[You have reached level 20]
[You have learned “Dark Bolt”]
[You have learned “Shadow Cloak”]
[You have learned “Soul Reap”]
[You have learned “Necrotic Aura”]
[You have learned “Grasp of The Abyss”]
[You have learned “Necromantic Art: Stygian Blades”]
[You have learned “Necromantic Mastery: Cursed Affliction”]
Lily's heart raced as Malachi's gaze met hers, his eyes now reflecting a darkness that seemed to devour the very light around them. The room felt heavy with an otherworldly presence, and the air grew thick with tension.
The maids gasped in horror, their faces pale as they exchanged fearful glances. The whispers of demonic voices seemed to grow louder, swirling around them like a malevolent chorus.
“HAHAHAHA!”
Malachi's lips curled into a sinister smile, and his voice carried a chilling edge as he finally spoke. "Lily, my dear, you've stumbled into a place you were never meant to see."
Lily took a step back, trembling in fright as she couldn’t process what she saw.
“W—who are you? No. What are you?”
“I am death.”
Lily's breath caught in her throat as Malachi's words reverberated in the air. The chilling resonance of his voice seemed to penetrate deep into her bones, and her mind struggled to make sense of the horrifying scene unfolding before her.
The maids whimpered, their eyes wide with terror, as they exchanged terrified glances. The whispers of the demonic voices echoed around them, growing more urgent and menacing.
Lily's voice quivered as she managed to utter, "Death? What do you mean?"
“It means that I can finally do what I couldn’t in my past life. I was about to look for you when I finished the ritual, but instead you came to me willingly.”
"Stay back!" Lily's voice wavered, but she tried to sound stronger than she felt.
Malachi's laughter echoed through the chamber, a maddening sound that seemed to fill every corner of the room. “I won’t miss the opportunity to kill you. With your death, I will be able to vent my anger!”
Lily's eyes widened in horror, the gravity of his words hitting her like a tidal wave. She turned to the maids, her voice pleading. "Run! Run and get help!"
But before the maids could move, Malachi's eyes blazed with an unholy light, and his hand shot out, a dark energy coalescing around it.
"No!" Lily screamed, but it was too late.
In an instant, the maids were engulfed in a nightmarish torrent of energy. Their screams were drowned out by the cacophony of demonic whispers that seemed to surge in response to the dark magic being unleashed.Lily's world spun, her mind unable to process the horror before her. The maids' forms contorted and twisted, their bodies undergoing a grotesque transformation. Their agonized cries were cut short as their heads were decapitated.
The lantern fell to the floor. Its flame flickering but manage to stay lit.
Lily's legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, her breath coming in ragged sobs. Her eyes were wide with terror, her entire being overwhelmed by the sheer malevolence that radiated from Malachi.
Lily's voice trembled as she managed to whisper, "What are you going to do to me?”
“What I have been wanting to do for a long time.”
Malachi raised his palm and dark energy engulfed Lily before she screamed in pain as her skin began to ooze smoke. Her white porcelain skin was turning red at first, then blistering before it began to peel, melt, and char.
Her clothes had long disappeared, devoured by the black goo.
Suddenly, cuts appeared all over her body as if hundreds of razors were slicing at her.
Lily's body convulsed in agony as the dark energy consumed her, an inferno of pain that seared through every fiber of her being. Her skin, once smooth and fair, now twisted and contorted in response to the malevolent magic that enveloped her. The intense heat emanating from the dark energy turned her flesh into a furnace, causing her to writhe and thrash on the ground.
“AHH! IT BURNS! STOP THIS AT ONCE!”
The torment was indescribable, a symphony of torment that assaulted her senses from all directions. The burning sensation was relentless, an unyielding fire that devoured her from the inside out. Her vision blurred with tears as her body trembled uncontrollably, each nerve ending aflame with searing torment.
The once-melodic whispers of demonic voices now sounded like a cacophony of nightmarish screams, echoing in her mind and intensifying her suffering. It was as if her very existence was being torn apart, her consciousness adrift in a sea of excruciating pain.
