Infinite Journey: Dark Souls

The beast tore apart the priest's human nature, not only his mind but also his body!

The original human skeleton was stretched, the lower jaw protruded, body hair grew wildly, sharp claws pierced through shoes and socks, and the wolf's mouth was covered with sharp fangs. The beast roared and tried to break free from the cage nailed by the straight sword. The power of the beast was almost enough to overturn the three people pressing down on it.

"I can't control him anymore, you'd better get out of the way!"

Just as Xiaoyan warned the nearby Asahina, a frenzied howl erupted from the wolf's mouth. The werewolf leaped up, ignoring the straight sword tearing through his shoulder blade and the blade slicing through his knees, and threw the two familiars, one ash and one demon, into the air.

Instead of fleeing, Asahina raised the music box and, with all her courage, approached the giant werewolf.

The werewolf howled to the sky, the howl drowning out the music box's melody, and then, without even looking, swung its claws at the girl who was standing right next to it.

Xiao Yan clicked her tongue in displeasure, and the next moment, the three of them, master and servant, were transported back to the girl's front.

She gently pushed away the girl, whose eyes were filled with tears of fear, and the familiars swung their straight swords to meet the werewolf's claws from both sides.

In an instant, the blade and claws clashed multiple times. The familiars, relying on the skills they inherited from their masters, defended against the swift attacks flawlessly, leaving only a tooth-grinding sound as the claws scraped against the blades, without achieving anything else.

After saving the girl, Xiaoyan turned around and delivered a fierce thrust, plunging her longsword deep into the werewolf's chest.

"Awooo—!"

"do not want!"

Screams and screams rang out at the same time, but Xiaoyan no longer cared about the girl's fragile heart. She decided that at this moment, she would kill this completely corrupt hunter right here and now.

Deep purple flames rose as she forcefully pushed up the longsword embedded in the beast's chest. The inner fire resonated with her determination, unleashing tremendous power. Even though the beast's feet were digging into the ground, it could only helplessly leave deep scratches.

The familiars echoed their masters, flames igniting on their bodies as well. They transformed into deep purple flashes, carrying straight swords, and circled around the retreating two figures.

Before the claws could strike, they were cleaved by the straight sword; before the wolf's bite could land, it was knocked askew by the hilt. A deep purple flash enveloped the beast, swiftly cutting through its flesh, carpeting the path plowed by the claws with crimson blood.

Finally, Ash pushed the beast to the huge tombstone in the center of the cemetery, and the familiar flashed back onto its master.

The longsword was pulled out and then plunged into the beast's heart with three times the force. The vicious blow sent the werewolf crashing into the tombstone. The longsword was buried up to the hilt in flesh and stone. It was more of a hammer blow than a stab. A large section of the werewolf's chest caved in, and the tombstone was also smashed open with deep cracks.

The music box was still clutched tightly in the girl's arms. She rushed to the scene of the battle, her body stained with blood. The legacy of the future human was running wild in her mind. She poured in her last bit of courage, even if it meant cheating, to try and save this tragedy.

The planes of time will be pierced through.

PS: Yunxi: 744486102, as usual, please vote!

Chapter Fourteen: Some regrets can't be undone.

The planes of time are about to be pierced!

Xiaoyan, who had just dealt a fatal blow to the priest who had transformed into a werewolf, keenly sensed a fluctuation in spacetime. However, this was completely different from the flow of time she was familiar with. It was as if time had become countless planes, accumulating in countless ways in an instant, while some kind of power was gathering, attempting to penetrate the planes of time.

The source of this feeling was... She turned around abruptly and discovered that the person traversing the timeline was actually that timid girl.

However, something far more dangerous had now entered her field of vision. She couldn't determine whether the girl's actions were right or wrong, but she knew that if she didn't interrupt her at this moment, the girl would die.

Before the plane of time was pierced, a certain point in time was connected into a line. The line went backward, and Xiaoyan suddenly appeared next to Asahina, grabbed her waist, and leaped out to dodge a deadly projectile.

The cannonballs exploded in their original spot, creating a cloud of blood mist. Asahina was spared from death, but the activation of TPDD (Time Plane Destroyed Devine, a time travel device for people from the future, existing invisibly in the minds of people from the future) was interrupted. The fluctuation of time disappeared, and the werewolf who had been fatally hit slowly slid off the tombstone.

The prey has been slaughtered!

