85 [85] Depraved Walk of the Heavenly Demon
Chapter 85: Depraved Walk of the Heavenly Demon
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I stood amidst the ruins of the Aurelius Empire's Imperial castle, and my laughter echoed maniacally across its broken halls.
This was my retribution, my justice for the unforgivable sins of Aurelius Zhenyu. The stupid cocksucker who targeted an old and obvious Tang Mingxia in the hope to get revenge on me.
For he killed her and the remnants of the Tang Clan, I was going to destroy him and his Empire. The once-feared warlord was now nothing more than a crumpled heap at my feet.
-「Many Men~ Many Many Many Many Men…. Have mercy on me, Have mercy on my soul, Somewhere my heart turned cold」
Three [Icons] sang over my head, having accompanied me for the last half an hour that I took to take down Zhenyu and the rest of the Aurelius powerhouses—at least those who were in the Imperial Capital. I'll murder the others later.
"You thought you could provoke me and live to tell the tale?" I bellowed, my voice booming through the rubble. I kicked his half-dead body as he winced. "You thought you could touch what was mine and not suffer the consequences?"
Zhenyu, bleeding and broken, dared to speak against me. "You're a monster... You disgusting demon. How could you destroy everything?"
I leaned closer, grabbing him by the hair, my rage uncontainable. "When you chose to wipe out that village, you sealed your fate. They were under my protection. And among them... was Tang Mingxia."
"Fuck, I did think that'd make you mad, but how…. how was I to know you'd be this mad?!" he protested weakly, coughing up blood.
He had tried to provoke me, hoping to see me angry and frustrated. He didn't think that I would come down to his castle like a falling star and destroy him while he was busy with his wife and concubines.
My laugh was dark and unhinged. I didn't say anything. I just laughed, the grin on my face stretched to my ears. "And all of this happened because I'm the bastard son of Aurelius? Were you really scared I, who was now world-famous, would return to this foreign Empire to claim authority?"
I had grown up as the servant of the Tang Clan, however, it turned out I had noble blood from an Empire in another continent flowing through my veins. That explains why my name is Aurelius Tiankai, a mixture of Roman and Chinese.
Tang Mingxia, the Tang Clan's sick and frail eldest daughter, was the only person whom I let live from the Tang Clan, along with some servants. I let her be for decades because she slapped me and told me to get lost before her eyes since I was the person who killed her family—even if she hated them.
Still, I secretly kept her village safe for all these decades by positioning undercover members from my Heavenly Demon Sect there. This Zhenyu bastard somehow managed to learn about Mingxia, before he proceeded to massacre her village.
I hadn't yet visited the village after its destruction. I didn't want to see her grave before I took revenge for her. The Aurelius Empire shall fall and cease to exist for her soul to rest.
"Mingxia... the Tang daughter... You really did all this for her?" Zhenyu's voice was barely a whisper, filled with a mix of fear and realization. "No, that doesn't make sense. You must be lying! This must just be a front. There must be another way I have offended you, what is it?!"
"YES, HAHAHAHAHAHA!" My shout reverberated off the walls, I laughed as I stepped on his crotch and crushed him under my feet. "It's all for her! It's not for the others in that village, but just for her!"
Zhenyu's defiance flickered in his eyes. "You... you're a monster. You are no better than me. You're going to destroy all of this just because of a single dead woman?!"
I grabbed him by his collar, lifting him with ease. His body was limp, he couldn't resist at all. "I am the Heavenly Demon. My justice may not be righteous, but it is absolute. Because I am absolute because I am the greatest of all time. While you are a loser, who will suffer for eternity."
With a flick of my Qi, I plunged my hand into Zhenyu's chest. His heart, still beating, was crushed by my grip.
"Aukgh!" He let out a final, choked cough before succumbing to death's embrace. But his end was not to be so swift and merciful.
With a cruel twist of my will, I yanked his soul from his collapsing body, tossing it and trapping it into the spectral prison that dangled ominously from my belt. There, his soul would writhe in agony, watching me devour everything he owned.
"I shall carry you with me," I said, my voice cold and relentless, "as I annihilate everything you ever loved, every trace of your existence. Starting with your family."
His muffled screams from the cage were music to my ears, a symphony of suffering that fueled my rage and satisfaction. But fully satisfied I was yet to be.
I walked deeper into the devastated halls of the Imperial Castle, my Icons swirling around my head like vengeful spirits. In the depths of the castle, Zhenyu's family cowered, trapped with no escape. I could feel them with my Perception, and they too could see me walking towards them, thanks to the perception-related Bloodline ability that all Aurelius had. With each step I took toward them, they trembled.
I was grinning, lazily walking through the halls as my Icons moved with me.
"You see," I quoted myself from my 3rd life when I was the Genghis Khan. "The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters. A man's greatest joy is crushing his enemies."
