Abyss Descension: I Perform Rituals to Evolve In The Apocalyps-Chapter 38: Demon Eater

Turning to the captivating woman with a gentle smile on his face, he said, "Sorry for keeping you waiting. I'll now give you what I want."

The captivating woman smiled and closed her eyes in anticipation.

Thwack!

Kev landed a chop on the side of her neck.

Immediately, she slumped against him, knocked out cold.

Kev pulled her off him and lowered her gently to the ground.

"So you know why she was behaving like a patient who had escaped from an asylum." He said to Natasha. "I hope to hear it too."

"The air inside cocoons woven by corpse spiders has a hallucinogenic effect on people. It traps them in sweet dreams so that they would forget about resisting and slowly die while stuck inside the cacoon. I believe you can guess the rest on your own," Natasha replied to him.

Kev nodded in response.

Trapped in the cocoon, the captivating woman hallucinated about marrying a man and loving him for a decade with all her heart.

When he woke her up, she remained trapped in the hallucination brought on by prolonged exposure to the hallucinogenic air of the cocoons spun by the female corpse spider, mistaking reality for her dreams.

"How long before she returns to normal and starts seeing the abyss for what it is?" Kev asked.

"Won't be long from now, if her immune system is healthy. Most likely, the next time she wakes up, she'll be in her right mind."

"That's good to hear," Kev said, before continuing what he was originally up to before he got sidetracked by the captivating woman.

The deeper he went into the den, the larger the cocoons he came across. Some were human-sized, others even bigger. Large enough to hold two or three Revenants trapped inside.

By the time he was done killing the Revenants trapped inside the massive cocoons, consuming their runes, stealing their shadows, and collecting their corpses in the den of the female corpse spider, he had earned yet another opportunity to upgrade a part of himself.

This time, he chose to upgrade his Shadow Manipulation skill in exchange for 100 Corpse Collection Points.

[Skill Upgrade Successful!]

Shadow Manipulation (Lv. 1) → Shadow Manipulation (Lv. 2)

<()() New Effect Unlocked! ()()>

[Now, when you manipulate shadows into a form you understand, it will become real.]

"That seems epic," Kev remarked before he ordered, "Natasha, show me my changes."

Natasha used her Pathfinder power to detect his changes before listing them out for him.

[Character Status - Kev]

• Class: Corpse Collector in the Dark

[STATS]

• Strength: Extraordinary (Low) — 17 / 100

• Agility: Extraordinary (Low) — 15 / 100

• Stamina: Extraordinary (Low) — 10 / 100

• Extra Life Force: 13 Units

[ABILITIES]

• Shadow Manipulation (Lv. 2) (0/100)

• Corpse Collection (Lv. 1) (30/100)

• Shadow Steal (Lv. 1) (19/100)

• Forced Ascension (Lv. 2) (0/100)

[TRAITS]

• Esoteric Mutation of the Soul (EX-Rank) (2/100)

[SPECIAL PARAMETERS]

• Corpse Collection Points: 10

• Assimilation Rate: 31%

• Stolen Shadows: 130 units

Absorbing the nuclei of over a hundred Revenants had pushed his extra life force to 13 units. It was enough to let him live for 1 year and 1 month past his natural lifespan. At the same time, absorbing their runes had enhanced every aspect of his body.

It was also worth noting that repeated use of his abilities could hone and eventually upgrade his skills and traits once a certain threshold was met, but it was a grind.

"I collected over a hundred corpses just now, but my assimilation rate with my role only increased by 1%," Kev sighed. "Unraveling the full potential of special classes is really tough. From the looks of it, reaching the peak of my class is going to be a long and grueling journey."

A confused voice erupted from behind.

"You... What are you doing here? Where am I?"

Kev turned around and saw the captivating woman blinking her pretty eyes in confusion.

"Don't you remember?" he asked.

Her eyes widened as fragmented memories came crashing into her mind.

She remembered vanishing from Earth after meeting a cute guy—not exactly attractive, but still within her strike zone.

She remembered being pulled into alien space out of nowhere.

She remembered being ambushed and kidnapped by a massive spider.

She remembered being dragged into the shadows before being sealed inside a cocoon.

"I remember everything now. We need to get out of here— pronto," she said, panic rising in her voice. "This place isn't safe. It's home to a massive spider. It could come back at any moment!"

"No need to panic. I already dealt with it," Kev said calmly.

"You what? Are you kidding me?" she said, staring at him like he'd gone mad.

Kev shook his head. "I'm not."

"How can a human take down a spider built like a truck?" she asked, her disbelief clear.

Kev raised his hand and pressed it against the nearby wall. With a single push, cracks spread across its surface like lightning bolts.

