I''m too tired to figure that out Eventually, I passed out again. I slowly opened up my eyes and found myself staring at the wooden ceiling. Lifting myself up, I realize that the pain in my heart had gone away. That''s weird. I''m sure that the pain is supposed tost longer than that. Not that I''mining about it. I got on my feet but my legs quickly gave up on me and I dropped to the floor. What my body it feels strange almost as if it''s not mine. I tried to lift myself off the ground but my arms would respond. My actions my body isn''t registering it. Damn it I heard the door open as I was still on the ground and the girls entered. When they noticed me, they rushed over to my side. "Master, you''re awake." Kiyomi would lift me up with the help of Akane and ce me back on the bed. My body felt sluggish even though I had just woken up. "How long was I out for?" I asked Kiyomi. "Almost a week." A week? So I slept through the entire consequence? Howe I didn''t wake up from the pain? I''m sure I would''ve woken up if my heart was hurting. "I see" "I''m d you are okay, Nero. You know, you had us worried but luckily the Healer Hero was nice enough toe and heal you." Ravyn said. "I see wait what did you just say?" "Huh? The Healer Hero." Healer Hero? Risa came and healed me? I clenched my hands and swallowed dry saliva. Remembering what Yukie saidst night, if we were to make eye contact, the second consequence would begin. Wait but what would happen if we were to make contact? Yukie didn''t tell me everything. Yukie, can you hear me? [Yes] Can you tell me the consequences fromst night? [No] What!? Why!? [These consequences can only be spoken once. Speaking them again will cause the next consequence to ur] What!? Bullshit! [Sadly these are the terms] Shit, I don''t know what happens if I make contact with Risa and I don''t even know what the third, fourth, and fifth consequence is. I could risk it and ask again but that would mean the second consequence would begin. Crap, I just can''t risk it. A knocking sound could be heard from the door and from the other side, a woman spoke. "Hey, can Ie in?" The voice said. "Oh, yes," Akane said as she walked to the door and opened it, letting whoever was at the door inside. My vision was still blurry so I could depict who was at the door. However, I heard familiarity in her voice. "Thank you." The woman bowed to Akane before turning her attention towards me. "Sir, are you okay?" I rubbed my eyes and my vision slowly began to clear up. Once it did, I was gazing at Risa''s eyes who were also gazing back at me. s-shit! [Notice: Conditions for the second consequence have been met. The consequence will begin soon] You can''t be fucking with me. T-this isn''t fair my vision was was Fuck "S-sir, are you alright?" Risa asked with a worried expression. It seems she doesn''t recognize me, well, not that she can since I lookpletely different, which is a good thing. "Y-yes, I''m alright," I responded as I took a deep breath before turning away. The consequence will begin shortly but what is the consequence? Is my heart going to start hurting again? I shook my head. It''s best not to think about it too much. I just have to be cautious of my actions in order not to trigger the two remaining consequences. But just what are they? Recalling the time before I passed out, it involves something with me and Risa but what is it? I scratched my head as I slowly turned my attention back to Risa. Then my attention drifted towards the door where a group of demi-humans was watching. However, when I blinked, there were normal humans in their ce. "A-are they demi-humans?" I asked Risa while pointing to the three humans at the door. "Huh? How are you able to tell?" Risa said as she turned. The three humans looked at each other before entering the room and closing the door behind them. "W-well I don''t know, but I thought I saw demi-humans in their ce." "I see, so you just imagined it?" "Maybe but she can confirm it." I said pointing to Ravyn and when they shifted her attention towards her, she nodded. "Damn well guess there is no need for disguising." One of them said. "Looks like we are gonna have to take them out." The other one added. "You know, there is no need for violence, Cage." The female spoke. That''s when the three changed into demi-humans. The first one was a tall man wearing heavy armor. I noticed he had a lizard tail and scales on his face. He would be a dragonewt. The second one was a young man with light armor with a sword strapped to his waist. He had a wolf''s tail and two wolf''s ears poking from his head. If it wasn''t obvious already, he was a wolfman. Thest one was a young girl with a bow on her back. She had the ears and tail of a cat. Obviously, that would mean she was a catgirl. "This man knows our identity, we should take him out." The wolfman or Cage which was his name said as he put his hand on his sword handle and attempted to draw it out, but Akane was already one step ahead of him. "I''ll sh your head off before you even have the chance!" Akane had a serious and angry look on her face as she pressed her de against Cage''s throat. That''s when everyone in the room began pointing their weapons at each other. Ravyn had her attention on the dragonewt while Kiyomi exchanged res from the catgirl. "Everyone, please calm down!" Risa said but that didn''t stop them. Good grief, even after a week-longa, I still have to do some work. I snapped my fingers and from my shadow jumped out my shadow servants. They quickly pushed everyone away from each other; Risa''s group on one side while my group on the other side. "I suggest you two stay away from each other for now," I said as I took another deep breath. Crap, my body still feels tired but I need to stay awake just in case they fight again. Before I passed out again, Imanded my servants to keep the girls from getting into any sort of trouble. Then I closed my eyes and drifted into another long sleep. . . . Chapter 58: Sloth Chapter 58: Sloth Turns out that this time I didn''t pass out due to the consequence but due to my fatigue. Though I had slept for a full week already, I still felt tired for some reason, then I realized why. [Title Obtained: Sin of Sloth] [Sin of Sloth: Will render the host useless at random intervals but will restore the host to perfect condition after they were gravely injured| Effects: Causes Host to be fatigued if Status: Gravely Injured and heals them using the skill Rehabilitating Slumber] [Passive Skills Obtained: Rehabilitating Slumber] Seems that Imitted the most useless sin of all time. The Sin of Sloth only allows me to well sleep but in return restore me to full health. Well, that''s kind of useless since I can just heal myself with Instant Heal. But it turns out that the reason why I was passing out was because my heart was healing from the pain that was urring in my heart. I was feeling all better now. The only problem that exists is well The dispute between our groups. If I remember correctly before I passed out, Risa''s group wanted to take me out because I found out their identity but my group prevented that. It''s probably because they don''t trust me and they must distrust other humans, such as me. Well, I think I know how to settle this. Walking out of my room, I saw Risa standing at the door. "O-oh, you''re awake." "yeah. I believe our groups are still-" "Fighting? Yes" "I see, can you please bring them to my room?" "Huh? I-I guess." Risa left to get our groups. Momentster, Risa along with our groups entered my room. "They find out our identity and you''re still telling me we can''t take them out? What if they spread the word?" Cage said. "I believe there is no need for that. After all, they aren''t human as well." I said, approaching Akane. "Huh? What do you mean?" Risa questioned. "I mean that our groups are the same." I then took off Akane''s veil, revealing her horns. "A Dragon Oni!?" The dragonewt flinched at the sight of Akane''s horns. "Kiyomi," I said her name and she nodded before being wrapped in white light and transforming into her original form. "Kitsune!?" The catgirl stared at Kiyomi as if something fascinating had happened. "And Ravyn well she''s a ghoul," I said bluntly. "Hey, it''s not my fault I don''t get some cool reveal!" Ravyn retorted, seeming to have noticed my voice. "Aah, no wonder I was smelling death." Cage said as his grip on his sword began to loosen. "Wait, so what are you?" Risa asked. "Nero? Well, he''s the Inept Hero." That is what I hearde out of Ravyn''s mouth. However, a ringing noise echoed through my head and I realized that was a premonition. I quickly looked over my shoulder and nced at Akane. When she noticed me staring at her, she nodded. "Nero? Well, he''s-" Ravyn would respond but Akane quickly covered her mouth and this caused suspicions but Kiyomi quickly intervened. "He''s human!" "Just human?" "Yep!" Note to self, don''t tell Ravyn any important information. If she gets caught and interrogated, I don''t think she would be a good liar. "Really?" Cage looked at me suspiciously. This is bad. Earlier he was able to sniff out Ravyn''s aura of death. If he catches my scent, well, he could eventually find me out. However, it seems luck has stuck to my side for now. Since this is his first time meeting me, he doesn''t even know who I am. If time was rewinded, if he was already around and had caught a hint of my scent from when I was still around as the "Inept Hero", he would''ve quickly found me out. However, that would be impossible now. I''ve already changed my appearance and my scent must''ve changed as well. It would''ve already been toote, even if the king had some sort of beast that could sniff me out. "Yes, I am. That good enough for you?" "Tch!" Cage turned away as walked away. "Now, I think we are on equal terms now. Correct?" "Yeah." After that, Risa with her group eventually left my room. From what I heard, they are going to be staying at this inn for a while. However, my subconsciousness told me to stay for some reason, so that is what I will do. There was also something bothering me. Cage, his level of hostility worries me a little. I managed to get a sneak peek at their levels and they were all above the 600 mark. Their level caps were especially high as well. From Risa, she had the skill Blessing. This skill allows her to raise one''s level cap by 20, however, this can only be done once per day. Her level was at 859, which is kind of surprising to me. I recall speaking with her after school, she said she was never interested in anything rted to games. Looking at her now makes me think she was lying. Either that or she''s just doing it for her survival. Either way, against those three, only Akane will have the upper hand against them. I''m gonna need to find a way to strengthen the other two. Not with just my ability to raise their level caps and gift them levels but to have them unlock skills on their own. However, that''s going to be difficult since I don''t know much about legends and myths in this world. I know the background, but not much is said about the deities and the knowledge I obtain is only limited to weak monsters. If only I can find a Grand Mage somewhere. Only they have the knowledge I seek. After I recovered, everything was back to normal. Or kind of. It''s kind of hard for us to rx since the surrounding walls aren''t soundproof, so I have to personally... do them in secluded ces while trying not to make so much noise. By them, I meant Kiyomi and Ravyn. I found out the reason that Ravyn was smacking me all of a sudden was because I don''t pay enough attention to her. Well, now that I''ve given her enough attention, she''s returned to her regr state. Now, I still don''t know about Akane and I don''t think she is the type to do "that" kind of service. She is a warrior at heart and most likely a maiden as well. After all that, everyone returned to their rooms. However, after a few hours of sleeping, I eventually woke up in the middle of the night. My head was starting to hurt and I just couldn''t sleep anymore cause of it. So I got up and put on my clothes before leaving my room. I decided to take ate-night stroll, something I''ve never done because my curfew used to be 9 pm. As I walked down the hallway, my headache gradually became worse but I managed to endure the pain. However, when I reached the stairs, I fell onto my knees and couldn''t take the pain anymore. Damn it... so is this the second consequence? First the heart and now the head? If only I was given a heads-up on this then I could''ve prepared. It''s not my fault I didn''t know Risa was going to show up out of nowhere. "Are you alright?" I heard a voice spoke and I turned around to see Risa. "Y-yeah, just a minor headache," I would say but my minor headache wasn''t so minor. "Here, let me help you." She said as she rushed to my side, cing her palm on my forehead. Her hand glowed and after that, she lifted me back on my feet. After that, I could feel the pain leave my head. I see... so this is the power of the Healer Hero. If I remember after reading her skills, the skill she just used is Status Recovery, which helps one recover to their normal state. Despite having extreme healing properties like Instant Heal and able to help one recover something like a headache, it cannot heal anyone back to perfect condition. It can only heal anything that has happened in the past 5 hours, and since my headache was in that time range, I was healed. "Thank you," I said. "No problem. So may I ask, what are you doing thiste at night?" She asked me. "I can say the same for you." "Just ate-night stroll, I guess." "What a coincidence, I was just going to get some fresh air as well. Mind if I tag along?" "I don''t mind at all." . . . Chapter 59: Late Night Stroll Chapter 59: Late Night Stroll Leaving the inn, we walked down the long, dark, and empty street. As we continued to walk, I was getting a bit of nostalgia. I haven''t walked alongside Risa in a while. I think we used to walk together when we were in middle school. I think we still walked together in high school, but my memory isn''t very clear. But anyway I turned my attention to Risa. She was wearing a coat over a light-blue nightgown that reached past her knee. It''s weird I''ve seen her so many times, but whenever I see her in different attires, I always find myself staring at her for a long time. Now that I think of it shouldn''t she be with the other heroes? "So, may I ask, what is a hero such as you traveling around for?" I wondered. "Well I''m traveling to find someone" She said. "Is that so? Who is this person you speak of?" "Well he would be the Inept Hero." I see so it''s me she is looking for Now that I think of it, this is the chance to see what she thinks about me. After all, I look and my charisma ispletely different than before so it would be impossible for her to know. "The Inept Hero, huh? I wonder... since you heroese from the same world, how was he like?" People in this world know of how heroes are summoned so that''s not a weird question to ask a hero. Though I wouldn''t like to be asked that question since it would reveal my identity. "The Inept Hero" She began and I listened closely. "He was my best friend you could say. His name was Naoko but you already knew that don''t you?" "Well, his name is notorious now after performing that stunt on the king." "He didn''t do it!" She yelled out before covering her mouth and regaining herposure. "Oh, really?" "I know he didn''t. He was framed. He had to be. Naoko would never do that." Now, whenever someone mentions my former name, it would often irritate me, but as long as ites out of Risa''s mouth, I''m okay with it. "Naoko is he had a tough past" That''s not surprising. After all, the man you are talking about is right next to you. "When he was young, he wasn''t what you would call a normal kid. He was very cynical and very pessimistic, which he still is." Not much of a surprise there. I think it was pretty much shown on my face. "But deep down, I know he is caring and kind, he just never gets the chance to show it." I noticed her hands clenching and shaking. Is that so? I don''t ever see myself as a kind person, probably because I''m so intoxicated by my own negativity. I could tell what she said was sincere. For the many years that I''ve known her, she has never lied to me once. "Aah, I see, so you like him is what you are trying to say?" I said teasingly as I turned to her to see her reaction. Her face was bright red and she nervously tried to speak. "W-w-w-well..." She stuttered as I waited for her answer. "W-well... w-wait, why am I telling you this?" She asked and I shrugged. "You were the one that got into it." "I-I''m sorry, I usually never tell anyone about how I feel about others, especially if that someone I''m speaking of." "Is that so? Well then, you can stop if you want. Though I''m still curious, why are you searching for him?" I said, changing the topic back to what it originally was a few minutes ago. "Well, I''m searching for him so I can bring him back to the kingdom." I could feel my smile quickly turned upside down. Bring me back, huh? "And why?" "The king says he wants to talk with him. To convince him toe back and help him." Hmph, help? After what he''s done, he thinks I''m going to listen to him and help him? Foolishness, just utter idiocy. "Well, I doubt he''s going to listen to the king." "He will if it''s me. I just need to convince him. He''ll listen... I know it." Yeah, he''s definitely listening alright. Now that I think of it, if I do go back with her, that would bring me closer to the king. With the power I have now, I can kill him. A wide grin appeared on my face. Yeah... I can kill him. Maybe... maybe I''ll just trap him in my Shadow King Domain and decimate him as I did to Myran and that Summoner from Cocytus. What could go wrong? Hehehehe... "U-umm... Are you alright?" "Huh?" Risa seemed to have noticed I was grinning, and it must''ve seemed suspicious. I''m going to need to control myself from now on. But anyway, if I get near the king, then my goal is just inches away from beingpleted. I just need to tell her and she''ll bring me to him. She''ll listen... I know it. "Risa." I said her name and she turned to me. "Huh?" She had a puzzled expression. Fuu... here it goes. "I-" But before I was able to confess, a yelp could be heard up ahead. We turned our attention to see two rough-looking men beating up a small boy. Well, of course things like this are gonna happen. Incidents like this always happen. Well, actually that kinda help, I was just about to do the unthinkable. I think we should leave. "I think we sho-" I tried suggesting but then- "Hey, what are you doing!?" Risa yelled at them as she approached them. Oh god... she never changes, does she? She always heads into trouble whenever it''s around. I''m surprised that she isn''t marked as a delinquent. Though at first, I hesitated, I followed her. The two men would turn towards us with a fierce expression on their face. "What do you want?" They asked. "Leave him alone. What has he done to you?" She said after healing the boy who was covered in cuts and bruises. "This is none of your business unless you want to end up like him." I took a nce at the young boy and there was something suspicious about him. Those cuts that Risa had just healed, all of them were new, recent cuts. "Then why don''t you pick on someone your own size?" Risa challenged them. Risa!? Goddamn it, she really never changes, does she!? They are two times your size Risa, think about it clearly. I took a quick peek at their stats and their levels were around 1000, while the young boy was only around 400. But then I noticed a familiar ring on the young boy''s finger. I see... so this is what''s going on? That ring... that Tank that I killed in the underground had the same thing. I''ve dealt with this situation before. I sighed as I pulled Risa towards me. "Huh?" She was confused. I ignored her reaction and walked forward, facing the two giants. "Oh? Are you with the youngdy?" The other guy said. I smiled grimly. "If you want to trick someone into helping your leader and then kidnapping them, at least have him take off that ring," I said as I pointed to the limiter ring on the young boy''s hand. "Heh, so you''ve already seen through our n?" The young boy said as he got up. "Wha- wait, what is going on?" Risa asked. "Well," The boy said. "We were nning on leading you to us and then kidnap you before you could notice what''s going on. Then we take all your belongings and leave you on the street. "However, it seems that this guy has already seen through us." He said, pointing to me. "Wait so-" "Yes, Risa," I said. "Those wounds of his... he purposely dealt them to himself to make it look like he was weak and injured. It was all just an act to lead anyone bravely foolish enough to help him." "Precisely, and now that you''ve found out, it''s time to-" Bang! I quickly delivered a blow to the boy''s stomach before he could finish his sentence. I''m already tired of hearing this guy speak nonsense. Let''s just get to fighting already. He flew back and crashed into a stack of boxes. His twockeys sprinted towards me and attempted to tackle me. However, I quickly spun around and kicked the first one across the face, leading him to crash into his buddy, sending them flying across the floor. "You," I pointed to the boy, "Take that ring off or I''ll finish you right now." "So be it!" The boy said as he took his ring off. I took a peek at his level and it was now around 1200. These limiter rings, I wonder how they work. Oh well, I should think about that when I''m not in a fight. He ran towards me and threw a punch which violently struck the side of my face, but that was just a premonition. I ducked and his arm flew over me. Balling my fist, I struck his leg and he quickly fell onto the ground. "Wha-" He tried to speak, but I kicked him directly under the chin, causing him to bite his own tongue. "Aah-!" "Quiet down." I gripped his hair and tossed him to his Lackeys. "Come on," I beckoned as I signaled them toe at me. "Why don''t you all just attack me at once?" I suggested. The boy and the other two looked at each other, and a smirk appeared on their faces. Foolishly, they all came at me at the same time. It doesn''t matter if theye at me one by one or at the same time anymore; the results were obvious by now. When they were in range, I got low on the ground and swept them off their feet one by one, the three of them falling on their side. "Augh!" "Oof!" "Ack!" As they fell onto the ground, I stomped all of them one by one on the head. Then I went over to the boy and grabbed him by his face, lifting him off the ground. "I think I''ll just wipe your existence now." "Damn it... this isn''t how things should''ve gone!" "Oh... pissed aren''t you? Well, life was never fair in the first ce... especially to me." A wide grin appeared on my face as I began umting dark energy into the palm of my hand, preparing Necrosis. "Die..." I said as I was just about to activate Necrosis, however, I was stopped by Risa who pped me across the face, causing me to let go of him. It took me a while to register what had just happened and while I did that, Risa had told the three to flee, which they did. I rubbed my cheek where she had smacked me and then turned towards her. "What was that for?" She said. "I could say the same for you. Why did you stop me?" I retorted. "You already won, there was no point in hurting them anymore." "They deserved it. Think about it, Risa." I began approaching her with a furious expression on my face. "If I had left you to deal with them, you would''ve probably been one of their many victims. How many people do you think they''ve tricked? Have you ever thought about that Risa!? Huh!?" All my pent-up anger had exploded right in front of her face. She gulped as I stared down at her. "Is that so... Naoko?" ...wait... "W-what?" "Is that so Naoko!?" "...what... what are you saying?" I took a step backward as she red into my eyes. I never... I- how did she- "It''s obvious. I never once mentioned my name to you, yet somehow you knew it." "B-but everyone knows your name. The-" "Only as the Healer Hero, my name is never once mentioned." ...what? I... she... Now that I remember it... I have heard about the announcement of the heroes'' arrival, but not their names. Crap, I was so used to being around Risa that I forgot I was trying to hide my identity. "N-no, y-you''ve got the wrong person." I tried to make up a lie, but it was already toote for me. I had walked right into the trap. "It''s not just that. That same loathing attitude you have, it''s all marked across your face." She scanned me from head to toe. "Even if you changed appearances, you are still the same pessimistic, cold-blooded bastard!" She was going to say more, but she began to tear up. Well, so much for ate-night stroll. As we walked back to the inn, we didn''t make eye contact, nor did we speak. After we returned to the inn, we separated and returned to our rooms. The rest of the night was... depressing. . . . Chapter 60: Brawl Chapter 60: Brawl The next morning had arrived. When I walked out of my room, I met Risa in the hallways. "Don''t worry, I didn''t tell anyone." She said. Good she was never the one to snitch, anyway. We went to the first floor where our parties were settled. As I walked over to the girls, I felt a hostile gaze locked onto me but when I turned around, it quickly faded away. "Hmm" After having our breakfast, I went out towards the same spot where we had encountered the trio fromst night. The mess was being cleaned up by some fellows and while they did that, I turned my attention to the forest nearby. Entering the forest, I eventually found a nket that housed three corpses underneath it. Of course, I wouldn''t let them go. Before they fled, I sent my shadow servants to finish them off for me. I must say that what Risa said is the truth, I am still the same cynical piece of shit I was in the past and that''s not going to change. After all, this same attitude is still keeping me alive. If I were to be optimistic, I''ll eventually grow soft. So why do I still feel like something is wrong Before returning to the inn, I rotted the bodies with Necrosis and buried them. I could''ve drunk their blood but they were already starting to smell, so it was best I got rid of them. Along the way, I stopped by at a gear shop and bought myself some weapons. I got a dagger with a sheath which I strapped around my right ankle and a broadsword which I strapped around my waist. I''ll be needing these since I get tired of fighting with my fist so much. I could already feel the soreness on the end of my knuckles. Returning to the inn, the same feeling returned. This hostile gaze I walked through the hall and eventually stopped in front of my room door. I reached for the doorknob, that''s when that hostile feeling grewrger. "HAAA!!" ng! Cage swung his sword down on me but I blocked as I equipped the Osiris'' right gauntlet. However, he managed to strike me before I was able to fully manifest Osiris, so his de managed to pierce my flesh. "Bastard," He said. "What did you do to Lady Risa!?" "Fool, that''s none of your concern." I grabbed his de and pulled him to me before delivering a heavy kick to his stomach. "Ack!" He stumbled back as I let go of his sword. Healing my arm and withdrew Osiris, I approached Cage. "Tell me, what did you do!?" He demanded. "What are you talking about?" I replied with a nk expression on my face. "This morning when Lady Risa approached us, she had an unfamiliar look on her face. Do you know what it was? It was the face of sadness!" "And what do I have to do with that?" "I know you did something to her. She always has a bright expression on her face and today she is totally different! What did you do!? I know you did something!" "And what if I did? What are you going to do? Kill me?" "If I have to." "Then go ahead and try." Regaining hisposure, he charged towards me with his sword ready to pierce, aiming for my stomach. Willingly, I allowed him to pierce me. His sword drove through my body and I could feel the sword prating my organs. As blood dripped onto the floor, a look of despair appeared on Cage''s face but it was quickly concealed when I snatched onto his face. "You-" "Quiet down," I said as I formed a shadow de and stabbed his right arm. "Mmf!" His cry of pain was muffled as I gripped onto his face. Tossing him away, I grabbed onto the de that had impaled me and slowly pulled it out, tossing it back to Cage. "Is that all?" I said, beckoning him toe at me again. Cage pulled my shadow de out of his arm and went to pick up his sword. As he got up, he noticed that the ce where he had just stabbed me had closed up. Knowing that swords were going to be useless against me, he tossed his sword aside and charged towards me, swing his fist. I easily dodged his first attack and also dodged his second, however as he continued to swing his fist, he was getting faster and it was getting harder for me to follow his movement. Then the first blow was delivered, hitting me directly in the left side of my abdomen. Crack! Did I just hear my bone crack? My ears were not lying to me, he indeed did break my bone. From there, he began his beatdown. He punched me in the stomach, the ribs, my face, he was brutally beating me as if I was some kind of punching bag. After pounding me for what felt like a minute, he finished it off with an uppercut,unching me into the air andnding on the wooden floor with a THUD. As my body slowly healed and my bones mended back into ce, Cage grabbed me by the cor and growled in my face. "Confess and I''ll let you go." "Why should I confess to a dog?" "You-! Do you not feel guilty for putting her down?" "First of all, why are you so concerned about her? Because you like her?" "Of course not, I am just a servant and a servant only. No one and I say no one willy their hands on Lady Risa like that. Now-!" But before he was able to speak, I sank into the shadows and then appeared behind him. "Wha-?" Wham! I swung my fist, striking his right cheek. As he toppled onto the ground, I mounted him and bashed his face repeatedly. "A servant only? So you are a ve is what you are saying?" After receiving a few strikes, Cage caught my fist and his hand morphed into a wolf''s w. Swiftly, he shed my face three times, managing to sh my left eye, blinding me. "Son of a bitch!" I stumbled back and fell to the ground. This time it was his turn to beat me, and he barraged me with a flurry of punches and scratches. I quickly manifested Osiris as I took on his beating. Eventually, his attacks were starting to do little to no damage. Then began my turn. Iunched him away using Inertia Fist but he managed tond on his feet, kicking up dust as he stopped himself from sliding. "You you aren''t human, are you?" He asked. I unequipped Osiris once again and nced at him. I tilted my head and grinned before stick my middle finger at him. "Fuck you," I said before instantly closing the distance between us and mming his face into the wall. "What makes you think you can best me?" I questioned. "You couldn''t even sense Akane''s movement when you dered you were going to take me out. I''ll make it clear, you are far from killing me." I held him by the hair and inched closer to his face. "You are weak. Sooner orter, you''ll be the one getting her killed." I stated before letting go of him. I turned around to leave but he still stood up. "Fucker you just gonna walk away?" "Give up, you already lost." "The battle isn''t lost until one dies... and I''ll never forgive you for hurting her." "Prideful aren''t you?" He limped towards me with a confident look on his face. Watching him approach me was pitiful. I guess I''ll just end him of his misery. I took a step forward and put all my strength into my right fist. However, before I was able to finish him off, the distance between us was then opened. I noticed I was much farther than before, then I felt a hand on my arm. I turned around and Akane stood before me. "Akane." Behind her came the other two and Risa''s party. "What happened here!?" Risa quickly ran to Cage''s side and begun to heal him. I watched as his injuries healed slowly and a feeling of jealousy filled my body. She went to his side first... is she favoring him over me? I clenched my fist as I wanted to let my shackles free but the girls were able to sense my anger and dragged me away before I was able to do it. The brawl was over between us as we walked away from each other. My injuries weren''t major since I could heal them with Instant Heal, but it looks like I won''t be able to see with my left eye for now as the wound was deep. That bastard... . . . Chapter 61: Nightly Pleasure I (R-18) Chapter 61: Nightly Pleasure I (R-18) I woke up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. I couldn''t get that incident off my mind, no matter how hard I tried to forget. Did she not see me? I was clearly more injured than him. Was it because I was on my feet? Do I have to grovel in front of her to have to care about me instead? I sat in a chair and looked out the window. While I drowned in those thoughts and continued to question myself, I heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?" I said. "It''s me." I heard Kiyomi''s voice from the other side. Kiyomi opened the door and approached me. I felt her arms gently brushing my shoulders, embracing me. "Are you alright?" She asked. I held her shoulder and nodded. "yeah." I swallowed the dry saliva in my throat and turned to Kiyomi, a worried look on her face. "Something bothering you?" I asked. "About you" She responded. "There''s no need. I''m" I paused before finishing my sentence. "-perfectly fine." I turned around and put up a bitter smile. When Kiyomi saw the look on my face, she shook her head and pulled me in closer. Her warmth was what broke me. Deep inside she knew I wasn''t fine at all and that I''ve been lying because I didn''t want the others to worry about me. However, Kiyomi has been with me the first day we locked eyes, so she knows everything about me. "It''s okay, Master. You can cry in my arms if you want." "What are you talking a-about?" I sniffed. "I''m n-not crying or a-anything, i-idi" I couldn''t hold in the tears anymore, and I let the tears trickle down my cheeks. I eventually found myself hugging Kiyomi as I wailed into her arms. Kiyomi stroked my hair elegantly, like an older sister would do tofort her younger brother. Well, given that she is older than me, it would make sense. "I''llfort you for as long as you need Master." I lifted my head and met with her eyes. Those icy-blue eyes those are one of the most attractive features of her. She was in her original form and she was beautiful... much prettier than her human form. "Kiyomi" Charmed by her, I cupped her cheek and pulled her in for a kiss. Pulling back, I carried her by the waist and threw her onto the bed. Kiyomi smiled as she held her arms out to me, ready to embrace me. I rolled on top of her and we began to kiss intently. She took off my shirt and began kissing my chest. In response, I began removing her panties and touched her private parts. "Ahn" Kiyomi moaned as I continued to rub it. Though I wasn''t being intense with her, she was already letting out a lot of her juices. "Master" She embraced me and we shared another kiss before I took her clothes off and she took off mine. Kiyomi turned around, her rear facing me with her ass raised to the level where my hard cock was. I rubbed my cock against the entrance of her cave. After teasing her for a few more seconds, I eventually slid it in, inserting its full length, causing Kiyomi to let out a rather loud moan which would''ve probably woken some people if her face wasn''t buried in a pillow. I began moving my hips, sliding in and out. The room was filled with Kiyomi''s muffled moans and the sound of the bed creaking. Her insides tightened up as I continued to move, as if it didn''t want to let me go. "M-Master, I''m gonna-" She tried to say she was almost at her climax but her moans had interrupted her. Good thing I knew what she was going to say though because I was also at my limit. "Me too" I continued to pound her and as I got closer and closer to reaching my limit, Kiyomi''s moan became louder and louder, which made me more aroused. Soon enough, I reached my climax at the exact time Kiyomi did. It was as if we were made for each other as our bodies knew exactly what the other one wanted. As Iid down on her, she turned around to face me and gave me a kiss. Then she sat up a little, her tails brushing the side of my face. "Master, I wanna do it facing you." She said and I nodded. She sat up on me and ced her arms around me. She slowly hovered over my cock and slowly inserted it in. Since we had just done it, it easily slid in. As I continued my intercourse with Kiyomi, I heard a creak from the door despite Kiyomi''s moan filling the room. I couldn''t see who was at the door since I was impaired on the left side, but I could sense a dark auraing from the door. "Ravyn." The door cracked open with a girl in a ckced dress staring at us. The floor beneath her was wet after getting excited from watching us. "Come here," I said. "I ehh" Ravyn rose from the ground and scratched the back of her head. "Close the door." "Huh? S-sure" As she went to close the door, Kiyomi and I continued our business as Ravyn watched us. Kiyomi''s moans echoed through the room and we were in full view to Ravyn as the moonlight lit the room up. I could sense her urge building up as she continued to watch us. It was about time she oppressed her urge. Soon enough, she couldn''t hold it in anymore and ran up to me. "Nero me too." She begged as she neared closer to my face, her face practically saying she wanted it too. I put my arm around her waist and pulled her in, giving her a deep kiss. Our tongues entwined and ovepped one another, the pleasure caused her to moan in my mouth. The room was filled with both Kiyomi and Ravyn moaning. Kiyomi''s face meant she was close to cumming and I was the same too. Ravyn separated from my mouth slowly made her way towards my neck, nibbling on it, literally. After a few more seconds of thrusting, I came inside of Kiyomi, filling her once again with another load. She moaned as sheid back on the bed, taking in deep breaths. As I pulled out, I shifted my attention towards Ravyn and the look on her face meant she was already ready and indeed she was, just a little more aggressive than Kiyomi. Ravyn without hesitation quickly pushed me down and quickly mounted me. She slowly stroked my little one which had just been done after doing it with Kiyomi. In a matter of seconds, it quickly became rock hard again and she began inserting it in. Since she was already wet from peeking at us from earlier, she was slippery. While she moved her hips up and down, I slowly ced my hands on her slim waist before gripping onto it. "Eh? Ne- Eek!" I thrusted into her as she mmed down, a loud pping noise resonating through the room. As I continued thrusting in and out, she lowered herself to my neck and licked the blood from the spot where she had bitten me. I pulled her nightdress down, revealing her boobs. I grabbed one of them and began sucking on them as I continued moving my hips rapidly. In a matter of seconds, her tits quickly went stiff. I continued to do this with both and also licked them. "Aaah~!" Ravyn moaned as she threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. "Ravyn~" I moaned as I quickly reached my climax. At the same time I felt Ravyn''s pussy squirt out her juices, she had orgasmed while I was still inside her. Pulling out, she made a pathetic noise before limping on the bed. I scratched my head as I stood up. "Looks like I went overboard again," I said as I got myself a drink. Now then... I''m still not satisfied... so let''s see if she''s willing to join. I turned my attention to the door which was slightly opened. I quietly walked over and ced my hand on the knob before opening the door. "Hello, Akane." I greeted Akane, who was down on the ground. She stared at me with a red face which almost matched her red eyes. "U-umm..." She stuttered as she tried to collect her thoughts. I looked at the wet spot beneath her. It was pretty obvious what she was doing. "It''s rude to peek on people. Maybe I should teach you a lesson." . . . Chapter 62: Nightly Pleasure II (R-18) Chapter 62: Nightly Pleasure II (R-18) Akane stood up and gazed into my eyes before taking a step into my room. "A-alright." She said with a flushed expression. I was a little surprised. From her stories, I heard she almost killed her own master because they tried sexually assaulting her. After that, she left. Now, to think that same person is in my room, wearing only a nightgown. As Akane walked into my room, she noticed the current state the other two were in and gulped. I appeared behind her and ced my hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch slightly. "You know, I was just joking unless you really wanted to" "I-If it''s you then I don''t mind." "Well then, why don''t we get to it then?" I said as I whispered into her ears. I would also nibble her ear, catching her off guard. "Mm~" She moaned lightly in response. I ced my hands on her shoulders and began making my way down her body. My hand would slowly make their way down her slim and fit physique until they reached her hips. "You have such a nice body figure, I would understand why your former masters would try to ravage you," I said, kissing her neck. "Ah~" Akane moaned as my hands made their way underneath her cloth. I gently grabbed onto her boobs and groped them. They weren''t really big; probably size a no b? Maybe if I had the ability to see the exact measurements of a girl''s body, that would be useless actually since I can''t handle such information. After a while, we sat down on the bed. Akane backed herself into myp and she could probably feel my hard dick poking her from behind. I raised her nightgown, exposing her bare front. I began massaging her tits as we began kissing. She showed no signs of resistance as we continued to spoon each other. When she least expected it, my fingers went to her nipples and I pulled on them lightly. "Ahn~" She moaned as her nipples slowly hardened. That noise alone made my dick twitch. I got a nce at her face which was bright red. Akane was catching her breath after we just kissed and I could see a misty cloud emit from her mouth, her saliva glistening around her lips. "Haa, haa" Akane panted as she was out of breath from us sharing a deep kiss. I traced my finger around her lips. Though I didn''t say anything, she inserted my fingers into her warm mouth. "Hmm, do you want it that bad?" I said as her tongue entwined around my fingers in her mouth. "Haah~" Was her response as she opened her mouth, allowing me to take my wet fingers out. I smiled as my hand stained with her saliva made its way to herdy parts, slipping under her panties. "Ahn~" She moaned as I started ying with her pussy. I traced my finger around her pussy before inserting my middle finger into her hole. My finger easily went in after she had lubricated them with her saliva. "Aaah~ Nnmm" I began moving my finger in and out her vagina as I continued. I would gradually increase my speed as I inserted my ring finger. "Aah, Aah-!" Akane''s moans would only get louder as I fingered her. The stimtion was probably a bit much because, in just a few seconds, she quickly reached her peak. In an instant, she sprayed everywhere and the floor in front of us was soaked. "Hmm," I looked at my hand and then at Akane''s face. "What a cute expression... I think it''s about time we get to the good part." Akane looked at me with a lewd ecstatic face and nodded. She lifted her waist and faced her ass towards me, then spread her dripping wet pussy in front of my cock. "Please... I want it..." She said. "What was that? You want what?" I smirked as Akane''s face reddened up even more. "I-I want it inside me." "What inside you?" "Your penis... inside my pussy." "Well, if you say it like that, I guess I have no choice but toply." I positioned my dick just below her hole before inserting the tip. "Mmm! It... hurts..." "Don''t worry, I''ll do it slowly. Once everything is inside, the pain will eventually subside." I assured her as I continued to push my cock into her. Her pussy tightened the further I pushed and blood trickled down from her cave. I could see glistening tears falling down her face as she winced in pain. Eventually, my full length was in, fully taking her precious first time. "Now Akane, start moving but take it slow." Akane looked over her shoulder at me and nodded. She lifted her waist, my cock sliding out, and then sinking her hips, it entering once more. She continued to repeat this until her walls loosened up. As her body continued to make contact with my lower body, I couldn''t help but stare at her beautiful long hair. In addition to her attractive figure, she was a stunning beauty. It rivals both Kiyomi''s and Ravyn''s figure. But her hair was the most attractive, along with her eyes. Her hair... it kind of reminded me of... No, that''s not important. "Ah. Ah." Lewd sounds came out of Akane''s mouth as she continued to ride me. It must be tiring for her to do all the work, guess I should do something. I grabbed onto her wrist and stood up with my dick still inside her. "Huh-? Nghhh!" Akane let out a loud moan as I thrusted my hips. This time it was my turn to move. As I started thrusting, Akane began moaning loudly. The noisesing from her mouth were so lewd that it made me even harder. Eventually, I moved my hips to the rhythm of her moans. After a while, I pulled her body towards me and held her by the legs while I continued to pound her. "I-I''m gonna-" She was gonna say something but it was cut off by another lewd moan. Slowly I began to increase my speed as I continued to plow her. "I-I''m gonna cum..." Akane managed to say and it was also all over her face. She was close to climaxing and I was the same. "Me too," I responded and after a few seconds, we came at the same time. When our climax ended, I pulled my cock out of her pussy and my seme leaked out from below. "Fufu, how was your first experience?" I asked but no response came from her. Then I realized she had passed out. "Well, it is prettyte," I said as I fell back with Akane still on me. I wanted to sleep too, but somehow I still couldn''t. There was still something bothering me... . . . Chapter 63: Forsaken I Chapter 63: Forsaken I The girls were passed out after the fun we just had. Like the nice guy I was, Iid them all on the bed properly and covered them with a nket. The looks on their faces as they slept made me blissful. It was like a gift. I need to assure that they keep those smiles they hold their future after all. But there is only one smile that I won''t be able to keep My own and another I donned my clothes and walked out of the room, locking the door behind me and leaving my shadow servants to keep on the lookout. I gripped my hands as I took in a deep breath before walking down the dark empty hall. From my experience with Akane, I managed to get the sh Down skill. The way it works is the same as sh Step except you can activate it in the air and it''ll bring you back to the surface. Also, that was not the only thing I obtained. [Title Obtained: Sin of Lust] [Sin of Lust: Be rejuvenated aftermitting sexual acts so you never run out of energy| Effects: Through sexual intercourse, the host''s status and stamina will be fully restored] [Exceed has been upgraded] [Exceed --> Exceed EX] It was no wonder why I felt like my strength has been rejuvenated. It also seems that my Exceed skill has been upgraded. Now instead of upgrading level from 10-20, it now does 20-40. Pretty useful if I have to say. Now then, back to why I''m walking down this hall. I''m going to need answers from her [Cast her aside] I heard a voice in my head. At first, I thought it was Yukie, but she does not have a deep and bloodcurdling voice. I stopped as the voice spoke in my head. [You fret fret about her she is a danger to you] I looked over my shoulder just in case someone was actually talking to me but even after using Wolf''s Blood, the only thing I could see through the walls were people in their slumber and the structure of the building. "Wh-who are you?" I asked the voice. [She holds you back back from the potential you could obtain but she is also the catalyst that will lead to your own demise] "What are you talking about?" [Leave her she holds you back] I gulped. Who is she? Who is it talking about? Wait no I know exactly who it is talking about [Nero] This time Yukie spoke. "Yes?" [You have managed tomit 4 deadly sins, hence the Seffirot is now able tomunicate with you, however, only barely] "Seffirot?" [When there is evil, there is even more evil. After more eviles the ancient evil. However, the only thing that can surpass the ancient evil is the one beyond] "The one beyond? Who is that?" [I cannot speak any further but you should listen to what he says for it will benefit your quest for power. I rmend not ignoring him for he will continue to nag you if you do. After you have listened to his advice, the window that allows him to talk to you will close and will only open once a specific requirement has been met those requirements, I do not know.] I see, so this Seffirot is the voice that had spoken to me. I don''t know his true goal, but the words thate from him are to benefit my growth. But what he said I shook my head and looked forward. I need to focus. Continue worrying will only waste precious time. *** I eventually arrived at the door of the person I needed to meet. In other words, Risa. I only came to get some answers that''s it. I knocked on the door and I heard footsteps getting closer. The person that opened the door was Risa and she inspected me until we met eye to eye. "N-Nao" "Risa." "W-what are you doing here?" "I just came to talk now sit down," I said sternly. We walked over to the table and sat across from each other. I could hear heartbeats, not mine, but Risa''s. I could sense a bit of fearing from her. Hmph "N-Naoko-" "Risa." I quickly interrupted, getting her attention instead. "I''ll be blunt," I said. "Blunt?" "How do you feel about me, Risa?" Risa''s face became red as I said that. She looked around in embarrassment and started stammering. As she tried to collect her thoughts, I took in a deep breath as I waited for her answer. "I-I well," She said. "I like you." "And why? Out of pity?" "No, of course not! It because-" She continued to rant on. She had mentioned some things that I don''t recall such as when the time I saved her from a bunch of bullies when we were young and the time I had saved her from being abducted. Though they were all false, the words that came out of her mouth were all truthful, with no lies behind them and that confused me. But if what she said is the truth, then I can''t do anything about it. I raised my eyebrows when she finished her answer. "Is that so?" "Nn" I smiled as sighed as I shook my head. "Well how about you?" She then asked me. "My feelings?" I scratched my chin and thought for a minute. Aah, yes "Well, Risa" "Yes." She looked down at the table, waiting for me to answer her. Then the smile on my face turned upside down. "I hate you." "" Risa stared at me silently and dumbfounded before opening her mouth. "Huh?" "I''ll repeat it again. Risa I hate you." Risa looked at me and shook her head lightly with disbelief. "Y-you''re just joking right?" She put up a bitter smile. I could tell by the look on her face she was trying to deny the words that just came out of my mouth. "Joking? Risa have I ever joked with you before?" I replied. "B-but why?" "Why? Well" I closed my eyes and thought for a second, but I was only doing that to make her think I was thinking of what to say next when I already know what I was going to say. "That''s because you are just a tool to me; a catalyst that chains me down to myst shred of humanity, nothing more." "Wha-what?" "You are also naive and easily influenced. You continue to see this world positively and you think if we heroes manage to save it, it will have a bright future. However, you arepletely oblivious to the dangers that this world holds. I hate people who are naive." I reached inside my coat and pulled out a bloody bag. I dropped the bag on the table. I would then open it up and pull out a centipede, or should I say a demonic critter. "Wha-what is that?" Risa asked as I ced the centipede in view of the moonlight. "Well let''s just say it''s the cause of my new appearance." I reached for the cor of my shirt and pulled it down, revealing therge open gash across my body. "It was tedious to get it out but luckily for me, I can''t feel much pain." I nced up at Risa who had a horrified expression on her face. "I-I can heal it. If you would jus-" She would get up from her chair but I mmed the table. "No! You sit down!" I yelled at her. She froze before hesitantly sitting back down. "The time I''ve been here..." I said. "I nearly died two times. This is nothingpared to that." That time when I fought the pig was the first time and I would''ve died if Joseph were to have fought me but he willingly let me go. Risa watched as my gash slowly closed up. "P-please Naoko, just let me help you." "Help me? Help me, huh? If you are going to help me, then why didn''t you help me earlier? Instead, you chose that mongrel, Cage." "But that is because you hurt him!" "He attacked me first, so I did what any normal being would do. It was self-defense, and you would have done the same. Actually, no, you wouldn''t have done that. Instead, you would''ve tried using your words to calm them down." I got up from my chair and walked around the table. "I hate that. I hate people who do that. They think everything could be solved with peace, but that''s not the solution for everything." I ced my hand over my left eye and stared at her with my right. "Victory is decided by strength. Cage may have broken a bone of mine and blinded my left eye, but that is nothingpared to the beatdown I brought onto him. The results were satisfying until you interfered." "No..." "Risa, your kindness is great, but one day it will be the end of you." Risa''s eyes were slowly bing watery as I stood right in front of her. "Risa, I''vee to realize that you will never, and never change because of your kindness." I watched as tears trailed down her cheek and drop onto the table, staining them with tears. I turned away and approached the door to leave but Risa ran and wrapped her arms around my body. "No! Please don''t leave!" She said, clinging onto me tightly. I clenched my teeth, wanting her to let go of me. I could also feel it, I could feel her healing me as she clung to me. "Let go!" I demanded. "No! Please don''t... leave me. I-I''ll do anything for you! I''ll even leave the king and follow you!" "But your objective is to bring me back, isn''t it?" "I don''t care! You are the only person that I care about! I''ve only ever wanted to see you and you only!" Is that so? She did this just to see me? How... I shook my head and grabbed her shoulders, pushing her away from me. "If you really care about me, then go back and join the others. Don''t evere across my line of sight again." Tears continued to stream down her cheeks. I took a deep breath and opened the door. Before I left though, I turned and opened my mouth, saying onest sentence. "I hate you, Risa. I don''t ever want to see your face again." . . . Chapter 64: Forsaken II Chapter 64: Forsaken II I could hear her weeping from the other side of the door. Well I did it, I guess. I turned away and walked back down the hall. However, when I neared my room, my legs buckled and I crumpled down onto the floor. Tears tears dripped down to the ground as I bit my tongue. Why why did I have to do such a thing to her? She she really did love me so why did I do such a thing? I had to hold all my feelings back just to say it. She didn''t deserve it. She''s innocent and pure, so why did I do such a thing to break her heart? It''s cause of this stupid voice in my head. "Are you satisfied now, Seffirot?" I said as I hit the floor and cried. "You got what you wanted, so are you happy!? You nagged me and annoyed me just so you could get me to destroy all ties with the person that mattered to me most!?" I waited for Seffirot to answer. [Leaving her will save you] It said. "Fuck you. How the hell is that going to work?" I asked. [You lure danger to yourself. If she were to be alongside you, it would put her life in danger. If her life were to be taken away, you would lose control of yourself. Doing this will protect her] "But I can protect her I can protect her from the danger." [No. No, you cannot. Adversaries are everywhere and one of them will be the end of you. You are confident in your own power and drunk on bloodlust.] It would continue to speak in my mind. [Your goal is to gain power, but having her on your side would only cause you to worry about her since shecksbat prowess. You must understand that this is for her own good.] "But did I really have to be so cruel with her?" [Yes. Without cruelty, she wouldn''t have taken you seriously.] "But I could''ve just-" [If you hadplied to her feelings with your own, you would''ve only had her on your mind, distracting you which will eventually lead you to your own demise.] "Damn it if there was only another way-" [A sacrifice must be made in order to gain power] With that, his voice faded away from my mind. Yukie would then return. [It seems the window is now closed] "Yes I know." I wiped my tears away and stood up. I had no choice. It was the only way for me to leave her, otherwise, she''ll continue to follow me. Please forgive me Risa, but this is all for your own good. After fixing myposure, I walked back to my room. Opening the door, I watched as the girls slept peacefully. After what happened, I think we should leave now. We''ve been taking our time traveling to Maroon city due to many incidents happening. It''s about time we actually got there. But I think I''ll let them rest for a little longer. I closed the door andmanded my shadow servants to continue guarding. I need to take a breather after what just happened. As I walked down the stairs to leave the inn, I felt a hostile presenceing from behind. "Cage, if you want to fight me then we''ll take this outside," I said without looking at him. I left the inn and I could hear him follow me. We walked into the woods until we stumbled upon an open field. I don''t even need to hear his reason. I know exactly what he is going to do. Shing! ng! Cage drew his sword and swung it towards me. I quickly drew my dagger and parried it before kicking him back. He quickly stopped himself with his sword. "You bastard!" He yelled. "How could you do such a thing!? You you broke her heart!" "Hmph, and why should I tell you?" "You''ll tell me after what I''m going to do to you!" Cage dashed towards me and swung his sword horizontally. I quickly blocked him and swept him off his feet. Before he touched the ground, I delivered a heavy kick to his stomach, sending him flying. "Do what to me? Be my punching bag?" "Damn it!" Cage got up and turned around, but I shifted in front of him and kneed him in the stomach. I elbowed him directly in the back, sending him back into the ground. "Ough! Ough!" He coughed as he struggled to get up. "Give up." "I don''t understand. If you have this much power, then why don''t you kill me?" He asked. "Isn''t that what you want?" "Yes, I do. I really do want to kill you but making you suffer is much better." "Damn it, just kill me!" "No." "Why?" I closed my eyes and turned to the direction of town. "I need someone to look after her." "what?" "I hurt her for her own good. Her mission was to bring me back to the king and that goes the same for you. However, that will never happen." "Bring you ba y-you are the Inept Hero?" "Correct." "The-then why didn''t you-?" "If I follow you guys back, then everything I''ve been doing has been for nothing. I simply cannot go back. That bastard of a king will die by my hands one day. I know you want the same too." "" "Silent aren''t you? Well, since you''ve seen how demi-humans are being treated in this country, I guessed that you would''ve listened to some of my words." "But that doesn''t exin why you hurt her." Damn it, why doesn''t he understand I clenched my teeth and fell to the ground. "I hurt her for her own good, okay!? I had to break her heart so she wouldn''t search for me again! I can''t risk it! She is the only person bounding me to my senses and if she were to die, everything would be over for not only her but me as well!" I crawled over to Cage and grabbed him by the cor. "She''ll only ever face danger if she was to be with me! If she had thebat power, things would be different! We simply can''t be near each other! I''m I''m afraid I won''t be able to protect her so that''s why I must leave her." I''d let go of Cage''s cor but kept my vision locked onto him. "Cage you are a warrior whose life is dedicated to Risa. You''d sacrifice your life for her, right?" "y-yeah." "Then will you protect Risa in my stead?" His eyes widened as I said those words. "I just need you to protect her, that''s all. If you manage to do that until I''ve taken out that pitiful king, then I''ll promise you whatever you want." "And what if I don''t manage to?" "then I''ll kill you." Cage gulped. I got up on my feet and walked over to him, lending my hand. "Do we have a deal?" I said. Cage hesitated but eventually took my hand. "Yes. I''ll protect her with my life." "Good." As we got on our feet and walked back to the inn, I told Cage to never mention this conversation to her. Then we got to the inn and separated. An hour before sunrise, I told the girls to wake up and get dressed. As they prepared and got ready, I went out to get myself another scroll. I needed something for poison resistance. Sometimes I get a little ufortable drinking refreshment from an inn and now I''m just very cautious of what I consume. With resistance to toxins, I can eat with ease. With all our stuff packed up, we left the town. As we got further away, there was a pain in my heart, telling me to go back. Some parts of me wanted to go and tell Risa everything but as much as I wanted to, I couldn''t. Forsaking her... it was for the best... "Bear all hatred, for it will only drive me further... and beyond. All power requires sacrifice... even if it pains." The words of others will only push me towards my goal. Though it will be tedious, I''ll manage somehow, and I''ll be expecting any obstacles that will get in my way. . . . Chapter 65: Principles and the Message Chapter 65: Principles and the Message In the far west, there was a giant lightning storm. Amon disaster that appears all around the continent. Though they aremon and often appear, they never get close to any towns, cities, etc. That''s because these storms are created and controlled by Stormblitzes, creatures born from lightning. From their element, it was obvious what they are capable of doing. They take the form of a golden wolf, tiger, lion, fox, etc. They have metal rods on their back which conducts lightning energy and also connects them with other Stormblitzes; an easy way for them to lend energy andmunicate with each other. Stormblitzes are passive creatures but are considered very hostile when threatened. By themselves, they can''t do much, but if they were to be in numbers, they have the potential to take out an entire human army. The storms they caused are created by their thunderous roars, able to conjure storms. These storms can range from thunderstorms to even a violent lightning tornado. Though they are known to be passive, they''ve been out of control these past months. The storm had already struck 3 towns, destroying homes, striking them with lightning, and leaving nothing behind. It was now heading for the city nearest. This storm was controlled by 4 Stormblitzes, dragging the storm behind their tails towards the city as they leap from tree to tree, striking them with thunder from the storm clouds above them. As they neared the city, a sudden force blew them back and the mes engulfing the trees were quickly extinguished by not the raining from the storm clouds, but the man floating in front of them. "Well, well, seems I was a bitte, but just in time too," Joseph said, descending onto the top of a tree. The Stormblitzes watched as Joseph descended. One of them took this as a chance to attack him. Itshed its tail towards Joseph, sending a lightning bolt towards him. When it was just about to strike him though, Joseph faced his palm towards the lightning bolt and suddenly it was split into two, avoiding Joseph and coursing through the trees behind him, causing them to be set on fire. Joseph turned and watched as the trees were set on fire. "Oh, that wasn''t supposed to happen." He said. On the palm of his left hand gave off immense power which shone red. The Stormblitzes noticing this quickly grew cautious and surrounded him. Joseph could only smile as he looked at them. "Red Angel Palm. Prettyme in appearance, but the energy it gives off is pretty intense." The levels of the four Stormblitzes were all around level 1500 but luckily for Joseph, he was already near level 3000. It wasn''t much of a surprise due to his Passive Skill Transcend. However, despite being stronger, he knew it would be too arrogant to underestimate a Stormblitz, let alone 4 of them. "Come on," Joseph beckoned, and the Stormblitzes pounced towards him. When they got close, Joseph faced his palm at them and red energy amassed at the end of his palms. "Total Rejection." Suddenly, they were blown away and the lightning they possessed was immediately dispersed from their body. They quickly caught themselves and perched on top of the tree. "Now, now, that''s not all you got, right?" Joseph taunted. The four Stormblitzes growled and let out a thunderous roar, causing thunder to strike them. The tree they were standing was now burning. Joseph noticed that the thunder that struck them came from the eye of the storm above him. Joseph looked up and smirked. "Come on now, I know you are up there!" Joseph yelled, looking up at the concentrated ball of lightning in the air. The entity descended before suddenly teleporting everywhere, sending lightning everywhere. Joseph faced his right hand at the lightning and it was all absorbed into the right demon-esque arm of his. "Total Consumption." The ball of lightning floated in front of Joseph before turning into a Stormblitz which was two times the size of the other Stormblitzes. Joseph quickly appraised it and he found out that this one was much stronger than the others. It was above level 3000, much higher than his level. "I see, an alpha." All Stormblitzes are led by an alpha which will appear different from the others. The lightning energy they generate is more potent than a normal Stormblitz would generate. "Well, it doesn''t matter. I''ll take out each of you one by one." The Stormblitzes cried, thunder booming through the air. A lightning bolt plummeted towards Joseph and struck him. However, that lightning bolt was quickly absorbed into his right hand. "Total Consumption." Another lightning bolt was thrown towards Joseph, but when Joseph faced his left hand towards it, it was repelled and struck a tree. "Total Rejection." The Red Angel Palm and the Blue Devil Arm control one principle each. These principles must bepletely opposite to the other. This will allow for more potential growth in return for a higher difficulty to master it. The Red Angel Palm possesses the Principle of Rejection, allowing all matter to be repelled, and the Blue Devil Arm wields the Principle of Consumption, consuming all matter in its path. Through rejection, Joseph can repel any attack brought onto him with his own mana, potentially countering it, and through consumption, he can consume the attack, absorbing the amount of mana required to use it. These Principles willbine with the Void itself; the ce where it will draw out that energy, and Cursed Arts; the property allowing the activation of the technique. With this, the user will be able to bring forth the principles in a physical form, hence the techniques Cerulean Cyclone and Scarlet Storm. Everything in the Cerulean Cyclone''s path is absorbed and sucked into the void connected to it while Scarlet Storm does the opposite; repelling everything in its path with repulsing energy. These two may be different in properties, but they have the same attack power as the other. However, if these two attacks were to be put on a destructive scale... Scarlet Storm would be the one. On the end of his left palm, red energy leaked and formed a cube. "Cursed Red Arts: Scarlet Storm" That same cube then generated into a red void and wasunched at the Stormblitzes. Three of them including the alpha managed to flee from his attack but two of them weren''t so lucky. When Scarlet Storm made contact, they were quickly crushed by its overpowering rejection. In just a few seconds, the only thing in front of Joseph''s path was an incrediblyrge crater. The mountain in the distance had a noticeable hole in it. The red void flew up into the air before exploding. Joseph took deep breaths as he descended onto the ground. Despite possessing so much power, his body is unable to handle the contradiction between the two, and his mana reserve can only hold so much. He dide after fighting three other groups of Stormblitzes. Even though he was down, the Stormblitzes noticed the power difference and quickly fled. Joseph looked up and watched as the storm quickly moved away. "Crap, they got away. Well, someone else can deal with them... probably." *** It was midnight and the Healer Hero, Risa had returned to the castle. The king had already expected her return. "So did you-" He was going to ask but once he spotted the sad look on her face, he shut his mouth immediately. "It... didn''t go well." Cage answered. He gulped as he stared at Risa. After the encounter with the Inept Hero, Naoko, he''s learned how much strength he possessed. Secretly, he could sense how people felt since he was a demi-human of wolf descent. He also knew exactly how Risa felt. But... when he tried to sense that in Naoko... it was all scrambled. Joy? Fear? Anger? He couldn''t feel those until that one night. All he felt was pure misery. However, thest time he had seen him, he felt a callous thought running through his veins. Along the way, he felt a violent presenceing from the shadows around him, but he didn''t know why, only that they left a trace of his scent. Cage grew cautious as he looked at the shadows around him in the throne room. When he saw the king walk up to Risa, he noticed her shadow protruding and a de formed from it. "...huh?" A warrior d in ck jumped out and swung its de towards the king. "What the-!?" ng! Luckily for the king, Anastasia was standing by his side and parried the ck warrior''s strike. The warrior skidded back and jumped into a shadow, disappearing. It was only just one however, four more shadows jumped out and attempted to attack the king at the same time but they were quickly neutralized by Anastasia whose rapier glowed white. The shadows quickly regenerated and hid in the shadows before one of them emerged and ced its hand on the left side of his chest before introducing itself. "Good afternoon." He greeted. "I am a servant sent by my lord." "W-who?" "My lord... or should I say the Inept Hero?" "What business does he have sending you?" "Oh, he sent me to give you a message." "What message?" A chuckling sound emitted from the shadow servant before it lostposure hand leaned back while letting out a bloodcurdlingugh. "Hehehe... well... I''m just going to say... you are a coward." The right half of the shadow servant''s face was shaped into Naoko''s old appearance and there was a massive grin on his face. "You think using the one most connected to me could convince me toe back? Well, you are highly mistaken. I will note back, even if that woman attempts so." He would then point at Risa before turning his attention back to the king. "If you want me back, then you will have to do it by force. Of course, you''ll have others do it for you since you will be sitting here all day." The king opened his mouth the say something but he was quickly interrupted. "This is only the beginning, so you should expect some more. Now, we''ll be on our way." Then the face of the shadow servant returned to normal and the servant jumped into the shadows, fleeing with the others. *** The shadows quickly traveled through the darkness and then they stumbled upon a camp where Nero resided. "Did you do it?" Nero asked, and the shadows nodded. "Good. Go back to guarding now." The shadows nodded before dispersing. Nero sighed as he closed his eyes and went to sleep. The day after, he and the others arrived at Maroon city. . . . Chapter 66: Maroon City Chapter 66: Maroon City We finally arrived at Maroon City. I sighed deeply in relief. Finally! It took us almost a month to get here due to so many obstacles in our way. First, it was that ice elf guy, whatever his name was, then it was another ice elf whose name I did not catch, and then Ahem, it would''ve been much simpler if we had just strolled here peacefully. At least I got Akane and some levels out from this whole thing. Speaking of levels, Kiyomi and Ravyn are around level 900, while Akane is near the same level as me. That only leaves me with 380 levels left, which I haven''t taken yet. Giving them levels managed to upgrade some skills, however, all of them I already have so there was nothing really special about what they got. Anyway, we finally arrived at Maroon City. Hmm, now if I were topare Maroon city to any other city I know, it would be half the size of Osaka so it is pretty big. How do I know that? Well, thanks to my new Flight skill, I can fly now, though I still have some technical difficulties controlling it, such as bncing myself and not tilting one way or another. From the top view, it was pretty big, so Ipared it to Osaka because it was well, big. I bet it was bigger if we got inside. Reaching the gates into the city, we were asked for our identifications before we were let in. The walls protecting the city were made of gray stone, the gate was made entirely of chrome-like material which gave off energy. The strange thing was when I used Wolf''s Blood, I noticed unusual figures inside the walls giving off angelic energy. Looks like the rumors were true. This city is well defended and suited for shelter against the demon army. To think the walls were built on sleeping angelic critters. If there are demonic critters, then angelic critters are also to be expected. The two are totally different things and I would exin what the difference is, but maybe another time. All I will say for now is that demons are extremely allergic to the energy these critters produce, and the same can go for angels. I could sense the air around my body tighten up as I stood in the entrance. The oxygen around me also begun to thin up and my vision blurred for a moment. My legs were close to buckling, but luckily we were let in the city before that happened. Eventually, I could breathe normally again. That must''ve been the side effect of having that demonic critter inside me. I thought it would disappear once I had used it, but to think it was still inside of my body. Removing it was a tiresome task, but it was a good thing I managed not to pass out during the process, or die. "Are you alright?" Akane said worryingly. "Yeah, just a little ill." The city was pretty big and the poption was pretty big. As expected of a wealthy and well-known city. We decided to explore the stores since we might visit themter. After a while of exploring the city, we were now heading towards the Adventurer''s guild located in the city. It wasn''t hard to find it in thisrge city since the building was sorge. The ratherrge establishment was a 5-story building and almost reminded me of a kind of mansion. Maybe it is, who knows? I pressed my hand on the door and entered. "Hya!" Whoosh! Arge man was thrown towards me and I quickly bent back, evading the man who flew over me and rolled across the ground. Regaining myposure, I looked at the man who just sent the other guy flying towards me. He had gauntlets on his hands and I tilted my head while using Analysis. He was level 5,234 and he was a Tank and a Monk ss, a ss specializing only in hand-to-handbat techniques. The skills well I''m not gonna bother. The man behind me on the floor was at 4,201, and he was a Warhammer and an Assassin which was a little weird, but I''m not gonna bother. The same goes for his skills. Anyway, it''s a good thing I dodge. If I didn''t, I would''ve probably ended up with a shattered skeleton. I could almost feel the intense force that guy made when he flew towards me. "Oh, sorry about that," The guy walked up to me and said before walking over to the other guy. "Come on, we''ll do this outside!" "Yeah!" Then the door mmed shut and the entire room was silent. okay. "Ah, sorry about that," A woman with short blonde hair said as she walked up to me. "It''s alright," I responded, and the woman''s face suddenly blushed red. "O-oh right." I tilted my head as she turned and walked away. A sudden weight was ced onto my arm and I looked at the girls. I sighed and turned to inspect the lobby. The first floor served as both a reception and a restaurant or bar. Now then, I believe I''m supposed to hand the invitation to one of thedies at the reception. I made a beeline for one of the empty counters and ady quickly greeted me. "Good morning, how may I help you?" She said with a bright smile. "I have an invitation," I said as I handed in four envelopes. Thedy took one of them and opened it up, taking the letter out. After reading it, she nodded and ced the letter back in the envelope. Then she collected them in her arms. "I see. Alright, please follow me," She said, pointing to me and the girls. We followed her up the stairs and while we headed up, a red-haired man with a blindfold covering his eyes in a white coat approached us. "Special Rmendations?" He asked in a soft voice to thedy before shifting towards us. "Yes." "I see." Then the man walked up to me and greeted me. "I''m Hijiri Yamate, a Purple rank adventurer." He had his hand out for a handshake. There was no ill willing from him, so I shook it. "Nero Akuma, Brown rank." "Brown rank? Hmm, you must''ve done something if you were able to get rmended at that low of a rank. I think I was a Pink rank when I was rmended, which was a year ago. Well anyway, good luck with the guildmaster." He said before walking past us. Hmm, that man is strong. I used Analysis on him but his stats werepletely scrambled. [L961e 5@9lv1; Cl1n5: S2nfkg/qWan3o$15; T9:5194:)(%@} {0239abi1]]]] 1b -2pn4!%^&*#8Orochiw5heurlw,kdsld4 :Qlto DH AET82,P0U S 9j42 k2ij 1= #150 3$^@ "$ EQJdf@,11 f__ h qo89@#13 Fa;l^aksm d:F GHKW@)# ip905^@*% oie+No^ jdf;lgh3i ['' tv n02!$ T@AJ djf;o ANS NBIB gjieqi2 tfbub a1 5420 ijs moa69 1jlkwidfmk !KG mw d, 2 3.g [| ------------------ Seems he possesses the Distorted Stats skills or whatever this mess is. Not even Yukie is able to figure out what this is. I''m just gonna stop looking at it because my eyes hurt from looking at this. "Ahem!" Thedy cleared her throat and we resumed following her until we heard a yelp behind us. I turned and Hijiri had his hands on Kiyomi''s shoulders. "W-what is your name?" He asked Kiyomi. "U-u-uhh..." I walked over and pulled Kiyomi from his clutches. "Is there a problem that you had toy your hands on my girl?" I asked and Hijiri turned to me. "Uhh, sorry. It''s just that her eyes... they reminded me of someone I knew." "Huh? You have a blindfold over your eyes." "Ah, this? It''s just to limit my Mystic Eyes of Interspace. I can''t really control it well or I''ll be staring at a creature a thousand miles away. This limits my vision. This blindfold has special properties which limit my vision to that of a mortal, so I can have the same vision as a human would. Anyway, I apologize." "I see..." Hijiri turned and walked down the stairs. I turned to Kiyomi and asked if she was ok. "Yes, I''m alright." "Good." "Ahem!!" Thedy cleared her throat once again and we continued to follow her. "Young people these days." She muttered. After walking all those stairs, we finally got to the fifth floor, which was where the guildmaster''s room was. Thedy knocked on the door and a woman''s voice spoke from the other side. "What is it?" "We have four special rmendations." "Is that so? Come in then." I heard what sounded like a lock unlocking and the door creaked open. Thedy pushed the door and we followed her in, closing the door behind us. I looked over at thedy sitting on the couch in front of us and my eyes widened as I inspected her appearance. She had long braided white hair which fell past her waist, fancy ck clothes that would suit a witch, and powerful eyes which shone green. But what surprised me the most was what she was. She had dark skin and long pointy ears, like an elf. That feature immediately told me what this person in front of me was, and she probably already knew that we knew. "Yes, indeed. I am a dark elf." . . . Chapter 67: Tests Chapter 67: Tests "My name is Celestia Tenebri, the guildmaster assigned to Maroon''s branch." She introduced herself. "I-is that so?" I replied. I''ve heard of elves and Demi-humans able to get citizenship here but they are easily discriminated against. To have someone like a dark elf be a guildmaster is unexpected considering the king of this country''s reputation. If this was somewhere else like Romanus where every creature besides monsters can gain citizenship, then it would make sense. "If you are thinking how a dark elf like me was able to be a guildmaster, it''s because I''m an ambassador from Romanus. I''m also a high-ranking warlock," She said as if she read my mind. "Ah, that would make sense." So she is an ambassador and a warlock, huh? Interesting I attempted to use Analysis but what appeared in front of me was this: ____________ ___________ _________________________________________________________ ______________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ------------------ It was just empty. Nothing to see here. "Peeking at other''s stats is very rude, you know," she said. Huh, does this woman have some kind of mind-reading skill? ... I''m just gonna pretend she knew I was gonna say that. "Hmm, unlike thest guy, yours doesn''t even show a single number or letter." "Hijiri? Well, I don''t know how he managed to get his stats to look like that. Maybe he has something that scrambles it. Anyway, you won''t be able to look at mine, even Appraisal won''t be able to pierce through it." I see "Now then, back to business. You four were special rmended so you must have done something. However" She looked at us one by one and scratched the side of her head. "Your levels and your ranks raise some suspicion" She said, staring at us suspiciously. "Well, your levels would actually make you guys around Blue or Green rank, but I''m guessing you cked off doing quests. Anyway, folks around your level aremon. The only question is if you guys are able to pass the test." "Test?" I tilted my head in confusion. "Well, you see. Even if you were given these-" She held up the invitations. "You still have to pass a specific test." "What is this test about?" "Well, this test will not only show that you are worthy of bing a private adventurer, but you will also have your ranks raised to that fitting of one. The lowest rank that a private adventurer can be is Pink. Since you are all at Brown and White, it''ll make us look like we are just giving these away." "Oh I see." Well, technically we were pretty much given these by just asking. We didn''t do much, actually. "So, we all have toplete a test and we will be able to be private adventurers? Or adventurers in this branch?" "Yes. Each of you will have toplete a quest of Pink rank." "I see wait, what?" "You didn''t hear me?" She tilted her head. "You all have toplete a quest that has the difficulty of Pink rank. Do you think it will be an easy quest that will get you up to Pink rank instantly? Well, you are wrong." "No, no, I understand. You are doing this so you can tell whether we are able to be a private adventurer or not, right?" "Yes. I believe you get the gist." I didn''t really expect this, but I guess we have no choice. Now then, time to bombard her with questions. I need answers. "I''m guessing everyone in this guild is at least Pink rank, right?" "Correct." "So we just have to do this one test to be Pink rank?" "Indeed." "And what if we fail the test?" "Well, you''ll be given another one of the same difficulty." "How many chances do we have?" "Only 3." "Only 3?" "Only 3." I see. So we only have 3 chances. Fair enough. Celestia looked over her shoulder at thedy and thedy leaned forward. Celestia whispered into her ear and thedy nodded. She then left the room. A few secondster, thedy returned and stood behind Celestia before handing her 4 documents. Celestia stared at every one of us before nodding. "Alright. You, the Kitsune." She said, pointing to Kiyomi. "Huh? Me?" Kiyomi asked. "Yes." She assured. "Wait, how do you know-?" I proceeded to ask, but she quickly cut me off and answered me. "My eyes are special. I can see through simple transformations such as the one she is using." "Wait, so-" "Not everyone here is a human. There are also Demi-humans, phantoms, etc. using the same tactic. Holly behind me is a Nekomata." Holly, the woman behind her was now different; She had two ears sticking out from her long green hair and two tails behind her. "Yes, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ho-" "Anyway-" Celestia quickly interrupted. "Here is the quest you are tasked with." She slid a document towards us, and Kiyomi took it. I shuffled myself next to her to take a peek at what she was tasked with. "You''ll be tasked with defeating a Crimson me Dragon. From rumors, it''s been attacking viges and destroying forests. I say its level averages around 1300." "1300!? Kiyomi is only around level 900, she can''t possibly defeat-!" "Are you saying she will fail?" I gulped and shifted my attention to Kiyomi, giving her a worried look. She turned and looked at me. "I can do it," she said. "Are you sure?" I asked to make sure. "Yes." She said in a confident tone. "Trust her. She can do it considering the many ice techniques she has. I think she''ll be able to take the dragon on as long as she doesn''t mess up," Celestia added. I was going to believe her until she said thest part. "Anyway, you, the Ghoul. This is yours." She tossed a document at Ravyn who struggled to catch it. "You''ll be going to the spirit forest and gather 100 holy spirits. Yo-" "Wait a minute." I interrupted. "Why is she getting such an easy task?" "Well actually, if you didn''t know, the undead are allergic to most spirits, mostly holy spirits. Though it won''t kill them, they''ll experience a series of conditions that only the undead can get. I can already tell from the look on her face that she is afraid." I turned to Ravyn and there was a drop of sweating down from her cheek. "Don''t worry. If she manages to get out of this without passing out, she''ll obtain resistance against spirits. Now then, you." She pointed to Akane and threw a document at her, which she quickly caught. "Since you are a Dragon Oni, I don''t think ying a few dragons is difficult, right?" "As long as they aren''t Bloodmoon Dragons, then I''m alright with it." "Good, cause you will be facing Ice Dragons." Immediately, I noticed Akane tense up and even heard a gulp. "Is that alright with you?" Celestia asked and Akane nodded hesitantly. Whoa, what''s up with those two? They are usually veryposed, especially Akane. Then I realized another one was reacting the same. Make it three. Now that I think of it, aren''t the monsters in these quests- "You guessed it," Celestia said as if she just read my mind and finished my thoughts by herself. "You are all tasked to face against your greatest enemies, which will rival your specific set of skills. Ice against Fire, Undead against the Holy, Blood against Ice(Basically freezing temperatures can freeze blood)" "Wait, so what about me?" I asked. "Oh, well" *** Currently, I was floating up in the sky, looking down at the vast gorge that was before me. "So this is where the golems are" I said as I slowly descended into the chasm. I was tasked to take out some golems that reside in this gorge. I''m supposed to bring back their cores, four of them. Heard that their cores are used as fuel sources. Their levels ranged around 900 ording to the guildmaster. I don''t know if she is underestimating me or something. The girls are dealing with monsters with levels over 1000 while I''m stuck with creatures with 3 digit levels. Oh well, at least that gives me an easier chance to pass. The girls are gonna have the most difficulty here. This is gonna be light work. Now then... I flew through the bottom of the chasm until I found four strange-looking boulders. Each of them gave off a strange feeling and once I used Analysis, I had figured I was here. I think I should give them a warm greeting. And by warm... I formed a small condense sphere in between my hands. The energy stored in it began overflowing and a secondyer of mana started to circle around it. I would throw a round of Vtile Orbs at them but I''ve been brainstorming on new attacks to create. With atomic properties, I will make an attack that will not split up and explode as Vtile Orb does. Instead, I will make something that will instantly grow in size and while doing that, split the atoms of the elements it engulfs. I have made it so that all atoms that it makes contact with will split up infinitely. This process will repeat and continue on until it reaches its limit. The range of this attack will be severely limited, unlike Vtile Orb; probably only 3 meters, but that is all the distance I need. Since I don''t have Explosion Magic, I won''t be able to detonate something of greater mass so it will quickly dissipate once it reaches its maximum range but that doesn''t matter. If I were to name this skill... it would be... Atomic Fission. [Skills Obtained: Atomic Fission(Lvl.1)] [Mana: 140,496,240/160,000,000] I see. Twenty million mana to create an orb built of atomic properties. Well, it is aplex attack considering the effect it has. Yes, I''ve done my research and it took me 5 nights to figure it out. Anyway- "Taste this," I said before sending my newly made attack at the golems. The tiny sphere made its way towards the space separating the golems and then in an instant, it became a giant orb that phased through the ground like it was nothing. When the sphere met itsst moments, it faded into thin air and countless pieces of gravel filled the giant crater that was formed. "Hmm, not bad." Iplimented myself as I focused my attention on the golems which had woken up from the ruckus. I descended onto the ground and watched as they rose up from the ground. Each of them was about 9 meters tall and 5 meters in length. In other words, they were big. My Atomic Fission managed to devour a few chunks from them. However, I noticed when they walked over to the crater and touched the gravel, their arms began reforming using the stone from the crater. I should make sure not to destroy them since I do need their cores. If I remember, cores are always directly in the center of the golems. I smiled as I equipped Osiris and signaled the golems. "Time to y." . . . Chapter 68: Failure Chapter 68: Failure The first golem approached me and it raised its arm into the air, ready to strike. That''ll be perfect. I''ve been meaning to test something else. As soon as it was about to hit me, I struck the ground, activating Grim Dragon Eruption. In an instant, countless spiky bones erupted from the ground beneath me and the field was like that of a sea urchin''s. Grim Dragon Eruption is basically Grim Dragon Thorn except it is an attack that covers all directions instead of one. Though itpletely reces the skill, Grim Dragon Thorn is actually beneficial to Grim Dragon Eruption. The higher leveled Grim Dragon Thorn is, the more spikes I will be able to summon. This effect goes into Grim Dragon Eruption except for the higher level it gets, the more range it covers. If I had both of these skills at max, I can deal some heavy damage. The only problem is the amount of mana I need to use for Grim Dragon Eruption, which is 5,000,000 mana every time the skill is activated. Anyway, I looked at the golem in front of me who had multiple spines stuck in its stone body. It slowly motioned its body and easily broke the spikes. Did I also forget to say that the more it levels up, the more sturdy the bones are? Since they are level 1, they will be pretty weak and fragile. Well, I guess I can just level them up here. I turned and another golem wasing after me. I used Grim Dragon Thorns, sending spines prating its legs. However, a single movement and was quickly broken. I continued to use Grim Dragon Thorns and Grim Dragon Eruption. By the time I found out, I had already depleted arge amount of mana. [Mana: 94,495,635/160,000,000] Considering I''ve been performing Grim Dragon Eruption and Grim Dragon Thorns non-stop, it would make sense that my mana would deplete quicker. In addition to sh Step and other countless evading skills. The skill sh Down from Akane is also pretty useful since it consumes the same amount of mana sh Step takes. I''ve also been using Afterimage which consumes 249,999 mana every use for 10 seconds. After a while, I flew back up in the air and prepared Atomic Fission yet again. I''ve noticed ever since I''ve been fighting them and sttering them with holes that they just continue to rebuild themselves with the scattered piles of rubble lying everywhere. If I get rid of their supply, then they won''t be able to rebuild themselves. So my only solution is to get rid of the remains before they absorb them again. Iunched Atomic Fission and while it traveled towards the golems I made a Vtile Orb in my hand. I''ll just blow up the pieces as they are being split up, then they''ll have less to regenerate with. They can''t continue this forever. I continued to bombard them with Vtile Orbs as Atomic Fission stunned them, which Atomic Fission can somehow do. After the smoke cleared up, the golems were missing arge portion of their body. I smirked as I knew I was making progress. "Now I just need to-" ! However, I noticed that in an instant, their bodies began regenerating at high speed. That''s when I noticed that they were using the stone and rocks from the walls to regenerate. What? They can even use the walls to heal themselves? "Damn it." This ce is their home so they basically have everything they need after all. I can''t destroy this whole chasm, otherwise, the golems will be buried in the pile of rubble. They can use it to heal themselves, but they can''t phase through it. Though it will pin them, allowing me to take them out with Atomic Fission. However, I need their cores and that could be broken along with Atomic Fission. Cores are beneficial as a whole but when they are in countless pieces, it will have less worth. Anyway, for now, I need to find a way to stop them from regenerating, which is going to be an impossible task. For now, I''ll throw a few more Atomic Fissions and think of what I''ll do by then. But suddenly, as I was charging up another Atomic Fission, I was suddenly struck on the left side of my body. I smashed into the wall which caused a few of my bones to crack. What was that? I looked up and noticed there was a stone pir protruding from the walls. Is that what hit me? That wasn''t there before unless The golems had their hands nted into the ground and I quickly assessed the situation. Those golems have the ability to use the walls to perform their attacks. I see. This entire ce is made of stone and if they can perform their attacks from down there, that means their range is this entire chasm. In other words, I''m in their domain. I quickly performed Instant Heal and flew out of there before another stone pir struck me. I''ll have to stay away from the walls. I need to think of a n to take them out. For now, I just need to parry these pirs. The pirs wereing out of the walls like a jack in a box and I needed to time my punches to counter the force of the pirs. I obtained West God Martial Arts from Ravyn and it specifically specializes in heavy countering techniques, which I was using right now. It wasn''t easy. I couldn''t stop because they were doing it repeatedly. I thought they would eventually run out of energy but the further I flew up, the more pirs that shot out from the walls and the faster they were appearing. There was also another problem. Flight. I haven''t mentioned this, but it consumes 1,000 mana every 5 milliseconds that passes. My mana restoration rate is about 100,000 mana per second. If you do the math correctly, I consume 200,000 mana per second just to float in the air. Every 100 levels, my mana restoration rate increases by 10,000 mana per second so if I was level 1100, I would be regaining 110,000 mana per second. The problem here is that I''m losing more mana than I am regaining it. If I fought them on the ground, I would definitely lose. When I thought I was out of range, I threw down multiple rounds of Vtile Orbs. During the ignitions of the orbs, I used sh Down to quickly close my distance between me and the golems and created another Atomic Fission, which Iunched. I created another Atomic Fission and this time aimed it at the wall to my left. As long as I''m not surrounded by stone, they won''t be able to get me. I would create another Atomic Fission and aim it to my right, but then a heavy blunt force struck me from behind and I was interrupted. What? Didn''t I get rid of the wall behind me? I turned to see multiple stone pirs filling the wall and one heading straight towards me. Damn it, I''ve been fighting these things for almost 10 minutes now. Every time I find out their weakness, it suddenly bes their strength. They also don''t seem to be running out of strength or mana. Just what am I not seeing!? I was hit again from the other wall and fell towards the golem. I stared at the golems beneath me, and I was falling towards the ground at an rming rate. ... Stupid... golems... It doesn''t matter anymore. I''m not gonna be made a fool by some stupid golems... I won''t... A sinister smile appeared on my face as I fell down the gorge. My cackles reverberated through the chasm as I activated my domain. "SHADOW KING DOMAIN!" ... ... ... *** Without the proper incantation, a domain can still beid out. However, it will be iplete and nerfed. The chances of the domain failing to evoke is more than 90 percent and the same amount of mana will be consumed, but one-tenth of the time will be taken away. Nero''s shadow extended and the golems were in his range. As his shadow began to form a dome, holes could be noticed and the shadow drooped like falling ck slime. The shadow attempted to form a dome to trap the golems, but six seconds passed by in a sh and the shadow dissipated in an instant. His attempt to use his domain was a failure. Nero fell to the ground and every single one of the golems pounced towards him and begun pounding him. [Status: Injured] He was being battered mercilessly and whenever he got the chance, he attempted to escape or resist, but that only led to an even more mercilessly batter. [Status: Critically Injured] He could hear his bones breaking one by one as they continued to pound him with stone pirs. [Status: Gravely Injured] Nero could hear his ears ringing and his vision blurring. He couldn''t heal himself because he had used thest of his mana to activate an imperfect domain that failed to do its purpose. He was close to sumbing to his injuries. Even if he tried to resist, the human body could only take so much, even if they had Invincibility. Then suddenly, the golems attacking him were erased. The only thing left of them was their cores. "Hmph, you should''ve focused on your enemies more than your surroundings." Celestia''s voice said as her hand which glowed green approached Nero''s face. "A golem has a weak point behind their backs where their cores are located. Instead of attempting to find their blind spot, you resorted to only your power. You failed to realize this and therefore you lost." Nero''s body was then wrapped around in green light. "Nero, you have failed." Those were thest words he heard before he passed out. . . . Chapter 69: Failed Chapter 69: Failed [Sub Title: Sin of Gluttony has been switched out with Sin of Sloth] I woke up. My eyes fluttered open and I was staring at a wooden ceiling. What happened? I think I was Then I remembered thest words the guildmaster had told me. right. I failed didn''t I? When I lifted myself up, I noticed that the girls were resting next me. Seems I''ve worried them. "How long was I out?" I asked Yukie. [4 days] "4 days, huh? So I''m guessing my injuries were pretty light." [No, you were in a bloody state and your heart almost stopped] "Huh? But if my injuries were grim, why did I get healed so quickly?" [It was an elven spell the dark elf used. Sadly, I am unable to analyze what this spell is due tonguage barriers but the effects most likely involve healing or speeding up healing properties of the other] "So she sped up Rehabilitating Slumber?" [Yes] I see Now that I think of it, I do recall her casting some sort of spell on me. She also saved me I guess I owe her a little favor for that. A little whileter, the girls woke up and they began touching me to make sure I was ok. When I was brought back, my appearance was a bit gruesome and I kept that appearance for almost two days. Anyway, we are currently located on the third floor of the adventurer''s guild which acts as a clinic for those thate back injured from quests. "You''re finally awake." Celestia opened the door and walked in. "I failed didn''t I?" I asked and she nodded her head. Damn it "Don''t feel miserable. You proved yourself capable of taking them on, however you lost because you were oblivious to their blind spots. It''s alright though, you have another chance." "I see. What about these three?" I said pointing to Kiyomi, Ravyn, and Akane. "Them? Well, they all passed. I''m surprised that they manage toe back unscathed in just two days, too. They are now officially Pink-rank adventurers." "I see." I turned to the girls and they all smiled at me. Their eyes just told me they wanted some praise. "Good job. I guess you all deserve a reward. If you need anything just tell me." Receiving mypliment, a beaming smile appeared on each of their faces. Now then let''s see. I used Analysis and checked their stats and skills. As the guildmaster said, Ravyn obtained a new passive skill called Holy Resistance. From what I heard from the Akane, she was vomiting now and then when she came back. She only just got the skill earlier today. Anyway, it seems that everyone managed to raise a few skill levels. I''m proud of them. "So when am I going to take my next test?" I asked Celestia. "Are you in a rush? I rmend resting a little longer." "I don''t need rest," I said. "I also don''t have anything else to do so I might as well try again." "I see. Fine,e to my office tomorrow and I''ll give you your next tasks. For the rest of today, rest." "Thank you." Celestia left and the day continued on. We were given two rooms in an inn just across the guild. "Here you go, Master." Akane ced three vials containing dragon blood on the table, and Kiyomi pulled out another vial containing dragon blood. I grabbed the vials and opened them all up before drinking the substances. The first three that Akane gave me were cold, and it almost felt as if I was consuming ice. The one Kiyomi gave me however almost burned my throat, but Instant Heal is a useful skill to have. [Levels in store: 3,530] [Passive Skills in Store: Dragon Ice Maniption~2~, Dragon Skin~3~, Dragon Might, Dragon Fire Maniption] [Active Skills in Store: Dragon cier Explosion, Dragon Volcano Explosion] [Skills in Store: Dragon''s Blood(Lvl.1)~2~, ming Dragon Breath(Lvl.1), Frosty Dragon Breath(Lvl.1)~2~, Dragon w sh(Lvl.1), Rising Dragon(Lvl.1)] Hmm, interesting. Curious, what are those numbers next to the skills? Not the levels but the other one. [That''s the amount you have for that specific skill] I see, so I have multiple of them meaning I can give out more than one? [Yes] I see. So it was a good call for them to bring back some blood samples for me. The only thing I wished is that they were warm or at a temperature where my body doesn''t feel chilly or feel like it''s getting burned alive. I gave Kiyomi the passive skills Dragon Ice Maniption, Dragon Might, and Dragon Skin which is basically Invincibility but much stronger. I also gave her the active skill Dragon cier Explosion. For some reason, this would rece the active skill Cocytus, but I was ok with it so it was reced. Finally, I gave her the skills Dragon''s Blood which is an enhanced version of Wolf''s Blood so it reced that skill, and Frosty Dragon Breath. For Ravyn, I just gave her Dragon Skin since there is not much to give her. I sighed. Well, one day I''ll get some dark magic attacks. Since Akane had pretty much everything, she didn''t get any, which was fine with her. And so, I imed the rest of the skills for myself. [Passive Obtained: Dragon Ice Maniption, Dragon Skin, Dragon Fire Maniption] [Dragon Skin has reced the skill Invincibility] [Skill Obtained: Dragon''s Blood(Lvl.1), ming Dragon Breath(Lvl.1), Frosty Dragon Breath(Lvl.1), Dragon w sh(Lvl.1), Rising Dragon(Lvl.1)] [Active Skill Obtained: Dragon Volcano Explosion] [Dragon''s Blood has reced the skill Wolf''s Blood] [Notice: Wolf''s Blood is at Max level so Dragon''s Blood will start at level 5] [Dragon''s Blood(Lvl.5)] Ding! [Levels in store: 3,530] Right that is a lot of levels. I would give them to the girls but they''ve already reached their level caps. I would also give it to myself, but there is a catch. All beings except gods have a limit to power. If they have too much, they''ll break down. Think of it as an electric overload. If too much energy passes through the wires, they''ll eventually melt and catch on fire, or possibly even explode. Even if I wanted to give myself all the levels, my body won''t be able to handle the sudden input in power and it will explode. That is why I would at least give myself 100 to 500 levels max every week if I were to still hold on to levels. Eventually, that limit will grow as I continue to level up, but for now, it will stay like that. And while I am at it, I''ll just give myself 500 levels right now. [Leveled up!