Dealing with the nightmares and returning home

"If you don't have the means to kill them, just run away before the night patrol arrives. The gunshots were far from quiet. Someone has likely already reported it, and a group is probably on its way here. But if you have the means to kill them and still escape capture by the night patrol, I strongly suggest you do so. This will show the camp leader that you mean no harm to the ordinary inhabitants of the refugee camp. As a result, he will likely be more lenient in his investigation, and even if he catches you, he will not dish out a heavy punishment, only imprisoning you for a few years to exert his might and warn others that the crime of killing isn't tolerated," the anomaly added.

Certain rules were established after the third disaster hit the human race.

These regulations were crucial in minimizing the damage caused by the curse that the seventh great devil had placed on humanity by sacrificing himself.

These rules provided a systematic approach that significantly reduced the birth of nightmares.

Two primary duties were imposed on everyone.

Firstly, everyone was required to burn the body of their loved ones immediately after they died. Although it was an emotionally painful task, it was necessary to decrease the occurrence of nightmares. The act of burning the bodies ensured that the curse could not take hold and turn the deceased into malevolent creatures.

Secondly, it was everyone's duty to reduce any human corpse undergoing transformation into a nightmare to ashes before the process could complete. Upon encountering such a corpse, it was imperative to act swiftly and decisively and turn it to ashes. This responsibility fell on the shoulders of all, as allowing a nightmare to fully manifest posed a significant threat to the living.

In addition to these general duties, one specific obligation was imposed solely on spiritual combatants.

Spiritual combatants were tasked with dealing with newborn nightmares immediately.

They could not leave these abominations to prey on the living and grow stronger.

Allowing a nightmare to thrive was considered a grave sin deserving of death. 

If a spiritual combatant was caught neglecting this duty, they would be executed as punishment.

Anyone with the ability to fight was expected to contribute to this cause, ensuring the safety and survival of the human race as a whole.

The anomaly knew about these rules as it had free access to the memories of the original owner.

It understood that applying these rules in the current situation would clearly express Sal's stance.

Killing all the nightmares here would show the camp leader that the murderer behind the deaths of the four guards, their leader, and the prostitute obeyed the great laws and held no ill intentions toward the refugee camp.

The camp leader would then investigate the matter half-heartedly instead of wholeheartedly.

Thus, it advised him to kill the nightmares.

"I see. Leaving them behind for the night patrol to handle would do me more harm than good. Since that's the case, I'll take care of them myself."

Without hesitation, Sal sacrificed a considerable amount of the spiritual energy contained in his spiritual vessel to manifest a fiery weapon capable of slaying nightmares. 

It began as a mere spark in the palm of his hand, akin to the flicker of a distant star, but quickly swelled into a formidable, head-sized orb of crackling flames.

His eyes, reflecting the ferocious fiery orb, narrowed as he aimed at the nightmares who were getting closer to him.

With a deft flick of his wrist, he hurled the fiery orb towards them.

Gah! Gah!"

The nightmares grunted as the fireball exploded on their twisted forms, sending waves of heat rippling through the air and engulfing them in flames.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air, but Sal stood unfazed, watching as the flames in seconds reduced the mortal-grade nightmares to mere ashes that fluttered away with the wind wafting into the tent through the openings created for ventilation.

"Next, its the two of you." 

Sal turned to the corpses of Big Joe and Lara, which were starting to transform into nightmares.

Lara was a mortal, so her corpse would transform into a mortal-grade nightmare. However, Big Joe was an introductory phase combatant. According to what he had discerned from the anomaly's explanation, Big Joe's corpse would transform into a warrior-grade nightmare, which would be a headache to deal with.

It was better to burn away the corpses before they could transform.

He raised his hand and extended a finger. Two small flames appeared beyond his fingertip. He flicked his finger, and the flames shot toward the corpses, setting them ablaze. 

In seconds, the corpses that were set ablaze were reduced to mere ashes.

Only then did Sal, with a snap of his fingers, extinguish all the flames he'd conjured that were burning in the tent, preventing them from spreading and setting the entire tent ablaze.

He was not only yet to inspect the mysterious wisps of different-colored smoke that had appeared when he killed these people, but he was also yet to loot the considerable amount of wealth and items Big Joe had amassed over the years. How could he allow the tent to burn down before he had a chance to investigate these phenomena and seize the valuable treasures hidden within?

"Did you just cast Elemental-type spiritual techniques?" the anomaly asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Sal replied casually, as if Elemental-type spiritual techniques weren't something spiritualists struggled to master and only the enlightened could use without much difficulties.

"Even for an introductory phase combatant with a divine cultivation manual, it seems too much," the anomaly expressed its awe, finding Sal incredibly awesome.

"It isn't that difficult if you understand how spiritual energy works," Sal said. "Spiritual energy changes properties depending on how it's manipulated. Through friction, it can be ignited into flames that are far deadlier than normal flames and can reduce the mortal body to ashes in seconds. I call this spiritual technique Spiritual Flames. This technique is a double-edged blade. A single wrong move and you will be the one going up in flames. It takes a great deal of effort to wield it without risking death and an even greater amount of training to use it in battle."

Sal had hundreds of years of knowledge, so naturally he was able to cast and wield the Spiritual Flames effortlessly.

However, manifesting the Spiritual Flames came at a considerable cost.

His cultivation had dropped to the intermediate stage of the first level, but honestly, it didn't mattee to him.

He didn't bad about losing his cultivation, not in the slightest. After all, he had steeled himself to disperse his cultivation after returning home safely from the assassination before he even launched it.

It was the only way he would fool the camp leader and not be punished for his crimes!