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nThe search was going nowhere, rightfully, since there was no dark being. However, the nobles were in the headquarters, and Ash said there was some infighting, so this was a chance for the loser to prove himself.

nNikolai knew that there was not enough time to pinpoint a location, but sending the dark being in the direction of the nobles should yield similar results.

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"How are you going to lure the dark being here?

" asked Ash with confusion, and Nikolai created a lie that he had something that the dark being desired.

"Well, that is the road they should be coming from.

"

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"You can go ahead and take the post in that church. Make it fast. The dark being should arrive at any moment now. You can strike its neck since that is the weak spot.

"

nAsh nodded and disappeared into the alley. Nikolai started walking through another one, heading toward the main road, before he slipped into the shadows, disappearing.

nAfter making sure that no one was watching, Nikolai summoned one of his ghouls to run rampant in Abani Ruins. The ghoul emerged from the darkness and stood silently in the main road.

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"I guess it is time to try this,

" Nikolai smiled as he hid in the shadows before closing his eyes. The fragment gave another hum as a notification appeared in front of him.

nThe Fragment of Sovereignty is resonating with one of your undead. Manual control is now activated.

nThen, Nikolai felt his consciousness leave his body as he entered the body of his ghoul. His eyes snapped open to the main road, which did not look as wide anymore.

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"Gaah,

" Nikolai opened his mouth, but his vocal cords were destroyed, and he could not speak. Then, he looked down and saw the claws he equipped for his ghoul, and it was enough to know that the manual control worked.

nNikolai moved forward, lifting one giant foot with sharp nails after the other. As his foot landed, the ground shook. Nikolai then started searching for the nobles, trying to minimize the sounds he made as much as possible.

nThe church was a tall building, the only tall building around, so Ash should still have a view of the undead. Nikolai was not afraid of his undead dying because he could always make it go into his pocket dimension before the bullet struck him.

n'Where are they?' Nikolai hid in the alley and waited for the group to arrive. After a few seconds, sounds came from the road ahead of bickering men and women.

nNikolai hid as they passed by, and his ghoulish eyes stared at the target. Finally, however, his body froze when he recognized someone in their midst.

nThe mute.

nThe rest of the members were people he did not know but had seen somewhere. Then, finally, after some thoughts, he remembered them from his past life like none other than the Drunken Stars.

n'What does Yuxi have to do with Valkyrie's party?' wondered Nikolai as things did not make sense, unless… 'Yuxi was working for Valkyrie since the beginning?'

nThe rage in his heart boiled. The mute snuck into his ship, and it made him suspicious enough to try and kill her if not for Sergio. However, he had to trust that she was not here to spy on him for his friend.

nThis proves that he was right all along. His suspicion did not come from paranoia but a hunch that he developed over the years. It also means that Nikolai handed his friend to none other than Valkyrie.

n'I need to find Sergio,' realized Nikolai. 'However, what am I going to tell him?' it was hard even to make the alchemist understand after what he did.

nFurthermore, Valkyrie might have already earned Sergio's trust. The rage within him threatened to burn Nikolai to the ground, but he restrained himself.

nYuxi was a user of holy divinity, and he tasted her powers before. Furthermore, if she was indeed a member of the Drunken Stars, she was also hiding her strength.

n'I need to calm down,' thought Nikolai as he breathed, and the rotten breath of the ghoul almost gave away his position. Nikolai closed his eyes before he heard voices from ahead, and one of them proved his fear to be true.

nThe voices came from a different route, a smaller and more secluded one. Nikolai tried to hide his steps as he walked toward the end of the alley, using the walls for support.

nThen, after he emerged to light, he saw his friend again. Sergio was shyly smiling as he walked on the paved road. A gun in his hand looked like the one Nikolai used before. However, his friend was bathed in sunlight, while Nikolai was in the darkness, rotten skin falling from his body.

nThe contrast pained him, and Nikolai was tempted to look at his reflection in the second-floor window beside him. It was the face of his monster, which did not differ much from his actual face, rotten and disgusting.

n

"You need to protect me, Sergio,

" a crisp voice ordered teasingly, and it made him snap out of his self-hate. Nikolai turned to the person beside Sergio, who he failed to see earlier.

nIt was none other than the one who pushed him into hell, Valkyrie Helnes. He never interacted with this person in his past life but later realized that she was the reason behind a lot of his misery.

nHer existence was what made him a student who enrolled through luck and a target for the nobles to destroy, leaving not a shred of dignity.

nNikolai could remember all the things they did to him, the humiliation that he can still feel on his skin, the hours he spent covered in filth. And then, he can see everything she took away from him.

n'Are you going to take Sergio, too?'

nHis rage could not be contained anymore. The darkness within his heart festered, and it fed the ghoul who started growing. The monster was suddenly taller than the building beside it, reaching ten meters in height.

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"Valkyrie!

" roared Nikolai, but all that came out was a blood-curdling scream that alarmed the camp, a wrathful cry that wanted to go against Celestia itself.

nSergio and Valkyrie realized his existence, but Nikolai had already hurled himself toward the blonde knight. Her image, ever so graceful and pure, did nothing but make him want to tear her apart.

nShe was the one who started it all. The pain he felt was nothing but a game to her, which was the same in this life. This wretched human was hell-bent on taking things away from him, and Nikolai wanted revenge.

nThe giant claws tore through the air as they slammed toward the knight. Nikolai could see nothing through the dust as he felt the ground give in because of his attack, crumbling.

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"Boss!

" shouted the alchemist, and it made Nikolai flinch. However, as the dust cleared somewhat, he realized that he was not calling him but Valkyrie.

nSergio was the one to jump and push Valkyrie away from his attack. The two of them were sprawled on the ground, Valkyrie looking in a daze as to what just happened.

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"Boss, snap out of it!

" shouted Sergio as the paved road started falling into an abyss of underground darkness. Then, as he realized that Valkyrie was frozen in fear, the alchemist raised his gun toward Nikolai.

n'What are you doing, Sergio?' asked Nikolai as he stared at his friend's eyes, hostile and enraged. The muzzle pointed toward him as the gun lit up with runic enchantments. 'You should be on my… side…'

nBANG!

nThe gun fired, and the bullet lodged itself into Nikolai's eye, obstructing half of his vision. The ghoul roared with anger as the eye started to regenerate, but Nikolai felt more than just pain.

nThis was a bullet of betrayal.

nSergio was protecting none other than the person who ruined his life. The alchemist might have been fooled, but it hurt him just the same that he was defending this rotten knight.

nA question popped into Nikolai's mind as his stance grew unstable. Sergio knew him for less than two months in this lifetime, which was almost as much as it has been since they separated.

nEven if Nikolai tried to reveal his identity to the alchemist, the latter might not care about that. Sergio might choose Valkyrie, a 'good' person like him, and Yuxi will work her hardest to make sure of it.

nA whistle came from behind him as the sense of impending doom tingled on his back. However, Nikolai was not in the mood to protect himself, and an arrow of divinity struck his back.

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"AAAAAGHHHH!

"

nHis ghoul, or Nikolai, roared in pain as the holy divinity destroyed the darkness. This assailant was none other than the divine archer, Yuxi. Nikolai realized that he could not keep his undead here for long, so he needed to attack Valkyrie before that.

nHowever, the alchemist was already pulling her to run away from him. First, the scene made him sick. Then, it made him wrathful. Nikolai raised both of his arms before slamming them to the ground, destroying what remained of the road.. Then, all of them fell to the abyss below.

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