(500)] [Reaper''s Life Energy is active] [Stats] Level: 1500 Mana: 210,000,000 Strength: 3933 Agility: 3938 Technique: 3898 Perception: 3893 Aura: 3880 Stat Points: 1500 [Levels in Store: 3,030] My stat points deposit five into each one stat until I run out of stat points Yukie. [Processing] [Stats] Level: 1500 Mana: 210,000,000 Strength: 4233 Agility: 4238 Technique: 4198 Perception: 4193 Aura: 4180 Stat Points: 0 ------------------ Alright, that should do. I would''ve told Ravyn to bring some spirits back for me but that would''ve probably not have been a good idea. Also, I can''t consume spirits since they don''t have a physical body. Derivation only allows me to obtain the levels and the skills of my enemies by consuming their blood. Anything else will be futile. I sighed and looked around my room. Akane and Kiyomi had left in a hurry for some reason and I kind of don''t know why. My hunch is... they... "-are getting me food?" And right when I said that, I heard knocking at the door. I walked over and opened it up to see the girls in their pajamas. "Yes?" I asked. "About our reward..." Kiyomi started. "We-" "-would like to sleep with you." Ravyn finished. "Ho? Is that what you want as your prize?" I said to make sure. "Yes," Akane said. Then the girls began looking at me with puppy eyes. I gulped. Crap, I can''t say no to that. Well, not like I was going to say no, anyway. I smirked. "Well then, I''ll make sure to satisfy each of you equally." The girls nodded as they looked at me with lustful expressions. I closed the curtains and blew out the candle. Then I turned to the girls and we went at it all night. I didn''t get a single wink of sleep, but the night made up for it. . . . (A/N: Yay, chapter 69! (Auxry Chapters don''t count) I didn''t think I would make it, but here it is! Thank you guys for supporting me and please continue to do so. I would also like to promote my discord server, which will be filled with memes... but also topics about the novel(But mostly memes) Anyway, please continue to support me by voting with your power stones, and... uhh... ...wait till I get to chapter 4-2-0??????????????????? Also, I definitely didn''t do this just to fill the word count up) . . . Chapter 70: Approaching Storm Chapter 70: Approaching Storm The next morning I entered the guildmaster''s office. The guildmaster; Celestia was looking out her window. I looked out the window also and I noticed there was a huge storm cloud in the distance, approaching the city. "A storm?" I asked as I walked over to her. "No, not just any storm. It''s a storm controlled by Stormblitzes." She responded. She turned around and grabbed her cup, taking a sip from it. "Stormblitzes? What are those?" "Hmm? Well, I guess most novice adventurers don''t have knowledge of Stormblitzes. Stormblitzes are creatures that are born from lightning and born with metal rods on their back, which conducts that lightning energy. They have a roar that sounds like thunder, they are extremely swift and agile, and they are able to control and even summon storms, hence their name Stormblitz." "So are they a threat?" "Normally they don''te near cities or viges since they are neutral creatures, however, they have gradually shown signs of aggression over the decades. I think something is happening, but I don''t know what it is" "Are they going to be attacking this ce?" "Most likely, since they are headed this way as we speak." She sighed as she ced her cup down. "I''m gonna have to take care of them before they hit the city." She said as she walked over to a cloak hanging on a coat hanger in the corner. "Wait, aren''t there supposed to be others to defend against them?" I asked. "Yes, but they are out on a quest right now. Since they are out, as the guildmaster of the adventurer''s guild in this city, it is my responsibility to defend it from any sort of danger at any cost from their absence. It is on my pride as a Warlock and a Grand Mage." "I see" Wait did she say Grand Mage? "You are a Grand Mage?" Celestia turned towards me and tilted her head. "Yeah?" It seems that whenever I fight, I have no luck and I have to survive solely on my skills. But it seems luck just flocks my way whenever I need something. A Grand Mage. Seems it looks like I don''t need to search far and wide to find one since the one I am searching for is right in front of me. I walked up to her and grabbed her hands. "Huh? What are you-?" "You are perfect the perfect one for me." "Wha-?" Her face went red in an instant. "Wha-wha-what are you saying?" "I''ve been searching for someone like you." I''d say. "Will you-" She fell into my arms. Huh? What is she doing? Oh, wait she passed out. Now that I think of it, I forgot to put it in more context *** "Idiot. You should have said that before!" Celestia scolded me as she sipped her coffee. "Heh, sorry." "You can''t just say that to a woman, you know? Hmph, getting a single woman like me all excited for no reason," She said, muttering thest part silently. "So anyway, you say you want me to be your teacher?" She asked, changing the subject. "Yes," I responded. "A Grand Mage like you definitely has the knowledge I seek." "So you want knowledge to help those girls of yours to be stronger?" "Exactly." "then what about you?" "I can grow at my own pace." "Is that so?" She tilted her head before facing the window. "Hmm, sadly I am going to have to decline." She would say. "May I ask why?" "Well, it would make me look like I''m ying favorites if I had someone of your level as my student." "Then you want me to prove my worth?" "Well, I don''t have much hope for you after the result of your first test. I also have another to teach so it would be a hassle to handle two students." "So I don''t have many options" "Yes. Now, excuse me, I need to get rid of the Stormblitzes before they hit the city." I took a deep breath before sighing. As Celestia walked over to equip her coat, I looked out the window at the storm clouds. Hmm "So all I have to do is prove my worth, huh?" I wondered. "Hmm?" She turned around. "Well, yeah, if you could." "Then why don''t you let me deal with the Stormblitzes? I can take them out for you if you allow me to be your apprentice." Celestia stared at me for a minute. I saw her green eyes glow for a moment before she sighed. "Fine. If you take care of them, I''ll teach you." I smiled for a moment. "But I will tell you this," She said. "This will count towards your whole test and if you are about to die, I won''t save you. You can back down right now." I shook my head. "No, I''ll take them out." "You better, because your reputation is a little duff after the little incident with the golems." I scratched my head. I don''t really want to be reminded of that "Now that I think of it, you saved me, right? I wonder, were you following me the whole time?" "Hmm? Well, I obviously have to look over examinees while they take a test to make sure they don''t die or suffer fatal injuries." "So you were watching Kiyomi, Ravyn, and Akane at the same time you were watching me?" "Yes, and no. You see, I can make clones and their vision and memories are shared with me. I can also control one myself." "Interesting. Quick question. Are you a clone?" "Yes. The one before you is not the real Celestia. The real me is located somewhere else. Though since the real me is currently controlling this body and talking to you, you can technically say I am the real one." "I see. Can I see you clone yourself?" "Hmm... fine." Celestia took in a deep breath before blowing golden mist. The golden mist would then shape itself into a simr physique as Celestia before it took on her full appearance. It was almost an exact double of Celestia. Well, since it is a clone, it is obviously identical. And here I thought my Doppelganger skill was cool. As expected of a Grand Mage. "Anyway," Celestia sighed. "Shouldn''t you be doing something?" "Oh right, but before I go, can you provide me more details on these Stormblitzes? Like... their blind spots by any chance?" "That is for you to figure out. I may not have told you, but we guild masters are not supposed to provide any information for the quests that examinees receive except their mission details. In other words, you will always be going in blind. The knowledge of your target is yours to figure out." I see, so I either have to have already know the weaknesses of my targets or I don''t and fight them recklessly. Damn... guess I have no choice but to go with thetter. "So I''m guessing the test starts now?" I asked and she nodded. "Be sure not to die." She said as I was on my way out. "Yeah..." I responded before closing the door. As I walked out of the guild, I met up with Kiyomi, who had gone to go shop for food. "Master, are you out on your second quest?" Kiyomi asked me. "Yes," I responded. "I see. Please be careful. I don''t want to see you in that state again..." She looked down at the floor and a feeling of guilt resided in my heart. "I won''t. I promise." I replied and a smile of relief appeared on her face. "By the way, where are the others?" I asked curiously. "I believe they went out on a quest together. They decided that since you are earning all the money by yourself, they wanted to contribute." "Really? Why don''t you go on a quest instead of shopping?" "Because if I leave all the shopping to you, you''ll just be wasting all your money. You have a very bad habit of wasting money on pointless things, you know?" She scolded me in a soft tone. "Pointless things? What are you talking about?" "You bought more alcohol than you did food..." I scratched my head and looked away. Well, she does have a point there... "I see... I guess I''ll just leave all the budgeting to you then." Kiyomi smiled and nodded. "I worry about your health, Master. You should slow down on alcohol." She said with a cute smile. I felt myself blush. No matter how many times I''ve seen it, she''s always so cute and beautiful. "A-alright then, I''ll be on my way now. There is a storm approaching, so it''s going to rain soon. Best you get inside." "Okay." Kiyomi left and went to the inn we were staying at. After she entered, I turned to the storm clouds in the distance. "Now then... time to get started..." I said before my body lifted off from the ground and into the sky. This time... I won''t make any mistakes. I then soared in the direction of the dark clouds. . . . Chapter 71: Stormblitz Chapter 71: Stormblitz As I flew in the sky and stopped above the humongous storm cloud, three hostile presences could be felt from below. It seems they are below. Perfect. I pressed my hands together and prepared an Atomic Fission before lowering my position near the cloud. Then I let go and the tiny orb did its thing. A few secondster, there was a gigantic hole in the cloud, and below was a forest. Perched on the top of the trees were two wolf-like creatures with metal rods on their back. Electricity surrounded the two beings and they both stared at me. Wolves... the sight of them just ticks me off. When they gaped their maws, a thunderous roar reverberated through the air and thunder crackled through the skies. A momentter, the hole that I had created moments ago was filled up and rain dropped down from the clouds. Great, I wasted a chunk of my mana just for it to be closed up. I guess that is my first mistake. I looked back down and thoroughly inspected my enemies. I noticed that there were only two of them. Weird I recall sensing three of them unless my senses are lying to me. Maybe the third one is hiding somewhere Oh well, I''ll deal with that er. For now, I''ll deal with these two. I quickly inspected their levels. Both of them were level 1500, the same level as me. Even though they are the same level as me, that''s not going to cause me to yield my confidence. My pride has already been tainted after the incident with the golems. Tch, thinking about it still pisses me off. If only I wasn''t so absorbed in my own power. As I was scolding myself in my heart, one of the Stormblitzes charged towards me. I looked up and quickly equipped Osiris, getting into an uppercut position. Let''s try Rising Dragon! Right before the Stormblitz was about to tackle me, I quickly ascended from the ground with my fist striking it directly in the muzzle. The Stormblitz flew back and quicklynded on a tree. Suddenly, the lightning around its body began circting at a swift rate, and then it turned into a ball of lightning which teleported from one tree to another, to another, and continued. Eventually, it appeared next to its brethren after setting twenty trees on fire. Well, that''s going to be a hassle to handle. From what I can assume right now is that the lightning around its body affects its agility and strength. Guess brute force isn''t going to work on them either since that Stormblitz lookspletely unscathed after it took a Rising Dragon straight in the jaw. Far-ranged attacks might work on them, so I''ll try that for now. I stretched my hand andunched a round of Vtile Orbs. The Stormblitzes dodged as the Vtile Orbs erupted, setting trees on fire. The Stormblitzes quickly morphed themselves into spheres of lightning and zapped all over the ce before concentrating a single thunderbolt at me. I quickly sh Stepped out of the way. The thunderbolt struck the tree I was on, setting it in mes. I wouldnd on another tree, but before I could set my eyes on the Stormblitzes, they quickly appeared in front of me with their ws only a few centimeters away from my face. Shit! They''re fast! I shielded myself and the Stormblitzes shed Osiris, chipping some parts off. I fell back andnded on another tree. I noticed that my gauntlets were severely damaged. Guess I won''t be using my gauntlets for now. It takes a while for weapons in Ethos Arsenal to mend up. I returned Osiris to Ethos Arsenal and jumped up into the air. As I floated up, I looked down to see the Stormblitzes zapping their way towards me. Iunched another Atomic Fission towards them and as they zapped their way around it, I soared towards them and began concentrating energy to my mouth. "HA!!" I opened my mouth and breathed out a stream of violent, icy mist which collided with the Stormblitzes. As they exited their spherical lightning form, theynded on the tree with the metal rods on their back encased in ice. Gradually the lightning circting around their body began to calm down and secondster, the lightning dulled, disappearing. It worked. That''s good. I may have cked off in my studies, but I do know that ice is a very poor conductor for electricity. Now that I have the ability to control Dragon Ice, I''ll have the upper hand and since they are already encased in ice, I can get close now. I appeared in front of one of them and snatched them by the muzzle. It struggled to escape from my grip as I began concentrating dark energy into my palm. "Let''s see if you can rot." As I used Necrosis, its flesh began to melt. I could feel it try to break from my grasp, but it could only whimper internally as its body continued to rot. The other Stormblitz took notice and charged towards me, biting the arm that I was holding the other Stormblitz with. I''d let go and teleport back. The right half of the Stormblitz''s face was nowpletely warped and a few of its skin was torn off. I also noticed that the rod on its right side waspletely untouched. Guess those metal rods of theirs are only weapons, an inanimate object. Can''t use Necrosis on that. Oh well, it''s not like they are going to be using it since it''s wrapped in ice. Suddenly, a thunderous howl echoed through the air, which was as if it was shaking. Thunder shed through the air and suddenly arger ball of lightning fell from the sky,nding in between me and the Stormblitzes. After manifesting, there was now another Stormblitz in front of me except this one was muchrger and had many more metal rods on its back. I knew there was another presence, but I just couldn''t find it. Who knew it was hiding in the clouds? I should''ve done my research on these creatures but there were none on these things. The giant Stormblitz leaned in closer to me and we stared into each other''s eyes. I used Analysis and it was level 3000, two times my level. It opened its mouth and roared at me, discharging mini lightning particles and causing thunder to strike its back. While it continued to roar, I inhaled and used Frosty Dragon Breath, sting subzero air into its open jaw. The Stormblitz quickly jumped back and roared at the clouds, lightning striking it directly in the mouth. After that, it red at me with violent intent and snarled at me. The lightning on its back suddenly went wild and flew everywhere. Countless thunderbolts ripped from the sky clouds and struck everywhere. The metal rods on the other Stormblitzes were free of ice and they also regained their lightning. However, the Stormblitz that I had used Necrosis on wasn''t generating as much lightning as the other. Every time it roared, the lightning circting around it wasn''t charging up as fast. I probably messed up its ability to roar. Therger Stormblitz turned towards the same Stormblitz and growled. It opened its jaw and bit the metal rods on its back. Suddenly, that same Stormblitz transformed into an intense creature of lightning. As the lightning around it rapidly flew everywhere, I could see the metal rods overheating. Then it pounced towards me and when it got close, it exploded. Then my vision returned to seeing the Stormblitz still charging towards me. A Premonition! I''ve been wondering if my Premonition was working. It would''ve been useful during my fight with the golems. But anyway- I charged towards the Stormblitz and as soon as I was about to collide with it, I slipped to the left and jabbed my hand into the side of the Stormblitz. Then I jumped up in the air, dodging the Stormblitz, and floated as it blew up behind me. I see, so if too much electricity passes in those metal rods, then it will act as a bomb and explode after a period of time. Almost like an electric overload. It also seems that they sacrifice the weak and use them as bombs. No room for the defective. This is getting fun. I stared at my left hand which was stained with the Stormblitz''s blood and I licked it. [Levels in Store: 3,780] [Passive Skills in Store: Lightning eleration, Lightning Maniption] [Skills in Store: Lightning Bolt(Lvl.1), Lightning Shift(Lvl.1)] After obtaining half its skills and levels with Derivation, I levitated towards the Stormblitzes and wrapped my hands in Dragon Fire, which was basically the same thing as fire except its properties mixed with dragon essence and burns bright blue. My pride was damaged after the incident with the golems, and if I lose here, I won''t forgive myself. I took a deep breath before rushing forward. I''ll have to discard my pride for now. If I keep thinking of it, it''ll only interfere with my concentration. The Stormblitzes rushed towards me and roared, lightning ripping from the dark sky above. I used Afterimage and dodged the bolt. I turned towards the Stormblitzes and flew towards them as I equipped Osiris which had finished mended itself in Ethos Arsenal. The Dragon Fire covering it will enhance my attacks. I stared at the ws of Osiris and smirked. I then appeared beneath the smaller Stormblitz, my right hand shing blue with mes. "I''ll tear you apart." . . . Chapter 72: No Holds Barred Chapter 72: No Holds Barred The Stormblitz opened its mouth and shot a lightning bolt at me. I quickly shifted to the right, the bolt lightly grazing my cheek. I would forcefully thrust my hand through the Stormblitz''s stomach, ripping its innards out right after. The Stormblitz roared in pain before dropping down towards the ground. I licked my hand, which was stained with its blood before turning to thest Stormblitz. [Levels in Store: 4,530] [Passive Skills in Store: Lightning eleration, Lightning Maniption, Electric Mimicry] [Skills in Store: Lightning Bolt(Lvl.1), Lightning Shift(Lvl.1), Lightning Storm(Lvl.1), Lightning Armor(Lvl.1), Thunderous Overcharge(Lvl.1)] "Come on. Aren''t you going to avenge your fallen brethren?" I said, beckoning the Stormblitz. The Stormblitz barred its teeth at me and roared, sending a lightning bolt my way. I dodged and dashed towards the Stormblitz, striking the side of its face. It yelped in pain and swiped its ws at me. I moved to the other side, dodging its ws and aimed for the side of its stomach but it quickly noticed and morphed into a ball of lightning which zipped away. A secondter, I felt my head disconnect from my body and I immediately could tell this was my Premonition at work. I quickly ducked and a lightning de flew past me. I see I pushed myself off the ground and the ground below me was nted with lightning des. Best I stay off the ground for now. I can maneuver better in the air. I turned to the Stormblitz and it began throwing lightning des at me. I countered back with my shadow des but whenever they collided, the lightning des proved superior and shatter mines in an instant. They were also much faster too. Must be because they are made of lightning. I summoned my Doppelganger which flew towards the direction of the Stormblitz. The Stormblitz opened its mouth and out came a lightning bolt, causing my Doppelganger to disappear. I summoned two Doppelgangers this time and as they distracted the Stormblitz, I flew to the side until I was behind it. I attempted to trap it in a Grim Dragon Cage but it zapped away before I could trap it. A secondter, the Stormblitz appeared above me and swiped its ws, shing my left eye. I quickly sh Stepped away and performed Instant Heal on my eye. Though it was restored, my left vision was blurred as a spark flew past my eye. The Stormblitz wasn''t done there. It dashed towards me and swiped its ws once more, this time lightning wrapped around its ws. I leaned backward, the Stormblitz flying over me. However, it must''ve known I was going to dodge so it somehow shifted itself to face me as it flew by. The next second, my left eye was wed out. I fell off the tree and towards the forest floor,nding in a puddle of mud. "ugh" Despite its size, it''s way faster than the previous ones. It''s either due to its level, or I''m just too slow to react. I think I''ll just stick to the first one. I''m too proud to go with thetter. Anyway looks like I''m going to have to fight with my left vision gone. BOOM!! A thunderbolt plummeted towards me and I quickly moved out of the way. I flew up and appeared on the treetops again. The Stormblitz turned towards me and growled as it generated more lightning, sending it towards me. Fine guess I''ll have to get a little serious. As soon as the lightning bolt was about to strike me, I activated Lightning Field, sending it off course. I haven''t thought about using Lightning Field once but I guess it''ll be useful for this situation for now. The Stormblitz sent more and it would continue to go off course. It wasn''t long until it stopped and scurried towards me. It opened its mouth and shot out a deadly beam of lightning. I dodged and I noticed it wasn''t able to turn its beam. Guess that''s something it can''t do since it''s firing such a concentrated beam. However, it stopped. Then, it charged up another beam, and this time it faced itself away from me. I was confused at first but then, the beam that came out of its mouth quickly traveled towards me and I barely managed to jump. This bastard, did it just swing it around? I looked at the scenery behind me and several trees were burnt to the ground. Well, the numbers doubled when the bastard swung it a second time, then a third, and so on. It wasn''t long until the entire field of trees was on fire. Even the rain from the storm clouds above us didn''t help, and it was raining like crazy! I took deep breaths as the Stormblitz seemed to have calmed down. Dodging all those tired me. It seems that I need to stop ying around. Guess I''ll just kill it right here. I activated my aura and begun spreading it around. I pressed my hands together and amassed mana through my entire body, causing my aura to spread faster. Zzzzz- "Huh?" Suddenly, countless metal rods and pirs erected from the trees, and lightning struck every single one of them. When I noticed the lightning surrounding them begin to amass, I knew I had to act quickly. "By the power of the Shadow King, plunge this world into eternal darkness, Shadow King Domain!" The moment I said that my aura quickly diverged and begun to form a dome made of nothing but ck. Just when it was about to finish, suddenly- A fierce lightning bolt pierced my stomach. At that moment, I had lost my control over my domain, which caused it to dismantle. The walls quickly dispersed as it was withdrawn back into my shadow. "Ghluh!!" I coughed out blood and my legs began to buckle. The beam forcefully ripped out from my right and blood spilled everywhere. I turned around to see the Stormblitz. It howled and suddenly, the pirs around me sent lightning my way. This time, I was unable to dodge. I felt it; the billions of volts striking me as I couldn''t do anything but take the pain. Eventually, it stopped. "Ough!" More blood spat out from my mouth as I tried to take in a deep breath, but my lungs must''ve been ripped out from my body. As I lowered my head, I saw a quick sh pass by before my right eye was shed off. I could also feel my arm disconnecting as well. I knew this wasn''t a Premonition, because if this was, I wouldn''t be tipping around right now. I tried to resist and get back up, but even the human body has limits. And so, I plummeted towards the ground,nding in anotherrge mud puddle. "haa" A hoarse breath emitted from my mouth as the dirty water entered my throat. Heavy rain pelted down on my body as the puddle was quickly clouded with my blood. Is this the end for me? My body it hurts so badly. I began to tear up and I felt the tears fall down my face, but I didn''t have the energy to cry. I did all this just to lose once more? Shit She said to be careful she would be devastated to see my current state and I bet the others would too Why did I even try? Pathetic shit A voice echoed through my mind as I cursed myself. Or was it mine? ... Useless... weak... waste... This voice... it almost sounds like my father''s... ... ... All this because of what? for power? to prove my worth? or was it to satisfy myself from my failures? right I didn''t do this just so I can lose to a beast My goal I have yet to achieve. I''ll kill them kill him kill them For them and only them I could feel a smile appear on my face and it got wider, and wider, until my teeth were in full view. I spent my life knowing pain and misery this is nothingpared to the endless suffering I''ve endured. My pride disallows such actions I need more power power So I''ll do it all of it will be mine [Leveled up!(4,530)] Free from Shackles At that point, I felt something inside me change. I felt overflowing power enter and course through my body as I felt the structure of my mind and body shift. I began to cackle. "From flesh to bones" I began saying as I slowly levitated from the ground. "Dreams to nightmares" I continued as my body slowly became cold. I won''t allow it I won''t allow myself to be defeated I bet on my pride Time to do this no holds barred "A dragon''s call is the trigger to my nightmare and that goes for yours as well" I could hear the Stormblitz growling at me as I got to its level. "AHAHAHAHAHA!!" I''d burst intoughter as plummeted to the ground and stomped, activating Grim Dragon Nightmare. I felt it; the walls made of bones protruding from the ground around us and forming the shape of a rib cage. I felt many spikes erupt from the ground, targeting the Stormblitz. Though I didn''t see it, I could hear it struggling as it zipped around rapidly. Krrsh! Another blow was dealt to my stomach, but that didn''t stop me from attacking. I stomped the ground again, activated Dragon Volcano Explosion. As the attack says, a Volcano would erect from the ground and explode.. BOOM!! As I floated around in the air, I could feel the heat rising as the ground was filled withva which continued to rise. "You can run and hide, run and hide." I was beginning to repeat my sentences as I floated in the air mindlessly. Useless... waste trash... The voice in my head spoke. With my remaining arm, I jabbed myself in the ear and started twisting it as Osiris'' w pierced my flesh. "Fucking voices these voices, in my head. My head. It just drives me crazy! I''m also talking to myself, how great! So great!" I couldn''t help butugh at myself before cocking my head in the direction of the Stormblitz. "I may not be able to see you, but I have five other senses. Smell, taste, hearing, touch, and the sixth sense!" I stuck out my tongue and poked a hole in it with Osiris'' w. "And I solely rely on my sixth sense. And you are" I pointed at the Stormblitz. "There!" I said before activating an imperfect version of Shadow King Domain. it onlysted six seconds but I managed to kill it The thunder stopped but the rain didn''t. My entire body was d in red and some of it was even in my mouth. It tasted amazing To bathe in my enemies'' blood I was yearning for this My pride is restored But I guess I -can fall here Ding! [Title Obtained: Sin of Pride] [Sin of Pride: Bing Prideful of yourself grants you supreme immunity to all attacks| Effects: Through Pride, the host bes invincible] [Passive Skill Obtained: Prideful Stature] [Prideful Stature: unt on your enemies and prove your strength; With the effects of the Sin of Pride, your defense will increase significantly| Effects: +7,777,777% defense| You will be unable to fight back when this skill is active] [Skills Obtained: Prideful Impact(Lvl.1), Confident Gesture(Lvl.1)] [Confident Gesture: Show your confidence; With the effects of the Sin of Pride, your strength increases significantly| Effects: +100% damage(Can be charged up to 10 times; Maximum output: +1,000%)| Conditions: Consumes 1,000,000 mana every use] [Derivation has been upgraded] [Derivation --> Derivation EX] [Derivation EX(Unique Skill): By consuming the blood of your enemies, you gain their life force and a few of their skills| Effect: Gain all the target''s level and a few of their skills| Conditions have been Removed] [Exceed EX has been upgraded] [Exceed EX --> Exceed EX I] [Exceed EX I(Unique Skill): By giving your bodily fluids to someone, you increase their level limit by 100-150| Effect: Increase a person''s level cap by 100-150] . . . Chapter 73: Recovery Chapter 73: Recovery [5 out of 7 sins have beenmitted] [Astral Chains have started to break] [Error!] [Not enough sins have beenmitted] [Breaking process has stopped] I woke up, staring at a wooden ceiling. Sunlight poured in from the window, the sound of birds chirping, leaves rustling, etc. It was peaceful something I haven''t heard in years. I got up from the bed and looked around the room before turning to the door. It seems I was on the third floor of the guild. I rubbed my head and tried to remember what had happened. My mind was kind of fuzzy so I could remember clearly. "You are awake." Celestia spoke from behind. I turned around in surprise as I couldn''t sense her sneaking up on me. "Y-yeah," I said. "So what happened?" "Well, you defeated the Stormblitzes alright." "I-I did?" "What do you mean ''I did?'' Don''t you remember stabbing them with those bony gauntlets of yours? The way you decimated the Alpha with a partial domain? Or even the fact that you came out with nearly half your body missing? Should I mention your eyes were gouged out?" I put my hands over my eyes and touched my body all around. I was confused, but faint memories eventually came back to me. "Is that so?" "Yes. Now I see why you hide such a persona from others." "Huh?" "All beings put up an act, whether they like it or not. There are also some that hide their true self. In your case, you hide a persona that only matters about bloodlust. Guess this is why it is held back by Free from Shackles." "Free from- wait you know about my Active Skill?" "Those who wield ''Free from Shackles'' believe that they will gain strength if they activate that skill. Some also believe that it releases the hidden potential inside them. However, that is not the case. Free from Shackles actually releases the hidden side the User has kept hidden away in their soul. In other words, the soul is let loose and so is that hidden side that will cause it to influence the mind and body to react in the manner they''ve once rejected. In your case, you wanted to hide your uncontroble bloodlust but it was released once Free from Shackles was activated." "well if that is what it does, then you are right about that." If I were to show that side to anyone, it would cause a problem. "Will you tell anyone?" I asked Celestia. She sighed and shook her head. "No, it would break the promise that we made." "So, you are saying-?" "Yes, Nero. I''ve decided to take you under my tutge. Though I was going to tell you that I would''ve taken you under my wing even if you lost. You were an interesting specimen I had my eyes on. Such as you are the Inept Hero." "so you know about that too." "Well, nothing can beat Appraisal. Even if you are the Inept Hero, I don''t really care either way. Whatever business his majesty has with you is none of my concern. In fact, I would support whatever your cause is." "Cause? Well I don''t really have one." "Really?" She rubbed her chin and I lifted an eyebrow. "Something wrong?" I asked. "Huh? Oh, nothing." "So how long was I out?" "Hmm? About a week." "A week? Looks like I must''ve worried the girls then." "Don''t worry. They don''t know you''ve been injured. I told them that the quest you went on was pretty far and that it''ll take about a few days for you to return. They went on some quests while you were out." "Really? Well, I guess I have a lot of favors to owe you." "No need. You being my apprentice is enough. I also don''t like favors. Now then, let''s talk about your promotion." "Promotion?" "Don''t you remember? This was to make you a Pink-rank adventurer." "Oh, right." Hmm, now that I think of it. "Wait. Was the-" "The whole event was covered in my Illusion Dome. From the outside, only the storm was visible. Your fight with the Stormblitzes was hidden, so no one was able to see what was going on except me. The aftermath took me a long time to clean up" "Aah, I see." "However, there was another, but I was unable to track them since they vanished immediately after you finished thest Stormblitz. But regardless, you still defeated them. I have promoted you to Pink-rank and you are now my apprentice." [Brown Rank Adventurer has been updated!] [Title: Pink Rank Adventurer] "Thank you I guess." "Now, I suggest you get some rest. Though you''ve restored your flesh and bones, the skin is another matter." "Huh? What do you mean? Rehabilitating Slumber should''ve taken care of that." "Well- how about I just show you and you can take a look for yourself." I tilted my head as I followed Celestia to her room. As I shut the door behind me, Celestia brought a mirror. "Lift your shirt and take a look." I did as she said and lifted my shirt. As I stared into the mirror, I noticed something unusual on my chest and abdomen. Instead of normal human skin, I had what looked like ck skin with dark silvery scales covering the spots where my body was destroyed. There were also hollow cracks around my body and whenever I circted mana through my body, those cracks glowed a mixture of blue and purple. This is curious. "This must be something rted to you not being human," Celestia said. "Is that so?" I clenched my hands and stretched. Hmm, I feel human and this strange skin on my body doesn''t make me feel any different. Maybe it''s what I look like under my skin? Wait I have ck flesh? "Well anyway, I think it''s best you rx for a day or two till that skin disappears. You had some around your eyes and your arm was also the same but they eventually returned to normal. Consider this a kind of celebratory gift from me. When you are back to normal, I''m not going easy on you." "I-I see." "Now then, go on." I turned and walked over to the door to leave. "Wait!" I felt a tingle and I caught a roll of bandages in my hand. I looked over at Celestia. "Cover it." "Huh? But my shirt can do the work." "Always take precautions." "fine." *** After struggling to wrap my chest and abdomen in bandages, I just had my shadow servants do it for me. After that, I exited the guild. As I walked back to the inn, I decided to head over to the forest where I had fought the Stormblitzes. I needed some alone time to speak with Yukie, and another reason. "Yukie," I said. [Yes?] "Back then, I absorbed all the levels I had saved up correct?" [Affirmative] I remember everything when I fought them. I absorbed the levels out of vexation of my own strength. In other words, I went crazy. "Is this ck skin on my body the result for absorbing all the levels?" [Partially. There is another. The astral chains tied to your soul have begun to break. However, only a few broke. The rest are still intact to your soul] "Astral chains?" [Astral chains are shackles that hold you down from your true potential. Breaking these chains allow your body to grow and absorb power easily without any tolls. The way your body had shifted, it was your astral chains breaking] "Why do we have these astral chains? Besides from limiting potential." [These chains imprison the darkest side of one''s true ego. Free from Shackles only shows a glimpse of that side but not to its true extent. Though you are now able to take in more power than usual, do not be so arrogant as to absorb more than 10,000 levels at once. The power you absorb may very well end you, so be cautious] "I see. So can I check my stats, by the way? I''m bound to have a lot of stat points in store." [Very well] Ding! {Status} Name: Nero Akuma Title: Pink Rank Adventurer Sub Titles(3/3): Sin of Sloth| Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead| Enemy of Cocytus) ss: Jack of All Trades Status: Normal Level: 6030 Mana: 660,000,000 Strength: 13463 Agility: 13468 Technique: 13428 Perception: 13423 Aura: 13410 Stat Points: 13590 {Abilities} Passive Skills: Prideful Stature, Dragon Fire Maniption, Dragon Ice Maniption, Quicksilver, Dragon Might(+34) Active Skills: Shadow King Domain, Free from Shackles, Grim Dragon Nightmare, Dragon Volcano Explosion Skills: sh Step(Lvl.Max), Atomic Fission(Lvl.5), Shadow de Assail(Lvl.Max), Dragon''s Blood(Lvl.5), Vtile Orbs(Lvl.9)(+44) Newest Skills: Confident Gesture(Lvl.1), Prideful Impact(Lvl.1), Rising Dragon(Lvl.1), Dragon w sh(Lvl.1), Frosty Dragon Breath(Lvl.1)~ ------------------ Well Reaper''s Life Energy is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. I kind of already feel stronger than usual. Well anyway, 5 in every one of them. [Done!] Level: 6030 Mana: 660,000,000 Strength: 16181 Agility: 16186 Technique: 16146 Perception: 16141 Aura: 16128 Stat Points: 0 ------------------ Alright, now that I got that settled, it''s time to head over to that ce. *** I arrived at the forest, which I had supposedly burnt down, but everything was normal. Must be Celestia''s work. Now then, I came for the souls. Eventually, after walking around, I found two souls emitting lightning wandering around aimlessly. I believe... they belong to me now. I held out my hand and expanded my aura. As they were encased in it, their souls were slowly trapped in my aura and absorbed. [Souls absorbed into Spirit Soul!] [Summons: Stormblitz(2)] "Good, and now thest one." But it seems I didn''t need to look for it because it came to me instead. Crackle! I looked up, and a giant ball of lightning rolled up to me. I held out my hand and the ball of lightning shrunk while traveling to my hand. A massive wave of shocking energy was sucked into my arm. The same sensation I felt when I absorbed Osiris urred and eventually, I absorbed the soul. [Soul Absorbed: Raiden] "Hmph, well then,e out." Sparks of electricity appeared on the end of my fingertips, then a sh! When the light died down, in my hands were two daggers. Lightning surrounded the de and my hands. The dagger''s hilt was textured gold and ck, and the crossguard was shaped to resemble a wolf''s head. The de started ck from the hilt and eventually faded into a glowing blue color at the tip. [Raiden: Made from the ethereal metal rods of an Alpha Stormblitz which was sired by Raiden, god of lightning, which grants the host breakneck speed that surpasses even the quickest| Effect: Augments host''s agility by 300% to 500% depending on status; All lightning attacks will be double; Host will be resistant to all lightning attacks when equipped] [Raiden Skill Set has been Unlocked!] [Skill Obtained: Thunder Beast sh(Lvl.1)] [Thunder Beast sh: Dash forward, relentlessly shing everything in your path and cause damage after a dy| Effects: Zoom past your enemies as you deliver countless dyed shes which will takes effect a secondter| Conditions: Consumes 121,212 mana every use] [Skill Obtained: Thunder Beast Storm(Lvl.1)] [Thunder Beast Storm: Pierce the ground and summon a thunderstorm which shoots out countless bolts of lightning| Effects: Summon a thunderstorm to electrify your enemies for 10 seconds| Conditions: Consumes 2,121,212 mana every use and 121,212 mana after timer is up] [Active Skill Obtained: Great Thunder Temple] [Great Thunder Temple: Erect a giant temple and call down forbidden lightning to aid you| Effects: Summon a temple constructed of ethereal metal to attract heavenly thunder that will be yours; Enemies touched by this lightning will take immeasurable damage if by your will| Conditions: 21,212,121 for 21 minutes(Can be canceled any time)| Cooldown: 21 hours after use] I wonder... could this upset the god...? Well, not that it matters since gods can''t mess with mortal affairs. If he wants toin, he can do that after I die. Which I won''t. I returned the daggers, ''Raiden'' back into Ethos Arsenal and returned to the city. Well, since there are only a few hours left of the day, I guess I should make my day off count. I think the hot spring would be a good spot for someone like me. . . . Chapter 74: Diviner Chapter 74: Diviner Two days passed. I haven''t done much except idle around in the guild and read the books off of Celestia''s shelf. The girls had gone questing and haven''t returned yet. Anyway, I''ve learned some useful information while I was here doing nothing. I learned that Celestia actually watches over adventurers that are out adventuring with some kind of familiar of hers. I don''t know much about it except that it can share its vision with its master and it can duplicate itself. Basically, she keeps an eye on you, 24/7. Now ignoring that, this morning I woke up and walked over to the mirror to see that the ck skin on my body was finally back to normal. Now I can take off the stupid bandages. I still wonder what that ck skin was... maybe it was some kind of... foreshadowing...? Welp, I''m not some kind of stupid author who writes novels so I don''t care. Anyway, when night fell, the girls returned with arge number of blood samples from their targets. Ten vials of blood in total, each containing one from different monsters. Instead of just drinking them one by one, I just drank them all at the same time. I didn''t care if it was going to cause some kind of toxic chemical reaction, I just don''t wanna drink each one and taste their vors or something like that. Anyway, I got a lot of levels from that thanks to Derivation''s upgrade. [Levels in Store: 17300] [Passive Skills in Store: Lightning eleration, Lightning Maniption, Electric Mimicry, Holy Resistance, Light Maniption~2~, Curse Resistance, Poison Resistance, Holy Aura] [Active Skills in Store: Lightning Rod Field] [Skills in Store: Lightning Bolt(Lvl.1), Lightning Shift(Lvl.1), Lightning Storm(Lvl.1), Lightning Armor(Lvl.1), Thunderous Overcharge(Lvl.1), Holy sh(Lvl.1), Holy Bomb(Lvl.1), Poisonous Threads(Lvl.1), Holy Shift(Lvl.1)] "Just a question," I said to Kiyomi, Ravyn, and Akane. "What monsters did you guys take out?" "Well," Kiyomi said. "We fought Holy Hawks and Virulent Tarants." I see, guess that would make sense. Since my astral chains broke, I am able to give myself at most 5000 levels now. The only problem is that I can only do that every week and a half. It''s not long though, just that I won''t be leveling up as much. Since I''m so high-leveled, killing monsters is barely giving me any XP. Technically, I can just have the girls do the work for me but I don''t likezying around. Now then, let''s see I checked the girls'' stats and judging from everyone''s levels and skills, Ravyn is considered by status, the weakest. Hmm I heard that a Necromancer is unable to use Holy magic which is basically Light magic. But, if she were to be a diviner, she will be able to wield Holy magic and Dark magic. The only problem is how she is going to be one since being a diviner causes you to lose the ability to wield Dark magic, and I should point out that she is also an undead too. However, since she obtained Holy Resistance, she won''t be affected by Holy magic. I believe that Celestia has the knowledge on how to do this. One time, I even noticed in a book that there was once a mage who possessed both of these sses. He was called well I don''t really know, just that he possessed these two attributes. But for now, I''ll be helping her first. I can work on helping the other two girls grow after I''ve helped her. I gave Ravyn the ability to manipte light and all the Holy skills. Since none of the girls knew how to manipte threads, I gave myself Poisonous Threads and Poison Resistance so I can possess the threads and not get affected by them. I noticed that Akane didn''t have Curse Resistance so I gave her that. The only thing left was the lightning skills. I decided to take the ones I didn''t have which included the active skill and gave the rest to Kiyomi. "Master." I heard Kiyomi''s voice call me. I turned and suddenly the lights were dimmed. Then I was tackled onto the bed. "Ack!" Thump! I bumped my head into the headboard of the bed. "Girls, please rx," I said. Then I noticed that their eyes were glowing and I felt their hearts beating as the seconds went by. "Master..." Kiyomi, who quickly shifted into her original form, lightly whispered my name as she caressed my face and approached me slowly. I noticed she was holding something in her mouth and I didn''t get the chance to question what it was as our mouths connected and she fed me whatever she had in her mouth. Once I consumed the substance, my body began to heat up, and soon enough, I was slowly drowning in intense pleasure. I see, so even aphrodisiacs cane in the form of chocte in this world. I guess I have been keeping the girls waiting for more than a week. I''ve been intoxicated by my desire for power that I forgot about my own sex drive. Well... I don''t think I''ll be getting a single wink of sleep tonight. Yukie, you know what to do. [Affirmative] [Sub Title: Sin of Sloth has been switched out with Sin of Lust] After that, I lost control of myself and me and the girls did it all night. Though it felt short, we did it from 10 pm to 7 am, so 9 hours straight. My legs... were too tired to move, even with the effects of Sin of Lust active. So I slept... until the afternoon. The girls were pretty tired, so I left them to sleep and had my shadow servants on guard while I headed over to the guild. After arriving at the guild, I went over to Celestia to talk about my n to make Ravyn a diviner despite being a necromancer. And well... her reactions were fitting for a Grand Mage and a schr. "Did you hit your head when you were young or something?" She looked at me and said with a serious expression. "Well, technically yes. But please don''t remind me because it brings back awful memories." Celestia palmed her face and sighed. "Vivido may have been both a Necromancer and a Diviner, but that was because he was born half-angel and half-demon, hence why he is able to wield both elements without contradictions. Ravyn is a ghoul, an undead. If she were to wield Holy energy, it could kill her body." Vivido? Oh yeah, that was that guy''s name. Anyway- "Are you sure? How do we not know Ravyn was some kind of angel before she was a ghoul? For what we know, she could be a descendant of an angel." "Do you really think it is that easy?" "Fine, she can''t wield Holy magic, but there is a reason why she has holy resistance, right?" "Yes, she has holy resistance, but that still doesn''t allow her to wield such energy. If she was an Arcane Mage, things would be different." "Arcane Mage?" "Vivido was an Arcane Mage before he was known for wielding the power of both a Necromancer and a Diviner. Many suspected that it was not his lineage that granted him the power, but because he was an Arcane mage, a kind of mage that hasn''t appeared for years." Hmm, if I recall, I did get the choice to be an Arcane Mage if I am correct but after I saw that my Unique Skills were going to be taken away from me, I discarded that choice and chose Chaotic Mage. Speaking of sses, when is my next ss upgrade? It''s been a while. [...] Did you forget to tell me? [...] [ss Upgrades Are Avable] You... ugh, never mind. "So, I won''t be able to make her a diviner without her being an Arcane Mage?" "Yes... however, I can do something about it." "Huh? What is it?" "Does she have the Mage ss by any chance?" "..." Well now I recall, I think I did see a Mage ss after her Necromancer ss. She must''ve gotten it while she was questing. "Yeah, she does." "Great, mind bringing her here?" "...well..." When Celestia saw the look on my face, she''d let out a sigh that greatly sounded like she was disappointed. "Your Exceed skill is efficient, but I just wish the conditions to it weren''t so... how should I say it... smutty?" "Well, what other option do I have? Also, it''s mostly the girls that want to engage with me." "...whatever. Anyway, just bring her here if you want me to help you." "Alright then." A few minutester, I brought Ravyn with me. She was still a little tired but she had the energy tost... probably about twenty minutes. "Umm, so why am I here?" Ravyn asked. Celestia walked up to her and handed her some kind of stone rune. "Please transfer some of your mana into it until it glows the color of your aura." Ravyn looked at me and I insisted. She hesitated for a second before depositing her mana into the stone rune. A few secondster, the rune glowed a ck, silver, and purple color. Then the rune disappeared from her hand. "What happened?" I asked Celestia. "Look at her status and you''ll see." I turned and used Analysis to see that Ravyn''s Mage ss had be Arcane Mage. What the-? "What I gave Ravyn was a Force ss Upgrade Rune. Each Rune can specifically and forcefully upgrade someone''s ss as long as they have the required ss." "So you''ve been saving such a thing? For how long exactly?" "Hmm, for years now. I never felt like giving it to anyone since it''s rare. I was going to sell it, but I don''t really need the money since I''m already being paid." "Aah, I see." "Now then, Ravyn, please start circting holy energy around your body, please." "Huh? But-" She turned to me. "Go on," I said. "Wha-?" "It''s all for the sake of making you stronger. Justply with whatever she has to say." "A... okay..." I stood back and so did Celestia. We watched as light energy began to encircle Ravyn as she began to umte holy energy. As she did that, I checked her status to see if the Diviner ss would appear. But as time passed by, the only thing that happened was Ravyn generating a heavy amount of light energy. I yawned and I was getting bored. I need a drink. "I''ll be right back," I said as I walked over to the door. Maybe coffee would do. Then suddenly, I felt divine energy hit my back and I felt a sting. It was as if my body had been pierced, but I waspletely unscathed as I patted my body. I turned around and there was some kind of divine aura surrounding Ravyn. I checked her status, and... well... she had be a Diviner alright. It also came with a set of skills. "Hmm... to think she would achieve the Diviner ss without difficulty. Why don''t you try and circte both dark and light magic now?" Celestia said. "Umm... alright." Ravyn closed her eyes and she held a ball of dark energy in her left hand and a ball of light energy in her other. "She could be a prodigy or something..." Celestia said. I didn''t really care as I was just proud of her. I thought it was going to be aborious process, but to think it was this easy. "Good job, Ravyn. I''m proud." I said, congratting her. [Level 923; ss: Necromancer/Arcane Mage/Diviner; Level Cap: 1619] {Abilities} Passive Skills: Darkness Maniption, Reaper''s Evil Eyes, Reaper''s Favor, West God Martial Arts, Undead Domination, Necromancy, Pain Negation, Curse Resistance, Bloodlust, Sprint, Indefinite Aura, Divine Resistance, Dragon Skin, Light Maniption, Holy Aura, Divine Energy Maniption, Divine Aura Active Skills: Bane Mist, Divine Adjudicator Skills: Reanimation(Lvl.Max), Boneyard(Lvl.Max), Shadow Harvest(Lvl.Max), Shadow Puppet(Lvl.Max), Necrosis(Lvl.6), Dark Armor(Lvl.Max), Shadow Fist(Lvl.Max), Shadow Shift(Lvl.Max), Tartarean Shackles(Lvl.Max), Holy sh(Lvl.1), Holy Bomb(Lvl.1), Holy Shift(Lvl.1), Divine Arrow(Lvl.1), Divine Fist(Lvl.1) ------------------ . . . Chapter 75: Ant Quest Chapter 75: Ant Quest Now that Ravyn was a Diviner and a Necromancer, she was able to manipte holy- or should I say divine energy now? Anyway, possessing these traits even though she was undead. Celestia said that she was going to look in on how she was able to do this but for now, she told Ravyn not to use divine energy so unwisely as there could be some side effects. There was a difference between holy and divine energy, which I really didn''t get since the meaning of the words is the same. But anyway, holy energy is drawn directly from light energy, while divine energy is borrowed and siphoned from the heavens... which I still don''t get. It''s... pretty confusing... but all I can say is that Holy Resistance won''t protect me from divine energy. Basically, it''s a stronger version of holy energy. Celestia told me to go on a quest with Ravyn so I can help her control her new powers as her mana umtion rate with both dark and light magic is very unstable. I need to help her equalize the two as she attacks. Ravyn will also be unable to activate her new active skill, since that requires proper usage of divine energy. Anyway, I agreed, as I also needed some time to stretch and to test out Raiden. I told Ravyn to pick a quest while I head back to the inn to check up on Kiyomi and Akane. Sure enough, when I got back, they were still sleeping. I sighed and smiled as I gave them both a kiss on the forehead before I left. Imanded my shadow servants to watch over them while I''m gone. I also left a note on the table saying I''ll be gone on a quest. By the time I returned to the guild, Ravyn still hasn''t chosen a quest. "What are you doing?" I asked. "Huh? Well-" "Just pick one, it''s not that hard," I said. "Yeah, but-" I sighed and just took a random poster off the task board. "W-wait! Nero, that''s-" "We just need to do one to test your strength. If you are ever in trouble, you have me." "But-!" I walked up to one of thedies at the counter and handed in the poster while giving her my adventurer''s card. I turned to Ravyn and I noticed the fearful look on her face. "Ravyn? What''s wrong?" I asked. "C-can we do a quest on another day?" "Why?" I asked. "Well, umm-" She was stuttering, and I was genuinely confused until the receptionist started talking. "Bug exterminating, huh? Well, good luck with that." I noticed Ravyn jump when the word "Bug" was mentioned. Aah I see. "Little Ravyn scared of bugs?" I queried and teased. "O-of course not!" Her face was flushed as she turned away and stomped out of the guild. "Hey now, I need your card! Damn it, I''ll be right back." I said to the receptionist as I darted towards Ravyn to drag her back in. We eventually got everything done and we were finally on our way. We were tasked to exterminate a colony of Tri-horn ants that have been terrorizing travelers along the road. Now, I understand why Ravyn has a fear of bugs. Insects are... well, really big in this world. Well actually... that''s pretty obvious. I think I had the same fear, but I''m pretty much unfazed by any bugs now since I did devour a demonic critter which was in the form of a foot-long centipede. Since I was able to fly now, we were able to get there quicker. Ravyn was pretty light, so I didn''t have much difficulty carrying her. We eventually arrived at a giant pit, the entrance into the ant nest. I made a tiny orb of light and dropped it down into the seemingly bottomless chasm. The orb eventually reached the bottom. Judging by how long it took to get to the bottom, it is... a pretty deep hole. "Now then," I said, stretching my arms before levitating off the floor. "You ready?" I looked at Ravyn, who was still nervous about this whole thing. "N-no..." I sighed and grabbed her hand. "As long as I''m here, you don''t have to be afraid. Though I have to say, why are you scared of bugs and not dead things?" "Dead things and bugs arepletely different things!" "Right... Anyway, just be sure to follow me using Shadow Shift. This hole is practically covered in shadows." "Fine." I''d let go of her hand and hover above the hole. Now then... how about a shy entrance? I would cancel Flight and begin falling down the hole. "Eh? Nero!?" As I plummeted down the hole, I equipped Osiris and began amassing Dragon Fire at the bottom of my feet. Then as soon as Inded, I used Dragon Volcano Explosion, flooding the bottom of the cave inva. BOOM!! I watched asva entered the ant tunnels. I heard squealing sounds, indicating that the ants were being burnt alive. Amusing. "Are you crazy!?" Ravyn yelled at me as she caught up. "What? This is an effective strategy. As long as I continue to-" BOOM!! Another explosion erupted and I decided to back off a little. It was a pretty loud explosion. "Anyway, as I was saying, as long as I continue to floodva into the tunnels, they will die and eventually the queen will get caught, right? Am I missing something?" I asked her. "Yes... that''s not where the queen is." "..." "..." "It''s not?" "No." "So... where is it located?" "Behind you." I turned around and there was arge tunnel in front of me. Oh wow... how... convenient. Inded inside the tunnel with Ravyn following me. Then we entered together. In order for Ravyn to practice umtion with divine energy, I had her stop using dark energy and use divine energy now. Then I remembered what Celestia told me, so I told her to bnce them instead. As we walked deeper, we encountered two pathways. From the information that Ravyn learned when she was still alive at the time, it''s that the queen isn''t very well guarded as they are only defended by 5 elites and a small legion of other ants. Well, if you aren''t weak and stupid, then it would be light work. Now that I think of it, I didn''t give Ravyn and the other two levels. I''ll max out Ravyn''s level now and the others when I get back. [Levels in Store: 17300] [Level 923; ss: Necromancer/Arcane Mage/Diviner; Level Cap: 1619] [Party Member Ravyn has leveled up!(696)] "Whoa, what was that?" I heard Ravyn say. I looked around and heard nothing. Is she crazy? "Tsk, you are just being paranoid." "Ants can dig faster than normal tiny ants if you didn''t know. Can''t you just use your sensory skill or something?" I rolled my eyes and turned around before activating Dragon''s Blood. I felt the blood around my body rushing violently through my veins before I saw figures through the wall. So this is how Dragon''s Blood works. Blue figures meant that they were weaker than me, purple meant they were equal, and red meant that they were stronger than me. It was actually much simpler than Wolf''s Blood, except that my body kind of itches from using this. Probably because my blood is elerating at too fast for my body to handle. But anyway, most of the figures I saw were blue, so nothing to worry about there. I eventually spotted the queen and the elites. The elites were dyed blue and violet while the queen was dyed red. Most of the other ants were in the walls, which is a pretty bad spot to be. Why? Well... Atomic Fission is a really handy skill to have. "Uhh, Nero? What are you-?" BOOM!! Atomic Fission created a massive hole in front of me and now all the ants that were hiding in the walls were now in view. I think I even took out a few. "You know... I could''ve just spread out my Bane Mist, right?" I turned and shook my head. "Nope, the reason we are on this quest is to help you practice using divine energy. No dark energy from here on out until you''ve mastered divine energy." "Fine." "Good, now, start taking some of them out. Remember to circte dark energy while you use light energy." I said, pointing to the hundreds of ants. I smirked as I saw a fearful look on Ravyn''s face. It''s fun teasing her. Maybe I should tease the others too. Only when I find out what they are afraid of, obviously. But anyway, I stepped back and allowed Ravyn to do whatever. She took deep breaths before throwing a Holy Bomb at the many ants in front of her. After a sh followed an explosion and once the smoke cleared, I saw ant corpses scattered everywhere. Hmm, interesting... maybe I could get ahold of such power... But for some reason, I''m highly sensitive. Her Holy Aura... it''s sending chills down my spine. I should probably keep my distance from her for now. "Alright let''s move ah-" BOOM!! Ravyn ignored me and continued throwing Holy Bombs at the ants, even though they were already dead. ... Alright then, ignore me and continue bombarding them with Holy Bombs. I was nning on taking their levels but go ahead and destroy them, I guess. Now that I think of it, eating ants sounds kind of... disgusting. . . . Chapter 76: Divine Energy Mastery I Chapter 76: Divine Energy Mastery I Ravyn eventually calmed down after that. At this rate, she''ll exhaust all her mana before we even fight the queen. "Try to conserve your mana Ravyn." Ravyn sighed. "It''s too hard! I can''t wield dark and light equally. If I need to use a light spell, I can''t amass dark energy at all!" "Huh, and I thought you were a prodigy." "When did I even say that!?" I shrugged and walked ahead. "Come on, just a few of them left and we can go back home," I said. We continued down the tunnel and encountered a few more ants on our way. Of course, I had Ravyn take them out by herself. While she was doing that, I was trying to see what the problem was. I noticed she was struggling and it was because of the way she activates her attacks. She amasses the required mana but the process to execute it is slow. She isn''t venting out enough mana and she is also not circting it fast enough. And it is even more difficult for her since she has to do two types of them at the same time. Well... I would tell her how I am able to do it since I circte every one of them but that is because I am able to fuse the elements even though I have some types that sh with each other. For example, me energy cannot mix with water energy since... well, it''s pretty obvious why, and lightning energy cannot mix with earth since that would cancel it out. So since I have so many elements, what I do is umte each of them separately. Normally, mages or any ss that requires mana has to umte mana directly, that means that they also have to umte energy that sh with each other. Then when they cast a specific spell such as fireball or something like that, it will not beunched at its full potential, that is because the water energy inside them shes with the execution. So what these people have to do is dispel that energy so it doesn''t conflict with the spell. But I manage to discover that I am able to carry out mana umtion with each type of energy separately. The spiritual flow is limited to the size of the host''s soul. I do not know my own spiritual depth, but from the amount of energy I can generate, I can only guess that it is so vast. My entire body has countless spiritual veins that umte each and every kind of energy I am able to manipte. Hence why they do not sh with each other. However, creating spiritual veins to umte arge quantity of energy is not so easy, but the results are worth it. My mana capacity shows the amount of mana I can carry, it doesn''t show what kind of energy I currently hold in possession. That is the work of the caster and the caster itself. It''splicated, but it is what it is. But I have been reading of another way, which is lessplicated and verymon for mages, and it is mostly associated with one''s emotion. I don''t know how it works, but it works. The hard part, however, is that I''ve never seen Ravyn in any conflicts involving emotions. But maybe the queen and the elites can help with that. I remember they are about the same level as me ording to Dragon''s Blood, so I''ll see how that will work. "Nero, are you there?" Ravyn asked, waving her hand in front of my face. "Huh? Oh, right. Let''s get moving, shall we?" We continued down the dark tunnel until we reached a giant chamber. Thump-thump~ I looked over at five giant ants with interesting-shaped hornsing out of their heads. They weren''t the regr horn shape that you would see, instead, they were jagged. So these are elites, huh? Hmm... I think this could work. "Alright. Go ahead, Ravyn." "Huh? But they are way stronger than me!" True, they were all around level 4,000. But, there is no other choice. I pushed her forward and used Stealth to hide my presence. "Huh? Nero? Wh-where did you go?" "You got this, Ravyn." Now then, time to watch from the sidelines. Ravyn gulped as she turned around to face the five elite Tri-horn ants. "Damn it!!" She groaned before jumping back and firing Divine Arrows using a bow made of light. The arrows hit the Tri-horns and it managed to prate through their skin, however, it wasn''t powerful enough to pierce the flesh. The Tri-horns screeched and darted towards Ravyn. Ravyn performed Holy sh, spreading light through the room, and then performed Holy Shift, a skill simr to Shadow Shift but with light. As she dodged the Tri-horns, she then threw a Holy Bomb at them. The explosion caused one of the Tri-horns to lose its horns. Hmm, despite being a lower level than them, she''s doing quite alright. The only thing I have to do is to watch out for her mana as I can sense it being drained quickly. After a while, she was beginning to do little to no damage. I wondered why until I saw the hardened parts on their body. I see, guess Divine Arrow is too low leveled to pierce that. Or maybe it''s because she is not concentrating enough mana to have her arrows pierce it. It seems I''m gonna have to step in. I dropped down and grabbed one of the Tri-horns by their legs and threw them to the other side of the wall, tearing their leg in the process. I guess I should deal with one of them for now. The Tri-horn I had just threw shrieked as I had just torn one of its legs off. I dashed towards it and mmed it into the wall. I continued to ram my fist into its face. Another punch, then another, and then I lost control of myself. I became too absorbent in bashing the ant into pieces, that I forgot what my goal was until I saw a jagged horn protrude from my chest, snapping me back to reality. It seems that I''m gonna have to keep my emotions in check before I talk about others. This could lead to... unfortunate events. Luckily, the Tri-horn ant that had just pierced me missed my heart so I was safe... for now. I turned and grabbed the Tri-horn and used Necrosis. The ant eventually melted into a pile of rotten flesh, leaving only the horn intact. I tried to pry the horn out from my chest but it was jammed somehow. While I was distracted by the horn in my body, I received another one, this time my right shoulder was pierced. I turned and there was another ant. Tch, can''t give me a break, huh? As I was about to take care of this one, my left shoulder was pierced. I was pinned and no way to free myself. I looked over my shoulder and thest Tri-horn and that was facing Ravyn was now charging towards me with its horn aiming for my heart. Oh shit! I tried to free myself, but I couldn''t feel my arms. So I resorted to using Flight, lifting the ants with me. They were heavy, but I managed to lift myself off the ground a few feet into the air. Once the ant pierced me, it wasn''t my heart but my stomach that got pierced. "Ough!" I coughed out blood. Now, this may appear to be fatal damage, but as long as it doesn''t get my heart, I am fine. I just need to... -to... Crap, I feel my stamina draining away. I don''t... have enough energy to... move... I eventually dropped onto my knees and fell to the ground. The Tri-horn ants then removed their horns from my body, ripping out a few pieces of flesh before turning to Ravyn. I was still alive, but my strength was all drained. The only thing I can do is watch her now. The horn from the Tri-horn I had killed earlier was holding me up. I could see a terrified expression on Ravyn''s face as she saw the state I was in. "You... you..." She said and suddenly her body began to glow. I thought it was to activate her Holy Aura since this usually indicates her activating it but I could sense divine energy behind it. Suddenly, there was a sh that engulfed the room in light. Then when it died down, I noticed Ravyn seemed a little different. Her hair was now flowing white, which illuminated as her aura wrapped around her. I also noticed that her eyes seemed to shine silver which never happens when she uses her Reaper''s Evil Eyes. She lifted her hand and pointed at the ants before they were wrapped in divine energy and then crushed them, leaving only a pile of mixed flesh and exoskeleton. The horn was also broken which was scattered everywhere. I see... this is Divine Adjudicator. The power to wrap an enemy in divine energy and then crush them with unrivaled strength that the caster doesn''t even wield. Well.. diviner is one of the strongest sses to possess. I watched as she killed every single elite with her newly obtained powers except one who tried to escape. But it was quickly shot with Divine Arrow which pierced through its body, which was encased in hardened material. After that, she exited out of her Divine Adjudicator form and ran to me. "Nero, Nero! Are you alright?" "..." I didn''t respond and pretended I was dead. "Nero!? Oh god, I can''t sense any life from you." That''s because I slowed down my heart rate and I still had Stealth on. It''s very powerful if used right. "Oh no... what would big sis say?" ...big sis? Kiyomi? Is that what she calls her? I couldn''t help but smile and snicker once I heard that. Then I received a p across my face. "Ow." "Idiot! You made me worried!" She yelled at me as I got up. "Hehe, sorry, but it was necessary." "Necessary that you almost got yourself killed?" "...well..." "Huh?" "It was an act." To summarize it, I controlled the ants using Shadow Puppet and forced them to pay attention to me and stab me. For some reason, I kind of got absorbed into it and forgot I was actually controlling them until I saw my mana decreasing at a slow rate. Also, not feeling my arms and having my stamina getting drained was not part of the n. The n was a bit wed but, hey! It worked! "Now then, try using a Divine Arrow while circting dark and light energy." Ravyn responded byunching a Divine Arrow at me, which I dodged. "Umm, y-you can calm down now," I said. "Let''s just get this over with," She said as she walked over to the tunnel leading to the queen''s chamber. "''kay." Good, her umtion rate with both of them is perfectly bnced. It seems she is a prodigy... well, not really. Anyway, I followed her as we entered the queen''s chamber, but before I entered, I turned around as I sensed a cold presence in the air. I looked around, but nothing looked suspicious. Guessing it''s just me. . . . Chapter 77: Divine Energy Mastery II Chapter 77: Divine Energy Mastery II We entered the queen''s chamber and if you thought the elite Tri-horn ants were big, well think again. This thing was so long and big, like what she said. Had to do it once. Anyway, its size wasparable to a semi-truck is all I can say. I used Analysis and it was around level 7,000. Hmm, I guess it''s natural for enemies to be this strong now. Well, not like that matters. "Ravyn, you got this right?" I asked her and she looked at me. "Who do you think I am? Of course." She walked towards the queen as she activated her Divine Aura and creating ck chains which emerged from the shadows. I watched as she wrapped chains around the queen which showed no signs of fighting back. But then spikes protruded all over its body and it ejected them, causing many spikes to fly everywhere. I evaded the flying spikes while Ravyn blocked them using a wall made of spines enchanted with divine energy, causing her walls to be reinforced. I wonder how she is doing this with rapid session? I took another quick look at the stats and thoroughly inspected her skills and I noticed that she had obtained another passive skill. Arcane Intuition. I see this must be a skill gifted from her ss Arcane Mage. Makes sense now. I also noticed her level cap had risen significantly; up to 5,100. It must be when she used her Divine Adjudicator form, or maybe when she mastered the usage of divine energy? I don''t know. [Ravyn has managed to break her astral chains thanks to you] Is that so? Well, I guess I can be proud of myself for being involved. I watched as she started to bombard the queen with Holy Bombs. The queen didn''t move and it didn''t look like it was being affected by the Holy Bombs thrown at her. Most likely this thing has Pain Negation. Pain Negation is a good thing to have but if you don''t take a look at the state you are in, it could mean the end of you. It continued tounch spikes that protruded from these dark holes around its body. The walls that Ravyn summoned using her Reaper''s Evil Eyes were holding up pretty well despite being covering in spikes. When the queen stopped, Ravyn used Holy sh, plunging the entire room in blinding light. I heard explosions and a shriek before the light died down and the result was a deceased queen. Looks like she finished it off. I guess the only thing I did was help her master her use of divine energy. She wouldn''t have done it without me Probably "Guess we''re done," I said as I turned around to the exit. Suddenly, the entire room was encased in ice. "Huh? What''s going on?" Ravyn asked as she hurried to my side. I took a deep breath and equipped Osiris. "Well let''s just say someone with ice abilities is here to kill me." I''ve been wondering when one of them would appear again. A figure emerged from the dark tunnel; they wore clothes suited for an Assassin and a long scarf. They had two daggers in their hands and an aura that gave me goosebumps due to how cold it was. I see Using Analysis, they were around level 5,000. I guess that is easy enough for me to take out, though Ravyn on the other hand isn''t. Well, I guess I should boost her level equal to theirs. "I want to see you fight to your fullest. Consider this another test, I''ll support you when you need it most," I said as I patted her arm before backing away. [Levels in Store: 16604] [Party Member Ravyn has leveled up!(3481)] Ravyn activated her Divine Aura. The energy she emitted burnt my skin and I quickly flew back. I''m going to need Divine Resistance soon or I won''t be able to fight her side by side. The Assassin flew forward, sending one of its daggers towards me but Ravyn sent it flying off course using her Divine Arrow. Ravyn used her Reaper''s Evil Eyes, causing spines to erupt from the ground below the Assassin. The Assassin quickly jumped into the air, avoiding the spines, and shot Ice Bolts at Ravyn. Ravyn stepped to the side, avoiding it, and shot another wave of Divine Arrows at the Assassin. I created Shadow des, sending them towards the Assassin. The Assassin quickly took notice and deflected both the Divine Arrows and the Shadow des. Suddenly, I felt a cold presence behind me and when I turned, an Ice Spike nearly pierced my heart, but I managed to avoid it before it got me. Ravyn quickly amassed her energy and morphed into her Divine Adjudicator form. I noticed her aura was smaller and denser, the results of her mastering the use of divine energy. The denser and smaller an aura is, the more concentrated it will be. I like spreading my aura out because my mana scrambles my enemy''s senses, but right now I''m not fighting so I must keep my distance. I''m only here to observe her and help out when she is in trouble. Ravyn continued to fire Divine Arrows at the Assassin. I carefully inspected the Assassin''s every move and I noticed something when they evaded a wave of Divine Arrows that would be difficult to remove. sh Step must be activated on the ground first and then it can be rapidly used in the air. I noticed that the Assassin never got a chance to touch the ground to use sh Step and they definitely didn''t have Flight too but they were somehow dodging as if they were flying. I had to observe closely. I returned Osiris back into Ethos Arsenal and equipped Raiden. sh-zap-zap! Lightning surrounded my body as soon as I equipped Raiden. Then I began to elerate the lightning around me, focusing it towards my eyes. With this, I can keep up with what is happening. That''s when I noticed that the Assassin wasn''t using sh Step or any move rted to that. It was a shifting move either. The eleration of my lightning slowed down for a second and I think I felt my body temperature quickly diminished, but then it returned to normal right after. So that''s it. This one... they can manipte time... no, it''s more than that, actually. They can slow down their opponent''s movements if they are in their domain. The ice around us must be their domain. I see... I would interfere, but I must see what Ravyn will do. "Ravyn, they can slow down your movements.! Think of what to do!" Ravyn looked at me and nodded. I looked back at the Assassin and they were running towards Ravyn. In one second, they were at the other side of the room but then, the distance between them and Ravyn was quickly closed. Ravyn performed Holy sh, blinding the Assassin who dashed back, then suddenly, chains wrapped around their feet. They seemed to not have noticed yet as they were blinded. Holy sh is very effective if the target is very close, guess they will be blinded for a while. Ravyn began to wrap divine energy around the Assassin and began to crush them, then she ran out of energy. I quickly appeared next to her and caught her before she hit the ground. Looks like she ran out of energy. Well, she did her best and she did do a lot to master her usage of divine energy. I guess I''ll give her that. I carried her in a princess hold before turning towards the Assassin who was still blinded by Ravyn''s Holy sh. "Hmm, you should''ve picked another time to try and hunt me down." I sh Stepped towards them and knocked them down before pinning them down onto the ground with my foot. "Now then," I said as I rubbed the bottom of my boot on their face. "Anyst words?" The Assassin exhaled and spoke in a deep voice. "If we are not able to kill you, her highness will and his majesty if she cannot." "Ho? You threatening me?" "After seeing you use a girl to fight me, yes." "I see... well then, let''s see if you can survive this," I said before spreading my aura and activating Shadow King Domain, plunging the entire room inplete darkness. ... ... ... After that, the Assassinid on the floor lifelessly as their head was disconnected from their body. [Levels in Store: 18250] [Active Skills in Store: Frost Submerging Domain] [Skills in Store: Frost Shift(Lvl.5), Frost Serenity(Lvl.5)] Now then... I guess it''s time to head back. Our mission is done and we''ve done enough here. The only thing left is to get rid of some evidence. Before I left, I flooded the room inva with Dragon Volcano Explosion. Then we were on our way home. Now that Ravyn got a little boost in power, I should work on the other two. Though, I think paying some attention to the Assassin''s warning wouldn''t mind. If the Ice King is going to go after me, then I should be prepared. I''ve been thinking about it, and I think it would be a good time to do it now. Bing a Warlock. ... ... ... Now that I think of it, I didn''t really get to test out Raiden as much... Oh well, there is always next time. . . . Chapter 78: The Void Chapter 78: The Void A few days passed after that. Ravyn was now technically the strongest out of the three and the others congratted her on her newfound strength. Alongside that, their motivation to be stronger had also risen. After maxing out their levels and raising them, I gave myself levels until I reached level 10,000. The skills I obtained from the Assassin were all given to Kiyomi since she quickly adapted to the abilities I''ve gifted her, but I think it was about time she got skills that she must learn herself, and she thinks that too. But right now, I have to focus on my growth first. Luckily, I know who to ask. Celestia is known not only as a Grand Mage, but also one of the strongest Warlocks in existence, and history since she is of elf origin, meaning she is long-lived. I''m not exactly sure how old she is, but she''s definitely old enough to be called an old hag. "What did you just say about me!?" I heard Celestia shout from behind me. "Nothing." I forgot she could read my mind. Currently, we were located in the middle of the ocean. Yeah, you heard that correctly, in the middle of an ocean. Below me, there was a literal void that is emitting suffocating energy. [Mana: 943,031,519/1,060,000,000] Hmph, despite getting a massive mana boost from Reaper''s Life Energy, my mana is decreasing at an extremely fast rate. It was absorbing my mana as I hovered above it. This is quite the problem. Some centuries ago, Celestia made a contract and obtained her Warlock powers from this very void, and today, I''ll be doing the same. Before she and I were teleported here with her Omni-Teleportation skill, she exined to me what was going to happen once I entered the void. I''ll be gifted two principles if I managed to pass the trial that the "Void Master" gives to me, which is basically what I desire most. These principles will be elements opposite to each other. For example, the opposite of creation would be destruction, so I would get these two principles. I asked what principles Celestia got, but she never told me. Anyway, after these principles, I''ll be given one of the many limbs from a Nephalem called the Violet one. I don''t really know who he is, but he is the source of a Warlock''s power. I also heard that he has many arms. Like almost billions of them. I''ll be given two limbs; each one recing a part of my left and right arm. One from his angel side, which is his left, and another from his devil side, which is his right. Nephalems are offsprings of a demon and an angel. I don''t know who screwed who first, but I''m not gonna care and so are you. I heard this Nephalem lives in these very voids, but no one knows which. Before I fall into the void, Celestia gave me a useful tip. "You need to show some avarice." "Greed?" "The Void Master is strange and will not allow any form ofpassion in the Void. There is a reason why good-hearted people aren''t Warlocks. The Void Master only cares for those that desire power for a selfish cause." "What was yours?" "I don''t want to speak about it." She said, looking away. "When you are done, he will not care for whatever actions you perform in this world. Have you got a selfish desire in store?" She asked me. I nodded yes. "Then descend." I nodded again before dropping into the void. It was very dark. I was floating around in what felt like water, but I didn''t feel wet. Hmm, I wonder, is water wet? Anyway, I noticed my mana was a little messed up. [1/1,060,000,000] I didn''t seem to have any mana in me, but I managed to create an Afterimage of myself, so I definitely still had mana inside me. The Void is a ce of endless energy. I''m guessing because of that, it is messing with my mana by giving me endless energy and taking it away at the same time. Interesting "You!" A voice boomed, reverberating through the void. I felt the air tremble just by the voice itself. "What is your desire?" It asked. I looked around but there was no figure in sight. I''m guessing this is the Void Master. "Are you the Void Master?" I asked. "I am indeed the Void Master. The very being that resides in the Void, along with another." "I see." "Now, tell me. What do you desire the power of the Void for?" "I desire your power, to be the strongest." There was silence before a figure d in clothes that looked like the night sky. "That is the same wish many have asked from me, yet they all failed to be the strongest. All but one has desired to be omnipotent. I have granted them such power, making them ''the strongest of all.'' Are you sure that is your desire?" Huh? Does he grant the principles by how we word our desires? If that is the case, then it looks like I''ll have to be a little specific with mine. "I desire to be one feared by others. Even the strongest themselves. I only desire the power to overwhelm others, to have them kneel before me, to have them fear me." "Is that so? Then you wish to not be ''the strongest'' but something else?" "y-yes." "Then so be it. I will grant you the ability to manipte energy from the void, and the Principle of Oppression. Now, I believe you know whates next." [Passive Skill Obtained: Void Magic, Principle of Oppression] [Principle of Oppression: Oppress all matter and energy by drawing cruel power from the Void| Effects: Allows the host to control the Principle of Oppression] [ss Unlocked: Warlock] "I understand, I must possess one that counteracts this principle." "Correct, and you will receive the Principle of Banishment." [Passive Skill Obtained: Principle of Banishment] [Principle of Banishment: Cast aside energy into the Void with its power; Effects: Allows the host to utilize the Principle of Banishment] "How does it feel young one? To possess such power? The power to oppress and the power to banish." "It feels" I chuckled a little. To tyrannize and evict power. Such power is literally at my hands. "It''s exciting," I said calmly. "Good." He said. "Now then, receive this." Out of nowhere, he pulled out a red hand and a blue hand. He would appear in front of me and ced them in my hands. They would then sink into my hands, absorbing the limbs. [Skills Obtained: Angel''s Crimson Hand(Lvl.1), Devil''s Azure Palm(Lvl.1), Total Oppression(Lvl.1), Total Banishment(Lvl.1)] [Notice: Angel''s Crimson Hand has linked with the Principle of Oppression and Devil''s Azure Palm has linked with the Principle of Banishment] I stared at my hands and the left one shined red while the palm of my right hand dimmed blue. Curious "With that, you havepleted your contract. May you do your best with your newfound powers, and use it well." "I will." And then, my vision went ck. I woke up floating in the middle of the ocean and I saw Celestia float above me. Right, after someone contracts with a Void, that Void will close up and only appear after several years, decades, centuries have passed. There are other Voids located around the world, but those are pretty far away. Anyway, I did it I guess. "Did you do it?" Celestia asked as she lent a hand. "Yeah. The Principle of Oppression and Banishment is what I got." "Is that so? The power to crush any form of mana, regardless of how powerful and dense it is formed, and the power to cast energy aside. That is very powerful, and a very dangerousbo." Well, that is what I desired after all. Now that I think of it, how did that not count towards the Sin of Greed? Maybe I have to do it unknowingly... that is how I received Wrath and Pride, I think. "Since we have plenty of time, I want to see what your principles can do. Try it right here." Celestia said, pointing towards the ocean. I closed my eyes and envisioned a miniature void next to me. When I opened my eyes, that same void I envisioned was hovering in front of me. To create a void, one who possesses the ability must imagine one in front of them, or anywhere they wish as long as it is in their line of sight and range. I began drawing out energy until I had a decent amount inside me, then I activated Angel''s Crimson Hand, which caused my hand to be wrapped in dense red energy. When I activated Devil''s Azure Palm, my palm glowed blue as the shape of a mouth appeared on my palm. Alright... I faced my left hand towards the ocean and shot energy towards it. The impact struck the ocean surface and caused a vortex to form, but then that vortex was quickly covered up. I did the same with my right palm and the water was being drawn towards my palm and into the mouth shape on my palm. When I pulled away, the water didn''t return to its normal ce. So I can banish energy just using my palm. "I suppose that is it. I just need to learn sorcery now so my attacks can take on a physical form, right?" I asked Celestia and she nodded. . . . Chapter 79: Cursed Arts Chapter 79: Cursed Arts When we returned to Maroon city, I was taught sorcery, however, not from Celestia. I was going to be taught sorcery by Holly. Turns out she is an adventurer too, but she doesn''t go on quests much and she likes to work at the guild. We were located in an empty field located near the city. In my session with Holly to learn sorcery, I had Celestia watching over me. Well, a clone. Well actually, the one I am always talking to is also a clone, so this is technically... Clones are confusing... "Try not to show off," I heard her say and I shook my head, rolling my eyes. Holly was spreading salt across the ground, making some kind of magic formation on the ground. She began chanting a few words and then the magic formation shined. Secondster, two grim monstrous figures appeared where the magic formation was. One was red while the other was blue. The two looked around until they spotted me. "These are Cursed Tinges, energy from the Void that has been mutated. You will have to defeat these two with their corresponding colors. Red can only be killed by red, while blue can only be killed by blue. This goes for other colors. After killing them, you''ll absorb their life force and obtain Cursed Arts." "Wait, I thought you were going to teach me sorcery." "I am." "By killing these two monsters?" "Well... yeah." "...how did you learn sorcery?" "I was taught by another sorcerer. There are two types of sorcery. The first is Blessed Arts, which uses the energy floating around us while the second is Cursed Arts, which requires energy from the Void. Since you are a Warlock, you will need energy from the Void, so this is the best solution for you." "I see." Well, guess I have no choice but toply. The two monsters nced at me and gave me a curious look before they pounced towards me. I activated Angel''s Crimson Hand and brought the red one onto its knees. The blue one however wasn''t affected by Total Oppression. I would then activate Devil''s Blue Palm and begun banishing the blue one. How Total Banishment works is a littleplicated, but here is the exnation. By banishing one''s energy, it will slow down their movements as they are not only being drained of their mana but their stamina as well. Total Banishment discards energy into the Void, never to be seen again. Any form of mana, no matter howplex it is, such as a barrier will bepletely dismantled by Total Banishment. Warlocks consume arge amount of stamina in order to perform attacks using Principles. Now then- I motioned my left hand, dragging the red one across the ground with the force of Total Oppression. With my right hand, I gradually pulled my hand back, pulling the blue one along with me. I almost forgot to mention that Total Banishment kind of works like Absorption since the energy that is being banished will be thrown into the Void. I basically have a maizing force on the palm of my hand. As the blue one got closer to me, I continued to bash the red one with the invisible force of Total Oppression. Anyway, the blue one was now in front of me and I grabbed it by the neck. Slowly, I began to banish it from the inside out. The blue one cried weakly as it was being absorbed into the void at my palm. When I made sure it was extremely weakened to the point it couldn''t move anymore, I began to absorb its life energy. "Aaauuughh~" It groaned before dispersing. [Passive Skill Obtained: Cursed Blue Arts] [ss Obtained: Sorcerer] That''s one down, now to deal with the other. I looked over at the red one which was somehow still alive. I raised my hand and allowed it to stand up, before crushing it again with Total Oppression. "Tch, just die already." I swept my hand and the red one was knocked to the side. Then I dragged it towards me once I confirmed it couldn''t move anymore. [Passive Skill Obtained: Cursed Red Arts] "Well then, guess my work is done here," Holly said. "Take care!" Then she was teleported back to the guild. Now that I have what I need, it is time to create some techniques. With Cursed Arts, I first gathered red energy in front of me which created a red pyramid. I see... I guess I can do something with this. I would move my left hand towards the sky, the pyramid flying into the air. Then I face my hand at the vacant field in front of me. Suddenly- CRASH!! The same pyramid that I hadunched into the sky expanded, creating arge pyramid simr to the ones in Egypt. When the pyramid dispersed, there was a huge square crater where it had erged. It was as if I had just created a field perfect for farming. [Skill Obtained: Destructive Red(Lvl.1)] Alright, I have one for Oppression, now I need one for Banishment. I