Yuuya staggered to his feet, panting. His head felt empty as he stumbled forward, through the mass of bodies that lay scattered in the cavern. Yuuya turned back to look at the result of his frenzy. Now a bloody mass, the eyes were still open as they seemed to stare accusatorily at Yuuya.

“I’m- I’m sorry….” Yuuya coughed out weakly. He felt like he had just swallowed a ton of vomit as he continued walking forward, towards where his sword, Gluttony lay. He coughed again, trying to ignore the squirming of his gut. He felt like some part of him had broken. The humanity in him shattered into bits and pieces.

He had taken a life.

For years he had seen it on the news, people getting murdered and the photos of the accused being pasted across the screen as they were declared guilty. A period of incarceration, hanging, the electric chair, there were plenty of punishments. Because of all the crimes, murder was one of the worst.

But the reason Yuuya felt queasy wasn’t because he had taken a life, but it was because he hated himself for enjoying the act. True, he tried to stop himself when the frenzy of the Monster slaying energy took over, but the reason he couldn’t stop himself was simple. There was a part of him that wanted it to happen. A part of him that wanted to rip his opponent’s throat out. A part of him that wanted the blood of his enemies to stain the land. He was fooling himself into thinking that he would be the same after all that happened and whatever was to happen.

He grasped Gluttony’s hilt, feeling the familiar sting of the curse rush through his veins. His eye stung as well, like lava had been poured in it. But it wasn’t because of the fact that he had been in battle, but it was because of the fact that he had arbitrarily taken a life. He was cursed, just like them.

Yuuya could still see the face of the automaton- no, the man- he had killed with his bare hands every time he closed his eyes. It seemed to flash before his sight, a phantom that looked at him with hate. “Hate breeds hate…” Yuuya muttered as he cleaned the blood, his blood, off Gluttony and sheathed it. To his mild surprise, his arm, which had been twisted by the impact against the man’s barrier, had healed with superhuman speeds. There were only minor scratches that surrounded his arm, stinging slightly when he moved his arm. Maybe the Girisian Rhigor had some healing ability as well.

Yuuya felt spent as he felt fatigue wash over him. He stuck Gluttony into the ground and leant against it, taking a deep breath. Now I have killed… How many more atrocities would I have to commit here? He sighed to himself, unable to get over the fact that a living, breathing man had just stopped breathing because of his actions.

And then the ceiling tore apart.

Like wet paper tearing to pieces, boulders crashed into the floor, sending shockwaves throughout the chamber. Dust cascaded down in sheets like rain as a hole opened up in the roof. And through it, an enormous orange eye became visible, blinking as it stared into the chamber.

Yuuya collapsed onto the floor as an earth shaking roar echoed out from the eye, sending him sprawling on the ground. He pulled out Gluttony from the ground and crouched low, trying hard not to fall. “HERE IT IS!” A voice said, before another hole opened in the side of the chamber, out of which came an enormous tail, which extended to the other end and opened another hole.

Like a banana being peeled off, the monster peeled off the roof of the cavern with stunning ease, throwing it away somewhere beyond the mountain. Yuuya reeled from the shock, staring at the gigantic snake head slithered into the cavern. Its tongue continuously flashed into existence from its lipless mouth, tasting the air. Suddenly, it came to a stop and twisted its head around.

It stared right at Yuuya.

Yuuya tensed, feeling fear as he stared at the beast. He released a rush of Dragon slaying energy, strengthening his limbs. His skin hardened into pseudo scales as his skin rapidly gained a reddish tinge. Yuuya felt himself increase in strength, his vision expanding as everything red in his sight was enhanced. He uttered a shocking growl, startling the snake.

Without giving it the chance to gather its wits, Yuuya immediately jumped back, using his powerful legs to send himself rocketing to the back of the cavern. He had wisely chosen to retreat. After the tiring battle with the man and the expedition through the dungeon, Yuuya’s body felt weary. He sniffed the air, his enhanced sense of smell immediately locating the place through which the scent of Drooler blood came. Without waiting to think, he shot off towards the entrance he had come through, violently rushing through the corridor, through the chamber with the broken crystals, through the chamber with the mass of dead monster bodies.

