The Star Of Depravity - Chapter 10

Ervin landed with his hands on the ground; his left leg bent ninety-degrees as if he was a runner ready to sprint.

The moment he descended from the dark sky, he immediately spotted the auburn-haired woman still lying on the damp soil, her hair splayed like red strings.

The huge rock beside her caught his frantic attention. It looked unyielding and literally rock-solid—

Without thinking it through, Ervin strode past the woman and with one swift movement, grabbed hold of the rock, and slammed his head down on its rough surface.

The first blow made him dizzy, his vision fogging as blood trickled down his eyebrows toward his cheeks. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel as much pain as he expected, and he felt as if the impact wasn’t fatal enough to harm what mortality was left in his system.

With a blood-curling yell, he glared at the magnificent sky above him.

Ervin brought down his head once more—he rammed it continuously on the rock, the cracking of his skull resonating in his ears.

He slammed and slammed until he could no longer see from the blood covering his forehead. It made a messy pattern as it dripped down on his line of vision, and finally, with one last blow, the rock split into pieces.

Ervin tumbled backward—he huffed a breath before he regained his balance, the water splashing beneath him.

He awaited Zyros’s laughter, but the Deity kept silent.

The unearthly scream that came out from him was one he didn’t imagine he’d ever be able to do.

He usually had a calm demeanor, a level headed person that has a sound mind that thinks first before he acts.

But this time, Ervin couldn’t stop the tears that fell on his face. It mixed with the thickness of his blood and the dampness of his sweat.

His chest heaved up and down as he felt himself breaking into a thousand pieces.

The strength on his legs was gone, and he slumped like a lost child on the floor, his elbows resting on his knees as he pulled at his dark hair. He let out a whimper as resentment took over his reasoning.

What was the point of dying if you’re technically immortal?

That’s what Ervin understood from what Zyros had revealed to him. On top of that, Zyros claimed he can turn him into something worse than his immortality, which meant he can’t still die that easily even if he wanted it badly.

The red eyes that watched his every movement suddenly emerged carefully from their spots.

Ervin was so consumed in his grief that he chose not to mind their presence. But when he registered the shadows lurking behind the leaves—Ervin tensed. He stood immediately, his skin clammy, and the pounding of his heart was racing wild.

The creatures before him instantly emitted shrilling sounds that made his ears split.

Ervin didn’t know what they are, but the fear was evident as he wasn’t able to stop his body from shaking.

Their features were a mix of different animals attached in one body, but they mainly looked to be that of a spider. The majority of them had eight legs; however, their heads were different varieties of animals in the wild.

Ervin’s legs trembled some more, and he was at a loss for words once more.

Monsters? 

He frantically looked around for any escape, but he was entirely unsure of which way to go. The possibility that there might be even deadlier creatures inside the forest behind him made him more afraid.

The moaning coming from his side made him tore his gaze away from the emerging monsters behind the lump of willow trees from across the swamp.

The auburn-haired woman began rising. Her face looked bewildered for a second. She had a sleepy look on her face, but when her gaze landed at the other side of the swamp—

The woman’s ocean-like eyes blinked. Then, it widened as she let out a yelp. She scrambled away from the shore and had her back pressed on the willow tree’s bark.

Then, she saw Ervin—her blue eyes locked on his hazel ones.

Ervin—

He heard the warning in Zyros’s voice.

They’re here.

* * *

Neither the two of them opened their mouths to talk.

Ervin quickly ran toward the shore of the swamp. He cursed when he couldn’t see well in the dark. It didn’t help that his vision was blurry, his head throbbing like it was a time bomb ready to explode with one click.

“What the hell is happening?” the red-head finally found her voice.

Ervin kept his lips sealed. He didn’t found it within himself to answer anyone at the moment.

The last time he demanded an answer from a God, he was slammed with the horrible truth. He didn’t want to do the same thing with the woman behind him.

You need to fight. They’re relatively weak, Zyros insisted.

No, Ervin shook his head, and the woman looked at him as if he was losing his mind.

I’m not fighting those monsters!

They’re Voidspawn—a weak type of Agma that you can kill with a single blow. 

“What?” he blurted out. The woman gave him a confused look.

What Agma?

Was Zyros out of his god-damned mind? There was no way in hell he would’ve killed those creatures in a single blow.

How can he do it? Use his bare fists? Ervin was panicking like crazy that he froze from where he stood. He couldn’t move, couldn’t think, and couldn’t find the will to fight.

There were many things he didn’t know what to do about, and that includes killing monster-like beasts Zyros pertained to as Voidspawn—a specific type of Agma that overruns Lestra. And to quote the Deity, he said that it could easily be killed.

But for a person who doesn’t know how to kill, Ervin doubts it would be as easy as Zyros cited

Ervin’s chest began constricting. He couldn’t breathe properly. He thinks not even a weapon could kill these monsters.