did the same action I had done to create the pyramid, only this time it was with my right palm. Appearing in front of me was a sphere that was dark in the center. Ho... this one is interesting. The sphere floated towards my palm and I embraced it. Then I threw it forward and it created a dark blue hole that was as dark as the abyss. It almost resembled a ck hole. Vvmmm~ Dirt was being absorbed into the hole as I steered it around. I had to apply pressure as I steered it since it was a literal walking mass of energy pulling matter into it. Once I clenched my hands, the hole dispersed and there was now a trail where the ck hole had been steered. [Skill Obtained: Abyssal Blue(Lvl.1)] I dispersed Devil''s Blue Palm and took a deep breath. "Fuu~" [Mana: 405,924,583/1,060,000,000] Performing such techniques is tiring. The amount of mana it consumes is very immense too. Guess this is why my mana reserve is abnormally high. "Now then, I guess we''re done," Celestia said as she prepared a teleportation spell. "Nero?" She said. "What are you waiting for?" I was staring at my Angel''s Crimson Hand and I was wondering... If the force of Oppression is already so absolute, then I wonder what would happen if I were to focus it to one single point. "If I focus the output towards my fingertips, what do you think would happen?" I asked Celestia curiously. She closed her eyes and thought for a moment before answering- "Then the force you create will be immensely concentrated, allowing you to be able to crush anything." "Or impale... Celestia, can you create the strongest barrier you can make?" "Huh? I guess so." Good... I want to see if this works. Celestia stuck her hands out and a massive barrier formed. First, let''s see how much damage a regr st of Oppression can do. I struck the barrier with Total Oppression, the powerful force smashing against the ss-like barrier. The barrier seemed to hollow in but the barrier wasn''t broken. All that did was smack the barrier with blunt force. Now let''s see what happens if I concentrate it. I began concentrating energy to the end of my index finger and middle finger. The red energy wrapping my hand began to move and it was all focused at the end of the two fingers. I then made a gesture simr to a finger gun. I felt a force want to escape from the end of my fingers and I carefully aimed it at the barrier. I didn''t want to hit Celestia even though it was a clone and I certainly didn''t want the stray force to travel towards the city, so I''ll just aim it at the air for now. If I were to name this... it would be... "Piercing Red." BANG!! A loud metallic bang ripped through the air as a beam dyed brilliant red shot towards the barrier. Piercing Red collided with the barrier and a momentter, there was a noticeable hole outlined in red in the barrier. [Mana: 130,602,991/1,060,000,000] I fell to the ground as the fingers that fired Piercing Red began to burn. It hurts! Well, I didunch the attack like how a gun would. I think I''ll have to watch myself when I make a finger gun gesture. [Skills Obtained: Piercing Red(Lvl.1)] "Whew, I''m just d you didn''t aim that at me." Said a relieved Celestia. "Well, I was thinking about it, but I think you would''ve gotten mad at me if I did." "Good, cause I would''ve. Now then, let''s head back. You seem to be running out of energy." "Yeah, who knew a Warlock would utilize so much stamina in such a short span of time." "No, that is just you." "...oh..." Well, then that is going to be a problem for the future. Oh well, I''ll think of a way to fix that. A few days passed after that and it was mostly peaceful. Until something came up. . . . Chapter 80: Shinkachi Chapter 80: Shinkachi I was sitting down in Celestia''s office, reading some of the books from her library. She was also in the room, taking care of the paperwork on her desk. Looks like being a guildmaster is a busy job. We were minding our business and I was sipping on some coffee until- "Nero, how good are you with women?" She asked. I paused, settling my cup of coffee on the table. "How good? I don''t really know, why do you ask?" I responded. "What do you mean, you don''t know? You sleep with- never mind." "What? You wanna sleep with me or something?" Celestia''s face turned bright red and I felt apressive force wrap around me. "Hehe, j-just kidding. Just kidding." I apologized, praying she doesn''t crush me. I was definitely not ready for that. "Anyway, why did you ask?" I said, resuming the topic. "Well, I''ve been wondering if you would like toe help me with my work? I''m... teaching another student and I need a little support. The reason I''m helping her is that I owe a favor to her ancestor." "that''s it?" "Yeah." "Strange you want help from someone like me. I mean, I''m not a girl, why don''t you just ask another girl?" "Well, I don''t know how girls act in this era alright?" "I don''t either. You are an elf that has lived here for well, I don''t know how long and you still don''t know how people act in this world? At least have a better excuse." "Tch, well I don''t have time to do all the stuff people do in this world." "Right, work." "Yes. So what about it?" "About what?" "Do you want to help me and be my assistant while you are over there?" "What is in it for me?" "Well, you can meet the real me. That is one. The second one is" "Is?" "Well, it would be better to show you." "So basically my only choice is toe, huh? Guess I have no choice but to say yes. This ce is technically of no use to me anymore since I''ve read every single book in your library." "If you like reading, then the library I have over where the real me is located will entertain you for years." "That is what I like to hear. So when do I leave?" "Pack your things and go to the same field you destroyed a few days ago. I''ll send something your way. While you are at it, you can bring the girls along with you too." *** Well, we are here, standing in the same field I partially destroyed a few days ago which was a result of my recklessness as a Warlock. Now that I think of it since I''ll be meeting the real Celestia, she can help me master my newfound skills in person. As I sipped on my canteen, I wondered. Who is this aristocrat''s family she is working for? "Master, please don''t drink so early in the morning." I heard Kiyomi say worryingly. "What are you talking about? I''m just drinking water." "Umm, that''s actually beer," Ravyn corrected. "Really?" Huh, weird. I''ve been drinking this like it was water and I don''t think alcohol is working on me anymore. Maybe it''s my Poison Resistance kicking in. Oh well, at least I know it is working. The only thing I''m not cool about is that I won''t be able to get a decent excuse for not doing anything. I''m starting to talk like my old man, and I don''t like it. I flipped the canteen upside down, spilling the beer all over the ground, and then strapped it back on my belt. I stretched and rxed my body. I''ve been building up a lot of stresstely and I''m too busy to have it relieved. I think the stress is shown on my face too. Been focused on thinking about what move I should make next to get me or the girls stronger. I''ve already given Ravyn a boost in power and I''m thinking of what to do next with the other two. From the advice I got from Celestia, Dragon Onis can grow if they have a suitable sparring partner. I''ve done some training with Akane before, and let''s just say the results were just like the first time we met, except she won most of the spars. Her movements are sharper and much precise that even with Raiden equipped and Lightning eleration on, she moves at blinding speed that I am not even able to process. She leaves Afterimages even though she doesn''t use the actual skill. She is just that fast! Anyway, sparring with her actually raises her level cap at a steady pace: 100-250 levels a day. Since we''ve been sparring for three days, well, you know the rest. Now that I knew what to do with Akane, the main issue was going to be with Kiyomi. Since she was a Kitsune, the skills that she could learn can only be taught by another Kitsune. So teaching her Kitsune-rted skills was going to be tough. However, there was an alternative. Kiyomi has a great aptitude for taming beasts. I think we encountered some stray Dragon wed Tigers once and she managed to calm them down by whistling. Dragon wed Tigers are basically animals that look like tigers and have terrifyingly sharp ws. I needed more summons for my Spirit Soul and I was going to take them out, however, once I saw how they quickly warmed up to Kiyomi, I decided to go for another route. A Beast Tamer. That was the ss I wanted her to learn, however, she was somehow unable to obtain the skills of a Beast Tamer. Even with the help from Celestia, we still couldn''t get her that ss. We would''ve given up right there but we found another way. A few days ago, the girls and I were looking through some boxes that Celestia had stored in the basement of the guild. Yeah, the guild has a basement. Anyway, we were still trying to help Kiyomi be a Beast Tamer so we were looking for a whistle, which is what most Beast Tamer would possess to call theirpanions. We found an artifact that looked like some kind of ancient whistle. Celestia told us not to blow into it but curiosity took the best of us. Kiyomi blew into it and... well... It shattered. It shattered a second after she blew into it and we could do nothing else but stare at the pieces on the ground. We knew that Celestia would''ve gotten mad at us if she knew we broke an artifact of hers, so we quickly resorted to another. So instead, we brought up some kind of broken flute. "What happened to the whistle?" Celestia asked us. We scratched our heads and looked away in guilt. "Don''t tell me you blew onto that whistle..." She asked. "O-of course not," I answered back, trying not to sound like I was lying. "Ho...?" I could feel a force tightening around me as if it was trying to crush me. I attempted to manipte that force with Banishment but my Banishment was quickly overruled. I should mention that Banishment only works if my opponent is near my level or weaker than me, not if they are clearly stronger than me. Anyway, I was being crushed and I could feel the air inside me being forced out of my lungs. Then she dispersed her attack. "Oh well, if it''s gone, it''s gone." She said as she returned her attention to the broken flute on her table. While I took deep breaths, Celestia got up, taking the broken flute in her hand. "It''s actually a good thing you blew into that whistle," She said. "Huh? Really?" I replied. "Yes. See, that whistle actually grants Musical Intuition, more specifically, Flute Intuition, which grants one the ability to y the flute proficiently. If I remember, many whistles simr to that one was gifted to mortals, however, they can only be used once." She exined. "How do you have something in possession?" I asked. "Well, those whistles were originally supposed to be given to the Bard Hero as they needed it as a part of their skill set, however, only some of them were able to obtain it. There are others that can be sold in auctions or in the ck market. Anyway, since you''ve obtained Flute Intuition, you can have this as you have obtained the Bard ss from blowing onto that whistle." She was right about that. I can see that she obtained the Bard ss and Flute Intuition. Her level cap has also risen dramatically, by 3000. Her astral chains must''ve broken as a result of blowing onto that whistle. Hmph, my luck just can''t get any better than this. But now that I think of it, wasn''t it a bit unsanitary to blow onto a whistle that has been left in the dust for so long? Worryingly, I got out my handkerchief and begun wiping Kiyomi''s mouth. "M-Master?" She questioned me as I wiped her mouth gently. "Stop moving, that whistle might''ve been hosting some kind of disease from centuries ago." "I-is that so...?" After that, I looked at the flute in Celestia''s hand. "So I''m guessing you are going to give Kiyomi that old flute?" I inquired. "Oh gods no, do you know how dirty this is? Not to mention it''s also broken. Besides, Kiyomi might not be worthy of wielding this flute." "Why not?" "I''d be surprised if someone at this age would be able to wield the ''Shinkachi,'' an instrument that can only be wielded if the host is deemed worthy. That can be found out if they blow into the instrument that it responds to them." "So... what if she is deemed worthy?" "Well, then the flute would mend itself back and she will keep the flute. However, even if she were to be worthy of it, she is still not ready to wield its power. For now, I''ll be holding onto it until she is ready." Then after that, we left. As I sparred with Akane, I also had to help Kiyomi with practicing performing attacks with the flute, or taming beasts with it. Bards can also control beasts using the music they produce and that was what I wanted Kiyomi to do. She managed to tame most beasts with her skill, Beast Melody, however, taming stronger monsters such as dragons is a little too much for her and she needed the skill, Beast Symphony for that. Though she didn''t get the Beast Tamer ss, Bard was close enough. So, that should exin why I''ve been stressed sotely. Anyway, we were still idling around waiting for the thing that Celestia was going to send until we heard a wing p in the air. I looked up and there was some kind of big bird in the air, then I realized it wasn''t a bird, well, it was, part bird. Thud! Arge Gryphonnded in front of us and let out a loud screech. I know it was a female because it had two sets of wings instead of one. A Griffin which is a male would only have one set of giant wings while a Gryphon would have two sets of medium-sized wings. Anyway, I''m guessing we are supposed to get on this Gryphon to get to our location. Now, we could''ve just used Celestia''s Omni-Teleportation to get there quicker but her reason was that we would be seen as trespassers and probably frighten a few people. She said a proper introduction would be better since we are going to an aristocrat''s ce. She has already told them that we wereing. Anyway- "Now then girls, let''s get on." I turned, but the girls were nowhere in sight. Then I noticed they were already on the Gryphon. It seems the Gryphon has already warmed up to them. Right, I forgot they are more excited to see a mythical creature than I do. Now... if only this thing would let me get on it. But just like the Akane''s Bloodmoon Dragon, it wouldn''t let me anywhere near it. "Fine, I can fly either way," I said as I began to levitate. "Show us the way." The Gryphon would let out another loud screech before taking off, me following right after. . . . Chapter 81: House of Oria Chapter 81: House of Oria Our flight was pretty peaceful. The girls were enjoying their ride of the Gryphon while I was left in the dust to fight off a horde of Razor Hawks with de-like material as their wings, and I got to practice fighting them with my Warlock powers. I sighed. Can''t I just experience peace for a full minute? After I got their levels, I eventually caught up with the girls. [Levels in Store: 18,925] [Passive Skills in Store: Razor Creation] Razor Creation I wonder what that does. Well, I won''t find out unless I try it out. Anyway, I have a lot of levels in store. I already maxed out the girls'' levels so I guess I should feed myself some. [Leveled up!(5,000)] [Notice: Auto ss Selection is avable] Auto ss Selection? [Auto ss Selection will allow me to choose which ss upgrade will best suit you] Now that I think of it, you forgot to let me upgrade my sses. Well, I am very busy so I tend to forget. Guess this is a great option for me to have. Ding! [Assassin --> Breakneck sher] [Skill Obtained: Breakneck Movement(Lvl.1)] Huh, how nice. Though I''m a little disappointed, only 1 ss was upgraded, but whatever. "Master," Akane said, "We''ve arrived." I nced down and saw arge establishmentid on the vast grasnd. The manor was huge, and I''m saying that while I''m up in the air. There was a big fountain ced in the middle of arge round stone path. The stone path most likely leads to the nearest city, but that''s just my assumption. I spotted a figure sitting on the edge of the fountain. Suddenly the air felt tense and my body quivered. I also felt mana brush my body as I flew forward. I realized that I had entered a barrier and we were let in. Then I quickly recognized who it was. Celestia looked up at us and signaled us toe down. The Gryphon began to descend and I did the same. "Wee," greeted Celestia. "Hello. Now, I''m guessing you are the real Celestia, right?" I asked. "Of course I am. I''m not thatzy as to send a clone to get you." "I see, so we are that important to you, huh?" Celestia palmed her face and shook her head. "Whatever you say. Come on, I''ve yet to introduce you to the duke." After the girls got off the Gryphon, we followed Celestia into the manor. Two guards stood at the entrance of the front door. They would let us in without hesitating, most likely because Celestia was guiding us. When we entered, we were met with two maids. They escorted us through a long, polished corridor decorated with luxurious ornaments and seemingly priceless artifacts. We walked up a marble staircase and into another long hallway until we reached tworge doors. Creak~! The doors seemed to open by themselves, as if they had a mind of their own. Actually, since Celestia does live here, I bet she enchanted these doors to open themselves. Anyway, as they opened, there was a middle-aged man who was well dressed sitting on a luxurious couch. Sitting on the couch next to him, there was a woman who seemed to be in her prime wearing a fancy blue dress, and sitting directly across her was an old man. This old man was not just any old man; he was pretty fit. He was wearing a long white coat like a cape. Under that, he was wearing a ck and jade-colored imperial uniform. When I noticed the uniform, I was quickly reminded of the guards that I spotted in the kingdom halls. The old man noticed my gaze and I felt an overwhelming presence pressing weight onto my shoulders, however, I was too self-absorbed by my suppressed vexation to feel it. Celestia turned to me and I quickly looked the other way. The old man raised an eyebrow before shrugging. He''s instinctively cautious, but he''s too dense to know why, otherwise he would''ve called me out. I stared at the ceremonial de attached to his belt. It seemed to give off a strange, mystical aura, as if it possessed powerful energy. That energy also seemed to be linked with the old man as they both had the exact same energy. I attempted to read his status but Analysis didn''t work for some reason. I will have to be wary of him. I do not know much about his abilities and one wrong move, he could end me. Anyway, Celestia started to introduce them to us and us to them. "Nero, Kiyomi, Ravyn, Akane, this is Lloyd Oria, otherwise known as Duke Oria. The woman next to him is La Oria, his wife, and the old man is Francis Oria, a high-ranking military officer of Paragon. These four are the ones I''ve been talking about, my subordinates from Romanus." Subordinates? ''y along.'' I heard Celestia''s voice echo in my head. Huh, so not only can she read minds through telepathy, but she can alsomunicate as well. Celestia continued to introduce us, and in the process, she revealed the identity of the girls, so once they saw Kiyomi revert to her Kitsune form, they didn''t react differently at all. The same goes for Akane when she revealed her horns. Maybe it''s because Celestia is a dark elf that they don''t really care if a demi-human or any entity of another kind is present. ''During the generations of the Oria family, they have never discriminated against others. Unlike other aristocrats.'' Is that so? I''m relieved to hear that. "I see," The middle-aged man said as he got up from the couch. He walked over to the girls and bowed before standing in front of me. He was about a few centimeters high and surprisingly he didn''t have much energy inside him. Could it be that he''s suppressing his powers? I tried to examine his stats, but again, Analysis wasn''t working. ''You entered my barrier moments ago and once you are inside, you are unable to use Analysis or any skill that allows you to examine one''s status.'' Huh, you could''ve told me earlier. Well, since I can''t examine his status, I won''t mess with him. Suddenly, he seized my hand and gave me a handshake. "So you are the one Celestia has been telling us all about." "huh?" I titled my head before turning to Celestia with a puzzled look. She shrugged and I got even more confused. "Dear, you are making the boy ufortable." The woman would say as she got up. "Oh, sorry." He said embarrassingly before sitting back down. The woman approached us and gave us a polite bow. "I apologize for my husband''s rudeness. We warmly wee you to the house of Oria." Layna grasped my hand and I felt an unsettling feeling as she held my hand. It was almost as if I was burning and freezing at the same time. It was so abnormal that I eventually couldn''t feel my arm anymore. Despite the pain I was feeling, I''d let out a bitter smile. "N-nice to meet you too." "So Celestia, this is the boy you were talking to us about?" She would turn her attention to Celestia and she nodded. "Precisely. Now, I think you should let go of his hand. He doesn''t look so good." Celestia said noticing my expression. "Oh, I apologize." She said as she would let go of my hand. The feeling in my arm quickly returned and I took deep and quiet breaths. I don''t think I''m going to go near that woman for a while. Either she has the ability to disable a body part of a person, or she wrapped herself in divine energy. Either way, she is a dangerous person for me to be around. "So father, what do you think?" Layna asked the old man. The old man stood up and walked over to me. The look he gave while inspecting me was grim, almost like I was dirt. This one... he''s a high-ranking officer if I''m correct. I''ll have to watch out for him. "Hmph! I''ll say my thoughts once I see his skills." He said grumpily, turning around to sit back down. Skills? I turned to Celestia and she sighed. ''Since I told them you were my student, they have high expectations for you. Remember that their daughter is also my student.'' So I''m supposed to show off, huh? I don''t know how I am supposed to do that but I guess I can do something. Along the way, I have been meaning to test something out with Banishment. Knock-knock! The sound of knocking could be heard from behind. I turned as the doors opened and there was a young woman standing at the door. She had long, pale-blonde hair tied in a ponytail with a bow, heterochromatic eyes(her right eye was blue and her left eye was silver), and clean white skin. She wore a white and blue dress which is longer in the back, thigh-high ck stockings and ck heels. "H-hello," She stammered, "M-my name is Katrina Oria." She shyly bowed her head before walking past us. Her arm grazed me and the same feeling happened again; the same feeling that urred when La grabbed ahold of my hand. I held my arm as my nerves slowly returned to me. Besides Lloyd, I can''t be near La or Katrina. The old man... well, I guess he can be part of that category, but he is a much higher threat than them. "Well, now that we have everyone from the Oria house," She would then turn to me, "-it''s time to demonstrate your power." . . . Chapter 82: Display Chapter 82: Disy We were located in the ins where there were no trees or grasses growing. The only thing that could be seen around us were hills, mountains, etc. I stood in the middle of the field. Behind me were the girls, Celestia, the Oria household, and a few servants serving them wine, cookies, and whatnot. Celestia brought us all here in order to show my abilities to the Oria household. After she told them I was a Warlock, they were interested in me for some reason. Well, guess I shouldn''t disappoint them. ''Are you ready, Nero?'' I heard Celestia''s voice echo through my mind. I looked at her and nodded. Then she snapped her fingers. In front of me, there was a strange humanoid which was a mixture of blue and red. It was a Cursed Tinge which was a mutated mixture of both blue and red void energy. Guess it would make sense since my main Cursed Art colors are red and blue. The Cursed Tinge looked around curiously before setting its eyes on me. It would get onto all fours and swiftly crawl towards me like a savage. I''m guessing it starts here. I pped my hands, activating Angel''s Crimson Hand and Devil''s Blue Palm. I clenched my red hand beforeunching a shockwave from my fist. The force of Oppression struck the Cursed Tinge, sending it flying into the air. I would generate a small sphere in my blue hand. When Abyssal Blue was ready, I threw it at the Cursed Tinge. A momentter, a blue void appeared and began sucking the energy off of the Cursed Tinge. The Cursed Tinge growled and suddenly, Abyssal Blue was dispersed. Tch, this thing is strong. Guess I''ll have to step it up. I used Breakneck Movement and in an instant, I appeared in front of the Cursed Tinge and struck it in the stomach with Oppression. It was once againunched into the air and this time I tried something different. Banishment has an attractive force that can bring my enemies closer to me while absorbing their energy in the process. However, I consume a lot of energy while doing that. So What if I can make an attack to pull my enemies in using Banishment? If I remember, Akane could do the same with her Vacuum sh, so I''ll mimic that skill. I began focusing Banishment to the entirety of my hand as I extended my fingers. The energy from my palm was spread out and when my hand was glowing at its brightest, I would put my left hand over my right and begin forging a de made entirely of Banishment. Vvmmm~ [Skill Obtained: Caustic Blue(Lvl.1)] I stared at the bright blue de which was formed on my right hand and smirked. That''s it more power. In excitement, I shed the air in front of me and the distance between me and the Cursed Tinge was shorter. The Cursed Tinge fell after I had swung Caustic Blue and I took this chance to test out Caustic Blue. I continued to sh the air with the blue de and the Cursed Tinge involuntarily continued to move closer to me. Eventually, I decided I was stalling too much time so I grabbed the Cursed Tinge and sted it into the air with Oppression before charging Oppression into the tip of my fingers. "Piercing Red." BANG!! The red stream of violent energy flew towards the Cursed Tinge and pierced it directly in the chest. After that, solid energy could be seen disappearing in thin air. I took a deep breath and looked at my mana capacity before dropping on my knees. [Mana: 263,407,958/1,560,000,000] "Impressive." I looked over my shoulders and saw the Oria family except Katrina were pping. Celestia walked over to me and ced her hand on my shoulder, my strength gradually returning to me. "As expected of Celestia''s student," I heard Francis say, "I think he might even surpass you as a Warlock!" "Oh please," Celestia responded, "He is nowhere near my level." "Are you sure you aren''t being insensitive?" "No, hecks mastery of his Principles. Yes, he may be able to perform captivating tricks but he expels a heavy portion of energy to perform them." Celestia looked down at me. "I think it is best you use your Warlock abilities when you are in a dire situation." I looked up at her and nodded. "Really?" I heard Francis say. "Yes! Tch, I swear, you Orias get more annoying each generation," Celestia grumbled. I scratched my head and turned to the others. The girls were adoring my disy of strength. The jaws of every servant dropped, and the other Orias had impressed looks on their faces. Then I looked at Katrina. She had a wary look on her face, but then she nodded her cautious expression was reced with a smile. "Hmm, it''s getting dark. Let''s head back." Celestia suggested, and with her Omni-Teleportation, we teleported back to the estate. *** After we returned, a feast was hosted for us. There was well food. There were a lot of them and they all looked so delicious. I didn''t know any table manners since I was never taught them, so I must''ve put up a disgraceful appearance. I was even scolded by Celestia. ''Who taught you how to eat!? Do you even know what manners are?'' Tch, just let me eat in peace, woman! Yeah, I wasn''t taught table manners so deal with it! The girls on the other side were eating as if they were in a high-ss restaurant. Everyone in the room except me was eating diligently. I feel left out, but oh well. After that, we were shown to our rooms. There was one for each of us and the beds were queen-sized! They were extremelyfortable and soft. There was a clear difference from the beds at the inn. It was 11 pm and I still couldn''t sleep. Huh Well, I''m gonna go take a walk around the manor. As I walked down the dark, empty hallway, I stumbled upon arge door. Hmm "Umm" I turned and standing next to me was Katrina, who was in a white nightgown. "What does this ce lead to?" I asked her curiously. "Well, it''s the library. It''s where teacher likes to be." "Teacher? Celestia? So this is the library?" Well, guess I''ll know where to find her if I ever need her. "So umm may I ask why you are outte at night?" Katrina asked me. "Hmm, I''d ask you that question, but since this is your house it would be a little informal of me. I don''t feel tired and I can go without sleep for a day or two." "I see" There was an awkward pause. Well, this is weird. "So" I began, "I heard you are also being taught under Celestia. What is your training?" "I am being taught to control and master my Altima form and also being taught swordsmanship." "Altima?" "Altima-" "What are you guys doing sote at night?" We were suddenly interrupted by Celestia who stood at the open doorway. She was wearing a ck nightdress which revealed her curves. Huh, so this is the beauty of a dark elf. "What are you staring at?" Celestia grumbled. "Nothing," I said as I looked away. Celestia shook her head and turned her attention to Katrina. "Katrina, it''ste at night. If you have questions, just ask me tomorrow morning and as for you, you cane here tomorrow after my lessons with Katrina are done, alright?" Katrina and I nodded. "Great, now go back to your rooms." Before I left, I raised my hand up. "Wh-what?" "Where do you sleep? The library?" "O-of course not! I have my own room." "Oh, ok." "Tch, just go already." I chuckled and put on a smug face before walking away. As I traveled back to my room, I remembered what Katrina had mentioned. Altima I wonder what that is. I would''ve gotten more information if Celestia hadn''t interrupted us. Oh well, I could just ask her since she is the most knowledgeable. Or maybe I could ask Yukie if she has the information. Ding! [Should I exin to you what "Altima" is?] Oh, I guess you do. Hmm, I would say yes, but I want to see it with my own eyes, otherwise, my expectations won''t be as high after hearing what it does and seeing what it looks like. [Understood] I yawned and opened the doors to my room. Closing them behind me, I would flop onto the bed and attempt to sleep, but I still couldn''t. I''m still too stressed to sleep. Knock-knock! I heard knocking at my door and I got off my bed to walk over there. When I opened it, the girls were standing outside of my room. "Yes?" I asked. "Well... we were worried about you. You seemed stressedtely." Kiyomi said. "And we would like to relieve that stress for you," Ravyn added. I tapped my temple and sighed with a smile on my face. "And you want to do that by-?" "Sleeping with you." Akane finished. I chuckled lightly and shook my head. "Just what am I going to do with you girls...?" . . . Chapter 83: Night of Intimacy (R-18) Chapter 83: Night of Intimacy (R-18) (You all know what ising next so I don''t need to warn you... Enjoy~) . . . The girls allid down on the bed with lustful expressions on their faces. I couldn''t help but smile as I stared at their alluring bodies. I swept my hair back and started disrobing. It''s been a while since I''ve done this. I''ve been so busy that the only thing on my mind was how I am going to obtain power. My entire mind was clouded by that single thought that I forgot to watch my own health. Anyway, that thought eventually left my mind as I turned my attention back to the girls. Now then who should I ravage first? After staring at their bodies, I eventually let my instincts decide. So I went for Kiyomi first. First, I started from her beautiful belly and gave her kisses and licks before slowly making my way up to her breast. "Ah~" She moaned as her expression flushed. I began licking her breasts and licked her nipples. As I did that, I hovered my hand to her face and she licked them obediently. After that, I slowly traversed down her stomach and slid my hand under her panties. I motioned one of my fingers to her vagina and inserted a finger. She continued to moan as I motioned my finger in and out of her precious spot. I took my fingers out and begun pulling her panties down. Kiyomi looked at me with a blissful face. "Spread your legs for me," I said, and Kiyomi nodded. She obediently spread her legs, her pussy, and anus fully present to me. I slid my arms under her knees before pulling her towards me. "Ahn! M-Master~" She began secreting love juices as I stuffed my face in between her legs. My mind was put into this moment and the stimtion was so much for her, she orgasmed on the spot. "A-aahh" "Hmph, you already climaxed even though you haven''t pleasured me." "I''m sorry, it felt so good." I smirked as I rubbed the head of my dick against her vagina. "Since you climaxed before me, I expect you to satisfy me thoroughly," I said as I began inserting my cock. "W-wait, I just- Oooohh~" Kiyomi was quickly interrupted as I shoved my cock inside her. She would let out a satisfying sound as my dick hit the entrance of her womb. As I moved out, I felt her inner walls tighten around my dick like she didn''t want me to leave but they quickly loosened as I started thrusting. To be honest, it wasn''t that long since I''ve done this but my body acted like it hasn''t tasted a woman in ages. It took me a while to notice that my body was instinctively thrusting my hips like a mad dog. "Master~" Kiyomi wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. Our tongues entwined as I got closer to releasing my seed. "Aauuh! Aaagh! Master, I''m going to-!" She moaned and I came inside her. I chuckled lightly as I pulled out andid beside her on the bed. It seems I was too focused on Kiyomi that I forgot about the other two, and when they wrapped their arms around me, I knew they were feeling a bit lonely. "Master~" "Nero~" The two looked at me erotically and looked into my eyes, begging for my attention. Guess it can''t be helped. Despite already climaxing, my cock was still hard and standing. I gazed at the girls and I didn''t even need to tell them. I watched as Ravyn and Akane began licking my penis with their tongues and licking the sperm that was covering my cock that was just inside Kiyomi moments ago. The tongues eventually went up to the tip and intense pleasure coursed through my body. Akane then ced my cock in her mouth. Her warm mouth surrounded my shaft which was exploring it. As she did that, Ravyn was licking the parts where Akane was unable to reach. Eventually, I came once again, this time in Akane''s mouth. She slowly took my dick out her mouth with my sperm hanging around. Ravyn would cup her cheeks and their mouths connected, sharing my sperm that was inside Akane''s mouth a moment ago before consuming it. After that, Ravyn positioned herself above my penis, her pussy in full view which was dripping with nectar. She then proceeded to ce my cock into her lower mouth, consuming it whole. "Nngh!" She moaned as she connected with my lower body. Secondster, she began moving her hips, my penis pumping in and out of her insides. Suddenly, Kiyomi who was down a moment ago lifted my head and ced me on herp, her tits hanging in front of my face. Though I wasn''t going to do it at first, I allowed my hands to grab them and I began sucking on them. "Aah~" Kiyomi moaned lightly as I sucked on them like a baby drinking their mother''s milk. Kiyomi smiled as I was being affectionate with her. This caused someone to be a little jealous and go rough on me. Immediately, Ravyn who was riding me was now grinding against me violently. I let go of Kiyomi as my body stiffened as a reaction to the sudden stimtion. If it couldn''t have gotten any better, Akane appeared in front of me and shoved her pussy in front of my face. Everything was happening so fast since the girls were attacking me from all directions. It took me a while to process it, and after I gathered my thoughts, I decided to fight back. I began ferociously eating Akane''s cunt and trusted violently into Ravyn''s pussy. The two were surprised as I started to drain them of their energy. Akane who couldn''t handle the pleasure anymore climaxed, covering me in her juices. A few momentster, I did one final thrust with my hips, prating the entrance of Ravyn''s womb, us cumming right after. "Nnnnn!!" Ravyn''s tongue was hanging out of her mouth, her eyes crossed, and reddened cheeks. She fell to the side weakly and my dick slid out from her pussy. Now then- I pushed Akane off me and got on my knees. Her ass was raised high. Obediently, she began spreading her pussy, signaling me that she wanted it. Iplied as I inserted my rod inside her, grabbed her hips, and began thrusting. She didn''t make a noise as I thrust my cock inside her, but I knew she was enjoying this. Kiyomi threw herself on me and kissed me once again. In the process, she would suck on my tongue, bobbing her head as her mouth surrounded my tongue. As she separated from me, I moved myself to her ears and nibbled on them. "Aa-aah!" She moaned again as I continued to nibble on her ear lightly. If it wasn''t obvious already, a Kitsune''s weakness is their ears. That also goes for their tails. "Master" I turned my attention back to Akane who gave me eyes that were wishing for more. If she wants it, then I guess I''ll give it to her. I''d let go of her hips and slid my arms through her underarm. Suddenly, I would pull her towards me, her back against my chest. "Master? Wha- Oooooh~!" I began pounding her as she''d let out loud, pleasing moans. I would thrust my hips faster as her moans caused me to get harder. Erotic sounds could be heard from my lower area. "Ah! Ah! Ah! I''m cumming!!" Akane said as I did one final thrust, filling her with my semen. I ced her back on the bed as she weakly limped across it, my cum slowly flowing out of her pussy. "Master, I want it again." Kiyomi positioned herself on myp and wrapped her legs around me as she inserted my penis inside her. We both wrapped our arms around each other as I would start thrusting once again. Since her tits were bouncing in front of me, I began sucking on them once again. "Ahnn! Is Master pleased with my breasts?" "Of course I am," I replied as I continued sucking them. As me and Kiyomi continued our intercourse, the other two approached me and snatched my arms. "Nero~" Ravyn pulled my arms and sandwiched them between her boobs. I stared at them as they wrapped around my arm. Damn, now that I see it, her size is almostparable to Kiyomi''s, only that they are slightly smaller, but the difference is so small that you could hardly notice! "M-Master, I hope my size could please you." Akane put my hand on her breast. She had a shy look on her face as her''s weren''tparable to Kiyomi''s and Ravyn''s. "It''s alright, you are all I could ask for," I responded and her shy expression was reced with a smile. Momentster, I came inside Kiyomi again. The night continued like that, and none of us were tired. We did it for 4 hours straight and as that continued, I could feel all the stress inside me vanish as I slept with the girls by my side. In the end, the room reeked of sex and lust. And so, the next morning came. . . . Chapter 84: Altima Chapter 84: Altima "Tch, you couldn''t have at least told me you were going to do itst night?" Said Celestia, "Not to mention with all THREE of them!?" "Well look, when you see three beautiful womenying on your bed, it''s going to get intimate." Celestia sighed and shook her head. "You are lucky I formed a sound nullifying barrier around your room, otherwise everyone in the manor would''ve heard you." "Oh? Did you pass by and take a peek?" A vein bulged on her forehead as she turned to me with an irritated look. "OF COURSE NOT!!!" She yelled at me and I jumped at the sudden change in tone. "Jeez, rx." Huh, guess the only difference between her clones and her real self is that she is more grouchy and has a quick fuse. I hope she wasn''t reading my mind. ''What did you-?'' Never mind Anyway, we were in the courtyard behind the Oria estate. The floor was made entirely of material that not even Piercing Red could destroy. Celestia herself crafted this stage several centuries ago. Hmm, I still question what her age is but it''s a pretty minor detail to know now that I think about it. I just know she is Well, you know. Anyway, as I was saying, we were in this courtyard. In front of us, Katrina was facing Francis. Katrina was equipped with silver armor decorated in cobalt and had a golden emblem of a pair of feathered wings. The emblem seemed to resemble the wings of an angel except one side was tattered while the other wasn''t. The armor seemed silver but the energy it gave off wasn''t that of silver. It was more mysterious and poisoning "That is Divinium armor, metal made from divine properties. I rmend you stay away from that as it has the same properties as divine energy." Celestia said, responding to my thoughts. "What happens if I touch it?" "Well, it won''t kill you, but your power will be seriously limited." She answered. Aah, I see. Since she is equipped with this armor, I''m guessing she''s able to resist divine energy or manipte it as Ravyn does. She wore this armor over a different variant of her dress, one seemingly suited forbat. On her waist, there was a longsword. Like Francis, it seemed to be radiating some sort of mystical power that felt simr to Katrina''s. Just what is it? "You are about to find out," Celestia whispered. I raised an eyebrow before turning my attention back to Katrina and Francis. "Are you ready little one?" Francis asked as he drew his saber. His weapon handle was a pattern of ck and gold while his de shone white. "Yes, grandfather!" She responded, unsheathing her longsword. Her sword handle was silver and blue while her de was dyed gold. The energy emitting from both swords was shing with each other countless times that I was able to see their aura''s physically. This is curious. The two stared at each other for a while. Celestia and I were watching and we weren''t the only ones. The girls and the other two Orias were also watching. Anyway, Francis made the first move, stepping forward, and suddenly, Katrina dashed forward with her sword aimed towards Francis''s stomach. ng! In a sh, Francis parried Katrina''s attack and shoved her away. As Katrina flew back, Francis ran forward, swinging his de as he did. From a normal person''s view, it would look like he''s just swinging his de wildly, but that was not the case. Each time he swung his sword, there was a sharp shockwave emitting from the edge of his de. Katrina rolled to the side as the shockwaves flew past her. Katrina would once again dash forward but this time she went with a different tactic. Instead of thrusting her sword, she jumped into the air and twirled around with her sword. Francis stopped as he blocked Katrina''s sudden barrage. A few secondster, he jumped back as Katrinanded on her feet and performed a quick diagonal sh. ng! Francis raised his saber to block a shockwave that had discharged from Katrina''s sword. I didn''t even notice until it had shed with his de. "It seems you''ve learned my signature move!" Francis said,plimenting Katrina before sprinting towards her. Katrina took a step forward and shed with Francis. The two unloaded a flurry of shes on each other. The impact of each sh sent a violent exuding force that blew against my face. My face stung a bit but it wasn''t major so I shrugged it off. I''m going to have to develop resistance against divine energy soon, otherwise, it will be painful when I''m going up against an enemy skillful at using divine energy. "HA!!" Francis stepped back before rushing forward and countering with a quick, powerful swing. Katrina was knocked back, but she caught herself. "Little one, I think it is about time to stop ying around," Francis said as his body was wrapped around in golden light. Katrina nodded as her body began to shine as well. This time it was a mixture of white and blue with golden particles in the shape of feathers. Then there was a sh, and my instincts told me to panic, but my body tensed up, causing my body unable to move. Clink! Divine energy was overflowing, and if that wave of power had stricken my skin, I would''ve received a pain that I have never experienced before. Luckily, Celestia had cast a shield, protecting me from the divine energy. "Nero, are you alright?" Celestia asked me. "Y-yeah" I said nervously. I looked at my trembling hands and took deep, ragged breaths. Calm down I might not have Divine Resistance yet, but as long as I have Celestia to shield me, then I''ll be fine. As I calmed down, I turned towards Katrina and Francis and my eyes were quickly intrigued by the sight in front of me. In Francis'' ce, there was arge knight with ck and gold-colored armor with white, pulsating lines running across it. In addition to that, he had white glowing strips that seemed to move on their owning from his back. He was also wearing a helmet that resembled a spartan''s helmet, and it had a long-hair-like ornament that glowed white. At first, it would look like he was wearing some kind of armor, but the longer I looked at it, the more details I noticed that I had missed the first nce. I realized that his helmet was not actually a helmet at all. Instead, it was his head, literally. His eyes weren''t human as they werepletely white with no pupils at all. His mouth was also not human at all, as I noticed he had razor-sharp teeth. It was also the same with Katrina, except she looked almost angelic. She was humanoid, but her appearance was like that of a dove. Her bodyposed of white and blue feathers which were neatly ced over her golden-skinned body, she wore a feathered head crest that was almost like a mask, her eyes were almost no different from her human form except they glowed. She also had a set of wings that folded down in the manner of a coat. The two altogether were emitting divine energy that could intoxicate me instantly if I were to breathe it in. Just... what am I looking at? "Right, I should exin this to you," Celestia said. I turned to her and she began to exin. "That sword that those two are wielding are called Altima sword and this form that they are taking is called Altima." "Altima?" Wait, wasn''t that what Katrina mentionedst night but didn''t get to because Celestia interrupted her? "They are able to ess these forms due to the power of the Altima sword. With the power of the Altima, the wielder will receive significant boosts in power. Their mana eleration rates will triple, causing them to regenerate mana faster than they could before." "Really? So, am I able to obtain this power?" "I do not know. The Altima sword grants power, but it can only be wielded by a person it deems worthy. Many are able to wield it and borrow its power, but only those that are pure of heart can fully control its powers. Each sword has a soul. They required these souls of theirs to link with their hosts so they can grant them their power." "Really? So-?" "However," She interrupted, "-if the two souls are ipatible, then the host may very well die." "Are do you know if the two souls are ipatible?" "Well, it''s simple. The host cannot be wielding any form of dark energy. However, it is still possible for those with dark magic to obtain the powers of the Altima." "And how do they do that?" "You see, Nero, there are three ways to obtain the power of the Altima. The first way is to have the Altima choose you. Once you wield it, the soul in the Altima will scan your soul, deciding whether or not you are worthy of wielding it. The second way is through inheritance, where an Altima sword is passed down through their bloodline. That is how Katrina and Francis obtained their Altimas. Of course, they have to be able to handle the power in order to wield it." "What is the third?" "Forced fusion. This one is risky and not rmended. Why? Because it requires the wielder to stab themselves in order to gain more power. The chances of this to seed is... devastatingly low for those who wield dark energy." "I-I see..." So this is... the Altima. I wish I could hold such a power, however... these requirements are limiting my options. Forced fusion... she says the chances are low, so that means it must''ve worked at least once. I still have chances, but for now, I don''t think I''ll be obtaining the Altima. After everything was exined to me, I turned my attention back to Katrina and Francis. However, when I cocked my head towards them, they were nowhere to be seen. That''s when I noticed two figures were fighting in the sky and I knew it was them. It seems that those strips of cloth on Francis'' back aren''t just for show and actually allows him to fly while Katrina on the other hand was using her wings. The two shed as they built up charged attacks while they separated. It was hard to see who was winning, but once I saw Katrina get knocked to the ground from one of Francis'' attacks, the oue was obvious. Katrinanded on her back and struggled to lift herself up. Francis descended and approached her slowly. "Come on, don''t tell me this is all you''ve got! It pains me to see you in this state. If this continues, you won''t be able to fight your freedom from him," Francis said as he exited out from his Altima form. Him? Who''s him? "I... will exin the detailster," Said Celestia. Katrina clutched onto her de and swung it, sending a weak shockwave at Francis, but he didn''t even attempt to dodge and allowed the shockwave to hit him. The only thing it did was hit his uniform. Katrina slowly exited out from her Altima form before saying, "I-I can''t..." "...I see," Francis said before sheathing his de. "This will be all for today," He dered before walking towards us. Walking past us, he nced at me before walking back into the estate. Huh... weird. Katrina got on her feet and walked to her parents before bowing to them. "I''m... sorry," She apologized meekly. "It''s ok honey. We all make mistakes," Her mother, La, said tofort her. "At least you are able to fight! I on the other hand..." Her father, Lloyd, looked away and scratched his head. I''m guessing that means he is unable to fight. Huh, so I worried about him for no reason. Anyway, after that, the courtyard was empty. Luckily, we were given permission to use it so I used this time to help the girls. Kiyomi continued to practice on her flute, Ravyn continued mastering her divine energy in order to use it along with her dark energy, and Akane sparred with me. After that, I went to the library to talk with Celestia and maybe read some books while I was at it. . . . Chapter 85: Bloodlines and the Marriage Chapter 85: Bloodlines and the Marriage I walked up to the library door and gave it a few knocks. The door would open and inside, Celestia was putting some books on the shelves. "Nero," She turned towards me before pointing to the only table in this ce, "Sit down, I''ll be with you in a moment." As I sat down, I noticed countless books flying in the air. Some of them flew aimlessly while some ced themselves in empty spots on the shelves. The entire library was just arge circr shelf housing countless books. Well, actually that was pretty obvious. A few minutester, Celestia sat across the table and sipped on some tea. "Now then, where should I start?" She said. "The Orias," She began, "-it was originally a bloodline consisting of humanmoners that possessed no innate ability forbat. However, it was until a Diviner Hero fell in love with one of them. This would grant them the ability capable of manipting divine power. Their descendants would serve to be one of the strongest warriors to ever live, and they eventually obtained aristocracy due to their reputation." "So what''s the problem?" "The problem is that the bloodline began to deteriorate, weakening the power the Orias was once gifted. The proof lies in two of their recent descendants, Francis, thest one to wield that power, and Lloyd, the onepletely stripped of that power." "So that''s why I didn''t sense any energy from him" "Right." "So wait, if the power from that hero vanished from Lloyd, then how is his daughter, Katrina, able to fight?" "Well why don''t you guess?" Me? Hmm well, let''s see. The power of the Orias declined through their generations and ended with Lloyd and thest descendant to possess that power is Francis. If Francis were to have another child, that child would most likely be the same as Lloyd, stripped of power. Then I remembered La, Lloyd''s wife, and how she gave off a powerful aura. "It''s because of La, right?" I asked. "Correct," Celestia said, "But, how was she able to awaken the power in the blood of the Orias?" "Because of her divine energy, right? It must''ve reawakened the dormant energy in the blood of the Orias." "That is only half correct." "Half?" "I''ll give you a hint. La is actually not human, but she is a race capable of manipting pure divine energy. What race do you think is capable of doing that?" A race that is able to manipte pure divine energy? What race is capable of doing that? Well, humans and other races are able to do it too, except this is pure divine energy. The difference between pure divine energy and divine energy is that thetter is basically a filtered version that allows any race to manipte it, as long as they don''t possess dark energy. Pure divine energy is energy solely withdrawn and developed in heaven. Mortals such as humans cannot manipte such energy. If they somehow manage to get their hands on such energy, they''ll enter a temporary state called Ster, which enhances a person''s perception to the point where one doesn''t need to move and their subconsciousness takes over. In simpler terms, the person enters a mental state where they are free of thoughts. The absence of such thoughts will allow the person to react to any attack dangerously fast, almost as if they anticipated it. I have never seen it happen but that is what I read in a book. After that, the soul of the body will break down due to not being able to handle the energy. This will eventually kill them. There is only one race that is capable of handling such energy and the only race that resides in heaven besides gods are- Wait After thinking about it for a while, it eventually came into my mind. "La is an angel. The genes from La not only reawakened the power inside the Oria blood but also purified the energy inside Katrina when she was born. Since Katrina is technically an angel-human hybrid, she is able to manipte pure divine energy." "d you were able to figure it out." "But if that is the case, why is she struggling then?" "It is because she is half-mortal. Angels are able to switch their consciousness and subconsciousness at will. Katrina is not able to do that. Due to being half-human, her consciousness is always on which interferes with the subconsciousness''s control over the body. Basically, it''s like two beings trying to control the same body; they will fight over whomands the body and who doesn''t. Like all mortals, they have thoughts and that counteracts Ster''s principle. As half-mortal, she is always in Ster state but being half-angel, she is forced out of Ster state by her will but her mortal side interferes, and then it repeats. It is a constant loop and this causes her perception to constantly go haywire. Just imagine being able to feel everything and then nothing at the same time, that is how it feels for her every day. She can manipte pure divine energy, but has very little control over it." "Is that is so, then how is she able to fight? Wouldn''t the constant Ster loop interfere with herbat prowess?" "She''s only able to fight because the strength of her astral chains is so dense, it manages to put the effect of the Ster loop to a minimal effect. The loop will continue to happen, but it will be highly suppressed, allowing her to shrug off those small irritating feelings that are caused by the loop." Huh, it must be hard to fight like that. Hmm, now that I think of it. "If there is an enhanced version of light magic which in this case is holy, divine, pure divine, you know. If there are those, then what is the enhanced version of dark magic? I know shadow energy is one, but that would be the counterpart for holy magic. What is the counterpart for divine energy?" I would ask. "I don''t know" Huh, that''s weird. She usually gives me a straight answer, even when she doesn''t know the answer but she paused there for a moment. Suspicious, but I''ll just pretend she doesn''t know for now. "Anyway, now that that''s out of the way, I''ll be speaking the real problem." "Huh? So what was all that about?" "You learned something new, consider it a lesson. Now let me speak." "Ok" Celestia cleared her throat and sipped on her tea again. "It''s about him." "Him?" Him now that I recall, Francis did say something about someone. Who''s him? "You see, Duke Oria''s daughter, Katrina, is subjected to be engaged to Archduke Margo''s son, Deroc." "Is it an arranged marriage?" "Not exactly. It is, but only one-sided. You see, the noble hierarchy is simple. You have the king, then you have dukes, then marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons. Then, there are those rted to the king. Those rted to the king do not inherit royalty, but they have a title higher than that of dukes, which is Archduke. As Archdukes have more power than other nobles, they can force whatever they want upon them if the king allows it so." "So you are saying that this Archduke used his status to force a marriage upon the Orias between his son and their daughter?" "Yes, but this marriage can be called off by the use of a duel." "I see, I think I get it now. So this is why Katrina is being trained?" "Yes. If Katrina manages to win her duel against Deroc, the marriage will be dismissed. Aside from his older brother, Deroc Margo is an expert fighter, one of the very best throughout the Margos bloodline." "...I see. Though I must ask, what is so bad about the Margos?" Celestia stared at me for a moment and I spotted a sad look in her eyes, then she closed her eyes and took another sip of her tea. Hmm, I wish I was able to read minds, then I would know why. "Let''s just say it''s rted to the reason why I''m training Katrina." Is that so...? "So then, I recalled you inviting me here. Might I ask what my role is in all of this?" I asked, reminding her of what she said. "Ah yes, of course." Celestia would finish her tea. There was a brief moment of silence before she spoke again. "Nero." "Yes?" "I''ll be assigning an important task to you. This might make the girls a little jealous as it will require your womanizing skills." "I see... wait what?" "I''m going to need you to talk with Katrina. Enchant her with your charisma or something like that." "Wait, wait, I''m not sure I understand. You want me to... what?" "I just need you to talk to her. Maybe you can spark a bit of romance in her." "...what?" "Is that not alright with you?" "Uhh... no, not really." "Well... how about you do what you did to charm Kiyomi, Ravyn, and Akane?" "...w-well... look, if you are talking about that, then most likely not. I mean, what would her parents say? Hell, what would that old man say? Should I remind you that I''m in uncharted territory? There are three people here that are able to kill me, and you are talking about one of them! Think about this logically." "I am speaking logically. Look, they''ve given their consent, okay? Lloyd, La, and Francis have given their consent, so it should be fine." ... ... "I don''t think you know what the meaning of logically is..." "Whatever, they don''t mind at all... well, La doesn''t." "B-but-" "If an angel approves of something, it should be alright." Celestia had a smile on her face. She would get up from her chair and head for the library door. "By the way, when you finish reading, the books will automatically go back to their original position so you could just leave them after you''re done." And then she exited the library. . . . Chapter 86: A Spar Chapter 86: A Spar The next day arrived and what happened yesterday was still on my mind. It made no sense. She''s telling me to go near Katrina, someone who is a half-angel, half-human hybrid. That''s not even why I can''t go near her, it''s because she emits divine energy, and I can''t go near divine energy. There is a reason why I tell Ravyn not to use divine energy when I''m near. I sighed as all of this was hurting my brain. What does Celestia think I am? I''m not some kind of a womanizer Anyway, this morning when I woke up, I was startled by the sound of sword shing. I turned to look at the clock and it seems that I woke up past 10 am. Well, I did stay upte to read some books in the library. As I wore my clothes, I went to the courtyards to see what was going on and I saw Akane and Katrina engaging inbat with each other. I was confused as to why they were fighting but seeing Katrina in her Altima form and Akane''s red aura spilling everywhere was not a good sign. I was going to interfere but Celestia stopped me. "Celestia?" "Akane grows by sparring correct? Katrina needs a sparring partner in order to train and she usually does it with her grandfather. However, she is overwhelmed because Francis is an experienced fighter who can quickly register his opponent''s moves. Not to mention that his power level soars above Katrina''s." "And what are you implying?" I asked her. "Francis holds back and that also holds Katrina back. Katrina needs a partner that is serious and doesn''t hold anything back. I''ve borne witness to countless mock duels, and I have seen how others work with those who hold back against those who don''t." "So you are saying she can''t grow because Francis holds back and because he holds back, Katrina won''t be able to find her true potential?" "Indeed. I know exactly how to break her astral chains. It is when she is in a dangerous situation. When she was only 4 years old, which was 20 years ago, she was attacked by an imp. At that time, her fighting ability hasn''t awoken yet as they usually awake at the age of 6. However, the imp tried to attack her and at that moment, the powerful dormant blood inside her awoke as a response, and she entered into Ster state. But remember what I said yesterday." Right, she can enter the Ster state, however, being a hybrid and not purely angel, it is negated due to her consciousness interfering with her subconsciousness. You know, this kind of reminds me of something else but I just can''t wrap my head around it. "Due to that, she was nearly killed but Francis managed to save her in time. This had traumatized her and she is unable to forget that experience. Whenever she is around Francis, she feels safe and feels that she is able to do anything, but training with him is another thing. She fears that she won''t be able to fight even if she had the strength. She could''ve killed the imp with her awoken powers, but losing them right as soon as she got them nearly led to her downfall." That isplicated. "But she can eventually get rid of her fears, right? Anyone could." "Yes, anyone could. In this case, Francis ys an important role in making her feel safe, but-" "But what?" "But Francis is running out of time. I believe you know what that means." I see. Losing someone close to you "Without Francis, she will continue to remember that same traumatizing event. No one, not even La, her own mother who is an angel will be able to calm her down." Celestia would then turn her attention to me and smile. "And that is where youe in." "Really, that again? I thought it was a joke." "No, you are really doing it." "But don''t you think it is a little forced? Both to Katrina and me?" "Hmm, I don''t remember youining so much. Were you always like this?" Celestia said as if she noticed something different about me. "What? No, of course not." "Look, Nero, you don''t have to be intimate with her, maybe just be friends! Close friends! I''m sure you and her have something inmon. Does that make you feel better?" I scratched my head and thought about it. Well, I guess it wouldn''t hurt. Though- "I''ll agree, but what do I get out of this?" "Hmm how does money sound?" "How much exactly?" "Umm at least 1,000 tinum coins?" "1,000?" "Yeah." "" "" I turned and stared at the wall. 1,000 tinum coins now that actually sounds alright. "Alright then, guess I can work with that." "If you want, we can up the prize up to tenfold." "I''m definitely in." "Great." Damn it, I fell into my own greed. Oh well, it''ll be worth it. Though I still don''t like the idea that I''m going to be befriending a Duke''s daughter for money, but business is business. Now then this fight is rather interesting to watch. I watched as Akane tackled Katrina with a barrage of red shes. She was wrapped in armor that looked like it was made of blood and she gave off a rather intimidating aura. I noticed that her de was quite different than before. It was longer in size and the guard was looking more like a real dragon head, just smaller. Every time she swung her de, I could feel my heart stop at every moment. I''ve never seen her in this state before. "That is Akane''s Active Skill, Muramasa Ryuu," Celestia said. "Muramasa Ryuu?" "Yes, activating this skill grants the user immeasurable strength and speed. Not to mention that it gives off the aura of a dragon. Every swing that she delivers can cause a person''s heart to stop for an instant. Of course, this is able to kill, however, I don''t think Akane has enough mastery over this technique of hers. But if she is able to do it to you from there, then she must''ve used it at some point. I expected nothing less from a Dragon Oni." "I see." "I think from now on, Akane should spar with Katrina. Like Katrina, Akane must fight someone who isn''t holding back. I expect that you hold most of your power sparring with her, correct?" "I guess so." I guess it does make sense. I always do hold back against her because I worry I might hurt her. Basically I intentionally let her win because I can''t bear to use my full strength at her. The best I can do is use an exceptionally small fraction of my power against her. Anyway, I''ve been talking for too long. Shiiiing~! Akane performed an upper sh which left a trail of red energy. Suddenly, that trail began to spin around, creating an attack that acted like a razor-rotating wheel. That wheel dropped to the ground and shed the ground as it raced towards Katrina. Katrina swung her de and a shockwave collided with that wheel, dispersing it in the process. Amazing she has never used these skills against me. I wonder why. "Well, it may be because she cares about you and she doesn''t want to hurt you. It also might have to do with you being a woma-" "Shut up Celestia." I quickly interrupted as I didn''t want to hear it. Katrina quickly dashed around and she seemed to be appearing in multiple ces at once. This was either Afterimage or Breakneck Movement, which is like Afterimage except you move where you appear. As Katrina moved around in light speed, Akane closed her eyes and began concentrating all her energy into the center of her chest. Then she took a deep breath before performing a 360-degree sh. Her sword would return to normal before she sheathed it. Katrina who had stopped using Breakneck Movement at the moment Akane swung her de, was closer to Akane than before. Now that I think of it, didn''t she use that move on me before? An attack that can pull in enemies, shortening the distance. Katrina and Akane exchanged gazes before they both fell to their knees. I guess that''s it. Kind of a bummer I missed most of it but I guess the girls can tell me the story. "Wow, you''re strong and fast. I almost couldn''t keep up with you," Katrinaplimented. "Same with you. Usually, I never have difficulty fighting an opponent," Akane replied. wait, is she saying I''m too easy for her? "Alright you two," Celestia said, "From now on, both of you will be sparring partners." "Umm, but what about my grandfather?" Katrina then asked. "Your grandfather is going to be very busy. He said to find another training partner for you and he wille train with you when he is free. Is that clear?" "Y-yes." Hmm... "Celestia, does she not know yet?" I whispered. "Are you an idiot? Do you know how devastated she would be?" "I see... so, is he-?" "Of course not, he''s bedridden. If she were to find out, she would lose all hope. I''ve hidden his presence with the help of La so Katrina won''t be able to sense him." "I see." "Anyway, you know what to do right?" She asked and I hesitated for a second before nodding my head. Well then, here goes. . . . Chapter 87: Protecting... Who? Chapter 87: Protecting... Who? Huh this is weird. I''ve never felt so nervous before "I erected an invisible barrier around you. It will protect you from the divine energy lingering around Katrina." Even though Celestia had done that, I still don''t feel safe. Ugh, keep it together. As long as I don''t make direct contact with her, I''ll be fine. Just need to establish a friendship with her, that''s all. As I walked down the hall, I turned to the corner and bumped into someone. Ping! I fell andnded on my back as I was hit with some kind of repulsive force. "Ow, what the hell-?" "Oh dear! Are you alright?" A female voice spoke. "Y-yeah, I''m alright." "Here, let me help you." She held her hand out and I went to take it until I saw whose hand it was. "Hmm? Is something the matter?" La asked me. "N-nothing! I-I can pick myself up." I picked myself up without her help and fixed myself. Damn, of all the people I had to run into, it was her. Well, at least I know that the barrier actually works, otherwise "S-sorry about that, I should''ve watched where I was going," I apologized and bowed politely. "Fufu it''s fine, I wasn''t paying attention either." She replied softly. I felt my face heat up and be red. I''m going to bepletely honest, she is very beautiful. I guess angels are known not only for their strength and wisdom but also for their good looks. She was like a famous model or actress. I think I should stop staring at her now. I need to remember the task at hand. "So Nero, how do you like your stay?" She asked. "Huh? W-well, it''s alright, I guess. I''ve never been in a ce like this before. There aren''t many chances these days." "Well, I''m d you like it. This first time I was here, I had the same thoughts as you." "I-Is that so?" Damn, her presence alone is making me stutter and her beauty ys a part in it too. I''ve seen countless beautiful women and some naked too, so this should be no different! "Nero? Nero?" La waved her hand in front of my face and I shook my head. "N-nothing. I''m gonna uhh g-go now." I stuttered before walking past her. Whew, any more and I might''ve been bewitched by her. Entering the courtyard, I heard an enchanting melody being yed and I froze for a moment. Slowly I cocked my head towards Kiyomi who was the one ying the melody with her flute. Huh, looks like her Beast Melody is powerful enough to affect me now. Though it''s strange how no one else besides me and monsters gets affected by it. As I regained myposure, I turned to Ravyn. She was making quick progress as she could now control divine energy and dark energy equally. Now I want to see what skills she will learn since one of her sses is Arcane Mage. Well, I''ll get some results soon enough. Now onto Akane. She was facing Katrina and both of them were disarmed as their weapons idled in their sheaths. It would look like a fair match between them except Katrina was in her Altima form. However, the look on Akane''s face meant she didn''t really care and she herself was giving off an intimidating aura. The look in her eyes it was almost as if she was in a state of deep concentration. Looks like they are doing some hand-to-handbat. This should be fun to watch. The one to make the first move was Katrina, who flew towards Akane with a roundhouse kick which was aimed towards the head. Akane snapped her attention to the leg and quickly sh Stepped away. Katrina looked around to find Akane until she bent back, avoiding Akane''s Rising Dragon. That must''ve been Katrina''s Ster state kicking in. It''s a good thing she managed to avoid that too, otherwise, she would have a sore chin for weeks. I speak from experience. The two continued to exchange blows while countering one another. The two were fast and they were able to keep up with each other; Akane''s repeated use of sh Step and Katrina''s use of Breakneck Movement made them look like they were fighting in multiple ces at the same time. They were almost too fast for my eyes to catch up. Eventually, the two ended their fight with their fists shing. Katrina would exit out of her Altima and fall on the ground. Akane did the same. Hmm, those two became friends pretty quickly. "I must say, that was an impressive disy. Not many people are able to keep up with Akane." I approached them and Akane got up. "Mast-hem-" Akane cleared her throat. "N-Nero." Akane never really called me by my name much and so does Kiyomi. Well, the reason is that I was and still am their Master. Though I allow them to call me by my name, they still insist on calling me Master. Ravyn only calls me by my name because well, you know. "Why don''t you rest for a bit, Akane? I''d like to get to know Katrina here." "I''m not tired, but if you insist then alright." "Thank you, Akane." Akane turned to leave but before that, she turned and waved goodbye to Katrina, who waved back. "Umm, Mr. Nero," I heard Katrina say shyly and I turned. "Nero is fine," I replied. "I see." There was an awkward moment of silence. Kiyomi''s melody yed in the background and I could sense divine energy around us. ok I should break the silen- "B-back then," Katrina muttered, breaking the silence. "Hmm?" "I-I was impressed by the disy of your strength. Now I see why my teacher made you her student." Actually, that''s only half correct. It was me that wanted to be her student. "Thank you, I guess" I replied. another moment of silence Crap why did I want to talk with her again? "I I wish I had that sort of power," I heard her say. "Hmm? You want the powers of a Warlock? I''m sorry to admit it but you might not be suitable." "I know... I just wish I had that level of strength. If so, then I won''t need protection from anyone else and I''ll be the one to protect them. But..." "Youck confidence... right?" She looked off into the distance silently before turning to me and nodding. "...yes. I fear I won''t be able to protect those which I love because I''m both an angel and a human. M-my perception is all over the ce and I am just unable to handle it." "That is probably because you are clouded with thoughts. You just have to try to get rid of them." Katrina sighed and looked at me. "That''s exactly what Celestia told me and I know that, but no matter how many times I try, I still can''t enter the Ster state without exiting out of it every second. I can''t..." She would look down with a depressed look on her face. Hmm... well, I can''t exactly say she isn''t wrong. If I was her, I would also have difficulty cleansing my mind of any thoughts as I need them in order to fight. My mind is always in constant thought when I fight. For example, I have to read and remember my enemy''s movements and attacks. By doing that, I can figure out ways on how to counter them. It''s also the same when I''m on offense. It would be hard to fight without thinking, as you would be devoided of thoughts and any sense of direction and intentions. Though, if the situation was dire and even after trying everything I''ve got, I would result in at least attempting this. However, I don''t possess pure divine energy so it doesn''t matter to me. I am guided by my own wits. "You worry about not being able to protect those which you love because of your past trauma." "Huh?" "Ipletely understand. Holding those dearest to you in your heart is a good thing. I would also die to protect those I love. However... to aplish that feat, I drown in my own pride and fury. A person''s true self is revealed in times of great pressure." "B-but Ick that experience." She replied. True, she has never been in a desperate situation except at the time she was young. If I remember, her grandfather is bedridden, I wonder what would happen if I told her... ...no... that would be a little too cruel of me, but she''ll never get the message if I don''t say something. "Everyone, even those around you are destined to die one day, everyone does. I don''t know if an angel is immortal or not but just think about it. It isn''t just death that you have to worry about, it''s the pain and torture you''ll experience as you live. Sure, the best way to stay away from that is, of course, death, but what''s the point in dying if you are just going to waste the life you were given." I turned my attention and stared directly into Katrina''s eyes. "What I''m saying is that you shouldn''t worry about protecting others, but protecting yourself. Obtain strength to protect yourself, stop worrying about others. After you figure that out, then will you find the answer on how you will protect others. So Katrina, what will it be? Will you put yourself over others so you can someday protect them, or restrain yourself and continue to pointlessly worry about others?" Katrina opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. "Take this time to think about it," I said before getting up and leaving. . . . Chapter 88: Satanic Energy Chapter 88: Satanic Energy That night, I had a very unusual dream. Actually it wasn''t really a dream, more like it actually happened, but my physical body was unconscious. I was walking around in some kind of ck sea. The water was well, entirely dyed in ck, but the skies werepletely white. There was not a single cloud in the air and no sun as well. The ck water seemed to be emitting some kind of strange ck mist and at first, it felt like dark energy, but the feeling was much more sinister. [This is what your soul looks like in its Ethereal form] I turned around and there was a girl sitting down on the surface of the ck sea. Her clothes were dyed ck and her long ck hair was covering her face. "Who are you?" [I''m a little disappointed you don''t recognize me. Well, I''ll let it slide since you''ve never seen my true form before] Her voice resonated through my mind. It was very simr to someone I know. After a while, I put the pieces together, but I was still too surprised to believe that she was her. "Yukie" [Correct! After you''ve consumed the fruit, this is where I have been residing andmunicating with you from] "What is this ce? You said it was my soul?" [Yes] "I see though, I expected the soul to show someone''s true self, like a humanoid appearance or something like that." [That is true, however, some can appear in Ethereal form where they don''t take a specific appearance but they do take on how vast one''s potential is] "So you are saying this ce is my soul?" [Yes, the sky is boundless and the sea is endless, no matter how far you go or how high you fly, it''s that extensive] "Interesting" [Indeed, however, you already knew that this was what it was going to look like, right?] "Well, a little." I knew my potential was infinite since heroes have infinite potential to grow, however this mist exuding from the ground is a bit unsettling. "What is this?" I asked Yukie while pointing to the ground, specifically at the mist. [This is the stored energy inside you that has yet to be untapped. This sea is not the sea you imagine. This sea isposed of a higher form of dark energy that could cause one to go insane. This energy is theplete opposite of divine energy] "Higher form of dark energy?" I knew it! There was a more enhanced version of dark energy! Aside from shadow magic, I knew there was going to be something that could counteract holy or divine energy. "What is this form of dark energy called?" [Well, there is no official name for this type of energy but those who possess the knowledge call it Satanic energy] Satanic energy, huh? That sounds kind of ominous. [Mortals call it Satanic energy because this form of energy originates from demons that went extinct before the first demon king emerged. These demons were called Asuras] "Asuras?" [Asuras were feared, even by gods. They either took on the physical form of one''s nightmare or their own appearances which were of prideful demon warriors who took very bestial appearances. There is a reason why pride is the strongest sin. Their terrifying power was vastly grim, thus why the mist around us feels so sinister. They were able to manipte the power of their enemies if their willpower was absolute and their roars were able to cause even the gxy to shake. In fear, the gods decided to eradicate them. Of course, that wasn''t easy as there were many casualties. After the Asuras were ridden from existence, their names were also erased from history. Those that know of the Asuras'' existence are gods, angels, demons, and mortals who retain that knowledge from their predecessors. This energy has surfaced from the shadows but it is nearly impossible to handle this power, much like pure divine energy] "So since Satanic energy is inside my soul, does that mean I''ll be able to unlock and manipte it?" [Yes and no. Once you find that catalyst that will cause this invisible barrier that divides us from this power to be removed, you still face one problem] "And that is?" [Your astral chains. Those will limit you from manipting this energy. Asuras were born without chains, meaning they were already bound to be strong from the beginning. To manipte their energy, you must be one of them, free from chains] "But how do I do that?" [Let''s just say that that moment will naturallye to you. You may say it''s your luck, but after that, you''ll think twice about it. For now, you should worry about how you are going to remove this barrier that separates you from essing this energy] "Right. Though I wonder after I get ess to this energy, would I be able to use it with Free from Shackles?" [Yes, but only a bit] I see so I am able to manipte this energy despite not being an Asura. [Time is almost up, your consciousness has begun to return to your body. If you ever want to enter this ce again, just wish so before you fall asleep] "Is that so? Well then, I might visit this ce very often. It''s rather curious." A few secondster, my vision began to blur and darken. When I closed my eyes and opened them again, I was staring at my room ceiling. "huh." Was that a dream? [No, it was all real] I see guess that wasn''t a dream then. Well anyway, I should get dressed. I need to stretch my muscles so I don''t get rusty. It''s already been a week and the girls have been training hard. Kiyomi can now manipte magic by using her flute, Ravyn has begun to develop techniques using both dark and divine energy, and Akane''s level cap has been rising faster than ever. I haven''t done anything on the other hand. All I''ve done was watch them andze around, reading books and eating the desserts they have here. I think I might have developed a liking for sweet-tasting food. Yeah, I developed a sweet tooth. Anyway, I decided to go talk with Celestia about Satanic energy now that I know of it. When I told her, the look on her face was priceless. "How the hell do you know about Satanic energy!? You couldn''t have known unless someone told you. Was it La!?" "Huh? Of course not. You know I wouldn''t go anywhere near her!" "Then how do you know about it?" "Well how should I exin it?" Hmm it would be weird to tell her that I have Satanic energy built up in my soul wait a minute, why did I even think of that? "I see, so you have Satanic energy built up in your soul." She said and closed her eyes to think. "Shit! Can you stop reading my mind? It makes me ufortable." "No, otherwise, how will I know if you are hiding a secret from me?" "It''s called a secret for a reason." Tch, this woman Hmm "Hey, Celestia." "Yes?" "When you read one''s thoughts, are you also able to read their memories?" "Well yeah, but only if it''s from 2 weeks ago." "I see" "Huh? Why did you ask? Also, what is with that smile of yours? It''s creeping me out." "Oh, nothing. Let''s see you wanted to know more about how I know Satanic energy, right?" "Yeah! Are you going to show me?" "Yes! I think it was on the day we first came here, during midnight." "Thanks! Now then-" Celestia''s eyes began to glow, guess that means she is starting to read my memories from that time. hehehehehehe After a while, Celestia''s face turned bright red. Oh, guess she found it. What happened on the day we first came here? Well that was the night of intimacy. Yeah, learn what happens when you read someone''s memories without permission. Even though I granted her permission, this should stop her from reading my memories for a while. "Y-you" Celestia gritted her teeth and clenched her hands. Oh no, did I make her mad? "You YOU JUST DON''T DO THAT TO A MAIDEN!!" Celestia screamed at me as she got up from her seat to chase after me. Oh shit, she snapped! I jumped back and flew towards the door. However, I felt apressive force wrap around me and I was trapped. Celestia appeared in front of me and I gave her a bitter smile. "I-it was just a joke a joke! Y-you don''t have to get so-" "Shut up!" I zipped my mouth as she slowly leaned in towards me with her aura oozing out. Oh god what did I do to deserve this? Oh, wait I know exactly what I did SOMEONE SAVE MEEEEE!!!! "Ms. Tenebri!" A female voice came from the door and it opened up, pushing Celestia into me and we both fell on the floor. Two maids entered into the library and spoke. "Ms. Tenebri, bad news!" "Deroc, the heir of the Margo family is her-" Then they noticed us on the floor. "Oh... umm, we are sorry for interrupting." "Y-yeah, we knew you were desperate to lose your virginity to a handsome man but to think you went after your own student..." Celestia had fallen on top of me after the door knocked her down. Celestia, who had just heard the maids talking, got up and began yelling at them. "Shut up! Why would I ever do it with him!?" She yelled, pointing at me. "Hey now, no need to get mad," I responded. "You shut up as well!" "R-right." Yeah, I''ll dial down on the teasing for now. "Anyway, to think the Margos would visit again. Where are they right now?" She asked one of the maids. "In the courtyard." One of them responded. "Alright. Let''s go, Nero!" "Me? But what do I- oh screw it, I have nothing else to do." I don''t like to judge others before I meet them, but concluding from her expression, this must be bad. And before I knew it, I was sprinting after Celestia who was surprisingly a good runner. . . . Chapter 89: Deroc Margo Chapter 89: Deroc Margo We arrived at the courtyard and standing there was a man apanied by 3-4 bodyguards. At first nce, he almost looked like a prince as he had blonde hair, green eyes, and clothes suited for a noble. I also noticed a sword strapped on his waist but I didn''t pay much attention to it. If I were to guess, he must be Deroc Margo. Deroc held Katrina''s hand and he bowed towards it, giving it a light kiss. So far, all I can see is that he''s a gentleman. "Deroc Margo, why are you here? Should I remind you that you aren''t weed in this household?" Celestia fumed as she stomped towards Deroc. Whoa, judging by the angry look on her face, she must hate this guy. "Ms. Celestia-" Deroc would let go of Katrina''s hand and turn towards us, "Is it wrong for me to visit my soon-to-be bride?" "Soon-to-be? Don''t say such nonsense," Celestia replied. "Nonsense? Ms. Celestia, I must say, you are a very bad at lying. It is obvious that I will win a duel against Katrina, my future bride." "You haven''t even dueled yet and how are you so certain you could win, huh?" "So certain? Well, I''m pretty certain alright. Even if one of the legendary mages are training her, how could she possibly win against me?" I saw Katrina flinch as Deroc continued to speak. "Katrina, my darling, any luck with controlling Ster? Are you still having trouble fighting in Altima form?" "N-no... and... yes..." She answered. "See! How could she possibly defeat me?" How tant... he looks like a gentleman from the outside but he''s aplete asshole on the inside and he expresses that side like nothing. "Bastard... youe here just to hurt her confidence?" Celestia growled. "Of course not, why would I do that?" "You are doing it right now!" "Don''t be absurd." Celestia was mad while Deroc seemed to be satisfied with her expression. "I''m just saying, it''s best for her to just give up now. She''s not suited for fighting, and I do not want to hurt such a pretty face." At that point, Katrina just couldn''t hold it anymore and she fell to the ground in tears. "You-!" I heard someone say behind me before a red sh flew forward. ng! "Oh? What do we have here?" Deroc said as he held Akane''s sword between his fingers. "A Dragon Oni? To think I would see one with my own eyes." He''d flick her sword away and sweep her legs, Akane falling on her side before he kicked her away. I turned to catch her and when I caught her in my arms, I was suddenly dragged along by the force and I ended up skidding back a few meters away. "Are you alright, Akane?" I asked as Iid her on the floor. "Y-yea-" Suddenly, she coughed and what appeared on her hands was blood. I was surprised, and that was not a good thing. To think she would spit blood from a single kick. The Passive Skill Dragon Skin should''ve at least negated some damage... but here she is, spitting out blood. "Hmm, fast, but too slow in my point of view," Deroc said, ncing at Akane before he closed his eyes and moved his arms. In a sh, he was clutching both Kiyomi and Ravyn''s hands which were imbued with energy. Then he flung them away. "Hmph, how futile." Ravyn caught herself and shot Divine Arrows at him at breakneck speed. Deroc only needed to step to the side to avoid the arrows shot at him. Deroc in response charged towards Ravyn and delivered a sharp kick to her chin, sending her flying. I quickly got up and soared towards her, catching her. "Ow ow ow!" Ravyn said as she held her chin. "It hurts!" I would say she was faking since she had Pain Negation, but judging from her expression, she was actually in pain. As I dropped down andid Ravyn down, I looked up and saw Deroc had his hand on the handle of his sword. Then, he unsheathed it and swung his sword, deflecting the ice bolts that flew towards him before sheathing it swiftly. Kiyomi stepped a few meters back and performed a melody on her flute. Secondster, ice emerged from the floor beneath Deroc but he vanished before it hit him. "Huh? Where did he-?" "Behind you!" Celestia yelled. Kiyomi turned, but it was already toote as Deroc delivered a heavy blow to her stomach, sending her flying away. I flew towards her and caught her, then I used myself as a cushion as we bounced across the field. "Are you alright, Kiyomi!?" I asked her but no response. "Kiyomi?" I pressed my ears against her chest to hear any heartbeats. It was beating, but faintly. Her breath was also hoarse. "K-Kiyomi, you''ll be alright, just hold on for now," I assured her as I began performing Instant Heal on her. Despite no matter how much mana I poured into her, the only results that came out were her heartbeat returning to normal, her breathing... not so much. "Now that you are all out of the way, I will retu-" "You..." "Hmm?" Iid Kiyomi on the floor and the maids came to pick her up. I began turning towards Deroc and red at him. "You think you''re gonna get away with what you just did?" I growled. "Me? They started it first," He replied. "Your existence alone caused it." I sharply retorted. Suddenly, his cheerful expression quickly turned grim. "What did you just say?" "Did you not hear me? Should I walk up to you and speak into your ear so you can hear me?" "If you want to approach me, then do it. You are no match for me either way." We exchanged malicious res and my aura exuded on its own. My aura represented my state right now and currently, it waspressed, which meant that my fury was on the verge of exploding. I was just about to charge forward before Celestia stepped in between us. "Stop it, both of you." "Celestia," I said, "Step out of the way." "Nero, you need to calm down." "Nero?" Deroc said, raising an eyebrow. "This is my second student, Nero," Celestia replied. "A second student? Was Katrina so difficult for you that you decided to get another student? No wait, that wouldn''t actually make sense... did you actually need an assistant instead?" I shifted my attention to Celestia and saw her gulp. "Haha! So that''s why!" Deroc said as heughed in a proud manner. Celestia closed her eyes and turned to face me. "It''s true... isn''t it?" I asked. Celestia was silent and hesitated, but she eventually nodded. "I see..." "It was my first intention... but I eventually epted you as my student." "I know... that''s why I don''t care..." I pushed her away and walked past her. "Nero-?" I don''t care if I''m an assistant or not, that thought just doesn''t have any space to fit in my mind. What fills my mind right now... is rage. I took a step forward and dashed towards Deroc, however, before I was able to hit him, he dashed forward and I received a quick blow to the face. I stumbled back, and my vision suddenly blurred. "Tch, take this!" I performed a quick and wide kick aimed towards his head but he ducked and threw his fist towards me. As I looked down, I noticed something, and I quickly fled with sh Step. "Huh, you''re quick, I almost didn''t see you activate your skill." I gulped as my legs began to tremble and my arms shook. His fist was... wrapped in divine energy. Even though Celestia had ced a barrier around me, I felt it... the raw energy piercing through it... I literally saw my life sh before my eyes. [Are you really just going to let him get away?] I heard a voice echo through my head and clenched my teeth. Seffirot... [Are you going to let him get away after what he just did?] ...of course not... I''m not letting him get away. He is going to pay... Suddenly, the voice of an old man spoke. "What is going on here?" "Grandfather," Deroc said, turning around to face an elderly man. "Nothing is wrong, just that there was... a little problem," He said, looking at the girls before turning to me. "Katrina," La appeared and she rushed to Katrina who was still on the ground, crying. "Hmm, did you hurt her feelings again Deroc?" "Of course not, just said a few things." ...again? Did he just say again? So this isn''t the first time he''s done it... I couldn''t contain my anger and in my right hand, I threw a Vtile Orb at him. Deroc turned and swiped his arms, smacking the Vtile Orb into the air which exploded a few seconds after. "Oh? And who is this boy?" Deroc''s grandfather asked as he turned his attention to me. "...just a nuisance." "Nuisance?" I said, "Well... why don''t we find out who the nuisance is once I kick your ass." "Ho? You are challenging me? The great Deroc in a duel?" Celestia snatched my arm and pulled me towards her. "Are you insane? You don''t stand a chance against Deroc!" "Are you doubting my abilities?" "No, I''m speaking the truth. You''ll lose!" "We won''t know until we try." "Don''t do this, Nero." I grabbed her hand and pulled it off my arm. "I can''t... not after what he did and what I just heard." I turned towards Deroc and spoke. "Come on, let''s do it." . . . Chapter 90: Thunderous Display Chapter 90: Thunderous Disy Deroc stood a few meters away from me with his hands on his hips. A maid walked up to me and held a sword covered in a nket in her hands. I stared at it for a second before turning it down. "No need, I have my own." I held my hands out. Lightning began to discharge from my body and Raiden appeared in my hands. "Hmph, you think you can take me on with daggers? You should just use a sword. Well, you still won''t be able to beat me with a sword since I am a Master Swordsman." "I don''t care about swords. These daggers willcerate you an innumerable number of times before you even notice or feel it." "Oh? You are that confident that you can defeat me?" "Yeah so let''s get to it." Deroc smiled and drew his sword which exuded a strange aura, but I ignored it as my anger directed my attention at Deroc. "Nero, are you sure you want to do this?" Celestia asked, putting her hand on my shoulder. "Just start it, I''m going to kick his ass." "Nero, your anger is clouding your judgment. You are being foolish and not cautious." "Just start it!" I yelled, causing lightning to il around. Celestia shook her head before backing off. She took a deep breath before raising her hand. "I, Celestia Tenebri, will be a witness to this duel. Are you both ready?" She questioned as she looked at both of us. "I''m always ready," Deroc responded. Celestia nodded before turning to me. My eyes were directed at Deroc, and only Deroc. Son of a bitch I''ll make you pay. "Ready?" She said before erecting a barrier. Then she looked at us one more time before dropping her hand. "Fight!" As soon as she said that, I shot forward and performed Thunder Beast sh, leaving a trail of lightning behind me which Deroc was caught inside. I turned around and suddenly, Deroc was bombarded with a barrage of countless shes. I watched as he was encased in lightning when suddenly, I saw sparks. These weren''t sparks from lightning or electricity, but from something shing with another. When the lightning dispersed, Deroc was standing there unharmed. "Is that all?" He said before dashing towards me. I activated Lightning eleration, my lightning beginning to discharge and umte faster. With my daggers, Iunched Thunder Beast Storm, stabbing the ground and summoning a thunderstorm that flew towards Deroc whileunching lightning everywhere. Deroc didn''t stop as he headed towards me. What he did instead was twirl towards me as he deflected the lightning emitting from the thunderstorm with his sword. "Disappointing," he said before appearing above me and bringing his sword down. I quickly rose my daggers, blocking his attack. He pushed his sword, pressing more weight on me. I was fighting back, trying to stand on my feet as his attack had sent me on my knees. He was unmistakably strong, I''ll give him that, but in speed, I have the upper hand! Using Breakneck Movement, I escaped from him and created some distance between us. I threw my daggers in the air and began umting lightning around my fists before punching the ground. Suddenly, metal rods erected from the ground. Deroc looked around and watched as lightning began generating from them. "Huh?" I jumped up in the air and grabbed my daggers before standing on one of the metal rods. "Let''s see how you handle my lightning!" I yelled before performing Thunder Beast sh. Each time I performed Thunder Beast sh, I traveled through the lightning conjured by the metal rods on the field with Lightning Shift. The more I continued to attack, the faster my speed rose. I noticed Deroc was beginning to struggle to catch up with my speed and that was good, however, the only problem was that he was still able to block my attacks. There was not a single scratch on him. As the rods sank back into the ground, Iunched Lightning Storms at him; small orbs of lightning that threw violent electricity everywhere as it traveled towards Deroc. Since these weren''t as effective as Lightning Storms, he was able to evade them with ease, but I anticipated that. Once he turned his back to me, I performed Thunder Beast sh. Deroc quickly twirled around and swung his sword swiftly, blocking my attack. As