Chapter 205: Unleashed

Sujiro tried to control himself from what he was seeing. A dark cloud of energy came lashing towards the herd of magical beasts.

While Margaret stood in place trying to comprehend what or who the figure could be.

"In here!" Molly cried, waving at the two rouges. She then conjured a spell that bound the beast via vines that come out from behind them.

Sujiro rushed behind, pulling Margaret by the arm with an open mouth. She refused to leave at first, but as she saw that the dark figure hacking and slashing the beasts, she was convinced. She wasn't needed anymore.

With darkened Butterfly in his right, Ned slashed everything in his path.

In his display were dark lines that obscured his vision. Mana bar and energy bar were distorted in an unrecognizable pattern. His body display turned dark. And as if the voice was irritated, Ned's display cracked and clicked off.

Ned jumped from one body after the other, launching himself together with the sword. He jumped from one body to another with the sword stabbing like a pike. The dark energy sword went through the beast's body like a hot knife into butter. As the goblin's body plunged lifelessly, Ned faded with the shadow and appeared behind a goblin champion slashing its limbs in half, a quick spun opened a flesh behind its knees, falling together with the ax it held.

Swamp goblins with forest green fur on their back stood in silence as they watched the remainder of their herd dying one after the other.

Moloatiss was distracted for a moment as Ned launched attacks after attacks.

He growled in irritation and issued a command to the beast standing behind him. The beast stood in two and was covered in a thick orange like exoskeleton and held a metal rod.

The voice inside Ned, or was controlling him has been using all of Ned's abilities to the maximum output. Overclock, Predictive Combat Emulator, Detect, and his senses were stretched to the maximum. Currently, no movements could escape Ned's attention.

The settlement turned battlefield was transformed to a marsh of dead bodies littering before the eyes could stretch.

While the Hallowguard team was transitioning from events after the other, Ned was successfully reducing the number of the beasts to a bare minimum that they could handle.

Flames danced as Ned passed through them in a ribbon of dark energy. Ned was halfway to Moloatiss when he was bombarded by a series of magical spells from the beast's side. Shamans, three of them, stood in attacking position and being guarded by a barrier of goblins, and wargs, and butrikis. It could be called their last defensive line. The event has turned, the attackers now the defenders. And Ned pushed forward, uncaring of what could happen to his body or the people around him.

Missiles of magical spells bombarded Ned on different sides. After the residue of the spells dissipated, Ned was covered in a sphere of dark energy, successfully defended himself from their attacks. Without issuing any commands or gestures, the sphere of dark energy shrunk to a tiny dot at the tip of Ned's finger. Ned raised his free hand along with the tiny dot, and with a flick of his finger, the dot of black energy comically hovered midair. In the middle it jumped, as if mocking, then it staggered left and right. The surrounding seemed that the time had slowed down. Then, the dot shrunk, too tiny it was too hard for the naked eye to perceive.

Before the beasts could make a move, they were sucked by a vacuum of black light. Leaving nothing, not even air. After seconds of hum-hum, the black light popped and vanished after sucking everything, as if nothing had happened.

Moloatiss shrieked in despair after seeing that the ground where his shamans, and warriors stood was left with nothing but a hole, hay came rolling in silence.

Behind Ned, a long gasped he heard, then mutterings, but he continued onward. Letting himself be controlled by the satisfying and unknown kind of power.

[Ned.]

ICE's voice went through his darkened consciousness.

[Ned.]

ICE spoke once again.

'Shut up,' the raspy voice said, echoing inside Ned's head. 'Bitch.'

He continued, 'Let me savor victory. You're always with him. Now is my turn.'

The voice then laughed (more like a laughing roar) and echoed inside Ned's head like he was inside a cave.

'I need more of this,' he added and laughed maniacally. 'Here it comes.'

Ned ducked, evading a metal rod swept above his head. The duck squirted some of his blood from the wound.

Before Ned could reposition himself, the beast with a metal rod spun, and threw a hard kick, connecting him and Ned's right shoulder.

Ned was thrown by the surprise attack. His eyes were blue but in plain form. His silver hair turned darkened as the black energy kept on robbing him of his consciousness.

The beast, with a metal rod, hissed and said something in a gurgling voice as if his throat was filled with water. He pointed his rod towards Ned then a group of water wargs appeared behind him. These water wargs weren't normal either, their fur was blue with a streak of white running from their nape down to their tails. They howled as Ned waited for them. Like they could harm Ned in his gloriously; unholy form.

Eight water wargs in an evolved form, graded between C and D howled. Blue and white light of mana flowed in their canine bodies then collected at the tip of their snouts, the wolf-like beasts then conjured water orbs. Spilling them all over Ned.

Ned smirked that almost reached his ears. Ned yawned and waved his hand in the most satisfying and carefree way. His free hand was then covered with dark mist. The dark mist was then thrown like a spray of water and approached the water orbs. The dark mist then distorted, grouped, and formed a thin blanket of dark energy. Before Ned's eyes were the water orb devoured. The beast's spells weren't enough, the blanket of dark energy glided midair towards the eight evolved water warg. Before they could escape, Ned conjured Fireball in the darkest form. A fireball of black energy popped at the escape routes of the beasts, completely blocking their way. The water wargs whimpered before the fireball's blast, they then twitched around only to be devoured by the blanket of the black energy.

