Outworld: Awakening

"Boko, Vacatus, we don't have a lot of time. We have to leave the swamp while Sir Gallien is holding them back. Do you understand?"

Silence greeted Aron's words. Boko and Vacatus knew the severity of their situation and would not waste valuable time on words. Although they couldn't compete with Aron in speed, Vacatus and Boko ran with all their might. Constant explosions reached them as they ran, they knew it meant that, Gallien had engaged the demonkins in combat.

Gallien's bloodshot eyes stared at the massive magma salamander. Earlier, he had unleashed a powerful attack, but it barely scratched the surface of its skin. However, the attack had slain over ten of the smaller demonkin.

'How can the skin of this creature be so thick? I can't go all out just yet… at least not until they get to the exit of the swamp.'

Absorbed in his thoughts. The magma salamander's skin changed to red, accompanied by a terrifying heat wave. Gallien could visibly see flame patterns forming on the demonkin's skin.

'Damn it. This isn't good.'

Gallien's grip around his sword tightened, and it released a blinding light.

Just then, the demonkin discharged a mouthful of lava towards Gallien. Wasting no time, Gallien unleashed his attack too. A deafening explosion followed and a section of the lava torrent solidified in midair, before falling into the swamp's murky waters. The swamp's murky waters bubbled, filling the air with steam, so thick, it enveloped everything around it.

Unperturbed, the magma salamander charged towards Gallien. That a mere human could parry its attack enraged it. Only death could wash away such humiliation. Meanwhile, Gallien retreated from the laze with all his might. One could see scorch marks on his face, neck, and arms.

'If I don't go all out, this place will be my resting place…' Gallien mused as his c.h.e.s.t heaved.

Not only did he have to evade the lava rain, the laze produced from the lava impacting on the swamp was poisonous and severely increased the surrounding temperature.

Through gritted teeth, he loosened the straps of his armor. He could no longer bear the heat. The splashes caused by the approaching demonkin reached him, however, he remained motionless. With his eyes closed, Gallien's grip around the handle of the sword tightened. This time, no bright luminescence accompanied it; instead, the blade looked like that of any other sword of high good quality.

Only a few meters separated the demonkin from Gallien, and it prepared another lava rain. A few surviving smaller magma salamanders accompanied their leader. After they had executed Gallien, they would eliminate the other humans. Just as the demonkins were about to unleash their attack, Gallien's eyes snapped opened.

His eyes glowed with a silver radiance, piercing through the thick mist. As he slowly raised his sword, five illusionary silver swords hovered over his head.

'I hope they have gotten out of my blast radius.'

In a brutal upward slash, the five illusionary swords parted the mist. The sudden turn of events surprised the demonkins. Before they could react, Gallien charged through the path. The luminescence had returned to the sword. For the first time, the demonkin sensed an ominous premonition. This wasn't just any other prey they could bully into submission.

"Die you abominations!"

With a two handed swing, a thunderous explosion followed Gallien's roar, and the swamp shook, with ripples forming over the murky waters.

The sword light formed an arch which decapitated the heads of the smaller demonkins. A fountain of blood erupted into the air, while the larger demonkin screamed in pain. Gallien's attack left a gory mess on its forelimbs.

With momentum in his corner, Gallien charged towards the demonkin. It was now or never.

In immense pain, the survival instinct and regenerative ability of magma salamander kicked in. Its partially severed limbs regenerated at an accelerated rate, however, the durability of demonkin's skin weakened. It slowly poured lava out of his mouth, and steam slowly covered the demonkin.

'Damn it. What a scheming creature. It knows I can't get anywhere near the steam… It will be awhile before I can use the five cleavers again… What should I do?'

Gallien paused as steam covered the writhing magma salamander.

He couldn't flee because part of the steam had covered his path of retreat, and he noticed that some lesser demonkins had taken other routes to pursue Aron's group.

'I must kill it here… If not, it would definitely give chase later. We can't… huh?'

Gallien's suddenly brows creased. Six corpses emerged from the depths of the swamp.

'Are these bite marks?'

Gallien couldn't hide his apprehension as his gaze shifted between the six corpses. The magma salamanders had gruesome injuries all over their mummified bodies, however, the bite mark around their necks was the most glaring cause of their demise.

'I have to kill this beast and leave this place. Who knows what else is in this swamp.'

Gallien's heart tightened. Although he would never admit it, he regretted not heeding Aron's advice to return another day.

