Chapter 294: Echoes Of Endless Agony

[ Warning: Graphic content ahead ]

Boden got no response as Hellbringer started to walk towards him.

His approach was like the slow march of time, inescapable and inevitable.

Each step he took sent a violent tremor through the earth, causing the very ground beneath Boden's feet to ripple and crack, like a pond disturbed by a heavy stone.

The radiant glow from the skeletal figure cast haunting shadows, further emphasizing the catastrophic shift in the balance of power.

Refusing to be paralyzed by the dread Hellbringer inspired, Boden drew upon every ounce of his being, his training, and his experience.

Every muscle tensed, every cell cried out, fueling his raw determination to confront the looming threat, "Yaargh! Your death will be a reward for the Egon Family," he roared, using his family's honor as a bolster to his courage.

With a swift motion, he swung his massive great sword, channeling all his mana into the blade.

A gargantuan arc of blue-hued energy erupted, tearing through the very fabric of space, leaving a trail of distorted reality in its wake.

The ground cracked and split, creating a vast, yawning chasm, swallowing everything in its path. Trees, rocks, and the remnants of the terrain were obliterated, leaving behind nothing.

But, when the dust settled, and the aftershocks of his attack dissipated, Boden's heart sank.

The space where Hellbringer stood was empty. Not a trace remained. It was as if he had vanished into thin air. His instincts screamed at him, telling him that this wasn't over.

Surely a single attack from him can't kill that hellish thing.

Suddenly, an icy whisper tickled the back of his neck, making the hairs stand up in primal fear. "Looking for me?"

Whirling around, adrenaline pumping through his veins, Boden barely had time to register Hellbringer's reappearance before acting on instinct.

"Yaargh!!" He gripped his great sword with both hands, the blade humming with raw power, and brought it crashing down with all his might, targeting the bony neck of this abominable being.

As the great sword descended, the sheer power of Boden's swing resonated in the very air.

But when steel met bone, instead of the satisfying crunch of victory Boden expected, he was met with an entirely different sensation.

*THAK!*

A jarring force traveled up the blade, causing his arms to shake violently from the impact.

Boden's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked down to see that his weapon, known to cut through even the hardest of substances, hadn't left so much as a scratch on the bone.

Hellbringer looked up at him with hollow sockets that seemed to pierce straight into Boden's soul.

With a swift motion he reached out, his bony fingers closing around the steel blade of the great sword.

A hissing sound filled the air, and Boden could only watch in horror as the blade began to melt, the steel dripping away like molten wax.

This blade which took him weeks to forge using Epic Grade materials and hard enough to even withstand and dish out attacks against Soul Devourers, was getting melted like butter.

As the last remnants of the sword dripped to the ground, Hellbringer's other hand shot out, closing around Boden's throat with a grip of iron.

"Urgh!"

Lifting the once-proud warrior off his feet as if he weighed nothing, the two locked eyes, one set filled with sheer terror and shock, the other an abyss of cold, calculating emptiness.

"Your reputation precedes you, Boden. But against me? You and your family are just another footnote in history, just like the Hart Family soon will be," Hellbringer's voice sent chills down Boden's spine.

He gasped, clawing at the skeletal hand around his throat, but for all his strength and skill, he was but a child in Hellbringer's grip.

He now realized why Hellbringer was so feared by the juniors and why nobody was ever able to defeat him.

Just by looking into his hollow eyes, Boden felt that he wasn't looking at some ordinary demon who got powerful by using a treasure but someone who had seen and gone through things he couldn't fathom.

And when going up against someone like this demon, death will find you.

Without warning, majestic golden flames suddenly blazed up over Boden's entire body.

His armor, his very being, began to turn into a fine ash. His desperate cries were muffled by the roaring fire, and within moments, all that was left of him were the golden embers dancing in the wind.

The chilling aftermath of Boden's obliteration hung in the air. A silence, so palpable it felt suffocating, settled over the ravaged landscape.

All that remained of the once proud Hunter was a smattering of golden embers, dancing gracefully in the wind before disappearing.

Asher's gaze then turned toward Axton and his group, who were kneeling on the ground with shattered arms and broken legs, their faces twisted into ugly grimaces.

He didn't forget to take care of them first before dealing with the others.

The pure yet ominous golden flames encased around him reflected in the fearful eyes of Axton and his friends.

Their eyes were shaking with disbelief, unable to believe a demon being encased in radiant mana. The radiant mana should be obliterating him, not making him stronger!