"Watch, as I enjoy and destroy everything that you owned. Only because you chose to be a fool." I said and pushed open a door, behind which scared women shook, while young men, probably their sons or brothers, stood in front of them.
The men, brave but foolish, attempted to shield the women. But their bravery was in vain. With a laugh that could chill the blood of the gods, I tore into them, feasting on their flesh. The room was soon awash in a macabre display of gore and despair, as I ate the men alive.
The women screamed at the sight, and a moment later they cried for themselves, as I desecrated everything they were. Their innocence, their dignity, I stripped it all away, leaving them as nothing but hollow and ruined chunks of meat.
After that, a storm of rage and vengeance devoured the Aurelius Empire. The family, the clan, and the kingdom... I left nothing but ashes in my wake. The family, the clan, the kingdom – I razed them to the ground, leaving no stone unturned in my quest for total annihilation.
The entire continent quaked under my wrath, and my Heavenly Demon self took a step forward in becoming the Venerable Immortal Over Heavens.
* * *
"....And that's it."
Koneko finished her story as I chewed on my lips.
Although her words made me remember a flashback of that situation, she hadn't read my thoughts in that situation. She only saw broken fragments of that scene, but it was enough to paint a picture in her head.
'It's far from the worst thing she could have seen, but it's still not good.' Whatever the case, my image was ruined in her head.
It would be bothersome if she spread the news. As I said before, I didn't really mind people knowing that I was a reincarnator, but it's a whole other story if they knew things I did in those reincarnations.
'This is embarrassing.'
Moreover, it's embarrassing since, even after I did all that, even after I destroyed half of the world, I went to the village to put flowers in Mingxia's grave, only to find her alive. She wasn't in a good state, obviously, she was half dead and turning into an [Ice Tree], but she wasn't dead.
Her Yin Body kept her alive by blooming the lower half of her body into a tree made out of ice. It was an odd sight to see.
It took me a few years to get her back to normal, but she lived. She was mad at me at first, once again, for what I did, but she knew me enough to not say something like "I didn't ask for it!". She understood why I did what I did and allowed me to take care of her back to normal.
Speaking of, Mingxia was the reason why I researched so much into Yin Diseases. It would come in handy today too, if my deal with Ranefer Phenex ended well and I gave her the medicine.
"Um, I… I won't tell anyone…" Koneko said once she noticed my silence.
"You better not," I broke out of my daze and nodded. "It won't end well for you. Or your Peerage… Nor your sister."
She was already scared when I mentioned her Peerage, but she paled like a paper sheet when I mentioned her sister.
From what I knew, she loved her sister even though she was angry at her at the same time. Since I wasn't supposed to know about her sister, it made her scared.
"But, at the same time…" I didn't plan to just threaten her. Looking at her cute little face, it was too cruel to threaten her like this. Perhaps because she was a cute little girl with white hair and a Feline, she reminded me of my wifey. Nyxondra. There were no other similarities other than those, but it was enough.
I canceled the Heaven Icon and called forth my Tiger Icon, as I sat down beside her and gently pulled her to me, her back against my chest. With my larger hands, I gently ran my hand down her back as I whispered.
"I want you to understand that the person in that vision and I are different now. So as long as you stay silent, everything is fine. I like Rias, and I like you. I helped you guys out, didn't I? So rest assured."
I stayed like that for a while, feeling her tense body slowly relax over time. It's not possible for her to be comfortable around me just yet, but I'd at least make sure she understands that she's not in any danger. Both my [Gold Sign] and the Icon helped me make her calm.
* * *
[Third Person Point of View]
'Just what is he…'
Koneko couldn't help but wonder as he held her from behind. At first, she felt very uncomfortable, but slowly, her body was calm on its own.
She didn't trust him just yet, she doubted she'd ever be able to trust him after what she saw. He was… a bad man. A very bad man. A monster who ruined a world and was now in their world.
Koneko had heard about the existence of other worlds, but she hadn't met anyone from there. From what it seemed, this man was from one of those worlds—if not even beyond that.
She was unsure what his 'Aqua' identity was. Was it just a polymorph technique? Or what, exactly?
Whatever the reason was, Koneko wanted to find out. No, she had to find out. While he said he wasn't going to harm her or the people around her, as long as she stayed silent, she had to make sure he really was as safe as he claimed.
She had to confirm his goals of coming to this world. The only way to make sure he was safe was for her to get closer to him. She had to be unsuspecting and cautious with this.
And she has to do it alone because if she told anyone else about this she didn't doubt for a bit that he'd ruin their lives.
Exactly like how he had ruined the lives of billions. Just because of a single man's mistake, he destroyed half the world.
'What a monster,' she thought even as her body relaxed into his arms, her eyes going droopy as she fell asleep.
Thus, the little cat fell asleep in the arms of the big cat, who carried her sleeping form back outside.
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