Chapter 31 Leaving the Hell Road
With a strong push, Percy was thrown out of the lake of blood as the second test ended. But even as he breathed more easily and his spirit rings began to appear and change slightly, he remained on his back as he looked up.
"Second Asura God Test: Descend 999 meters into the lake of blood; Location: Hell Road. Time elapsed: 11 months and 17 days. Reward: Raise the age of all spirit rings by 5,000 years."
With the words ringing in his ears, Percy woke up slightly from his frozen state, and moving his head slightly to the side, he saw his second spirit ring turn completely black, reaching the ten thousand year range. His first spirit ring, even if it doesn't reach that range, was already becoming a little darker.
But, it seems he had no time to rest: The voice rang out once again!
"Third Trial of the Asura God: Finish and exit the Hell Path within two hours. Reward: Increased soul power by two levels and 10% affinity with the Asura God."
"Unngh~," Growling and groaning a little at everything his body has been through, Percy stood up and looked at the narrow path above him. It was now still broken due to the battle with the Three-Headed Bat King. But, thanks to his external spirit bone, he could fly without too much trouble.
Spreading the pair of dark golden wings behind him, Percy soared as he summoned his martial spirit. If there was a bat like the one before, then there should be more beasts in this place.
Advancing quickly but wearily, Percy wasn't even considering his body. Right now, he felt exhausted. Even if he had the power to continue fighting, all the physical and mental stress were taking their toll on him. Therefore, he barely noticed when a ten-meter-long red snake with bumps on its back bit his arm.
Only when he felt the pain of the bite did he swing his saber, cutting the beast into several parts with a single movement. And at the same time, his wings began absorbing life through the blood of the spiritual beast. The wound made by the snake began to heal little by little.
But while there didn't seem to be any more beasts, the feeling of killing in the path of hell and the heat intensified. And in fact, this seemed worse than when he was inside the lake of blood.
When more than an hour had passed, Percy could finally see the exit. But the moment he left, when he saw the night sky full of stars, he fell to the ground exhausted. His knees hit the ground hard, and then his face hit the grass as his eyes closed completely.
___ I am a dividing line ___
(Place: ??? Year: ???)
A beautiful melody was slowly playing around the place. A child's eyes slowly opened and his small hands rubbed his eyes before he could see where he was. On the child's innocent expression, a small smile formed as his hands now moved over the fur of an animal that was right behind him. The animal seemed to be lying down and being a soft pillow for the child.
But, even as he felt the animal's tongue carefully lick his cheek, the child focused on the melody and the person who was playing it. It was a girl, perhaps not much older than the child, but she had a cute appearance. Her hair was brown and neat, reaching down to her shoulders. Her skin was fair, but seemed to contain a special glow. She was wearing a kind of white-colored robe that changed to a nature green towards the end. And in her hands, there was some kind of oval-shaped instrument that extended into a horn-like shape at one end.
Her delicate lips were on a part of this instrument as her fingers carefully moved between the small holes of the instrument.
The boy couldn't help but close his eyes once more. The beautiful melody seemed to make the animals come closer and the flowers dance back and forth. But, while the melody was beautiful and peaceful, it seemed to contain a certain amount of melancholy.
Suddenly, the melody stopped, causing the boy to pout. Obviously, he wanted to continue listening and enjoying the melody.
"You woke up," the girl's voice sounded and she looked at Percy with a strange look. Her eyes seemed to contain some distrust, but also care and curiosity.
"Hey... can't you keep playing a little longer? It was great!" the boy raised his hands excitedly.
"But the melody doesn't have a continuation..." a small smile appeared on the girl's face, looking more curiously at the boy. She hadn't noticed because she was playing her instrument, but she noticed that not only a wolf had made himself comfortable as the boy's pillow, but also a rabbit, an eagle, and a little fawn. And they were all staring intently at the girl to continue the melody.
"Hey...", whether it was the boy or the animals, they were all immediately discouraged upon hearing that the melody couldn't continue.
"Hey... Can you teach me? That way I could play whenever I want and continue the music!", the boy seemed excited and proud of his idea.
However, before the girl could respond, the space cracked. White lines spread out in front of the boy as if the entire world was a huge window that had been hit by a powerful hammer. A freezing wind began to blow through those cracks and then a feeling of killing flooded the place, drowning everyone except the boy.
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Two eyes blinked up at the clear, cloudless sky. The sun was high above, illuminating the entire world as Percy slowly raised his hand to touch his right cheek. Slowly, his eyes moved to see the tip of his finger wet from a tear.
At that moment, a sad and wry smile appeared on his face.
"There's no way I can continue that melody... This killing intent and my desire for revenge will make anything I touch have a horrible melody."
Percy stood up and pulled out his God-Slaying Saber, noticing that a strange pattern of white lines had appeared on Anaklusmos.
"Third Trial of the God of Asura: Finish and get out of the path of hell within two hours. Time elapsed before completion: 1 hour 34 minutes. Reward: Increased soul power by two levels and 10% affinity with the God of Asura."
"So these lines are proof of the God of Death's mastery..." Percy let out a small sigh of relief. He had finally finished the first three trials and left the city of slaughter.
While he was used to the pain, suffering, and scum of the world, he still felt tired. He wanted to rest for a while, relax while doing more fun or calming things. Only now, having recalled many things from the bottom of his heart, did he realize that even if he wouldn't give up on his revenge, he shouldn't let it consume his entire life.
If that happened, he wouldn't even be able to enjoy said revenge. If that really happened, then he wouldn't be able to hug his mother, he wouldn't be able to feel love once more. Let alone live a worthwhile future.
However...
"Why didn't you say anything at that time? Were you that scared?" Percy closed his eyes a little tighter than usual as he raised his right hand and made a light green ocarina appear. This was the same instrument as the girl in his dreams.
"Or did you not even consider me a friend?" Muttering with a little sadness, Percy let out another sigh. Now he remembered. He didn't know why he could now remember those moments, but he did know that those memories had been sealed, along with the possibility of being able to summon the ocarina.
There was nothing special about this ocarina; it couldn't induce hallucinations or allow people to be manipulated like many divine instruments or even martial spirits that were musical instruments. It was just a completely normal ocarina and it depended on the mastery of its user to be able to emit beautiful melodies.
Percy remembered once more, and placed his lips over the wind inlet, blowing lightly while placing his fingers neatly over a few holes, but...
A chill ran through his body when the sound was emitted. The amount of wind, the force with which it blew, even the positions of his fingers were perfect. And yet, the sound came loaded with a bone-chilling coldness, something that shouldn't be possible normally.
Percy looked sadly at the instrument before putting it away and leaving the place. But, if anyone had seen his eyes, they would have noticed the dismay and a small flash of regret in them.
"It doesn't matter... It doesn't matter. Right now, I have to do something else. I have to keep my promise...", Percy muttered as he walked towards the side of the forest after the exit of the road to hell. His figure passed by several trees before disappearing, but that back that seemed wide and protective, was definitely lonely.
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