Despite the exhaustion and dizzying clouding my mind, I had to be vigilant. Just looking and being in close proximity to him was enough to corrupt someone. Even with my resistances and divine force inside me a sense of dread rose up inside me. Dread that my free will could be taken away from me.

“I am not going to have a chat with you when an innocent person is screaming behind you.”

He looked surprised.

“Oh, I see. How silly of me! Of course, you are right.”

He clapped his hands and smoke of black energy covered Adonis’s body. His voice was muffled. It reminded me of a cocoon.

“Grandpa!”

Morrigan shouted behind me. I understood that Adonis was important to them and was innocent so I had to do something about it. But what I had to do?

“Free him and we’ll have a talk.”

Beings like him were the troublesome bunch. I knew just by his looks that he was a manipulative snake. If I allowed him to speak, he would manipulate me without me realizing it. The manipulation didn’t have to be something clear like “Gods are bad, I am good join me.” He could easily mix one lie with 9 truths to confuse me. The best way to deal with that type was just to kill them without listening. But since I couldn’t hurt him I had to think some other way.

“Oh, another misunderstanding. I am not holding Sir Adonis forcefully. You see, he and I made a deal. He needed power to save beastkin and I gave it to him. I am not using force or threats on him. It is just part of our deal.”

He took off his jacket.

“I can take this off, right? It wouldn’t seem rude? It is a little bit too warm for my liking. I can’t even imagine how uncomfortable you are, Sir Poyraz. I can call you Poyraz, right?”

“No, you can’t.”

He laughed. The second best way to deal with his type is to ignore everything he says and constantly tell them what you want.

“I know it is hard to trust me. You must be hearing how evil my kind have been since you arrived here. You see, it is another misunderstanding just like how humans think beastkin are evil monsters. We are also like that.”

This bastard. Is he really trying to make me doubt after all I have seen? How faceless he is?

“The first day I came here I met with a group trying to sacrifice beastkin to Asmoneal. Let me guess, you are Asmoneal.”

He raised his hands defensively.

“Yes, you guessed it right. However, it is not my fault. I can’t control what every person is doing in my name, can I?”

“Maybe you can’t. But you can control your own actions. Withdraw that black shield and get out of here. Then maybe I can develop a better impression of you.”

For a second his mask slipped and I saw his malicious smile.

“And what will you do after that Dear Poyraz? Kill an innocent man? In front of his grandchildren? In front of your adopted daughter?”

So that was the reason for his smile. Did he think I was something like a white horse-riding prince? Did he think I would hesitate to put down someone if he pushed me like that? I looked back at Amaterasu.

“Can you fire something like the one you did against that beetle again? Doesn’t have to be as powerful.”

Amaterasu’s eyebrows rose with surprise before she somberly nodded.

“I am going to break through your stupid shield and purify his soul. I am not a fucking action hero. I won’t allow your stupid speech to stop me.”

I felt heat rise up from behind me as Amaterasu prepared her spell.

“Ah, you truly are rude. So uncivilized. So uncultured. Guess that is what is expected from a mortal such as yourself. I extended you an olive branch even after you accused me falsely yet you still behave like this.”

“Hah.”

I laughed.

“Mortal? Bold words from something born out of mortal’s emotions.”

He froze for a second.

“Did I hit a nerve? Yeah, I know about how demons came into existence.”

He looked directly at me and I felt that first time since he came here he wasn’t putting effort into hiding his intentions. Was demons being born from human emotions a sensitive subject for them?

“How little you actually know…”

He rose into the air and looked down upon us. Arrogant prick.

“I came here to offer you my partnership. I came here to offer you untold power, wealth, immortality, and countless women and men. What did you do? Spat on my face. I am very very disappointed, Poyraz Karabulut.”

“Wow, someone really can’t deal with rejection.”

Lily shouted behind me.

“Very well, pathetic worms. You will all perish today. I regret that our talk went like this Poyraz Karabulut.”

His form started to fade as the cocoon wrapping around Adonis started to shake.

“Bark! Bark! Bark, bark!”

Gökbörü started to bark wildly. A sense of fear and anxiety flowed inside me from him. It was deep, unlike anything I felt from him. This kind of uneasiness was not even present when we were inside the wurm.

“Amaterasu, fire! Before it hatches!”

I jumped to the side as I shouted. I wasn’t sure what was Asmoneal’s goal but Gökbörü’s instincts told me I had to deal with it before it could create problems.

“Blazing Nova!”

Amaterasu’s magic hit the cocoon and the shield protecting it. Shockwaves and heat reached even me as a wave of hot air passed through me. Smoke and dust rising up from the explosion obscured my vision but I couldn’t let it stop me.

“In the abyss, where shadows dwell,

In realms untamed by mortal shell,

We call upon the chaos' might,

To rise from depths, take form tonight.”

