(II) Terror
Chapter 144 of "Path of the Deathless" opens revealing the plot: 71 (II)TerrorThe Deathless grunted.And Shiv noted another difference in the way they proceeded. He was... Discover what happens!
71 (II)Terror
The Deathless grunted.
And Shiv noted another difference in the way they proceeded. He was completely fine with just waltzing in and tearing people apart. Dehumanization was exactly the right term. The moment he started really fighting someone, it was to the bone, and they stopped being people to him. Pulling them apart became a thing of reward and self-gratification. Meanwhile, Uva was objective-focused. As always.
Shiv thought more to himself than Uva.
Uva said.
Shiv cut into the side of the building with a smile. He watched Uvaâs mana strands strike at his enemies with a smile. And he launched a bone drill through the unprepared Psychomancerâs head with a smile.
Scream and cries for reinforcements soundedâbut Shiv triggered his Chrono-Anchored Strike and blinked across the district. He drove his blade into Moravegaâs chest. Meanwhile, he listened to the chaos erupting in the distance, and he found himself slightly contemplative.
Silhouette > 59
Shiv said.
Uva asked.
Shiv grunted a laugh.
She gave a soft chuckle.
Shiv considered that. Artistry had a way of demanding someone to understand themselves better. Maybe he wasnât so simple. Maybe he was just when it came to developing certain thoughts. He spent most of his life struggling to survive and desperately facing monsters in hopes of getting a Path, after all. There wasnât much use for philosophy and introspection in those cases.
Shiv said. His words made Uva laugh.
Shiv paused to consider that. Then, he mentally did the Young Lordâs voice.
The Umbral chortled in his mind.
A moment later, both Shiv and Uva held back their mirth as the Young Lord began cursing at them.
Shiv said.
Shiv crooned mockingly.
Uva said, telling Adam Shivâs true feelings.
The Young Lord just sighed.
Shiv asked.
Adam said with a sigh.
Uva began.
Shiv said.
Adam grumbled.
Shiv grunted. Uva gruntedâmimicking him. Adam disconnected.
Shiv asked.
she said.
Shiv paused.
Uva said casually.
Shiv paused. And he was beginning to see what she meant.
And Shiv noted another difference in their murder morality. He wasnât very comfortable killing the outright weak. Something about that seemed a bit to him. They had to be openly cruel like Oldsmith to really make him want to kill them. Uva, meanwhile, decided on these targets purely based on pragmatic reasons.
Shiv said. He then shared a memory with Uva. And she quickly realized what he wanted. Back when he pretended to be a slave, hiding using his Perfect Semblance to get smuggled into the Jealousy's den, there was the slaver that transported him. And then there was a Vulteg overseer.
Uva agreed. There was a slight sneer of disgust in her voice.
While Uva searched, Shiv proceeded to his first batch of targets. He moved carefully and silently through offices and homes. Gravitic Wrestler wasnât just a good skill for strength, but it also made him borderline weightless when he wanted to. As such, he was rarely heard as well. He got to the bureaucrats and administrators as they slept in their beds, worked at their desks, and some were merely enjoying a spot of subpar dinner while screaming at a slave. Most times, his Silhouette was the last thing they saw. He made sure their deaths were quick as well. No sense gutting a non-combatant. No skills to be gained there, nor experience.
Uva, meanwhile, was absolutely clinical and indifferent, and the clarity between their modes of murder became truly obvious. Shiv was like a roaring flame. He spread about and if you touched him, he would burn you badly and not stop until you put him out. And he took pride in that. Uva was a blizzard. There was rarely enjoyment or that much emotion at all when it came to killing or breaking people. She simply thought someone needed to die and proceeded to plot the act. And Uva often got so focused on the details that family and other things like that became just variables to her.
She did pause once when they discovered a bureaucrat snoring beside his infant daughter.
That one they both decided to spare. Uva for mostly personal reasons, and Shiv because he would actually feel bad and end up bringing the baby back to the anchor.
Uva muttered.
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After they got done slaughtering their way through the cityâs most important logistical personnel, Uva managed to find the slave overseer. And by that point, Adam also contacted them.
Shiv muttered.
Adam shuddered.
Uva said darkly.
Both Shiv and Adam briefly fell silent.
Shiv commented.
Adam said.
Uva replied.
Adam hummed.
The public-use slave quarters were located in the four corners of the gate. Each of the buildings housed a good twenty thousand slaves. But these were only the organic slaves. They were packed tight together in rooms that could be barely called dormitories. They were fed gruel. They were monitored by dimensionals and hired slavers. And they were assigned duties every day by a personal overseer.
The one Shiv had encountered wasn't even that high up the command chain, he realized.
Still, she needed to die. And so did every other slave hand there was. But that's why the plan changed. As he observed them, Uva's thoughts began to brew.
Shiv was silent for a moment, watching as a man continued whipping a weary slave. She had tried to get up earlier, but exhaustion, malnutrition, and an accumulation of what seemed to be bodily injuries brought her down. And now, a slaver was trying to whip her back to a point of standing. A slaver Shiv recognized.
Uva hummed. Then she reached into the man's mind with a mana string, and Shiv felt her slowly and brutally strip away most of his personality. The man clutched his head and dropped to the ground. He started screaming. He slapped his ears and clawed at his eyes, and Shiv felt her destroy everything that made him .
Shiv broke the slaverâs wrist; Uva broke all there was to break inside the man and more. Soon he stopped kicking, and the slave turned to see the man drooling on the ground, an empty husk.
Shiv watched the scene from afar, and slowly a large smile spread across his face.
She let out a breathy laugh.
Between them, a flood of disgust came. Adam let out a sigh.
A splash of memories followed, and Shiv realized Adam was speaking from experience from what he read in an Academy textbook.
Shiv frowned.
Adam said.
The Deathless let out a breath as he watched the slave look down at the slaverâs body. Additional guards came by to regard the slaver's body, but after a while, they just dragged the corpse off like it was a piece of garbage and threw the slave back into a cell.
Shiv grumbled to himself.
Uva summarized as accurately as she could.
Something about that was strangely heartening for Shiv.
Adamâs annoyance pulsed through them once more.
Uva laughed. Shiv laughed. Adam groaned. And a few more administrators went missing before Shiv made it back to base.
Silhouette > 62