"You pretend to sleep while processing all the information... but, perhaps, this is still slightly better than waking up on the sidewalk with amnesia. You don't remember feeling this much pain since your skin previously melted. But, even so, you are absolutely sure you have felt worse pain. And more importantly, that something absolutely horrible lives inside you. Evil exists in your heart."
A military drone with stealth and espionage capabilities. A small cabin, possibly supporting about four passengers, flew over a visibly abandoned arms factory. Property of Powermagi. That guy, Naxel, a robotics and technology engineer in general, worked at the company. But, for some reason, an ordered attack and a bigger mission.
Execution, right? Execute an "Executor"? It sounded dramatic.
— So... how is this going to work? Do we just land where this bastard is and start shooting?
Igyris asked, eyes closed, head reclined—feigning sleep. A painfully obvious disguise.
Mana remained silent, arms crossed.
Distant. She had no desire to even acknowledge the one who was supposedly "in the same boat."
— Ah, come on! Are you just going to sit there with that sour look on your face? Screw you.
Igyris raised his voice, provoking her.
Mana stared at him. A dark, cold gaze. She clearly despised him. He was not a comrade
—He was a weapon. And, right now, a highly annoying one. Disgusting.
— Naxel, are you listening to me? We are flying over the location. Initiating the operation. Be ready in case of escape or failure.
Igyris watched as Mana continued:
— Listen up, street worm. We are here to execute a target—and you are not going to interfere. You are just support. Firepower. Nothing more. And if you go off script... you know very well what will happen to that head of yours.
She looked down—literally and figuratively. An overwhelming gaze.
— Hah... so that's how it is, huh, bitch? Heh. Don't worry. I'll do my best to stay under your control.
Igyris replied, his eyes igniting with something fierce. Perhaps not so uninterested after all. But why?
— Ugh... are you... are you aware of what we're going to do there, right?
Her gaze fixed on Igyris' eyes; she didn't blink, staring into the depths of his soul, as if deciphering him. Her eyes were like glass, reflecting.
— We are going to kill a lot of people in there... a lot of people who probably have nothing to do with this: workers, guards, anyone who gets in our way. Those deaths will be on my back, Naxel's, and yours... You are aware of this, aren't you? Of the hell you are about to unleash. The possible families you will destroy, the men whose lives you will take, tearing their bodies apart... Are you aware of this?... Of the demon you will be...
She stared at Igyris with a heavy gaze, shadows covering her face, only her locked eyes were visible, waiting for an answer.
That answer came.
— Huh? Are you mocking me?
Sarcasm was blatant on Igyris' face, Mana understood.
— Come on, princess... look at me. That's what you paid me for, right? Since you won't kill me... I'll kill for you... Believe me, I'm very much used to it. Heheh...
She understood. That man in front of her did not possess even an ounce of humanity in his eyes; she only saw a demon, with a mocking face, a malicious smile. A true dog, worthless. He deserved no respect and had not a shred of humanity. A demon.
— You... you filthy pig...
Mana spat on the ground, near Igyris' feet.
— What the hell am I doing... trying to have some kind of conversation and understanding with this type of person... What a joke.
She turned away, ignoring Igyris' presence there, clenched her fists tightly and headed straight for a compartment in the drone. A scanner was activated, recognizing her face.
FSSSSS....
The compartment opened, releasing smoke, revealing entire arsenals, high-end tactical suits, with illegal technology, research conducted by Naxel and Mana in their spare time.
— Get ready.
She said coldly, staring at the open compartment, while Igyris stared at her with an empty expression.
Mana touched a digital membrane similar to a fabric that was there. That "digital fabric" swallowed her, like water it emerged over her entire body, clothing her. State-of-the-art tactical suit. A nanotechnology membrane covered her skin like a second layer. Almost transparent, similar to a hologram, soft, beautiful—a shell. Robotic chants echoed, runes glittered like holograms. The chants of artificial Arcana. A simulation, created from intonations and copies of Arcane signatures spread throughout the atmosphere. Such an energy signature was assimilated into the technology, and when put into practice with an energy pattern that copied the pattern of the living energy known as Arcana, it was similar in some useful respects, if precisely applied with technological quality—Arcana simulated by technology. The ultimate blasphemy against the ancient religions.
Seen as a dishonor against the glory of the ancients. It was progress burying tradition.
She gave a simple command with her voice. The cybernetic runes glowed on her skin.
Pulsating, they emitted a sound similar to an electrical current.
Bzzzz.
It echoed through the small space of the drone. It was unstable. Experimental.
Igyris stood up, walked carelessly to the compartment, staring at Mana who was glowing with a strong, shimmering blue color.
