ARC 2: Demon Continent

Stalactites.

Those were the first thing Yuje saw when he opened his eyes. With his whole body wrapped in a blanket of leaves, he slowly sat up.

“Oh you’re awake! EVERYONE! HE’S FINALLY REGAINED CONSCIOUSNESS!”

The voice of the man beside him echoed throughout the whole cave. The man, with his black hair darker from the lack of illumination from the cave, smiled from ear to ear. His brown complexion complemented the tattered red attire he was wearing.

It was a face Yuje was familiar with—Taki Collins.

After a few moments, series of footsteps were heard scurrying towards their direction. With it came the appearance of four more students of which three were women.

The three women were students he had never seen before. The only guy in the group of four, on the other hand had a face which was quite familiar to him. It was a face he seemed to have encountered before.

It was Raul Thena. The two of them were actually classmates in the intermediate class together with Taki, but Yuje did not seem to remember.

“Oh finally, the demo—I mean Yuje is awake.” Raul said as he clasped his cloak tighter around his body. The inside of the cave was quite cold.

“Finally~” Taki added. He warmly smiled as he watched the figure of his precious friend. “Here man. Eat this. You’ve been asleep for a week. You’re hungry I’m sure.”

Taki handed him a basket filled with fruits that resembled an apple. Along with it was a clay cup filled with water.

“That’s all we have for now. It’s kinda hard to procure food since the outside of this cave is sort of…err..dangerous. But man…are you alright?” Taki looked at the left side of Yuje’s body. His entire left arm was missing.

Yuje looked at the direction Taki was looking at. He had long noticed that he had lost his left arm from that fight.

Yuje nodded in response to Taki’s concern.

“I see…” Taki said in a relieve tone. He then glanced towards the four other students. They all had a relieved look on their faces, but were eyeing the basket with complicated expressions.

“Hey Taki…”

“Taki…”

It seemed that they had something they wanted to tell Taki, but were unable to due to their fear of the guy in front of them.

Without them telling him, Taki was able to guess their intentions. The basket of fruits was all of the rations they currently had and right now, Yuje kept on eating the food without reserve. It was understandable that they would be worried.

“Don’t worry. It’s probably about time for us to leave the solace of this cave anyway. Now is probably the right time. As soon as this guy here regains his strength.” Taki said while patting the back of the famished demon.

The demon of Grimfort may have lost his entire left arm, but everyone inside that cave knew that it was not enough to be considered as a handicap for such a monster.

After eating the entire ration of the group, Yuje looked towards Taki and asked.

“What happened…and where are we?” He glanced at the dark solace that perpetually surrounded them.

“That is…” Taki sighed. With a grim expression, he explained what happened.

During the time the thunder dragon assaulted the academy, it seemed that everyone was able to reach the underground barrier. Inside, they were able to hear and feel the fight above. Most of the students lost consciousness from the pressure generated by the collision of powers.

Suddenly, after some time, everyone was enveloped by a blindingly bright light. In an instant, everyone vanished from their current spot.

They were then teleported in a grassy plain devoid of any trees. Three moons with crimson color were seen above.

Originally, there were about fifty of them teleported together in the area, but monsters soon appeared and most of the students were killed by the rampaging beasts. By their estimate, the monsters were probably C+ rank, and there were around two dozens of them.

Taki prioritized the escape of the still unconscious Yuje. Together with four more students, they were finally able to arrive inside the cave.

The fruit given to Yuje seemed to be growing inside the cave itself and luckily, it was edible.

And that was how they were able to arrive at their current situation.

“I-I wasn’t able to do anything but run that time. I w-wasn’t p-powerful enough to save them…” Taki stuttered while saying those words. It seemed that the impact of seeing other students succumb to their death by the hands of the monsters took a toll on his mind.

“And to your question regarding where we are…

It’s absurd but it’s the only conclusion we were able to come up with.”

The students looked at each other. One of the girls with bright red hair then began sobbing.

“Red moon...

three of them…

strong monsters…

I think we were teleported by the movement portal to the worst place possible.

The Demon Continent.”

Taki said with a trembling voice.

****

“How’s the collection of taxes this year?”

A humanoid creature with bulging eyes coupled with protruding keloid like materials in his jaw spoke. The four gigantic white horns at his back which curled upwards seemed to be not in proportion with his slender figure that spanned two meters. His pointed nails were covered by the draping purple garment added to the ominous appearance of the creature.

“We were able to collect the harvest from two out of the three cities in our jurisdiction Lord Merck.”

A creature with a resembling appearance replied towards the man sitting at the throne.

“Two cities?” Lord Merck tilted his head. It resembled a frog.

“Yes my Lord. Tian and Palamesh.”

“What about Athelia?”

The servant-like creature swallowed thrice as he steeled himself to give the report. His entire body shook just from the gaze given by the creature in front of him.

