When Leslie opened his eyes, he found himself in a small, empty room. Bandages were wrapped around his waist and healing ointments were applied. After his fight with William, the only thing he remembered was that when he turned around, a sword went in around his waist and pinned him to the wall.
He was ashamed. Even if it meant dying, he had to go all the way to take it this long. 'I should never have turned my back.' How would his friends look at him now? What would they say to him? Would they tease him or cut off their friendship? As such thoughts took over his mind, the look in his eyes grew dull. Everything was erased in an instant. It was as if someone had come and cleaned his soul from head to toe. Now he had only one thought. That was 'Getting stronger'.
Despite his aching back, he got out of bed without a frown. His dimensional bag was with him. He quickly dressed and went outside. A young girl was sitting behind a desk outside the door. She spoke quickly when she saw him leave. "Are you all right? You can stay a few more days. Your treatment has already been paid for."
Leslie did not speak. He walked away with his dull eyes. Soon he found himself in the square of the Academy. But everywhere he could see was so empty that it could almost be called deserted. There was no one around. As he passed the mission building, he saw a few students, but he did not stop to ask why the academy was so empty. By this time, his stomach was rumbling. He was very hungry since he had been unconscious for several days. He quickly went to the academy's dining hall and got something to eat.
The taste was generally good, even though the food was ordinary venison topped with the Academy's unique sauce. But today was different. Leslie could not taste any of the food. It was as if his tongue was rusted.
There was another group of people in the dining hall. They were sitting at a table talking. When they saw him, they started talking about him. They didn't bother to lower their voices. They were all former students of the Academy, at the peak of Iron level. Leslie couldn't have started a fight in his current state, even if he wanted to.
What he heard from them was more painful to him than being hurt. His brothers were killed on their way back from the Academy. An ordinary student of the academy discovered a grave that had not been in the ravine before and, looking at the armor and swords, said that they belonged to the princes. After that, the people, overcome with curiosity, dug up the grave and actually found the decomposing bodies of the four princes.
He had thought that what he would hear next wouldn't affect him anymore, but he was wrong. His family was lost, all members of the royal family were dead. In fact, his uncle Jaymond was called the 'traitor of humanity'. He didn't know why, but it meant he was alone now. He was the last member of a family with thousands of years of history. It was hard for him not to cry. He had been holding the meat in his mouth for half an hour. His throat was too tight to swallow. Then he spat and got up. He walked away without touching his food. But his eyes had changed. Anger was etched into the dullness. Along with anger, there is a sense of revenge, and next to it, there is helplessness. Unhappiness, sadness, longing, and perhaps all the emotions in the world could be felt just by looking into his eyes.
As he left the dining hall, all those feelings disappeared from his eyes. They were replaced by a blank stare. He started walking towards the east gate. On the way, he could hear people talking about various rumors about him, but he could no longer understand the meaning of the words coming out of their mouths. When he arrived at the East Gate, the guards guarding the gate warned him.
"Be careful, the forest is more active these days." He said. Leslie just nodded. He even did so unintentionally, but the guard thought he 'understood' him. He didn't care and let it go.
Leslie entered the Black Forest with a straight face. He had only one thought now, and he could only realize it through the Black Forest. The Black Forest was full of opportunities, and Leslie wanted to find one.
It was noon when he entered the Black Forest, and the surroundings were relatively peaceful and quiet. But by evening, things began to change. Only a straight, mindless human walking was the perfect prey for the creatures of the Black Forest. But what they did not expect was that this prey had the power to attack. They became the prey of their own prey, no matter what creature tried to hunt him down. In the darkness of the night, Leslie's blood-covered body was blessed with the light of God. The glowing great sword in his hand left a deep gash where it rubbed against the path he passed. This gash was accompanied by a yellow-white light that trailed through the forest like a shooting star.
Leslie had no idea where he was going. He simply followed his desire to become stronger. After the massacre in the forest, the creatures preferred to watch him from a distance. Some of these creatures had acquired some intelligence. When faced with an enemy they could not kill, they would often either run away or try to overwhelm the enemy with numbers. They simply wanted to follow this young man. They wanted to know his next move. Because this prey had done great damage to their side, and if they could catch him at a weak moment, it would be both proud and nutritious prey for them.
Leslie had unknowingly walked into a mist-covered area. When the creatures saw him go into the mist, they gave up their pursuit. They didn't even consider him their prey anymore. In their minds, the food was now tainted with stale water and not worth eating. One by one they left in the darkness of the night.
Leslie didn't even realize he couldn't see when he stepped into the mist. For several hours he could barely see at all. He could only walk in the direction of his goal, and that determination, combined with his desire to become stronger, had dragged his body here. One of the forbidden areas of the Black Forest, the Misty Swamp!
Leslie's pace was slow. Perhaps even an old man with a crippled foot could have passed him, but his step was firm. So far, it was unknown how many skeletons, and how many different and unknown creatures had come his way. In line with his mind, his body was just killing everything that got in his way.
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It was all over now. Leslie had lost the last vestige of his sanity in this world while fighting the skeletons in the misty swamp. It was as if the control of his body was now in the hands of someone else. Maybe some would call it the heart demon, or maybe it's revenge, hatred, or anger. It had thousands of names and it was only one of them that took over Leslie's body.
After a while, Leslie came to the ruins of an unknown building. In front of the ruins was a creature with a body like an elephant and a head like a lion. Unwittingly, he walked right under the creature's nose.
Leslie finally woke up from this crazy situation. His unconscious, dull eyes showed a sign of concern for the first time as he saw the creature before him. The creature seemed to be asleep, and Leslie tried to choose from thousands of thoughts the one that best fit his current situation.
