Dead.


    That''s how Zaroth felt in this moment. His senses were gone—he couldn''t hear, see, or feel anything.


    His eyes were gone, meaning he was unable to see the destruction of the capital and the giant death toll the fight with the Demigod had caused.


    His ears were gone, making him deaf, so he wasn''t able to hear the screams of the mothers that had lost their children. He couldn''t hear the cries of the fathers trying to save their family.


    His nose was destroyed. As a result, he wasn''t able to smell the fire and ash that were rising high in the air.


    And lastly, most of his nerves were gone, so he wasn''t even able to feel pain.


    Was he alive? Or was he dead? He didn''t know. All he knew was that he was alone.


    ''Did you forget about me?'' a faint voice called out.


    ''Luna?'' Zaroth spoke in his head.


    ''I am in your soul, and as such, we can talk whenever we wish to, even if you are about to die,'' she explained.


    Just knowing someone was by his side in such a dire state filled him with a sense of relief, as he slowly began to unravel his emotions.


    ''... I am not sure what to say honestly… I thought that I was ready to face anything, but a Demigod? How did this even happen? Just the fact that I am still alive is a miracle…'' he began to trail off. He guessed that he was about to die any moment now.


    ''You will not die,'' Luna reassured, ''Elysia is carrying you, looking for a healer. So you can have faith in her that you will live. Has she ever failed in anything?''


    Hearing Luna''s words, Zaroth needed a few seconds to comprehend what she had said.


    ''So you are saying that I killed a Demigod and would live to tell the tale?''


    ''Yes,'' she answered.


    ''That is not all, though,'' she added. ''You have gained something.''


    Zaroth would have raised his eyebrow if he could. ''I have?''


    ''Yes. Even though you haven''t killed all the gods—or even a true god, just a false one—you still slew a deity. Because of that, I can now access more of my powers. I''d say I''m around Legendary tier now, though still far from my prime.''


    ''That''s good news, but… doesn''t that mean I''ll be more limited in how much I can use you? Now that you''re stronger, you''ll probably need more mana, right?'' It was a logical conclusion on Zaroth''s part.


    ''That would be the case, but your mana core has become much stronger.''


    ''Wait, how? Isn''t that supposed to be a slow process? All I did was kill a Demigod. Sure, maybe my demonic abilities got stronger—but that shouldn''t affect my core… right?''


    ''Not necessarily,'' Luna began to explain. ''After you killed it, your demonic skills grew so much stronger that they enhanced every other ability you have, making them stronger as well. Even though they''re different by nature, all of your abilities are still tied to you. If one improves drastically, the others will follow.''


    Zaroth would have jumped in happiness if he could move at the moment.


    ''Now that you are in this state, why don''t you try meditating?'' Luna advised.


    Zaroth didn''t know the reasons as to why she would want him to do such a thing.


    ''Just trust me on that one. I have a hunch,'' she spoke.


    Zaroth would have shrugged his shoulders if he could. He tried to empty his mind and began to meditate.


    Then he felt a poke on his cheek.


    Opening his eyes, he saw Luna.


    "What? Where am I?" he muttered as he struggled to his feet. Gazing around, he realized he was in an unfamiliar place—standing on a vast green ocean, with Luna in front of him.


    "This is your mana core," she spoke. "I guess you managed to enter it."


    Zaroth barely registered her words as he stared down at his hands, still trying to grasp the bizarre reality—he had actually entered his mana core, literally.


    "Is this where you have been all this time?" he asked.


    "Pretty much," she replied. "I would love to show you how magnificent it is here, but it''s time for you to wake up." Sёar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before he could protest, he opened his eyes again.


    The first thing he saw was a white ceiling.


    "Oh," he muttered, grunting as he sat on the bed, resting his back against the headboard.


    He gazed at his body. It hurt all over, but he was in one piece. The armor that Elysia had given him was gone. It was probably the reason he was able to survive the last attack of the Demigod. The gem must have activated.


    ''I don''t know how these elven runes work, but I''m itching to learn more about them,'' he thought.


    "A thank you would be nice about now."


    Hearing a familiar voice and feeling the smell of tobacco reaching his nose, he shifted his gaze.


    "Sylvia," Zaroth muttered as he saw the woman.


    She raised an eyebrow, looking at him expectantly.


    Zaroth cleared his throat. "Thank you for healing me!" he spoke as he stood up and bowed in a form of respect.


    Sylvia took another puff from her cigar, then gestured with a pointed finger downward. Zaroth followed her gaze, and his eyes widened as he realized he was completely naked.


    "You can be thankful and all, but aren''t you a bit too excited?" she remarked.


    Zaroth cleared his throat again as he looked around to see if there were any clothes to put on.


    ''This is just what naturally happens when a man wakes up!'' he wanted to retort, but in the end, he decided to remain quiet as he didn''t want to argue with the person who had just saved his life.


    "You''re one lucky bastard, you know that? The amount of mana I had to use to heal you has left me completely drained. In your place, I could''ve healed a few hundred injured civilians... yet Boss insisted I save you, no matter what."


    As he finished putting on his clothes, he gazed at her once again. "Where are we? How much time has passed? Where is Elysia? What''s the situation?"


    "Slow down, didn''t you hear that I''m spent?" Sylvia remarked as she finished her cigar and lit another.


    "We''re at the academy. You weren''t out for too long—maybe an hour or two at most. When Elysia arrived, she left you here to deal with some business. Something about a corpse."


    "As for the situation, from what I''ve heard, the enemy soldiers are all dead. A rescue operation is underway throughout the capital. It''s still unconfirmed, but the death toll could easily be in the hundreds of thousands."


    Hearing her words, Zaroth bowed once again. "Thank you for saving my life." After that, he turned around and was about to exit.


    "Are you leaving? You were practically dead just a few moments ago, you know?" Sylvia spoke, not bothering to shift her gaze to him.


    "I have to see if a certain person is okay!" With that, Zaroth left the room.


    Sylvia finished her second cigar as she lit up a third.


    "The condition your body was in was so severe, I''ve never seen anything like it, even during my time on the frontlines," she sighed, as unpleasant memories resurfaced.


    "... I think it''s time I ask Boss for a raise," she muttered under her breath.


    *****


    It had run so much that the muscles in its legs were nearly torn.


    But it was all worth it, as the entity inhabiting the father gazed at the body of the Demigod that had been left here, far from the capital.


    Thankfully, due to the chaos, no one had managed to reach it before it did.


    Without hesitation, it abandoned the body of the father, letting it fall to the ground, and the black mass approached the body of the Demigod.


    Then it entered through the holes of the mouth and nose.


    Usually, when it had to inhabit a body, the body needed to be alive for it to work, but since not much time had passed since the entity was slain, it would still work.


    About thirty seconds later, the eyes of the Demigod opened up, revealing their ever-shifting color.


    Its purpose was finally fulfilled. It had taken possession of the Demigod''s body, as well as the heart of the primordial demon.