“M-my Lord, we were unable to collect the tax quota from the city. T-the city was currently under extreme drought. The c-crops… they were unable to grow enough.” The servant replied in a stuttered voice. Trickles of sweat run down his spine as he tried to look as small as possible.

“Summon Valcres.” Lord Merck replied. He began tapping his fingers at the exquisite armrest.

“Y-yes my Lord!”

The servant immediately went out of the majestic room. After a few moments, a creature with bulky appearance and was fully cladded in black armor with an insignia of a serpent intertwined with a talon entered and knelt before Lord Merck.

“My Lord.” The creature called Valcres said in a deep voice.

“Valcres. Go to Athelia and annihilate the mayor and his entire family. It will serve as a warning for those who failed to meet the quota.”

“As you command.”

After those words, Valcres stood and left.

****

Athelia was a town located at the western most side of the demon continent just right behind a twin valley. It was a town with no specialty and was known for having a barren, almost non-arable land. This was actually due to the constant drought in the area.

In the Demon Continent, demonic beasts and humanoid creatures were the predominant species. Still, human populace existed, although only about a fifth of those in Ruan. Since the Demon Continent’s size was around thrice that of Ruan, it made the human populace seemed even scarcer.

“One more bergan meat here! Also if you’ll be so kind as to add more sauce this time?” Raul Thena winked at the waitress serving inside the inn the party was currently eating at.

After the meal was served, the freckled man then lavishly ate—frequently dropping pieces of meat on his gray cloak that covered his red tattered uniform. After she saw the ungentlemanly demeanor, the waitress grimaced and went back to the counter.

“Man this meat is great! Who knew that there is actually food this great in this abominable continent?” Raul hollered with chunks of meat still in his mouth. After hearing his comment, the waitress chuckled discreetly.

“Hey Raul, try to restrain yourself. You’re such a shame to be with. Who would have thought that a man from such a prestigious house acts this way? You’re worlds apart with a certain girl I know which is of equal standing to you.” Taki Collins scolded the unsightly man beside him.

The group’s seating arrangement was as follows: Taki was seated at the middle with Raul on his right and Yuje on his left. In front of them were the three girls Kath, Mui, and Onesa.

They were currently loaded with money after Yuje killed a certain creature called the Ivory Snake. It seemed that the ivory fangs of the creature were a precious ornament material in the continent and had fetched a high value when they sold it.

I wonder how Erika’s doing right now. Is she…alive?

Taki was reminded of the arrogant girl Yuje and he used to hang out with. Out of the fifty classmate teleported to the same location as them, only the six of them had managed to survive. If assuming that they were all teleported at the demon continent, then it would be an inevitable fact that many students would have already died. Just the thought alone made Taki shudder.

That girl is strong. She is alive...right?

~CRASH

A loud sound that resembled that of a broken window echoed throughout the inn. It was the waitress from before—she seemed to have dropped the wine glass she was carrying.

“What? What do you mean my father was…was killed by the Horlets?!” The waitress tried to muffle her scream with her mouth as her tears flowed from her eyes.

“Yes, the mayor was out surveying the drought in the farm lands around an hour ago when the Horlets suddenly appeared and killed everyone they saw, including the mayor. Only a handful of people were able to escape the predicament. I’m sorry…” A man wearing an indigo garb and a black girdle spoke in a hushed voice. He lowered his head as tried to avoid eye contact with the lady in front of him.

“T-that’s…I can’t accept this! I will go see for myself to confirm it!” The waitress removed her frilled white apron. She then dashed towards the door.

“But my lady! It’s too danger—”

“ALEAH!”

His words were cut off by a woman that resembled the mayor’s daughter Aleah. With mud all over her exquisite dress and blonde curly hair, she hastily dashed towards her daughter and hugged her.

“Mother!” The lady named Aleah hugged her mother in response.

“Oh I’m so glad you’re alive. Listen, we have to escape. It seems that the Horlets wants to eradicate everyone related to your father. We should get out of here.”

The mother immediately grabbed the hand of her daughter and was about to go out the inn when suddenly, the whole area shook.

~BBRRAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH

The wooden wall where the doors of the inn were connected to suddenly broke into smithereens. Pieces of scrap woods flew into different directions. After the dust receded, countless figures of creature cladded in black armor and with large horns protruding from their backs appeared.

“We’ve finally found the wife and the daughter. Heh~”

“Kill them.”

“I-it’s the Horlets!”

The Horlets immediately dashed towards the mother and the daughter. Some men that were eating in the inn that time went to confront the charging enemies.

“Please escape! We will try to buy to as much time as poss—”

~SLASH

The bodies of the men were cleanly split in half by the giant axes the Horlets were carrying. In just mere seconds, the men were immediately decapitated.

Without anyone to stop the charge of the beasts, the Horlets slowly walked towards the frozen ladies at the end of the counter.

~Gulp Gulp Gulp

An eerie sound not appropriate for the situation was heard. It was definitely the sound of someone gulping a drink in one go.

