11 Chapter 3 (5/5) - The Grudge that falls on me.

Life, that is what you get when you are born into this world. What do you do with life? That is what you decide while living your life. The end of life, death or maybe you might continue to live on even after death. Death might be caused by yourself, others, the world itself or decay. And just like that, the life of others might also be decided by you. Their fates at your hands like how yours might be in theirs.

Just like now.

*drip*drip*

The wind blew, carrying with it the scent of blood that filled the place. The drops were still dripping from my hands, stained with blood to the elbows of my blazer. The blood mainly covering the chest portion of my clothes and the thighs of my pants, the rest were the innumerable spots of blood that could be seen almost everywhere on my clothes.

The pungent smell of flesh, rotten flesh, filled the area. The smell, worse than that of rotten eggs, or rotten mice, in fact, far far worse than those, could be smelled from far away. It might be enough to cause a person with a strong sense of smell to faint or make people run to breathe fresh air.

And as for me, I got used to it a long time back. How long? I couldn't remember. It should be after Father Koft left, or maybe it was when I escaped. I didn't inhale the smell of my first victim, I didn't have time for that. But after that, I had to deal with 'rotten corpses' on many occasions. Not a normal life for sure, but the life of a MurkVeil just had to be like this.

In fact, it had been quite a while since I could smell a scent like this. The sent of blood and that of decayed corpses, it was all too familiar.

What filled my sight, was dead bodies lying all over. Their blood dripping on the floor, flowing here and there, enough to fill a pond for sure. The bodies that should have been fresh were all rotten so quickly. There were none of them that were intact. Arms lying there, legs lying here. Heads were split in half, whole upper part of their torsos was missing. Like a battlefield from a long time back, only this battle started an incense stick ago.

How many pieces? I couldn't count. How many bodies? I counted 40 to 60, leaning to the 60 side.

Anyone that saw them would think that they were humans, that these were the corpses of humans. That was my first thought too when I saw them. But when their eyes turned red and they were charging, their fangs popped out and their nails started growing. Vampires? I'm sorry but no, 'vampires' were extinct, they died with the MurkVeils. These were 'demons'. A race that was accepted as one of the major races not too long ago. Around maybe a 1000 to 2000 years back. The rest major races were all accepted at least 10000 years ago.

Maybe I was affected by the voice too. Or maybe I was just having a bad day remembering bad memories. With a sour mood, I felt annoyed that I couldn't rest for even a moment. It made me treasure that short moment I sat on that bench until that little blonde girl came along. Say where was that little girl? An also that time where I had to rest after exhausting myself from gliding. Wait! Wasn't she waiting for me?

"I couldn't care less. Definitely couldn't care to care more. When was the last time I was this down? It's like I did this before, and I wasn't happy. I'm not happy now either."

Now, why would I remember doing something like this? Such a scenario had never happened. Me killing a bunch of students even if they were demons. Me, just slaughtering people like lambs without even waiting for a moment or a reason. I always had reasons or always made them if they weren't there. This time I didn't.

"And yet, with all this killing. I still feel empty, like something is missing."

Is it my heart? No, that part never felt like anything was missing, and not even now.

The blood, not a normal red/dark-red like humans, was reddish-black instead. It would look black if it was night, but the blue sun was shining down with no reservations. The clouds seemed to stay away from us. The parts that were detached from their bodies, were floating on the blood where they could.

One such part floated right next to my leg. My head facing downwards, naturally, I saw it. It was a head cut at the neck. The horror in its eyes in the last moments of its life, when it realised that its head was detached, was perfectly portrayed by the fear on its face. Especially since that, that...

"Huh!?" I crouched down and inspected the head. The pupils weren't red, they were, in fact, black, like someone of eastern origin. Touching down, towards the mouth, the fangs of this head wasn't exactly like the rest. On tapping, it made hollow sounds, and was also slightly shakier than the other teeth, just like

"Just as I thought, this fang was inserted surgically. Seriously, all they did was this and I got hooked?" And this person was definitely not the only victim.

I didn't have to look, just from the aura of this dead corpse. I could feel the aura of 5 to 15 more corpses, more 'human' corpses. In fact, it would have been easy for me to easily discern the disguised humans in between the demons. Their differences were only one or two teeth or eyes.

