The arrow was in front of Neo’s face before he knew.
He triggered the Ocean’s Ebrace at the last second and let the arrow bounce off his skin harmlessly.
It was easy.
Or so he thought when suddenly, a golden blurry figure appeared next to him.
The figure, cloaked in lightning, attacked at a speed faster than Neo.
He could not react even with the warnings of Death affinity.
The new minion was a human with leopard legs and whiskers.
Golden lightning crackled around him and his face…
…!?
Neo stiffened.
He recognized the minion.
“Kendrick?”
Kendrick di Valemont.
The Zeus clan members that died in the Window alongside Christian and others.
Kendrick, now a minion, ignored Neo’s shock.
He punched Neo in the abdomen, causing him to fly back into a broken building.
Neo coughed blood.
He had broken a few ribs in the last attack.
Kendrick had grown stronger after he was corrupted by the Darkness.
‘He must’ve devoured monsters. A lot of them.’
The monster Kedrick bolted towards Neo on all fours, leaving no room for Neo to breath.
Neo did not move, nor did he try to dodge.
His mind was blank.
‘If Kendrick is corrupted by Darkness, he can’t be revived.’
The realization hit him like a giant hammer, leaving him paralyzed under the weight of it.
The monster Kendrick paid no heed to Neo’s thoughts.
He, powered by Invincible, rained down a flurry of punches.
Neo did not fight back.
His body was smashed into the ground.
The pain, he could ignore.
But the truth before his eyes made him feel like he was being choked.
Not just Kendrick, Gwen di Langley too.
‘Gwen shot the first arrow.’
The arrow, wrapped in golden lighting, was too fast to be fired by a normal monster.
It must’ve been shot by Gwen, who died in the Window, and was now using Invincible.
The golden lightning was the proof.
‘This is my fault.’
Neo barely interacted with Kendrick or Gwen.
They were neither his friends, nor his acquaintances.
Still, they were his responsibility.
He had vowed to save them.
“P-please, kill me…”
Suddenly, Kendrick stopped attacking.
His face contorted and tears shimmered in his eyes.
He had come to his senses for a moment.
“Ne-Neo, you are Neo, right? Please, I do-don’t want to become a monster. Devour m-mee. End me…”
“How did you regain—”
Before Neo could complete his words, Kendrick lost control over himself again.
He growled and grabbed Neo’s leg and threw him.
Neo’s body bounced a few times before coming to a stop.
“Fuck…”
He stood up and wiped the blood flowing out from the corner of his mouth.
“Fuck, I hate this shitty feeling of helplessness.”
He gripped his sword.
His eyes were focused on the monster Kendrick rushing towards him.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”
Neo resolved his dilemma.
“I’m sorry for giving you a fake promise.”
He unleashed his aura of Darkness.
“It’s impossible to save you now.”
The monster reached him.
He ignored the incoming attack and slashed at his neck.
“I’ll put you out of your misery at the least.”
Just as Neo’s sword was about to behead Kendrick, an arrow warped in lightning struck his sword.
The attack changed his trajectory changed and he missed.
It became an opportunity for Kendrick.
He landed a clean attack on Neo.
But Neo stood firm.
He absorbed the impact of Kendrick’s attack by using the Aura of Darkness.
Neo grabbed Kendrick’s hand and wrestled him into a hold.
Kendrick continued to try and get out of Neo’s grip.
But he was no match for Neo while he was using his blessing.
A familiar voice resounded just as he was about to snap his neck,
“Wait!”
Gwen rushed out of the woods.
“Don’t kill Kendrick!”
The last thing Neo expected was Gwen to give up her advantage of being hidden and come out in the open.
However, more surprising was…
“You can talk?”
“Yes, I… I haven’t corrupted by the Darkness.”
Gwen answered while slowly closing the distance.
“I have Darkness affinity. I can resist the corruption.”
“…”
Neo took a deep breath.
He was a bit relieved.
And suspicious at the same time.
“Why are you working for Mad Hound if you aren’t his minion?”
“Because he has the way to reverse the corruption of Darkness.”
“…?”
“H-he promised to save Kendrick.”
Neo’s face hardened.
She believed those words?
As a Darkness wielder, she would’ve known there was no going back after one was corrupted by the Darkness.
