Night Journey

Chapter 29 The Nightmare Path

The Soulfire burned Torun's corpse into a shrinking, empty shell.

Cillian strode forward along the path of the still-burning flames.

"The soul marrow corrupted by chaos has characteristics completely opposite to those of ordinary soul marrow. It gathers and strengthens the power of chaos, and even the heat of fireworks will be transformed into a profound cold."

Cillian mentally summarized his combat experience: "Those favored by Chaos also possess a certain ability to become Chaos-like, transforming themselves into monstrous monsters."

"besides……"

Cillian glanced at the faintly glowing tattoo. Just as he had imagined, the Ouroboros sign finally felt a sense of satisfaction the moment Toren, the Chaos follower, died.

His soul essence concentration increased by a few tenths of a percent, but the battle was so intense that Cillian didn't have time to carefully perceive the change.

At the same time, the blessing, which had not yet taken its true form, was beginning to take shape.

It was with this vague power that Cirion shattered the shackles of chaos and launched his counterattack.

only……

Cillian looked back with a worried expression.

Whether it was the fierce battle before or the brief respite now, the roars and sword cries from the depths of the darkness never ceased, and the battle between Nunn and the Deathbird continued.

Cillian crossed the high wall, now a burnt ruin.

Impurities drifted in the shadows, like a cloud of dust that rose but could not fall. Large patches of ice crystals formed on the ground, and even if a heat wave swept by, they would recrystallize within a minute.

White Cliff Town was filled with chaotic power, and Cillian's worries shifted from Nunn to the very survival of the town.

Cillian thought of his friends.

They were just ordinary mortals, utterly defenseless against the power of chaos. A mere touch or contact with it would be enough to corrupt them instantly.

The clanging and roaring sounds grew clearer until they were almost within reach.

……

Tim witnessed the collapse of the Lighthouse.

If the foehn winds only instilled fear in the townspeople, then the collapse of the Lighthouse signified the arrival of despair.

The fortress of light collapsed and perished, and the gray mist that had accumulated around White Cliff Town poured down like a flood bursting its banks.

One by one, the torches planted on the high walls went out, and one by one the buildings on the outer perimeter disappeared into the darkness, leaving only blurry shadows standing.

"The light... the light went out..."

The townspeople pointed tremblingly to the collapsed Lighthouse, which was still shining, but only as a flame burning on the ruins.

Everyone's breath stopped for a moment, and even the searing pain that emanated from their bodies became numb at that moment.

Seconds later, terrified screams rose and fell.

The intense despair nearly shattered their reason, but this was only the beginning of the disaster.

The endless gray fog, like a surging black tide, rushed in from all directions, instantly swallowing up light and ruthlessly crushing life wherever it went.

Streets, houses, and trees all twisted and dissolved in the gray fog, leaving only chaos and death.

Thousands upon thousands of demons roared as they emerged from the gray mist. Their forms were terrifying. Some were shaped like giant rocks, covered in rotting flesh and pustules. With each step they took, the ground was corroded by the foul-smelling slime. Others were shaped like twisted vines, with countless tentacles dancing wildly in the air, covered with sharp barbs and suckers.

"no no……"

Amidst the wailing, a towering demon burst into the crowd, instantly tearing several townspeople to shreds, their flesh and blood splattering everywhere in a gruesome scene.

A father desperately shielded his child beneath him, but a spiky tentacle pierced through his body and plunged into the child's chest. Blood mingled and stained the ground beneath their feet.

Some young men picked up weapons, trying to make a last stand, but when faced with the demons, extreme fear froze them in place, unable to move. Claws fell, scattering their internal organs and limbs all over the ground.

The children's cries were drowned out by the roars of the demons. They stared in horror as their loved ones were brutally murdered, powerless to do anything about it.

Some fainted and died unconscious in the clutches of the demons, while others drank heavily in their final moments to numb their senses.

Some people managed to hide in a corner. They overturned wardrobes, moved tables and chairs, and blocked the door with their bare hands. Just when they thought they had won a chance to survive, they did not notice that gray mist was continuously seeping out from the crack in the door and merging into the darkness.

The demons slaughtered the townspeople indiscriminately, their blood flowing like rivers through the streets. Severed limbs and bones were everywhere, a horrifying sight.

The square reeked of blood and filled with an atmosphere of despair, transforming it into a cruel arena.

Tim's roar drowned out the desperate sobs.

"Take up your weapons! Do not step into the darkness!"

Amidst the chaos, he found Cirion's lost longsword, took out the Soul Essence he always carried from his pocket, lit a torch, and the pure white light illuminated the darkness.

“Stay close to me, Ava.”

Tim held a sword in one hand and a torch in the other. He had no extra strength to take care of Ava and could only keep admonishing her.

Ava was pale and had a blank look in her eyes. She had just witnessed her father's death, the collapse of the Lighthouse, and now all of this... as if all the tragedies in the world had come to pass tonight.

Seeing her like this, Tim felt only pity and sadness, followed by a surge of immense anger.

Ava cannot die here, at least not in front of me.

Tim swung his longsword with great effort, and with his outstanding strength, he easily cut down a demon. The filthy blood splattered on the ground, making a sizzling, corrosive sound.

"Mick, we have to get out of here!"

Tim turned his head and called out to the short figure weaving through the crowd.

Mick was still young and not as strong as Tim, but he also held a torch in one hand and a short dagger in the other, randomly stabbing holes into the demon's body.

After defeating a demon, he panted as he headed towards Tim's side.

