Step! Step!... Step!
The black-leathered, long boots majestically patted the ground as Ethan walked with his steady strides—slow, yet so regal, the ground was honored, simply having him walk on.
Each time he took a step, his high-collared, black, long coat waved alluringly as though a cape glorifying the elegance of a King.
He wore a nicely fabricated dress underneath. It was the same colour as his hair—white.
His bangs, in a disorganised manner, fell over his jade-black mask that concealed his entire face.
It was made of obsidian, and having certain buffers, Ethan put on the mask whenever and wherever needed. Clearly, it was one of those situations.
As he carried on walking, he stumbled across a blonde guy lying down on the ground, tinged with critical wounds, blood soaking his body.
Ethan observed him carefully; the blonde's breath gradually became shallower. It was clear that if treatment was not provided, he could die at any moment.
If it had been anyone else, they probably would be dead by now. It was remarkable how he managed to keep breathing on the verge of death.
Ethan looked into his emerald eyes only to be amazed by a familiar gleam that refused to fade away.
'Oh, John, you haven't changed one bit, have you?' Ethan whispered inwardly, smiling gently under his mask, 'Knowing you, it doesn't surprise me that you would fall behind, confronting the Dothoron, so that everyone can evacuate safely. Thanks to you, they are safe. And I'm glad that I made it in time.'
Clack!
Ethan snapped with the golden gauntlets he was wearing, and a green circle appeared beneath John, providing him with life-force so that he could recover.
John's torn-up skin and flesh healed, his blood went back to the way it was, and his shattered bones were reconstructed, freeing his body of agony.
John's eyes blinked, strangely staring at Ethan. His lips trembled; he was still in shock to say anything.
Although Ethan, too, wanted to talk to him about so many things—how he survived after being outcast from the country, how he made his glorious return, and how strong he was now, he did not mutter a single word whatsoever.
He ignorantly turned his face away from the friend he always held dear like a brother.
Ethan then resumed his majestic stride towards the gigantic corpse of the seventh-tier Dothoron.
...Squash!
...Splash!
He mercilessly pulled out his one-edge, obsidian sword, which he previously struck through the Dothoron's head, and splashed off the dirty blood out of it. He put it back into the scabbard attached to his waist.
[#Task—Urgent!]
Eliminate the Dothoron (Tier-7).
Status: Completed!
Reward: +200 Evolution Points.
+———+
He glanced at the system and let out a sigh, albeit rather disappointedly.
'Tier-graded Dothorons and Dairons have become less than a threat to me. Although a first-tier can effortlessly massacre hundreds of humans, it only took a single strike from me to kill the seventh-tier Dothoron, what a let down!'
He scanned the Dothoron one more time.
The Dothoron's black skin was covered with purple scale-like textures, slimy tentacles sprouting out of its body, and countless eyes sticking to its filthy, dishevelled face. It was twenty feet in size and enormously gigantic.
'Guess I have to fill my needs out of it, huh?' Ethan shrugged, outstretching his right arm at it.
A tremendous aura was unleashed—so dark as though coming straight from the abyss. It then manifested into a giant arm, even bigger than the Dothoron, and clutched its dead body.
"Devour!" Ethan commanded, clenching his own fist, and the manifested arm devoured the Dothoron without a trace.
[Target has been devoured!]
[Scavenging completed!]
[+10,000 Soul Points received!]
[+50 Essence acquired!]
*****
John, still lying on the ground, was awestruck. He could not believe his eyes as the unprecedented event unfolded before him.
He had already found it hard to believe how anyone could heal him when he was severely injured, and now that the very person had reduced the seventh-tier Dothoron into nothingness, his mind hazed—let alone the tormenting pain he had been inflicted on earlier.
He tried to convince himself that he might be hallucinating from the after shock. However, it was too real to be a hallucination.
So, he discarded all the thoughts and stood up.
Ethan noticed John standing after the healing circle had disappeared. He did not know how to respond to his old friend; he was startled.
It had been a long time after all.
John was the last person he saw before he was outcast and thrown into the Netheria. He was also the first person Ethan saw when he came to accomplish the task given by the system. After so much time had passed, he could no longer talk to him the way he once did and ended up pretending to be a stranger.
"Are you alright, boy?" He continued, "The Dothoron dealt quite a damage to you. Supernatural beings like them feed on the positive emotions humans have to offer. No wonder it emerged in this amusement park." He pretended to look at him from top to bottom, "Judging by your attire, I take it you work here?"
John ran and hugged his best friend, Ethan. His doubts were cleared when he heard Ethan for the first time. He did not require any confirmation.
"Seriously? That's what the first thing you wanna say after reuniting, huh buddy?" John's tears rolled down his cheek, his face brimming with joy.
"I don't know what you're talking about, boy. But I believe you have mistaken me for someone else."
"Like the hell I have!" John took a step back and stared at Ethan's masked face suspiciously. "Just because you've put on a mask, doesn't mean I won't recognize you. Drop the superhero act and take off the mask, will you?"
Ethan was not surprised at all. If anyone could see right through his disguise, it had to be John. Ethan knew he could not fool John, and had expected something like this from the moment he appeared inside the park where John worked as a part-timer.
Yet, he decided not to take off the mask. Instead, he replied.
"I guess, there's no way of hiding things from you, eh, John?" Ethan's voice became casual, carrying a sense of relief only John comprehended.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Ethan patted his hair.
"It certainly has. Now take off the mask. I don't wanna talk to you like this."
"Sorry, but can't do that."
"Why?"
Ethan took a deep breath and said in an obvious tone. "It's to hide my disgusting face."
"I don't care. Just take it off already."
Ethan knew once John decided on something, it was quite difficult to convince him to back down—and it would be a pain in the neck he liked to avoid.
So he decided to remove the mask for himself.
As he took it off slightly, his right eye was revealed first. It had a scarlet gleam in them so deep, even John was hardly familiar with it. It had changed drastically since he last saw Ethan. Though it carried the same warmth as ever, John was relieved by that.
However, John was soon taken aback after witnessing half of Ethan's face. His eyes widened, his eyeballs about to pop out.
Ethan's cheek had melted—no, more like it had rotted like a dead person, revealing his inner jaws and molar teeth. It was as if his buccal cavity was twisted inside out, and in a way, it was creepy to look at.
"Wh-what in the world did happen to you, Ethan?" John's voice fell apart, his lips trembled. He was beyond shocked—he was petrified.
"I evolved," Ethan replied, albeit rather casually, putting on his mask again.
"What?" John swallowed hard, sweat oozing at his temple.
"As it turned out—to slay a monster requires a monster. So, I've become one."