A ghoul peered through the bushes with his blood eyes. His mouth drooled as he saw four creatures struggling in the jungle.
Two male, two female. The females both held canes with a golden gem embedded on top. One male carried a sword around his waist. Another male had a long blade attached behind his back.
"Protect the Artifacts. Kill the Humans," the ghoul whispered to himself. He flinched when he saw the males draw their swords. One female created a transparent golden dome around the four of them.
'Did they notice me? No matter.' The ghoul could see the humans sweating. He could tell the males tried to keep a brave face, but the quivering of their legs couldn't escape the ghoul's senses.
He gazed upon the clear blue sky. "No matter." Pores opened up on the ghoul's broad back.
[Skill: Fog Entrapment(Active)]
Grey fog effused and spread from his pores. The fog enveloped the entire forest, blocking the sunlight from entering.
The ghoul watched the fear on its prey's faces.
A hush descended upon the forest as the ghoul noiselessly climbed atop a tree. He reckoned his preys did not know his exact location, as all of his preys faced different directions and guarded each other's backs.
"Test Speed."
Screen boxes emerged atop all his prey's heads.
[Speed: 259]
[Speed: 300]
[Speed: 54]
[Speed: 61]
The females appeared to be the slowest.
His preys seemed confused because of the fog. Trees already surrounded them, and now they lost their vision.
The ghoul also noticed his preys mumbling to each other. Their shivering voices enticed more excitement within the ghoul to hunt.
On his palm, surrounded by five ghastly fingers, was a stone. The ghoul stretched back his arm and threw the stone towards the east.
Swoosh!
Thwack!
The stone struck a tree branch towards the east. The branch crashed into the ground, yielding a sharp noise.
The ghoul's leg muscles clenched as he noticed all four were distracted by the noise. All of the ghoul's preys were looking towards the east.
Swoosh!
The ghoul jumped.
♤♤♤♤♤
The humans flinched, sensing intense bloodlust.
Shatter!
The golden dome shattered like glass.
"Shit!" The one with the long sword exclaimed. "W..w.whe.. re's Kyra?" Another male asked while shuddering.
One of the females disappeared. They could barely see anything because of the fog.
"NO!" The remaining female screamed.
"Calm down!" The male grabbed her shoulder while quivering himself.
Huss!
The bulky male's long sword engulfed itself in fire. He took his sword and stabbed the ground.
From the point where the sword was impaled, a ring of fire emerged, surrounding the three.
"The r-rumors were true," she murmured. "W-we should…have never come here.." she cried.
♤♤♤♤♤
The ghoul clung to the tree like an owl. "Mm…mm." His broad palm covered the girl's mouth. His other arm pressed tightly against the girl's stomach. The girl struggled, constantly rocking her legs.
The ghoul could feel the fabric of the woman's clothing through his bare chest. The scent from her hair and body agitated his nose. He opened his mouth, revealing a line of sharp black teeth.
The teeth sank through the girl's head and tore out a chunk of flesh, skull, blonde hair, and brain. Then, the girl's legs stopped moving.
As the ghoul vigorously chewed, he looked and noticed the other three had started to regain their composure. A ring of fire surrounded the two males and one female, and the female seemed to be enchanting something.
The ghoul jumped down—the girl's corpse still held tightly between his arms. He took another bite and engulfed the girl's entire head, then threw her body to the side.
His black fingers sharpened, and the muscles in his fingers tightened. The ghoul started to dig.
♤♤♤♤♤
The cane in the female's arm glowed. "By the gift of thee, I evoke 'Nullification'"
Suddenly, the fog around them vanished. Under the clear sky, their vision became perspicuous.
The female tapped both of the males' backs. Then, a layer of transparent golden aura surrounded them.
"Stay on guard. The ring of fire cannot kill it, only hold it back," the bulky man said, clenching his fist. As long as his sword was impaled on the ground, the only thing he could use was his fist.
The other male took a long breath. The runes on his sword began to emit a bright light.
The female kept chanting.
The two males kept a strict watch on their surroundings, observing the tree branches, the bushes, and everything as far as their eyes could see.
Tremble!
The ground shook.
Thud!
Pieces of the soil broke as a hand emerged from underground and grabbed the male's leg. The bulky male winced as he felt his right leg being pulled underground.
The other male swung his sword towards the arm, but…
Slam!
Splosh!
