Chapter 32: Convergence
Chapter 32: Converge
'Stupid bitch—!'
'Whore!'
'That's enough! You two are giving me a fucking headache! Just shut up until the gate opens.'
Outwardly, the Woon sisters looked as polished and composed as ever. Their faces were calm, even serene, as they arrived at the designated grave. No one watching would've guessed they'd been at each other's throats the entire time.
Hye-jin's voice was measured when she spoke, but there was a stern edge under it.
"Let's go over it again. Remember what the Dark Lord told us: everything has to be precise. The incantation, the timing of the signs, all of it."
She was the planner. Always was.
Yu-na rolled her eyes and flopped onto a cracked tombstone, brushing dead leaves from it with an exaggerated sigh.
"I think she's ready. How 'bout instead we just breathe for a minute? I'm sure Ellie's nerves are shot. Mine sure as hell are."
Ellie watched her, quietly noting the difference between herself and them. Even their "simple" clothes were a world apart. Designer jeans, spotless white shirt under a tailored coat, boots that were probably enchanted items, not just fashion.
Ji-yoon didn't bother hiding her irritation.
"Get off your ass and focus. We need to be ready. If we mess this up, we won't get a second chance. You understand that, right?"
She dropped to one knee in front of the cracked stone marker they'd chosen, fingers brushing dirt and moss away.
Ellie stood watching them, fingers twisted in the sleeve of her oversized pink coat. She could see the familiar tension sparking between the sisters. Before it could catch fire, she dropped to her knees beside Ji-yoon.
"I'm sure Yu-na could recite it in her sleep at this point. But I'm not tired, we can do it again."
It wasn't a lie, exactly. Her body wsn't tired. Her mind was another story.
'You look good on your knees.'
'Says the stupid bitch who was sucking off Colt last night.'
'I said shut the fuck up!'
Hye-jin cleared her throat sharply and moved forward, cutting through the quiet bickering in their shared link. She raised her ring to her fingertip, pricking it with deliberate care.
"I'll cast a concealment spell first."
A bead of blood. It dropped from her finger but didn't fall, instead, it hovered. Hye-jin whispered words Ellie couldn't begin to follow, some guttural, others almost melodic. Red vapor curled from her lips, snaking into the droplet.
It swelled...then burst. Not violently, but with sudden expansion. A sphere of mist spread around them, stopping at about fifty feet. Symbols traced themselves along the edge in blood-red light before fading to nothing.
"Remember the boundary."
Hye-jin then knelt beside Ellie and Ji-yoon, facing the old, crusted gravestone. She handed Ellie a short, curved blade, the sisters holding their own, and they began to practice.
Ellie led. She recited the incantation she'd been given, every word measured, every line timed to a steady rhythm. The sisters chimed in at precise intervals, weaving their verses over hers like layers in a choir.
When the last words fell, they'd each be required to carve a symbol into the ground before them, then lay an arm over it and drive their blade through. Not just a cut. An absolute stab. Only pain deep enough to graze the soul would let it bleed, weaken it enough to be portioned and sacrificed.
Only then would the gate open.
Only then would the Demon Lord step through, bound by the bargain to grant Ellie what she needed most: to evolve her shard.
She knew the cost. Part of her soul would be gone. But she'd long ago accepted that nothing about her life was worth saving. This was her chance to change that.
[Ellie... it's time. I still support you completely. But this is your last chance. You can still walk away.]
She watched the timer in her UI tick down, numbers shifting with mechanical certainty. A strange feeling settled in her chest. She'd expected panic, maybe terror. Instead there was only calm. Almost hope.
'No more D-Rank.'
She inhaled slowly, filling her lungs until they ached.
'I'm doing this.'
And she began the incantation.
----
Perched atop a jagged mound of broken ribs, the imp chewed lazily. He'd lucked upon a trio of Corpse Worms, one now lay limp across his lap. He peeled strips of its skin and slurped them down, savoring the bitter, slimy grit.
'Guess it's time.'
He sank his fangs in for one last bite, then shoved the corpse off and stood, wiping the mess from his legs.
'You ready, system?'
[Irrelevant question. Recommend User stop stalling.]
"You know, it's really not fair."
[Unable to process. Clarify what is not fair.]
He leapt down, landing hard.
"That I'll never get to hit you. Because I reeeaaallly want to."
[Noted.]
He raised a brow. Hopefully, one day, when he no longer needed the system, he'd be able to find a way to give it a body. Not a new User, but a real life of its own. Just so he could kill it. Or at least beat it half to death.
It didn't take long to track down a wandering group of undead. The stink made it easy. Five of them. He cut through the first four with barely a pause. The last took a few more swipes, but still fell quick.
[+1 Exp]
[+1 Exp]
[+1 Exp]
[+1 Exp]
[+1 Exp]
[Level // 9]
[Exp // 973 / 1384]
[HP // 70 / 70]
[SM // 12 / 16]
Watching their bodies dissolve, the usual disgust came with something else...annoyance. The insult to his budding principles was bad enough, but what really pissed him off was how it cut into his grind. No soulmass meant no fuel.
