Epiphany Of The Weak 187 Maniacal Laughter... It's Not Wrong, Right?

"...I-It can't be."

The ones who survived didn't dare to take a step forward. Rather, they had decided to retreat without having second thoughts.

They turned their backs to me, and I smirked. My eyes opened wide at how stupid those women were to expose themselves like that. It was as if they were tempting me.

"Hahahahahahaha."

My flames roared forth, burning the walls and ceiling it touched before it engulfed two out of five of those wretched women.

"Come on, come on! Why so weak?!"

The rest didn't even want to look back at their fallen comrades. They kept running, while I slowly walked towards them. After the flames were done with those writhing in its maw, I willed it to surround the remaining three. They were trapped with nowhere to go.

"Haha... Hahahaha!"

My eyes felt like it would pop out of its socket at any moment. Laughing like that, it felt like I was someone else entirely. In fact, at this very moment, I was trembling with excitement.

Cause' why not?

After all, those three had no one else to turn to but me. What if I spare them? That would be boring, utterly boring.

I would prefer taking my time as I gouge their eyes out. Or I could just keep one alive so that she could watch me kill her friends.

"Haha..."

I wasn't sure if it was the overflowing hatred, but, my whole body s.h.i.+vered and spasmed from all the thoughts.

"...Why aren't you resisting?"

The flames gave way for me as I walked towards those women. They were trembling, seemingly unable to move. They had fallen to their knees.

Perhaps the face I was making scared them to their bones. Realizing that, I touched my cheek, and sure enough, I was grinning, one that reached my cheeks.

"Do you want to die slowly?" I asked with a gentle tone.

They didn't answer.

Though, even if they did, I was thinking of taking my time in the first place. My hand reached out for the one in the middle and she dragged herself far back. However, she stopped and turned to look behind her.

I laughed at how pathetic that woman looked— her expression twisted into horror as she realized one crucial thing.

My flames had formed a circle around us so there was no way she could escape, at least normally.

Her friends averted their eyes away from me.

For some reason, I hated them doing that.

"Aaack!"

A dark blue gauntlet choked the woman at my right side. It had come out from my back, responding to my incoherent thoughts. Spikes poked out of the gauntlet's surface, and an instant later, the woman's throat was crushed.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Who else?!"

No one replied. They had run over to the edge of the fire circling us and just stood there.

They turned their heads to look at me and then back at the wreath of flames, perhaps choosing what kind of death they preferred. To be tortured, or being burned alive, there were only these two options presented to them.

At last, they didn't waver anymore. Those women had come to the same conclusion, what with the peach Aegis blades protruding out of their hands as they prepared to launch a simultaneous attack at me.

I smiled at that, somewhat happy. "Hahahaha. Do you want to die by my hands?!"

My feet took a few steps forward slowly. I wanted to wait for them to actually attack, but it seemed like they wouldn't do just that. Those pitiful creatures abandoned any initiative in taking the first move in a battle. Then again, it could be because of the sheer difference in our strengths.

This simply couldn't be resolved with teamwork alone.

Even so...

"I will take your heads—"

Blood spluttered out of my mouth and I fell down to my knees. The Aegis wings poured out multi-colored flames from its feathers without my permission.

"What... just happened...?— Aaagh!"

I gasped from a sudden sharp pain; when crimson Aegis crystals popped out from my skin. It covered my shoulders in a split second.

The inferno around us gradually vanished into thin air as I lost my grasp on it. Without hesitating, those women ran away into the darkness, leaving me alone.

"Ava. Your emotions are affecting me and the second Aegis. You—can not—"

The monotonous voice of my Aegis disappeared along with the flames. Truly, I was in by myself in that area, no one else.

"Aaaaaaaaaaargh! This hurts!"

My wings split into four, its feathers changing and warping into numerous human skulls made out of Aegis crystals. The skulls shook uncontrollably, where at one instance, I even thought they were laughing.

Laughing at the sight of how pitiful I was.

I understood why. After all, to succ.u.mb to these emotions was pathetic. And no matter how hard I tried, it kept coming back to consume me. Rejecting the seething rage and malevolent hatred made it worse each time.

It was like I couldn't live without taking solace in these negative emotions. It was like I was born to be consumed by it. It was like...

"Ughh..."

Red blood poured out of my eyes slowly.

I didn't know what was happening to me, but my whole body hurt so much. Everything felt painful. Even when I breathed in, a pulsing pain shot at my brain.

"W-Why... Why am I like this?" The tears of blood fell onto the floor. "Am I really so sinful? Am I really so undeserving of anything that can bring me happiness...? If so, then just take me to h.e.l.l. I... I can't do this anymore."

Then, the hatred coursed throughout my body once again, bringing with it the nightmares.

"Stop! STOP!" I begged. "AAAAARGH!"

I wrapped my arms around my chest. At one point, I thought of giving up on living.

Do I really deserve to live?

I didn't know the answer to that question myself.

For years, I killed people, and mostly due to my hatred. I met a lot of people, and some of them were nice. They cared about me, and I in return cared for them as well.

But, I failed to protect them. Lily and the others suffered because I wasn't strong enough.

Why do you blame yourself? I didn't even know why and I didn't want to pretend that I actually knew. However, perhaps, it was how this world wanted to treat me.

"...Ava?" a familiar man's voice echoed.