Chapter 87 The Monster Feared Most

"Strange. Why are they breaking formation now...?" The Fire Spirit wondered as he looked around.

Indeed, a portion of the hidden Corrupted Dark Elves had left the forest and entered the area in which their village used to be.

"Oh. Yep. Guess those do have some uses..."

Minutes earlier, a group was making its way through the forest.

The loud growls and roars of a Leviathan in the distance made them up their pace.

A white wolf ran as fast as it could in a straight line.

Following it, one with a dark pelt.

The latter's movements might have been faster than the former's.

But for some reason, it took extra time to choose its course.

Avoiding lit spaces in the open, it opted for darker areas in the shade instead.

Someone had given it an order, some time ago.

An order that the wolf took as a piece of advice. Or rather, a rule to live by. A rule not to violate until necessary.

Through countless trees, the enemies finally appeared in the distance.

The two wolves upped their pace further.

The next second, something akin to a spear made of ice passed through the space between them.

The Corrupted Dark Elves, picking up the sound of something piercing through the air, turned back.

The ice spear hit the ground and, immediately, the area around the point of impact started freezing.

Having jumped away at the right time, the Corrupted Dark Elves hadn't been hurt. Still, being taken by surprise added to the confusion that had been induced by a certain Leviathan's appearance.

They threw their bows away and unsheathed their Timeworn Elven Daggers while looking around for the enemy.

A deadly silence ruled that precise area of the forest.

An enemy had found it.

The ideal course of action.

The perfect angle.

The blindspot from which no Corrupted Dark Elf could notice it approaching.

The wolf's dark pelt twitched as it ran.

The next second, its body turned into a black fog before turning left and rising at a slight angle off the ground.

Just as the fog was about to hit a tree, the wolf reappeared.

Swiftly and nimbly, its paws landed on the thick tree's trunk.

Light extended his legs and propelled himself towards the target he had deemed suitable.

AGHH-

His fangs reached the chosen Corrupted Dark Elf's neck.

Despite the latter's struggle, Light did not intend on letting go.

The four other Corrupted Dark Elves immediately rushed to their comrade's aid. But before they could help, the white wolf opened its mouth wide.

A Magic Skill had been used.

The Wind-Type Magic Skill hit target, immediately costing one of the Corrupted Dark Elves its left leg.

The rest of the Corrupted Dark Elves were seething.

But before they could retaliate, the ground below started shaking.

Something was approaching.

Something huge.

As big as the Leviathan?

Something even bigger?

The sound produced and the intensity with which the ground was shaking definitely gave that impression.

But why couldn't the approaching giant be seen through the trees then?

The answer revealed itself seconds later.

The issue wasn't one of size.

But of numbers.

The small group of Corrupted Dark Elves, noticing the predicament at hand, stroke their blades together.

The produced sound served to alert the rest.

Led by their queen, a swarm of Insect Monsters was approaching.

On top of the swarm's leader, stood a Moonlit Feline.

It jumped off and onto a different Insect Monster's abdomen, shot an ice spear, then changed its position once again.

The Insects' Fire Magic Attacks coupled with the Moonlit Feline's Ice Magic Attacks threw the Corrupted Dark Elves off their rhythm.

Making it harder for them to retaliate.

And easier for Light and Grey to, stealthily, injure the enemies whenever they could.

Being attacked on two fronts, a portion the Corrupted Dark Elves decided to leave their hiding spots.

They exited the forest and walked on the scorched earth that had taken their village's place.

Some were turning their back to the Leviathan. While others, the approaching swarm.

The next second, a certain Monster's mighty roar shook the area.

Once the swarm arrived at the entry of the "village", they stopped.

Fiery's mandibles twitched.

We must support our Lord.

We must disrupt the cowards fighting from afar.

We must drive them out of their hiding spots.

So that our Lord can have his vengeance.

Instead of walking onto the scorched earth, the swarm circled around it, forcing more and more "cowards" to leave the various positions they occupied.

The Monster crushed a Corrupted Dark Elf's skull.

Floating words appeared in front of it.

[You have developed the Skill "Berserker[S]"]

Despite its numerous injuries, a wide smile appeared on Mark's face.

'I can feel it... Fill my body... With strength...'

Dismissively, he let go of the skull he had crushed.

'With this...'

Before running towards his next target.

'Let alone sixty of them, I could defeat a hundred!'

Seeing about a third of their comrades break formation and their comrades' atrocious slaughter, the rest of the Corrupted Dark Elves quickly arrived at a decision.

"GRRRRAAA!" They growled in unison, as they threw their bows away and ran forward.

Towards their enemy.

Even those that had been worried about the swarm of Insect Monsters turned towards Mark.

It was time to kill him.

No matter the sacrifices.

No matter what happens after.

Kill the Monster.

