Samael puffed out a large breath as he pulled out Crimson Raven from the corpse of an abomination resembling that of a fly.

Looking around him, Samael could only wipe off the blood staining his face as he looked at his mauled forearm.

Today he woke up in an ambush by a dozen abominations. If it weren't for his fast reaction, he would have died there.

Unfortunately, one of the abominations managed to bite his arm, dragging him and throwing him to a nearby collapsed pillar.

My essence has dropped to about 30% again, Samael thought as he opened and closed his palm.

It was worrying how often the monsters appear, but an ambush like this has never occurred before. The monsters were also teaming up just to get a piece of him.

I have to move now, he thought as he fled the scene fast.

By now, a week and a half has already passed since he was sent here. He has seen drastic changes and improvements over the course of time.

He has learned to slowly adapt to the weather, and how the monsters appear.

Ambushes such as this would have placed him on high alert throughout the day, but Samael just did not feel that way.

He felt, as usual, composed and focused on his goal. Was it confidence?

No.

It was simply because of experience.

Samael had to fight multiple foes before in the forest of his world, but he had ample preparations and strategies in place, which gave him the upper hand.

But here? Samael was prone to sudden attacks and traps laid by the enemy. He had no information about the place or what kind of abominations could be present in it.

The odds were all against him, and the fact that he was injured and his life was walking on a thread forced him to adapt and improve at an extraordinary rate.

After all, his only two choices are.

Kill or be killed.

And Samael chose the first.

His body got so used to fighting in such a disadvantaged state that it barely affects his mentality now.

Samael has instinctually learned a few movements that he never really did before, such as repositioning himself to gain an advantage over multiple enemies and leveraging his nimbleness to cause havoc between the abominations.

Every moment he spends in this hell, the more Samael understands himself and the skills he is lacking.

He always thought that maybe getting used to the pain or being immune to it would drastically help him in combat, but no.

He learned through observation from the beasts he fought that harnessing the pain and being one with it can allow one to surpass their current strength.

By now, his injuries have healed to about 35%. He's able to function, but not enough to overexert himself like he always used to.

But for now, it was enough to handle the adversaries before him.

Hope was not a thing here. Samael could not afford to hope. For it would kill him faster than the harsh weather and beasts.

When was the last time I had a good, long sleep? He wondered. His body could never fall fully into the embrace of rest. It would always be half awake, observing and watching.

This place... It was changing him.

Samael chewed with great effort the piece of meat in his mouth. It felt like chewing wood and stones, but with the flavour of blood and dead fish.

But he's starting to get used to it. It was not as unbearable as before.

Taking a glance ahead, the tower was comparably larger in sight now. That being said, Samael could also see what seemed to be another giant wall in the distance.

This one was larger in comparison to the first city he saw. Way larger. It was comparable to a kingdom or sanctuary back in his world.

Without further thought, Samael marched forward, slowly making his way towards the ruined kingdom.

As he kept his face, noon soon came to view, where the sun was at its peak. But surprisingly, Samael did not feel as weakened as before.

Sure, he still felt the burden of the heat, but not to the extent where he had to deploy a veil.

That being said, Samael halted his steps when he felt a slight tremor under his sole.

Samael's brows furrowed. Is it a sandworm again? He wondered.

No, it's too light for something that's coming underneath, which means... Samael speared a glance forward, where a silhouette slowly came to view.

It towered over him, roughly 12 feet in height, and was brown in color. It had four arms and what seemed to be a circular apparatus on its face. But what really piqued Samael's curiosity was that the creature was made of metal.

Is it... a machine...? Samael thought as he lowered his stance, his hand caressing Crimson Raven's hilt.

Slowly, the machine's head turned to Samael as it glew blue for a moment before blaring crimson.

I'm guessing that is not a good sign, he thought as he unsheathed Crimson Raven.

Before Samael, the machine spoke in a loud voice. However, it was all gibberish to him.

"KIUOLUS TERAT UIO PI!" It spoke in a mechanical tone before two compartments in its traps opened, revealing twelve sockets.

