Chapter 30: Ira.

I felt the world around me slow to a halt and the world around me, distorting into a familiar, resentful place.

The Undead Asylum.

Solaire had died. His split halves hit the ground and scattered into specks of light.

There was a small, minuscule voice whispering in my head, telling me he was undead and that it didn't matter, But that noise was drowned out.

I felt a splitting headache. A feeling too familiar. I feeling I so much resent. A feeling I hadn't felt much since I left the Undead Asylum.

What was this overwhelming crushing feeling that I hated so much?

Why was I feeling like this?

Ah, I remember now. A feeling all too familiar that tormented me. One I had done everything possible to avoid desperately after I had stepped on the Asylum Demons' corpse and left the asylum.

Helplessness.

I felt like I was back in the Asylum Demons arena. Lying on the ground like a broken puppet with its strings cut, unable to do anything. I hated that feeling. I never wanted to feel it so, so desperately. I would do anything to never have to feel it again.

I hated the feeling of helplessness more than anything else.

Was it because of the Asylum?

No. I remember, it was always this feeling that had haunted me all my life.

A crying child no older than 11 waiting for his parents after they had been missing all day and night. Scared, crying, and alone, he helplessly waited for his parents.

Parents that never came back.

I felt a dry chuckle.

It was always like this, wasn't it?

/So weak./

Unable to do anything.

/So pitiful./

Only able to react as tides of fate wash over him.

/ S o h e l p l e s s . /

I refuse to be helpless once again. I refuse to stand by and watch as this world tramples me. I will win. I will finish this. /No matter what/.

'No matter what.'

/No matter what./

''/No matter what./''

< Absorb 37x Humanity? Y/N >

'Yes'

---

The Gargoyles were approaching him to finish the job seeing that he had frozen after having seen his friend get killed. The first gargoyle arrived in front of the frozen undead and swung but just before he got to, a wave of force with hints of black exploded from the undead. Pushing everything around him back.

Just as the first gargoyle was about to rush back, it caught a glimpse behind the visor of the undead warrior with the dark aura around him. And unlike when their fight had started when its eyes were a dull purple this time they were a burning violet. And those eyes bored into the Gargoyles' very souls.

But instead of seeing the gargoyles those eyes only saw prey.

As all four of the gargoyles circled around him observing him further, the undead changed his relaxed posture to one more... beastlike. He leaned forward slightly and his arms were spread to his sides as his fingers curled like claws. and in the eyes of the gargoyles, it seemed like his vizor had taken the shape of a feral grin.

...

/The human body usually operates at less than 50℅ of its full capabilities. Because the human body is designed that way, whenever we pass that threshold our bodies begin to injure themselves. Because a human body is simply not built to be able to perform at 100 percent./

/Even with the dead man's blow I subconsciously his back a little to not completely cripple myself. I limit the use of it to a limb or two to avoid being crippled entirely./

/But you don't just punch with your arm, do you?/

/Nearly all of the muscles in your body work together to form that punch./

/Without any restraint, the human body is capable of performing some astounding feats. A man using his body's full power could rip apart a chimpanzee of the exact same weight./

/And an ordinary man could lift a car./

/Just as I was able to behead the Asylum Demon with the body of a hollow with minimum stats./

/How is it then that comparatively, the dead man's blows I use currently are far less impressive than that?/

/Because I had been subconsciously holding back to not damage myself further. /

/So what if I were to push my full body to its very limit without any restraint?/

/{Full Potential}/

/Immediately I felt my muscles strain, my bones fracture and some of my blood vessels pop. But when I did so I suddenly felt more. My scleras went red from blood but that didn't affect me./

/I could hear, see, smell, and /feel/ more. I had accessed a deep part of myself I hadn't before. But that didn't stop there as my body started changing a bit./

/A form more suited for combat./

/Muscles changed their shapes and orientation, my nails and teeth got sharper. I didn't know how my body changed like this, but it seemed something deep inside me resonated with my will. Changing my form to one more suited for combat./

/My veins bulged and my body strained to the limit to contain my full power. My body contained far more energy than it should. Unknown power stirred in my veins, in my very soul. Foreign yet familiar, containing endless potential./

/I loved it./

/Power./

/Euphoria./

"/Let's dance!/"

/{Deadman style: Dash}!/

With the full potential of his body released, He leaped forward at speeds faster than an arrow. The gargoyle barely managed to respond by raising its shield to intercept him, but with full potential his reaction speed far outsped theirs.

He could've avoided it, he could have summoned a shield but he refused to run away. He instead summoned a pair of caestus instead of his blade and punched the bronze shield in front of him.

