Blood Online: Evolving Endlessly

Marcus stared back with a terrified gaze as the scroll on which he had signed rose up into the air. A powerful surge of energy spread through the entire temple, and a loud voice boomed from the darkness.

"Muhahaha!" Its triumphant laughter echoed through the temple walls. "You reckless humans! Your greed has blinded you, and now… you'll be a vessel for me to exert my powers!"

"What?! Give me the emblem!" Marcus yelled in resistance as he desperately reached out to touch the emblem, but it felt as though his hands were no longer his.

They just stood in place, as though bound by some supernatural force. Looking at his hands, he noticed the sickly grey mist now coming off all over his body.

"What is this?" He turned to Akhil and Layla, confusion embedded within his eyes. "What is going on?! What have you done?!" he roared, anger visible in his eyes.

Under the influence of the grey mist, he couldn't even move a muscle, let alone shatter the bomb crystal in his hands.

"I'll be taking that from you." A blood tendril shot out like an octopus tentacle, wrapping the bomb and taking it straight back to Akhil.

"Hey! Bring that back!" Marcus yelled, the veins on his head becoming visible. His teeth clashed together in resistance as he tried to break free from the strange force binding him and lash out at the two adventurers who stood glaring at him with mock satisfaction on their faces.

"You shouldn't be focusing on us. Look in front of you."

Whoosh!

"You cannot resist me! You're my slave, and you've signed a contract with your soul! Your body will exist to serve me!" The ominous voice from the dark clouds roared, and slowly it disappeared as the dark clouds churned with ominous energy.

Marcus's eyes widened in shock and confusion. "Contract? My soul? What sort of ridiculous jest is this?! I was meant to get the emblem after signing the contract! What is all of this?!"

"For someone who plays a lot of tricks and turns people into puppets, I expected you to be smarter," Akhil said in a cold voice.

Marcus snapped his gaze at Akhil, but what he met were cold, predatory crimson eyes locked onto his. He felt a chill run down his spine as he looked into those red orbs.

"I was really wondering how I was going to deal with that creature… and for a moment, I thought I would have to use her," he said, glancing towards Layla, who had a small knowing grin on her face.

"I would've felt bad if I had to fight her. Thankfully, you showed up right in time. I can assure you… I won't feel an ounce of pity when beating you up."

Akhil's eyes narrowed with a cold glint as he watched the scene unfold.

A powerful surge of wind blew through the entire temple. The golden paint on the walls slowly broke apart, disappearing as though it had never existed in the first place.

The dark clouds crashed straight into Marcus, disappearing into his body.

"Arrrghh!" Marcus uttered a loud cry as he felt the ripping force tear straight into his mouth, all his innards screaming in resistance. But even then, he couldn't free himself.

All he wanted was to end the bone-crushing pain, but his body didn't listen to him anymore. After signing the contract, he was bound.

Slowly, the entire temple began to crumble, breaking apart and freeing them from the illusory world that had once been created.

Not just the walls—even the altar disappeared, and once again, it seemed as though they had returned back into the cave.

With rocky walls surrounding them and the emblem resting on a rock.

"I guess this is the first time I was actually able to tell reality from the game," Akhil said with a confident smile as he looked around.

The moment he had seen the temple, he knew this was the last trial. For the first time, he couldn't be more grateful that they were in reality—a temple that emitted such a grand aura deep in the dark mountains.

Even if a lot of things had changed because of the transmission… nature itself didn't change. Only if they had all been transported into the world of the game would he have believed that such a temple could exist.

Although, to be fair, he knew pretty well that he still wouldn't have fallen for the trick… since he already knew of the trial beforehand. But seeing a temple like that in the midst of a mountain that had never been heard of or seen by humans—who had already explored almost every piece of land in the world—made it much easier to tell that it was a trick.

But even then, it didn't make the trial any easier. He had almost fallen for the same trick back in the game, and if it weren't for his sister—who kept nagging about wanting the emblem—he might have truly fallen for it this time.

'That beast is truly a sly one,' Akhil couldn't help but acknowledge its frightening intelligence. 'Anyone would fall for the trick if they didn't know any better.'

"What do we do after it possesses him?"

Layla's question snapped him out of his thoughts. The illusion had already vanished, and soon they would be forced to face the beast in its incarnate form.

"Seems you didn't get to this point in the beta test," Akhil said, throwing her a brief glance.

Layla nodded.

"Soul Contractor Beasts… they're a peculiar species," Akhil continued. "They don't have physical bodies, but they specialize in creating near-perfect illusions. You can't really fight them in their true form—but they can't fight you either."

He paused, letting the information sink in.

"Their illusions only have one purpose: to get you to sign their contract. Once you do, they can claim your body as a host. That's why it asked who was stronger earlier. They can't tell on their own, so they try to intimidate you. Make you believe they're more powerful, just to lure you into their stupid trick."

Akhil glanced at Layla again.

"That's why I told you to go sign the contract."

"So you felt you could easily defeat me?" Layla raised a brow.

"Not really. I'd rather avoid any fights. The plan was that once you're possessed, I would claim the emblem and use its authority to free you… that was the plan. Well, until he came along."

"Aren't you going to do the same for him, then?" Layla glanced at him.

Akhil met her gaze. Their gazes locked, and Akhil let the silence stretch, holding it for a long minute before he finally said, "He's different… I don't plan on keeping a piece of trash like him around. I've learned enough lessons. He's dying—him and the beast."

BANG!

With a final crashing sound, the dark clouds sank straight into Marcus, making him fall to his knees. A small dust cloud rose into the air as several pieces of rubble were sent flying all over.

AHHHH

Just then, from within the cloud of dust, a loud roar echoed through the cave, bouncing off the walls before the dust slowly settled, revealing Marcus kneeling in the area where the altar had once sat.

He slowly opened his eyes, and they shone with a bright white light.

"Hahaha." It started with a small chuckle and then burst into loud laughter. "It's over for you all… your journey ends here! You have failed!" The now-possessed Marcus stood up with hysterical laughter, eyes white as he stared at Akhil and Layla.

The Soul Contractor was just about to attack when it suddenly noticed something.

"Wait… this bastard is a level 3 mutant, and you…" It darted its gaze to Layla. "You're a level 4 mutant. You tricked me!" it roared, feeling a pang of annoyance.

"Well, if you want to trick someone, be careful so you don't fall for the same trick," Akhil said with a grin.

The Soul Contractor slowly shifted its gaze to Akhil. Its eyes rested on him for a long minute.

Their gazes locked, and it felt almost as though it was swallowed into an abyss.

Within Akhil's consciousness, the beast could see large towering gates, and behind them, a black mass with glowing red eyes.

"You lowly creature… how dare you." A voice echoed through the space, carrying powerful authority. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. Following the voice was a powerful wave of energy that instantly clashed with the beast.

In reality, almost at the same time, the Soul Contractor instantly fell to its knees, blood leaking from every orifice of its body. But its eyes never left Akhil, as though terrified by what it had seen.

The image reappeared in the beast's mind, fresh as though reliving the scene, as more blood leaked out from its body.

It coughed up a mouthful of blood, looking at Akhil in disbelief.

"How… how is this possible… how did a being like you make direct contact?" The beast could barely speak, and almost as though its words were a trigger, the moment it finished speaking, the body exploded into lumps of flesh, blood splattering all over.

Akhil and Layla watched the scene in horror, too scared to even move.

"What just happened?"

{Ding}