"What's happening in there? Why did he stop screaming? Aghhh! My child, please be okay. Egon, you bastard. Let me go nowwwww..." Yami screamed at the top of her lungs, struggling to break free from the gravity freeze.
Unable to bear Aeuu's agonizing screams, she was already teetering on the brink of a breakdown.
Egon felt guilty for restricting his wife, but he had no choice. She was already weakening bit by bit from coming into contact with a small amount of that inky darkness. If he allowed her to enter that inky black sphere, where even time and space were being obliterated, who knows what might happen?
However, now, when the screams abruptly quieted, even his anxiety reached its limits. Just as he resolved to risk his safety and check things personally, the inky black sphere withdrew, revealing the pitch-black form of Aeuu.
The inky darkness coiled around his form like a dragon, painting his appearance pitch-black. Aeuu opened his eyes, revealing a dark blood-red gleam.
Sensing something was wrong, Egon frowned warily. At the same time, Yami also stopped struggling. Due to her higher level, she could feel the mana in the surrounding air dying, which left her perplexed. She gazed at Aeuu and softly murmured, "My beloved child, what's happening to you...."
Suddenly, Aeuu vanished, reappearing inside the barrier, right behind the group of six maids.
Egon was taken aback. He quickly turned around and shouted at the maids, "Watch out!!!!"
Upon hearing their master's warning, the maids spun around, only to find their young master standing behind them with an emotionless expression. His pitch-black figure and dark red eyes horrified them, leaving their bodies paralyzed in fear.
Unfortunately, one among them did not grasp the severity of the danger.
Xazia felt a wave of relief upon seeing her sweet young master safe. She approached him with steady steps and a happy smile.
The other maids attempted to stop her, but their paralyzed bodies refused to move.
"Young master, I'm relieved to see you're safe. I was so worried—" Unfortunately, before she could complete her sentence, a bloody hole appeared in her chest.
Blood poured from her chest, staining her maid outfit a deep red. Her vision faded to pitch black, mirroring her young master's current form. she maintained the happy smile as she died, never having the chance to express her true concern.
A dark blade emerged from her chest, returning to the nightmarish form of Aeuu. Her body crumpled onto the rubble. The world fell into a deadly silence.
Only Aeuu and the glowing blood-red moon seemed to move in this still world.
Aeuu's dark red eyes shifted toward the remaining five paralyzed maids. The inky darkness surged forth, impaling their bodies all at once.
As the five maids looked on in horror, the inky darkness transformed into sharp blades that pierced their bodies, killing them instantly.
Just moments earlier, the group of five had been praising and fantasizing about how cute and enchanting their young master was. Yet, it was the same bewitching young master who had unknowingly taken their lives.
After the killings, Aeuu surveyed his surroundings, searching for another target. Soon, his dark-red eyes gleamed as he zeroed in on his parents. He began to walk toward them slowly.
In the meantime, Yami and Egon stood frozen, watching in disbelief. Although they had the power to save the maids. Nevertheless, they couldn't bring themselves to harm their beloved child. Restraining him was even more impossible, with the inky darkness surrounding him; anything it touched would be obliterated.
As Aeuu approached them slowly, Egon let out a sad sigh and braced himself for a defense. Nothing that had transpired so far made sense to him.
In contrast, Yami, who had been freed from her gravity bindings some time ago, dragged her weakened body toward her child instead.
"What are you doing? Stop! He isn't sane right now. He will attack you..." Egon's worried voice echoed from behind. Nevertheless, Yami continued to move forward.
"Don't worry, my child won't hurt me," Yami replied with unwavering confidence.
"Are you out of your mind? Can't you see the abnormal state he's in?" Egon exclaimed, facepalming. Suddenly, he noticed a black blade slicing through the dark night, aimed at his wife. He shouted anxiously, "Move aside, Yami!!!"
However, Yami did not dodge. She has complete faith in her beloved child, Even if he becomes the vilest evil the world has ever seen. She still believes he would not hurt her.
This is not just blind faith; after all, she knows her child best. Since his birth, she has completely focused all her attention on him, entirely ignoring the outside world. She has spent every second and minute with him. He would not even be able to fall asleep without her embracing him to sleep. In fact, she has given her child more attention than she has ever given her husband.
Thus, she inexplicably knew that her child would definitely not harm her, whether consciously or unconsciously.
And just as she expected, when the inky black blade neared her, it veered off course, striking the ground beside her and obliterating it.
"See..." Yami's lips curved in satisfaction.
It's not over yet... "Egon rolled his eyes. He had barely finished speaking when a dozen more inky black blades shot toward her. Fortunately, none of them struck her. Whenever they approached, the inky black blades always veered off course.
Yami and her child drew closer and closer. Throughout this, she wasn't scratched even once. Finally, there was only one foot of distance between them.
The mother looked at her child's unrecognizable dark-red eyes with emotion, while Aeuu's pitch-black form gazed at his mother emotionlessly.
Yami knelt down to match her child's height. She gently embraced him, holding him firmly in her arms.
Aeuu didn't struggle. He was like a precious doll that couldn't move without its strings. He stopped attacking altogether. Just like that, the two remained in that position for a long time.
After 26 minutes, the inky black darkness enveloping Aeuu vanished, restoring him to his normal state.
