Chapter 297 - Remnants

The part of the attic that was hidden behind the barricade was completely filled with dead bodies lying haphazardly on each other. Just one quick look at them was enough to find the cause of their deaths.

No matter who it was, a mother with a child in her arms, old man or young servant… All of them had a small hole in their head, with only the single man lying right beside the barricade having his body completely devoid of any energy at its very core.

Even if a person was dead, it took a long while for the last bits of energy stored inside their cells to diffuse back into the world, yet he was completely and utterly empty.

Only now did it dawn on me what was the scale of the massacre.

While I didn't bring the apocalypse on this city intentionally, there was no way to avoid responsibility for all their deaths. Even if the system did it for the sake of protecting me, in this single moment, all the insane amount of death suddenly weighed down on my shoulders, forcing me on my knees.

I wasn't a monster.

I was a simple guy brought to this world in specific circumstances and doing my very best to secure small happiness with my beloved one.

A strong eats weak? Being weak is a failure in itself?

I thought I understood the meaning of those words, but only now did I realise the true weight behind them.

They didn't apply only to my personal endeavours, but to the consequences behind my actions and how they influenced the world as well!

If I were strong enough to defend myself from that damned protector with normal means, all those people would still live their lives, caring for their beloved ones, tending to their matters, aiming to achieve better lives… It was my own weakness and the brutality of this word that killed them all!

Swiping the tears from my eyes, I pushed with my hand against the floor to help myself to stand up, but I slipped on the floor, falling down on the bodies.

Unwilling to desecrate the dead, I tried to move up with utmost care, but that only caused me to choke on the air when I saw a familiar corpse.

Lying covered by the bodies of two other ladies, was Lucia.

Just like everyone else, she had a small hole in her head, that penetrated and burned a sizeable part of her brain, probably causing instant death.

I could only assume that when they were met with the choice of being killed and turned into zombies, they preferred to commit suicide and at least keep their dignity after death.

Her slightly open mouth reminded me of the times where we had fun together. All those moments after she started enjoying our time together and growth, all the small talk we had in the breaks between cultivation and sex…

There was no going back to it now.

Even if I didn't spare her a single thought during my time on the island, when I saw her dead face, I couldn't help but grieve a bit.

Unable to hold my emotions back, I moved behind the remains of the barricade and cast a fireball on their corpses.

That was the least I could do for them. A proper burial in a fire. This way, their remains wouldn't be tainted by the grave robbers that were sure to come here at some point in the future.

Unable to stand this place anymore, I destroyed the wall and jumped down from the building. I couldn't care less if the commotion that it caused would bring attention to this place and possibly result in someone trying to track me down.

At this moment, I really hoped I could find someone to vent my anger, sadness and guilt on!

Closing my heart, I dashed towards the place that used to be the auction house that I spend so much effort to establish. After what I saw, I realised that there was only so much time that I could spend here before my mental state completely breaking down.

Finding the place didn't take me long.

With all the streets either completely deserted or filled to the brim with unmoving zombies, there was literally nothing that stopped me from going at my best speed.

Just like I expected, the building was almost completely torn down.

I could only guess that someone went around trying to destroy anything that ever had anything to do with me.

Unable to carry about such small things any longer, I scanned the rummage that once was a nicely decorated place with the hopes of finding some of my dildos buried in there. Sadly, I couldn't pick up any aura from it, ensuring me that they were all transferred to the energy clashing site that was developed for the sake of promoting this less intrusive way of clashing essences.

Calculating the proper place by comparing the boundaries of the rummage, location of the streets and some of the few places that remained more or less the same, I managed to pinpoint the location of the treasure room.

Moving the rubble away with several shockwaves opened a way for me. Sadly, just by stepping on top of the pile of rubble was enough to notice that those doors that were supposed to handle almost anything, were already broken down, with the storage room completely emptied.

That left me with only three more places to check.

Clashing energies site, great market and the former sect locations.

All of those places could hold an insane amount of wealth and resources that I could use, from the dildos loaded with yin essence, through the common resources on the market all the way to various treasures in the sects.

Since the treasure room was destroyed and compromised, I had to find a different place to set up the anchor for the teleportation. In the end, without it, I would be left with only the attribute points that I could somehow recover on the spot from the dildos, as long as I would handle exciting myself amongst the sea of the death…

Just the thought of it was enough to bring me on my knees and puke my insides out.