Chapter 42: Where is your fish?

Chapter 42: Where is your fish?"You..." Lathel’s smile startled Anna. However, Lathel’s eyes were not on Anna at all—they were fixed on the silhouette of a colossal fish swimming through the black mist, wings spread wide like those of a swan. "Pff!" Lathel spat out a mouthful of blood, the smile on his face growing even more frenzied and ferocious. "Blood Sacrifice!" Lathel muttered. In that instant, it was as if his body was flooded with an immense, overwhelming force—his eyes turned blood-red, emitting a terrifying crimson glow. BAM! "ACK!" A burst of pressure erupted from Lathel’s body, shattering every black smoky tentacle that had pierced through him. Anna, caught in the explosion, was blown apart into a mass of black mist, then reformed some five meters away, her body once again taking shape. She stared in shock as Lathel’s wounds healed at a monstrous speed, until his body was once again flawless, just as before. Whoosh! The spear flew backward, landing once more in Lathel’s grip. And then something strange happened. As Lathel grasped the spear, the blood remaining on his hand was instantly absorbed by it. Blood-red magic runes appeared all across the spear, radiating an ancient, awe-inspiring, and wicked energy. Smash! Lathel tore off his tattered, blood-soaked robe, revealing a torso packed with muscle—perfect, like a statue of a Greek god. His golden hair streamed behind him, even though there was no wind. Around his body, a strange energy swirled, forming whirlwinds. Whoosh! Lathel swung the spear, the air screaming as a gust of wind blasted outward in all directions. Anna, seeing Lathel now, couldn’t help but tremble—she saw in him a terrifying aura. Like a mountain, and yet like a bloodthirsty monster newly awakened. Though he stood perfectly still, his presence was like that of an entire army, ready to annihilate any enemy in its path. ???? [Skill ’Blood Sacrifice’ activated successfully. Blood Sacrifice Description: Allows the user to burn their own life force, unleashing their full power and potential, reaching terrifying levels of strength for a short period of time. After using it, the user is guaranteed to die. Special effect: There is a 1% chance the user will be reborn, gaining strength and talents surpassing their previous self.] "How interesting..." Lathel suddenly spoke, his voice feverish with excitement. With a mad smile and bloodthirsty eyes locked on Anna, he laughed, "Hahahaha... Shall we dance?" Lathel bent slightly—then— BAM! His foot shattered the ground beneath him with a thunderous crack. His body shot forward like a cannonball, launching straight at Anna. Whoosh! The spear traced a perfect arc, its blade slicing straight for Anna’s neck. At that instant, Anna’s head began turning into Dark Mist, dissipating rapidly. "Lathel... dark mist..." Suddenly, Evelyn’s voice echoed in his mind: "I can help you." Hearing that, the smile on Lathel’s face grew even more manic, and he muttered, "Excellent!" The strange runes on the spear’s blade suddenly flared with blood-red light, and then— SMASH! "AGH!!!" A rending sound rang out, followed by Anna’s wretched, pain-filled scream, overflowing with agony and despair. Her head, not yet fully transformed into mist, was cleaved by the spear’s blade—instantly, the black mist became blood and shredded flesh, splattering everywhere. Anna crashed to the ground. Before she could get up, a massive hand reached out and clamped down on her head. Now, the blood-red runes from the spear had shifted onto his hand. That hand gripped Anna’s head tightly, and a voice filled with contempt and madness said, "What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to dance some more?" "Bastard!" Anna roared, "Don’t look down on me! I’ll get my revenge! I’ll—" BAM! Lathel slammed Anna’s head hard against the ground. Strangely, Anna’s body was now unable to dissolve into dark mist. Her face made ’intimate’ contact with the earth—flesh tearing away, scattering across the ground. "Revenge? What a joke." Lathel leaned over her, laughing mockingly: "If everyone wanted revenge, I would’ve died long ago. But what a shame... the weak are like maggots, only fit to be trampled under my feet." "You bastard! I’ll—" BAM! Before Anna could finish her sentence, Lathel smashed her head into the ground, then yanked her back up, laughing, "Where’s that fish you worship? Did someone else catch it already?" "You... you