Pieces of flesh and bones splattered through the air. The bulky man's one leg and half side had been pulled underground. However, the other half remained on the surface. The man was mutilated into two.
Seeing such a horrendous sight, the woman wailed. The ring of fire dissipated since the caster died.
The remaining male clenched his teeth, grabbed the female's arm, and began to run. The two hurried through the forest.
"No matter what," the male said while desperately gasping for breath, "I'll protect you."
Hearing those words, the female's eyes filled with tears again. "Yes," her voice trembled. "Yes, you… will"
Thud!
The female fell, stumbling upon a tree root. The male halted. He turned back, crouched, and gave her a hand. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yes," The female said as she looked at his gentle face. But then her eyes dilated in horror as she noticed the monstrosity standing behind him.
Under the clear sky, she noticed the 9-foot humanoid being. Its skin was like a red orc's. Head like a human's. Eyes blood red, along with long, black, frizzy hair. And two horns overhead.
The male tightened his grip around his sword as reflected in the female's eyes was the monster's figure.
"It's all right," he said for the last time, as he spun around and swung his sword.
Spat!
The girl could neither move nor speak. She could only look as she saw the man getting squished into the ground by the palm of the monster.
"ha.." The despair caused her to let out a peal of twisted laughter. The laughter stopped when she noticed the monster's red eyes looming over her.
The monster opened its mouth and said, "You have nice eyes." It spoke in a low, husky voice.
The girl felt her thighs getting wet as she realized such a being could speak.
♤♤♤♤♤
The ghoul grabbed her head using one hand and brought her close to his head. He used his fingers from the other arm to plunge into one of her blue eyes.
The girl screamed in pain.
He took out one of her eyes, along with some flesh. But alas, his fingers were too broad. Her skull was shattered, and the eye itself was squashed.
[You Have Slain 4 Humans]
[Max Level Already Reached]
[No Additional Exp Added]
The ghoul dragged all of the bodies to one place and feasted upon their flesh. It grabbed the cane, then extracted the gem on top with brute force. It also collected other human tools, such as the long sword and the inscribed sword.
Carrying all those things in his arms, the ghoul started to walk deeper into the forest. The number of humans entering this forest had plummeted.
'Are they too scared? Maybe I should pretend to get injured and let a few prey escape. That should entice more to come.'
The forest was dense. After a while, it arrived in front of a small cave. The entrance of the cave was too thin, so the ghoul crouched and entered.
Thump! Thump!
The sound of a heartbeat echoed through the cave. The cave served as an entrance to a massive room, constructed from stone walls. At the center was a scorching pit.
The ghoul threw the gem and the swords down the pit. Red, blue, green—there were countless gems at the bottom.
The swords melted like ice when they reached the bottom. The molten blades turned into a fiery vapor and whirled above.
Above the pit were three black eggs entangled in white webs attached to the ceiling of the room. The fiery vapor met the webs, causing the web to turn red.
[Temperature raised by 810 Kelvin]
[Required Temperature: 142 nonillion (1.42 x 10^32) Kelvin (K)]
[Present Temperature: 10,000 Kelvin]
The ghoul scratched its head. At this rate, there was no chance that the eggs would hatch. The number of humans entering the mountain was also decreasing.
If things continued as they were now, he would never be able to fulfill his purpose. He would fail—the eggs would never hatch.
♤♤♤♤♤
Ten years later
♤♤♤♤♤
The ground shook vigorously. One of the trees went flying due to a punch.
In the night, the ghoul's eyes shone brightly like the sun. He was furious. For the last ten years, not a single human had entered the forest.
The pit's temperature had plummeted.
At this rate….the eggs would die.
Bam!
The ground shook, unable to handle his punch.
No! The ghoul would never let the eggs die. He was its guardian. The ghoul had sworn a vow.
♤♤♤♤♤
Two days later
♤♤♤♤♤
The ghoul loomed over a corpse. A human had entered the forest for the first time in 10 years. But….
From what the ghoul could see, a small dagger was impaled on the corpse's heart. The corpse was of a boy who wore a black coat and had black hair. He looked young.
The ghoul did not kill him. By the time he'd reached here, the boy had already died. The boy had killed himself.
'To come here, just to kill yourself. How foolish.'
The ghoul crouched down and grabbed the boy's head.
[Skill: Dead Catechization(Active)]
The boy opened his eyes. The ghoul flinched as he noticed the boy had the same blood-red eyes as his.
