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084 - A Hint of the End
🕑 Added 2024-09-15 16:34:31 +0000 UTCFor a few seconds, the world stood still as they all processed what had just happened. In the meanwhile, Qin Yun squatted over the lifeless body, his black sword laid on the ground as he non-nonchalantly went through the man’s belongings as if nothing was wrong with his actions.
Soon enough, the remaining three men in green came to their senses. One’s complexion became as white as snow, while the other two screamed incomprehensibly as they rushed Qin Yun, weapons drawn.
With a swift motion, Qin Yun took a step back, deftly avoiding a throwing knife by a mere inch before colliding with a man, grasping both of his hands at the wrist. The man exhaled, and a cloud of green smoke was released from his lungs. The smoke was thick and opaque, while its scent was pungent, much too vile to be breathed in. Worse yet, its poisonous nature was evident, just as were the nails on the man's hands.
Keeping the man's wrists in his iron grip, Qin Yun raised his knee, colliding with the man's chin as he pulled his hands downward, shattering his jaw and trapping the smoke within his body.
Bloody veins appeared on the man's eyes as they bulged from the increased pressure, making the man's lungs swell like a balloon ready to burst. Qin Yun's eyes narrowed before he made a quick decision.
He let go of one of his hands before spinning in place, his raised leg ripping through the breeze before his shin collided with the man's chest, causing it to cave in slightly. The impact was so intense that the man's body rose from the ground, tugging on the limb still stuck in Qin Yun's grip as it sought to accelerate backwards.
Unable to bear the strain, the limb ripped at the shoulder. At the same time, the rest of the man's body was propelled backwards, embedding itself into a nearby boulder, its body shattering as the over-pressured gas sought to escape, creating an explosion of green flesh and blood that rained down its stench everywhere.
Feeling a rustling noise behind him, Qin Yun ducked, only to see the throwing knife rip through the air once again as if its flight path could be remotely controlled. With the limb still remaining in his grasp, Qin Yun used it to swat the blade away, only for it to return soon after, punching right through the flesh as it sought to embed itself into Qin Yun's core, spreading the poison laced on its surface.
With the limb being only a useless mass of flesh, Qin Yun threw it toward his opponent. The man barely ducked in time, avoiding it, yet became distracted as the limb exploded, colliding with another nearby boulder, shattering in an explosion of sound.
Using this small interval, Qin Yun spun, grabbing the flying blade as it passed next to him. Its flight path had lost some complexity, if only for a moment, which was enough for Qin Yun to accelerate it toward its owner.
The knife ripped through the air as if through space itself, much faster than the man could even conceive, making it virtually impossible for the man to react in time. Just as he caught a glimpse of the flying knife, it embedded itself into his chest, ripping through his flesh until only the hilt could be seen protruding from it.
The man's body rose from the ground, overcoming inertia as it was propelled backward into the same boulder, but this time, the man's body only slumped to the ground, inert and lifeless. Yet, it didn't end there.
The corpse's skin turned black, almost as if the flesh itself was decomposing in real-time, becoming nothing more than a black puddle of goo as the flesh, muscle and bones liquefied. The stench and gruesomeness of the poison were so unbearable that Yao Ruolan couldn't bear the sight. She turned her head away if only to stop herself from vomiting.
On the contrary, He Zihao watched the battle play out with conflicted emotions plastered on his face, ranging from powerlessness and dejection to relief. Yet, it all turned to self-pity soon after.
With three of his comrades having met their ends, the last man in green shivered in fear as he looked at the state of their demise. None of their bodies were complete, and none had been granted any mercy from their killer.
“Do you think our master, the Emerald Lord, will let you go after this?" the last man spat, a single flame of hope in his eyes.
“If anything, he might even thank me for it,” Qin Yun replied with a slight smile, which couldn’t help but send a shiver through the man’s spine.
“Don't you dare spout nonsense!" the man replied, yet Qin Yun felt no authenticity in this outburst, and he couldn't help but interrupt the man's rant.
Do you really think we're that stupid?" he said as he picked his black blade back up. "You expect me to believe the frontier has already reached a consensus following what happened to their group?"
He Zihao's eyes grew wide as he heard Qin Yun's words. He had been so overwhelmed by the events that he had failed to consider all this clearly.
“The frontier should be governed by an alliance of the four local sects and a representative of the countless rogue cultivators that seek to impress them in the hopes of joining their ranks,” Qin Yun added. “Such a decision would require the express acquiescence of all involved parties which means they cannot escape from the plague that is bureaucracy.”
Yao Ruolan's eyes grew brighter, and she finally realized what Qin Yun meant. She could only blame herself for her narrow perspective, for being too deeply involved in this conflict to consider all sides of it.
"Indeed," she said. "It has only been a day since we were ambushed by the sandworms and just a few hours since that witness of yours may have made his way to the city if that even is him. There's no way they could decide so soon, and choosing to blame Senior Brother for it is even more ludicrous. There's no way the sect would accept that. Even if they did, you people found us way too quickly.”
