"Shit–"
BAM!!!
A loud bang can be heard as Val used the forbidden skill that summoned the power of darkness, [The Cry of Bondage]. A power granted by the Constellation of the Parade. The skill summoned terrifying weapons—great swords and spears soared through the air, moving with deadly speed and power—attacked Byrhemmoth's, which was still inside Erus' body. Black hands that came from enslaved souls gripped the monster's legs tightly, holding it down with cursed power.
In an instant, the body that Byrhemmoth used was destroyed. Not only pierced and torn, but crushed to ashes by the tremendous power of [The Cry of Bondage]. Val watched it all with a trembling heart. It was a victorious battle, yet the cost is an unacceptable price.
As there is no body to return to, Erus's soul slowly dissipates into nothingness, the greenish aura leaving the spot where his body once laid on the ground.
'Erus…,' Val thought, looking at the ashes that were now scattered on the ground. Nothing was left of his friend.
His ragged breathing made it difficult for him to breathe. The irregular heartbeat felt like a stab in his chest with each beat.
Val's breath was ragged, his heartbeat was irregular. He gritted his teeth, reminiscing the time he had with his dearest friend, the one he had to kill with his own hand. Biting his lip to hold back the emotions and tears, even though his eyes still showed deep hatred to Byrhemmoth.
The tightness in his chest gnawed at his heart every time he remembered that the body he had just destroyed belonged to his own friend. The friend who had laughed and fought with him.
"Damn it all… why did it have to be him…," Val muttered while holding back the tears that fell. Choking and coughing again. Again he coughed up blood.
However, before Val could have any chance to drown in sadness, the ground beneath Erus' ashes began to move. A black half solid and half liquid slimy substance rose from the crater; where Erus' body turned to ashes. The substance slowly formed the figure of a monster with a body of a bull, and two horns, the terrifying true form of the monster.
'Byrhemmoth?'
The figure of the Dark Lord reappeared, no longer hiding behind a human body. Now, he was a disgusting black mass floating in the air, his form unstable, like a formless solid-liquid waste.
"Foolish human! You dare destroy the vessel that I had chosen!?"
He was overwhelmed by his current form. In the form of slimy waste.
Both of his hands held his face. Scratching it so hysterically that he would destroy the body he had previously occupied.
However, Val did not accept that Byrhemmoth said that it was merely a vessel, not Erus' body.
"It's the body of my friend, not a mere vessel of yours," Val coldly said.
Even though his breathing was hoarse and ragged, he was still able to speak up for his dead friend.
"Shit!" He screamed, the liquid-solid state of his slimy body trembling with each word.
"Naive avaricious humans!"
As he tried to muster his strength, Val coughed loudly, fresh blood flowing from the corner of his lips. However, he did not care. He kept looking at Byrhemmoth with a look of hatred in his eyes. His body shook, not only because of fatigue, but also because of the overflowing anger.
He tried to stand up, although his body staggered. His legs felt weak, but Val kept his body upright.
'This isn't over,' he thought.
Erus may be dead, but there are the deaths of his friends he must avenge.
Byrhemmoth roared angrily, his waste body writhing even bigger. "Emboldened by vengeance of your fallen kin! You dare oppose me, puny human!?"
Every word that came out of Byrhemmoth's mouth was accompanied by increasingly violent shaking. Val felt the ground beneath his feet shake violently, but he did not waver. His ears ached from Byrhemmoth's curses, but he held on.
"There is a limit to naivety!" Byrhemmoth screeched. "Did you think that foolish reason will save you from my wrath!?"
"You've been talking about naivety all the time, do you know what it actually mea–"
Slash!
Val's voice stopped when he heard the sound of a slash and his eyes widened as he suddenly felt a burning and excruciating pain in his right shoulder. His whole body winced in pain when he saw fresh blood gushing from the wound. His shoulder—no, his entire right arm—had been severed. Blood soaked the ground, and Val could only stare, in disbelief.
"AAAHH!" Val screamed, the pain unbearable.
His left hand clutched his badly wounded shoulder, but the blood continued to flow profusely. His consciousness was almost gone, but he forced himself to stay focused.
"You have opposed me, human. Now bear the consequence, a single arm won't be enough."
The monster continued to scream, feeling panicked about its body turning back into waste. Not caring about the reactions of the humans in front of it until Byrhemmoth suddenly fell silent.
"First..."
His voice was low before returning to a louder voice.
"I'll take your damn body!"
Byrhemmoth's body writhed even larger, seemingly ready to pounce on the almost helpless Val. He felt unimaginable pain, but in that panic, he stared at Byrhemmoth with a determined gaze.
'I can't die here!'
With his trembling left hand, Val pulled out a small bottle from his belt—Healing Potion. Without hesitation, he opened the cork with his teeth and poured the red liquid onto his wounded shoulder. Heat radiated from the open wound, but Val didn't care. The pain was just a reminder that he was still alive.
However, in the midst of the healing process, black smoke began to billow around him. Byrhemmoth disappeared from sight, but Val could sense the approaching danger.
He tightened his stance, preparing himself for an unseen attack.
'Damn…,' he thought, anxiously. 'I've used too much power. If I use one more skill, I might die…'
Indeed, the two Skills; [Cultural Festival] and [The Cry of Bondage] were Skills that Val had never been able to use before.
Somehow, as if Lady Luck had reached out to Val, he could use both Skills at the same time.
Now, there was no choice.
'Will I be able to use them one more time?' he thought.
Val had been thinking for too long that he didn't realize that Byrhemmoth had disappeared from his sight. An invisible attack hit his back hard.
BRAK!!!
Val staggered, almost falling, but he managed to keep his body standing with his legs firmly in place with sheer determination.
However, just as he was about to escape death, another attack followed. Attacking Val's waist, then before he could avoid the follow-up attack, his eyes were stabbed by the black substance.
"AKHH!!!" Val screamed, feeling blood seeping from the corner of his eyes.
'Is this my end?' Val thought, almost giving up. 'I'm going to die without accomplishing anything.'