43 Chapter 43 - Hate and Reason.
If you want to read up to 20!! chapters ahead go to https://www.patreón.com/cornbringer
Discord invite: https://discord.gg/XHduApz
Don't forget to check the auxiliary chapter about Adam. It's like an info chapter.
Will post an extra chap tomorrow. Maybe one more if we reach the top 3.
----------------------------------------------------------------
[Adam POV]
My lips curled into a snarl as I bellowed my words at them, my heart filled with nothing abhor and rage, promising them a world of pain for what they had done.
"We won't be spared you say?" In an instant, the bald man before me blurred from sight and reappeared mere inches away from me, grinning as his fist flew towards my face, appearing bigger than normal as it zoomed forward.
Unblinking, I carefully stepped to the side, easily avoiding the fist as it came down. Seeing this, the man bellowed with sick joy as his fist cracked against the hard ground, sending a massive shockwave of force in all directions that sent stones and dirt into a cloud of dust around him as I took a single step back.
Clapping, the old man's bony, trembling finger pointed in my direction as he spoke. His eye showing nothing but a deep pit of darkness, as he wrinkled his brows. "There's nothing better than killing those who come looking for revenge," he smiled in a twisted sickening tone.
At this the bald man inched forward, his face twisted in a sadistic grin, saliva dripping from his yellowed teeth as he raised his fist back and prepared to send another powerful blow my way. "Let me hear you scream!"
I remained still as his attack barreled towards me, slowly raising my blade in a calculated manner at the very last moment, slicing his arm right down the middle in a swift movement, splitting his arm open like an overripe fruit down to the shoulder, turning his right arm into two strands of useless flesh dangling from his shoulder as warm blood dripped to the floor in large quantities.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" The bald screamed in pain as he fell to the ground, writhing in pure agony, his face now a twisted mask of fear and rage.
Pathetic, it was truly pathetic how easy it was to shatter their bravado.
The old man grinned at his companion with a look of sinister pleasure, his lips twitching in utter delight at the sight before him. "You underestimated him, Diomed."
Ignoring the other one, I stared at the bald man with a piercing gaze, my voice cold, as I stepped forward and jammed my boot into his open wound, eliciting a loud ear-piercing scream from him. "Tell me everything you know about the tower," I said in a low growl.
The old man then turned to me, his eye burning with intrigue. "He doesn't know, no one does, but me. Alas, you will find the hard way, that I'm not as easy to deal with as my friends." At this, the old man raised his arm towards me, and from the shadows a horde of dark creatures emerged, ready to do his bidding.
I glanced at the old bastard, and his swarm of dark, shadowy creatures, finding myself profoundly unimpressed at his display of power.
Staring at him, I began to sense something new, a cold yet familiar feeling that clung to the walls like an unseen fog begging to be noticed, as I realized the reason behind this.
The old man had used human souls to create his horde of shadow demons.
Mistaking my silence for fear, the old man cackled with glee, his eye glinting with malice, as he raised his gnarled staff, and the horde of demons behind him roared in unison, moving closer to me. "Your little vengeance trip gave me more than enough power to see you suffer."
Then as the horde advanced toward me steadily, their thunderous steps shaking the ground. I looked at them, undeterred, raising my right hand in their direction. "Hado #33. Sokatsui."
With that, a torrent of blue flames comes forth in a burst, surging towards the horde like a wave, growing larger and stronger with each passing second, building up to a lethal crescendo of destruction, before swallowing the swarm of enemies whole, erupting in a massive explosion of blue light and energy, as their bodies were consumed by the flames.
"What..." The old man muttered in shock, taking a step back as I walked towards him, the flames of my attack still raging around me, burning everything but him, and his companions. "You.... you burned all the souls... that can't be!"
"Tell me everything you know about the tower," I demanded in a low and steady tone, my eyes blazing with cold fury, as I stepped closer to him one step at a time, the inferno of blue flames still dancing all around me.
"You little-" The old man's face twisted with rage as he stepped forward, but before he could finish that sentence, I blurred out of sight, closing the distance between us.
"Answer the question," I spat, the tip of my blade poised above his foot, its glimmering form reflecting the inferno of blue that consumed the room, before I plunged into his flesh without a warning, eliciting a scream of agony from him.
The old man gritted his teeth, his face contorting with rage, and pointed his crooked staff at me. The dark staff glowed a pale yellow as he shouted, "You think that-" But once again, before he could finish the sentence, I swiftly drew my blade from its foot and sliced through his fingers with one smooth motion, the staff clattered to the ground as the old man gasped in surprise and pain.