"Ah...ah..."

The girl was gently put down by Xiaoyan, but her hands were still tightly clutching the music box. She watched as the beast-like priest slowly transformed back into a human, but her limp legs could no longer support her.

"Hey, I advise you not to try using your ability again. The price you pay for it is something you can't afford right now."

A beautiful head of blond hair was tied into two loose ponytails by a strange, half-black, half-white bear-face hair ornament. Her delicate face complemented her luxurious clothes perfectly. The attacker stood on the iron gate behind the cemetery, and beneath his blood-red cloak, wisps of smoke rose from the cannon that had unleashed its deadly attack without mercy.

It was that mad spirit who instantly killed Anri!

As she gently touched her neck, the deep purple flames instantly flared up. Xiaoyan's attention was immediately focused on this dangerous guy, so she failed to notice that the deep darkness flowed down at Asahina's feet again, and the girl holding the music box was almost suffocating under the attack before her eyes.

"Miss Witch, don't stare at me so fiercely. I really tried to wake that little girl up because I wanted what was best for her. You should know that, right? If you don't stop things from happening in time and try to forcefully change the outcome, you'll only end up in an endless cycle."

Are you mocking me?

"No, no, no, I'm mocking all those who can fool time, including but not limited to the two in front of me—by the way, instead of wasting your time chatting with me, why don't you check on this kid's condition?"

With her gaze still fixed on the dangerous woman, Homura glanced at Asahina out of the corner of her eye, then frowned deeply.

The girl had struggled to her feet, but her eyes were lifeless, and darkness seemed to permeate her entire skin. She had pressed the music box to her forehead, and the vibrations that could pierce through the plane of time appeared once again.

The hunter playfully raised the cannon, but before she could pull the trigger, the hilt of the sword in Xiaoyan's hand smashed into the back of Asahina's head. The blonde familiar immediately caught the unconscious girl, while the familiar in the wool hat aimed her twin guns at the hunter.

"What a pity, if you had been any slower, I could have taught this disobedient guy a lesson he won't forget."

"Heh, if you want to make a move, do you need any pretext?"

"So I'm not here to cause trouble, I'm just here to see what our new compatriots who have fallen into the abyss look like."

"Would I believe it?"

Arrogance led Asahina into hiding among the tombstones, while Homura and Stubborn remained vigilant, wary of the person in front of them.

"Believe it or not, I'm really disappointed. You actually ignited your inner fire first. You should have fallen into the abyss sooner. Maybe we could have become companions."

On the contrary, this dangerous hunter didn't seem to care about Xiaoyan's threat at all. She squatted down on the iron gate, propped her chin up with one hand, and winked at Xiaoyan.

"Even if I don't ignite the fire in my heart, I will not become an ally of someone like you."

"That's true, the only ones who can become my comrades, Enoshima Junko, are those filled with despair! Hahahaha!"

One second she was an elegant young lady, the next second she turned into a crazy woman amidst her maniacal laughter.

Xiao Yan frantically tried to think of a way to win, but based on her memory of being brutally killed by her last time, she couldn't find any weaknesses she could exploit. However, retreat was not an option in her mind from the start. If she didn't even dare to show her weapon, how could her flames burn brighter?

"Ugh, what an annoying look. That's why guys on fire are the most troublesome. Even the unforgettable death I gave you last time, I can throw you into the fire and not care anymore. So if you want to taste despair, at least I'll have to extinguish your flames."

Like seeing an annoying fly, she waved at Xiao Yan with disdain, then jumped behind the iron gate and leisurely walked away from the two of them.

"I've lost interest in you. You'd better get out of our territory. By the way, you probably don't know how to get back to that world full of fire, do you? What a shame, I, your mortal enemy, have to tell you all this. Anyway, go find a lantern, light it with that unpleasant flame, and you'll be kicked out of this world."

Today, as the blood-red cloak disappears from sight, the voice, sometimes arrogant, sometimes frantic, carries the final message back to the cemetery.

After gazing at the direction where the figure disappeared for a long time, Xiao Yan silently withdrew the flames from her body and, together with Gu Zhi, turned back to check on their companions.

————————————————————————————————————————

A sliver of light pierced the darkness, and Asahina blinked to clear her vision.

I messed up again. I had already decided to risk the cost of forced time travel to save the little girl's father, but I hesitated at the very last moment. Otherwise, TPDD would have been running long ago before Akemi-san knocked me unconscious.

