Julian's POV:
A blue coloured energy started emerging from the ground, all the energy started to gather in the dead body's torso.
The quiet area where only the chants of the cultist were heard was now experiencing a strong wind out of nowhere. The wind blew off the burning bonfire and started to go into the body's mouth.
Sounds of sparks were immediately heard as the body started to float in the mid air. A white crystal started to cover the entire body.
The non-understandable chants began to grow louder and louder. It was like the apocalypse itself had started in this room where the darkness seemed to have no end.
Suddenly, a muffled scream was heard in the distance as one of the cultists brought a person who looked like a priest. His eyes were blindfolded and his hands were cuffed with a metal chain attached to them. A constantly bleeding wound was present on his heart from which a golden liquid was flowing. The overseer stabbed the dagger into the person's bleeding wound, extracting the golden liquid in a wooden bowl. After that he poured the golden liquid on the body. Its long claws started to move.
I finally broke one of the restraints holding me by corrupting it with magic. For the second one,I pulled out the dagger I had in my pocket and reinforced it with my shadow magic which allowed me to cut the restrain on my left arm now I dropped from the cross with a heavy thud which caught attention of all the cult members along with the overseer who just looked at me and me smiled. The entity which was floating in mud air finally landed on the ground.
It made a horrifying scream that made blood drip from my ears. I felt my body shivering and palms sweating tremendously. I could practically hear my heart beating fast. For the first time throughout these idiotic occurrences I was scared.
"Oh, you have woken up at quite the wrong time, Julian Raymond. Here I thought I would have given you a painless death." The overseer watching all the commotion with hands covering his ears finally spoke up. The other cult members had fainted due to the scream nearly tearing their eardrum.
"Meet our saviour, its name is Dravokh, tyrant of the other world." He pointed towards the creepy entity. The entity looked at me in the eyes, there were no eyes in its socket, just hollow endlessness that seemed like it could cover the entire world.
It launched itself at a terrible speed towards me with its claws, I could barely respond to it as it proceeded to scratch me with its long bones on my chest. The area it struck at started to turn black immediately.
'Just trying to defend myself with a dagger won't work against this.But what else could I do against this abomination of a creature.'
I gripped my dagger tightly. The pink circuits started pulsating like they were experiencing a rush of adrenaline.
'Astaroth?'
No response, I tried to contact him earlier but it was of no use, I couldn't contact him. Not to mention my shadow magic had started feeling weaker than before.
The creature let out another terrible scream as it went for another attack. I closed my eyes as I accepted my fate of dying here but it didn't attack me. I opened my eyes to see the overseer stopping it to cross some invisible black door. On the other end of the black door I could see mechanical structures that resembled the cult's hideout.
"No! You cannot go there yet, king of tyrants! Your body is not prepared." The overseer spoke loudly to the creature in a failed attempt. The creature started pushing it back. This was my chance to escape from here. I rushed towards the door but my way was interrupted by a few cult members who regained consciousness. I started fighting them but I couldn't easily kill them like earlier due to weaker shadow magic. As I was fighting them, the body of the overseer swung at us like a ragdoll. The creature jumped at us and started eating the cult members. Its mouth opened wider than a hippo to reveal its mouth filled with canines and molars meant for tearing and crushing flesh of its prey.
___'s POV:
I made my way out of the disposal area and started to make my way to the bottom most area of the facility. From the disposal area I was sure that there were at least hundred children that were put into the whiteroom alongside me but they didn't managed to stay alive for some reason. Now their bodies were dumped like a garbage, I could hear their voices begging me to take revenge for them….to kill for them.
As I reached the second lady floor, the gown I was wearing turned from white to red, completely drenched in the blood of those who opposed me. I just keep cutting them down without any feeling, I wasn't enjoying this but I wasn't hating this either. Finally after killing the last people on the last second floor the chilling voice from earlier finally spoke again,
"You completed the condition for ascension, you have obtained 100 souls that were required for it. Now you are level 2 of a shadow magic. With this your body will gain more strength with additional abilities and regeneration enchantment."
The angel of death spoke up in its neutral voice like earlier, there was no emotion behind it just a fact that his duty was to give away.
'How does this regeneration works? It could even heal me from gunshots or severe wounds.'
I finally the question I had in my mind. I was at first too terrified to ask it but I knew that being terrified won't help me here, I needed to make a stand.
"It uses fragments of your soul to heal. Yes, it does have side effects for example the regeneration isn't infinite, you will slowly have your soul corroded every time it's use."
Fragments of soul...that means eventually I will get erased out of existence if I continue to use it any longer.
"Now I officially ascend you to level 2."
As he said that I instantly fell to knees as I experienced a searing pain on my back. It was like something was coming out from it. I didn't scream or cry….I had lost the ability to donso long ago but this pain nearly brought me to tears of agony. Slowly two wings popped out of my back. They were black in colour and therebwas my blood dripping from them. Their size was very big, to the point they were covering the walls of the wide hallway i was standing on.
'These wings...they will grant me the ability to fly. But I don't remember Julian having wings, i suppose it's something that depends on the people you've contracted with. Now that I remember contracts how did i managed to summon Azrael shouldn't it require a chant or something?'
Even though it was an important question I didn't bother asking. I didn't the time for it. By concentrating the purple circuits on my back the wings retracted into my back like they were never there to begin with. I didn't felt painful to retract them.
'I could probably fly with them at enhanced speed but this isn't the area to test it out.'
I hastily made my way to the last floor but unexpectedly I was at a dead end. Except a white wall with the cult's insignia on it there was nothing there to begin with.
Suddenly an invisible door opened and our of it three figures popped out. One was Julian and other was the guy who stabbed him earlier. But more importantly there was a figure upon seeing which I felt my anger rising.
'A demon…'
I didn't knew how I knew what it was but the only thing I knew that it was meant to be killed by me.