Merina and Ceti were filled with shock and disbelief as well as witnessing the impossible. However, with Axton and his friends kneeling before them, the only thought they had in mind was to make them pay first.

"Look at me..." Isola's voice suddenly cut through the tension, unwavering and cold.

Axton's jeering gaze met hers. Blood smeared across his face, he smirked, displaying a twisted sense of satisfaction, "You think you've won? Go ahead, end it. Every scream, every agonizing moment we relished as we tore your sisters apart... It was all worth it."

Elias, despite the pain and imminent danger, chuckled, "To think our final moments would be in front of such beauty. Dying at the hands of a demon princess like you? It's almost a blessing. Right, boys?"

"Hahahaha!"

The other members of Axton's group joined in the derisive laughter, their twisted joy evident despite their situation.

Ceti's dark blue eyes blazed with a fierce anger, her fists clenched so tight that her nails dug into her palms. The desire to bring immediate retribution to these bunch of crazy bastards was so tempting. It was not every day she came upon humans like them.

But Isola's serenity amidst their mockery was unnerving. Her lips parted, and rather than a threat or a curse, a hauntingly beautiful melody flowed.

Each note was pure, piercing the night like a star's gleam. The soul-stirring tune seemed ancient, filled with the sorrow and pain of ages gone by.

Ceti and Merina felt their eyes becoming moist without them realizing it, while even Asher, who was standing on the side, felt something within him resonating with the melody.

Ceti watched, bewilderment replacing her rage, as Axton and his gang's laughter gradually ceased.

The mocking sneers and smiles faded. Their eyes, once filled with malicious glee, now looked distant, entranced. It was as if they had been transported to another realm, their consciousness tethered only by the ethereal song.

It was as if they were dreaming with their eyes open.

Axton's initial disorientation was gradually replaced by a sinking dread.

He shook his head, wondering what happened, only to have his brows raise upon noticing that he was in an unfamiliar place that was giving off an unsettling vibe with everything being so dark.

The skies were jet-black with no stars, clouds or moon.

The entire place was eerily silent, the stillness of the place broken only by the occasional crackling of the fire logs.

Their soft glow pushed back the omnipresent darkness only to a limited extent, revealing a suffocating void beyond.

The unsettling feeling only crept even more when he felt his feet dangling in the chilling air and his arms and legs being tied to a pole.

"Axton?!" Elias's voice, edged with panic, cut through the stifling atmosphere, "What the fuck is this? Where are we?!"

"Keep calm," Axton urged, trying to mask the fear in his own voice. He strained against the ropes binding him, but they felt unnaturally strong, "We need to—"

His words were cut short when, from the depths of the darkness, a menacing figure began to emerge, their muffled yet heavy footsteps echoing in the stillness.

Its steady pace was deliberate, every step echoing with a chilling resonance. As it came closer, the soft illumination from the fire revealed a monstrous visage.

The creature was humanoid, but it had grotesque red skin, marred with scars from battles long past, and seemed to gleam in the firelight. Its eyes, devoid of any white or iris, were pools of inky blackness that seemed to absorb all light and hope.

Gildon tried to muster up some defiance, "Hey! Which swamp did you crawl out of? Were you sent by that Umbralfiend Princess? You think you can scare us?" he asked with a jeering look, though his voice was quivering.

But the creature didn't respond. Instead, it licked its cracked lips with a forked tongue, its gaze fixed on the helpless group. The bloodied machete it carried glinted menacingly, an instrument of pain and death which Axton was clearly familiar with.

However, Axton's face was pale as white, his eyes shaking as he mumbled, "No...no...it can't be...You can't be alive..."

But the creature didn't respond and simply raised its machete before bringing it down on Axton.

"AARGH!" Axton howled in pain and shock as he saw with trembling eyes how his right calf was chopped off by the creature, much to his horror.

He didn't even feel the pain kicking in until he saw the creature grilling his flesh over the fire and eating it with a look of satisfaction.

"YARRGH! FUCK YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Axton's face reddened as he howled with an enraged look while his friends had their expressions frozen.

It quickly finished eating and rose up again, only to walk towards Rourke, who shouted out, "Don't fucking come near me, you ugly piece of—AAARGGH!!!" Rourke had his eyes almost pop out as the creature sliced off his precious jewel and the entire package that came with it.

"No...NO! FUCK THIS! This has to be a fucking illusion!" Gildon felt his entire skin shivering from the sight and refused to believe all this was real.