He dodged all the remaining monsters, not wanting to confront them and waste his energy. If the snake decided to chase him, he’d have to have at least a bit of energy to fight. Without pausing, he was soon through the entrance archway of the dungeon, and outside, in the side of the mountain he had entered a few hours before.

He cut off his Dragon Slaying energy and stowed his mask inside his coat. He then turned to look at the mountain, only to gasp. An enormous tail emerged from where the chamber was, swaying in the air. It looked gargantuan, and Yuuya felt glad that he had chosen to run. A fight then would surely have resulted in his death.

That must be the snake god they mentioned. He thought, thinking of the man’s declaration about the simple sacrifice. Kuniyaltre, was it? That reminds me… Niviel! Alarmed, he turned to look back at the entrance of the dungeon. He wondered whether Niviel was among the bodies, drained of blood. No, that can’t be. She is the leader of this cult. They probably won’t let her die. He assured himself. For once, he felt conflicted about Niviel. Although she was part of this cult, she was a nice person and it was inevitable for Yuuya to consider her important.

Wait! Yuuya realized, shocked. The snake, could it be… did something happen in Ugras? Yuuya felt perspiration bead on his forehead as he realized that Ugras might’ve been where it came from. The fountain here was the same there, and the snake had obviously come from somewhere else. Fearing for Maria and the other’s safety, Yuuya set off at a run, rushing towards Ugras. He didn’t dare use any more energy; for he feared that there might be more trouble there.

The grassy plains quickly whizzed by as Yuuya arrived at the gargantuan walls of Ugras. There was obviously some scuffle here, as he could hear yells from within the city. Smoke and dust hung above the city in large clouds, and from what he could see, the people were running around frantically, chased by what looked like snakes.

As Yuuya entered the city, he realized that the situation was far worse than he thought. The entire city was in turmoil, with yellow snakes, very much like the one that had come at the cavern, attacking everyone. To his surprise, they were able to breathe fire, and flames razed the houses.

“Oi! You there!” A man wearing a full suit of armor with a plumed helmet covering his face shouted at him. “You’re the troublemaker aren’t you? If you can fight, help out! Everyone are! W just need enough time so that the magicians can use an Adept class magic and quell the flames!” Yuuya felt a flash of fear as he realized that that was the man he had run past everyday to exit the city. He saw my face? Yuuya reminded himself not to underestimate others once more as he nodded at the captain. He glanced at the group of magicians, with joined hands as they chanted continuously together. Conjoint magic. Yuuya knew that this was a complicated task, as first they had to synergize each other’s mana by using specific chants and then use the magic to produce a boosted version.

Yuuya shot forward, drawing his sword out of his sheath, and twisting to cut off the head of the snake that was chasing a poor trader. All of the snakes instantly turned to look at him, judging him to be dangerous. They rushed towards him in groups of two or three, baring their fangs ferociously.

Yuuya responded in kind as he dived forward, gripping Gluttony harder as he did so. As the first snake shot through the air towards him, he twisted, dodging its fangs and cut its head off in a similar maneuver as before. He crouched down, letting the second snake sail over his head, and stuck Gluttony’s blade in the ground. Using the blade as a pivot, he spun as he kicked the last snake into the wall of a burning house. It cried out in dismay as its own flames burned it to death.

The rest seemed wary now as they slowed to a stop. They circled around him, trying to find a weak spot. Yuuya had already forgotten about his reservations about killing, his mind lost in the heat of battle. His hand tensed on his blade, relishing the feeling of fighting. To fight for dominancy and show one’s superiority, it caused a hot fire to rage in his chest. A fire that made him feel complete.

