Infinite Skill Devourer

Chapter 31: End Of The End III

"So this is what it feels like to be literally stabbed in the back."

"Feels oddly good."

Ryuen uttered and laughed, he slowly raised himself up and glanced at the blood stained cloth.

He frowned, then pulled off his coat and tied it around his waist to hold the makeshift bandage in place, freeing his hands.

Suddenly, shadows began to form around the throne, materialising into beasts of various sizes.

Each one was in an armor, and all of them had glowing red eyes.

"Of course," Ryuen mumbled.

"Why not throw in serpents and dragons while you're at it?"

Bending low, he picked up his dagger. As he raised his self back.up, the first creature lunged at him.

He sidestepped, ducking under its claws, then he slashed upward, and straightened himself up on the other side

The blade left a shallow gash, but the beast barely flinched.

STOMP STOMP STOMP.

Another beast attacked from the side, forcing Ryuen to dash under it. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

He managed to take down two beasts in a flash, but the odds was becoming overwhelming.

Close to a hundred beasts had now formed around the throne.

Unfortunately for him, he was slowing down.

The continuous bleeding from his wound and his growing fatigue, blurred his vision.

GROAR!

The beasts finally let out a deafening roar, so loud it shook the chamber walls.

They charged all at once, with their legs, some running on all fours while others floated in the air—all intent on killing him.

Ryuen dodged the first attack, darting into a corner to strategize.

Suddenly, a glowing orange screen appeared before his eyes.

[System Update Available. Do you wish to proceed? Y/N]

Ryuen gritted his teeth, but before he could react, a claw shot into his side, finally drawing a pained groan from him.

"Argh... bastards," he groaned, and clutched the wound.

Then he remembered something and smirked faintly.

'Good thing I can heal up,' he thought as he placed palms on the injury.

But the screen flashed again, this time with another notification.

[Healing process has failed.]

[Mana pool is empty, and Health Points are critically low.]

[All skills are temporarily disabled until the mana pool has at least 10% mana.]

"Great," he said sarcastically, and exhaled.

Before he could do anything else, he felt himself being lifted off the ground.

He looked down and then realised he was standing on the huge hand of a beast.

He tried to leap off, but another beast swung its tail, slamming him into the wall behind the throne.

BAM!

He coughed up a large amount of blood but didn't seem to care much.

Why?

Because assassins were trained relentlessly to endure pain, no matter how excruciating.

But even Ryuen's endurance was running thin.

Betrayed by those he trusted, smiles he had once protected now gone.

And now, he was about to die without accomplishing anything.

He fell to the ground with a loud thud, a groan finally escaping his lips.

He spat out the blood in his mouth and turned over, lying on his back to face the ceiling.

STOMP STOMP STOMP.

The beasts advanced, their movements slower now, since their prey had grown too weak to fight back.

Nowhere left to run, or think of a plan.

Ryuen just layed there, almost lifeless.

Then, the screen reappeared above him, this time glowing red.

[System Update Available. Do you wish to proceed? Y/N]

Ryuen let out a bitter chuckle.

"Ah, what the heck... Not like the stupid system can do anything about this now. Let's see...."

He said weakly, and soft chuckle escaped his lips.

He shifted his gaze to the beasts closing in on him, he simply smiled and closed his eyes.

Then moved it back to the screen.

"Sure. Do it."

The screen flickered, instantly shifting back to a blue hue.

[Updating... Warning: Hostility Detected. System Integration in Process.]

As the update began, Ryuen felt his body grow weaker with every passing second.

He tried to lift himself, but a claw suddenly pierced his hand, pinning it to the ground.

"Shit..." he hissed.

Another claw pierced his other hand.

SPLURT!

Claw after claw drove into his arms and hands, holding him firmly in place.

But the beasts weren't done.

One stepped forward, holding a massive sword its hands, then he raised his hand above his head.

Ryuen's endurance was by a thread, now.

He bit back the sounds of agony that almost escaped his lips.

He was still proud, despite being close to dying.

If he was going to die, he wouldn't scream like a helpless child.

That's what he always told his sister when she teased him about fear.

Back then, news of assassinations was everywhere, and she had constantly worried for him.

So he joked and told her what he thought about pain.

Suddenly, another screen materialized beside the update screen.

[Warning: Current Age 22]

"Hm?" Ryuen frowned. "What... what is this now?"

He said casually, despite the excruciating pain.

At that moment, the beast lowered its sword, and aimed for his chest.

The moment it landed, Ryuen's eyes dilated.

He bit his lip so hard to suppress the groan, causing himself another injury

"Shit... I'm going to die faster at this rate," he muttered. "I can't even focus anymore."

He forced his mind to stick onto something other than the pain.

A tactic he had mastered during his assassin training.

Then, the screen displayed another warning.

[Each wound inflicted will extract one year of life.]

"Wait, what?!"

A claw pierced his side.

[One year deducted. Current Age: 21.]

Another strike tore through his shoulder.

[One year deducted. Current Age: 20.]

A beast drove its claw deep into his chest.

And this pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

"Ah!"

Ryuen cried out, blood gushing from every wound.

He tried to move, to escape, but he was pinned to the ground like a rag.

And the beasts had no intention of stopping.

One of them plunged its sword into the same spot in his chest, driving the claw even deeper.

Until finally, Ryuen went silent.

He stared blankly at the beasts, his mind utterly void of thought.

All he could think about was revenge.

He had let his guard down so completely, he began trusting people.

If only he had listened to the warnings.

"Masked Crusader, it's been an honor working with you. It's unfortunate we must part ways."

"Ryuen....be careful. Once an assassin, always an assassin. Your actions will follow you like your shadow."

"Betrayal is inevitable."

That's what his boss had told him. But he had brushed it off with a smirk.

"I'll be fine, President. Besides, I've got experience."

Yet he let his defenses fade away the moment Haruka smiled at him.

And he trusted her the most.

[One year deducted. Current Age: 19.]

The screen shifted again, the blue hue grew darker.

And beasts towered over him, ready to finish him off completely.

But then, something changed.

The second screen flickered.

[System Complete. Power Recalibration Initiated.]

The beasts froze in place, their bodies glowed red and shuddered.

One by one, they collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

The last thing Ryuen saw was a figure stepping into the chamber.

A man with red hair and a devil-may-care grin sauntered toward him.

His confident steps echoed through the now-silent room.

"Well, well," the man drawled, crouching beside Ryuen's battered body.

"Looks like I got here just in time."

The man chuckled softly, amused.

"They were actually right," he mused, leaning closer.

"You're a delightful mess, aren't you? Hehe."