He quickened his steps, the shine in his eyes was undeniable, that was different from simple Arcana or technology. Anxiety took him, he looked excitedly at the compartment, and then disappointment stamped his face. His version was a mediocre tactical suit, just the bare minimum. It didn't simulate any Arcana, much less possess any special ability. No magic. Just a common cybernetic suit.
— Huh... what the hell is this?
Igyris' face turned into something undeniably comical, pointing his finger at that simple uniform.
Mana, in response, spat on the ground again, hitting one of Igyris' boots directly.
— The top-of-the-line equipment doesn't go to the trash... the trash gets the trash. Got it?
Igyris' face quickly returned to its normal, empty features.
— Alright, lady... no offense...
Mana walked quickly to the drone's main weapon—a minigun, made from a Gullbriser cannon, crafted entirely by hand, grotesque. One of Mana's projects in conjunction with Naxel to pass the time. The barrels of that aberration, which was once a Gullbriser, spun randomly. Multi-barreled, explosive ammunition, a gift from Powermag arms dealers. Pure destruction. No trace of Arcana. A dirty, military-grade weapon. Undetectable. They hovered over that Powermagi facility. The mission did not have a stealthy tone at that moment. Yet. The goal was to cause maximum damage. Destroy that factory as much as possible from the outside, destroy the defenses, create confusion. Kill as many people as possible.
And so the attack began. A rain of bullets fell upon the heads of those poor souls, a bright hell falling from the sky.
— What the hell is that?
The last words of a poor Powermagi soldier. Before meeting hell.
BOOOOOM!!!!!!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Mana opened fire, unleashing hell upon the facility. Screams echoed, pain was the symphony, along with the automatic and sequential shots of the aberration that was once a Gullbriser. She was responsible for that, for those deaths, and she knew it well.
That was an arms factory. It housed about 200 to 500 employees. All targets for the hell falling from the sky. The target was there. The "Executor," but first, cleanup was necessary, sweeping away everything and everyone who could be an obstacle, including human lives. The first part was concluded, now the second, less chaotic, but not to be dismissed. The "attack" was loud, direct. Capsules were ejected from the drone, pulsating with static electric energy. They crashed to the ground. Silence... confusion. After the impact came the comments.
— What?...
— Ugh... what the hell was that?...
— Another terrorist attack?
Cut-off speeches... followed by a hellish electric high-pitch.
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!
EMP explosions burst from the ground, buried. The capsules excavated the ground, and the deeper they sank, the more powerful the pulses became, scrambling the factory's technological systems. Electrical shocks decoded everything around, once again hell opened up. The pulses spread shock waves. Communication devices failed, it was impossible to call for any reinforcements. All electrical energy in the place was replaced by loud alarms and agonizing siren sounds. The corpses of several employees, scattered among the flames and debris. And in the midst of that hell, a breach opened. It was time to go in. The rain began to pour down, washing over the bodies, the flames, and the debris.
The drone, once again, released signal dissipation pulses. Devices went haywire, they were as good as trash, only weapons would be useful. The factory collapsed, washed by the heavy rain followed by tempestuous thunder. Alarms failed. The interference worked successfully. No chance of counter-attack.
Igyris watched, stunned. He had never seen such destruction. That was far superior to a normal Gullbriser. Destructive, demonic. The way Mana handled the weapon. Too professional for a terrorist. As if she had formulated it. But, regardless of anything, her gaze remained cold, death. Expressing nothing.
— Hey... look... Your face says the total opposite, did you know? With that little face, I could even say you're a noble baby... but a noble doesn't shoot like that... You really understand what you're doing, huh? Heheh. I'm curious to know your other talents...
That face, a wicked look, covered in inexplicable malice. The only thing Mana felt there was...
— Disgust... don't you ever look at me like that again, you dirty pig... Don't be fooled by me... you don't know me at all... And, if that's what your suggestion points to: I built this piece of junk.
— Ah-ha!!! Is that so? I doubt it, beautiful lady...
Damn ironic demon, one of the types that most awakened hatred in Mana. She couldn't help but feel disgust at his features, mannerisms, and ways of speaking.
Mana didn't reply, ignoring him completely. Her look of disgust was visible and clear. She walked again to the equipment compartment.
She equipped herself with pistols, shockwave grenades, communication and support devices. But what, by far, drew the most attention was an RPG. Massive, the same one she had used against Khaelis previously: the EdelZerar B. Another weapon manufactured by Mana's hands, capable of absorbing traces of Arcane energy spread throughout the atmosphere and releasing it in the explosions of its shots.
— Get your equipment. We're going in.
The command was given coldly.
Igyris, in response, arched an eyebrow.
— Wow, bossy, huh... No problem, it feels better to answer to you than to my old boss... heh heh...
The malice in Igyris' voice increased Mana's heart rate. A fury took her heart. She clenched her fists. Her voice, dry, aggressive.
— Now...
