Negary pov :
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Allowing my flesh golem to relax, I commanded subtle adjustments in its posture, conveying an outward appearance of nonthreatening calmness. Yet, beneath this facade, my soul sense remained active, scanning the surroundings with aggressive scrutiny, searching for any signs of an attack.
Alas, my adversary's puppet remained motionless and devoid of expression. Even the mana circulating around it seeming to freeze as I sent a minuscule wave of soul energy toward it.
The small, undulating wave of energy silently traversed the darkness of the hall, imperceptible to all but the keenest mortal eyes. Yet, the Waif's head snapped toward its direction with an audible crack, the void in its eyes appearing to widen as the wave phased through its body without any discernible impact.
It wasn't an offensive move...the energy was too insignificant to harm even a vermin. Instead, it served as a message, much like that Abyssal Ice sword used to do in the first layer of hell.
'๐ ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ด๐ต๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐...
๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐บ. ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐'๐บ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐.
๐'๐บ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ....'
This was what the message conveyed...a bare bones scripted apology not worth a rat's ass...but enough to start off a conversation and convey non-aggression.
'This should also tell me if there is actually someone inside that body or if it's merely a scarecrow...' I thought as I waited for the spirit's response, be it with words or actions...
"๐ฏ๐๐๐๐..."
A soft hum, reminiscent of an otherworldly lullaby, started echoing in the air like a spectral melody with no apparent source, and with unknown meaning.
My attention, however, remained fixed on the Waif's body as it finally started showing a response.
In a grotesque display, her mouth contorted unnaturally, stretching far beyond the limits of human anatomy, resembling a voracious maw.
As her lips parted, a single sound escapedโan unholy screech that pierced through the eerie silence of the hall...
"Dฬธฬพฬฬฬฃฬกฬฒอฬจฬฐอฬผฬชฬฃอ ฬฌeฬธฬอออฬอฬฬฬฬอออฬอออฬฎฬฌฬฬกออฬงอ aฬทอฬฬออ ฬฬ ออฬฬฑอออฬผฬญฬฉฬอฬณฬผฬฆฬชฬงฬaฬถออออฬฬพอฬออฬฬaฬธฬอออฬฬฬพอ อฬออฬฬฬซอฬฬอaฬดอฬฝอฬฬอฬอฬฬฌอฬอฬฅฬกฬปฬฬฬชaฬดอฬฬฝฬฝฬอฬพฬอฬอฬฝฬฬบฬชฬฑฬอaฬทอฬaฬทออฬอฬฬอฬฉฬฃอ ฬชaฬธอฬฬฬฬอฬฬฬขฬกฬงฬฑฬงออออฬฑฬ ฬฅaฬดฬอฬอ อฬฬฬฬฟฬฬชอฬผฬปฬฒaฬตฬฬฬนฬญฬจฬบฬฬจฬฬฬอtฬถอออฬฬอฬฬปฬอฬงฬฬปฬฆhฬดอฬฬอฬฬฆฬซอฬปฬฎฬ"
Black blood oozed from the sides of her distorted mouth, staining her sickly face.
The screech itself was meaningless, but the words it conveyed were clear. Just like my earlier message, it was imbued with soul energy, so I could literally feel the hate and madness emanating from the corpse.
'This thing...It's like a dog with rabies' I thought as Its mouth abruptly snapped shut, as though an unseen force seized control, forcefully silencing the noise.
"๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐บ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐?"
I inquired into the hollow expanse of the hall, a charming smile adorning my face. I also dismissed the puppet for the time being . It was evident that the disembodied voice held it's leash somehow.
The hall fell into silence once more, a pregnant pause where not even the sound of breathing dared to disturb the stillness. Then, the disembodied voice echoed from every corner simultaneously, as if challenging me to track it's origin.
"๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ด๐. ๐ซ๐๐๐๐. ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐. ๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐..."
As the spirit continued it's ramblings, and I only half-heartedly listened because something was beginning to happen to the corpse puppet in front of me.
The Waif's tainted blood defied the laws of gravity as it elegantly coalesced along both of her burned hands. The inky substance (which I now recognized to be an extremely dense soul energy) metamorphosed into two sinister, sword-like appendages each with a wicked-looking blade.
Simultaneously, the ambient mana, once peacefully orbiting the Waif, surged toward the newly formed blades.
The air crackled with an ominous energy as the blades grew sharper, radiating a reddish glow.
In the hall's cold silence, the blades seemed to hum with a malevolent intent, echoing the impending chaos they were destined to unleash...
"๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.....๐ฏ๐๐?"
The omnipresent voice abruptly stopped, as though recoiling in disbelief.
As for the reason why...
*Splat*
'Who knows?' I pondered silently, observing as the once-Waif's body split in two opposite directions, cleaved symmetrically down the middle.
I allowed a small smirk to surface, sure of the fact that it would be seen by my opponent.
'It's truly a mystery...'
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A.N :
"He did not want to settle for a small job barely scraping by. He refused this notion.
He wanted to be at the top.
His ambitions led to him planning his life, and to do that, he had to work hard.
Realizing that he needed a scholarship if he wanted a good life, he devoted himself to school and made sure to get perfect grades.
Countless hours all to make sure he was at the top. This seemingly tasteless life was lived with absolute dedication, all to fulfill his ambition.
Although his life was seen as monotone to many, the thought of his ambition being fulfilled left him extremely happy."
-Some random workaholic Isekai MC
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AN 2 - Sorry for the delay. My grandpa, one of the 6 persons I care about died a few days ago after a long struggle with cancer. I am a complete atheist but hey, I can't prove God doesn't exist so maybe there's something beyond.
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AN 3 - I will start posting some drafts of the future volumes here on webnovel. In the past days I established some kind of narative for ATLA, Cyberpunk, BNHA ,Naruto, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Young Justice .
I will write a chapter for then from time to time when I am bored and when the time comes they will be edited accordingly and added in the book for real.
Read them at your own risk as they might contain spoilers of the overarching multiversal narative I have planned.