Death Walk (5)

Close to a thousand people fainted and needed to be carried out.

Hao Xuan threw away the body of the woman and picked up the man who had just lost his head and drank him dry.

There were only four left after that, two of which had basically lost their minds and were not a threat.

"Monster? How rude, I am a completely normal human, just like you," Hao Xuan said as he threw away the man's body. He was entirely covered in blood. All of his wounds were healed and his body looked as good as new, if not better.

His muscles moved on their own and vibrated for a bit before calming down.

"Brother, something's wrong, should we not put an end to this?" Sixth looked towards Third and asked telepathically.

Third shook his head, "I just got the order, we are not to make a move unless his life is in danger. Stand by."

***

A few mins earlier when Hao Xuan had ripped off the Ram's head, a conversation took place at the colosseum's control room.

To prepare for any unforeseen situations, there was a 10-second delay on all the live broadcasts. So if something bad happened, they could cut off the broadcast before it went on air.

There were about half a dozen military personnel sitting in the control room, two of which were at the General level.

One of them was the silent guard that stood outside Great General Li's residence, and the other was General Yue Fei.

Hao Xuan had just done the deed when one of the men turned around and asked, "Sir, should we cut the feed?"

General Yue Fei was about to answer but before he could, the silent guard sitting next to him spoke up.

"No need. The General is watching and he says its fine. Keep going."

"Yes sir."

Yue Fei frowned but stayed quiet after hearing the great generals' name. A few more minutes passed and the human warriors came out onto the field. Hao Xuan did the same to them as the others.

Everyone in the control room was a genuine veteran but some of them still had to excuse themselves, while the rest were 'uncomfortable' to say the least looking at the screens.

"Is this not enough? Something has obviously gone wrong with the boy, he needs help," Yue Fei finally said when the guard didn't even blink an eye.

"Nothing is wrong. The boy is fine. It's his physique that's causing the abnormal behavior. He will have it under control sooner or later," the guard replied nonchalantly with his eyes closed.

"His physique? You people knew about this and did nothing?" Yue Fei asked angrily, getting riled up.

"Of course we knew. Not a thing happens in this kingdom that the Red Legion is not aware of," for the first time since the start of the Death Walk, the guard showed some emotion and smiled.

"This will destroy the Legion's reputation. No one will trust you if you let this pass. He is basically a monster at this point," Yue Fei shouted and stood up.

The guard didn't get angry and only waved his hand and a barrier appeared around them. No one else would be able to hear their conversation.

He smirked, "Destroy our reputation?"

And then suddenly his expression turned solemn as he opened his eyes.

"We are the shield that shall not break,"

"We are the sword that shall not bend,"

"We shall kill until the Heavens fall and the Earth rends."

"Kill me, and my brother shall take my place,"

"Rise and Rise again we shall like a Phoenix from the ashes until the Lambs become Lions and the Rule of Darkness is no more."

"For we, are the Red Legion!"

He enunciated each and every single word clearly, and then finally looked up to meet Yue Fei's gaze.

"You seem to have forgotten what the Great general's reputation was, and so has the world. But its time you remembered that a Demon sleeps here." He then looked at the screen, at Hao Xuan's image.

"He will usher in a new era for us. The others are too kind but he won't have any problems doing the things we have in store," he said with a smile that sent a cold chill down Yue Fei's back.

He was sweating like a pig. That's right, he had indeed forgotten.

The Demon of Mei! For blood flowed like rivers and corpses piled up till the high heavens when he took to the fields. Even his enemies turned tail and ran when they heard the Four-eyed demon was coming.

Out of the six Great Generals, only he was the one to fill his enemies with dread by his name alone.

"W-What do you want to do to him?" he asked after regaining his composure.

"Do to him? Nothing. He is perfect as is. If everything works out as expected, he will be the new Demon of Mei!" the guard snapped his fingers and the barrier disappeared, indicating the end of their 'talk'.

***

Hao Xuan looked at the other four. Two of them picked up their weapons and faced him, but their legs were trembling. The other two were as good as dead.

"P-Please, I have a pregnant wife waiting for me, I only took this job cause they said it was easy money. We have no beef with each other, please just let us go," said one of them with a stutter. He was bald and had a small beard. He was holding his longsword in front of him, trying to act brave but the weapon was shaking so much that it gave the opposite feeling.

"So? You chose this. You chose to come here, why is it my responsibility to show mercy? It's a fight to the death and you want me to let you go? Why?" Hao Xuan tilted his head to the side with a confused look.

"We're humans! We are the same species! Show some compassion, be a little empathetic. I give up, you win, just-just let me go!" he couldn't hold the sword up and dropped it. It fell to the ground waking up the others around him.

"Yes! Yes, please, we give up, please let us go!" they also started begging and crying.

"Please, my daughter is waiting for me, please let me go!" the last woman begged while falling to her knees.

