Chương 34: [LD-1] 33. Your Nature

XXXIII Your Nature A grunt's head popped as Char smashed it into the floor. The summon didn't pause and barrelled on into a line of tamers to keep the riders from targeting me. The arrows didn't punch through the crystalis's skin, and a single swipe forced three of them to jump off their mounts for dear life.

'He's stronger than the monsters on this level.' The warlock had been level sixteen. Was Char around the same level? That would mean his stats are higher. I can show you his status, Master. Though I recommend not checking it in the middle of combat. To your left. A web launched from my dead angle. Cull whirled and scissored the trap in two. I launched toward the arachnid, who'd lost its rider in Char's earlier attack, and burrowed the scythe so deep in its skull the tip punctured the floor.

Warm and cool energies intertwined within the weapon and entered my veins. Cull's burden in my arms lessened and grew heavier at the same time. Physically, the diminished. But the black matter leeching out of my victims rolled down the edge into the blade and thickened the haze shrouding the blade.

'I can feel it.' A grunt slipped into my blind spot. It lunged to stick a dagger in the back of my neck— Its eyes didn't have the opportunity to widen before Cull ripped it in two.

'I can hear it, too.' The screams of the souls I cut entering the blade. What was Cull doing with the pieces? What would happen if I reached the kill number? … Should I want to reach it? Ten thousand monsters… that was a small stadium's worth of people. Killing that many couldn't be described as 'defence' or 'necessity' no matter the situation—it'd be genocide. My thoughts weren't on the battle. Yet my body shot forward. Cull hummed left and right.

As the blade drew the ichor out of the bodies of the goblins, its notes lengthened and deepened. [Cavern Tamer - lvl. 12] x 1 slain! Extra experience awarded for… **[Goblin Grunt - lvl. 5] x 1 slain. Experience awarded… [Hobgoblin - lvl. 11] x 1 slain! Extra experience awarded for… I blurred in front of a grunt. A shadow of a deeper dark than the surroundings entered its pupils, a pole held out to the side of it like it had a single wing growing out of its back.

The image of the dark figure split in two and fell with the goblin's skull. I crouched and reached for the miasma inside the corpse. While the dark energy siphoned into my fingers, I watched the grunt's blood pool beneath it and enter an ocean's worth of ichor. My socks were soggy, and my toes curled to get away from the liquid seeping through my footwear. There was no escape. Two archers lined their bows for a Hail Mary shot.

Char moved before they ever fired, and their brain matter joined the ocean of blood like the fillings of a soup. A dark wave pulsed up Char's arms, which were still buried within the goblins's skulls. His body bulged, the hunch of his back rising higher and higher while his claws lengthened. In the wake of his transformation, the battlefield was silent. More hobs, tamers and grunts had rushed out of the tunnels during the fight. All of them stood still with trembling eyes.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Nox could be considered part of the Ten, Kil had said. The Ten had higher stats than normal. Were stronger than your average beast. My gaze turned down to my palm, the edges of which were matted in blood.

"A Monster," I whispered. I took a deep breath—the stink of death, and rot rushed into my lungs. My chest rose and depressed fully as I wrapped my hand around the blade again.

'Death.' It surrounded me. Since the start of this dungeon. Since the day I was born. Even my entry into this world happened through death. … So, was that it? Was I some kind of instrument, a Reaper, whose sole goal was to inflict carnage on the living? Kil, very carefully, did not speak. My gaze returned to the beasts in front of me. They no longer appeared like monsters to me. The hob my sight focused on stepped back. And when it turned around, all the beasts joined it and fled back into the tunnels.

I remained standing. My eyes travelled up the column. The battle upstairs was still going on. From the sound of the cries, our side was winning. But that could change in a matter of seconds.

'I have to get up there and help.' There was a possibility that Char could carry me back up there, though the chance was slim. … but I didn't even try. Instead, I turned toward the tunnels and let the cry of souls draw me forward. Though the home of a clan of goblins, the tunnels were at least three times my height and wide enough to walk freely. My eyes penetrated the darkness and landed on the fleeing rear of a tamer. Kill. A black bolt hurled through the winding pathway and drilled through the back of its skull.

