"Walter Orthright... How pleasant to see you here. I had hoped that you would have perished in the tragedy that happened in Albatross. But I suppose I am once again disappointed," Tyranus said.Walter stood with Honor at the ready and smiled at Tyranus."You have no idea the things I've seen. The true power that the Black Ooze wields. Tyranus, stop this at once and aid us!" Walter said."No. I don't intend to help anyone but myself. The power of the Black Ooze will be mine. You are but an obstacle!"Walter turned to us and frowned."This man is beyond saving. Mizik, Isabella, give me the order and I shall execute him," he said."Walter, can you take him?" I asked.Walter glanced at Tyranus and shook his head with a sad smile."I can buy time for the two of you to escape. But I will be giving my life for it. I am sorry...that is all I can do at this point," he said.Damn it all..."Guards, please ensure that no one leaves here. I will handle Walter myself," Tyranus said."Then it's a d
I could feel immense power coursing through my body. For some reason, I could now grasp the energy flowing around Tyranus.It was immense...but I could knock it down to size. Vengeance could weaken him enough...Tyranus stood there shouting and yelling at Cassandra when suddenly, Arvild stepped forward."MIZIK, YOU BASTARD! GUARDS! KILL HIM!!!" Arvild screamed.Immediately, every single guard raised their weapons and ran straight at me.As I raised Vengeance, I could now read the runes on the blade.Then I took a deep breath and recited the words."VENGEANCE! HEAR MY CALL! HE THAT SLAYS THINE ENEMY IS THE VENGEFUL ONE!!!" I shouted mightily.There was a burst of power and it caused the guards to stumble. Then I extended my free hand. A second sword appeared in it. Completely identical to the first. I now understood another reason why Vengeance hated shields.He truly wasn't meant to use one.{New Ability Unlocked!}{Vengeance Form Two: Dual Wield!}{Class Up! Magic Knight > Arcane
As I slept, I could hear Vengeance speaking to me.[You denied me the blood of my prey. Why?]Don't get me wrong, I hate Cassandra. But how can I kill her when she looks like Isabella?[You are growing soft. The flames of your hatred for that wretch have dulled... How am I to lend you my full power if you refuse to slay your enemies?]Lend it to me because I told you to. I am not a slave and I am not a monster. I bathed in a river of blood today. Do you know what that does to a person?[Irrelevant. You must disconnect your feelings. Tear them apart. Show them no mercy. Slay your enemies with ceaseless brutality.]And what happens if I lose myself? I become a monster. Seeking only to continue the cycle of violence. Killing everyone and everything in sight. Even my beloved Isabella. If I kill Cassandra, who looks like my beloved, what stops me from killing Isabella too?[Fool. Isabella is not a wretched sinner. She has not incurred my wrath. She is safe.]For how long is she safe? How m
We snuck out of the city in the middle of the night. It wasn't that dealing with the authorities would be difficult at this point...just that it would be annoying.Regular soldiers were little more than gnats to us now. Having so much power felt good, but it came with responsibility. I didn't want to massacre the common people with it and we had a job to do.Once we were far enough from the city, I stopped, then pulled out my old map and compass.The ones Maul gave me.I had to fight back tears this time as I set the destination for a port that would likely take us a week to reach on foot."Mizik, shouldn't we have taken a couple of horses?" Isabella asked me."I admit it would be useful but...I've never ridden one before..." I said."Well, you could always ride with me. I'm experienced with horse riding."I imagined holding onto Isabella from behind as we rode a horse through the wilderness and felt somewhat flustered.I also cursed myself for not getting a horse."Something the ma
For the next week, Isabella and I slept in shifts to make sure none of the other passengers bothered us.A few times they would encounter us, but ultimately we were left alone. Much to my surprise, at least. Isabella, on the other hand, wanted to trust people more than I did. I couldn't fault her for it, though. Being friendly was something that was slowly slipping away from me.I was becoming more closed off and resentful of others. Distrusting everyone to an extent.As much as I could tell, everything that happened was also affecting Isabella. Her mind was becoming somewhat damaged as a result of the loss, grief, and stress. She coped with it by clinging onto me relentlessly and making friends with others.But I knew the truth.She put on a front of someone willing to protect me and others. Someone willing to shoulder people'a burdens... As a former Princess, it was what she was raised to do. But internally, she was breaking.I recalled the time where I saved her from death by div
After the horrifying eye I'd seen the night before disappeared, I somehow managed to sleep.Somehow, the presence of that thing made it hard to relax. Once it was gone, I passed out shortly after.Still...I didn't get enough sleep.And once Isabella woke up, we got ready immediately and headed towards the door.The image of that eye was still fresh in my mind and I couldn't forget about it. I elected not to tell Isabella what I saw because I didn't want her to worry.But she knew I didn't sleep very well. She didn't say anything, but I could tell she knew. She was smart like that.We went downstairs and reached the door, quickly.Hana stopped us before we left and offered to lead us to the location. We accepted and went on our way.Before we went to the meeting place, we made a few extra preparations and followed Hana back.In the short time we'd known Hana and Ikoma, Isabella and I grew attatched. It motivated us to protect the water dragon. To protect Hakumo.Once we saw the gatheri
We continued walking down the massive hallway until we came to a huge set of double doors. They towered above us."This is...the door to the Water Dragon's sanctum. It's where they would bring offerings and worship her while she taught them. I hope she's okay..." Tareen said."Have you been here before?" I asked."A couple of times. But I would go between here and Kalsa... Wherever there was work..." She replied."Do you know what we should expect?" Rose asked."Well, the water dragon is one of the most powerful beings in the world. She's actually pretty nice, though. Really wise too. I doubt these monsters could actually manage to kill her..." Tareen replied."That's comforting to hear... If she's okay, she might be able to help us destroy the Source of the Black Ooze," I said."Black...Ooze?" Jay said fearfully."The dark stuff on the walls and floor. The stuff spawning monsters and infecting our comrades. That's what we call it," I said."Wait...you mean you two knew about this shi
Once we were back at the docks, I tried my best to collect myself.I had taken the time to mark the location at the docks before we joined up with the adventuring party.Just in case of an emergency, that is.I could see my hands shaking and I saw Isabella down on her knees with her head between her hands.She was mumbling something."I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry I couldn't save everyone... Please forgive me...make it stop... Please make them stop..." She whimpered.This kept going for a few minutes while I tried to calm myself... I couldn't stop shaking.That shadow dragon...that abomination did something to our minds. Never before in our lives had we witnessed such horror...It was mimicking the voices of our fallen friends and family...even someone like Tyranus. An enemy.I decided to glance around the docks to see if anyone was around.It was dark outside and currently, the docks were mostly empty. I didn't see anyone around.I turned to Isabella who was still whimpering in terror