Chapter 80: Stop Erness
’What is actually going on?’
Eiros gasped for breath. At first, he’d had no intention of looking for Erness at all. But the problem was, his system had suddenly popped up with a new mission, one that sounded genuinely urgent.
[WORLD MISSION]
Objective: Stop Erness, who is on a rampage and intends to slaughter the entire population of Clathria.
Time Limit: Until Nightfall.
Failure Condition: Growth of the Corruption Seed.
That system screen had appeared without warning, sending Eiros into genuine panic, making him start running blindly, trying to find Erness.
He had no idea what was happening—he even started fearing that something truly, terribly bad might actually be unfolding.
That was exactly what Eiros felt as he ran, finding body after lifeless body scattered across the ground. Blood mixed with the rainwater, forming disgusting pools spreading across the streets.
He saw a little girl crying over the death of her brother, an elderly man dead in the middle of the road, only to get trampled by panicking refugees, a grown woman shielding her crying baby even after she herself had already died.
All of it was laid out in plain sight.
’Erness... what exactly are you doing?’
Eiros couldn’t help but feel genuine worry. All of this had happened so suddenly, and finally, he found Erness standing on a rooftop.
Erness stood there, her dress soaked through, her hair a complete mess, her expression looking... deeply unhinged.
Her pupils showed vertical slits, white serpent scales grown across her entire body, and two small, sharp fangs visible at the corners of her lips.
Eiros channeled Soul Essence into his legs, leaping up onto the same rooftop, and shouted, his face pale:
"Erness!!"
Eiros landed lightly on the rooftop. Erness stood frozen for a moment, then turned her head, and their eyes met.
The rain never once let up—far behind them, to the west, soldiers and stigmata users were still fighting.
Below them, refugees fled, screaming in terror over the white ghost.
Eiros felt every nerve in his body tense as he watched Erness suddenly radiate an intense killing intent. His expression froze, unable to believe what he was seeing, before Erness lunged and her body vanished.
"....!"
Eiros flinched, clicking his tongue as he felt the air shift around him.
Erness appeared right beside him, forcing Eiros to react immediately the moment the girl swung her claws.
Whistle—!!
Eiros shifted his body aside, watching clearly as Erness’s sharp claws swept past his head, grazing his cheek.
Erness gave him absolutely no chance to catch his breath, let alone speak.
Her attacks kept coming, relentless. She’d vanish and reappear somewhere else, sometimes using her sharp claws, sometimes her legs, or even some random object she’d grabbed off the ground.
And what did Eiros do?
’Damn it.’
He just dodged.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to fight back, but the Erness he was facing right now was completely different from the one he’d fought before. This time, Erness was genuinely serious, throwing everything she had into it, making the gap between their levels painfully clear.
Slash—!!
Eiros winced softly, feeling the tip of Erness’s claw graze his waist, leaving a mark identical to what a tiger’s claw might leave.
The next instant, Erness appeared right in front of him, this time not with her claws, but with a fist charged with dense Soul Essence.
Eiros used the flat of his sword as a shield.
Bam—!
The punch delivered a tremendous jolt, sending Eiros flying through the air, creating a significant gap between him and Erness.
But distance meant nothing to Erness. Not even a little.
Her body vanished and reappeared right behind Eiros, still airborne. Realizing that, and stuck in a genuinely difficult position, Eiros had no way to dodge, so he tilted his body instead.
He needed to minimize the damage from—
Spurt—!!
"Kughuk...!"
Eiros flinched, feeling Erness’s hands punch straight through his stomach. His pupils trembled in shock, forcing him to cough up a mouthful of blood, and with a great deal of effort, he turned to look at Erness behind him.
Her pupils were genuinely cold, brimming with a hatred so old it ran deep.
Eiros gasped for breath, watching Erness raise her other hand, and then—
Stab—!!
Spurt—!!
Eiros’s skull cracked open as Erness’s claw punched straight through his brain. Everything went dark, and pain became the only thing left.
Eiros returned to his soul-only state.
Normally, in a situation like this, he’d have chosen not to come back at all. But given the mission, he couldn’t just let Erness slaughter this whole city—or worse, Erness might end up doing something to his body that would make it impossible for him to come back afterward.
So, without a shred of hesitation, in the middle of that terrifying death, Eiros immediately rose back up.
His body trembled, and when he opened his eyes, he found Erness already embracing his body, her claws now resting against his neck.
Slit—!!
Spray—!!
Eiros died again.
He choked on air, his entire body shuddering with shock. He touched his own throat and coughed, his face pale, his pupils dilated wide enough to look like they might burst right out.
His breathing was ragged, but Eiros knew he still needed to get up—he couldn’t—
His thoughts stopped, glancing back to find Erness still embracing his lifeless body, waiting for him to rise again.
Eiros couldn’t just come back carelessly, since Erness would kill him again the instant he did. So, what was he supposed to do?
Whatever the case, Eiros needed to do something.
But...
’Right... if this keeps up, Erness won’t kill any of the refugees, since she’s waiting for me to come back. Right, I just need to hold out until—’
But that thought stopped short the moment Erness lifted his body and carried it along with her. Eiros’s entire being tensed, watching that unfold, and his soul, still in that in-between state, got dragged along with her.
Erness teleported to another location, pulling Eiros’s soul along with her. He found himself beside Erness, watching the refugees once more.
Erness intended to kill those refugees, all while still carrying Eiros’s body with her. That was something he couldn’t allow to happen.
Standing atop a building, Erness watched the fleeing refugees, then was just about to descend when Eiros’s body slowly stirred, showing a faint pulse.
Erness stopped, then looked at Eiros with a gaze brimming with hatred. Then, the moment Eiros finally opened his eyes, Erness had already driven her claw into his chest, gripping his heart and crushing it.
It was clear Erness was trying everything she possibly could. Stabbing his stomach hadn’t killed him, destroying his brain hadn’t killed him, and now, destroying his heart.
Would that actually kill him?
Of course not.
But the real problem was, Eiros genuinely couldn’t bear the pain he felt. His heart, gripped, crushed, blood spraying everywhere.
Pain far worse than anything Eiros had felt when he’d first arrived in this world.
"D-damn it... haah... haah..."
He gasped for breath, his face deathly pale, his entire body trembling. He knew this was coming, he understood it perfectly well, but Eiros still felt genuine terror.
Even so, despite all of that, Eiros had absolutely no intention of giving up.
So, he rose again.
***