I was struggling to make sense of the absurdity of the situation when Sensei spoke.
«Just…Do what he says.»
"Are you serious?" I asked in disbelief. "Why should I kill him when he can just escape and live?"
«Unless you want him to spend decades of his life wandering around as a bloodthirsty monster, you should kill him while he still has the dignity of a mortal.» Sensei insisted.
What was he talking about! What monster?!
His words were like an impartial judge, dispassionate and solemn, leaving no room to retreat.
But as the seconds ticked by without doing anything, the man's body began to tremble as if wracked by a terrible cold. His cries beca even more incessant.
|[K-Kill...]| |[P-Please k-kill...]| |[I beg you]|
The fearful look in his eyes was so intense that even I began to feel scared. Without realising it, I slowly began to back away from him.
But then, a loud crack resounded throughout the dungeon and the man fell forwards to clutch one of his legs, grimacing as he let out a bloodcurdling scream.
I realised in horror that one of his legs had broken of its own accord, the bone below his knee now jutting backwards at an awkward angle as the horribly mangled flesh bled out.
But as quickly as it happened, his flesh and bones soon began to knit together, forming a secondary joint below the knee like the limbs of a wolf.
Witnessing this transformation was a shock, so I quickly appraised him.
--------------
Na: San Khir
Specie: LV 24 Ailith Mutant
Class: LV 10 Hunter
HP: 40/230 Defence: 160
MP: 2/12 Intellect: 54
SP: 21/250 Magic: 10
Attack: 87 Agility: 150
Skills:
[Archery: LV8] [SP Recovery: LV8]
[Herbology: LV6] [Endurance: LV10]
[Detection: LV6] [Martial Art: LV6]
[Awareness: LV7] [Stealth: LV5]
[Strength: LV8] [Tracking: LV10]
[Body Strengthening: LV8]
Title:
[Warrior]
Resistances:
[Impact Resistance: LV7]
[Poison Resistance: LV6]
[Pain Resistance: LV8]
--------------
I didn't think there was anything amiss, his stats seed normal - for a mortal.
Yet, the man scread once more as his other leg shattered in the sa way, the nails of his fingers and toes blackening as they curved inwards, like those of a monster.
I watched the whites of his eyes turn bloodshot, before being replaced by an ominous dark vein that crept out from under his eyeballs to stain everything. Soon, his red pupils expanded to fill the entirety of his brown eyes, and he began to growl like a beast.
But in the next instant, all of his teeth fell out of his gums, replaced extraordinarily fast by double rows of shark-like fangs that tore through the flesh of his lips as they grew in length. Eventually, the flesh of his face lted down to reveal parts of his skull, but the bones lded together with his fangs as they healed, becoming thick and heavy, like a tool ant for tearing through flesh.
I watched as his body began to morph into sothing else right in front of my eyes.
His skin had beco rough and hard, blistering purple where muscle ripped under his skin to make room for new growth. He was crouched forward, hunched over to expose his back when the bones of his spine began to extend and form spikes along his back.
All the while, the mortal-monster continued to scream in anguish.
"How do I help him!?" I cried out in panic.
I'd garnered nothing from his stats, and watching this unstoppable descent struck fear and horror through my body.
«You cant.» Sensei rcilessly declared. «Don't waste any more ti. If he transforms completely, you will be in danger.»
The man's body had grown to three tis his original size, every fibre rippling with uncontrollable power, his skin now dark grey colour that glistened slickly under the faint light, in a mixture of fluid and blood, like a tal sared in oil. The exposed bones on his back were long and razor sharp like steel.
More and more, he had beco unrecognisable.
And with every change, an aspect of his sanity was being shredded away.
I watched him thrash around on the ground, his excruciating screams distorted like the guttural wail of an inhuman creature. I was hit with the acrid stench of sulphur whenever the mad creature crossed my path, which made retreat even further.
«Do it, now!» Sensei persisted. «Can't you see he is holding himself back!»
"But…"
I couldn't do it. How could I take such a drastic action, when I didn't even understand what was going on?
