Chapter 9: (9) Second phase [2]
In the darkness of the cellar, a pair of red eyes shone brightly. If anyone stared into it, they would find their soul lost within it.
Crack!
Veren munched on the bones of an unknown person. Four sets of bones lay before him, giving off an unbearable stench.
Four living humans were delivered to Veren immediately after the start of phase two. The origin of these people was unknown, but it was apparent they were all from a single family. From this clue, it wasn't hard to deduce that they were kidnapped from a nearby settlement.
Veren didn't feel anything as he ate them alive, as they screamed for their lives.
'....The pain subsided at last...Now I'm sure.' Veren emotionlessly stared at his hand.
His mind has been corrupted by the dark divinity. And his body was affected by it too.
Crackle!
As Veren clenched his fist, the bones broke into pieces within a few seconds. His body went through minor changes, muscles began appearing all over his body. Black marks, like scales, were appearing on his outer skin too.
'I was affected by dark divinity…but I was conscious the whole time...I ate them all to satisfy my hunger and get rid of the pain. I would have definitely not been able to do such an atrocious act if my mind was normal....'
Veren wasn't normal, however, that didn't mean he was apathetic. He would most likely have suffered from nausea just looking at the dead body.
Veren felt disgusted, an overwhelming sense of uncomfortable feeling ran over his body. He couldn't accept his mind being distorted by the dark divinity.
'My level 9 dark divinity rose to its peak stage too. I will most likely break through in a few days...If I don't start now...it would be no different than giving up on myself...!' Veren gritted his teeth, remembering the pain from yesterday night.
He didn't know about there being different phases in the dark mask ritual either. He could only blame his confidence in his information.
"Things just don't change....no matter when or where..." Thinking about his goal, Veren clenched his fists.
Veren never had any grand aspirations. All he wanted was to live his life to the fullest, dying a comfortable death at the end of his life. But...!
Even that was unacceptable by the world. He had to suffer every moment of his life!
"...Alright." Veren covered his face/mask with both his hands, "Enough complaining, it's either all or nothing....I will kill anyone who gets in my way. I won't hesitate to do anything to get my hand on the sphere of wish...!"
The pair of eyes visible through the gap of the mask – shone in an eerie manner.
'I will suffer just like how my fate wants me to...then I will surpass it! My pain will be the meaning of my whole life, but it won't be my end.' Veren calmly sat while crossing his legs.
In this world, one's origin is very important. Divinity is passed onto the next generation from the genes.
Veren's father might be an avid believer of the church of Pale Mask, but his roots were still in the holy empire. This fact wouldn't change no matter what.
Veren concentrated on his body, going past his flesh and blood vessels, even deeper. He felt the dark divinity within his core, he went deeper into it.
At the center of everything, a single speck of holy divinity was present. If left alone, it would have been devoured by the dark divinity, but Veren couldn't afford that.
The process by which a person can wield both these elements is very cruel and simple. They had to mobilize both of them to clash with each other.
The clash of these two elements was not to be looked down upon. No one would even imagine doing such a thing due to the immense pain.
Even when on level 9, they could blow away this mansion if not controlled properly.
In the novel, a level 3 sacrificer had conducted a suicidal act with this method. Destroying or more like flattening a whole kingdom, which was around 1,000 km square of land.
The autonomous clash of these two divinity could be considered a technique. It made the body as strong as a diamond as they continued, granting superhuman strength along with it.
Every sacrificer who used this method was a major character in the novel. And it just went to show their strong mindset, being able to go through torture.
Veren cautiously began controlling the holy divinity to clash with the dark divinity.
Wheezh!
Veren's eyes turned bloodshot instantly from the pain.
'This is nothing compared to what I went through yesterday!' Veren persevered and continued to control the holy divinity.
Unknowingly, blood began dripping from Veren's nose and he felt the taste of blood in his mouth. He stopped, sensing that he was almost out of holy divinity.
'I will start again after recovering my holy divinity...I can already feel that it has grown stronger. Let's see...according to the novel, holy divinity possessed two characteristics, healing and strengthening.'
Veren tried to heal his internal injuries, but it was very slow. Making him give up on the notion after a minute.
'I should return to my room...'
Getting out, Veren saw a familiar maid, different from the one he met in the morning though.
"Did you like the meal, young master Veren?"
"...Yeah, it was good...prepare hot water for me to bathe." Veren didn't lie, while corrupted by the dark divinity, he actually enjoyed eating those innocent humans.
'I feel disgusted thinking about it...but that is going to become a natural routine from now on.'
"Understood." The maid walked away with a calm expression.
.....
A week passed by while Veren focused on strengthening his holy divinity.
Every day, the mask tortured him at night and then in the morning, living sacrifices were presented to him.
Truthfully, Veren could control some of his urges now with holy divinity. But....he wantonly ate others alive now.
'I feel disgusted with myself now....' Veren couldn't withstand the pain that refused to go away till he ate something alive.
He didn't even feel anything after doing the same thing for a few days.
'Hmm, the dark divinity must have permanently altered my mind...eating others is a natural process or something like that...'
Speaking of which, after training for just a few days, both his divinities had officially entered level 8. This just went to show the effectiveness of using the clashing technique.
Slowly, a normal human wouldn't suffice as a sacrifice. Next, monsters corrupted by dark divinity would need to be sacrificed, this was most likely the major phase, where Veren's body would start transforming into a monster for real.
Aside from that, today, Veren found an unexpected guest before him.
Vousenne stood before his door, hesitating to enter.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone