"If those were Commanders, then that one was a General, right? I don't really understand what happened though..." Mark muttered before taking a bite out of the Undead Lich's ribcage. Or at least, what used to be its ribcage.
The white-scaled Monster was sitting cross-legged. Between its hands, the Undead Lich's body.
On Mark's leg, the Undead Lich's detached Skull, oriented so as to look at him.
"The General of the Demon King's Army didn't attack me because I am a Potential Demon King Candidate. It's something like that, right? You really fucked up, huh? Getting rid of those Commanders to bring out a General."
The white-scaled Monster talked and talked.
The Undead Lich's head, on the other hand, remained silent.
'A Soul from another World, Reborn... Shards of the Deadly Sins...'
Dazed, it didn't say a word.
'Azael... That's the answer you decided on? Did you find the Demon Lord of Pride, or did it find you? Ha... Sick son of a bitch. Doing that must have cost a lot from the two of you. Even a Demon Lord... He talked about a certain "Connector", didn't he? But that's just a Title. It truly does not say much. While I remained here... How much did you give, Azael? We gave our bodies, and became the Undead Triad... How much did you have to give after that? A portion of your Soul...? Or maybe even... More than a portion. Enough for you... Not to be who you are anymore... I feel... I truly feel... Ashamed.'
Crack- Crack-
Gulp-
"Are you just going to stay silent?"
"You're planning on keeping me this way?"
"Mm." The white-scaled Monster nodded before taking another bite.
"How cruel."
"Well, you can be pretty useful. You know a lot, don't you? And even if you don't know about something in particular, you can help paint the larger picture."
"Is that so?"
"How do you talk? Is it something like Sound Magic? That's pretty cool. Can you control where your voice is emitted from? Can you emit other Sounds? Oh, can you change the volume? Cause if so, then that can be pretty close to telepathy, right? Or I guess... Close to using headphones to communicate. I wonder if..."
'He just keeps blabbering on and on. It's not just that I enjoyed his conversation... Those Shards, his curiosity, his Soul... They all remind me of... I feel so ashamed. With a wrong move, I could have... I could have... Had Abaddon not made me realize it... I truly...'
"Ha." The Undead Lich's Skull chuckled suddenly. "It's already..."
"Already what?"
"I could have done something... Unforgivable. I'll happily become the bones that move your body forward."
"Okay? I don't really need your consent though."
The white-scaled Monster finished Devouring the Undead Lich's body and,
Crack- Crack-
Its whole body went limp for a second. Before,
"Doesn't that hurt?"
"Yeah, it does."
"You don't dislike pain?"
"This is the good kind of pain."
"The good kind?"
"The kind that leads to strength." Mark answered as he walked towards the closest Ancient Commander, the Undead Lich's Skull in hand.
Bite- Chew- Gulp-
Bite- Chew- Gulp-
"The muscles you have now are weaker, but they're malleable and flexible. They're ideal to draw as much strength from the Skill that you used. The Power of the Giants needs such muscles."
"Figured as much... Maybe we'll be able to find something better in the future, huh?"
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" nods.]
[Your Title "Devourer" scoffs.]
The Undead Lich remained silent for a bit.
"Incantations can be used to strengthen Skills."
"Incantations? Oh, you mean what you said earlier? Seemed like you were Casting a Magic Spell or something. I didn't expect that to truly strengthen them. Though it does fit into the ritualistic or sacrificial idea."
"All sorts of Incantations can be used for the same Skill. Some can strengthen the Skill exponentially, while some can weaken it."
"Is that so? Got a list of Incantations somewhere? The bookcases were brought down with the ceiling... Or floor? Got a copy somewhere?"
"Incantations show stronger effects when found spontaneously."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"There's a hidden room, beyond where I was seated earlier. Bring down the wall, and you'll find it."
"Huh-"
"Do with that what you will."
"You're talking as if-" Mark's eye narrowed. "You wouldn't-"
The next second, a greenish light started emanating from the Skull.
"I shouldn't have interfered this much, but I am glad to have found you. Or rather, that you have found me. How did you find this place anyways, I wonder? It doesn't matter much. This is goodbye-"
"What are you-"
"Remember this, child..."