“Are you talking to me?” the red-head said as she fixed him a stare, the blue circles in her eyes moving back and forth from across the swamp to Ervin’s bloody, crushed head.

“You’re hurt,” she stated the obvious, and for a split second, Ervin thought concern flashed on her face. But Ervin kept his mouth shut and concentrated on talking to Zyros in his mind.

Voidspawn? Agmas? How the hell am I supposed to defeat those things?! Ervin was practically screaming inwardly; panic began to occupy his mind because he couldn’t think of a way to escape the monsters.

He didn’t know why, but he imagined Zyros was already rolling his eyes.

I didn’t make you my vessel for nothing. 

The blood trickled down his cheeks as Zyros gave out a heavy sigh.

But they could harm me, Ervin felt the crippling desperation again—

Zyros let out another sigh as if he was the one that had been defeated.

Ervin deliberated that Zyros must’ve guessed what he was planning to do.

You won’t be harmed if you use the power I lent you. 

He had no idea what the hell he was talking about. It wasn’t the answer he was looking for. Ervin stood motionless, and he was beginning to feel the agitation in his muscles as he awaited the monsters’ attack.

What power—

Shrill cries broke out from across them. It sounded like a thousand wheels that screeched all at the same time.

Ervin snapped his head to the sound’s direction.

He cursed—but he wasn’t sure if he said it out loud.

Then, he heard the sharp intake of breath of the red-head behind him. She gasped loud enough that Ervin instinctively turned his head to where she was.

“They’re heading this way!” the red-head sounded apprehensive as she warned him.

Ervin acknowledged, but what made him wonder was why they were so desperate to attack them. Does it have to do with them being a vessel of the Deities?

What did these Gods expect them to do?

The auburn-haired woman let out a cry—Ervin turned his head—her whole body emanated with a shinning yellow light. She began moving upward—

Ervin saw how her face drained of color, her eyes widening as the yellow hue mixed with her blue irises, and she floated an inch from the soil that she was standing.

The wind’s pressure grew around the swamp, the water moving to its direction. The air changed—It was as if there was a brewing storm, and it was coming their way.

The Voidspawns’ shriek grew louder that it almost split his ears, and even though they’re moving in the air in groups, their speed was slower than Ervin expected it to be.

Ervin’s hoodie moved with the wind’s direction as if the material would be ripped off any second now. He felt a lump on his throat, his heart thumping loudly. He couldn’t make of what was happening to the woman.

He watched in fear as the red-head writhed in pain—she let out a blood-curling scream—there was a flash of yellow light, then it bursts from above her—the wind came down like an atomic bomb and blew the clump of trees around them.

Ervin got thrown to a willow tree’s bark, his spine cracking, a groan escaping his lips.

“Ack!” he covered his head with his arms as the wind grew stronger. Then, it abruptly stopped.

The clump of leaves on the tree stayed in different directions—Ervin had his mouth open wide when he realized that the wind hovering above him swirled in circles.

Ervin scrambled for safety—he didn’t know where he should hide—

A vessel—

Zyros sounded impressed.

Several Voidspawn fell to the water, and he heard splash after splash as they dropped from the atmosphere.

Ervin titled his head above. The woman’s irises were a mixture of two rings: an icy blue and a golden yellow, and it looked misty and dull. But within a second, Ervin saw a hint of recognition, as if she regained her consciousness.

The red-head tried landing her feet on the ground. Ervin saw how she elevated higher, and it seemed like it too wasn’t the outcome she had expected.

The remaining Voidspawn hovered in the air, and they continued to fly toward Ervin and the auburn-haired woman as if they had a magnetic pull to them that made these creatures automatically want to attack.

What appeared to be the remaining black clump of darkness heading their way revealed themselves as half spiders and part animal in appearance.

Zyros groaned in boredom. As I said, they’re weak—

Ervin didn’t know where he’d run, and he didn’t think those monsters are weak at all.

The woman was already hovering above him, her body tensed. But something had changed.

Ervin noticed she seemed like she was ready for a big fight.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she said in a crisp tone that Ervin almost didn’t catch what she was saying.

Ervin focused on the scene before him as the wind danced.

The swarming Voidspawns were near, and he saw how the purple smoke surrounded his body once more.

See that woman? She’s using the potential of a Deity. 

Hovering in the air as if she was a bird flying freely, her apple-bright hair flowed with the wind’s grace.

The auburn-haired woman looked ready to give out a fight. Her body was already positioned in a way anyone could predict she’d have hand-to-hand combat with the monsters heading their way.

Her eyes sparkled—as if a flash of light came out from it. Then, she was running toward the flock—she slammed her fist in the air and severed ten Voidspawn at once, their bodies slashed in pieces, ruby-colored blood splattering like rainfall.

Ervin didn’t notice half of his legs were submerged in the swamp’s water. He didn’t have the time to react when a Voidspawn emerged beneath the water and bit the meaty part of his thigh—