The cuts that appeared on her body felt like knives being dragged across her skin, leaving trails of blood and aching wounds in their wake. Every movement, every breath, was a reminder of the agony that held her captive. The layers of her skin seemed to bubble and blister, the air filled with the acrid scent of burning flesh.
Lily's voice, once filled with defiance, had transformed into an unending chorus of agonized cries. She begged for mercy, her pleas echoing off the walls of the chamber, but the malevolent force that gripped her showed no signs of relenting. Her consciousness teetered on the edge of darkness as the pain threatened to overwhelm her entirely.
“PLEASE STOP THIS!”
Time became an abstract concept, lost in the maelstrom of suffering. Lily's world had narrowed down to the overwhelming sensation of pain, an all-encompassing reality that consumed her every thought, every breath. She clung to the last threads of her sanity, desperately praying for an end to the torment that had become her existence.
Malachi raised his hand and a sword formed of dark energy appeared.
“Consider this mercy as I have condensed my years of sufferings into one tiny moments of torture for you.”
He drove the sword into her neck, ending her sufferings once and for all.
Suddenly, a thunderous voice came from the side.
“YOU DEMON! I WILL KILL YOU A THOUSAND TIME!” Aldric screamed at the top of his lung before lunging towards Malachi.
Aldric's heart raced as he sprinted through the cobblestone streets of the town, his mind racing with a singular purpose—to reach the mansion. The urgency of his mission weighed heavily on him, every step a reminder that time was slipping through his fingers. Unlocking the door, Aldric hurried inside, his footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. The mansion felt oddly silent and foreboding, the shadows dancing on the walls as if aware of the impending turmoil. Aldric's steps were purposeful, leading him deeper into the mansion's interior. In the main hall of the mansion, Aldric's inner turmoil raged on. His plans to eliminate Malachi had to be executed with precision and speed. He couldn't afford to underestimate the boy's capabilities any longer. “HELP!”Suddenly, he hear his daughter’s scream. “Lily?”“PLEASE HELP!”The desperate plea sliced through Aldric's thoughts like a knife, shattering his focus and replacing it with a surge of panic and dread. The voice was unmistakably Lil
As Malachi plummeted from the sky, his figure was a dark silhouette against the backdrop of the open air. The wind rushed past him, whipping his hair and clothes as he descended with startling speed.The distance between him and the ground closed rapidly, and the ground below seemed to rush up to meet him with a sense of impending impact. It was a heart-pounding moment as gravity took hold, and Malachi's mind raced to find a solution to his sudden predicament.Just when it seemed like his fall was destined to end in a bone-shattering collision, fate intervened in the form of a tree. His body collided with the upper branches of the tree, causing a cascade of leaves and twigs to scatter in all directions. The impact wasn't enough to halt his descent entirely. Instead, it served to slow him down and redirect his trajectory.With each successive branch, Malachi's fall turned into a chaotic dance of twists and turns. He bounced from one branch to another, his body contorted in unnatural a
A dozen guards arrived at the underground basement to assess the situation and were horrified by what they saw.“Perfect timing! Head to the east and locate that boy!” Professor Thaddeus ordered.The guards looked bewildered and remained motionless.“Why are you still here?” Thaddeus asked, his anger evident.Aldric stood up, then glanced at his guards before explaining the situation. “Malachi has delved into the forbidden arts of necromancy. He has gone mad due to the evil in his heart. He is no longer the Malachi we know. Necromancy is prohibited in this holy land. Search for him immediately, and eliminate him on the spot!”The guards hesitated briefly before bowing and complying with the order.Suddenly, an eagle entered through the hole in the roof and swooped down into the basement. It flapped its wings to come to a stop as it perched on Thaddeus’ arm.“Thaddeus,” the eagle spoke. “The headmaster is instructing you to return. It is an urgent matter, and you cannot delay any longe