Not wasting another second, Samael burst forward as Crimson Raven morphed in shape.

Sensing his advance, the machine fired all twelve sockets, revealing what seemed to be metal shells.

However, to Samael, they were slow. Using his nimbleness, he effortlessly weaved through the shells as he continued his advance.

However, his attention was soon divided when a series of loud explosions erupted behind him.

So they explode, Samael thought.

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

Better keep distance from them He concluded.

Seeing its attack missed, the machine rose up and swung its arm to the side, unsheathing a pair of blades mounted on its forearm before it burst forth, meeting Samael head-on.

The machine raised its weapon high in the heavens before bringing it down with reckoning force.

However, Samael swiftly sidestepped as he slashed up, his axe, Crimson Raven, cleanly passing through the metal sword and bisecting it in two.

But the machine seemed to not care as it swung its other functioning weapon horizontally.

Much like earlier, Samael slid down as he tore the weapon in half, its metal surface posing no threat to his Void element and weapon.

Sensing its two weapons were shattered, the machine opened its chest, revealing a set of tubes.

With a blaring sound, a surge of flame escaped the tubes and reached Samael, but he was far faster as he spoke.

"Void Aegis."

A solidified circular plate of Void matter burst from Samael's hands, greeting the sea of flames with defiance as it glew purple over time.

Seeing this, Samael spoke.

"Eject."

The Void Aegis shot forward with tremendous force, smashing against the machine in a reckoning boom and knocking it a few metres back, erupting in a large explosion that shook the earth.

Samael watched as a large mushroom cloud rose high in the air, casting shadows and smoke in its wake.

However, to his surprise, Samael did not receive any notification from the Codex.

That's odd, he thought.

Is it because it's a machine? Samael wondered.

Paying it no mind, Samael continued forward towards the large gates of the kingdom, where he saw multiple fallen ballistas, albeit larger.

It seems this civilization was far more advanced than ours, yet they fell... Samael thought.

Did they rely too much on their machines? He wondered.

Passing through the gates, Samael saw a metal spike barrier flung to the side along with skeletal remains. Or at least what was left of them.

Inside was as usual: scattered corpses, destroyed houses, and carnage.

However, the presence of machines was very prominent. It was almost on every road.

Samael followed the roads until he saw what seemed to be a billboard in the centre of the kingdom.

Is this... A map? Samael thought as he observed it.

It is! He thought as he took it to his hands.

It seems to be the map of the region he was in. Right now, he is located in the kingdom of Repeka.

Judging by the distance, it seems the tower of Leo is still quite a distance away. Not to mention, there were still a few hurdles before he reached that place.

That being said, he now knows the fastest route to that tower. After passing through this kingdom, Samael will head to the forest of Liliac, then onwards to the great canyon of Eve, and lastly to the ancient grounds of Uria.

Samael has been studying their language, so he can understand a few words. Most of the merit goes to the Codex for providing him with resources to learn from.

So a forest is next, huh? Samael thought. At this point, he was a little too tired of forests. But it is what it is.

Thinking about it, there should be some form of journal here, right? Samael wondered.

Shooting a glance forward, Samael saw a castle ahead. The man he took the journal from surely wore quite the extravagant garment, so that means he was either royalty or of noble blood.

Making up his mind, Samael decided to go to the castle first.

The castle was situated near the centre of the kingdom; it had metal fences keeping outsiders at bay but was now nothing but a slight obstacle as the continuous harsh weather and abomination interference ravaged it to the ground.

Following the pathway inside the castle, Samael could faintly imagine the carnage that occurred here, judging by the bloodstains on the wall and the corpses hanging about.

Samael swiftly went for the rooms with higher chances of containing such records. Specifically, the library and offices used by these people.

After wandering around, Samael found an office in the long corridor he traversed. It had grand designs and jewellery decorating its walls, along with shredded paintings.

Samael swept the room fast, checking under the tables, drawers, and even behind the paintings, but found nothing of much significance.

There were a few letters scattered that did contain some discussion between the user of this room and a person in Leo Tower, though, which piqued Samael's interest.

