2024-10-30 19:17:4211 A monster stood gallantly, its back turned to an open gate a few meters away. It looked like it was playing "eeny meeny miny moe" to decide which of the two humans before it would taste better.
One of the humans, Neo actually, was struck by an epiphany in the middle of impending danger. -How timely- He had finally realized the reason for their weakness and lethargy. Since the vaccine's effect was waning, the virus was trying to take over their consciousness. He already had quite a similar experience during his test for allegiance trial so he was quite sure of the feeling. But it was of no use anyway; they were a few seconds away from being monster dessert. Speaking of vaccines, Neo had one of them stashed away in his pocket at the moment. At that moment, Neo suddenly had a crazy idea. What if he took it to suppress the virus, making Beauty—the most virus-infected—between them? The caution only said he might die; it didn't say it wouldn't work, so it was a fifty percent chance, the kind he had been used to recently. Since the monster didn't show any signs of genuine sapience, he had to outsmart it one way or the other. "Well, here goes nothing," Neo thought, reaching for the vaccine. The monster stared at Neo taking something from his pocket and drinking it in one go. It felt bitter to the taste. "Is that even how I'm supposed to take the vaccine?" Neo thought. "Who cares, as long as the medicine gets inside me," Neo thought again, shrugging. Suddenly, Neo felt something burning inside him. He felt like there was a shredder inside him; hot blood filled with viscera flowed down from the side of his lips onto his clothes, but the medicine somehow seemed to be working, or was it the pain? Neo didn't really know, but even in the face of death, he regained his strength back. It felt so good, and hell painful! The monster tore its gaze from Neo and went after Beauty. The elusive Beauty was too slow to dodge; in the face of the monster's speed, she was slower than a snail so she couldn't avoid the inevitable. Neo stared at the gate in front of him. There was nothing preventing him from reaching the long sought salvation; it felt too… unreal. Neo quickly put himself together. There was no time to contemplate the gate's reality; nothing was real in that world anyway, more so, his life was on a timer. Neo raced towards the door, but he was just too late. The scrawny figure of Beauty didn't bid him as much time as he anticipated; it took the monster a few seconds to decimate her. Neo's eyes widened as he saw the gate closing up a few meters away from him, and the monster breathing down his neck right behind him. The monster opened its maw to harvest Neo's head off his body, but Neo slipped and fell, escaping the monster's maw for a moment. But he wasn't out of the woods yet; the monster was in the air about to land on Neo and tear him apart, but fortunately that moment never came. The heavy alloy gate closed in on the monster's head like a guillotine, cutting it off in one fell swoop. The head rolled beside Neo, its maw still wide open. Neo shuddered. He didn't even realize he was out of the gate already. His heart was pounding as if it wanted to escape his ribs. Neo turned around to run, but suddenly a blinding light erupted from within the DCC, vaporizing bones and metal alike. Neo wasn't spared either. Only the heat emanating from the DCC was vaporizing his body so fast that it was painless! But before Neo could vaporize completely, the world suddenly became dark. Neo didn't think he would be so happy to be back in that thick manifestation of darkness, but there he was, reeling in joy. His presence there meant he did the impossible. He passed the allegiance trial! "Or what if I failed!" Neo thought. It's not as if he knew what happened to those who failed anyway. Moreover, the last thing he remembered was him vaporizing from the impact of a nuclear explosion. Once again he was back with his old pal, "fifty percent chance." As if answering his questions, the voice of the Reaper, mighty and ancient, echoed in his consciousness. "Well done, dear reapling, you have succeeded." Neo was beside himself with joy. If he wasn't floating in a cloud of darkness, he would have jumped up a few times. The fact that he had graduated from foolish mortal to dear reapling made him happier. "Take that, shitface!!" The voice sounded again. "Compiling feats!!" And then, a wave of energy entered his mind, but this time he still had his consciousness to himself. The wave of energy moved through his mind, making Neo feel as if he was recalling the whole thing vividly. Neo frowned, noticing so many anomalies in his experience in that illusory world, things he should have thought about, or rather things he wasn't allowed to think about. A good example is the fact that he didn't know if he was still in his own body or he was transported to another body. It was part of his consciousness was locked away. Also, why would Reaper prepare some weird sci-fi setting for him when there was no such thing as that in his memory except for his few years in the junior academy? "Probably he was trying to make things really hard for me. Who knew what went on in the head of an elusive demon anyway?" Neo thought, choosing to let go of that anomaly. The funniest part of the whole allegiance trial was that he never really found out who or what the threat was. For all he knew, it could have been the monster, Beauty, something or someone he never even had the chance to meet, or even the whole DCC itself. But since he was out of the crazy illusory world, he couldn't care any less. All that was in his mind was the benefit he would receive for passing Reaper's test. The wave of energy finally left his mind, giving way to the words Neo's ears had been itching for. "Dear reapling, you have done wonderfully well." [You have received a spectre] [You have unlocked Reaper's gifts] "You are on your way to the afterlife." "Ahh, finally. Maybe… just maybe my plans would finally come to pass," Neo thought, bracing himself for the future. End of pre-Volume: ALLEGIANCE TRAIL