Everyone looked towards the direction of the sound and saw was a man that was unceasingly drinking from his tankard. Afterwards, the man resumed eating the meat at his platter. Even though his whole body was concealed by a gray cloak, one could immediately observe that the man was missing an arm. Beside the man were two men in gray cloak along with three women. Even his companions were surprised by the indifference the man had shown.

“What the?!”

The Horlets were enraged by the actions of the man. It was like mockery to them who were a symbol of fear within the area. Angered by the display of the man, they walked towards his direction instead.

“Hey when you see us, you should kneel and beg for mercy. But youuu!”

“……………………………”

Veins began to pop out of the Horlets.

“Stupid human, I’ll make an example out of you and your companions!”

“……………………….”

Brandishing the giant axe around the size of two average humans combined, the Horlet began to swing it downwards towards the man who still continued eating.

~SLICE

A sharp sound of the wind was heard and immediately after that, the body of the Horlet in front of the group was minced to pieces. Following that, the companions of the beasts were also slaughtered in an instant.

Everyone was speechless at what happened. The man didn’t even lift a finger and yet everyone was massacred like butter.

The remaining Horlets that had not entered the inn yet took a step back. Their instincts were screaming at them that the man was not something they could handle even with their numbers.

A Horlet wearing the same black set of armor but with a silver circular insignia at the helmet walked forward towards the group of six. Stopping a couple of meters from the group, he eyed the man who still continued eating. After a few more moments, he then began to walk back towards his soldiers and yelled out an order.

“All men prioritize the death of the mayor’s wife and daughter! We must carry out Lord Merck’s order without fail! Kill them!” He glanced towards the frightened mother and daughter at the end of the inn.

After those orders, the Horlets immediately moved forward towards the two ladies.

“How about that group over there?” One of the Horlets asked their captain. They were all itching to retaliate and massacre the group.

“Leave them alone.” Valcres said with finality.

“But captain Valcres they killed some of our men!”

“Silence! That’s an order!”

Following that statement, the soldiers went silent and just continued walking towards the two shivering ladies.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!” The two ladies screamed.

~SLASH

~Thud

The head of the daughter, Aleah fell towards the ground with a ~Thud sound. Following that, the body of the mother was cleanly split in half, splattering her insides on the wooden ground.

With their objective clearly accomplished, Valcres ordered the men to pull back and return.

“Gather the corpse of those two and display them at the central plaza! We should instill to everyone’s mind what would happen if they were to oppose us!” Valcres hollered towards his men. He was about to walk towards the exit when someone asked him a question.

“Captain, why did you decide to leave those humans alone?” A Horlet asked their captain. His bugling eyes showed a clear glint of confusion.

The other Horlets also stopped in their tracks to listen to the answer of their captain.

“…When you’ve reached a certain amount of experience in the battlefield, you’ll gain the ability to know which of the opponents you should never cross swords with.

…I doubt that even I would be able to defeat that man.”

“Absurd! Captain Valcres is the strongest of all the Horlets! And the opponent is a mere human…”

“A mere human huh…”

Glancing at the direction of the grey-eyed man, he then looked up as if remembering a distant memory.

“Let’s go.”

Following that, the Horlets went outside the inn, leaving behind great wreckage and dead bodies.

****

It had been an hour since the Horlets left. Perpetual silence continued to envelope those inside the inn. All were stunned on the sudden event that took place. Some people that were there eating with them just moments ago were now dead. It was such a nerve wracking experience that most of them were unable to speak for a while.

“WHYYY!” Raul screamed in frustration. He then thumped hard at the mahogany table, creating a large creaking sound and few cracks. His eyes were blood shot.

“WHY DID YOU NOT HELP THEM? IF IT’S YOU!!!! IF IT’S YOU!!!”

He began to grab the cloak Yuje was wearing. It was an act unthinkable to the previous Raul, but right now, he was under so much rage that he disregarded all future consequences. Yuje just sat there, staring at the enraged Raul in front of him.

“Why? You could have saved them. Why did you do nothing but sat there?! WHY?! DAMN IT WHY?!!” Raul screamed hysterically. Tears began streaming down his brown eyes.

“H-hey Raul!”

“R-Raul!”

Kath and Mui tried to stop Raul from going overboard. They shuddered at the thought alone on what would happen if they angered the demon. Onesa on the other hand just sat there silently crying.

Yuje stared at the man for a while before he replied.

“…If you want to save them so much, why did you do nothing yourself?” The grey eyed man brushed off the hands that grabbed him. He then took his tankard and emptied it of its contents.

“W-what?! D-don’t compare me with you who kills people like some sort of a hobby! You demon!” Raul said as he pointed his fingers towards the man. His fingers were shaking in anger.

Putting down the tankard he was currently holding, Yuje stood up. He then spoke in a cold and indifferent tone.

“There’s no time to waste.”

Following that single statement, he walked towards the exit. Following behind him was Taki who seemed calm despite what happened.