"Why has no one entered the forest?" The ghoul asked. It had been living and hunting in the woods for thousands of years. It did not make sense that the humans would suddenly give up trying to obtain the dragon eggs. After all, to them, the eggs were the only way to obtain immortality.
"The emperor," the corpse started to talk, "Gregory Rothschild declared the demonic woods a forbidden place to enter."
"Why?"
"10 years ago, the princess refused to believe her father's words. She sneaked into the demonic woods with three guards and never returned. The Emperor believed she died because of her own foolishness. He never sent any reinforcements because he reckoned it would be a waste of manpower. The prince, enraged by this decision, started a rebellion. But the prince was used as a puppet by a warlock. With the help of the prince, the warlock stole the ancient arts from the Emperor's treasury. The prince got beheaded, but the warlock escaped. The warlock used the art to enslave the demons and declared war on the Vriweth Empire. The war has not ended since. The Emperor was unwilling to waste crucial manpower in times of war. Thus, the Demonic Woods were declared a fruitless endeavor and deemed forbidden."
The ghoul let go of the corpse's head. He wondered, if it was forbidden, then why did the boy enter? But didn't ask the question, as he felt no interest in knowing the affairs of a human.
It seems things have changed a lot. He thought he'd slaughtered all of the demons ages ago. They must have reemerged.
But getting enslaved by a human? How pathetic!
How many years had it been since the great one walked in the lands of humans?
He recalled the glory days when he roamed the Deviel Continent, plundering lands, enslaving women, and causing extinctions. But that was the past.
Should he leave this forest, he would grow vulnerable—that was his curse.
The ghoul walked into the cave.
Thump! Thump!
The sound of a heartbeat echoed strongly through the room. The once scorching pit now appeared to be plain and lifeless.
The ghoul extended its arms. The webs shifted and handed the three small eggs onto his arms. He clung to the eggs tightly to his chest. The eggs felt warm. But they would die if not placed in a suitable environment for a long time.
The ghoul had no choice. He had to leave the forest.
♤♤♤♤♤
He returned near the boy's corpse, still carrying the three eggs. Then, gently placed the eggs on the ground and grabbed the boy's head.
[Skill: Plunderer(Active)]
[Initiating Face Plunder]
[Initiating Bone-Structure Plunder]
[Initiating Muscle-Frame Plunder]
[Initiating Skin Plunder]
[Initiating Skills Plunder]
[Initiating Talents Plunder]
The boy's corpse turned leaner and leaner until not even bones remained.
[Skill: Plunderer(Successful)]
[Skill: Metamorphosis(Active)]
The ghoul's skin had started to morph. His muscles trembled as they began to shrink. Intense pain passed through his body. In agony, the ghoul punched the ground.
Boom!
An earthquake engulfed the entire forest.
The ghoul breathed heavily. His entire frame had changed. He stood naked with milky white skin. Shining black hair. And red eyes.
[Skill: Metamorphosis(Successful)]
He'd shapeshifted into the figure of the dead boy. He had to leave the forest and find a way to save the eggs. But no one could ever know who he truly was. He couldn't leave the forest in his original form. If he did, he would sow the seeds of war. He didn't fear for himself, but in no way could he take any action that could endanger the dragon eggs.
He only had one purpose—to protect the eggs. And raise the dragons. For this purpose, even if he had to sink so low as to take the identity of a human, then be it!
♤♤♤♤♤
He donned the boy's clothes—a long black coat, black pants, and leather boots. The clothes felt incredibly confining and uncomfortable.
"Ahh, humans," he sighed, unable to comprehend why people would wear such a thing. The urge to rip the coat right off his body was strong, but for now, he resisted. After all, learning to compromise is an important skill.
To lurk among the humans, one must first wear like humans.
"Just until the eggs hatch, just until the eggs hatch!" he consoled himself.
As he walked near the eggs and picked them, he pondered, "Traveling west towards the Elfin Domain or the south, home of vampires, would increase the odds of finding means to hatch the eggs."
He shook his head. That would have been too risky, especially considering his past deeds.
After keeping the three eggs in a black sack, he started to travel east—towards the land of the humans.
The woods were his home for a long time. As a result, he knew the entire place thoroughly. But travelling with his new tiny legs and tiny steps felt strange. The trees also looked bigger. It felt suffocating.
♤♤♤♤♤
After about two days of walking, he arrived at the edge of the forest. He'd chosen to walk instead of using any spells to arrive faster, to get used to his new form.
