Chapter 20 Chapter 20 - Fury of Shame (1/2)

CHAPTER 20

FURY OF SHAME

Lino stood frozen in the spot, his countenance dispirited. Next to him, Aeala had ashened expression, her eyes fiercely moist with tears. Before them, thick, black smoke bellowed into the sky as the stench of death and blood dominated the air. Tens of rows of wooden houses were currently nothing more but ruins, turned to greyed ash. A string of nearly two hundred corpses were hung about the whole village, massacred by something far beyond reason. The stone streets were paved with dried, red blood, and even the youngest of children weren't spared this fate. From Lino's memories, he deduced that this village was called Cambria; although it was far from being as prosperous and as large as Bridge Village, it still housed roughly three hundred people in its ranks. However, out of them, over two hundred were dead, with fate of the remaining hundred still being unknown. The village was built atop a small hill surrounded by a canal, and its walls made of wooden pikes were completely burnt into nothingness.

Soon, Aeala was unable to handle it anymore as she ran backward, down the hill, and spewed her insides out. On the other hand, even Lino's somewhat steeled heart began bleeding. He felt a familiar presence lingering in the air – the Demonic one he unleashed when he killed Vyeala. As he understood that, his mind stirred and he felt his knees grow weak. His cheeks lost all their color and his eyes dulled. No matter how much he screamed inside his head that it wasn't his fault, it did little to help him. Overwhelming sorrow and guilt surged from the depths of his youthful heart; even if he had killed quite a few people, he himself had no clue as to why he was so averse to it. However, for better or worse, those deaths came in the form of either self-defense, or contending against people who broke off the mortal chains and began cultivating. While he can't claim he hadn't killed an innocent person before, he certainly hadn't commenced a massacre on this scale, and especially massacre against completely innocent people… and even children.

Besides sorrow and guilt, a burning fury began bellowing inside Lino's heart. It was a rather ordinary coping mechanisms of all youths who've yet to mature properly; his heart, unable to contend against the overwhelming guilt, bypassed the blame off itself onto those who've committed such slaughter, giving birth to intrepid rage. He had clear figures at which he could point fingers, temporarily relieving his wounded soul from the blame. He gritted his teeth tightly and clenched his fists until his nails dug beneath his skin, causing scarlet-red droplets to fall onto the dry earth beneath. He suddenly turned around and raced down the hill. He picked up Aeala into his arms and threw her over his shoulder; she screamed for a moment, but hadn't even a second to protest as she felt gust of wind assail her skin.

Lino suddenly found himself reliving the similar state he was in when he fought against the Patriarch Varick and the First Elder. Something primal burned deep inside him, causing his blood to stir like mad and Qi within every facet of his body to turn into violent waves. Indispensable urge to fight was birthed directly into his bones, propelling him forth. When he first attained the Primal Spirit of Wind, he was at most able to run 200km/h, but after leveling up so fiercely, that speed doubled. He crossed the plains like a gust of fierce wind, leaving behind only a massive dust storm as he moved to the nearest village. The muscles on his legs screeched fiercely in pain, but mpyrean Writ> circulated like mad, healing his breaking tendons the moment wounds appeared. It was much more vigorous than on the days when Lino was simply relaxing, or even actively trying to cultivate. Much like Lino, it seemed as though something within it awoke in response to his unabashed fury.

Not even an hour had passed before he came across another village; the village was called Reyrra, and it was three times as large as Cambria – however, the same fate descended upon it. Smoke bellowed like an ominous reminder of death high into the sky, while corpses of young and old alike hung over the broken walls of houses. Blood was yet to dry, running freely like streams down the scratched streets. He hadn't even paused to grieve as he kicked off once again, tracing the lingering, demonic scent and racing after it. Were either Ella or Eggor to see him now, they'd be hard-pressed to recognize him; his youthful, playful face was nowhere to be found, in its place a grim expression of desolation, rage, untamed fury which seemed to seep out of his very bones. He was currently racing over a valley surrounded by mountains when he saw a distant smoke arising, accompanied by screams of anguish; it was the location of third village Lino was headed towards, Yeva. It was a small, but prominent village which housed a rather deep quarry. It seems that despite the presence of several Royal Knights guarding it, they were not enough. Lino's speed suddenly increased as he blew through the valley within a span of a few seconds.