Wasting no time, he unleashed a barrage of sword light towards the demonkin. He had to keep the beast down until he could summon the five illusionary swords again, then he would end the magma salamander's life. For Gallien and the Demonkin, it was a race against time.

* * *

A minute earlier.

Although several demonkins chased after them, Aron's party dived into the swamp's waters. At the same moment, Gallien's attack followed. It turned the chasing demonkins into a mist of blood and bones. If not for Aron's reminder, Boko and Vacatus would have joined them.

'Sir Gallien is going all out already? That means the beast is stronger than he expected. If we linger here, we would hold him back…' Aron mused as he resurfaced.

No matter how much he looked, he couldn't see anything through the thick steam behind them. He could only hope Gallien would be all right.

A split second later, Boko resurfaced. He coughed while vomiting the murky water he swallowed.

'Good. Boko is all right. Where the hell is Vacatus? Water is like a second home to him.'

Aron's gaze wandered around the spot Vacatus submerged earlier, however, he couldn't find any signs of him.

"Vacatus?! Where are you?!"

Silence greeted Aron's words.

'This is not good. Did something grab him while we were under?'

Aron's heart skipped a beat and his countenance darkened. Among the three of them, he knew that Boko had the highest value. But, he couldn't just abandon Vacatus just like that.

"Aron, where's Vacatus?" Boko asked.

He had stopped coughing and vomiting.

"I don't know. He probably got caught by something. Since it's dark, I don't know if I can help him," Aron retorted.

"What do we do? Are going to—"

Before Boko could finish his statement, he plunged into the water.

"Boko?"

Aron's mind went blank for a moment. Then, he remembered Boko's importance to their mission. He overcame his initial shock.

Just as he was about to dive into the swamp, he could see bubbles emerging from the spot Vacatus and Boko submerged.

'They are alive...'

"I'm coming... huh?"

Aron's eyes quivered as two corpses resurfaced. Both had gruesome bite marks on their mummified remains.

His heart thumped wildly as if it would escape his rib cage at any moment.

Overwhelmed by a looming sense of danger, Aron subconsciously retreated as he stared at the remains of the magma salamanders.

'Forget about the mission. I don't want to die here... I can't die here.'

Aron could see several locations surrounding him bubbling. Something was coming, however, he had no intention of finding out what it was. Unleashing a frightening burst of speed, he hurried towards the exit of the swamp.

'I can't die here. Not like this. Not in a place like this. No matter what, I must survive.'

Out of the corner of his eyes, Aron suddenly saw a reddish blur heading towards his direction.

'What the hell is that? Oh no. Its catching up...'

Despite his speed, the blur inched closer and closer. He could hear strange whizzing from behind and it terrified him.

'I won't die here. I wont...huh?'

Midthought, Aron felt grip on his left ankle. Before he could process what had happened, pain he had never felt in his life coursed through his body. His left leg exploded into a gory mess, while his right leg had been severed.

Aron crashed on the swamp's surface while his screams echoed in all directions.

At that same moment, six abnormalities emerged from the swamp.

'Impossible! Didn't Sir Gallien kill it earlier?'

Aron's eyes bulged as he saw six Familiars. They looked exactly like the Familiar Gallien had slain earlier.

Just then, the air in front of Gallien distorted. For a second, Gallien forgot about his pain. His mind went blank as he stared into eyes of the person before him.

His life flashed flashed across his eyes. Those eyes enveloped in darkness only promised death, and a painful one at that.

He had forgotten how to scream or speak as he stared at Adam.

Without saying a word, Adam motioned towards one Familiar.

It made a beeline for Aron's heart, ripping it out like a demonic executioner.

[You have devoured 2 Blessed beings]

[You have devoured 8 Omen beings]

[You have gained a new passive skill]

[Establishing Connection to The Omen]

[Omen Synchronization Enhanced]

Name: Adam Staples.

Age: Seventeen.

{Race}

- Human.

- Demonkin (Plague).

{Stats}

Constitution: 11. Agility: 17. Endurance: 23. Luck: 2.5

Dexterity: 16. Strength: 19. Charisma: 10.

{Skills}

- Summoning.

- Illusion Inducement.

- Regeneration (Passive).

{Title}

- Manipulator.

- Illusionist.

- Devourer.

- Dominator.

- Slayer (Passive).

- The Hated One (Passive).

???

{Status}

Awakened!

{Omen Points}

- 0.

