Chapter 562: Back Again (1/2)

A deluge of sorrow and self-blame had turned Zac's mind into mush as he stared down at the unmoving form of Ogras. Countless what-ifs swirled in his mind, ways that he could have prevented this from happening. But he still couldn't comprehend how these latest events came to be. He had seen Void's Disciple die, he just knew it wasn't some sort of illusion that he cut the man apart.

However, things had gone out of hand too fast, even if you discounted the Dominator's miraculous recovery by the end. They had scrambled to get back in control since the moment two of the Anointed were swallowed by that scroll, but things had only got worse instead. It wasn't completely unexpected though, they had only learned of the situation less than an hour ago, and there had been no time for proper preparation.

The turbulence in his mind finally gave way to a bleak desolation. He had worked so hard, pushed himself beyond what he thought possible in his efforts to become stronger. Yet the ones he fought for kept falling one after another. First Alea, then Ogras. Would even more of his companions join the two when they set out for the Mystic Realm? The situation was almost as bad with the Anointed. The fight had lasted less than a minute, but Zac didn't doubt that the group of seven had burned a significant portion of their already limited lifespan.

Even more frustratingly, there was nothing he could do to remedy the situation. He still needed to enter the abandoned Research Base, and he still needed to fight Void's Disciple again, along with Inevitability and whoever else proved to be a threat to Earth. They had paid such a huge price just now, but they got almost nothing in return.

However, a sudden change startled Zac out of his self-reproach as the previously unmoving body of Ogras started to shudder and spasm. His skin turned pitch-black the next moment, and the instantaneously turned into shadows only to be reformed once more. His limbs twitched and kicked as well, but it didn't look like natural movements at all. It was more like a powerful electric current made him twitch uncontrollably.

Zac was aghast as he witnessed the macabre spectacle, but there was also a tinge of hope in the back of his mind.

If there was one thing that the demon excelled at, then it was keeping himself alive by any means. Had he actually found a way to defy death itself and bring himself back, just like Void's Disciple himself? However, Zac’s anticipation was soon poisoned with suspicion. A minute passed while the cycle between demon and shadow kept repeating, and Zac could see that something was off.

The energy signatures the demon was emitting were wrong. They felt alien, sinister. Like a devil had taken the opportunity to possess Ogras’ body when his own soul left it. However, Zac couldn’t bring himself to nip this potential threat in the bud. He could only shake his head in an effort to clear his muddled thoughts, preparing for the worst.

If something really had possessed the demon, then he could only pray it wasn’t a strong one as he had already entered his weakened state after using [Hatchetman's Rage].

The odd fluctuations finally ended, but Zac’s heart was still hammering as he stood vigil in front of the body. He had clearly seen what had the transformations had done. Ogras had cycled between shadow and flesh over and over, but a small change had taken place between each revolution.

The gaping hole in his chest grew a little smaller from each cycle, but not through flesh regrowing like how the Shard of Creation had healed his own mortal wounds. Missing flesh had instead been replaced with congealed shadows, shadows that had regrown the demon’s missing organs bit by bit. An indistinct heart had formed from darkness itself, and Zac had felt its beat when it was fully formed.

The only sign of Ogras even being wounded in the end was the copious amount of blood around him, and the fact that the recreated skin on his chest was dark grey. Zac wasn’t sure what to do, but the demon made the decision for him as he suddenly coughed and woke up, his eyes blearily looking around. Zac was relieved to see that Ogras’ gaze looked the same, but he still could feel that sinister aura emanating from his body.

“Urh? Ah? I’m alive?” Ogras wheezed with confusion, but Zac wasn’t in any state to answer him.

“What’s the first thing you ever said to me?” Zac asked as [Verun’s Bite] materialized in his right hand.

“What?” Ogras sputtered, clearly having some trouble understanding what was going on.

“Answer me,” Zac said, the grip on his axe tightening. ”What was the first thing you ever said to me?”

“I said ‘You natives are barbarians, so aggressive.’ You were wearing a dress at the time. Now what the hell is going on?” the demon sighed.

“You're emitting some pretty sinister energies,” Zac said as he relaxed slightly, though not completely.

“Well, I can’t seem to move. I need some healing,” Ogras eventually said after a brief pause.

Zac hesitated for a second, but he eventually took out one of his best healing pills and shoved it into Ogras mouth as he infused the demon's body with the Fragment of the Bodhi. Only then did he realize how bad a state the demon was in, even after having reformed the hole in his torso. His spiritual sense couldn't see what was going on in the shadow-part of Ogras' body at all, but countless small scars covered the rest of his insides.

Worse yet, healing them with his Dao Fragment seemed to barely have any effect. The demon wasn’t really at any risk of dying as far as Zac could tell, but it would no doubt be a long road of recovery, even provided that the demon's new heart worked as intended.

“What the hell happened at the end?” Ogras asked. ”I remember escaping into the shadows when those vortices destabilized, and then waking up with your ugly face scowling down on me.”

Zac sighed before he sat down himself, and he retold the final events without missing anything while simultaneously trying to gauge the demon's thoughts. However, the demon didn't let on anything, he just silently listened to the series of events with a small frown on his face.

”Well, people often say that I am heartless, I guess they were right,” Ogras eventually said with a weak smile, but Zac felt that he could hear some confusion and perhaps even fear in his voice.

”It wasn't you who did this?” Zac asked. ”I thought it might be the skill you got at E-Grade or something.”

”A skill that could allow me to walk away after getting a netherblasted hole in my chest? I wish. This must have been Leech. Can you take off my cast?” the demon said.

Zac nodded and he gingerly took off the metal arm that usually held the congealed shadows. He was ready to blast out with a [Verun's Bite] in case of an ambush, but his brows rose when the cast opened and nothing was there apart from Ogras' stump. He turned to Ogras, but he saw that the demon wasn't all that surprised by the disappearance of his shadow tentacle.