While Warrior tried his best to defend and survive the ruthless violence of the latent demon, Rudy ran towards the church.
After consuming the lesser storm elixir pill, Rudy's overall physical prowess improved threefold.
His fatigue vanished.
His blurry vision became clear.
His bruises and injuries healed.
As the storm essence coursed through his veins, he felt free — as if all of his humane constraints had been removed.
His heart drummed its rhythm, his eyes ablaze with boundless joy and hope that he would return.
'I will live.'
'I will have choices.'
'I will gain strength.'
These were only thoughts in his mind as he crossed the forest with a wide grin of raw happiness stretching across his face.
Not for a single moment did he think of revenge — not because it didn't matter but because it wasn't a dream, it was a goal.
His sole dream, his sole reason for everything, was strength, always had been.
Strength didn't just give choice over others, it also gave the ability to act, to have an identity...
Not for a single moment did his smile cease, and the forest began to clear.
The ground, which had been unevenly flat until now, began to rise into a slope, and at the edge of his vision stood the grand blood church, bathing in the moon's purity while hiding beneath the currents of the night.
The church was atop an uneven hill.
Rudy's steps slowed, and his expression returned to its usual calm as he looked up at the church.
'It's not that tall,' he remarked inwardly.
Looking at the climb before him, he took a deep breath and began his ascension to the blood church.
Stepping forward, he got ready to sprint once again.
'Huh?' But all of a sudden, his body lost its balance.
Rudy slumped face-first onto the ground, his head spun from the impact, and he felt his humane constraints return.
"Shit..."
The effects of the lesser storm elixir pill were supposed to last two hours, but that was the case for Warrior, a deviant. Not Rudy, who had yet to awaken his essence core.
Cursing his lack of insight, he pushed himself up the ground and began walking up the uneven path, but just as he took his first step, pain coursed throughout his legs, his mouth tore open, and a howling scream made its way out.
"AHHHHHH—!"
He immediately fell onto his knees, and blood poured out from his eyes and nasal orifices.
"Huff... huff..." breathing raggedly, Rudy remained kneeling at the foot of the path.
His body trembled as the aftershock of wielding a borrowed power ravaged him.
Rudy's bloody eyes turned spiteful, his jaw creaked as he forced it to shut, and once again forced himself to stand up.
"Don't fuck with me!!" He spat through gritted teeth and stepped forward.
As his feet touched the ground, he felt as if countless needles were impaling him at the same time, but instead of screaming, he burst into mad laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
Gritting his teeth, he muttered under his breath, "I've been through worse..."
Ignoring the pain with his sheer will and spite, he trudged forward.
Short, sharp screams escaped him. He also fell on his knees a few times, but he stood back up and continued without looking back.
A trail of blood followed his path as he reached a new high with each step, and after about five minutes, a familiar sound reached his ears.
[You have slain a Deviant Beast: Final Whisperer.]
"What...?" Rudy mumbled in confusion and thought, 'Is it talking about Warrior...?'
Unable to understand why Final Will had attributed Warrior's death to him, he mumbled, "Why did it—"
A roar resounded from the forest, and hearing that, Rudy's expression turned furious.
"That bastard... even in death, he made that demon follow me..."
He pushed away all of his thoughts and continued moving upwards.
Because of his current state, his climb was slow, but with his will to never give up and the dread of the demon approaching, he used every shred of his being and continued forward.
After an hour of indescribable agony, he reached the top of the cliff, and the church fell into his vision.
The blood church, though in ruins, was still grand in every way: a cracked red crescent was carved at its front, elegant engravings of gold and silver adorned the edges of each remaining brick, and moonlight spilled from the broken red windows like blood.
He stared at it in a daze before he bit his lower lip as hard as he could and neared the church.
Trudging forward, he stepped inside the church, leaned against one of the broken pillars, and looked around.
His gaze fell onto the broken pews, the rumble, and, at the end, atop the raised platform with large golden spears at its back, a dark coffin, engraved with bloody red and golden floral embroidery, was placed at its centre.
His expression turned puzzled. He took a few shaky steps towards the raised platform and held a pew. "What..?"
He frantically spun his head and muttered desperately, "Where is it?"
"Where's the damned return gate?!"
A broken staircase fell into his vision. Looking up, he mumbled tiredly, "Is it... up there?"
Clenching his fists, he pushed himself towards the staircase, and all of a sudden, a tremor ran throughout the church.
Dust and debris fell, and Rudy turned his head towards the entrance, muttering darkly, "It's about to reach..."
Ignoring the incoming demon, he dragged himself towards the staircase and began climbing.
Pain coursed, and fatigue whispered with each step, but blood no longer left him.
After a couple of minutes, he reached the top.
The dark second floor had nothing but a monolith standing near the only window.
The monolith had one red crescent at the top, ten blood drops at the bottom, and three stars in between.
As he walked closer to it, his face lost its colour. Falling onto his knees, he mumbled with hollow eyes, "There is no return...?"
The church shook once again, this time much more furiously, and growls reached his ears.