{Inventory}

- Cataclysm, Runed Blade of Delusions.

- Fermo Crystal (89/89).

- Eyes of Pink-eyed Goblins (76/76).

- Slime sac (88/88).

- Goblin chief Spectre (4/4).

- Hunch sac (72/73).

- Blessed bag.

{Level}

- C.

???

"Finally, you have seen the light, Adam. Didn't it feel good eating those magma salamanders? It's such a shame you didn't eat the Awakened with Blessings. They taste far, far better. I'm not complaining, Adam. I have high expectations of you. Hahaha..."

[Title: Devourer deactivated!]

Adam's face slowly returned to normal as he stared at the system's update.

'It actually grew back... I didn't expect to gain such a passive skill from devouring the magma salamanders.'

Although his previous Familiar suffered the brunt of Gallien's previous attack, he lost his arm in the process, and scorch marks covered his body.

In severe pain, Devourer activated on its own. And, Adam could hear the voice telling him to eat the magma salamanders. This time, he didn't hesitate.

Before he started, he hurried to the remains of the Awakened from Raventhorn. Using Summoner, he was able to produce six Familiars. Albeit, they couldn't compare to his previous Familiar.

While Gallien and the larger demonkin fought, he slowly picked off the beasts, while using his Familiars to lure some magma salamanders towards Aron's group.

The trio diving into the swamp played into Adam's hands. Without mercy, he finished off Vacatus within seconds. Before proceeding to eliminate Boko, too.

'There's really no gain without pain in these dungeons. Now that I am Plague ranked Demonkin, I should be able to eliminate that bastard.'

Adam's gaze lingered on the steam enveloping Gallien and the magma salamander. Although a small distance separated him from their battleground, the shock wave from their battle reached him.

'I'll let them kill each other. When one falls, I will slay the survivor. Hahaha... This should be fun.'

Adam activated illusion inducement, and his body slowly disappeared.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gallien and the magma salamander had reached the climax of their battle. Because of Gallien's barrage of attacks, the demonkin failed in its regeneration.

When it tried to lunge at Gallien, he retreated while continuing his barrage of attacks. Due to its injuries, the demonkin couldn't summon a similar level of attack as before. Gallien, on the other hand, bid his time for the perfect opportunity to display his trump card.

'Aron and the others should have crossed the swamp by now. I shouldn't delay any further,' Gallien thought as he slowly closed his eyes.

Although he suffered no further injuries, his breathing had turn heavy and short. Having stayed in the laze for a while, it had poisoned him. If he didn't leave soon, the swamp would be his final resting place.

With Gallien ceasing his attack, the magma salamander felt relieved. It stopped pouring lava into the swamp. It believed Gallien had succ.u.mbed to the poisonous laze. Finally, it could concentrate on healing its injuries.

Just then, a gale parted the steam covering its large body. It couldn't comprehend what happened.

Gallien, on the other hand, appeared a few meters away. Brandishing his long sword, he unleashed a devastating attack towards the stunned magma salamander.

The magma salamander gathered lava in its mouth once more, Howe, before it could fall, Gallien's attack slit the neck of the demonkin.

The magma salamander screamed as blood and lava poured out from the opening. Its body spasmed in tandem. Gallien continued to assault it with attack after attack while he retreated from the laze. Even with the creature regenerative ability, he knew it couldn't survive such an injury.

A few seconds later, he could no longer hear the screams of the demonkin.

'What a tough bastard... I can't waste any more time. I have to get out of here.'

Fatigued and poisoned, he couldn't linger on in the swamp. Wasting no time, he turned around to leave.

He suddenly came to a pause on his thirteenth step. He clenched his sword as he stared at the distortion in space.

'What's happening? I can't fight another one in my current state.'

Gallien couldn't hide his apprehension as he stared at portal. A split second later, his eyes widened as a familiar figure emerged.

"You?! How are you still alive?"

Adam ignored Gallien's inquiry as he sarcastically clapped his hands. From where he stood, he could see the silhouette of the magma salamander through the steam.

"Truly, fantastic. Your strength is really unmatched. You can't just leave like that. I would like for us to have a round two."

'How is this Varidan bastard still alive? I don't have time for this right now.'

Although he was tired, Gallien still had enough strength to deal with an Awakened with a lower rank.

"If you don't want to die, then get the f.u.c.k out of my way! Or else..."

Gallien's eyes turned bloodshot as his words trialed off. However, Adam giggled at his threats.