But I had been melancholic ever since that alleyway. Why? Was what I wanted to know. Sad for no reason at all, sorrow from the wind. Like I would believe shit like that! My self-control was why I survived to this day, and it definitely wouldn't stop here nor would it be the fall of me. But,

"Self Control? *Heh*, give me a break. Is this the result of my 'immense' self-control? I'll bet even a hungry pig could do better." Just had to mock myself while I was down, even if I didn't mean it.

It was because of self-control, that these students died. They weren't innocent, at least not all of them were. Maybe 4 or 5 of the humans were.

I could still picture what exactly took place. The crowd, charging with rage, wanting to claim my head. Me in a sour mood, dealing with things in a different way.

Taking slow steps forward, two blades of dark magic, about two metres long extending from my arms, which too were extended. A sudden surge of strength through my feet, I ran towards the crowd. The majority of them being force mages, the rest having elementals, all preparing their spells or implementing them.

My mind went blank, a shadow covered me from my front, like a screen blocking off all the mana. I couldn't even remember whether it was my magic nullification field or dark screen or cloak or anything.

I remembered what my body did. Suddenly speeding up, shooting forward like a bullet. Swinging my arms, spinning like a top. Like nerves were on my blades, I could feel them cutting flesh, severing limbs, decapitating bodies.

Dogging magic, fists, legs, bodies. I couldn't remember even coming into contact with flesh, it was just blood that actually had contact with me.

A subconscious forcefield shoving them away, two deathly swords causing havoc. They weren't crying in pain, nor were they feeling anything. Why? It was the same reason that I couldn't blame them for dying here. They weren't in control. And that was also why I wasn't considered 'at fault' by law for killing them. It was self-defence.

The blades decapitating them. The variated 'dark' element absorbing their mana while they were at it, their life force after mana was finished. They were decaying at a rate that was visible to the eye. Right now the corses couldn't even be identified.

It was better this way. The best course of action was of course not letting anyone see this. Even if it meant killing whoever that voice was.

"It was fate that you met my blade. And fate that I met you. With this let your souls rest in the afterlife, if there is one. No one shall deprive you of your peace until you are ready for the next life. This oath I swear, in my power."

A prayer for the dead, for their unlucky encounter. Just as the voice said, I brought death and decay to wherever I go. And yet I couldn't be blamed for this wholeheartedly. But that didn't matter, and it never would.

With a new resolve, I set out. This time more determined, to do what? I didn't know. Determination filled me, that's all.

I spread my mana, covering all the corpses. Adding the dark element, then,

"Sink and be gone, Black Swamp." A magic spell covering all the corpses, the ground, that was tile stones, was now a black swamp. It would suck in the corses till nothing was left. then disappear as silently as it came. The stone tile would return to the way it was. Clean, like nothing happened. As far as I was concerned, it didn't.

And as for me,

"All right, playtime's over. I'm coming for you."

It was time to find this 'mastermind' or whoever they are and give them a taste of how sinister I could be. I especially didn't like being forced to remember bad memories. They were things I subconsciously kept deep down, not even remembering they were there in most cases.

With a flash, the place returned to how it was. There was now no one there. Nothing to see, not even the dust being carried with the wind.

If I ever went back then I'm sure I wouldn't be able to recognise the place. Things had to be done perfectly, even if perfection was impossible. Yet a contradiction would be that the only thing impossible would be impossibility itself.

The incident had to be removed from my memory. A little trick that I picked up. But not the feelings from what happened. I would take my wrath with me. My urge to kill. To murder. The sorrow of the dead. And turn them all to my magic.

Extending two of my fingers, a white light gathered at the tip of my right index finger. I raised my hand and made a cut on my head.

*Swipe*

No blood flowed out, the finger passed through. Like it was an illusion, yet the cut really did take place. Cut? Why was I cutting myself?

"Are you done yet? You know you're standing at my place right?" The irritated voice of a young girl rang out.

I looked up and what I saw surprised me. I was indoors, inside a spacious room that was empty except for the chair where the girl was sitting. In fact, why wasn't it dark in here when there aren't any windows or doors? No doors? How the hell did I even get in here?