he parried thest sh, Deroc stood up and turned around. "Futile effort, do you honestly think you can catch me off-guard?" "I already did!" I responded as Deroc stared at me. "Watch as I establish the Great Thunder Temple!" I shed my daggers together and the skies began to darken. Thunder plummeted down towards the ground and metal material erected from the ground. Then, it began constructing a temple-like structure madepletely of lightning. As the Great Thunder Temple was finished, it shot out waves of lightning. Despite it aimlessly shooting out lightning, it won''t affect me as when I activate this skill, I am always in Lightning Shift, making mepletely invulnerable. My speed is also boosted with the additional boost I receive from equipping Raiden. I am basically a speedster. Let''s see just how your confidencests now Deroc. I watched as Deroc evaded and deflected the thunder fired from the Great Thunder Temple. This time, he was struggling for real. I noticed that a lightning bolt had actually managed to scratch him, leaving a small cut on his left shoulder. Good, if this keeps up, I''ll win. Since he is distracted by my Great Thunder Temple, I''ll attack him from behind. He can''t block me and the countless waves of lightning at the same time. I snuck up towards him until I was close enough to attack him with Thunder Beast sh. Once that happened, I did exactly what I was nning on doing, but I wasn''t done there. After the first Thunder Beast sh, I turned and did another one before turning around to do it again. Deroc was unable to avoid it as it was abo that had unpredictable timing. As a result, he received a flurry of cuts. Good... exactly what I needed. I back off andunched a Thunder Beast Storm at him which he took directly. The lightning from the Great Thunder Temple also struck the position where Deroc was. To finish it off, I threw an Atomic Fission at him. "Hmph... is that all?" I said beforeunching one more Thunder Beast Storm for good measures. As the smoke settled down, I felt something prate me from my back. I looked down and saw a de sticking out of my chest. I blinked and everything was back to normal. That meant-! I turned around and blocked the iing strike. ng! "Ho? I''m impressed you were able to sense meing up from behind," Deroc smirked. I shifted to the left and performed a reverse roundhouse kick. Deroc quickly vanished and appeared behind me. He swung his sword but he was knocked away by a wave of lightning from my Great Thunder Temple which was still active. What an idiot. "Tch, this annoying thing," Deroc grumbled, staring at Great Thunder Temple. Deroc turned to me and smirked, wiping the blood off his mouth. "Let''s y fair. Take that thing down." "Why should I? This is a battle of skill, that is part of my skillset. If you want to continueining, go ahead, I''ll just take the victory." "Are you sure that you want to say that? I haven''t even started to get serious yet, and if you thought that you had worn me down, you just wasted energy for no reason." I clenched my teeth. Deroc continued to give me a confident gaze. I returned Raiden to Ethos Arsenal and canceled Great Thunder Temple. "Oh? Is this a sign that you''ve given up because you know that if you continue further, you''ll lose? Well, it''s the best choice you have right now. Otherwise, I might have to get serious," He said boastfully. I took a deep breath and smiled. "No, I''m not giving up. I''ll show you why you shouldn''t have pissed me off. I rmend you get serious before I bash you into a pulp," I responded as I pointed at him and quickly muttered an incantation. "Huh?" "-sink in darkness. Shadow King Domain." My aura exploded and began forming a dome that covered up the entire courtyard. When the domain was finished, the only thing around me and Deroc was nothing but ck. "Hmph, what a stupid trick," Deroc said. "Oh? Is it now?" I responded before throwing a kick across Deroc''s face. He stumbled on the ground and attempted to get up but he couldn''t as I had used Shadow Puppet on him. He was frozen. He was like a marite that I was able to control. With this, I have won. I walked over to him and ced my foot on his head. "Anyst words?" Deroc red at me before snickering. That snickering eventually became a chuckle, which then becameughter. "Wh-what are youughing about?" Deroc stopped and smirked before his body begun shining. I felt my foot burn and backed away. That''s when I notice my domain slowly dispersing, the scenery around us returning to what it was before. What is going on? "I gave you a choice to surrender, yet you didn''t listen. It''s rather disappointing that you chose such a foolish option," Deroc said, his whole body emitting divine energy. "This attack of yours, it''s definitely something to behold, however, it is nothing against Altima." ...what? At that moment, a bright light erupted. I shielded myself with an Aura Barrier, however, it was quickly destroyed and I felt my skin burn from the light. When the light died down, the skin on my arms was scorched and I could feel the pain. Then I turned to Deroc. He was now a figure d in bright glowing armor and feathers. His armor was gold and green, his feathers white, and his eyes glowing green. "No..." I shook my head, but Deroc chuckled and drew his sword. "Now then... reflect on your actions." . . . Chapter 91: Fatal Results Chapter 91: Fatal Results This is not good never did I think that he had the powers of the Altima in his arsenal. This is not going as intended I got up and equipped Osiris but in the process, I received a sharp blow across the face and the next thing I knew, I was flying in the air. Crack! I shook my head and my sense came back to me. As Inded, I felt the left side of my face sting and as I touched it, it stung even more. The Altima once one takes on the form, their bodies are literally wrapped in an aura of divine energy. If I had taken the hit directly, I would''ve been dead already. Luckily, Celestia''s barrier managed to suppress some of that damage and Osiris'' mask, as well. However I don''t think that my mask will be able to take another hit, and that goes the same for Celestia''s barrier. Damn it if I had known, I would''ve been more cautious, but I was overconfident and swallowed in my own rage. If this is the case, it seems I''ll just have to let loose. No it is the case! Fuck it! I returned Osiris in Ethos Arsenal and activated both Angel''s Crimson Hand and Devil''s Azure Palm. Sizzle~ The injuries that I had received began burning as energy began violently circting through my body. [Mana: 545,602,817/1,560,000,000] Crap, with that amount of mana, the best I can do is fire off two Piercing Reds. But if I don''t use my Warlock abilities, then I''ll just be treated like a fool. I felt a de thrust through my stomach and when I blinked, there was nothing piercing my body. Seems my Premonition ability is working now. It''s a good thing too because I can''t seem to read his movements. I aimed in front of me and fired off a force of Oppression. Deroc appeared and was hit by the force, however, all that seemed to do was tickle him. Shit! I used Breakneck Movement and managed to dodge his attack. When I appeared behind him, I fired off another force of Oppression. "Fool!" He spoke, his voice sounding almost angelic, "Such tricks won''t affect me." "Oh? So are you saying you can take on my attacks head-on? Do you want to test that out?" "Go ahead. You won''t be able to scratch me as long as I am in my Altima." "Then" I said, pouring energy into my left hand, "Swallow this." I aimed my index and middle finger at Deroc and he tilted his head. When he realized what was about to happen, his eyes widened and he turned to jump, but it was already toote. "Piercing Red." Crak!! From the end of my fingers fired a violent red beam which zipped its way towards Deroc. Deroc panicked as he was unable to avoid it in time. So what he did instead was he quickly brought up his sword, deflecting Piercing Red. The ray ricocheted off his de and pierced his left shoulder. I stared at the noticeable hole in his left shoulder. The hole was almostparable to the size of a baseball. I hoped it would be bigger, but it seems that that is all I can do to someone in Altima form, and that is all I need. I may not have mentioned this, but there are two variations of Piercing Red. The first one is the regr version where it immediately prates anything it makes contact with as long as it is able to do so. The second variation is when it is able to rebound off certain surfaces, specifically the ones it can''t prate through, then prate when it hits the intended surface, in this case, a living being. These two can be differentiated by their sounds. Deroc who was staring at the hole in his shoulder was still in awe. As he was distracted, I charged up another Piercing Red and this time, aimed it at his head. "Die," I said before firing Piercing Red. Bang!! Deroc clenched his teeth before shifting towards me. As soon as he was about to be struck, he brought up his de and the next thing I knew, the force of piercing red was absorbed into Deroc''s sword. As a result, his de began glowing with red energy. "What the-?" "Impressive, right?" Deroc said, "In my Altima, I have an ability which allows me to absorb the attacks my opponents throw at me." "So that means-?" "Yes. Now that I know what this ''Piercing Red'' of yours does, it''s about time I fought back." I shook my head and attempted to fire another Piercing Red until- [Mana: 453,190/1,560,000,000] Crap I''ve run out! Bang!! Suddenly, I felt something prate me and when I looked down, there was a small hole in my abdomen. Deroc approached me and put his hand on my shoulder. "There is more where that came from." He then thrusted his sword through my chest. I could feel my entire body, my skin, my flesh, my internal organs burning as his sword sank deeper into my chest. I noticed that the hole in his left shoulder was closed up. Tears trailed down my eyes as he put on a sadistic smile. "Even the powers of a Warlock is no match for the Altima. If only you had possessed the Altima, then this fight wouldn''t have been so one-sided. Well, not that you could possess it anyway since you are weak to divine energy. If you hadn''t evaded my strike before this fight of ours, then I wouldn''t have guessed you were so weak to divine energy." He shoved his sword once more until his entire de was through my chest. It hurt really hurt Fuck I grabbed him by the shoulder but I was too powerless to do anything. The pain from divine energy it was too much for me to bear. "That''s enough!" Celestia yelled as Deroc was teleported away with his sword. I looked down at myself, my vision blurred, I had countless burn marks across my arms and my body. Eventually, my legs gave up and I fell towards the ground. Luckily, Celestia managed to catch me before I fell. "Hmph, guess this means I win," Deroc smirked as he exited out from Altima. Celestia red at Deroc before closing her eyes and casting a healing spell on me. "Nero I did warn you." "Well then. Celestia, I believe you know where to be with Katrina the day after next week." Deroc''s grandfather said to Celestia. "Just go!" Celestia yelled and the Margos disappeared. "You''ll be fine, Nero," I heard Celestia say as I felt the pain in my body subside, though barely. "N-Nero, I''m sorry," I heard another voice, this time it was Katrina''s. My vision eventually got too blurry for me to recognize anyone''s face and a few momentster, I passed out. *** I woke up with pain all over my body. My body was covered in bandages and my vision was a bit blurry. "I warned you." I turned to Celestia who was sitting in a chair, reading a book. "How long was I out?" I asked her. "Not for long, it''s already the next morning." "What about the girls?" "They are fine. Unlike you, they weren''t in any fatal conditions. Well, it took a while for Kiyomi to breathe normally again as she was struck directly in the lungs." "So I''m the only one who hasn''t recovered fully." "Yes." I took a deep breath and sighed. Damn it if I just kept my cool back then, this wouldn''t have happened. "The duel between Katrina and Deroc will be held next week." "Where?" "Fortunately, I am forbidden from speaking of the location. If I do, you''ll juste and interfere." "What?" "You already lost once. I know you wille and interfere to fight Deroc again." "Bullshit!" I yelled. "I can take him! If I had more mana I could''ve taken him down!" "Even if you did, you would''ve lost. Did you not see what he did to your attacks? He evaded and parried your attacks when your Great Thunder Temple was active. He dispersed Shadow King Domain with divine energy. Piercing Red? Well, you already know how that turned out." "I still have more in me. I just nee-" "No Nero. You will rest and recover from your injuries. I don''t know how but you manage not to fade away with two holes in your torso." I put my hand over my chest and took another deep breath. Damn it I can still feel it, the sword sinking into my chest. I would''ve died if it wasn''t for Celestia. I was at a total disadvantage after Deroc had activated his Altima but my downfall was also my fault. To think that he was able to absorb my Piercing Red Damn it damn it all if only I had more power... ... "Nero" There was a voice at the door and I shifted my eyes. Katrina stood there worryingly. "Hmm, I''ll leave you two at it then," Celestia said before disappearing into thin air. I turned my attention back to Katrina who sat in the seat Celestia was sitting in. She shifted around shyly and opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. "It''s not your fault," I began. "I was too arrogant to face him. Normally I would let my opponents attack me first, but I sumbed to my own temper." "I I''ve never lost my temper before," Katrina said. "But my mother told me that if I were ever to be provoked, I need to free my mind of any thoughts." "But you can''t... right? Because you fear that you won''t be able to protect others." "Yes, if only I was able to have the strength I needed, then I could repay the favor to grandpa. If only..." Katrina didn''t know what to say after that so she just stayed quiet. I sighed and shook my head before slowly closing my eyes. "Stop worrying about others and worry about yourself. Be selfish, care only about yourself, your ego will be the only thing you will worry about. Though eventually, you will discard that selfishness without even knowing it." Katrina tilted her head in response to my words, "What?" "I''m getting tired. Perhaps we can talk another day. For now, let me sleep." "Oh... I see. Then I will take my leave." Katrina got up and approached the door. Once the door closed, I opened my eyes and got out of bed. *** "Settle down Francis, otherwise I won''t be able to heal you," Celestia said, gripping his arm. "No need to worry about me, I''ll beough, ough!" Francis was interrupted as he coughed into his handkerchief. "No, you are not fine." Celestia would cast an elven spell on him. She had been doing this for almost a week now ever since Francis had secretly been bedridden. Francis had been stricken with some sort of rare heart disease. Even the strongest of fighters can be killed without fighting. "It''s no use, Celestia," Francis said before coughing a few more times. "I thank your efforts, but I only have about ten days left. Soon, we will have to tell Katrina about my conditions." Celestia closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, that will not even help her. Her duel with Deroc... it will end in..." Francis looked into Celestia''s eyes which were burning with anger. "Celestia, keep your cool. I believe... she will be alright. I believe in her." "I know... but that is not why I am angry." "...is it... him?" Celestia gulped and nodded. Francis chuckled as he lifted himself and fixed his pillow. "That boy... do you reckon we should tell him?" Francis asked. "No, it is not the righ-" Suddenly, a maid barged in and Celestia turned to face her. "Bad news!" She said. "What is it?" Celestia asked her. "He... he''s gone." "Nero!?" The maid quickly nodded her head as Celestia rose her voice. "That idiot, what is he thinking!?" . . . Chapter 92: The Black Star Chapter 92: The ck Star I was currently wandering in the forest aimlessly, with no idea where I was going. Now, some may ask why I am doing this. Did I run away because I was too ashamed of myself after my defeat? Maybe I was too embarrassed to face everyone after I was bested by some noble who possessed the Altima? Well kind of. But that was not why I fled. There was a reason why I was doing this. While I was unconscious, I entered my soul to speak with Yukie, but who awaited me there was someone different. This person took on Yukie''s appearance. However, she was wearing some kind of wicked crown made of what seemed to be thorns. "Yukie?" I approached her slowly until she looked up at me, getting a glimpse of a part of her pale face and soulless dark eyes. [Nero] A deep and bloodcurdling voice spoke. I gulped as Yukie rose from the ground. No this wasn''t Yukie, it was someone else. Seffirot. [I''ve witnessed your failure] That was what Seffirot said. "Yeah I already knew that. No point in mentioning that. Now is that all you have to say? Did you want to talk to me just to point out the obvious?" [Of course not] "Then what is it?" [You wish for power, correct? I can help you with that] "And how? Just how are you going to do that? Do I have to hurt the ones around me to do so? I''ve already hurt one so if this involves anyone else, I won''t!" Seffirot stared at me for a moment before he shook his head. [You mortals, always caring for others when you think you have the strength to protect them. Foolishness I say, foolishness] "What are you talking about?" I inquired, approaching him. [Mortals who consume the fruit of Qliphoth must possess specific qualities At the time when you were brought to the spiritual space created by the Qliphoth, you possessed those qualities Hatred for the ones who tossed you aside, the will tomit inhuman acts, and the selfish desire for power] "And you are telling me I don''t possess those qualities!?" [Yes, you''ve grown soft You''ve thrown your desire for power by granting it to others] "Is that so wrong?" [Along with that, you also threw your ego into the trash] "So what if I discarded my ego?" [Without a strong ego, you distance yourself further away from your own potential During your fight with Deroc, youck any sense of pride and allowed wrath to take over Wrath may be able to get you somewhere, but pride is the greater one If this continues, then you are no different than those humans] "You-!" I lunged forward but then I immediately received a heavy blow to the stomach. [You were weak, and you still are Listen to me and I will guide you back to the darkness] Seffirot red at me with scornful eyes and that alone caused a shiver to go down my spine. "Don''tpare me to them" [Right you don''t like beingpared to humans however, if you continue to act the way you are right now, then they will be the only ones that I can rte] "Tch." [Don''t worry, the words I speak will benefit you I know you care about others, but you need to be selfish With the strength you obtain through selfishness will you then be able to protect others] [Do you understand?] Seffirot lifted my chin and directed my attention to his eyes. I looked away and thought about it for a second before nodding. [Good] "So what do I have to do?" I asked. [Mortals are driven by ambitions, emotions, etc. However, for this, you must only focus on the greed for power As you hold that thought, wander aimlessly into the forest and continue to do. Walk until you are almost dead. When your legs give up, keep moving. When it is the dead of night, keep moving. When you are on yourst breath, keep moving. When you are at the brink of death, then will you be able to spot the ck Star] "ck Star?" [When you spot the ck star, the first of the four horsemen will appear and aid you] "Who? Wait, horsemen?" [That is for you to find out When you regain consciousness, remember what I said] "What? You still haven''t told me what this ck Star is! Who is this person!?" [Till next time Nero] That was basically all I could remember before I woke up. If it wasn''t obvious already, I was wandering through the forest searching for this "ck Star" or whatever. I don''t know how long it has been, but I just know that my legs are very tired. I want to take a rest, but my legs continued to move on their own. For a few moments, I questioned why I was doing this but I remembered that this was all for the sake of gaining power. Right I just need to continue forward. Despite my injuries, I can still walk. I put my hand over my chest and gulped. If only there was another alternative to the Altima, then I would''ve been able to beat Deroc. I still just can''t get over what happened. To think he was able to do such a thing; absorbing Piercing Red and using it against me. Now that I think of it, I should''ve used Caustic Blue. If I did, I would''ve been able to rid him of divine energy! Wait, no. That wouldn''t have changed a thing. There would''ve been no doubt that he could''ve absorbed Caustic Blue as well, then I would''ve experienced more than just a hole in my chest. Damn it what a load of shit. About a few hours passed, and I was still walking. Now, I''m notining or anything, but my legs hurt really badly. It really hurts. It hurts to the point where I can''t even feel it anymore. I wanted to rest... but I continued to walk forward. Right... I won''t stop... even if it hurts, it''s all for the purpose of gaining more power... I just... need to keep moving forward... It''s all for the sake of gaining more power... Eventually, my legs gave up and I fell, hitting my head on a rock. I coughed as my chest and legs began to spasm. Blood trickled down my face as I grit my teeth in pain. It hurts... it fucking hurts! I have... been walking for so long... I just want to rest... just for... a few minutes... But... my body was moving on its own and I eventually picked myself up. It took me a while to even stand as my legs were so exhausted. I needed to rest... but my body wasn''t listening. So, I continued forward. ... After a while, I stopped and looked up at the sky. Seems the sun has begun to settle... If I remember, it was morning when I woke up... Wow... I''ve been walking for so long... ...I think... it would be a good time to rest... I just need... a few minutes... that''s all... Body... just listen to me for once... But my body ignored me and continued forward... ... As I continued to wander through the forest, breathing was... eventually a problem. At one point, I was hyperventting as there was a sudden shortage of oxygen. At another point, was having trouble breathing. Eventually, I just couldn''t breathe at all. ...how long have I been walking? My entire body hurts and I''m just so hungry... Water... food... air... Just give me one... just one... I stopped and I fell on my back. Shit... I really can''t move anymore... my legs are so tired... Seffirot... what did he say again? When I''m on the brink of death, I''ll see the ck Star... and when I see it, someone will save me... I think... that was what he said... but I''m too tired... hungry... thirsty... to remember... Something... anything can do... ...then... arge centipede emerged from the ground. I watched as it crawled around and held a worm by its jaws. It almost blended with the shadows as its body was dyed in ck metallic skin. I was only able to spot it because of its legs which glowed red. What a riveting-looking creature... despite being an insect. It was rather intriguing for one too... Now that I think of it... insects can be eaten... right? Yeah... they can... If only... if only I can reach it... I stretched my arms out towards the centipede, but it was nowhere near my reach. Damn it... if only... if only... If only I could just grasp it in my hands... I could feel my strength fading away from my body and my vision bing blurry. ... ...no... I can''t die yet... not now... not here... not until I''ve aplished what I need to do... I still need more power... more power... Fuck... I need energy... I need food... Juste to me... I squeezed my hand, my fingernails dragging in the dirt as I began umting mana into my hand. "Get..." I squinted, the centipede slightly visible in my blurry view. Anything... anything will do to satiate my hunger... so... "Get over here..." Suddenly, my hand hued a blue and purple color. A secondter, I was clutching the centipede in my hand. ...what just happened? [Passive Skill Obtained: Telekinesis] ...I see... so that is what happened... The centipede began squirming around in my hand and bit my forearm in the process. I stared at the centipede before me. At first, Ipletely forgot why I had it until my body moved subconsciously. Before I knew it, I was feeding on a raw centipede. This taste... it''s so bad... but... it can do for now... [Passive Skill Obtained: Vozaas] After I consumed everyst part of the centipede, I stood up and looked at the sky. ...huh... that''s strange... The moon... it''s ck... Wait... no that''s not a moon? The moon is right beside it... Could it be the ck Star? The "ck Star" was a ck circle with a dark blue outline. But wait... I''m supposed to see it when I''m on the brink of death... unless... I blinked before staring at my right arm. The veins on my arms were bulging at they were colored red. ...oh... ...fuck... ...this must be the centipede''s poison... well, I have poison resistance... so I''m fine... However... I don''t think I''ll be killed by the poison though... I fell once again and stared at the ck Star in the sky. ...I have nothing else to do now... I guess... I guess I can rest here. I''ll just call it a night now... I just hope... it isn''t myst one though... ... ... ... I woke up to the smell of stew. I was... inside of a tent. I blinked a few times and nced around. What the hell...? What is this...? I tried to think but I was interrupted by the smell of stew. Crap... I didn''t eat anything yesterday except that centipede. Oh god... I ran out of the tent and spotted the stew hovering above the campfire. Food... ...wait a minute... it was... hovering? "Oh, you''re awake?" A male voice spoke. I cocked my head towards the voice and sitting down staring directly at me was a man whose arms were d in ck rings and bracelets. "Hey? You''ve gone pale." What the hell? Is this a joke? The guy I was supposed to meet was... this guy!? . . . Chapter 93: Harsh Training Chapter 93: Harsh Training "Hey, you listening? Are you off in dreand thinking about women?" Joseph asked, waving his hand around. I clenched my teeth and quickly fired Piercing Red at him. Bang!! Joseph sighed and flicked his finger at my Piercing Red, causing it to change trajectory and it was now heading towards the sky. "Hey now, calm down." "What are you doing here? How the hell did you even find me?" I challenged as I activated Angel''s Crimson Hand and Devil''s Azure Palm. "Well, a voice spoke in my head and told me to find a man lying unconscious on the floor. To think that man would be the same one I met at the colosseum Now that I look at you up close, you aren''t as intimidating as I thought you would be." "Cut the shit! What do you want?" "well, I''m here to help you. Is that so wrong?" "Do you really think I would believe such bullshit?" "If I was lying, you would be in the afterlife right now. Look, I don''t even know what is going on, but all I know is that I''ll be helping you for these next 6 days ording to the voice that spoke in my head." "What voice?" "I don''t know, but it had a deep voice. It also had a hint of evil too, but I didn''t really pay much attention to that." A voice spoke to him? Could it be? [Affirmative, Seffirot indeedmunicated with him] He can do that? [Only when the window is open, then can hemunicate with others] I see so I guess he can be trusted for now. "Hey!" I refocused my attention back to Joseph who handed me a bowl of stew. "You just woke up so I''m guessing you are hungry. Here, have some." I gulped as I stared at the bowl of stew in his hand. I wanted to refuse but it was either I crawl around and eat insects or a bowl of stew from an enemy. yeah I think I''ll go with thetter. I took the bowl of stew out of Joseph''s hand and began to consume it. Well, it seems that I was starving because I devoured my first portion like an animal, making a mess everywhere. "Hey now, slow down, otherwise you''ll choke and possibly even die. I''m not gonna save you you know," Joseph chuckled in a darkly humorous tone. After finishing my portion, he offered me another and I epted without a second thought. I didn''t really care if it was just a simple stew, it tasted great. The tenderness and juiciness of the meat, the mixture of the salt, the broth, the spices What was that phrase again? Oh right. Finally, some good fucking food. I continued to eat until I was full and then cleaned myself up. After a while, I hesitantly thanked Joseph who smiled before standing up and cracked his knuckles. "Now that you are full, let''s have a quick spar. For this, I want you to fight me with everything you''ve got." "Huh? Right here? With everything I got?" "Of course. I need to see what you are capable of before I start training you, right? Otherwise, I might be teaching you things that you are incapable of. For now, all I know is that you can wield Cursed Red and Blue energy, meaning you can learn Warlock techniques." "Hmm" Being trained by a hero normally I wouldn''t really agree to such a thing since I have a strong dislike for them and even for that word itself, but due to the circumstances, I guess I really have no choice here. "Fine then, let''s start now," I said before firing a Piercing Red at him. Bang!! Immediately as soon as Piercing Red struck Joseph, it just seemed to bounce off and head up towards the sky. "Phew If I hadn''t had my Rejecting Barrier on, I would''ve surely been impaled," Joseph said as he patted some dust off his shoulders. "Now then," He said, facing me as his arms began to change. His right arm morphing into some kind of a demonic arm while the palm of his left hand glowed red. "Come at me." I dashed forward while forming Caustic Blue before shing the air with it. Joseph noticed that he was being pulled towards me and he smirked as he pointed a finger at me with his left hand. As I continue to sh in his direction, I suddenly felt my energy being drained away and I quickly seized myself. "What the hell? The hell is this?" I asked as I withdrew Caustic Blue. "Rejection. That was the principle I was gifted. With it, I can reject any attack that my opponent sends at me. Basically, I''m attacking them back with their own attacks." "So that is why I felt my energy being drained away?" "Exactly, and I assume that this skill of yours allows you to pull in your enemies and drain their energy in the process. Actually... no, it doesn''t drain, it... gets rid of it... right?" "What? How can you tell?" "Well I mean, I felt my mana being drained away when you swung that blue de and at first I thought you were absorbing my energy as I could, but then I notice that you weren''t gaining anything, then I put that pieces together and that was the conclusion I came up with." What the hell? Did he figure all that out in just a few seconds? That''s absu- well actually I could''ve figured that out as well, just not that quickly. Anyway, from what I''ve seen is that this Rejecting Barrier of his is strong enough to deflect Piercing Red. His Principle of Rejection allows him to basically counter his opponents with their own attacks. Hmm... Since he''s a Warlock, he''ll also have another principle besides Rejection. That arm... I wonder what it does... Well, there is only one way to find out. If he wants me to go at him without holding back, I''ll do it. I shot towards him and attempted to sweep his legs. However, he quickly noticed and dodged before delivering a swift kick to the side of my head. I managed to block it and with my left hand, I shot a wave of Oppression at him. Then he held his demonic arm out and nothing happened next. "Huh?" Nothing happened. What the hell? Did he negate it? "This is Consumption. I can drain my opponent''s attack and then convert that energy to my own." "What the hell? That''s just-" "Absurd and possibly a powerful weapon to wield? I know." "I just going to ask, why you are revealing your tricks to me?" Joseph only smiled as he held faced his left palm towards my face. "Because even if I tell you, or anyone in general about my power and what it does, they''ll never be able to beat me." Then, I was pped by a powerful blunt force. I flew back and crashed into a tree. Ow... what the hell? It was like being hit by a truck. "I forgot to tell you, Rejection allows me to st matter away. Matter counts for any organism, including us mortals," Joseph exined as I fixed myself. "Now then, I''ll get serious," Joseph said before he locked his right thumb around his pinky. And then, he vanished in thin air. I was confused and looked around to find out where he had gone. Then when I used Dragon''s Blood, I felt a dangerous presence behind me. Quickly, I spun around and delivered a quick jab, which he had caught. "Too slow." I charged up another Piercing Red and attempted to shoot him but when it was just about to fire, Joseph caught my fingers, and Piercing Red was fired into his hand. As a result, it pierced through his hand, making a finger-sized hole. "You-!" "Focus on the fight." Suddenly, he delivered a heavy kick to the side of my ribs,pletely shattering it to pieces. What... the hell!? He''s fast! Abnormally fast! He''s not just fast, I couldn''t even sense him moving to attack at all! It''s like... "Still processing what just happened? Your mental process is quick, but it''s not suitable for a quick battle." Then he delivered a punch infused with Rejection towards my chest, sting me into the air. I quickly caught myself using Flight and took a minute to breathe. He was... so quick, I couldn''t even sense his movements. Almost as if he didn''t intend to kick me at all. Damn it... I don''t even know what the fuck is happening anymore! "Huh, you haven''t learned it yet?" I turned and Joseph was floating behind me. "Learned what yet?" "Cursed White Arts." "What?" "You fly using... mana to direct yourself right? Pushing the air to travel around in an aerial manner." "Well, yeah. What else am I suppose to-?" "Only primitive creatures would use such a tactic." Then his tone changed. It was stern and almost filled with hatred. "You see, Nero, Warlocks are given ess to the void because it is to separate them from the monkeys. We do not obey thews that they do and we alter thosews to our will." Then he delivered a blow to my head, and I began plummeting towards the ground. Crashnding into the floor, I felt my strength being drained away. "You may have obtained Warlock strength, but you are far from calling yourself one." He appeared in front of me and lifted me by my hair. "I''ve stripped you of your strength using Consumption, rendering you incapacitated. Rest. Tomorrow, we''ll be heading to the Auroral ciers. I reckon you can... withstand the cold. If not, your body will be buried in a field of snow, alone. Now then, pleasant dreams. You''ll need it." That was what I heard before I fainted from theck of energy and mana. . . . Chapter 94: To the Top Of the Mountain Chapter 94: To the Top Of the Mountain "Now then, are you holding onto my shoulder?" Joseph asked as he looked over his shoulder, checking if I had my grip on his shoulder. "Yeah. Can we go now?" I responded as I held onto his shoulder tightly. "Well, a day was wasted getting your ass kicked, so I''ll just stop ying around now." "Tch, you didn''t have to mention that. I don''t like being reminded of my failures." Joseph locked his thumb and around his picky and suddenly, we appeared in a field filled with snow. It was really windy and cold and well, cold. As I observed my surroundings, I eventually spotted arge mountain covered in snow. "What the-? How the hell did we get here?" I was curious as to how this happened. A second ago we were in the forest and now, we were in this this What was it called again? "Wee to the Auroral ciers," Joseph said, as if he knew what I was thinking. "For today and tomorrow, we will be staying here to help you master Cursed White Arts." "Cursed White Arts? Wait a minute, aren''t I supposed to obtain that by defeating a tinge? Why the hell are we in the middle of a goddamn tundra for that?" "Because this was the exact ce I came to master Cursed White, except it only took me a few hours. Anyway, if I remember, the chasm is over there." Joseph looked off to the mountain and lifted off the ground. "First lesson, meet me at the top of the mountain, that is, if you can." He said before soaring towards the top of the mountain. If I can? What does he think I am? A turtle? And no, I don''t like turtles well maybe. I jumped into the air and activated Flight. Instantly, I realized what he meant by "If you can." As soon as I activated Flight, I was immediately blown away by a tremendous gust of wind. I tried to stop myself but the force of the wind was so strong! I decided that flying wasn''t the best idea since it was nearly impossible to fly in this condition. I wonder just how did Joseph manage to fly up without being affected by the wind? Now that I think of it, he said something yesterday. I think it was something about Warlocks being to disobey thews that humans follow and altering them to our will. What did he mean by that? Well, I won''t be getting answers if I don''t catch up with him. Since I can''t fly I guess I''ll just have to walk and climb. Now let me say this, walking through the snow wasn''t easy, even with the ability to manipte and breathe mes. It wasn''t because of the height of the snow which measured up to my knees, but because of whatever properties this snow was made of. When I performed ming Dragon Breath, the snow in front of me quickly melted and I was given a clear pathway. However, in just a few seconds, the snow just seemed to reform, as if the fire didn''t affect it. I tried many other strategies to travel through the snow faster, but the only thing that helped was equipping Raiden which increased my speed. The only problem was that the wind majorly affected the amount of lightning I was discharging so as soon as I equipped Raiden, the lightning quickly dissipated. So I was essentially back at square one. Well, guess I''ll just have to deal with it A few hours went by without any incidents urring. I''m just kidding, there was a lot of them but nothing major in my opinion. The only thing I was suffering from was mostly Hypothermia. I could survive in cold climates longer than a human could, which is like 5 minutes or something. I have been walking for almost 6 hours; 2 hours walking towards the mountain and 4 hours walking up the mountain. And somehow after all that, I am still alive. Currently, I was and still am walking up the mountain with my arms encased in Dragon mes to prevent them from freezing off. I sighed as I looked up towards the peak. If only this mountain was smaller, I can only walk so much and my mana reserve has already been drained due to the earlier stunts I''ve done. It''s only a quarter of what it is now. The more I climbed the mountain, the thinner the air got and the lesser the mes I had to wrap around me. The Dragon mes I had were to prevent me from being affected by the cold. However, in the process, I''ll be burning the oxygen I''m breathing in. My mes were practically like a double-edged sword; they help me resist the cold but in the process, I have less oxygen to breathe. Then a few hours passed. It was nearly time before my mes were rendered useless against the cold, and I needed a solution fast. But what else do I have that could help me? I could just sh Step my way up there, but believe it or not, sh Step is affected by the wind. sh Step and any form of Shifting like Shadow Shift is basically useless at this time. It hasn''t turned dark yet so I can''t use Shadow Shift to travel through the shadows, and I can''t use Lightning Shift as it''s nearly impossible to produce any in this climate. My only solution now is well using Oppression. If I use Oppression, I could push through the wind and the snow with ease, the only problem is that my current mana reserve is pretty low. Banishment won''t help here since there is no energy being produced by the wind. Wait a minute, now that I think of it, didn''t Joseph have some kind of barrier that repelled Piercing Red? I think it was called Rejecting Barrier. Right, it was his principle that allowed such a feat. If I remember correctly, he said Rejection was able to repel matter as well. I wonder if Oppression could do the same. I stopped and thought about it for a second before I began converging oppression around my body. If Joseph was able to do it with Rejection, then I could do the same. Currently, the wind was sting me towards the walls of the mountain, so I had something to stop me. I activated Flight and was immediately pushed towards the wall. If I can create a barrier with Oppression, then I can walk up the mountain with ease I just have to imagine the shape of my barrier and how it can resist the wind. Joseph''s barrier repels against matter so it doesn''t matter what form his barrier takes. Barriers are bendable so we can technically shape them to our will, but right now, I just need a shape that can allow me to fight against the wind. Eventually, the force of the wind that was sting against me a while ago had died down. I looked around. The wind was still moving, but it wasn''t pushing me. I flickered Cursed Red Energy around me and my barrier appeared in red. The shape of my barrier was basically the shape of my aura but condensed. It may not look anything special but what it did was. Instead of being a regr barrier that shields the user, my barrier discharges tiny des made from my principle and pierces through the wind, altering its course. Justbine Atomic Fission, the force of Oppression, and Shadow de Assail. With these three, I basically created a barrier that can dismantle any attacks consisting of mana. If I were to name this... it would be called Rebellious Shield. [Skill Obtained: Rebellious Shield(Lvl.1)] Now that I have a barrier, I can walk up the mountain with ease now. The only problem is... I had to use the same amount of mana I used to fire Piercing Red. In other words, I was about to run out of mana. So I quickly ran up the mountain and in the process, it seems the snow was also being dismantled by my barrier. If only I had thought of this earlier, but I''m dehydrated and hungry and that affects my thinking. Anyway, I eventually arrived at the top of the mountain where Joseph was standing there, waiting for me. "Wow. That took you longer than I expected." "Well, I had many options to pick from. I couldn''t just start from using my Warlock abilities, otherwise, I would just be wasting mana." "Using them is better than not using them. Anyway, let''s get started on the second lesson." "And what is that?" "Well, what else do you think? Getting Cursed White Arts!" . . . Chapter 95: Defying Gravity Chapter 95: Defying Gravity I didn''t even get to rest. As soon as I had arrived, I was already fighting a Cursed Tinge. Emerging from the magic formation Joseph had created with the snow was a white monster. When it arose, the snow around it began to levitate and the air around us just seemed to stop. It literally stopped, almost as if the wind was afraid of its presence. "Unlike Red and Blue Cursed Tinges, white ones can be taken down by any form of energy. They are weak to any element except wind." "Why is that?" "Because Cursed White Arts allows you to disobey thews that keep us towards the ground in our previous world. If I were to exin it in simple terms, you don''t obey the wind, motion, and gravity, they obey you. In simpler terms, you basically stop motion." "So in other words-" "Cursed White grants you resistance to any form of wind and gravity. You can turn it off by will, allowing you to obey thosews once again. Thesews of motion and gravity keep us to the ground, but Cursed White breaks thosews, allowing us to move freely without any kind of disturbance." "I see. So basically-" "Oh, watch out." Joseph pointed upwards and the Cursed Tinge''s arm was being brought down towards us. Joseph had vanished while I stayed and watched as the Cursed Tinge collided with my Rebellious Shield. Instantly, the Cursed Tinge''s arm was shed into countless pieces. I see Rebellious Shield works a little too much. Well, I''m not gonnain since it just saved me. [Mana: 152,639,187/1,560,000,000] Huh, guess I don''t have a lot of mana left to perform any Oppression or Banishment attacks. Guess I''ll just have to resort to whatever I have left in my arsenal. And with that amount of mana, I know exactly what I''ll be doing. It also just became dark As I began the incantation, the Cursed Tinge once attempted to strike me once again with its other arm, but like its first arm, it was quickly sliced into pieces. At that point, I had finished the incantation and activated Shadow King Domain. [Passive Skill Obtained: Cursed White Arts] I watched as its body dispersed into white particles. Soon, the wind around us and the snow floating in the air resumed their natural course. "Impressive move," Josephplimented as he came down from the air,nding in the snow. "Now then," Joseph began, "Though you may have obtained Cursed White Arts, you are still unable to use it." "What?" "You don''t just defy the winds and gravity instantly. First, you need to fight against it. Prove that you are more powerful and it will eventually obey you. We are bound by their rules so we need to sever that connection, then will you be able to use Cursed White at its full capacity." "So how am I supposed to do that?" Joseph smirked and turned. "Follow me." I followed Joseph as we walked to the other edge of the mountain. He eventually stopped and looked down. I walked up next to him and looked as well. What was I looking at? I was looking at a pitch-ck chasm. Joseph kicked some snow off the edge and it fell down into the seemingly endless hole. After a while, the snow just faded into the darkness. "So why we here?" I asked curiously. Then I noticed my mana reserve depleting. [Mana: 10,524/1,560,000,000] "What are you-?" Suddenly, I was shoved off the edge and into the bottomless abyss. "Good luck Nero. Rumors say that no one has ever flown out of these chasms after they dived into it. I''m one of the few who managed it, I hope you are one of them." "Wait but-!" "Let''s say your principles have something to do with Cursed White. The only thing left is for you to figure it out." Joseph continued to speak, but I was already too far into the chasm to hear what he said after that. He then walked away, disappearing from the edge. What the hell am I supposed to do in this situation!? I tried to use Flight but I waspletely stripped of all my mana! That fucker, he pushed me in here without any mana! What the fuck am I supposed to do!? He said that he managed to do it with his principles, but how the hell am I supposed to do that without mana!? How the hell am I supposed to use Cursed White Arts without mana!? God damn it! Technically, I am able to use the principles given to me. The only problem is I won''t be able tounch any attacks with them. I need mana for that. However- [Mana: 10,000/1,560,000,000] Joseph only left me with a tiny percentage of what my mana reserve holds and he''s somehow managing to keep it at that number! Just what the hell am I supposed to do with this amount of mana!? I clenched my hands as I opened up a small void to draw Oppression and Banishment energy. With Cursed Arts, they manifested into their physical appearances. As I held the two principles in my hands, I began to recall their properties and what they do. The Principle of Oppression it oppresses any form of matter and energy that it connects with as what it did when I activated Rebellious Barrier which opposed the winds and what it did to the Cursed Tinge. It''s like apelling force that objects matter, almost like its anti-matter. Well, it did almost crush a Cursed Tinge once, just that my control over it wasn''t refined and still isn''t. I clenched the principle into my hands as it activated Angel''s Crimson Hand upon dispersing. The Principle of Banishment tosses energy and matter away to the point where it just doesn''t exist anymore. It can pull anything into the void consisting of that principle and it will never be seen again. But what does that have to do with Cursed White Arts!? I know Banishment could create a metaphysical space that sucks in matter and Oppression creates an anti-matter field. when did I suddenly be so smart? Gravity is a form of energy and Oppression and Banishment are able to affect that element. So that means If Ibine the two, then I could defy thews of gravity and the gravitational force that keeps us mortals grounded. Hehehe I clenched Banishment, dispersing it into blue particles which formed at the end of my palms. At the same time, I formed two tiny orbs, each made with their own respective principles and energy. If I justbine these two together, the two principles will converge, meeting at a specific point where the two opposing forces will shatter, developing a field void of all matter. It''s almost like mas except the two principles will be the same pole after they havebined. As the orbs of red and blue began to mix, I eventually spotted the ground. Oh shit! I was so absorbed into the principles that Ipletely forgot that I was falling down a chasm! "Come on!" I shouted as I began forcing the two principles to mix. As I plummeted towards the bottom of the abyss, that was when the two orbs converged. I didn''t see itpletely but I saw a purple flicker before I had closed my eyes to embrace the impact. That''s strange I haven''t hit the ground yet I slowly opened my eyes, staring at the surface that I was supposed to meet head-on. Did did it work? I moved my body and stared at my hands. Then I looked around and noticed that I was floating in a small circle void of snow that was created by Cursed White Arts. "Ha haha it actually worked. It worked!" I waved my hand and didn''t feel any drag. As I floated up, I began to elerate as well. A few secondster, I was flying at the speed of sound. Eventually, I was out of the chasm and floating in the air. I looked around as the snow that drifted along the violent wind passed me. I waved my hand around and I couldn''t feel the wind at all. Yep, this really confirms it. "Hey, you did it." Joseph appeared in front of me and chuckled. "I guess so," I responded. "Now I didn''t mention this, but Cursed White Arts doesn''t really benefit much inbat, but it does allow us to fly freely without consuming mana. We can literally fly without mana. Obviously, you still have to be connected to the void in order to use it to draw the energy of nothingness, but at least you have a way to escape if you run out of mana." "Does it do anything else?" "Well, obviously you can turn it off by will. Besides that, you can also neutralize attacks. Though you can only negate minor attacks since it''s not a barrier. It also can''t collide with any other barriers. Whenever I use Cursed White, I can''t have Rejecting Barrier on, otherwise, I''d be negating the effects of Cursed White. Anyway, you manage to finish this in one day so I think you deserve to rest. Now then, I''ll bring you back to the camp." . . . Chapter 96: Confrontation Chapter 96: Confrontation After the two returned to the camp, Nero passed out due to exhaustion. Joseph waited a few minutes for Nero to sleep before he appeared back in the Auroral ins using ck Magic, a form of magic that maniptes space by subtracting the distance between the user and where the user wants to be, deleting the space in the process. Since space acts as a boundary for all existence, the void will counteract this, as space is always divided in the void. The reason why it''s called ck Magic is that it is mostmonly associated with the void being mostly dyed in ck. Hence why it is called ck Magic instead of Cursed ck Arts. Cursed ck Arts is different than ck Magic as ck Magic is mostly used as a form of transportation thanbat. The only way to obtain this is through immense concentration and willpower to delete space itself, though of course, it requires the user to have the ability to manipte space. Now, what would the other form of "ck Magic" be called if the name is already associated with the void? Well, it''s called Dark Arts but no one cares about that since it is already associated with Darkness Maniption. Joseph returned to the top of the mountain and turned around to face 9 ice elves, armed with swords and bows. "Ah, sorry you guys, but you are already a little toote," Joseph said to them as he put his hands behind his back. "Maybe you guys cane next time." "Don''t mock us. He was just here a few minutes ago!" One of the ice elves shouted, pointing his sword at Joseph. "Mock you? Oh no, I would never do that." Joseph said in a teasing tone before saying- "I think the correct term would be belittling." "Why you-!?" The ice elf shot forward, swinging his sword in a violent and rash manner. Joseph simply smirked as he nced at the ice elf in the eyes. That was when Joseph used ck Magic, appearing behind the ice elf who simply disappeared into nothingness. The only remaining part of that elf was its arms and its sword, which fell to the snowy floor. The ice elves back away as Joseph turned to look at the remaining pieces of the elf. "Oh... that was not intended. Oh well, if only he was fast enough. Now then-" Joseph turned back to the ice elves, stomping and crushing the arms into pieces as he smirked in a disdaining manner. "Anyone else wants to y? Or you can have your lives spared and leave now." The ice elves turned towards each other and hesitated. Though they were given a warning, they attacked anyway. "You killed our brother, we will get revenge!" One of them said. Joseph shook his head and sighed. "Well, if it has to be this way, then so be it. To make it easier-" Joseph raised his arms. "I''ll fight you all in closebat." The first ice elf dashed towards Joseph and attempted to deliver a flying kick. However, Joseph quickly knocked them to the ground before he stomped on their neck,pletely smashing it into pieces. Joseph looked around and waited for the next attack. An ice elf using stealth snuck up behind Joseph and swung their sword. However, their sword was deflected off of Joseph''s Rejecting Barrier. Joseph turned around and smacked them with his knuckles, their head twisting multiple times before disconnecting from the body. Two ice elves dashed towards Joseph. He sighed as they were struck with Banshee Bolide, shattering their eye drums. "Aww, it''s painful, isn''t it? Sometimes it''s best not to have such keen hearing, well, not that it could be helped." Joseph then flicked his fingers, sending Dissipating Spheres at one of them. When the Dissipating Spheres collided, the elf burst into mes before it turned into ashes. The elf standing next to the pile of ashes that were blown away by the violent winds yelled and rushed towards Joseph rashly. Joseph watched as the elf stumbled towards him and then he quickly teleported in front of them and rammed his hand through their chest before ripping out their spine with the skull connected. Joseph turned around and looked at the four remaining elves, holding the skull. "Come on, is that all you''ve got?" Joseph said before crushing the skull. One of them ran to Joseph with his arms wide open. They were noticeably taller and muscr than the others elves. They attempted to tackle Joseph, but Joseph attacked them first before they were able to get him. The ice elf watched as Joseph''s arm was shoved into its chest and out from the back. In Joseph''s hand was the ice elf''s heart and Joseph pushed the ice elf off his arm. As the ice elf fell on its knees, Joseph shoved the heart into the ice elf''s mouth before pushing them to the ground and crushing their head. As he smeared the ice elf''s blood all over the snow, several arrows imbued in ice magic were fired at Joseph. Luckily, it was reflected off of his Rejecting Barrier. Joseph caught the arrow before positioning the tip towards the elf that shot it, then the arrows flew towards the elf after he boosted them with Rejection. Thest two elves stared at each other as Joseph slowly focused his attention on them. "I''ll give you a chance to run. Pride is great and all, but it is no match against the obvious superiority that I possess. So what will it be?" "J-just who are you?" One of them asked. Joseph smiled as he answered them. "I''m the Warlock Hero, Joseph." The two elves widened their eyes and they looked around at their deceased brethren. They hade here to kill Nero, but instead, they met the one person that they were told to be wary of by the ruler of Cocytus himself. One of them shook their head as they slowly backed away. The other stood in fear. Joseph stared at both of them before he slowly locked his thumb around his pinky. "I''ll give you 10 seconds to answer me. If you don''t well, it''s obvious what is going to happen next." The two looked at each other once again before ultimately choosing their decision. They fought back. The two elves threw shards of ice at Joseph who simply waved it away. The two dashed towards him with their swords equipped and diverged to attack from both his left and his right. However, that was useless against someone who can deflect matter from every direction. Joseph grabbed onto one of the elves and dragged them across the ground before tossing them into the bottomless chasm, leaving only one more elf left. The elf shook in fear as Joseph approached them. They closed their eyes to embrace their fate, but instead, they received a pat on their shoulder. "It would be quite boring if I murdered everyone, so I''ll keep you alive. You''ll also be a good messenger. Stand up and return to where you once came from. Tell your king that Nero is not the only person he should be worrying about. Now then, go ahead." The elf looked at Joseph hesitantly who had an almost warm smile across his face. The elf back away before turning around and fleeing the vicinity. Joseph took a deep breath before looking at the corpses, and blood-covered snow sttered everywhere. "Man, this is gonna be hard to clean up. I might as well dump them into the chasm." When Joseph turned to face the chasm, the same elf he had threw off had survived and swung his sword at Joseph. Joseph had turned his Rejecting Barrier off earlier and quickly shielded himself with his Blue Devil Arm. The sword didn''t dig deep, but it managed to pierce the skin. "Huh, you managed to stay alive?" Joseph asked, impressed by the elf''s disy of courage. The elf yelled as he attempted to drive his sword towards Joseph''s chest but he was swiftly interrupted after Joseph chopped his sword-wielding arm off. "Aaah!" The elf screamed in agony, but not until Joseph drove his hand through the elf''s abdomen. "You should''ve stayed dead. Otherwise, you wouldn''t be feeling so much pain right now." "F-fuck you" Those were the ice elf''sst words before Joseph shoved the ice elf off his arm and into the chasm. "Prideful to the very end" Joseph sighed and shook his head. "Impudent fool," Josephmented before turning away from the chasm. After depositing the bodies down into the chasm, Joseph looked up at the sky illuminated with many bright colors. "Well, this is the south, so auroras are prettymon. I could''ve shown Nero but he''s already asleep." Joseph then locked his thumb around his pinky. "Hmm, maybe I''ll teach this to him for the next lesson," Joseph said, vanishing right after. . . . Chapter 97: Distortion Chapter 97: Distortion "So umm Joseph." I began speaking. "Yeah? What is it?" "I know you are trying to get me to obtain the ability to manipte space but do we really have toe here to do it?" "This is how I learned it." "But isn''t there another way?" "Yeah, but this way is way easier for Warlocks. Now, stopining and get to it." "A-alright" You might be wondering what we were talking about. Well, I was justining to Joseph about why I am going to obtain the ability to manipte space here. By here, I mean space. Literally, space and the only reason how I''m not running out of oxygen or frozen yet is because of Cursed White Arts and the void. Believe it or not, the void is also an unlimited supply of oxygen, though I still wonder how that works. The earth or that is what I assume the to be called was right behind us. There wasn''t really a difference that this earth had but it was a bit bigger and rotated faster. Well, that is just me assuming since I''ve never actually been to outer space before until now. "Anyway," Joseph began. "I have an errand to run. It doesn''t take that long to manipte space out here since well, it''s everywhere. I''lle back in an hour or two to pick you up since you don''t know where to go." "Wait, you haven''t told me how to do it yet!" "Hmm? There are many variations. The one I learned is the ability to shift and delete space. The only way I could do that though was because of Rejection and my Inborn Principle, Erasure." "Ah, I see wait, Inborn? Erasure? There is another type of Principle?" "Ah, right, I believe I haven''t told you yet. Ahem Nero, when you first activated Cursed White Arts, did you see a little purple spark?" "Purple spark?" If I recall, I think I did see a purple sh before I managed to activate Cursed White. "That is the sign of your Inborn Principle awakening. Unlike the Principles you obtain with the Void Master, Inborn Principles are inscribed into you from birth. Every being is born with a talent, just that it is hard to find out what that is. When you converged your two principles to activate Cursed White, your Inborn Principle awakened well, not fully, just a sign. The only thing you have to do now is try to bring it out." "And how do I do that?" "Hmm focus on trying to manipte space first. The void will be useful for this. Anyway, see you in a few hours. Oh wait, I almost forgot, watch your back. There are rather strange creatures in space and they are pretty hard to kill. I think they like to hide in pockets of space so they can be of great use. They are also very difficult to kill since you can''t kill them with red or blue or any principles well, except the Inborn. Anyway, see yater." And then he vanished in thin air, leaving me floating around in space. I blinked as I scratched my head and looked around. So this is how it feels to be in space alone Wait, did he say strange creatures? That was when I heard a loud screeching noise. I swiftly turned around, only to see nothing but a ck background and stars. Strange I swore I heard something. I used Dragon''s Blood and searched around for any signs of life. There wasn''t any life around me but I did sense a strange portion of energy. I felt something touch my shoulder, and when I shifted my head to see what it was, there was a glowing green tendril on my shoulder. I quickly smacked it away and attempted to strike whatever it was, but it disappeared. [Mana: 1,450,396,827/1,560,000,000] I see Whatever this thing is, it''s some kind of organismposed of energy and it disappears when it is looked at. It also drains the energy of whatever it touches. If I remember, Joseph said it likes to hide in pockets of space. If I were to interpret what that meant, that would mean that they were hiding in some kind of pocket dimension that they own. Well, I think I know what I need to do. I activated Devil''s Azure Palm and amassed energy towards in my palm before performing Abyssal Blue. The ck hole began sucking in energy and matter. Since space ispletely filled with energy and matter, I don''t have to worry about causing a mess since I can''t. After a while, the creature was in full view. Or should I say, creatures? There wasn''t just one or two, but ten of them. They all looked like green masses with undting tendrils. They also had many eyes and a jaw in between those eyes. I noticed that despite being only made of energy, they weren''t being sucked into Abyssal Blue. Strange could they not be affected by Banishment? Wait no, Joseph mentioned that they can''t be affected by red or blue. If that is the case then it looks like I''ll just have to resort to different techniques, but what techniques? Before I was brought here, Joseph mentioned that due to the vacuum of space being so fast, the flow of mana is so sluggish that performing elemental attacks is futile. Luckily, I can still ess energy from the void. Joseph mentioned to me that the void is also like outer space, except the indefinite space inside is divided infinitely. In other words, it is the opposite of space where space will exist no matter how much space you take away. The only simrity between these two is that space exists omnipresently in both realms. Now then, resuming to the topic at hand. The creatures turned to Abyssal Blue and headed over to it. The next thing that happened actually shocked me. They were eating it literally! It was almost as if the attractive force from Abyssal Blue wasn''t affecting them! Even if blue energy doesn''t affect them, the Principle of Banishment should at least do something! Eventually, Abyssal Blue wasn''t so abyssal anymore and was literally the size of a ping-pong ball. After consuming it whole, the creatures would then turn towards me. I quickly hit them with Total Oppression. A violent force wrapped around them and began to squeeze them but no matter how hard they were squished, they just seemed to slip out of my grasp. Tch, slippery bastards it seems that even that won''t do anything. I can''t fight them in closebat since they would just drain my energy if they touched me. I can''t activate Rebellious Shield, I need to let down Cursed White Arts for that, otherwise, I''ll die byck of oxygen instead of being killed by these things. So what can I use? Inborn Right, Joseph said that these things can''t be affected by anything except the Inborn Principle. The only problem is that I don''t have one, or I do but I just haven''t awoken yet, only a sign. If I remember, it appeared only briefly before I used Cursed White. Maybe I just have to do it again But I''m gonna need to fight off these things while I''m at it. The creatures rushed towards me and attempted totch on, but I managed to swiftly evade them. After I dodged thest one, I activated Angel''s Crimson Hand and created a sphere of red energy consisting of Oppression while on my other hand, I created a sphere of blue energy which held Banishment. I then began to merge the two together and while the two orbs converged, I just need to evade the iing attacks. It is a good thing that Cursed White Arts allows me to move around quickly and freely. The creatures began to rush towards me. To make it specific, they were aiming for the converging energy in my hands. Looks like they go after anything with a high-energy signature. I shouldunch another Abyssal Blue, but currently, my hands are busy. I quickly evaded and created some distance between me and them. I stared at the converging red and blue orbs and it seems that it was still converging. "Come on..." The creatures darted towards me once again, but something seemed odd. Their numbers... did they increase? There weren''t just ten of them anymore, there were almost a hundred of them now. "What the-!?" I quickly dashed away, but no matter how far I went, more just seemed to appear! Where the hell do they keeping from!? I stopped to check up on the orbs and they were still converging. That was when the creatures began to surround me. I was trapped. They all rushed towards me at the same time, trapping me in as they got closer and closer. I couldn''t do anything as both my hands were upied. I thought I was done for, but that''s when I heard a noise that sounded like ss shattering. Suddenly, the creatures split up and crashed into each other in multiple ces. I was confused until this message showed up. [Passive Skills Obtained: Principle of Distortion(Unique Skill), Space Maniption] [Skill Obtained: Total Distortion(Lvl.1)] Distortion? Instantly, my entire body was engulfed in a weird physical sensation. My body felt... lighter... almost too light, to be exact. I tested my body, throwing kicks and swift punches. What the hell? Ding! [Principle of Distortion: Twist, distort, and cut through energy and matter with the power of the Void| Effects: Allows the host to control the Principle of Distortion; Host will be resistant to momentum, mass, and inertia, allowing the host to move freely even without Cursed White Arts active] [Notice: With this principle and Total Distortion, your physical attacks can be enhanced and fire distorted space that can cut, pierce, and crush matter. All energy that it makes contact with will be dispersed...] How interesting... I looked at the creatures around me and smirked. Then, with a swipe of my leg, the creatures were split in two and faded away. [Skill Obtained: Distorted Kick(Lvl.1)] I continued to kick in the direction of the creatures,unching shockwaves produced of Distortion before stopping and switching to my fists, impaling the creatures with the force of Distortion. [Skill Obtained: Distorted Fist(Lvl.1)] I repeated this and continued to do so until they were all gone. Clenching my fist, I smirked as I turned towards the earth. This is nice... Now that I achieved Space Maniption and unlocked my Inborn Principle, I can go now. ...right, I still need to wait for Joseph toe back. . . . Chapter 98: Last Day Chapter 98: Last Day After floating around in space for who knows how long, Joseph eventually came back. I told him that I was able to unlock my Inborn Principle and the ability to manipte space as well. After he congratted me, it was time for ck Magic. ck Magic was kind of simple but it took me a few days to master it. To use ck Magic, I needed to deplete the three-dimension space, allowing me to control the distance between two locations. The thing about ck Magic is that it is actually a little different for everyone. To use ck Magic, the Inborn Principle must be used and that determines what kind of ck Magic you will be able to use. Joseph who has Erasure uses the type of ck Magic to erase the space he skips, the space he skips bing non-existent afterward. With Distortion, I can twist, distort, and cut through matter which ispletely different than Joseph who can just erase it from existence. When I used it, what happened was the space that I had subtracted through the void distorted in the real world which appeared like shattered ss. Traveling with ck Magic is activated with a trigger which is a hand motion. Joseph activates it by locking his thumb around his pinky and pulls it, triggering the action. The way I activated it was by clenching my hands together and shaking it. Once ck Magic is used, the amount of energy used varies on the distance that has been skipped or subtracted. For example, 1 mile would equal 100,000 mana and 10 miles equal 1 million mana, and from there you can guess the rest. For one day, I was alone since Joseph had something to do and I have been using that time to develop new techniques with Oppression and Banishment. Currently, all my attacks require a huge chunk of my mana in order to operate and that is the reason why I am always short on mana at the end of every fight. I managed to make two new techniques, though one requires Caustic Blue to be activated. The first technique which uses Oppression is called Scarlet Shot. Just imagine Piercing Red except I can rapid-fire with it. Costs 200,000 mana every shot and that is kind of cheap in my book. Though itcks firepower, it is able to stun enemies for half a second. My second technique is called Lapis Lotus. No, I didn''te up with the name, Yukie did. Really. Anyway, when I have Caustic Blue equipped, I can send blue and white-colored needle-like projectiles at my opponents and once they make contact, they drain that person of their energy and banish it. This attack has the same deadliness as Piercing Red as those projectiles can impale my opponents, though they disappear after a few seconds, but not before draining away some of my opponent''s energy. It costs 100,000 mana every 10 projectiles fired and the amount of energy drained from my opponents depends. I''ve also been practicing the techniques that have been given to me with my new Inborn Principle, Distortion. After Joseph returned, I was taught some other form of martial arts by Joseph who managed to learn them all. If I recall, I haven''t gone deep enough into the topic of martial arts in this world. Well, I''ll exin them in simple terms, starting with North God Martial Arts. North God Martial Arts is a form of martial arts focusing on countering enemies before striking them faster than the human eye can perceive. If it wasn''t obvious, it mostly involves countering the enemies after they attack. From what I heard from Joseph, I have to be calm and free of thoughts in order to fully master this form of martial arts. This also helps with wielding weapons as this can remove the weight on a person''s arm. Well, not that I really need that anymore since Distortion can do that for me but it is still helpful. Next is South God Martial Arts, which is a form of martial arts that focuses on attacking swiftly and heavily. Most of the techniques focus on using the legs which have to be able to withstand even the toughest of blows. As a result, the legs will be indestructible. So I had to suffer 2 hours of Joseph breaking my legs until he was unable to break them anymore. I managed to survive his onught with Instant Heal. Next was West God Martial Arts which I already had but I''ll mention it anyway. WGMA(Abbreviation for West God Martial Arts) is simr to SGMA which requires swift attacks except for the force of impact is very weak. This is to prevent any unnecessary stamina usage which is a problem I always encounter. It also focuses on swordsmanship as well but since I don''t have a sword, it didn''t really matter to me but I decided to learn it anyway. All of this was so I can get stronger I still hated myself for that event Lastly, we had East God Martial Arts. This one was different as it required simultaneous hitting, kicking, parrying, and countering. Basically, the user needs to be extremely quick on their feet and be able to process thoughts in the span of at most 0.79 seconds. If one were to use EGMA with weapons, daggers would be the most useful. That is where Raidenes in. Anyway, EGMA was the most difficult one to learn out of the others. By the time I had finished training with Joseph, it was already Dawn. To Joseph''s surprise, I managed to master SGMA quicker than the others. Actually, I managed to learn them all with ease. Though I had learned them, I was still far away from Joseph''s level. After sparing with Joseph many times, I was surprised at how fast he was able to move. His attacks were so refined and fast that my body was unable to process his attacks until after a second had passed. He was moving so elegantly that it was impossible to interpret what move he was going to make next, even though I could see him do it. I asked him how he was able to do this but all he told me was- "Don''t think while you fight. When your mind is clouded with thoughts, your body must process the thought of attacking before moving and the nerves can only travel so fast. Let your body think on move on its own. It may be confusing, but your movements will be inconspicuous to your opponents, disallowing them to read your moves. With or without selfishness, the body will feed off of ego." He almost sounded like an old sensei teaching his student puzzling philosophies. I didn''t really understand it at first but if I were to say what it reminded me of, it reminded me of Ster; having the unconsciousness control the body instead of the conscious mind controlling it. I almost wanted to test it out but it was kind of hard to even go in the state of not thinking. As I was sitting in the middle of the forest, attempting to enter this state, I was interrupted by Joseph who appeared in front of me. "Joseph what is it?" "Hey Nero, since it''s thest day, why don''t we get a drink at a bar? You know, before we depart?" "Thest day?" "Yeah." what!? Wow I almost forgot that I only had 6 days with Joseph. To think that that much time has already passed. I''ve been so focused on gaining power that I nearly forgot what I was even obtaining it for. Deroc I''ll show him Tch, I still get angry whenever I think of that guy but I try my best not to because ording to Seffirot, I lost because I chose wrath over pride. If only I was just thinking back then but he did the uneptable. He''ll pay and once I get the chance for payback, he will suffer a fate worse than death, and I promise that. "Nero? Something wrong? You are looking a little grim there." Joseph tilted his head, confused. I snapped back to reality and shook my head. "N-no, nothing is wrong." "Hmm, alright then. Anyway, let''s go get a drink." *** Traveling with ck Magic, we arrived at an inn in Maroon city. Even though we weren''t near it, the morous voices of the Inn''s patrons could be heard from across the street. As we entered inside, everyone stopped and turn to Joseph. The atmosphere felt odd for a few seconds, but then everyone returned to being loud and obnoxious. We walked over to the bar and ordered some drinks. Since I couldn''t get wasted, I just decided to drink some water since alcohol won''t do much for me. Maybe if I could manually turn Poison Resistance off, then that would be good for when I want to get drunk. After we drank a few bottles or two and left the Inn, Joseph and I had a little chat, talking about our past lives. Joseph already knew I was the "Inept Hero" and I knew he was the Warlock Hero, so it was already obvious we were from earth. Not this earth, but our previous earth. I didn''t learn much from him except he was from Italy and was also part of a mafia. I don''t think he was lying, but I sure was. I wasn''tfortable speaking about my past and just made mine up. I only kept some things true but everything else was made up. Then I began talking about what happened after I arrived here and the backstory. "Aah, so you suspect someone from your group was also associated with the king kicking you out and trying to get you killed?" "Yeah." "And you suspect that it is either the Archer, Warrior, or the Mage?" "I suspect either one of them, but it could be all of them." "Hmm I guess that would make sense why you forwarded such a murderous intent to them." I shifted my attention to Joseph before staring at the bracelets and rings on his arms. "I wonder" I began and Joseph turned towards me. "Those are your limiter rings and bracelets, right? Why do you have them equipped?" I asked curiously. "Well, it''s a little obvious why I have to wear them. I''m not fully ustomed to my full strength. If I flood my body with everything I have, then I''ll break down and die. I wouldn''t want that to happen now would I?" "I guess so." Eventually, it was midnight and we stopped at an Inn where I will be staying. Joseph had other ces to go and to me, it seems that he didn''t really need to sleep at all even after drinking. "Guess we can depart from here." He said before turning around to use ck Magic but I quickly stopped him. "Joseph." Joseph turned to me and raised an eyebrow with a puzzled look. "Yeah?" "You know I am the Inept Hero... right? So why haven''t you done anything?" "What do you mean?" "I mean, you know I''m a criminal right? If so why haven''t you done anything?" "Criminal? Is that what you are? So far all I''ve seen is a man desperate to gain power for his selfish needs... or should I say that this isn''t for selfishness at all?" "Wha-?" "I can see through people easily, especially you. I wasn''t the Consigliere of the mafia for no reason. You''ve been troubled by something. I don''t know what it is, but I know it is about someone. Someone close to you. The powers I taught you were supposedly for your own ego but what it actually fueled was your drive to protect that someone. Also, your intentions were a little clear, but that is just me." "...so you saw right through me from the very beginning?" "Precisely, but Ipletely understand. I also felt the same way once but I got through it eventually. You can too... but do it your own way." Joseph yawned and turned around, preparing to use ck Magic. "Before I leave Nero," He began. "Do you think we''ll be friends? Or enemies?" "...friends... I would say." "Wise choice," Joseph said before he vanished. ...me choosing a wise choice huh...? That''s a first... . . . Chapter 99: The Duel Chapter 99: The Duel Katrina sat in front of a mirror with her hair being brushed by her mother, La. La noticed Katrina''s mood and sighed as she continued to gently brush her hair. "Are you nervous?" La asked Katrina. "M maybe" Katrina responded to her mother. La paused and smiled, patting the top of Katrina''s head. "It''s ok to be nervous. I was nervous once when I met your father. Though, that is nothing rted to the kind of nervousness you are experiencing right now." "I don''t know I don''t know if I beat him in a duel." Katrina was referring to Deroc who she had to duel to decide her fate: Be married into the Margo family or obtain freedom from them. Even though she had a week to prepare and train, she just couldn''t stop fearing Deroc after the disy from days ago. Of course, that disy was a brawl between Deroc and Nero. The fight waspletely one-sided after Deroc had shown his Altima. Katrina had recognized Nero''s strength to be far superior to hers after his disy of strength but after witnessing his defeat, she was sure that she could definitely not defeat Deroc. It wasn''t her fault that her confidence was so low though. She tends to be the shy one and never talks back disrespectfully. Her past trauma and the powers she was given ced a heavy burden on her shoulders. Only her family members were able tofort her and keep her mind off of those thoughts but now it wasn''t just her family that couldfort her, it was her newly made friends as well, though one is currently still missing. "Mother," Katrina began. "When will grandpa be home?" La''s thoughts hesitated before she wore a light smile. "Your grandfather will return soon. He just has a lot of work on his hands right now." "I see" The truth was, her grandfather Francis was bedridden with a rare incurable disease. Of course, Katrina hasn''t found out as no one has told her and with the help from Celestia, his presence waspletely erased despite being located in the house. This has been going on for almost a year now, but it will eventually be time when the truth will be revealed. La who was drowning in thoughts right now was interrupted when Katrina pulled her sleeve. "Yes, Katrina?" "I I want to brush your wings." Katrina said, staring at La''srge, pure-white wings. La chuckled as she allowed her daughter to do as she pleased. After a few minutes, Celestia entered the room. La greeted her as she entered, but Katrina''s smile turned upside down. "Is it time?" Katrina muttered towards Celestia. "Yes, it''s almost high noon, so we should get going," She replied. Katrina nodded hesitantly before turning to her mother. "Are you sure you won''t being?" She asked. "I wish I could, sweetie, but I have important business to take care of." "Okay" Katrina would then turn to Celestia and follow her out the door. As they arrived at the courtyard, Kiyomi, Ravyn, and Akane stood there. "You three want toe along?" Celestia asked them. "Well, we have nothing else to do. I also want to support Katrina in her battle," Akane announced. After the sudden disappearance of Nero, the three girls could only train but the thought of Nero interfered. It was because he vanished while he was still gravely injured. The girls were also injured too, but none of their injuries were grave besides Kiyomi''s. "I guess so If only Nero didn''t disappear" Celestia frowned before shaking her head, her face gradually bing red. "Anyway, hang onto my shoulder." Everyone surrounded Celestia and ced their hands on her shoulder. Katrina looked down before she turned to her mother. "Good luck!" La said, waving her hand. Katrina smiled in response before Celestia activated ck Magic, the group disappearing afterward. La sighed, and after a few seconds, she looked up in the air to spot a man descending onto the ground. "There you are" *** The five appeared in the middle of Albion, the abandoned Colosseum. Sitting in the bleachers were Deroc who was sitting in ax manner, and his grandfather. Deroc looked at the group before spotting Katrina. A smile crossed his face as he jumped down from the bleachers and onto the field. "Katrina!" He yelled, getting the group''s attention, specifically Katrina''s. The group turned towards Deroc and greeted him with irritated expressions, some with almost infuriating looks. Celestia turned to the three to calm them down but even she was angered as well. After all, the man they were angry at did beat Nero in a duel, though it was obvious who was going to win in thetter half. Despite wanting to be angry on Nero''s behalf, she had to keep her cool. "You three go to the bleachers. I must initiate the duel. You will get in her way." The three girls nodded to Celestia before turning to get onto the bleachers. Katrina bowed hesitantly to Deroc before getting into a stance. Deroc sighed and spoke. "Katrina, please think about it again. I don''t want to hurt you. You know you are weak so instead of resisting, we can solve this peacefully. What do you say?" Deroc spoke softly in a tone that is meant to charm his targets but his words were quite distrustful. Despite hearing his words, Katrina did not yield. With all of her confidence, she shook her head. "No, I will fight for my freedom." The smile on Deroc''s face quickly faded away as he sighed, drawing his sword. "So be it." Celestia looked at the two before raising her hands. "Ready?" Katrina gripped her sword handle and began to breathe in slowly. She began to empty her mind of thoughts and focus only on attacking Deroc. These past days, she has been training hard to prepare for her duel against Deroc. Today, she will see how far she has gone and she only has one attempt. Katrina closed her eyes and exhaled before Celestia dropped her hand, signaling the beginning of the duel. Deroc dashed forward and swung his sword horizontally but Katrina managed to dodge. He swung it several more times before stepping back. Katrina had managed to dodge all of them. Noticing the change in her stance, Deroc got cautious and gripped his sword with both his hands. In all his life training and practicing, he has never seen someone move in a strange and refined manner. ''Could it be she has already mastered Ster?'' Deroc thought as he ran towards Katrina. Swinging his sword multiple times, all he seemed to hit was air. It wasn''t until he was struck in the stomach before getting uppercut away. Deroc stumbled on his back before cing his hand over his stomach. ''Such force! Is this the strength of Ster?'' Deroc thought to himself, inspecting the new glow around Katrina. ''What are you doing fool!?'' A voice shouted in his head. ''Grandfather?'' ''Hurry and end this! What are you ying around for!? Is this what you''ve learned during your training!?'' ''There is no need for me to rush. There is no way she could''ve possibly mastered the use of Ster, even if she is an angel.'' ''Fool! Mastered or not, you will not be able to catch up to her. The only way is Altima, so get to it!'' ''Shut up, geezer!'' Deroc suddenly shouted in his mind before turning to his grandfather to re at him. ''True, Ster is something I haven''t faced, but I have faced simr. If it is true that she hasn''t mastered it, then I still have the upper hand. If things don''t go the way I want them to go, then I will go Altima.'' His grandfather looked him in the eyes before sighing shaking his head. ''Soon, your pride will be the end of you.'' His grandfather said towards Deroc telepathically. Despite the warning, Deroc scoffed and rolled his eyes before returning his attention to Katrina. "Katrina, I give you onest chance. I do not want to scar that beautiful face of yours." Deroc said, attempting to reason with Katrina but instead, she sent a ball of divine energy at him which he evaded. "Tch, stubborn girl," Deroc growled before he was covered in bright light. When the light dispersed, Deroc had entered his Altima and charged towards Katrina. "It seems you''ve given me no choice!" Katrina who had entered her Ster phase quickly regained her consciousness and drew her sword, morphing into her Altima instantly. Their swords shed and a massive shockwave emitted throughout the colosseum, shaking it. Celestia who was watching from bleachers quickly set up a barrier in order to limit the shockwave from damaging the rest of the colosseum, then she shrank it so it only covered up the main field. As the two crossed swords, Katrina attempted to enter Ster once again, this time in her Altima form. However, as soon as she closed her eyes, Deroc jumped back and appeared behind before shing his sword. Katrina quickly turned around andunched a shockwave towards him. Deroc blocked it and as he was flung back by the sudden force, feathers shot out from his armor and headed straight for Katrina. She quickly deflected the feathers but she was unable to block some of them, thus she was struck in the arms. After she shrugged the pain aside, she quickly twirled around and barraged Deroc who had appeared behind her. Deroc waited till there was an opening and once he found that opening, he stepped to the side and mmed his leg into Katrina. Katrina yelped in pain as she flew and stumbled onto the ground. Due to the pain, she exited her Altima. "No... damn it." Katrina said, attempting to get on her legs. Deroc walked up to her and shook his head as he rose his sword. "I told you, this could''ve been settled peacefully but you didn''t listen. For that, I will punish you." A sadistic smile slowly crossed Deroc''s face as he stared at Katrina. Katrina red at him before he cackled, plunging the edge of his sword towards Katrina''s arm. "IT''S OVER!!" BANG!! Suddenly, before he was able to strike Katrina, his right hand was prated with red, violent energy. Deroc stumbled back and dropped his sword before ncing at the hole in his hand. Deroc turned to see who had fired the attack, but he was then bombarded with blue arrow-like projectiles. The blue projectiles prating his arms. Deroc clenched his teeth as he fell to the ground and stared at the blue projectiles in his arm. He was suddenly forced out of his Altima and he felt his energy being drained until the projectiles faded away. "Wha... what the-?" Deroc was bewildered as to what had just happened. Everyone looked around until they spotted a man floating in the sky. "Is that-?" Celestia''s jaw dropped as she looked up at the man before staring at the giant hole in her barrier. "No!!" Deroc''s grandfather yelled as he red up at the man. Kiyomi, Ravyn, and Akane smiled as they noticed who the man floating in the sky was. Katrina shifted her head upwards to also look. "Bastard..." Deroc growled, looking up at the man who stared back at him. The man, Nero, looked down at them with a strange glow in his eyes. The nk expression on his face slowly shifted into a smile. . . . Chapter 100: Fallen Angel Chapter 100: Fallen Angel (A/N: Chapter takes ce a few minutes from the previous chapter) . . . I woke up an hour before noon and ate some breakfast to get thest morning started. After that, I began walking through the town of Maroon. After loitering around for a few minutes, I began to wonder why I felt a feeling of difort. Am I forgetting something? Walking down the streets, I eventually stopped at a za and sat on the edge of a fountain, watching birds eat bread crumbs off the ground. It wasn''t until I spotted a white feather on the ground did I know why I was feeling uneasy. I smacked and cursed myself for not knowing why. I have been so focused on trainingtely that I just remembered what today was. It''s the duel! The duel between Katrina and that bastard, Deroc. I quickly fled the za and entered a secluded alley until I heard a voice that sounded like a woman. "Don''t touch me!" She said. "Ohe ondy, let''s have so-" The thug began, but he was quickly interrupted with a- Wham! I quickly mmed the thug''s face into the walls and shook my head before clenching my hands and shaking it, performing ck Magic, and leaving the vicinity. I quickly appeared above the Oria''s mansion and looked around before Iid my eyes on the courtyard. I eventually spotted a group in the middle of the courtyard. When I noticed that it was Celestia and the others, it was already toote and they vanished. No, wait! Damn it! They''re gone I was going to nevermind I slowly began to descend to the ground in grief before I spotted an angel waving her hands at me. Her hand signaling to follow her. Isn''t that Katrina''s mother? What does she want with me? I used ck Magic and appeared in front of her. Our eyes locked for a moment before she smiled and turned to the door. "Follow me, Nero." She said before entering the estate. I hesitated for a moment before following her. Along the way, I couldn''t help but stare at her white wings which were vacant of anything tarnish. We walked down the long, decorated hall before we stopped in front of an empty wall. La ced her hands on a certain part of the wall and it suddenly opened. She entered inside and I followed her in. We stumbled upon arge bedroom where an old manid on the bed. It was until that I realized that the old man was Francis. So this is where he was huddled up. La walked over to Lloyd''s side who was sitting next to Francis, holding his hand. Francis coughed, opening his eyes and turning his head towards La. "Is he finally here?" "Yes, he has arrived." Francis looked around the room but he passed me, that''s when I noticed that his eyes were cloudy-like. So he''s blind now? Francis opened his mouth to speak but all that came out were coughs. It wasn''t long until he began to cough blood out. "Father, hang in there. You can''t go yet." Lloyd said, holding onto Francis''s hand tightly. "I know help me up will you?" Francis asked Lloyd who then helped him up. Eventually, after he settled down, he lifted his head and began speaking. "Nero was it?" He asked. "Yeah? I expect you need something from me?" "Yes but it is not something I need from you, it''s something you will need from me." I tilted my head and looked at him confusedly. Then the door behind us opened and a maid entered with a sword wrapped around in a nket. The maid stopped in front of me and offered me the sword. When I reached for the handle, I felt my skin burn instantly. I quickly pulled my hand back and stared at it. It took a few seconds for the skin that was burnt off to fade away. "This sword is it-?" "Indeed, it is an Altima sword. It belonged to my father." Francis answered my question before I was able toplete it. "And you are giving it to me?" "Precisely, yes." I shook my hand as I stared at the sword. "But I can''t wield it. I can''t touch anything encased with divine energy." "Then you will develop the ability to resist it." "And how? I can''t even touch anything with divine energy or holy energy. I can touch light yes but that is all. You are going to offer a power that I am unable to possess." "No, it is possible," This time, La began to speak. "How?" I replied. "It will involve the satanic energy sealed inside your soul." "Wha- how do you know about that?" La smiled, walking over to the maid and gently taking the sword out of her arms. La inspected it before turning to me. "Us angels are able to gaze into the souls of others. I''ve already taken a look at your soul and that is how I found out." "When exactly?" "The first day you came here." "I see" The same maid who La had taken the sword off of returned with a role of ck bandages. The Altima sword flew off of La''s hand and the role of ck bandages unrolled, encasing the sword fully in ck cloth. The sword then dropped into La''s hands. She then turned to me and offered it to me. "It should be safe for you to touch it now." I positioned my hand above the handle and as soon as I grabbed ahold of the handle, nothing happened. I held the sword in my hand and the feeling that I would always feel whenever I make contact with divine energy wasn''t there. "You should be able to hold it now," La said. "The sword has been covered with material that is able to suppress divine energy so you won''t be hurt by the energy the sword gives off." I ced my hand on the bandaged wrapped de of the sword and it was true, I wasn''t feeling pain from it anymore. I was a bit happy that this sword was in my hands but then I turned to the Orias. "Why exactly are you giving this to me?" I asked them. "I want you to save my granddaughter." I heard Francis say in a serious tone. "In the tradition of royalty, if one pushes marriage to another noble, a duel must be held between them. This isn''t mandatory as the other could give their consent but the duel will happen if they attempt to decline. If the one who pushed the marriage wins, they will get married to the other and if they lose, well, it''s called off." La exined to me. "And what you are saying is-?" "This does not apply to angels. Katrina is my daughter, meaning she is also an angel. Stated in heavenlyws, if an angel wants to be married to another, their souls must bepatible with each other. Katrina''s and Deroc''s souls are notpatible, not even a portion. If it wasn''t obvious, Katrina is notfortable around Deroc." Then she took my hands and somehow my hands didn''t burn from her touch, even though she was emitting divine energy. "I ask of you to defeat Deroc and save my daughter. These past days, she has managed to get the hang of Ster, but she has not mastered its full use. She will be ruined if she is married under the Margos." That''s when I noticed the change in her wings. Light particles began shedding off from them and in their ce were ck feathers. "Y-you-" I stammered. "Yes, I have fallen from grace because I''ve chosen to protect my daughter than let it y out. I''ve-" She stopped, turning to Lloyd who nodded. "I''ve prepared for this day to lose my grace because I''ve made a deal with the devil." "Devil?" D-did I hear that correctly? "You might not know this, but you have be a demon. To be specific, you have demon blood inside you that has yet to be awakened." "I''m a demon? No, I can''t be, I''m huma-" "Did you not toss your humanity aside to obtain more power?" "what?" "The truth is, you may have lost some of the morals you have kept close to you since birth, but you also tossed away your human body, and you were given a new one by the Qliphoth. You were given a body suited to wield demonic power while retaining the human qualities you still possess." "H-how do you know all this?" "How do you think Celestia was able to read minds and memories? I was the one that taught her that and I can do it too." "So you read through my memories? Does that mean you-?" "We will keep it a secret," Lloyd said. "In exchange, you will protect our daughter." I gulped as the weight was already being pushed onto me and I have no other way but toply. If I want to keep my identity a secret, then I''ll have to do what they say. "I see then so all I have to do is save your daughter?" "Yes," The two said. "But where am I supposed to go? I was only a second toote to be able to tag along with them." A moment of silence filled the room until Francis called my name. "Nero,e here." He said. I reluctantly walked over to Francis before he quickly got ahold of my face and blinded me with light. "Gaaaah!!" I yelped in pain as I stumbled back. "I have gifted you my ability, the Eyes of Interspace. With it, you will be able to find where they are." [Active Skill Obtained: Mystic Eyes of Interspace] [Mystic Eyes of Interspace: Enhances the host''s vision, allowing