Soon, the creature that was once a man, crashed through several iron gates, disappearing from view in his endeavour to quell the pain.
His red core was still expanding, a clear sign that he wasn't an Abyssal creature, and I held out hope. Perhaps, this was so sort of evolution or sothing?
«Don't you understand he is in terrible pain?» Sensei implored. «Do you want to be responsible for that mutant's continued tornt?»
His comnt hit like a brick wall.
In a truly grotesque turn of events, I could only imagine the pain the man must be experiencing to have his entire body reshape itself while he was still conscious. It was no surprise he begged to die.
By not killing him sooner, perhaps I damned him to this harrowing experience.
Yet, to treat him like sothing less than like Sensei was doing, just seed wrong.
Why did he have to be killed like so beast? Weren't we the sa kind?
What difference was this transformation compared to the many I had gone through?
The creature finally collapsed after crashing through another one of the cells, and I began to wonder if its evolution had settled. However, the mont I thought of this, the reddish-black core in its centre exploded, before disappearing into a void.
In an instant, the sulphuric sll filling the air gave way to the tangy sll of blood.
A red mist ford around its motionless body, and seeing this, I imdiately felt despair.
In the end, it still lost its core.
«Do you want to do it, instead?» Sensei asked.
"No…I'll-I'll do it. I…"
But then, the Abyssal monster that was forrly a man began to twitch.
And in the darkness of the dungeon, all I could see were a pair of glowing red eyes accompanied by sinister sharp fangs.
With a single bound, the creature leapt onto , its sharp fangs gnashing at as saliva dribbled everywhere.
I forced it back with my pronged tail, but I couldn't stop staring at those insane eyes that wanted to tear to shreds.
All reason and sanity seed to have disappeared. It was like there was no longer a person inside.
I imdiately ford a dark blade and released it. I was drenched in blood as the blade sliced the mutant's head clean off its body. Soon, the creature stopped moving.
But as the body fell away from , I began to tremble.
Unlike other victories, this one was bitter. I kept having flashbacks to the man as he begged for his own death. The look of despair in his eyes as all of his hope faded. If he wanted to die, why did he withstand the shadow creature's torture all this ti. He clearly wanted to live at so point…and yet.
It was like I ruined the hope of an innocent man and I felt extrely resentful.
"Why did you make do that?" I shouted at Sensei. "How do you know there was no way to save him?"
«There isn't.» Sensei coldly replied. «Once a mutant's main core is destroyed, there is nothing anyone can do to keep their mortal lives. They are cursed to survive as a creature of the Abyss or die.»
"Why?"
How did he co to have two cores in the first place? And why did one explode before rging with the other, like its sole purpose was to destroy the main core.
My mind reeled with possibilities as my suspicion intensified.
I couldn't help drawing comparisons to mine and Sensei's core. If mine was the main core, Sensei's although larger would class as a secondary core.
A core could be destroyed, whether willingly through a creature's acceptance of the Abyss, or unwillingly through the aid of a secondary core. But how did this secondary core co to exist?
This got thinking more about [Devour].
Like Sensei said, this unique skill and the system was what bound us together.
But what exactly was Sensei's core doing while I devoured various monsters?
Every ti I gained a new attribute, the system briefly announced sothing about an evolution tree, like it was collecting data. It was slightly simplified in that I only gained one or two attributes at a ti, but subsequent alterations in the system's notifications implied there was more to this basic rule.
And as I ca to a devastating new conclusion, everything I thought I knew seed to be in jeopardy.
Was it sohow changing my core, and making Sensei's more volatile at the sa ti, in order to destroy us both?
"Is the goddess trying to kill us?" I asked suddenly, making Sensei gasp in surprise. It seed fitting, perhaps his placent beside was as a safety net, sothing to keep us in line, or the consequence was...that.
But it didn't make sense why the goddess who reincarnated us would need one.
«Whatever you're overthinking about. Stop it now!» Sensei shot back.
"You didn't answer my question." I frowned.
Whether Sensei wanted to admit it or not, weren't we both in danger?
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