“I’m staying here. I don’t want to travel with a maniac like you” It was Raul. With his eyes full of resolve and conviction, he stood there and clenched his fists tight like some sort of a ritual.

“W-We also…” Kath and Mui uttered in a stuttering voice. With teary eyes, they spoke towards the demon. Onesa on the other hand just stood there quietly, obviously trying to suppress her emotions.

Yuje looked towards Taki’s direction waiting for him to utter the same lines. Surprisingly, he shook his head as if saying ‘don’t be absurd’.

After some time of complete silence, Yuje spoke. It was actually a statement directed towards Taki, as if completely disregarding the presence of the four other people in the group.

“I will go by myself from now on.”

“Let me come with you!”

“…………….”

Suddenly a nauseating presence came over the entire group. Blood came permeating out of Yuje’s arm and formed a small crimson ring. He then handed the ring to Taki who had a solemn expression on his face.

“Put this on.” Yuje extended his hands and handed the ring towards Taki.

Taki received the ring and putted it on his middle finger. A great portion of Taki’s mana was then sucked by the ring. Afterwards, the ring immediately disintegrated into tiny particulate pieces and was gone.

“This should protect you for some time. Don’t die.”

After stepping outside into the open, Yuje disappeared in an instant.

****

He knew that time was of great importance when searching for the remaining fragments. After all, the reverted time was dependent upon the caster’s mana. Even with the astronomical mana he had, he did not have the confidence that he could revert back an event that had occur over a decade ago. The more time he consumed finding the artifact, the lesser was his chance on returning to that time.

The ring should be enough to protect Taki for now.

What he had given Taki was actually a part of his self—his blood. It was the same blood that normally floated around him, minute and naked to the human eye, but in a smaller quantity. Still, it should be enough to deal even with B rank monsters, and if coupled with Taki’s own magic, he could probably fight on par with a B++ rank one-on-one. The magic given was not permanent, but still, it was better than nothing. It should be able to protect him for quite some time at least until he found the other students or the professors.

Don’t die.

Moving at an inhuman speed, he moved towards the direction of the next town, Yesnia. According to the map they had acquired at the inn, Yesnia was about 6 weeks by foot. But judging by his speed, it would probably take him only 3 days to reach his destination.

He tried to avoid the monsters he encountered along the way. For him it was just a waste of to go out of his way and kill them. He was moving at a tremendous speed that only a blur was what had been seen by those who saw him.

Without resting, he was able to reach Yesnia in just two days. It was a town filled with poverty. Rather than a town, it was more proper to call it a large village. Only spanning 3 kilometers in width and length, the town was made up of shabby shack-like structures that screamed of the word of deterioration.

He had only one purpose in coming here—to stock up on supplies. Monster meat was good but it would be time consuming to cook it for one needed at least 9 hours to make the meat edible. It was actually faster to stock up on rations at a town than camp and cook for the night every time.

Pulling his hood over his head, he entered the town.

The smell of stale wind emanated from the surroundings with the background sound of the anvil being striked by a hammer. A lot of malnourished children were playing on the dirt road with some of the parents cooking using left over woods.

Yuje walked over towards a stall which appeared to be selling dried meat and a few other rations.

“What can I do for you dear customer?” A chubby man who appears to be in his early forties wearing a red turban that covers his red hair spoke. His gesture of clasping his hands together gave him a mischievous and evil look.

“…………………….”

Yuje pointed towards the dried meat displayed at the front of the store. He also pointed towards a large skin flask to contain water.

“Oh~ excellent eyes you’ve got dear customer. Those are actually the bestselling items of this shop! Heh~. That will be 1 gold coin and 3 silvers. It’s the cheapest in the area~”

The price was actually a rip off since the value of such items amounted to only about 50 silver coins. The conversion factor of currency was as follows: 100 copper = 1 silver, 100 silver = 1 gold, 100 gold = 1 diamond coin.

Handing the payment towards the chubby shop owner, Yuje began to pick up the items when suddenly the man grabbed his shoulders. Yuje stared at the man. He felt no hostility from the shop keeper and so he just let it brush by for now.

“Oh, as I thought, you’re missing an arm. Judging by the things you’ve bought, you’re a traveler right?” The chubby owner said. He kept stroking the left soldier of the grey eyed man.

“……………………………..”

The shopkeeper was smiling from ear to ear as if enjoying his newfound discovery. With his freckles covering his cheeks, he spoke excitedly.

“Here, as a bonus I’ll give you these. These are both made of Black Rasus Bear skin, very good quality product I must say. ”

He handed Yuje a black mask that resembled an oni. Along with it, he also handed Yuje a black cloak that had an ominous feel to it. Feeling as if he had done some great thing, he looked at Yuje approvingly.

“In this area, a lot of beast men called Horlet’s are roaming around. A guy like you will surely be picked off. I mean…wearing such dirty tattered clothing...and that uhmm…aura? The black mask and cloak might help you conceal yourself when moving during the night. And also, their information network is great; you wouldn’t want them to have your face remembered.” The shop keeper said. His smiling face was maintained.

