Chapter 42: Chapter 39 - the battle (3)

"You see…" 'john' spoke slowly, his voice laced with an unmistakable madness. "As you arrived in this body, my soul had to find a place to exist."

Kostas tried to interject, but before he could say a word, John cut him off with a cruel laugh. "So, as any rational person would have done in my place," he continued, his eyes glinting with a dark energy. "I hid my soul deep within the new me… who would have fucking guessed, the bastard would have fucking chaos energy inside him… hahahahahahahaha!"

'John's' laughter echoed through the room, sending shivers down Kostas' spine. "How do you know about chaos energy, and hold on, how the fuck did you even manage to hide?" Kostas asked, his expression betraying his fear.

With his hands clasped behind his back, 'John' walked around the room, his sinister grin expression replaced by an innocent grin. "Well, when 'John' entered my body, my soul wasn't exactly kicked out," he began, his voice dripping with malice. "But rather suppressed. For a while, I just looked through the new me's memories, until this fucker went ahead and had his soul split in three… giving me the perfect opportunity to start trying to get my body back."

He paused, his eyes flashing maniacally. "However, during my attempt of taking my body back, something came into 'my' body and started to attack me. At first, it felt like I was being eaten alive, but slowly, very slowly, my soul fused into the chaos energy, and é voilà, here I am, fused with chaos energy and oh so ready to take over… does that answer everything?"

Pallas looked puzzled, unsure of how to respond. "Hold on, you're saying you managed to take control of chaos energy?" he asked.

'John' rolled his eyes, his smile turning into a sneer. "Good lord, you stupid fucking lizard," he spat. "You really think anything here is capable of taking control of chaos energy?"

Kostas, meanwhile, was focused on a different aspect of 'John's' story. "So you aren't the one in control over the chaos?" he asked, his expression serious.

'John' smiled, "Of course not," he said. "It's more of a… I'm a temporary vessel for the chaos until it eventually eats me too." He shrugged. "But oh well, there isn't anything that we can do about that, can we? Well, it is goodbye for now. I can't let him die so soon… this is my body too, after all."

And with that, 'John' disappeared into the darkness, his laughter echoing through the room. "Hehehehehehehehe," he cackled.

Pallas looked bewildered. "What the fuck was that?" he asked.

Kostas frowned, his mind racing. "I am as clueless as you," he admitted. "But I know one thing for sure: we are in big fucking trouble if John does not learn to control the chaos within him. And he needs to learn that quick."

Pallas nodded in agreement. "We are in agreement on that,"

After the conversation in John's consciousness, his eyes slowly opened. He could feel the wind touching his skin, the ground under his feet, and the entanglements of his hair with dirt and blood. He reveled in the pain of his injuries, as any feeling was like a godsend to him. He laughed maniacally and touched the black sphere around him, screaming, "Finally, I'm fucking freeeeeeeeeeeee!"

The bright light of the sun pierced his eyes, and the smell of fresh blood entered his nose, filling his senses. The screams of the dead filled his ears, and he relished in it all. Caelum looked at 'john', who now looked completely different than he did a few seconds ago. Half of his body had been covered in black, with tiny bright spots littered everywhere, almost as if one were looking at the night sky. His eye looked almost divine, as his red eye had turned white, and so did the left half of his long black hair.

Looking at the sudden change and maniacal laughter of 'john', a sizable chunk of the barbarian army was distracted and started to murmur right in the middle of the battlefield. "SILENCE!" 'john' screamed, annoyed as he was distracted from his pleasure. He swung his spear towards the gossiping barbarians, releasing a black beam that ravaged through the battlefield, destroying anything and everything in its path.

Blood and gore filled the air as the barbarians were dismembered and destroyed by the beam. The black energy consumed them, leaving nothing behind. The sight was gruesome, and the smell was overwhelming. Caelum and the other soldiers were stunned, unable to process what had just happened.

Caelum stared in shock at the carnage that 'john' had caused. The ground was littered with mutilated corpses, and blood stained everything in sight. He could hardly believe that he was facing such a monster.

"You… who, no what are you?" Caelum asked, trying to hide his fear.

"Does that matter? Aren't I your target, so come on, you fucktard," 'john' sneered, turning his head towards Caelum with a taunting gaze.

"You asked for it," Caelum growled, his eyes blazing with anger as he launched himself towards 'john'.

As he closed in, he threw a series of punches at John, striking him with all his might. 'john' took the hits, but didn't falter. Instead, he vomited out a mouthful of blood and laughed maniacally.

"Ohh, that felt nice…but why have you stopped? Come on, hit me," 'john' taunted, a devilish grin on his face.

Caelum's fury boiled over. He clenched his fists and started to punch like a madman, but not a single punch landed. Chaos energy emanated from John's body, defending him against Caelum's attacks.

"Come on, you bitch. Can't you try a bit harder? I can't get hit if you don't try harder," 'john' mocked, his face twisted with annoyance.

Caelum took the bait. "Beast King's Fist Art - Rampaging Rhino Smash," he yelled, pulling his fists together and charging towards John. His orange aura covered his body, resembling the shape of a rhino.

Caelum launched himself towards John with all the rage and strength he could muster. He aimed straight for John's stomach, his fist colliding with a sickening thud. John's body immediately contorted and twisted in the most grotesque ways, his flesh deforming and bending unnaturally. Blood spewed from his mouth as he let out a howl of pain, but Caelum wasn't finished yet.

With a cruel laugh, he continued to pummel John's broken body, striking him again and again with brutal force. Bones snapped and cracked, and blood and guts splattered everywhere as Caelum reveled in his savage victory. He couldn't help but smile as he watched John's body crumble under his relentless assault. Done with his primary task Caelum turned towards the grand duke with a wide grin on his face.

But his joy was short-lived.

"Ohhh, that one was good…" 'John's' voice echoed through the air, sending shivers down Caelum's spine. He turned around to see John's body fixing itself, moving in weird and grotesque ways. "My turn," 'john' said, with a wide grin on his face.

Caelum's heart pounded against his chest as he watched the black aura surrounding John consume everything in its path. "What the hell happened to this kid?" he thought to himself, sweat beading on his forehead. He knew he had to report this to the table immediately.

Without hesitation, Caelum reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jade pendant. With a swift movement, he crushed it in his palms, and a portal emerged right behind him, humming with energy.

John's expression twisted into a mask of fury as he saw the portal. He couldn't let the beastman escape, not when he was finally getting a chance to unleash his rage. "Come back here, you coward! Don't you dare run away!" he bellowed.

"We will meet again," Caelum called out, turning to face John. "But this thing that you have become won't save you."

Before 'john' could react, Caelum blew a whistle that hung from his neck. A high-pitched noise echoed through the air, and he disappeared into the portal.

'john' snorted in disgust. "Next time we meet, you will be dead," he muttered, his voice dripping with malice.