Her voice seethed. "You will pay," she thought. She exuded anguish, and her gaze, locked, deep... agonizing, like a soul trapped in eternal suffering in hell.
— Alright... let's go.
Igyris looked up and, scratching the back of his neck, replied nonchalantly, contrasting all of Mana's anguish.
Both prepared the equipment. Igyris only equipped himself with some light firearms, retractable blades. Light equipment, the kind that doesn't restrict movement, was his modus operandi. Time to jump. Mana stared at the hellish sight that factory once was. The ground, covered with corpses, the giant confusion down below, the flames. The rain devouring everything. Anguish... it was a familiar image.
"You became what you most repudiated."
There was no time to feel... now was the time to do, what was necessary...
— How sad.
The word escaped her lips.
— Ugh... that's what you get...
She stared again. Closed her eyes. Heard the screams. It was time. With a gesture, a nanotechnology hood, the same technology that constituted her NanoArcana suit,
activated over her head: a nanotech helmet. The electric sound vibrated intensely again.
Bzzz...
The buzzing mixed with the screams. The sounds of the flames spread along with the smoke. The rain and the storm, the alarms and their hellish symphony. Everything led to that moment: bearing the burden of the deaths and the hell she caused. And opening the way, with even more deaths.
And then, without even looking at Igyris, she took measured steps towards the opening and the small gap that had opened in the manned drone, revealing them. There was no turning back.
She sighed slowly, as if calming the anguish in her heart.
— Fushhh...
Once again she stared, tilted her arms back, closed her eyes.
Igyris blinked, and when he noticed, she was no longer there. She had launched herself into the chaos.
She threw herself into the midst of hell, revealing herself completely. The same hell she had created, for noble reasons, or perhaps, for her noble selfishness.
An impure mission. Dirty. That's what it was now.
The living employees saw something approaching the factory faster and faster, a damned human projectile. Visibly, one of those responsible for the hell.
With communication cut off, they prepared as best they could to "receive" that thing. It wasn't going to be cheap.
Mana, in full freefall, preparing for the "reception" that would follow, noticed that damned, demanding, filthy pig. Staring in shock. She stared at him, losing concentration on the factory.
That "trash" who wasn't even human, in her view, exchanging looks, was completely disrupting the course of the mission, putting his filthy life above the tasks. She couldn't forget to remember the disgust. The same as everyone else.
— JUMP NOW... damn it.. YOU DAMNED SON OF A BITCH!!!!.
She screamed. Disgust in her voice, her features were not visible, due to her helmet. But the contempt was notable. Upon noticing the panic on the face of that "damned worm." Truly, filthy.
The "damned" noticed the disgust, which she didn't bother to disguise, but as always, he didn't give a damn.
— LOOK, IT'S MY FIRST TIME, OK?! TAKE IT EASY! I'M A NOVICE WITH HEIGHT!!!!.
"But what a cursed expression." Mana thought. The voice and face of that man echoed in her mind, without a spark of guilt or concern for what they had done. A completely distorted sense of reality. Dirty. A soul so dirty, without compassion or pity.
Human life meant nothing to him. And seeing him shout so carelessly that he "was afraid" of heights made her remember.
Bvrzzzzz...
The sound of the saw... They were the same.
— Truly, only this kind of demon has a place in this messed-up world...
Mana whispered to herself. Her gaze, previously covered with hatred, felt a mix in her heart. There was no time to understand herself now.
— Come on? She's not listening, maybe. COME ON. MAKE AN EFFORT, WOMAN!!!! THIS IS REALLY SCARY!!!!.
Igyris continued to scream in response.
Mana's helmet opened, the nanotechnology fluidly moving away, like a light liquid, revealing only her mouth.
Igyris heard nothing, but saw the way her lips moved, and so he read them.
— Don't worry... I'll give you a little help... a... little push.
"Little push"... what did she mean by that? Before he could continue to reason:
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!
A hellish pain burned his skin, from the nape of his neck to his feet, numbing his entire body. An electric wave that started at the nape of his neck and locked his muscles.
Mana touched "lines" of the cyberarcane fabric that covered her skin, revealing icons and a device on her wrist—she, with three fingers of her hand, a simple gesture, but enough to release a potent electric blast into Igyris' body, a blast that started from the containment device Naxel had previously implanted in the nape of his neck. A "thunderbolt" burned him.
— AHHHHHHRRRRGHH!!!!!!!!.
He screamed with the hellish pain. The electric blast made him plummet from the drone. For a few seconds, Igyris had lost consciousness due to the pain that anesthetized him. But, when he noticed, he was in full freefall.
— AH, DAMN IT, SHIT!!!.
He screamed in pure despair, realizing his situation. The pure and horrible freefall, violently plunging towards the ground, thrashing in the process.