The white-scaled Monster immediately let go of it, unsure of what was about to happen.
"The wheels of fate are already in motion."
A second after that sentence was uttered, a crack appeared on the Undead Lich's Skull.
The greenish light emanating from the Skull remained, but the light emanating from its eyesockets faded.
"Fuck... No. No! You... You didn't-"
His finger touched the Skull and,
[Ancient Lich's Knowledge: [C] Ranked Item.]
Item.
Item.
The white-scaled Monster's hands twitched.
"FUUUUCKKKKK!!!!"
The scream resonated and reverberated throughout the whole Dungeon.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?? WHY WOULD YOU..."
[You have defeated...]
"DO THAT? WHY? WHY? AFTER LIVING FOR SO LONG? WITHOUT..."
[You have acquired...]
"Without answering any of my questions..."
[You have Cleared...]
"You left your Body to stay alive." The white-scaled Monster stared at the Skull that rested on its shaking hands. "Why would you stop now?"
Mark squeezed that Skull, and was about to throw it against the ground with all his strength.
He decided against it.
No, he didn't truly decide against it.
Mark found himself unable to break it.
[Ancient Lich's Knowledge: [C] Ranked Item.]
[The Item holds part of the Ancient Lich's Knowledge.]
"I don't even know how to access that Knowledge... Knowledge about what in the first place..." Mark whispered as he stared. "Sick son of a bitch... Dying like this..."
All the Ancient Commanders had already been Devoured.
The Ancient General had been summoned, so its body had disappeared for some time now.
All that remained was Mark, and an item that used to be more.
The silence was heavy.
He spread his wings and flew to the floor above. His feet landed on the portion of the ground that hadn't been destroyed, a small plot in front of the Boss Room's wide open door.
In his hand, the Item he had just obtained. Putting it inside his Inventory... Didn't feel right. Not yet.
"Beyond where he was seated..." Mark whispered.
After aiming,
Wind Blast-
The wall was brought down, revealing doors that were previously hidden.
Mark turned towards the entry he had taken some time ago.
'Didn't even use the Undying Flames that burned the paint off... What the fuck was wrong with him?'
The white-scaled Monster turned back, stared for a bit, tightened his hold on the Skull, and flew towards those doors.
A room much smaller than the Boss Room.
Strange.
Bookcases, Gems, Urns filled with Blood, Vials in which floated eyeballs and strange ears... That wasn't the strange part.
The room had a bed. And a cabinet.
"The old man needed to take naps, huh?" Mark sneered with a whisper as he stepped into the room. "Leaving me with all this to Devour... Couldn't you have left after I Devoured it? Tsk..."
He walked through the room, glancing at the numerous papers and the Magic Circles drawn on those papers.
'So you left me with the theory or something? Oh, clothes. Guess I've been naked since the flames...'
Mark stood in the middle of the room for a bit.
He placed the Skull on the desk, and rubbed his hands together.
It was cold.
Not as cold as it was outside of the Dungeon, inside the freezing Tundra.
It wasn't cold.
It felt cold. Cold and quiet.
"Dying and leaving me with all this shit..."
The white-scaled Monster opened its mouth wide, letting out a long yawn.
"Dying, huh?" Mark took the Skull back into his hands and placed it on the ground. He sat in front of that Skull and stared. The crack that had appeared, the light emanating from it. An Ancient Lich's Knowledge. "I died..." Mark yawned again. "And was Reborn into this World. The way you treated those Ghouls and... Everything else. You're definitely not the type I would want to see on the other side." He lay his palms against the ground and rounded his back, stretching and yawning. "But I got to this side because I was pulled. Because someone used Magic to bring me here. There isn't something like that on Earth... Right?"
Mark lay his shoulder against the ground.
"I wonder... What you would have had... To say about that. Probably some... Obnoxious... Counter..." Mark let out a low chuckle.
He yawned, as he slowly curled his body up.
"Sick... Son of a... Bitch..." Mark whispered as he closed his eyes.
Surrounded by detached body parts and blood that had been forcibly extracted from many,
"I miss you... Already..."
The white-scaled Monster went to sleep.
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