'Shit. Shit. Shit….!!!'
Regis repeatedly cursed in his mind as he watched the chaos around him.
The beautiful farm fields earlier had now been submerged in flames.
The houses that sheltered the villagers were now destroyed.
The children that were playing in the grassy fields earlier with smiles on their faces, were now panic-stricken as they looked at the demonic humans who attacked their home.
The village that was full of peace and harmony earlier was now in ruins.
'I… have no choice…'
Regis thought as he looked at the demonic tattoo in his right hand.
'I'll kill him…'
Seething in rage, the demonic human leader's figure came to his mind.
***
A few hours earlier…
"This time, your victim will be that happy and innocent village in the distance."
The demonic human leader stated with a grin on his face.
Although the children did not dare protest, it was obvious from their expressions the dilemma they were in.
Even those few who had fully embraced their new life as a demonic human could not help but have unsure expressions on their faces.
Even though they had killed people in the past few days, the situation now was different.
However, the demonic human leader spoke again, "To become proud warriors of Agaroth, you must pass this one final test."
He then waved his hand, as a wave of strange energy coursed through the air and surrounded the children.
The children could see a black tattoo forming on their right hand.
It depicted a smiling demon.
"Here's a little safety measure for all of you."
The demonic human leader spoke again while the children checked the tattoo with strange expressions.
"The tattoo I have engraved on your right hands is a special tattoo. It's a tattoo that detects demonic power."
His eyes darted around the children, as he continued with a twisted smile, "If the tattoo did not detect you using Indiscriminate Absorption in 1 minute, you will die."
"Furthermore, every corpse absorbed will only refresh the timer. So you know what to do, right?"
His demonic smile evoked a primal fear in the children present.
Swoosh— Swoosh— Swoosh—
Not bothering to reply, the children rushed towards the village like rabid dogs.
After all, they only had a minute before they die.
***
"No… P-Please don't… I have childre–"
Shiiik—
A woman who seemed to be in her 30s pleaded with all her heart.
However, the response she received was a stab on the back of her neck, ending her life painlessly.
The last thing she saw was a pair of blood-red eyes filled with guilt.
'Is that the 100th? I don't know…'
Regis looked at the corpse of the woman in front of him.
He had lost count of the people he massacred along the way
Sizzle—!!!
He turned his head and saw the tattoo on his right hand emitting light.
As if it was about to explode.
"Sigh…"
Regis placed his hand at the woman's corpse.
[Indiscriminate Absorption]
Wurrrrr—
The corpse distorted, turning into black gas as it was sucked into Regis's hand.
The light emitted by the tattoo slowly faded in the process.
"M-Mom?"
A voice made Regis freeze.
He trembled as he looked at the direction of the voice.
What he saw made his eyes constrict.
Standing there was a boy with tattered clothes, staring at Regis who was currently absorbing his mother's corpse.
It seemed as if the world fell silent as Regis and the boy's eyes met.
1.
2.
3.
Three seconds passed and yet none of them moved an inch.
Tears fell silently as the boy could not believe what he saw.
"M-Mom…"
His trembling voice sounded as he sniffled.
On the other hand, Regis had a blank expression.
'...'
He was sorry.
He wanted to say that he was sorry.
He wanted to say that he had no choice.
He wanted to blame the demonic human leader who made him do these things.
He wanted to.
He really wanted to.
But in the end, no words came out of his mouth.
For he was aware of everything that he had done.
For he was aware that no matter what, he could not bring the boy's mother back to life.
For he was aware that despite the circumstances, he still did what he chose to do.
Time passed slowly.
Everything that he had done in the past few days flashed in Regis's eyes.
'I'm… a demonic human.'
He thought… as the guilt in his eyes wavered.
Sizzle—
It was then that he felt a familiar sensation.
The tattoo on his right hand started emitting light again.
He knew what he had to do.
Therefore, Regis stood up and walked towards the boy slowly.
The boy cried as he remained in his place.
Tap. Tap.
He looked up and saw a pair of blood-red eyes.
'Let's make this quick…'
Seemingly giving up to his fate, Regis thought as he prepared to kill the boy.
Wuuuung—
However, Regis felt some resistance.
It was a weak force that restricted him from moving his dagger closer to the boy's neck.
If he moved, then he could easily break the restriction.
However, what surprised Regis was the fact that there was a force in the surrounding area which wanted to stop him from killing the child.
Regis widened his eyes as he see a vague energy being gathered from the surroundings.
There was only one type of energy that has this property.
"Mana…"
Regis muttered as he looked at the boy.
At this moment, the boy had stopped crying.
However, his face was still filled with sorrow.
It was at this moment that an exception was born.
Seeing this, Regis smiled.
He also had a dream in which he had awakened aura by himself.
Seeing the boy awakening mana, Regis smiled and said, "Run."
However, the boy only stared at him.
Regis could break the restriction of mana, but chose not to do so.
He could feel the tattoo heating up, but he did not care anymore.
The sins that he had committed.
The countless lives that he had taken.
The future that he had stolen from the villagers.
'It's too much… I don't want to do this anymore.' Regis thought as he looked at the boy.
Thus, he urged the boy once more, "Run."
"You have awakened mana by yourself."
"Your future is bright."
"It's still not too late for you."
However, the boy shook his head.
"I only want to be with Mom…"
Regis felt a pang in his heart.
"Take the dagger in my hand and kill me."
"I was the one who killed your mother."
The boy shook his head again.
"Mom had always told me that when someone leaves this world, they would return to the embrace of Lemetina."
"The Goddess of Light?"
The boy nodded in response to Regis.
"Mom also told me that there was a time in a human's life in which they would have to return to the Goddess."
The boy looked Regis in the eye, "Brother Regis, you're a good person."
'How did he know me!?'
Regis's eyes widened.
He had noticed before because of the mana in the air.
However, as he observed closely, he could see it.
The white sparkles that manifested around the boy's body.