Chapter 1210 (1/2)

Vualla had also watched, quite a bit shocked, as somehow the darkness was able to use her body to stall out the oppressive Nether Heralds for several seconds. It was clear that the darkness struggled with the task, but still. It had made Vualla’s heart flutter. With the darkness controlling her body, she had wielded power.

If I train… can I really reach this amount of strength just by relying on my body…?

Perhaps. It still feels… wasteful. There are less arduous Paths.

I never cared how difficult the Path would be. Just that it was the one that I picked.

Because the truth was that after Vualla had so staunchly stopped the darkness from reaching for the death energy that was extremely prevalent on the battlefield, the darkness had respected her wishes. It had only used its vast experience to develop a workable image that swiftly improved Vualla’s fighting strength. It hadn’t even taken that long for the darkness to come up with something extremely potent.

In a way, it was like the darkness was validating that Vualla’s Path could progress forward. The dreams she had finally found the determination to walk toward And honestly, that knowledge might even be worth losing control of her body for a short while.

Of course, that acceptance of the situation quickly fled as Vualla watched in horror as the darkness used her body to escape to the back line by absorbing one of the Nether Herald’s blows, and then ambush Abiodun and the representative of the Xyrt Brigade in an absolute bloodbath. That image that Vualla had previously so admired became a sharp blade that the darkness-Vualla used to butcher them within seconds.

With three strikes, Vualla had knocked Abiodun into a state of complete helplessness and knocked the Xyrt Brigade member into the ground. Yet the darkness didn’t stop there. It was only after thoroughly beating the representative into submission that the darkness had opened Vualla’s mouth and said, “So, you are working with Ileot Swacc to slay the Nether King, correct? But that cannot happen. It was never meant to end that way.”

Blood dripped slowly down the heavy gauntlets that Randidly had made for her while the darkness waited for an answer. Perhaps the most annoying part was that the darkness had been right; using heavier gauntlets made expressing the image even more effective.

The representative’s eyes, which were partially swollen shut at this point, widened. “...what…? If you know that, why are you interfering?! There is a Xyrt Brigade Strike Team waiting for my signal! A full thirty experts that will quickly realize something is wrong when they don’t hear from me. They will slaughter you if they find out the truth. Believe me, your life will be a living hell if you don’t-”

“I’ve carried hell in my chest for three thousand two hundred and ninety years,” Vualla had said dully. Her tone was low and gravelly. Then the darkness had tilted her head to the side as it slipped a hand out of one of the gauntlets. That hand went to the Xyrt Brigade member’s neck. “Any last words?”

“It isn’t too late!” The representative had said, clearly in a panic. His eyes were brown. They flicked side to side, searching for something, anything. The white portions of his eyes were extremely large. His pupils had dilated as his searching gaze found nothing. Licking his lips, he had tried and failed to speak several times. The words kept getting stuck in his throat as the darkness urged Vualla’s hand to tighten.

Vualla had watched the realization form in his eyes that he was going to die. “I swear I won’t report you if you just- if you just-!”

The darkness had felt no pity. Vualla’s body had ripped off the man’s head. The sensation had felt so easy that even Vualla was shocked that the rumored Xyrt Brigade only amounted to this.

Then she had been forced to watch as a different, heavier darkness forced its way into Abiodun’s body.

Vualla had quickly become furious. With blood dripping wet and warm down over her body’s hands, her plan to bide her time went out the window. So, is the other… version of you now doing the same thing you are doing to me? Is all of this really necessary? The body-snatching? The killing? Why do you want to make so sure that Eliot dies?!

To Vualla’s surprise, she felt guilt radiating out of the darkness. Its thin tendrils that manipulated her limbs seemed to tremble and sigh as they stood before that wafting darkness that now forced itself down Abiodun’s throat. I wish it were not the case. But… you can rest assured that my other half… will not control Abiodun’s body as I have been forced to do with you. That is not her way. She will simply… amplify certain portions of himself that are already there.

Vualla’s attention sharpened with fury. And after that? What will happen to him?

Few beings survive carrying my darkness for long. It is... The darkness in Vualla’s chest hesitated.

Vualla snorted derisively. Let me guess: it is karma.

The darkness hadn’t bothered to respond and the two simply watched Abiodun’s struggles against the darkness. His hands grabbed at his own neck, then he had tried to cover his eyes and ears with his palms, and then finally he just spasmed. His whole body began to seize as an internal struggle ripped through him. After a while, the jerky movements calmed down, but Vualla couldn’t forget the terrible sense of dread that began building as she watched Abiodun’s struggles. Her mind drifted back to the strange phrase that the darkness had used.

Few beings survive carrying my darkness for long.