However, I couldn't let confusion cloud my mind. In fact, my mind was quite clear. My rage was building up. No, it was already flooded. I was ready to release my pent-up anger. To unleash my wrath. The target of all these was the girl sitting on a chair in front of me.

I could measure her being as tall as my chest. Her black hair was in a mess, falling here and there. It Some even reached the floor. I could see her eyes peeking through the hair that was hiding her face.

Her eyes were deep-blue in colour and they... seemed really familiar for some reason. The way they glowed coupled with how big they were on her head, gave me a feeling that they really were familiar.

She 'was' wearing the school uniform. But, her uniform..... was it better to call it rags? the colour had faded like it was from a millennia ago. The uniform was made of special silk or cotton. From the way it didn't constrain me and allowed mana to pass through it freely, it was easy to know that. What was hard was to know what was the material.

But hers, time really had taken a toll on them. It was hard to be certain whether her coat was blue or grey. Her shirt was dark grey-black. Even she herself was dusty to all ends except for her hair which was as black as ink and her eyes which were clear.

How I got here didn't matter. As for what I should be doing, I was certain my guess was right. Acquaintance or not, these feelings of mine didn't come out too often.

"I don't know how I made it here, but it's nice to meet you. I'm Ashwaal MurkVeil." A short introduction was always polite. A noble needed etiquette

"I'm sorry but it seems I forgot what I was doing here, could you possibly help me remember?" Why was I talking like this? Was I a maniac who would smile and talk to people before he murdered them in cold blood? Maybe, but I wouldn't play around if I really was going to kill someone. Yet now,

"In fact, I don't even know your name or what you did. But I do know that I have a really big urge to kill you right now, and this urge doesn't just come and go. It has a reason, 'had' a reason for why I have it. Now, you don't have to help me remember because either way, debts have to be paid. So, any last words?"

The girl remained silent. Her eyes not moving an inch.

"No? Then I'll get straight to the point. Have we met before?" With that, I drew my handle. That space lord handle. Calling it the space lord dagger or handle was fine either way. Since the blade was formed by my magic.

The girl shook her head. So it seemed that I was wrong in my guess. I wasn't right all the time after all, just really rare.

I didn't want to delay things any further. Before I go on a line of thinking and miss what I was trying to do in the first place. I had to finish what I should do.

I raised my dagger, parallel to the floor. Was it wood or stone? I didn't know. I only stared at the girl. My hand near my chest. Left hand forward, ready for a grip. Wait! Was she a girl or a boy? I didn't know. It didn't matter. Left lag sliding a bit towards the front. My stance ready for a quick stab. All that would end it was for a small thrust from my right leg which would make my body slide forward while standing.

"You haven't changed a bit. Still the same as before. Conceited, self-centred, selfish. Mistaking arrogance for confidence, Look at what you're doing. Just trying to kill me even before reasoning. Look at what your irresponsibility made your life into? As for pride, what is there to take pride in a little bug like you?" The little 'girl' spoke. Now her voice was clear to hear. That of a child's, maybe 9 or 10, but not more than 12.

Her words really were venomous. But...

"I'm sorry, but have we met? Because you certainly said...."

"I was shaking my head from my disappointment. I haven't replied to your question."

Not waiting for me to reply she answered.

"And yes we 'have' met before. Though you wouldn't remember, because you 'forgot' that you won't remember. But I have no intention to go through all that again by telling it to you."

"So, why am I here? You were expecting me, weren't you? I'm sure whatever you did compelled me to find you, and I surely didn't like it one bit."

"Yes you didn't and that's why you're here, isn't it? And I'm sure you want to know why I said all those things."

"I think you're underestimating me here because I 'know' the answer to that question."

"Really? You actually 'know' what happened back...."

"I mean the 'answer' as in why you would do all these things to piss me off."

Her eyes finally changed. Her face probably had an incredulous look right now. Her eyes now had a hint of suspicion in them. They were now wider than before, and trust me, they were at least a size or two bigger than a normal girls eyes.

