Chapter 25 - The Leviathan Falls

System As I left the sub-space, I was relieved to see that the Leviathan was a lower being. It had not progressed forward in time at all. Ignoring the pulls at the edge of the mind, from the kid attempting to return to the world, I turned my attention back to the Leviathan's throat. I would cut the gland near its larynx, severing its breath of change at its core. After I did that, I would have to make quick haste to cause enough internal injury to kill it. If I lagged too much, its thrashes of pain would be catastrophic to the kid's new home. I sighed, wondering when I became a slave to some kid. Oh well. Surrounding myself in darkness once again, I flew into the beast's throat. Seeing my target, I once again readied my blade and spun, creating as much momentum as possible to maximize the force of impact. Though less durable than its scales, the inside of a Leviathan's throat would still be very tough. I've heard stories of some of the heirs being unable to pierce its throat, even while they were at maximum power. I smiled as the Leviathan's neck was slashed wide open. I'm no measly heir. Feeling the cataclysmic tremors even from within its body, I moved past the victory and began my next task. Its dying breaths would be filled with much destruction. Letting as much of my darkness out as I could, I spread it out over the Leviathan. I would choke it for as long as possible, making it impossible to move. That should buy me a few more seconds. During the entire journey down the Leviathan's neck, I focused on nothing more than swinging my sword. I didn't need to be accurate as there were plenty of spaces to cut. Ignoring my weakening darkness, ignoring the blood spraying from the Leviathan's wounds, ignoring the pestering of the kid, I became a machine. Doing what I do best. Kill. I guess the kid was right there. After creating 100s of slashes all throughout its neck, I knew the Leviathan would choke on its own blood. Which meant it was time to make my escape. Reversing my direction, I propelled myself back up through the beast's throat to find it had closed its mouth. I had counted on its screams to be an easy out, but this was fine. Slicing apart its entire snout, my blade created my own escape. Flying out of its mouth, I quickly turned to assess its current rampage. My darkness was doing its job, but I could feel its grip loosen with every passing moment. Setting my sights on its arms, I flew back into action. This beast was as stubborn as the kid. I flew through 50 of its arms before I realized it wouldn't make a difference. The beast had at least 50,000 arms, this would do nothing more than tickle him. As I stared at the beast wondering what to do, I cursed the kid for taking such a weak power. Dragon's breath, really? It felt like he lived to spite me. Taking a glance at the mana that he currently had, I saw that it had regenerated back to 10. Figuring that spell would be the best bet, I tried to think where it would be best to strike. It had been a long time since I fought a Leviathan, so I didn't remember all of the spots to target. Not like I do for humans. Yeah kid, I've killed your species for eternities. Laughing to myself, I continued strategizing. Wait, did I laugh? What is happening to me? Trying to refocus on the Leviathan, I realized it was an impossible task. Something was fundamentally changing within me. So you can feel emotions? You're just a psychopathic asshole then, huh? Shut up, kid. Why not use the fire on its head? Maybe the heat would burn its brain. I shook my head as I glanced at its head. Leviathan's don't have hearts or brains kid. That would be illogical. They are mythical creatures. Oh. Why was he so relaxed? I mean, I want him to realize that I'm the warrior here, but his previous actions would make his current state illogical. My eyes grew wide as I felt him break his last restraint. "Stupid kid!" Miko As I returned to my body, I was shocked by how bright the world was. Shielding my eyes, I relished at the sight of my arms. Controlled by me. Don't worry body, I won't let him control you again. "Don't be so sure about that, kid." Feeling the demon fighting for control, the brevity of my victory was apparent. At any moment he could take back over. At any moment he could kill Aruna. "Why must you hate me for a crime I have no intention of committing? It is completely illogical of you." I blocked out his intrusions as I stared at the Leviathan. It was troubling. What could we do? Kill. No! I fought my body as I felt the system take over again. This time, he didn't make the mistake of pushing me to the backseat. He kept my consciousness front and center to witness the slaughter. Flying with blinding speed, my body slashed across its scales, cutting through 100s of them every moment. My body was moving even faster than it had before. The demon must no longer care if my body breaks... As the slashes continued, I started to notice a surge in power. How? I wasn't killing anything, I shouldn't be leveling up or receiving any buff. If anything, I should be getting weaker, as the time limit for release was almost out. 5 seconds. As the Leviathan started convulsing in pain and terror, I realized why. The demon had retracted the darkness that was binding the Leviathan. Although that would strengthen me, it left the Leviathan free to rampage across the planet in its last moments. I watched in terror as its tail thrashed against the ground. Then I felt afraid of myself. With my enhanced senses, I saw a village had been destroyed by that strike. In one moment, thousands had died. Children cried for their parents, parents cried for their children. Neighbors hurried over to flattened buildings, lifting wooden beams just to find their lifelong friend's crushed body. Cries of anguish and terror rang through the air. Anyone would say that the dead had it easy. Still, I was relieved that the strike was nowhere near Aruna, Roan, or Farvakhin. As my body continued its onslaught against the Leviathan, I lashed out at myself with hatred. You useless shit! You evil shit! You went through so much and it still doesn't matter! The Leviathan's tail crashed again, flattening a mountainside. Only 20 people died there. "Kid, what the hell is going on!? You overpowered me and yet you let this hidden usurper control your body?" I- is this thing really not him? What is it then... What's controlling my body right now? I had no time to ponder those questions. My body continued to agonize the Leviathan, each slash creating another crater in the ground. One of these strikes was going to hit Aruna. Get the hell out of my body! Kill. My body paid my pleas no mind as it continued slashing apart the Leviathan. Another village was destroyed. Trying to filter out the cries of despair, the wailing orphans and widows, I focused solely on combatting whatever was controlling my body. But if I didn't even know what it was, how could I hope to defeat it... "Kid! The Leviathan is going to crush your princess!" What... I watched in horror as his tail descended. It was as he said. With one last primal surge, I confronted the new thing. Time slowed down as I approached nothingness. The being exuded no light and no darkness. It should not exist. The formless thing took notice of me. Out of the void, I saw red eyes and a bottomless pitch-black smile. An ever-expansive malice exuded from the mouth as it chanted one word over and over. Kill. "Get out of my body you bastard!" Laughing, nothingness grabbed a hold of me, its twisted smile drooling, its blank red eyes staring into my soul. It felt as if I was looking past chaos itself. I- I can't describe it. Besides its malicious smile and eyes, it was nothing. Laughing, it disappeared, leaving me alone in my body. What the hell was that? "Kid! Let me take over!!!" Oh. Yeah. The Leviathan was going to kill Aruna. If I knew how to use the darkness, I could save her. But as it stands, only the demon could do that. The system. I had no choice but to hope he was different from that thing. Save her. I flew back into the backseat as the system took over my body. I watched as he spread his darkness over the weakened Leviathan, strangling it. Now weakened by the earlier onslaught, it couldn't fight against the darkness. Nothing could. In a burst of light, the Leviathan was gone. Aruna was saved. And it was all because of the demon. I couldn't do anything. When I was trusted to save them, Farvakhin's civilization died. The villagers died. Aruna almost died again. As promised, the demon returned my body to me. Defeated even after victory, I landed on the ground and instantly fell to my knees. I'm nothing! Nothing!