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CHAPTER 45
"Crap!"Neo cursed, the word a tight knot in his throat. He ground his teeth together, channeling the last vestige of momentum from his swing, forcing himself forward. willow vine and the Bone of Contention were already plunging into the abyss below. Neo released his grip on the vine; he could summon his spectres back, but not himself from a potentially fatal fall. Spectres were expendable, but a half-insane Neo was not.The last surge of inertia flung him ten meters past below chasm's edge. Knowing the brutal impact was imminent, Neo summoned twin blades, driving them deep into the rock face. The swords bit, arresting his descent just short of a bone-shattering collision, Neo stared at the abyss below and smiled. "Not as bad as I thought ehh?"He dismissed his falling specters and began to climb, using his swords as improvised knives, hauling himself upwards inch by agonizing inch.Finally, he crested the rim of the chasm, emerging into the oppressive silence. Beads of sweat slick
CHAPTER 44
After staring at Neo for a few fleeting seconds, Blob averted its gaze back to the ice above. It seemed to wrestle with some inner turmoil. The sun was rising, its light filtering through the ice, and a cold sweat traced Neo's spine despite the chill. It wasn't fear he felt, but anxiety. He had never faced a creature of such power before. Yet, if push came to shove, he was prepared to stand his ground and go toe to toe with the creature, even if victory was uncertain. At the very least, Blob would not emerge unscathed."Blood for blood; that's the afterlife currency."Blob finally appeared to reach a decision, meandering toward the distant chasm and disappearing within. Neo finally took a breath and felt a weight lift off of him.He was still reluctant to move, though, lacking a concrete plan of action. Neo began to mentally retrace his steps, sinking into deep introspection. But something quickly disrupted his thoughts. Emerging from the chasm in droves were familiar figures, crawl
CHAPTER 43
Neo's vision and breath were momentarily stolen; the water muffled his hearing as the world spun around him. Then—Bam!!!He slammed against the floor, a jarring thud echoing in the cavern. A groan escaped his lips as he tried to roll over, but his entire body ached. To make matters worse, water continued to cascade onto his face. With considerable effort, Neo finally managed to roll out of the waterfall's path and stand, finally taking in his surroundings. The air hung heavy and still, a damp blanket pressing against his skin. An earthy scent permeated the space, a blend of wet stone and a peculiar, almost fungal, scent of antiquity. Above, a vast expanse of azure ice covered nearly everything, its light almost divine. This celestial radiance was punctuated by shadows lurking in the distance, where the light couldn't penetrate. A wide chasm, seemingly devoid of light, divided the two sections of the cavern. This was no ordinary cave; it was a subterranean chamber, a colossal cathed
CHAPTER 42
Neo sat in a meditative pose within a cave, positioned several meters above the lake on the far side of the valley. The lake's waters silently lapped at the mountain's base as Neo stared blankly into the distance, seemingly indifferent to the leviathans battling far below. In truth, he couldn't see them at all; his consciousness resided in a different realm entirely.Neo’s feet dragged along the dark, charred sand. The silent breeze of his soul nipped at his skin. Around him stretched an expanse of the same strange, silent sea of dark sand, with a thick mist billowing in the distance. The only source of light was a pristine orb looming above. Though obscured by the heavy veil of mist, Neo could still discern its form.He had been mistaken all these years. The pristine orb was the soul core, the light that illuminated his inner being. He himself was within his own soul. The meaning of the billowing cloud of mist, however, remained a mystery.In the center of the dark desert lay an oasi
CHAPTER 41
A sharp, rhythmic, metallic clang dominated the valley of endless battles, a sound interwoven with the distant echoes of death and destruction from the ongoing bloodshed. A young man relentlessly hammered a large, crystalline-looking mallet against a jagged ledge below his feet. Its head, twice the size of his own, moved with surprising ease as he struck at the base of a jagged ledge near the ground. He stood upon this very ledge, working to separate it from the mountainside. Each powerful blow sent tremors through the stone beneath his feet, sparks erupting as the mallet connected, sending shards of rock flying. This was Neo, and he was far different from what he used to be. Neo’s body, once frail, was now honed and athletic. Sweat glistened on his bare chest, the muscles coiling around his chiseled form. His upper body was exposed and dirt-streaked, while below, his lower body was covered by Azure, a material that had folded itself into makeshift shorts for him. With a final
CHAPTER 40
Neo gritted his teeth, fighting to anchor his teetering consciousness. This was, invariably, the moment he loathed most: the agonizing wait, eyes closed, as the mental assault from the stronger killing intents ebbed away. Yet, on this day, he forced his eyelids open, compelled by a suspicion that had gnawed at him since he first discovered the ice barrier. With strained eyes and sheer willpower, Neo managed to pry his vision open, just as the lake's water level began to plummet drastically. Then, a grotesque, blob-like mass began to swell from within, its size expanding exponentially. Simultaneously, another massive creature, eerily reminiscent of a lion save for its deep obsidian skin and tenebrous steel wire-like veins coiling throughout its body, descended. Its enormous wingspan towered over the battlefield, an omen of death. Its mane was a thick cloud of dark mist, obscuring the evil that lurked in the depths of its eyes, and where a tail should have been, an enormous stinger, wi
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