"I don't know who you are, or what you are, or whether we've met before or whatever. What I do know is that you want to 'die'. And maybe we did meet before or maybe you heard about me from someone else. Either way, one thing is that you knew 'that' I arrived and you did all that to get me to kill you. To end your 'pain'. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, that's absolutely right. But that doesn't make you feel better does it?" There was no pause in that answer, nor before it. The fact that I 'knew' was not enough to surprise her anymore. Pain came in a lot of forms, I don't necessarily know 'her' pain. To some people, even being alive was a pain. Especially when they couldn't take their own lives because of different reasons. This girl also probably couldn't.

But a little girl wanting to die but not being able to kill herself, maybe she wasn't so little when it came to age. These were only doubts or guesses, but I had a feeling they were on the right track.

And in fact, they only poured fuel to the fire, just changed the direction of the flame.

"No, no it doesn't. And that's why I really want to stab you right here and end this."

My hand was shaking. The dagger, sharp enough to slice space, made lines in space.

"But now that I think about it, wouldn't that be doing what 'you' want me to do? And if I take you out here so that you don't cause any more problems, wouldn't that be what that old ha... I mean the respected principal wants me to do? In fact, from what I can see, with your abilities I'm sure you'd be quite a nuisance for the authorities and still being alive, you'd be a nuisance for this so-called Magus Sphere, right? So killing you would also be what they want. In fact, maybe the students and the teachers would also want me to do it."

"That's what all of you want. You called me self-centred, yet are you not the same? Expecting other's to do what you can't do, just because you can't do it. Not bothering to 'try' to do it or 'try' to be able to do it. Living in your worlds while 'we' make your lives better for you. Doing all these where you benefit and we keep on losing. Aren't you a such a hypocrite yourself?"

The girl went silent, but her eyes were still locked on me. Only, they weren't that clear anymore.

"What about what I want to do? Do I want to do all of this? No, I don't. Instead, I 'need' to do this. I need to live. The reason that we do all these things at the elementary level is all to 'live'. The irony is enough to make me mad. In fact, I'm starting to want to kill you."

The girl's eyes dropped down, then suddenly stared at me again. Really hard, like she was unsure of what she heard. Well, she heard right.

"That's right, I'm not going to kill you. In fact, I'm doing the opposite." I turned around and made a slice in the air.

*doom*

A door shaped hole was now in the wall, making a loud sound as it fell to the ground. I guess we were quite high, but the sunlight coming in still didn't change any of the present lightings inside the room or hall or whatever.

"That's right, I'm forcing you to live. And with this, you can't escape anymore." A flash and a black rune engraved itself to her body. This would seal her mana so she couldn't use magic for an hour or two. It could be removed easily by anyone else, or by itself after it ends.

"Are you mad? Angry? Do you want to rip me to shreds? I know how it must hurt being forced to live when you yearn for death. I know, I've felt it before."

"But you ain't dying. Not here, and not near in the future."

"In fact, for fun's sake, I'm going to be living for myself and doing only what I need to do from now. So the rest of y'all, including the word, and maybe the whole universe can f**k o**. You ain't getting the s*** that you want. What you'll be getting is my s*** and you'll be happy with it. As for grudges, I don't give a d***, I'll take them to the grave with me but I ain't planning to die. I already have all the grudges that still haunt the name MurkVeil. Just an Alkmard won't add much to it. Your grudges only mean s*** and help in making my magic stronger."

"So goodbye and..."

Before I finished the girl stood up. Now that she stood up, she was actually as tall as I was. And that made her taller than most of her peers, that is, if she was the age that I 'now' thought she was. That was over 12, but not past 18 or 20.

She parted the hair cover her mouth. Maybe she was trying to speak? She just went silent after speaking before. The hair that she parted was still not enough to clearly see her face. It was like there was a separate shadow cloaking her features.

What was she going to say. Would it be her words before she tries to kill me? Would she still have a way to run? From the moment she stood, what I felt from her changed. My instincts started kicking in. The best way to describe it is what she suddenly grew older, by a few years or so. That was enough for some people to unlock their potential and get really strong. So yes, she was radiating danger. Yet this danger wasn't aimed at me, it was more or less like it was radiating from her naturally, like a calamity. It wasn't particularly aimed at you, but you would still get caught up in it one way or another.

She opened her mouth and said. "...."

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