Yuje remembered the Horlets they had encountered at the town of Athelia. He did not feel threatened of such weak creatures, but he deemed that would be a waste of time to fight them. Thinking that there was nothing wrong with accepting them, he grabbed the items given by the shopkeeper.

“………………………………”

“HAHAH. Young man! Good luck on your journey! HAHAHAHA.”

Not bothering to listen to the chubby man’s antics, he walked away slowly. He then entered a shop which seemed to be selling roasted monster meat. The delicious aroma attracted him into entering the shop.

It had been days since he had eaten anything so he ordered a large portion of meat and devoured it like a wild animal.

The shop keeper took a step backward after he saw the eating habit of the famished man. After he regained his composure, he resumed his smiling facade.

“You seem to be enjoying the meal huh~ I am glad.” The shop keeper spoke in a gentle and menial way that would make one rethink of the man’s sincerity.

“HEY PIG! YOU DARE CHARGE ME WITH SUCH OUTRAGEOUS PRICES!”

~CRASH

~BAM

~BAG

“NOOOO!! PLEASE STOP! I’M SORRY!”

Loud voices echoed from outside the shop he was eating at. Tilting his head slightly towards the direction of the voice, the shop keeper spoke.

“It’s Deru again. That guy kept overcharging travelers. I guess the traveler this time knows the prices in this area huh? That fat freckled pig deserves it.” With a face distorted from disgust, the shop keeper jeered.

After a few more moments, Yuje finished his meal. After paying, he immediately went out of the shop. Going towards the direction of his next destination, he saw the chubby shop keeper from earlier—face swollen and with heavy injuries all over his body. The men surrounding him were still battering his severely injured body.

“Learned your lesson yet huh pig?”

One of the three men spoke. His muscular body was covered by thick iron platemail. Clenching his fists cladded with steel gauntlets, he kept punching the man one after another.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!”

The chubby shop keeper screamed in agony. He was close to losing his consciousness.

Suddenly everything went dark and only a crimson-black material was seen. A strong pressure was released and enveloped everyone in town. The three men fell down to their knees from the pressure alone.

After the pressure was lifted, the men were shocked to see that both of their hands were cleanly cut off. The blood that gushed out soaked the ground below. They instinctively looked at their backs and saw a grey eyed man wearing tattered cloak slowly walking towards their direction.

The gaze of the man that seemed to pierce the earth itself made them unable to move or speak. The apparition of a demon stopped in front of the severely battered but still conscious chubby shopkeeper.

“That’s for the mask and cloak.” Yuje stated.

“Heh~ who would have thought that a mask and a cloak would be the one to save my life. BWAHAHAHA! What’s your name young man?”

The freckled shopkeeper although severely injured still had the energy to laugh and ask a question. He was still wearing his usual beaming face.

“………………………………………”

Yuje did not bother to reply and just walked away slowly towards the town’s exit. The next human town was about 3 months away by foot from this one. By his usual inhuman speed he would probably reach it in around a week.

Watching the back of Yuje until it disappeared from his sight, Deru squeaked.

“I knew that guy’s a monster. I better inform Lord Xerdoma about this. A human…a mere human with such power… HAHAHAHAH!”

****

It had been a couple of days since Yuje had left the town of Yesnia. He had been going at a constantly frightening speed, only stopping from time to time to eat and drink. By estimate, he should have already arrived at the outskirts of the next town. Surprisingly, it seemed that he had been going through the same place for quite some time now. It was as if he was caught in an unending loop inside the mountains.

He summoned his blood sword and applied an astronomical amount of mana into it. After gathering enough mana, he then swung it horizontally—clearing the entire forest and a part of the mountain in an instant.

~SSSSHHHHHH

After a few seconds, like a mirage, the scenery reverted back to its former appearance, filled with ancient trees that spanned around 30 meters in length, with its canopy of leaves not letting a single ray of sunlight pass through.

As I thought. This is…

He closed his eyes as if in prayer. Afterwards, he concentrated all of his senses into his surroundings. After he created a circular manifestation of mana that gave off a white hue, he spread out the mana thinly outwards. The created mana had spread for a couple of kilometers until he finally detected a presence.

There.

He opened his eyes and dashed towards the minute presence felt several kilometers from his spot. Upon arriving at the spot, what he saw was a lamia. With an upper body of a human and a lower body of a snake, the red-scaled creature encompassed a length of a hundred meters. The naked female human body of the lamia had crumpled skin and grayed hair that screamed of old age. With its gargantuan tail intertwined on a massive trunk, the creature was sleeping peacefully.

[i]This is the cause of the disturbance. Everything should go back to normal after this.[i/]

Walking towards the creature, he then raised the blood sword towards the heavens, intending to finish it in a single decapitating strike.

Suddenly, the lamia opened one of its eyes. Even though under such threatening pressure, the lamia looked at the man calmly.

