Luke trembled as he saw Lawrence being slowly consumed by the black material wrapping around his arm and the fog coming from the black spear. The black material started traveling over his shoulder as the gray fog covered the area around Lawrence who appeared to be dazed. Opening his eyes, a stabbing pain traveled all over his body but he gritted his teeth. It felt like his skin is being stabbed with sharp objects continuously. Still, he tried rationalizing what he is seeing as once again, he was sucked into whatever Lawrence is seeing right now. The place has no color except the bleak colors of black and gray. Thousands upon thousands of corpses littered the plains as their incessant begging rang across the world. The black sun gave the world its gray light as a single mountain stands tall covered with some sort of black material.
"Forgive me!"
"Kill me already.."
"Don't you know who I am!!!"
"GAHAHAAHAH"
The continued begging and screaming of the surrounding corpse were unnerving but Lawrence simply passed by them. In front of him is a large mountain covered with the thick and gooey substance that travels all over the barren land littered with living corpses. The smell of blood and rotting flesh was sickening as he can't help but be perturbed by all of this. Some corpse tried grabbing on his shoes but he merely shakes their grip off. He needs to climb that mountain to succeed in this trial.
"Boss, what is this?" Lawrence immediately turned around to find Luke staring at him coldly. He kicked the hands of the corpses away as he didn't seem to be disturbed but only confused. He was about to respond only to be stopped by a booming voice.
"To be able to walk on my plane. Impressive for a mortal!"
"Hmm…a soul stealer and an emotionless sociopath. Great, I was actually hoping for some normal mortals" the voice is laced with sarcasm as Lawrence and Luke stared at each other.
"Soul stealer?" Luke asked but it's clear that there were no emotions that can be seen on his face. The glint of a dagger appeared as Luke slowly wielded the wolf fang's dagger. His gaze is locked on Lawrence as if waiting for his answer.
"I see..so you realized that the pact was broken huh?" Lawrence smiled as Luke shrugged
"Pretty much, i didn't create a pact with you but with the heir of the Aenir Family and the successor of the Silver Moon. This means that either you are not the heir of the Aenir anymore or the successor of the Silver Moon" Luke explained as Lawrence understood what he meant. It means that Loid has become the heir since Lawrence become a criminal under the eyes of the Swordwin Empire. This isn't that surprising but the fact that there can be a loophole in the beastkin's pact was something he didn't expect.
"Finally, something exciting. Kill each other! Die for my entertainment!" the booming voice happily interjected as Lawrence felt a wave of anger washing over his mind. Luckily, he was able to disperse his anger as he also saw Luke staring at him calmly.
"Tsk, boooo! What the hell is wrong with humans now?" the voice whined as Lawrence can only give a wry smile.
"So what do we do now boss?"
"Depends, what do you want to do?"
"Hmm…explain to me what a soul stealer is and maybe I won't slit your throat"
"What do you know about it?"
"Soul stealers, a mistake that is created during the combining of soul and the body. A different being can steal the body of someone to reincarnate themselves. They are greedy and cruel with a sense of being a chosen one. " Luke explained
"Have you met any soul stealers?"
"My father is one of them" Luke shrugged as Lawrence can't believe this. Does that mean that a lot of people were actually reincarnated in this world? What if some of them were readers of the story? Does this mean that they will try to get some of the strongest artifacts and relics? What if some of them want to use their power to satisfy their own greed.
"Did your father do anything peculiar?"
"Don't know, I didn't care about him. He only said something about the coming of the destruction of the three firmaments and his fervor of anger once I was born. Saying that I was a mistake and must be purged immediately. If it wasn't for my mother, I wouldn't be here at all" Luke replied as if it didn't bother him. The destruction of the three firmaments must mean that his father must have read the novel. What's worse is that he came to this world earlier than both he and Catalinna.
"If you are still confused, ask him. I was merely a kid by that time. Most of my memories at that time were muddled at best. I only know that he has a collection of paintings in his basement." Luke smiled as if remembering a happy memory.
"There were paintings of both Catalinna and Vania in his basement. Weird right? I can't forget about it since I was beaten near to death by my father after finding out I went to his basement." Luke chuckled as if the event didn't affect him.
"Don't tell me you followed us since you were curious about the people in the painting." Lawrence responded
"I was curious what was so important about them. So important that I was forsaken by my father and shunned by my family." Luke stared at Lawrence coldly before putting the dagger back on its sheath.
"So you are a fellow soul stealer, that's good. I will create a new pact as long as you help me kill my father. Besides, I now know that not all soul stealer is the same as my father" Luke revealed his true goal as Lawrence knew that for a single dagger that Luke found immediately. It was extremely suspicious that Luke still followed them despite getting his hands on his so-called goal.
"Not now. We'll talk about this once we get out of here and I got what I wanted" Lawrence gazed at the black mountain before starting to walk forward. Every step disturbs the corpses as they pleaded and begged but it fell on deaf ears as both of them continued walking. A black shadow blocks the sun as Lawrence looked up to find a large crow reaching the size of 5 meters started encircling them in the air. Its gray eyes glowed with evil intent but it didn't charge at them.
After an hour of walking, they weren't able to get anywhere close to the mountain as Lawrence can only sigh. Another hour passed but it was still the same. An hour pass again, and again until Luke reminded him that they have been walking without any rest for a day. There were no changes in the topography and the black crow still encircled them, never taking its eyes off.
"Can you explain what is happening, boss?"
