Yuuya breathed out heavily as he let Alice floated back into his arms. His golden eyes scanned the surrounding and his lips curved upwards albeit quivering at the edges. He knew from the dizziness and rising temperature of his body which meant he was depleted of mana completely. Though he realized he wouldn't have lived if he tried to cast [Tepes' Stakes] without preparing all the Hexes and Runes beforehand, but...
"To think that magic can invoke so much destruction in its wakes... So there is an NPC who can defeat Voyager without help."
Yuuya whistled. After all, a spell written in an old magic tome meant someone had successfully created such spell capable of altering even the geography of land. The book was also older than when BWO started and that meant...
"This world's historical information isn't just flavor text. This world must have been growing from the simplest form to how it is now."
If so - be it rare items, legendary beings, immortals or even prehistoric ruins... they all have their own purpose if one were to discover the method like Yuuya did. Just like how AIs created and ruled over a virtual, ever-changing battlefield; a world which developed over time was also in the reach of AIs' capability. Although there is the mystery about what kind of server could store so much data but it wasn't Yuuya's concern for now.
His feet trudged down the only place where destruction never reached to. He entered the forest of crimson lances aiming to the heaven and he was laughing as he found a body pierced through by several stakes.
Warm liquid flowed down from his body. His limbs were no more and even his breathing was getting fainter. The fool who once trampled Yuuya now pitifully hung just like how the Prince Impaler's enemies were. It was probably a stroke of luck that his head and his heart wasn't pierced through by the stakes.
"How do you feel, Brown? Is it fun to enjoy the sight?"
"........"
"Hah. I know you're already at the end. Don't worry... your suffering can still continue."
As Yuuya willed a crimson sphere to emerge by gathering the bodily fluid of a certain monster which perished in the forest, he let it hover in front of his face before it suddenly flew to Brown.
With an impact, the sphere plunged deeply into his chest. His ribs went broken, his flesh pulverized, blood burst out from the gaps as the sphere struck the heart while Yuuya imagined the sphere of blood to envelop the faintly beating heart.
*THUMP!* There was a sound.
"...a... Aaaaaah....?!"
*THUMP!* There was a thumping sound.
"Gah...! Agh...! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!?"
Once the dying knight's eyebrows shot up, his pupils widened to the limits as his mouth hung open. A sound leaked out from his mouth, but it was quickly replaced by a banshee-like scream.
Yuuya observed the body which rattled and trembling. There was the raspy sounds of twisting flesh and snapping bones while the Knight Captain's wordless screams echoed all alone in the massacre ground.
"Suffer. As much as blood is pumped by your heart... the blood of monster isn't something that can be tolerated by your human body." Yuuya twisted his lips into a smile.
His golden eyes shone, and he quietly watched the fool's body distorted as red tears flowed out from his eyes.
But that wasn't all. Yuuya researched how different the blood of a monster is compared to human's blood... and he found several things about it. To be more exact though, it was the special characteristic of monster blood he harnessed for quite some time.
"Well now. How will you fare when a monster's blood is injected in you?"
The answer lied at the man whose flesh was rupturing. His bones twisting, his senses distorted, his heart beating madly and his mind continued to cave in at the endless waves of pain tormenting it. Yuuya could sense his pain through the deafening screams. Yuuya could see the horrible expression which seemed as if begging for mercy. And he could feel the despair destroying his foe from the inside out.
However - as much as he wished to observe till the very end, Yuuya no longer have any spare time to waste. The Voyager turned his heels and started to walk away from the undulating mass of flesh behind him.
"The Duke has pulled the trigger now. He's next after you, Brown." He muttered.
As the full moon lit the Forest of Stakes, Yuuya's shadow stretched in front of him and he could feel his heart to quicken its beats as if agitated. And yet, his limbs were as light as feather.
His gaze cleared up and his mind was as serene as a calm lake without a ripple of water. But his smile revealed something else.
"Still - it won't be good to kill one person just because he's at fault. Nobody is truly a saint so... you may go now."
He did not give a glance to the throbbing object behind his back. But as he was someone who wielded blood to unleash magic, to detect the life of a creature was entirely possible. In other words-
*SNAP!* A crimson stake was broken. Despite it being a magical weapon, something snapped it as easily as tearing apart a twig.
