Divine Emperor of DeathDivine Emperor of Death
When Vereina tried to turn around, she found that she couldn't. Her body was heading, trickling slowly towards the sixth level. Her footsteps echoed loudly in her soul, each thud crippling her composure.
'Save me…! Someone save me…! Master…!'
She tried to scream, but it was useless. She couldn't even open her mouth.
She walked slowly, but time appeared to be moving extremely fast as she was already at the entrance to the sixth level. Because there were no dark shadow wraiths, she made it safely here. But safety was only relative as her body- no, her soul was taken over by something.
'No… no… no… no! NO!'
She screamed many times, but no one could hear anything as she took a step to the sixth level.
At that moment, the world around her turned darker than black. She could see nothing, and all she could feel was a cold chill emanating from inside. It didn't take her long to understand that she was caught in a case of disappearance.
But suddenly, light returned to her vision ever so lightly.
She saw that she had tripped and fell into something- someone.
"Where do you think you are going?"
'Davis! Help me!'
A familiar yet nonchalant voice entered her ears, causing her to scream for help, but even then, she couldn't say a word.
"Hmm? Strange…"
'Yes, yes! It's strange. Something has taken over me! Please help!'
Vereina cried out, never having been so desperate in her life, but the result was all the same. Her words couldn't get to him.
"You absolutely have no emotion. That's not possible. I'm going to be rude, so my apologies…"
A finger was placed on her forehead, and something burst from it.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Vereina screamed out loudly, and her entire body trembled like she had been electrocuted.
"…!" Davis was spooked. He held her down and first shot off from the entrance of the sixth level.
He had noticed Vereina was missing from the corner of his eyes during the passionate exchange, so he had to take a few moments to calm Stella, who badly wanted her reward. After he calmed her down, he rushed to search for Vereina and found her.
He relaxed, but just as he thought she was only going to inspect the entrance, she actually stepped into it.
It shocked him, so he quickly appeared and pulled her outside. Then, noticing that Vereina had no emotions, he became suspicious. It was possible that one's emotions could be as calm as a lake, but there was never a moment when there was no lake. He even thought he was dealing with a puppet.
Just as he tried to inspect by injecting his soul sense, Vereina went into shock.
That startled him badly, but his senses were still elongated. He reacted to danger like it was second instinct, and when he turned to look at the entrance, he saw a terrifying dark hand stretch out, trying to pull them inside.
*Bzzz!~!*
Abruptly, light energy intensified into existence at the entrance.
A strange talisman appeared and glowed, causing the dark hand to retreat back into the sixth level!
Davis's eyes were wide as he saw someone's talisman had activated. It was most likely someone from this realm or another realm who was trying to ward off the lifeform inside the sixth or the seventh level. He wondered if his plans were going to fall into ruin, but he didn't care.
He placed Vereina down and used the black-white stone. She was still shaking badly, like she went into a panic attack, but worse. Holding her down, he touched her forehead and inspected with all his might.
"Brat! Are you looking to die…!?"
Abruptly, the shrill voice of a woman that was no different than what he imagined to be a crazed witch echoed in his soul. Davis was about to answer, but the scenery abruptly changed.
It was no longer a dark cave but a dark temple.
The lighting was dim, and he could barely see Vereina's expression, but she seemed to calm down as she tried to catch her breath. It didn't take much for Davis to discover this was a mental realm as he couldn't access his martial energy.
Still, his heart skipped a beat.
He slowly turned his head as he saw the walls draped in shadows that were akin to endless darkness. It seemed to twist and crawl like hungry creatures of the abyss. His olfactory senses picked up the scent of blood, an oppressive aura settling over him.
As his head stopped turning, his vision came into contact with something that chilled his very soul.
Ahead, suspended in the air, was a maimed figure. It seemed similar to that of a woman, ghastly and unsettling, her body hanging upside down while being bound by numerous golden chains that seemed to have long rusted. Blood dripped from every part of her, flowing down her limbs and pooling beneath her, all collecting inside a fountain of dark crimson that rippled and churned, going back to her as though it was an endless stream of gore.
Davis's pupils dilated.
Over twenty-six armaments, perhaps divine weapons, pierced into her flesh, each appearing to have been forged from materials that he couldn't tell. They gleamed with an otherworldly aura even as they were embedded into her body.
There was the golden hilt of a dagger lodged into her shoulder and a black sword in her abdomen. Spears and chains bound her ankles and wrists, and a black boulder mace ruptured her chest, even causing her bosoms to hang out of her body. Her body twitched in sickening ways, each weapon seemingly digging deeper as if bestowing her with more pain.
Finally, his eyes met hers. Her eyes didn't seem human. They were a ghastly pair of eyes filled with intense rage and even hatred. The dark crimson pupils were inhuman. Flesh hung from her body, barely clinging to her bones in many areas. One would expect her to twitch in pain, but she wore a smile that was crazed and more grotesque than Davis had ever seen.
"Drop her and leave, and I'll promise not to hurt you~ Do you understand?"
Davis stood up slowly first. Vereina barely managed to calm down, and when she saw the grotesque figure, she couldn't help but leap at Davis's legs, frantically holding onto him as she was scared to death. She trembled. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the evil entity coldly glare at her.
"I see."
Davis suddenly uttered. He bent down and lifted up Vereina, but she refused to leave his side, so he held her close and caressed her head.
He felt bad for taking his eye off her and bringing her into this mess but concentrated on the matter at hand.
"So you concealed your aura to merge with her soul physique and control her. Am I correct?"
"Don't test my patience. I could absolutely crush you with my aura alone. Even an Empyrean wouldn't survive, so if you know what's best for you, drop her and leave." She growled in a low voice.
It made Davis feel the chills but he forcefully smiled.
"As expected. You're an existence above an Empyrean but that doesn't matter if you're in this sorry state and you had to rely on some paltry tricks to control Vereina and get her into the sixth and seventh levels. You're nearer to death than us, aren't you?"
"Silence!!!" A terrifying shriek left her mouth, causing Davis to pull back as he frowned.
But he couldn't help but smirk.
"Let me guess. You're also an owner of the Violent Punitive Soul Physique, aren't you?"
"…"