"Next time, don't tell me the time. This isn't something I can explain under it's watchful eyes. Just follow me" Lawrence looked at the crow as Luke nodded.
They walked and walked until it seems that they have been walking forever. There wasn't any change in the area and the mountain seems to be moving away with every step they take. It was mind-numbing but oddly enough, they didn't feel any fatigue of some kind. They weren't hungry or thirsty. Still, they continued walking in silence.
Meanwhile, a man with 6 horns on his head looked at the mortals who didn't give up walking. The man used the eyes of the crow to check their emotions but both of them are as calm as a still lake. This annoyed the man as he started egging them on to fight each other but it was a failure. He tried putting them under an illusion but it was always broken by the fox-eyed brat. Now, these mortals were slowly getting closer to the mountain without providing him any entertainment. The littered corpses that scattered his plane were from the mortals who failed in their trial. Some gave up, some were tempted by him, some were killed by their ally, and some were locked under his illusions. Only a handful was able to access his treasury but all of them have suffered under the chains of despair and dread. They left the plane battered and broken with some of them becoming a traitor of mankind.
Realizing that they would succeed in the trial with relative ease, the man flickered his fingers as a gray substance appeared beside him. It looked at the man before contorting and changing itself as it transform into a man standing over six feet with 6 horns resembling a crown. Its red eyes and white hair were a contrast to the color of the plane as it smirks before nodding at the man sitting on the throne.
"Let them experience true despair!" the man laughed as the changeling vanished.
Lawrence and Luke were still walking in the plains when suddenly the ground trembled and the nearby corpse was blown away by the shockwave. A demon with 6 horns appeared as it sneered at both of them. Six weapons floated behind the demon as it revealed its fangs. Two black wings appeared behind it before flying in the air.
"Hmm..so that is what a demon looks like. Still, this thing is probably a changeling or an illusion because if it isn't" Lawrence nervously chuckled while Luke stared at the demon.
"Do we have to defeat this?"
"I don't know…" Lawrence replied. This is the first time that his knowledge of the novel was useless. This is a trial given to anyone tempted by the spear of the damned in the cemetery. The trial's goal is to let anyone experience despair and dread. Most of his knowledge about this trial came from the experience of Maximilian. Cain's friend who became a traitor of mankind after getting his hand on the spear. Astonish by his friend's strength and talent. He felt he was useless in the group as he continually gets saved again and again by Cain. During the escape from the Swordwin Empire, Cain was forced to retreat under heavy injuries leaving Maximillian as he was too slow. He was eventually captured and was sent to the Sekai Kingdom where his punishment is to enter the cemetery and never to leave. There, he found the skeleton and the spear that is stabbed in the ground. The skeleton explained to him what it was and that he can gain immense power if he succeed in the trial.
Tempted by the promise of power, he grabbed the spear. In the trial, he was forced to experience the moment of being saved by Cain. In the illusion, he can hear what others are thinking of him, especially Katherine and Catalinna. They deemed him as useless, worthless, a waste of time, a nobody, and someone who clings to Cain to save him. This repeated for days upon days as the demon eventually appeared. Offering him that as long as he reaches the black mountain, he will give him immense power. Accepting the offer, he walked towards the black mountain for years, until the only memory he had is his time under the illusion. The demon, bored by Maximilian's undying determination allowed him to wield the spear. With newfound strength, he immediately went into hiding. Only to reveal himself as one of the generals of the demon king. Right now, he is still studying at the Academy in his first year.
"Should we continue on walking?" Luke suggested
"Might as well" Ignoring the flying demon, they continued their walk to the mountain. The changeling is confused about what to do next so it simply flew with the crow.
"Are you FUCKING kidding me? Dammit, should I just throw them out? I can't order the changeling to ambush them as it is my minion. I'm a proud and true demon and neither I nor my legion resort to trickery and cowardly tactics. Hmmm….don't tell me they are gonna get into my treasury by simply walking?" the man was flabbergasted as a black smoke suddenly manifested beside him. A woman wearing skimpy and outlandish clothes with most of her skin revealed through her clothing appeared. Her beauty was on the same level as Vania. Her black straight hair covered her back as she looked at the man with seductive eyes.
"What do you want?" the man didn't even look at her as the woman giggled softly before leaning towards the man and whispering.
"I can help you.."
"I can put them in the pit of despair" she added with a sweet smile. The man stared at her before nodding.
Lawrence and Luke are still walking with the black crow and the demon. As the footsteps resounded behind them as they immediately turned around to find two ladies smiling at them sweetly. Their alluring gazes and soft skin were tempting. Their inviting stare made Lawrence gulp. The ladies are almost naked, only hiding their private parts. An aura of seduction started appearing as both Lawrence and Luke were stuck in place. The two ladies started caressing them as they leaned forward for a kiss.
Lawrence wanted to move away but he found out that he can't move or use any of his arts. As if something is chaining him to the ground and stopping him from using any spells. Luckily, Luke escaped from the grasp as he throws a fan of knives toward Lawrence. Which hits him in the stomach as he gritted his teeth in pain before being able to move away.
"No need to be scared, we'll take good care of you" the woman responded but Lawrence and Luke already were running away.
"We can't fight her! We need to run!" Lawrence shouted while removing the knife stuck on his stomach. He pressed the wound to avoid it spilling more blood. The two women merged to reveal a black-haired woman as she giggled eerily. The black-haired woman has overwhelming mana that the old man can't be compared. The mana cube that is floating around Lawrence was about to break from the mana exerted by the woman just standing there.