*Smash!*

As his fist made contact the shield deformed and warped under the pressure. To the gargoyle that punch didn't feel human, it couldn't have come from a man, let alone one less than half its size.

Yet the proof was there as the knees of the gargoyle buckled as it struggled under the pressure of the attack and was staggered and pushed back by the attack. And the moment it did, the beast took the opportunity.

His left hand pushed the shield down as he raised his right leg high up. And slammed it down with such force that it knocked the shield out of the gargoyle's hand and used the shield as a foothold to launch him into its face.

*Crunch!*

[CRITICAL!!!]

His caestus-clad fist smashed into the gargoyle's face, sending the demon flying back several meters as it shattered multiple bones on its face as well as multitudes of teeth.

*tap.*

The Beast's body softly landed on the ground. And even with his arm twisted and bent strangely with blood seeping out of the cracks in his armor he didn't seem to mind as he twisted his arm back and used heal. The violent yellow light fixed his body within seconds.

The gargoyles stood as still as the statues they once posed as. Their simple animalistic brains couldn't process the scene that had transpired before them.

For the undead that previously could barely make them budge was now overpowering them.

No form.

Not any fancy technique was used.

Only raw, unfiltered violence.

"/Is that all you got?/"

All of the gargoyles leaped forth with their halberds poised in front of them while the beast just stood there. Partly because of amusement and partly due to the fact that his body could very well just implode from the strain of using full potential.

*Swish!* *Stab!* *Slam!*

The gargoyles even when shocked, still worked in harmony and unison as they stood in formation and started swinging at the Beast. Who, even with 3 gargoyles surrounding him still had that feral grin on his face.

Up, down, left, right, left, right.

He dodged all of the attacks with minimal movements even with three halberds swinging at him. Just as he saw an opening, the Beast spun on his heel and delivered a spinning kick to the gargoyle on his right, his already inhuman grin widening even further when he felt the bones of the gargoyle break from the kick.

Not letting up the Beast quickly gave chase to the gargoyle he sent back while using heal. The moment he arrived in front of the gargoyle he summoned his demon greataxe and slammed it down.

*Crunch!*

The arm the gargoyle barely managed to raise got twisted, bent, and mangled by the brutal axe and the inhuman strength of its wielder. But before the Beast could go in for the kill, another gargoyle hit his side with its halberd.

*Bash!* *Crashhh!!!*

He got launched like a paperweight and impacted the side of the church heavily. And the moment he did he felt something bad. Indeed something bad.

Because, like a rubber band, the muscles he pushed so far snapped back. In an instant all of the recoil from full potential hit. Nearly all of his bones shattered instantly. And basically, all of his muscles tore along with his organs.

"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

His veins burst, skin tore, eyes popped, fragments of bone stabbed his internal organs, his nerves fried, his lungs crushed and his heart tore itself apart.

Even with maximum pain tolerance, the pain was beyond anything a human could experience. It was so intense it could kill a normal man a 100 times over from shock.

[YOU DI-]

But as quickly as he fell down he rose back up to his feet barely able to stand straight up. Blood poured out of every orifice of his body and leaked through any gap it could find in his armor. Even as the yellow light flashed over and over it did nothing.

Then suddenly wisps of black and white started emanating from the walking corpse as it started to laugh maniacally.

"/HAHAHHAHAHAHA!/"

The wound on his side closed up, along with all of the wounds on and inside his body. And the beast was standing tall once more. His body fully restored and stronger than ever.

'/{Full Potential}!/'

Before he could act however a gargoyle landed in front of him and let out a torrent of fire.

However.

The Monster just calmly walked through the fire, uncaring as he burnt, his steps gouging the tiled roof beneath his feet with every step he took. And when he finally reach the head of the gargoyle who desperately spout flame he grabbed the head with both hands.

''RAAURGH!''

He squeezed the head while using full potential, the gargoyle desperately tried to pry his arms off its head to no avail, even with full potential he shouldn't have this much strength yet he did. The gargoyle's eyes were starting to bulge out of its sockets.

*Creak* *Crush* *Squelch*

Its head was starting to deform under the pressure. Even its helmet bent like clay under the beast's crushing grip. The other gargoyles were also breathing fire but it did little to deter him.

The last sight the gargoyle saw before perishing was the visor of John's helmet seemingly distorting into the sadistic grin of a beast as eyes as deep as the abyss filled with insanity and glee bore into its very soul.

*Splat!*

The head of the gargoyle was crushed like a watermelon between John's hands. After the wisps of black healed him once again the beast turned around to face the rest of his prey with a feral, bestial grin.

"/3 Left./"