Ch. 17 Arrival and Rage

The inner borders of the ravaged battlefield shimmered into view as a carriage, moving at what appeared to be its full, desperate speed, finally arrived. The coachman, with a practiced tug of the reins, brought the beasts to an abrupt halt, their hooves digging into the dust-laden ground with a slight drag, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

The coachman turned his head, his gaze meeting Ray's. "Gentleman, you have arrived at your destination. Now, if you please..."

"Oh! Okay, okay, thank you for this!" Ray exclaimed, scrambling out of the carriage.

"I will never forget this favor of yours! For this, you can ask anything of me, within my means, as I said!"

"Gentleman, you don't have to give me anything," the coachman replied, a weary sigh escaping him. "Just let me get out of this hell!"

"You have done so much for me," Ray insisted, a genuine sincerity in his voice. "Don't call me 'gentleman' repeatedly. My name is Ray."

A small, kind, and surprisingly relaxed smile touched the coachman's lips. "Okay, Ray!" He placed a hand on Ray's shoulder, a gesture of quiet encouragement. "Go, complete your task, the one that made you so panicked. I have to leave here immediately. I don't possess spiritual power like you; any second can result in my death here."

Suddenly, the full weight of his mission crashed upon Ray, his panic escalating exponentially. A few seconds of profound silence stretched between them.

"Now, I should go..." the coachman murmured. He gave the reins a slight swing, and the beasts surged forward once more. As the carriage began to move, he turned his head back to Ray.

"Take care. If God wishes, we will meet again."

With those words, the coachman vanished into the dust and chaos of Baston, the city where the battle had raged.

Ray's eyes were now fixed straight ahead, scanning the battlefield. He saw nothing but ruins.

"I don't think she's here..." Ray whispered, a fresh wave of panic washing over his face. "This place is too silent. It looks like I'm standing at the boundary of the battlefield; the war has already happened here."

His panic intensified. "She said she was going to the frontlines. I should go straight to reach there. I have to go fast."

Ray began to run, pushing himself to his full speed. After a few minutes…

"I've been running at my full speed for fifteen minutes," Ray mused, a strange detachment in his voice. "But my lungs and heartbeats feel normal. Still, my legs ache a little. Perhaps, because I am a pure soul, unlike others, I don't need air to live. I feel like I'm breathing, but the sensation of the air I inhale is hollow, empty, as if it's nothing—just my body acting to inhale."

Ray continued his relentless run, stopping periodically to scan his surroundings. But all he saw were ruins and the lingering glow of small fires. Blood was present on the earth, but not in overwhelming quantities.

"God, what is happening!" Ray cried, stopping abruptly. "I'm running, but no matter how much I run, all I see are ruins and fire. Has the battle already ended? I can tell I've run more than fifteen kilometers by now; it's already been more than an hour since I started."

Suddenly, thoughts of Yuki, of their last meeting, flooded his mind. In an instant, his previously relaxed face contorted with panic. His mind was filled with words beginning with 'what if...'. What if I didn't get here on time? Will I even get to see her? What if that Curseuman has eaten her whole? he thought, a cold dread seizing him.

He raised his hands, dropping to his knees, clutching his head in a mixture of confusion, panic, and anxiety.

"Ray!" he shouted aloud, admonishing himself. "What are you thinking? You shouldn't waste your time on this! You have to find her!"

He stood, his face still etched with desperation, and began to run again.

The scene shifted to the Curseuman, who stood amidst a horrifying landscape of corpses. Around him, there were no broken houses; it was a vast, clear area, but blood was everywhere, and bodies lay strewn across the earth. A completely different scenario from the outer boundaries of battlefield.

"Aaahhhh..." the Curseuman sighed, a sound of grotesque satisfaction. "There wasn't much here... I have already eaten the delicious food. Those few humans and Curseumans were truly delectable. Though I didn't initially want to taste human flesh, it's not my fault that these foolish humans sealed Spiritumens inside them."

He paused, a flicker of thought in his dark eyes. "However, there was a human I ate, but I didn't find any Spiritumen inside him.

Perhaps when he said 'RELEASE' before his death, he freed the Spiritumen from the pact. But I also didn't find that freed Spiritumen. In fact, my senses are more attuned to Spiritumens when they are in their real form. Humans are just like walls of flesh, creating interference between my ultimately sharp senses."

The Curseuman surveyed his surroundings. "I don't know who killed Maw, but if these Spiritumens were somehow able to kill Maw, it will be hard for me to handle them. Maw was four times stronger than me. Also this area is too vast for a battle of this magnitude. There is too much area here, that 10 wars of this scale can be fought. This shows the power of ancient era, that they destroyed this entire place. There are some rumours that entire area was mostly turned into ruins by just a single attack released by a powerful entity."

