Chapter 179: Shades Part Four
“Ugh…”
I stifled a groan. The slap hadn’t hurt me much; just a slight numbness in my arm. But the impact had made my headache worse, and my thoughts were becoming increasingly muddled. It was as if countless voices were whispering in my ear, “Eat him,” “Eat him,” “Eat him,” like a dark incantation…
The mountains around us were rapidly graying under the influence of the dead smoke. I suddenly spread my wings behind me and burst out from amidst the spreading black mist with a loud “boom.” After landing steadily and shaking my head forcefully, I spat out the dirt in my mouth and looked up. Not far away, the creature, now eroded to resemble a mummy, was struggling to crawl onto the ice with its damaged body.
Eat him.
Bang—
With a sudden shift in Moonwalk, I flashed back to the stream’s ice surface in an instant. I planted one foot on the monster’s head and pressed down heavily, causing the ice to crack. The monster was forced back into the cold water, and the chaotic power surged up my long leg, instantly turning the turbulent water black.
But then, my foot suddenly sank through empty space. A blood-red light flickered in the dead smoke-filled ice, and the monster vanished beneath the stream. In the next moment, it appeared again on the shattered stone beach not far to the left.
The monster seemed truly exhausted. This time, it had only moved about twenty meters. Its body lay flat on the ground, emitting black smoke, its large deer-like head still unhealed and showing no signs of recovery.
“Wait… wait…”
He spoke to me, “Actually, we can still negotiate—”
“I don’t have time.”
I interrupted him and walked over, my blood-red eyes glowing in the rising dead smoke. My two-meter-long black fire wings stretched and flowed behind me, and dazzling white light flowed into the ice crystals flying through the air.
“Oh… ah, hahaha…”
Seeing my stance, the monster realized there was no turning back. He suddenly started laughing madly, with flickers of karma fire igniting around his body but quickly devoured by the dead smoke. He could barely move, his blood-stained hands trembling, weakly supporting himself on the ground, his upper body raised high as if trying to fly away, to escape this place, but failing. He struggled to turn and crawled back towards the stream valley behind him.
I rubbed my forehead with one hand, slowly following behind him, gradually closing the distance between us.
“Hey, clown.”
My mind was filled with a tearing headache, countless strange whispers, an almost brain-numbing emptiness, and an irresistible hunger. Crystal drool dripped down my chin unnoticed. In such torment, I could hardly think of anything else, but even so, fragments of scenes from the Southlands occasionally flashed through my mind.
“You know… why is there someone like you in this world…”
“Yes… ah…”
The monster crawled forward with difficulty. He responded to my question, “Why… why don’t you ask your great Pontiff…”
I didn’t have time to think about the meaning of his words.
From the Northlands to the Southlands, and then back again, the hatred towards the clown had grown stronger with each step. After killing so many heretics, I finally stood before him, ready to end his life. Yet, strangely, I felt no emotion…
Apart from hunger and headache, there was only a dead calm.
The power of the Abyss…
Was it affecting me?
I didn’t know…
I…
Gurgling…
I could hear the sound of the stream in my ears.
The movement stirred by the night wind through the mountains and forests by the water, leaves rustled with a “rustle rustle” sound. From the direction of Woodward Forest in the east, it seemed as if there were many hoofbeats approaching.
“Heh heh… hehehe…”
The monster in front emitted a strange laugh. It could no longer crawl and fell down with a thud. The corruption of death spread over its massive body, turning it black and withered. Black ashes had already drifted out, and strands of black mist mixed with blood-red smoke slowly detached from the monster’s body, carrying immense power that seeped into my chest.
“Guh…”
I couldn’t hold back a stifled groan.
The intense sensation seemed to spread like an electric shock from my spine up to my entire body. My lower abdomen felt hot, my cheeks flushed, and my headache intensified, as if someone was stirring my brain with a knife. I raised my face, closed my eyes, and let out a moan, my legs giving way as I fell to the ground.
“Hahahaha…”
In the soft, sticky laughter, the monster’s body in front began to disintegrate. Using its last bit of strength, it flipped over and fell into the stream, carried by the water towards the waterfall at the end of the ravine. Red smoke continuously drifted out from the monster’s body in the water, filling my body with warmth. The intense feeling of fullness canceled out hunger, and in the wave of sensations, my consciousness started to blur.
It feels so good…
These powers…
They’re all mine…
Scorching red flames burned from my chest and arms, dyeing the vision before me blood red. My body trembled, and I gritted my teeth to stand up, flapping my wings with difficulty to take flight. I caught up with the clown swept away by the current, diving back into the stream, and collided with a stone, feeling no pain. My mouth bubbled as I grabbed the monster’s tail with my hand, releasing black flames and dead smoke, causing the surging water to steam.
The monster didn’t even have the strength to struggle, rapidly disintegrating under the erosion of chaotic power. Its remains dissolved into the water, while power continued to flow into my body.
I killed the clown…
My limbs trembled under the force of the water, kicking wildly. Realizing the clown was finally dead, I was swept further downstream by the current. In a daze, a sudden sense of weightlessness hit me.
“Gurgle gurgle gurgle…”
It felt like falling off a waterfall…
Water splashed against my body, and I realized too late that I couldn’t swim. Flailing in the air for a few moments, I crashed into the shallow lake below the waterfall with a splash two seconds later. After sinking into the lake, I frantically paddled, struggling to get my head above water to breathe deeply. I tried to flap my wings to take off again, but my mind was in disarray. My eyelids felt heavy, and the sound of rushing water seemed like a lullaby, leaving me utterly powerless.
But…
I killed the clown…
Lady Alastran…
I killed the clown…
Did you… see it…
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
The lake water seemed to evaporate due to the heat from my body. My blurry vision was completely shrouded by the fog of death smoke. I couldn’t see anything, struggling again only to sink deeper underwater. The more I sank, the more the intense sensations took over my body, making it almost impossible to think.
I can’t sleep…
I can’t sleep…
There are still many things left undone… I lost the blood pearl… Olivia… is waiting for me to save her…
The remnants of my consciousness could barely remember these things. I tried to struggle out of the water, but my body felt as heavy as lead, twitching uncontrollably. The intense sensations made me involuntarily immerse myself, and my struggles gradually weakened until I couldn’t even hold my breath anymore. My mind relaxed, and my eyes slowly closed, allowing my scorching body to sink to the bottom of the lake.
Then, my consciousness gradually faded away.