them to see through any material and up to more than a few thousand miles| Effects: Grant''s host the ability to use the Mystic Eyes of Interspace and enhances the range of any ranged attacks| Conditions: 100,000 mana for every second that passes and 1,000,000 mana when the host''s vision exceeds a thousand miles] Suddenly, my vision was enhanced very enhanced! I could see through the walls the forest I could even see the ocean from here! And I''m indoors! What the-? Isn''t this the eyes that... what was his name called again? I haven''t been to the guild for a while so I don''t remember his name, but he had it as well. "Now then, look here," La said, positioning me to another part of the room and suddenly, I spotted two figures fighting in some kind of colosseum. Wait a minute, isn''t that the colosseum I passed trying to get to Maroon city? "An Altima user like Deroc is unbeatable in a sword on sword fight. If you can somehow beat him at his own game, then you will have the upper hand. From here, you are on your own." I deactivated the Mystic Eyes of Interspace and turned towards them. Looking at the sword, I smirked as I strapped it on my waist and clenched my hands together. "Thank you," I thanked them before I vanished and appeared in the sky above the colosseum. I noticed that Katrina had fallen onto the ground, forcefully exited out of her Altima. Deroc had his sword raised and he looked like he was ready to strike her. Hmph... I already know how to beat you... Right as he was about to swing his sword, I aimed for his hand and fired Piercing Red. BANG!! Piercing Red had pierced not only his hand but also some kind of barrier. If I were to guess, that would be a barrier that Celestia must''ve cast. I wasn''t done there. I formed Caustic Blue and fired Lapis Lotus, sending blue projectiles towards Deroc. The projectiles managing to pierce his arms and forcing him out of Altima. After a while, he lifted his head towards me, an infuriated look crossing his face. ...hehe. I''m going to make you suffer. That was what I thought as I stared at Deroc with a smile crossing my face. . . . Chapter 101: Round 2 Chapter 101: Round 2 I slowly descended onto the ground,nding next to Katrina and helping her up. "Are you alright?" I asked her and lent her a hand. Katrina gazed at me and nodded before taking my hand. "Good, go rest, I''ll take it from here." "Wait wait! You can''t do that!" Deroc yelled but I had already brought Katrina to the girls before appearing in front of him. "Do what?" Instinctively, he jumped back and retrieved his sword. He red at me and inspected me from head to toe before spotting the sword I had strapped to my waist. "You dare interfere with my duel!?" He yelled, pointing the end of his de towards me. "Interfere? Well, you can say that was one of my intentions, but that is not the main reason why I am here." "Then what is it?" "I''vee to make you suffer." A moment of silence struck the field before Deroc burst intoughter. Heughed andughed, palming his face in disappointment. "You say that, but you''ve already lost once to me. Why, why is it that weaklings always dere they can win against someone that is clearly more superior than them? I don''t seem to understand. Is it because you want to feel pitiful after you fail miserably? unt your overconfidence? Or maybe you just want to make an excessively high opinion of yourself so you don''t taint yourself with woe. I understand if you deem your own ego as high as others, but don''t you think you should keep it to yourself? You see,moners like you should know your ce and that is to bow at the feet of your superior!" WHAM!! Immediately, I cut the distance between us and delivered a sharp, heavy kick across his face. I didn''t stop there. As an addition, I mmed his face into the ground before kicking him away with a Distorted Kick. He stumbled and rolled across the ground, dust kicking everywhere. "Heh, sorry about that but you were wide open. I expected you to say something meaningful, but I didn''t think you would start monologuing about your own superiority, so I decided to kick you across the face instead." I then beckoned him toe at me. "Now then, if you want me groveling at your feet and licking your boot, then you''re gonna have to force me to my knees, or to make it easier, you can just try and kill me. Don''t be rmed, I won''t kill you, but I will shut that obnoxiously mouth of yours." Deroc slowly got up from the ground and onto his feet, his head still facing the ground. "Aww, what''s wrong? Did tarnishing that princely face of yours with the sole of my boot hurt your feelings?" "Disrespectful ingrate, you won''t have the chance to hurl insults AFTER I KILL YOU!!" Deroc lunged towards me and swung his sword horizontally. I quickly ducked and struck his stomach with a Distorted Fist. Somehow he didn''t seem affected and quickly got a hold of my arm, attempting to drive his de through it. Quickly, I drew my de and parried it before delivering a kick to the side of his hip,unching him away. As he flew away from me, I swung Caustic Blue,unching Lapis Lotus towards him. "You arrogant bastard!" He yelled as his body was wrapped in light and entered his Altima form. He swiftly evaded my projectiles and shot straight towards me. I dispersed Caustic Blue and activated Rebellious Shield before dashing forward and shing with him. We began barraging each other with kicks and punches. I managed to damage him by hitting where he couldn''t defend and blocking his every attack. Normally, when I collide with anything with divine energy, I would be damaged in return but due to the nature of Rebellious Shield, I was able to nullify the divine energy that is supposedly supposed to damage me. As we continued to sh, I quickly stepped to the side after he performed a massively telegraphed punch, which I evaded. I then kicked Deroc into the air and barraged him with a couple of Distorted Fists,unching him further up into the air. Teleporting above him, I would then hammer him towards the ground. As he plummeted, I caught up with him and snatched his face while elerating myself using Cursed White Arts, speeding the plummeting process even further. As we neared the ground, I dragged him in front of me and he crashed into the ground instead of the both of us. I pinned him to the ground and grabbed onto one of his arms before breaking it. "AA-!!" Deroc screamed but he was cut off as I shoved his face into the ground. "What''s wrong? Is this all the power the Altima has to offer? Last time you were able to catch up with my speed and even managed to counter me with my own attacks. Did your senses degraded after you drowned in your own arrogance for beating amoner like me?" "Pesky swine I''ll make you regret being so pretentious!" Suddenly, I was blown away by a wave of divine energy that had shot out from his body. As I skidded away, Deroc appeared above me and attempted to plunge his sword through my body but I quickly evade and kicked it away. Then I bombarded him with Scarlet Shots before I mmed him away with Total Oppression. "Hmph, boring I''m not entertained" I turned to his sword before using Telekinesis to toss it towards the bleachers. "You say you are good with the sword. Let''s see how good you are without it now." I taunted as Deroc rose from the ground. "Fool I don''t need the sword to kill you." Suddenly, his body was wrapped around in divine energy, except I felt a malicious feeling corrupt the atmosphere. That''s when Deroc''s body began to bulge and grow bigger. He began to sprout torn wings, his arms grew longer and bestial-like, and his legs growing more muscr and turning intorge bird talons. His armor shattered, revealing the rest of his feathers, and the mask on his face also broke, revealing a beak with cracks on it. He was at least almost triple my size. "What the hell?" I said, stunned by what I was witnessing. ''Watch out, Nero. He''s turned into a Primal!'' I heard Celestia''s voice reverberate in my mind. Primal? What is that? ''It is a desperate state Altima users enter when they are in dire need of strength. You having the upper hand must''ve begun to hurt his pride and cause him to go Primal. He will now be drowning in his own pride and wrath because of your interference. From here, you need to be careful of his attacks for he will be extremely powerful, powerful enough to shatter your entire body.'' Hmph, well I''d like to see him try. "You low-life trash!" Deroc began to yell. "You just had toe in and interrupt the duel I would''ve won! You fucker! I could''ve had her all to myself! Then I could use her to satisfy whatever desires I''ve always wanted! I would''ve been finally satisfied!" "So you just wanted her so you could make her your ve?" "Precisely yes. Who wouldn''t want to make such a beauty like her a ve? I could''ve but you just had to barge in and rob me of my prize!" "It''s a good thing I did it then. No one should have someone like you to be their partner!" "You are no better!!" Deroc stomped his way towards me and threw his fist towards me. I quickly dodged as I had noticed his speed had decreased and begun barraging him with countless Distorted Fists and Kicks. "What''s wrong? Did you be an ugly duckling and sacrifice your speed just so you could be my punching bag!?" "Mongrel! I am the embodiment of perfection!" He proimed before throwing another massively telegraphed fist. I dodged and struck him directly in the abdomen before kneeing his chin. As I flipped backward, I grabbed the handle of my de and threw it towards him, boosting its speed with Oppression. Deroc quickly looked up and grabbed ahold of the de. He attempted to crush it, but when he looked at it again, it didn''t break. "You''re wide open!" I yelled as I kicked him across the beak, chipping a few pieces off. "Idiot, you fell into my trap!" He yelled before clutching my leg and mming me into the ground. "Ack!" I stared at Deroc before I notice him driving my sword towards my chest. I managed to catch it before he plunged it through my heart. Crap, he''s grown immensely strong! He''s like a god damnpression machine! I equipped Osiris to give myself a strength boost. I attempted to use Rebellious Shield but as it was in the process of forming, my hands slipped and the sword had pierced my heart. I grabbed onto it and attempted to pull it out, but it was no use. "Impudent fool, you thought you could fool me? Just because you wrapped an Altima sword around with ck bandages doesn''t mean you''ve won." That''s when he began to pour divine energy through the sword. The feeling I was experiencing was as if my entire body was bathing inva. "This was your own downfall. You are not worthy of possessing the Altima. You wield darkness, so you could never even host such power even if you were worthy of it! Give up while you can!" I could feel my strength seeping away and my vision blurring until I was in a sea of ck. "Huh?" [I dragged your consciousness into your soul... For now, everything on the surface has stopped...] I turned and Yukie was standing up, looking at a light that was dyed either blue or purple... if I remember, the color is called indigo. [When I return your consciousness to the surface, you will let go and let the sword pierce you thoroughly...] I noticed her voice was different, and quickly realized it was Seffirot talking. "What happens if I let go?" I asked him. [When you do, this light which is the divine energy from the Altima sword will pierce the barrier keeping the Satanic energy at bay and a few of your astral chains will break, but not all of them... When that happens, your soul and its soul will merge together, or to be specific, you absorb the soul and it will be a part of you...] "What do you mean by that?" [Remember what I said about Satanic energy originating from Asuras? Asuras naturally develop the ability to resist divine energy and manipte it, so when you absorb the divine energy of the Altima and the Altima itself, you automatically gain the ability to wield divine energy...] "I see. That is useful." [When you trigger your Altima for the first time, you will receive new abilities, new strength, and you will also be a different variant of the Altima...] "What? What variant?" [That is all I can say for now... I hope you remember what to do...] And then my consciousness returned to arge beastly bird, pushing my sword towards me. "Give up... you lost..." Deroc said, but I just smiled. "No, you lost..." I replied, letting go of the sword de and letting the sword pierce me fully. At that same time, I felt something shatter inside me and an overwhelming sinister feeling coursed through my body. "Idiot... do you not know thest way to obtain the Altima?" I replied, slowly pushing myself off the ground with the sword still in my chest. "I''d like to thank you, for helping me obtain Altima." And then there was a bright sh, mixed in with an eerie aura. . . . Chapter 102: Timeless Purgatory Chapter 102: Timeless Purgatory Deroc eyes widened as Nero was encased in a ck, purple, and blue aura. As he was blown away by the force of the flowing energy, he retrieved his sword, reverting back to his original form. "What is this?" Deroc asked before the energy around Nero stopped and condensed into a pitch-ck aura outlined in purple and blue. Nero''s figure was visible in the center of the aura but something was oddly different about him. There was a humanoid figure covered in ck skin and scales, almost bare. His arms and his legs were reptilian-like, almost draconic, as they had ws and spiky protrusions. His body was sttered in glowing cracks; His arms and his legs and therge crack in his chest glowed an incandescent indigo color, representing the overflowing energy signal emitting from Nero. But the most prominent feature was the head. It wasn''t the head of a human or a creature, but a wicked skull with jagged, spiky edges and two long, slim, and jagged horns that were bent back, sticking out from each side of his forehead. As Nero raised his head towards Deroc, he was covered in ck, slim, and light-weighted armor which had glowing patterns. A mask would also appear on Nero''s head, which had three eye slits on each side of the visor, granting view and covering the entirety of his head except where the noticeably jagged-shaped jaw was located. When the aura around him had been absorbed into the glowing crack in his chest, the helmet eyeholes emitting a bright blue glow. Nero cackled as he gradually pulled out the Altima sword still stuck in his chest. The Altima sword was also different in appearance. It was now a long, slim broadsword with a double-edged de which texture represented that of obsidian. It glowed in the middle, and the guard and handle were spikier and edgier. "What do you think?" Nero spoke in a heavily distorted voice. "Doesn''t this power and form of mine suit me?" Deroc opened his mouth to speak but he was too stunned for words. ''How how is someone with dark energy able to obtain the Altima? This can''t be true I thought-'' Deroc gritted his teeth before swinging his sword. "Don''t think you''ve won!!" Deroc shouted as a piercing shockwave wasunched from his sword. However, as it approached Nero, he simply swiped his arm, deflecting the shockwave away which carved into the bleachers. Luckily, no one was caught in the attack. Nero stared at his arm and clenched it a few times before focusing his attention on Deroc. "Apologies, I didn''t mean to deflect your attack, my body just moved on its own." He then pointed the tip of his sword at Deroc. "Now then, let''s duel shall we?" Nero spoke in an attempt to provoke Deroc. "D-don''t fuck with me!" Deroc shouted, dashing and swinging his sword which was aimed towards Nero''s neck. Nero quickly bent backward before performing a backflipping kick, striking Deroc''s chin. He then snatched onto his leg and mmed him to the ground. Deroc braced the impact before he barely managed to block an iing strike from Nero, sending him flying towards a wall. ''He''s stronger and faster!'' Deroc thought, analyzing Nero''s newfound strength. Vwoomp! Suddenly, Nero appeared in front of Deroc, grabbing onto his face. "What are you cking off for? We''re fighting here." He said as he mmed him into the ground before dragging him along the side of the walls. Nero then tossed him into the sky and as he reached the top, Deroc caught himself with his wings. He then looked down at Nero, gripping onto his sword tightly. "Y-you can''t get me up here!" Deroc dered arrogantly, not remembering that Nero was able to fly minutes ago. Nero only shook his head before nodding. That''s when ck energy formed around his back before they morphed into a set of ck bat wings with root-like patterns glowing both blue and purple. With one p of his wings, he appeared in front of Deroc and struck him down with his sword, sending him plummeting towards the ground. Deroc crashed and was forced out of his Altima. As he rose from the ground, he began to regain some energy. "Huh?" "Now, now, don''t die on me so quickly," Nero said, descending from the ground. As hended, his wings folded down into the manner of a coat. "Come on and try already, you haven''t even put a scratch on me yet and I''ve still yet to embarrass you." Hearing that, Deroc felt his anger building up and screamed, morphed into his Altima, and lunged towards Nero. Nero waited till the sword was near him, then he flicked it, swept Deroc off his feet, and allowed him tond on his side before heavily kicking him in the stomach, sending him crashing towards the wall. Fixing hisposure, feathers began shooting out from his armor and towards Nero. As Nero walked towards Deroc, he weaved and evaded every one of his attacks effortlessly. It wasn''t until Deroc ran out of feathers to shoot that Nero appeared in front of him in a sh, then striking him directly in the chin with a sharp kick. "Ack!" Nero stepped back and watched as Deroc held onto his chin. ''M-my chin it hurts'' He thought before receiving a heavy kick in the side of his abdomen. As he rolled across the ground, Nero appeared and stopped him before cing his foot on his back, pinning him down on the ground. The first action Nero did was grab Deroc''s wings and tear them off. Deroc yelled in pain but he was interrupted as Nero stomped his head to the ground. Then he stabbed Deroc''s arms but didn''t cut them off. After that, he shed his nape before kicking him away. Deroc attempted to regain hisposure but after receiving a heavy blow in the chest with a force that prated his lungs, he was forced out of his Altima andid on the ground lifelessly as he struggled to even breathe. Nero appeared in front of him and snatched his hair before lifting his face to his face. Nero''s mask then dispersed, and Deroc was staring into eyes darker than the abyss. "Is this all the ''Master Swordsman'' has to offer? I''m disappointed" "Tch why don''t you just kill me now?" Deroc asked. Nero gazed at the furious look in Deroc''s eyes before he chuckled and brought him on his feet. "I have yet to test my new skills on you." Nero pushed Deroc away and tossed him his sword. As Deroc caught his de, Nero dashed towards him and shed at Deroc multiple times. Deroc managed to block Nero''s strikes, but he was unable to fight back due to how fast Nero was swinging. He was also unable to negate the shockwaves emitting from Nero''s sword as they phased through his de, bluntly striking his torso. After watching Nero''s movements, Deroc intercepted and went straight for Nero''s heart, the same ce where he had stabbed him. However, as soon as Deroc''s sword was about to pierce Nero, he simply just vanished. That''s when he appeared behind Deroc who quickly spun around, only to receive a barrage of Distorted Fists at once, the shockwaves not only hitting his face but his entire body as well. Instantly, after the first wave, a second wave was fired from Nero''s hand. This time, they struck every Deroc''s every pressure point. The force of these many Distorted Fists was so powerful, they managed to pierce and shatter Deroc''s Altima armor. As an aftereffect, they can twist and dig into the spots they have struck. This attack sent him flying. "How was that?" Nero called out. "Normally I can''t fire more than one Distorted Fist from one hand but now that I have Altima, I canunch more of them at the same time. However, I can only do this when I''m in my Altima form. I call it Twisted Chaos Dance." Nero then appeared behind Deroc, kicking him directly in the spine before teleporting in front of him and sting him with a high-speedbination of punches and kicks, battering him from all sides before kicking him into the air. As Deroc flew in the air, Nero stabbed his sword to the ground before his Altima armor shed. Nero was now bare. This method of shedding his armor allowed for a greater speed boost in exchange for a sacrifice of strength. Though it is safe to say that he was already fast, to begin with, this only makes him more of a breakneck predator. Deroc caught himself before staring at Nero who then appeared in front of him. "J-just kill me already," Deroc said in a tone that sounded like he wanted to give up. Nero looked at the noticeably beaten Deroc. Though he was already damaged severely, Nero shook his head before holding Deroc''s face in his hands. He then pulled him closer until the only thing Deroc could see was his pitch-ck eyes. "There are fates worse than death." Suddenly, the pitch-ck eyes Deroc stared at began to glow. Then- He was in the middle of a ck sea Deroc looked around before he felt something tap his shoulder. As he turned around, he was met with arge, skeletal, beast-like figure with multiple appendages representing sickles, draped in ck tattered rags which moved ominously, a facepletely inhumane with 2 slit eyes, jaw containing multiple sets of razor-sharp teeth, and a long tongue that was shaped like a centipede. "Wha-?" Deroc began but was abruptly interrupted when one of the sickles decapitated him, his head dropping to the ground. Deroc blinked and suddenly, he was standing up again, his head still connected. Deroc gulped as he held his throat. The feeling of it being sliced off was still there. "What? Wha- what the hell?" Deroc stuttered as he attempted to figure out what was going on until sickles emerged from the front of his torso. That''s when blood spat out from his mouth. "Ghluh!" Deroc limped but was held up by the sickles. The sickles began to raise Deroc into the air before he was split into multiple pieces. But Deroc was alive again, standing in the ck, endless sea. "What is going on...?" Deroc muttered as he couldn''t move. His body still stunned by the pain that had urred even though the wounds were nowhere to be seen. "I... I swore I died... two times already..." Deroc said before he felt an intoxicating, sinister presence. "I dragged you into my soul. In here, I can kill you and revive you as many times as I wish. In this ability of mine, time is put to a halt so by the time you return to your body, you''ll immediately go insane and all the pain you''ve endured will instantly be shouldered onto your real body. So then, let''s see how many times you can die before going delirious. This is Timeless Purgatory." Deroc looked over his shoulder and met with the sinister eyes of Nero''s Primal form before his head waspletely swatted off from his body. ... ... Deroc''s 12th death: Hacked into two from the waist up... ... ... Deroc''s 41st death: Butchered into multiple pieces... ... ... Deroc''s 86th death: Impaled countless times before being left to rot... ... ... Deroc''s 101st death: Eaten and dissected alive... ... ... By the 194th death, which was when Deroc was smashed into bits, the light in Deroc''s eyes was gone and all he could do was stare into the nk sky. "194 deaths? I must say I''m a bit impressed you''ve endured that much." Nero said, before grabbing Deroc by his neck. "You will be the first victim that has experienced Timeless Purgatory. Now then, let''s return you to your body." Deroc was eventually wrapped in ck energy that emerged from the ground and his vision waspletely dyed ck. Then, as Deroc''s consciousness was returned to his body, the pain from 194 deaths was all sttered across Deroc''s body and he yelled in pain. Nero watched as his body fell to the ground before exiting his Altima form. He then picked Deroc up and appeared in front of his grandfather. "Your grandson... I''d say it would take him a few months to recover. So, if you don''t want to end up like him... well, I think you know what I mean." Deroc''s grandfather nodded as he ced his shaky hands over his grandson. "I-it hurts... it hurts so much... ithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurts-" Deroc continued to mutter as his eyes became bloodshot. Deroc''s grandfather looked up at Nero and stared into his eyes which overflowed with sinister intent. The sadistic smile across his face was enough to overflow Deroc''s grandfather''s spine with chills. Nero eventually turned around andnded next to his sword, picking it up and ced it onto his back, a force holding it in ce which acts as a sheath. Nero turned to direct his attention to Celestia, but he was quickly tackled to the ground by Kiyomi and Ravyn. "Nero!!" They all shouted as they hugged him tightly. "You idiot, why did you leave?" Kiyomi asked. "We were so worried about you," Ravyn added. Kiyomi and Ravyn looked at Nero but then they noticed he was knocked out. "Nero?" Kiyomi shook Nero who''s eyes flickered. "I''m... tired..." He said weakly before passing out again. "Due to awakening Altima for the first time, it has consumed all of his stamina, and not only that, but he was also extremely weak. His body temperature also began to heat up. Looks like he''s going to need some rest." Celestia said, appearing next to the girls and cing her hand on Nero''s forehead before stroking it. "You did well... Nero." . . . Chapter 103: Afterwards Chapter 103: Afterwards Ding! [Stats have been updated!] [Stats have also been abbreviated] [Mana has been divided by 1,000] [Required mana for all attacks has been divided as well] [Notice: Any skills that once required mana below or equal to 1,000,000 will not consume any mana(Passive Skills are not affected)] [Change: Shadow King Domain has evolved into Shadow Overlord Domain] [Shadow Overlord Domain: Consume and drag your enemies intoplete darkness| Effects: Create a 100-meter radius dome that can negate, absorb, or reverse any form of mana performed by your opponent trapped in this domain; Overwrites any current domainid out; Enemies trapped in this domain will have their senses go haywire| Conditions: 100 mana to activate for 1 minute and 10 every second that passes; No incantation is needed| Cooldown: 10 minutes after use] [Change: Ameliorate has evolved into Mitigate] [Mitigate: With broken chains, you are granted better growth| Effect: XP earned ying enemies x21(Applies to skill levels as well)] [All party members'' level cap will be raised by 100,000] [ss obtained: Warrior] Ding! [Warrior --> Altima Swordsman] [Title Obtained: Sin of Greed] [Sin of Greed: Fulfilling desires through trickery has increased your luck| Effects: Luck +666%] [Notice: You can now equip 5 sub-titles] [Active Skill Obtained: Altima(Majin)] [Altima(Majin): Transform into your Altima form| Effects: All stats are boosted by 500%(400% for strength and 600% for agility when in Primal)] [Passive Skills Obtained: Divine Energy Maniption] [New Function Unlocked!] [Altima Ability Set: Skills that can only be performed in Altima form until the skill is at max level or thest astral chain has been broken] [Altima(Only) Passive Skills: Satanic Energy Maniption] [Altima(Only) Skills: Twisted Chaos Dance(Lvl.1)] [Twisted Chaos Dance: A more powerful and enhanced version of Distorted Fist| Effects: Fire a barrage of Distorted Fists, battering your opponent from all sides. Another wave will be fired after the first but this one will strike your opponent''s every pressure point| Conditions: Consumes 100 mana per use] [Altima(Only) Active Skills: Timeless Purgatory] [Timeless Purgatory: Drag your opponents into the infinite purgatory and make them suffer| Effects: Stare your enemies directly in the eyes and drag their souls into yours; Opponents can be revived as many times as you want; Time that has passed inside the soul will not affect the current world| Conditions: None| Cooldown: None] {Status} Name: Nero Akuma Title: Pink Rank Adventurer Sub Titles(3/5): Sin of Sloth| Shadowseer Emperor of the Dead| Enemy of Cocytus) ss: Jack of All Trades Status: Normal Level: 66,666 Mana: 6,666,666 Strength: 166,666 Agility: 166,666 Technique: 166,666 Perception: 166,666 Aura: 166,666 Stat Points: 0 {Abilities} Passive Skills Count(58) Active Skills Count(7) Skills Count(74) {Altima Abilities} Passive Skills: Satanic Energy Maniption Active Skills: Timeless Purgatory Skills: Twisted Chaos Dance(Lvl.1) ------------------ [Notice: If you want to browse through your skills, just say "Open" and what category you want to open...] *** My eyes fluttered open and I was staring at the ceiling of my bedroom in the manor. I lifted myself and stretched before getting on my feet. "Whoa" I wobbled for a bit before using the bed as support. Huh my legs feel weak and numb. I guess I''ll just use Cursed White Arts for now until I can feel my legs again. As I floated, I noticed that my nails were different. They werepletely dyed ck. Well, this is great, like the shadow trims around my eyes didn''t make me edgy already. After I had donned my clothes, I floated out of my room and down the hallway. It was rather quiet. I wonder Eventually, I could feel my legs again and I returned to walking. I walked over to the wall where the hidden room was located and entered the room to see Celestia, La, Lloyd, Katrina, the girls, and a few maids circling around Francis. "Grandfather" I heard Katrina''s voice speak, followed by coughs from a dying old man. "It''s alright little angel. It is natural for humans to die. I''ve be old and rusty it is about time that I said my goodbyes." Francis said, coughing a few more times. "No, not yet," Katrina responded. Suddenly, Celestia ced her hand on my shoulder. "Huh, you''ve arrived just in time. Come." "Huh?" Celestia took me by the arm and dragged me through the servants. "He''s here," Celestia said and everyone stared at me. "Nero I like to thank you for what you''ve done." I heard Lloyd say. I scratched my head and said it wasn''t necessary. I just did it for my own benefit. I had nned to get myself impaled by the sword to obtain the Altima. I''ve been thinking about it and made ns with Seffirot so he would pull my consciousness away to remind me if I were to forget. "Nero" I heard Francis say weakly, beckoning me with his finger. I walked over to his side and leaned in forward, listening to what he had to say. "I" He muttered. "I I would like you to" "Would like me to what?" I asked him as I inched my ear closer to him so I could listen closely. His voice was getting even lower and lower that it was almost inaudible. "I would like you to marry my granddaughter." what? "Say that again?" I asked him so he could repeat himself. "I don''t think I caught that. You want me to" "Yes, I want you to marry my granddaughter." "But isn''t that something Lloyd should be saying?" I asked. "Meh, Lloyd is too much of a coward to say such things." He said and Lloyd just seemed to look pissed. "But is that really alright?" I asked, ncing at Katrina and La who was behind her. "You have my consent. It all depends on Katrina''s answer." La said before looking at Katrina who''s face waspletely dyed in red. "Yeah, me too." She muttered shyly. "And so it''s sett-" La began but I quickly interrupted. "Wait." Everyone turned their attention to me again and I closed my eyes before taking a deep breath. "You guys haven''t asked for my consent yet. I haven''t even said yes or no." "But you''ll obviously say yes, right?" Lloyd asked me. "It''s also not the matter of saying yes or no. We met for like... well not even a full month yet and you want me to get engaged to your daughter?" "Well, she has feelings for you and I assumed you were already enchanted by her beauty." "Mother!" Katrina yelled at La who ce her finger over her mouth and chuckled. I stared at them nkly before looking over at the girls. They looked at me and smiled before they nodded. Specifically Akane. Akane is probably the closest one to Katrina out of the others so if she agrees, then I guess I''llply. "I guess so..." "Then it is officially settled," La said. "You two are now officially engaged and your marriage will be held a month from now." "I see... wait what?" Did she say marriage? And it will be held in a month? "Yes. In a month." "What? Isn''t that a little too early? I just agreed to this now and you want us to get married already?" "Well, the sooner you two get married the sooner we can have grandchildren." ...I can see why she became a fallen angel now. Now that I think of it... "Mrs. Lay-" "Call me mother-inw." ... I blushed as I hesitantly said what she requested. "M...mother-inw..." "Yes?" "D-do they know you-" "Yes." She stroked Katrina''s hair and Katrina nodded. "I know what she did... she did it so you could save me and I am d that her efforts were not in vain." Katrina and La looked at each other and giggled. Huh... they have a strong bond... even if one did something they were not supposed to... "So, you should get a uniform prepa-" "We are not marrying so quickly!" I quickly retorted. "Why not?" La asked me. "...well... I..." I could feel my face heating up as I continued to speak. "I have... feelings for others... you know." I finished as I took a quick nce at the girls. "I see, now I understand the many moans I''ve heard from your room." I immediately turned bright red and so did the girls. Celestiaughed as Katrina tilted her head in confusion. "Umm..." "I will tell you after you get married, Katrina," La said as she patted her head. I turned to Francis and he smirked as he told me toe closer. "Protect my granddaughter for me... this is myst request." I nodded as I pulled away from him. ... Francis died the day after with a smile on his face. His funeral was to be held in a week which we all attended. His shadow... I would do it but it would be disrespectful to the dead. I decided it was best to leave the dead to rest in peace. Eventually, everything settled down... we arrived back at the guild a monthter and eventually went back to our regr schedule. The only difference now was that Katrina was following along with us and registered herself as an adventurer. I had managed to add her to my party without the use of Mark of Fidelity, which I just remembered was a skill I had. She was given permission by her mother toe along with us... and she also forced the responsibility onto me, saying I should watch over my "Future bride." Though I didn''t want to, I owe a debt to the Oria''s. If it wasn''t for them, I wouldn''t have been able to defeat Deroc and keep my identity a secret. And the wedding? I tried cooperating and asked if we could choose it on ater date like 2 years from now but she insisted and it ended up a year from now. Things were getting wild... but it was fun that way, though it is slowly turning my life into aedy. Anyway, with my new power, the Altima, I feel like things will get easier considering the stat boost I''ve received along with Transcend... Now... I''m just hoping things settle down for a bit... . . . Chapter 104: Changes Chapter 104: Changes About 4 months passed, meaning it was now December. It was safe to say that it is now winter. I know because a snowstorm just hit yesterday and Maroon city was filled with snow. Everything was pretty quiet in the guild as everyone either stayed home or went out to do some quests. I was chilling in Celestia''s room, sipping on some hot tea and going through some documents she assigned me to do. Well, Celestia''s clone, not her original who stayed back, huddled in her library. Akane and Katrina went out to do some quests as Katrina was still not used to adventuring and most of the outside world. I decided that Akane was the best woman to apany Katrina since they have a kind of sisterly bond. Ravyn went out shopping for winter clothes since it was going to get colder from now on. I was told that the temperature during winter could dip below -200 degrees celsius. It hasn''t gotten to that point yet, but it will eventually. It''s a good thing hot drinks exist. "Here you go, Nero," Kiyomi said, pouring tea into my cup before serving it to me. "Thank you," I responded calmly. There were also some changes that have happened, some of them were physical changes in my body. But first I''m just gonna point this out about my stats. I... -have not been leveling up... and I also haven''t been giving levels to the girls either but there was a reason for that. The reason I haven''t leveled up was because... I just didn''t feel like fighting. Almost as if I just became a pacifist... Alright, the truth is I''m just toozy, but I''ve been helping Celestia out with some important guild business. For the reason I haven''t been helping the girls leveling up is because something was happening with my digestive system. Seems that artificial demons are unable to consume blood after awakening their demon blood for half a year. I almost suffocated after drinking the blood of an Ice Dragon''s. For now, I just need to wait two months before I can resume that business again. Though I haven''t been helping them, they could already level up themselves as they have the Passive Skill Ameliorate now. Anyway, to the physical changes, I think I''ve already mentioned that my nails have changed colors. This happens when an artificial demon is born and I myself am an artificial demon. I''ve been attempting to find more information on artificial demons but so far I haven''t been able to find anything. Even asking Yukie, I didn''t get any info because she wouldn''t tell me anything, which is a little suspicious since she has to know everything about demons as she is the Qliphoth which is supposedly the devil''s tree. I asked Celestia if she could find any information on this topic and she said she''ll see if she can find any. With the library of hers, I''d say it will take her a while. Anyway, changes to my body, yeah. My voice has be calmer and slightly deeper. I didn''t notice this at first, but the topic was slowly being mentioned by everyone around me. Celestia said it might be an effect of me awakening my Altima and I think so too. Though to think I became a demon this whole time without even knowing Guess it is safe to say that I am not human anymore even though I still have the human anatomy, on the outside of course. Yes, I still have human flesh but when I transform into my Altima, it bes ck. The only part of my body that didn''t have flesh was my head. Yeah, it waspletely bare. Luckily, it looked kind of cool, giving off a sinister feeling. The eyeholes werepletely ck. No matter how much light I shined into it, it waspletely ck. The only thing that happened to me was I almost blinded myself. Oh right, I can manipte divine energy now. Though I''m a little disappointed that itcked in usefulness well, to me. Ravyn and Katrina could perform many moves with divine energy while all I can do is create a singr ball of light. I''m just toozy to be honest. Aside from darker shadow trims and longer hair, everything about me was still the same. I had to revert to tying my hair back again. Yeah, my hair grows kind of fast, but it declines when it is able to graze my shoulder. I would cut it now, but I''m toozy so I just leave it tied back into a bun. "Fufu" Kiyomi sat in the spot next to me on the couch and snuggled up next to me. I shifted my attention and patted her head. "Nero you look better in these clothes." Kiyomi pointed out. I looked down at myself and smiled. Since it was winter, I decided to change my outfit. I was now wearing a ck wool turtleneck sweater, ck cargo pants, and a ck scarf. I also decided to change my boots as I was getting a little tired of wearing them, so I just switched to wearing in ck boots. I also discarded the gloves, simply because I just got tired of wearing them. "Nero" Kiyomi said my name and I nced at her. "Yeah?" "About your marriage with Katrina I wonder" I hope this isn''t the talk that girls do about saying something to a boy in which they have no idea what they have done but think that they have done something. Even after all this time, I am still not prepared for this kind of conversation. Please don''t be it, please don''t be it, please do- "Is there a possibility that we can get married?" -please don''t be it, please don''t be wait what? "What did you just say?" I asked. "I-I mean, we can talk about itter but" Her face was bing redder and redder and I think I was also blushing as well. The smile on her face was slowly turning into a frown. I should say something "W-well, I don''t really like to talk about marriage since I''m not really interested in that." "But isn''t your marriage with Katrina in 8 months?" "Well, yeah... but I was kind of forced into it." "I-I see" Kiyomi''s frown slowly faded away, but it wasn''t the smile she had on her face. I looked up at the ceiling and thought for a second before returning my attention to Kiyomi. "If I was able to set the wedding on another day, then I would do it after I marry you." An embarrassed expression quickly appeared on Kiyomi''s face, her face being bright red. I chuckled as she pouted and leaned on my shoulder. "Do you mean it?" She asked. "of course. I would never lie to you." I promise that you will be the first person I marry Kiyomi I would never lie to you after all you are the person I trust the most. I leaned my head on Kiyomi''s and I heard her gulp and shift around. So cute Kiyomi eventually pulled away as she took a sip of some tea. I smiled as I stroked her head. "Kiyomi," I said. "Y-yes?" Kiyomi asked. "Why don''t you revert to your Kitsune form? I like you in your original form." "B-but Nero, what if someone walks in?" Kiyomi muttered as she blushed harder. "It''s alright," I said, cing my hand on her leg and slowly making my way up her skirt. "I''ll tell you when to revert back to human form." I nibbled on her ear and she let out a silent moan. Our faces met and we were about to share a kiss until Celestia barged in. We quickly fixed ourselves and sipped on some tea. Celestia yawned as she passed us. We assumed she didn''t notice until she said- "Please do not get intimate in my office. I don''t want to clean up after you." She said it with a smug face too. It was probably because of what happened four months ago when La said that she heard us. Well, technically she went through my memories but she imed she heard it. Despite that, Celestia got augh out of that and now she brings up the topic whenever she has the chance. Well, it''s all fun and games until I mention she''s a virgin. Yeah I should stop saying that both from my mouth and in my head since she could read my mind. Speaking of reading minds, I''ve attempted to have La teach me how to read minds and scan through memories like Celestia could but it seems that I was unable to learn it no matter how hard I tried. I looked over at Celestia and she red at me before sighing and sitting down in her chair. Huh, strange usually she would start scolding me and beating me if I ever mentioned that, but she''s changed after that event. From La, I heard that Celestia had something against one of the Margo Family''s ancestor and has been waiting for one of them to suffer. Guess she''s decided to go soft on me for doing her a favor. did you developed feelings for me Celestia~? Celestia grit her teeth and began shouting at me. "D-d-don''t get so cocky just because you did something for me! I only decided to be nice to you for now!" She pouted after she blushed in reaction to my thought. Heh, I''ve also developed a kind of sixth sense whenever Celestia reads my mind so I tend to know when she is invading my mind, a good thing I know how to counter her back. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Hmm? Come in." Celestia said and the door opened with Holly standing at the entrance. "What is it, Holly?" Celestia asked. "Well, someone is here for Nero." She replied. Everyone turned their attention to me and I scratched my head, confused. "Who is it?" Celestia asked her again. "Well... it''s Earl Raiw." "Raiw? I see..." Celestia closed her eyes and nodded before looking over at me. "Lucky you." She said, and I just tilted my head, puzzled. ...what? . . . Chapter 105: Sponsor Chapter 105: Sponsor (A/N: This video is sponsored by Raid Shadow Lege- JK no it''s not) . . . I was sitting beside Kiyomi on the couch, deep in thought. Celestia had gone out with Holly to talk with this Earl, Raiw. Now that I remember, Adventurers that have been in Maroon can be hired by others for a certain task. Those tasks can range from body guarding to an average quest. I believe there is one involving assassinations too but I am just assuming that is something an Adventurer could be hired for. Anyway, the door opened. Celestia and Holly walked in with a well-dressed middle-aged man following them, though that was the only part of him that was well-dressed. He had messy, long ck hair with white strands which could make him look homeless if he wasn''t wearing such wealthy clothes. "Nero, this is Kainen Raiw. Kainen, this is Nero Akuma." Celestia said, introducing us. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Akuma," Kainen said, holding his hand out for a handshake. I stared at him hesitantly before standing up to shake his hand. "Nero is fine," I replied. "Well then, Nero it is." He said politely. After greetings, we all took a seat. Celestia sitting on the couch in between the couch me and Kiyomi were sitting on and the couch Kainen sat on. "So Nero," Kainen began. "You may be wondering why I have business with you." "Is it a job?" I asked and Kainen nodded. "Yes. I have a job for you." I cupped my chin and thought for a second. "I have to ask, why did you choose me?" I asked curiously. Kainen chuckled before he said- "Because I want to test the skills of the man who defeated Deroc Margo." I stared at him nkly but then took my attention off him and sipped some tea. Then I looked at him again. "Exin," I demanded and he nodded. "You see, the Margos is one of the few nobles that we other aristocrats dislike. You can say it is mostly political but the real reason is that they unt their status too much. You know, it was funny when news got out that the Margos lost in their duel against the Orias, but I knew something wasn''t right." "So you are saying it was your intuition?" "Well, you can say that. But it wasn''t just my intuition that brought me here. It was the facts. Now, I''m not saying this to hurt them but Katrina Oria''s power was nowhere near Deroc''s level of power. It is clear to say that she could not have been able to overwhelm Deroc to the point where he has lost his mind, so I asked a friend." His eyes shifted towards Celestia. I turned towards her and she shrugged. "Turns out that I was right and Katrina did not defeat Deroc, but someone else. To think that someone would be powerful enough to put Deroc in his ce, and from what I see in front of me, I can see how he lost." "So Celestia told you everything about me?" "Yes, and I would also like to thank you on her behalf. You see, she has a history with the Margo''s that she doesn''t really like to dig through, but I''ll just say that it has something to do wit-" "Kainen." Celestia suddenly interrupted in a stern tone. "Don''t even mention a bit about it in my presence." Kainen stared at her and sighed. "Alright then." Huh that''s weird. I''ve never seen her like that. "Anyway Nero, back on topic. You see, I am somewhat of an Altima fanatic." "what?" "I''ve heard from Celestia that your Altima was different. A very rare variant called a Majin. You see, I''m a researcher. I took the mantle from my grandfather to help explore the studies of the power of Altima." "So you are telling me-" "Yes Nero, I want to see you in action in your Altima form." I scratched the side of my head and looked out the window. I had an unsettling look on my face and I was a little shy to admit why. "Well" I began. "I would agree but" "If you do this for me, then I can be your sponsor." "Well wait, sponsor?" "Umm yeah, sponsor. Is there something wrong?" "Yeah, there is Celestia, what''s a sponsor?" Celestia looked at me while sipping a cup of tea before realizing and chuckled. "Right, I forgot to tell you." And so she began the exnation. "You see, Nero, Adventurers like you are able to get a sponsorship from a certain business or in this case, someone of noble status. Under the sponsorship of a sponsor, you receive many quirks! All of your expenses will be covered, you will receive private and rare quests unlike the ones in the guild, and... well you are financially set." I see... so I can get paid. A smile appears on my face and I rubbed my hands together but then I quickly stopped daydreaming and returned to my neutral state. "So..." I turned back to Kainen. "Is that what you are going to do?" "Precisely yes. Now, your Altima is not the only reason why I''m here." "Is it Katrina''s?" "Not really. I''ve already performed research on her grandfather''s Altima. Though it is sad to see an honorable warrior pass away. But if I do get the chance, then I''ll take a look at hers but I am mainly here for yours." "I see... so is that the only reason?" "No. I am also here to hire yourpanions. You see, if the other aristocrats knew about you, we would all be owing you favors right now. For taking out Deroc, I wanted to do a little more but didn''t know what. Luckily, Celestia''s suggestionse to mind." Really Celestia? How close are you to this guy? And also how much did you tell him? ''Let''s just say his family and I were and still are great friends. Don''t worry, I didn''t tell him much but if they have him as their sponsor, then you are all set. It is better to trust the people that I trust.'' Celestia said to me telepathically. Well, if that is the reason then so be it. "So, what do you say?" Kainen asked me and awaited my answer. "...I guess so." "Great! Because I already have a task prepared for you, but of course that will be dyed because it would be a little rushed. We also have to go through the paperwork and have our partnership verified. Luckily, we have the person we need right here," said Kainen, pointing to Celestia. Of course, Celestia is a Guildmaster as well as a diplomatic figure. "Now then, paperwork." *** After we had signed the paperwork which was just a paper where I just had to sign my signature along with Kainen''s and had them approved by Celestia, our partnership was official. Kainen left after we had signed the papers. Kiyomi also signed the one she was given and Ravyn had juste back and she signed hers as well. Since the other two haven''te back yet, we were holding onto theirs. Kainen said he woulde back in a week to discuss the task he is going to give me. I wonder what he has in store for me. I bet it most likely involvesbat so I guess for now, I''ll just take on a quick quest tomorrow. As I sat down and continued to help Celestia with her work, she brought up a few questions. "Hmm, when I mentioned money, you became a little avaricious for a second." "Yeah, I noticed. Why''d you mention it?" I looked at her suspiciously. "Well, I''ve been wondering. If you want money so bad, why don''t you ask Katrina? I mean, she''s wealthy and she is going to be your wife in the near future." ...why is she asking me that as if she is testing me? Hmm, I guess I''ll answer sincerely... though it''ll juste out bluntly considering how I like to talk. "Well, I just don''t like monopolizing others for their wealth and all that." "So you have standards?" "...you can say that." Celestia stared at me and held her chin. "Oh really...?" I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "What? Something wrong?" "...no, nothing wrong. I''m just d you aren''t using Katrina as a tool." "What do you take me for?" "Mmm, I don''t know, but if you aren''t monopolizing Katrina, then why were you so excited when it was Kainen?" "Because it was probably your idea and your n to introduce me to him. You should be happy that it worked, and you most likely did it so I can stop procrastinating, right?" "Yes, for the past months, all I''ve seen in my room was your annoying face." "Ho? A virgin is giving me an attitude?" A vein bulged on Celestia''s head and she was going to burst but she took a deep breath. "It was for your own good. Now, go back to the inn. You can rest for today. I also bet that you have some business to take care of tomorrow?" "Yeah, probably won''t be back for a while." "I see then. You can go now." As I got up to leave the room, Celestia called for me once more. "Nero, one more question." "Hmm?" "What will you do with all the money you''ll be receiving?" I stared into her eyes which gazed back at me and I thought for a moment. "Well... maybe a house could do, like a mansion so it can fit at least 10 people." "A house, huh? Don''t you already have enough?" ... "Oh... I see... No wonder why Kiyomi decided to strip you of all the money you receive. Alright, that is all." I shook my head before staring at Celestia curiously, thinking about why she asked. Eventually, I just gave up, shrugged, and closed the door. . . . Chapter 106: Ambush I Chapter 106: Ambush I The next day, I went to the guild to pick out any quests that would be good for me. I need to regain my fighting spirit since I''ve be a little too peaceful. I''ve still kept all my fighting knowledge, I just forgot the feeling of how to fight. Well, I have tested out how fast I can go in my Altima, and let''s just say I''m pretty fast. With Raiden equipped, I can basically run around the world in under a minute. Of course, I''m just assuming so don''t listen to anything I say. I eventually spotted one which required me to exterminate a few Stormblitzes. Stormblitzes, huh? Haven''t seen them in a while... Guess I can get their souls and get summons out of them, even though I haven''t used summons... Anyway, I just need to practice since I''m probably a bit rusty from being so passive for the past months. As I left, I went to the inn to retrieve my sword since I almost keep forgetting that it isn''t part of Ethos Arsenal so I can''t summon it at will. I have physically hold it in my hands. I also forget to activate Cursed White so it can float around me or just stick onto my back. I eventually left Maroon to go to the ce where the Stormblitzes were spotted. Though, something about the location was a bit off. It was some mountains in the south. It didn''t take me long to get there from Maroon since I could nearly move at the speed of light using Cursed White. I would use ck Magic with Mystic Eyes of Interspace, but there were many side effects from using the Mystic Eyes of Interspace. I heard this from Hijiri, the guy with the blindfold. Turns out that if you use repeatedly use the Mystic Eyes of Interspace, it could eventually get stuck on you and you won''t be able to deactivate it again. I asked if that''s why he was unable to deactivate it but he said he was born with those eyes and he still doesn''t have enough control to deactivate it. Either way, I already arrived at the mountains. I scouted the area and searched for the Stormblitzes but I couldn''t find any. There were no storm clouds anywhere or lightning traveling through the sky. It was just... quiet. Strange... I looked at the snow-covered mountain beforending in the field of snow. That''s when I sensed manaing from the ground beneath me. "What the-?" Immediately, a heavy ball of snownded on top of me. I was unable to lift up Rebellious Shield in time so I took the hit directly. As I struggled to get out, I heard voices from the outside. "Wow, is this really the guy we are supposed to kill?" Said a male voice, speaking in an arrogant manner. "Don''t get so cocky. From what I''ve heard from the princess, he doesn''t die so easily." Said another voice. This time it was a female''s. "Oh really? Well then,e on Mr. Hero,e out and y." The male voice taunted, which I assumed was directed to me. Hmm... if I were to guess, they would be from Cocytus. Well, it''s been a while since they''ve ambushed me. I thought they gave up but that doesn''t seem to be the case. Alright then. I shuffled my hands together before performing ck Magic to escape the snow. I teleported on top of the pile of snow before turning towards the two figures. As expected, they were from Cocytus. Both of them were ice elves. Using Analysis, it seems that one was a Mage while the other was obviously an Assassin. Their levels were both around 50,000... several levels above Deroc who was around level 29,000 at the time when I fought him. I know that because before I performed Timeless Purgatory, I also used Analysis before I dragged him inside my soul. The thing is, my active skill Timeless Purgatory is only absolutely effective if the person I fight is a lower level than me. There are also several ways but I always stick to the lower level strategy. Anyway, it seems that Cocytus'' king decided to bring the big guns. Well, can''t me him since I''ve already beaten a few of his assassins. Hmm, now that I think of it... "Are you guys actually soldiers serving under Cocytus and ordered to kill me, or just hitmen hired by Cocytus to kill me?" I asked the two. "You can say thetter," the male responded. "But of course, we are still residents of Cocytus, just not serving the king directly." "Ah, I see." "Now then, let''s stop talking," the male said before drawing his daggers, which were made of material simr to ice. "Let''s have some fun," He said, licking his lips. I sighed as I looked around before asking- "By any chance, did you kill the Stormblitzes that were spotted here?" "Stormblitzes are currently in hibernation. They do note out during the winter due to the cold climate and that affects their ability to generate lightning. If they don''t have enough heat to charge up electricity in their body, then they die," the female exined. I see then... so that means... "You guys were the one that-" "Yes, we were the ones who made that quest and as predicted, you took it due to your neglect as an adventurer." The female one spoke. "Hmm, I''m a little suspicious as to how you know that but I won''t ask." If she knows that, then there might be someone from Cocytus watching me. Also, from now on, I''m having Celestia choose the quests for me. Well, not that I really need to anymore since I''m going to have Kainen give me quests. Anyway- I drew my sword and pointed it at the elves. "Alright, enough talking. Let''s fight." "With pleasure!" Immediately the Assassin vanished and appeared behind me, his dagger nearing my eye. I quickly kicked the pile of snow,unching myself away from him. Then suddenly, the Mage shot a wave of ice spikes at me which I barely managed to dodge. Only one of them managed to impale me but I managed to dodge the rest. When Inded on my feet, the Assassin appeared behind me and attempted to sh my nape, but I managed to drop to the floor before he couldnd a hit on me. After that, Iunched him away using Distorted Fist. The Assassin caught himself and skidded across the snow. As I attempted to approached them, I felt a heavyweight on my arm and realized that my left arm was encased in ice. I nced at the mage before blowing melting the ice with Dragon Fire. After that, my hand was free, but the temperature immediately froze my hand since it was still wet. "Now this is what I''ve been expecting. I almost thought that all the rumors about you were false. Though it doesn''t look like you are trying so, I can''t say it''s all true," The Assassin chuckled before getting back into his stance. "Rumors?" "I believe my partner is speaking of another," The Mage replied. "We have dered another as an enemy, however they are highly dangerous and lethal in terms of brute strength." "Huh? Wait, this isn''t the Warlock Hero?" The Assassin asked his partner. "No idiot, this is the Inept Hero." "Oh... really?" The Mage sighed and shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder how you even became an Assassin in the first ce." "Aah well, it doesn''t really matter. I''m actually d it isn''t the Warlock." "And why are you d?" I asked as I red at him nkly. The Assassin snickered before a massive grin appeared on his face." "That''s because-" He began. "Don''t Elre!" The Mage shouted at him but he didn''t listen. "You''re weak." Then he rushed at me and skewered me with his daggers. By the impact of his sudden attack, we slid across the field until we crashed into the mountain. "Come on, Mr. Hero! There must be a reason you are our enemy! Is this really the man that killed the princess'' brother, Myran?" The Assassin, Elre shouted at me as he continued to tear me apart with his daggers. "Myran...?" Elre gradually stopped when he heard me speak in a clear tone. "...how are you talking? Icerated your throat..." He asked but I ignored his question. "Myran... wasn''t he the weakling I killed with my Shadow King Domain?" Elre backed away from me and I slowly got up as my body healed up. "He didn''t stand a chance against me. He was weak. I just toyed around with him, that''s all. He didn''t even have the final chance to say his goodbyes." I clenched my hand and pped them together, causing my shadow to spread. "He was so confident too... and that is what led to his own death. So... if you don''t want to end up like him, you might want to run... and I suggest you run further than the distance you are thinking of running." "Wha-?" "Elre!" The Mage appeared beside Elre and grabbed onto his arm before flying away. "What are you doing, Vaslyn!?" Elre shouted at Vaslyn. "Idiot! He was going to attack. Do you not know how to sense mana? Seriously, how did you even be an Assassin?" Vaslyn responded. "Tch, I don''t care, just let me down!" "Alright," I responded, and the two turned around. "Huh?" I neared Elre and performed an axe kick, sending him plummeting to the ground. Vaslyn, the Mage, began to conjure up a spell but I sent her flying with Distorted Fist. As the two crashed into the ground, I descended slowly and grinned at them. "Humph! You couldn''t even tell if I was bluffing or not... well anyway, I''d like to thank you two for reminding me about that weakling. Without his death, I wouldn''t be dealing with you lot of ice elves. Also, I didn''t even know Joseph was an enemy like me until now, but whatever. Hmm... now that I think of it, is everyone in Cocytus an ice elf? Because I''m starting to think that is the case. Though, it doesn''t really matter." I then pointed my finger, preparing a Piercing Red. "Now then,e on! Don''t worry, I won''t kill you..." . . . Chapter 107: Ambush II Chapter 107: Ambush II Elre dashed towards me and aimed for my neck. I swiftly evaded and fired Piercing Red at his knee,pletely obliterating it. "M-my-" Elre stuttered, stunned at the knee which was once attached to his leg. "I''m not done." I snatched onto his cor and prated his stomach with Caustic Blue before tearing it out from the side of his abdomen. As Elre fell to the ground, I performed Instant Heal on him which instantly restored his body to its normal state. "What the-?" "Quiet," I said before kicking him towards the ground. The Mage, Vaslyn, appeared behind me and conjured up a snowstorm. The snow from the storm began to encase me but it never got to touch me as it was being cut down. "What? How aren''t you-?" "Rebellious Shield. I was going to use it beforehand but you guys never gave me the chance. It is all thanks to you for running away." "Damn it how didn''t I notice?" "Don''t look so down. At least you are smart, unlike him," I replied, pointing to Elre who was groaning in pain. "Why-?" She began and I returned my attention to her. "Why did you just heal him after you tore him apart?" She asked, clenching onto her staff. "Well it would be a waste to dispose of you two." "What?" "You haven''t figured it out yet? Alright, I''ll tell you. Since you already have spies set on me and Joseph, then why don''t I have my own set of spies in Cocytus as well? It hasn''t urred to me before but I''ve decided to make you two my spies, though I don''t have that much confidence in your friend." I exined to her. "Actually," She began. "He''s my brother." I nced at Elre, then nced back at Vaslyn. "Wow that is-" "Y-yeah." damn must be embarrassing to have an arrogant and stupid brother. "I see So anyway, how does it sound? You can work for me instead of your ''king'' who hasn''t even thought of sending his most powerful force at me. In return, I can help free your parents." "I-I''m sorry but we can''t do that." "Hmm? Is it loyalty?" She hesitated for a while before nodding. "That hesitation. Let me guess, you still have loyalty for Cocytus, but something is holding you back and you are close to betraying them, right?" "Yes our parents were thrown in jail when we were young and we were trained to be weapons. They won''t be released until after the war with the surface is over." "Hmph, I see." So they were forced, not paid. They became weapons as a result of being separated from their parents and forced to join the military. This is what I assume. This... is one of the reasons why I hate some kings "Now that you''ve told me that, I have two kings to hate," I said, clenching my hands before I dropped to the ground and nudged Elre''s head. "Get up, stop whining like a little bitch." "Tch, bastard. Don''t take me lightly." "I can''t take you seriously if you are cowering like that. Get up, you are embarrassing your sister." Elre scowled at me before getting up cautiously. Vaslyn began exining what I had just told her and after Vaslyn was done, Elre gave me an untrusting look. "You think we will help you because you offer to free our parents?" "Is that not what you want?" "No, I don''t need to see their faces. They left us when we were young. Why would I do that?" "They didn''t leave you, you were taken away from them. Are you that much of an idiot?" "Shut up! If you want my loyalty, then you''ll have to do it by force." "I''ll dly shatter that fragile loyalty of yours." "Thene at me with your best shot!" Elre yelled before zooming past me, delivering several shes on my body. "Elre, no!" Vaslyn yelled but he ignored her call. "Come at me!" Elre shouted as he ran towards me. I turned around andunched several waves of Distorted Kicks which he somehow managed to dodge every one of them. I could end this now, but I might kill him by ident. If that happens, I lose a spy. The only way I can end this peacefully is if I show the difference in power between us. And so, that is what I will do. As soon as he was about to strike me, I quickly grabbed ahold of his face and stared into his eyes before I slowly morphed into my Altima form. "Wh-what is this?" Vaslyn said in awe. "This overflowing amount of sinister energy." Elre waspletely oblivious as to what was happening since he supposedly didn''t know how to sense mana, but after seeing his reaction, I think it is safe to say he can sense my power. "Afraid now?" I asked him in a distorted voice and I could hear him gulp. "Either you give up, or you''ll experience a fate worse than death. I''ve never seen such a stubborn idiot as you, so if you want to live, I suggest you toss your loyalty for Cocytus away. What have they ever done for you? Because so far, all I see is aplete nuisance who keeps talking back." "" Elre red at me before he turned away and scoffed. I could feel his body trembling as I continued to hold him. Guess I''ve settled the power difference. As we dropped down to the floor, he returned to his sister''s side. "So, what about it? Will you be my spies?" The two siblings looked at each other and whispered about it before Vaslyn turned to me and nodded. "Alright then, it''s settled." "I-I guess so What should we do?" Vaslyn asked. "Well, for now, just tell me when and where I''ll be ambushed by more of your people. I don''t have any specific missions other than that as I don''t want to be ambushed by more of your people anymore since it gets tiring." "Is that all?" "Pretty much. That is all I have for you two. Just tell me when and where." "How are we going tomunicate with you?" "Oh, don''t worry, I''ll have others ry the message to me." "Huh?" I stared at their shadows before sending two of my shadow servants into them. I''ll have my shadow servants report to me after they get the information I need, and while they do that, I can also find out where the entrance to Cocytus is. I''ll just be using these two''s shadows as vessels. "Umm, Mr-?" "Just call me Nero," I responded. "Umm Nero," Vaslyn began. "Will you really be able to free our parents?" "What? Do you doubt my words? Of course, though, it will take some time since I have other things to deal with, so if your king wants to fight me on his own, then I can''t guarantee that I will win. I still need to grow stronger. Sadly, the form I have just shown you was the peak of my strength, nothing more. I still have a long way if I''m ready to face any other one of your people." "Is that so...? Then I guess." Vaslyn''s eyes trailed off into the woods behind us, a worried look on her face. "If you were worried that the spies were going to snitch on you, don''t worry, I''ve already killed them." I turned around and, walking out of the woods were my other two shadow servants dragging four dead ice elves out of the bushes. I walked over and used Shadow Envement on them, sucking in their shadows. Now that makes 8 shadow servants in total. "Well then," I began, levitating up in the air. "I guess that is all. I''ll be going now." "Wait a minute!" This time, Elre shouted at me. I turned to him and asked what was up. "There are rumors that you... you... devour our blood once you kill us. Is that really true?" Huh? Is that what is being spread around in Cocytus? Well, I can''t say they aren''t wrong... "Yeah, what about it?" "Were you going to do that to us if we didn''t agree to be your spies?" "Hmm... I would''ve but you lucked out. You see, I am actually unable to devour any blood due to recently awakening the demon blood which courses through my veins. I still have to wait a month or two before I can actually do it again. Oh, and since you know that, you are probably what I would''ve done if you didn''t want to be my spies... well, you both would''ve died a gruesome death, but be lucky that I felt generous today." The two looked away and I could see them both sigh. I smiled before I clenched my hands together. "If you two ever get found out, juste here and I''ll rescue you. Otherwise, just act like you normally do. When you return, just say I fled." And then I shook my hands, disappearing from the vicinity. *** When I returned, I told the receptionist at the front desk that there were no Stormblitzes in the area I was in and so they gave me a new quest to take. I needed money... for some beer. I haven''t drunk some in a while and luckily, Kiyomi isn''t here. So I can drink as much as I want. ...oh...now I know why I can''t be trusted with money. . . . Chapter 108: At The Beach Chapter 108: At The Beach The time came when Kainen came back. Celestia teleported me and the girls to a ce that I would''ve never seen in my life if I wasn''t still alive. The beach We were located at some bay owned by Kainen in the far east of the continent Agos, which is the continent we were located on. When we arrived, I was quickly sted with a strong gust of heat and I immediately began sweating and so were the girls. The sudden change in temperature was a bit for us since a while ago we were in nearly sub-zero temperature. Kainen was already beginning to set up some stuff like an umbre, beach furniture, etc. I looked at him confusingly, and he must''ve noticed my gaze. "If you are wondering what I am doing, I am setting some equipment." "E-equipment?" "Well I mean, I have to watch you fight a Leviathan somehow." a what? "You heard him, Nero. You''re fighting a Leviathan." Celestia repeated. Leviathan? "Leviathan? Like thoserge sea serpents that can devour a ship with minimal effort?" I asked and Kainen nodded his head. "Yeah!" is this guy crazy? What level would a Leviathan be? Probably around like a million of something. I''m only in the ten thousand, there is no way I can take on a leviathan. "Stop fretting Nero. You should be lucky you aren''t taking on the big ones." "What? There are more!?" I was beginning to feel a little jittery, but Kainen put his hand on my shoulder. "Don''t worry, I assure you that you won''t be taking on Emperor, Sovereign, Monarch, or Kaiser ss Leviathans. At most, you might be facing a Prince or a Juvenile," He said to assure me, but that didn''t make it any better now that I know there are multiple sses. Leviathans ssified into 6 ranks. I want to know whether they are ssified by size or power, because if it is ranked by size, then I am still notfortable. "Can you provide more information?" I asked Kainen. "Yeah, actually, I have some notes and drawings of the Leviathans I''ve countered. Here you go!" Kainen handed me a journal and I began scanning through the pages. Now then, I will exin it from the beginning, starting from the Juveniles, the weakest ss. Juveniles. Well, judging by the name, it is a little obvious as to what they are. Juveniles are basically leviathans that are still kids. Anyway, Juveniles are the smallest of the 6 sses and the weakest as well, since their body is only able to contain a set amount of mana. If I were to range their power by levels, they would be around levels 1,000 2,500. Yeah, not that much but to most people, they are still a threat. Luckily, they are neutral creatures so they won''t attack you unless you attack back. Consider them like dolphins, only stronger and much more intimidating. Their looks are almost simr to whales. They measure up to around 20 feet or 6 meters. Next, the Prince ss. Now the Prince ss leviathans are basically Juveniles except they are in their teens. They are still neutral but they pack more of a punch than Juveniles. This time, their looks are much spikier in appearance. Their levels range from 2,500 10,000 and their sizes are double that of Juveniles. Now for the next ss, they can diverge between either Kaiser ss Leviathans or Monarch ss depending on their gics or environment. First, I will start with the Kaiser ss. It is time to move on to the Kaiser ss. Kaiser ss Leviathans have some changes to their appearances and they''ve matured a lot during their time as Prince ss Leviathans. Now, they look like thebination of a whale and a crocodile. Their levels range from 10,000 75,000 and they are triple the size of Prince sses. The weirdest attribute that Kaiser sses have is that they have a tongue that has the length of two times their body. That is pretty long. They wander the surface and they are extremely aggressive. The Monarch ss Leviathans on the other hand are different. They only grow a little so they are half the size of Kaiser ss counterparts but that grants them the ability to move faster than them. They now have tentacles on their lower half so they could be the fusion of a whale and a squid. They are way stronger, ranging from levels 10,000 100,000. They are also extremely aggressive but luckily, they live in the deep ocean. Now, I would exin thest two but after I''ve seen the amount that Kainen has written for these two, I don''t think I want to do it anymore. So I will just summarize the Sovereign ss, but no way am I going to exin the Emperor one. The Sovereign ss takes on apletely different appearance. This time it is not a whale or a crocodile or a squid, but a sea serpent. They are ten times bigger than the Kaiser ss. Though there was a ton of information on these things, there was nothing about how powerful they are, but if I were to guess, they might be at least five times stronger than Monarchs. I can only imagine what the Emperor ss can do... I questioned Kainen how he managed to get such information and illustrations, and he told me that Celestia helped him with this. Kainen has been interested in Leviathans for a long time and it was his dream to see what a fight with a Leviathan would look like. I asked why he didn''t fight one himself and then I realized that was a dumb question because he was just a normal human with no fighting capabilities at all. I even asked why he didn''t ask Celestia and he said that she was too powerful and that she could most likely kill a Sovereign ss in one hit which I hardly and kind of believe. Hmm, now that I think of it... "Celestia... isn''t it hot?" I asked her. She turned to me and lifted an eyebrow. "Hmm? Of course, it''s hot. Don''t you see me sweating here?" "If you are so hot, then why not switch to a swimsuit or something?" "''Cause who would want to expose their skin to you!?" "...well." I shifted my attention to the girls who were ying in the water, donning swimsuits. Kiyomi wore a teal bikini and blue bottoms with a ck sarong. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail with a ck ribbon. Since she was in her original form, her tail was being soaked as she continued to y in the water. Kainen already knew about my girls from Celestia that they weren''t all human(except Katrina, who was only half-human) It''s a good thing that the people Celestia knew are cool with this. Ravyn was wearing a ck bikini set that had frills on the back and chest. Her hair was untied, so her long ck hair was let loose. Katrina was wearing a white bikini with a white sarong and a white jacket as well. Before we got here, I had removed the marks created by Mark of Fidelity off of Kiyomi, Ravyn, and Akane. I mean, it really has no use now and it doesn''t really look good on them. Also, I believe that they don''t need it anymore. Though I am still stuck with the snake tattoo but that doesn''t really matter. It took me a while to notice Akane wasn''t ying with them. I looked around and spotted Akane sitting on the sand, alone. She was wearing a dark red bikini set and a ck jacket. Her hair was tied in a ponytail. I noticed that she looked a little down. Wonder what''s wrong...? I walked up to her and patted her head. She squeaked, startled by me, and lifted her head to meet my eyes. "What''s wrong Akane?" I asked her. "Do you not want to y with the others?" Akane shook her head and made a circle in the sand. Hmm... wonder why she doesn''t want to... Is she afraid of the water? Can''t swim? There are many reasons but when I asked her, it seems those weren''t it. "Then what is it?" "W-well..." She began before standing up. "I... I don''t have the looks of a woman..." "What are you talking about? You''re beauti-" And then I noticed her six pack abs. "Oh my god, you can grind meat on th- Ahem, I mean... oh... I see." I forgot that she is a little insecure about her own body since she has a very well-built physique. Those abs and slim muscles of hers could even put a man''s muscle to shame. Damn, even I''m a little jealous... Though she may have such a body, her looks aren''t even affected. She still looks pretty. "You''re beautiful. You''re the way you are and I think you are pretty enough. There is no need to feel shame in yourself. Now, go and have fun." A light smile slowly formed on Akane''s face and she nodded. She got up and walked over to the girls, joining them in their fun. ...wonder what she ate to have such a body and height... Even though I''ve altered my appearance, I can still work on my body structure, though it is a little difficult to do it now since I''m not a human anymore. Anyway... about a few hours passed and everyone was tired from ying in the water. As the girls began resting, I felt Kainen tap my shoulder. "Alright, it is time!" He shouted. ...time for what? . . . Chapter 109: Leviathans Chapter 109: Leviathans I was hovering over an empty body of water far away fromnd and there was some kind of vortex being formed underneath me. Kainen was watching me from afar, just enough to watch the scene going on and Celestia was with him too. Leviathans you know I''ve always had an irrational fear of the ocean because of sharks and other creatures. I was also kind of naive and even thought creatures like Leviathans existed. That was me in my past life. Well I can say they do exist now and I might still be a little naive as Ick judgment. Eventually, the vortex stopped, and out from the water came four Prince ss Leviathans. I didn''t get to let loose back then with those ice elves since I needed their aid. I had to quickly neutralize those spies. Otherwise, they would have fled, knowing that the two siblings have betrayed them. Since these are Leviathans, monsters I can do whatever I want. As the first Leviathan neared me, I shot towards it and smashed it back into the water with a Distorted Fist. The other three attempted to attack me all at once but they instead bumped into each other due to their size. As they fell back into the water, I lowered my altitude and dropped an Atomic Fission into the sea. I saw a glimpse of the Leviathans and they scurried away but I managed to kill one with Piercing Red. [Leveled up!(3)] Huh that is a message I haven''t seen in months. Though it is a little disappointing to see that I''m only leveling up by a single digit, but I can understand. The higher level you are, the harder it will be to level up I usually didn''t have a problem with that since I had Derivation. Anyway The Leviathan that I killed had a level of 9,000. I shouldn''t be so proud since I''m fighting Prince sses. I turned to face the other three and fired another Piercing Red. This time I packed in more power and it created a wide gap. I spotted another Leviathan and dove into the water with Cursed White active. Since I had Cursed White, I was able to create a barrier to keep out the water. Another Leviathan came swimming up to me and I quickly evaded. As I moved along in the water, I realized something. I quickly equipped Raiden and stared at the water around me. Water is a great conductor of electricity. I want to see it happen in front of my eyes. I began generating some lightning before disabling Cursed White and performing Thunderous Overcharge, shooting lighting everywhere around me. The Leviathans were instantly affected and in a few seconds, they were dead. I only got 10 levels out of that. Oh well at least I got some levels. Anyway, guess that''s all I flew out of the water and flew over to Kainen and Celestia''s direction. Suddenly, I heard a bloodcurdling roar emit from the depths of the seas. That roar was enough to send chills down my spine. What the hell? ''I suggest you get out of the-'' Celestia began but then she was interrupted. Get out of the water? I think I''ll do- ''No,'' She said in my mind. ''Kainen requests you fight this Leviathan. I tried telling him you couldn''t take on a Monarch ss but he insisted.'' A Monarch ss? How do you know that? Wait, don''t they reside in the deep parts of the ocean? ''Yes, but it seems that whatever you just did must''ve awoken it. If I were to guess, you must''ve killed its children.'' Wow, I couldn''t have been told that earlier? Now I have to deal with the parent? This is just great... but it was kind of my fault since I did kill them. Ah whatever, I''ll worryter. I cocked my head and heading straight towards me was arge tentacle with a pointed tip. I swiftly evaded and shanked it with Raiden. I discharged lightning into the Leviathan''s tentacle and there was an explosion. A secondter, the tentacle was disconnected from the body. As it fell into the sea, more erupted from the water. I quickly dove and shed them with breakneck speed and uracy. In just a moment, the only thing left were pieces of its tentacles that could be made into sushi. After I decimated its tentacles, it only sent more after me. This thing... it didn''t want toe out. Guess I''ll just have to go after it. I used Thunder Beast sh, instantly cutting down the tentacles that were after me. After that, I dove into the water. As I sank deeper into the ocean, I eventually spotted the Leviathan. When it spotted me, it continued to send tentacles towards me. I quickly clenched my hands and used ck Magic to appear next to it. When I appeared next to it, I was staring it directly in the eyes and checked its level. [Level 91,033] ...hmm... The Leviathan roared and suddenly, it turned with its jaw wide open, unting off its many teeth. I quickly flew away with Cursed White before it was able to devour me. I made my way towards its eyes once again and we had another staredown. ...this might hurt now... so don''t move. I quickly morphed into my Altima form and immediately, I shanked its eyes with Raiden. The Leviathan roared in pain as I traveled to the other side where I did the same. As the Leviathan was now blinded, I appeared on top of its head before smashing my hands together. Even without the daggers in my hand, I can still perform it. I began discharging lightning around me which was colored purple. This was due to me being in my Altima. As that was happening, the light that was pouring into the ocean began to darken. Yes, the sky was darkening. First, I formed a Lightning Rod Field. The rods had formed out of the Leviathan''s head and the Leviathan continued to roar in pain. Well, it would be painful to feel something growing out of your head after all, but that is not all I have in store. I then formed a Great Thunder Temple. The giant structure appeared on top of the Leviathan''s head, discharging many bolts which then connected to the metal rods around it. ...I believe you know what is happening next, right? With all the lightning generated from me, my Lightning Rod Field, and Great Thunder Temple, I shot everything into the Leviathan''s head. The entire body was encased in lightning bolts. The Leviathan roared in agony as the lightning continued to course through its body. Its roar slowly began to die down and a few secondster, it was finally dead. [Leveled up!