Chapter 49
This is a fictional story by realTensai
Soldiers of insanity ran havoc, killing everything in their path. Yet the one that had Alvis shaking to his core was no other than the devilish orchestrator. The Devil Cult's Priest of Insanity, Voyzez Knaxius.
Alvis clicked his tongue, suppressing the hatred he felt for the man, but also the hatred he felt for himself. Even with his Assassin's Eye skill on level 3, he still couldn't even estimate Voyzez's power.
Everything has gone wrong!
His plan just played in the priest's hands, making him even more powerful. Never would Alvis have thought that the man's shadows could control others, on top of their ability to absorb any attack. It was a severe miscalculation that caused this tragedy. By warning everyone and having the military on his side, Alvis had shot himself in the foot.
"Fuck!"
All the gears in his mind spun, working overtime to create an emergency plan. However, when he looked to the side, he saw how Lia had fallen to her knees and was coughing for air.
"Lia!"
She just held her hand up, getting back on her feet. Her face was sour, and she grabbed her head, obviously in an awful state.
"I-I am good. All these strong, insane emotions are terrorizing my brain."
With her empathetic abilities, a place like this, where insanity consumed everyone, was akin to torture. Yet she gave it her best and was still ready to fight.
"Sekki?"
Dane's voice made Alvis shift his attention. He looked in the direction Dane was looking and saw it. Sekki, the elf with whom Alvis had become so close that he was his other best friend, was wandering around like a zombie, shooting wind bullets at everything that moved.
Seeing him gave Alvis the rest.
He didn't even want to come to the festival. I convinced him.
Guilt gnawed at Alvis' heart, making him almost lose the strength to keep standing. The sound of his heartbeat thrashing in his ears made his entire body shiver, as it only cursed him for this situation. The world couldn't supply him with enough oxygen, his shallow breathing accelerating the panic within him.
However, the battle was still going on. Voyzez's shadows were flying straight at them.
"Dodge! Otherwise, you will also get controlled!"
It was a familiar voice coming from a distance that warned them about the incoming threat.
Alvis' Evasion skill made him move on his own, escaping the shadows with a jump to the side. Lia and Dane did the same. Alvis searched for the source of the voice and saw the man. It was Zaini Bidnini, the priest of the Tekka Temple.
"Thank god you could escape."
"Watch out!"
Zaini had looked out for Alvis and his friends, but let his guard down while doing so. Shadows flew straight at him, and it was too late for him to dodge.
Shit!
The shadows vanished and Zaini looked at them again, though his eyes were still the same. He didn't start attacking everyone.
What?
"Don't worry, I'm fine," he said whilst taking out a controlled human. "Because of my strong faith, I'm immune to his curse. He can't control me."
Alvis didn't catch on, but the details were not important right now. All that mattered was that he was a strong companion.
"I see, I see, I see, I see! You are stroooong! But! You got something very wroooooong!" Voyzez said, being now only about fifty meters away from them. "My curse doesn't control others. What blasphemy! How outrageous to assume that. Disgusting! All I do is make them embrace insanity!"
His unusual way of speaking triggered Alvis' memories of their first meeting. And how his death followed soon.
I have to watch out!
This loop wasn't over yet. Lia and Dane were still alive and if they defeated Voyzez his ability would maybe lose effect and Sekki would be safe too. They still got a chance.
Alvis slapped his legs, picking himself up.
"Oh, how rude of me. I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm the Devil Cult's Priest of Insanity, Voyzez Knaxius."
"Shut up!"
Alvis activated Mastermind and attacked him with a fireball three times his size.
However, a shadow wall absorbed his attack.
"Everyone attack this man! If he falls, we win!"
"You can fight against your own army first."
The moment he said that, the army of insane people all focused on them. Uncountable gunshots, beam shots, and magic attacks flew at them.
Shit!
It would have been impossible to dodge everything, but Alvis knew an earth wall wouldn't be strong enough to defend them. However, Lia raised both her arms, and plants as big as the trees in the Mana Forest erupted from the ground, tanking every attack. But she wasn't done there. The next moment, hundreds of roots spread around, capturing everyone who had lost their mind and making them unable to move by binding them to the ground. Within a few seconds, Lia had taken out Voyzez's entire army.
Alvis' jaw just dropped.
She has become even stronger!
Her estimated power level was 3000+ but it had to be way more than 3000.
"I used all of my mana for this," Lia said, her breathing unstable. Even though all the insanity weighed down on her mind, she did all of that. "Now, you just have to take him down."
Lia trusted her man to finish the job.
Alvis clenched his fist while staring down Voyzez.
"Yeah, even if it's the last thing I will do!"
He took in a deep breath, in and out, his mind sharp and focused on one thing. His eyes were set on the manifestation of insanity. It was the man who caused all this chaos that he had to take down. He gritted his teeth, forged his mana, and was ready. He would fight him now.
However, before that, he turned his head to see who was still standing. He counted the people and nodded his head after finding the people he needed.