"Pig! Do you—"

Before Gallien could finish his statement, Adam threw three items in front of him.

'What's this?'

Gallien squinted as he stared at items. Suddenly, his eyes quivered and his limps trembled.

'Aron? Then these mummified skulls belong to Boko and Vacatus... The bag. Where's the bag?'

"You're looking for this, right?" Adam said as he slowly c.a.r.e.s.sed Boko's bag.

"Who are you? And, what do you want? You can never survive if you make Raventhorn—"

"Do I honestly look like I give a damn about Raventhorn?" Adam interjected.

'This bastard. Should I rush in? No. If he dares show his face, it means he has some backup. What should I do...?'

"All right. What do you want want for the bag? The items in that bag can save the life of a very important person. If you give it to me, they will reward you accordingly. So, what—?"

"Oh? Who is important person you speak of? And, what kind of reward are we talking about?"

Gallien used every ounce of his willpower to remain calm. That someone weaker than him dared to act so arrogantly before him left him enraged.

"I can't tell—"

"Then, goodbye."

A portal suddenly opened behind Adam.

"Wait!" Gallien panicked. He hadn't expected Adam to be so unreasonable.

"It's for the Armstrong family. Dominic Rowe Armstrong. I will give you whatever you want, just give me the bag. I swear on my name, Gallien Thornoak."

"Wow! The Armstrong family. Who would have thought. You're certain you'd give me whatever I d.e.s.i.r.e?"

'Idiot. He's scared now. Once you gives me the bag, that's the end of your pathetic life.'

"Yes. Whatever it is..." Gallien said.

He stretched out his right hand while slowly approaching Adam.

"Since I have your word, then you can have it," Adam said as he threw the bag towards Gallien.

Gallien's lips curved into a smile as he caught the bag and his eyes turned bloodshot. That Adam would cower at the mention of the Armstrong family was only natural to him.

"So when do I get my—?"

"You dare kill and rob my men, yet you threaten me with my possession. I will give you your reward right now."

Like an agile cat, Gallien lunged towards Adam. Before he could react, Gallien impaled him through his heart.

As their gazes met, Gallien said, "Go collect your reward from the demons in hell."

Slowly, he twisted the blade in Adam's c.h.e.s.t until he went limp.

'Damn it. How did this bastard kill Aron and Vacatus?' Gallien mused as he stared at Adam's corpse.

'At least, I have gotten the bag. Time to...'

Midthought, Gallien suddenly felt a stinging pain course through his body. He lowered his head, only to see a short sword sticking out through his stomach.

'Huh? When did this happen?'

Gallien couldn't hide his disbelief as darkness covered the site of the stab, rapidly, spreading to all parts of his body. He felt his limbs weakening while blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

"You broke your promise. I guess I will be taking the bag back."

Gallien flinched as he heard Adam's voice.

"W-Who are you? H-How did you—?"

"Shush... Is that really important right now? Just rest easy. It will be over soon. Don't worry, that weasel, Dominic will join you eventually. Just like Klein and his buddies," Adam said.

Gallien's eyes bulged and his body trembled. His mouth opened, yet he couldn't say anything. The darkness had covered most of his body. Falling face first, his eyes lingered on Adam's corpse which slowly faded. A few seconds later, Gallien breathed no more.

[Skill: Illusion Inducement deactivated]

Adam and two Familiars towered over Gallien's corpse. One Familiar retrieved the bag while the other carried Gallien's corpse. A few moments later, the four remaining Familiars dragged the corpse of the magma salamander towards Adam.

"What kind of being would I summon with the corpse of a C ranked Awakened and a Plague ranked Demonkin? Hahaha... I can't wait," Adam muttered.

'System, send the corpses and the Familiars to the inventory.'

{Inventory}

- Cataclysm, Runed Blade of Delusions.

- Fermo Crystal (89/89).

- Eyes of Pink-eyed Goblins (76/76).

- Slime sac (88/88).

- Goblin chief Spectre (4/4).

- Hunch sac (72/73).

- Blessed bag.

- Familiar (6/100).

- Corpses (2/10).

[Item: Corpses, will disintegrate after 48 hours]

'Oh? I wasn't expecting that. Whatever. Forty eight hours is enough time. Time to leave this dungeon.'

Adam took one final look at the swamp, before sprinting towards the exit. As the hated one, he wanted to leave the dungeon before other demonkins migrated to Valar Pits.