— Damn it... you damned dead weight piece of shit...
Adrenaline took over their minds. But Mana's screamed "disgust, disgust, DISGUST!!!" All of that generated hellish disgust, but it was time to start.
She locked her vision. While Igyris brutally plummeted to the ground, Mana's gaze froze, she didn't blink, locking her entire vision and peripheral vision onto the threats on the ground.
Her heart accelerated. Instinct, fear, anger. The hellish hatred. All of that, to take down that damned target. All so "they" could have a chance.
"To take down that bastard... to look into the eyes of that damned cold-eyed bastard without fear again... for him... I have to kill that bastard."
A burning rage. Her heart was now burning with pure fury and determination. She knew why she was there. And because of that, she would burn the whole world. Lives were a sacrifice. Killing... for a reason.
She activated the suit's thrusters—maximum attention to the surroundings. Guards were not gathering. Strangely, the landing would be smooth. But then.
— WE HAVE SIGHTING!!!!!!
— GET THAT DAMNED BITCH!!!!
— IF THE RUMORS ARE TRUE, IT REALLY IS HER!!!
— THE DESERTER OF THOSE BASTARDS!!!! THE DESERTER OF THE REIXYS!!!!!
Guards gathered to intercept her, crowding more and more among the flames, among the smoke, among the debris. They aimed their rifles, once prey, now behaving like hunters. They waited, and between waits, they exchanged words: "REIXYS."
— You... ugh... you... what do you know about me...
She whispered to herself.
— WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW, DAMN IT!!!!!
Her scream gave her away. But without concern, only fury, her eyes pierced the helmet. Burning.
And, unlike them, she didn't wait for a key moment, or a right moment. She just narrowed her eyes. Her two hands held two automatics. She really didn't wait. And unleashing her hatred, she opened fire.
She shot first. The screams of the open fire. Her weapons screamed, Mana released her fury in incandescent shots.
The shots destroyed the ground, the impact mixing with the impact of the raindrops.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!!!!.
The ammunition seemed infinite. The grouped guards screamed, seeking refuge behind the rubble.
— DAMN IT!!!! THE BITCH OPENED FIRE!!!
— GET COVER, DAMN IT!!!
— WE CAN'T STAY PUT, SHOOT TOO!!!!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!!!!!!
The deafening shots crossed paths. Shots from both sides. Mana's shots ripped through the structures where the men were taking cover. Only a scratch tore their skins.
— ARRRGHH!!!!
— DAMN IT!!!! SHE HIT JEMMYN!!!
— YOU DAMNED BITCH!!!!
Mana's shots became increasingly frequent and persistent, as if she never had to reload, and even in pauses to reload, nothing happened. They realized. The bullets seemed to touch her. But something was wrong.
— BUT WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU??!?!.
One of the guards screamed in despair. Even with that damned effort, their shots had no effect, the shots didn't scratch her. What was wrong?
They retaliated—more persistence, determination, fighting for their lives. But the shots never touched her. They saw something shine on her skin. Her defense was impenetrable. The thin nanotechnological layer absorbed the slightest impact of the shots. Any attempts would be useless there. She was at full and total advantage. Terror came upon realizing. Fleeing from there, keeping as many men alive as possible, was the only thing to do. Once again, the usefulness of the technology that had saved her previously against Khaelis.
The men screamed, sensing death by remaining in that confrontation.
They ran, trying to stay protected by the debris, but it seemed to be in vain. The shots swept everything in front of them, flesh, bones, concrete, completely pulverized by the sequences of bullets.
— RETREAT! RETREAT NOW!
The screams intensified, the smell of blood, the smoke, the flames, and the rain that insisted on falling along with the shots.
—BUT WHAT THE HELL!!! DON'T STOP RUNNING, DAMN IT!!!!.
— Ugh... I can't anymore...
One of the men with one of his legs almost totally destroyed by one of Mana's shots agonized, dragging himself on the concrete bathed by the rain.
— Damn it... I can't stop...
The rain insisted on falling. But the shots ceased. For a moment, they stopped crushing the ground. The men looked startled and surprised. Terror still insisted in their hearts. But now there was doubt: why did she stop?
— Ugh... why?
The man whose leg was almost totally amputated questioned himself.
But he stared at Mana once more. And there he realized, such a tragic look came from beneath that helmet. Anguish, melancholy, perhaps disgust at what she was doing. But he realized, that wasn't pity.
— It's necessary... IT'S NECESSARY FOR ME TO FUCK YOU UP, YOU SONS OF BITCHES!!!! AND I WILL CONTINUE TO FUCK UP ANYONE WHO GETS IN THE WAY!!!!!
She whispered to herself. Soon after came the scream, a self-affirmation. The man realized, that was the final blow.