What should he have done? 'Go back with calm and quiet steps? No, that's impossible! My body is at its weakest! I can't take a single step! Kill it? At least this creature is gold level from its aura and its size! How can I kill it? And how did my body become like this? Mercy? Maybe? Beg? Maybe?'
Leslie thought about it. He had forgotten how many hours he had been smelling that creature's stench. In fact, he had gotten used to the stench by now. Looking at the solid head of the creature in front of him, Leslie concluded that it was an extremely powerful creature. But if he had seen this creature from the side instead of under his nose, his thoughts would have changed completely. Maybe he'd lose his mind and die on the spot.
The creature had an elephant-like body under the lion's mane, yes, but that body no longer contained any skin or flesh. The lower body of the creature was a skeleton full of bruises! Worms could be seen roaming inside. But miraculously, the creature could breathe! Its stomach was completely empty. Inside was a gray mist! Thousands of faces could be seen in the gray mist! Some were crying, some were laughing, and some were completely blank!
Of course, Leslie couldn't see any of this.
Leslie could feel his body slowly recovering. Perhaps he could try to escape now. But as he turned his foot to turn around, the creature opened its eyes and looked into Leslie's. Leslie felt his scalp go numb. Every part of his body, from his toes to his forehead, was frozen, as if he had been immersed in ice. Even if he was at his best, he felt like he couldn't move anymore.
But after a while, he frowned. He suddenly felt courage! Yes, courage! A courage born of the desire for revenge! Courage born of resentment and remorse! Maybe...Maybe because of his stupidity?'
He looked at the creature before him and shouted as loudly as he could. "I want to be stronger!" he said. He raised his big sword and took an attacking stance. He had decided to attack at the slightest movement of the creature.
The creature in front of him was surprised by the situation. It looked at Leslie as if it had raised an eyebrow, even though it didn't have one. Then something Leslie never expected happened. The creature spoke! "You want to get stronger?"
Leslie's brave face was stunned to hear that the creature could speak. Perhaps this could be the opportunity he was looking for. It's the kind of story described in these stories. A one-in-a-million opportunity had knocked on his door.
"Yes! I want to get stronger and take my revenge!" he said.
The creature nodded slightly. "Revenge... a powerful emotion." Said. Then he asked again. "Why do you want revenge?"
Leslie bowed his head. Having lost all his family members, he didn't know where or who to start with. Who was to blame? The whole world! "The nobles who rebelled against our kingdom! Those who killed my brothers and all those who supported them!" he said. Sweat poured from his forehead like beads as he shouted. Just those few words made him use all his strength.
The creature shook his head. "I understand. The feeling of revenge is different for everyone. For some, the betrayal of their student, for others, their friends. Some swear revenge for a small reason like money, others for someone who means the world to them. Your swear is powerless before me, but it doesn't change the fact that you want revenge. I can make you stronger. But it is not for free," he said. The creature had a dark gleam in its eyes.
Leslie didn't even think about it. He replied with a frown but in agreement. "It doesn't matter what you want from me! I have nothing left in this world! Even if you want my soul, I will accept it!" he said.
The creature smiled with a lion's head. Its mane fluttered in the calm wind. "Beautiful! Then I will teach you! The technique I'm going to teach you is World Devou--" The creature froze as he said the name of the technique he would teach Leslie. His eyes, bright as stars, suddenly blurred.
Leslie was also surprised by what had happened. The creature suddenly froze in front of him. It was as if time had stopped for this creature. What happened next was even more frightening.
The creature suddenly stood up and roared at the sky. "ROAAAAARRRRR!!" Its roar made Leslie's ears bleed. At that moment, Leslie saw the creature's body stand up, its head raised to the sky. In his mind, he immediately realized that this creature was extremely evil. But it didn't matter. He didn't care if he died, as long as he became stronger.
What happened after the roar was even stranger. The creature lowered his head and looked at Leslie. The creature's old wise face was gone, replaced by the face of a tyrant angry at the heavens. Leslie felt tremendous danger, but he couldn't lift a finger in the face of this power.
A moment later, the creature opened its worm-filled, rotting, ugly mouth and made a swallowing motion toward the immobilized Leslie. "HAAM." It swallowed Leslie's entire body in one go, along with the soil on the ground. Then it began chewing expressionlessly.
"ARRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Leslie's desperate screams were heard for a moment. Then it was cut off forever. After a while, the creature swallowed what it had chewed. The scene was strange. The soil the creature had swallowed from its empty stomach and Leslie's dismembered body spilled out of the hole. Then a new face was added to the mist in the creature's stomach.
It was Leslie's face. It had a confused and disapproving expression. As if in his final moments; "Why did this happen? Shouldn't you have given me a technique?' was saying.
If anyone in the kingdom saw him like this, they would definitely feel sorry for him. Especially William. Had he known that he was going to die like this, he would have gathered all his strength and saved him. He would then kill again, asking why he spent his purchased life on it.
But it happened, the dead were dead. A few hours later, the bright look in the creature's eyes returned. He looked into the space before him. The piece of land the size of his mouth was gone. Then he closed his eyes and tried to examine his body. He saw Leslie's face in it.
It made a sad face. "Sorry kid, you came at the wrong time." It said. Then it closed its eyes. "I'm sorry!" was all it said before falling into a deep sleep.
Finally, the last member of this royal family founded by the third servant had died in such a dark and evil place. That this family, blessed with grace and glory, died in such a vicious, dark, and cruel way…how was it not ironic?