[Salvos] 627. Wrathful (Patreon)

627. Wrathful

***

“What happened?”

That was the question on everyone’s mind. Salvos asked it, Taburas asked it, Bertrugil asked it— albeit with a little bit of swears and insults sprinkled in— and even Aemula asked it.

But Haec didn’t know the answer. He was just as lost as everyone else was. He hadn’t meant to draw the power of his Grand Skill. He hadn’t intended for his duel with Salvos to be anything more than a light sparring match. And yet, he had tried to kill her.

She was his first companion. She was his leader. She was the reason why he had to live up until now. Why would he ever try to truly harm her?

And that was not all Haec did. He didn’t just try to hurt her. He had endangered the lives of all his friends. He had nearly killed them all.

If his Grand Skill had struck the pocket space that was carrying them, everything would have shattered. The plane that was carrying them would have collapsed. And one of two things would happen, according to Salvos.

Either they would have all fallen into the lake of fire created by the Beast— which would have killed them. Or they would have all been sucked into the folds of space between the planes of the Nexeus.

And that would have been a fate worse than death.

Regardless of which outcome it could have been, neither happened because Haec fortunately struck nothing but the air with his Grand Skill. He was grateful for that. However, that didn’t absolve him for his actions and their potential consequences.

“But… I don’t remember what happened…”

He whispered as he looked down at the palm of his hand. The former Heir of the Netherworld was sitting by himself in the far corner of the pocket space, mulling over what he had done. He recalled being in a haze— in a state driven purely by instincts.

And all Haec knew at that moment was to fight back. His emotions drove him to destroy whatever it was that was attacking him. He couldn’t think clearly. He wasn’t cognizant of his actions. He had only been able to fight. That was it.

But why? That was what Haec asked himself. Why was he so… mad? Just because he was hurt? Just because he was in pain? Was that why he had succumbed to his anger?

Haec didn’t know. He closed his eyes as he sat there alone with his thoughts. He didn’t know how long he remained there, unmoving. All he knew was he only looked up when he heard a voice calling his name.

“Haec.”

He recognized it immediately. Of course he would. The voice belonged to his first ever companion— to Salvos. She was standing next to him with a concerned look on her face.

“Are you alright?”

She asked as she sat next to him. Haec stared at her for a passing moment, not saying a word. She tilted her head, and he finally sighed.

“I… I don’t know, Salvos.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

Salvos asked curiously. That was all there was to her question. Curiosity. She didn’t blame him for what he did— in fact, she quickly repaired the damage done to her pocket space, before continuing to steer them out of this lake of fire.

Now though, she sat with him. Aemula stayed on a lookout at the front as the two Primeval Demons sat all the way at the back alone.

“Surely you must have a bit of an idea, right? Is it a new Skill you got?”

Salvos prodded Haec even further. He shook his head. His eyes fluttered shut as he recalled his Status in his head. It wasn’t related to any new Skill he had been given. Or at least, he didn’t think so.

Under his tutelage with Oracli, Haec had learned the General Skill [Passive - Status Insight]. That meant he was able to glean more from his Skills than just the name implied. As far as he could tell, none of his Skills were responsible for what happened to him back then.

So there was only one explanation…

“I think I made a mistake, Salvos.”

Haec whispered softly as he averted his gaze from his first companion. Salvos blinked and peered into him.

“What mistake, Haec? Can’t you tell me what happened? If you just wanted to beat me, that’s fine! I didn’t mind it!”

“But I almost killed us all…”

He gritted his teeth, and she rolled her eyes.

“But you didn’t. That’s all that matters. So come on, tell me what’s going on.”

Salvos poked his side, making him yelp. It forced Haec to turn and face her. He met her gaze, and he saw the worry on her face. Seeing that, he couldn’t help himself but reveal the truth.

“I… I evolved into a Primeval Demon of Lust and Wrath, Salvos.”

He finally admitted. It was something he was proud of before— when he had just undergone his evolution— but now after what he had done, he felt ashamed of it. Salvos stared at him with round eyes, caught completely off-guard.

“You— what?”

“That’s right. I was an Archdemon of Lust before, but now… I have a second sin.”

Haec was still in disbelief about it. He never thought such a thing was possible. Salvos gaped at him, her jaw dropping as she covered her mouth.

“Haec, that’s—”

She tried to work her mouth. And finally, she scratched the back of her head.

“What’s a sin?”

“...what?”

Haec blinked back at her. Salvos repeated her question.

“What’s a sin?”

“That’s— I heard you the first time.”

He shook his head. He stared at his first companion as he pursed his lips.

“You’ve never heard of a sin before.”

“Nope.”

Salvos replied simply. Haec bit his lower lip.

“And you’re a Primeval Demon of…?”

“Primeval Demon of Pride, of course!”

She exclaimed, pointing a thumb at herself. The former Heir of the Netherworld gestured at her.

“There you have it. That’s your sin.”

“My sin… is pride?”

Salvos blinked down at herself. She frowned as she looked back up at him.

“What does that mean? How many sins are there, anyway?”

“There are seven sins. Each embodies the essence of your being. Your essence. It is who you are— it is like the color of your soul.”

“My soul has color?”

Salvos stared at herself for a moment, and Haec shook his head.