Mick shouted, "Everyone, stick with us!"

Even without Mick saying anything, the surviving townspeople were already moving closer to the two.

The surging gray fog swallowed all the light, leaving only the torches in Tim and Mick's hands to fight off the darkness in the square.

These two beams of light were far too weak; the soul essence was being rapidly depleted, and the light was becoming increasingly dim.

Tim watched helplessly as one townsman after another disappeared into the darkness. Before their figures completely blurred and faded away, desperate screams and the sounds of flesh being torn apart lingered in the air.

How many people died?

The question involuntarily popped into Tim's mind.

He glanced around at the townspeople beside him; there were only about twenty or thirty of them…

Tim dared not think about what happened afterward; he had no time for fear, nor for grief.

He had failed to block that door before, but this time he would not fail. Mick and Tim reunited, their two beams of light converging and pushing back the ever-flowing gray mist slightly, but this was only temporary; the soul essence would eventually be exhausted.

"These are all for you; you will lead everyone forward."

Mick gave the rest of his soul essence to Tim, finally freeing up his other hand to hold the dagger.

Tim watched Mick nervously, fearing that his brother might do something crazy.

"What about you?"

It's hard to imagine that Mick could still put on a smiling face at a time like this.

"Me? What else can I do? There are demons lurking around the area, and someone has to take care of them."

At the edge of the light, demons repeatedly emerged from the gray mist, attempting to break into the light of the soul marrow and devour the flesh and blood of the townspeople.

“Don’t worry,” Mick continued, “I’ll stay close to you.”

After saying that, Mick pierced the heart of a demon with his twin daggers.

"what should we do?"

Some townspeople gradually came to their senses and looked at Tim hopefully, "We can't stay here forever."

He's right. Tim and the others can't stay trapped in the square forever. It's flat and there's no cover whatsoever. They're like rocks being battered by waves; they'll eventually be shattered.

Tim didn't know exactly what had happened, but based on the previous bizarre supernatural phenomena, he realized that it must be related to Nunn.

Just as Tim was pondering his next move, the gray fog from all directions drew even closer.

This situation sent chills down everyone's spines, and they all looked at Tim in horror. Tim himself stared wide-eyed, trying to suppress the unease in his heart.

He belatedly realized, "The torch still has plenty of essence... the gray fog has become more powerful!"

A series of shrill howls followed, and with the power of chaos amplified, the demons were gradually breaking through the boundary between light and darkness, wildly extending their claws.

The townspeople screamed and jostled each other, desperately trying to get closer to Tim and the pure white light.

"Stay calm! Stay calm!"

Tim yelled, and if he hadn't been tall enough, he would have been knocked over by the panicked townspeople.

"Light! Light!"

Some people screamed, while others knelt down and prayed to Tim's torch.

Amidst desperate cries, a scarlet tentacle emerged from the darkness, coiling around a young girl's ankle and dragging her deeper into the shadows.

"help me!"

She screamed desperately, but no one answered.

Mick was fighting another demon. No matter how fast he swung his twin daggers, he couldn't kill them all. Not to mention, Mick himself was already exhausted and covered in wounds.

Surrounded by the crowd, Tim found it difficult to take a single step outside.

He could only stare intently at the struggling girl.

Oh... Tim remembers her. She was the baker's daughter and Tim once thought she was the most beautiful girl in town.

Even now, her face is still beautiful, and in fact, due to her extreme fear, it is full of a vulnerable quality that makes people want to protect her.

Like a porcelain doll covered in cracks.

The sharp tail sting pierced her throat, and her wailing stopped abruptly.

Tim's mind went blank, and he felt as if he had been pierced.

"Tim! Tim!"

Ava struggled to push aside the increasingly frenzied townspeople and slapped Tim's body.

"Calm down!"

Upon hearing Ava's voice, Tim snapped out of his daze, blinked dryly, and tried to say something, but couldn't get the words out.

Everything happened so suddenly and so wildly.

Even with Tim's excellent mental fortitude, witnessing one familiar figure after another die tragically before his eyes caused his strong psychological defenses to crumble little by little amidst the demons' bloodthirsty cries.

Tim recalled the past, when he was the youngest of the Soflowa brothers.

He had many brothers, all of whom died in the night.

The demons closed in again, their hideous and terrifying figures fully revealed under the illumination of the soul essence light. The gray mist surged and spread, and in such madness, no one bothered to determine whether they had been tainted by the gray mist.

People were just screaming, as if trying to squeeze out the last bit of oxygen from their lungs.

It screamed.

What's the point of screaming?

A furious curse interrupted the screams, and blinding flames emerged from the darkness, felling demons in droves and hacking them to pieces wherever they went.

"Instead of screaming and praying, why not take up arms and fight back!"

Cirien strode forward, brandishing his flaming sword.

Without any concern or pointless chatter, Cillian asked directly and decisively.

Are we the only ones left?

Tim nodded in response, "Yes."

Cillian's arrival brought a great sense of security.

"Come with me, we're going to the Lighthouse of Light."

Cillian cut open his palm again, trying to squeeze out more blood to smear on the blade and ignite a fire to drive away the darkness.

Tim said, "The beacon of light has fallen."

"But the terrain there is high enough to be easy to defend, and the warehouse storing soul essence is right below the Lighthouse. As long as we have enough soul essence, we can survive the night."

Cirien led the way, cutting the demons to pieces.

Mick cautioned, "The enemy might guess our moves."

Cillian said without turning his head.

"Then kill the enemies too."

(End of this chapter)