Volume 3, Chapter 8 – Yuan’er’s Current Situation

In a small country within the central region of Ancheka Continent, there was a mountain fortress nestled within the woods.

“Hahaha! Today was a bountiful harvest indeed! To think those merchants had over 8,000 Primestone Coins on them; we made a killing!”

“That’s right, Boss! We won’t have to worry about food or clothes for the rest of the year!”

“Exactly. By the way, Boss, give me that set of clothes we just snatched! Those damn pigs tore mine up while they were resisting.”

“Hmm? The clothes? Whatever, if no one else wants them, they’re yours.”

“Then, Boss, I want that sword!”

“Boss, give me that warhorse…”

Dozens of men dressed in tattered rags, carrying various weapons and radiating a violent, murderous aura, were walking slowly through the mountain forest. Even the nearby fierce beasts seemed to go out of their way to avoid this group. These men were the members of Black Wolf Fortress, the most feared bandits in the area.

Today, these bandits were in an exceptionally good mood. After all, they had just robbed a small merchant caravan and made a fortune.

As the bandit leader, Makale’s grin was so wide it reached his ears. He chatted and laughed with his subordinates while looking forward to dividing the spoils once they returned to the fortress. However, just as he approached the front of the fortress with high spirits, his brow suddenly furrowed.

It wasn’t just him; the brothers by his side felt it too.

At this moment, the fortress was strangely eerie. It had fallen into an abnormal silence, and a thick scent of blood even wafted from within. The brothers who had stayed behind to guard the fortress, who should have come out to greet them, were nowhere to be found.

Had they been attacked? Was there an intruder?

“Damn it, who dares to move against us in this place? Brothers, grab your weapons!”

With his home being raided, Makale was naturally fuming with rage. He directly pulled out the large machete at his waist as the brown battle aura within his body suddenly erupted. The lackeys behind him followed their leader’s lead, drawing their weapons and unleashing their strength.

In the next moment, the group charged into the fortress, prepared to hack the intruder into pieces.

However, the moment they entered, everyone was stunned. An unknown chill instantly rushed to their hearts.

‘What… what is going on here?’

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The interior of the fortress was a mess, almost in a state of semi-destruction. Blood, shredded meat, and organs were scattered across the ground. Severed human limbs were everywhere, and even the spirit beasts they raised had been torn to pieces. Not a single intact corpse could be seen.

“Did… did some kind of magical beast break in?”

Everyone couldn’t help but think this.

Right then, Makale noticed a pink-haired girl squatting on the ground in front of the granary, seemingly eating something.

“A little girl?!”

Though he didn’t understand why a little girl would mysteriously appear here, she was likely the only living soul left in the fortress and the only one who knew which bastards had raided his base.

To figure out what had happened, Makale instantly transformed into a streak of brown light under the surge of his battle aura. He rushed to the pink-haired girl’s side and ruthlessly grabbed her collar, attempting to hoist her up from the ground.

“Hey! You brat! What the hell happened here?!”

Wait?!

Why… why couldn’t he pull her up?!

As soon as he exerted force, Makale discovered an unbelievable fact. No matter how much strength he used as a fifth tier powerhouse, this seemingly frail girl remained completely motionless.

‘What… how is this possible?!’

While Makale was confused and tried to exert force again, the pink-haired girl, who had been gnawing on some black bread, put the bread down. She slowly turned her head toward Makale behind her in an extremely eerie posture.

“Who… who are you?”

That unnatural movement and those red and blue heterochromatic eyes, filled with a terrifying aura, instantly sent a shiver down Makale’s spine as a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. In the next moment, Makale leaped backward, putting distance between himself and the girl while pointing his blade at her.

“Who exactly are you?! Why are you in my fortress!” Makale questioned fiercely.

his subordinates also rushed to his side in a panic, surrounding the pink-haired girl and watching her warily. To be honest, although they felt a strange aura from her and her terrifying physical strength made them uneasy, Makale still had an illusion because of their superior numbers.

‘The advantage is still mine…’

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As the group surrounded the pink-haired girl, a fierce light suddenly burst from her eyes after she felt their battle aura, magic power, and their strong hostility and killing intent.

