Chapter 23

(WARNING: This chapter may contain some disturbing mental imagery, which may or may not upset readers who suffer from any insect-related problems or trauma. There may be unnecessary violence and dark themes...literally. Discretion is advised).

Seizing the moment, Ragnaros lifted Sulfuras and roared. I didn't understand what he said, as he was only focused on moving forward, just like everyone else, but the fire he threw into the air and the subsequent explosions only served to increase the excitement of the moment.

It didn't take long to find a group of "Aqir". Big creepy crawlies. They were a horrible mixture of ants, bees, cockroaches, centipedes and mantises. All in a disgusting jumble that would freeze the blood of any ordinary human. It would possibly cause cardiac arrest for those with a deeper trauma or phobia.

Its multiple chitinous limbs, the constant buzzing of its wings and the sharp sickles of its legs. Add to that their large compound eyes, totally black, where not even light is reflected. Disgusting jaws and mouth pincers that oozed venom and made a shuddering noise. This whole package of dark beauty came in different sizes and body combinations.

The larger "Aqir" were numerous and numbered in the thousands, while the smaller ones numbered in the hundreds of thousands. There were so many that they formed a great cloud of whirring and zigzagging bodies.

At the head of this group of "Aqir" were the "N'raqi" also known as "The Faceless" or "The Forgotten". They were large and with some differences in their shapes, but all possessed tentacles for limbs and faces. They did not possess any kind of visible mouth and their eyes were so hidden in their facial tentacles that they were not noticeable. Still, they emitted sound, even if their language was unintelligible.

With our obviously hostile approach, I start a battle.

The first thing I was confronted with was a sea of small insectile bodies. I felt hundreds of little legs moving and crawling all over my body. Hundreds of stings trying to inject me with their poisonous toxin and I guess eat me alive.

A pity for them that my whole being was made of a mineral so hard that they could not even scratch its surface, even so, it did not prevent them from trying. How lucky I am to have an incredible memory, I will remember this moment in vivid detail... I am also thankful not to have any trauma with insects in my other life or honestly at this moment I could move on to another existential plane....

With the sea of insects that impeded our rapid passage, the largest and most repugnant insects came closer and closer to us. Their eagerness to devour us was such that their jaws and pincers sprouted a substance that, upon contact with the earth, caused it to dissolve. The acid they possessed was potent.

With no further encouragement to play and thankfully not being an insect fanatic or entomologist in my previous life, I simply did the first thing that came to mind. As if it were an insecticide, I opened my mouth and before any of those filthy vermin tried to get inside, a large amount of fire shot out of my mouth. To my surprise, the farthest ones were able to resist the heat, but those who made direct contact were simply scorched.

At that moment I understood that these little pests would be a problem to deal with if not enough power was focused on them. Luckily I was prepared to use my body in human torch style and cover myself in fire. This type of defense didn't even pose a problem for me with the amount of energy I was circulating in me, as the expenditure was minimal. All thanks to my elemental synergy, my body harmonizing and acting as one big battery with feedback. I will not run out of fuel for a long time.

With the little nuisances approaching me, as a moth would a flame, I simply continued, ignoring the crunching of their shells as my feet crushed their fallen charred bodies.

Beyond the sea of small flying bodies were the larger "Aqir". Some did not fly and simply ran with their many pointed and sharp legs. These larger "Aqir" looked much tougher.

With one blow I tested their toughness, and I must say it felt glorious to crush these more developed insects with one blow.

The ease with which I killed them in one blow left me a little doubtful of my strength. But it made sense, I had been training against the most powerful elementals of this world and survived with relative ease.

My blows crushed their shells and sent the gelatinous mass of their internal organs flying and staining everything around. All but me, for the fire that coated my being easily incinerated anything that came near.

"HA-HA-HA-HA, COME INSECTS, YOU WILL BE PURIFIED!"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

*BOOOOOOOM

*CRAAAAAAAACK

With such raucous laughter and eloquent words, it was easy to tell to whom those words belonged.

I only momentarily saw Ragnaros crushing thousands of insects and charring thousands more. I could see his enjoyment in consuming everything in the fire, for rivers of lava were already flowing in his wake. Further back, his minions and smaller elementals were eradicating the pesky pests that populated most of the battlefield and made up the bulk of the enemy army. I also watched as the flightless "Aqir" fell into large pits that opened up in the earth with ease, only to be incinerated by Ragnaros' fire.

...

It wasn't long before I encountered a "N'raqi" on the battlefield. They were not few, a few hundred if any. But they still commanded the large swarm of insects. So I decided to go after the first one I saw.

The "N'raqi" I was facing was not the biggest of the group, but it was one of them. So I decided to start with a direct hit to its facial tentacle, or whatever its face was.

My blow was intercepted by a huge, deformed tentacle that appeared to be a hand with some other large tentacles serving as fingers.

The blow knocked him back, but I held back at the end so as not to push him away from me. I could already feel a dark energy attacking my mind, but I didn't care and continued to strike.

With the second blow I made I went straight for his chest, and this time I hit the target. Since I didn't want to send him flying away from the force of the impact that forced him to ascend, I used one of the tentacles in my hands to pierce his chest and pull him back to me.

The irony of life, that a being possessing many tentacles should die for another with similar limbs.