Within his sight came horrid picture; dozens of men and women were mutilated beyond recognition, while the remaining men were being slaughtered wantonly by seconds. The women, on the other hand, were laden against the cold, blood-soaked streets and raped repeatedly by a group of nearly fifty men with crazed expressions. Houses were tarnished, walls battered, people slaughtered, children tortured, women raped… it was a projection of a hell on earth, and Lino suddenly felt the last bit of his heart crack. He came to a halt directly in front of the village and slowly placed Aeala down. The fifty or so men immediately noticed him, but save for a few, he was completely ignored as they went back to their own desires. Their expressions were a mix of maddened lust, excitement, and abandoned humanity.

”He he, boy, did you bring us that fine woman? He he, even if you gift her to us, you won't be able to live, you know? He h---” however, before the stalwart man with reddened eyes got the chance to complete his laughter, he suddenly fell silent. A moment later, his head split open like an egg as his brain matter splattered all over the floor, his body kneaded into a paste onto the street.

This alerted all those who've ignored Lino's approach. On the other hand, the latter said nothing as he held the sword in his hand tightly. The blade of the sword dripped with blackened blood; each droplet was more akin to acid, causing sizzling sounds as it hit the stoned earth. Nobody was able to see Lino's eyes as his head was slightly lowered and his disheveled hair covered the top half of his face. However, were they able to see it, even the demonic-possessed madmen would no doubt be startled. As though birth of life and death was imprinted into his pupils, strange, star-like glimmers orbited his irises, surrounded by red vessels shaped like spider webs. Each breath of his stirred surrounding Qi like mad, causing winds to rouse from nothingness. His deposition rose bit by bit as his muscles seemed to have attained life of their own and began breathing, in and out, bit by bit. Screams have yet to subside, cries of the wronged, of the dying, of the wounded, of the scarred… each single voice of the villagers entered one by one through Lino's ears, and he ascertained to remember all of them. One by one. Each scream stirred him further. Each cry boiled his bleeding heart harder. Each hedonistic laughter of Demons parched him. Each roar full of unwillingness and bitterness sounded like a curse to his soul. Time, for him, seemed to have stopped. As he swallowed these resentments, he cared for nothing else. His guilt-ridden heart beat like mad as he suddenly raised his head.

Between the bangs of his pitch-black hair, two glittering stars emerged like beams of light. They scanned over the fifty or so Demons with expression colder than ice. The pair of eyes appeared depthless, as though holding the whole of universe within. A breath had passed, and everyone finally realized that one of their own had been slaughtered. Parched into rage, they all abandoned whatever they were doing and turned toward Lino.

”Ho ho, you sure have—” the one nearest to Lino spoke up, yet his fate was even more brutal. Cleaved right through, the two halves of his body split like paper, falling opposite of each other. Lino's body was revealed in-between these two parts, his aura stirring Qi surrounding him to nearly liquefy.

”Dead have no right to speak.” that was the only thing Lino said.

Rousing the winds surrounding him, he began burning Qi within him like crazy as he sprung into a streamer of light, appearing directly at the heart of the remaining Demons. With a sword in his hand, he spun in a circle, directly beheading three without giving them a chance to utter a sound. He hardly stopped, immediately rousing the wildness of his blood and lunging himself forth, cleaving his sword as though he was an incantation of God of War. Soon, the screams and cries of villagers were replaced by screams and cries of Demons. They tried to fight. But, it was all in vain. Even if they landed a hit on Lino's body, the latter didn't care. All wounds that were inflicted upon him were immediately healed, whereas a single slash of his sword reaped lives like grain. He flashed left and right like a stream of light, untraceable by the naked eye.

From the distance, Aeala stared at the scene and was once again left dumbfounded. Just a few days ago, this boy was merrily laughing with her while embarrassingly avoiding her naked body. He was just like any other youth; slightly temperamental, proud, bashful. Even though she gleamed at least a trace of this side of him while he fought the Patriarch and the First Elder, it wasn't even an ounce of what he was displaying right now. She could nearly see the flames of his anger surrounding him whenever he killed another Demon. Whatever stirred her heart and soul had little to do with Lino's strength; she held no doubt that there were many stronger people than him – much, much stronger people. However, the air he displayed, the overwhelming presence he commanded, the sheer madness he ruled… it was impossible to look away. He captured the essence of life and death with each of his strikes, and inspired thoughts of servitude within the hearts of those who were watching. Aeala herself was not an exception. She felt as though she was witnessing a birth of a legend, and she felt like kneeling before him was only the natural thing to do. Demons fell like pebbles in the ocean, without even gaining a single chance to strike back.

It didn't even take a minute until only one remained. The youth which seemed no older than twenty was shaking. His demonic, proud and overbearing disposition was nowhere to be found. Within his eyes was only a trace of profound terror. He found it hard to even breathe while looking at the figure standing in front of him. Lino's clothes were entirely dyed in black blood, and even his face wasn't spared, giving him an image of a madman who've just left the massive battlefield. The aura of murder around him was so thick it nearly came to life.