"I'm not a normal human, as you can see. With my strength, it was possible to take it down."

"Damn... You've really grown since arriving in this alien space," she said, stepping closer and grabbing his arm, eyes wide with admiration.

Kev jerked his arm free and stared at her, suspicious. "Why are you acting like we're familiar?"

"I'm CrimsonSheWolf," she replied.

Kev blinked. "You're the one who made that post on the RunDown forum?"

She gave him a strange look. "You sound surprised. Even though we met next to the military base of Port Axul shortly after I made that post?"

"Huh? We met face to face back on Earth?" Kev uttered in confusion.

"You really don't remember?"

As she spoke, she stepped closer, and Kev caught her scent. It was sweet, like the moment before rainfall mixing with blooming wildflowers. He thought that she smelled nice.

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

"I have no recollection of that," he shook his head.

"You're not pranking me, right?" she asked cautiously.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he said.

She scratched her chin, pondering, "How could someone forget something that happened not too long ago?"

Suddenly, a thoughtful glint flashed in her eyes.

Then, she tilted her head to look at him questioningly. "Did something mess with your mind?"

Kev thought about it for a moment... and then it hit him.

The Secret-Divulging Monocle of the Dark King!

The price for using it was the loss of a memory... he though the cost was determined randomly. But now it has become clear that wasn't the case.

After all, it had wiped all memories tied to the time he met CrimsonSheWolf in person, along with every detail of what she looked like, for all the times he had used it.

What a sinister item!

'It's far more dangerous than I thought,' Kev thought internally, growing wary of the monocle.

"Looks like you've come to a crucial realization. Did you discover the cause behind it?" CrimsonSheWolf asked.

"I did. It's related to an item in my possession. I was planning to depend on it for a long time... but now, I've changed my mind." Kev's counterance had grown grim. He was seriously afraid that if he continued using it, he would forget one person after another, until finally, he would forget himself... and become nothing more than a hollow husk of who he once was.

At that moment, a voice called out from the book hovering nearby.

"Kev, show it to me," Natasha urged.

CrimsonSheWolf finally noticed its existence, and her lips trembled in shock. "What the hell is that?" she said, pointing at the flying, talking book.

Then she looked at Kev and noticed he wasn't the least bit bothered by its presence. "You don't appear surprised. You know what it is?"

"Yeah. It's an object my guide is using to communicate with me," Kev said casually. He introduced them to each other, then turned back to Natasha. "Why do you want to see it?"

Her reply was as simple as it was terrifying.

"It could be the Memory Eater."

"Memory Eater? What's that?"

"It's a demon that feeds on memories to grow stronger. It once ruined an entire nation and caused severe damage even to the empire I'm from. Luckily, the Dark King stepped in and put it down, destroying its body. But even he who was revered by demons, immortals, and class holders as the strongest couldn't kill it completely as its soul was immortal."

She took a breath, her voice turning grave.

"So he sealed its soul inside the Eternal SoulBane Crystal and kept it close to him at all times, ensuring it wouldn't be freed. But when the Dark King disappeared, that item... vanished as well. It's been a hundred years since someone last heard news of it. But I think the thing in your possession might be it."

Following that reveal, Kev showed it to her, and it turned out to be the Eternal Soulbane Crystal that was once in the Dark King's possession. Although its shape was different now, she knew she wasn't mistaken. The monocle had been molded using the very Eternal Soulbane Crystal in which the Dark King had sealed the Memory Eater.

"Do not ever use it again," she warned him.

"I understand," he replied sincerely.

The Memory Eater could grow stronger by devouring memories. If he kept using the monocle, a day would come when it would regain enough strength to break free from the Eternal Soulbane Crystal.

And if that happened... wouldn't he be doomed?

He stuffed it into his pocket out of habit.

"If it's that dangerous, why don't you just throw it away?" CrimsonSheWolf asked.

"If I throw it away and it gets picked up by someone clueless, someone who knows nothing about what it really is, wouldn't that be a recipe for disaster? It's better I keep it by my side and make sure it never sees the light of day again," Kev said, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

He was pissed.

Pissed that it had messed with his memories so thoroughly. Now, he was going to take revenge by ensuring it stayed trapped inside the monocle for eternity, just as the Dark King had intended.

"You're more responsible than I thought, Kev," Natasha praised.

"You're a good person, Kev," CrimsonSheWolf added.

With two women praising him from both sides, Kev couldn't help but rub his nose in embarrassment.

"Anyways, I'm really curious—how did you become so powerful?" CrimsonSheWolf asked.

"I can tell you. I can even help you obtain your own superpowers," Kev said with a smile. "But you'll have to offer something in return."