Chapter 121: A Terrifying Change
[A scent of Death is within you]
’So tired...’
For a few minutes, Cillian did nothing but stare at the ceiling as the scent of Death continued to pester him, all while the dwindling smoke screen still surrounded him. It might take another hour before the smoke completely dissipated, continuing to hinder the vision of the last shepherd near the entrance. Or perhaps not. Who knows, really?
"Are you okay, kiddo?"
Mouthful Eye, who remained on Cillian’s shoulder as they lay in the same pool of blood, asked calmly.
"Don’t worry, I’m fine."
Cillian answered calmly, his eyes completely blanketed with exhaustion. He then continued.
"Don’t worry. I’m not turning into a killing machine just because I killed a few Black Shepherds. My mental state is... okay, I guess. Everything I’m doing is something I have to do. Otherwise, I would’ve been the one lying on the floor and not Troy. There isn’t really any deeper reason behind it."
But Cillian couldn’t deny the fact that he was slowly changing. A terrifying change that, if he didn’t control it properly, he might figuratively lose control.
He wasn’t an insane person back on Earth to begin with. Heck, he wasn’t even a fighter. He only started training extensively at the Academy, and he continued doing so even after leaving it.
Even so, Cillian couldn’t understand how he was able to fight so well in situations like these.
Well, he couldn’t deny that he was indeed talented, something he had always believed in. As a matter of fact, did the reason behind his good fighting skills even matter here?
Couldn’t he just say that his training was bearing results in an unprecedented way, even surprising him in the process, and be glad with it?
’That’s right. After all, I’m so fucking good.’
Aside from fighting very well, Cillian also had another thing in mind.
"Taking lives of other people... Does your main consciousness feel that killing people is just a natural thing to do, Mouthful Eye?"
Mouthful Eye answered him truthfully.
"Yes. We’re plagued by the Ruins, after all."
Cillian’s eyes creased together.
"How does that even relate to killing people—you know what, never mind, why did I even ask you?"
Cillian wasn’t really asking for comfort.
He wanted to know whether his actions were morally right, even if the price of them was the death of his enemies, which, in some sense, held some truth. It didn’t matter if he bloodied his hands a thousand more times for the sake of achieving the desirable result he wanted.
He might even kill himself if that achieved his goal.
’But let’s not come to that point. What a scary thought of mine.’
[A scent of Death is within you]
Cillian mused inwardly before a low sigh escaped his lips, ignoring the same scent of Death that continued to pester him from time to time.
Cillian sat on the ground before looking around.
"I was hoping to gather all their Artifacts and Fragmented Pieces, but that can be done after I’ve killed Arthur and returned here. Will I be able to return here, though? Who knows what will happen till then? Meh, I’ll just get whatever I pass through."
Cillian also couldn’t allow himself to stay any longer, as doing so posed the risk of other shepherds suddenly barging their way inside. It would exponentially decrease his chances of escaping.
The few minutes of rest were already enough for him. Well, not really that much, considering Cillian had exhausted himself by using too many of his skills, whether they were his Ruiner abilities or his spells. He might need a bit more time to refresh himself and go again.
The only available category of abilities Cillian could use without exerting too much stamina was his system, and there was no way in hell he would use the two available active abilities that also carried risks when using them.
"Death Flag Probe"
[Death Flag Probe is activated]
[Mental Load: 5%]
Cillian watched the mental load increase even though he hadn’t used any of his Death Flag System’s abilities, similar to what happened back in the Academy when he used Faceless. Did that mean Faceless also consumed Mental Load as some sort of mp? Or was it because the ability had become heavily integrated with his system?
’I was planning on studying Mental Load since it’s a really important thing to understand since two of my good abilities use it. Now it is confirmed that even Faceless might ’randomly’ do it at intervals because it’s been connected to my system?’
Cillian scratched his head in annoyance before standing up and picking up the broken sword he had used to cut Troy’s hand. He then walked toward the entrance, ready to finish this once and for all. Along the way, he collected a few Artifacts.
His exhausted body dragged itself toward the entrance as he finally spotted the huge boulder blocking the way outside.
Cillian then understood why Troy had begged him to spare the last shepherd, since he would eventually encounter this person one way or another, even if he had no way of detecting enemies.
But Troy knew it, which is why Cillian is currently looking towards the Death Flag inside this boulder.
Cillian approached the boulder before using his other hand to knock on its surface.
He didn’t know how he was supposed to do it, but he had heard that Troy’s brother was only deaf. That meant he could still see and feel. Those two things were already enough.
Soon, as if responding to his call, the boulder began to break apart, revealing a boy around sixteen or seventeen years old, almost the same age as Ella. His features were no different from Troy’s, albeit younger.
The boy looked toward Cillian with a happy smile on his face. He started using sign language to communicate with him.
"..."
However, Cillian only stared coldly into the eyes of this Black Shepherd, who continued signing with an innocent expression. His face began to contort strangely.
Then, after sorting through the turmoil of emotions inside him, Cillian let out a short breath.
"I’m not your brother."
Cillian moved forward and stabbed the Shepherd, who was completely shocked when the face of his brother appeared before him and stabbed him just like that.
Then Cillian plunged the broken sword deeper into the shepherd’s heart before gritting his teeth.
"I don’t care if you’re innocent or not. You belonged to the shepherds. That reason is enough for me to do this."
Cillian would never uphold his promise to Troy just because he had brought his little brother inside and gained information regarding the Shepherds.
Still, Cillian felt rather guilty.
For some reason, Cillian knew that this Black Shepherd was innocent. There was a chance he had never killed anyone at all despite being part of the Shepherds.
But he firmed his resolve.
Shepherds and not shepherds. There was a clear distinction between the two in his mind, and they held two completely different meanings in his dictionary. An enemy or not.
Cillian watched Troy’s innocent brother fall to the ground after he pushed him away, before stomping his foot on the ground.
"Tsk."
Cillian began leaving the Runic Gate while secretly placing Mouthful Eye into his breast pocket.
Right after he left, his entire body was immediately transferred outside, where a new scene appeared before him that made him shudder almost instantly.
Booom—!
On the nearby streets, chaos ensued as volleys of different abilities scattered and spotted throughout Viola, creating a scene of destruction and purge.
By the looks of it, it wasn’t just him that had been encountering events from Hensel.
Everyone from the Viola Territory too.
Baaaang—!