Yuje just stood there. Something was telling him that he should postpone killing the creature and listen first to what it had to say.

“A human…”

The lamia spoke, her aged-body moved and untangled itself on the massive trunk it was formerly resting at. Still staring at the young man in front of her, but now with both eyes, she made a hissing sound that exuded pleasure.

“Hissssssss. I’ve erected a barrier that would hinder lower creatures from entering. A normal creature would have never found this place. Interesting…just like what the prophecy had told me.”

The lamia moved in closer towards the man and stared directly into its eyes. She grimaced at what she saw.

“Hiissssssssssss…such a human exists. Your past had been a terrible one…as well as your present.”

“…………………………….”

“I have lived for thousands of years. I have seen countless kingdoms rise and fall. I have seen more than what one could have wished for. Even the dragons pale in comparison to the years I have lived in this world. But all those time, I have never encountered a human such as you. Broken yet whole, strong yet weak. You who have forgotten human emotions.”

“…………………….......”

Yuje unsummoned his blood sword. He felt that he should listen to what the creature had to say. He felt a familiar sensation from the creature, like those from the thunder dragon Ryushen.

“Boy. What you are searching for is not what you truly desire. It is definitely not what you need. You are going through a bottomless hole and will only later find out that you could no longer escape. Not everything that one desires is what would make one whole.”

“…What do you mean?” Yuje asked. He knew that the lamia was not just playing with words. It truly knew what it was saying.

“I do not hold the answer to your question. I can only guide you.”

Following that statement, the lamia shattered into hundreds of thousand tiny particulate pieces. Those tiny fragments then flowed in a circular direction, forming a red vortex. Everything was sucked by the vortex—the earth, trees, and even the sky itself. After sucking everything, the vortex disappeared. With nothing left but nothingness itself, Yuje was alone in an endless abyss. Total darkness was the only thing that accompanied him.

[The answer to your questions lie within your very self.]

~TWING!

Suddenly Yuje’s body slowly disintegrated. Feeling excruciating pain, he closed his eyes, clenched his teeth and silently endured. After a few moments that felt like eternity, he opened his eyes. What he saw was a boy that was familiar. It was someone he knew very well; it was someone he had known his entire life.

In a barren plain surrounded by a gargantuan mountain range, a young boy wearing gray-black tattered garment who appeared to be around the age of six or seven was panting heavily. He did not seemed to mind the various cuts and injuries on his frail and young body.

“Father! I did it! I have overcome the 8th form of the Hiryu! I am now on the 9th form!”

The boy looked toward the direction of a man in his early forties. Excluding his muscular build, his facial features resembled the boy like a mirror. A scar covered his left eye that was no longer existent.

Smiling from ear to ear, he walked forward towards the mud-covered boy which was still flailing around a crimson sword. Patting the head of the boy, he then hollered proudly, as if wanting everyone to hear what he was about to say.

“Well done my boy! Well done! You’re truly a genius among geniuses! HAHAHAHAHA! As expected of my son! BWAHAHAHAHA!” The man began ruffling the boy’s hair.

“Of course! I want father and mother to be proud of me! I’ll become so great that the Gods themselves wouldn’t want to have our clan as their enemy!”

“BWAHAHAHA now my boy, you don’t have to go that far. By now, you’re probably the strongest warrior in the entire clan. Or probably on par with me. HAHAHA!”

The boy grinned towards his father. His ruffled ash-brown hair fluttered from the morning wind. He then looked towards a certain direction. Squinting his grey eyes as if confirming something, he then spoke delightfully towards the scar-faced man.

“Father I think the food is ready. I’m so hungry I could probably eat a whole chunk of meat in one go. Come on let’s eat!”

Pulling the muscular hand of his father, he ushered both of them towards a small cabin that had a delicious aroma emanating from it. Delighted at the meal served, he began to eat lavishly.

****

That evening the boy went outside, summoning his crimson-black sword, he stood still as if in deep meditation.

“They said that never in the history of the entire clan had someone overcome the 9th form of the Hiryu. Some said that reaching the 10th form would make one a God.

I will become a God.”

As the young boy concentrated all of his mana into his blood sword, the earth shuddered and disintegrated into tiny particles. After he gathered all of his mana towards the blood sword, he plunged it towards his heart.

~SHHHWWWICCCCHHHHHHHHHHCKKK

~SPPPPLLAATTEERR

Blood came gushing out of his body and splattered unto the earth below. After a few more moments, the blood cruised towards the boy and covered his entire body completely. Like an armor that completely concealed his entire body, the blood armor then began to fuse inside his self.

“AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!”

It was a scream that resembled a ferocious animal on the brink of death. Such painful cry echoed throughout the whole village.

Everyone from the clan felt the ominous presence the boy gave as soon as he had his body covered by the blood armor.

Coupled with the excruciating cry that echoed all throughout the vicinity, they knew that something unusual and wrong was going on.

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!”