Mana pulled out the damned destructive aberration she carried on her back—a fearsome-designed weapon, resembling an RPG. She positioned it on her shoulders and fitted the ammunition onto the tip of the large barrel. The air began to become less dense.
The infinite particles of Arcane energy that existed in the atmosphere began to be sucked in, guiding and accumulating in that single shot. EdelZerar. The God of Destruction, condensed Arcane energy from the entire environment, absorbed it, and blew everything up with a devastating explosion. Designed and built for massacre. No... built to fulfill a purpose, designed by Mana. It was another toy that copied something important. It was time for the bloodbath. No one would be spared. Simple, pity. Her finger pressed the trigger. She fired. No blood, no bodies—everyone was swallowed by an explosion so colossal that it expanded in reverse. That entire sector disappeared.
Disintegrated bodies, lives taken. But for a purpose, right? The only visible thing was her tragic gaze, as she hovered in the air. And with her heart covered in a strange excitement, which made her oddly content, she formulated a phrase.
— You bastards... THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR STANDING IN OUR WAY!!!! YOU'RE NEXT!!! YEGRANDE!!!!!!!!!
Her scream echoed throughout that destroyed sector. A strange scream, covered in a choked fury. Perhaps, in better words, someone so human, but who at that moment was striving to be a rotten demon. She felt a certain excitement about it, something her heart denied, but at the same time forced itself to accept. But there, she needed more of that excitement. She needed to love violence.
As Mana advanced, cleaning area after area, life after life, with her destructive EdelZerar, Igyris woke up, completely anesthetized, in complete confusion. His vision blurred, his feet trembled, he found himself in another part of the factory facility. Soon his eyes cleared, his senses returned, his legs stabilized. He stood up and analyzed, and soon his expression returned: perhaps it couldn't be worse—he was completely surrounded.
— Oh... shit, shit... come on, guys, let's not confuse things, okay? Look... it's just one of those cases of being in the wrong place at the wrong time... we don't need this, heh heh... I'm not even here on my own accord, okay? The Bastards k-kidnapped me... Come on... he-heh.. I'M A VICTIM HERE!!!
Igyris trembled non-stop. It was inevitable when you have so many rifles pointed at your head, just waiting to blow it up at the slightest mistake.
— SHUT UP, YOU DAMNED PIECE OF HUMAN TRASH!!! KEEP YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!!!!
One of the men screamed, overcome by the fury over the lives of his colleagues that were lost. The man trembled non-stop, brandishing the heavy rifle.
— Heheh... come on... I didn't even do anything, you know. It was all that woman's fault. I think she drilled a few of your friends, right?... Hah... Why don't you go after her, huh?
— SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!!!
One of the soldiers screamed, trembling with fury. The twelve men around couldn't disguise their hatred. They aimed for justice.
— You bastards. Do you have any idea... of the men... THE LIVES YOU CUT SHORT TODAY??? This... will not be forgiven. IT WILL NOT!!!!
The screams, the eyes of the twelve men present there, fixed on Igyris, with total fury, who only maintained a neutral pose, with his eyes covered by his hair.
— Hah, you guys are funny, guys... really funny...
An ironic look etched itself onto the young man's face, in such a suffocating position. It was not the time for such an attitude.
— I.... could laugh a lot... If I told it as a joke, would people laugh? I have to test it.
He slowly brought one of his hands to one of his pistols strapped to his left thigh—a completely carefree movement, which contrasted with the situation.
— Heh...
— WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??!!??
BANG!!!!!
One of the men shot.
The smoke dissipated, escaping from the rifle's barrel.
Blood...
The pistol was thrown by the impact of the shot. The drops dripped non-stop, the blood ran. A hole, whose blood leaked non-stop, open on Igyris' wrist. He stared at the hole, with an empty expression. Until out of nowhere, the scream came in reaction to the pain.
— ARRRGHHHH!!!!! DAMN IT!!!! WHAT THE HELL. ARGHHHH!!!!!!!!
A scream of pure pain escaped his throat. He clutched his wrist that continued to bleed non-stop. Soon he fell, writhing on the ground.
— You deserved that!!! YOU PIECE OF TRASH. FOR THE DEATHS YOU CAUSED TODAY!!!!
The scream of justice. The pig was about to be slaughtered.
— Ugh... ugh... damn it... you sons of bitches!!! YOU FORCED ME TO DO THIS!!!
He screamed, agonizing on the ground, as he did his best to force an idiotic bluff. He was a cornered rat. Pathetic.
His features became illegible. A mix of pain and agony from the wound, anger and something else... that couldn't be read.
He slowly stood up, still pressing the torn wrist with his other hand.
— You... you said, about me paying for the lives we "took"... right?
Igyris spoke with a low gaze. His voice wasn't loud, but it was possible to understand everything he said.
