Insanity II

Day 57 of 183

"Huuu~"

'I'm starting to get a hang of it…'

Regis thought to himself as he sensed the demonic star in his heart.

It now was a 4-pointed star.

He was now a Middle Stage One Star Realm in the path of demonic power.

In fact, he could have reached this realm at a much earlier time if not for the fact that he was still quite unfamiliar with the process of creating stars in his heart.

After all, Regis had already killed many lives and his body has perfectly adapted to the demonic power.

'Now… the only thing remaining is…' 

His Corruption Manipulation.

No matter what he did, he was never able to figure out its ability.

Therefore, he decided to approach it from another perspective.

He figured that he must've needed to reach a higher quality and quantity of demonic power before attempting to use this devil craft.

And only by becoming stronger could he achieve this.

Kugh—

Regis coughed, almost vomiting as he spread his senses.

'What the fuck!?'

Cursing in his heart, he retracted his senses and tried to calm himself down.

After a few minutes, he tried again.

He emitted a thin layer of demonic power in the area.

"It seems like I'm right…"

Regis whispered to himself as he sensed something in the air.

It was dirty.

It was repulsive.

It was disgusting.

It was revolting.

Like the crystallization of vileness and repugnance.

In the black energy known as demonic power, there was a thin layer of emerald that was attached to it.

Feeling that it was familiar, Regis racked his brain.

And after a few moments…

"Ah!"

His eyes lit up.

'It was like the color of green in that black sphere!!!'

The sphere in the red space where he was in after forming his first demonic star.

Regis tried to observe a bit more, "Hmmm, it seems like demonic power innately has corruption in it…"

'There's no use in just thinking… I must learn as quickly as I can.'

Thinking this, Regis got up and walked into the forest.

Then, he noticed something strange.

Some of the mushrooms and plants had a thin and opaque green hue in them.

"Ohh?"

However, upon taking a closer look, he noticed something.

These mushrooms and plants were the very same things that he used to poison himself in order to test his gift.

"Interesting…" 

Picking a red mushroom with white spots up, he brought it closer to his face and observed.

'Could it be…'

Excited to prove his idea, Regis tried to use his Corruption Manipulation.

'Let me try to absorb it…'

Holding the mushroom in both hands, he tried to focus and manipulate the green aura in the mushroom.

After a while, the green aura of the mushroom flickered.

'It's working!'

Seeing the reaction from the mushroom, Regis became excited.

However, his excitement caused him to slightly lose control of the green aura in it.

Fuuuu—

All Regis could do was watch as the mushroom instantly withered in his hands, emitting some smoke as it did so.

This sight sent shivers down his spine.

'The hell…'

It was only then that he was once again reminded how dangerous and deadly evil crafts were.

'Well, at least I've achieved something…'

Regis was relieved, thinking that there was now a chance of him saving Greg and Lea.

***

Day 71 of 183

"Hahaha! Die! Die!"

"Hey where are you going!? Come here!!"

"You really think you can get away from me!?"

…

Chaos ensued as children who seemed more like demons than humans chased innocent villagers down and killed them.

[Indiscriminate Absorption]

Not only that, they also absorbed the corpses of the people they killed to become stronger.

Drip- Drip-

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I don't like this…" 

Lea told herself as she bit her lips until they bled.

Her now sunken and reddish eyes were a contrast to her energetic and lively features from the past.

She continuously wiped the drool that was dripping on the side of her mouth.

She was craving for murder.

She was craving the screams of the innocent.

She was craving for blood.

It was driving her crazy.

"I can't be like them. I can't be like them. I can't be like them…"

Lea mumbled endlessly.

She then saw someone in her peripheral vision who was joyfully killing the innocent.

Someone that was extremely familiar to her.

It was Greg.

He had already succumbed to the temptation of demonic power.

However, Lea couldn't be bothered anymore.

After all, even she was having a hard time trying to keep herself from succumbing to the bloodthirst in her heart.

It was a miracle that she was able to stay sane for this long.

'I don't think I can last any longer…'

'Maybe it's better if I…'

She looked at the dagger in her hand, tempted to stab her neck with it.

'It's way better than becoming like them…'

"Good job, soldiers of Agaroth! You have finished raiding the village quicker this time!! I'm sure that the Devil of Destruction, Agaroth, will reward you!"

"Praise the Devil of Destruction!"

"Praise Agaroth!!"

…

The voice of the demonic human leader resounded, followed by the crazed cheers of the children who had become full-fledged demonic humans.

Hearing this, Lea's exhausted eyes flashed with worry.

She knew exactly why they were able to massacre all the innocent villagers quickly.

It was because of the most efficient killer among them.

She looked around and saw the back of a boy with snow white hair.

"Regis… just what's happening to you…"

She mumbled.

It was about a week or so before.

She noticed that they had been raiding the villages quicker and quicker.

After some observation, she noticed Regis.

He silently killed people with one strike of his dagger.

In her eyes, Regis seemed like a machine.

The way he robotically took innocent lives remained vivid in her memories.

However, unlike the others, he didn't seem crazy.

In fact, he seemed to be the calmest of them.

As if the demonic power doesn't affect him.

Therefore, Lea was holding onto the thought that Regis was still sane and that he still hadn't succumbed to the temptation brought by demonic power.

'Please… you're the only one I have left…'

He was the only one that was keeping her from going insane.