Chapter 376 – Genuinely Curious

Thump!

THUMP!

THUMPPP!!!

The demon started thumping pretty loudly. Almost like a beating heart but there was something different. Something sinister. 

The black goo had mostly littered the ground and now it was slowly spreading. A soldier came into contact with the goo and the goo just consumed the soldier in a second. “ARHHRHRHR!”

Only the soldier’s armor and a chilling scream remained. The alligator was also consumed. And the goo started spreading rapidly. 

Meanwhile, the demon thumped louder and with higher frequency. 

“We don’t have time!” Neira grabbed my hand. “Let’s get out of here as fast as we can!” She and I backtracked.

She was frightened and that pained expression of hers was rubbing me the wrong way. 

She probably knew the town couldn’t be saved anymore. 

And we weren’t going to make it either. 

But I didn’t go. 

Rather. “Don’t worry. I had to deal with this army eventually.”

I raised my hand and darkness started forming beneath us. 

If this didn’t work, I could have always just used the ring to hide in it. 

“What are you doing?” Her voice was low. It was almost as though she’d given up. 

The darkness spread from beneath us and covered everything in sight: spreading towards the soldiers just like the goo but much faster.

My mana was being drained way too fast. 

“Nothing much. Saving all of you.” I took a deep breath. “It’s time I faced my nature. I’m selfish you see. Arrogant. And I often dump my ideals on others. I run away the moment something turns sour and I’m very indecisive: and yet, I want to save people, I don’t want to harm others. I don’t want others to get hurt because of me. But, in the end, that was all me. I chose all that. But now, now I choose to right my wrongs. There are things you’ll have to take some lives to protect others.” I took another deep breath. “I’m probably going to die trying but that’s okay. I mean, who lives forever? Even gods die, and so, before all that, before dying, I want to right my wrongs. I want to kill the emperor and I want to kill the world tree that’s about to destroy the world. But first, I’ll deal with this so those demons below, those demons who have nothing to do with this war, are unharmed.” I chuckled. I chuckled loudly. “Look at me, telling you all this knowing you won’t believe me. Knowing you won’t understand jackshit!” I broke down in severe laughter. I’d never laughed this hard. 

The darkness kept on spreading. It outpaced the goo and started drowning the soldiers. I was about to run out of mana but instead, now I was gaining mana. 

Cries, groans, screams covered the whole area. But everything was drowned by the darkness.

  I felt nothing. 

It didn’t matter if these guys died. After all, they were prepared to kill, meaning, they were prepared to die. 

The darkness instantly covered the whole area and started consuming the soldiers just like the goo had done moments before. This time, their screams and not even their armors remained. Everything was consumed. Even the goo. 

Gone. 

The more the darkness consumed, the more it grew.

THUMP!

The thumps had gotten to a point where each thump felt like it’d explode. 

It was only a matter of time.

Thump!

THUMPP!!!

BOOM!

The demon general exploded and flames were everywhere. The fires weren’t hot and they didn’t even travel this way. Rather even the fire started getting consumed. The sound and heat too were being consumed. 

It wasn’t even a competition. 

This spell was significantly more powerful. 

“That’s why-” I paused. “I can’t take you with me. thanks for leading me here. if it weren’t for you, I’d have still been wandering around thinking I was totally devoid of emotions or something. I’m such an obnoxious dude at times, you know.”

But meeting this girl did help me understand that perhaps I wasn’t as dead as I thought I was. Some part of me was still alive and I wanted revenge. Perhaps I wasn’t as naive as before, but I still wanted revenge and I wanted to make things right. 

I wanted to fix the problems I’d created and I wanted to make sure nothing wrong happened because of me. 

But more importantly, I wanted to screw that dude so I could tear his head from his shoulder and scream, ‘Is this FUN enough for you, your highness’

Neira chuckled, tried to hide it, but still chuckled. “I know. And honestly, I only wanted to follow you because I thought you were really cool when you saved me and I wanted to be like you. I wanted to be this cool knight who saved people in their need. At first, I thought you were like that. But once you started opening your mouth, I understood, that wasn’t quite it.” Was she seriously making fun of me or something?

The darkness started clearing. 

It was done, we’d won. 

And more than half of the soldiers were missing. Nothing remained of the fallen.

There was no crater, there was no sign of battle. 

Nothing remained.

“I’m anything but cool.”

I’d just killed over six thousand soldiers. I didn’t feel much of this. After all, to protect, one had to offer sacrifices. 

But even so, I had to feel at least something about this many lives, right?

But no, I didn’t feel anything. 

Even the stuff I felt just moments before launching that spell was gone. 

I was anything but cool. 

“That’s not true. You’re cool. Too cool.” She snickered. “And that’s why I wanted to follow you, so I could learn things, more things about the world. I couldn’t even cross that forest without getting captured, remember? 

“I want to lead my people to prosperity and I want to do my duties. But, I’m not good enough. I’ve learned that over and over again. That’s why, I ask you again, please,” she got on one knee and looked up. “Take me with you. I’m a hindrance but you’re strong enough to not be affected.”

Wha?

Why?

“Didn’t you hear me? I’m marching into h-e-ll. I’m going to fight the emperor. The Em-pe-ror! The guy you’re supposed to obey or something. Besides, I have no merits by taking you with me.”

The remaining soldiers were in heavy confusion but strangely they didn’t move from their spot. They just stayed there, sweating. Or were they waiting for a verdict?

She smiled. “But I don’t. And I want to be near you to learn from you. Even if it means going to hell, I’m fine with that. Besides, I’m totally okay with fighting the empire for you. After all, you just saved me three times now and you even saved my town and mother and-” She paused. “I’m totally okay with marching into hell as long as it’s with you.”

“Well, I’m not.”

What was wrong with this woman, seriously?

Neira sighed and sat down. “But seriously, you weren’t kidding when you said you’d destroy the whole army.” She faced towards the army… “I think you’re more scary than cool…”

She was changing the subject too. 

And again, was she trying to make fun of me or something?

I had a feeling she was going to sneak her way in even if I tried to run or something. 

I guess I had to keep my eyes open. 

“Well, I wasn’t joking.” I looked at the army and every single one of them took a step back: staggered. 

They were coordinated, alright. Anyway, I guess I had to deal with them first. “Which one of you is the leader, or rather the next in command?” I yelled. 

They looked amongst themselves. There were about four thousand or so soldiers remaining. 

‘But wouldn’t I be able to use that same darkness to destroy the whole army?’

Or more like consume it. 

‘Yes, and the mana resulting from that would be enough to destroy a country such as Xylax.’ The spirit’s voice reverberated in my mind. 

‘Wait, the world tree is also technically going to consume everything, so-‘

“I am in command, sir…” A boy came forth- probably sixteen or maybe seventeen?

He had a pigeon head and the body of an alligator. How I could tell he was a boy? He had ‘mama’s boy-17’ written right in the middle of his armor. Bold. 

Was that a prank or was he really a mama’s boy?

I was genuinely curious.