Herrscher of Reason's Arknights

The laughter belonged to the devil.

At this moment, just as a round tenon finally fits into a square hole, the ocean seems to come alive in an instant. The seawater is no longer a lifeless material creation, but the blood pumped by some huge creature. Countless dead, nameless dead, nameless warriors, and nameless hatred all surge toward Wenlan at this moment!

Before the words were even finished, my heart seemed to be given a new lease on life and began to beat powerfully.

Blood was pumped into the limbs and bones, accompanied by that inexplicable...

Throbbing.

That thirst for blood...

The rapidly beating heart seemed to be pumping blood back into this body that should have been young but had long since aged, reviving it once more.

Gradually, the tranquil sea disappeared, replaced by cold rain slapping against my face.

Lightning ripped across the sky, followed by a torrential downpour.

The rain soaked her body, but the cold rain also gradually brought Wenlan's consciousness back to reality.

The crimson vertical pupils that now belonged to the Sarkaz slowly opened, revealing a scarlet vision and the stagnant water stained red.

Wet, silver hair hung down his face, and the smell of rust filled his nostrils.

It was clearly her own blood, but the girl looked at the murky blood mixed with rainwater; the ghastly, scarlet color was so alluring at that moment.

Countless eyes seemed to open within the twisted crimson!

The crooked, distorted, and strangely shaped eye symbols of varying sizes kept flashing.

Drink it.

Drink it.

You have to give up something to gain something; if you want to gain something, you have to lose something else.

Blood slowly gathered in the pooled water, like a river flowing to an unknown destination, or like the end of a river.

Blood is the currency of the soul; once you drink it, you must use a portion to exchange for what you desire.

They stopped being human and became like monsters.

They became less docile and less compassionate.

Abandoning one's soul, becoming a monster...

But the girl already knew what she was going to do.

If you want to survive, give up your human identity.

Everyone must give up something in order to protect what is left.

To protect what is more important, one must have the instinct of the weak, the strength to cut off one's own arm to protect oneself, and the necessary awareness.

"...Then, accept me."

Accept this blood curse.

The scarlet tongue licked the blood mixed with the rainwater.

·············

Seeing that its prey on the ground was no longer moving, the monster lost interest.

The prey was not quite dead yet; its remaining breath was faint but still present.

However, death is only a matter of time.

The prey gradually turned into corpses, and the mission was over.

The monster fell silent again. With no new commands coming into its mind, it lost the desire to continue attacking.

The only task in the commandless state is to remain silent.

Find a place to hide until the next order arrives.

A perfect weapon should be like this: devoid of joy or sorrow, completely devoid of humanity, lacking morale, and never complaining about its work.

Now, it's time to evacuate and await the next order.

However, the next moment, just as the monster turned to leave, it did not notice the unusual occurrence in the downpour.

That was... the sound of waves in the rain.

Whispers in the thick fog, and...

Blood flowing against the sky.

The dark brown blood, like spider silk, was pulled up from the ground by an inexplicable force, slowly rising as if it were a cage enveloping something.

Enveloped within it was a black figure slowly rising amidst the rain.

Crimson eyes gleamed in the shadows.

A smile, an eerie grin, appeared in the shadows.

A frenzied aura surged through his body, and the twisted and maddening energy, like a raging storm, instantly filled the entire space!

The unusual noise also caught the monster's attention, but the thing that stood up seemed completely unconcerned about being discovered by anyone.

The black shadow even tilted its head, making the grin appear somewhat distorted.

prey?

The smile seemed to be a mocking question.

Who is the prey?

At this moment, something that was originally in the blood-red eyes of the shadowy figure disappeared along with the tears that had dried up.

The remnants changed the girl's expression.

Became sharp, became cold-blooded, became...

It looks like the eyes of that ghost shark.

The strange curve of his lips revealed his insane joy.

The girl suddenly smiled with delight. Yes, she had grasped power and authority.

Blood is the currency of the soul, and now, at this moment, she has grasped that one and only ticket, that one chance to change her destiny.

When a person's tears run dry, they become a ghost.

And now, she seems reborn...