Standing beside the last tree, he could see a grassland ahead.
A cool breeze brushed past his face. It was a refreshing feeling.
"But, what's this?" With his blood-red eyes, he could see colossal walls afar. The golden wall extended as far as his eyes could see. There also seemed to be yellow gates located periodically.
"To think I never noticed."
Never had he expected that humans would build such a wall. "Ah, yes." Using his skill, Plunderer, he had stolen the boy's memories. From those memories, he recalled that the walls were constructed to prevent anyone from entering the demonic woods without a permit and prevent the monster lurking in the woods from invading the Vriweth Empire—in case it decided to leave the forest.
The ghoul facepalmed and gave out a twisted chuckle, "Prevent Me?? Absurd!"
He strolled near the gate. With every step, he got further and further away from the forest.
Thump! Thump!
With every step, his heartbeat grew quieter and quieter.
With his sharp vision, he noticed a few humans atop the walls. The humans also seemed to have seen him.
The ghoul halted right in front of the wall. His eyes peered as he noticed countless incantations and enchantments placed upon the fence and gates.
"Impressive… but futile," he said. He was not that far from the forest. Only a flick of his finger would be able to break it right now.
But he did not act and waited. If he'd planned to do everything with brute force, then he wouldn't have taken this form.
He realized the boy whose body he'd stolen was not just a typical boy from the memories. So, he hoped the gate would open on its own.
….
A few minutes passed, yet nothing happened. He could still see some humans muttering above the gate.
"Whatever!" His fist clenched as his eyes got redder.
Clank!
The metal gate slowly opened. Seeing that, the ghoul sighed and loosened his fists.
He strolled inside and, right after crossing the gate, encountered a horde of knights.
"Stop right there!" A knight in his early 30s with blonde hair and blue eyes shouted—a knight named Greysen Lindone.
Slish!
The knights drew their blades. Greysen stood in front of the ghoul. He pulled his blade and pointed it near the ghoul's neck.
"Why have you returned?" Greysen asked. "No matter. Still, you're the first one to ever return from the demonic woods. You shall be questioned under—"
The knight kept speaking, but the ghoul did not hear a single word. On his mind was only one thing—the enticing smell of the humans. Ten years! It had been ten years since a human had last entered the forest. For ten years had he starved. And now, all of them looked so fresh and juicy.
The ghoul gulped. His senses heightened.
[Skill: Forage(Active)]
His skill allowed him to search for food. And using his skill, he detected over 400 people spread across the wall—one hundred in the tents, and fifteen currently surrounding him.
Ahh, humans, so fragile, yet so odorous.
"Oi! You dare ignore me?" Greysen scowled.
Killing them would serve no difficulty, but from what he could gather. One of the five great families in the Royal Empire, the Hartelles, was tasked with supervising and investigating those who defy the law.
Killing over 500 would count as genocide, and this matter would undoubtedly be investigated.
Sigh!
The ghoul sighed.
One of the veins popped on Greysen's forehead. But being a knight, he had to follow regulations. Then, his gaze fell upon the sack hanging at the ghoul's waist. For years, many people had entered the forest carrying highly refined swords, mana stones, and spellbooks, but never returned. 'What if he found a hidden treasure?' he thought. It made sense—finding a hidden treasure might have given him a reason to return.
"I hereby seize any material you might have obtained from the forest for the purpose of research."
Retracting the sword, the knight stretched his arm to grab the sack, that's when—
A breeze brushed past the blonde knight. But it was not the breeze that caused the knight to sweat. It was the bloodlust—that came along the breeze.
Even on a bright day, all the knight could suddenly see was the blood-red eyes glaring at him.
"What's my name?" The owner of the blood-red eyes asked.
The knight found his grip on the sword loosened. His feet felt numb.
"W-what?" Greysen shuddered.
"What's my name?" The ghoul took one step forward.
The knight felt his throat getting dry, "Z-Zul Amon Delsin." The knight took a step back.
"And what does that make me?" The ghoul took another step forward.
The knight took another step backwards, "t-the heir to one…of the five great families. A royal. And the overseer.. of 10,000..knights."
Greysen answered without realizing.
"And what happens to a knight who points his blade towards such a man?" The ghoul's face brewed a vile smile, which echoed perfectly with his deep, piercing eyes.
Seeing such a sight, Greysen's sword slipped out of his hand and dropped to the ground. He also lost his footing and fell back.