cannot blaspheme my great God! The great Xal’veth will punish you, judge you, drag you down to hell!" Anna raved, blood and flesh spraying from her mouth as she spoke. Lathel tilted his head, sneering, "What a pity, that fish is going to—" GRAOO! Before he could finish, countless souls surged out from the dark mist, charging toward him. These souls all took the form of villagers who had died in that hellish fire. Their bodies were blackened and charred, faces twisted with hatred, flesh falling off and exposing bone and viscera beneath. They resembled starving wolves, mouths wide open, lunging for Lathel. Yet Lathel showed no fear—his face was still indifferent, even faintly contemptuous. Whoosh! He swept his spear, the blade slicing through the spirits like a scythe, severing them like stalks of wheat, making them dissolve into black mist. The remaining souls recoiled in terror, not daring to attack. Their hate-filled eyes fixed on the Celesthalis spear, now tinged with a hint of fear. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Suddenly, Anna lunged forward and grabbed tightly onto Lathel’s leg, while countless black smoke tentacles burst from the cracks in her body and wound around the spear. GRAOO!! KRIT!! Seeing the spear ensnared, the souls seized the chance and rushed at Lathel. Suddenly, Lathel let go of his spear and, with both hands glowing with bizarre blood-red runes, lashed out. BAM! His fist instantly exploded the head of one spirit. "Hahaha..." Lathel laughed madly, "Come on, let’s dance!" BAM! BAM! BAM! At that moment, Lathel didn’t use any combat skills—just raw, primal force. He swung his fists again and again, blowing apart the skulls of every soul that came at him. The spirit of a five-year-old child latched onto his head, biting hard into his ear. Lathel’s hand quickly gripped the child’s head and brought it before his face. Gra! Gra! Gru! The charred child, like a lump of living coal, struggled in vain as Lathel’s hand crushed tighter. Grao! Grao! The other souls seized the opportunity, instantly swarming him, biting every part of his body, trying to tear him into a hundred pieces. Yet Lathel’s body was like it was made of metal—even with countless souls attacking him, he was completely unharmed. That was the result of the combination of ’Blood Sacrifice’ and the ’Perfect Humanity’ talent. Lathel didn’t care what the souls around him were doing; his eyes were fixed on the spirit of the child in his grasp. At that moment, he suddenly broke into an excited, frenzied grin. "Hahaha... Looks like... Vera did a splendid job." BAM! With just a bit of force, he crushed the child’s head in his hand. The child didn’t even have time to scream before dissolving instantly into black mist, vanishing completely from existence. His eyes brimmed with madness, disdain, and mockery. "Utterly meaningless..." Lathel said indifferently, as if the one being gnawed on by spirits wasn’t him at all. "What are you trying to accomplish by this?" "Revenge? Tearing into me just to feel some fleeting satisfaction?" "Please... Why didn’t you do this when you were alive?" "You’re pitiful, but you’re also fools and cowards. You sit waiting for some so-called ’gift’ from that damned fish?" "What a pity. This is nothing more than a piece of shit falling from the sky, and you’re just the unlucky fools who happened to be in the way." "But you don’t even know it’s shit, so you devour it like it’s some divine delicacy granted by your god." "You lie!" Anna screamed. "God will never abandon me! Thanks to Him, I found you and got my revenge. My husband... my children... all of them died, because of you... They all died!" Her words were filled with hatred and fury, as if she wanted to tear Lathel apart right there. The other souls were the same—they all wanted to rip him to pieces. "Ah!" Lathel sneered, his eyes full of pity as he glanced at the souls gnawing on him like starving wolves, then looked at Anna. He mocked, "So you think... if you were still alive, your lives would be any better?" "No... you’re wrong. Even if you lived, you’d still be bugs writhing in the mud." "Forever... forever unable to escape that swamp, forever the pitiful ones who never find the light of deliverance." "That’s why..." Now Lathel’s eyes suddenly sharpened as he glanced at the silhouette of the giant fish swimming through the black mist, smiling as he said, "I’m just helping you put an end to all that suffering."