”How many of you are there?” Lino asked in a cold, indifferent voice, one that seemingly didn't belong to a human.

”…” even if the young Demon wanted to answer, words simply wouldn't come out. Fear had blocked all his reason.

”How many of you are there?” Lino simply asked again with the same voice.

”… h-h-…” the young Demon mumbled, but was only able to produce a single letter before he felt his knees give out, and his body suddenly flattened onto the ground, prostrating. ”FORGIVE ME!!!!” he roared into the sky.

”… forgive you?” Lino mumbled as he tilted his head in confusion. His eyes were widened like eggs, starlit in ethereal beauty; however, hardly anyone could praise their beauty beneath the coldness they displayed. ”Is that so?” Lino said as he took a single step, immediately crossing the distance of twenty meters, appearing before the prostrating youth. ”You want me to forgive you?”

”YES!!!” the demonic youth screamed yet again. Lino suddenly crouched and grasped the youth's chin, lifting it up, forcing the youth to look into his eyes. The moment the demonic youth's gaze landed onto Lino's pair of eyes, the former felt all blood in his body freeze. The demonic seed which had corrupted him from within began trembling, as though it was being stared at by an unparalleled existence that could wipe its sentience without even lifting a finger.

”… I wouldn't forgive you even if the entirety of Devil World was to come here and kneel before me.” Lino said coldly. ”How many of you are there?”

”…” realizing that death was a certainty, the youth grew listless. What else was left? He will die, there was no doubt about it. Even among the fifty people who were slaughtered, he was one of the weakest. How could even hope to try and escape the clutches of the god of death before him?

”HOW MANY?!!!!” seeing that the youth wasn't answering, Lino bellowed out from his soul, causing the earth itself beneath to quake and winds to scatter as though terrified. The youth's ears, eyes, mouth and nose began bleeding in streams as his entire body began shivering again.

”… a-a h-hund-dred and… and… t-t-twenty…” the youth mumbled weakly. The moment the last letter left its mouth, Lino's hand pressed tightly, crushing the youth's entire head into a paste.

Despite his wanton slaughter, Lino didn't feel relieved. Rather, there was a stuffy feeling budding inside his chest. He heaved a deep sigh and looked up to the sky as his eyes finally cleared. How did he get entangled in this mess? He merely wanted to go out into the wild for a while and temper himself while finding some rare resources to use in crafting. Cultivation was just a by-product of his desire to leave his stamp into the world's history through his creations. Yet, within two months, he had gone from an innocent, village youth to a murderer shrouded in heavy, killing aura. Yes, it all collapsed once he decided to help Vyeala and her Sacred Protector. Had he simply turned a blind eye at that moment, he could have evaded everything. The treasures that were sitting in the ring didn't seem worth the sacrifice any longer. Just glancing around the village was more than enough to tell him so. Some looked at him with the eyes of gratitude, some had no emotion within their eyes, and some didn't even have strength to raise their heads. Was he truly their savior? Hardly. The scars they were inflicted with today wouldn't heal in a lifetime. They had seen something they should have never been exposed to. And, whether Lino wanted to admit it or not, he was partially at fault. Now that his anger had sated somewhat and that primal urge retreated into the depths of his soul, his mind gained clarity yet again. What did he gain by killing these Demons? Did he truly purge the land of the nuisance? They were just weak Demons; the strongest one was barely Level 40. One way or another, they would have been dealt with eventually.

However, it was too late to think it through. Whether he wanted to or not, he had got himself entangled into the whole mess. Aeala had already told him what the Patriarch told her just before he died. Lino didn't believe that these demonically possessed members of Endo Clan were the actual end. He had a strange premonition that, soon, the whole of Umbra Kingdom – and those Kingdoms surrounding it – would be cast into the shadow of great war. He could easily ask Ella or Eggor to clean it up and, knowing them, they'd probably do it for him without even frowning. However, Lino couldn't ask. Call it pride, the flame of youth, or something much less noble, but he knew that those words of plea could never leave his lips. If he asked them to clean up after him once, he'd ask them twice. Didn't he want to help them? Isn't that the whole reason why he even departed from the Bridge Village to begin with? If he suddenly returned and asked them to clean up mess he inadvertently created, what would become of his already thin resolve?

”Are you alright?” a soft voice full of worry came trickling into his ear. He turned his head sideways and saw Aeala's worried face.