Despite Asmoneal’s form disappearing his annoying voice filled my ear. That made me think that his form was something akin to a projection and not a solid being.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Souls bound to darkness, souls of dread,

Merge as one, by magic's thread,

Six-six-six, the fateful sum,

To call the being, the Tormented One, to come.”

Cladding my sword with mana and Armor Collapsing Claw, I closed on where Adonis was. The heat remaining from Amaterasu’s spell was enough to make me uncomfortable yet I cut through the dust and smoke and reached Adonis.

Adonis was not here.

Adonis was gone.

What was in his place was terrifying.

Fear. Fear. Fear. Fear.

I must run. I must run. I must run.

I can’t fight against this thing. I can’t fight against this thing. I can’t fight against this thing.

I wanted to turn back. I didn’t want to look at this thing. But I also was too afraid to turn my back on it.

(Iron Will resists Primordial Fear.)

(Abnormal Status Resistance resists Primordial Fear.)

(The One who Have Seen The End resists Primordial Fear.)

(You failed to resist Primordial Fear.)

(You are being affected by Primordial Fear.)

(You resisted Instant death.)

(You are in a state of terror.)

(All stats are decreased by 20.)

(All resistances are decreased by 15 percent.)

My knees felt like jelly. I couldn’t lift my sword. I wanted to dissociate, to blur out the thing in front of me. I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. My eyes were glued to that thing. I didn’t breathe, I didn’t blink. It raised its massive, ghastly hand. It was going to crush me. Good. If death would save me from this cursed thing I would gladly die.

“Where is the legendary will you showed to me?”

A voice rang in my head.

“Oi, kid. I didn’t give you my approval just so you go and die to the first powerful enemy you encountered! Show me something good!”

Another voice scolded me.

“You already showed me that you would fight for innocence even in the worst possible situation. Swing your sword!”

A ghastly hand’s shadow covered my entire body. I could smell the sulfur coming from it.

“ROAR!”

I swung my sword. The mana I focused on my sword exploded and I jumped back.

(You resisted Primordial Fear partially.)

(All stats are decreased by 10.)

(All resistances are decreased by 5 percent.)

Were those voices previous users of Sacred Sword of Selection? Were they really reaching out to me or it was my mind trying to find a way for me to overcome that fear?

“Doesn’t matter.”

I quickly glanced back to my companions. All of them were on the ground with pale faces. They must not affected as badly as me since they were further away but their resistances were also lower.

“Huh. You thief. You stole some of the souls? It doesn’t matter. Incomplete or not you will die and it will get the souls in your sword.”

Asmoneal’s mocking voice taunted me. Considering he couldn’t interfere directly I could just ignore it completely. So this monster was incomplete. I remembered the chant Asmoneal did when I was trying to reach Adonis.

“Six-six-six, the fateful sum”

This thing was either an amalgamation of 666 souls or was summoned by using 666 souls. At least it was supposed to be 666. Looks like storing those souls also stopped this thing from fully being summoned. Guess that can be considered good karma. God knows I needed good karma.

Just looking at the thing in front of me caused my hands to shake. It was humanoid if you could call it that. The lower half of its body was still in that black cocoon. I guess it would be stuck there until it gets the 666th soul? I fucking hope so. It was huge even without half of its body. Its skin was pale and ghastly. It didn’t look like it belonged to this world. It… glitched in and out of existence? That was the best way I could put it. Trying to grasp it made my head hurt. Its body was malnourished and I could count its bones.

Its head…

God. Its head.

Where its head was supposed to be there were countless screaming and pained faces. There were hundreds. I couldn’t understand how that many faces fit there but I just felt how much pain and torment they were feeling just by their expressions.

“Gökbörü. Shadow Walk to them and drag them out here to the barrier.”

I gulped and tightened my grip.

“I will be taking care of this thing.”

Gökbörü let out a low woof. He probably could feel my lack of confidence since could feel his fear but he must somewhat been able to weather the effects by hiding in my armor. With the stats he gained in Trials, each Trial giving 3+ to every stat and monsters he consumed, his Strength stat was well over 10 meaning he was stronger than me when I first arrived. That would allow him to drag others to safety even with his small size.

I… I had to face this thing. Just the idea caused my heart to beat faster. A heavy feeling sat down on my chest and threatened to crush me.

“I have to do this. I can do this. I will do this.”

I whispered to myself. No matter how bad a situation looked, no matter the odds, I always fought. I will not allow myself to retreat.

“I am a warrior. A soldier.”

Monster “looked” at me. It screamed. However, no voice came. Its vocal cords, if it had any didn’t produce soundwaves. Despite that, my head was filled with agony. Countless different voices all in pure agony screamed louder than one could scream physically.

Some cursed me.

Some begged me.

Some wanted to kill me.

Some wanted me to kill them.

The only thing that bound them together was their torment.

I fell on my knees. It was too overwhelming. I felt tears flow down my cheeks. I was crying?

“You are regretting your decision now? It is too late.”

Asmoneal’s voice didn’t even register in my head. I wiped my tears and stood up.

“I will… I will release you from your torment.”