(31)] I took a deep breath before I realized I had dropped Cursed White and was inhaling in water. I quickly shot towards the surface and took a deep breath. "Ough, Ough-Ough." As I coughed and gasped for air, I noticed four blue glowing orbs with water-like particles. I noticed these were the souls of the Leviathan''s I had killed earlier. I extended my arm and the souls were absorbed into my hand. [Souls absorbed into Spirit Soul!] [Summons: Stormblitz(2), Leviathans(4)] After I had enough air, I used Cursed White and dove back into the sea again. As I reached the Monarch ss Leviathan''s body, I also retrieved Raiden and returned them into Ethos Arsenal. Eventually, I spotted the Leviathan''s soul. It was a bit bigger than the others and its glow was way different. It was a mixture of ck and blue and it was surrounded by a stream of water. As I extended my hand, the soul slowly traveled towards my palm. I felt a rush of liquid-like substances and energy travel through my body. It was the same sensation I felt when I acquired Osiris and Raiden. [Soul Absorbed: Leviathan] Huh... how generic... Let''s see what it does. When I summoned Leviathan, there was a long spear in my hand. The handle waspletely made of ck metal, the end was decorated with some sort of blue crystal and the spearhead was ck which faded into a glowing dark blue at the tip. If I were to measure it, it would be 200 cm. [Leviathan: A spear forged from pure liquid and energy from the ancient sea which is fused with the blood of a child originating from the first true Leviathan. This weapon grants the host excessive and superior control over water| Effect: Augments host''s technique by 150% to 300% depending on status; Augments host''s ability to manipte water; All water attacks will be double; Host will be resistant to all water attacks when equipped| Alternate form: True Leviathan] How interesting... so my ability to manipte water is augmented. That is interesting... Wait a minute... an alternate form? I didn''t have that on Osiris or Raiden. What does that do? As I was wondering what an Alternate form was, Leviathan decided to show it to me. Shing! ...I see... how interesting... ... ... ... [Leviathan Skill Set has been Unlocked!] [Skill Obtained: Oceanic Serpent Wave(Lvl.1)] [Oceanic Serpent Wave: Control the waves and use it to attack your opponents| Effects: Throw a wave of high-pressured water at your enemies| Conditions: Consumes 77 mana every use] [Skill Obtained: Oceanic Serpent Flood(Lvl.1)] [Oceanic Serpent Flood: Flood thend with water originating from the ancient sea and its descent| Effects: Completely submergend with pressurized water for 15 seconds| Conditions: Consumes 777 mana every use] [Active Skill Obtained: Oceanic Extinction Bomb] [Oceanic Extinction Bomb: Throw a ball consisted of the ancient sea''s energy that is powerful enough to cause extinction and watch it explode, taking out your enemies| Effects: Create a sphereposed of energy descending from the ancient sea andunch it towards your enemy before it erupts; Enemies that are hit by the explosion will receive colossal damage| Conditions: Consumes 77,777 to perform| Cooldown: 36 hours after use] . . . Chapter 110: Ambushing Chapter 110: Ambushing A week passed since then and we returned to the guild. I had reported my experience with the Monarch ss Leviathan to Kainen since the fight took ce underwater where he was unable to witness the event that took ce. Along with that, I also told him about the new weapon I received, Leviathan. Kainen had an interest in the spear and he asked if he could borrow it to perform research, however, I told him that it would be impossible since it wouldn''t be of any use in any other person''s grasp, but I did promise him I would demonstrate its capabilities when I get the time. He then gave us my pay and well... let''s just say that that one job was worth the reward of 15 quests. In no time, I could get that mansion I''ve wanted to get. Anyway, after that everything went back to normal. Then my shadows reported back to me. From what they''ve gotten from staying in the siblings'' shadows, there will be another ambush soon, and currently, the two assassins that were sent after me were residing in the Auroral ciers, the ce I was taken to by Joseph to achieve Cursed White and awaken my innate Principle. I decided that I would attack them at night since they most likely wouldn''t expect it. I was currently helping Celestia with her guild work and the girls were helping as well. I was wearing a new coat that Ravyn had bought for me. It was a ck long coat with four on the cor and the sleeves. I must say, it was ratherfortable to wear. I also forgot to mention. After my encounter with the Leviathan, I had obtained a new skill. [Active Skill Obtained: Grim Hydra Fist] Grim Hydra Fist sounds like something I need to use with Osiris equipped. What does it do? [Grim Hydra Fist: Deliver a devastating blow to your enemy and with a roar, incinerate them with an outburst of raw, explosive energy taking the form of a multi-headed dragon| Effect: Strike your opponent with raw might and finish them off by triggering a massive explosion, dealing damage that far surpasses your own power| Conditions: 2,167,167 mana to perform| Cooldown: 504 hours after use] [Notice: This attack will grow stronger the more you level up and the mana required will rise by 1 million every 10,000 levels] Wow I see wait, over 2 million mana to perform such an attack!? I just had my stats abbreviated and even divided just so it can look a little cleaner but really? If I didn''t have my mana shortened to a smaller number, it would''ve probably required 2,167,167,167 mana to perform it. Well, if it requires so much, it must be a powerful attack. It even says in the details that it surpasses my own power and it also looks like the amount of mana I use will increase Well, that''s not good, but considering what it does, I guess it''s fair. Though, my mana increases a little slower now. Instead of 10 million every 100 levels, it''s 10 thousand now. Anyway, I''m a little excited to see what it does, but it will only work if I attack someone. That is what I assume it needs in order to be activated. I could probably strike the ground and see the oue, but I think that I might have to pay for a lot of damages. Also that cooldown After I use it, I have to wait three weeks to use it again. Yes, I did the math, I''m not that dumb. Anyway, for now, I just need to wait it out. *** When the girls went to sleep, I headed over to the Auroral ciers using ck Magic. As I explored the area, I traveled up the mountain where Joseph had pushed me off. Not that it was a good thing but at least it gifted me something. When I got up there, I noticed what looked like bloodstains on the ground and even multiple skeletons and skeletal parts buried in the snow. Joseph you really did a number on these guys, huh? You should ease it up a bit, even I am not that brutal. Using the peak of the mountain as a vantage point, I began searching for the two assassins with the help of my Mystic Eyes of Interspace. "There you are" I spotted them sitting in the middle of the snowfield, having a chat. As they did that, I noticed the bushes behind them moving. Guess they brought some spies as well. Well, technically they aren''t spies but I''m just going to call them that. From what I see, there are three spies. Using Analysis, their levels were above 60,000 while the spies were near 50,000. Hmm I think I''ll give them a warm wee. I summoned Leviathan in my hand and as I spun it in my hand, the tip of the spear began to glow. Which move should I try out first? I''ll save Oceanic Extinction Bomb forst. Let''s go with Oceanic Serpent Wave. When the tip of my spear glowed at its brightest, I mmed the tip into the ground, and bursting out from the side of the mountain was a wave of water that hurdled towards the ice elves. The ice elves quickly turned around before lifting off into the sky. I quickly appeared behind them before mming their sides with Leviathan. The force of my swing managed to break a few bones of theirs as they plummeted towards the wet ground. Normally, water would freeze at the current temperature we were at but I found out that water from the ancient sea does not freeze. I don''t even know where the water from that sea came from but I''m not going to think about it too much. "Tch what the hell?" The first ice elf groaned as he clutched the side of his abdomen. "Wh-who ambushed us?" The second one said before he lifted his head to meet my eyes. "You the Inept Hero!" He shouted. "How did you find us?" "Oh nothing, I was just wandering around and spotted you two. Or should I say you five?" I turned to the bushes and fired Piercing Red at it. The spies dodged and appeared next to the other two elves. Now, I shouldn''t let my guard down. From what I know from Analysis, those three spies were Assassins. The first ice elf was a Tank, a ss I haven''t seen in a while. His body was fit for a Tank but a buffed elf isn''t really suiting for elves but whatever. Anyway, I''m not worried about him, it''s the second elf that worries me. He was a Warlock. I''m not scared though, since I know my Warlock abilities are way stronger than his. If I were to be honest, I probably wouldn''t even need to use my Warlock abilities on them. So I began spinning Leviathan again and smirked at the ice elves in front of me. "I''m pretty sure you guys are here to kill me, and I am here to do the same, so let''s skip the talking and get to fighting. Shall we?" I beckoned with my spear and without hesitation, the ice elves shot towards me. I quickly mmed the ground once again, activating Oceanic Serpent Flood. Water quickly shot out from the ground and began flooding the surface, sweeping away the ice elves. The Warlock attempted to freeze the water and the others followed, however, it was a futile effort as water from the ancient seas could not be frozen. The violent waves of pressurized water continued to y with the ice elves and after 15 seconds, the water simply sank back into the floor, leaving the ice elves soaked. Hmm... this was easier than I expected. Here I thought they would''ve been a challenge considering their levels. Well, everything can''t be decided on levels. It''s all about skills in this world. Whether you are slow or not, you can still ovee another opponent as long as you know how to beat them. Even a slowpoke can beat a speedster. It''s like the tortoise and the hare. The five groaned as they stood up and redirected their attention at me. "This is boring. I expected you guys to put up a fight but seeing you at this state makes me just want to surrender to you because of pity. Well, not that I''m going to do that since you guys aren''t worth my time. I think I''ll just finish you off now. Don''t worry, it won''t be painful." I smirked as I spun Leviathan once again. "Oh, but it won''t be so painless for you," said a deep voice that came from behind. I spun my body but at that exact time, I received a sharp, heavy blow to my stomach. Crack! "Nngh!" I slid across the ground before stopping myself using my spear. "Hmm, looks like they were right. You are as cocky as the rumors have stated." "And..." I looked up at the ice elf whose fist was emitting a light blue glow. "Who are you?" "Oh, how rude of me." He said before bowing politely as he introduced himself. "My name is Hall. These are my subordinates you just attacked. I... am the true assassin sent to kill you. It is an honor to meet the man who killed Myran... now, I shall kill you to avenge him." . . . Chapter 111: The Morpher Chapter 111: The Morpher So these guys are his subordinates... Judging from what he just said, he must''ve been paid like the two siblings were. His punch was strong, strong enough to break a part of my rib cage. I''m going to have to watch out for his punches. Using Analysis, his level was over 100,000. To be exact, it was level 104,593. His sses were Assassin, Warlock, and something called a Morpher. I don''t know what that is, but I won''t find out unless we sh. Looks like someone wasn''t foolish enough to send people with lower levels than me. I sighed. This was supposed to be quick. Just kill those ice elves there and I would''ve been done but then this guy had to show up. I didn''t sense this guy''s presence so I didn''t know he was even around. He must have used Stealth or a skill stronger than that. "Hey now, you just gonna sit there?" Hall asked. "I pretty sure I was here to kill the man who decapitated Myran." Myran, Myran, Myran! Why does his name keep popping up from these stupid ice elves!? What is so god damn important about a guy whose only specialty was to connect the nerve systems between his and another! "Why do you keep saying his name? Is he really that important?" I asked him. "Well, I assume you plebeians from the surface don''t know the truth about Myran, so I''ll tell you. Myran is actually the son of the King of Cocytus." "So... everyone in Cocytus is an ice elf?" I asked, "Because so far I''ve only ever seen your people." "Not exactly." He replied. "The King of Cocytus is a demon. Myran was sired by him and has an elven mother. This also goes to his sister and his brother." Hmm, his sister I know, but brother? I did not know he had another sibling. This is new. Hall continued. "You see, his majesty had already decided to make Myran his heir as he showed great potential." "Great potential? I wouldn''t say that since he was killed by yours truly." "Yes, you may have killed him, but that was because the rest of his power was suppressed. You see, Myran was powerful, really powerful, but he was unable to wield the entirety of his own strength. It almost broke his body, so his majesty had to seal a majority of his power. His power surpassed his majesty''s. You could say that he... feared his offspring''s power." So the King of Cocytus was afraid of Myran''s strength? "His majesty was nning on making Myran a weapon but you killed him before he got the chance. He''s not mad because you killed his son, he''s mad that he lost a great deal of power even though Myran could actually be revived with his own power, which he failed to do since he didn''t have enough control over it. Currently, his majesty is searching for someone who can revive his fallen son, but I doubt that he will be able to do that before the next invasion." Hall then chuckled before he pped his hands. "Alright, that''s pretty much all I know. Now then, I''vee to take what''s mine." "And what is that?" "...your head." He dashed towards me and threw his fist which I quickly evaded. He barraged me with countless punches which I blocked with Leviathan. "Ohe on! Don''t tell me you can''t keep up with me." Hall taunted as I continued to hold my position. While I was busy with Hall, his subordinates had appeared behind me. I quickly stepped away from Hall and shed with his subordinates. The three assassins were easy to take care of as I was eminently faster than them. I could''ve taken them out but I was mmed away by the Tank. As I slid across the ground, the Warlock threw some kind of red wall at me. I countered back using Abyssal Blue, sucking in the red energy. "Hey, you are fighting me!" Hall shouted before delivering an axe kick to Leviathan. That''s when Leviathan shattered into two pieces. I quickly returned Leviathan in my Ethos Arsenal to be mended back together and equipped Raiden. As I generated lightning around me, Iunched several Thunder Beast Storms, each going after every person here excluding me. The storms managed to take down the assassins but the Tank, Warlock, and Hall managed to escape them. As those three huddled up, I beheaded the three assassins on the ground, killing them. Three down, just three more to go. I got up and redirected my attention to Hall. His subordinates were the least of my worries but I still need to watch out for them. I still do not know what that Warlock is capable of. Since I was able to take out whatever his attack was, I''m expecting him to be weak. Hall is also a Warlock, but he has not shown any abilities rted to one. I''m guessing he is using them when he really needs to. "Hey, why don''t you stop holding back?" Hall inquired as he pped his hands. "Because it would be foolish to reveal my trump card so early," I responded. "Well then, how about this? I reveal mine and you reveal yours? A fair trade, right?" He asked proudly. This guy wants me to reveal my Altima in exchange for whatever he has in store... I bet it has something to do with his ss being a Morpher. "Very well..." I clenched my hand before lifting it in the air. The three stared at me confusingly but I told them to wait. And then, flying from behind them was my Altima sword which I caught in my hand. I then began gathering energy around me and morphed into my Altima form. "Is this what you wanted to see?" "Yes... precisely... I knew you wouldn''t disappoint. This will be fun. Step aside, you two." The Tank and the Warlock beside him obeyed him and stepped away. That''s when Hall''s body began glowing a bright blue color before his body structure began to grow. Wings began sprouting from behind and then in his ce, there was a giant ice dragon. "So this is-" "Precisely. This is a power of a Morpher. I can morph into any beast that I have in. When I morph into them, I can perform any skill that they are capable of and I also obtain their physiology as long as I stay in this form. While I''m in this state, my speed, strength, and any other attribute stay the same, but they can be boosted depending on what their passives are. So-" He quickly vanished before I turned around. "I can still move faster than a normal human can perceive." He shifted and swung his tail. I quickly dodged and drove my sword towards his wings before flying up in the air and barraging him with Twisted Chaos Dance. Hall managed not to stumble by my attack and formed a red sphere in his left hand before firing it towards me. I shifted to the side before the red sphere managed to hit me and shot towards Hall with my sword reeled back. Right when my sword was about to collide with his ws, I was shot by some invisible force and then smashed into the floor by Hall''s giant hand. The force of his strike had knocked me out of my Altima form and also knocked my sword out of my hand. That Warlock, he must''ve attacked me when he spotted the chance. Damn it, I was so absorbed with Hall that I didn''t have enough time to see what the Warlock was doing. I tried to lift myself up but I was mmed into the ground by the Tank. He then lifted me and delivered a heavy blow to my back. "A-" I tried to shout in pain but then Hall impaled my throat using his dragon w and I was instead choking on my own blood. "How pitiful... and here I thought you could do more." I was dropped andid on the ground without making a move. That Tank hadpletely shattered my spine and I was unable to breathe. Fuck... it hurts... "What do we do with him now?" The Warlock asked. "Obviously, we should kill him." Responded the Tank. "Yes, we shall kill him," Hall said, who was still in his dragon state. "But first, we should use him as bait." "Bait? Bait for what?" The Warlock inquired. "I''ve heard he has plenty of beauties following him. I think we should lead them here with our target here as the bait. We shall consider them a bonus after we execute the hero in our grasp. I''m getting tired of demon women and elves." The Tank responded. "Are you sure we should do that, though?" "Of course, we''ve already defeated the hero. He can''t defeat me even if he was able to. I am invincible in this state. My power, my speed, my perception. They are all enhanced to the state where you are unable to pierce my skin and block my attack with a shield. I want the money after I take this hero''s head to his majesty, but his beauties can also be a nice treat." Hall snickered. ...are they talking about the girls...? ...my girls? "Bastards..." I said as I gurgled on my own blood. "Huh?" The Tank looked down at me. "He''s still breathing?" "Youy a hand on any of them... and I''ll make you wish you were never bo-!" SLAM! The Tank had smashed my head into the ground and silenced me. "That should keep you at bay." The Tank said. "Alright then, shall we get more spies?" The Warlock asked. "Yes. Let''s do it. I''ve been wanting to taste some beauties." Hall responded. The three began walking away but they stopped once they turned around to check on me. "Boss... he''s standing." The Tank pointed out. "I know that... you didn''t have to tell me." "But I shattered his spine! He shouldn''t be able to mo-" "I KNOW THAT! SO SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" Hall roared at the Tank before facing me. "What''s the matter, hero? Did our talk trigger something inside you? Are you going to start saying we can''t do it? It''s easy. All I have to do is bring your head to them, and they will fall in despair. Soon, they will long a man worthy of them and that is where we wille in. So? Say something... hero." Hall taunted as he crossed his arms. "Bastard... I won''t let you... I''ll kill you... I''ll murder you..." At that moment, I activated Free from Shackles. "I won''t let out my hot burning rage... instead you''ll be dealing with the icy cold anger umted inside me. You won''t die a quick death. I''ll make this onest as long as it needs to. You will suffer experience pain that you have never experienced before!!" I wrapped my hands in energy as they formed into Angel''s Crimson Hand and Devil''s Azure Palm. "I''ll destroy you," I said coldly before I shot towards them. . . . Chapter 112: Grim Hydra Fist Chapter 112: Grim Hydra Fist "Wha-!?" The Warlock gasped before I clutched his face in my hands. "Stop moving." I immediately shifted into my Altima and had him stare into my eyes as I activated Timeless Purgatory. Once he was sucked in, I began killing him repeatedly, over and over again. After 100 deaths, I stopped and sted him away with a force of Oppression. He began screaming in pain as he was hit with the pain of 100 deaths. I then turned to the Tank and performed Twisted Chaos Dance on him. His body was struck all-around before having his pressure points hit. When he fell to the floor, I threw him up into the air. I then formed Caustic Blue andunched several waves of Lapis Lotus towards him. Before he was able to hit the ground, I appeared under him and he was immediately prated through the stomach by Caustic Blue. His blood trickled down my arm before I dropped him on the floor. Now then... I turned to Hall who red down at me. After exchanging res, he began tough. "Hahahaha, splendid. Truly magnificent. To think you also had Vozaas. If you didn''t, you would definitely be dead by now. I knew you were still holding back your true might. There was no way that you swinging some stupid sword was your true power. I knew you were still holding arge portion of your power back." I merely looked at him like some disgusting bug, and he continued tough. "That re... that is someone who has a cold and calctive demeanor. Tranquil rage... something that is rarely seen in mortals, especially humans. You are an interesting specimen..." Hall continued as I noticed his wings slowly regenerating. "I''ve grown up fighting my whole life that I''ve almost gotten bored of it. At first, I expected you to be able to reawaken my fighting spirit, but your earlier performance was so disappointing. This... this is what I''ve been waiting for. So... fight me." I dashed towards him and delivered a kick to his face. He managed to dodge and appeared above me. He extended his hand, and I was hit with apressive force. I swung Caustic Blue, dissipating the force he had sent towards me. "Tch... take this!" He sent another force at me. This time it was different. Instead of somepressive force that was pushing me away, I was being slowed down. My arms, my legs, my entire body were slowed down. Hall gaped his mouth and out came a breath of Dragon Ice. I opened my mouth and shot back a stream of Dragon Fire. "What the-? You can shoot Dragon Fire in that state? No matter, I still have more up my sleeve." I swung Caustic Blue beforeunching several waves of Lapis Lotus towards Hall. Hall attempted to counter them with hispressive force, but they were futile against Banishment. Hall was sttered with many blue arrows and he groaned as his energy was being sucked away. "Damn it..." Hall reverted back to his original form. As Lapis Lotus wore off, he struggled to stand on his feet. "I felt my energy being drained from that... such a powerful move, it was even able to pierce my skin too. Looks like you give me no choice." Hall was wrapped in energy before growing bigger and bigger, twice as big as he was in his ice dragon form. "Now then, let''s get started." Hall spoke in a deep voice before unting off his new form. It was a ck wyvern with two sets of wings(both being his set of arms) and pinkish glowing streaks running across his body. "Just because you''ve grown bigger doesn''t mean you''ve won," I said coldly before getting into a fighting stance. "Be arrogant all you want, but I will be the one to win this. Even if you possess Vozaas, you will meet your fate." "Enough talk." I interrupted. "Fight me, if you''re ready to die." "Well, if you insist, then I will!" Suddenly, pink rays fired from Hall''s back and they shot towards me. I activated Rebellious Shield to take care of the beams, but when they collided with my shield, they split into multiple pieces and I ended up being struck by the rays. "How is that? It took me a while to be able to kill this dragon. It was... what was it called again? Oh right, it was a ck Violet Wyvern. Its rays, which are called Ultraviolet Rays, have one job and it does it right. They will home after their target and they will split up as many times as they want if they need to. So no matter what you do, the only way you can avoid them is to not!" He then fired another wave and I quickly began to fly away. As I sped up, the rays also sped up with me. "Oh, I also forgot, they can speed up as fast as they need to." This bastard. Since I had no choice, I stopped and took the hit. I felt the rays sh and pierce my body all over and when I opened my eyes, I felt a burning sensation take ce on the left side of my face. This bastard. His rays burned my face and blinded me as well! "What''s wrong? Is this all your icy cold rage has to offer?" Hall taunted, but I wasn''t foolish to get angry at his provocation. Instead, I shifted into my Altima form and performed Twisted Chaos Dance. As my attack traveled towards Hall, he pped his wings and flew away to avoid my attack. Like his Ultraviolet Rays, Twisted Chaos Dance also homes in on its target. Though it is unable to speed up like Ultraviolet Rays, it can instead distort the space between its target. How does that work? Well, Distortion allows me to cut and twist space with minimal effort, meaning that I can warp my attacks to wherever and whenever. Anyway, my attacks caught up with Hall andpletely barraged him. Using ck Magic, I appeared above him and threw him to the ground before using Piercing Red to pierce his stomach. Hallid on the floor and reverted back to his original form. He began coughing up blood as he tried to stand up. Inded next to him before grabbing onto his cor. "Damn it... this was not how it was-" "Shut up." I silenced him and mmed him into the dirt. He groaned as he tried to lift himself up, but to no avail. I took a deep breath before walking over to his subordinates and tossing them to where Hall was. "Are these all your subordinates?" I asked him, demanding if this was everyone. He shook his head before I lifted him up on his feet. So this isn''t everyone... well, it doesn''t matter, I have the leader here. "You are strong... but you can''t kill me..." He muttered at me in his injured state as I gave him a cold re. "Spout as much nonsense as you want. Even if you are immortal, there are many ways to end you." "I see... well then..." He groaned before cing his hands around the hole in his stomach. In an effort to try to attack me once more, he blinded me with the blood that spilled from his stomach. I stumbled back as he cackled. "You couldn''t even see that I was bluffing about my injuries!? To be honest, this pain is nothingpared to what his majesty offered! I''m immortal! With Vozaas, you can never kill me! Now... you die!" He shouted as I sensed him move, about to strike me down. "No...," I began. "NO! YOU''LL BE THE ONE TO PERISH!!" I instinctively avoided his attack and delivered a brutalizing punch to his chest. The force of my fist managed to impale his chest. Hall spat out blood before he limped on my arm. "You think blinding me spelled your victory? No... you had already lost when you spoke of my girls. Provoking me blew your chances of winning. You mocked me, you angered me, and you failed to beat me. Now, you''ll pay the price for making me mad." I pushed him off my arm and opened my eyes. Since I was blinded to my left, I could only see in my right, but my vision was all bloody. However, I could still see where Hall was. "Heh heh, try all you want. No one has managed to kill me, not even his majesty. No matter what you do, my passive skill, Vozaas, will keep me alive. Remove my head if you will. I am immortal." "You won''t be immortal for very long," I said grimly. "Because after this, there will be nothing left of you. I''m wiping you off the face of the." "Let''s see how long you are able to keep that attitude up. You possess Vozaas too. After all, the damage we dealt to you earlier has already vanished. You may have won this time... but I will haunt you from the depths of hell. Your immortality will save you, but can it save others?" I stared at him silently before taking another deep breath. I started growling before I opened my mouth. "GRIM HYDRA FIST!!" I pulled back my clenched fist and rammed it into his head, smashing it into pieces. "HAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" A furious roar emanated from my throat and at that moment, a massive wave of energy exploded from my fist. The color of the energy was ck and purple and caused a pir of energy to shoot up into the sky. As the pir of energy shot into the sky, it split up, forming multiple dragon heads which then dropped from the sky and scattered everywhere, triggering many explosions. After that, a massive shockwave shot from my fist, incinerating everything around me. I pulled my arm back and stared at the pile of ashes beneath me. It was then blown away by the wind. Sizzle~ I stared at the arm I had used to perform Grim Hydra Fist, and the skin waspletely torn off. My arm was now reced with ck flesh. It wasn''t burnt, just my demon flesh. I couldn''t feel my arm, but I''m pretty sure I can use it for ck Magic. However... damn, I don''t think I''ll be able to use this arm for a while. I nced at the ashes being carried by the wind. Souls levitated into the air as well, and I knew that one of them was Hall''s. I retrieved my sword and ced it on my back before lifting myself into the air and clenching my hands together. "Immortal my ass. I may be arrogant and selfish, but even I know when it is time to give up. Enjoy purgatory," I said to Hall''s soul before vanishing from the area. . . . Chapter 113: Morphing Chapter 113: Morphing A week has passed since then. Over that period of time, my arm was slowly recovering after performing Grim Hydra Fist. I found out that when I performed Grim Hydra Fist, I had managed to manipte some satanic energy out of anger. Though I''m not proud of it, I know that I can manipte satanic energy even when I''m not in Altima. However, I don''t think it will be that easy to do it again. I only managed to do it out of rage. Anyway, I was able to feel my arm again, but it wasn''t fully healed yet, that is, the ck skin I get when I do something beyond my current state. So I just wrapped it around in bandages. The wound on my face was already healed up when I got back. Vozaas I remember getting such a skill but I just don''t remember. My memory was a little fuzzy, so I was unable to trace back when. Hall imed that this passive skill apparently makes him immortal. Since I have it, that would technically make me immortal. Turns out that he was right but it has drawbacks. The first drawback is the skill won''t be able to heal wounds caused by you, self-harm. So attempting suicide would result in well death. The second drawback is that it does not protect your soul andstly, it does not grant immunity to every attack. If I get my arm cut off, I will be able to feel the pain. However, this can be negated with the skill Pain Negation, which I stillck and I tend to keep it that way. You may ask why I don''t want Pain Negation, and that is because the more pain I receive, the stronger I be. Every hit I receive, my body registers that feeling and next time I get hit, my body builds resistance and also memorizes it so I can block it next time. Ignoring the drawbacks, I am ageless and my regeneration is infinite. I can still die however and I believed I showed an example. Either they are killed through soul contact, orpletely decimated from the face of the. So technically, I''m only semi-immortal. Anyway, I had Celestia bring me to the same ce where I had activated Grim Hydra Fist. I found out that I destroyed everything in a 5-mile radius; the mountains, the forest, it all dissolved into dust, leaving an empty wastnd devoid of life. That was the destructive power Grim Hydra Fist possessed. If I remember, we were in the Auroral ciers right? Well it looks like along with Hall, I wiped out the entire area. Even the climate changed guess that''s my fault. We returned to Maroon after that. Kainen was sitting in Celestia''s office as he had another task for me, but we had to put that on pause due to my current condition. I showed Kainen my hand and that was a big mistake. Suddenly, he wanted to perform research on it and experiments as well. I told him we can do that after I recover since it was just a human arm but demon-like. Anyway,tely, I''ve been meeting with other adventurers. It wasn''t my choice, it was Celestia''s. I''ve been helping her a lot and she said she was beginning to feelzy and that she needed to get back to work, so she basically took all the paperwork away from me and did it herself. While she did that, she suggested I talk with the other adventurers here. Well, I''m not really a people person, but I know who to talk to, and who not to talk to. The first person I spoke with was Hijiri. Yeah, that guy with the blindfold. We had a little talk about animals as we were both fond of foxes. I was fond of foxes because they were interesting creatures, and then my interest in them skyrocketed because of Kiyomi. I mean, she''s a kitsune, a fox girl. Anyway, I found him lingering around in the alley behind the guild. He was sitting down, ying with some dogs. It took me a few seconds to realize that those dogs weren''t just any normal-looking dogs but demon dogs. I stared at him as he continued to scratch their chins, then one of them noticed me and began growling. Hijiri shifted his head towards me and smiled. "Nero." "Hijiri." One of the dogs approached me and I extended my hand towards it. It sniffed my hand a few times before allowing me to pet it. Demon dogs are hostile to humans, but they are friendly to demons, which was pretty obvious. That was a secret between me and Hijiri. Turns out, Hijiri is a half-demon. I don''t know what his other half was since he never told me, and I think he wants to keep that a secret, which I will respect. This first started when we encountered demon dogs. They were hostile with us but Hijiri just walked up to them like they were nothing. As I said, demon dogs are hostile to humans, so they''ll attack them as soon as they see them. Hijiri said that he''s been raising these dogs in Maroon for a pretty long time and they only reside in this alley. He trained them so that they would only eat people with foul scents. Since they didn''t attack me, Hijiri found out that I was a demon. Well actually, when I first told Hijiri I was an artificial demon, he wasn''t even shocked because he said, and I quote "I already knew from the beginning." I don''t know how, but he says he just knows, which kind of makes me paranoid, to be honest. I don''t know Hijiri''s stats, but he knows mine. He''s aplete mystery to me and I don''t think I''ll be able to dig any deeper unless he allows it. Eventually, it got dark and we separated. Hijiri doesn''t sleep so he just goes out on a night quest. I''m guessing it''s something rted to his physiology to being a half-demon, or it was just his other half. Either way, he''s weird, so I just let him do whatever. When he left, I went to the inn and checked up on the girls. They were all asleep, so I decided to head out for a bit. I had to test a little something. I teleported to the beach where I had fought the Leviathans and dove into the ocean. Using Cursed White, I created a space so I didn''t get wet. I had managed to obtain the skill Morph from Hall when I decimated him. This was the effect of a long-forgotten skill called Grave Robber. Along with that I also got Transformation Soul which basically stores the soul of the beasts which I want to morph into. The first creature I wanted to morph into was a Leviathan. That may sound like I''m pushing it too far but it''s not like I''m going to fight a Monarch ss again. If I do, it''ll be harder to kill because... well it''s dark. A Juvenile or a Prince is alright since they are pretty easy to kill. Now then... I created a ball of divine energy in my left hand before making it explode, shining light around me. The light had revealed two Leviathans surrounding me. They were both Prince sses. I just need to kill one of them, but the second one can be a good addition to my Spirit Soul. Now that I think about it, I should try and summon the Leviathans I have. "Come out," I said, extending my left arm and four blue orbs flew out of my arm. They then transformed into four Prince ss Leviathans. My Leviathans circled me before paying attention to the other Leviathans. That''s when they attacked them. After they mauled the other two Prince ss Leviathans to death, I approached their souls and imed them, converting one into my Spirit Soul and the other into my Transformation Soul. The Leviathans I summoned returned into my Spirit Soul and now it was time to test out my Leviathan transformation. When I morph into a Leviathan, I will gain their physiology so I''ll be able to breathe underwater. However, my movements will bebeled since their anatomy is different from a human''s, which was pretty obvious. Alright, time to test it out. I forced my consciousness into my soul. As I arrived, there wasrge Leviathan swimming in the sea of satanic energy. Hmm... sea creatures swim in the ck sea,nd creatures will wander around on the surface, and flying creatures will probably be flying in the air. The Transformation Soul has a limit, unlike the Spirit Soul. The size of the Transformation Soul depends on how spacious your own soul is. Luckily, mine is endless. I can have as many Transformations as I want, but having so much isn''t going to make me powerful. It depends on what beast I have in. I killed a Leviathan, so I can morph into it. The Leviathan swam towards me and my consciousness then returned to my original body or my Leviathan body. I was now a Leviathan. My body was of a spiky whale. I could swim through the water with ease now considering I had a tail to help me. I also had better vision now, considering I have underwater senses now. After a while of swimming around, I eventually reverted back to my original form and returned to the inn. It seems my stamina gets consumed when I enter such a state. Well, it would make sense considering how big Leviathans are. Now then... time to get some shut-eye... . . . Chapter 114: Little Lesson Chapter 114: Little Lesson Over the past weeks, everything was quiet. No more attacks wereing from Cocytus which made me a little suspicious. However, when my shadow servants came back to report me, they had no information. It seems that they have stoppeding after me for now. I told them to continue spying and after a few days, they came back, telling me that they were preparing another invasion. Looks like he''s been saving up troops for the next invasion and decided to put me aside for now. Either he''s decided to hold back his ns to assassinate me for now, or he was forced to by the demon king. Well, I guess for now I can rx for a little while or so I thought. When I returned to the guild, there was news that there was another demon invasion. I had a chat with Celestia and I found out that a demon army was attacking some fortress in the west. Since Maroon city was not that far away from the fortress, adventurers with the ranks yellow and below must go and help. There were some reasons why any rank above yellow could not be called to battle. Let''s just say that they want to save the best forst so they are making the weak ones fight. You know, dispose of the weak. Technically, I would be at Purple Rank level since I''m near that range. Each rank has an average level range but I''m not gonna go into much detail about that. Anyway, I wouldn''t need to go and fight if I was Purple but I was still a Pink Rank as I was toozy to take the ranking quest. I could, it''s kind of toote for that now. Good thing the girls took the quest, though I feel kind of left out since I am the only Pink rank around. Now then, back to the topic at hand. Celestia offered to bring us to where they''ll be invading. I declined but had her transfer the girls instead. I had to meet up with someone. That someone being Joseph. He said that he wanted to talk with me about something. Celestia understood and told me the exact location. After that, I left to go meet up with Joseph. Joseph was sitting at the edge of a cliff, looking down at the forest beneath him. I walked over and sat down beside him. "Nero." He turned and smiled. "Joseph. What am I doing here?" I asked him. Joseph smirked as he took out two beer bottles from his coat. "Have a drink and I''ll begin talking. Don''t worry, I won''t take much of your time well, not that it really matters to you." Joseph handed me the beer bottle and I epted it. As we drank, I once again asked Joseph what he wanted to talk about. "Nero, I''ve been watching you for some time and I notice that you tend to hold back when you fight someone." "Hmm? So what? I can''t fight my enemies head-on at full power. What do you expect me to-?" "I am not done, Nero." His voice became stern and the atmosphere tensed. I gulped as he continued. "You not only hold back, but you also walk straight into their trap. You are oblivious to your opponent''s intentions and you often let your emotions take the best of you. You are wed. The entirety of your being is wed. You know your own ws but you don''t ept them. Instead, you either hide them in fear that they could be used against you or continue to abuse it." Joseph grabbed me by my cor and pulled me closer. "I''ll be blunt. You need to STOP. Your lust for power corrupts your mind and your motives are led by your emotions." He then picked me up and threw me to a wall. "You think you''ve already epted your mistakes but you only just began. You are also naive. Like I said, your motives and your decisions are empowered by your own emotions. Sometimes, you do think, but you don''t see the bigger picture." "You just called me here for a stupid lesson?" I responded as I clenched my hand. "See? That is exactly what I am talking about. You don''t even stop to think about it. You immediately go intobat mode and let your feelings and instincts guide you." Not even a second passed and Joseph had driven his hand through my stomach. "What are you going to do now?" He asked me, pulling his arm back and sttering my blood everywhere. I fell to the ground and held my stomach as it slowly closed up. It''s a good thing I obtained Vozass otherwise, I''d surely be dead. I wonder why it''s even called Vozaas. Now that I think of it since Vozaas means immortal or that is what it is supposed to be, why is it called something else? I wanted to think about it but I didn''t have the time for that. I looked up at Joseph who looked down at me with familiar eyes. That expression it''s how my old man would look at me with. As much as I want to admit it, he''s right. Yeah, I''m full of mistakes and I may or may not be one myself. I still question how I am still even alive. I should ept my ws but it is not that easy since one of my ws is my own past. My entire past my life it''s the greatest w I possess. A perfect person is a man that has fully epted their ws and mistakes Joseph is that exact person. He''s already epted his own ws though I doubt that he even has any. He is that perfect person I, on the other hand, am not. "You tell me to ept my ws but that''s not going to be so easy," I said as I got up on my feet. "I''m a selfish, greedy, and prideful person. However, I know when to be modest, but even so, I am still full of mistakes. If you want me to ept my ws, then you''re gonna have to find a way to get me to abandon my defective side. I will tell you this. My defective side is one of the many things keeping me moving forward. You are going to have to wait several years or decades to see me ept my ws." Joseph continued to re at me as I slowly loosened my hands, noticing what just happened. Damn it I fell directly into his trap. He just baited me and I ended up emotionally ranting and spouting out nonsense and excuses. "Nero. Take note that I am trying to help you. You need to control yourself. You aren''t a little kid anymore. What would your par-?" "Don''t talk about those pieces of shit." I interrupted, hitting the wall. "I don''t ever want to be reminded of those people. I already have a hard time forgetting my own past." "Well, I can see why you are so in denial. If you don''t ever ept your former self, you won''t ever be freed of your mistakes." Joseph levitated into the air before cracking a smile. "I notice you''ve gained immortality. Though it''s not perfect you still have it. But remember this Nero, you may be nigh-immortal, but you are still vulnerable. I''m not talking about physical injuries, I''m talking mental and emotional. Don''t let your emotions take over, think about it rationally. Otherwise suffer the consequences." I felt a chill run through my spine from thest words he said. After that, he vanished. All this talk for what? To tell me I''m a crybaby? Hmph, I''m nothing like that. Though he is right, I have been letting my emotions get the best of me. I thought I matured but it seems I''m still just a little kid. Also, what was that he said? I''m still vulnerable to injuries, just not physical, but in mental and emotional terms? Hmph, mind games won''t work on me so that''s a useless thing to tell me. Now then, I should get going. We talked for about 20 minutes. The location which is this fortress is a ce that Celestia has brought me to before. Though I never really got the chance to fully explore it. I can''t teleport myself to the fortress directly, but I can appear in the fields near the fortress. Once I locked my hands together, I imagined the field behind the fortress. When the picture was clear, I used ck Magic and teleported to the spot. As Inded in a field of green, I could see the fortress in the distance. I saw people who were most likely adventurers entering the fortress. Guess we are all supposed to be in there. "Right, now the-" "Naoko?" Said a familiar voice. I stopped and my body tensed up. I slowly shook my head, balling my fist, wishing I never teleported here. I turned my head and met with Risa''s eyes. I opened my mouth, wanting to tell her the truth about that incident, but remembering what Joseph said, I twisted the words that came out my mouth. "Tch. Of course, you''re here." I said with a disdainful expression on my face. Risa flinched in response to my words. Cage who stood behind her clenched his fist but I lightly shook my head. He paused before nodding lightly. "Try not to die," I said as I took off from the ground and flew over to the fortress. A tear streamed down my cheek but I wiped it away and tried to forget everything that just happened. One day I''ll tell her, just not now. As soon as I reached the fortress, hovering above it, there was a sinister presence lingering around. The air became frightening cold and it wasn''t until ice erupted from beneath the fortress, trapping and killing countless people who stood in the fortress. Looks like it has already begun. . . . Chapter 115: Ice Fortress Chapter 115: Ice Fortress The ice that emerged from beneath the fortress began encasing the fortress walls. It continued to expand until it looked like some sort of sinister castleposed of only ice and using the fortress as a base. I heard screams and noticed that near the entrance of the fortress, there were countless people impaled by ice protrusions. I estimated around 10-20 of them were dead and around a hundred of them were injured. Those that weren''t touched by the ice went to help the injured. Turned my attention back to the ice structure, I noticed two figures standing at the very top of the tallest ice tower. I used Mystic Eyes of Interspace to enhance my vision and inspected these two figures. One of them was a female elf wearing a ck bodysuit with half of her body fused in with the ice. At the end of her flowing, long, white hair was what looked like des. In her hand was a crooked wand made of ck metal. The second figure donned ck clothing simr to that of a ninja so I was unable to determine what gender they were. They wore clothing suited for heavy winter which was strange because ice elves are supposed to be resistant to the cold. At first, I assumed whoever this is was not an ice elf but that idea was quickly erased once I saw their ears. The female sank into the ice before appeared in front of the injured. Spikes then protruded from the ground, killing the ones still trapped in the ice. It looks like she is the one that created this giant ice fortress. Seems she has a high mana capacity if she managed to do that. The uninjured ones drew their weapons and attacked the female. However, with a snap of her finger, several were impaled with ice and others trapped in them. The female then spoke. "Seems you humans are as naive as we thought. Are you all really in a hurry to meet your doom? How pitiful." She then held her wand out. "Today, let''s dye this ce in red." With a swing of her wand, people were bombarded with a barrage of ice spells. As she said, the ground was stained with blood and corpses. The female beganughing as screams could be heard. It wasn''t until she was hit by a ball of bright light. She stumbled back, sinking into the ice before appearing on top of the fortress walls. I focused my attention on where the ball came from and I saw Ravyn rush towards her at high speed. When did she be that fast? With a shing from her eye, bones erupted from the ice but the female managed to dodge them in time before she was struck. "And who the hell are you!?" The female shouted as she emerged from the ice. Ravyn didn''t speak as a bright light appeared from behind her. Dashing towards the female was Katrina who aimed for her neck. Again she dodged but not without receiving a kick across her face. The female after appearing higher in the ice fort screamed in frustration. "I don''t know where you two came from, but you are pissing me off!" The female swung his wand again, this time, creating sinkholes from the fortress ground. Emerging from the sinkholes came creatures made of ice and ice elves. Looks like she summoned the army. Katrina shot towards the female, attempting to hit her but was countered by the female''s ded hair. While Ravyn and Katrina kept the female upied, I turned my attention back to the figure at the very top of the fortress. I noticed that two figures were making their way up the fort. I eventually recognized those two to be Kiyomi and Akane. The figure seemed to notice the two but ignored them. I turned my attention back to the female who turned, noticing the two climbing the ice. "How persistent." Another swing of her wand and Kiyomi and Akane were met with ice spikes which they both managed to evade, however, that messed up their footing and they both slipped. I teleported to them and caught them from falling. "You two alright?" I asked and the two nodded. "You two take care of that woman. I''ll go to the guy up top." They nodded once again. When I dropped them safely on the ground, I headed up towards the figure. I activated Angel''s Crimson Hand and shot Piercing Red towards them. As soon as they turned, they were impaled and fell, plummeting to the ground. Though they had a giant gaping hole in their stomach, they were able to maneuver themselves away from the ice fortress and rolled across the ground as theynded. I flew towards them and brought out Raiden, shooting towards them. The sound of a thunderp could be heard as I performed Thunder Beast sh. Appearing behind the figure, Thunder Beast sh ensued, shing them countless times. When I turned around, the figure was still standing. He then turned around, the clothing concealing his face torn off by my attack. He was a male wearing some kind of metal mouth covering. "So you are the one who killed my brother." He said, speaking in a cold, deep voice. "Brother?" "Myran, the man you ughtered. Don''t you remember?" I see, so this is his brother. "Yeah, so what? Are you going to avenge him by trying to kill me?" Myran''s brother shook his head before chuckling lightly. "Of course not. I know you can''t be killed considering Hall was in at your hand. Though I can''t kill you, there are other ways that can suffice." "Such as?" "Well, I don''t know yet, but I can think of something. I just need the right materials for this." Myran''s brother drew two ck sai from his back. He then bowed. "I almost forgot. My name is Jeredal, though you wouldn''t really care since you''d kill me anyway. The woman who forged this structure is Neia. She''s the woman over there fighting four girls which I''m assuming are associated with you since you caught two of them earlier." Jeredal spun his sai before getting into a fighting stance. "I never liked my brother, so I don''t bear any form of hatred for you. However, family is still family, so what I have in n for you is different than my father''s intention." I got into a stance, sensing something was wrong when suddenly, Jeredal appeared next to me, his sai slicing a bit of skin off my neck. "My father sired the three of us, Myran, Lyndis, and me. However, unlike Myran and Lyndis, I did not bear the aptitude to wield ice. Hence I wasbeled a failure by my father. It might be tragic for me but then there was hope." Suddenly, I felt numbness around where my skin was sliced off. "The blood coursing through my body isposed of a myriad of poisons and venom which can be weaponized. I was at first used, having my blood and poison extracted to coat the weapons used by assassins. Then, I was made into an assassin as I developed the ability to coat anything I touch in poison at will. The numbness you are feeling right now is only one of my weakest poisons. I have many more in-store, one which is able to put you, an immortal, to severe pain. Heh, even resistance to poison won''t work. That is just how potent my poison is. Despite my father making me of use to his army, he still despises me for not being able to wield the element of ice. So, I''ll be using you as a test subject to show him just how dominant my poisons are. I hope you are ready." The numbness eventually faded away. Jeredal stared at me with malicious intent. I clenched my daggers, a drop of sweat trickling down the side of my face. [Level 67,492] Of course, looks like this won''t be an easy task. He''s several hundred levels higher than me. I specte his speed to be a little higher than mine despite having Raiden equipped. And even though I have resistance to poison, his poisons are still able to take effect. I''ll have to be careful and try not to get touched by him. Jeredal dashed forward and I did the same, performing Thunder Beast sh. When we passed each other, I received two shes on my left arm while he was bombarded with lightning-fast shes. I activated Thunderous Overcharge, charging a crazy amount of lightning around me before repeatedly using Thunder Beast sh, zipping and zapping all over the ce while dealing damage to Jeredal. I notice that even though he was being barraged with sharp cuts, he didn''t seem affected. Then I realized that he was healing faster than I could cut him. So he''s also immortal, huh? I eventually stopped and withdrew Raiden, Jeredal looked at me, beckoning me as he taunted. "Is that all?" I stood there for a second before smirking. "No, I''m just getting started." . . . Chapter 116: True Leviathan Chapter 116: True Leviathan "And what is that?" Jeredal pointed at the spear in my hand. I spun Leviathan around before stabbing it into the ground. "Why don''t youe at me and find out?" "Hmph, you are a little too arrogant if you think you can beat me with a spear. Guess the rumors were right. Anywho-" Jeredal shot towards me and I swung Leviathan, hitting the side of Jeredal''s hip. He was flung to the side and managed to catch himself. A liquid-like substance excreted from his sai and heunched it towards me. The liquid hit my face and suddenly, it began burning. "How''s that?" Jeredal said as I held the burning part of my face. Touching the liquid with my hand, even it began to burn. Looks like I was hit with some kind of acid. I''ll have to be careful of that. I stabbed the ground with Leviathan and a wave of water erupted from behind me, rushing over to Jeredal. He jumped into the air, avoiding the iing wave. "I see, so that thing controls water." He assumed as hended and threw one of his sai towards me. I spun Leviathan and shot towards Jeredal, impaling his chest. He stood his ground andughed. "Is that all?" He asked and I smirked. "Of course not, it can do this." Jeredal''s smile then distorted when Leviathan transformed into its True Leviathan form. There was only a slight difference in appearance but a massive boost in physical capabilities. Jeredal held onto what was now a trident in my hand and attempted to pull it out. However, it was stuck between his rib cage. The more he pulled on it, the more flesh could be heard tearing apart. "Such an idiotic trick. All it does is change forms." "Yeah, but in addition, I''m also able to do this." I pulled True Leviathan out and smacked him away before performing Oceanis Serpent Wave. Another wave of high-pressurized water rushed towards Jeredal. When it made contact, I stabbed True Leviathan into the ground. Right after that, the wave formed a barrier around Jeredal, trapping him in a sphere of water. With True Leviathan, I''m able to manipte water to an atomic level. From bending water to shaping their atoms to whatever shape I want them to be. I can even shape them into needles just with one singr drop of water. Inside the orb, I bombarded Jeredal with countless needles that shot out from the interior of the sphere. I could see through the sphere he was taking damage by all the needles that were rammed into him. Eventually, I ended it bypressing the sphere, crushing Jeredal with the water. Jeredal fell to the ground and took heavy breaths. "Y-you I can see why Hall died now. You''re pestering fighting tactics are extraordinary. I didn''t even expect that despite being on countless missions. Maybe I''ll actually have fun this time. Luckily, I''ll be able to hurt you as much as I want until you run out of stamina and can''t heal anymore." Clenching his sai, he shot towards me, aiming for my chest. I spun True Leviathan and mmed the ground, water erupting from the ground, creating countless geysers. Jeredal was hit by them and flung into the air. I shifted above him before piercing him with True Leviathan, sending him towards the ground once more. Plummeting towards the ground, I transformed into my Altima form and performed Twisted Chaos Dance, assaulting him with countless Distorted Fists which struck him. As hended on the ground, True Leviathan returned to my hand as I descended. Despite being hit by my Twisted Chaos Dance, Jeredal stood up as if nothing had happened. He was unscathed, even the open wounds caused by True Leviathan were healed. This is getting a little annoying. "Well, that kind of hurt, but you''ll have to try harder if you want me dead. Why don''t you do whatever you did to Hall to me? I''m sure that will be able to kill me, though not without bombing this entire ce." "You''re right about that. I can''t risk killing you with my strongest attack. Good thing I have other alternatives." I turned around and faced the fortress. Then, I began spinning True Leviathan, causing water to erupt from the ground and circle around me. "Huh? What are you-?" Jeredal asked but I quickly interrupted him. "Shut up and watch." After amassing enough water, I pointed True Leviathan to the sky and all the water began to merge, creating a giant sphere of water. "This energy it feels so ancient." "You''ve noticed huh? This is what my weapon can do; draw power from the ancient sea. Now then, let''s see what this can do against your hellish ice fortress. Though it should be directed at a target such as you, I''m sure this can do more to structures. Now then, time to destroy it." I then pointed True Leviathan at the fortress, directing Oceanic Extinction Bomb to the fortress. The giant ball of water collided with the ice structure and even began to circle around it. The force of the bomb was powerful, causing the ice fortress to copse bit by bit as the bomb rammed itself into the structure. Then, the bomb exploded, creating a massive flood within the fortress which was also destroyed due to the sheer force the bomb emitted. Within a short minute, there was nothing but a giant crater in where the fortress once was. "Now then, that should stop your army froming." "So that was your n huh? Well, not that it really matters since I already have enough units with me." "Yeah, now let''s resume our battle." "Indeed, I''ve still yet to try out my best poison. I also want to test my strength against that form of yours." I looked at my hand. Right, I was in my Altima. "Alright then, let''s see what you got." Jeredal smirked, rushing towards me as he coated his weapons in his poison. I dashed forward, thrusting my spear towards his neck which he evaded. Jeredal shed my arms, sending his poison through my body. I felt a small sting in my arm but due to my Altima nature, the poison''s effect was greatly suppressed which was lucky for me. We continue to sh weapons until I managed to break his sai. In exchange, he managed to shatter Leviathan. We created some distance between us before I equipped Osiris. Rushing towards one another, we collided fists and engaged in hand-to-handbat. Jeredal had the advantage in speed while I on the other hand had the terms of strength. I managed to break his bones with every hit but he''d regenerate right after. Even with Twisted Chaos Dance, he was still unaffected and didn''t stagger once. Noticing that I was doing nothing to him, I was nning on using Grim Hydra Fist. However, that would mean risking this entire battlefield. The girls are also in the range of my attack so I won''t use it unless they are far away. Soon, Osiris shattered and I didn''t have any other weapons left except my Altima Sword. I drew my Altima Sword and swung it in an attempt to cause some damage to Jeredal but whenever I hit him, he acted the same, unaffected. Secondster, my efforts were futile. He was chuckling as he had coated my entire body in his poison. I felt many sensations fill my body and nerves. I could feel much of my legs and I was getting to the point of passing out. Knowing I had no other option, I rushed towards him and grabbed his face, activating Timeless Purgatory and throwing him into my soul. Inside my soul, he looked around, exploring the new scenery in front of him. Inside, I was in my imperfect form and began slicing and dicing him to pieces. After many deaths, he was still unaffected. I stumbled back as he stood, unscathed by my psychological attacks. I felt my vision fade as the poison was getting more effective every second. This eventually forced me out of my Altima. I tried to focus all my mana inside me to force the poisons out. This technique was something I was taught by Celestia. Right now, I was trying to force the poison that Jeredal ced into me out from my body. However, the more I did it, the more stamina I was using and my stamina was being drained by the poison he had implemented in me. I stopped, recognizing that I was unable to drive his poison out of my veins. His poison had clogged parts of my body and paused my blood flow. It was getting hard to breathe. "D-damn it" Fatigue got the best of me and I copsed. Taking heavy breaths as pain filled my internal organs, then my heart. "Tch, you even have a poison that can hurt my organs?" "Well, of course, though I haven''t been able to create one able to affect the heart yet." What? Then why is my heart hurting? "Are you alright?" I felt a hand touch my arm and instantly, the pain had subsided. The poison was still in my body but the pain was negated. I turned and Risa had her hand extended towards me, her hands glowing. "Why are you here?" "We''re saving you of course. What else?" Cage said, lifting me on my feet. I noticed his otherpanions behind him, wielding their weapons. "I don''t need your help I got this." I responded. "You sure don''t look like it." Cage chuckled before being interrupted by Jeredal. "Ahem! Are these people associated with you?" Jeredal asked me. "Yeah, whatever." "Great, then you won''t mind if I use them as my test subjects, right?" Jeredal dropped his sai before drawing two daggers from his back, leaking poison. "And what''s his deal?" Cage asked me. "He specializes in poison. They are lethal, even to a semi-immortal like me." "Semi-immortal?" "I don''t know but I''m notining. He''s also fast, faster than me, so I advise you to be careful and keep your guard up. Weaken and slow him down, then I will deliver the final blow. This bastard is immortal like me so even dealing a major blow won''t slow him down." Cage and hispanions nodded before dashing towards Jeredal. Risa also ran forward but I snatched her arm. "And what are you doing?" I asked her. "It''s obvious, I''m going to help!" Risa responded, turning around and looking me in the eyes. "But you can''t fight. You are a healer. Unless-" "Us heroes are able to learn more than one ss, remember? Of course, I learned other skills." Risa revealed a longsword under her coat. I stared at it and then at the confident look in her eyes. I eventually sighed and let go. "Fine." I got up but stumbled back, as I couldn''t feel my legs anymore. Seems the poison has gotten worse. "Stay here, Naoko. We will take it from here." Risa smiled before turning to fight Jeredal. . . . Chapter 117: Misfortune Chapter 117: Misfortune I limped over to a boulder andid down, watching Risa and her group fight Jeredal. I took deep breaths to recover my stamina and waited till Jeredal was weakened. As I watched the fight ensue, I noticed that Jeredal was struggling, mostly against Risa. Her movements were unpredictable and swift. She must''ve been trained perfectly by a master if she could move like that. well, I can''t say I''m not surprised. She was always good at everything she did and she always made sure to excel at them, mostly sports. It''s a little embarrassing to say this but I kind of looked up to her. A role model of how a human being should act. She is sess while I, on the other hand, am failure. I wonder if I was like her in moral terms, would everything have been different? Would I be in this situation I was in? Would would I have be normal just like her? No even if I had followed in her footsteps and became a sess like her, it would be totally different. Pff, I might not have even be a sess. A normal businessman? Most likely. I don''t know, I always me my own misfortune for this. There could be an alternate universe out there where I had befriended Risa at another point in time. I met her when we were kids and we''ve always been friends since then. There could be another reality where I''m sessful and I was going out with her. Another could be that I was a delinquent, well, not that I am already one. There could even be another universe where I never meet her or one where I never existed. man, all this thinking is messing with my mind. All that probably would never happen, though there could be a possibility. Good thing I stopped watching videos on multiverse theories. While I had been lost in thought, I didn''t notice how much time had passed and when I lifted my head, all I could do was stare in shock. *** Meanwhile Kiyomi, Ravyn, Akane, and Katrina were struggling against Neia, the ice elf that had covered the fortress in ice and erected a newer one. Kiyomi who wielded the ability to manipte ice could not deal any decent damage to Neia. Why? It was because, unlike Kiyomi, Neia wieldedplete control over the element of ice, being able to be one with ice. In other words, her entire being was ice and nothing else. She had lost her mortal body in exchange forplete control of ice. Even if she were to be shattered into pieces, she could produce frost out of thin air. If she had the energy and the power, she could cover the entire continent in ice, however, many interferences heavily limit that factor. This was her ability as an Arcane Mage. Kiyomi wasn''t the only one that had difficulties. Ravyn who used her divine abilities had all of her attacks reflected against her. As Divine Energy deriving from light, it is reflected off the surface of Neia''s ice. Neia wasn''t hurt once by Ravyn''s divine powers, but her dark abilities did some, however not enough to put Neia into a corner. Being swordswomen, Akane and Katrina were able to make Neia stumble, but Neia was also able to give them problems. Neia was not only a Mage but an Assassin as well. Her movements being so sudden had almost caught the four off guard. The four were currently catching their breath as Neia sat on top of the remains of what used to be the fortress after it had been demolished by Nero''s earlier attack. Neia sat down while looking down andughing at them. "You four are formidable, but you can never contest against me. You are all simply too weak." Akane looked at Kiyomi, Ravyn, and Katrina, noting their current state. She knew that if this continued, they would eventually lose. Akane had more stamina than the rest of them so she was the only one standing tall. She looked around, noticing everyone else besides them was struggling with the troops that had emerged from within the giant hole in the fortress. Knowing she was the only one left who had the energy to take Neia on, she shot forward. "Hmm, so you are still able to stand." Neia stood up and aimed her hand at Akane, a stream of ice shooting out from her palm. Akane swiftly evaded and swung her crimson sword downward, Neia barely managing to dodge the quick sh. As Neia backflipped away, Akane turned. "I will hold her off. Help the ones in need of help." The three nced at each other and nodded before splitting up. "You think you alone can defeat me? You must be out of your mind. Are you really trying to meet death that quickly?" Neia snickered as the ice began expanding around her. The ice spread across the ground, stripping the ground of friction, making the ice-covered floor nearly impossible to move on. Akane stood her ground and performed Vacuum sh, closing the distance between her and Neia. Noticing this, Neia sent ice des towards Akane''s direction. Using Afterimage and sh Step, she got closer to Neia while avoiding her ice des. As soon as she reached Neia, she swung her sword upwards, a trail of her own blood ascending from the tip of her de. ''What? How did she-?'' Neia would think to herself until she noticed the cut across Akane''s arm and the trail of blood left by her as she had attempted to approach her. Earlier, Akane had cut her own arm using her de and scattered it across the ground. With this, Akane was able to utilize her blood manipting abilities, one being Blood Eclipse, an arching upward sh that spills the user''s blood on their opponent which then sinks into the body if it doesn''t manage to strike the enemy. Though she missed, her blood managed to make contact with Neia''s body. But, her Blood Eclipse attack was useless. "Idiot, you don''t seem to know that my entirety is fused into ice!" Neia created an ice dagger and swung at Akane. Akane ducked and jumped backward, taking in a deep breath. She had already used mostly everything in her arsenal to fight Neia, but none of them seemed to work. She only had one more choice, however, this would cause her to release an overwhelming amount of bloodlust, a trait that is often sealed within a Dragon Oni. After evading and countering Neia''s barrage of seemingly endless ice, she was beginning to lose her footing and decided that she had no other choice. "Anyst words?" Neia said as her dagger inched closer to Akane''s neck. "Yeah..." Suddenly, a fiery red aura burst out from Akane''s body and blew Neia away. Neia slid across the floor before stopping herself. She lifted her head and noticed slight changes in Akane''s appearance. Her horns which were extended due to the sudden burst of energy was jagged backward. The side of her cheeks was covered in dragon scales, and her eyes were bright red, leaving a trail of light. Her sword however had received a significant change. The hue of her sword was now a darker shade of red, the patterns on the handle had changed, and the dragon head on the guard was now decorated with glowing eyes, the same as Akane''s. What''s more, red mist spilled across the floor as her fiery aura grewrger andrger, representing the gradual growth of her bloodlust. Upon breathing in the red mist, Neia stumbled and puked blood. "So you were hiding your true strength," Neia remarked as she formed another dagger in her free hand. "No matter, I''ll end your life." "Not if I end you first," Akane responded with an eerie smirk across her face. Seeing that smirk, a chill immediately went up Neia''s spine. Even though she had sacrificed her mortal body for one that didn''t have a spine, she could still feel it. That feeling being fear, something she has not experienced in years. Akane took a step forward, instantly appearing in front of Neia. Neia didn''t even blink and Akane had already closed the distance between them in a sh. "D-d-don''t get so cocky!" Neia yelled, swinging her daggers. Akane weaved and hit Neia in the stomach with her handle before dealing arge sh across her stomach. Neia grit her teeth as the wound closed up, then she mmed the ground, creating a dome of ice which trapped her and Akane but then, Akane''s de shined, the light blinding Neia. Neia knew if she blinked, it would be over so when she was blinded, she tried her hardest not to close her burning eyes, but not even she could fight against the pain that was brought upon her eyes. Closing her eyes, she fell directly into Akane''s trap. The aura around Akane quickly shifted towards her de, covering it in crimson light. And then with a downward swing, a crescent-shaped sh was dealt upon Neia. Secondster, Neia began splitting in two. She could feel her body being separated and out of instinct, she shrieked in pain. Neia jumped back, tears streaming down her cheek. She opened her mouth to speak until a horn red. That''s when she fled, screaming herst words at Akane. "If we meet again, I''ll make you pay!" Knowing she won, Akane dropped to her knees and took a heavy breath. Her horns retracted, returning to their normal states. The dragon scales disappeared, and her de returned to normal. "I should... really train with Muramasa Ryuu... if I''m ever going to use it again." Akane said to herself as she got up. "Now then, I should go and help the others. Recovering some of her strength, she turned to go help the other girls. But then there was another cry. The crying from the opposite direction. Immediately recognizing the cry, she turned, a worried expression appearing on her face. "Nero." . . . Chapter 118: Im Sorry... Chapter 118: I''m Sorry... In front of me, I saw Cage and the two others scattered across the ground, dead. Their bodies had fell victim to Jeredal''s lethal poison. That wasn''t why I was horrified though. What I was really focused on was Jeredal with a sword driven through his chest who was lifting Risa in the air, choking her. "You know I don''t usually struggle against weaklings like you, especially a healer. You heroes are really something else. A shame that I didn''t get to fight all of you since a part of my army is already dealing with the two groups." He brandished his dagger in front of Risa before inching towards her neck. "Maybe my father will finally look my way once I tell him I killed a hero and bring your corpse to him. Yeah, that''s going to be nice," Jeredal chuckled which then escted intoughter. "No you can''t!" I got up but fell as I lost all feeling in my left leg. I was immobilized. Fuck. I can''t move at full speed with only one leg. "Ah ah ah, I heavily suggest you don''t do that," Jeredal said. I looked at him to find him holding Risa in a chokehold, cing his dagger across her neck. "Don''te any closer. If you do, she''ll die you know." A smirk crosses Jeredal''s face as he tightened his grip. I could see Risa struggle to breathe and something inside me told me to stop him. I limped forward and Jeredal took a step back, dragging Risa along with him. "Didn''t I say not to do that?" Jeredal grinned before the edge of his de touched Risa''s neck. The next thing I knew, I saw blood leak down her neck. "N-no stop." Hearing my meek call, Jeredal''s eyes brightened. Suddenly, he took his dagger and stabbed Risa in the arm. "GAH-!" "Risa!!" Instinctively, I jumped forward but tripped, hitting the ground. I heard Jeredal cackle as he slowly moved back. "I see you and this girl must have something inmon. Well, all heroes are connected in one way or another. I know she''s your friend but maybe she is something more?" Jeredal asked in curiosity. "Let her go!" I growled. I put my hand over my chest while I quietly amassed mana inside me. Once he''s caught off-guard, I''ll quickly activate Shadow Overlord Domain and rescue Risa. Then, I''ll obliterate him entirely, leaving nothing behind. Jeredal blinked once before shaking his head, snickering. "If I do, she''s dead anyway. Let me tell you this. You see, I always put my enemies in despair and always shine a little hope on them. What you are thinking now is that you can catch me off-guard and rescue her, right?" He he saw through me? "Sorry, but even if you do manage to kill me, my poison would just activate, killing her." "What?" "Did you forget? Do you have the memory of a goldfish or something? Did I not mention I can wrap any de in poison? Did you forget that this dagger of mine is already covered in poison? It may have been a little tiny gash, but my poison can enter the tiniest of wounds. In other words, she''s already infected with my lethal toxin." "No way-" "Yes way! You have no other choice now. There is no way for me to remove my poison unless you have the antidote. However, I always change the properties of my poison, so even if you managed to develop an antidote to counter my poison, I can always create a new and deadlier one. You only have two choices. One, attempt to kill me and she dies, or two, let me go and she dies. Either way, she dies!" Jeredalughed like a madman before stabbing Risa once more. "Mmf!!" Risa opened her mouth to scream but Jeredal covered her mouth, muffling it. "S-stop," I said with a weak voice. I couldn''t control myself anymore. I tried to control my emotions but I just couldn''t. Jeredal stared at me, spinning his dagger before stabbing Risa once again, her scream muffled once more. "Hmm Nah, why should I?" "J-just please let her go I''ll do anything," I muttered, tears streaming down my face. "Anything you say?" Jeredal took a moment to think about it, pressing the back of his de against Risa''s throat. "Alright then, why don''t you-" Jeredal began but then the sound of a horn red. Suddenly a horn red, catching Jeredal''s attention. His guard was dropped and I quickly took action. Closing the distance between me and him, I equipped Osiris and with all my strength, I threw a punch straight towards his face. Crack! He flew back, his jaw dislocated from his skull, tossing Risa to the side while I fell to the ground. Jeredal managed to catch himself but he puked blood. "You bastard!" An angered Jeredal yelled as he red at me while holding his dislocated jaw. "I''m going to RIP that head off your FUCKING body!!" Jeredal ran towards me and held his dagger in a reverse grip. I couldn''t move as I had used thest of my strength to knock him off his feet. The only thing I could do was hope that Osiris was tough enough to protect my neck. I began to block with my gauntlets as Jeredal swung his dagger down. I closed my eyes and readied myself for his attack, but seconds passed and nothing happened. So when I opened my eyes, I began to feel a sense of regret. "a-are you alright?" A wounded Risa who was over me said with a dagger plunged through her heart. "what are you doing?" I asked her. "Why did you protect me?" "Protecting you, what else?" Risa grinned as blood dripped from the side of her mouth, her gaze focusing solely on me. "Tch, get out of my way." Jeredal tried to pull his dagger out from Risa but it was stuck so he just tossed her aside. Then the horn red once again and he clicked his tongue. "Damn, just a little more and it could''ve been done. Oh well, it doesn''t matter, I won either way. Both this and the battle. Nearly everyone is already dead, though the heroes aren''t. Whatever, my poison has already taken effect. Enjoy your few moments with her, loser." Jeredal turned as he was wrapped around in ck smoke. Then he vanished. I looked around, checking if any enemy was around us. The area was clear. I lifted myself off the ground and tended to Risa. "Risa. Risa! Are you alright?" I noticed that Risa''s veins began to darken. Shit, the poison has already taken effect! "Risa, speak to me. Say something." I shook her and she opened her mouth, muttering a few words. I couldn''t hear her so I got nearer. "You are a horrible liar." Risa looked at me with a smile on her face. Guiltpletely took over my body. The poison had already spread through her entire body. Damn it! If only I could''ve stopped him before she was infected. It''s my fault that this happened. "R-Risa I-" "It''s alright," Risa muttered under her breath. "Cage already told me everything." I paused for a moment before turning to Cage whoid dead on the ground. "I-is that so?" "Yes. I know everything. You did it for my sake, correct?" Risa stared at me, waiting for me to answer her. I tried my hardest not to cry but I eventually just let them flow down my cheeks silently. "I''m sorry. It''s all my fau-" I began but then Risa interrupted, putting a finger over my lips. "No. Don''t me yourself. It was all my fault. If I had done something, all this wouldn''t have happened." Hearing her say that, I shook my head. "I wish I could''ve saved you back then. If only I had the confidence to save you. I''m really sorry Naoko." She took my hand, interlocking her fingers with mine. With her other hand, she caressed my face and smiled. "You may have changed, but one thing for sure is that you are still the same old crybaby you were back then." Risa began coughing up blood, and instinctively I tried to heal her, but it was useless. Of course, even healing magic can''t deal with poison. "Naoko," Risa whispered my name faintly and I gripped her hand, moving my ear closer to her mouth. "Forget about me, alright? You have others to worry about and I am not one of them. It looks like I''ll be dying here." "N-no, don''t say that." "I don''t want you to get angry on my behalf. I just want you to live your life. Alright? Please, will you promise me that you will forget about me when I die?" I stayed silent as I wanted to respond with a no, but the look in her eyes wanted me to say yes. I gulped and nodded. "Well then, will you at least take my first kiss before I die?" I slowly pulled away from her after she said that. The urge to weep grew stronger and stronger as I tried to hold back my voice. She looked at me with a sad smile as she waited for my response. I nodded my head and she gently pulled my face closer to hers before our lips met. At that same time, her hand slipped from my face. I pulled away as her grip on my hand loosened. She passed away with a smile on her face. "damn it." I closed my eyes, frustrated and miserable. This is my fault I was useless. I felt all hope exit from my body and be reced with misery. Suddenly a message shed across my eyes. [Notice: The third consequence has been delivered] My vision began to blur as I saw the message. My body became drowsy and I limped on my knees. [You havemitted the Sin of Sorrow] [Another astral chain has broken...] [Nowmencing the next consequence, the Trial of the Fallen] [Requirements that must be met in order toplete] [One, the skill Derivation will be sacrificed] [Two, ingest a soul belonging to a demon lord or their descendant] [The third and final one will be given once you''vepleted these two requirements] [Do you want to proceed with the Trial of the Fallen?] I stared at the messages in front of me. This is the Trial of the Fallen? It says I need to sacrifice Derivation, my well, cheat skill. Must I really do this? It has been one of the many skills that have helped me until now. It''s how I got to this point [Do not worry as a stronger skill will be given] Is that so? But I rubbed my temples and tried to think about it but my mind waspletely void of all thoughts. I just couldn''t think. Fine whatever [Notice: The skill Derivation EX has been sacrificed...] [Pleaseplete the second requirement...] I got up on my feet and stared at Risa''s deceased body. I turned away and looked at the scenery around me. The only thing I could see was ice. I tried to move but I fell on my knees. "I...I can''t do it..." I began. "I just... can''t." [Then I shall do it for you.] I turned around, startled by the voice. When I turned, no one stood behind me. Then a hand snatched my face. A figure appeared next to me and I saw myself, my past self. [Your emotions are hindering you. If that is the case, then I''ll make those emotions your weapon.] At that moment, I felt pain run through my entire body before my vision faded ck. . . . Chapter 119: Twisted Fate Chapter 119: Twisted Fate Jeredalnded next to hisrade, Neia who was in tears. "What took you so long?" Neia asked angrily. Jeredal brushed his shoulders and took in a deep breath before letting a long exhale. "I was dealing with my brother''s murderer." "Oh? So what happened?" Neia began, curious. "His healing rate is fast, but my poison got to him. The only thing is that he''s stronger than I thought, but I still beat him nheless. I also had some otherpany that was on his side but I dealt with them easily." A smile began forming on Jeredal''s face. "Turns out, one of them was a hero, the healer! And it turns out that he liked her! So I poisoned her in front of his eyes. The face of despair was so satisfying." Neia nodded, a little frightened by Jeredal''s sadistic tendencies. Neia had been working with Jeredal for years and has seen this side of his. She never got used to it but she had to for the sake of their friendship and partnership. "Alright, I get the idea. Now let''s report to his majesty as soon as possible. We''ve won here." "Indeed we have. Let''s go." Neia held her wand up and waved it. Ice began to form before a rift opened. The two began to approach it until the rift shattered. The two jumped back as several pieces of ss-like material dropped to the ground. There was a strange sensation in the air in front of them. "What happened?" Jeredal asked and Neia shook her head. "I I don''t know," Neia answered as she began to form another rift. As Neia struggled to open another rift, Jeredal could not shrug the feeling that a gaze filled with bloodlust was looking directly at his soul. Instinctively, he turned around and Nero appeared in front of his face, his hands glowing red and blue. "You-!" Jeredal began, but he was interrupted as he was met with oppressive force. He wasunched into the air by the impact. "Jeredal!" Neia yelled before spinning around to look at Nero. However, he had disappeared. "Huh?" Neia looked around but Nero was nowhere to be seen. Nero then appeared in front of her, sending her flying with a dropkick. Neia who hadnded next to Jeredal mmed the ground and created an ice dome, shielding both her and Jeredal. Nero stared at the ice dome and performed Abyssal Blue, absorbing the ice into the makeshift void. When the ice had been absorbed, Neia pointed her wand at Nero but she was stopped by Jeredal. "Save your energy, Neia. I''ll distract him while you make the portal." Neia nodded and attempted to flee, but a red beam of energy struck the ground in front of her. "You''re not going anywhere," Nero said. Jeredal with his remaining dagger doused it in poison and threw it at Nero. Nero closed his eyes and dodged. That was the only time Jeredal needed and he quickly grabbed Neia and escaped. However, they weren''t quick enough. Nero didn''t take his attention off the two and as he saw them flee, he shot another Piercing Red at them. The red beam managed to pierce Jeredal and Neia in the stomach. Luckily for them, the two both had Vozaas. The two scattered across the floor. As they stood up, the hole in their stomachs closed up and they focused their attention back on Nero preparing their attacks, thetter floating towards them without a care and expressionless face. Nero floated in the air aimlessly and slowly spun around before looking in their direction. As he spotted Jeredal, a feeling boiled in his guts and he had the urge to rage. However, Risa''s words echoed through his mind. "I don''t want you to get angry on my behalf. I just want you to live your life. Alright? Please, will you promise me that you will forget about me when I die?" A tear trailed off his face before floating in the air. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. ''I won''t be able to keep our promise, Risa. As much as I have to, your name will always be carved into my memories. Though, for you, I won''t get mad. I''ll honor that at least. If only I had been more confident and not stay in the shadows for so long, we could''ve had a life together. I most likely could''ve saved you but I was too weak. I was lost... paralyzed... afraid... because of what came next.'' Another tear trailed off his face and this time he wiped it away. ''However that doesn''t mean that I can''t get mad on my own ord. I''m not angry at anyone. The only person I am mad at is myself.'' Jeredal and Neia had charged up their attacks. Neia shot a flurry of ice spikes while Jeredal darted towards him with a venom-covered dagger. "I''ve yed around for long enough. I''ll get serious this time," Nero muttered before Jeredal emerged behind him. "Die!" Jeredal yelled, aiming for Nero''s neck, to which Nero responded by vanishing, appearing behind Jeredal and using his body as a shield from Neia''s flurry of ice des. Jeredal quickly reacted, dodging his ally''s attack. Nero flew towards Jeredal, snatching him by his leg. Using Cursed White Arts, he elerated himself with Jeredal, mming him into the ground. Neia appeared behind Nero, attracting Nero''s attention. Distracted, Jeredal decided to strike and stabbed Nero with his dagger while Neia caused ice to emerge from Nero''s innards. Thinking they had done damage, they indeed did not. Instead, they struck each other. Nero had already disappeared. They gasped as they were hit by the other. When the two got up and recovered, they spotted Nero in a strange posture. His hands were clenched, stood on one foot, and his head lowered to the ground. The strange thing was, even though it was a weak stance, Jeredal was not able to perceive any openings. As a trained assassin, he was taught to identify weak points before he engaged with his enemies. Moments ago, Nero had many openings which Jeredal should have been able to take, but they were all closed now. He knew from there that they were unable to win. Quickly, he turned to Neia and ordered her to open a rift, but once he turned around, Neia had been decapitated. "What-?" Stunned, he turned back to Nero who was now suddenly coated in blood, Neia''s head in his hands. Jeredal stared at the dreaded look on Neia''s face, wondering what just happened. "J-Jeredal... s-save me-!" Neia began begging for help until the air around her twisted and secondster, there was nothing left of her. There was now only blood that dyed the ground red. Nero''s gaze slowly settled on him. "You''re next," He muttered, causing Jeredal to run for it. He picked up Neia''s headless body and darted away. Though she just had her head crushed, she could still regenerate her head and her consciousness. As long as her soul wasn''t destroyed and some parts of her body still existed, she coulde back to life. ''I just need to run. I can outrun him... right?'' Jeredal doubted that he could even flee. From Nero''s disy of power, he did not have faith in himself anymore to deal with Nero. His objective had just changed and that was to run away. He just needed Neia toe back alive and have her open the portal. As a matter of fact, her head was beginning to reform as he ran. "Damn it. If only we had true immortality, we could get out of here." Though he had Vozaas, it was not apleted form of immortality. The difference between it and true immortality was that Vozaas does not affect the soul. With true immortality, the soul will also be considered immortal and that person will forever exist, even till the end of time. Jeredal and Neia did not have that, hence why Jeredal feared and needed to flee. He began heading towards what was formerly the fortress, where they had emerged from. Eventually, he arrived at the spot. Jeredal felt a sense of relief, but that relief flew out the window once he saw Nero appear in his sight of vision with a distorted aura around him. Jeredal stopped as Nero''s hand flickered mysteriously which was then followed by the sound of ss shattering before all of his vital points were struck, causing him to drop to the ground. Neronded on the ground and started running towards Jeredal, drawing energy from his own body as he prepared his second attack. Eventually, Neia had been fully restored, woke up, and instantly performed a spell, forming a barrierposed of highly concentrated mana. She then started working on creating a portal right away. This did not stop Nero however, the barrier was nothing but a mere obstacle. Taking another step forward, heunched himself into the air and directed both his fist at the barrier before making knife-hand gestures with both hands. ''I''d like to thank you, Jeredal. Without you, I wouldn''t have been able to achieve this kind of feeling. Sorrow. Now, I''ll show you true despair.'' Crossing his arms, he then unleashed a wave of heavily distorted energy from the tip of his fingers, muttering three words, following a devastating and instant attack. "Infinite sh Dimension." ... ... ... With a sudden pressure in distorted energy, Nero''s arms were left momentarily incapacitated. His veins had exploded and the nerves of his arms were disconnected. The end of his fingers had exploded and his fingernails were torn off. He was unable to conjure any attacks with his hands, leaving him wide open. But he had already done what he had intended to do. Though it all happened in a sh, he had won. Because he had experienced a myriad of emotions: sorrow, despair, anger, satisfaction, etc., his mind had warped to the extent where he had awakened lost memories. Principle of Distortion, the ability to distort. Not only does this apply to physical elements, but spiritual and mental factors as well. With this, he understood the full capabilities of distortion. That made him the strongest. Though that title could only hold up for this instance, there was no doubt that he had temporarily be stronger than Joseph. As Infinite sh Dimension had ended, Nero looked down at Jeredal''s head with all his memories flooding through his mind. "No... no... I can''t die like this...," Jeredal muttered as blood spewed from his mouth. "Not without bringing your head to my father!" Neia was nowhere to be seen. That was because her body had beenpletely obliterated. Her soul was the only thing remaining. Though the soul was hovering in front of him, he decided to ignore it, as it was not the soul he was after. Jeredal''s body was starting to reform as Nero continued to stand idle. The memories still flooded his mind, distracting him from his goal. Jeredal''s healing rate was much quicker than Neia''s so in a few seconds, his body would be healed in mere seconds. ''This is my chance," Jeredal thought to himself, preparing to flee. ''I can flee no-!'' Jeredal''s train of thoughts was interrupted when Nero''s eye twitched, sending distorted energy at Jeredal, cutting him into pieces until his body ceased to exist. His eye would then blow up as a result. Jeredal was now a wandering soul, still possessing his consciousness. "There''s this... feeling... that I cannot shrug off." Nero started to talk. "I was once a weakling and fated to die. But I was reborn anew, at the price of obeying an entity that provides me power. An equal trade, right? I gain power in exchange for having my own fate twisted and governed by another being." Nero took in a deep breath, causing Jeredal''s soul to drift towards his mouth. "Your soul is the only thing I need." With that, Jeredal''s soul was consumed. The effect of consuming his soul left an aftertaste. It was like eating flesh from a rotten corpse covered in feces. "Now... what''s next?" Thest requirement was then disyed to Nero''s eyes. His eyes widened as he saw the words that were directed towards him. "Is that... so?" [The final requirement: Retrieve the souls of 7 heroes] . . . Chapter 120: Culling of Heroes Part I Chapter 120: Culling of Heroes Part I ''7 heroes, huh?'' Nero thought to himself as he attempted to process the words through his mind. ''I didn''t expect that to pop up. Is this what I really need to do toplete the trial of the fallen?'' [Correct. It is as Seffirot has ordered. You need to collect 7 heroic souls to pass the trial. The rewards will be satisfactory.] ''I see. Now that I know what I need to do, how am I going to achieve it? There are no other heroes around me.'' Nero inspected his surroundings, finding only vast wastnds of blood and corpses. As he could not find anything onnd, he ascended into the sky, activating Mystic Eyes of Interspace. However, due to one of his eyes being damaged, the Mystic Eyes of Interspace could only work at half its usual power, but that was enough for Nero. He spotted a group walking away from the battlefield. Immediately, he assumed they were heroes. So he elerated towards them, instantly appearing behind them. Nero started to whistle but instead, his body moved on its own. He raised one of his legs and performed Distorted Kick, hitting one of the members which sent them flying, alerting the other members of the group. "Huh? What the?" One of them turned around. Nero quickly inspected their appearances and he was heavily disappointed. "You aren''t the heroes. Looks like my intuition has deteriorated," Nero said to himself. "Who are you? And what do you-" One of them began but was interrupted when Nero ruthlessly performed a hook kick, killing the man instantly. Seeing theirrade fall, they circled in on Nero with their weapons out but with a quick motion, they were all burned alive with Nero''s ming Dragon Breath. Watching their corpses drop to the ground, Nero once again looked around, flying into the air when he could not spot anyone else. ''Huh are they already gone? No the battle only ended minutes ago, they couldn''t have gone far.'' Using Mystic Eyes of Interspace again, he began looking around steadily. Before he had rushed, trusting his own intuition. He will wait and only attack a group once he is certain. ''They probably blended with some other groups. Most likely they are walking with the survivors.'' To his left, there was a group of survivors fleeing the battlefield. Most of them were injured so Nero turned away from their direction. On his right, there was another group, most of them looked like they were unscathed. Nero had reasons to avoid injured ones. Heroes were known to be tough and survive most situations. Even if they were heavily injured, they had more endurance and their wounds close up faster than that of a normal human. Not to mention, they have the energy gauge of a camel, meaning they won''t get as exhausted as humans do. Nero is a hero, but he did not receive the proper blessings of one, hence he did not have those effects. But, his growth was faster as he received power from a third party. ''So if they aren''t there, then'' He turned his head to the group on his right. He stared at them for a while until one of them turned their head, then looked up directly at Nero. "There you are," Nero smirked. The person, Jessica, spotted Nero in the sky with her Mystic Eye of Interspace, a skill that a mage should have. "Jessica? What''s wrong?" Murai asked, putting his hand on Jessica''s shoulder, startling her. "Gah! D-don''t scare me like that," Jessica turned, a pale look on her face. "What''s going on?" Kai asked. He spun around and looked at the two with an annoyed expression, confused about what themotion was about. "Well, I think I saw someone up there," Jessica said, pointing to the sky. Everyone looked up but no one was there. Murai tilted his head, confused while Kai rolled his eyes. "You were probably hallucinating or something." "Yeah, you probably were," said Nero who had appeared in between them. The three spun around, facing Nero, donning Osiris. With one quick motion, he sent them flying with a flurry of kicks. Everyone around them turned, watching as Murai, Jessica, and Kai went flying. Neronded on one foot, his head lowered. Since he had no feeling in his arms, he did not equip the gauntlets. "What the-? Who is he?" "Where the hell did hee from? Is he an enemy?" "He just knocked three heroes off their feet!" Everyone was in shock, wondering who this individual was and where he hade from. Murai who recovered first drew his sword and darted towards Nero. Nero noticed him approaching and leaned back, catching his de with his teeth. "How-!?" Murai gasped. "Too slow!" Nero cackled, teleporting behind Murai and delivering a devastating downward kick. Murai''s head met the dirt floor and he was battered into it again with Nero''s foot on his head. "Are you even trying? Don''t tell me this is your all. If that''s the case, then you are nothing but an insect." Hearing those words, Murai raged, trying to lift himself off the ground. Nero continued to apply pressure until he felt a faint presence aiming for his head. Nero vanished as a man donning ck clothing and wielding a short dagger swung his de. The man missed as Nero disappeared in thin air. "I just killed an assassin moments ago. You annoy me, I''ll kill you first." Nero amassed mana into his legs and prepared to bash the Assassin Hero, Akira Nuda, into pieces. But as he was about to kill him, he paused, giving Akira the chance to back away. (Note: If you forgot the names of other heroes, go to chapter 2) "Everyone get away from here!" Murai yelled, causing everyone to run except the heroes. Was Nero really about to do that? Was he really going to kill someone to who he bore no hatred? The one he was about to kill was brought to this world without his consent, the same reason he was brought here. ''No he got the chance to stay while I was thrown away, so why should I pretend that he''s innocent?'' Nero''s mind started to twist, warping his way of thinking. The source behind this wasplex. Imagine this. You mix the violent past of an abused child, his negative opinion on the world, the current blood thirsting instinct he possesses, and the influence of a wicked being like Seffirot. What do you get out of that? Well, it''s pretty easy to figure out. As Nero looked at the group that surrounded him, he noticed that the numbers were greater than he expected. ''If I do the math correctly, there are 13 heroes here and I only need to take 7 souls. It will not be necessary for me to kill them all, however, it would be easier. Ridding them would get me closer to that bastard of a king... but where is the fun in that?'' Guided by his sadistic, yful nature, he decided it was best to keep some of them alive. ''Once I kill 7 of them, I''ll be done here and take my leave.'' As hepleted his thought, the heroes made their move. The Berserker Hero, Michael Kole, darted at Nero andnded a heavy blow to his ribs. Nero felt his bones shatter into countless pieces, causing him to stumble, but he did not falter. ''I didn''t even sense him. He hid his presence just like Akira. This will be harder than I thought.'' Swiftly, Nero wrapped Michael''s arm with his legs, and with one quick motion, he twisted it in ways that should not be possible. Despite such injuries, Michael did not cry in pain. Instead, he regained full control of his arm, mming Nero into the ground. "I have him pinned!" He shouted, signaling the others to attack Nero as he pinned him down. The heroes dashed to him, their weapons drawn out. Nero was stunned, processing what had just happened. ''I just twisted this guy''s arm and he just pretended like I didn''t rip all his muscles into shreds! It seems that he''s also formidable.'' Though he was pinned down, he put up a smile, an aura leaking from his body. The aura''s presence instantly struck fear into all the heroes, causing them to lose their strength. "What the fuck? What is this-?" Kai began, puking blood as he tried to resist. "Damn it... he escaped my grasp," Groaned Michael who clutched his arm and fixed it into ce. "Ow ow ow ow!" Fujita Botan, the Knight Hero, cried as he struggled to breathe. Landing on his feet, Nero felt strength in his right arm again but the wounds on his fingers were still there. The flesh around his eye had also regenerated, except the skin and the eye itself. His other arm hasn''t fully healed yet but one arm was all he needed. "Now then," Nero scratched the back of his neck, cracking it before balling his fist. "Who''s ready to die?" . . . Chapter 121: Culling of Heroes Part II Chapter 121: Culling of Heroes Part II ''This is Naoko? There is no fucking way he''s the same guy!'' Kai''s thoughts ran loose through his head as he stared at the man approaching them. Kai recognized that eye from anywhere. Blue irises with a hint of purple on the inside and shadow trim around his eyes. This was indeed the same man he met that day at the colosseum. It was definitely Naoko. ''He''s fucking crazy! He''s missing an eye. His fingers are crippled. He just had his ribs broken by Michael!'' Kai who possessed a keen eye, a gift that came with being the Archer Hero, had inspected everything that had just happened. He wished that he could see the full face of the man standing in front of him but his mask covered the rest of his face. ''He was dangerous when we fought at the colosseum, but now he''s like a monster! What the hell happened to you, Naoko!?'' Nero on the other hand looked at the fallen group in front of him and noticed that Kai was the first one to get up. He smirked, grabbing his hair as he appeared behind him. "Kai," Nero uttered his name, sending chills through his spine. "So you listened to what I said years ago, huh? Honestly, I thought you would just stay a crybaby." Nero forced Kai to meet his gaze. Kai gulped as he opened his mouth and spoke. "Y-you are that Naoko right? The one that fucking talked shit and spouted random nonsense at me back then!?" Kai shouted at Nero who stared at him with an expressionless face. Nero looked up at the sky, recollecting his memories. Secondster, he looked back down at Kai and smirked. "Oh yeah I remember. I''m sorry, I just regained these memories moments ago so my mind is a little scrambled right now. If I talk weird, just deal with it." "So mind exining to me now that you remember?" "dly. You see, Kai, I was only a few years old before my sister decided to corrupt me with things that I should not have been able to understand but I was fully aware of." "S-sister?" "Yeah, sister or technically half-sister. She was the daughter of my mother''s first boyfriend and she was older than me by 13 years. My sister was smart, pretty, and scary. If I were topare her to my parents to see who was the most fucked up, it was definitely her. She molded me into her own pawn, corrupting others in her ce. