Free Web NovelChapter 81: You will die.
"Nothing in this world is absolute, young man. There are always exceptions to the rules." The heart demon said gleefully.
Alaric scratched his chin a little. "I see. What an enlightening statement: ’Nothing is absolute’. Does that mean that normally, your kind would not be allowed to do such a thing, or is it a matter of ability? Will there be any punishment for your action?"
’Hundao’s’ smile cracked a little, causing his lips to twitch awkwardly, "This is why I hate your kind. No matter how unwise or ignorant you can be at times, you still manage to figure some things out. How hateful." He said with clear resentment in his tone.
"You really love to act mysterious, don’t you? You keep talking about my kind, but you’re not shedding any light on the subject. I’m starting to get really bored with this interaction." Alaric said unhurriedly.
"You don’t seem to hold any fear within you," Hundao said, as the malice within him rose a notch.
"Fear you? You have not shown anything that could make me feel such emotions; besides, why would I fear someone clearly lesser than me?"
The heart demon’s anger flared even more, but he decided against acting now. He would make sure this young man named Alaric suffered a fate worse than death. He would make him watch as he kills that dark elf he calls companion, he will destroy everything he has built, and then, when he reaches his final point of breaking, kill him in the most brutal way possible.
He chuckled a little. "Do you think it is wise to provoke me right now?"
Alaric thought for a moment before replying, "I’m sorry if that statement offended you, but I thought that, as a heart demon, you would be more appreciative of the truth." He said innocently.
"You stupid brat..."
"Enough." Alaric’s voice turned serious, echoing into the forest, causing silence to envelop the area. "What would it take for you to leave that body?"
"Your head." ’Hundao,’ blurted out instinctively, before chuckling, "There is no need to negotiate with me; we are certainly not equal. Besides, if I leave this body, it will only become an empty shell; this body’s soul has already been crushed by me." He let out a malicious grin wider than the previous one.
Alaric’s eyes widened for a moment, losing whatever composure he had been maintaining till now. He felt his heart rate increase exponentially, causing him to feel an emotion that overwhelmed his senses.
"How truly unfortunate. You thought you had a chance at saving him, but there was none to begin with." He said in a mocking tone. "Are you starting to feel it? The despair of losing someone close to you." He laughed loudly like a clown, finally seeing a reaction from his audience after hours of performance. "I can smell it around you, that stench, that despair. So sweet, it’s almost disgusting."
"Why?" Alaric’s cracked voice finally left his throat. It was a voice that had never left him before. "Why did you do it. There was no need; I am sure of it."
Alaric felt surprisingly calm while talking to the being that had taken over Hundao’s body. In this world, possession was not a rare or terrifying event; it was something that happened so often that people had almost gotten used to it. Someone could go to sleep as themselves and wake up as someone, or something, completely different. But usually, after the possessing entity was expelled, the original person would return. Most of the time, they came back unchanged, as if nothing had happened. If they were unlucky, they might have a few minor changes or deformities, but their core self would still be there.
"For my plan, I didn’t want anything to go wrong; I would not tolerate any mishap nor would I allow his soul to taint mine, so I broke the rules and shattered it." The heart demon’s voice took a darker tone. "How weak he truly was made things easier for me."
What most people didn’t realize was that there were strict rules about possession. For example, when taking over someone’s body, the being doing the possessing was not supposed to harm the original person’s soul. They could seal the soul away or move it into a different vessel before doing anything drastic, but outright destroying it was forbidden. However, the force that enforced these rules, Heavenly Dao, was losing its power in this realm. So, the heart demon took the risk and shattered Hundao’s soul while it was still trapped. Since he hadn’t been punished yet, it seemed his gamble had worked, at least for now.
"Could I have stopped it from happening?" Alaric asked in a mellow voice. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
"Yes, you could have." The heart demon’s grin widened slightly. Honestly, the answer was: NO. Immediately he had a hold of the body; he shattered the weak soul within it, but he wouldn’t tell Alaric that because he wanted him to feel despair.
Alaric spoke softly, almost to himself. "What kind of pain or hardship did he go through that made you so interested in him?" He looked down at his own hand, lost in thought. Alaric remembered how Hundao was always a bit shy and constantly looked for approval from others. He realized now that there must have been more to Hundao’s story than he’d ever guessed. Guilt weighed on him; he felt that, as the leader, he should have noticed something was wrong and done more to help. The responsibility for what happened to Hundao was partly his to bear.
The heart demon laughed, his voice echoing with a dark sort of wisdom. "You know, the heaviest thing a child can carry is the weight of their parents’ dreams left unfulfilled. People don’t grow bitter just because life is hard. They become bitter because somewhere along the way, they gave up on who they could have been. A man who never reached his own potential starts to resent others who try to succeed where he failed.
A woman who hides her true self and chooses to just fit in eventually gets angry at people who live freely. As time goes on, all the things they could have done turn into jealousy, criticism, and sadness. Deep down, everyone knows when they’re not living the life they really want, and that knowledge eats away at them.
"Hundao’s father was a perfect example of this. He never found a way to deal with his own mistakes and disappointments. Instead, he took all those feelings and put them on Hundao. As a result, Hundao grew up always feeling like he wasn’t good enough and constantly compared himself to others." The heart demon painted a picture of Hundao’s tough life in Narakar City, hoping to make Alaric feel even worse.
"That way of growing up made Hundao carry a lot of guilt. He pushed himself to train harder, mostly because he felt like he needed to punish himself for not living up to expectations. But when he turned 14, something finally changed inside him, and he improved a lot. Still, he kept the same old mindset until he met you and the elf girl.
"For the first time, Hundao trained because he actually wanted to improve, not because he felt pressured or guilty. He slowly started to let go of his past and the things that weighed him down. But these changes were mostly happening in the background; he didn’t even notice them himself. In the end, he just wasn’t strong enough to break free from all his old problems.
"So it was because of his father that he developed some of those characteristics. Is he still alive?" Alaric asked, anger clearly present in his voice.
"As far as I know, he should be alive." The heart demon shrugged slightly. "If you truly desire to see the boy again, you could just become strong enough to revive him, if he isn’t already reincarnated by then."
The demon smiled mischievously. He wasn’t so kind as to give this information for free. He was just making sure that, in case Alaric managed to survive this situation, he would develop an obsession with reviving Hundao, which would ultimately lead to his downfall.
"So it’s possible to revive people...?" Alaric couldn’t help but think back to Kong, his childhood companion.
"Yes."
Alaric took a deep breath, calming his anger, "For one who seems to pride himself on being wise, you sure do stupid things. You claim you are wise, yet you stand before me in the body of my friend. Is that really wisdom?"
The heart demon thought he had misheard and wanted to laugh it off until he looked into Alaric’s calm, deep purple eyes watching his whole being. This caused a shiver to run down his spine.
’What was that?’ The demon thought, ’It can’t be anything serious.’ fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"I will have you know that I am a very ancient being with countless years of experience. |Even if you managed to win a battle with me, you still can’t kill me, for I am immortal."
"Your age must have dulled your senses from your vast experience. Your wisdom is nothing in the grand scheme of things." Alaric shook his head slowly, His swirling purple eyes not leaving his friend’s body, "I have come across a being that was claimed to be immortal and killed it; you will not be any different. Today..."
"You will die today."