'Ahhhhhhh,' The voice said. 'I liked them marinated. But, whatever. Keep going, Ned.'

As if the voice was a soothing sensation for Ned, he turned to face Moloatiss, completely ignoring the beasts with a metal rod.

This, however, made the beast enraged. Its crustacean-like skeleton cracked, like a land devoid of any water. He then shrieked with its four mandibles opening wide open, green liquid seeped between its dark tiny teeth. His head was covered in a hard shell, and four eyes lined up his dotted head. Its back grew four limbs with pointy tips and much longer than both his hands and legs. His hands were claws like that of a crab. Surprisingly, he held (or clipped) the rod with ease.

He paused, with the help of its limbs and feet, he bolted toward Ned.

'Ah,' the voice said. 'A contender. Let's burn him red, Ned. I wonder how lobsters of this world taste. You better be salty,' and Ned dashed forward. Trying to give the lobster a handicap by not using his dark energy.

The metal rod hummed with anger as the lobster's hand held it firmly.

Packed with unknown energy. Ned flicked his hand and casually deflected the metal rod, gaining a growl from the lobster. But Ned stood, waiting. This, again, made the lobster enraged even more.

Although some parts were covered in flame, the ground of the settlement was still damp with the Bogblot's rainy weather. This made the ground soft, and an advantage for water magic. As the water from the surrounding would amplify any water magic being conjured. This made the beast an advantage as he conjured a water spell that enveloped his metal rod forming a trident like a spear. The ground around him dried as he borrowed mana from the surrounding. Its four mandibles cracked open in joy as he threw his trident toward Ned.

'Persistent lobster,' the voice said. 'You better taste good.'

Ned approached the trident with the Butterfly pointed forward. He leaped in a roll and passed through the trident. As he landed, the trident hit a tree at the edge of the forest, then sliced to pieces. All happened in a blink of an eye. The lobster whimpered and took a step backward.

This made Moloatiss hissed.

Unwilling to accept defeat. Moloatiss wave his functioning limb, issuing a commanding voice.

'You are next, rotten egg,' the voice growled inside Ned's head.

And as if the threat was visible. Moloatiss crawled backward, feeling the cold intent Ned have been emitting. Its slimy, and shining body wobbled in unison with his crab-like legs. Leaves rustled with his escape.

'No you won't,' the voice said, ringing in Ned's thoughts.

Ned then raised a hand, dark energy coiled around his forearm then rotated at the tip of his palm. With the voice's command, the dark energy rocketed above and showered Moloatiss with threads of tiny energy. Moloatiss was then bound with countless tiny black threads. The threads then stretched binding Moloatiss against the ground.

'Stay there,' the voice said.

Ned then walked toward the whimpering lobster-beast. The black energy coiled around his hand before it jumped to devour the beast. Can't even defend himself anymore.

The voice spat invisible saliva and hissed. 'Too bland,' he said.

The surrounding was robbed of sound as Ned stood in-between destroyed shacks, and boulders, flames skewed in a biased way as they slanted toward Ned as if bowing to welcome a passing emperor.

The Hallowguard team was trying to savor their shock.

Ned was too far to hear their murmuring but the voice took it as a praise. 'Yeah, yeah,' he said 'I am great, I know, I know. But this Ned here doesn't seem to appreciate me. Now what? Huh? Oh, the beast. Your quest. Okay, let's finish.'

Ned walked leisurely toward the bound Moloatiss. He could barely move with its limbs tied, his wide mouth gagged with a ball of black threads. Preventing him to issue any commands.

It took Ned a moment to annihilate all the surrounding beasts, that even Sujiro and Margaret had a hard time defending themselves. 'Weak!' the voice mocked. 'That is why.'

Ned walked halfway toward Moloatiss when ICE voice rang through his head.

'This bitch,' the voice said. 'Shut up and watch how I make your beloved Ned turned to what he was created to do.'

You're making him soft. You're limiting his abilities with all this Protocol shit. As for me, with the Prime Evolution. I am preparing him for something greater. Something that would shock the gods of the realms.' He stopped and let Ned walked onward. Ned stopped in front of Moloatiss.

'Now. The quest is here,' the voice said. 'With this, you will become stronger. You don't need him, Ned. Fuck him, fuck your Master, and fuck them. You only needed yourself—and me. Now do it!'

Completely taken over, Ned raised his hand after the voice's command. Ned smirked as he looked at the eyes of Moloatiss.

Ned gathered strength and waved his hand to slash the beast.

Then a grey figure came rushing from Ned's right and blocked the darkened Butterfly with his twin blades. The twin blades were melting with the clash of both swords.

"Ned!" Twali growled. "Ned!" He shouted. "What are you doing? This is him. This is your quest."