“Caaw!”

  “Keep your distance!”

  Once again, Somnu ran through the grotesque swamp filled with ancient withering trees the size of skyscrapers. The familiar rotting stench came rushing into his nose once more.

  Moving through the damp and misty atmosphere at that speed, he could feel his hair and skin getting enveloped by an adhesive liquid.

  Nevertheless, he jumped over giant serpentine roots and continued his pursuit.

  He followed his instincts. Like a predator that trusted the scent it picked up, the scarecrow hunted his prey based on the sixth sense leading him.

  Except this time, his prey hadn’t been an animal eyeing the crop, nor a Nightmare Creature.

  It was a living sentient being.

  Naturally, the question had popped into his head.

  Can I do this…?

  He had moved before considering what it was he would do once he found the killer.

  Would he punish Almon for what he did for Benji? Would the scarecrow get him back for what John Doe did to all his victims, including Somnu’s mother?

  How would he do that exactly? What would it take?

  Could Somnu kill another person if necessary?

  “...”

  The closest he had come so far to that in this realm was perhaps when he defeated the sentient scarecrow monster. And yet, the disappearance of that Nightmare Creature was clearly not going to be permanent.

  If I kill him… wouldn’t that make me just like him…? Somnu thought, recognizing that same old cliche from all the stories he had consumed during his long and lonely nights. No, we are different! He’s killing for pleasure, or whatever twisted reason he has… I… I’m not going to let my old self dictate my future. I have to cross that boundary, I have to kill to protect. I am a scarecrow, but I won’t stand still and watch the crop get threatened again!

  His thoughts raced quicker than he passed through the countless trees. Just in case, he was currently using [Hollow Gaze] to keep any Nightmare Creatures from blocking his way. At his current rank, he figured most low level monsters would stay away.

  He needed to use this time more wisely, to consider things clearly.

  Because as much as he disliked what he had to do, Somnu had already resolved himself to it.

  He had always wanted to change, and although this development had not been what he had in mind back then, it was his only way forward now.

  If I hesitate now, more will die because of me again. He clenched his right fist once more, feeling the phantom pains on his missing left arm. If I had been more cunning with dealing with Almon… If I hadn’t been reckless with my plan against the Dreadbeast, If I had been stronger to do it on my own without Mathros or Lulu’s help… Then Benji would have survived.

  There hadn’t been any time when Almon was alone with someone else before. Somnu couldn’t know if the killer would have taken action earlier if that had happened, or if he had waited until the Dreadbeast had been killed. It meant he would have ensured his way out of the cavern, and received a hefty bonus on top of that.

  All of Somnu’s actions and decisions had led to the killer’s perfect conditions. The best outcome for him to act and satisfy his desires.

  Somnu couldn’t let that slide either. The more he thought, the more reasons he found to make sure his enemy was stopped once and for all.

  “!”

  Seriously…?

  Just then, Somnu received another vision from his translucent crown Memento, which seemed to activate whenever it felt like it. For now, the scarecrow ignored the piercing pain it brought and focused on the projected vision.

  It revealed Almon standing alone beneath the green moonlight. He had stopped running and was simply waiting.

  It’s clearly a trap… I’ll be there in a few minutes, I should make sure I’m prepared enough for this. Somnu thought to himself as he stopped his charge for a moment. I need to be prepared both mentally and physically…

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  ***

  “Oh? You’re finally here.”

  “...”

  Walking out of the dense swamp forest, Somnu finally reached a wide clearing where nothing seemed to grow. Every step he took confirmed the solid dead soil under his feet, almost as if all moisture had been sucked out of it.

  Above him, following the clear air carried over by the wind from above, the scarecrow finally laid eyes on the glowing rock illuminating the clearing. Ever since he had gotten to the Abyss of Lethe, it had either been blocked by a canopy of massive trees or a dense swarm of clouds.

  Now, the moon glowing a light green greeted him.

  And yet, just under it, the presence of his bloodthirsty enemy standing under that same moonlight spoiled this new scenery.

  “Where is your little flying friend? It kept circling around while you stood waiting a ways back.”

  “...”

  Whenever Almon spoke, Somnu couldn’t find any words to answer. There were many things he wanted to say to the murderer, but there had been a sudden change that the scarecrow had not been ready for.

