Peaceful Life System: I only need to live peacefully-Chapter 145: Endgame (12)

Far away, in the hidden village of Elowen, Elara gasped as a faint, red mark that had always lingered on her wrist, a scar from her earlier ordeal, vanished completely.

"The creep, healed?"

"Huh?" Elder Borin, Lila, and the others who were also waiting nervously turned their attention to Elara, confused by her remarks.

"I...I am getting better as well. The Creep... is completely gone. Look, Korgin, my skin is like yours now." Brinna, who was sitting next to them, jumped up and started showing her wrists to Korgin.

"Sis... you are really better," Kogrin spoke excitedly.

"Does this mean that Riku won?" Lysaria spoke, her voice tentative at first, but gradually increasing in pitch.

"Yes, that must be it." Another elf child nodded rapidly, and soon those emotions spread like fire.

A cheer went up through the village as the last vestiges of the plague they had all feared disappeared for good. They were finally, truly safe.

There were celebrations galore all around. Everyone was smiling, laughing, and dancing. Everyone, except one.

Everyone, except Lila.

The overwhelming sense of dread that had been building in her all this time didn’t vanish with the news of victory.

Instead, it intensified.

She didn’t know why, but as the people of Luxia and Elowen celebrated their salvation, Lila felt a cold, terrifying premonition.

---------------

The underground chamber was silent, the only sound being the dripping of gore that had exploded out earlier from the cavern walls. The Corrupted Heart was gone, shattered into a thousand pieces of flesh and blood.

"You... you did it," Arnold rejoiced, staring in triumph at the empty space where the source of the plague had been.

Vyon, his monstrous form rapidly receding, the crimson plates on his skin cracking and dissolving, fell to his knees. "No... it cannot be," he whispered in despair, his voice now just that of a mortal man. "My Lord’s power... It’s gone..."

Riku stood over the epicenter of the explosion, his body trembling, the crimson tendrils of the Creep still wrapped around his arm.

But the System’s warnings did not stop.

[Current % infection: 97%]

[Current % infection: 98%]

[Current % infection: 99%]

"Riku, what’s happening?!" Clara screamed in his mind.

[Current % infection: 100%.]

[Foreign energy integration complete.]

[CRITICAL SYSTEM ERROR. HOST BODY COMPROMISED. MANA CIRCUITS OVERWRITTEN. CONNECTION TO HOST... LOST.]

[NO CONNECTION FOUND...SHUTTING DOWN...]

The familiar blue panel flickered, distorted, and then vanished.

"ARGGHHHH!"

An agonizing scream was ripped from Riku’s throat. A massive, uncontrolled burst of pure crimson aura erupted from his body, a shockwave of raw power that sent Vyon and Arnold in his protective bubble flying back against the far wall.

"Good, Good, Good. You have not failed me."

Suddenly, the air itself seemed to twist, and a figure frantically teleported into the chamber.

It was the hooded man, the one Riku had seen before in the projection. His body was crackling with energy, and his posture radiated dominance. He saw the shattered remains of the heart, the defeated Vyon, and then his hidden gaze fell upon Riku, who was on his knees, clutching his head, enveloped in the swirling, potent red mist.

And he began to laugh.

It was not the laugh of a defeated villain. It was a sound of pure, unadulterated, maniacal joy.

"Hah... hahaha... HAHAHAHA!" he cackled, throwing his head back. "You magnificent fool! You actually did it!"

Vyon and Arnold could only stare in confusion.

"My Lord?" Vyon stammered. "He... he destroyed the source..."

"Destroyed it?" the hooded man purred, stepping closer to Riku. "No. He became it."

He looked down at Riku, his voice filled with a reverence that was far more terrifying than his earlier threats.

"I was so worried, you know. When you arrived with the key, I feared you were just some self-righteous weakling, come to destroy my life’s work. I was afraid you were an unworthy vessel."

He knelt, his hidden eyes drinking in the sight of the crimson aura swirling around Riku. "But then I saw it. The way you defeated Vyon. The sheer will it took to withstand the corruption long enough to land that final blow. You aren’t just a worthy vessel, Riku. You are the perfect one."

"What... what are you talking about?" Arnold demanded from his bubble.

The hooded man turned, gesturing grandly.

"Haha, Old Guy, you made it this far, so I can at least leave you with this much."

"This ’Creep’, as you so crudely call it... it is the blood of a god."

"What are you talking about? A god?" Arnold asked, horrified. It was not because he did not believe the Hooded Man. In fact, it was the other way round. He was one of the few who knew that the Gods had indeed walked on these lands once upon a time.

"That’s right. A God. Or a Demon, however you want to put it. A being of pure, beautiful destruction that walked this world millennia ago."

"When our ancient ones defeated it, they could not destroy its essence. So, they did the next best thing. They dismembered it and sealed its parts across the world, hoping no one would ever reunite them."

He pointed a finger at the bloody mess on the floor. "That was its heart. The engine that pumped its divine, vaporous blood. The source of the Creep."

His gaze returned to Riku. "The key you held was never meant to open a door. It was a catalyst. A key to unseal the heart’s true power, to allow it to bond with a new host."

He spread his arms wide, his voice rising in fanatical ecstasy. "For years, we have searched for a vessel strong enough to contain it! Strong enough to withstand the integration! And now... You have done our work for us! You have taken the heart of a fallen god into yourself!"

He looked at Riku, who was slowly rising to his feet, his own eyes now glowing with a faint, terrifying crimson light.

"But how does that help you?" Arnold snarled, pointing towards Vyon. "You will lose all your powers, just like that guy over there."

"Ah, you see, Old Guy," the hooded man whispered, a triumphant, proprietary tone in his voice, "just as Riku now possesses the heart, I possess the brain."

"The... brain?"

"That’s right. The very will that commands all other parts." He tapped his own hooded head. "And unlike a normal being, I can now control the heart’s power through him. I have waited so long for someone worthy enough to open that door, to become the vessel."

He raised a hand, his voice dropping to a low, authoritative command. "And now... rise, my vessel. Bow to your new master, and swear your allegiance."

"Young man, can you hear me?! Resist him!" Arnold yelled, pounding uselessly on the inside of his protective bubble.

"Riku! Don’t listen to him! Fight it!" Clara’s desperate voice tried to reach Riku’s mind. However, she soon realized that calling out was useless.

Riku could not be reached.

Their pleas were for naught. Slowly and mechanically, he began to move, his body no longer his own.

"Riku..."

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