“It’s a metaphor. But every being in the Nexeus is born with a soul. That is how they come into existence. And mortals are born with an unchanging soul, the same from their birth to their deaths. But we Demons can grow our souls. However, it cannot just become anything. There are subtypes of souls. Even if all our souls are unique, we can have distinctly similar pieces, and that is what the sins are.”

Haec recounted the lesson that he was taught by Oracli. He wasn’t sure if he was explaining it correctly, but he relayed the gist of it to Salvos.

“Huh.”

She placed a hand on her chin.

“So my sin is pride, and yours was lust. But now it’s lust and wrath.”

“That is correct.”

Haec nodded as he watched her mull it over. Her eyes went wide, and she looked up at him in shock.

“Wait, if your sin was lust, does that mean you—”

Salvos gasped, and Haec scoffed.

“Lust can mean many things, Salvos. It is just… desire. That’s what it is.”

“Oh, I see.”

She chuckled as she waved a hand dismissively.

“Anyway, you have two sins now, right? Is that normal?”

“That’s the thing, Salvos. I… I have never heard about it before.”

Haec drew his lips into a thin line.

“I thought that mean it was special. That was why I picked that evolution. But… after what I did, I think it was a mistake.”

He closed his eyes as he remembered his rage consuming him— his instincts to fight back mindlessly.

“I have never felt like that before, Salvos. I have never felt my instincts overcome me, controlling my actions. It was like I had lost all my senses. It was like I had become… wild.”

Salvos’ eyes flickered as he said that. She raised a hand, and flicked a finger on his cheeks. He recoiled— not in pain, but in shock at the sudden gesture.

“Don’t say that. You are not wild. You are my companion.”

“What…?”

He stared at her as she crossed her arms.

“Also, it’s not a mistake. You chose it for one reason and one reason only— because it lets you grow. Because you become more complete with it. No evolution is ever a mistake, Haec.”

“But Salvos—”

Haec tried to protest, however she refused to listen to him. She shook her head as she explained.

“It’s a good thing. If what you say is true, that means you have two essences. That means you have the capacity to grow twice as fast as even me. Or maybe not twice as fast— but faster than me.”

“Are you sure that’s what that means?”

He hesitated, and she shrugged.

“I feel like that’s what it means. Anyway, just because there’s some drawbacks right now, doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get over it eventually. Sometimes, when I first get a new Skill, I can’t use it properly without any adverse side effects. But now, I can use them just fine.”

Salvos nodded reassuringly. Haec scratched his cheek apprehensively.

“That… is true.”

He couldn't argue against that logic. That was very much true. Salvos grinned as she patted him on the shoulder.

“So don’t worry too much about what’s happened. Focus on what you can do! Alright?”

Haec saw the smile on her face— the comforting look of his first companion. The kind face of his leader. And he couldn’t help but let his worries wash away. He rose to his feet as Salvos backed up away from him.

“I see.”

He whispered. Haec held her gaze, and she just smiled back.

“Thank you, Salvos. I truly mean it.”

“Of course! I’m your leader, after all.”

Salvos laughed, and Haec could only give her a small nod in return.

“You are.”

The two of them stood there for a moment, just smiling at each other. But the moment ended when a loud voice interrupted them from the front of the pocket space.

“Everyone! Look! Come here!”

Aemula shouted, drawing the attention of the two Primeval Demons. Salvos and Haec exchanged a glance, before they approached the [Fiend]. Bertrugil and Taburas were already there, both of them frowning at the glass-like walls of the pocket space, their gaze focused on something in the far distance.

Salvos blinked as she came to a halt next to them.

“What is it?”

She asked simply, and Aemula beamed as she tapped a finger on the glass-like wall.

“Look!”

The [Fiend] exclaimed as she pointed.

“Land!”

Haec’s brows snapped together when he heard that. He leaned forward, looking in the direction she was pointing in. But Salvos just shook her head.

“Aemula, are you imagining things again?”

“No, I’m not!”

Aemula harrumphed, folding her arms across her chest. Salvos frowned.

“Are you sure—”

“Salvos, it’s true.”

Haec interrupted his first companion. Salvos paused as she slowly turned to him.

“Wait, really?”

“That’s right.”

He took a step back so she could see. Her eyes went wide as the lake of fire seemed to give way, showing a sight that none of the Demons here had seen in forever.

A rocky white terrain. Vast and unending. Undulating mountains spreading across the distance.

“Huh. You really were right this time, Aemula.”

“We’re finally free! I told you! And you didn’t believe me!”

“Sorry…”

Salvos apologized to the [Fiend] who just laughed triumphantly. Bertrugil and Taburas exchanged a glance, one of them clearly excited to finally be freed from this pocket space, while the other looked like he was dreading the dangers that was to come.

Haec felt closer to like how the former did— glad he finally made it back to the rest of the Netherworld. But he paused, noticing something else. His eyes darted towards the sky. He saw something else there. Something the others didn’t notice.

Dark clouds. An overcast crimson sky. Like a black lake had formed overhead.

And the former Heir of the Netherworld could only whisper softly.

“Reconstruction is soon coming to an end. This… is going to be a problem.”

Author's Notes:

What thonk?

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