As she thought about these things, she curled up and buried her head in her knees.

He arrogantly carried his straight sword, curiously observing the girl who hadn't uttered a word since waking up, and waved to the owner of the tomb who was exploring it in the distance.

Xiaoyan stood on the rooftop, silently looking at the corpse below. It was a woman wearing a large ruby ​​brooch, such an obvious ornament that hinted at a worsening situation for Ash.

Carefully removing the ruby ​​brooch, she saw the signal from her familiar, closed the lady's eyes, and returned to Asahina's side.

"..."

After thinking for a moment, she decided not to tell the dejected girl about the brooch directly. Instead, she placed her hand on the girl's head and gently rubbed it.

"Xiaomei-san, did you find something here again?"

"Ah, we found something..."

"Is it related to the little girl's mother?"

For some reason, the girl's intuition at that moment made Asahina realize the truth.

"...Yes, this brooch was found on a woman's corpse, if I'm not mistaken..."

"I see. So the little girl becomes an orphan?"

Asahina took the ruby ​​brooch from Homura's hand and tucked it and the music box into her bosom, tears streaming down her face.

“I’ll talk to the little girl about this later… After all, I killed her father with my own hands.”

"No... I'll go talk to the little girl myself. Akemi-san only took on this request because of me. This is also the reason why I mustered up the courage to seriously handle this matter. Even if... even if I ultimately fail, I should... finish it myself."

Tears still welled in her eyes, but Asahina forced a smile, stubbornly clutching the two items, refusing to let go.

————————————————————————————————————————

"Hunter sister...is this really her? And Dad too?...Mom...Dad...don't leave me alone..."

By the locked window, Asahina handed over the ruby ​​brooch and told the priest about his beast-like death. Hearing the heart-wrenching cries coming from inside the house, she leaned against the railing outside and slowly slumped down.

The two ashes leaned against the closed house, surrounded by heart-wrenching cries, watching the sunset that never seemed to set, and for a moment they wondered what the meaning of their journey was.

"Akimi-san, can I ask you for one more favor?"

After a long while, the crying gradually subsided, and it seemed that the little girl had fallen asleep. The girl who was watching the sunset side by side with Xiaoyan spoke softly.

Xiao Yan nodded silently.

"It's like this... I concealed the reason I came here before because I was invaded in my own intermittent world... and in that situation, I couldn't pick up a weapon to fight. I could only watch helplessly as my new friends were killed one by one in an attempt to save me."

The girl poured out her heart, and now Xiaoyan finally understood where her often absent-minded eyes were looking.

"Am I hopelessly cowardly? Yes... I have no way to fight no matter what, but... but I still want to see if the intruder is still there after I leave... But I'm also afraid. What if he's still there? What am I supposed to do now that I've lost all my courage..."

The crying rang out again, but this time the person crying was the one crying himself.

"I understand. I'll go back with you. If you can't pick up a weapon, then I and my companions will take him down!"

PS: Yunxi: 744486102 to the little girl

PS1: As usual, I'm asking for votes.

Chapter Fifteen Crucifixion

The last obstacle before Farron Keep was two exiled warriors. Whether they had been exiled and came to the Undead Legion for their initiation ceremony, or had become members of the Undead Legion before being exiled, no one knew. All Ash knew was that they guarded Farron Keep, preventing unauthorized intruders from entering and preventing Abyssal Devourers from leaving.

Of course, these are the deeds they performed in their original form in the World of Fire and Fire. In the World of Heartfire, they are still just an obstacle on the path of trials.

This hurdle wasn't too difficult for Zhi, but the problem was that the invading dark spirits, taking advantage of their immunity to attack, had already set up defenses at the fortress entrance, forming small groups of three, ready to deal with Zhi and the Fran guards' strong attack at any time.

So all we need to do is find a way to separate the two.

To achieve this goal, Zhi appeared alone at the entrance of the fortress.

This was unexpected by the Ash Soldiers. After all, their combat strength was not much different. If the Farron Guard and the World Master launched a joint attack, they felt that their chances of winning were only fifty-fifty. So there was no reason for the Guard to let the World Master go out alone to take risks. Something was definitely wrong. There must be a problem. Maybe they were lying in ambush somewhere.

The Ash Soldiers looked at each other, unsure whether to risk launching an attack.