Book 2: Chapter 401

Lukas who had died, Lukas who had become a corpse, and Lukas who had chosen to live the life of a bandit instead of that of a Wizard.

Had he also witnessed the truth about Sophia?

If so, what had he done after that?

He soon received the answer to that question.

Just like him, he had chosen to follow Sophia and learned the truth.

But that night, instead of confronting Sophia or asking anyone for help, Lukas chose to run away. Terrified, he ran away from that reality without looking back.

In Lukas opinion, that was one of the worst choices.

How far did he run? By the time Lukas had become exhausted and had no choice but to stop, light was beginning to appear in the dark night sky, and the surroundings were becoming brighter.

The view around him was that of a mountain valley, but he had no idea what mountain it was. But at least he could tell that it was a place hed never been to before.

I must have seen wrong.

Lukas thought. His thoughts had calmed down, but he was still in denial. Foolishly, he decided to return to the orphanage. If he simply retraced his steps, he should be able to get there soon enough.

But his feet could move easily. His legs felt like they were made of lead.

Kuk.

He forced himself to walk forward. He comforted himself thinking that he would be fine as long as he forced his feet to move, but his legs grew heavier and heavier, and to make matters worse, his heart rate also began to accelerate. It wasnt even that hot, but sweat poured down his face.

Clench.

He bit his lip hard. Enough to make it bleed.

Using the pain in his lip, Lukas forced his legs to move, but soon, even that was no longer enough.

Hey brat, stop right there.

Give us everything you have on you.

Lukas was stopped by bandits waiting at the exit to the mountains. His entire body was already exhausted so he couldnt even use magic. When they saw the penniless Lukas, the bandits clicked their tongues.

s.h.i.+t. We havent seen a beggar like this in a long time.

Weve been too lucky from the beginning Hey, what are you staring at? You should get out of here while were letting you go nicely.

The bandits didnt harm or kill Lukas for no reason.

Their goal was simply to extort money.

But at that moment, a man appeared behind them.

Brat, youre an orphan.

A thin appearance.

He was a man who was a head shorter than the bandits who had stopped him earlier. However, his face was covered in countless horrific scars. So, despite being relatively small, he had an intimidating aura.

This man was Black Fox, the notorious bandit leader of this mountain range.

Black Fox stared at Lukas for a moment before suddenly lifting him up with one hand and throwing him over his shoulder. This was an incredible feat of strength to perform with a small body, but Lukas soon realised that his entire body was made up of well developed muscles.

Boss?

What are you

Taking him.

Black Wolf responded simply.

Let me go!

Lukas began to struggle. But, looking back on it later, he probably would be relieved that he hadnt returned to the orphanage at this time.

When one of his swinging hands struck the back of Black Foxs head, his expression immediately became cold.

Paak!

Immediately after, Lukas felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and lost consciousness.

Black Fox muttered.

Now youre a bit more obedient.

* * *

The kidnapped Lukas was forced by Black Fox to live the life of a bandit. The reason why the word forced is used is because Lukas naturally didnt have any intentions of being a bandit, and expressed his defiance with all his might.

It didnt work.

Black Fox was strong. He was so strong that he couldnt be taken as a simple bandit leader. Lukas couldnt see a way to beat him.

And he also couldnt tell why such a strong man was obsessed with making him a bandit.

Perhaps it was because Black Fox saw Lukas tenacious spirit.

He secretly nurtured Lukas to be his second in command, sometimes telling him.

If you kill me, you can leave this place. None of these bandits will be able to stop you.

It was by no means a comfortable life. He experienced all kinds of hards.h.i.+ps. He was abandoned in a monster infested forest for a month, and realised just how much of a blessing it was to be able to eat once and fall asleep without needing to be wary of his surroundings. There was a time when hed almost gone blind because couldnt properly treat a rotting wound.

Perhaps it was because of how desperately he struggled.

But Lukas soon forgot about the orphanage. No, he didnt forget. He brushed it off to the side.

When he was first captured by the bandits, he was obsessed with killing Black Fox and escaping. But he didnt have the power to do so, and he didnt have the ability to return to the orphanage

In that way, he hid behind a cowardly excuse.

But five years later, Lukas was able to unintentionally escape from the bandits. Of course, this wasnt because hed managed to kill Black Fox.

That man had died on his own terms.

It was a big accident.

They had naturally targeted a n.o.ble.

And attempted a simple but effective two stage plan, but it failed.

The other side had a Wizard. It was a 5 star Wizard whose destructive power had been absolutely terrifying. Most of the bandits had burned like dry firewood in the flames summoned by the Wizard.

At that time, Black Fox had made a decision. He revealed himself to be the leader of the bandit group and attracted most of the enemys attention.

In the end, he didnt even leave a corpse, his black ashes scattering in the wind.

Lukas had been greatly shocked by the death of Black Fox. Even as he tried to run away, he couldnt help but feel sadness and even sympathy.

Why?

That man had given him h.e.l.l for five years. Was he touched that hed given his life for him in the end?

He didnt know, but Lukas was certain that Black Fox hadnt sacrificed himself at that time just to save him.

Instead, hed considered the circ.u.mstances and made the most reasonable judgement at that time. With just his one life, he would be able to save the lives of dozens of bandits. That was the kind of man he was.