"Yes....This has got to be that bitch! She must be playing tricks on us. Just think of it as fake, and this illusion should break," Elias said as droplets of sweat trickled down his face.

But to their horror, no matter what they tried to believe or imagine, the creature continued to come at them one after the other, tearing off a piece of flesh to quench its insatiable hunger until their howls and cries died down after bleeding to death.

Their only relief was that they finally died.

But just as they thought they did, they found themselves waking up by the melody they had heard before.

The melody faded away, and they were surprised to see that their bodies were in an uninjured state. It was as if nothing happened.

But they didn't feel relieved since they were still restrained to a pole.

They were already beginning to sweat, and before they could even ask what was going on, their eyes trembled upon seeing the creature appearing from the shadows again with the same bloody machete.

"No...No fucking way...This can't be real!!" Axton howled out with gritted teeth. But no matter what they said, the creature went on to torment them just like before, making them endure the mind-breaking pain and terror again.

And just as they again bled to death and hoped this was the last, the previously soul-stirring melody became nightmarish for them as it once again woke them up.

It was only then they realized they were living a vicious and cruel loop of terror.

The sheer horror of their ordeal was beyond comprehension. Every time the creature began its slow and methodical approach, Axton and his men would be filled with a new wave of dread.

Sometimes it would make the process slow and painful on purpose including skinning or boiling them alive.

"Please, not again!" Elias, who was previously smug, cried the third or fourth time, his voice breaking with terror.

"It's just a dream... it's just a dream..." Cain muttered continuously under his breath, his voice trembling, as if trying to convince himself. But the pain felt far too real, the sensation of steel cutting flesh unmistakable.

"No more... please, no more..." Gildon whimpered. His once mocking and arrogant spirit was completely shattered.

At one point, when they 'woke' once more, Axton tried to scream, but no sound came out. The sheer exhaustion, both mental and physical, was too much. "Please, whatever you are, whatever you want... end it. End us... forever. I beg you," he rasped.

However, the creature didn't seem to understand, or if it did, it took perverse pleasure in their suffering. With every reincarnation, their defiance ebbed, replaced with pure despair.

The torment seemed to stretch for an eternity. Their minds were filled with terror, their souls numb.

The concept of time lost all meaning, and they existed in a loop of suffering, perpetually at the mercy of the grotesque creature and its bloodied machete. They had no idea how many days, weeks, or years had passed.

By the time their once-dark beards had turned white and their skin wrinkled, all semblance of hope had faded. They had experienced countless deaths, each more painful than the last.

Axton, now a mere shell of his former self, looked into the eyes of his friends, seeking any trace of recognition. But their eyes were vacant, hollowed by relentless agony. It was as if their mind had already died, even if their body had yet to catch up.

In the distance, every time they 'awoke', they would hear Isola's haunting melody playing over and over, reminding them of the cause of their never-ending torment.

Axton's once overbearing and sinister demeanor was reduced to tears, lost in an abyss of despair. And he couldn't even remember why he was here or why he was suffering like this.

What wrong did he do? Why was this melody hurting him so much? What sin left him with such a cruel fate?

Axton's chest heaved, his feeble heartbeat echoing loudly in his own ears.

As the weight of what felt like centuries pressed on him, his breathing became shallow, the weight of the torment crushing his spirit.

Slowly, the world around him started to contract, the boundaries blurring, and the vast expanse of the tormenting landscape began to shrink.

The black void that seemed boundless now appeared to be condensing, collapsing in on itself until it became the size of a small orb—a black pearl.

It was, in reality, Axton's eye, reflecting the distant, twinkling stars of the night sky. A tear, born of pain, regret, and exhaustion, trickled down his weathered face.

The entire scene unfurled before Asher, Ceti, and Merina, who watched with horror and disbelief.

Axton's friends, too, had undergone the same transformation, their faces etched with the agony of countless years, eyes clouded with pain, regrets, and a haunting brokenness.

The once arrogant and nefarious hunters now looked like old, defeated men, broken by time and horrifying experience.

The shock was palpable on Merina's and Ceti's faces.

Their eyes, wide with horror, darted from one fallen figure to the next, struggling to comprehend the gravity of what they had just witnessed.

As Isola stood up, her movement broke the silence. Her silhouette, strong yet graceful, contrasted the frail, aged figures of Axton and his group.

Asher had never seen something like this before and felt a slight sense of disbelief as he asked, "Isola... what did you do to them?"