Amidst the dense foliage of the enchanted forest, the air was thick with tension as the moon cast an eerie glow on the battleground. Malachi, his body weakened and dehydrated, stood at the ready. His young form belied the ancient malevolence that resided within him. Eight guards, four skilled swordsmen and four sharpshooters armed with bows, encircled him with cautious determination.As the guards closed in, Malachi's eyes gleamed with a cunning intensity. He knew he couldn't rely solely on brute force in his current state. His fingers twitched as he surveyed the surroundings, his mind calculating every possibility.The first swordsman lunged forward, his blade gleaming with intent. Malachi's shadow cloak engaged, enveloping him in darkness and rendering him invisible. He nimbly sidestepped, letting the swordsman's strike hit nothing but air.“Where is he?!”“Careful! He can hide using the shadows!”Meanwhile, the necrotic aura he emitted took its toll on the guards' focus, subtly wea
In the aftermath of the intense battle that had transpired between Malachi and the eight guards, Lyra, Kael, Sylvia, Finn, and Aria arrived at the battle site. They were Thaddeus' students who were sent to go after Malachi.The forest clearing bore the scars of the conflict, with broken branches and churned-up earth evidence of the fierce struggle. Despite the absence of overt magical residue, the signs of Malachi's mastery over necromancy were unmistakable. Lyra, her sharp intellect as keen as ever, knelt down to examine the disturbed ground. "Look here, the soil appears to be tainted by necrotic energy. This was undoubtedly where Malachi employed his dark arts." Kael, his finely tuned warrior instincts, inspected the nearby trees. "And these shattered branches indicate the force with which Malachi must have engaged the guards. He was clearly the aggressor. The guards must have been on the defensive side after they found him.”Sylvia, with her analytical mind always at work, studi
“So, what’s your name?” the young man asked.“Malachi,” he replied, his head still looking down.The young man noticed his nervousness and chuckled. “My name is Jett Welles. This here is Sansum. He is 6 years old. What about you? How old are you?”“I am 8 years old.”“Hoo, just a few years and you’ll be an adult like me.” Jett smiled and ruffled on Malachi’s head as if he was his little brother. “Do you like hunting?” Sansum asked.“Hunting?”“Hunting animals,” Sansum continued. “Jett is teaching me how to hunt animals so we can feed ourselves, but most importantly, so we can feed others. Everyone else already knows how to hunt except me.”“That’s because you’re the youngest,” Jett said. “You’ll learn sooner or later.”“Yeah, but everyone is making fun of me, especially because of my thin body.”“You’ll get over it. I am as thin as you. Besides, if you can hunt, you can eat more and get big. Oh, look, we have arrived.”Nestled deep within the heart of a dense and ancient forest, the
“You want something she has?” Seraphina asked.“You will understand later.” Malachi smiled. Seraphina was very confused. It had been more than 2 weeks since she accompanied Malachi, but she still did not understand him.‘If he could just say his plan.’ Seraphina sighed.Malachi finished his last cookies and stood up before entering a room. The room looked like an apothecary chamber for creating medicines. There, he saw old Lady Morwen began to put silver rings on each of her fingers. Beside her, an array of iridescent crystals and ancient texts glowed softly, attesting to the powerful magic that coursed through her veins. With a flick of her fingers, she summoned a delicate mortar made from the enchanted bark of the Glimmering Oak, a tree said to capture starlight and infuse it into its wood. Lady Morwen's mortar was paired with a pestle crafted from the heart of the Amberstone Mountain, known for its ability to amplify the essence of the herbs it ground. As she gathered the Moonli
Malachi grabbed all the herbs and plants he could find in her room and then stuffed them inside his pocket.“You said those herbs are of no use to you,” Seraphina commented. “And when are you going to kill that old lady?”“These herbs will help me in that.”Malachi tidied the room, making it look like no one had touched anything. “You stay here and keep a lookout. I am going out for a few minutes.”He ran out of the house immediately which confused Seraphina. “I can’t really understand him,” She complained. Seraphina obeyed the order and stayed in the room. A few minutes later, old Lady Morwen entered the room. This time, she looked even younger with all of her wrinkles almost gone. It was as if time reversed by 30 years. Her skin became brighter and healthier. Even though one could still see that she was an old woman, many men wouldn’t mind marrying her in her current state.“Perhaps it’s true that this old lady absorbed the life force of the young people here,” Seraphina said out