"Tell me everything you know about the tower," I asked again, my voice coming out like ice, as I drove my blade towards his right knee, piercing his skin with a sickening crunch.
The old man screamed out in agony, tears streaming down his cheeks as he crumpled to the floor, shivering in a mix of shock and fear.
As I glared at the old man waiting for him to reply, I sensed a presence move behind me, the bald man. His figure looming in the shadows, lurching forward, his remaining arm raised high in an attempt to strike me from behind, while the other arm hung by a thread in two pieces, oozing blood in his wake.
Keeping my gaze fixed on the old man, I moved my blade back, slicing through the air with a hiss before connecting with the one behind me, cutting his remaining arm off with a sickening crunch, accompanied by a wet squelching noise, as blood spattered like droplets of rainwater on a hot tin roof, filling the air with a metallic smell.
Moments later, the room was filled with the high-pitched howl of agony and torment of the man behind me, his suffering piercing the air like a fire alarm, reverberating off the walls and echoing through the room, as his body dropped to the ground on his knees with a loud squelching thud.
Taking a step forward, I neared the old man, my blade hovering near his shoulder, pressing hard against his skin. A thin layer of sweat glistened on his forehead, and I repeated my question, speaking slowly and clearly. "Tell me everything you know about the tower."
He winced as my blade bit into his skin, and I saw a flicker of terror taking room in his eye.
"You think you will get away with this?!" The old man hissed, but like before, his words were cut short by my blade driving into his shoulder slowly, hitting his ulnar nerve.
At this, his face twisted in agony and his eye squeezed shut as he desperately tried to bear the pain, his mouth opening wide in a desperate howl of pain.
His cries of agony, a high-pitched shriek that echoed through the room, reverberating off of the walls with a deafening sound of anguish and fear, as he tried to lean his body away, trying to distance himself from the pain.
"Answer the question," I repeated, pressing the tip of my blade into his other kneecap, before pushing it in slowly, twisting my sword slightly into his wrinkled skin to ensure he felt the entire motion.
The old man's eye widened with terror, his knees bleeding profusely, as his body shivered in agony. "Stop! Please stop!"
Removing my blade from his knee, I brandished at his face and repeated in a voice that was as sharp and icy as the steel I was holding. "Tell me everything you know about the tower."
His eye widened at the sight of the weapon before his gaze, seeing as it slowly shifted from his face to his other hand.
"Don't! Please! I'll tell you everything!" The old begged, his voice trembling with fear and pain.
Without a flicker of remorse over my face, I pressed my blade against the back of his other hand, and he grimaced as the sharp edges drew blood. "You will," I replied through clenched teeth. "I will make sure of that."
"No, please don't, I'll tell you everything, I give up!" The old man whimpered, as blood dripped from his hand staining the floor beneath him. "We give up, you can take us to the authorities, we'll cooperate!"
"The authorities? Have you forgotten what I said? None of you will be saved, none of you will be spared." I muttered loud enough for him to hear, cutting off his index finger, before driving my boot hard against his chest, fracturing a couple of ribs as I twisted my foot around.
"Please! You don't have to do this, I'll cooperate!" The old man's voice trembled with desperation and fear, his eye wide and teary as all semblance of hope began to disappear from his being.
"I gave you an option, which was more than any of you deserved, but against my better judgment, I decided to offer you all an easy way out. You chose this nightmare, and now that you can't wake up from it, you beg for mercy?" I spat, my voice cold and emotionless as I leaned toward the old man, jabbing a finger inside the wound on his shoulder, making him scream in pain. "No, you had your chance. Now, let's see how many times I can cut you before there's nothing but an empty husk of your former self. This is just the beginning of your nightmare, and don't worry, by the time I'm done with you, there won't be any secrets between us."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Ur Milkovich POV]
My shoes clacked against the hard concrete of the underground base, echoing against the bare walls as I ran alongside Lilia, my heart racing with consternation.
Reaching the path Adam had taken, we rounded the corner and pressed forward, and as we did our eyes were met with an awful sight. Dozens of bodies lay strewn about the hall, dismembered limbs and organs scattered across the floor, the air thick with the smell of death as blood pooled in large crimson puddles around each body, painting the entire hall in red.
I clenched my teeth.
Our mission was to exterminate the guild, but this, this horrific scene revealed a deep feeling of hate behind it all. Each had suffered carefully calculated cuts, deep enough to cause severe pain, and horror, but shallow enough so as not to immediately end their lives; leaving them to writhe and suffer for more than it was necessary.