  He still couldn’t see Amon’s face, nor peek into his System and abilities. That would be its own set of problems.

  “What’s wrong? Crow got your tongue?”

  However, what was making Somnu stop in place and narrow his eyes had been a simple auditory change.

  The voice he was currently hearing was not the same voice he had heard Almon use before. It sounded deeper, more raspy than the weak and high tone of the shy persona.

  Is this his real voice, or is it…? Somnu didn’t have much to go on to make a full conclusion, nor did he have the time for that right now.

  “Why did you kill Benji?” The scarecrow finally decided to partake in the conversation.

  Jumping in to fight immediately would be playing right into his enemy’s hands. For now, he still needed to buy a little more time.

  “Why, you ask?” The raspy voice scoffed. “Why do we eat and sleep?”

  Somnu simply glared into the inside of the hood, where only two orbs seemed to be glowing crimson now.

  He resisted the urge to point out the irony behind the voice’s statement. After all, Somnu had neither been eating because of Grudgekeeper’s gluttony, nor sleeping because of his personal title, not that he ever had even before receiving it.

  “You want to know what his last words were after I made him feel the most excruciating pain?” Almon’s shoulders shrugged, his arms wide open. His head was even slightly tilted, as if completely nonchalant.

  I don’t want to hear this… I shouldn’t… Somnu clenched his empty right fist, his patience quickly running thin.

  “‘Lulu… please… don’t… hurt her… I… love…’”

  “!”

  Once again, the voice had changed. This time, it was a familiar voice that sent cold shivers down Somnu’s spine.

  It was Benji’s voice. His last struggle before he died.

  “Hahaha! Can you believe it?! He was in so much pain that anyone else would have died from complete shock, and yet, he pulled himself together not to beg for his own life, but for the life of the one he loved!” Almon’s arms were raised high in the air, as if praising something invisible. “Isn’t it simply beautiful?! Magnificent?! Aren’t you intrigued?! The things folks say at the end… right before they take their very last breath…!”

  “...” It was taking everything in Somnu’s body to hold himself back. With every second that passed, the constant grinding of his teeth threatened to shatter whatever plan he had.

  Listening to the killer’s monologue felt far worse than being ripped apart by zombies.

  “The honesty, the earnestness, the acceptance of it all…” The killer’s arms wrapped around his torso, as if writhing in pleasure. “You ask me why I did it… Oh! I simply can’t have enough of it!”

  “How could you…?!” Somnu grunted through gritted teeth. “Those are lives you’re playing with! They’re not toys for you to enjoy!”

  “What do you mean?” The raspy voice said with a tilted head. “Don’t you see? I truly thought you of all people would see it now. Why can’t you see it? Are you still that weak little boy? Have you not experienced enough to see things clearly yet? Tell me, do you, or do you not see it?!”

  With every question, the deep, raspy voice grew louder and louder to the point his last question echoed through the surroundings.

  “No! I don’t get it, nor do I see it, you sick twisted bastard!” Somnu bellowed, his voice breaking the stillness of the grotesque swamp. “You’re killing innocent people, enjoying their pain and laughing about their last unfulfilled desires that you took away from them! What do you expect me to understand about that exactly?! What do you think people are?! They-”

  “Then, do you want to know your mother’s last words?”

  “?!”

  The interruption made Somnu take an instinctive step backwards, his eyes stretching wide.

  “She was a feisty one. Truly worth the trouble of revealing myself and getting caught because of her.” The voice continued, raising his hands to touch the hidden face beneath the gray hoodie. “It didn’t even matter that I was imprisoned between four tangible walls! Watching her realize and accept her own death… Hearing her last words… The memory of that moment was all the pleasure and entertainment I needed in my cell!”

  “... At the very least, you finally confirmed it for me.” Somnu took a step forward, a violet glow enveloping his body, while his eyes took on a purple glow strong enough to darken everything around him.

  “Oh?”

  A moment later, the scarecrow dashed forward at full speed, a single glowing sickle in his right hand while his left side remained a simple weightless sleeve flapping in the wind.

  “I’m going to rip you to shreds for everything you’ve done!”

  To hell with hesitating about killing a murderer.

  To hell with considering good and evil in this situation.

  To hell with this humanity.

  [Feral Instinct!]

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