“I know what you are thinking, but h-here they have a way to stop the progress of corruption.
“It’s possible they can reserve it too.”
She was… desperate.
Neo had seen those eyes.
People like her were already dead inside.
They knew there was no hope and they still kept searching for it, clinging to it.
‘Fucking shitty coincidence to meet them here.’
Neo clicked his tongue.
“I’ll kill him and—”
“No! Why are you thinking of killing him!? He hasn’t become a corrupted monster yet. You saw him regain control.
“W-we can save him! Please…”
Neo didn’t let her words affect his psyche.
It was already too late for Kendrick.
Killing him was far better than letting him suffer under Darkness.
Gwen aimed her bow at Neo’s head when she realized he wouldn’t stop.
“Stop! Or I’ll kill you!”
“You are too weak to do that.”
Neo was about to finish Kendrick when suddenly his blessing reacted.
It didn’t want him to devour Kendrick.
“…?”
A different voice, not belonging to Obitus, spoke in his mind.
Not souls….
Judge them before delivering a punishment to them…
The words made no sense to Neo.
But he instinctively knew what he had to do. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
How the blessing was supposed to be used.
An obsidian black glow covered Neo’s hand.
Gwen became dazed when she saw the black light.
She didn’t know what was happening, but the black light was assuring. It somehow the convinced her Neo wasn’t harming Kendrick.
Neo placed his free hand over Kendrick’s head.
Foreign memories rushed into Neo’s mind.
A boy born in Valemont family belonging to Zeus Clan.
He was mischievous and cheeky like any other child.
He lost his playful attitude as he grew up in the cut-throat environment of Valemont family where bloodbath and death was a daily occurrence.
Only the best survived in that harsh hell.
The boy managed to remain kind even after living there.
He was made fun of by his cousins, called na?ve by the adults.
Surprisingly, the boy was talented.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, he was one of the best of his generation.
The Clan, satisfied by his strength, allowed him to take the test for Demigod Academy and let him represent them.
The boy hated the strength obsessed Clan.
Who were they to not let him take the test if he was weak?
Still, his life, his goals, his aspirations, everything was decided by the Clan.
He was their puppet.
He couldn’t deny them.
Nevertheless, the fate worked in mysterious ways.
The first time the boy denied his Clan was after he entered the Academy under the Clan’s order.
‘Interfere with the test of Kingsley kid, don’t let him complete the requirements of S-rank mission,’ they said.
The boy let the Kingsley kid pass the test.
The boy was punished for his insubordanance.
And he had laughed.
For the first time in years, he felt like he was himself.
Maybe it was time for him to change.
Who cared if the Clan forced him to follow their words?
Morrigan was thrown away and she was still alive, no?
The boy wanted to do the same.
He wanted to change.
He felt like the world was becoming bright again.
Just when the boy was about to take a flight for his freedom, he died.
…!
Neo gasped.
The memories ended.
‘That’s was Kendrick’s life.’
Neo was disoriented.
Still he moved.
He followed the blessing and did his duty as the heir of the Underworld.
“You’ve lived a good life.”
The black starry glow condensed around Neo’s palm.
It seeped into Kendrick’s body.
The corruption of Darkness started to break away from Kendrick’s body and his body began to disappear.
“T-thank you…”
Kendrick regained his sanity at the last moment.
Under Neo’s gaze, Kendrick disappeared into nothingness.
Gwen snapped back to her senses.
“What did you do to him!? What did you do!?”
Neo didn’t answer.
He looked at his hands and the disappearing glow with a shocked gaze.
“I sent him into the cycle of reincarnation….”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I’ve reincarnated him.”
The true power of the blessing.
It allowed Neo to judge souls.
Just like a Judge of the Underworld.
He evaluated the life of Kendrick di Valemont and delivered the judgment.
“You think I’ll believe those lies!?”
Gwen let go of the arrow.
It flew towards Neo with a swift speed.
Neo grabbed arrow.
He hadn’t used the blessing to boost his physical abilities.
Still, he managed to catch the arrow fired by Gwen who was using Invincible.
Neo looked at the source of his strength….
[You have delivered the Judgment.]
[??? is satisfied with your Judgment.]
[+5 Strength] [+6 Agility]