Had they been Dark Elves, and not Corrupted Dark Elves, their choice and course of action might have been different.

But, with their bodies and minds already thoroughly damaged by Corruption, this, was as far as they could go.

They couldn't dismiss the animalistic instincts that were screaming inside of them any further.

The little reason they had left, was discarded.

Hence why, to them, the future did not matter anymore.

What happens after did not matter anymore.

More than fifty Corrupted Dark Elves ran towards Mark.

Levi tried his best, but they were way too agile for his gigantic body and slow movements to even graze.

Timeworn Elven Daggers were thrown.

Two pierced Mark's shoulder.

His smile widened.

'It doesn't hurt...'

Mark's feet cracked the ground below.

'At all!'

A hand that seemed infinitely wide covered a Corrupted Dark Elf's field of vision.

Mark grabbed its face.

Using his momentum, he buried that enemy's skull into the ground, before moving on to the next one.

His throat didn't feel as dry.

His muscles didn't feel fatigued anymore.

His wounds didn't hurt anymore.

'This Skill is...'

His body seemed to have been brought back to top shape.

'Amazing!'

Matter of fact, it seemed even stronger.

Even faster.

Mark felt more powerful than ever.

A dagger pierced his side.

Mark grabbed the arm holding the weapon.

As if it had nothing more than a frail tree branch, the arm was torn off.

No one had realized it yet. Not even Mark himself had realized that his consciouness had been sipping in and out of his mind for some time now.

'Spectacular. Once again...' Levi thought to himself as he watched the massacre taking place.

Whenever he could, he used his tail and size to limit the number of enemies moving towards Mark. Or to, at least, delay their arrival.

'Our Lord has attained new heights.'

The Fire Spirit seemed pleased too.

"It's different from that guy's, but I don't dislike this either." He whispered before extending an arm forward.

A stream of blazing flames blocked the path for a couple of Corrupted Dark Elves.

"Can't let too many of you go for him at once." The Spirit whimsically said as a dozen daggers passed through his burning body.

Mark was completely surrounded by dozens.

But it felt different from earlier.

He wasn't scared.

It didn't hurt.

Nothing hurt.

Matter of fact, he felt like nothing could hurt him.

From outside the huge mass surrounding Mark, Light stood.

Fighting in plain daylight was definitely not his forte.

But the Master needed his help.

It might not have seemed that way, seeing how he was tearing apart Corrupted Dark Elves one after the other, but it was obvious.

The Master couldn't feel the pain stemming from his wounds.

Which meant he was free to move however he wanted. To fight however he wanted. For however long he wanted.

The shackles of "pain" didn't hold him back anymore.

But pain isn't such a simple concept.

It isn't all negative.

After all, it is because we feel pain, that we move away from the things that hurt us.

Just because "hurt" and "pain" are usually coupled together, doesn't mean they are the same.

The Master's wounds didn't cause any pain, but they were still there.

In fact, the wounds on the Master's body grew in number.

This seemed to, somehow, make him even stronger.

Light didn't understand how or why, but that mattered very little.

The Master's wounds were still there.

The Master's wounds were still bleeding.

But was it an Underling's place to tell its Master to stop fighting?

Light did not know.

Nor did Krista, Grey, Fiery, or Levi.

They helped out, however they could, and watched their Master fight.

"Hey. Probably time to knock it off, don't you think?" The Spirit asked, with not a hint of worry, after appearing behind Mark.

No answer.

"You might feel pretty good now but... No. I bet you feel amazing. But your injuries are piling up."

Still none.

"Hey?"

The Monster kept fighting.

"Can you even hear me?"

The Monster fought.

The Spirit stared for a bit.

"Mark?"

It was the first time the Fire Spirit called out to him by his name.

The Monster's injuries grew in number.

And the Monster continued fighting.

The enemies needed to be destroyed.

Killed.

Broken.

By this time, Mark had long since passed out.

Yet, his body hadn't stopped moving.

Unbeknownst to the Spirit, a new entity had crept its way into the battlefield.

Quietly, discreetly.

Silently.

A dagger pierced the Monster's stomach.

And a purple Aura started oozing out of its body.

A new Monster had entered the battlefield.

[Your Title "Devourer" resonates with your "Berserker[S]" Skill's True Nature.]

[Your Title "Evolving Monster" resonates with your "Berserker[S]" Skill's True Nature.]

A Monster Mark feared.

[Your Skill "Berserker[S]" has evolved into "Berserker[SS]".]

[Your Skill "Berserker[SS]" has evolved into "Berserker[SSS]".]

[Your Skill "Berserker[SSS]" has evolved into "Berserker[#]".]

The Monster Mark feared the most.

[Your Skill "Berserker[#]" wishes to Immortalize itself.]

[Your Skill "Berserker[#]" desires to become a Title.]