The remnants of the bandit group took Lukas as their new leader. He was the youngest among them, but over the years, he had established himself as the brilliant right hand of Black Fox.

But Lukas ignored them and went to another place.

The orphanage.

He couldnt avoid it any longer.

When he entered the familiar forest, Lukass heart pounded heavily in his chest. By this time, Lukas had already grown into a strong, 19 year old young man. He knew how to calm himself down and control his fear.

However, when he saw the appearance of the orphanage beyond the stream, he could no longer maintain his composure.

Technically speaking, there was no orphanage in sight. In its place were only charred marks on the ground.

It must have been a huge fire to burn it so perfectly to the ground. It felt like he was in a completely different place.

Heart pounding, Lukas rushed to the nearby city. Then, he grabbed the arm of a pa.s.serby like a madman and began to ask questions.

And he found out.

Sophia was the culprit behind the disappearances, and she had burned herself together with the orphanage in a fit of madness.

* * *

The memories of Lukas ended there. That was all he could see for now.

Aaaaak-!

With a terrible scream, Lukas regained consciousness.

What the h.e.l.l kind of pain was this? It felt like his very cells were being torn apart

No. No! It like that at all.

Lukas was highly resistant to pain.

And he couldnt think of anything that was comparable to what he was currently experiencing.

However, in the future, whenever he felt pain, Lukas would compare it to the pain he was feeling at that moment.

His lower half.

The pain was coming from his lower half. He looked down to the source.

c.l.i.tter clatter c.l.i.tter clatter.

A terrifying sound.

Like stones rubbing together or teeth grinding

Without a doubt, it was a sound that would naturally cause humans to feel disgusted.

Lukas lower body was dyed black.

No, it wasnt black.

It was bugs.

An uncountable number of bugs were gnawing on Lukas legs.

Kaak, ak, ack

He screamed and reeled.

-There are things called three day bugs. They are smaller than a fingernail, and they usually live in groups that can number in the millions. They are very docile until they find their prey that is Kuku

-What you should really be worrying about are the three day bugs. I know that your pain tolerance is pretty high, but the pain they inflict far exceeds your imagination

He recalled Lukas words.

Thats right. These were three day bugs.

Flame Ball!

Fwoos.h.!.+

The Flame Ball burned the bugs.

Kiiieeee, the bugs screamed in terror as they were torn apart. There was also the sound of something popping.

The three day bugs were soon eradicated. The bugs burned, smelling even worse than the rotten corpses. Compared to the terrible pain they inflicted, they didnt seem to have any defensive ability.

Ugh, ack

Lukas gasped.

There wasnt much of his lower half left. His appearance was now closer to Lukas when hed first seen him.

This was dangerous.

At this rate, Lukas might become a corpse as well.

Eat something

Something made from flesh and blood.

As he looked around, something appeared in Lukas eyes.

A body of flesh and blood, although rotted.

Lukass corpse.

To eat another human.

If one were to ask if his rejection of this had completely disappeared, the answer would be no.

However, even another Lukas didnt consider him to be human.

And he himself agreed with that.

If that was the case then now,

Even if he were to become a monster, it couldnt be helped.

Tuk.

He picked up Lukass corpse.

Juk, he opened his tightly closed mouth.

Crunch.

And bit into the rotten corpse. Immediately, a terrible stench filled his nostrils, and it felt like he would release the contents of his stomach, but he was able to suppress the feeling and keep moving his jaw.

He endured the taste and sensation of chewing flesh as well as the stench that made him want to vomit.

Munch, munch

Lukass flesh did not taste good. This was natural since it was a rotten corpse. There was also the occasional sensation that didnt feel or taste like flesh or blood, in those cases, it was probably maggots. Every time that happened, his disgust grew even more.

Munch, munch

With every bit of flesh he ate, it felt like his heart was becoming darker and darker. As if his entire body was being painted black. Every time he became aware of his own actions, he felt an overwhelming sense of immorality, making it difficult to maintain his sanity.

It felt like he was gradually sinking into an abyss from whence he would never return.

It was even more disgusting since he was eating the corpse of another Lukas but it could not be helped.

This was the only way.

Lukas was now crossing a line.

In order to live for such an unimaginably long time and still keep a clarity of mind, it was necessary to limit ones scope of action.

For example, one should set lines that could not be crossed. Otherwise, regardless of how strong one became, it would be easy to lose go crazy.

The collapse and corruption of those who had lost control of themselves.

It was something that Lukas had seen countless times before, and something hed vowed never to do.

But now, he was breaking his vow.

Lukas was now becoming that kind of being because he wanted to.

In other words, he was going crazy.

Ku, kukuk, ku..

He burst into laughter, but he realised that he was also crying at the same time.

Nevertheless, even while he shed tears with a distorted expression, Lukas didnt stop eating Lukas.

By the time the hardest meal of his life had ended, Lukas face was covered with blood.

He was full.

He had eaten several times in the World of Void, but this was the first time hed felt full. His missing lower half had also regenerated without him realising.

He wiped his face with his sleeve, but the blood didnt come off so easily.

While looking down at the bones of Lukas, which had become bare, he suddenly had a thought.

Eating people wasnt as bad as he thought.

(TL: Hmmm, it was a great idea to translate this while eating. Wonderful idea.)