In the next instant, before Makale and the others could even react, a boom resounded.

With the thunderous release of overwhelming Shadow Essence, an invincible pressure suddenly surged forth.

Black light instantly went into a frenzy as countless spikes formed from black liquid erupted from every corner of the fortress. In an instant, the bodies of dozens of bandits were impaled by the spikes and then violently torn apart.

“Aaaaaah!! Help!!”

In a flash, shrill screams echoed through the sky. Makale stood frozen on the spot.

‘What happened?! Is… is that girl an Abyssal Demon?’

No, he had to run!

Upon seeing this scene and sensing the destructive energy contained within the black light, Makale instantly lost all confidence to resist. Unparalleled terror spread wildly within his heart. In the next moment, Makale dropped his weapon and took off running.

He had finally managed to snatch over 8,000 Primestone Coins; how could he die like this?!

No, he couldn’t die!

However, whether he wanted to die or not was no longer up to him. When the black light went on a rampage, the lives of everyone present were already held in the pink-haired girl’s hands. Clearly, she had no intention of letting these people go.

In the next moment, a sword formed from black Shadow Essence suddenly struck, piercing through the terrified Makale. Amidst his desperate wails and pleas for mercy, countless tendrils of black liquid swarmed him and instantly tore him to pieces.

In just a few seconds, not one of the dozens of bandits survived.

Fresh blood and shredded meat dyed the entire fortress a deep crimson.

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Wait?!

Eh?!

I… I am…

After a moment of daze, Yuan’er’s consciousness returned to her body. The scent of blood nearby caught her attention. After turning her head to look at the scene that resembled a molten purgatory, Yuan’er’s entire body trembled as a strong sense of discomfort rushed to her heart.

‘No, did… did I do this? Did I… did I lose control again?’

Looking at the strangers who had died miserable deaths, an indescribable fear slowly surfaced in Yuan’er’s heart, causing the girl to tremble uncontrollably. At the same time, a strange sensation hit Yuan’er’s taste buds.

‘What am I… eating?’

When she looked down at the blood-dripping piece of meat in her hand, Yuan’er’s eyes suddenly shrank. After staring blankly for a few seconds, she let out a hysterical scream.

“Aaaaaah!!”

The panicked girl hurriedly threw the piece of meat away.

She then raised her hands in terror to clutch her head.

“What… what am I… what am I doing!…”

Her mind nearly collapsing, Yuan’er began to retreat repeatedly until she finally curled up helplessly in a corner. Tears fell from her face like pearls from a broken string. At this moment, the only thing that could be heard in this massive fortress was the sound of the girl’s weeping.

Looking at the bloody scene around her, an intense feeling of regret surged into Yuan’er’s heart.

Clearly, she just wanted to find something to eat, so why did it turn out like this…

And yet, she was still hungry.

‘I’m still hungry…’

Even after consuming the food from the bandit group’s entire granary, Yuan’er still couldn’t restrain the sensation of hunger.

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As the unbearable gnawing of hunger surged into her brain again, a sense of madness and bloodlust gradually appeared in Yuan’er’s heterochromatic eyes. Her gaze locked onto someone’s thigh. Guided by instinct, she uncontrollably reached her hand toward that piece of flesh.

‘No! No! I can’t!!’

Her heart jolted.

Yuan’er’s consciousness suddenly flared back to life, barely suppressing the bloodthirsty impulse within her.

“I… cannot do this, I can’t!”

Yuan’er closed her eyes in pain.

Becoming an Abyssal Demon and being attacked by her grandfather had already caused her immense suffering. Now, as Yuan’er realized she had truly become a bloodthirsty monster, her heart grew even more desperate.

“Why… why is it like this…”

“How… how did I… how did I become an Abyssal Demon…”

“But…”

‘Was it… was it that black-haired sister’s doing? If I find her… can she change me back?’

…

However, just as Yuan’er was suppressing the impulses in her mind and talking to herself, a sudden voice devoid of emotion reached her ears.

“You can’t change back.”

“Who… who is it?”

Following the source of the voice, Yuan’er looked up.

She saw a strange woman draped in a long robe sitting atop the fortress’s watchtower at some unknown time, quietly watching her.