"Dane, can you still fight?"
"Y-Yeah, of course! If we win, Sekki turns normal, right?"
"Most likely."
"Then count me in!"
Dane stood up, shaking his head before letting out a colossal shout. The very ground shook from its might.
He will be useful.
"Priest Zaini, I need your help too."
His resistance to Voyzez's insanity was way too useful to let him rest now.
"Ha, I will give it my best."
Now Alvis got the guys he needed.
"We three will take him out!"
"Oh, you are confident. Truly amazing. Magnificent! Will I lose? Will they kill me, cut off my head, and drink my blood? No, please, no, no, no, no! This is insane! Insanity! But I like it! Try your best! Embrace insanity!"
Alvis didn't even listen to his speech, his mind only focused on producing a plan.
"Dane, let's attack. Priest Zaini, give us cover!"
The two of them leaped at Voyzez with unmatched speed. Countless shadows flew at them but they evaded them whilst still clearing the distance.
"Oh, you are agile!"
"Now!"
Following Alvis' order, Zaini shot a mana beam straight at Voyzez. However, he only grinned and created his shadows.
That is what I wanted!
Alvis gathered all of his strength in his fist, enforcing it even with mana, and then, sliding into his dead angle, he went for his head.
"As if!"
Voyzez jumped back, avoiding Alvis' attack. However, he made a mistake.
"This is for Sekki!"
He ran right into Dane.
"BOOM!"
Dane's fist hit Voyzez straight on and its impact resounded in a loud boom. Voyzez's body was sent flying across the battlefield, only stopping after he flew into a booth. Dane's knuckles were bleeding, his face furious.
"That felt good."
It was a simple plan, yet effective. While having him absorb Zaini's attack with his shadows, the two of them could attack in close combat. With Dane's gigantic strength, even Voyzez would have a hard time.
"It hurts…. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts! You will pay for that!"
The priest of insanity stood up, blood running down his face. Alvis breathed out whilst smiling.
At least he isn't invincible too.
"That should have done more damage."
Dane's comment made a shiver run down Alvis' spine. However, he shook his head.
I knew it wouldn't be easy.
"Priest Zaini, let's attack again before he gets up!"
"Yes!"
"Embrace insanity!"
Before Alvis and Zaini could even gather mana, Voyzez started his rampage. Dozens of dragon-sized shadows flew around, devouring everything in their path. Five of them simultaneously went for Alvis and he had to shift all of his attention to dodging. Be it from left, right, above, behind, or from the back, Alvis had to avoid all of them. He jumped around, skillfully maneuvering through all these attacks.
Notification: Passive Skill Evasion Level Up
Level 2 -> Level 3
The level-up's effect showed immediately as Alvis' movements became more fluid and escaping the shadows took less mental effort than before. His lips were about to curve up into a smile, but his eyes caught something that stopped his heartbeat.
Lia was under attack.
Shadows flew at her, and she could barely escape with her exhausted body.
Shit!
Alvis' body moved on its own, Lia being its target. While still being under attack, he made his way to his wife.
"Lia, I will help you!"
"Alv—"
Lia's voice cut off. The rest of his name never reached Alvis' ears.
The moment she turned her head, a dragon-like shadow devoured her. Lia, who had been there only a second ago, vanished into the darkness.
Alvis' mind tried to process what had just happened, but it went blank.
"…Lia?"
"Oh, so you want to see her?" Voyzez said, his voice filled with joy. "Okay, I will show you what insanity looks like!"
The shadow that had just absorbed Lia spat her out again, and her body, torn to pieces, audibly fell on the ground right before Alvis.
He couldn't breathe as he stared at the blood spreading from Lia's fallen body.
"…Lia?"
But she didn't answer. Her body, fallen to the ground, had been cruelly destroyed.
Each of her limbs was bent in a different direction; the wounds to her front and back looked as if a giant had trampled on her. Her neck was broken, her head just dangling next to her shoulder. And all the life had vanished from her bleeding green eyes.
Lia was dead.
"…No! No…no…no…no…"
"Don't run away from reality. Embrace it! Embrace insanity!"
The man's voice didn't even reach Alvis' mind, as he had already fallen into darkness.
"I see, so you don't want to listen. Here, take this."
Alvis' eyes were glued to Lia's corpse, yet he noticed something rolling toward him. It hit his body and Alvis subconsciously turned his attention to it. However, the moment he saw it, his heart shattered completely.
It was Dane's head.
"Burn this sight into your mind and embrace it! Embrace insanity!"
I couldn't protect them.
Again.
Alvis couldn't move, his brain unable to handle the situation. But his mana flamed, using his dark emotions as fuel.
"I.."
"Yes, yes, yes! These eyes! This is what I want to see. Embrace it!"
"I will make you pay for this!"
"Ahh~ finally," he moaned, the highest form of pleasure displayed on his face. "You are insane! Now die in this perfect state."
These were the last words Alvis heard before a shadow slash cut his head off.
[YOU DIED!]