Suddenly it was as if the world around him had vanished and all that he could perceive was a tiny sphere of light. It appeared to Kal to be hanging in empty air surrounded by nothing but gray. It was dull, emitting far less light than the soul mana he had seen above the stone of mana acuity.
The first word that came to Kal’s mind was, pathetic. It was so weak, like it was forced to dim itself to prevent itself from simply going out. Unlike the silvery glow of the orb of soul mana the light before him appeared to be streaked through with black, red, and green.
As Kal looked, the meaning of the differences became quite clear. When he had looked upon the orb of soul mana he had been able to sense what was supposed to be there. Whether it was purpose or simply some kind of spark of life that represented the person or the creature it belonged to he couldn’t really say for sure but as he looked at the pale soul of the butcher he felt his soul rage in recognition.
How that was Kal had no idea but with that recognition came revulsion, hatred, and most of all a sense of superiority. It was pathetic, corrupted, and should not exist. Thinking of the butcher’s twisted face and the way it casually spoke of the deaths of millions Kal couldn’t help but agree.
Its soul writhed with malicious intent and if Kal hadn’t been sure of its intentions earlier, they were abundantly clear now. It sought death and destruction, how it got those things was irrelevant as long as it got them. It acted like a scholar seeking to learn all it could of its arts, but that was just another means to get what it desired.
What he could sense was nowhere near as precise as what he had sensed was missing from the orb but what he could perceive made his next choice clear.
No, he wouldn’t be accepting any hospitality, “Fine, let me show you my wrath.”
----------------------------------------
Ilgathar waited impatiently after answering the mortal annoying questions. He may be the one that his Lady of Blood had been searching for but it didn’t make it any easier to stand being in the presence of a mortal.
He itched to tear the limbs from the human but he had made a bargain and his master would be greatly displeased if he was to lose control so close to the conclusion of his plans. His master was observing the mortal through his senses so Ilgathar had to seclude his thoughts so that the master would not hear them but he just wished it would all be over soon.
Giving up his instruments and arrays was a blow, giving them to a mortal no matter how much the master wished to persuade him irritated Ilgathar but it would all be worth it once he received his evolution. Countless shells had been consumed in his journey from shaped one to butcher, and this would be the last before something far greater.
Ilgathar couldn’t keep the sneer from his face as he answered the mortal’s last question, it must have been obvious as the mortal’s face had grown very still. Perhaps Ilgathar had said too much about the fate of its kind but he doubted it, the mortal had barely reacted the other times he had said such things. No this was different.
The mortal glared into Ilgathar's chest and suddenly Ilgathar felt a deep sense of unease. The mortal’s expression grew suddenly colder, its face hadn’t actually moved but somehow its intensity had grown. Then its eyes changed, and the crimson light spread from its irises and into the sclera. What is happening?
The mortal’s gaze shifted to meet Ilgathar’s eyes, their once neutral cold appearance suddenly becoming a burning intensity. Then Ilgathar saw what lay beyond the mortal’s shell, through its burning eyes. A crushing weight fell upon it as the mortal said something that Ilgathar failed to understand as he felt a presence with the mortal before him.
Ilgathar’s cohesion buckled and the threads holding its mind to its shell began to fray under the wrath now thrown upon him. Something within the mortal cried out for endless slaughter, to kill all that stood before it and to continue until there was nothing left. It inspired that very same blood lust within Ilgathar but there was something wrong.
With that bloodlust came fear, Ilgathar was not worthy. No! This mortal is nothing! Its wrath would end him, as it should. Ilgathar felt itself snarl in response as its instincts took over but a mental command from its master made him pause. He said something but Ilgathar couldn’t understand and it was too blind with rage to care. That power should be his, no mortal was worthy of such wrath.
Ilgathar was about to leap at the mortal and tear it limb from limb and claim what was rightfully theirs but as the thought entered its mind the mortal’s expression changed, twisting into a sneer but leaving its eyes emotionless beside the intensity of the light shining from them. Then the pressure bearing down on Ilgathar grew and the rage it felt was crushed under a wave of paralyzing fear.
Ilgathar could feel its master command his shell and activate its skill Mana Foci but it wasn’t necessary in the slightest. The skill allowed him to document the affinities of a compound affinity even when he couldn’t sense or perceive them individually. But this was no compound affinity, no new amalgamation of abyssal mana, and some emotional compound affinity. No this was something else, Master! What is this?! How is it possible?!
Again Ilgathar couldn’t hear what its master said in response, its mind and cohesion barely intact in the presence of the thing in front of it. Ilgathar tried to resist but its master continued to force the use of Mana Foci, locking it in place.
A flash of crimson flame washed across Ilgathar’s eyes and a line of agony slashed across its throat before it could react. The room tilted sideways, spinning end over end. Ilgathar had begun to desire the void of shellessness but as the room spun by once more it didn’t come. All it could sense was the agony of the crimson flames spreading across its skin. Then the monster’s form swung back into view, its eyes still locked to Ilgathar’s, and the monster’s wrath consumed it.
----------------------------------------
You have slain [Gorefiend Butcher | Abyssal Spawn 68] bonus experience awarded for slaying a higher leveled entity.
Level up!
