The Villain's Story



In a breathtaking crescendo of shattering reflections, the threads of illusion which formed the mirror world began to unravel, it didn't even take a second for the mirror world to explode.

Tendrils of radiant light, like fractured rainbows, pulse, and dance at the very fragments of the Shattered domain.

Thousands of pieces of broken glass, each reflecting a kaleidoscope of colors spread in all Directions, threatening the safety of the audience.

Harrison and Ragnar acted quickly to protect the audience, they erected mana walls to stop the Shards of glass.

"Kya!"

"Ahhhh!"

"!!!"

The audience let out screams, the wind pressure was just far too strong, and some held on to their children and any form of support for dear life.

Just like that, Ezra's domain, Mirror world shattered like frail glass.

It was akin to the explosion of glass that would happen from a Prince Rupert's drop when it was struck at its weakest point.

An explosion of tiny little shards that were devastating. But the wind pressure was nothing to scoff at.

The strong mirrors of the exclusive booths cracked as well. The Awakened, no matter which affiliation tried their best to stop the shards of glasses.

Just as they thought they were successful…when the shards of glass had been stopped…

The real threat began.

A domain far more powerful than Ezra's.

An intense stench of blood assaulted the nostrils of everyone, the children and weak-hearted fainted from the stench alone. This was a much kinder fate to experience.

Seconds later, as people were still vomiting due to the stench of blood…The world turned red.

A blood-red moon replaced the sun in the skies, and the people screamed.

"Kya!"

"AH!"

"STOP!"

But these screams did not belong to the audience, nor any awakened. The screams didn't even belong to the living anymore.

It was the victims.

It was the voices, the regrets, the pain of the victims of the Bloody Slaughterer.

"GAH!"

"SAVE ME!"

It was their dying screams.

They reverberated throughout the entire Colosseum, their origin unknown.

Hundreds of swords descended, swords belonging to the killed. The regret of the owners manifested into their weapons, a form of hope but a curse.

"..."

Ragnar and Oliver stepped in, and this time they were serious. They spread their mana and cast a protective shield around everyone, only the stadium not reeked of blood.

"What's happening..?"

"Is this also a domain?"

"Such a wicked…man."

Oliver sighed as he heard the voices of the audience.

Their voices were soon swallowed by the intensity of the screams.

The light from the destruction of the Mirror World vanished, and the truth was laid bare to everyone.

The truth of this wicked domain. The truth that leads to its formation and name.

Path of Redeemed Steel.

That was the name of Arken's domain.

"...My god…"

"Ugh!"

Those who were able to recover from the smell…felt sick again when they saw the stadium.

What did they see to incite such a reaction once again?

They saw corpses, an endless number of corpses. The Corpses were enough to make multiple mountains, and every corner of the stadium was covered in corpses…some sliced in half, some covered with maggots, some who had entire appendages or even their heads missings.

"...!"

Ezra was dumbfounded, his domain had cracked like that…No, it shattered into oblivion. This had only happened during the duel with Alan Peccator…

"Ugh!"

His nose was assaulted by a stench so foul that he couldn't take it. His ears constantly heard the screams of the damned.

"Save us!"

"DEMON!"

"AGH!"

"I have a family…please!"

"Spare me!"

"You monster!"

"Fucking lunatic!"

"AGAHAHAHAHA!"

"Blurgh…!"

The last words of the damned assaulted his ears. The victims of Arken gnawed at his knees, their corpses moved and surrounded him.

"Save us!"

"Avenge Us!"

"What is this…?"

Ezra questioned, the pressure from the blood moon in the sky fell on him en masse, and it made him fall to his knees. The earth quivered from the horrid pressure.

"This is a domain."

Arken's voice echoed out. The voice was prominent over the woes of the damned.

"Ugh…"

Ezra groaned, his face contorted into an expression of pain, as he felt his very soul being enriched upon.

"You fail to understand what a domain is…"

The screams echoed out, but Arken's voice was never drowned by them.

"It's your ideology, it's your questions, it's your will.

Not just something to experiment with."

Arken explained what a domain was. Ezra tried to use his mana but could not even move it.

"The swords!"

A spectator from the crowd pointed out, most people had kept their eyes on Ezra and Arken and had forgotten. about the swords littering the sky.

"YOU CANNOT AVENGE US!"

"DIE!"

"YOU ARE NOT WORTHY."

The voices echoed out, the swords changed their direction and all aimed at Ezra.

"This is a representation of my sins, a form of redemption, a hope at redemption."

The countless he had killed in his youth, the ones he mercilessly stepped on.

He regretted it. And thus this was his domain, a domain that would help the person kill the user that was responsible for their deaths.

The domain that would decide whether one was worthy or not to Kill Arken.

"It is the manifestation of our desires…

If you desire to simply copy others…

You have failed your domain. You have failed yourself."

Arken stated coldly.

*Showing!*

Agh!

A sword pierced Ezra's arm and another his legs.

"This is my pain, this is my domain."

This domain was truly a one-of-a-kind, A domain for Arken's suffering.

One didn't know…but it was cruelly designed to make him suffer more.

He heard the voices amplified, he felt the pain even more.

The large sword he wielded was a sword that was continuously eating away at his psyche, it held the souls of his victims.

Another blade fell, and Ezra let out a scream of pain. He tried to fight back but all of his efforts were for naught.

"gah!"

Another sword fell…

And soon it rained down, all on Ezra.

The spectators couldn't bear to see it…even seasoned awakened, who had seen a fair number of horrid scenes couldn't witness a human being turned into a porcupine whilst still alive, and suffer the immense pain.

"That's enough."

Not even half the swords had fallen, but Arken deactivated his domain.

The red moon disappeared, the stench disappeared, the wounds on Ezra disappeared.

All that was left was an unconscious Ezra who still had a face contorted in pain.

"May this serve as a lesson for you, to find your own true path and not be dictated by others."

Arken left the stadium, and medics rushed to assist the unconscious Ezra.

The world was once again reminded of the strength of the Sword Saint.