The Slayer Ascension: Cursed and Blessed.-Chapter 78: I’m Scared

Of course, Gazel could tell.

The White Freak was still suspecting him.

He acted like he had accepted it. Like Gazel was blessed. Like he belonged here with the rest of them. But now he was standing in front of him again, holding that damned orb, asking to personally conduct another test.

Personally.

His doubt ran deep.

Gazel was not in the mood for this. Not now.

He had just recovered the missing gaps in his memory. And what he found there… it wasn't pretty.

Three Shurals.

Slaughtered. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Cold blood.

He remembered the weight of their bodies hitting the ground. The smell. The sound.

And Almost… Almost killing the dead-eyed girl.

Some might argue it wasn't really him. That it was the demon. That Ruin had taken over. That he had lost control.

But that did not change the truth.

It was his hand.

His fingers.

His strength.

Gazel slowly lifted his head and met Ashiro's calm gaze. His face was deadpan, but his chest felt tight.

"So you're saying you believe I'm cursed instead of blessed like the rest?" Gazel asked quietly. "If that's true… then why didn't you kill me back then?"

Ashiro's eyes did not move.

He was still holding the ball.

"I have to admit," Ashiro said evenly, "you are one of the first in these early days to confuse me slightly."

Slightly.

"I cannot say for sure whether you are blessed or cursed. You passed the cursed test earlier. Yet I have this feeling… something is wrong."

His gaze sharpened.

"You know what? Satisfy my curiosity. Do the test again. If you pass, I will reward you."

A pause.

"If you fail… I will personally end you here and now."

He said it casually.

Like he was talking about the weather.

A chill crawled up Gazel's spine.

This guy is a creep.

He took a subtle step back.

Ashiro's eyebrow lifted.

"Are you scared?" he asked, almost amused. "Because I can hear your heart beating quite loudly."

His eyes gleamed.

"Tell me yourself. Are you blessed… or cursed?"

Gazel stared straight into his eyes.

"Tell me," he replied, voice steady, "who wouldn't be scared when one of the most infamous killers in the entire Bulwark, maybe even the world, tells them they will be killed?"

Silence.

"Although I'm pretty sure I'll pass," Gazel added, forcing defiance into his tone. "After all… I am blessed. Not cursed."

His words were steady.

His heart was not.

I'm screwed.

Damn screwed.

He never doubted the White Freak's words for even a second. Ashiro was a mass murderer. Demons in the hundreds. Humans. Shurals. The count did not matter.

He was a killer.

Of course Gazel was afraid.

And the worst part?

He was bluffing.

He was cursed. That much he knew.

But he was also blessed. The strange energy inside him proved that.

What if the orb showed both?

What if half turned red… and the other half gold?

What then?

That would confirm everything.

Cursed.

Blessed.

A walking contradiction.

Would Ashiro hesitate?

No.

Gazel did not want to find out.

"Are you ready?" Ashiro asked, clearly trying to press him.

The ball rose closer to his face.

Closer.

The surface shimmered.

It began scanning him.

Instead of panicking, Gazel closed his eyes.

He turned inward.

Inside him, two separate sensations pulsed.

One was warm. Radiant. Like sunlight breaking through clouds.

Azura.

The other was dark. Cold. Heavy.

Ruin.

He was more familiar with the darkness. It had been with him longer. It felt like home.

If he suppressed Ruin… would the orb read only Azura?

Would it work?

Or would the truth bleed through anyway?

Inside his soul space, he could see it.

The dark, cold energy compressing.

Crushing inward.

Again.

Again.

Until it became minuscule, forced into a tiny corner beneath the radiant light that flooded his soul. The golden warmth swallowed it, suppressing that part of him. Locking it down.

Ruin went silent.

Azura blazed.

Outside, the orb finished scanning.

The result was out.

Gazel slowly opened one eye.

Just one.

Careful.

When he saw the color, he exhaled inwardly. His body did not move, but the tension in his chest loosened.

Gold.

Pure gold.

The white orb in Ashiro's palm had turned completely golden, glowing softly.

Ashiro's expression did not change.

"Well," he said calmly, "it seems my doubt was for nothing. You are blessed, not cursed. You are cleared of all charges."

Gazel was already walking past him.

"Just leave me alone… freak."

He muttered that last word under his breath.

Unfortunately for him, Ashiro's hearing was sharp.

A small sigh escaped Ashiro's lips.

He looked down at the orb again before slipping it back into the pouch at his side.

Unbeknownst to both of them, deep beneath the golden glow, in a tiny corner almost invisible unless one focused intensely, there was a faint red tint.

So faint it could be ignored.

So faint it could be dismissed as imagination.

Ashiro did not think that far ahead.

After all, how could he?

No one had ever been both blessed and cursed.

That had never happened before.

Meanwhile, Gazel reached his room.

He shut the door.

Removed his clothes and shoes mechanically.

Changed into his nightwear.

Then collapsed onto the bed.

He stared at the ceiling.

Silent.

Of all the killing he had done… this was the first time he had killed a human.

Now that his memories had fully returned, the feeling returned with them.

The joy.

The thrill.

The sick happiness.

He remembered smiling while he mutilated them.

He remembered enjoying it.

Gazel clenched his fists.

His heart trembled with fear.

And rage.

At himself.

Why?

A broken sound escaped him.

Why did this happen to me?

He raised his hands in front of his face, staring at them as if they had betrayed him.

As if they were not his.

Tears rolled down his temples into his hair.

Ever since that accursed day, the day he lost his family and turned into a demon, he had made demon hunting his first priority.

He told himself over and over that protecting humans was not his responsibility.

Yet he did it anyway.

Because he could not bear to watch another family get destroyed.

Broken.

Ruined by that damn devil and his minions.

He never thought of himself as a hero.

But he felt like an avenger.

Like he was fighting for something just.

Every demon he killed made him feel lighter.

They were humanity's bane.

They deserved it.

But now…

Now he had crossed a line.

He killed a human.

No.

Three humans.

Cold blood.

A deep guilt wrapped around his chest.

And beneath that guilt was something worse.

Fear.

Fear of what he truly was.

A demon.

"Dad… Mom… Big sister ... Jarren… I don't know what to do," Gazel whispered.

His eyes were red.

His chest tight.

What happens if I lose control again?

What happens if next time it is children?

Innocent people?

Is this what it means to be cursed by that devil?

Despite everything.

Despite trying to become the demons' bane.

Despite hunting them relentlessly.

Was he still born to carry out their will?

To spill human blood?

Was this his true nature?

To be continued...