*CRACK!* A joint snapped. As if bursting out from an egg, pink flesh without hair was seen despite many cracks present which seemed as if it was the bark of a tree.
The shadow rippled. The form of a creature never before seen in Daedalus despite its resemblance to one species started to take shapes and pounded the land. In its wake, red miasma was breathed out, a beastly growl was heard, and a dull, black orbs which seemed to absorb light shone.
"Now... be born anew." Yuuya muttered.
A roar shook the forest filled with death. Smashing apart bodies and crimson magical weapons, a creature's birthday in Daedalus arrived. In a land swamped with blood, corpses as well as stench of rust, a monster of a new origin was birthed by a Voyager who laughed while leaving the place formerly known as a Dungeon.
Then - as if something had been waiting, a familiar sound echoed.
You have Eradicated all Inhabitants of the Forbidden Forest of the Treant!
Level up x225!
Fame +5000!
Faith +10000!
All Stat Points +500
For Destroying a Raid Dungeon, you have obtained:
Legendary Title 'Dungeon Terminator'!
Legendary Title 'Monsters Slayer'!
Legendary Title 'Ikki Tousen'!
+7500 Fame!
All Stat Points +700
Level up x200!
You have killed:
2781 Monsters!
127 Neutral Voyagers!
65 Good Voyagers!
22 Chaotic Voyagers!
15 Murderers!
389 NPCs!
For having killed NPCs:
-1000 x389 Fame!
+1000 x389 Infamy!
-1000 x389 Faith!
Level Reduction -583
Obtained Rare Title 'Killer of the Innocent'!
Obtained Rare Title 'Death's Kinsman'!
Obtained Unique Title '300 Heads Killer'!
You can no longer access ANY town managed by NPCs!
You are now recognized as an Enemy to all human NPCs!
You are now recognized and feared by all NPCs!
For killing Neutral and Good Aligned Voyagers:
-500 x192 Fame!
+500 x192 Infamy!
-500 x192 Faith!
Level Up x257!
Obtained Rare Title 'Mass Murderer!'
Obtained Rare Title 'Blasphemous Slaughterer'!
Obtained Unique Title 'Ruthless'!
Obtained Unique Title 'Bloodthirsty Reaper'!
Obtained Unique Title 'One Who Obstruct Voyages'!
For having killed Chaotic Voyagers and Murderers:
+500 x37 Fame!
-500 x37 Infamy!
+750 x37 Faith!
Level Up x89!
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
Obtained Rare Title 'Punisher of Evil'!
Obtained Rare Title 'Trash Cleaner'!
You have altered a Neutral NPC into a Monster!
+1500 Infamy!
-2750 Fame!
-1500 Faith!
+200 Wisdom!
Obtained Unique Title 'Manipulator of Life'!
Alignment has changed to Diabolic Evil! No Gods excepting Evil Gods and Death God will accept your presence in their churches!!
Brand of 'Murderer' has been put on you! Your marker is now colored Red!! When you died at the hands of Voyagers, your level will be reduced by one!!
Brand of 'Legendary Bounty' has been put on you! When a Voyager kills you, they will obtain tremendous amount of fame, experience points, and gold coins!!
You can no longer access most cities managed by Humans, Elven and Dwarven! Only some Wildia cities will accept you!
"......so many notices. I'm not even sure I should be happy or not about this." Yuuya exhaled as he turned off the notifications by imagining them to be erased.
There were too many things which caused his status to go up and down and the numbers were already within triple digits to count for. I can just check my status later.
Once silence returned, he realized the monster-turned-NPC had ran off somewhere unknown to him. Yuuya didn't care if it went to find some corpses to eat for but it would have been good had its destination was Weinford. It would cut him some times and he could see riots happening.
"Ah... but I have no mana left. And I can't even buy any recovery potion from NPCs now."
The Voyager heaved another sigh. The grand magic he used was something which drained all of his stamina and focus and his vision was now as blurry as foggy lens. Just like how depletion of Hit Points through blood magic worked. A rest must be earned if I want to fulfill my goal for certain.
Yuuya trudged within the Forest of Stakes. His feet pounded the land drenched with red liquid and smelled like rust to the extreme, and the world seemed to be dyed with crimson. Yes, a crimson hell.
Above was rows of corpses hung by stakes. Below was a lake filled with blood. From left to right were weapons created and stained by blood, and there was nothing but death and destruction spreading in all directions.
