Chapter 371 Hesitation
Jake stopped holding back, and he began to advance toward the cave while swinging his sword from one side to the other diagonally. The enemies that got in his way got split in two after their weapons were completely destroyed, and they didn't have the chance to even scratch him.
More and more enemies took notice of him and targeted Jake. It seemed that they were unable to feel fear due to the power they obtained, and not strangely enough, that had been their doom. You can't be brave without fear, and you can't be smart if you aren't careful either.
Regardless, the fact that Jake became a storm of steel covered by dark flames helped unburden the others more than a little bit… even though the number of enemies showing up didn't decrease… little by little, they approached the cave.
"Do you understand now, Jake?" Virgilius asked. "You might be using the dark side of your powers, but your flames are helping you recover mana and strengthen your sword. A man can't be absolutely good… everyone has darkness in their hearts."
"That is quite poetic for you…" Jake said and then swung his sword at three humans that charged at him with shields in their hands. "What about being absolutely evil?"
"I suppose it is possible to be absolutely evil… even if you believe that you are doing the right thing by killing who knows how many of your enemies, if you don't feel a bit troubled after killing so many and showing such a bloodshed that might cause the end of your species, then you can be absolutely evil," Virgilius explained. "How do you feel about this whole battle?" 𝑓𝔯𝑒e𝘸e𝘣𝓷𝘰ѵe𝚕.c૦𝙢
"I feel that I wouldn't miss it if I could live my life normally just fine, but the existence of some assholes makes that impossible,' Jake replied. "As for the deaths, I may have caused a lot, but against humans, I didn't start any battles that caused their doom."
"You believe that you didn't find your balance, but the balance is already inside you. You just have to accept it," Virgilius said.
"Great, now that explains how my envy works,' Jake said.
"Well, that is…" Virgilius said. "I suppose it is time for you to learn about that. After seeing you humans for a few weeks, I have come to understand your spiritual energy better. The truth is…"
Before Virgilius could answer that question, a beam of energy suddenly left that mountain and headed upward at insane speeds. Instantly it covered a massive direction and then reached Virgilius' brain, which was supposed to be who knows how many thousands of kilometers away from that planet. His main body was attacked.
"What the hell… Virgilius? Answer me. You can't stop now!" Jake asked. "Shit… did the enemy hear us? Why would he want to stop me from hearing that?"
Before long, the entire area began to tremble, and then a massive powerful aura covered the whole area and made everyone sweat cold… it was too powerful and angry. Jake would never forget that presence… it was the same thing he felt a few minutes before his death. The intensity seemed to be lacking more than a little bit, but its current power was more than enough to wipe up all the humans and creatures around.
"The rebirth of that thing was sped up a bit… it isn't complete, but it certainly is beyond our strength now," Jake said.
The others could tell. There was no need to say those words out loud… the battlefield stopped, and then everyone saw all of the remaining enemies leaving the dungeon in a panic. They were punching and kicking each other to open a path to leave the hideout. f𝔯ee𝘸𝘦𝚋𝒏oѵ𝐞l.c𝒐𝓂
Screams began to leave the cave… screams of agony of humans feeling the despair of a thing that seemed worse than death… it seemed that things were finally picking it up, but Jake thought that it was a bit too soon considering that the guild masters didn't show up again. That being said, Jake assumed that they wouldn't when he saw numerous tentacles leaving the caves and then heading and piercing all of the enemies on the battlefield.
They were supposed to be tougher than that, but the tentacles completely stopped them from moving, even when they barely pierced them. At the same time, their bodies began to wither away… they didn't have even a bit of strength to fight back, and in the blink of a way, they dried up like dead plants, and eventually, even their bones and dead skin were absorbed.
"What the… what a disgusting thing to do," Lana said after taking a step back and showing an expression of utter disgust.
"It seems we aren't going to see the guild masters again…" Arilene said. "They were given some juice to become stronger, but their master took the juice back with everything it could find as well… this must be a powerful and the most disgusting parasite that I have ever seen if he can do this much and this fast against so many targets."
Hugo and Helena bit their teeth in exasperation… they had come to settle the score with their former allies, but it seemed that they had been discarded by their boss already. In their second lives, they were treated like disposable trash through and through. Even if in the end had become their enemies, they didn't wish for their allies to end with such fate.
While leading the back line, Milena approached to check what was going on, but aside from what she saw, there wasn't much to say. Eventually, the tentacles began to retreat even though everyone was ready to fight them… considering what he saw, Jake began to have a bad feeling considering the hesitation of Virgilius in explaining his power…
Envy was one of the ugliest sins, and when it came in contact with mana when it was more physical, it could take things from others, and Jake felt that those tentacles symbolized that more than anything… The only comparable thing was his power.