Myriad Devils-Chapter 165: Loosing oneself
Anon’s head throbbed violently.
It was as if the veins on his temples were vibrant hearts attempting to pump blood throughout the body of some ten meter giant.
His figure was soaked in blood, and the spear he wielded dripped with the blood of the natives of this Lost Lands.
Anon maneuvered through a sea of corpses with gritted teeth, his right hand holding his cloud severing spear, and his left hand slowly rising to his blood-soaked face.
Gripping his face tightly, Anon’s claw-like nails dug into the skin on his forehead and cheeks.
His breathing was ragged, and his crimson gold eyes trembled slightly, however his willpower refused to succumb and so, his vision pierced through all illusions.
Suddenly, before his eyes, the scene changed.
The more than a hundred corpses that littered the cave’s ground disappeared, and the very interior of the cave changed significantly.
This...
Anon swiftly realized that this cave was not the one he had first entered.
The crimson aura in his eyes seemed to crystalize before bursting into countless minute particles, and the throbbing in his head eased slightly.
’When did I fall into an illusion?’ Anon, feeling that his thinking ability had returned, felt a chill run down his spine.
His heart trembled at the thought.
He did not even know when it occurred... And as he mused over the past events, it suddenly clicked in place.
’Is it the headache?’ Anon frowned. ’It must be that. However, because of my high pain threshold, I didn’t even bother thinking much of it.’
After all, a meager headache was nothing.
Maybe it was strange that he had gotten a headache in the first place. He was a stellar fighter physically in the third world after all...
Just as his thoughts reached here, Anon heard the familiar sounds of footsteps.
There were several tunnels leading into this cave, and the ground was also filled with many puddles of black water.
Though there was still a slight throbbing feeling, even though he knew killing would ease this sensation, he refused to fall into that state again.
’The fourth layer is incredibly strange. In the past, the wraiths and remnant souls appeared before my eyes and were quite straightforward,’ Anon squinted his eyes in thought.
’From the recent experience, I can deduce that the wraiths in this layer have taken the form of the natives of this Lost Land continent, and the very environment within has a slight influence on the mind.’ Anon thought.
’If that is the case, and the act of killing these natives deepens these wraiths’ control over my mind, then how should I go about devouring them?’ Anon pursed his lips, slightly troubled.
Though it seemed long, Anon’s thoughts were like flashes of lightning through his mind. At the same time, multiple human figures stepped out of a tunnel and into the cave.
Instead of attacking, Anon allowed them to see him from a distance.
Quite casually, Anon approached these figures as the cloud severing spear broke apart and attached itself like a tattoo on his right hand.
"Huh?" One of them quickly perceived Anon who made no attempt to hide himself. "Who are you?" The figure in the lead asked.
This group consisted of seven, five of whom had black hair and stood respectfully behind the leading duo, a boy and girl with white hair.
Without doubt, they all had crimson eyes.
The white-haired girl stood a half step behind the male who beckoned for an answer.
Intrigued, Anon continued to approach.
’Are these truly wraiths? I haven’t read about anything like this in the recorded content. Is it that I wasn’t supposed to even reach the fourth layer?’ He pondered.
Seeing that the swarthy-skinned young man had no intention to reply, the white-haired man frowned deeply and signaled with his left hand.
The others immediately flashed a cold gaze and drew weapons from what seemed like the empty air.
Anon sighed.
"Would you believe me if I said that I have no evil intentions?" Anon finally broke his silence.
He was, after all, stained in blood.
No matter how he tried, he did not appear peaceful.
The seven did not give him much time to come up with his next words, and instead rushed towards him.
The throbbing sensation suddenly intensified in that moment, and the crimson color resurfaced in his eyes.
Frowning, Anon evaded an incoming staff attack, his figure twisting unnaturally whilst leaving a false body in his place.
Creating some space between himself and his attackers, Anon ignored the deepening throbs of pain and mused silently, ’No matter what, I either kill them, or let them attack me, and yet my body move instinctively. Is this my subconscious?’
Deep in his heart, there was a certain feeling.
If he truly refused to attack, and more importantly, if he truly allowed them to land attacks on his body, the damage would not be physical, and would instead be irreversible.
’Is this actually a distraction? Or are these wraiths and myself the manifestation of the battle between stars that takes place in my mind realm in the previous abyss layers?’ The more he thought, the more he came to realize a single thing.
There was no choice...
’I have no choice but to kill,’ Anon thought this and wanted to frown, however a slight grin tugged at his lips instead.
The throbbing sensation intensified as the cloud severing spear materialized.
Gripping the spear tightly, he thought to himself, ’The most I can do is try to remain rational whilst killing. It isn’t that I like to kill, however this is the only choice I have. Even my subconscious is forcing my hand to kill.’
Anon logically came to this conclusion.
After all, he inherently wanted to find another solution, did he not? So it wasn’t that he wanted to kill, it was just that his hand was forced.
Anon wielded the cloud severing spear and wherever it passed, blood sprayed.
Eventually, the seven were slashed up into pieces, and the dried blood on his face and clothes now also had warm, flowing blood trickling down.
The throbbing sensation had eased slightly, and a genuine feeling of content seeped into the depths of his very soul.
He thought, ’I think I get it. This is the manifestation of a battle for dominance. My body can be considered the sun star, and these natives can be considered as countless little stars trying to destroy the sun star.’
As his thoughts reached here, he naturally came to the realization, ’All I need to do is kill them. I need to kill, kill, and kill until there isn’t anything more to kill.’
’Once I kill all these natives, destroy all these wraiths, then there won’t be any more wraiths to destroy, and my mind will be naturally purified,’ Anon smiled.
He would be lying if he said that the wraiths did not have any effect on his psyche, however he firmly believed that once there weren’t any wraiths in the fourth layer, he’d naturally acquire clarity.
So he wielded his spear with a renewed sense of purpose and vigor.
Whenever his ears twitched to the sound of footsteps, his eyes grew murderous and cold. Like this, blood continuously poured and dripped from the edge of his spear’s blade. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
The corpses littering this cave steadily increased until the number broke past a hundred.
The swarms of wraiths in the fourth layer were slayed with growing efficiency, and their residue built up on Anon’s clothes, spear, and revealed skin.
Their blood and matter tainted his body, however the natives had not been able to land a single attack.
No matter how much residue stained his figure, once they did not land any strikes, how could it seep into his internal body and corrupt him?
Anon chuckled lightly.
He couldn’t help but repeat what he had said in the past cave.
"It feels good," Anon stared at the spear-like rocks that sprouted form the cave’s roof and pointed towards him, reveling in the sensation coursing through his soul.
It was like a drug that brought about a floating sensation. Anon felt exceptionally light and free of any restraints as the throbbing in his head eased.
His crimson gold eyes shone with a murderous yet almost natural glare, as if this was his default expression.
As more natives appeared in the cave, Anon felt like the scene had suddenly shifted. To him, it was like he had transformed into the giant sun star and a few more miniature crimson stars had appeared in the dark void.
They surrounded him and initially approached slowly before suddenly bursting forth with exceptional speed.
The sun star, no... Anon struck with his spear and blood continuously sprayed. As the crimson stars disintegrated, the crimson particles seeped into the sun star, continuously altering its state.
However, the changes these minute particles brought were not exaggerated.
Just like the residual blood that splashed on Anon’s face and clothes, he did not pay any attention to the particles either.
Unknowingly, Anon lost himself in slaughter.
Although unknowingly, he was willing to loose himself in said slaughter...
After all, it followed his own logic.
