Towards the citadel 12(1)

Various scenes of that wild joy flooded Mark's mind. He saw himself laughing over lifeless bodies, relishing the fear in his enemies' eyes. Every detail, every scream, every terrified glance seemed seared into his memory. That feeling of absolute power, of domination, was so intense it nearly suffocated him.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME?!" - He asked, running a hand through his hair, trying to calm down.

Mark closed his eyes, attempting to push those images away, but it was like holding back a raging river with his hands. Every time he opened them, he saw it all again. That madness, that pleasure in others' pain, wasn't him. He couldn't accept that he was truly capable of such things.

"TELL ME WHO I AM?! TELL ME!" 

Pointing the dagger at his throat, he asked that desperate question to the Guide.

[Host, you need to calm down.]

"Calm down?! Did you see what I did?! I killed people while laughing and enjoying their torture!" - He shouted, not moving the dagger from his throat.

Mark wanted to deny everything that had happened, but he couldn't. There was a part of him that enjoyed that feeling. He felt free from every attachment, doubt, and confusion. In that state, he saw the world shining with countless lights and was constantly flooded with pleasurable stimuli, to the point of becoming an addiction.

"Just tell me I was being controlled by something... I beg you." - He murmured weakly.

[Host, I understand your anguish, but I warned you that there would be consequences for absorbing the energy in the magic stone. From the beginning, it was you, but not the true you.]

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

[Every living being possesses two primordial energy sources, the origin and the chaos. Different species have different ratios of these energies, and humans are one of the rare species with an equal balance of chaos and origin. This balance must always be maintained.]

Mark continued to listen, unsure where the Guide was going with this.

[In your case. You might not know, but every week you donate part of the chaos energy you produce to Origon, causing the chaos energy within you to decrease and become purer, while the origin is the exact opposite, all to maintain balance. But you disrupted it.]

"You mean with the stone?" - Mark asked, still confused by the whole story.

[Exactly. I don't know the exact reason why you couldn't stop absorbing it, but those stones contain an enormous amount of chaos. Consequently, once you absorbed it, the entire balance within you was broken, and you were completely overwhelmed by your chaotic side.]

"All this to tell me there's a psychopath inside me?"

[No, all this to tell you that every being has a dark side. The difference lies in the balance. When you absorbed that stone, you gave full power to your chaotic side, the one that is normally kept in check. You are not a psychopath, Host. You are a person who has been overwhelmed by a wave of chaotic energy.]

Mark lowered the dagger, feeling the weight of the Guide's explanation. He was breathing heavily, struggling to accept the reality of what had happened.

"So, am I okay now?"

That was the question that concerned Mark the most. Even at that moment, he still had those images and sensations vividly in his mind, fearing they might resurface.

[Here's where it gets interesting, how did your soul not collapse?]

"Eh? No, wait, why are you asking questions, aren't you supposed to be my guide?" - Mark asked, speechless.

[That would be the case if you were normal, but the more time passes, the more I find you an anomaly.]

"...Just explain, please." - Mark said, massaging his temples.

[If you had only absorbed a little energy, I would have accepted it, but you absorbed the entire energy of a creature with the same level of existence as you, and besides having an anomaly in your core, you are perfectly healthy. To put it more concretely, it's like you completely drained someone of blood, then emptied all that blood into yourself.]

"Is it really that strange?" - Mark asked, uncertain.

[Very. Anyway, this is not a problem you can really understand. As I said, at the moment, your core still has impurities that could cause problems in your growth, but if you manage to absorb them correctly, they should help you instead. Another important point, even if I still don't understand what happened to all that energy you absorbed, the fact remains that it partially corrupted your mind.]

Mark's expression immediately hardened.

"I imagine that's not a good thing."

[No, it's not. It means you've become more vulnerable to chaos. If pushed under strong emotional stress, there's a risk you'll lose control again, and there's nothing to remedy it. This is the price you had to pay to live.]

Mark's morale immediately sank at the news. He didn't want to accept becoming that thing again, so he had to do his best to maintain a calm mental state.

[Now for the good news. Your core has surpassed the 49% block, reaching directly to 60% due to the energy you partially absorbed. You are now in the third stage of the primary core. Your strength is comparable to that of a level 2 adventurer with stats ranging from G to F.]

"At least something good." - He said with a half-laugh.

Even if all those events weren't part of Mark's plan, it had to be said that he had achieved all his goals there. He had reached the strength of level 2, obtained the fragment, and even though not in the way he had thought, he had eliminated the threat of Narak. Now, only one thing remained.

"Head to Citadel 12."

Of course, he wouldn't go alone; he would bring Agata and the children with him because, besides the fact that the place had no future for them, without Narak, it had lost any source of security.

"We also need to hurry; I don't know how long the monsters in the canyon will remain in that weakened state, and I think everyone will quickly notice Narak's absence, which will lead to who knows what kind of disorder. We need to leave today." - That was Mark's conclusion, to avoid any potential problems.

Taking a deep breath, Mark looked at his blood-stained hands again, vowing to do everything possible to avoid repeating such a scene, because although he was willing to take lives to survive, he didn't want to take pleasure in doing so.

"Let's go."

Still conflicted with himself, Mark began to return to the citadel with one of the carriages, which he learned to use thanks to the Guide's advice. As he headed towards his destination, he checked his physical state and couldn't hide his surprise when he saw that every wound he had suffered had completely healed.

It took some time to return, but Mark finally reached the citadel's walls and was immediately stopped by a couple of guards stationed there.

"Hm? Why are you alone?"

"I need to pick up something important for Narak." -Mark lied.