The butcher’s corpse fell to the floor like a burst dumpling, spilling its rotten insides all over the main chamber floor. Its head fell to the ground and sizzled and popped as Kal’s wrath quickly burned its twisted face away. Interestingly the green-red flames that represented the demon’s eyes flickered away for a few moments until Kal’s Flames of Wrath had fully consumed it.
The rage Kal had felt vanished the moment the notification of the demon’s death had arrived. He let out a sigh of relief, “That went a lot better than expected,” Kal had expected there to be some kind of punishment for slaying the demon so quickly. He had hoped he wouldn’t and had suspected that the demon had already done its test the moment Kal activated Slayer’s Intent.
He hadn’t fully decided on slaying the demon early but the moment Kal saw the rage kindle in the demon’s eyes upon seeing his wrath the decision was made for him. He wouldn’t let any demon get the first strike if he could help, no never again. Kal doubted the demon had gotten much information in the time it took Kal to activate Edge of Malice and bring his sword to bear.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Still, he hadn’t expected to die that easily, perhaps his wrath really was that potent against the gorefiend demons. It hadn’t been that potent against the shaped ones but that could be due to their flesh being repurposed from the corpses of other demons and not pure felmatterium. He had also been lucky the demon hadn’t moved at all to avoid the swing and despite its appearance endurance must not have been one of its main attributes.
Kal glanced at the next notification and smiled.
Trial of the Slayer IWave: 2
Time: 7 days, 6 hours, 28 minutes, 54 seconds
The Lords of this layer have become aware of your presence and have allied their forces with the Bestial Lord. Show them that a slayer cares not what enemy they face.
Alterations: Difficulty significantly increased, Time trial: Enemies will be allowed to enter the area of the trial for duration with no limit.
Warning: Several lords of the first layer have detected anomalous mana from this trial and have sent their forces to intervene in the trial. However, the lords do not have a sanctioned conduit under their control and have been forced to power their own, limiting the forces they can field inside the trial to numbers equivalent in strength to the bestial lord’s horde. Difficulty of trial has increased significantly.
Reward: Legendary Skill, Uncommon Chest x 2, Extra Class Upgrade Benefit
Optional Objective: Slay the Elite
Slay the anchor of each conduit in the trial zone. Reward given for each anchor slain.
Felflame Scion: 0/1
Gorefiend Butcher: 1/1
Seeker Shadow: 1/1
Kuroxet Bonedrinker: 0/1
Reward: Temporary Haven
Temporary Haven Granted.
For the duration of the temporary haven no abyss spawn may enter the territory of the Gorefiend Butcher. All that are already present will be evicted to outside of the territory. If at any time you exit the Gorefiend Butcher’s territory the temporary haven will end.
Time until haven is destroyed: 00:23:59:32
It was good to see that the haven reward seemed to be applying to every elite killed, though he wasn’t sure how much of this spare time he was willing to use. Especially considering he hadn’t managed to reach level fifty by killing the butcher, annoying but he would have to make do. He did have a few things he wanted to look into during that time but nothing that would take him a full twenty-four hours.
Kal checked over his will sphere containing the symbol on his neck and was glad to see that it was still holding even after the strange slip he had just experienced. It did however look less, potent, its pearlescent glow had dimmed somewhat. That was probably the effect of the Soul Maw slowly catching up with him, he would have to spend some of his free points soon.
Looking over his core he could see that his soul was still fully contained but nevertheless, it had still managed to influence him only minutes ago.
Obviously, it was concerning that he might lose control even with his will and core intact but something about what just happened felt different. Ruthless and Hateful but far more in control than what normally happened in the past. It was almost like he had used Slayer’s Apat- wait did he? No, he didn’t. It was just similar. At first, it had felt like normal anger. It was only after he had used his mana sight to look at the sickly thing that must have been the demon’s soul that things had changed.
Perhaps in the future, he should avoid looking at their souls if he could help it. Kal didn’t need any more reason to want to kill them. He needed to be sane if he ever intended to return home, not that those prospects were looking any better than the day he arrived.
Sighing Kal put four of his free points into will.
Kalum Lesta
Status
Class:
Slayer of Fate [Epic] [Anomalous]
Level:
49
Race:
Human?
Health:
2400
Stamina:
5240
Wrath:
700
Attributes
Strength:
481
Agility:
247
Endurance:
524
Vitality:
240
Intellect:
213
Perception:
237
Will:
542
Wisdom:
349
Available:
20
Titles
Ascendant, Core Bane, Core Smith, Defier of Dhinir, Planeswalker, Planar Appetite, Slayer of the Strong, Endurance Elite, Strength Elite, Will Elite, Demon Slayer, Paragon of Man, Planar Binding I, Soul Seer
Skills
Soul Forge [Rare], Wrathful Regeneration [Uncommon], Wrath Incarnate [Uncommon], Abyssal Consumption [Rare], Flames of Wrath[Uncommon] [Soul Forged], Slayer’s Intent [Rare] [Soul Forged], Slayer’s Apathy [Rare] [Soul Forged], Edge of Malice [Common] [Soul Forged]
Race
Birthright: Confined
His will was keeping up for now, but it was still lower than it should be. Soul Maw had already sapped him of one hundred will and over the next week, it would only take more. Kal needed to do what needed doing and head back out to continue leveling.