Chapter 268: Shattering of Beliefs (1/2)
The barricade shivered again as they saw Gravis lifting his leg again. Their indecisiveness grew with the previous two deaths. Imagining death and seeing death was a big difference. Yes, they went through a lot of life and death tempering, but they hadn't been in a fight where they were this outclassed! On top of that, all their previous fights had always included both their lives and beliefs. Yet, now, they had to choose between the two. This choice tore them apart on the inside.
BANG!
Gravis' kick hit, and another disciple at the Seed Stage shot into the distance. No counterattack came. Just like before, Gravis vanished from the barricade. He quickly reappeared before the disciple that had just landed. The disciple froze in fear, and Gravis repeated the same thing as before. The others didn't stop him. They were still indecisive about their decision. Gravis' hand slowly moved towards the throat of the disciple, who still lay on the ground.
”AAAHH!” the disciple shouted, and he attacked Gravis with his pike. Gravis simply evaded the attack. An attack made out of fear was easy to evade. After evading the attack, lightning appeared around Gravis' hand, and he slapped the disciple.
BANG!
The head of the disciple was reduced to ash. His Energy entered Gravis as his belongings popped out of his body. ”Third idiot down!” Gravis said.
Did Gravis feel bad? Not at all! If he were weaker, he would have died to them. If he were weaker, they wouldn't have announced their goal of killing him at that distance. Like this, they would have suddenly attacked him from a close range. Weakness didn't absolve one of their decisions. They wanted to kill him, so he felt no remorse in killing them. They had chosen their path, knowing fully what awaited them at the end.
Gravis cleaned his hand off the blood and ash. Then, he turned around and looked at the barricade again.
”AAAHHH!” three disciples shouted with rage, panic, and fear. They charged forward with all their power, leaving the barricade. They had decided that their beliefs were more important than their lives. When Gravis saw them, he slowly walked closer to the charging disciples.
Whoosh!
The first disciple stabbed forward with his lance, trying to hit Gravis. Obviously, Gravis easily sidestepped the attack. Another lightning-filled hand ended the disciple's life. Then, Gravis turned to the other two.
CRR!
The charging disciples rammed their feet into the ground in order to stop, destroying the ground in the process. One of the disciples hyperventilated, screamed, and threw his weapons to the side.
BANG!
The sound of an explosion happened as the Spirit of the disciple broke into pieces. All his belongings left his body and appeared around him. What the others didn't see was that his element also left his body. The disciple shouted in pain when that happened and grabbed his head.
BANG!
The other disciple did the same. His Spirit broke apart, and all his belongings left him. When Gravis saw this, he smiled. This time, it was in relief. He didn't feel bad about killing people that wanted to kill him, but he also felt like killing those people was a waste. After all, as long as they still had their lives, they could change. Recultivating also wouldn't be an issue. After all, they still retained their Will-Auras and physical power.
”Good! At least two of you have some brains!” Gravis shouted. ”You have chosen life, and I won't betray you! You can always recultivate and build new ones.” Then, Gravis walked closer to the first disciple and put his hand on his shoulder, making the disciple freeze in place. ”You also don't need to cultivate the earth element. Maybe you'll find one that fits you better.”
The cultivator wasn't sure how to react as a cacophony of emotions attacked his mind. He could do nothing else but stare at Gravis. Right now, he was lost and had no idea how to proceed with his life.
Gravis walked past him and also smiled at the other disciple. Yet, before Gravis reached the much smaller barricade, someone left it. Surprisingly, it was the younger of the two Sapling Stage cultivators. He looked decisively at Gravis while Gravis looked back with a lifted eyebrow.
Clank, Clank!
The young man threw his two weapons to the side. ”I've never agreed with this whole stubborn belief thing,” he said calmly but decisively. ”Yet, I was forced to accept it. Everyone around me followed that system, and I couldn't cultivate without it. I was afraid of losing all my progress, so I stayed true to this. Not anymore!” he shouted.
BANG!
His Spirit broke apart as his belongings appeared around him, but he didn't shout in pain. He only gritted his teeth. ”This whole belief thing is retarded!” he shouted angrily through his gritted teeth. ”This whole thing is messed up! We are supposed to create our beliefs when we reach the Magic Gathering Realm, but how could someone at that Realm know how the world works!? Am I supposed to follow whatever I thought was right when I was a child!? That's so stupid!”