The two guards exchanged confused glances, but the thought of what Narak might do to them if they delayed someone he had sent quickly made them step aside without further questions.

Mark sighed in relief, grateful that the situation hadn't escalated, and hurried towards the orphanage.

"Mark's here!"

Some of the children outside saw Mark coming and ran to him excitedly. Mark smiled at all of them, but when he tried to pat their heads, the images of his bloody hands flashed in his mind, stopping him immediately.

'This won't be easy to live with.' -He thought, resigned.

After greeting the children as naturally as possible, Mark headed towards Agata, who was surprised to see him, given that she had seen him leave with the other guards just that morning.

"I'm glad to see you're okay, dear. Have you already finished your task?" -She asked curiously.

"Agata, if I told you we could leave today, what would you say?"

"This..." -Agata was taken aback by Mark's words, but she answered honestly.

"I would be fine with that, but what about transportation and food? And also, Narak-"

"Narak won't be a problem anymore." -Mark said bluntly.

Agata noticed Mark's expression and, after a moment of processing, understood what he meant.

"As for food and transport, I'll take care of it. You focus on preparing the children and some water barrels. I need to do something first."

"Alright." -Agata responded, not taking her eyes off Mark.

"...No questions or doubts?" -Mark asked, finding Agata's natural demeanor unusual.

"Actually, yes, are you okay?" -She asked, concerned.

'Seriously.'

Mark almost laughed. She could have asked about anything, but her priority was his well-being, sensing that something was wrong with him.

'I really have no strength against people like her.' -He thought, smiling.

"Yes."

If lying was what it took to make her feel better, then Mark would continue to lie.

"If you say so. The children and I will wait here for you, be careful." -Agata said gently, patting his hair.

Mark nodded and headed towards his goal, Narak's mansion. It should be noted that for Mark, simply bringing the members of the orphanage to Citadel 12 was not enough; he wanted them to have a stable life there. To achieve that, according to what the Guide had informed him, a considerable sum of money was needed to become official citizens, and the funds Mark sought were in that mansion.

When he arrived, several guards were confused by his presence, but when he repeated the same excuse, that he needed to pick up something for Narak, no one stopped him. Thus, he continued his path towards the vault where Narak kept his treasures.

"I need to get something for Narak." -Mark repeated to the group of guards.

"Password." -One of the guards demanded.

'Haaaa, how paranoid was that guy?''

Seeing that Mark didn't respond, the guards immediately got on alert, but in an instant, Mark catapulted in front of one of them and struck him in the stomach, knocking him out cold.

"Attack!"

The other guards charged, but Mark moved like lightning, leaving his opponents no chance to react.

"This is quite surprising." -Mark said to himself, admiring how easily he had knocked out each of the guards.

Snapping back to reality, Mark searched the guards' pockets, finding the key he used to open the treasury doors. Immediately, he was standing before a mountain of magical stones, precious gems, and rare metals, along with a wide array of weapons.

"Wait, are these all diamonds?!" -Mark asked, shocked when he saw a moderately sized chest full of shining diamonds.

[From the color and shape, they highly appear to be. With this amount, the people you want to take with you will have a more than decent future.]

Mark didn't hesitate to take them, along with a new claymore, a couple of daggers, and a more decent set of armor. He could have taken more, but he knew that greed could only bring problems. The carriage they would use was already going to be quite heavy, and bringing more stuff would simply slow them down.

'Now for the supplies, dry food would be ideal.'

With that thought, he left the room, only to be attacked by someone unexpectedly. With an agile move, he dodged the first strike and the second attack he blocked with his new claymore without difficulty.

"What are you doing you- Mark?!"

"Vincent?"

The person who had attacked him was none other than Vincent, who had no idea what was happening.

"Why are you here? No, wait, why are you stealing from that madman?! Put that down right now! Wait a moment, how did you deal with the guards and-"

Vincent seemed more and more confused by the situation and started bombarding Mark with a barrage of questions, which Mark halted with a single hand gesture.

"Narak is dead."

"Impos-"

"And I'm escaping."

"But what-"

"Towards Citadel 12."

"Let me speak!" Vincent shouted hysterically.

"First, you tell me Narak is dead, then that you're escaping, do you realize how insane this all is?!"

"Anyway, you came at the perfect time. I want you to come with me."

Ignoring him, Mark proposed. Even though he had become stronger, it would be difficult for him alone to keep all the children and Agata safe for the entire journey, especially with the energy absorption process happening in a few days. He needed help, and Vincent was the only one who came to mind.

Although he hadn't known Vincent for long, he had never seemed like a bad person. He kept his distance from almost everyone, and there were no reports of him mistreating others. Moreover, there was the main reason.

"Like hell, I will!" Vincent's instant response.

The so-called disease he had.

"Then enjoy dying from your disease."

Without saying another word, Mark began to walk away, when he felt Vincent's grip on his shoulder.

"Listen, I don't have much patience-"

"Me too."

With a swift move, Mark executed a perfect judo takedown, leaving Vincent speechless as he stared at the ceiling.

"Y-You have a blessing!" -Vincent said, shocked, especially when he realized Mark was much stronger than him.

"Exactly." -Mark didn't bother to explain what he had.

"Fiuu... I have a ton of questions, but I just want one truth. Is Narak really dead?"

"Yes. I killed him."

Those emotionless words sent chills down Vincent's spine, who finally resigned to his fate.

"Just tell me what to do."

"Gather as much dry food as you can, enough for at least a week of travel."

"So-"

"In total, there will be nine of us. You have ten minutes to get everything, I'll be waiting in the carriage area."

With those words, Mark walked away without looking back, leaving the poor Vincent still lying on the ground, staring at the ceiling in disbelief.