Chapter 116 116 – Unveiled Mask
When you unleash a creature of darkness onto the world, the world itself becomes its feed. Eating away at everything and all who came in its view, the eater of void kept on devouring until the entirety of the monster's nest had crumbled into dust. With each goblin, each slime, and each spider it grew in size, and eventually when nothing was left it turned back to devour its own master.
"COME HEREEEEE!" Crawling out of the dark clouds, it dug its claws into the ground and began pulling itself towards Haruki.
"Master!" Asuka squealed at the terrifying sight of the blood-thirsty monster.
Glancing back as they were all trying to get out of the dungeon, Haruki saw the creature one last time before teleporting them all out through the nearby entrance. Sucked into its skull his elusive dark eyes were surrounded by a throbbing sea of nerves. Its claws wet with blood of all the creatures he'd carnaged still had their flesh stuck between his sharp nails. And worst of all, his mouth, laden with countless slender yet sharp teeth, was fuel enough for a lifetime of nightmares.
"Tormentous dungeon: Out of this dungeon!" Right on their tails as the creature had them shadowed under its open mouth, Haruki managed to teleport them all away.
Finally, out in the open, everyone took deep breaths trying to calm their hearts and minds. After a while as his mind felt a bit clearer and the creature of dark refused to step out under the light of the sun, Haruki felt a surge of mana returning to him. All the power the void eater had gained after eating up everything inside the dungeon was now used up for revitalizing Haruki's body.
'If only it didn't try and eat me as well, it could've been a great familiar.' Turning around to look at the others, he made sure everyone important had managed to escape the creature's grasp.
First, as he noticed Asuka and Riley as guards as well as Margarette posing as Rose, he didn't feel too alarmed, but then as his eyes shifted to Kane and the goblin queen he was left a bit perplexed by what he was seeing. The plant-like pod standing behind the queen had opened up and peeking out of it was a slime girl, and as if that wasn't enough to fuel his confusion Kane too was carrying someone, although it wasn't a monster, but a naked human girl.
"Who is that?" Asked Haruki, walking up to Kane.
Seeing the person's face as he walked around Kane, however, Haruki's eyes widened. Jerked back instinctively, he kept staring at the unconscious girl. Noticing the girl's amber hair, and the mole right under her lips, his heart pounding faster and faster by the second.
"Mariya…Mariya Raymond?" As though an emotional dam had flooded open, Haruki felt his heart burning as the memories of his past haunted him once again.
His eyes still fixed on the girl, he clenched his fist as deep troubled breaths left his mouth. It was her, the girl from the past, the mage of his battalion, the one who'd bound him by a fiery spell as the leader of their battalion raped a demi-human girl.
"Arnold? Hey man, are you okay?" Gently resting the girl on the ground, Kane glanced up at the obviously troubled mercenary in front of him.
"No…" Haruki replied without even looking at him.
"Master?" Slowly moving towards him, Asuka mumbled.
Unaware of everyone's concerned look, Haruki gave up and turned into his demonic form right in front of them all. Taken over by a look of confoundment, Kane furrowed his eyes and glared at him in disbelief.
"Who the hell are you?" Grabbing the girl, Kane took a giant leap back to distance himself from the demon. "Where is Arnold?"
Looking over to Rose, Kane expected her to help instead as she noticed his gaze on her, she closed her eyes and turned back into Margarette. With their master having already given up his identity, the rest of the group followed soon after.
Now, as he stood there cornered by a pack of lust demons, he turned to the only one he could still trust a little, however, following Kane's gaze, Haruki bound the goblin queen as well as the slime queen with holy chain binds.
"What?! Let me go!" Growled the goblin queen as she struggled to free herself from the chains.
Losing the entirety of her pack to the void eater, she too only had Kane to ask for help, but he didn't seem in any better condition either. As for the queen of slimes, she was still passed out from being caged inside the walking flower plant.
"Give her to me, and maybe I'll spare you," his eyes glinting a violet glow, Haruki took a few steps closer to the girl.
Tightening his grasp on the unconscious human girl, Kane sprouted out a blade of rock to protect them both from whatever the demons were about to try.
"Tell me, are you an impersonating demon or-"
"Your doubts are right," holding his hand towards Kane, Haruki bound him too with the holy chains. "I'm Arnold, I'm Snow Frost, but most importantly I am Haruki Shin, the soon-to-be new lord of this world."
Binding him further with ropes made out of darkness, Haruki forced Kane to let go of the girl before hanging him up high.
'How's this even happening?' Thought Kane as he struggled to get out of the constraints.
"Where did you find her?" Haruki asked, getting to his knees to get a look at Mariya. "And where's Grimm? That stupid boyfriend of hers?"
"Why the fuck will I tell you anything?!" Kane retorted, grunting.
"Oh, you will, you most definitely will," shapeshifting into a feminine succubus, Haruki peered up at him. "Hypnotic gaze!"
Although the ability managed to weaken Kane's mental barrier, it still didn't make him fall completely into Haruki's command.
"Herald of truth: Come to me…" Using Serena's ability, Haruki conjured up her lie-catching staff.
Knowing full well what it was, Kane, once again couldn't believe his eyes.
"You will tell me everything you know, or I'll rip this girl to shreds," raising the girl from the ground with Lulu's help, Haruki had given in to his thirst for vengeance.