The spectators were at a loss for words as the cries of the four warriors echoed throughout the Colosseum. Now they were all looking at Hao Xuan for an answer. Would he let them go?

"Tell me, when you kill beasts for their hide and cores, their meats and treasures, do you feel pity for them?" Hao Xuan as he crouched down. One of his eyes was half red at this point, and with the horned mask, it gave all the spectators an ominous feeling.

"But we are not beasts! We are human!"

"What's the difference? Do beasts not feel love for their young? Do they not feel sad when you kill their siblings and parents? Do they not feel pain like you?" Hao Xuan asked looking at the bald man, who didn't meet his gaze and turned away.

"TELL ME!" he shouted as the Emperors energy appeared and forced the rest to kneel as well. The bald man didn't want to answer but his body wouldn't listen anymore.

"..Yes...th-they do..." he said in a low voice.

"Then why should you be treated any differently? I'm hungry, so why should I not feed upon your blood? Why should I starve for you?"

The entire Colosseum went silent.

"B-But we are human....." he repeated once again with nothing else left to stay.

"And?" Hao Xuan casually asked, leaving them stumped.

"Please, do you not have loved ones? What will they think?" the woman shouted trying to appeal to his humanity.

"Loved ones? Do I have any left?" Hao Xuan was caught by surprise. The image of his mother back from earth flashed past his eyes.

"What would she think? If she saw her son now?" he asked himself.

"Ninth brother, you don't have to do this. It's your win," Fifth shouted from the side, trying to nudge him in the right direction when she saw him zone out.

Hao Xuan looked up at her and remembered when he first met her. What if she was in such a situation, and it was someone like him standing above her, how would he feel?

"Why are you making this so much more complicated than it has to be? I was just hungry so I ate, why is that such a bad thing?" he asked looking back at the warriors.

"Treat others how you want to be treated," a voice said next to his ears. It was Mr. Hyde's.

"I don't care much either way, but don't you have someone waiting for you? What would she think if she saw you like this? Hell, she probably is watching you right now," he said again.

"Eh?" and like a movie, his old memories started playing in front of him.

****

"Emi, do you like big brother?"

"Of course, Emi loves big brother no matter what!"

"No matter what? What if I become a bad guy? Would you still like big brother?"

"Big brother is a good person!"

"But what if I wasn't?"

"Emi would still love big brother no matter what."

****

"Why do you keep showing me this over and over again?" for some reason watching those memories made him even angrier.

A wave of emotions hit him all at once. A second ago he wasn't able to feel things like empathy but now he was overwhelmed by them.

"Why should I let them go? Humans kill animals, even breed them for consumption, but when I do the same to them its bad?" Hao Xuan shouted out loud, startling the warriors.

"No, it is not bad, just different. Do not compare yourself to these....things, you're not the same as them anymore. Eat when you want to, slaughter when you have to, and if someone forces your hand then dye the Heavens red."

"But in the meantime, know restraint. Do not let the blood control you. If you want to become a Devil then do so of your own volition and not under the effects of your physique."

He sighed and then muttered in a low voice, almost as if he was talking to someone else, "You are the good, and he is the bad. I'm just the guy....stuck in the middle," sounding somewhat dejected.

Hao Xuan finally felt like himself again. As he was about to wave his hands and let the warriors go, a hunger he had never felt before hit him. His body felt like an empty space that was collapsing in on itself and his stomach started rumbling again.

"Go, leave before I change my mind," he turned around walked back to his gate. The four warriors stood there shocked for a few seconds and then ran back to the other gate as quickly as their bodies would allow them. The gate opened and they vanished inside.

The spectators finally let out a sigh of relief.

"I knew he wouldn't give in," Fifth said with a smile.

"Give in? I think he's way past that," Seventh mumbled while looking at Hao Xuan's eyes.

"I'm still hungry though," Hao Xuan closed his eyes and appeared in his Mind Palace.

"Should I not drink then?" he asked while barging into Mr. Hyde's room.

"Your state of mind's changed. You let him take control and it affected you in ways you will never understand." Hyde sternly replied without looking at him.

"I didn't LET him do anything. And what's this change now?" Hao Xuan asked once again with an annoyed expression.

"You. You changed. The more you let him out, the more you will become him. In the end, the line separating you two will be gone. Don't open the door, no matter what. You won't be able to come back from the other side." he said and then closed his eyes.

"What are you even talking about?" Hao Xuan gave him one final look and as he walked out, Mr. Hyde's voice came again, "There are less barbaric ways to eat you know. You can hear the blood, yes? You can smell it from far away? Then call for it and it will come to you. But you can 'Devour' a lot more than just blood, its a shame your vision is so limited."

The gate opened once again and his next opponents walked out. They looked like a bunch of moving rocks.

In this world, it was possible for inanimate objects to come to life under certain circumstances and gain sentience as well. These rocks were one such example.

Hao Xuan clenched his fists looking at them, "Let me show you 'Force'," he smiled while circulating the Qi from his 3rd meridian.