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and just continued to do whatever she told me to do. Then, before I even turned 6, she mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Thest ce she was seen was at her school." "So it was her? She made you do that?" "Yeah. When she presumably went missing or most likely died, I went crazy because I had been broken. So my dad hit my head and gave me amnesia. That was what made me... normal... is what you could say. Well, now that those memories flooded back into my mind, I remember everything now." Letting go of Kai, he walked over to Murai, dragging him to Kai by his chest te. "You know, you wouldn''t be here if it wasn''t for me. I made you what you are right now. So-" He snapped his fingers, causing Jessica to appear in between them. "I''ll keep you three alive. I''m not going to kill all of you, just seven. So, I want you to choose who lives." Kai stared at Nero, horror in his eyes. "Wh-what?" "Each of you will pick one person to live. Those three will live and the rest will die. I rmend keeping the strongest ones alive, though I doubt they could even reach my level of power." Nero lifted both of his now fully healed arms up, equipping Osiris as he walked behind the trio. "So? What are you waiting for?" Kai, Murai, and Jessica trembled in fear as Nero red at them with blood-lusting eyes. They started to shed tears of fear as they looked at the other heroes scattered in front of them. Nero could sense and see their fear. They were dreading to the point that they could not think clearly so to make them snap out of it, he charged up a Piercing Red and pointed it directly at Kai''s neck. Kai could sense the energy posted up against his nape and that caused him to return to his senses in addition to more fear. "If you don''t choose, then I''m just gonna kill you three." His voice darkened as he moved his fingers up Kai''s neck to the back of his head. Not wanting to die, Kai lifted his hand and pointed forward at Michael who had finally recovered and was back on his feet. "Good choice," Nero said before appearing behind Michael and knocked him out with a simple chop to his neck, not giving Michael a chance to even react. "So who''s next?" Nero directed his attention to Murai and Jessica. The two looked at each other and gulped before closing their eyes and pointing at the ones they want alive based on strength. "Hmm I know the Assassin, but who''s that one?" Nero questioned, turning to Murai who had pointed at Fujita. "H-he''s Fujita Botan, th-the Knight Hero," Murai answered. "Fujita huh?" Nero turned and gazed into Fujita''s eyes. Fujita only looked at Nero for a second and he instantly felt fear rush through his body. Whack! Fujita only blinked and Nero disappeared instantly. He appeared next to Akira and knocked him out before appearing in front of Fujita. "Fujita correct?" Fujita opened his mouth to answer but he could not speak as his words were stuck in his throat. He shook as cold sweat trickled down his neck. ''D-damn it, I didn''t want him to notice me. Now I''m gonna die!'' Those were the thoughts running through Fujita''s mind. He thought he was going to die! But "You should be thankful to him," Nero said, pointing to Murai. "If it weren''t for him, you would be dead. Be sure to thank him for thatter." Hearing that, Fujita felt a sense of relief. "Now then, it''s best you get out of here unless you want to be caught in the crossfire." Fujita did not even hesitate to linger around and instantly fled the field, leaving everyone behind. Nero watched as Fujita ran for his life and clicked his tongue. "Coward." Now that that was done, Nero focused his attention on those that weren''t chosen and smiled eerily, approaching them as he umted energy to his fingertips again. "Naoko!" Suddenly, Jessica shouted his name and Nero looked over his shoulder. "Th-there are 14 of us so shouldn''t 7 of us at least be spared? Where is Risa?" Nero stared at Jessica and his expression shifted. Jessica noticed the change and she immediately knew. "You just don''t know when to shut your mouth, do you? Don''t speak of her name again or I''ll tear that mouth off your stupid ugly mug." Those terrifying words did not match Nero''s expression. No tears fell down his face but he was sad. He quickly turned away as he directed his fingers at the seven heroes that were not picked by Kai, Murai, or Jessica. Nero didn''t even bother to ask what their names were before they meet their doom. Blinded by his sorrow, his mission, and anger, he could only fulfill that sense of frustration lingering inside him by doing what he wasmanded to do. He strived for more power. He had lost a precious friend because he didn''t have enough strength, and now he will do whatever it takes to prevent that from ever happening again. Nero took in a deep breath before calmly activating his newly developed Active Skill. "Infinite sh Dimension." It only took seconds for Nero to hold the souls of 7 heroes that he culled with his gore-covered hands. He devoured them each one by one until he hadpleted his task. [Final requirementpleted] [You have passed the Trial of the Fallen] [Host will now be put to rest] Fatigue took over his body. He tried to fight it but was eventually forced to sleep. Kai watched as Nero fell to the ground and with the courage he had left remaining, he got up and drew his bow. ''I can''t leave him alive I can''t! He just killed 7 people! He needs to die!'' He poured all his mana into his arrow and fired his arrow. However, a figure appeared and knocked the arrow to the ground. "Huh? Who are you!?" Kai shouted at the mysterious figure. The figure turned. They wore a ck robe with green lightning patterns, held a blue metal staff with a hook at the end of it, arge, white pointed hat, and a ck mask painted with a green 7. The figure had long braided white hair, so Kai immediately assumed it was a woman. "You''re a mess," The woman spoke in a distorted voice as she sank her hook into Nero''s chest before lifting him up, ignoring Kai''s words. "First you kill an entire army, then Jeredal, and now heroes. I think you''ve done enough." It happened before Nero''s pursue of Jeredal. The army they hadmanded and brought to the field was in the midst of leaving until Nero dropped in and annihted them all. He killed over 5,000 soldiers in 60 seconds. With that, the figure vanished with Nero along with her. *** A month passed after the incident. It was called the Frost Siege. The results were tragic on both sides. Many humans died and so did the demons. By the words of the remaining heroes, 8 other heroes were murdered by the hands of Naoko, the Inept Hero. The Inept Hero''s bounty had risen but he was still wanted alive. Though the council wanted him dead, the king had refused to do so under themand of a certain individual. "Looks like it will be harder to convince him to join my side now. I need another way. What do you suggest?" Authorian asked the figure standing in front of him. It was the dead of night, so the figure was d in the dark shadows. Authorian still wanted to have Naoko on his side. After hearing he decimated several heroes with ease, he needed his strength, but it was going to be nearly impossible. Hence, he sought guidance from the figure standing in front of him. "Without him, your kingdom will fall to ruins. You need him on your side more than ever now. Don''t fret however, fate will eventually have him on your side. Though I don''t think you should let your guard down when that does happen. Fate has its fair share of surprises." The figure chuckled. Authorian raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" "Yes. Trust me... I''ve lived long enough to see through fate." The clouds covering the moon parted away and moonlight shined through the windows of the throne room, revealing the figure''s appearance. "Now then, you know where to meet... correct?" Said the female figure, sporting a long silver coat with several diamond essories. She had long golden and ck hair, glowing eyes that were blue with a hint of purple in the middle, and pale, unblemished skin. "I... don''t think I will be able to make it..." The king began to stutter as he stared at the figure in front of him. "Oh, then that is alright since this will be the secondst meeting we will have." "Huh? Secondst meeting? What do you mean by that?" "Oh... nothing really." The woman then turned around before fading into the shadows, leaving the roompletely silent. Authorian wiped the sweat off his forehead, taking in deep breaths. "To think she was the figure talking to me months ago... how did I not know?" Authorian got up from his seat and started heading for his room. "The Twilight Queen... Damn it. How could I not have sensed her presence?" . . . Chapter 122: Memories Chapter 122: Memories . . . [Title Obtained: Sin of Sorrow, yer of Heroes] [ss Unlocked: yer] [Usurper Unlocked] [Usurper (Unique Skill): Upon killing an enemy, you can steal one ability from their soul and a rare chance topletely consume their entire life force| Effect: 2% chance of gaining 100% of your target''s level upon death; Gain one ability to your liking] [Active Skill Obtained: Infinite sh Dimension] [Infinite sh Dimension: Fire several rounds of highlypressed distorted energy from your fingers instantly, causing anything in your POV to be cut down until it ceases to exist| Effect: All entities and structures in a 10-meter radius will be rapidly cut down till they cease to exist| Condition: Requires 3,333,333 mana] [Notice: The skill Vozaas has been sacrificed] [Krehviirdov Unlocked] [Krehviirdov (Unique Skill): Kopraan guvok voth warped glimrel, qethserigir vorohah do vozaas pogaanogiir, ahrk hokziinus sos coursing zeim sostrah. Daar los gein do pogaan buld do vozaas tol nis kos hiiv ful easily ahrk nunon kos ofaal naal daar tol lost seirak aus ahrk maan. Nid trun vir pogaas hi ofaal vey vok, lotzu''ul dovah fen vokrii hi nid trun fos trun los. Daar los vahzah vozaas] [The Trial of the Fallen has given you a gift] [You are now level 100,000] . . . *** I opened my eyes, finding myself standing in my Ethereal ne. It''s what I call my soul in its ethereal form. "Well, this is displeasing." I turned to see the body of my former self walking around aimlessly. Seeing his presence caused me to be confused. Why am I seeing the past version of myself? Suddenly, all the memories flooded through my mind and I came to understand. It seems that my past consciousness and my current self have fused, hence why I have memories that I don''t remember having. "And here I thought I could take my body back. Well, not that it matters anymore." My past self vanished, appearing in front of me the second after. "Tell me, Nero. How is life for you right now? Are you satisfied with what you have even though Risa passed away?" He looked at me with a smile, his eyes empty, with no light reflecting off them whatsoever. "I I''m not satisfied nor do I feel dissatisfied." I know what he wants. He wants me to say my feelings for Risa. I can remember clearly. Though I couldn''t express my emotions well, I''ve always liked her. I was well, a little obsessed. I didn''t know that she liked me though. To be honest, she deserved better "Without Risa, we probably wouldn''t even be here right now. It''s even a miracle that we even got to meet her," I said, smiling at the thought. "Yeah so why didn''t you save her? I don''t recall myself being so weak, do I?" "All people have weaknesses, and it wasn''t even a surprise that she was mine. Or should I say yours?" I said, pointing at him. "What are you implying?" He asked, the smile on his face turning upside down. "Risa wants us to forget about her now. Of course, she probably doesn''t mean to fully forget her, but keep her as a memory. You are still obsessed with her, right? If you weren''t, we wouldn''t be talking about this." He stared at me for a while before turning his head away. "If we had switched positions where you had control of our body instead of me, you would''ve broken her promise. You would''ve gotten mad for her sake." A guilty look appeared on his face. "I know you. We''re the same, so it''s obvious I would know my own intentions." "Yeah, we are the same. However, there is still a difference between us." He suddenly said, getting my attention. "And what is that?" I asked. He would then grab me by the cor and pull me towards him, our heads mming into each other. "I''m not afraid to fight, even when sorrow takes over my body. The current you is Nero. You fight and kill to protect yourself and those you know. You gain power for that purpose. But me? I''m different! I am Naoko! If I had the strength and power, I''d kill for my own survival! If I had to weigh the option of saving another and myself, I would always go for my own! My life matters more than others! Though that wasn''t the case when Risa was still alive. If she was in danger, I''d throw my life away for her! and now she''s dead because of you." Blood dripped from the spot we hit our foreheads. I tried to separate from him, but he had a tight grip. I didn''t notice at first, but there were slight tears falling down his face. I see "Well it is a fact that it was my fault. But she died protecting us. We should thank her for that she sacrificed herself for the sake of our lives. She wants us to live our life and she did whatever she did to ensure that would happen. If I had the chance to thank her, I would do it now It''s time to put her aside, put the past aside, and forget about it." "is that so?" My past self, or Naoko, let go of my shirt and walked away. "Well it doesn''t even matter anymore. You''ve already taken full control of our body, so there is nothing I can do," Naoko said, scratching the back of his head. Taken full control? What does he mean by that? "Your fighting prowess was guided by my former brainwashed personality. That''s why you would sometimes assume a crazed state whenever you were on the brink of danger. Now that you''ve taken full control, that won''t happen anymore. I''m just a ghost from the past now." "So is that why I''m meeting you here?" "Yes, I just wanted to say good luck to you. That''s all. I didn''t have the mental capacity to withstand all the information I was given, but now you do." His body began to crumble one by one, turning into pebbles, before into ck tiny kes. "I don''t know what the future has in store for you, but good luck." Secondster, he vanished and my vision faded ck. *** I woke up, resting on a couch. My body felt sluggish and my vision was all blurry. Where was I? I moved my hand in front of my face and my blurry vision was slowly clearing up. I had bandages wrapped around my hands which were stained with blood and my arm. I also had bandages on my left eye, so I was currently only seeing with my right. Right I was exhausting too much energy in that fight. No, I shouldn''t be calling it a fight. More like a massacre. That aftertaste after devouring Jeredal''s soul is still there in my mouth. I''m gonna have to wash my teeth and mouthter. And for your information, yes, I do take care of my dental health. Having Derivation was cool and all, but the taste isn''t all that good. I always wash my mouth before the day is over. Well, now I have a new skill to rece for Derivation. It''s called Usurper. It allows me to take a skill of my choice that can be pretty useful. Though Derivation allowed me to take half of my enemy''s skills, I don''t get the skill I want. Also, it tends to be a hassle to keep track of my own skills. I''m kind of d. However, it seems that I won''t be able to get more skills for the girls. Well, now at least I can choose what specific skill I want. Then there is that 2% chance thing. I have a 2% chance of gaining 100% of my target''s level upon death. Now instead of gaining half, I get the entirety. Useful, but the chance will be hard to achieve. Then, there is the level boost again. Just how many shortcuts am I taking? Not that I''mining, to be honest. Anyway, that doesn''t matter. What has my curiosity is the other skill I got. Cre-crev-kre-krehvir-whatever it''s pronounced. [Krehviirdov] Shut up, Yukie. Wait or is it Seffirot that''s talking to me? There was no answer so I eventually shrugged it off. Anyway, Vozaas, my immortality-like skill, was sacrificed and I got this skill instead. I wonder what it does. The description is useless since I can''t read that but I''ll find out soon enough. Now then I lifted myself up and sitting across from me were the girls, all of them napping on each others'' shoulders. "Two weeks. Two whole weeks! Nero, the more you fall asleep, the longer you take to wake up. What''s next, a month!?" An irritated female voice shouted as the sound of running through paper could be heard. I fixed myself up and looked in the direction the voice came from. What I saw was a pile of paperwork on a desk. I could hear a frustrated groan from behind until the stacks of paper fell down, revealing Celestia, who looked like she had not slept for days. "Two weeks?" I repeated. "Yes! Two weeks! You slept for two weeks! And them! They''ve been taking care of you for the entire time you were out! You should be d you have them, otherwise, I''d leave you bleeding in your bed!" Celestia bickered at me loudly, making me wonder why she was so mad. I know that me sleeping for such a long time could not be the reason. "As a result of so many people dying in the Ice Siege, I need to fill out all this paperwork to cover all the costs. You wouldn''t understand unless you had the job of a guildmaster. Should I also mention that there will be another attack?" She looked at me annoyingly and I decided not to say anything. Guess she has her own stuff to do. Well at least the only good news I''ve heard are the girls taking care of me. Wait, did she say another attack? "Yes, another attack. Because you killed Jeredal, you''ve angered Cocytus, the demon lord of... Cocytus. Now he wants your head, and he''s sent his fallen son to do the job." ...how does she know that? Oh wait, I forgot she can read my mind. "Wait, his son? But I just killed Jeredal." "Not Jeredal, you fool. I''m talking about Myran. The ice elf you killed several months ago." Right... that guy. So he''sing back after me from the dead? It''s like a ghost from the pasting to haunt me again. Hmm, I think I''m just exaggerating. He can''t be that strong, could he? "Did sleeping cause you to get dumber, Nero?" Celestia began insulting me again and I''m just wondering if she outright hates me now. "Nero? You''re awake!" Suddenly, I was tackled with a warm hug and kissed on the head. Kiyomi held onto me tightly and she didn''t let go of me. "It''s alright, I''m fine. Just a little scratch, that''s all. I''m thankful you and the others helped me while I was unconscious," I said, expressing my gratitude. "You helped us so it''s normal that we would help you." I smiled and patted her head. Her cheeks blushed in embarrassment. Then we were interrupted by Celestia who loudly interrupted us by clearing her throat. Soon, the rest of the girls woke up and I gave them the same treatment that I gave Kiyomi. After that, Celestia had something important to tell me. "You see, the Warlock Hero wants to bring you somewhere." "Warlock Hero? Joseph? Where does he intend to bring me to?" "I don''t know, but you aren''t staying in my office for another two weeks again. I have a meeting to attend to so you best go your way. Oh, and you are going to have to go with him alone. He''s waiting outside the guild." "What!?" Ravyn suddenly shouted, "But can''t you see he''s injured? He''s gonna need some hel-" "I can just heal him you know." After Celestia said that, the room fell silent. I was healed by Celestia, and then we were kicked out. I told the girls to take on some quests and get stronger while I did business with Joseph. When I left the guild, Joseph stood at the entrance wearing a cloak. I quickly recognized him since his hair kind of revealed itself from under the hood. "Took you long enough." He said as he appeared in front of me. "What do you want?" I asked him. "I have somewhere to bring you. A certain someone wants to meet you." . . . Chapter 123: The Prince Chapter 123: The Prince Using ck Magic, Joseph and I appeared in a dark, underground tunnel. The torches burned a sky blue color and instead of emitting heat, they gave off a cool aura. I don''t know where we were as none of this looked familiar but it seems Joseph does. Otherwise, we wouldn''t be here since you can only use ck Magic to go to ces you''ve been to before. Soon, we reached a door and Joseph knocked on it several times. A magic circle appeared on the door glowing and there seemed to be an eye looking at us. That circle then disappeared and the door opened, a masked man stood at the door. "Wee back," The masked man greeted Joseph before turning his attention to me, "And this must be-?" "Yeah, it''s him in the flesh." I don''t know what was happening but I think I felt a sense of excitementing from the masked figure. Suddenly, other figures appeared from behind him. "Whoa! It can''t be!" "It''s him isn''t it!" "C-can I have your autograph!" "He''s so handsome! The rumors were true!" They all began to slowly crowd up against me but then Joseph step between us. "Hey now, we can save the fanboying and fangirling after the meeting. Alright?" They sighed and walked away. Joseph shook his head and chuckled. "Sorry about them. They''ve been dying to meet you." I tilted my head in confusion. Meet me? "They know who I am?" "Of course they do. Naoko." I red at him for a second but heughed it off. "Heh, I think I''ll just stick with calling you, Nero." I followed Joseph through this strange underground base. I''ve walked past many humans and other masked figures, then there were demi-humans. It seems that this ce belongs to some kind of mercenary group and a rebellion that wants to make the king of Paragon pay for his actions and free the demi-humans. There was also another reason why this rebellion was made. "You see, they wanted to prove you innocent of the crimes you''vemitted." "Crimes? Does one of them include me hurting the king?" "Yeah, assault but that''s just one of the many." Joseph then began to list the crimes that I''vemitted. Of course, these are only recognized by the kingdom. Homicide, destruction, manughter, murder, extermination, and the killing of heroes Wait, most of those are practically the same. After Joseph said that, he said he couldn''t say anything bad since he''s done some crimes himself. One of those was a genocide of ice elves. Since he was working with royalty though, he got let off the hook since they were the enemy and it was advantageous to them. We eventually reached another room and Joseph opened the door. "Your highness, I brought him here." I entered the room to see arge round table. There were others sitting around the table but the one that caught my attention was one wearing clothes suiting a noble. He had short golden-blonde hair and pure blue eyes. It was weird the moment I spotted him, I felt my guard drop. It was as if I didn''t even need it around him. "So you must be" The man noticed me walk in and immediately stood up to bow to me. "It''s an honor to meet you." Everyone else followed the actions of the man; getting up from their seats and bowing to me. For some reason, my body moved on its own and I bowed as well. "You too," I responded hesitantly. Whoever this guy was, he most likely knows who I am. I guess I don''t have to introduce myself, but the question is who is he? "Forgive me for being rude," He said as if he had just read my mind. "My name is Mordros Paragon. I am the son of Authorian Paragon, the King of Paragon." Joseph turned his head towards me and put his hand on my shoulder. "You good, Nero?" Why would the prince be here? Is this a trap? Was I lead here to be captured or something? The prince, Mordros, noticed the look on my face. Everyone also noticed and they began to say things to try and keep me calm. However, all those words would just enter one ear and go out the other. The only thing keeping me in ce was Joseph''s grip on my shoulder. "I understand your feelings, Mr. Akujin, but I will not do any form of harm to you. I merely want to speak." To my own shock, my body rxed. His words made me at ease. It was as if an angel was speaking to me in person. "Please take a seat." He said and I took a seat with no resistance. "I heard from Joseph here that you don''t have much patience so I will make it short." I turned to Joseph and he shrugged. What did this guy say to him about me? I do not have such a short fuse. "Nao-, no, Nero. My crowning ceremony is being held in 2 weeks. When that day arrives, I will officially receive the title of crown prince of the Paragon Kingdom, so I will take over the throne once my father passes away of old age or when he decides to leave his throne." "And what does that have to do with me being here?" "You see, Nero, I want you to kill me." ... Is he serious...? I''m sure I wasn''t the only one hearing this right? I looked around and everyone else besides me didn''t react. Really? You can''t be serious. "I know it sounds absurd, but I''m begging you." "Why would you want me to kill you?" "Well, it dates back to the time of the first war when my ancestor who was the king at the time, was a great king. It started when his father was killed and he was forced to take the throne. His father was a tyrant, a person with a ck heart. His assassination was nned so that his son would take the throne. His son was pure-hearted, despite having a corrupted father. Blessed by the realm of gods, he was given the power of kings to fight the demons, the alleged enemy of all humankind. That was the start of the age of heroes. Once the first heroes were summoned 1,300 years ago, the demon king at that time was in and the world was freed from the evil." "And what does this have to do with me wanting to kill you?" "Well, the king then settled down. Married and had a son. Now listen carefully. His son grew up to be just like his grandfather, pure evil. Tormenting others and abusing his status. Then when he grew up, married, and had a son of his own, he was a child who was ridden of any sort of malice and evil. My grandfather was a pure-hearted man, born from a man who was the grandson of the king that caused demi-humans to be enved. What I am trying to say is that my family is cursed. Every two generations, we would have a pure-hearted king sire a someone with an impure heart. Then, that someone will sire a great king. Then the process repeats itself. I was born to my father who is the son of a pure-hearted man. He is corrupted and I was born from him." "So why are you asking me to kill you instead? Shouldn''t I be killing your father?" I began. This made no sense. Why does he want me to kill him if he says he''s pure-hearted? Why not his father who''s evil? "Well, you could try but you won''t seed. You see, with the power of kings, we are blessed and cursed. We are immortal and we cannot be in by anyone. The only ones who can kill us are those that possess the power of kings. That was how my ancestor became king. He had to assassinate his father with his own hands. Of course, that would stain our hearts, but it was a price to pay for salvation. I heard you had the ability to gain skills from anyone you kill. Is that correct?" I started to question how he knew that, but I assumed that he probably read my memories or something, just like Celestia can. "Yes." "Good. I want you to kill me and take the power of kings away from me. I possess the power of kings but it has not awoken yet. It can only be awakened by pure-hearted individuals." "Pure hearte- but you just said your father was evil." "He is. Pure evil. That''s why he was able to ess the power of kings. There are two types, the one for evil and the one for good. It is divided and it can only be essed by those who possess the Paragon blood." "So why do you want me to take the power of kings? I do not possess your blood so it will be useless for me." "I know, but it can also be essed with a pure soul." Pure soul? What''s the difference between a pure soul and a pure heart? "All souls possess at least a small amount of darkness. It is to bnce the light and darkness in the spiritual realm. The power of kings was to give power to those worthy of the power it gives. It''s supposed to grant divine abilities that can only be wielded by a worthy individual. Because we are people with royal blood coursing through our veins, we are given that power. However, there is still a way despite not possessing our blood. If someone possesses a soul purely constructed of light, they can fully utilize the power of kings. It is designed only to grant true power to the purest of hearts." "So you expect me to find someone with that kind of soul?" "No, but I reckon you could do something about that." He stared at me like I was some kind of genius. I scratched the side of my head and tried to think of what to say next. Me? Do something about that? Pff, like I''d do something intelligent in my life. "What do I get out of this?" I asked him. "There is nothing I can offer you. All I can say is that my father isn''t the only person behind your false usation. From my spies, he seems to be working with a group called the Enigmas, a mysterious affiliation that has been around since the beginning of the new age. They are the cause of numerous disasters, assassinations, crimes, etc. It''s most likely that they were the ones that caused you to be what you are now." Wait, so he wasn''t the one that-? "Tell me more about the Enigmas," I demanded, mming my hands on the table. "Is that your request?" He asked and I nodded. "Alright then. Listen carefully though. I don''t know much so you are going to have to figure out the rest on your own." . . . Chapter 124: The Enigmas Chapter 124: The Enigmas "Gah! Where are the others!?" A man wearing a white mask with a blue number 11 painted on it shouted as he ruthlessly punched a tree out of boredom. "Where is Omen specifically? I want a god damn rematch!" "Now now, settle down," A soft female voice spoke. The voice came from a young woman sitting on top of the tree the man was just destroying. She also wore a mask but it was painted with the number 6 instead. "You can''t beat Omen. He''s number 2 so it''s best you give up. You''re not going to win against him," Said another voice that came from the darkness. His figure was hidden but his mask was visible. On it was the number 12. "Don''t talk to me unless you''re a higher number than me 12. You''re supposed to be the god of darkness. Talk to me when you''re a higher ce than me." Number 11 said which caused 12 to chuckle. "Strength isn''t determined by numbers, it''s determined by skills. I could beat you if I wanted to, but I''m merely temporarily allowing you to have a higher status than me." 11 scoffed and opened his mouth to retort but he was interrupted when a giant wolf ced its paw on his shoulder. "Huh?" 11 gasped in surprise and turned around, but no one was there. "Don''t get so cocky, he''ll decimate you without even trying." A deep voice spoke. 11 looked over his shoulder and a giant man stood behind him. The man wore animal cloth like a fur coat and he had a mask with the number 10 on it. 11 gulped, backing away from 10. "Tch" He clicked his tongue, annoyed by 10''s overwhelmingly violent presence. "Why don''t you direct your hostility towards her? I''m not the one you are supposed to be after, right?" 11 said, pointing towards a girl sitting in the dark field of grass, the nts around her slowly died as she looked mesmerized by the strange white moth on her finger. Her mask donned the number 9. "Grr" 10 began to growl, his body slowly bulking up into a giant lycan. Two giant wolves appeared by his side and they growled in unison before 9 spoke up. "Don''t get mad at me now puppy. She wouldn''t like that you know." 10 bared his teeth at 9 who merely snickered at him. "You are lucky we are in her domain, otherwise, I''d stter the field with your blood." "I would like to see you try." As 9 and 10 bickered with each other, another figure appeared. The figure wore a mask with the number 7 on it. "What took you so long?" 6 asked 7. "I had other business to deal with. Also, you saying that makes it sound like I waste." "Hmph, just let me have my moment. I was finally here before you were." 7 red at 6 while 6 smirked under her mask. Two conflicts were on the verge of erupting until bright light appeared in the air. Everyone turned their direction to the light which died down. In its ce was a man whose body shined like a lightbulb. He wore a Buddhist-like robe, his ck hair was jagged and long, dropping below his waist, and his mask donned the number 3. His mask was different than the others. Instead of covering the entire face, it exposed his left eye. His left eye was blue and purple. There was a giant halo behind his back, the halo was a mixture of every color and gave off divine energy. "Look who it is" 12 spoke, grabbing 3''s attention. "It''s a pleasure to see all of you again. Though some of us may not have met, you surely know me, don''t you?" 3 asked, closing his eye. Everyone besides 12 and 7 began quietly gritting their teeth. ''His presence is so divine, yet so dark'' 10 stated in his mind. 3''s power was so overwhelming yet so frightening calm, it caused the leaves falling down towards the ground to freeze, almost as if he stopped time. "It seems that most of you are here," A woman stated and everyone turned their attention to a woman standing on a floating tform. "Mother, it''s so nice to see you again," 3 said. "Now now, Tamashi, you know not to call me that during our meetings," The woman responded, causing 3, Tamashi, to bow and apologize. "Anyway, it''s great to see all of you again. The meeting will begin soon," The woman said but then 9 spoke up. "Not to be rude, but where are the others?" "Good question. You see, numbers 8, 5, and 2 are unable to make it today. They seem to be busy with other things. Number 4 has already been here from the beginning, just like 12, and 1 will be here shortly." "4 was already here?" 10 questioned until he sensed an overwhelmingly evil idle behind him. "Your senses are failing you, Kil, the King of Lycans," Arge figure spoke from behind. It was a giant man with skin like magma. He had two giant curved horns on his head and a mask with the number 4 marked on it. "You''ve grown stronger thest time I saw you," said 10, Kil, the King of Lycans. "And you''ve started to deteriorate," 4 stated rudely, making Kil release his bloodlust. "Do you want to die?" "Die? That is what I should be saying to you." The two gripped their fists as they prepared to attack one another. 11 and 9 smirked in satisfaction, 12, 7, and 6 shook their heads and sighed, 3 stayed the same, and the woman standing on the tform chuckled. The two lunged towards each other and were about to sh until the sound of ringing metal could be heard, causing the two to return to where they were before. A small crack appeared on both Kil''s and 10''s masks, causing them to freeze. Everyone looked over at the ledge and down towards the undergroundke where a man stood in the middle of theke, on top of the water. The man was tall and had long spiky ck hair which was tied in a ponytail. He wore a silver and white nagagi kimono decorated with root-like patterns. He also wore ck hakama pants tied with a white cloth, two katanas strapped onto the left side of his waist, and donned a mask that only covered the left side of his face. His eyes were white, unusual, and unique white eyes that seemed to glow even in the shadows. The man wore no shoes, his feet werepletely clean, causing the dirty water in theke to slowly be cleaner and cleaner the longer he stood on it. He had several rings on his fingers. His left hand donned 5 rings while the other only had 3. The man opened his mouth and spoke in a soft and deep voice. "Fighting is forbidden. Do it once more and I will execute you on my own ord." Rattled by his harsh words, Kil and 4 zipped their mouths. Though some had the urge tough, they would not dare do something like that in the presence of the strongest. "Good, everyone is here!" The woman cheered on her floating tform before settling down. "Now then, for why I called you all, the Enigmas here." Everyone faced their attention to her and she cleared her throat before announcing. "The prophecy is now progressing as it should. Naoko, the inept hero, has broken nearly all of his astral chains. Do you know what that means?" Everyone didn''t say a word and she shrugged before resuming. "Well, it means that he''s near his peak. Cocytus has already started tomence his contingency n. Authorian is losing his mind, thinking of what to do next while Omen is well, who knows what he''s doing." She chuckled alone while some of the Enigmas clicked their tongue at Omen''s name being mentioned. Omen was a member of the Enigmas who held the number 2 spot in the Enigma hierarchy. Though he was rtively new, being only a member for a few months, he was already one of the highest-ranking members, causing a few of the other members who had been in the Enigmas for quite a while jealous. Though, they couldn''t do much as they did not want to experience what the former number 2 went through after encountering him. That former number 2 was dead and Omen was immediately recruited by the woman who went by the Twilight Queen. The woman standing on top of the floating tform was the Twilight Queen, the same person who watched the former number 2 die in front of her eyes and didn''t care to even help him as he begged for help. "Anywho, though he proves a threat to us, we have no need to go after him." "What!? Why!?" 11 shouted and quickly tried to take back his words, but he was let off easy when the Twilight Queen raised her hand, causing 1 to take his hand off his sword handle. "What use is there to go after him when he will being to us? He is fated to meet most of us, so there is no point for us to go after him. Now, there is a condition I must ry to you from my prophet. As long as you follow this condition, he will reach his limit, and thus, his power will stop growing. But if you vite this condition, then you will be the cause of what transpires after that. Now then, the condition is-" "" "" Everyone stayed silent and waited for her to speak. Even though some of the other members weren''t here to listen to her, there were already messengers on their way to deliver the condition. That condition was- "Do not kill his lovers. Do that, and I will not only dismiss you from the Enigmas, I will also have my husband, Naomi Musashi, execute you." All the other Enigmas, stared at Naomi, number 1 of the Enigmas. Naomi had his head down. He did not make a move and simply looked up at the bright sun that poured sunlight down towards him. Fearing for their own lives, they took those words and etched them deep into their souls. They knew if they took that warning as a joke, they would pay with their lives, even if they were immortal or not. "That is all for today. The next time we meet will be... well, I''ll think about it." Then, the Twilight Queen vanished, leaving no trace of her behind. A shattering sound was heard where Naomi stood and the moment they looked back at him, he was gone, a rift closing right behind him. "So..." 6 began before 11 shouted. "Who shall we bet on!? Who will encounter him first and who will die first!?" Instantly, everyone had disappeared except 6 and 11. They did not have time to y games, especially with two humans. ----- BONUS!! Wee to the segment where I exin specific skills. (Idk, I just wanna do this for fun) I''ll be exining "Power of Kings" more thoroughly and clearly. How does it work? Well, it''s an ability mainly activated through blood in the Royal Paragon Bloodline, to be specific, males because... well, kings. Anyway, in every generation, an heir to the throne is born. The affiliation of that child is born either good or evil depending on the previous generation. If the baby was born evil, then their parents would''ve been good. If the baby was born good, then evil parents. This also happens to their descendants. If they were evil, they will have a pure-hearted son or daughter. If they were good, they will have wicked children. This is the curse that is put upon the Paragon Bloodline in return for great power. Their abilities depend on what ss they have and they are immortal to anyone but their descendants, or another that possesses the power of kings. This ability can also be awoken if one has a soul made purely of light. For example, Katrina. Her angel blood is somewhat rted to why her soul is pure, as all angels do have pure hearts unless they be fallen angels. However, even if they are fallen angels, some of them still have pure hearts. Alright, that''s enough for now. My fingers hurt and I''m writing on inkstone and I''m worried I might identally press a button and then disconnect and then lose everyth- . . . Chapter 125: The Diverging Dungeon Part I Chapter 125: The Diverging Dungeon Part I After getting the information I needed, I began heading back to the guild. This group, the Enigmas... they''ve been around for quite some time now since the beginning of the new age. It''sposed of powerful selected individuals that have the power to destroy kingdoms and wreak havoc in other realms. Surprisingly, one of the members is actually the demon king. But that was confusing. Why would the king of paragon be partnering with the Enigmas? Why would he even work with them, even though amon enemy, the demon king, is a part of it? There is no other exnation except that he is most likely one of the members of the Enigmas. Maybe it''s because of his power of kings that he was chosen to be a part of the Enigmas. Because he is an immortal being that can''t be killed except by his own kin, or old age. Anyway, enough about that stupid king, I have the prince to worry about now. 2 weeks from now, he will be the crowned prince. When that timees, I''ll have to be there to eliminate him and take the power of kings. Now, since he has the power of kings, he is technically immortal, right? Well, not really. Because he isn''t king yet, his power doesn''t activate and so he is still human. Hence why I will be able to kill him. To my surprise, Mordros, the prince, has the ability to see certain events in the future, but he can only see events that will happen in his time of living. Since he was inevitably going to die because of me, he could not see anything past that. I was beginning to weigh the options from that point. Taking the power of kings was going to tip the favor to my side but once he mentioned the ability to see the future, I didn''t know whether I wanted that ability or the power of kings. If I had his ability to read the future, I could avoid any form of danger I will be encountering in the future. That would make me untouchable. I''ll be avoiding the dangers that will being after me in the time that I live. I could... I could live a peaceful life... I began to realize that I was selfishly thinking of my own importance, not giving a care about the lives of others. If I choose to take the ability of foresight, I would misuse it for my own selfish reasons. If what Mordros says is right, that his father is the evil one, then I must find a way to take him out. To bepletely honest, it looks like I won''t be the one to kill him even though I''ve wanted to do it, but there will be someone that will kill him with the power of kings that I will have in my possession. I''ll stick with the n. My survival will only matter once I take hold of the power of kings. I am not my former self. I need to force maturity onto myself. If I don''t, then what''s the point of me living? I am different from my past self... Now then... The n that was given to me was pretty simple. First, I needed some kind of disguise so I don''t have my current identity exposed. I''m thinking of going for another morph. Specifically, a ck Violet Wyvern. Those Ultraviolet Rays could be of use when I need a form of distraction or to hold off any pursuers. It''s also going to be a new experience for me since I''ve only morphed into a leviathan. From the information given to me, ck Violet Wyverns can be found in the obsidian volcano. It''s on an ind in the middle of the ocean. I reckon that''s where Hall, the bastard I killed months ago, went to get that morph. Guess that''ll be where I go next. I eventually got to the guild but then I noticed one of the guild attendants had a worried look on her face. "Oh no!" "Wh-what''s wrong?" Once she heard my voice, she jumped, a frightful look on her face. "U-umm..." I tilted my head, confused why she was so worried. "I-I''m sorry!" Suddenly she kneeled and my head just emptied of all thoughts. I was really confused now. "I... I may or may not have identally sent umm... ''them'' to a high-ranking dungeon." "Them?" Suddenly it all came to me. "Where are they right now? Where''s the dungeon?" I picked her up and quickly asked for answers. She panicked a lot but eventually gave me what I needed. *** I stood in front of a giant gate with weird patterns built into the side of a rock. I forced the door open and even though there was sunlight pouring into the open gate, I could not see anything. This dungeon was called the "Diverging Dungeon." I don''t know why it was called that but it must have something to do with what this dungeon could do. Diverging groups into sets of two? Three? It is most likely does what I think it does. The girls were sent to this location and most likely are fighting in the dungeon and they can''t escape until they kill this master of the dungeon. I don''t want the girls getting hurt now even though they can fight for themselves. They''ve also grown faster and are stronger than Ist saw them, being half the amount of my level. Though, it seems one wascking behind. Kiyomi. Though she has been with me than most of the girls, she''s the weakest out of the others. Her growth is slowpared to the others. Her level was only a third of mine. I think I''ll go for her first. That is, if this dungeon will be nice enough to set me on the path she took. I should stop idling around now. With that, I entered the dungeon, dropping into the abyss. *** Once Inded at the bottom, my vision adjusted and I could now see in the dark. I looked around. Everything seemed to look like a normal cave but I could tell this was part of the dungeon. There was a tunnel in front of me and I decided to run through it. My senses tingled as I sped through the tunnel, avoiding the strange symbols on the walls. Enemies stood in my way too as I ran through and I cut them down with my Altima sword. Now that I notice, I haven''t been using my Altima sword as much. I''ve been relying on Cursed Arts and Principles since they prove to be way more powerful than my other abilities, however, they expend more energy than my other skills. Since I am in such a tight space, I''ll stop using Cursed Arts and Principles for now, with the exception of Cursed White. I don''t want this entire dungeon to copse because of my destructive abilities. Up ahead, I saw light and quickly activated Dragon''s Blood. I saw multiple outlines of other adventurers that took the same quest. Then there was a giant one, most likely the monster. I''d help but I have no business to conduct with other adventurers. Saving my girls is my only priority. Eventually, I spotted Kiyomi and as I exited out the other end, I quickly snatched her by the waist and fled from the vicinity. "N-Nero!?" Kiyomi with a shocked expression looked at me as we fled. "We''re getting the others. This ce is too dangerous for you girls." High-ranking dungeons are for Orange-ranked adventurers or higher to take on. My power is only equal to that of a Purple rank and the girls are between Yellow and Purple. Dungeons are considered to be a dangerous ce as many things could happen, none of them are good. If I was my past self, I would''ve taken this dungeon on without caring about the risks. I know... because my tendencies are aching right now. I won''t do it. I''m not being a coward. Cowards would be running just to save their own skins. I''m merely saving those important to me right now. Currently, I''m just trying to get the others so we can stay together. I continued to run down the tunnel but Kiyomi was kicking and trying to get out of my grasp. I ignored her as I continued to run. "Nero! Nero stop!" Kiyomi shouted and I halted in my tracks. "Nero, we have to go back! We can''t just leave them there, they''ll die!" Go back? To save them? "They are only Pink-rank adventurers. We can''t leave them there! We need to save them!" I clicked my tongue as I looked back at the other end. I only came to rescue Kiyomi and the others. I didn''te here to rescue others. "Please! They have families!" Kiyomi began to plead. There was a sense of guilt hovering around in my heart. Eventually, I gave in. "Fine." . . . Chapter 126: The Diverging Dungeon Part II Chapter 126: The Diverging Dungeon Part II I started running back to save the other adventurers that Kiyomi was apanying. 20 adventurers including the girls had entered this dungeon. They were all separated into three groups. Ravyn was with another group, Akane and Katrina with the party lead by the "leader," and Kiyomi in this one. She was with 6 others, all in Pink-rank. I''ll try and save all of them but if one dies, then so be it. Upon arriving at the spot, I looked up at the monster. It was a massive serpent with multiple death worm-like appendagesing out of its body. Those appendages slobbered green acid. I spotted one of the adventurers missing one of his arms. It was all melted from the result of the acid. At least he''s not dead. Though, he''s gonna have to be treated quickly. All the other adventurers looked roughed up. Seems they were having a hard time. Now then Iunched myself towards the serpent and sliced off one of its appendages. The dismembered worm fell to the ground, sttering acid everywhere. "Wh-who are you?" One of the other adventurers asked. I ignored him as one of the death worms flew towards me. I evaded, shing it into pieces the second after. I was expecting to find some weak points but this entire snake ispletely defenseless. Guess I''ll just execute it here. It threw another death worm at me but I didn''t bother to pay attention to it. I turned to the serpent and flew towards it, decapitating it with my sword. The head slid off from its limping body and it was dead. That was easy. Is this really the monsters Orange-rank adventurers and higher have to deal with? "A-are you an Orange-rank adventurer?" Someone behind me asked and I turned, shaking my head. "No, I''m only a Pink-rank." "A Pink-rank? Really?" Everyone looked at me in shock and I rolled my eyes before walking over to the adventurer missing an arm and performing Instant Heal. "What the-? My arm! It''s back!" He gasped and looked at me. "Why don''t you guys sit back? I can finish this dungeon on my own," I dered, gathering mana in my hands. I might as well just do all the work if this is how they are going to fight. Along with Kiyomi, we can easily take this dungeon''s boss down. "Kiyomi, let''s go." Kiyomi nodded and followed. I heard the adventurers say that they want to help but I ignored them as I entered the door the serpent was guarding. We easily took down waves of monsters guarding more doors. As I dealt with some of them, I realized Kiyomi was starting to struggle. I was getting suspicious as to why she was acting like that but I decided to dismiss it. Meanwhile, as I was killing them, I''ve been getting these messages from Yukie, saying what skill I wanted from the monsters I''ve killed. After looking through what I could choose, none of them were useful to me as I already had all of them. After a while, we arrived at thest gate. I could tell because the energying from beyond the doors was different. It also had different patterns on the door than the previous ones. "The boss will be beyond those doors," I said, turning to Kiyomi. "R-right," she said nervously and I started to get worried. "What''s wrong?" I asked her. "N-nothing really." She looked down and she disyed an anxious face. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her towards me. "Spit it out. There''s no need to keep secrets from me." I whispered into her ear softly. I heard her gulp and suddenly, she started to weep. "I I just want to be useful to you. I''ve done quests with the others and they''ve grown faster than me. I just don''t think I have any use to you anymore." Her legs trembled and she almost fell but I held her in my arms. So that''s why she''s been down. I had a feeling it was about this. "Don''t say that to yourself. If it wasn''t for you, we would not be here right now. Remember the time you saved me? There is no reason for you to say you have no worth to me after you did that for me." I stroked the top of her head and kissed her on the cheek. "Let''s focus on the task at hand. We can''t afford to drop our guard yet. We still need to group up with the others. Is that alright?" "Y-yes," Kiyomi responded, her face blushing red. "Good, now then-" I looked behind me and a spear was heading towards us. I held Kiyomi along with me and dodged the spear. ng~! A chained humanoid figure appeared from the shadows. It wore a metal helmet over its head with bolts hammered into it. Its stomach was exposed but it had no organs and only the spine was revealed. In its hand, it held chains and a broken spear, the end of the broken spear attached to the chains. [Level 125,000] Well, looks like this is the first monster I am meeting with a 6 digit level. I slowly turned to Kiyomi who was getting into a fighting stance. She''s only around level 30,000. If she fought alone, she has a low chance of seeding. Considering her abilities, she could do some damage, but her abilities are the ones I gave her. I''ve been searching for ways to unlock her hidden potential but I could not find any information on Kitsunes or any other Phantom kind rted info. To think that out of every book Celestia has in her library, she is missing the ones I need for Kiyomi. I''m gonna have to look somewhere else. Now then... The monster threw its spear at me and I deflected it with my sword. The spear flew into the air, but mysteriously, it vanished. Suddenly, I had a spear piercing my chest. What the-? The monster pulled on its chain and I was being dragged forward towards it. "Nero!" Kiyomi darted towards me and tried to drag me back. She attempted to get the spear out of my chest but to no avail. Worrying about her safety, I told her to stand down. Tch. Where the hell did ite from? I swear I deflected it with my sword. Could it be a skill I''m not familiar with? No, I did deflect it but it somehow managed to hit me despite that. Could it be some kind of unmissable skill? I nted my feet into the ground and started to pull on the chains. The monster stumbled and fell forward as I began pulling him towards me. Carrying all those chains must be heavy, so I assumed this thing would be strong. Maybe it''s just the buffs I have that are giving me more strength than it. I bet if I used Osiris, I''d defeat this thing easily. But first, I want to figure out what that skill was. Soon enough, I was given my answer. The moment I blinked, I was the one on the ground and the monster was where I was. So that''s it! It''s not some kind of ability that doesn''t miss, it''s a transportation skill! Is it because I struck the spear with my sword? Or was it because I made contact with the chains? I didn''t have time to think as I felt my strength drain away. I quickly started to resist and gripped onto the chains. This annoying-! I tried to force the spear out of my chest but it was jammed in there. With no choice, I equipped Osiris and forcefully pulled the chain, sending the monster flying towards me. With a swift strike, I broke the monster''s helmet. I also performed Twisted Chaos Dance, hitting the monster from all sides. It rolled across the ground and eventually let go of the chains. With the time I bought, I tried to pull the spear out of my chest but it wouldn''t budge. I eventually had no choice but to force the spear out of my chest, even if I had to rip out my flesh. I gripped the spear and began to force it out of my chest. With all my strength, I managed to rip the stupid thing out of me. Surprisingly, I only lost some flesh. I didn''t feel any pain but my wound wasn''t closing. Guess I''ll just have to deal with it for now. Turning back to the monster, it was back on its feet again. With its helmet now broken, I could now see its weak spot. Its head was nothing but a simple energy core. I had a feeling that its helmet was going to be of some importance. Now, I stated that I would not use Cursed Arts or any Principles in the dungeon, but I''m getting tired of seeing this thing walk around. BANG!! With a clear shot, I pierced the monster''s core and it cried in agony. The chains on its body crumbled into dust before they faded into ashes, along with its body. Now then, what was that skill? [Skill: Thwart] Is that so? Well then, I''ll dly take it. [Skills Obtained: Thwart] The giant doors started to open. I guess that the monster I just killed was the guard. Though, I wouldn''t say it was the guard. It was a little too weak to be one. Despite it being higher level than me. Guess I overestimated it a little. Behind the doors was a giant room filled with only chains. Seeing all the chains, I started to have a bad premonition. First, I went over to Kiyomi. She had been watching the whole time so she wasn''t affected. Normally, I wouldn''t mind having any one of the girls apany me but this time I''m really thinking it''s not going to be a good idea for her to enter with me. As I was attempting to reason with her, I noticed two more tunnels appearing. Wait a minute, those weren''t there before. I started to hear chatter and from one of the tunnels came out Ravyn and two others. They looked exhausted and the looks on their faces looked like they had seen a ghost, in figurative terms. Ravyn would not be scared of a ghost unless it''s truly terrifying. From the other one came out Akane and Katrina, both of them were covered in blood. Akane had an expressionless look on her face while Katrina had a face of guilt. I started to wonder what had happened to them but noticing that the other group members were missing, I figured it out. Akane is ustomed to killing others if necessary. I''ve seen her do it before. Katrina has killed monsters because of quests, but she has never killed human beings before. The two walked up to me and Katrina fell into my arms. "I... I''m sorry... I killed..." She wept in my arms and I stroked her hair tofort her. My eyes motioned to Akane. Noticing my gaze, she closed her eyes. "We''ll talk about itter," I said as I got up. For now, I should just focus on how we are going to get out of here. "All of you will stay here. I will defeat the dungeon boss so we can all get out of here." "I will apany you," Akane said. "No, you will stay. At your current level, you won''t be able to beat what is past that door." Akane opened her mouth, but no words came out. She stayed silent and nodded. "Good. I''d like you to get the others back in that tunnel. I want everyone to be here by the time I defeat the boss." Akane nodded and entered the tunnel while I entered the boss'' room, the giant doors mming shut behind me. . . . Chapter 127: The Diverging Dungeon III Chapter 127: The Diverging Dungeon III I''ve been inside this room for about a minute now, examining the chains. Hmm, if I had a bow, I could definitely move around on these chains and use them as a vantage point. I don''t have a bow, but I can use Banishment. Caustic Blue and Lapis Lotus will be very useful. I could also use Leviathan since flooding this room will be to my advantage, but I still need to know what the boss can do. Anyway, I''ve been searching for the boss for a while now. A few secondster, I spotted something at the end of the room. On closer expectation, it looked like some kind of coffin. There were chains wrapped around it, probably to detain whatever is inside. If I were to guess, it would be the boss. Well then With a swift swing from my sword, I cut the chains. The moment those chains had disconnected, the top of the coffin shot to the ceiling. I heard chains rattle from behind and I looked over my shoulder. Behind me was a figure with ck scales, towering over me. It had chains wrapped around its body with two des dangling at the end of two chains. It had a giant maw with long, jagged fangs for a face and spikes growing from the back of his head and body. So this is the boss, huh? It didn''t act hostile nor did it give off the sense of bloodlust. Its presence was so calm, yet so odd. As much as I wanted to talk about its aura, I had to remember the task at hand. I just have to kill this thing and then we can get out of here. [Level 250,000] ... No matter. It''s just a higher level than me. I''ve fought worse. It''s a good thing I got the girls to stay back. I gripped my de and swung it. Suddenly, the boss twitched. Instantly, my body was dealt with countless shes. They weren''t deep but they did make me bleed. Instinctively, I jumped back andnded on one of the chains. Forming Caustic Blue on my arm, I shot several blue arrows at the boss. The boss responded by swinging its chains. The des on the end of the chains somehow managed to deflect some of Lapis Lotus'' arrows. I formed Rebellious Shield, blocking the projectiles of Lapis Lotus. As Rebellious Shield dropped, I notice the boss fell to its knees. It took several deep breaths before standing up, roaring in my direction. Did Lapis Lotus work? Or did swinging those chains just drain its stamina? If so, then that''s very disadvantageous to itself. If Lapis Lotus did work, then I could continue sending more projectiles towards it and drain it of its energy and stamina. The boss stopped roaring and started to run with extremely heavy footsteps. Every step it took rattled the chains in the room, including the one I was on. Using Cursed White, I stepped off the chain and elerated towards it, mming it to the ground with Total Oppression. Surprisingly, the boss kind of managed to resist Oppression, preventing itself from kissing the floor by crouching. I dropped down, standing on top of its head. The boss growled before letting out another furious roar. A giant ray sting from his mouth. It attempted to get me off its head and hit me with its beam, but using Cursed White, I stayed on with no struggle. As it realized it could not hit me from the raying from its mouth, it threw its chains. I watched as itunched the chains forward. The chains seemed to bounce off the wall because of the des attached to them. The chains reflected off the walls several times before they made a move toward me. I waited till thest second before activating my Altima. The wave of energy knocked the des off course. Right after that, I forced my de through the boss'' skull. Pulling it out, I started to circle around it, shing every part of its body, including the chains. After I had dealt enough damage, Inded on one of the chains again. The chains all over the boss cracked before it shattered. That was the only thing that shattered, however. Its entire body crumbled. Then, appearing in its ce was a slim figure with only one long chain with a jagged sickle attached to one end and a four-sided star at the other end. It almost resembled a kusarigama. I got wary as the boss was finally giving off a hostile aura. Earlier, it approached me slowly because of the weight it had to carry. Now that it was free of that handicap, I''ll need to keep my guard up. The boss took one step forward and it appeared in front of me. My arms quickly moved and I shed upwards. The boss fell back, throwing the star towards me. I quickly weaved, evading the star. As I flipped backward, I performed Twisted Chaos Dance. The wave of distorted energy traveled towards the boss. The boss must''ve noticed the wave of distorted energying towards it because the moment it was about to be struck, it dashed backward. Distorted energy followed the boss and it continued to move until it was up against a corner. Then, when it was about to hit the boss, it vanished, causing Twisted Chaos Dance to miss. I gasped in shock and abruptly, I was knocked down to the ground and trapped in an armlock. Though it had a slim physique, it was quite strong. Well, it''s expected from someone who''s carried massive chains with its body. I attempted to get out of its grip but it was just too strong. Even equipping Osiris which boosts my strength wasn''t enough. Fuck... screw it! I pointed my fingers at the boss'' face and fired Piercing Red. BANG!! [Leveled up!] The beam pierced through its head, exploding it in the process, and also drove through the interior of the dungeon. The boss limped, freeing my arm. I got up and exited my Altima form. The soul of the boss lifted into the air and slowly approached me. I stared at it for a moment before turning away to the exit. ... I got lucky. My arm is a bit sore since it had such a tight grip. If I had continued to fight, I would''ve expended more energy than I should have. Good thing I finished it right there. For some reason, I didn''t get to choose a skill from killing it. Strange... maybe I already have all the skills it has. Or maybe it just didn''t want to work. Well, enough of that. It''s time to get out of here. But as I was approaching the door, a distorted voice started speaking from behind me. "What a waste. You''re just gonna avoid it? A powerful soul?" I stopped and turned around. Crouching next to the boss'' corpse was a figure dressed in a sleeveless vest,bat pants, and boots. The figure lifted his head and looked in my direction. "Come on. Come and take it," He said, holding the boss'' soul in his hand. The man''s face was half obscured; his mouth was the only part of his face that wasn''t covered while his eyes were. The mask had three jagged slits, probably the eyeholes, and two lines down the middle of his mask. He had long, curly white hair, falling past his shoulders, ck and sharpened nails, and extremely pale skin, almost like he was a vampire except he didn''t have fangs. His smile was very eerie, sending chills up and down my entire body. It wasn''t just that, though. His aura... it was... overwhelming, violent, and a scent of destruction... but it was frighteningly serene. "Don''t you know, you should absorb anything that is thrown at you. It''s not like it''ll kill you. After all, you are immortal, yes?" I gulped, wondering how I should respond. He spoke in a polite manner, but there was overflowing hostilitying from those words. "Y-yeah..." I responded and stood up. He tossed the soul towards me which I reluctantly grasped in my palm. "Try not and waste it. You''ll be needing it." He said as he turned around. It slowly came to my mind, but I finally had the courage to speak. That mask... could he be? "Wait!" "Hmm?" "Are you... are you perhaps an Enigma?" He didn''t speak, nor did he make a move. He just stood there, smiling at me. "Till next time." He responded, avoiding my question. And then, the moment I blinked, he was gone. ...was that an illusion? No, if it was, I wouldn''t be feeling so much fear right now. He had to be an Enigma. They are supposed to be super powerful, and the energy he gave off was definitely the power of a super-powerful person. I took a deep breath before calling down. I then looked at the soul in my hand before absorbing it. I don''t have much use for it, but I''ll just use it as a minion of some sort. Now then, it''s time we got out of here. . . . Chapter 128: The Setup Chapter 128: The Setup We eventually got out of the dungeon and started heading back to the guild. Upon arriving there, I reported the casualties. I simply covered up for Akane and Katrina, saying that there were multiple casualties caused by the monsters down there. Obviously, they took my words since we were in a high-level dungeon and it was normal for low-rank adventurers to die in such an incident. The day after that, I had to calm Katrina down because she was traumatized after what she did. They were attacked by those adventurers, the ones that I reported saying they were killed by monsters. Akane had no problem killing but Katrina had to be pressured. She couldn''t use Ster at that moment so she resorted to Altima. She gave them many chances to stop but seems that they were either mind-controlled or just stupid idiots. So she had to kill them. After she settled down, I told the girls to rest while I went to Celestia. I told Celestia about what was about to go down and she said she already knew which wasn''t really a surprise. I didn''t tell the girls about this because I knew that everyone except Katrina would want to assist me. So I decided to resort to Celestia''s help. I asked her if she can train them and help them unlock theirtent potential. She seemed to be alright with the idea but she wanted something in return. "I want you to get me a philosopher''s stone when they are done with their training." "Philosopher''s stone? Do you mean the stone required in alchemy and possibly can make you immortal?" "Yeah. That." "What do you need that for?" "I don''t really need it but an associate of mine does. It''s for some kind of experiment. This will be your payment for their training. For now, you focus on what you are doing. You can get it for meter." Hmm, I wondered why she wanted me to get it for her. I mean, she could just get it herself but considering how busy she is, I guess it''s normal that she can''t do everything. After settling our deal, I told the girls what they would be doing while I was away on a business. I will have them be taken care of by Celestia. They asked what kind of business I was going to attend and I said it was something by Celestia. To be honest, I don''t like lying to the girls but I am going to be doing something for Celestia so technically I wasn''t lying. Anyway, before the prince''s crowning ceremony, I went to the Obsidian Volcano to get myself a ck Violet Wyvern morph. However, when I got there, I did not spot a single wyvern flying around. I wondered if they were hiding in caves or in the forest nearby but still no sight of them. Hell, there wasn''t even a single lifeform inside the volcano. I was beginning to think that they all went extinct but a day ago, I asked Celestia about the information on these things and she said they were amon species. So why wasn''t I finding anything? After flying around for hours, I eventually spotted one but it wasn''t a wyvern. Instead, it was a dragon. Celestia never told me anything about ck Violet Dragons. I''ve only ever heard about wyverns. The dragon seemed to be devouring something and once I got closer, I noticed it was feasting on a wyvern. Is this thing a cannibal? Wait, does it even count as cannibalism? Are dragons and wyvern two different species? Or maybe they just have different appearances and are the same species. Well, it doesn''t matter. If this thing has the same abilities as a ck Violet Wyvern, then all I need to do is kill this thing and then obtain its form. I focused energy into the tip of my fingers to fire a Piercing Red until the dragon stopped and motioned towards me. Its glowing eyes met with mine and suddenly, countless violet beams shot from its back and flew straight towards me. Wait, isn''t that too much for one person? Well, you can never be too sure actually. Anyway, I started evading the beams while firing Piercing Red at the dragon. The dragon mmed the ground, causing pirs of energy to erupt from the ground. Piercing Red shot through the pirs but not the dragon. The dragon flew into the air and started chasing me, wyvern blood dripping from its mouth. I eventually took care of the beams shot at me with Banishment. I started forming Caustic Blue on my right hand and flew towards the dragon. The dragon swiped its ws which I evaded. I shed the dragon with Caustic Blue, draining it of its energy and strength. The glowing cracks across the dragon dimmed down as I continued to bombard it with swift cuts. The dragon eventually fell to the ground, bleeding from the gashes I delivered all over its body. Then with one swing of my sword, I decapitated it. Killing it, I chose the Ultraviolet Beam skill using my Usurper skill. Turns out, the skill the dragon had was called Ultraviolet Laser Emission. After that, I absorbed the ck Violet Dragon''s soul and entered my soul. Now, flying in the sky was a giant dragon. Then with that, I returned back to Paragon. *** A few days passed and I was hanging around the guild. The girls had already left with Celestia for the training I asked her to do so I basically had nothing to do. Tomorrow was the day Mordros bes the crown prince. Yesterday, I was called to the capital by Joseph in order to discuss the n with the others. I was there just in time to see where the stage that the important people will be speaking on. It was in a za in the middle of the capital. The stage was set just like some kind of theater but I''m just guessing it''s like that on purpose. Anyway, the stage wasn''t important. What was under it was. When no one was watching us, one of my aplices opened up a trap door that led to an underground chamber a few feet down. When I transform, I was most likely to be twice the size of a building so it needed to be just enough for me to fully transform before I kill the prince and then escape. Today at midnight, I will sneak down here and then wait until the prince signals well, you know. My extraction point was the border of Paragon just near the ocean. I stay away from Paragon for a few weeks before I can enter back in. This was all nned by the prince who was trying his best to ensure my safety. I sighed at that thought. Why would the prince help me? How can he trust me so easily? Did he not see the memories of me killing the heroes? The ones that are supposed to save the world? Or does he already know but it''s not the heroes that are going to save the world. He has foresight, the ability to see the future, so he must know something about what the future has in store. Whatever it is, I''m involved in it. This must be part of the n. If that''s the issue, then I can''t go against it. But even with that, I had other thoughts. What if I could just escape from this ce and leave it as it is? I could take the girls somewhere else. Somewhere secluded where we could live a peaceful life. I''ve always imagined something like that but I never had the time to care. This world is just utter chaos and a bane to my existence. One day, one day I will make that happen. Just not now I guess. After the sun went down, I was snuck into the capital by some of my associates. It wasn''t really necessary since I could just use ck Magic to get here but it seems that the capital has some sort of barrier that can nullify warlock abilities and transportation spells. Anyway, they snuck me through and as we got to the stage, they opened the trap door for me and I dropped down,nding at the bottom. I was now a few meters below the stage, right under the spot where the prince will give his speech. Well, since I''ve got nothing else to do now, I guess I''ll just... take a rest until the next morninges. As Iid down on the futon given to me down here, I was wondering how the girls were doing. I just hope the training Celestia gave the girls won''t be that harsh but just enough to make them stronger. I also heard Joseph was going to be taking care of another invasion from Cocytus. Somehow, I had a bad feeling when I heard that but it was probably just me being paranoid. Eventually, I forced myself to sleep, and soon the next day came. It was now the prince''s coronation day. . . . Chapter 129: Public Enemy Chapter 129: Public Enemy The day had finally arrived. Nero was stationed several meters below the stage of which the prince was about to deliver his speech. The beginning of the ceremony was quick. He took the oath, was blessed by the priests, had his father, the king officially recognized him as the official crown prince, and it was about time for Mordros to make his speech. There was a break after the first few parts of the ceremony. The only thing left was for Mordros to make his speech. It wasn''t thest part of the ceremony, but it was going to be thest moment for him. Mordros took a deep breath as he turned his head towards the middle of the stage where there was a faint outline of a trapdoor. "It''s time, Mordros." Mordros turned and besides him was his sister, Anastasia. She had an Altima sword which was in the form of a rapier, strapped to her waist. Mordros looked back at the stage and at Anastasia. He rubbed the side of his head before standing up. "Yeah, it''s time." Mordros turned and walked out from the side of the stage. The moment he entered the stage, the crowd started to p for him. His father, Authorian Paragon, the king, was seated on a balcony where he could watch the ceremony without distractions. Sitting beside him were his two younger sisters and standing next to him was a man wearing a mask with the number 11 on the side of his head. Mordros faked a smile and waved to the crowd, but under that smile, he was disappointed in his father. ''So he is working with the Enigmas. That''s the 11th. To think it was a soldier working for my father.'' Mordros did not have much information on the Enigmas himself, but he knew that the Enigmas wereposed of strong and powerful members. However, the aura that man wearing the number marked mask was very weakpared to the aura he sensed from his sister who was said to be the same rank as that same man. Eventually, the pping settled down and Mordros started his speech. "I would like to thank all of you foring to my coronation ceremony today. If it wasn''t for my father and my mother, I or any of my siblings, would not be here breathing right now." From the corner of his eye, he could see his father smiling. ''Just you wait, father. You won''t be smiling so soon after this.'' After the crowd stopped pping, he continued. "You see, this kingdom was built on the many lives of the warriors that sacrificed themselves for the better. If it also wasn''t for them, this kingdom would not exist. It wasn''t just the efforts of those warriors, but my ancestors as well. Without them, this kingdom would not prosper." The crowd pped once again and Mordros shifted himself so he was standing right above the trapdoor. "Now, that may be the case, but it is more than that. In fact, all I just said was entirely false." Suddenly an abrupt silence took over the crowd. "You see, during the age of the first heroes, this country was ruled by a tyrant who threw away lives like garbage and obtained riches through evil deeds. You may remember him as Jukol Paragon, one of my ancestors. Jukol was a mad man who only had his own ego in his mind. He obtained power through a certain diety. This power granted him immortality which makes him undying and strength that was near that of a god. It is called the power of kings." The crowd started to talk with one another. Mordros lifted his head to see his father in a shocked state. He turned his head and met with his sister''s eyes. She stared at him emotionlessly but she turned away at his gaze. "But, even though that man was imperishable, his immortalitycked a certain factor. When he obtained the power of kings, not only did he obtain it, but his son as well. When Jukol had obtained the power of kings, he ignored the most important factor. Those who have ess to the power of kings can be killed by only those with the power of kings themselves. Jukol had never let his guard down except by his son who assassinated him in a nned assassination. That was when his son took over and became the new king of Paragon." An appeased expression crossed the crowd''s face but Mordros continued as he was not done. "His son, known as Levi Paragon, was a great king, unlike his father. He was the exact opposite of his father, possessing the traits of a true king. When he killed Jukol, he had awakened the power of kings inside him. This power can only be activated when they are king. He had be immortal until a certain incident happened. His own son killed him in cold blood, bing the next king. But unlike his father, he was just like his grandfather, Jukol. Evil, cold, and brutal. History would then begin to repeat itself. Tyrants give birth to great kings and those kings give birth to dictators. Why is that? Why does such a thing happen? Well, I will tell you that this is a curse ced upon the Paragon bloodline." He shifted his eyes from the crowd, to his father, and then to Anastasia. "The power of kings can only be given to the eldest child when born. My sister was born first, however, she did not receive the power of kings and I, the second child, did. Why did she not receive it? I have always wondered why until my father told me while he rested on his death bed. That is because this can only be given to the male heir. My father was a great ruler, a truly great man to the very end, but then he was murdered by my father who usurped the throne for his own greed and selfishness." He raised his hand, pointing his finger at his father. "My father may act scared and afraid, but behind that act, he is a cold-hearted emperor who doesn''t care to send anyone to their death for his own goal. That even includes his eldest daughter, my older sister, Anastasia who was raised as a warrior unable to express her feelings. Even though I was royalty, I did not have the privilege to have fun and y with my little sisters. Instead, my mind was forged into that of an adult at the age of 7. I do not know the meaning of fun nor do I care, all I care about now is the future of this country. However, it will not happen with the prosperity of my bloodline. My father will doom this country if I do not act. Unlike my kin, I was born without strength, something that was given to my elder sister instead. However, I do have another n. I will not be the one to usurp the throne from my father, but someone else will! What has my father achieved for us after he seized the throne? Nothing. Twenty years on the throne for nothing!" That was the first time Mordros has felt hatred. He knew his life was about to end so to end it the way he desired, he wanted to show his true feelings for once. The feelings he had suppressed for many years up until now. "This kingdom will fall by my father''s hand until a savior arrives!! I am sad to say this but I am not that savior. Instead, that savior will be the man you all see as a public enemy!! He is Naoko!! The Inept Hero!! The one you tossed aside and attempted to feed to the wolves!! He will be the one to save this kingdom!! And at the cost of that, I will dly sacrifice my life to fulfill that condition!!" Mordros stopped shouting as blood spat out from his throat. He smiled at the horrified and wrathful look on his father''s face before the floor below him shattered and bulged. The next second, he saw nothing as his life had been ended. *** CRASH!! Debris flew everywhere, killing several people from the crowd. Those that remained alive were horrified at the sight in front of them. Recing the stage, with the prince''s blood-stained across its teeth, was an immense dragon who bore no tranquility. Everyone besides 11 and Authorian, knew who this dragon was. The dragon turned and pointed towards the king. It then opened its mouth and began to speak. "Your son paid the price. Now, I will deliver the final judgment that awaits you." The dragon''s back glowed and fired an innumerable amount of violet rays which struck the ground. Luckily, no casualties or injuries were caused, it was just a smoke screen for him to fly away. The king watched as the dragon which consumed his son flee. 11 smiled under his mask and stepped forward. "Let me take him, sir. I''ll surely bring his head back." He said, before jumping off the balcony, his body covered in bright light. Secondster, there was now another dragon. It was the same size as the first dragon but instead of having ck scales and purple cracks, it had snow white scales and blue light emitting from the under scales. It then flew into the air and chased after the first dragon. . . . Chapter 130: Clash of Dragons I Chapter 130: sh of Dragons I [Passive Skill Obtained: Power of Kings] After flying for a while, I stopped in my tracks and turned back. There has been a powerful presence following me for a while and they don''t seem to want to stop. Whoever it is, they must''ve been sent to take me out or possibly capture me. Well, I should be getting to the shore right now to stay away from this country for a few weeks, but this guy will most likely go after me as I do that. Looks like I''m just gonna have to kill him before I get out of here. A few secondster, I could see a white figure flying towards me. Suddenly, a horde of flying golden-white des darted towards me. I used Ultraviolet Laser Emission, firing countless purple rays from my back to counteract the des. Shards of the des scattered across the field. The figure got closer and I noticed that it was a dragon, the same size as me. It seemed to be dragging four giant golden-blue des behind it too. They seemed to be emitting divine energy. Could they be-? My thoughts were interrupted as the dragonnded a few meters in front of me. Though it didn''t show it, I could tell it was smirking at me. It reached for one of its swords and pointed the end towards me. "Greetings, Naoko, the Inept Hero." He seems to know my name. Well, not really a surprise since everyone knows who I am. The attention is quite annoying, to be honest. "Should I know you?" I asked and he chuckled. "Hm? No, of course not. I am but a mere warrior. However, this should give you an idea of who I am." A rift opened beside him and the next thing he pulled out was a giant golden shield. The shield was made out of dragon scales but that wasn''t very important. The marking was, however. Number 11. I see. So that''s who he is. I saw him next to the king on the balcony. During the prince''s speech, I had sent one of my shadow soldiers to be my eyes. "An Enigma, huh?" "Yes. My name is Brigen Margo. I am his majesty''s royal guard. Though I am considered the lowest amongst the other guards, my skills are recognized by the Twilight Queen herself." Margo? Is he rted to Deroc? And who the hell is the Twilight Queen? "Since you killed the prince, I am ordered to kill you and take your head back to his majesty." Kill me? Well, that''s a lie. "Don''t lie, you were never given orders to kill me. I am too much of an asset to your king. If he had ordered thatmand, I would not be standing here by now." "Oh, smart aren''t you? Well, then you know why I am here, right?" "If it''s to challenge me, I have no time for you." "Ohe on? Why not? Or should we be talking about why you deranged my younger brother?" "Oh, so you know about that, huh?" "Of course. Ie home and there is my younger brother, begging for mercy. It was a rare sight. I wasn''t mad but I was curious as to who ced my brother under such conditions. You were probably weak back then and not knowledgeable about your power because you left some traces on him. Now that I am meeting you face to face, your energy is a lot simr to the one left on him, so I figured it was you." "Lucky you, so you''vee to avenge him?" "Of course not, I was just surprised to find someone able to beat my cocky brother. My brother''s skills are formidable but they were never able to match up against me." "Hmph, so you are just here for a duel." "Yeah. Let''s stop talking and get to it." Brigen readied himself, holding a giant sword in one hand and his shield in another. Guess there is no way out of this. I could escape, but this guy is an Enigma, meaning he''s strong. He probably has ways to find me even if I do flee. I have several options, but the one I will go with is the act of killing. Brigen charged towards me in a blink of an eye. His sword neared my neck but I managed to catch it before it struck me. The force of his attack dug my feet into the ground and I almost fell on my back. He''s powerful, I''ll give him that, but it''s the only thing he has. Instantly, I appeared behind him and attempted to attack him, but the giant swords behind him quickly reacted and I was almost impaled. "You''re fast! Is that perhaps Cursed White? I''m not able to ess such power but I can make it up using this." The next moment, Brigen duplicated, then he duplicated again, then again. In just a matter of seconds, there were ten white dragons circling me. Some king of cloning technique huh? Could be Doppelganger. The ten dragons darted towards me and swung their swords. I barely managed to dodge them as most of the openings were nearly closed. Good thing I just used ck Magic, otherwise I would not have been able to get out of that. One of the dragons died due to ck Magic and the remaining nine turned towards me. Suddenly, countless waves of des shot out from their backs and headed towards me. I used Ultraviolet Laser Emission to counteract but I could only hit a few of them, so I activated Rebellious Shield, causing all the des to bounce off of the oppressive barrier I created. Brigen continued to repeat his attacks while I slowly took down each of his clones. As we shed, I could not shrug the feeling that he had some kind of trick up his sleeve. I also noticed a few other details. Though he was in his dragon form, his body structure seemed a little off. His arms and legs were simr to a dragon''s, but they were built for one to move around like a human. Could this be his Primal form? Or is it just a giant dragon that has a humanoid body? If it is the former, then that must mean he has an Altima sword. Once all the clones were defeated, I had managed to break two of the giant swords floating behind Brigen and break a majority of his shield. "Impressive. I can see how Deroc lost to you. Your mastery over Cursed White makes your speed immensely great." His body was then wrapped in white before he shrank, turning into his human form. "Fighting as dragons is alright, but the destruction caused is greatly overwhelming. Why don''t we fight in our Altima form? I know you have one." I gazed at the scenery around me and sure enough, there were multiple craters painting the field. Fighting in our Altima forms would cause the same amount of destruction, but I guess I''llply if it means to tire this guy. Now that I think of it, I haven''t felt tired at least once in our battle. Strange... I quickly exited my morph,nding on the ground. As I lifted my head, Brigen smirked at me as a golden aura wrapped around his body. He closed his eyes and raised his head towards the sky. Then his body started to glow, protruding sharp edges on his body and growing out two giant bat-like wings. As the light on his body sprinkled off from his body, in his ce was now a humanoid suited in white, golden, and blue dragon-like armor. His sword appeared in his hand and his shield shattered, finishing his Altima form. "This is my Altima form. It''s not much, but my power will prove its worth. Now then, for you." I stared at him nkly before taking my Altima sword in my hand. I instantly shifted into my Altima form without dy. "Oh? Instant huh?" "I don''t have time to y around, so let''s end this quickly." "Heh, yes, I shall." Suddenly, the next moment, he appeared in front of me and performed an instant upward sh, cleaving my body into two. I froze, shocked by his sudden attack as he backed away andughed. "HUWAHAHAHAHA!! Who cares what the king says, your dying for staining my family''s reputation. HEHAHAHA-!!" Brigen''sughter started to fade away. My vision started to distort as I felt pain rush through my body. Is this how I''m finished? No, that would be stupid. I can''t die... I can''t die like this! Not like this! My vision turnedpletely ck and I thought that was the end but then suddenly, the sound of flesh trashing around could be heard. Then my vision returned to normal as the pain subsided. ... ...w-what happened? "What kind of sick trick is that?" Brigen questioned, a terrified look recing hisughter. . . . Chapter 131: Clash of Dragons II Chapter 131: sh of Dragons II I turned and asked what he was on about. "W-well, I think I may or may not have seen several ce-centipedes emerge from the inside of your body and reconnect it." "What?" "Do you have some kind of immortality that does this?" He questioned, a sickly look appearing on his face. "Well, now that I recall" Could this be the effect of Krehviirdov? I lost my previous immortality and in its ce came this. Is it what just saved me there? Wait, if I remember, my former immortality skill was sacrificed and I was given this instead after passing the Trial of the Fallen. Could this thing also be the source of my sudden boost in stamina? A few weeks ago, every time I would regenerate, my stamina would be instantly consumed at the cost of regeneration. Now I don''t even feel a sense of fatigue. I guess I should be a little thankful but now is not the time. The man standing in front of me just chopped me in half a few seconds ago. Though something feels strange. His face was pale as if he had seen a ghost. If my memory is right, he stuttered on the word centipede a while ago. Could he really be? No that would be stupid for someone like him. Well, there is only one way to find out. I charged towards him and prepared an obviously telegraphed swing. As I expected, Brigen swiftly shed both my arms off, both of them falling to the ground while wielding my sword. Now then With my will, two centipedes suddenly sprouted from my arms and reconnected with my hands. I swiftly took a look in Brigen''s direction and I saw him flinch, backing away from me. "Gah! D-disgusting!" Ahh, so he does have a fear of bugs. Huh, I thought fighting this guy would be hard but now that his weakness is in full view, this''ll be easy. I''ll admit, this form of regeneration is grotesque, but I''ve seen worse. After my arms finished attaching, I chased after Brigen, increasing my speed with Cursed White, and thrust my sword forward, impaling his chest. Brigen tried to escape but I swept him off his feet and pinned him to the ground. I charged mana into my hands before mming him with my bare fists. With each hit, I broke a piece of his Altima''s armor. He tried to fight back, but he was stunned with every punch. "What''s wrong? Can''t fight back?" I taunted as I continued to bash his head in. "Y-you!" He growled, his voice trembling. Brigen''s body began to glow and the shards of his armor that I had broken off shaped into des. Instantly, I was bombarded with several dozen des. I jumped back, quickly forcing the des out of my body. This gave Brigen the chance to recover and as he got up, he roared at me before charging with his sword, my de still stuck in his chest. I extended my hand and my de forced itself out of his body, causing him to stumble. With my sword returned to my hand, I dashed forward and aimed for his neck. My sword struck his neck but it bounced off his armor. I stumbled back and Brigen sent his sword towards me, aiming for my chest but I managed to deflect it with my sword. As I backed away from him, his sword returned to his hand. I see, so he makes it up for his slow speed with defense. He can also control his sword freely like it has a mind of its own. He rushed towards me. I lifted my arm and fired a Piercing Red, hitting his left leg. Well, even if he does have armor, it''s nothing to Piercing Red. As he stumbled to the ground, I appeared behind him and prepared to stab him in the heart. From what I could see, he has been trying his best to avoid any major injuries. He must not be able to heal. However, Brigen was fast and knocked my sword out of my hand, impaling me with his sword instead. He quickly slid away from me as I pulled his sword out of my chest, the wound being mended by the centipedes in my body. The feeling was strange, having bugs move around your body to close up wounds but I could get used to it. "I Is that all? I didn''t feel a thing." Brigen muttered, clutching his chest as he took heavy breaths. "Why don''t you just give up? You seem tired. I''ll be merciful for once and let you go." "So I could abandon such a vigorous fight? No thanks. I will fight till this battle has an end." Hmph, he''s quite enthusiastic for someone that''s about to die. I guess I''ll just go easy on him now. He wasn''t much than I had expected. "Then let''s do hand-to-handbat," I proposed, "No swords, no spells, nothing. Just us, fighting with our bare fists." "Heh that sounds like a wonderful proposal." He extended his hand, his sword which was in my grasp flew to him. He then tossed it away and got into a fighting stance. I took a fighting stance as well and Brigen took the first move. He threw a right cross, targeting my face but I slipped the cross and mmed my fist against his stomach, breaking a part of his armor. He didn''t flinch and took ahold of my arm. He tried to break it but it was no use. I quickly swept him off his feet and kicked him up into the air. I flew up behind him and mmed him towards the ground, trailing behind him and grappled his ankle, speeding him towards the ground faster. Brigen swiftly got back onto his feet and roared, punching me across the face in an instant. I flew back, hitting and sliding across the floor as Brigen followed me with fast, heavy footsteps. He attempted to smash me into the ground with the weight of his body but I avoided him, kicking up from the ground and slipping behind him where I got him in a chokehold. He managed to escape by elbowing my ribs which caused me to let go. He turned and delivered a kick to my head but I stood my ground, returning the same kick but to his arms. I heard a crack as he fell to the ground, crying in pain, resulting in him exiting out of his Altima. "Gah! Fuck!" He groaned as he tried to stand up. Brigen tried to throw another punch at me but was too slow. I easily dodged as he stumbled onto the floor. this is pathetic. As he tried to stand up again, I told him to give up. "This fight is over. You are in no condition to fight back. You disappoint me. I expected more from an Enigma." I turned around and prepared to leave. Brigen immediately started trying to convince me to fight him more. "No! You can''t abandon a fight like that! Where is your honor!?" "Honor? That''s only something humans would care about. Besides, who said we were fighting for honor? You came to challenge me which already meant that you had lost. You may havended a major blow on me, but that is that. Now go, before you meet a fate worse than your brother." With that, I and kicked off from the ground, heading in the direction that I was heading minutes ago. "N...no... you can''t leave... not like this! H-how dare you... You can''t just leave... not until we settle the winner... You get back here... GET BACK HERE!!" I heard Brigen yell at me and when I turned around, a swarm of giant des were headed towards my direction. "You... I gave you a chance and you threw it away! Obsessed with your honor and pride... it pisses me off. You really are like your brother. This is the end for you... YOU DUMBASS!!" A powerful beam of distorted energy discharged from my palm. The beam instantly dismantled the swarm of des and shot towards Brigen. Before he had the time to react, he was engulfed by the twisted energy. Secondster, there was a giant crater where Brigen once stood. Not a trace of him was left. There was only his sword, stuck in the ground. "Idiot." I then resumed my original goal which was to leave this country ande back when the heat dies down. I''ve be a public enemy so even though they don''t know my face, they''ll find other ways to spot me. One being my energy signal. I left a lot of evidence back at the capital but it''ll take them a while to find me. I''ll just hide and wait for a few weeks. Now then, I''m gonna have to get use to this new immortality of mine. Thest one was alright since it wasn''t so mboyant. Regr healing would''ve been enough but I guess I''ll just deal with what I have. . . . Chapter 132: Other Matters Chapter 132: Other Matters Authorian paced around in his room, drinking some hot tea as he looked out the window. His eyes wereid at the stage where his son''s crowning ceremony was held. "Damn it, Mordros. It''s just as my grandfather said. You would eventually betray me, but I didn''t think you would do it by offering our most blessed power to him!" He mmed his desk, shattering the cup into countless pieces. He then stormed out of the room but then stopped. Standing in the moonlight pouring in from the giant windows was the Twilight Queen. "Ada-, T-Twilight Queen." "Looks like your son is dead. I know you must be mourning for him." Though she said that, she only wore a smile on her face which ticked Authorian off. He knew that the Twilight Queen was an emotionless god-like being that only cared about her own and anyone besides her family was not worth her time. That even included him. "So now what? The Inept Hero has already killed my son and robbed our power of kings! Do you know what our power can do if it is ced in the wrong hands?!" "Yes, of course, I do. After all, I was there when your ancestor first received it. If only he had known his son was going to kill him. Anyway, you should be d that no one can kill you... for now." Authorian felt a chill run up his spine. He gulped before opening his mouth. "S-so why are you here? One of the two disciples of an ancient god must have a reason for visiting me in my castle." "Nothing important, I just came to watch over him." The Twilight Queen said as she pointed forward, prompting Authorian to turn around. Once he turned around, he saw four figures approach him. He noticed that three of them were heroes: Kai, Murai, and Jessica. However, something was different about them. They all had a dark aura around them and their eyes glinted purple and blue. "Y-you three. Why are you three not resting? You have a battle to fight tomorrow!" Then it all came to him once he saw the fourth figure. "Hey now, Authorian. You wouldn''t mind if I borrow three of your pawns, would you?" Said the man wearing a mask covering only his eyes. Once he noticed his attire, he knew who the man standing in front of him was. "Omen! What are you doing in my territory!?" "Nothing much. Just getting myself some help of course." He said, shoving a brainwashed Murai away to get through. "I''ll just be borrowing these three for a few days. I''m pursuing your Inept Hero myself. Just don''t expect me to bring them back alive." "What!?" Omen smirked before shattering the windows. The three heroes jumped out before him and as he was about to leave, he turned and started to taunt him. "You should host a funeral for your son. Oh, wait, you can''t. You don''t even have his body since it was consumed by him. Well, you probably don''t even care, do you?" Omen left,ughing as he flew away. Authorian was furious and he turned to the Twilight Queen, shouting: "Why are you just allowing him to do whatever he wants!? How can you be so oblivious to his actions!? Is this really the treatment you are going to show him and not the rest of the Enigmas!? Do you perhaps favor him over your own husband!?" Hearing that, the smile on the Twilight Queen''s face turned upside down. "No, of course I''m not oblivious. I know everything he is doing." She said in a frighteningly calm voice. "Everything Omen does is part of the n. He has free reign to do whatever he needs to do just like you and the rest of the members. He follows my directions and he won''t break them. You know what those directions are, correct?" She said, approaching Authorian. He gulped, beginning to take back what he said. "I do not favor anyone. I only favor my husband and my children. They are the only people that I would care for. The only others would be..." The Twilight Queen stopped and she turned around. "You know when the next meeting is. I hope you can make it on time if you are not busy. Besides, don''t you have other matters to attend to?" She said, changing the subject. Authorian tilted his head in confusion as the Twilight Queen vanished. He held his chin in suspicion, thinking. ''Others? Who are these... others?'' Authorian tried to figure out what the answer was but he was shortly interrupted when an advisor approached him from behind. "My king! There is bad news!" "Huh? What is it? Speak." "Th-the Vuria kingdom... their summon... has gone horribly wrong!" "Vuria!? What happened!? What went wrong with their summoning!?" The Vuria kingdom was a nation that was supposed to summon the third batch of heroes. It is said that the heroes summoned by the Vuria would end up with extremely bad luck. Hence it was natural if something bad had happened to them. "It... it... no, the entire kingdom has been razed and decimated to the ground by..." Authorian''s eyes widened and grabbed the advisor by his cor. "Who is it!? Spit it out!" "I-It''s th-th-the yer Hero!" "What!?" Outraged, the king sent several of his men to the Vuria kingdom and it was true, the entire kingdom was destroyed and not a single person was left alive. *** ... ... ... I was woken up by the sound of the door knocking. I got up, stretching my arms as I approached the door and opened it. It''s been about four weeks, almost a month, since the prince''s coronation. I''ve been hiding out in an outpost owned by my associates. It was on an ind just near the continent where Paragon is located. The weather here was a bit stormy. There has been nothing but thunder and heavy rain. I kind of hated