翁公在厨房和我猛烈撞击

Chapter 175 – Another Ugliness

The fragment sent a pulse, a calling, toward the souls. His arms stretched toward the sky, calling the souls to come back home. Nikolai was the lighthouse of these souls, and he offered them a way to leave this world.

The souls entered his body, and the process repeated itself. Nikolai could tell that all of these souls were those with regrets, and he had to listen to their wishes, all screaming within him as they seeped into the fragment inside him.

[You have absorbed forty-three Lost Souls!]

[Sovereignty has leveled up!]

[You can now summon up to six undead monsters.]

Nikolai was confused at the number after he absorbed them. The bandits were only thirteen in total, and it did not make sense that he absorbed this many. Finally, however, the lingering hate within some of the souls answered his doubts.

"These are the souls of those killed by the bandits," muttered Nikolai as he stared at the bandits. "Those who kill another carry their hatred within their souls. So then, where does that leave me?"

Nikolai killed thousands in his past life, and when he died, he did not feel a thing. Does that mean those victims are still haunting him?

"I am happy that it is this way," smiled Nikolai. "I want those who hurt me never to leave this world, always suffering the agony of regret," a grin appeared on his face.

His skeleton seemed scared by his expression, and Nikolai was speechless. Since the bandits were dead, Nikolai looked around the forest. Unfortunately, it did not ring any bells, and he needed to take out the notebook once again to figure out where he was.

Luckily enough, Cecily was obsessed with documentation. So after a while of reading, Nikolai found a mention of where her journey started.

"I am close to one of the major cities, it seems," figured Nikolai before placing away the notebook and opening a map. "I am far from my original location, but I am still within the Rosia Kingdom. So, this route should lead me to Rohan… hm?"

Nikolai paused because the route he should take happened to cross a set of ruins explored by one of the strongest guilds in the kingdom. Furthermore, they were also the ruins that Hyde will rob, making him the underground king of Rohan.

"Scarman works for Hyde, and this means that he should know what happened to Shon," wondered Nikolai. "I still need to find out about Shon because of the Absolute Shield."

His legendary skill did not come for free, and he needed to make a promise with it. But, first, Nikolai needed to find out what happened to Shon and whether he was alive or not.

"I need the skill," admitted Nikolai. "The absolute bane of a mage is that they are weak in close combat. My mana is still enough to summon this weak undead, but there will be a day where I have to focus on mana to summon stronger monsters."

However, that was the case for normal mages. Nikolai had his skill and abyssal art, making him equally strong in close combat. The question that he had no answer to was this:

"Do I need to go back to Rohan?"

After all, Nikolai could strengthen his undead here in The Great Unseen. He had plans to enter the Lost Garden and find that treasure, but maybe he does not need it anymore.

"What am I thinking?" laughed Nikolai. "My enemy is a demigod, not to mention Celestia curses me. Therefore, any power I can obtain is necessary before the day comes, and I take revenge against her. Furthermore, those I need to kill are in Rohan."

Nikolai walked back into The Great Unseen with his skeletons, disappearing once again from the world. The darkness was a home for him, but it also reminded him what those people made him become.

Nikolai wanted revenge.

***

The ship was burning with divinity, as the man he considered to be a friend was in front of him, using words to hurt him. Sergio felt like he was laid bare by someone who finally accepted him.

"You need others to like you because you are afraid that they would leave," said his friend with a smile as blood pooled beneath him. "You are pathetic."

Sergio opened his eyes, and the words still stabbed into his heart. The same ceiling greeted him, engraved and luxurious. His tired body refused to get up, but Sergio pulled himself upward.

"Ugh," groaned the alchemist as his arms failed him and he fell. "Why do they hurt so…" he stared at his arms, lacerated so many times that they disgusted him. "These are the sign of my weakness," Sergio traced the fresh cuts he gave to himself yesterday.

A knock came on his door, and Sergio jumped out of fright. The room was bloodied, almost looking like a crime scene. The trail of blood started at the bathroom and to the bed.

"I slept while bleeding," he shook his head. "I must be insane. I would have died if not for my vitality. This was too close."

"Sergio!" came the knocks again, and it was Lex. "I don\'t care whether you are dead, but Yuxi is here waiting for you!" a kick arrived at the door.

"I am naked!" screamed Sergio, and the kicking stopped. "I will be out in a moment. Just give me time," as he said that, Sergio took out the enchanting item he bought for this purpose.

"Who even sleeps naked…" sighed Lex from beyond the door. "I need to go, Yuxi. I will leave him to you. Do not be late to the academy."

Sergio heard Lex walk away as he aimed the enchanted item. It was a ray of light that cleaned surfaces from fluids, and it worked well to remove the bloodstains.

After cleaning his mess, Sergio took out a healing potion from his bag and drank it. And similar to the ones before it, the cuts started turning into scars.

\'Another ugliness added to me,\' sighed Sergio before slapping both cheeks and changing his clothes. Then, he opened the door to find Yuxi on the other side.

"I am sorry that I kept you waiting," he apologized, and the short woman in front of him stared at him with suspicion. Her eyes scanned the room before she gestured a single world.

\'Blood,\' she then pinched her nose.

"Uh, um," panicked the alchemist. "I had bloody diarrhea?" he said with a loud laugh, looking embarrassed. Yuxi looked concerned, but Sergio changed the subject. "Why are you here?"

\'What do you mean why?\' she gestured with rage. \'We have to go to the academy today!\'

"The academy…" Sergio then remembered that he was indeed admitted into such a thing. It was a command from their boss, who gave them this house. "I don\'t think that I can go today…"

\'She asked us to come,\' Yuxi gestured, and Sergio sighed. Then, he nodded helplessly. After all, they could not disobey the one who fed them. That was the basic rule of surviving.

Sergio wore the uniform of the academy and made memories resurface. He took care of Nikolai after being injured once, and he wore this exact uniform.

Things have changed after his boss jumped into the darkness. Sergio did not remember what happened afterward, but he suddenly found himself in Rohan.

It was another episode of disassociation, and it happened every time someone abandoned him. Sergio was used to it, but he was regretful not jumping after Nikolai.

\'What are you thinking?\' asked Yuxi.

"About breakfast," lied Sergio. "I wonder what food the academy has to offer. I always envied those nobles for their breakfasts and nothing else!" he acted silly again.

\'You seem different,\' she noticed like usual. \'Did you have a nightmare?\'

Sergio grew quiet. Most of the time, his act was enough to hide his thoughts. It scared him how much he got used to lying, even to those he cherished. Maybe Nikolai saw through him too.

"I had a dream about him," revealed Sergio, and his stomach churned. It was a sick attempt to display emotions, manipulating Yuxi into caring about him. "It was nothing, but…"

His words were cut short because Yuxi held his hand. Then, she nodded at him, pushing him to continue talking. Sergio stared at her with speechlessness. 

"I wonder where he is now, even if you told me that he is a bad person. I do not believe that Bossman is such a person. I am sure that he had his reasons for leaving."

\'No reasons justify what he did,\' she gestured. \'He wanted to endanger our lives for his gains. He said it himself: he used you.\'

"You do not understand, Yuxi," he pulled his hand away, almost offended that she doubted his friend. "We spent more time together than you know. So there must be reasons that he left. Otherwise," he could not finish his words.

Yuxi seemed confused, but Sergio swallowed what he wanted to say.. There had to be reasons because if not, Nikolai left because he saw how deformed he was.