Even the distant screams of his impaled kin were starting to sound almost... inviting.
Once enough of their dissolving muck pooled together, he dove in and rolled deep, making sure every inch was covered. He let it sit, waited for the filth to thicken and cling. Then moved, fast and focused.
Step two: circle to the rear of the fortress, eat something fresh to refill his soulmass, then sneak in and hide.
'System, what are my chances?'
[7.6%.]
'You didn't even stop to calculate!'
[Calculations already complete. Current plan has low probability, but remains the only viable path with any non-zero success rate.]
'Even Rotflow?'
[User would need to be within range of the gate to utilize Rotflow effectively. However, probability of A-rank demon failing to detect Rotflow activation is 0%.]
He grunted. Disappointing, but not surprising. Rotflow was still a gamble, dropping his health below ten percent didn't feel like something he'd walk away from.
He'd relied on smell and posture to get this far, avoiding larger groups and keeping in character. No need to tear his flesh and lower his health until necessary. And it worked. He reached the back of the fortress without trouble.
Spotting a shrieking imp skewered through the waist on a spike, he drooled slightly.
[Recommendation: System suggests a minor alteration to current plan. Slight increase in success rate projected.]
'What is it?'
He moved in, sliced clean, and started eating. Only as the system laid out its suggestion did his grin falter, replaced by something closer to irritation. And reluctant agreement.
'That makes sense... but really?'
There was almost a whine to the thought.
[Chance of success increases by 5%.]
'12.6%...'
He let out a long breath.
'I'll do it.'
[User resilience noted.]
"User resilience noted."
He echoed mockingly under his breath. Rolling his eyes, he stayed alert for patrols while ripping another piece free.
[+1 Exp]
[+1 SM]
The imp finally stopped flailing before he finished, but that was fine. He still had a little over an hour. Enough time to eat his fill.
[Level // 9]
[Exp // 974/1384]
[HP // 70/70]
[SM // 16/16]
He ate six more. Ripping, chewing, swallowing. Each one slid down easy. No struggle, no bloat. That was new. He paused, pressing a hand to his gut. Still felt lean and tight.
'Been a while since I actually needed to eat…'
Since the bond. Butcher's Wrath had changed more than just his arms.
He turned his attention up. The wall seemed immense. Daunting. Spikes stabbed from it in all directions, each one skewering some thrashing imp. Dozens lined the face, moaning, clawing, dripping.
It wouldn't stop him.
Still, caution had its place. Too much noise, too much movement, and all it'd take was one patrol. Or one spike with a hidden script.
He climbed anyway.
Claws dug into skin. Wet, soft, some rotten. He ignored the snapping jaws. Dodged the twitching claws. One imp tried to bite, he smashed its teeth in and kept moving. The climb wasn't fast, but he reached the top.
Sniff.
Sniff.
Sniff.
No alarm. No shouting. No aura drop. He crept over the ledge and landed on the walkway with a dull squish.
Rrriiip.
[-8HP]
[HP // 92/100]
He tore a strip from his chest and slapped it over his face. It clung. It bled. It hid. A groan rolled out of him. Long and low as he began to shuffle.
'Made it.'
The wall curved from tower to tower, each segment joined by high, arched walkways that formed the fortress's outer ring. He moved along it, slow at first, pulse steady...then faster, harder.
'Don't think I'm supposed to be up here.'
He hadn't seen another imp. No patrols. No guards. Which made sense, the more he thought about it. The undead weren't useful lookouts. No reason to waste them on high posts.
Still, being alone didn't feel safe. The blood on his skin had started to dry, flaking off in patches. His face flushed with heat.
[Recommendation: find a group to blend in with.]
Panic edged in. He picked up speed, shuffle turning into a hurried limp as he approached the nearest tower. Eyes darting across every crack, every movement.
He quickly made it through the arch, and the pressure eased.
"Grgglrrrrr."
He stiffened...then forced himself still. The sound had come close. Too close. But it wasn't for him. Someone else was here. One of the flayed imps limped toward a stairway, dragging meat. Relief hit, thin and fleeting, swallowed by a sharper urgency. The muck coating his body had started to slough off, breaking down in clumps.
'Now or never.'
He limped toward the lone creature, just as it reached the stairs. One clean, powerful slice through the neck.
[+1 Exp]
The body dropped.
He didn't pause.
He looked down at his exposed muscle, the raw infected patch where his skin used to be. Grimacing, he dug his claws into the edge of his lip...and pulled.
Rriipp!
[-7 HP]
[HP // 85/100]
Rrriiipp!
Again.
[-9 HP]
[HP // 76/100]
Pain flared, bright and hot. It surged through his skull, dropped him to one knee. But he didn't stop.
He couldn't.
Rrriiipp.
[-8HP]
[HP // 68/100]
He bit down hard, vision swimming, heart thudding wild in his ears. He needed to be careful now. Just enough skin. Just enough damage.
Just enough health to survive.