it. Well, there were some good things. The ce I was given to stay was a cabin with afortable bed and we have plenty of fish since fishing was pretty easy where we were. Now then, where was I? Right, I was answering my door. "What is it?" I said to the man standing at my door. I noticed he was shaking and there was a hint of fear in his eye. I wondered if it was directed at me but everyone on this ind was friendly and I had no reason to be hostile towards them, so I knew something was up. "Th-there is an intrud-, I mean, someone at the dock that wants to meet you." ... He just stopped himself from saying intruder, didn''t he? To be honest, he didn''t really need to tell me. I could sense hostilitying from the dock''s direction anyway. "I''ll be there in a few minutes. You and the others can flee from the other side." "Y-yes sir." Once I had worn my clothes, I went towards the docks. When I arrived, there was a man sitting in a small sailboat. Once the man turned around, I almost lost my footing. "Took you long enough." The man said. I know this guy... He was the Enigma I met in the dungeon! What is he doing here!? No, wait, how did he even find me!? Thest time I confirmed, there was no one around me when I fled Paragon. The only person was Brigen, but it was obvious where he had gone. "You are wondering how I found you, right? Let''s just say you shouldn''t leave traces of your own energy around, otherwise, you can be tracked down. I just had to... return it to its rightful owner." So that''s how he found me... Tch. "What are you doing here?" I began, "I know you are not here to kill me." "Of course not. Your death would do me or anyone no good. You have plenty of uses, after all." "Huh? What are you on about?" "Isn''t it obvious, Nero?" The Enigma stood up and began to approach me. "I want you to join me." . . . Chapter 133: Omen I Chapter 133: Omen I "Join you?" I began, "Why the hell would I do that?" "Well, if you join me, we could take down Authorian." "Say what now?" "You hate him don''t you?" He questioned, looking at me with a grin. "I also hate him myself." ... "Yeah, I do, but killing him is out of the question for me. Mordros himself said I am unable to kill him." He started to snicker as he stood only a few meters away from me. "True, you can''t kill him since he has the power of kings, but what if I said you could kill him?" "Then I wouldn''t believe you. Every word thates out of your mouth will be marked as false to me. Especially the words thate out from the mouth of an Enigma. I don''t even know your name." "Right, how rude of me. My name is Omen, second of the Enigmas." "Yeah, I could tell by the number on your mask." Omen smirked as he held onto his mask. "Yes, it should be obvious what ce I hold in the hierarchy. Now then, will you join me?" "You still haven''t spoken a good amount of reasons. And even if you do have a convincing reason, I still won''t join." Omen chuckled as he looked up at the sky. "Hehe, I''m not surprised by your stubbornness. After all, I am the same." I narrowed my eyes at that sentence. "We are nothing alike," I said. This caused Omen tough. "Ahh, I expected you to say something like that. Maybe I should reveal myself, but it''s not the right time. For now, why don''t you entertain me? There are some certain individuals that have been dying to fight you." Omen said, snapping his fingers. "Certain individuals?" I questioned and suddenly, I felt three energy signals approach me from behind. I quickly spun around and gripped my sword until I saw who they were. It was Kai, Murai, and Jessica. The three struck me with their weapons and I flew back, sliding across the ground before stopping myself. What are they doing here!? "I have no idea why you would want to leave these three alive. After all, aren''t they the ones that bullied you?" "Of course, but I was the one that made them who they were. I let them live so I can atone for what Naoko did back then." Omen stared at me, a frown crossed his face. Instantly, he appeared in front of me and threw me towards the three. I quickly caught myself and got into a stance. I noticed that the eyes of the three were glowing strangely. Purple and blue, almost like my eyes. "You see, I brainwashed these three so their only goal is to kill you. Of course, you only kill when it is necessary, right?" "I won''t kill them, not when they''ve been brainwashed by you!" "Come on, Nero. You are only contradicting yourself. You know who you are. You''d kill for your own survival and for your own goal." "No!" I retorted, "I kill for the ones I love." "And who are they?" I opened my mouth to answer but I was intercepted by the three. I started to dodge their attacks as they relentlessly attacked me. Damn it, I don''t want to kill them. Otherwise, what I did during the Frost Siege would have been for naught! I continued to evade their attacks and soon I began my counterattack. Using my Principle of Oppression, I trapped them all in separate Rebellious Shields. There... that should be able to keep them at bay. "Return them back to normal!" I yelled at Omen, "They have no reason to be here." Omen clicked his tongue. "Tch, disappointing." He muttered as he approached Murai, extending his hand towards him. "There is no need to turn them back to normal if they are already dead." He spouted with an evil smile. "Wha-?" In a blink of an eye, I saw Murai turn into a mass of flesh and bones. His blood dripped to the bottom of my shield and soon, everything fell to the floor with a st. ...what just happened? "Oops. I almost forget about them." He snapped his fingers and I turned to see Kai and Jessica explode as well. I was too stunned to move or process what just happened. He... he just- "After your culling, they really wanted to go home. So, I sent them to a better ce. Good for them, right?" "You bastard." "Now now, that''s something you should save when I do something bad, like kill one of your girls." "Shut up!" I shot towards him and kicked him across the face. He staggered slightly but then stood there as if nothing had happened. As I flipped away, I fired Piercing Red at him. He must''ve known I was going to fire at him and he simply ducked, avoiding my attack. "You''ll have to be faster than that to hit me." He said before teleporting behind me, striking me across the face. Even though it was a standard punch, it felt as if I had been hit by a train! With that punch, I flew into the air. Omen was flying alongside me before kicking me directly in the spine. I coughed out blood as I began ascending into the air. "That all you got?" Omen said, appearing above me before smashing me into the ground, creating a medium-sized crater. I coughed as my skeleton mended itself back to normal. "Hmph. after the Frost Siege, I expected you to be a lot stronger. Maybe I was just too much hope into you. Well, at least your intelligence increased." Omen spoke in a mocking tone, attempting to piss me off but I knew his tricks. I quickly tried to sweep him off his feet but he jumped and drop-kicked me across the face. He then grabbed me by the head and threw me up into the air. I caught myself with Cursed White and readied myself against Omen. Omen flew to the same level as me and we stared at each other. I started taking heavy breaths as I tried to find any weaknesses. Omen, however, must''ve thought I was running out of stamina. "What''s wrong? Tired already? We''ve only just begun." He started to look around before spotting my associates fleeing from the ind. A smile appeared on his face and he shifted his left arm at them. Once I had noticed what he was up to, I tried to stop him but it was already toote. "No, don''t-!" BANG!! A powerful red beam shot from his fingers and struck the boat belonging to my associates. Secondster, an explosion urred and I saw body parts flying and dropping into the ocean. "Oh right, that reminds me," Omen said before facing me, "Who did you say your loved ones were?" I grit my teeth as I started to feel intense hatred for him. "H-how could you...?" "Now now, are you really going to start giving me that bullshit? We both know you don''t care about them. You care about your girls, correct? You don''t care about anyone else except Kiyomi, Ravyn, Akane, and Katrina." I wanted to question how he knew that but I quickly assumed he just read my mind. Then, as if he had just read my mind, he said: "Yes, I can read your mind, Nero. Or to be specific, I can read your memories. Reading your thought, not so much. I can see your memories, though only up to a certain point. About an hour into your mind. Well, not that I rally need to since I already know the answer myself. My ability to read memories isn''t as great as Celestia''s who can read your entire mind. She can even tell when and how exactly you were born. Well, the only mind she can''t read is mine." This is getting even more creepy. How the hell does he know Celestia? Are they acquainted or something? "Damn it, spit it out, who exactly are you!" There must be something I don''t know. This man... for some reason I''ve been a little irritated. His voice sounded exactly like mines and it annoys me. "Well, Nero. You should know who I am. After all-" Omen took off his mask and revealed his face. No... it couldn''t be. W-why... does he look exactly like me!? . . . Chapter 134: Omen II Chapter 134: Omen II "What''s wrong, Nero? Did I startle you?" Omen said as he dropped his mask and stomped on it, breaking it into pieces. "Wh-why do you look like me?" I questioned. Omen shook his head in disappointment. "Come on, Nero, you should know who I am. I am you. Naoko Akujin. How could you not recognize who I am?" Omen said, extending his arms. "No, you can''t be me. You must''ve morphed your body to look exactly like mine." "My my, I must''ve been wrong when I said you became smarter. You must''ve grown dumber instead." He said, approaching me. "You can''t deny the truth. You know I am you and you cannot deny it." "Don''t move!" I yelled, firing Piercing Red at him but he dodged. Luckily, he did stop. "Exin exactly who you are! I want every detail and you are not moving until you tell me." Omen and I locked eyes. His eyes were also purple and blue, just like mine. The energy he gave off was also simr to mine. The only difference was that felt more intoxicating and evil. "Very well. I will exin. You see, Nero, I am you, from an alternate timeline." "Pff, you expect me to believe such bullshit!?" "I am not lying to you, Nero. What use is there to lie to my own counterpart?" I shut my mouth as he continued to speak. "You see, everything was going alright. Unlocked my Altima, gained Leviathan, etc. However, it all went downhill after the Frost Siege. You know what happened then." "Risa died, is that right?" Omen looked at me with a nk expression before nodding. "So is that the reason you came to this timeline? To save her? If that''s the case, you did a horrible job." "Save her? No, that should''ve been your job but I knew you would''ve failed. My true goal was to actually recruit you, but I should''ve expected you to be stubborn." He extended his hand and smiled, beckoning. "Now then, I will ask you one more time Nero. Will you join me? Or not? Together, we could save Risa from her death. You know she did not deserve to die like that. Her life had a meaning, and it did not deserve to end in such a way." "No." I declined though he said some very good points. Omen''s smile faded away and he red at me. "Why not? I''m offering you the choice to help me save Risa again. We can find a way to revive your Risa. Is that not what you want?" "No, I don''t need to revive her. Maybe you don''t understand, do you?" I asked him and he started to grit his teeth. "Her promise. We were to forget about her when she died and move on. That is the promise that she made to me. She did that for you, didn''t she?" "Promise. What promise? I didn''t even agree to such things. Why make a promise when you can''t keep it?" "No, YOU couldn''t keep it. This is why you are doing this, right?" "Yes, precisely." "So then why can''t you can just travel to another timeline to save her?" "I did not obtain the ability to time travel to other timelines to save her. I traveled to other timelines to find a spell to resurrect her!" Omen vanished and appeared behind me, grabbing me by the neck. "I tried to save her once, but whenever I did, time would freeze eternally. Turns out, interfering with events that fate has prearranged causes that timeline topletely break. I couldn''t do anything after that, so I traveled to a new timeline. As I continued to learn thews of time travel, I decided for an alternative route." He turned me towards him and red into my eyes. A trail of silver light poured from his eyes. "I needed the ability to resurrect someone fully. I wanted to bring Risa back to life as a human. Though I could''ve done it with necromancy, I didn''t want to bring back an emotionless corpse. I wanted the real Risa back!" "So why couldn''t you have done that in your timeline!?" "Because I killed everyone out of rage!!" He yelled, "And the key to resurrection lies in my body! In other words, you!" He gripped onto my chest where my heart was located. "I''ve killed countless versions of myself in order to obtain this ability and none of them has given me that. I''ve pondered why but it turns out that only one out of every version of a certain individual has such an ability. I wondered maybe it''s because I killed them too early before they had the chance to fight back. You wanna know why I killed them?" He smirked, waiting for me to ask why despite me already knowing the answer. "Heh." Krrsh! "Gah!" I gasped as Omen plunged his hand into my chest, grabbing ahold onto my heart. I tried to fight back but he was too powerful. Even shifting into my Altima form couldn''t get him to let go. I amassed mana into my fist and with all my power, I mmed my fist into his head. Hitting him was like walking into a pole. He didn''t even flinch but cackled as he ripped my heart out. Letting go of me, I was forced out of my Altima and fell towards the ground. Meanwhile, Omen was inspecting the heart he held in his hand. "The ability should lie here once I kill you. That was only a tease. Before I kill you, I want to see what surprises you have to offer me. After all, you are the first out of all the alternate versions of me that I let live up to this moment." Omen crushed my heart and poured the blood into his mouth before throwing it away. "Now then,e at me with full intent to kill." Omen said to me. I got up. I could feel the centipedes inside me create a new heart inside me by using themselves as the material. The hole in my chest eventually closed up. I shifted back into my Altima form and charged forward. I struck him across the face with another full-power punch but he didn''t even flinch. I stepped back and performed Twisted Chaos Dance. Omen smirked as he started to perform strange movements, managing to evade my Twisted Chaos Dance. I staggered in surprise. No one should be able to evade Twisted Chaos Dance, even me! "What''s wrong?" Omen said, appearing in front of me, "Is that all?" I grit my teeth as I equipped Osiris. umting every ounce of my power into my fist, I went for his face again. "GRIM HYDRA FIST!!" I yelled as my fist got closer to his face. Then, right when I was about to hit him, I was sent flying back with my lower jaw and the right side of my chest disconnected from my body. My mind tried to process what had just urred as Omen stood there with my arm in his bloodied hand. "Hmm, maybe I should''ve let you hit me. I think I was bullying you way too much." He chuckled, tossing my arm away before approaching me. Centipedes started to emerge from my body and regenerate my body. Omen stood and watched curiously. "Now now, this is interesting. I''ve never seen regeneration like this before. Is this the immortality you earned from sacrificing Vozaas?" I didn''t answer him for two reasons. One, my mouth hadn''t fully regenerated yet and two, even if I answered, he would have already known the answer. "Maybe I should''ve epted. Guess killing Yukie and Sephirot was a bad idea but at least I got the ability to time travel as a result." My eyes widened to those words. He what? "Yeah. I killed Yukie and Sephirot," He said, pointing to his chest, "You never knew you could do that?" "B-but why?" I asked as my jaw had regenerated. "Oh, it seems when I had been consumed by wrath, my body''s limit exceed my ownprehension and my strength overflowed. You see, I became nearly 5 times stronger after that. Consuming Sephirot granted me even more power and now, look at me." Omen closed his eyes and took a deep breath, unting his power. His aura materialized and the grass surrounding us began to dry up. "I am the personification of death itself. Time bends to my will and there is absolutely no one that can stop me. That includes the former Enigma that once held second ce in the hierarchy." Omen cackled while I took in the words he said. So he killed a former Enigma that once held second ce? This is not good. I am heavily underprepared for this. If only I can find a window to escape. Once my body had fully healed, I stood up and quickly turned to flee. However, Omen didn''t let me and teleported in front of me, mming me towards the ground. "You''re not going anywhere." He stared at me and smirked. "Screw the Twilight Queen''s words. I''ll just kill you now. If you don''t happen to have what I need, I can always just travel to another timeline. You should''ve just epted my offer and you could''ve lived. I can''t believe I would be disappointed in myself." He faced his palm at me and smirked as he circted energy to the end of his palm. The air began to distort as he was about to deliver his blow. Bling! Suddenly, Omen was engulfed by a pir of divine energy. Dark energy would then suddenly be mixed into the pir. Then a figure appeared in front of me and snatched me away, taking me far away from the pir which would increase in size, causing more destruction before lightning wrapped the pir, creating a giant explosion. "Are you alright, Nero?" I looked up at the figure who saved me and it turned out to be Ravyn. "Ravyn?" . . . Chapter 135: Omen III Chapter 135: Omen III "Ravyn, what are you doing here?" Ravyn turned around and looked at me sternly. A worried expression would then cross her face. "You didn''t have to hide it from us. You can''t go dealing with stuff on your own. What would happen if you died?" I knew where she was going with this and there was no way to get out of it. Even if I told her about my immortality, she''ll find a way to say how the things I do are dangerous. The same with the other girls. "Well well, that was a surprise." I turned to Omen was casually walking out of the smoke the explosion created. He looked unscathed but then I saw the tiny burns across his left arm. That earlier attack came from Ravyn. How did she manage to leave a scratch? Maybe it was because she caught him off guard. I can''t be too sure yet until Ind a decisive blow on him. "Ravyn, I thought I killed yo-" Omen began but then he paused. "Right. This is an alternate timeline. Of course, you''d still be alive." "Huh? What are you talking about? I don''t even know who you are." Ravyn said before turning to me. "Nero, who is he? And why does he awfully look a lot like you?" Ravyn continued to ask me questions but I was still absorbed to Omen''s first sentence. "Omen... what did you say?" Omen looked at me while he rubbed his chin. "Nothing, Nero. It''s not important." "No, I want to know what you said. Tell me, now!" "Fine. In my timeline, I not only killed everyone including every hero but even the girls." A smile would slowly form on his face. "I had no more use for them. They were just escorts, you know? Nothing else. What use did they have for me if they could not provide the strength to fight?" "That''s because you never gave them a chance!" Omen rolled his eyes and sighed, "Say what you want. All that matters to me right now is strength and to obtain that resurrection ability. I''m not going to wait till others catch up to my level. That''ll just waste too much time." As Omen and I continued to argue, Ravyn interrupted us. "Shut up you two!" We both stayed silent as Ravyn started to speak. "So from what I am hearing, he''s some kind of time traveler?" She asked me. "Yeah, pretty much," I answered. "Huh." "And, he''s an alternate and stronger version of me. However, he''s been corrupted to the point where he..." "He what?" "He killed you and the others. In his timeline of course." Ravyn stared at me silently before looking down. "I see." She then raised her head and red at Omen, pointing at him as her aura began to manifest. "So you killed me in your timeline, huh? Was it because I was weak?" Omen smiled and nodded, "Of course. What use do I have of a weakling?" I could tell Omen was deliberately provoking Ravyn and from what I knew, she did not have a great mental capacity. She has some... emotional swings. Sometimes she has a short-fuse and other times she gets depression for no reason. "Hmph. Pathetic." I heard Ravyn say before she spat at the ground. "You''re just too blind to see our potential, especially mine." Ravyn grabbed ahold of her shirt before ripping it off. Under it, she was wearing a white sleeveless turtleneck with golden linings. "Let me show you the results of my training in heaven." The word "Heaven" got both mine and Omen''s attention. "Heaven?" Omen began, letting out a light chuckle, "I didn''t know you were delusional. There is no way someone could get to heaven without the help of a-" Then he paused before giving it a thought. "Actually, you could. After all, we are associates of La Oria, the fallen angel. Too bad I killed her as well. Though I''m curious how she could still ess heaven despite her status now." Ravyn didn''t react to his provocations but instead chuckled. "She has an associate. Now why don''t you stop talking and fight me already?" She said, beckoning for him to attack her. "Fine, I''ll y with you for now. Not like you are going to prove a threat to me anyway." Omen got into a stance while Ravyn nted forward a little. "Ravyn, you can''t beat him. He''s powerful." Ravyn looked over her shoulder and smirked. "Why don''t you check my level?" I hesitated before using Analysis to check her level. [Level 610,884] My eyes widened in shock. She grew this much in just one month!? I pinched myself just in case I was dreaming but sure enough, it was real. If this is her level, I wonder how much the others have grown. "Here Ie." Omen took a step forward before disappearing. He''d appear behind Ravyn and deliver a fatal blow to her head, or that''s what I thought. "Too slow." In a blink of an eye, Ravyn appeared behind Omen and sted him with an energy st. The st caused him to go flying. "Here''s more!" She sent thousands of orbs made of divine energy at him. Omen managed to evade most of them but the ones that hit dealt some damage to him. "Don''t tell me that''s all!" Ravynunched herself forward and sent another wave of light orbs. Omen continued to evade them as Ravyn continued to chase him. It was until she stopped and formed a finger gun pointed at him. "Try not to get smited now." She said before doing a firing motion. Omen tilted his head in confusion until a lightning bolt struck him. Omen seemed to be in pain and shifted away from the next bolt Ravyn fired. Ravyn continued to fire lightning bolts at him and she didn''t look like she wanted to stop. "Come on. Fight back!" Omen continued to dodge and avoid her attacks until he stopped and looked over his shoulder at Ravyn in a sinister fashion. "dly." With quick speed, he ducked, avoiding an iing orb of light. He then sprinted towards Ravyn before performing a powerful overhand punch, hitting Ravyn directly in the head. She flew back but quickly got back on her feet. Omen appeared in front of her and started to bombard her with high-speed punches. I thought Ravyn wouldn''t be able to stand a chance but she was dodging with incredible speed. It was until I noticed that her body was filled with nothing but divine energy. Could it be? Could it be that she knows Ster as well? After evading a wide punch, Ravyn amassed mana into her palms before firing a beam of divine energy at Omen, engulfing him in light. As the light died down, Omen stood there with his shirt blown off. He was taking heavy breaths before chuckling. "Well well, this is unexpected. At first, I thought you were bluffing but it seems you are actually pretty strong. Capable as well." Ravyn smirked in response. Omen stood up and took another deep breath before putting on another smile. What could he be up to now? Omen extended his hand towards Ravyn and opened his mouth. "How about I make a deal with you, Ravyn? Why don''t you join me instead? You could prove useful to me than my no good counterpart lying over there. I could give you anything you want in return for your cooperation." "Hmm, tempting but no thanks." Omen closed his eyes before snickering. "Why not?" "Why not? It''s obvious, isn''t it? You killed MY counterpart and not only her, but the others too! Why would I want to join my own murderer? To be killed again once my worth is used up? No thanks." I could only watch in amazement. Ravyn really matured in a month. She''s be morepetent than I thought she would be. I can''t believe it but, she''s actually stronger than me. I haven''t leveled up once after gaining Usurper so I''m stuck at level 100,000. However, with Reaper''s Life Energy, I practically get double the attribute points which means my level should be 200,000 instead of my current level. Even with that, she still outmatches me. Wait! I don''t even know what Omen''s level is yet! Almost as if he had heard me, he looked towards me with a grin. I used Analysis and I almost choked on my own spit. [Level 1,552,593] If he''s that level... that means he''s over level 3 million! "What''s wrong, Nero? You look a little pale." No wonder why I couldn''t fight against him. He''s literally stronger than me in every aspect! With a sinister grin, the wounds on his body instantly closed up. He was unscathed again and I noticed that there was a symbol on his back that closely represented a clock. "Well, you''ve entertained me enough, but I think that ytime is ove-" "Not yet!" Ravyn yelled as she teleported in front of me. "Why don''t I make a proposal?" Omen lifted an eyebrow. I ced my hand on her arm. "Ravyn, are you crazy? You can''t beat him, he''s too strong!" Ravyn turned to me and looked me straight in the eyes. "Nero, let me do this. I''m not trying to beat him. Just gonna buy some time before she gets here." Ravyn whispered. "She?" Who could she be talking about? "It''s Katrina." . . . Chapter 136: Omen IV Chapter 136: Omen IV "Katrina?" "It wasn''t just me who was brought up to heaven to receive training. It was me and Katrina. With the help from her mother, she went to train with some angels in her mother''s division while I got put into another. To be honest, it was pretty intense. The training took almost more than a year until I could actually finish it." "More than a year? It''s only been a month though." Ravyn turned and looked at me dumbfounded. "A month?" So time flows differently in heaven. It was only a month ago that I sent the girls to get stronger. One month on earth equals a year in heaven. So that''s how she managed to obtain such power in a short amount of time. Because she''s a fast learner, she''s hardwired to be able to master any technique thrown at her and any form of power as well. One year I wonder what strength the other girls have obtained. "So? What is this proposal of yours?" Omen interrupted, getting Ravyn''s attention again. "I will use one attack and if that attack can deal enough damage to you, you will leave us alone for now." "And what if you don''t?" "Then you can kill us. Promise?" Omen tilted his head and thought about it. I stared at Ravyn as if she was out of her mind, but she had this very confident look in her eyes so I decided to trust her. "Fine. If you can at least take out 66 percent of my body, I''ll let you live. Actually, to make it easier, let''s do 50 percent. If you do less than that, then I''ll kill you. Capeesh?" Ravyn smirked in response and Omen nodded his head. "I will stay right here. You have all the time you need to charge up your attack. You''ll be needing it. I want to feel the full brunt of your attack''s force." After that, Ravyn turned to me and held her hand out. "I''m gonna be needing some of your helpter. Once I give the signal, can you activate your Great Thunder Temple?" Great Thunder Temple? Is her skill going to be lightning-rted? If so, I guess I can do it. I have enough mana to do more too. "Sure." "Good. Now then." Ravyn turned, facing Omen and taking off the bands that held her twintails, freeing her long hair which seemed to have grown longer since Ist saw her. "Let''s see how you deal with my technique. It took a while to develop but when I managed to get the hang of it, not even an angel could withstand it." Ravyn jumped into the air and hovered. She then extended her arms. In both her hands she wielded dark energy and divine energy. She then began to concentrate them into a singr point. Her aura burst into many particles which would be absorbed into the concentrated tiny ball of energy. Then, as she focused her energy towards that tiny sphere, millions of lightning bolts began to surround her. The clouds started to darken and soon thunder began to strike her, creating more electricity that flew all over the ce. She even activated Divine Adjudicator. "Hmm? What the-?" I turned my attention to Omen and he was staring at his arms. His skin was burning and turning into ashes which flew straight towards Ravyn''s concentrated orb of energy. "NOW, NERO!!" Ravyn yelled and Iplied. I brought out Raiden and executed the Great Thunder Temple. The structure formed behind me and thunder began to course through the structure. I started to notice that the lightning was coursing straight towards Ravyn and soon enough, the color of the lightning turned to ck. The condensed ball of energy in her hand was now a sphere of deep ck energy with another white sphere inside it which was ck in the center. The lightning circting around Ravyn would be sucked into the center of that sphere and I noticed that her veins were bulging. "Hehe, get ready," Ravyn said to Omen. I felt an overwhelming wave of divine energy which made me drop to the ground. It was so heavy, and the atmosphere was so tense. "This energy it''s not divine energy. It''s something more, right?" Omen asked. "Correct. This is not divine energy. This is in fact, heavenly energy. It''s the more powerful version of divine energy, just like how to strongest form of dark energy is satanic, right?" Omen crossed his arms and chuckled. "With that, you might be able to kill me. Not once have I fought anyone that possessed heavenly energy." He had an amused look on his face, smiling though he knew he was in the face of danger. Just what trick does he have up his sleeve? After a few seconds, Ravyn had finished charging up her attack. The orb in between her palms was nowpletely surrounded by lightning. Crackle~! "Now take this! Heavenly ckness Thunderp Hammer!" "Aw, how cute, she named it- OH SHIT!" BOOOOOOOM!! A massive stream of heavenly, dark, and lightning energy discharged from the tiny orb Ravyn held in her hand. That stream of energy shot straight towards Omen and engulfed him entirely. The st was so gigantic, it seemed to grow more in size as it continued forward, eventually reaching the atmosphere. After Ravyn seemed to have exhausted all her energy, she dropped to the ground and fell in front of me. Her arms had many scorch marks and steam was emitting from the burned flesh. "Ravyn, are you alright?" "Y-yeah. It''s just a little scratch. D-did I get him?" I looked over in Omen''s direction. There was a cloud of smoke and I waited till it cleared up. Once it did, Omen was in a devastated state. His body was covered in scorch marks, the right side of his chest and his arms were gone, and he only had half of his head remaining. "Y-you" He stuttered as he fell onto his knees. Blood spurted out from the open wound as he attempted to muster any strength left in him to get on his feet. "Hehehe, can''t stand up straight now can yah?" Ravyn taunted as she threw her head back andughed. "You can''t heal so easily since I used lightning from a god. Lightning that has been generated from a god can easily destroy you. Even touching it could cause you to lose your life. You see, I almost lost my life trying to handle such power but eventually, I managed to get the hang of it." Ravyn proceeded to keepughing at the sight of Omen''s current state. He red at us with full intent to kill. "Ho-how dare you..." Ravyn carried on with herughter as Omen''s tone became grim. I felt a chill run through my spine as he finally stood up on his feet. "H-how could you... how could you forget?" Suddenly he wore a smile on his half-obliterated face. This caused Ravyn to stopughing as Omen chuckled. Not even a secondter, his body had fully regenerated. His face was in pristine condition and his body looked like it didn''t even have a single scratch! "Did you forget I am the same as Nero? If I''m the same as him, that means I too have the ability to regenerate. Though mine has grown to a level beyond. I can instantly heal any part of my body now, no matter how much of me is left." Ravyn and I were left stunned as Omen acted as if he wasn''t just sted with a fully charged attack. "Word of advice. Next time, try and take out the whole body. I know you were trying your best but that was some poor effort. Are you sure you fully developed the technique? Because it seems like you''ve only just learned how to use it. Is this maybe... your fourth time using it?" I turned to Ravyn and she had a face full of guilt. "I... I was confident it would do it. B-but I got at least 50 percent, right?" Omen shook his head. "You only took half of my face and my torso off. The scorch marks did something but maybe if you got at least one of my legs off, you could''ve won. Next time, why don''t you continue to master the technique? Well, not that that really matters anymore since I''m just gonna kill you now. Any objections?" Ravyn and I didn''t make a move. Ravyn had expended all of her energy to use that and if I even tried to fight back, I would just lose. He''s too powerful for me to handle and that''s final. ...but that doesn''t mean I can''t try now, can I? I shifted into my Altima form and pointed my fingers at Omen, activating Infinite sh Dimension. As the air distorted, shing Omen into countless pieces, I felt my energy quickly seep away and by the time I had finished performing Infinite sh Dimension, I was forced out of my Altima and fell on my back. That should''ve done something... "It''s useless, Nero. You and I know that," Omen said as he approached me unscathed. "No matter the effort, you cannot defeat me. There is no more hope for you." He held his hand up in the air and forming in his hand was a strange weapon. It was a sword made of flesh, bones, and gears that would be used for a clock to function. Its aura was so mystical, that I couldn''t even move my body though I had the stamina too. "Now then..." Omen looked at me as I began to despair. The gears on his sword began to move as he brought his sword down. "Ashes to ashes, DUST TO DUST!!" His sword neared my head but somehow it didn''t make contact. That was because a bright sh had knocked Omen''s sword out of his hand and sted him away. "Tch, what is it now?" I looked up at the figure standing in front of me and felt a sense of relief. "Katrina." Katrina turned and looked at me, disying an emotionless expression. Her presence was so calming yet it felt as if she wasn''t in front of me at all. Almost like she was fading away from existence. My relief then shifted to concern but Ravyn ced a hand on my shoulder. "It''s alright. Let''s just fall back... now. This... this is the result of her training. Just let her... do her thing...," Ravyn said before fainting next to me. I turned back to Katrina and she had her attention focused on Omen now. I lifted Ravyn up and started to move us away from the two. As I looked over my shoulder, Omen stared back at her and smirked. "Now you stand in my way." . . . Chapter 137: Omen V Chapter 137: Omen V Nero had fled the battlefield with Ravyn, leaving Omen to face Katrina who had just arrived on the field. "Well, well, well, look who it is. I''m kind of stupid for not realizing that someone else woulde to save Nero at such an unfortunate time. I was just about to kill him too and I was so close, but then you two just had to show up. First Ravyn, now you. Just when will one of you know your ce? I''m not here to y around with women." Katrina was unphased by Omen''s insults. She only stared at Omen with no life signaling from her presence. The feeling almost made Omen think twice. ''This aura it''s almost as if she''s dead. Maybe maybe I''m just thinking too hard.'' Omen pinched his cheek before getting into a fighting stance, smirking as he umted energy into his hands. "Whatever your trick is, it''s not gonna work!" He dashed towards her and quickly went for her head. Though he was about to deliver a death-dealing blow to her, she didn''t flinch. It was almost as if she was really dead. Even at this time, Omen was still figuring out what was wrong with her. His ability to manipte time only gave him a few seconds to do so but that was everything he needed. ''Maybe she''s really just a corpse. Well, that makes it easier for me I guess.'' A creepy smile appears on his face as time resumes normally and his fist instantly flew by Katrina''s head. "Huh?" He faltered and nearly fell face-first into the ground but managed to catch himself. He looked over his shoulder at Katrina who had never made a single move. ''Did I miss? I swore I hit her.'' He clenched his fist and ran towards her again, swinging at her head to try and deliver a fatal blow. However, all his attacks didn''t work. It looked as if all his attacks were phasing through her body. ''Strange, why can''t I hit her? She''s standing right in front of me.'' Omen closely watched Katrina''s every move. Sadly, she made none that irritated Omen. How was she able to dodge his attacks even though she wasn''t moving? ''Could it be a clone of some sort?'' Omen had the feeling as clones give off a different presence than the real one. Though he wasn''t quite sure, it could be a possibility. However, he has never heard of a clone with no aura. That''s when it struck Omen. "It''s an-!" "Illusion yes." Omen looked down to see a golden energy sphere charged over his chest before it exploded, causing Omen to be blown away. He wasunched into the ocean water, slowly descending to the ocean floor. As he opened his eyes, he put his hand over his chest. It stung, the same feeling he felt when he had been sted by Ravyn''s Heavenly ckness Thunderp Hammer. ''An illusion. How dumb could I be? Well, in my defense, I haven''t seen many people use an illusion against me. That or I''m just getting rusty.'' As hended at the bottom of the ocean, his chest had healed and he was just about to fly out of the ocean until Katrina herself appeared directly in front of Omen with another golden sphere in her hand and a mysterious sword in the other. It was made of metal properties but the guard was made of ck and white feathers. In the middle of the guard was some kind of tiny yellow and white rift which gave off a mystical aura. Omen''s time to admire the sword was quickly interrupted as he ate a golden sphere to the face. As his face experienced pain, he felt a sword stab through his sr plexus. He spat blood out but it didn''t stop there. After that, he felt a rush of excruciating pain run through his body. His body glowed from the inside and his entire vision was covered in light. He tried to fight back, attempting to snatch Katrina but the moment he tried, she had vanished. Once his vision was cleared and his body stopped glowing, he unleashed countless waves of distorted attacks in all directions. ''Where is she!?'' By the time he stopped, the area around him was voided of water. Though he cleared out the area around him, Katrina was nowhere to be found. He raised his guard, knowing dropping it would be his biggest mistake but it was useless as Katrina appeared again, this time she was in a different form. It was like her Altima but with a few modifications. She had grown another set of wings, giving her two sets of wings. They wererger than before and were outlined in ck feathers. Her head was sharper and her eyes glowed brighter. Her form looked more beastly and that could be noticed by multiple changes, one being that her feet were talons. Seeing this form, Omen started tough. "Well now, this is interesting. Is it me, or is your Altima form different than the form my Katrina took on in my timeline?" "This is not the Altima form. It is thepleted form." "Oh? And does it have a name?" "The Ultima." Omen snickered as he looked up. It was a clear blue sky filled with white clouds. He eventually stopped snickering and returned his attention back to Katrina. "So that is thepleted form of the Altima. Ultima couldn''t have made up a better name huh? I wonder, how did you achieve this?" Omen said this in an attempt to have Katrina answer it in her thoughts and say nothing but as Omen tried to read her mind, it was empty. ''Hmph. Guess that won''t do.'' He attempted and continued to ask her questions that could get her to answer him. Soon, he eventually stopped trying to force an answer out of her and so he decided to recall how the Altima is achieved. He recalled that to get the Altima, one needed an Altima sword and an exceptional ability to manipte divine energy. He then recalled the time when Ravyn spoke to Nero. ''Heavenly energy was it?'' Heavenly energy was the stronger version of divine energy. It was the same as satanic energy which was the stronger version of dark energy. "Did you perhaps utilize and master the control of Heavenly energy?" Omen asked Katrina, causing her to flinch slightly. That was all Omen needed. "So that''s how you obtained that form and that power. What? Did you think I wouldn''t be able to find out? Mastering the use of Heavenly energy... Now that I know how it''s done, the rest should be simple..." He postured himself and a pir of dark energy shot into the sky, clouding the sky with darkness. "I just need to focus my energy into the same point where I was stabbed with my Altima sword and then stab it with that same sword. And since I can''t ess Heavenly energy for this, I''ll just use Satanic energy. After all, it''s the reason how I was able to obtain my Altima form. If not for Satanic, I''d be dead." He raised his sword into the air and the energy that had been shot into the sky was absorbed into his hand. Katrina darted forward in an attempt to stop him but as she tried to get close, she was hit by an unseeable force and knocked back. At that time, all the energy had been umted in Omen''s body. "Hehehehe... hahahaha..." Omen snickered as his body was encased in ck slime. In the process, he wasst seen piercing himself with his de. The slime covered his body fully and then it solidified, forming a cocoon. Katrina quickly got back on her feet and dashed towards it, mustering all her strength as she cut the cocoon in half. Overwhelming power spilled out from the cocoon, sweeping Katrina away from the sudden force. Katrina fled from the area and was back on the surface. The energy eventually faded away and by the time it did, Katrina immediately started scanning her surroundings. What Omen had done moments ago was exactly how she had obtained her Ultima form. It was a simple yet tricky process. Simple being it was easy once you have the requirements and tricky meaning how you will get that requirement. Obtaining Heavenly energy was hard enough for her to achieve and mastering was even harder. She considered herself lucky that she even managed to master its use in a year. With Heavenly energy, she not only obtained the Ultima but mastered the use of Ster as well. That was how she managed to be on equal footing with Omen, or so that''s what it looked like in Nero''s eyes. A snicker was heard from behind. Katrina quickly spun around and the end of a de had appeared in her face. She quickly ducked, dodging the de, and flipped away. As she positioned herself to perform her attack, Divine Illusion, the floor beneath her started to crumble. In a matter of seconds, several pirs of dark energy emerged from the ground. Katrina managed to escape from the surprise attack, though not before getting lightly scathed. She wiped the blood that had bled from her cheek and focused her attention at the figure that emerged from the pirs. "Hehehe, well isn''t this a wonder? Who knew that I was still able to grow? Here I thought killing Sephirot was going to give me some drawbacks but I guess I was just worrying too much." Omen swiped the air, causing the smoke to move out of his way. He was different. His head had more horns and was much more refined with sharper edges and more savage-like. His body was bulked up a bit in addition to the skeletal armor which closely represented Osiris infused into his body. He had two arm-mounted des which emitted sporadic bolts of electric purple and blue energy. Two sets of dark wings folded down like a coat, two fleshy curved appendages that emerged from the back of his shoulders, and a giant gear that acted as his spine which spun in random intervals. Lastly, the giantrge fleshy, bony, spine-like sword that he wielded in his hands. "This form... it''s not suited for a name like the Ultima. It needs something more fitting." The flesh on his sword and body looked as if they were moving. Though he couldn''t make the facial expression, he was smirking. "Why don''t I call this... the Majin? Yes, it''s a perfect counterpart to the Ultima." In an instant, Omen appeared in front of Katrina with the tip of his sword positioned to her neck. "With this form, I could kill you in an instant. You may have be 10 times or 20 times, maybe even 50 times more powerful in that state, but I... I have be at least 100 times stronger! You don''t stand a chance." Katrina felt her legs be weak as his presence started to overwhelm her. This caused her thoughts to emerge and she was now weakened. She had been forced out of her Ster state but the power Omen had given off. Omen smirked as he raised his sword, ready to cut down Katrina. "Now then, say goodbye!" ng! He swung his sword but it was deflected. In a mere second, his arms had been sliced off. Katrina stared at the mysterious figure in front of her but that figure vanished in a sh, and so did Omen. The only thing that remained of Omen was his arms but those disintegrated in seconds. "Wh-what happened?" She asked herself but she didn''t have the energy left to support herself. Luckily she had been caught by Ravyn and Nero. "What happened? Where did he go?" Nero asked but Katrina had no idea herself. She was clueless. He was just in front of her, ready to kill her a moment ago but what happened after that was too fast for her toprehend. "Well, whatever that was, at least he''s gone." Ravyn pointed out and Nero nodded. "Yeah. Let''s... get out of here." The two agreed and the trio began to head back to Paragon. Meanwhile... . . . Chapter 138: Impending Storm Chapter 138: Impending Storm Out of the blue, two figures appeared in the middle of an empty field. "Gah, fuck!" Omen yelled, staring at his arms which had been sliced off. "What the hell did you do that for!?" Omen yelled at the figure in front of him. The figure calmly sheathed his de as he approached Omen. "Don''t y dumb with me. You nearly killed one of them, Naoko." Naomi stated, cing his hand on the handle of his weapon. "Pff, you really think I was going to kill them? I was merely trying to get Nero to act up. While I did that, I even obtained a new strength." Omen answered, his arms regenerating as his new de appeared in his hands. "Who knows maybe if I did kill them, I could have absorbed their powers and probably could''ve reached your level of power. Am I right? Brother-inw." Naomi didn''t answer, causing Omen to snicker. "One day, Naomi, I''ll kill you. And it''ll be the most satisfying thing I will ever feel. For now, enjoy your life while you can. If no one dares to kill you, then I will be the first one to kill you." Omen began to walk away. Naomi turned and asked where he was going. "Hmm? Where else? To see the Warlock Hero''s Requiem and the death of Myran, the prince of Cocytus." *** In the night far into a wastnd, three figures dressed in desert clothing were swaying through a powerful sandstorm. The figure in front lifted his arm and a barrier was created. "Whew, well that was pretty intense," Joseph said, taking off his hood. The two figures behind him also took their hoods off, they were Tadashi and Fujita. Joseph turned to check if they were still with him and once he confirmed that, he snapped his fingers, creating a miniature portal. Out of that portal came out a few logs and some tents. "Let''s set up camp here. We won''t be attacked as long as I have my Rejecting Barrier activated. We might arrive a littlete, but looking at this sandstorm, I''m guessing the enemy is also having a rough time." The two stared at him and nodded. Joseph noticed from the corner of his eye that Fujita hesitated before nodding. He was shifting ufortably which raised suspicion but Joseph decided he was just paranoid and afraid. ''Can''t me him. He saw the others die so it''s natural to feel afraid. Though I''m getting a feeling that he''s not right in the head.'' Ever since Fujita came back, Joseph noticed his behaviors and habits had shifted quite distinctively. Normally he was quite boisterous and loved to brag about being a hero but now he was quiet and spoke in a deadpan voice. Joseph walked up to him and ced his hand on his shoulder, causing Fujita to flinch. "Calm down. I think you should rest." Fujita red at Joseph as if he saw a ghost while Joseph waited for his answer. He heard him gulp before he spoke. "Y-yeah I guess I''ll go and sleep." Joseph watched as Fujita entered his tent. Making sure that Fujita had fallen asleep, he then sat at the campfire where Tadashi cooking up some soup. As the fire crackled, Tadashi sighed and crossed his arms, biting his lips in concern. "What''s wrong?" Joseph asked him and Tadashi took in a deep breath. "I just I just don''t think we can do this. The Frost Seige did did the Inept Hero really do such a thing?" ''Ah, so it''s that.'' The Frost Seige was very impactful and marked a new significance in history. There was never a moment in the past where a hero has ughtered another hero except for the traitors. To be specific, there has never been a hero that has killed more than one hero. The past demon kings have achieved such a thing and dangerous high-leveled monsters have killed some too. This event had made some more terrified of the Inept Hero''s presence and that even included the other kingdoms as well. Joseph, however, was unphased, for obvious reasons. ''Maybe he took it a little too far but at least he spared three of them. Can''t me him though. Losing a loved one is a harsh thing to go through.'' Believe it or not, Joseph had watched the entire thing unfold from afar. At that time, he had been mastering the use of the Mystic Eyes of Interspace. Joseph could''ve interfered and saved the heroes from Nero like he did the first time they met, but he decided that he would stay far away as possible. He had reasons. Those reasons were difficult to understand, however. Though for one thing, it was clear, he wanted to help him. He allowed him to kill the heroes to get stronger which he did. However, even though he got stronger, it wasn''t enough. ''He''s still weak. If he encountered one of the Enigmas now, he''d die for sure.'' Joseph hadpared Nero''s growth to his own. He knew that the powers he gained were because of his passive skill, Transcend. The other heroes had a simr skill but were not as powerful as his, including Nero''s. If Nero had Transcend, he would no doubt be more powerful than Joseph, and Joseph himself knew that. He''s even thought of what would happen if the two had switched ces. ''If our positions were switched, Nero would drown in the immense power granted to him and I would be swallowed by the darkness that he is currently possessing.'' Joseph was smart. Even though he was stronger than him, he knew if he were to fight Nero at his current level, he would not survive unscathed. He was formidable in his own right. "Oh, the soup is done." When the two had finished their soup, Tadashi went into his tent while Joseph stayed out in the open in front of the campfire. "Joseph, are you not gonna rest as well?" Tadashi queried, pointing to Joseph''s tent. "Nah, I''ll be on watch. You never know, they could attack anytime. I also have to manage the barrier in case anything manages to break it, that is if they can." "But you haven''t slept in days Joseph. You need to sle-" "I don''t need to. You, however, must. I can handle this. Protecting you two is my job." Tadashi hesitantly trusted Joseph''s words and he went to sleep, knowing Joseph would be able to protect them. Once Tadashi had fallen asleep, Joseph started to look around. His vision was clouded by the sandstorm but through more concentration, he was able to pierce through the screen that the sandstorm was creating which blocked his vision. "Now then, where will you attack first?" He''s been paranoid for a while and he knew it was inevitable that they were going to be attacked. However, he knew he would have to give up eventually. He knew his weaknesses. He may be powerful, but he''s been training non-stop before he and the other two entered the desert. His reason for training was simple, so he didn''t get rusty. In other words, he was quickly running out of stamina and he''s missed about 5 days'' worth of sleep. He may be a Warlock, but he was still human and humans could onlyst so long without sleep. He had noticeable bags under his eyes and Tadashi has been trying to get Joseph to switch with him so he could sleep, but Joseph refused his offer, saying it was his job to protect them. Three hours in, Joseph''s vision started to blur and his body was losing strength. He pinched himself in order to wake himself up but even pain couldn''t get him to stay up. "Shit I can''t sleep now. I need to to-" Joseph''s body did not listen to the words that came out of his mouth and soon enough, he passed out. And that was the biggest mistake he evermitted. *** "Joseph Joseph Joseph, wake up!" Joseph woke up, startled by Tadashi''s voice. When he woke up, the ground was shaking and distant explosions could be heard. ''Crap, I fell asleep! Did the battle already start?'' He got up and deactivated his Rejecting Barrier. He and Tadashi ran to the top of a dune and activated his Mystic Eyes of Interspace. He saw humans shing with an army of ice elves and other demonic creatures. The battle had started a while ago but the noise and themotion that the battle was only starting. If this continued, like the Frost Seige, the same results would ur; fatal damage, massive loss of soldiers, etc. "We gotta go help them!" Tadashi dered and Joseph nodded. "Get Fujita, we''re going right no-" But before Joseph managed to finish his sentence, Fujita sank a de through his spleen. Joseph looked over his shoulder, shocked at the sudden ambush. "Fujita?" "You let your guard down, hero." His voice was different. It sounded bloodcurdling and full of malice. Joseph quickly scanned Fujita and immediately understood what was wrong with thetter. "Fujita you''re dead." Though Fujita was right in front of him, he was already dead. His skin had be a very pale color and his eyes were dull. Joseph swiftly performed a downward punch, knocking Fujita to the ground. Before Fujita''s corpse got up, Joseph put an end to him with a powerful palm strike. "Damn it. I''m sorry, Fujita." As Joseph pulled his stained hand away, a figure standing only a few meters away from them started pping. "How sad he was so traumatized that he just didn''t have the will to live anymore." Joseph and Tadashi lifted their heads up at the figure. He was a tall figure, about the same height as Joseph. He had long silver hair, light blue skin that ice elves would have, and piercing blue eyes which gave off a cold gleam. "What did you do to him?" Joseph inquired, gathering mana into his hands. "Oh, if only you hadn''t slept then you would''ve noticed. He was mentally ill and you knew that, but you didn''t do anything about it." "I''m not a psychiatrist, and besides, it''s not like he was gonna help. He was on the verge of betraying us, that''s why he let you take control of his body." "Oh, a perceptive one, huh?" Joseph and the ice elf exchanged res. Tadashi who stood by Joseph''s side took a step forward but Joseph stopped him. "Joseph?" "Stay back, I got this." "Why can''t I fight huh? Is it because I''m weak? Well look, I''ve grown stronger, I can take him on!" "I know that, but he''s too much for you to handle." "You always say that!" Joseph turned and stared daggers at Tadashi, causing him to flinch. "If I say stay back, you stay the fuck back. I''m not saying this again." Tadashi was left speechless and Joseph walked forward. Tadashi knew Joseph as a nice and polite guy, but he''s never used suchnguage against him. "Will you let me help you at least!?" Tadashi pleaded but Joseph turned and gave him the same re. "You want to help? Go help the ones fighting the army right now." "Oh, I believe that won''t be necessary." The ice elf said. Joseph turned around with a puzzled expression but when he saw a red beam course from his hand, he quickly turned. "Tadashi!" But it was toote. Tadashi, his closest friend, had been hit. In a matter of seconds, there was a gaping hole in his chest. Tadashi fell and Joseph quickly rushed to his side. "God damn it! Stay with me, Tadashi!" "I...it''s alright. I understand why you''d yell at me. You just don''t want me to get hurt, right?" Joseph didn''t answer but nodded. "Well... it''s my fault I got hit. I should''ve just listened to you... I''m sorry." "Don''t bother. I''m the one at fault here. If only I hadn''t dropped my guard." "Don''t apologize. Just promise me one thing." Tadashi took Joseph''s hand, puking blood. He was near his death but he still had the energy and will to say one more thing. "Kill... that son of a... bitch..." ... Tadashi''s hand slipped and his heart had stopped. Joseph sighed and closed Tadashi''s eye before turning around towards the ice elf. "How sad... well, whatever. Now that your moral support is gone, why don''t we get this started?" Joseph looked at him nkly before smiling. "Your funeral." . . . Chapter 139: Prince of Cocytus, Myran Chapter 139: Prince of Cocytus, Myran "Well, would you mind giving me your name?" The ice elf asked and Joseph tilted his head. "Your reason?" "So I can remember the name of the hero who I''ll be killing before the Inept Hero." Hearing this, Joseph snickered. "What''s so funny?" The ice elf asked. "Nothing really, just how you think you''ll be living after this fight." "You''re an arrogant one, aren''t you?" "I can say the same for you." The ice elf grinned. He slicked his hair back before pointing his finger at Joseph. "I like you. Maybe once I''ve killed you, I''ll turn you into one of my puppets." "You can try all you want." "Heh, you must be popr among the girls." "I can''t say I wasn''t." The two smiled at each other before taking fighting stances. "I am Giuseppe Valentino, the Warlock Hero. You can just call me Joseph." The ice elf smirked before forming two ice des in his hands. "Myran, Prince of the Ice Hell, Cocytus." The two continued to look at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Eventually, Myran took a step forward and tossed his des at Joseph. Joseph quickly evaded. His left palm would let out a trail of red energy. He pointed his palm at Myran before firing countless crimson rays at him. Myran dodged them with quick speed and returned a storm of ice des. The two continued to fire projectiles at each other. Myran shot razor metal threads at Joseph but Joseph managed to dodge them with ease. ''Strange. How is he moving like that? Wasn''t he stabbed earlier? Did I miss the sr plexus?'' Upon closer inspection, he finally noticed that he missed. ''Huh... but still, how is he moving like he wasn''t stabbed?'' Myran didn''t notice but as the two were talking, Joseph had cast a slight healing spell on himself. Though the healing spell was amon and weak spell, it was efficient enough to close up a stab wound. However, mending his spleen was something he could not fix. Luckily, he didn''t need the spleen much since the human body could survive without it. The two continued to send projectiles at each other, but then Joseph decided to take it up a notch. When hended on the ground, he flicked the air, causing a blue void to appear below Myran. Myran felt his body being sucked towards the void and with all the strength he had, he resisted it. "You''re gonna have to try harder than that!" "Then it''s a good thing I wasn''t trying. HA!!" Suddenly, the force of the void was multiplied and Myran was slowly being sucked into the void. Clenching his teeth and with all his might, he let out a demonic roar, causing one of Joseph''s eardrums to rupture. The sharp pain caused Joseph to stumble and the void''s force decreased, allowing Myran a chance to attack. "Hmph, what an annoying attack. Why don''t I give you a taste of your own medicine?" He faced his palm at Joseph and it started to glow red. Joseph was hit by a wave of confusion as countless crimson rays flew in his direction. "What the-?" Joseph was interrupted as he was then bombarded with his own attack. Luckily, he managed to raise his barrier in time. ''Bastard can use Crimson Hurricane too? Does he have the Principle of Rejection as well?'' But before he could even fully understand the situation, he was hit by another familiar attack. "Take this! The void that absorbs all life!" Myran yelled as he threw a tiny blue sphere at Joseph. Once Joseph spotted the tiny sphere, he gasped in surprise. That tiny sphere quickly transformed into a massive void. He felt his body being pulled towards the void, but he faced his palm at the void and performed Total Rejection, causing him to be pushed away from the void. Crashing into the desert dunes, his body was covered in burns and bruises. Myran slowlynded a few meters away from Joseph as thetter stood up. "Hmm, what are those rings and bands for?" He asked, noticing the array of ornaments on his arms and fingers. "These... these are to limit my power." "For what use?" "So I don''t annihte you so easily." Myran''s face warped into a face of anger. "Don''t act as you''ve already won. I''m the one unharmed here." Myran unted his arms which were clean of any sort of wound, and his face was as clear as snow. "Not for long," Joseph said, taking some of his rings and bands off. At that moment, Myran felt a change in the atmosphere. Something about Joseph had changed. "Hmm..." Joseph got into a boxing stance. Myran smirked before getting into a fighting stance as well. This time, Joseph took the initiative. He instantly appeared in front of Myran and did a fast jab at Myran''s chest. Myran tanked the hit, but he wasn''t ready when Joseph did a sudden downward punch, knocking him to the ground. He attempted to get up but Joseph quickly snatched onto his legs, lifting him into the air before mming him into the ground again. Though he was just hit with a harshbo, Myran quickly flipped away from Joseph, creating some distance between them. ''He''s faster than I anticipated and that actually hurt. This guy... he''s definitely worthy of being turned into my puppet.'' Myran cackled as he started to gather up energy. Joseph stared at him and he raised his arm. Suddenly, Myran noticed that the distance between them had closed. "Huh?" "Don''t let your guard down," Joseph said, mming his fist into Myran''s stomach. Joseph continued to batter Myran with quick attacks and Myran struggled to escape from him. After a while, Joseph decided he had enough and umted a heavy amount of energy in both his hands. "Say goodbye now." With two quick swipes, he had erased both Myran''s head and his stomach. Thetter''s body fell onto the ground and stained the sand with blood. "Hmm... I should''ve done this from the beginning." Assuming that he had won, Joseph turned to leave. "Do-don''t walk away from... me. You haven''t... won yet." His eyes widened as he turned around to see Myran unscathed. His head and stomach, which had been erased, were there again. "How did you-?" "Simple. I''m immortal, duh." "No. Even if you are immortal, you still shouldn''t be able to regenerate. I erased that portion of you so that part of your body shouldn''t exist anymore." "Not unless I reverse the process." ... Joseph stayed silent and registered those words. Once he figured it out, he clicked his tongue and a distasteful look cross his face. "I see... so that''s your innate principle. Reversal." "Correct. However, it only works when I make contact with the element thrown at me. In your case, Erasure." Standing in a prideful pose, Myran snickered. "In addition with my immortality, nothing will be able to stop me. Sure, you can hit me as hard as you want but it''ll only stagger me lightly. Erase me, and I''ll just reverse the process." Joseph red at him as he shifted into a fighting stance once again. "Joseph, why don''t you just give up? I can guarantee that your strength can be useful in my hands. Join my side, and I assure you that you will be rewarded for your services. You are working for the wrong people." "And you''re dering you are the good? Don''t get the wrong idea. I''m not working for that king or anyone in general." "But you let the Inept Hero do his thing. Are you not working for him." "Working for him? I think you mean working with him. He''s a good fellow, just misguided and broken." "Well that good fellow murdered me once! He shouldn''t deserve to live! He embarrassed me and yed around with me! If only I had the strength I had right now, I could''ve killed him!" "I don''t care what he has done to you. You''re the enemy and I''m gonna take you down." "What is your purpose? Why do you even work with him? I want to know." Joseph smirked. "Didn''t you hear me? He''s misguided. I''m trying to guide him back to the light but I will not be the one. There are others to help him and I am just the beginning. I promised someone I would do that if it would ever happen. After all, I too was misguided." "I don''t care if you were misguided or not," Myran cracked his neck and his knuckles before getting into a fighting stance, "If you are associate with that bastard, looks like I''m gonna have to start considering whether I want you as a puppet, or your head disconnected from your body." "Then you''re gonna have to take it off my corpse!" The two rushed at each other and punched the other across the face. Crack! Joseph managed to win in terms of strength and cracked a part of Myran''s jaw. However, Myran regenerated instantly, making Joseph''s strike useless. "You''re gonna have to try harder than that, Joseph!" . . . Chapter 140: The Warlock Hero, Joseph Chapter 140: The Warlock Hero, Joseph Joseph dashed forward and delivered a right hook. Myran parried and countered with a right cross to the face, but Joseph managed to slip it, wrapping his arms around Myran to do a suplex. Crack! Myran''s neck shattered and his body immediately began to heal, however, Joseph didn''t allow him to even breathe. Snatching onto his legs, he threw him into the air and sent him flying towards the ground with a devastating axe kick with both legs. Joseph wasn''t done there. He extended his arms and released a rapid barrage of homing red beams at Myran. Myran struggled to evade as the beams were unable to miss and could turn even the sharpest corners. Eventually, Myran stopped himself and allowed him to be hit. After tanking all the hits, his body healed again, causing Joseph to be a little irritated. "Come on, Joseph. What are you still fighting for? To kill me? If that''s your n, you know it''s useless!" Myran shot towards Joseph and performed a series of high-speed punches. Joseph blocked and waited for an opening. Once he saw the opening, he ducked and delivered a brutal punch to his stomach, impaling it in the process. Myran stood in shock as he felt his body overflow with energy. Joseph pulled his arm out and lifted Myran in the air before tossing him away. As Myran caught himself in the air, he felt the overflowing energy inside him begin to erupt. Under his skin, light coursed through his body and he felt his body heat up as seconds passed by. "What is-?" "If you''re immortal, let''s see how well you survive when I blow you up from the inside!!" Joseph crossed his arms before raising them both up, detonating the energy within Myran. Momentster, Myran was encased in a brilliant red and blue burst before exploding, creating a giant mushroom cloud. The aftermath was devastating. There was a massive crater where Myran once stood. Joseph took heavy breaths as he regained his stamina and energy. ''Is he still alive? I don''t sense his energy. Maybe he suppressed it during the explosion.'' He couldn''t be too sure. Many people have tricks up their sleeves and there was a possibility that Myran had survived the explosion. Joseph cautiously thought everything through as he lifted his barrier. "You should''ve used that earlier." A voice said suddenly. Instinctively, Joseph spun around and threw a right hook, hitting Myran''s right jaw. He chuckled before punching Joseph in the gut. Joseph stumbled back as he was barraged with a volley of kicks and punches from Myran. Once he regained his footing, Myran had vanished from his sight. "It''s over!" Said Myran from above. Joseph looked at him and Myran fired down an enormous rain of red energy bullets. As the energy bullets rained down towards Joseph, he cupped his hands and formed a crackling blue energy sphere between them. Then he thrust his hands forward, firing countless rays of blue energy. Their energy shed with each other. Joseph struggled to maintain his attack as energy was quickly rushing out from his palms. Myran on the other hand had no difficulties, simply smiling as he watched Joseph struggled. The power struggle continued for a while. Joseph felt his legs weaken as he continued to maintain his attack. However, the human body could only do so much. Soon, Joseph''s legs buckled and he fell to the floor, forcing his attack to end. "Die," Myran smirked as he exerted all of his energy, causing the energy bullets to increase in size. Sensing the sudden change, Joseph took off another one of the bands off his arms which limited his power. Joseph quickly regained his stamina and darted away from the area, avoiding the fiery storm of explosive energy. Once Myran''s attack ended, he looked around for Joseph''s body, assuming he had died. However, Joseph immediately appeared behind him and delivered a devastating blow to the head. "Tch, well, this is getting a little annoying," Myran muttered. Once his head had healed, his hands took on a different shape. "Let''s settle this like Warlocks, shall we?" Joseph stared at him nkly, staring at his arms. One arm looked reptilian-like with ck scales and glowing blue streaks while the other arm had red flesh with white feathers. "You sacrificed your life for the ultimate ones?" "Of course! The drawbacks don''t affect an immortal like me, after all." Myran''s arms were different than the appendages given by the Void Master. Unlike the ones where a certain part of the arm is enhanced, for example, the Red Angel Palm, the Ultimate Ones enchants the entire arm and the entire side of that arm. This gives better control over the principle given to Warlocks but there is a price to pay for it. That price is 77 years off your life span. However, this doesn''t affect Myran as he is immortal. A human and mortal like Joseph would lose his life span, and die prematurely. "What''s wrong, Joseph? Is this your limit? Don''t tell me you are stopping now." "Of course not. I''m not even using half of my power." Joseph responded, taking off more of his bands. Unlike the bands he took off earlier, these bands fell to the ground with a thump, causing Myran to flinch lightly. "I''m ready now." Joseph dered, his hands glowing a strange, purple color. "Violet?" Myran uttered with a puzzled expression before Joseph swiped the air, pulling Myran closer to him. With swift speed, Joseph continued to erase the distance between him and Myran. Once Myran was close enough, he swiped his hand again, sending out a sharp wave of energy. Myran was cut into two by his attack but the former regenerated before Joseph could deal more damage. Joseph stomped the ground, causing blue pirs of energy to erupt. Myran swiftly dodged them but when he got caught in one of them, he felt his energy sap away. Realizing what they did, Myran became more cautious and evaded them with more precision. Joseph continued to make more pirs, making Myran struggle to escape from the maze of blue energy. When he was trapped in between them, Joseph shot towards him and Myran was met with a heavy amount of red energy. The red energy knocked Myran away in the blue pirs where all of his energy was being drained from his body. "Haha, this is fun," Myran said as he got up on his feet. Though his energy was being absorbed, his stamina remained the same. "HA!!" Emitting an outburst of energy from his body, the pirs vanished. Spotting Joseph on his knees, Myran darted towards him. "Is that all!?" "Tch." Joseph rushed towards him and the two shed. As they tried to wrestle the other to the ground, they began bashing each other with headbutts. Considering Joseph had the advantage in power, he managed to knock Myran to the ground. Lifting his hands up into the air, he created a crackling violet energy sphere in between his palms. "DIE!!!" Joseph dropped the sphere onto Myran, creating an explosion that morphed into a giant dark pir of energy. Joseph quickly got out of the explosion''s radius, taking heavy breathers as he regained his stamina. He was running out of stamina but he still had an endless amount of energy. However, what use was energy going to do if he didn''t have the stamina to use it? "Guess this is the limit of your power," Myran said, his body gradually regenerating after taking heavy damage from Joseph''s attack. "So..." Myran began, facing his palm at Joseph. "Anyst words?" Joseph''s breath stabilized and slowly lifted his head, a grin crossing his face. "How''s your brother?" At that moment, a surge of anger rushed through Myran as he yelled. "DON''T TALK ABOUT MY BROTHER!" A red beam of powerful energy pierced Joseph''s chest. Myran stared deeply into Joseph''s eyes as they lost their light. Joseph''s fell forward. Myran could sense his energy fade away and his spirit separate from his body. A smirk slowly crossed his face and soon enough, he started to cackle. "Three heroes ughtered by my hand, and I''ve killed the strongest! This is it... this is proof that I can kill that son of a bitch!" Blood started to spurt out from the open wounds of his body as waves of excitement rushed through his body. "Nero... I''ll find you and kill you! Ahahahahahaha! Hahahaha-! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!" After Myran''s resurrection, he became a revenant, obsessed with kill one person and one person only and he won''t stop until he kills him. That person was of course his own killer, Nero. Obsessed with his fixation to kill Nero, his senses went haywire and he was in his own world. This was the disadvantage of his own power which drowns his instincts. Little did he know, there was an imminent danger behind him. "Go to hell." Myran quickly snapped out of daydreaming and avoiding the iing attack. He flipped back and looked up to see Joseph standing on both feet. A rather grim aura surrounded thetter, giving Myran goosebumps. "Wh...what the hell? How are you standing? I pierced a hole in your... chest..." Looking down, the hole Myran put in his chest was gradually closing up. Joseph''s eyes glinted, giving off a cold presence. "I won''t... let you... it''s a promise I made... to her." ''Wh-where is this resolveing from?'' Myran questioned in his mind, still shocked at Joseph''s recovery. To understand this, it all started from Joseph''s birth. . . . Chapter 141: His Past Chapter 141: His Past On December 25th, many years ago, a baby had been born in a hospital. His mother had died delivering the baby and the father was not present. Only the sister of the mother was present. When the baby was delivered, however, something was different about it. It was born with many abnormalities. It had heterochromia and its hair was split into two colors. ck hair on one side and white on the other. The eyes glittered like jewels. On one side it gleamed silver and the other shined bright like a diamond. When the baby was given to the sister, she could only think about how she could pay the debt she had. The family''s financial problem was grave. To solve that problem, they requested help from a well-known mafia family. Though it wasn''t easy, the mafia eventually gave them the help they needed, and when that problem had been solved, they had to pay the debt. Because their due date for that debt was today, the sister had only one choice. When the sister had gotten custody of the baby, she went over to the mafia''s boss and presented the baby to him as the debt. The boss hesitated but eventually gave in as he knew the family could not pay them back with anything else. After all, she was the only family member remaining beside the baby. The baby had been named Giuseppe, Italian for Joseph, and his family name was Valentino. As the boss was now left with the baby, he decided to raise it alongside his daughter. When Joseph grew up, he was trained to be an assassin. To be an emotionless killing machine. A hitman. He was normally tasked to take out those who haven''t paid their debt but soon he was given harder missions. Taking out mafia members from other families soon became a normal routine for him. Yes, he does get some breaks sometimes but as a result of being raised only to kill, that was the only thing he could think of. His bloodlust was not normal for a 16-year-old boy, and his mind had already matured to the level of an adult''s. But, even if he was apathetic, he still had his weaknesses. It was his sister, Ang Fiori, or who he believed was his sister. She was two years older than him and she was raised to be a sessful woman. She was one of the only people to be by his side. She was like an older sister to him. She was the one that taught him how to read, write, feel, and love. When he had reached the age of 18, he had fallen in love with her and so did she. The two had dered they wanted to be lovers, but they assumed that their father would not allow them. So, Joseph had a promation to make to his father. "Father," Joseph said, or at this time, he was called by his real name, Giuseppe. Joseph walked into his father''s room. It was nearly midnight, and there was heavy rain outside, so the boss, his father, was almost done with his business. "Giuseppe? d to see you. What is my son doing up sote?" "I apologize for barging in, but I have a very important matter I want to discuss with you." "Oh! Sure! Whatever it is, I can help you with it." "Yeah..." Joseph muttered. "I hope you can." The two sat down in luxurious seats and his father began pouring wine into two sses. "So, what does my son want to discuss with me today?" His father asked, taking a sip from his ss. "Father... I..." Joseph hesitated for a moment and closed his eyes. His father noticed his strange behavior and politely urged him to say it. "Please, speak. You aren''t like this." "Okay..." Joseph took a deep breath before he announced his deration. "I... I want to marry Ang!" His father stopped sipping on his ss and slowly ced it back on the table. "You can''t... you are sibli-" "There is no need to lie to me, father. I know about my family. They were indebted to you, correct? They were extremely poor and had no other choice so I was sold to you as the price." "How did you know?" "Come on, I was going to find out eventually. I didn''t be what I am right now for a reason. And besides, my family name is different than yours." "I see, I guess you are correct after all. However, I can''t allow you to marry Ang." "Why not!? Is it because I was born into a poor family? Is it because I''m not the son of some tycoon? Is it because I''m someone who gets his hands dirty killing others?" "No, that is not it." "Then WHAT IS IT!?" "Ang has cancer!" Hearing that caused Joseph to stagger. His mind processed the words that hade out of his father''s mouth. As a highly-trained assassin, he was trained to determine whether one was lying or not and he was an expert at it. Processing his father''s words over 10 times as all of his analyses proved he was not lying. "Sh-she has cancer... and I was never told of this?" "The truth is, she''s had it for a while and she only has a year left. I... I don''t want you to be hurt when she passes on." "So, so you-" "Yes, I''ve known of you two''s romance for quite a while. As much as I want to approve of it, I don''t want you to be hurt. It''s for you and Ang''s good." "How is it for her own good if you are holding her back? This isn''t for my own good nor is it for Ang''s good! Do you know what you are saying right now? You''re being selfish and once she dies, she''ll be dying in her bed alone because, by that time, you''d send me to go kill another member of another family!" "No, it''s not like tha-" "I... I can make her happy for the remaining time she has left." Joseph began, interrupting his father as tears dripped down his cheeks. "If you could only approve of us. I promise I can make her happy for the remaining time she has left. I''ll do whatever it takes, whatever you need. I... I''ll kill an entire mafia if I have to give her the peace we need. After that, I will quit so I will spend time with Ang. Please... just allow me to marry her." Joseph was on the ground, begging his father for his wish to be fulfilled. Recognizing his love for his daughter and the reasons he had spouted, he knew that it would be the best for her. "Please, lift your head up." He said. "I will give you my approval but on one condition. After that, you will quit." "And that condition is?" Joseph asked, lifting his head to meet his father''s eyes. "You do onest mission for me." "Whatever it is, I will do whatever it is in my power to achieve it." "Good... but it will not be easy I tell you..." *** Monthster, Joseph had married his beloved and quit his job as a hitman. The two had finally managed to settle after all the dark times. There was finally peace on the streets again and there was no disturbance that could ruin their time. As promised, Joseph had spent all of his time apanying Ang, the one he loved for many years. At that time, their father had died from a disease and the legacy of the family was passed on to Ang. Once news that the boss of the most powerful mafia family had died, the other mafias had nned on raiding and taking their empire down. Around that time, Ang was already on her deathbed and Joseph had quit being a killer, meaning that the empire the Fiori had built was defenseless. But, not all hope was lost. Joseph held onto Ang''s hand as sheid on the bed. Joseph kissed her hand, slight tears trailing down his face. "Ang..." "It''s alright, Joseph. We knew this wasing." "I''m... sorry." "There is no need to apologize. I wish I had told you this earlier, then you wouldn''t be in such a state." Ang spoke in a frail voice. "Please, stop talking. Conserve your energy." Joseph said weakly. "I enjoyed the time we spent, Joseph. I love you." "...I love you too." Joseph tried to hold back the rest of his tears, not wanting to show how vulnerable he was but Ang could see right through him. "Joseph, promise me one thing before I die." "What? What is it? I''ll do whatever you ask." "Please... protect others that can''t protect themselves. Use the skills you were taught to protect others. Protect... as many people as you can. If you can''t protect some of them, then that is alright. At least... protect the ones... you deem impor... tant..." Ang''s voice trailed off and her body went limp. Joseph held onto her hand and soon he could not hold back his tears. She had no pulse. She had died. Joseph clenched his teeth before letting out a cry of agony, mourning for his lost one. After the death of Ang Fiori had spread, the other mafias had initiated their n. However, they didn''t know that there was a reawakened monster standing in their way. At midnight on that same day, a warehouse containing the members of all the mafias nning to raid the most powerful mafia family had been attacked. "Wha-what the fuck is going on!?" One of the confused mafia members asked. "Who is this guy!?" "It''s the Angel of Death!" Another responded until their head was blown off. "Eek!" The mafia member yelped as he tried to flee. However, he too was killed. Only one member had managed to escape. He was heading for one of the cars parked outside but then suddenly, a gunshot went off. "Gah!" He yelped and fell to the floor. He looked at his leg which had been shot, then he noticed a figure approaching him. CHK! The figure pointed his gun at the injured mafia member. Once getting a closer look at the figure, fear began to envelop his mind. "Y-you... you''re the Angel of Death!" Joseph looked down at the mafia member emotionlessly before pulling the trigger, killing him. Once he had done that, he walked away, pulling out his phone. He then made a call and that caused the warehouse behind him to blow up. The Angel of Death, it was a nickname given to Joseph after he performed the mission given to him by his father. The mission? To kill all of his father''s enemies. He hadpleted that, all in 7 days during the Passover. It was then that he was given the name of the Angel of Death. Because of that, it wasn''t even a challenge for Joseph to fight off an entire mob. That was but an easy task. Joseph eventually became aimless after that. After Ang''s funeral was held, he went to her grave everyday to honor her. Around that time, he was given the fortune of the Fiori family, but he gave up the position of boss to another. He wanted to enjoy his remaining days peacefully and visit his deceased one. After all, Joseph had a few months left remaining of his life as well. He only discovered recently but he also suffered from the same illness that took his lover''s life. Though it didn''t really matter to him. Life was something humans would eventually go through. Joseph had epted his fate and knew that he had nothing else to do. But then, a strange light had appeared under his feet. Secondster, he was gone. *** ... "Three heroes ughtered by my hand, and I''ve killed the strongest! This is it... this is proof that I can kill that son of a bitch! Nero... I''ll find you and kill you! Ahahahahahaha! Hahahaha-! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Joseph woke up to Myran''s ruckus after he had momentarily passed out. At the same time he was pierced, he broke off another band which unsealed his regeneration abilities. His consciousness had merely been shut off but it had returned. ''Kill Nero... no... that can''t happen...'' Joseph began to recall thest words that came out from his lover''s mouth. He quietly stood up and approached Myran, focusing his energy into his hand before swiping at Myran. "Go to hell." Myran evaded and flipped away. "Wh...what the hell? How are you standing? I pierced a hole in your... chest..." "I won''t... let you... it''s a promise I made... to her." His body was eventually enveloped in a purple aura as he began to strip himself of his limiters. The bands all fell to the ground and he took off his remaining rings. The only thing he had left on his arms was a wedding ring, a memory of his fallen lover. "I think it''s about time I stopped holding back." Joseph shifted into a weird stance, exposing all of his weak points and held many openings. It was a stance that no fighter would want to take but he still used it anyway. "100 percent power. No more, and no less." . . . Chapter 142: The Warlock Heros Last Stand Chapter 142: The Warlock Hero''s Last Stand Myran stared at Joseph with fear and disgust. "Why can''t you humans just give up? How stubborn can you be? Is your pride worth your useless efforts!?" He shouted at Joseph as his aura leaked from his body. "Pride? Don''t be mistaken, I don''t care about pride or honor. It''s something only the greedy ones would care about. I was trained to discard such feelings." Suddenly, his stance became tighter, leaving no openings for Myran to spot. "Your insults mean nothing. Your title means nothing. Therefore, you mean nothing. In conclusion, you are nothing to me. Just an annoying cockroach." "Sh-shut up!" Angered, Myran shot towards Joseph recklessly, aiming for his head. Joseph took a step forward and the moment Myran was about to hit him, he stepped to the side, grabbing onto Myran''s hair. "Wha-?" In an instant, Joseph pierced through Myran''s stomach. Thetter struggled as he felt his energy drain away from his body. "You bastar-!" Myran was interrupted when Joseph knocked his head off his body with a powerful palm strike. Myran''s head rolled across the ground as Joseph erased the rest of his body. "So that''s how it is huh? Well, at least you''re finally using your full strength." As his body finished regenerating, he got into a stance. His aura materialized around him, causing the ground to be encased in ice. Myran cackled as he darted towards Joseph again, throwing powerful punches and swift kicks. "Tell me, Joseph! Why did you suppress such power when you could''ve used it to eliminate me by now!?" Joseph caught Myran''s arm and pulled him closer to perform a headbutt. The force caused Myran''s skull to shatter, leaving him staggered. "What kind of person uses their full strength on runts like you?" "Grr, don''t get so cocky!" Myran threw a left hook but Joseph countered with a powerful right cross. The former staggered back as Joseph began his counterattack. Myran was bombarded with blows that could break a mountain and attacks that were as fast as light. He eventually was unable to heal like before. The attacks were too strong for him to regenerate and he needed an alternative quick. With a roar, he emitted a shockwave from his body, sting Joseph away. Joseph caught himself as he looked up, watching Myran as he changed into a new form. "You will feel the wrath of a prince, a prince of hell." Though the cold words came from Myran''s mouth, Joseph stood unaffected. Instead, his body was wrapped in violet light as he too began to transform. "Your wrath means nothing to me." A pir of energy wrapped around Joseph before it dispersed into a crackling aura. Myran noticed that Joseph looked different and upon getting a closer look, his confidence had begun to falter. "V-v-violet Nephalem?" Joseph''s body was covered in slim, jet ck armor with purple incandescent mes which spouted out from his back and coursed around his body. They shaped into a set of wings, each with different appearances. One was simr to an angel''s wing while the other was bat-like. "So that''s what the purple energy came from, but how!? How is a human such as you able to obtain that power!?" "Isn''t it obvious?" Joseph responded before pointing at Myran, then at him. "Unlike you, I... am the honored one." Myran growled at Joseph''s words and let out a bloodcurdling roar. "Don''t give me such bullshit! You are not worthy of that title, so don''t you dare proim yourself as something you aren''t!!" An enraged Myranunched himself towards Joseph. Thetter countered Myran with a spinning kick to the face. He didn''t stop there. The moment Myran hit the ground, Joseph snatched onto his ankle before thrashing him around the ce. As Myran healed, he grabbed onto Joseph''s arm and held him in an armlock. Joseph at first struggled to escape from his enemy''s grasp, but soon he devised another strategy. Instead of fighting back with brute strength, he decided it was easier to erase his opponent''s arms and legs instead. After all, it wouldn''t do much considering he was immortal. Using his Principle of Erasure, he swiped his hands and erased Myran''s appendages. As he escaped from his grasp and Myran regenerated his body parts, the two fired countless beams at each other, both shing with immense force able to shake the ground. "Come on! Is this all you''ve got!? Is this all your full power has to offer!?" Myran taunted as he continued to fire beams. However, he did not notice that Joseph had slipped away until he stopped. "Where did he-?" "You''re losing your footing," Joseph said, appearing behind Myran before delivering a savage blow to his head. Thetter was blown away but caught himself as he reformed his head. He then appeared behind Joseph and attempted to mimic Joseph''s attack, but he was already one step ahead of him. "Fool." Joseph dodged Myran, vanishing from thin air and appearing behind him. He then sted Myran away with a point-nk violet-colored sphere. Myran once again crashed into the ground but quickly regained his footing as always. However, Joseph appeared in front of him and Myran instinctively attacked. The two shed and were now in a stalemate. "Tell me, Joseph! I know you have a reason for hiding this immense power of yours! You must have a more noble reason for doing such a thing. What is the truth!? And don''t give me that weakling bullshit!" Myran yelled. "Why don''t you open your eyes and see?" Joseph responded calmly. Myran growled until he noticed something fly by. ''A ke?'' Noticeable and many kes crossed both Myran''s and Joseph''s vision. Soon, Myran noticed that the kes wereing from Joseph. "You-" "A human body has a certain limit to wielding power. I am one of them. As much as I didn''t want it, it was the fate I was forced with." Joseph''s body reverted back to its human state and his skin was seen turning into kes as Joseph stood. "It was the goddess that gave me this power. Her intention for giving me this power was so I could eliminate him. Him... being Nero, the hero you want dead. However, I had other ns with this. My... lover... I promised her that I would use my abilities to protect the weak. I... do not intend on breaking that promise." Joseph looked away and spotted Tadashi''s corpse. "I may not have been able to fulfill it fully, but I can''t stop what fate has in hand. This is that goddess''s divine retribution." Joseph began to cough up blood and fell down to his knees. Myran watched as his opponent was slowly dying in his eyes. "That''s the reason I suppressed my power with the rings and bands. Without it, I''d be a pile of ashes by now. Well, not that it really matters since I was supposed to die anyway. These limiters were just something to stop the inevitable. But..." Joseph stood up and stared at Myran with confidence. "You''re still going down..." Myran chuckled lightly and responded to Joseph''s statement. "Oh really now? Do you really think you can still take me on in that state? Are you sure you aren''t driven by your pride and arrogance? Honestly-" "Of course, I can. Just because I''ve been weakened by this... well, let''s call it an illness. Even with this illness, I can still take you down." Joseph took a deep breath before smiling. "I may not be able to kill you, but there are other solutions." He grinned before vanishing. Myran instinctively flew into the air, ready for whatever Joseph had in stock. Clutch! "What the-?" "Surprised you, didn''t I?" Joseph trapped Myran in a full-nelson, causing thetter to be unable to move whatsoever. "Tch, so this is your master n!?" "No... that is." Myran was confused for a moment until he felt a force pull him from underneath. When he looked down, there was a giant void expanding wider and wider. "What is... what is that?" Myran gasped in fear. "I don''t even know... it was an ability I''ve had in my arsenal for a while but I''ve never used it. However, the name should do the exining. The Void of Suffering. It''s a metaphysical area in the void that acts as a prison for whoever is trapped inside it. Of course, people can escape from it, but it''s only limited to those that can ess this area. In short, I am that person." "No... no! Let me go!" "Oh, don''t be scared now. I haven''t even gotten to the good part." Suddenly, golden strips of light began to spiral around the two. mes were set across the two and more dust-like particles emitted from Joseph''s body. ''Ang... I''ll be meeting you soon...'' Those were Joseph''sst thoughts before he activated his attack. "Now then... taste the full force of my ultimate skill! FATAL DETONATION, SHATTER!!" In mere seconds, with a wrathful cry, the two were wrapped in a bright burst of energy, forming into a giant dome of swirling hot fire. The st was immense, creating a giant crater that could take out several armies. When the attack had ended, Myranid in Joseph''s grasp with only a his skeleton and a few pieces of flesh remaining. He slowly formed back the rest of his body as he tried to make apromise with Joseph. "J-Joseph... we-we can make apromise, okay? I''ll... I''ll give up on my goal to kill Nero for now so just let me go and we can-" But when Myran met eyes with his foe, it was already toote. "You... you''re already dead..." Joseph''s eyes were stripped of their light and his body had been turned into stone. Even though Myran was finally able to escape, he did not have the willpower to do it. "I... can escape... but why can''t I move? Is he still able to hold me in this position though he''s dead? He... he hasn''t even thrown me into the void yet... does this mean I''m free?" He had many questions and those were quickly answered in an instant. Momentster, Joseph''s corpse began lowing Myran into the void. Myran wanted to flee, but he could not do it anymore. The Prince of Cocytus eventually epted his fate and the two were dropped into the Void of Suffering. After consuming the two in darkness, the Void of Suffering had sealed itself. One figure dropped down at where the Void of Suffering once was and he clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tch, seems I missed it." *** Dayster, news of the three heroes had reached the nations. Authorian quickly flew into a fit of rage. "DAMN IT! NOW COCYTUS IS INTERFERING AND KILLING MY HEROES!?" The servants and the other people in the castle could hear his ranting from even the lowest floors. Even the people in the dungeon could hear him and theyughed at his suffering. "Looks like... looks like I have no choice-" Authorian began but he was interrupted when a figure appeared at his window. "What are you gonna do? Kill the Inept Hero?" Authorian spun around and met Omen in the eyes. He quickly fell on his back as Omen intruded his room. "Th-the Inept Hero!" "Huh?" Omen tilted his head in confusion until he noticed he wasn''t wearing his mask. "Oh, well, how stupid of me. Hehe, hello Authorian." "O-Omen!?" "Yeah, it''s me. Do you not know the presence of your own superior?" "But why-?" "Isn''t it obvious? I''m exactly who you think I am. I''m just not from your timeline. But, don''t jump to conclusions yet, I didn''t show you my face on purpose. I merely just forgot." Omen extended his hand and a mask appeared in his palms. He then donned it before smirking at Authorian. "I have orders from the Twilight Queen. She wants you to stand down and wait. Eventually, he''lle for you. By that time, I assume you will have someone to protect you, right?" Authorian didn''t speak but Omen already knew what his answer was. "Good. Now then, see you next time. That is if there is a next time." With an evilugh, he flew out of the window, morphing into his new form, the Majin, as he vanished into the night sky. . . . The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!