The letter mainly talked about the advances of the monsters and how the man in the tower of Leo insists their objective is to conquer the tower. But it seems that the user of the room he was in simply found it hard to believe such bold claims.

The rest of the letters were far too withered to make sense of, so Samael threw them away and left.

Continuing on his journey to find the library, Samael's ears flinched as scratching noises at the end of the corridor whispered to him.

Samael's eyes narrowed as he expanded his Void compass forward, where he sensed an abomination approaching his location with speed.

Keeping his composure, Samael unsheathed Crimson Raven as he turned off his Void compass to avoid wasting his essence.

It seems the beast was brave considering the place was pitch dark. But this was no hurdle for Samael.

As the abominations slowly approached him, he finally saw their grotesque appearance.

It was a large spider with warped teeth spilling venom. It was agile and able to easily walk through the walls of the hallway.

Samael remained idle as he watched the beast slowly come closer.

Not yet... Samael thought.

The creature inched closer and closer, its mouth spilling more venom as time went on.

A little bit more... Samael thought.

As the beast was a few metres from him, Samael crouched down and planted his palm underneath.

"Abyss spikes."

A plethora of onyx-black spikes burst from the ground, impaling the creature on the ceiling as it released one last shriek before falling limp.

Devoured Void Essence of "Aranea" [Metamorphosis I] +530

Paying no mind to the dead beast, Samael continued his venture deeper.

He swept room by room, hallway after hallway, until he found stairs leading downward.

Judging by the footprints on the dust, no abomination managed to find this place.

Did they seek refuge down here? Samael wondered.

The spiral staircase led Samael to a large door bolted shut by something on the other side.

Fortunately, time has eroded it, allowing Samael to easily tear it apart.

This... Samael's gaze swept around him as he spoke. "Found it."

It was the library.

While there were some books lying in a mess, everything was mostly intact.

As Samael went further, he saw the owner of the footprints on the stairs. Or, to be exact, owners.

One was an adult wearing the same clothes as the corpse he found in the city; it was hugging a child, and judging by the blood stains on her bones, she was most likely wounded.

Parents watching their kids die before their arms—is this the outcome when the ones fighting in the front fall? Samael thought.

Clenching his jaw, Samael wandered elsewhere. His efforts soon bore fruit, as he found a desk with a book and quill.

Surely this is a journal, Samael thought as he dusted it, delicately turning its pages.

Much like he expected, it was mostly details of a man named Caleb and his last moments here.

Just like Samael predicted, it seems his daughter died under the wounds of a creature named Aranea.

Aranea... Isn't that what I just killed? Samael thought. If so, then he's already avenged them.

According to Caleb, the abominations swept towns after towns, toppling their machines and warriors with ease.

However, Samael noticed another passage.

"Codex, read this part, please," Samael requested.

Understood.

Passage 32 of the Year XX

Our machines have failed us. The very weapons we were proud of have betrayed us as they fell one by one under the claws of these monsters. But where else could we rely except on these tins of metal? The ones that truly possessed inhuman abilities gathered at the tower of Leo. Not everyone was blessed to have an element. Not everyone.

Message end.

So their civilization is advanced in technology but lacks people who possess elements, Samael thought.

That explains how fast their species went extinct and why the abominations barely had trouble conquering them.

As Samael continued his reading, he soon found another passage that gave him insights about his next location.

It seems the forest he was to enter next was now infested with Aranea. They have corrupted those woods and made them their home.

Aranea's venom was enough to corrode metal like its paper, and their shells make for formidable opponents.

Luckily, my element allows me to pierce through their carcasses with ease. Otherwise, this whole venture would be for naught, Samael thought.

In the final pages of the book, it contained Caleb's single regret. It was his inability to protect the most precious thing to him. His daughter, and how he wished that if there really was another life, she would be his family again.

Closing the book, Samael made his way to the two, where he paid his final respect.

"May the light guide you," Samael whispered before he left.

As he stood at the door of the library, Samael shot one final look and went on.