Turning Point

Gifts are mysterious.

They could be as simple as having the ability to strengthen one's body.

However, at the same time, they could be as complex as having the ability to read one's future.

At the moment the boy was able to awaken mana naturally, he also awakened a gift.

[Soul Reading]

It was the gift he had awakened.

And at the instant the boy's eyes met that pair of blood-red eyes, he was able to see a surge of memory.

It was like a river of flowing light.

And there, the boy saw a panoramic film of someone's life.

Seeing the blood-red eyes of the person in the images, the boy understood everything about his mother's killer who looked to be not that much older from him.

The boy was able to read the killer's soul.

Regis's eyes widened at what he saw.

He saw the boy smiling.

"You're really a good person, Brother Regis."

In that short amount of time, Regis concluded that there must have been something about the boy's gift that enabled him to know his name.

After all, a Diamond-grade Gift could be described as heaven-defying.

Therefore, Regis calmed down a little bit.

However, what he couldn't point out was the words that the boy kept saying.

'Me? A good person?'

Regis almost laughed.

He knew what he had done in order to be able to live to this day.

And it was, for sure, not something he was proud of.

Sizzle—!!!!

"You're running out of time, Brother Regis."

The boy spoke.

This time, his eyes weren't filled with sorrow for the death of his mother, nor hatred for the killer who took away his mother's life.

Instead, it was filled with peace.

A pair of blood-red eyes that was filled with emptiness met the boy's peaceful eyes.

"I don't care. I don't want to live like this anymore."

"No, you still have something to do."

"I've killed countle–"

Sizzle— Wungggg—!!!

The light of the tattoo became brighter.

The boy smiled, "My mother's name is Nova. And my name is Cyrus."

"W-What?" Regis became confused at the boy's words.

However, the boy, Cyrus, did not explain any further.

Instead, he slowly walked towards Regis.

"I know that I'm an exception amongst the other humans. I know that I may have a bright future ahead of me."

Cyrus was aware of his predicament.

He was quite smart, after all.

It was something that his mother always boasted towards others.

It was one of the reasons why his mother was proud of him.

He looked at Regis and said as a tear fell from his eye, "But I don't want any of that."

"All I want is to be with my mother."

"Please don't give up. And please don't ever forget my mother and I."

Shikkkkk—

Regis wasn't able to react as he watched Cyrus suddenly impaling his neck with the dagger in the former's hands.

A short moment passed by, Regis still wasn't able to make sense of what had transpired.

However, the boy's words ignited something within his heart.

Sizzle!!!!!!!

Wungggggg!!!!!

The heat and pain he was feeling on his right hand snapped him out of his daze.

Therefore, Regis did not waste any more time.

He knew what he had to do.

As the boy said…

'I mustn't give up…!'

A spark of hope was ignited in the depths of emptiness.

The image of a girl with shell-pink hair and pale-pink eyes was vividly manifested in his mind.

Therefore, with determined eyes, Regis placed his hand on the boy's corpse.

[Indiscriminate Absorption]

Shroooo—

The familiar sight of the corpse turning to black gas before being absorbed in his palm was presented before Regis's eyes.

What followed after was again a familiar sensation of strength.

The demonic power in his body rejoiced as it was once again fed with the life force of an innocent life.

However, Regis's eyes suddenly widened.

He could sense a strange foreign energy that was being absorbed among the life force.

'Wait…!'

There was one thing he missed.

And that was the fact that Cyrus awakened mana.

It was common sense for everyone living in this world that as a being only had one heart, they could only pursue a single path.

There was also the warning of the demonic human leader to be careful not to absorb anyone with even a strand of energy in their body.

After all, Indiscriminate Absorption was an evil craft which couldn't differentiate what was harmful and what was not.

It was powerful since it could absorb 100% of a corpse in order to nurture demonic power, but it was a double edged sword.

Nevertheless, Regis did not have any means to stop the mana from coursing through his body.

'Shit… is this how I die!?'

It did not take long before he could feel something reaching his heart and coming into contact with the demonic power within.

Boom—

Regis could hear the sound of an explosion in his heart as he suddenly collapsed on the ground.

His body convulsed non-stop.

He remembered the pain when he first awakened demonic power.

It was like that.

The only difference was that it was multiplied by three.

Regis felt as if there was molten lava in his body.

He could feel the muscles, bones, tissues, nerves, and every part of his body twist as the mana and demonic power fought for dominance.

Not being able to take the severe pain anymore, Regis directly lost consciousness.

Fortunately, no one was present in the area.

There was only a boy laying on the ground, surrounded by the ruined houses and the flames of massacre.

There were occasional screams of innocent villagers.

However, as time passed by, the interval between the screams became longer.

Since no one was in the area, no one saw the golden phenomenon that manifested on Regis's body.

The golden luster surrounded his body for a couple of minutes before disappearing.

This was the turning point for Regis…

***

"Haha…"

'It's not even funny anymore.'

Doron could only laugh awkwardly as he saw the little girl swinging the sword in her hands.

However, her talent was something that Doron did not expect.

When he thought that he had seen the limit of her talent, she would go on and surpass his expectations.

This happened repeatedly to the point that it doesn't surprise him anymore.