— What the hell is this guy talking about?... Did he suddenly decide to state the obvious?
One of the men spoke confusedly.
Igyris pressed hard on his open wrist, roughly.
— Hahah... you, the upper and middle class... are so hypocritical, aren't you? Hahah... You talk about your morals, as if in these situations that's actually taken into consideration by you... How many lives have you taken with those rifles, huh? Do you really see value in life? Or are you just blabbering that because it's convenient? YOU GUYS ARE REALLY FUNNY, GUYS HAHAHAHAHAAAHAHA!!!!!! Makes me remember old friends...
His gaze sharpened, fixing his stare on just one of the men in front of him.
— What the hell is this guy talking about...
Soon Igyris continued:
— Well... I... I always try to maintain maximum honesty here. I don't like to talk as if I had a "heart." It doesn't suit me... Well... the truth is I've never seen value in life. But, even so, I still have a great sense of humor and I'm very funny with my brilliant jokes... That guy, Naxel, he's funny as hell, too... We have the same sense of humor...
One of the men became irritated at seeing the bastard lose himself in his reasoning.
— YOU DAMNED PEOPLE!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY YOU KILLED???
— Sometimes I don't understand, heh heh heh, some people. They say my sense of humor is horrible, that my jokes aren't funny... that they sound malicious and repugnant, heh heh heh.... Not even my old partners liked them... But I'm so funny... Why don't they like it?.
It was possible to see tears running down Igyris' face. It had become clear, he was completely hallucinating.
— Damn it... damn it... I try so hard to make everyone laugh... but they just stare at me with disgust... ugh... that... hurts me... THEY DON'T SEE OR DON'T HAVE THE BRAINS TO UNDERSTAND MY HUMOR!!!! It's not malicious... it's just... different... But that Naxel, he must find my jokes funny, I feel it..
A person is only completely sincere when their brain is under the effect of substances. Drunks are sincere about what they feel. Drug users have their true face revealed.
That's because they lose social inhibitors. At that moment, Igyris was letting everything he felt out. That is, something strange was acting on his body.
— Hah, to tell the truth, no... I don't give a damn. I don't value any type of life at all... I don't know if that basic sense was something I lost along with my memories. But, for me... IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL!!! You, Powermagi soldiers, or even my old accomplices, or even my own life. I didn't feel anything when that silver-haired guy, that "Khaelis" gave that speech about his men who were killed. The only thing I felt... was a huge void. Life has no value at all, just like me... But, to tell the truth... "destroying the world"... that seemed so right to me... It's interesting, understand? When that woman... Mana, right? She told me that, it just seemed... true, as if I also had reasons to want that... even if they don't exist... But I can't lie, that friendly and funny Naxel also influenced what I'm feeling now... I laughed a lot alone remembering him... HAHAHAHAHAAJAAJANANANANAANAJ!!!!!!!!!
— Wh-what the hell...
— This guy is crazy...
Totally indecipherable, a mind without attachment, empty. His words sounded nonsensical, enigmatic. Someone without memories and without any kind of convictions or values. And, in the end, an acidic and ironic sense of humor that added up to his being. An annoying and weird guy.
— Ah, come on... you really don't understand. Well... I guess I'm missing a lot, right? It's been a few years since I woke up in that sewer... it was about time I had some conviction. "Destroying the world"... haha... HAAAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAJA!!!!! I THINK I FOUND IT!!!!!!! Hahah... But we can't forget that I'm a comedian, right? I need to make people laugh along the way...
He chuckled around his own meaning. His mind had no keys or locks, only an indecipherable reading, of someone who is nothing or, who knows...
He knelt down slowly, calmly. Another indecipherable behavior.
— What the hell is he doing?
— Ugh... who does this guy think he is?
— Who cares? Let's just kill the bastard and move on.
They whispered to themselves. All of them looked at each other and consented, and thus, pointed their rifles at the same time.
— Haha... you're so screwed... When I get out of here... I'm going to...
"Dude... seriously you don't have a name? Come on!!! Hah, you're really funny, little brother, I think that suits you."
— I'M GOING BACK TO NOWAGEN AND MAKE EVERYONE LAUGH A LOT WITH MY JOKES HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!
Totally insane and true, those words came from his "empty" heart.
He pulled a heavy grenade from his small arsenal attached to his suit—strong and potent enough to turn solid concrete into dust. To break materialized Arcane energy barriers of medium to low level and even cause serious damage to more refined barriers. And, primarily, to reduce a human body to nothing. Everything there was going down.
The men soon noticed the danger of imminent death, the danger of someone who sees no value in life, thus seeing no value in his own.
— DAMN IT!!! THIS GUY IS INSANE!!!!
— DON'T STAY PUT!!!!
— SHOOT HIM!!!!