"Y-you—" Although not an heir, Greysen was also a member of the five great families. He'd no reason to be scared, yet his arms kept trembling. Under intense bloodlust, the knight snapped, "How dare!—you were supposed to kill yourself! You're nothing but a puppet. You dare act all mighty now? In front of the Emperor, you begged like a dog. You gave up your rights as a royal when you signed the contract. 10,000 knights?! Bullshit. You wrote yourself that your property and knights be handed to the Emperor after you kill yourself. You possess nothing! You can do nothing."
"Is that so?" The ghoul crouched. His blood-red eyes stopped glittering as he grabbed the fallen sword's hilt. The bloodlust disappeared.
Greysen blinked in confusion. "Why am I on the ground?" The knight asked himself.
"The contract was based on the pretext that I kill myself." The ghoul gripped the swordand asked with a light smile, "Do I look dead to you?"
"What?" Greysen looked at the ghoul's smile. There was no blood lust, yet he felt his life leaving his body. Soon after, the world looked upside down.
"Oh my god!"
The knights circling the ghoul all screamed as they saw Greysen's head being sliced off.
"Anyone else?" The ghoul asked.
The knights gritted their teeth, yet no one moved. The bloodlust they felt before had paralyzed their legs.
"I thought so," The ghoul threw away the blade and kept walking.
♤♤♤♤♤
"I can already imagine the fury on the emperor's face," said a woman, looking from above the wall. Her face grew a smile as she saw the knights drag Greysen's corpse.
"Miss Edlyn, shall I report this incident to the emperor?" A knight with black hair and blue eyes asked.
"Of course," Edlyn faced reddened. "Kill the rest of the Greysen's troops, inform the emperor, Zul Amon Delsin slaughtered, Greysen Lindone and the knights under him, and declared his desire to rebel against the empire."
♤♤♤♤♤
The ghoul had strolled about 300 steps afar from the wall. "Ugh! Why did I do that?" Even after spending all that willpower not to eat everyone there, he still ended up killing someone.
But a mere human dared look down on him? What else was he supposed to do?
He rubbed the back of his head. While walking, he'd gone through the boy's memories. The boy whose identity he'd taken, "Zul Amon Delsin," seems to have been a person entangled in a significant conspiracy and had lived a miserable life. He was even forced to enter the demonic woods and kill himself.
"Maybe, I should take someone else's face."
All the ghoul wanted was to find ways to hatch the dragon's eggs, so he decided that if the situation turned too dire, he would change his identity.
The ghoul halted. Right now, he was exactly 500 steps away from the forest. He'd reached the end line.
This was the final step.
He took a long breath and marched forward.
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
[You have strayed away from your confined prison.]
[Warning: For each day you stray outside the forest, an additional ten years will be added to your sentence.]
"10 years? Last time it was 100 years per day." The ghoul looked at the screen with an intrigued look.
He strolled ahead without a care in the world.
[All of your abilities are hereby sealed.]
[But for your contributions in the past aeons, you are hereby granted access to any two of your abilities.]
[Name any two abilities you want to keep:]
"Contributions?" The ghoul burst into laughter after hearing that word. His entire life, he hadn't contributed even a dime to anyone except for the dragon eggs, of course. He was sure that wasn't the reason he was allowed to keep any two of his abilities.
"Are they trying to get on my good side? Hmm."
He didn't ponder much, thinking about the reason. "Two abilities…." He possessed countless abilities. When he'd decided to leave the forest, he knew his abilities would be sealed. But didn't care much, as he was a 'Ghoul.' His innate nature and innate skill could never be sealed. That was enough.
"But if I am allowed to have two more…." He wondered what he should keep.
After strolling for a while, he arrived at the city gate.
Countless guards guarded the gate, and after the gate, he entered Dethia Town. People crowded the lanes and roads. His face was well-known, and everyone gazed at him with a peculiar expression.
The ghoul covered his nose with his arm and consoled himself.
"Control, control."
Amon was an heir to an esteemed household. Naturally, he had many servants. So, the ghoul consulted himself. He could eat any servant he wanted in his household and cover up their deaths. No need to even cover up, a lord could even go as far as to rape or torture the servants of their household, and no one would even give a damn.
So, no matter how enticing the scents of the people on the road might be, he had to control himself. After all, juicy sacks of meat were waiting to be eaten by him at his household.