As soon as the "N'raqi" was on the hook, I prepared my fist and pulled hard. This time he couldn't stop me from hitting his face and his head exploded from the blow... Maybe the amount of force I used was out of my hands... Hahahaha, literally. Too bad he had to lose his head because of it... Hahahaha, Red Queen, I think we'd get along just fine.

Excited by my newfound strength, since all the fights I have had have not ended so easily, I quickly searched for another "Octopus Friend" to make cooked skewers. This time I will devour their entire body and see how strong the darkness that runs through their bodies and composes their being really is.

My confidence in controlling the darkness increased when the "N'raqi" I had just fought was unable to do anything to my mental defenses. I only heard the dark whispers coming from his magic, but this failed to affect me in any way. I can even say that the Youtube recordings of what the voices should sound like did not do justice to how incredible they actually sounded.

In all honesty, I think low voices with dark style echo sound effects are awesome. In general the high ones too, but I guess it depends on the being using them or the way they are used. The amazing thing here, is in a way to experience the "dark side" and its cookies without being able to affect me in any way. Hahahaha, take that Darth Vader.

Before long I found another, slightly larger "N'raqi". Without even warning it, I used one of the tentacles in my hands as a harpoon, managing to embed it in its back and pulling the unsuspecting squid towards me. With a downward stroke of my free hand, I plunged its head and part of its body into a "U" shape.

After seeing my "ONE SHOT" or "FATALITY", I was momentarily shocked at how weak their bodies are.

Well, here's my octopus skewer. "ITADAKIMASU".

And in a few bites, I completely devoured the chewy "N'raqi" that had turned into a "taco brochette", hahaha.

As soon as I devoured the "N'raqi", I began to feel the darkness trying to corrupt me. I did not deny it the attempt and made the dark energy flow through my being. In the end nothing happened, as the dark energy easily let itself be guided to where I wanted it to go. With this I understood some things, but I will think about it later.

The weak will present in the darkness coming from the "N'raqi" it had devoured was easily crushed by my own and converted into another kind of sustenance. The dark energy I possessed was now true to me, at least in part, for my connection to the darkness now made me understand the dark and magical voice coming from the grotesque being visible in the distance.

The "Old God" could sense my connection to the darkness and tried to attack me, but I must say that, despite being incredibly stronger than the previous "N'raqi's" attempt, I was able to resist.

The whispers that came into my mind were like the audios of the videos for me. I heard them clearly but beyond entertaining me, they did not affect me. I understood that my wish to that "GOD / DEVIL" was a good decision. Even more so when I knew how to make that wish.

When I asked for it, I remembered a Dragon Ball FanFic I had read in which the main character asked his own Shenlong, through someone else, to wish him to improve the planet as much as his power would allow. The result was incredible, for that Shenlong was a power granted by Super Shen Long. As far as I understood, that was why his created Shenlong was so powerful.

Anyway. The dark element I possessed was not very powerful, but it was mine. What surprises me is the ease with which I obtained it, but I suppose it makes sense considering that it is an element that grants great power, albeit at the cost of corrupting the entity that carries it.

Because I can resist the dark temptations that constantly try to seduce me to let the true darkness into me, I can use the element very easily. Partly because of my powerful will, even more so now that it is in my body, my temple, my fortress. And partly because this power does not resist being manipulated.

It's so easy, as if I've always had it in me. What surprises me are the uses this element has, but for now, I will continue my fight and keep feeding on these octopuses that desperately jump into my mouth with the intention of being my dinner.

...

It didn't take long to wipe out all the enemies that were present in that army. So we continued marching towards the great body of the "Old God".

This time the elementals were even more elated. Their hope and confidence radiated from their whole being, I could feel it. Now he could feel it even more clearly... The darkness is... let's leave it at that.

Over time, I watched as dark buildings began to appear in the distance, and as lava moved continuously through the non-elevated spaces of the growing city. The speed at which the "Old God" was working astounded me.

I also saw their armies, this time it was a proper one....

I understood at that moment why it had been so easy.

We had faced just a few hundred thousand "Aqir" and a few hundred "N'raqi". All were surely laborers continually searching for materials for their "City/Temple". But here, near the "Old God", there were thousands of "N'raqi", with some even 4 times bigger, than the biggest one I faced in the previous battle. Some even protected completely by a black shell. Millions of "Aqir" swarming the sky and roaming all the structures. Both small and large, and some truly enormous, were the "Aqir" that were there.

I was impressed.

So much has been achieved in so few days... This will be a real battle, a very tough one.

Author's Note: What do you think of this chapter, I hope you liked it. By the way, I suffered for my own mind... It's not nice to imagine yourself covered in insects, their legs running all over you and constant bites on your body. *SIGH* What I do to give you quality content XD.

I want you to know that everything has its purpose and objective, I don't usually do things without sense. If this is how you felt the chapter and you didn't understand, just comment "Explanation" or ask me directly what your doubt is, and in the next chapter I will do my best to clarify all the questions.

Finally. I invite you to comment, because each comment is a motivation to continue writing. I also invite you to express yourselves as long as there is respect among all of us. You can give me ideas about anything. You can give me advice on how to improve the plot. You can give me ideas about what to add to the plot, what faction would be interesting according to the personality, philosophy and way of acting of the main character, and why it would be good for me to be in it (although I have my plans, it is interesting to see more perspectives to improve mine or change some things). You can criticize me CONTRUCTIVELY and more. Your imagination is your limit.

We can all destroy, but only the wise can guide. I wish you a great day or a good night. ^^