BXBX NOVEL Chapter 9 9 - On The Path To Be A Monster
Right in front of his eyes, a revolting scene unfolded itself. Haruki couldn't believe what he was witnessing and his heart began to bleed for the victim. Back in the castle bedroom, he was watching over Snow forcing himself on Asuka. Her lifeless body was a clear indication of some foul play by the young scholar.
"You're playing a trick," Haruki revolted, grabbing Moriyana by the collar.
"Hmm? You think so? Why don't you ask him directly?" Raising her eyebrows, she glanced over Haruki's shoulder.
Letting go of her, he turned around to follow her gaze. That's when he saw Snow halting his assault as he pulled his hair in frustration.
"I'm not a hypocrite, I'm not, I'm not, I love her! She's not like other slaves!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, trying to justify the crime he had just committed. "I don't need any more of these slaves, we don't need any other slave in this kingdom...we don't, no we don't, I don't want anyone to experience the same love I have for you!"
"Snow Frost, the young duke of Laria, and a crazed romantic just like his father," Stepping forward, Moriyana made her way towards him. "Say Haruki, do you still wish to keep this monster alive? Tell me, would you have saved him if you knew about his crimes?"
"Why would I trust you? I have just as few reasons to trust you as I have for him," Lies had made Haruki quite cautious, and that realization impressed Moriyana enough to smile.
"I suppose that's true," She snapped her fingers again, but nothing happened.
Haruki felt dumbfounded by the lack of change, however, that confusion didn't last long. Glancing over to Snow, he noticed him acting strange. He had flopped onto Asuka's body before slowly rising up again.
"What the hell?" He blabbered, supporting his head with his hands. "Where am I-"
His voice broke as soon as he noticed Moriyana and Haruki glaring directly at him. Turning to Asuka's laying lifeless on the bed, his whole body jerked back in shock before glancing back at the bystanders present.
"Ask him, nobody can lie in this alteration of reality, not me or even the mistress," Moving closer to Snow, Moriyana puffed her breasts out.
For a brief moment, Snow's eyes glared directly at her chest before shied away just as quickly.
"Did you look at my breasts just now?" Asking him that question, she turned his head towards her with her fingers. " Come on, answer me."
"No, I did-" His lie was cut short by a pair of phantom hands squeezing his throat. Struggling to breathe he tried to get them off himself, but when that failed to work his answer changed the very next instance. "Yes! I did! Stop!"
The hands disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. Haruki's trust in Moriyana was dwindling, and yet the scene that had unfolded moments before made him much more suspicious of Snow.
"I thought you two liked each other," Making his way closer to him, a deep frown appeared on Haruki's face.
"We do! I swear we do!" The hands appeared around his throat again, showcasing just how much of a liar he really was. "Wait! I'm not lying! Trust me Haruki! Are you really going to trust this monster over me?!"
Flooding into Haruki's mind were the countless instances of corruption by nobles in his life. Driven to wonder if Moriyana was behind the sudden retrieval of memories, he turned to her looking for answers.
"Are you a human?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
And to show that she wasn't tricking him like Snow she purposefully gave him a false answer.
"I am," The same pair of hands began to squeeze her throat. "Does that relieve your suspicion?"
"These memories I have now, are they real?" With a piercing gaze, he glared at her.
"What the hell are you two talking about?!" Snow interjected only to be ignored by the two.
"As real as the grave of your mother," With that reply, the hands around her neck disappeared into thin air.
'Why have I been fighting against this power? These memories...they're all so abhorrent. All I ever wanted to do was help those in need. Then why? Why didn't they listen to my pleas as I was executed in broad daylight? Why was I subjugated to the self-serving orders of the royals?'
"Haruki, you have to trust me, you can't let a demon tell you what to do!" The desperation in Snow's voice only enraged Haruki more.
"Seems like you've woken up, woeful warrior, ahaha!" Moriyana chuckled, followed soon by Haruki's hysterical laugh.
"Ahaha! What fool have I been, trying to shepherd those doomed by their own ignorance," Pacing about biting his nails, a sinister smile beamed eye to eye over his face. "I should've just listened to her and let you die."
"No...you can't do this," Snow whimpered, taking a step back.
Haruki's gaze petrified Snow in his tracks. He could see a monster in his eyes, a monster who has been slumbering for a long time, but now, it was time for it to feast and he was the first meal offered to him. Trying to escape he leapt for the door, however as soon as he stepped outside, he found himself back in the room standing right beside the bed.
"Haaa" Moriyana let out a sigh, both amused and disappointed by his attempt. "There's no escaping this place, not until we're done with the tour at least."
Shifting her attention to Haruki, she gave him an impish smile. The very next moment Haruki's body transformed back into his demonic form. With a playful tail swaying about, he made his way closer to Snow shivering in terror. Somehow, Haruki knew what he needed to do.
"It's been a while since I used magic, it doesn't seem like I can use fire magic like before, but..." Licking his own lips, he clamped his hands around Snow's face. "I think I prefer dark magic anyway."
Pressing his thumbs against Snow's eyes, he kept pushing them as further in as he could. While Snow howled in agony and his body writhed from the excruciating pain, Haruki's lips began to quiver for a laugh. Torturing Snow excited him in so many ways that it couldn't be described.
"AGHHHH! STOP! LET ME GO! I-I-WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN! I'LL LISTEN TO EVER-THING YOU SAY!" The only reply Haruki had for Snow's screams was an unhinged maniacal laugh.
'Absolute depravity: unlocked' In response to the torture, that announcement ran inside Haruki's head.
"Disappear you monster, 'Soul devour'," The first ever skill he used in his second chance at life, set him on the path to be the most heinous monster.