Yao Ruolan's eyes narrowed, and she gripped her sword slightly tighter, feeling something was afoot. Qin Yun simply smiled as he walked toward the man, his sword twirling in his hand. The man in green looked back at him, cold sweat pooling on his skin and his eyes filled with dread. He fell to his knees as if trying to beg for mercy. Yet, something strange happened.
Qin Yun's eyes narrowed as he watched the man's aura change completely, becoming something utterly estranged from its earlier rendition. The shakes disappeared almost immediately, replaced by a calm that seemed almost eerie.
The man rose to his feet, his eyes were dead as if a walking corpse, yet the man’s beating heart still resounded in his chest. Before Yao Ruolan could even comprehend what was happening, the man lunged toward He Zihao, his hand forming a claw that sought to grab He Zihao’s neck, yet Qin Yun had reacted in time, blocking the man’s charge with his sword.
The claw and the black crystal collided, yet surprisingly, Qin Yun's blade seemed to be on the losing end. While no damage would come to it, the claw couldn't be stopped as it pushed Qin Yun backward. While he hadn't used all his strength, he had used more than enough to battle against a mere early-stage Foundation Building novice, yet he was still pushed back.
This man’s strength seems unstable, Qin Yun thought as he dug his feet into the hard stone, stopping the man’s advance. It's almost as if this is not his own but borrowed from an external source.
Qin Yun's conjecture would prove to be right. Cracks started to appear on the man's skin as he pushed further, driving Qin Yun backwards as he dove deeper into the stone, shards of rock splintering as he did so.
As the two were engaged in battle, Yao Ruolan attacked from the side, thrusting her sword and aiming for the man's side. Yet he disengaged just as they were about to collide, making her miss her mark. She gracefully spun, her blade creating an arc of light in the air as it ripped through space as if there was no resistance before creating a deep cut on the man's abdomen.
Dark grey blood flowed from the wound, yet only for a moment before the laceration cauterized itself, leaving almost no traces of the injury behind. She frowned, yet her feet carried her forward, her blade never stopping its motions as it dug further into the man’s flesh.
While her movements were deadly and precise, her blade could only reach her opponent because Qin Yun occupied most of the man's attention, keeping the claw from being used as a shield as he, too, plunged into the heat of battle.
Even two against one, the man in green wasn't to be outdone. The wounds bled and healed as Qin Yun restricted him, yet he wouldn't fall and would fight back somewhat, leading to a stalemate.
He Zihao watched the battle unfold, powerlessness apparent on his face. He clenched his fist in frustration yet had to stop as the pain became unbearable. Even standing took most of his strength.
How interesting... Qin Yun thought. While ending him wouldn’t be that hard, it would be a waste. I do wonder where he acquired such strength. Still... that grey blood...
Despite the heat of battle, Qin Yun turned his head to the west, and a strange feeling arose in his heart. Feeling Qin Yun's attention slipping, the man shoved Yao Ruolan's blade aside before charging him, his claw forming a spear aimed straight at Qin Yun's heart.
The sharpened point flew forward yet couldn't break Qin Yun's skin, stopping just above the surface as if it had hit an unbreakable object. Feeling something was wrong, the man sought to retreat, yet his wrist was caught by Qin Yun's mechanical hand before his other one reached for his throat, suspending him into the air at arm's length.
The man thrashed, clawing at Qin Yun's arm, yet none of his attempts held any promise. He even kicked Qin Yun's side to no effect. Dark grey saliva fell from the man's mouth onto Qin Yun's skin, making it sizzle. Qin Yun frowned, feeling a slight hint of pain as the substance seemed to wish to dissolve him entirely, yet couldn't overcome his resilience—at least not with this impure of a solution.
“Who are you?" Qin Yun asked calmly as he released his grip ever so slightly, allowing just enough leeway for the man to utter sounds.
"You may have won this time, yet it is meaningless. You cannot stop the flood from engulfing all that exists!"
The man's voice was cold and emotionless, bringing a chill to anyone who heard it. It seemed like it couldn't possibly come from any living thing; it seemed more like a phenomenon. Somehow, this reminded Qin Yun of the voices he had heard as he conversed with the world's will but given shape through a living conduit.
“The flood? Is that what you are?”
“We have no need for such things as name, as we are all that exist and all that will remain in the end.”
“That’s quite the title you gave yourself,” Qin Yun replied. “Why go after He Zihao? No offence, but he seems inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.”
However, Qin Yun's question was doomed to remain unanswered. The man began to disappear as if smoke billowed in the breeze. His flesh quickly crumbled into grey particles carried by the wind, leaving nothing but a sentence as proof of its existence: "All things will come to an end."
“What was that?" Yao Ruolan said as she stepped next to Qin Yun, consternation on her pretty face as she watched this bizarre phenomenon. There was a slight dread in her heart that she couldn't explain, but it was soon forgotten as He Zihao took her hand; he, too, felt something was awry.
"Something we aren't ready to face," Qin Yun replied, yet there was no sign of his usual slight smile this time.