His dark red eyes faded, regaining clarity and transforming back into his usual enchanting gray eyes. He softly parted his lips, "Ma...ma."
Tears streamed down his face as he embraced his mother, as if he had done something terribly wrong.
"Hmmm. I am here! My child..." Yami also cried joyfully as she nodded.
Egon approached them with a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, the moment of relief was short-lived, as he sensed a wave of powerful auras rapidly approaching. "Yami, they are here."
Yami lifted her misty eyes and gazed at the ominous night sky. She stood up and handed the still-crying child to Egon, saying, "Leave; we are sticking to my earlier plan."
Egon quickly took Aeuu into his arms. "But what about your weakening strength? There's no way you can fight in that state. Let me be the decoy; I'll manage somehow."
"Don't worry, the black maisam was neutralized along with the subsided inky darkness," Yami shrugged and floated into the sky. "I'll hold them off. You take our child and escape somewhere inconspicuous."
Yami's voice echoed from the distant sky as she flew toward the incoming advanced battleship.
....
Aeuu sat frozen on the cold ground in the middle of nowhere. He kept recalling the scene where he killed the maids, unable to escape from that bloody reality.
His eyes were dry from the constant tears. He was so immersed in that gruesome repetition that he wasn't aware of the dangerous situation he was currently in or the constant yelling of his father urging him to run.
Meanwhile, Egon is battling a vampiric woman, or more specifically, he is resisting her with all his strength.
"Hahahahaha! Very good! Truly, who would have thought that the witch of calamity is not only notoriously vile but also a taboo descendant of that damned lineage?" Eliana laughed maniacally as she thrashed the defending Egon.
The disparity in their strength is a whole two ranks. Moreover, Eliana is a sub-immortal vampire. If it weren't for Egon's gravity-based PS abilities, he wouldn't even be able to defend himself.
"Stop struggling and die, bastard!"
Egon ignored her frenzied shouts. Instead, he kept anxiously yelling at Aeuu in the distance to run.
However, seeing Aeuu's unmoving figure, Egon gritted his teeth and turned his gaze back to the vampiric woman.
Who would have thought things would go so wrong?
He is already aware that both he and his wife might die here today. Therefore, he is resolute in his determination to keep Aeuu alive and ensure a safe escape, even if it means sacrificing everything. To achieve this, he must leave the sealed island, as only then can he activate his spatial artifact. To do so, he needs to shake off this vampiric woman.
His eyes filled with determination as he expended most of his mana reserves in one go, unleashing the most powerful PS ability he possesses.
Suddenly, Eliana felt the gravity in the surrounding kilometer increase to unimaginable levels. Not only that, all that gravitational pressure focused only on her, attempting to crush her very being.
Eliana became furious and fought back with all her strength. Unfortunately, she has no means to negate this ability, and all she can do is resist.
Fortunately, due to her higher-ranked stats, the ability was unable to breach her body defenses. This resulted in a stalemate between her and the PS ability, effectively trapping her for a while.
At the same time, Egon sighed in relief. Thankfully, she didn't appear to have an ability that could negate pressure-based abilities. He turned and ran toward Aeuu in the distance.
He approached the traumatized Aeuu and attempted to pick him up. Unfortunately, Aeuu instinctively struggled out of his grasp.
His dull grey eyes were unfocused and filled with trepidation. "Don't come near me!"
....
In Aeuu's mind, the bloody scene where he killed the maids kept replaying like a broken film record over and over again.
He watched himself kill the maids over and over again. No matter what he tried, he couldn't stop himself from committing the act repeatedly. For him, this dark, bloody scene felt like it was playing on a loop for what seemed like an eternity.
The constant, overwhelming burden on his fragile psyche had already pushed him to the brink of mental insanity.
Furthermore, when he saw his father reaching out to him, he instinctively recoiled. With his mind clouded, everything he perceived appeared as a dark shadow extending its hands toward him.
"Don't come near me...."
Seeing his son pull away from his touch, Egon felt a deep pain. He realized that his son was severely traumatized by the unfortunate events of the night.
"Aeuu, don't be scared. I'm your father....."
"DON'T COME NEAR ME!!!!"
Egon attempted to persuade Aeuu, but suddenly, Aeuu let out a roar as a surge of inky darkness erupted from his body, sending Egon crashing backward into a tree.
It appears that the aftereffects of the true darkness are not yet over and were only being subconsciously suppressed by Aeuu. No wonder his mind was teetering on the brink of insanity.
Egon coughed up a mouthful of blood. He rose unsteadily and did his utmost to reach his son.
He had no time for this! He could sense that the duration of his ability was coming to an end. Even if it meant inflicting harm on his beloved son, he needed to escape the range of this sealed island quickly.
Unfortunately, before he could get close enough, a final burst of inky black darkness erupted from Aeuu's body. The last wave of darkness became uncontrollable.
Regrettably, before he could approach, a final surge of inky black darkness erupted from Aeuu's body. This last wave of darkness became uncontrollable.
The powerful surge transformed into numerous spikes and blades that rained down on Egon. It swiftly pierced through the magical barrier he hastily cast using the last vestige of his mana, impaling his body from all sides.
With the final burst, the aftereffects of the true darkness faded away. Unfortunately, it left behind a gruesome scene that would traumatize Aeuu for life.
A shower of blood fell upon the blankly staring Aeuu and his surroundings, drenching him in his own father's blood.