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Akashic Chronicles: Paradise Lost

"Attachments are unneeded" It was both the first and last thing my old man told me. To be an effective killer you must not feel for the enemy. To be an effective mercenary you must not feel remorse. A contract is a contract. The Client is god for us. To us the value of money is more important than ideals. Hope won't feed you. Sometimes those very same ideals could poison your entire being. Possess you into something more than what you aimed to be. Embrace nothingness, Coin is God. That was the mantra of every mercenary. That was what I believed for so long, until I met her. She pulled me out of that murky swamp. Shining an inexhaustible light, creating a solid path we could tread on to. She was the reason I could keep on moving forwards. The only reason I gave a damn about anything. However, soon enough, like all roads, it soon crumbled into rubble, nothing but relics of bygone memories remained. Plunging me back down deeper into that black and murky waters once more. I reveled in it. I let it consume me, become the very thing we swore to destroy. The very same thing my old man told me about. A monster borne from the hypocrisy of those ideals, yet desperately clinging onto it like a mad man. This is the tale of a fool who once known love, oh so beautiful yet poisonous it consumed him. A tale of a fool who yearns for redemption yet revels in his own self hatred. A monstrosity borne not from necessity, but from anguish.

ArlecchinoSIMP · Fantasi
Peringkat tidak cukup
99 Chs

The Man Who Bears The Moniker "Wolf"

Rhistel was making her way back to Elysium in a huff. However occasionally she would look back and sigh.

"Damn it! I wasted my time recruiting an idiot."

However she would look back towards his direction once more. She doesn't know how many times she looked back. Probably 30 times now but who's keeping count?

"He's probably being chased right about now right? He's a sturdy lad... He won't get mauled to death right?" She said talking to nobody in particular. She sighed and looked back again once more.

Her fast paced steps slowed down until she grinded into a complete halt. She looked up in the skies and sighed.

"No, Rhistel. You made a declaration that you would prioritize yourself and your newfound freedom. Ignore that beefcake he's filled with red flags anyways." She said as she rubbed her temples.

She was about to take another step towards Elysium however she couldn't even move. She grit her teeth and screamed aloud.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! Fine! Fucking hell! KAZ! YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU BETTER BE ALIVE OR I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!!!!" She bellowed in absolute indignation as she started dashing madly towards Haruki's direction.

She kept cursing as she made her way towards his location. However the moment she arrived towards where the fighting was she stopped dead on her tracks. She was staring blankly at Haruki.

The Gigantic Skeleton was standing still as if weary of his opponent. Waiting For Haruki to move.

She stared at Haruki, who was covered in ink like shadow. It looked like it was a long coat however the way it cascaded down like nightmarish tendrils sent shivers down her spine. The most eye catching thing was his mask.

A hunter.

She was familiar with it's kind.

A pack of hunters. 

A Wolf.

His blood red eyes dripped with pure concentrated bloodlust.

One could only achieve such evil aura from eons of slaughter.

However he didn't look that old.

She could feel her hairs stand on end. Cold sweat pouring down on her back. She understands it now. Why mother nature warned her of him. 

He looked human, but he was far from it.

She stared at the blade he was gripping. It was blood red, just like his eyes. It was equally as eerie. Crimson like blood. Ink like shadow just like the night.

From a distance it looked like his shadow entended towards the shades of the forest. It's gloom and solitude amplified as his shadow blended within the surroundings. Like a grim reaper.

Perhaps that's why the monster stopped moving.

It knows.

Haruki finally raised his blade. He lowered his stance, and so did the Giant skeleton raised it's Colossal Axe.

The Giant swung down it's Axe with tremendous strength. Haruki stood still, his blade drawn and waiting for that perfect opportunity.

The Axe slammed down into the ground creating tremors on the ground. When the dust could settled a massive web-like crater was left in it's wake. The giant skeleton lifted it's axe expecting it's opponent to be nothing but a pile of mush.

However not even a trace of him could be spotted anywhere. It tilted it's head as it looked around. It looked down below it and found that its ankles were buckling down.

One of its legs were cleaved and it fell on the ground. It roared loudly. Purple miasma erupted from the ground as it grabbed its severed limb and reattached it. Necrotic miasma filled with the stench of death was then absorbed by a thing attached to Haruki's arm.

Beneath his mask he couldn't help but grin. His blood red eyes shone as he disappeared from their sights once more. He severed it's legs then moved once more. Slowly he was severing the skeleton parts piece by piece. Each slash getting faster than the last. 

To the point the giant's recovery couldn't even keep up. It roared towards the sky as it compressed itself into a smaller size. Even it's weapon shurnk down along with it.

The Necrotic Miasma gathered around the skeleton like a purple cloud. With a roar it's empty eyesockets shone a menacing green light as it was covered in phantasmal armor.

Apparition like armor made of green ectoplasm coated the skeleton. With a glance one might think it was just a visual flair, however it is as sturdy as they come. 

Haruki's blade was coated with black mana and red lightning as he reappeared behind the skeleton. He slashed diagonally however his blade bounced back. He bent backwards to avoid the spining slash of the axe. He kicked the skeleton on it's empty ribcage. He could feel a dry thud. The ectoplasmic armor was even sturdier than he expected.

Red Lightning erupted from his body as a torrent of black mana shot forth towards the sky.

With a breath he muttered silently.

<<Kazama-ryu Kenjutsu Fifth form: Jayoku Hōtenjin>>

His stance lowered almost reaching the ground as he sheathed his blade. 

He could barely be seen from the Torrent of mana and lightning surrounding him.

Within the same blink of an eye he disappeared from sight. Everything went quiet. No sound no movement as if everything was frozen in time.

Haruki silently reappeared infront of the skeleton. No ripples no nothing. He then slashed upwards diagonally.

A massive torrent of Black mana and red lightning in a shape of a blade shot upwards into the sky. Directly bisecting the monster in half. Easily cleaving it's sturdy armor in half. The remnants were charred into unrecognizable shapes and sizes.

Haruki silently observed the remains of the monster in front of him.

The bones creaked and it slowly assembled itself. Haruki chuckled dryly as black miasma enveloped the skeleton.

"Trying to regenerate huh? Ain't you a sturdy bastard."

<<Ars Magus: Devour>>

Magus chuckled. It's hunger for life was unceasing. A ravenous hunger not even a mountain of corpses could satiate it.

Haruki's shadow enveloped the entire clearing.

A large wolf head emerged from his shadow and devoured the skeleton cleanly. It vanished just as quickly as it materialized.

Crunching sounds and muffled roars echoed across the forest. Soon enough before even moments pass the sound stopped. Leaving only the deafening silence. The shadow that enveloped Haruki finally dematerialized and his mask faded into wisps of black mana.

Leaving only the man called Kazama Haruki...

And the carnage left on his wake.