Screaming at the top of his lungs, the boy went berserk. He needed an outlet to lunge out all of the excess power onto.

Gathering an enormous amount of power onto his palm, he summoned his blood sword. This time, instead of the usual crimson-black color, it was pure white and was transparent like a material that belonged to the ethereal rather than the mortal realm.

Swinging the sword horizontally towards the mountain facing the village, a tremendous slash was created that had cleanly cut the mountain in half with the upper portion sliding down creating a large smoke dust upon impact on the ground.

He felt better after unleashing such power. But he needed more. All of the overwhelming strength inside of him screamed to be let out. Creating another tremendous slash one after another, he directed the trajectory towards the heavens. Each series of strikes made the heavens and the ground roar as if in deep pain. Only the tiny glint of sanity left in him was what hindered him from pointing his sword towards the direction of his village.

“I want to stop. *Hic* *Sob* Please someone. Please.”

With tears streaming down his young eyes, he looked back when someone called out his name. It was a voice he was very familiar with.

“Yuje.”

That one single word made him stop in his track. Frozen in place, he stood still, his eyes stared directly towards his father. Alongside his father were his mother, older sister and the rest of the clan. All were looking at him with understanding eyes. A hint of neither blame nor hostility was felt from them.

“I see. The boy tried to access the 10th form.”

An elderly man which appeared to be over a hundred years of age spoke. His ash white hair flowed down till his waist.

With a cane made entirely of gold, he held his upright posture. Buckling his unsteady knees, he then smiled earnestly, forming deep wrinkles upon his ancient face.

“Living a long age definitely has its perks. Who would have thought that I would be able to live and see the final form of the Hiryu.”

With reminiscing eyes that exuded sentimentality, he looked at the direction of the young boy’s father.

“Your son is truly a genius Maruo.”

Puffing out his chest as if proud of his son, Maruo replied cheekily.

“Of course! He is my son after all! HAHAHA. But now, how do we deal with someone who is on par with a God? Any ideas elder?”

Although the cordial atmosphere was not appropriate with the situation, one could feel that there exists a suppressed tension in the air. What had just occurred was a once in a lifetime phenomenon that had never before been recorded.

The life of the entire clan depends on the decision that will be made a few moments from now.

Stroking his braided beard, the elder stormed his mind for any possibilities available. He had to choose the best possible choice for the situation. After some thoughts, the elder finally spoke. His voice had a mixture of definite resolve and mourning in it.

“The entire clan is a family. Don’t you agree?”

“Of course!” Smiling as if saying ‘that’s a given’, the entire clan spoke in unison.

“We are all parent to that child. A parent will always forgive the child no matter what. It will nurture and mold him to become the best person possible.

REGARDLESS OF THE CONSEQUENCE IT WILL NEVER BETRAY ITS SON. THAT IS OUR FAMILY!”

The elder shouted with his all. The stale air filled with frenzied mana shook from the conviction that came from that statement. With the eyes of those of the entire clan filled with firm resolve, everyone awaited the decision the elder had come up with.

“Open all of your blood links! We will suppress the child’s link using the might of the entire clan. Our blood and soul will forever live with him!”

Immediately understanding the meaning behind those words, the entire clan converted their body into blood. It was one of the three strongest techniques of the Hiryu—Blood Conversion. With it, the user would be able to convert his body into blood and penetrate any being with blood flowing in their veins, destroying them from within.

With the entire clan converted into blood, they then began to move towards the frenzied body of the child that has opened the 10th form. The entire clan merged together inside the boy’s body. Excruciating pain was felt by the host. Instead of destroying the body from within, the Blood Conversion tried to close the opened link within the body.

[Please hang in there. The pain will be over soon.]

[Yuje.]

[Hang in there kid.]

[You can do it!]

The clan members tried to suppress the rampaging link inside the body of the child. Even with the might of the entire mythical Gashka clan, the 10th form of the Hiryu was extremely hard to suppress.

Yuje felt the presence of the clan members disappearing one by one. They were all being eliminated by the pressure brought form from closing the opened link. One by one, the blood form of the members were rejected and thrown outside of the child's body.

The excruciating pain continued for almost like an eternity that it made the child had lose its sanity. Completely out of control, it destroyed everything it saw. The surrounding mountains were reduced to nothing but dust and rubble after countless strikes were released by the frenzied child.

[This is absurd. We can’t close it even from within.]

[Many of our members have already lost their lives but it was all for naught.]

[Don’t stop. Just focus on closing the link.]

The remaining members of the clan tried their all close the 10th form. After some time and more lives lost, they had finally succeeded. Regretfully, all of their converted body was already consumed from closing the link. They would never be able to go back anymore. After they were ejected by the body of the host, it was only a matter of time before everyone disappeared along with the closed 10th form.

Yuje had already lost his sanity from the extreme pain of absorbing an entire clan inside his body and from the harsh reality of losing his loved ones before his eyes.

A pool of blood flowed down on the ground. The evening rain was unable to wash away the crimson substance that continued to surround the broken child.