I enjoy fighting. He realized as he shot forward. He soon turned into a whirlwind of slashes and stabs, killing snakes by the tens as he indiscriminately cut off their heads or stamped them to death. He occasionally used Dragon slaying energy to enhance his strength to get out of tough spots.

But he did not escape unscathed. There were occasional snakes, ones that managed to get past his blades and bite him, or set him on fire. He ignored most of the bites and the fire as his clothes seemed impervious to it, but one of the snakes managed to scratch his cheek with its fangs.

His cheek throbbed as he panted, and as he looked around, he realized that the number of snakes hadn’t decreased. On the contrary, it seemed to be increasing. But instead of despair, a manic grin split his face as he yelled hoarsely and swung his blade, ending the life of another snake.

A contingent of guards arrived, interrupting his fight as they began using their spears and swords to kill the snakes, taking some of the pressure off Yuuya. But Yuuya felt irked by their help. My prey! He leaned menacingly towards them, his sword eagerly throbbing as it thirsted for blood. The captain of the guard suddenly turned to look at him sharply, snapping Yuuya out of his battle haze.

Horrified, Yuuya stood there. I was just about to kill them. Another human. Gluttony clanged against the ground as he looked at his trembling fingers. What is happening to me? “Kid! Snap out of it!” A yell from the guard captain distracted Yuuya as he saw that the snakes were closing in on him rapidly. Bursts of fire erupted towards him, threatening to burn him.

His cheek throbbed with increasing intensity, and his vision became muddled. Poison. Yuuya realized. He staggered, about to fall, before the heat of the flame alerted him. Not good. “Douse the flames that bloc-!”He began, but was cut short as his tongue hung limply out of his mouth. The snakes were upon him, futilely trying to burn him. One of the snakes sent a torrent of flames, setting his cheek on fire.

“Oh Goddess of Water, Grant me access to thy sacred waters, Purge the evil and douse the heat, Eliminate all who stand as obstacles, Break with force and submerge our enemies, And make all pure with thine embrace! WATER WAVE!” Yuuya heard the chant, and within minutes, he was immersed in a flood of water. It hit him with the force of a truck, sending him flying. Like a rag doll, the water carried him away, before it suddenly turned gentle and carried him out of the wave. He collapsed, gasping and coughing water.

Sopping wet, he pushed his hair out of his eyes as he sat up. He looked to his side and was shocked to see that Gluttony was missing. He remembered that he had dropped it when the poison began taking over. That reminds me! The poison… Yuuya’s hand went to his cheek, and he was stunned to see that the poison’s effect had completely vanished, along with the bleeding cut which had healed to a scar. A scar… Yuuya wondered as he ran his finger along the inch long ridge on his face. One of many to come. He sighed and got to his feet.

To his surprise, he was on top of a building, and seemed to be yards away from the walls, where he initially was. The entire section of houses was dipping wet with water, and he could even see corpses of the snakes strewn here and there. Yuuya jumped down the house and rapidly headed towards the walls. His Gluttony was there, and losing it would be devastating for him.

Within moments, Yuuya had arrived at the square where he had fought, and was astounded to see that the guards seemed to be circling something, wariness clear in their postures. The guard captain, who had removed his helm, was kneeling, examining something on the ground with a guarded expression. As Yuuya got closer, the man’s eyes shot up examining Yuuya. As soon as he realized that it was Yuuya, he got to his feet and bowed his head towards Yuuya.

Flustered, Yuuya stood there, not knowing what to do. The guard captain looked up and said seriously. “Thank you, stranger. If it hadn’t been for your help, I’m afraid…” He trailed off, and the other guards shifted as they murmured thank you’s to Yuuya. “N-not at all!” Yuuya exclaimed, a bit higher than he intended. “You don’t have to thank me… After all, it was only natural for me to help out…”

“But, friend, as much as we’re grateful for your help, I’m afraid we have to talk about your… sword.” He looked back, and the crowd parted to reveal Gluttony, which very clearly seemed to be leaking miasma.