He glanced around. "I should go that way... perhaps I will find new food to cherish my energy."

Saying this, he began to walk. A short distance away, Ray was approaching him, running. Ray remained utterly unaware of the immense power he would face in mere minutes.

Both of them drew closer to each other with every passing second, closer, closer…

After a minute…

Ray stopped abruptly, a sudden sheen of sweat breaking out on his face, his expression contorted with fear.

"What is this presence? This... this is too powerful, making my mind heavy. I feel like I should sleep and rest; my head is aching slightly also."

He slowly raised his eyes and looked forward. A man was walking directly towards him.

"He... he is there!" Ray gasped. "I can tell by the malice I'm sensing; he is a Curseuman. I thought Curseumans looked like beasts and other types of monsters, but he looks like a human."

Ray glanced down at his legs; they were shaking, even more than they had been in the castle.

"It's all empty around," the Curseuman muttered, scanning the desolate landscape. Suddenly, his eyes fixed on something. A smile spread across his face.

"There! I got my food! It's over there, standing." — Curseuman.

"What should I do?" Ray thought, panic seizing him. "Should I run? My legs have already agreed to this, but..."

Suddenly, the Curseuman vanished from his spot, instantly reappearing directly in front of Ray.

"He is here!" Ray thought, his eyes wide with shock.

The Curseuman spread his white wings, along with hands, glancing towards sky, a chilling display of power.

"I am very happy. I was looking for a delicious food. I found it!"

"He has wings!" Ray blurted out, a raw observation.

"Wings..." the Curseuman murmured, glancing back at his own wings. "Oh, yeah!" His expression then turned serious. "But, do you have any problems with these?"

"No! No!" Ray stammered, his voice trembling with fright. "I don't have any problem!"

"Wait," the Curseuman said, a flicker of recognition in his eyes. "Have we met before? You're looking somewhat familiar. Oh! You must be that human. I saw you in the shattered memories of a human."

"Human?" Ray asked, his fear persisting, laced with a desperate hope. "Was she a girl?"

"Umm..." the Curseuman mused, a cruel smile spreading on his face. "I don't remember properly, but maybe she was. I saw you in her memories, when she was shouting in pain, hoping that someone would come to save her, when I was scraping her flesh from her stomach."

Ray stood silent, his eyes fixed on the Curseuman, his eyeballs shaking as if trying to burst from their sockets. His ears were incredibly focused on every single word. All fear vanished from his face, replaced by a neutral, focused expression, as if, after hearing this, his mind had cleared and now is focused on single thing.

"So that was you," Ray said, his voice slow, focused, neutral of emotions, but with a barely controlled undertone of anger.

"Where is Yuki?"

As he said this, Ray attacked him with a punch, but before his fist could strike…

The Curseuman stood still, showing no reaction. Why is he coming so slow...? He is very slow, no, my eyes are very sharp!. But I can tell, he is not human, so why didn't he use nature energy to strike me?

Is he mad?

The Curseuman vanished, instantly reappearing behind Ray.

"You really thought you could strike me with your physical strength!" the Curseuman laughed, a mocking sound.

"Foolish action."

Ray turned and tried to attack him again. The Curseuman vanished once more, reappearing behind him.

"Stop this, human," the Curseuman said, his voice laced with boredom. "You are no match for me. I can kill you anytime I want. I am just playing with you, trying to give some more moments before your death."

"Playing with me,hunh?" Ray retorted, his expression now clearly angry.

"Yes!" the Curseuman smirked.

"I will kill you for this!" Ray roared. "Why, why, why did you kill her?"

Ray tried to attack him again, with more power in first. But this time, the Curseuman instantly slapped Ray with a backhand, sending Ray flying ten meters backward.

"Now, I understand," the Curseuman said, a cruel smile on his face. "You are so desperate. I suppose I should tell you where that girl is!"

The Curseuman's smile widened, becoming annoying, cruel and malicious. He placed one hand on his stomach.

"She... is in my stomach! I ate her. I drank, enjoyed every last drop of her blood. I can't digest like you humans do, but her flesh will disintegrate along with that Spiritumen by my curse energy. But don't worry, I can guarantee you she will be fine here in my stomach, if you really are too worried about her. However, if you came here to see her, you will not get her body, but you can find her drops of blood."

"What... what did you say?" Ray whispered, his voice barely audible.

Ray slowly stood, wiping the blood that streamed from his mouth. He stood, his face clearly showing immense anger. He pressed his lips so tightly that blood began to seep from them too. He was so enraged that his Aura slowly began to manifest, releasing itself, but very slowly…

"You will regret your words," Ray said, his voice low, filled with a terrifying calm.

"If you don't want to die, then take back what you said..."