A greeting from the deep sea [14]

What doesn't kill you will only make you more...weird.

A large amount of water vapor filled the air, and the sound of ocean waves surged within the fog.

It's raining.

The low-hanging air seemed to have lowered the altitude, and the oppressive atmosphere added to the sense of unease in the surrounding environment.

In the surrounding cemetery, the tombstones were covered with water droplets and raindrops.

A snail is slowly crawling on the tombstone, the slime it leaves behind being constantly washed away by the rain.

Her face was hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to see the girl's expression at that moment.

However, even she herself was unaware of how distorted her expression must be at that moment.

Excitement? Thrill? Or fear?

It's unclear, but it's clearly a rainy night, yet Wenlan doesn't feel a trace of coolness. The air seems to be filled with restlessness and unease, and the indescribable heat makes people's thoughts become unusually extreme.

"Hehe, hehehe, hehehahahaha, hahahahahahaha!!"

Amidst the maniacal laughter, another person's voice was mixed into the girl's original voice, the two overlapping tones sounding incredibly eerie in the night.

With a gloomy smile, the girl's pupils, which had shrunk several times, stared at her hands with almost fanatical intensity.

Is this power?

Is this what it feels like to have power in your hands?

Slowly clench your fists, as if you are gathering strength into your palms.

Clenching his hands tightly, fear and excitement intertwined, his body trembled uncontrollably, and even his distorted laughter sounded shaky and unreal.

"So...so this is what it feels like..."

—Oh right, and you too…”

Sensing the monster's gaze fixed on her, Wenlan's maniacal laughter abruptly ceased. She stopped abruptly like a wind-up doll, her cold face devoid of any smile.

In the darkness, the crimson light shimmered in his eyes, the crimson color resembling a swirling, flowing river of blood.

[Target eliminated]

This is the only quest the monster will accept.

If the prey is not dead, then the prey should be killed completely.

The monster felt no fear, nor did it hesitate in the slightest.

This is why such excellent weapons were developed and modified.

However, at this moment, the monster hesitated.

The woman before him exuded an aura that seemed to make the thick fog even heavier, and the sound of the tides sounded strange at that moment.

That was like the opposite of life, as if some huge dark shadow, stirring the seabed, had become active at this moment.

The monster's remaining will actually felt fear the moment it looked directly at the girl!

That is a warning that the organism itself will feel, attached to the remaining organs, left in the blood in the body, and even ancient genes are trembling wildly at this moment.

escape.

escape!

Even though some kind of suppressant was evaporating in the body at this moment, suppressing the body's original natural reactions, it was still no match for such heavy pressure.

Such suppression is like child's play.

Suddenly, the girl smiled.

The cruel smile even made the monster feel "trembling".

The pitch-black malice spread like ink dripped into water in an instant.

Despite having been pierced through the heart by the monster's wrist blade earlier, her wounds now seemed to have almost healed.

The blood remaining outside her body became the key to activating her "powers".

Without a learning process, there is no need for cognition.

She understood everything the moment she came into contact with the blood.

It is as natural as being born, as natural as learning to breathe with the first cry after leaving the mother's womb.

"Standing there like an idiot, not planning to make a move? Well then..."

—Now it's my turn.

With that, the girl suddenly swung her right hand in the air, scattering the blood on her fingertips into the air.

Within the crimson blood droplets, countless tiny and intricate runes tumbled and rolled. Every drop of blood, every contact between blood and air, was the key for her to activate her "power."

Blood is the currency of the soul, and she only needs to wield this currency to exercise her abilities in this area.

Because at this moment, the girl's blood had already been cleansed by the pact signed with the demon, the memories in her bloodline were activated, and the ancient pact was engraved into her blood.

···············

At the same time, in the dark street, the sound of heels hitting the ground echoed in the narrow alley.

A church hunter named Skadi was running quickly through the alley, a small lantern waving in her hand.

The light and shadow flickered violently, illuminating the drizzling rain and projecting the hunter's tall figure onto the surrounding walls and the ground.

As expected, that group made their move.

Those madmen actually created those blasphemous creations ahead of schedule.

That's a blasphemy against life itself!