547 Unimaginable Suffering, A Torture that even Devils would Fear (1/2)

Day 129 - 4:15 PM - Newton Lake, Veteran's Memorial Park, Oaklyn, New Jersey, United States of America

The boy watched everything unfold before him. Although he was excited, he now had a bitter expression on his face.

”I provoked a monster, didn't I?”

He murmured.

[Heavenly Lightning], [Judgement], [Lightning Tribulation], there were a lot of names that this phenomenon was labeled with.

It was the event where a living thing surpassed a threshold of a rule causing the heavens to pour lightning on them and measure their existence. Those that perished under this lightning would be deemed unworthy, and of course, die. On the other hand, those that lived through this deadly event would continue to live on.

This kind of event was more common towards Chinese Cultivators. It was because the goal of Cultivation was to surpass the limits of their specie in the first place.

As for the event that unfolded this moment in front of the boy, it was unprecedented. Reaching this level of an Empath was deemed impossible in the past.

In fact, among all kinds of Psychic Abilities, Empaths were the most common. It did not have too many requirements to be one aside from having more sensitivity towards the emotions of other people.

However, because being able to understand emotions was a skill that could be learned through various methods, it was not given too much attention, unlike other flashy psychic abilities.

Furthermore, there were no known methods for developing this ability further. If a person became an Empath, only fate and luck could make them stronger.

Unfortunately, that came with severe consequences. After the [Realm of Understanding], the [Realm of Absorbing] followed.

It was when the Empath started to absorb the negative energy from the emotions of the people around them. This was where the ill effects of being an Empath starts. It would become worse over time as there was no way for the Empath to control it.

Absorbing these negative energies could render the Empath's emotional tendencies chaotic. They began to hate crowds of people and become moody most often.

Next was [Realm of Release].

The energy accumulated by the Empath started to leak from their bodies. It made people stay away from the Empath as if they contained contagious diseases. People would also have the tendency to feel threatened for being around Empaths in this realm, and those Empaths were most often mistaken for criminals.

It was also the last realm known for Empaths to reach.

Why? It was because none of them were able to surpass it. There was no known training to be able to restrict the absorption of energy, or in the least, forcefully release the negative energy they absorbed.

That was the supposed fate of Empaths.

Now, however, the Enigma called Mark existed. He surpassed the limits of Empaths and embarked on a new field of existence. And as such, the world tested him.

”Damn, he was even able to break off my control on these idiots.”

The boy murmured.

***

Mark glared at the enemies. He did not care if there was an Eye watching at this moment. The only thing he wanted to do right now was to kill.

His killing intent intensified. The veins in his whole body glowed red.

There, one of the crystals shined brightly as Mark's visage blurred. Then, he vanished.

When Mark vanished, all the enemies were alarmed. That was when they finally noticed.

”We can move!” One of the Lesser Demons shouted. ”RUN!”

Sure enough, that was the first thing that came into their minds when they regained the ability to move their bodies.

Unexpectedly, there were three that did things differently.

”Feng Zhiruo! Bring them here!”

The elder shouted to the female disciple that guarded her unconscious teammates.

”Y-yes!”

The girl called Feng Zhiruo was flustered. Nevertheless, she managed to control several flying swords to transport her teammates towards the elder.

As the girl landed...

”Hundred Swords Array!”

The elder shouted.

Around their group, one-hundred swords made of blue light appeared, circling to defend them.

On the other side, the white-haired man and red-haired witch also gathered what remained of their group and watched each other's backs.

When the members of their group gathered together, the red-haired witch waved her hand, making a long wooden staff to appear. She then tapped the end of her weapon on the ground, causing a large magic circle to appear that became the base of a thick magical barrier.

Without a doubt, their movements were the smartest at this moment.

As for the others, they tried to escape as fast as they could. Even those within groups decided to go in different directions. They were hoping that the others would get targeted instead, allowing them to escape.

But then, they noticed.

A tall wall of Miasma appeared around the area surrounding them.

At the sky, lightning continued to strike anyone that tried to fly.

They thought that once they were allowed to move, they would be able to leave. But no.

They were only given...

A ”False Hope.”

Giving them a little bit of hope for survival when there was no chance for any of these hopefuls to live.

”AHH!”

A scream was heard, making everyone look at a Demon.

The Demon was in an awkward position as his body was leaned forward like he was running away. However, he was frozen in place, and his right shoulder and arm were stretched out backward.

In a blink of an eye, Mark's visage faded in on the back of the Demon. He was holding onto the Demon's shoulder and arm with his glowing red hands.

Then...

RIP!

”AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

The Demon's wails intensified. His black blood splattered as his left arm was mercilessly ripped off his shoulder.

Mark then gave a ruthless kick on the Demon's leg.

Despite the Demon's wails, everyone heard his bones crack as he fell to the ground.

When the Demon fell, it felt something stepping on his head. It tried to look above, and it fell unto despair. It saw Mark smiling despite the stains of blood dripping from his face.

And there, the Demon heard Mark speak.

”You're the luckiest one.” Mark's sinister voice echoed as he pulled the Demon up using its left horn. ”Look at them.”

Mark made the Demon see the others that had no way of escaping.

For some reason, they were all pale, shivering, and terrified.

”You know why you are lucky?”

Mark continued. Of course, the Demon could not even give a proper response.

”You know why all of them look like that?”

”You're pain, fear, horror, agony... Everything you are feeling right now... It is being transmitted to everyone.”