Igyris, in response, chuckled, revealing his liking for it, his liking for the sensation of inflicting those feelings.
— HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! THAT'S IT, THAT'S IT, GUYS!!! COME ON, YOU CAN SCREAM LOUDER ON OUR RIDE TO HELL!!!!
Pure and uncontrolled chaos, through laughter and fear. But, before any rifle could shoot, or before any grenade could explode:
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Suddenly—a violent explosion spread throughout the factory. A brutal tremor, followed by a small earthquake localized throughout that place. Flames roared, spreading like fireworks. The impact, shock waves, and flames from the explosion violently threw everyone there into the debris that didn't stop spreading. The grenade slipped from Igyris' hands, being thrown away, thus detonating near a structure, spreading debris and bringing down an entire segment of the factory.
Hell kept getting worse.
— Haha... HAAAAHAAHAAHAAHAHHA. COME ON, THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!!!!!!
Igyris quickly stood up abruptly from the debris, emerging into the chaos. He threw his arms back.
Track!!! Track!!!.
He unlocked the weapons and revealed them. Two plasma Uzis—Uzi-Xc7s—automatic weapons of extreme precision, and with explosive ammunition. He plunged into a shootout. Soon the ammunition began to rain, from one side to the other.
—"Oh yes... violence... Something beyond conviction or ideals. Faced with my lack of value and disregard for life and my peers. Face to face, with my emptiness, staring at it in the mirror. Something always shone in my eyes when I woke up, that's why my former partners saw me as a sure asset, even if they didn't find me funny, which saddens me, right? Haha... I wonder... how can I not love something that is so natural to me? Without any trace of humanity I see myself, only my huge will and talent for comedy. And... except for something very important... HOW CAN I NOT LOVE VIOLENCE????."
— I... I kept the knife...
That nonsensical phrase escaped Igyris' mouth, his mind totally taken by thoughts. That shower of information and sensations in his brain made him remember his dreams.
"The white-haired girl" she saw... him putting away the knife... that sensation embraced him again... so familiar. Violence. It was the most familiar thing he had... the white-haired girl from his dreams. The knife that came to his mind. She saw him use it and said nothing... and again that phrase: "Destroy the World." It had never made so much sense.
"Yes... you are really funny >^_=>@. Man, may this last forever."
— Haha... yeah.. I understood. Hahaha...
hahah... Do you find me funny now????.
Then—something changed. He had understood something.
— Yes.. hahaha... this is my purest essence. I-I found it...
He put away the weapons. A horrible smell rose in the air. The air was heavy, breathing became suffocating... as if life was being extracted, stolen by something unnatural.
— Haha... HAHAHAHAHA!!!! MANA!!!! I REMEMBERED YOUR NAME. HAHAHA!!!! YOU MADE ME UNDERSTAND, YES!!! IT MAKES SENSE!!!!!!!!.
Something awakened. Something rotten, deep in his heart. The air around him distorted, the space became almost uninhabitable. Terror emanated, the men present there choked. They saw something demonic forming in front of them, the peak of terror.
— But what... but what the hell is that....
— Ugh... damn it, I'm going to throw up... this feeling... ugh... this smell...
— My God... his skin is... melting...
The ancient and absolute fear. At that moment, Igyris had finally understood what he felt at that moment. And his emptiness was filled with something much worse.
— I FINALLY!!!!!! HAHAAHAAHA!!!! I KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO NOW!!!!!!! COMEDY AND.... HAHAAHAJ!!! I WANT TO DESTROY THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!.
And then, without warning, a scream cut the air.
— ARRRRRGHHH!!!!!!!!!
Immediately afterwards, Igyris' body cracked, glowing fissures and craters revealed on his skin. The fissures seemed to spout fire. Greenish... like solar flares.
Crack!!! Crack!!!
His skin cracked even more.
— My God... what is this...
The Plague. An explosion of green flames swallowed everything, spreading like a tornado of terror.
— UGHHH, WHAT IS THIS????
TERROR. TERROR. TERROR!!!!!!.
Terror was served on large plates. When the flames quickly dissipated, a horrendous figure was revealed. His flesh melted, revealing thick bones, as if they were muscles, a demonic shape, nothing human, nothing natural. A distorted voice whispered to itself.
— De-destroy... the world...
FEAR. FEAR. FEAR!!!!!!.
"How about >^_=>@? It's a cool name, right?."
— The white-haired girl said that... that I was funny... she had already seen... two things...
A scream tore the atmosphere.
— ARRRRREGHHH!!!!!.
Dry, ripped, there stood the accursed. Igyris.
He burned, the cursed Green Flame, which rotted everything it touched. Just like him.
A dark aura emanated from his body, devouring all life around. Any trace of Arcane energy in the atmosphere was disintegrated, devoured by the Green Flames. The energy of chaos and misfortune that rotted everything it touched. And so it was with Arcana, the living energy that exists in space and in living beings was decomposed until nothing remained.