The beast tumbled from the mount's back, which skittered away into the darkness without looking back at its master. Absorb. The miasma inside the corpse entered my system and refilled the extra mana I had available. Kill. A hob screamed as Cull whipped out. It didn't die. The pain made it fall and curl into a ball. Whimpers exited its throat, and it whirled back with wide, watery eyes. It reminded me of a baby after losing its pacifier. Absorb.

My shoes squeaked with each footfall carrying me deeper through the network of tunnels. Here I was, diving deeper into enemy territory all by myself, like a deranged lunatic. My heart should've been pounding out of my chest. My legs should've refused to move another step—Cull's life drain only partially combatted muscle fatigue. … A dead calm hung over my soul sea. Not a single wave or ripple passed through the great body of water.

Only when Cull raked the air like a feather and fell oh-so lovingly on the exposed necks of whichever unfortunate beast came close enough, did it stir—and only for a split second, then it settled back into its stable state.

'Kil,' I whispered in my head, 'what is this feeling?' He did not answer right away. In fact, he only spoke when I glanced over at him, seeming reluctant to do so at all. Killing so many beasts is waking up your dormant senses, Master. You feel at peace because you're in your element.

'At peace? What human being feels at peace when administering death?' … You're not human, Master. His answer brought me up short. I looked back down the path. A tiny face poked past a split in the tunnel. It hurriedly pulled back once it saw me looking. A hard material struck the ground, followed by the echo of a snap and a cry. Unhurried steps. I walked into the entrance after Char and the ghoul, who made sure there was no trap. The goblin crawled across the floor.

A piece of broken wood lay off to its side, and one of its legs was missing. Though 'missing' wasn't the entirely correct term.

'It's not full grown.' There was a small, scarless stump, but nothing else. A birth deficiency. The grunt cried into the tunnel. Nothing answered. Its voice didn't even echo, for the shadows swallowed it like a scream underwater. Yet it didn't give up. Earth pooled beneath its nails as it clawed and tried to create space between itself and the entity silently looming behind it. How must I have looked? Like an angel arriving at the bedside of a sick person surrounded by their family?

'That's wrong,' I thought immediately. I was no angel. A family of loved ones, though grieving, would thank an angel for carrying away their beloved. But a reaper… My abdomen spasmed." You witch…!

"There was a faint sound of ripping flesh somewhere." You…cursed…" I closed my eyes to the sound of nails biting the earth. The image of Lord Null entered my mind. The giant kneeling in the void. Alone. Chained and bleeding. A sudden tremor passed through my legs, which made me lean against the wall and sit down. I rested my head against my knees. Master…

'Sorry, Kil. Do you mind keeping watch? I'm just… tired all of a sudden. I think I'll take a nap.' He bobbed quietly somewhere over my head. Understood, Master. Char floated down the end of the tunnel. My head was pointed his way, so I watched mutely as the summon wrapped its big hand around the grunt's head. The movement was gentle; the soft touch of a breeze rolling over a prairie with the sun hidden behind the clouds. Muffled cries filtered through Char's palm. The grunt's arms flailed until the summon squeezed.

Then its body fell limp. **[Goblin Grunt - lvl. 1] x 1 slain. Small amount of experience awarded for level discrepancy… Char put the body down as gently as he'd lifted it. That image branded itself into my mind. Death, was a release. When all your worries and insecurities merged with the vast nothingness of the universe, allowing you to finally rest and cease your struggling. My ghoul, caring not one bit for my introspection, crouched beside the goblin and feasted on the remains. I turned away.

'A god of death…' The title's meaning was still not clear to me. However, I felt like I understood it a little more than before. With a chuckle, I pressed my head further into my knees.

"Father," I whispered.

"You were right about me." The tunnels swallowed these vibrations along with the ripping of flesh. And when they vanished, I was all alone. Like a chained god in the void.