"...Heh. Heh heh he.... HA HA HA HA!!!"
The Blood Smeared Devil's shoulders trembled. His eyes glowing and his limbs were as light as feathers. He knew this sensation well. He recognized this feeling well. To Yuuya... to Steve who was once the incompetent yet blessed person on Earth, he remembered this feeling as much as he loathed it.
The hope crushed by betrayal.
The sealed fate which befell upon others.
The despair tasted by those who survived.
All of them was something Steve once experienced. Only watching and suffering when someone important for him disappeared through merciless cruelty. But this time... it was him who did it.
"I harmed. I stole them. I robbed their hopes. Aaah...... so this is what they felt when they crushed me." Yuuya raised his head.
The dark sky was lit with stars. The large moon hung at such sky was observing Yuuya's actions and yet the image of a round satellite of this planet seemed to tremble. It feared me.
Yuuya cackled at such stupid sight but it didn't stop the fluttering heart of his.
"It's enjoyable, indeed. What you felt when you nonchalantly stole everything from me is indeed, an extremely exhilarating pleasure."
I can't get enough of it. Yuuya thought as his last step brought him outside from the altered Dungeon. With the wind taking up a pace, coldness struck him yet his smile never waned. It could never wane now.
The man had discovered a truth. He had tasted something which brought true happiness to him. Although he knew it would last only for a while, he could not deny that emotion which resided within the hearts of the people he loathed the most.
To laugh at the suffering of others. To trample lives and violating them. To destroy any hope one could possess.
"You tasted this happiness and in turn, I tasted despair."
A flash of image appeared in Yuuya's mind. It was a memory where he wasn't like how he is. It was a sweet, sweet dream in the past before everything crumbled in raging red hazes. A past he could say as lies for enticing him with warmth he shouldn't have received.
Twice he was taken by the sweet lies. Twice he was betrayed by his hope. And now, there will never be a third time for he had chosen his path.
"Nothing is here. Nobody remained after That Night." Yuuya gazed down.
Something was lost. Something was gained. Yuuya lost what he had tried to be in, and Yuuya gained what they felt. But because they disappeared ever since then, what they had was nothing but that wretched happiness. If so - it's better if everyone tasted the same despair rather than such fleeting emotion.
To those who wronged him, it was something they ought to receive. To those who ignored him, it was something they must know. To those who denied him, it was something they must accept.
"Let's begin. Let's start it. Let's destroy this world!" Yuuya exclaimed as he stared at a series of light distances away from him.
With a cursed child in his arms, the Voyager melded into the night. Towards a settlement of ignorant fools who had never tried to go against injustice they saw.
His shadow vanishing in the Abyss. His stained red clothes merging with the Abyss. His black hair and his golden eyes dissolved into the Abyss. However - as if one were to look at the Abyss long enough...
A pair of inverted scarlet red crosses gleamed brightly. As if they were ready to consume everything.
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Congratulations!
You have obtained a Brave Title! This Title will replace your assigned Title permanently and your name will be announced throughout Daedalus be it to the NPCs or Voyagers!
Be aware that Brave Title cannot be removed or replaced by any Title other than Brave Titles!
Be aware that the degree of effects of equipped Brave Title may vary extremely!
-Envoy of the End-
He who unleashed Scarlet Destruction,
For he sought the Eternal Oblivion.
He who Trampled,
For the End he served.
The Envoy has arrived,
For the flame of Apocalypse.
The End has started,
For the bloodshed about to come
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A/N: Hmm...? The majority seemed to believe that Yuuya is hard to kill and overpowered, eh? Well, fine. You haven't even seen the carnage I have planned to set up starting from the next volume onward. Just so you know, Epilogue will feature the world's reaction to Yuuya's deeds. You may guess who will come up in the Epilogue here.
P.S: 'Ikki Tousen' = 'One-man Army' I just like the japanese wording for it as it seems to give a stronger impression in my opinion.
edit: Typos which for some reason interfered with the wording have been fixed. Order of notification windows has been fixed because of the horrible error sync when I tried to edit the chapter through Polaris Office. And yes, I uploaded this chapter from android. Also, I relied on free wi-fi (leeching in secret) since I'm broke this month. Deduction of level will be explained later since you have the correct doubt to question why the system seemed terribly unfair at Yuuya in particular.