— Ughhhh.... ughh... it... DOESN'T BURN!!!!.
Another scream came from the accursed Igyris, and so the Green Flames spread once more, creating a whirlpool around that demonic figure.
— Oh my God, what is this...
One of the men trembled non-stop, the aim of his rifle couldn't stay steady. Absolute fear dominated him.
— Jackers!!! Damn it!!! Pay attention!!! I don't know what this crap is, but it's not Arcana!!! This guy, it's as if he's already dead. I feel like life is being drained. This goes against everything Arcana is!!! It's totally unnatural!!!!!!.
His eyes dried, it was hard to even swallow his own saliva.
— Si-sir... ugh... thi-this, this tornado is not dissipating...
One of the youngest soldiers said as he walked forward towards the tornado of green flames that swallowed Igyris.
— Ma-maybe, that guy was swallowed and died. You saw it, right? The smell he was exhaling? His skin was melting, he might already be dead...
Everyone was uneasy.
Then, suddenly, the tornado of green flames dissipated.
A scream. A warning.
— JOCK!!!! GET OUT OF THERE, DAMN IT!!!!!!.
Too late. The tornado completely dissipated. And like a shadow.
VUSH!!!!.
A deformed Igyris, who burned with various fissures on his body, similar to cracks. And with half of his face shattered like ceramic, revealing a demonic skull, with horns and sharp teeth. While the "normal" part had several cracks.
He, in a flash of seconds, moved like a fast and cunning demon. His glazed eyes, fixed on the young soldier's eyes, whose mouth and jaw were grabbed by Igyris' right hand, which squeezed him and lifted him off the ground.
The young soldier thrashed, taken by terror, struggling to break free, consumed by such deep fear. He didn't understand that thing in front of him. He couldn't scream, because Igyris was squeezing his jaw with inhuman strength. And from his eyes, tears that ran non-stop, while lifted in the air.
— DAMN IT!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?!??!? SHOOT!!!!.
All the men opened fire. Even with their colleague in Igyris' hands, they didn't worry. Truly, there was no good or evil side. Only a gray. Which was being stained by an uncommon demon, right there before everyone.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!.
They fired non-stop. The smoke from the shots lowered. But something seized them in terror. In front of them, Igyris and that soldier, intact. No shot touched them. And then, an infernal voice sounded. Like a prelude to the end.
"A black heart sinking deeper and deeper. Into the purest and densest darkness."
— I wonder if this "humanity" was something I lost along with my memories. But no... I have the confusing certainty that I've always been like this... Tell me... do you find me funny now???.
"Hah hah... Come on, idiot? Don't you want to do anything when you get out of here? They would really like you out there, I already told you, you're funny!!!."
— Hahah... yes, I do... hahah... HAHA... HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! NOW I REALLY DO!!! I HAVE ENOUGH FIRE TO BURN THIS WHOLE WORLD!!! And when I get out, everyone will laugh!!!! JUST LIKE SHE SAID!!!!!! IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE!!!!!!!!!!.
He lost himself in delusions of forgotten memories and that single moment.
FLUUUSHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!.
The flames flowed like bursts with such an incandescent glow that it swallowed everyone's vision.
And when the glow diminished, the most horrible scene their eyes could capture. That soldier, previously trapped, reduced to a black and rotten mass. It stank non-stop. It flowed like melted slime, unrecognizable. He had not been burned, the life from his body was totally sucked out. And before life left his eyes, he rotted and withered to death.
Igyris' nature was bizarre, without a doubt.
An empty heart, without conviction or determination. Without any value for life, or for himself. But, perhaps it was understandable, someone without identity or any sense of humanity or right and wrong. He knew the concepts, but didn't comprehend them. Perhaps it was similar to a child who doesn't understand the world. But, those powers that coursed through his body, that bizarre energy whose origin he had no idea of, that was totally and unmistakably evil.
— M-my... what are... you?....
There was no escape now.
Igyris, wrapped in the flames and that black slime that was once a person, stared at the soldier who had asked that question. Clearly altered by that malignant power coursing through his body. His mind was visibly in another state. He was not the same Igyris from a short time ago. And, realizing his mental state, he stared the man in the eyes and replied:
— I don't know.
"Sometimes I feel my heart taken over by evil. Sometimes... truly, others' values are not mine. Because I have no values. My mind is taken over by this, an empty space with nothing. I really don't know myself, or have anything. And, at this moment, the few things that brought me a certain peace, are no longer with me. I really wanted to make them laugh, everyone. Laughter reminds me of something familiar that comforts me... that no longer exists. Just a reminder. That, at this moment, this empty space, is taken over by violence."
A demon awakened.