As the head of the leader, Voidborne fell to the ground. I sat on the ground and began to meditate. Or at least I tried to...
[YOU HAVE GAINED 40000 EXP FOR KILLING 4 HIGHER VOIDBORNES]
[EXP REMAINING UNTIL LEVEL UP: 60000]
"That's good, I suppose", I thought out loud, sitting in a lotus position.
"But it's just a question until the next Voidbornes come... I'm sure the Voidfather is aware of their deaths. This won't be easy", I said to no one in particular, tending to my wounds.
The wound on the arm had already healed, so I didn't have to worry about that, but the wound on my abdomen was another story.
It hadn't even begun to heal, and I had to continue holding it if I didn't want any more blood or intestine to flow out.
"I can't believe Lucan lost. His skill [Jack of All Trades] was overpowered. Who killed him? I can't remember any Higher Voidborne being stronger than Lucan. It could've been the Voidfather, but I doubt it. Maybe multiple Higher Voidbornes ganged up on him?
But then Alice and the rest would've taken care of them. Can't underrate them.", I said, chuckling emptily.
"Alas, my previous mistake doesn't matter now, not if I want to make a bigger one."
I began to stand up and slowly felt my dizziness fading away. Mildly surprised, I looked at the wound and saw it beginning to close.
"I don't regret levelling Endurance to S, do I now? I mean, Devour is doing its job too", I said, thinking about the description of my Mana Breathing Technique.
[Devour] [SSS]
Gained by clearing the Dungeon [Temple of the Most Ancient]. Your Mana Core actively devours all Mana near it. This leads to maximum efficiency in regenerating Mana. Moreover, it also consumes some Life Force, allowing you to heal much faster.
In my second year at the academy, the spell of a professor miraculously misfired and honed in on me, teleporting me to a strange archipelago like I've never seen before. I had no clue where it was, and I still hadn't, even after all this time.
There, powerful beasts were roaming all over the place. Beasts I could easily beat now, but then I was a mere B-rank, and they were between A+ and S-rank.
I stood no chance against them, and I had to flee as fast as possible. I ran into a cave while running away from a giant tortoise. Stumbling into the cave, I accidentally set off a pressure plate.
This pressure plate activated an arrow shooter, which hit me right in the shoulder. I tumbled and fell on the ground hard.
That wasn't all, though, as the arrow tip had been poisoned. Soon, I fell unconscious.
When I awoke, I found myself in a dungeon. I couldn't believe it at first. Dungeons were incredibly rare and worth more than entire nations. I soon appraised the dungeon and was shocked by what I saw.
[Temple of the Most Ancient] [SSS]
Something has led you here. Will you disappoint it?
I had never seen such an enigmatic appraisal result before. I do no]t remember clearing the dungeon; just thinking about it gives me a strong headache. But somehow, I did.
All I remember is suddenly waking up in the cave again with no wounds, a new Mana Breathing Technique, and knowledge about something that was called "The Absolute Evil".
Using [Linguist's Gift], I could read every written and spoken language, so I could read some of the murals of the Dungeon.
The Temple was the holy place of an ancient civilization, dating back maybe 4000 years, and I learned of its pantheon, 13 immortal, all-powerful beings, each connected to a special element.
Curiously, they had no System; instead, they were free in their pursuits of magic.
Every archeologist would kill for this information. Or theologist, for that matter.
But somehow, I had this gut feeling that I shouldn't release any of this information.
After stepping out of the cave, I realized only very little time had passed. The tortoise was waiting outside the cave, seemingly looking bored. Instantly, I sought refuge in the cave once again. Yet this time, there was no pressure plate.
Luckily, I only had to wait for two days before the principal, adept in spatial magic, was able to open up a portal for me to return to the academy.
After that, everything soon turned back to normal.
"Oh, c'mon, get a grip, Malric.", I said, slapping myself.
I was in grave danger. It was only a matter of time until an army of Voidborne showed up.
"Why does it feel like my entire life is flashing before my eyes?" I asked, frowning.
I checked my wound again, and it had completely healed.
It was time to go. I walked to the hole in the wall and looked outside.
I saw the royal capital in flames. No building was untouched. I saw bodies lying on the street, terrified expressions on their faces.
I heard no blades clashing, no spells being cast, just absolute, eerie silence.
I was sure no one had survived.
"I'm the only one left, aren't I?", I said with a complicated expression.
I did all of them wrong, immensely so. They hated me.
And I deserved it. But now that all of them were gone, I couldn't bring myself to accept their deaths.
I thought I was prepared to accept it when I was with the Void, and maybe I was.
I only knew one thing: at the moment, I wasn't.
"Ah fuck.", I exclaimed, getting dizzy again.
The destruction toppled everything I could've imagined. Looking down at the rest of the prison spire, I saw it with more holes than a fine cheese and blood running along the side of it.
"They must've killed all the other prisoners. Not that they could've helped."
I jumped down the prison spire and nullified my fall with Void Magic. As I expanded my vision using Shadow Magic, I saw a horde of Followers coming towards me.
There were at least 500, each at about B-rank. I could see the insanity in their hollow eyes.
"So he did it. They are all infected with the Voidcurse.", I said, scowling. My [Voidsight] allowed me to see the miasma that their bodies gave off.
"They won't be humans much longer. They'll probably become some lower Voidbornes, and the less talented ones Void beasts."
I knew of the existence of the Voidcurse from exploration of some ancient ruins. The Voidfather had created it to create underlings. The Voidcurse affected humans and slowly turned them into Voidbornes or Void beasts.
The followers, on the other hand, were humans who followed the Voidbornes. Little did they know they would lose their humanity.
Even I, the Saint of the Followers, was never told of it, yet I somehow had the feeling the Voidfather knew I knew.
The Voidfather was an enigma, even to me, even to the higher Voidbornes whom I spoke to. Only a few of the Higher Voidbornes can meet him. The lower ones never get to see him, never mind the followers.
He only communicated using his most loyal followers, and even that was rare. I, myself, rarely got orders from him.
"Back to the task at hand", I said, looking at the horde, which was now only about 200 meters away from me. I knew I had no choice but to kill them.
I cast out a spell from [Supreme Void Magic] called Voidwave. It was the same spell the Higher Voidborne from before had used against me. Although it wasn't of the Supreme-grade, it was enough to end the miserable lives before me.
Instantly, a pitch black wave began to fly towards the Followers. It wasn't particularly fast, but it was somehow still difficult to follow, as if your eyes didn't want to see it and tried to hide it.
As soon as the wave reached the crowd, the slaughter started. The followers stood no chance, not even getting the chance to scream. Their bodies were eviscerated as soon as they touched them.
Some of the smarter ones tried to dodge the wave by bending down, but the bodies of the other Followers fell on them, crushing them.
"Luckily, they aren't Voidbornes just yet, otherwise Voidwave wouldn't have done anything."
Just as the last ones were killed, one of the Followers' eyes locked onto me, staring at me with such an intense gaze that I could feel it from so far away.
Instantly, I looked him in the eyes and he began to grin unnaturally, as if his facial muscles were being forced to smile.
I instantly realized what that meant: he was becoming a Voidborne.
"Shit! He's surrounded by so much Void Force, it probably nurtured the Voidcurse. With so much energy around him, I wouldn't be surprised if he became a Higher Voidborne. Maybe even one as strong as the leader from before.
Instantly, I began rushing at him, summoning my Shadow Daggers.