[Our child. You must learn to forgive yourself someday. We are sure that there will come a day when you will learn to forgive yourself for what happened.]

[Do not blame yourself. It is the will of the entire clan.]

[Every life is precious. Treasure it.]

[We are sure that someday, you will be able to find your own family. Start anew and be happy.]

[We love you.]

The child just stood there, with his sanity broken by the ordeal, was not able to hear the last words spoken by his family and the entire clan.

****

Yuje just stood there unable to interfere with the scene that unfolded before his very eyes. He was unable to neither move nor speak. He was nothing but a spectator; a spectator of his own past.

He could remember some of the scenes that he saw. He still clearly remembered the pain, the sadness, and the frustration of being unable to do anything during that time.

What surprised him were the words of his family and his clan after they have successfully suppressed the 10th form. He knew that it was his fault that the entire Gashka clan no longer exists. He knew without a doubt that he was the cause of it. Surprisingly, the entire clan never had a hint of blame nor remorse from them. It was warm, kind, understanding—it was an unconditional love to the clan’s child.

[Every life is precious. Treasure it.]

[We love you.]

Hearing those words made him remember a vital thing that he had long lost—his emotions. With tears streaming down his grey eyes, he looked at the young boy in front of him, still under a deep trance. The broken figure stood there, still and unmoving for days. After finally breaking free from the deep trance, the boy blinked his eyes and stared at the scene before him.

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

Screaming at the top of his lungs, the boy roared towards the heavens with tears in his eyes. After some time of screaming in pain, the boy stopped. He looked straight towards the unmoving Yuje, as if able to see the man before him.

From an eyes filled with life days before, the eyes of the child became lifeless, it was as dull as an aged canvass strewn on a pool of mud. After some time, the child began walking towards an undetermined direction. Yuje, still unmoving, looked at the child until its shadow disappeared from his sight.

The events from the past ended. Yuje was again returned to the endless abyss. Darkness was again the only thing that accompanied him.

A red vortex like that from the start appeared. It then began throwing hundreds of thousands tiny fragments of different colors forming the scenery from before. After finally reforming the mountains, trees and the sky, the body of the lamia had begun to form and took on its former appearance.

The aged creature looked directly towards the grey eyed man that had tears rolling down his cheeks. He just stood there, staring at the lamia.

With a smiling face that formed wrinkles, the lamia spoke.

“Emotions are what separate us beings from those that are non-living. It should never be forgotten. Those emotions…embrace it.”

“…………………..”

Yuje was still unable to reply, the revelation that he had long forgotten came to him as a great shock.

“What you have been looking for your entire life, it was never what you truly need nor desire.”

The lamia began to coil itself around the massive trunk. Assuming a position as if about to enter its slumber, it awaited for the man’s answer.

“My only purpose in life is gone. I…don’t have anywhere to…go.”

With a complex voice filled with happiness but at the same time sadness and regret, Yuje looked towards the heavens as if asking for an answer.

“Young man. As long as you are alive, life will go on. I am sure that along the way, in the course of your life, you will find your purpose. Seek it and embrace it.”

Yuje then remembered the last words his family and clan said to him.

[We are sure that someday, you will be able to find your own family. Start anew and be happy.]

“Start anew…and be happy...”

“Hissssssssssss… There are no coincidences. Everything has a purpose on why it happened. Everything is linked and bound by fate. This meeting too…”

“Thank you…nameless lamia.”

Yuje smiled towards the aged creature in front of him, his eyes did not have the glint of murderous blood thirst like it previously had. It was eyes filled not with life, but with hope.

“My name is Shepa, the last lamia remaining in this world. I resisted the pull of death just for this meeting.”

“What do you mean?” Yuje asked in complete confusion.

“I have promised a friend…Go now young man. Go and seek a creature named Merck. After meeting him, you will find what you are truly looking for. I have disabled the loop magic that surrounds this mountain.”

He remembered hearing the name before. It was the name of the one ruling over all the Horlets.

After bowing down in gratitude towards the nestling lamia, Yuje left the mountain.

****

A few minutes after Yuje left the mountain, a figure of a child with fiery red hair and crimson eyes walked slowly towards Shepa. The ground before him was scorched with every step he took.

“I see you’ve come my dear friend.” Shepa spoke towards the figure before her. Affection clearly emanated from her voice.

“I have come to see the last moments of my most precious friend. Of course I would come.”

The figure spoke. His red robe adorned by scorching flames that surrounded his body fluttered by the wind. His pale skin glimmered from the reflection of the morning sun.

“I have fulfilled my promise. I have guided the young boy.”

“I know. You did well Shepa. You can rest now.”

Coiling her entire lower body, the lamia spoke her last words before she entered her eternal slumber.

“Thank you…Agni.”

The God of Fire closed his eyes. Deep agony clearly emanated from his shaking figure.

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Author' note: too busy to upload till volume 4. I'll get there someday...someday. :D