Some still struggled to breathe, their labored panting filling the still air around them as they slowly succumbed to their agonizing injuries.
"Ice Make: Ice Burial," I uttered, bringing my hands together, as a wave of ice spread outward from me, giving those still struggling a painless end. "Let's move, girl."
Lilia's breath came out in short, frightened bursts as she stumbled along behind me. "I've never seen Adam-sama do this before, he's not a cruel person," she muttered, her voice shaking with concern, as we sprinted down the hallway, dread and confusion gripping our hearts.
Perhaps normally that was the case.
But this, this was personal.
And it was my fault, I could've stopped him, I should've just gone with him, even if that meant fighting him. Instead, I allowed him to go alone, letting whatever is pushing him to turn him into a monster.
It wasn't a matter of whether or not the members of this dark guild deserved their death, it was a matter of how that end came to them.
Gritting my teeth, I continued sprinting down the corridor, reaching a door that led to Adam's location. Wasting no time, I wound up and kicked the door open.
And what I saw stole my breath.
At the other side of the room, I saw Adam stand motionless, his blade slicing through the air and into the three helpless bodies beneath him, with each calculated swing, blood splattered across, painting a vivid and sickening landscape of death.
The bodies were unrecognizable being nothing more than a misshapen sack of flesh without limbs, their injuries having left them unable to scream, and yet, despite their terrible state, they all still twitched, frantic and desperate for their suffering to end.
At this, Lilia's hands began to tremble and her heart raced as she took an unsteady step back. "A-Adam-sama..."
"That's ENOUGH!" I shouted, my voice booming across the room as I rushed towards Adam, launching myself forward with an ice pillar.
Adam's body stiffened, his eyes slowly shifting in my direction, his expression emotionless as he stared at me in silence before returning to what he was doing.
Finally, within range, I lunged forward, my hands wrapping around him, yanking his body into a tight embrace. "Brat, stop it, please," I begged, my voice soft but firm. "No matter what they did, you can't stoop down to their level. They're not worth it."
Adam stood rigidly between my embrace, his breathing shallow and quick. I could feel the tension coiling in his body, taut like a bowstring. Until he finally spoke, his voice low and measured. "Release me, now."
It didn't take a genius to realize that was a threat.
"I won't," I replied, embracing him tighter, as the icy tendrils of my magic crept forward, encasing the three targets of his hate in a layer of frost, ending their suffering.
At this, Adam's body went limp in my arms, and for a moment, I thought I had succeeded in calming him down. But then, with lightning speed, he spun around breaking out of my embrace, before digging his boot into my chest, kicking me away.
A sharp gasp escaped my lips, as my feet flew from beneath me, leaving my arms flailing as I flew towards the wall, colliding with the wall with a loud thud, as the wall caved in, giving form to a crater.
"Who the hell do you think you are, Ur?! You didn't have the right to kill them!" Adam spat, his voice filled with venom.
As I pushed myself off the wall and stepped toward him, my heart felt heavy. His eyes were hollow, filled with years of repressed anger and hate, now coming out alive.
At this sight, my stomach twisted painfully, knowing that his descent into... this... could've been prevented if I'd only said something to the Master… if only I'd taken action, anything but letting him continue since I realized something was wrong with him.
I could see the rage in his eyes, and I knew he was a breath away from becoming something none of us wanted him to be. "Brat, I don't know what those people did to you, but nothing is worth this... you don't have to become a monster in order to get justice. Don't let them turn you into one of them," I said softly.
Adam clenched his jaw and tightened the grip on the hilt of his sword. His knuckles whitened as he forced out the words, "Would you say the same if it was the other way around? What if instead of me, they had hurt your Gray, or Lyon? Or your... daughter, Ultear was it?"
My mouth gaped open and my heart began to race. How did he know Ultear's name? I had never mentioned her to him or anyone else, as far as I knew.
My fingernails dug into my palms as I tried to restrain the emotions boiling inside me. Calming myself down a bit, I clenched my teeth and locked eyes with him. "I don't care how you know about Ultear, at least not now, or what is pushing you, I don't need to know, because I can see that you're in pain and looking for someone to target, to blame. So, as you once saved me, I will save you from yourself, even if I have to beat you to an inch of your life!"
I knew better than anyone what years of pain, suffering, and hate could do to someone.
I would not let the brat be consumed by this.
I would get him to see reason, no matter the COST!
