The Villain's Story

Chapter 811: James Smith(2).

Four nimble legs supporting a bulky frame of obsidian and protruding spikes of unknown, liquid-like metal, a deadly serrated tail twice the length of their massive bodies, and a soft, squishy face to which two deadly pincers were attached.

They were like rhinos, but they had no eyes; it was a mystery as to how they perceived the world. Kulak stared at the new arrivals with apprehension. He had seen these creatures before; they had roamed the surface of Alanʼs soul sea.

However, now, they were here, right in the center of it all, such a thing was normally impossible unless...

”Know what these little guys are? I always wondered...”

James approached the biggest of the strange creatures and placed his hand on its leg, as if patting it.

”Took these guys a while, right?”

He stared at Kulak with a slight smile on his face. Hundreds of these strange creatures surrounded the Supreme being, looking at him with malicious intent.

In response, the Warden merely harrumphed, and a tide of shadows arose from his feet and pushed all of them back, but one. The one that remained by Jamesʼs side struggled against the tide of shadows, and only because Kulak was letting it.

Had he wanted, that thing would be gone as well, but he was curious as to how it avoided his detection, even if he was in the world of souls; something like that shouldnʼt be possible, especially by something like that.

ʼHmmm.ʼ

Kulak watched as the creature began to gather purple currents around its pincers, curious to see what it would do.

”Oh come on, Wasnʼt that response a bit too cruel?”

James chimed in, removing his hands from the beast with a forlorn look on his face.

ʼGravity magic, as well as space.ʼ

To any other invader, those jaws would have ripped their very souls apart, but in front of Kulak, all he needed to do was wave his hand, and a tide of shadows swallowed the beast as well.

”Eh, I thought they would do something, at the very least.”

Kulak remained silent, thinking of his next move. He knew James hadnʼt expected any of those beasts to accomplish something, but why bring them here? And why were they listening to him, a foreign entity?

The Soul Sea shouldnʼt recognize James as part of it, even if he was the creator of it all. Kulak wondered why the ʼdefenseʼ system left him all alone. Those creatures were a part of Alanʼs defenses in his soul, which raised the question.

ʼWhy did they listen to him?ʼ

Merely not recognizing the Serpent as a threat was feasible, but why would the creatures listen to him? What was causing that? The soul, even an artificial one, didnʼt work like this.

”May the venerable Supreme state his purpose in coming here?”

James asked, offering a slight bow, and Kulak scoffed in response.

”To kill you.”

”You know you canʼt, so why bother?”

For a moment, Kulak gazed at the black star above. James laughed as he saw it.

”Heʼs asleep, so donʼt be such a wuss.”

”So he isnʼt here to protect you.”

The man in the suit leaned back and stated.

”Kulak. You canʼt kill me, Hell, right now, I doubt even Aranus can kill me.”

The supreme raised his brows, paying close attention to the serpentʼs words, whether he liked it or not.

”Circumstances just made it so.”

James shrugged his shoulders and turned his back to Kulak, focusing on the Blue Star with a Core of Gold. Kulak put away his sword and asked.

”What are you planning?”

The response came fairly quickly.

”I donʼt know yet, honestly. Could be perfect, could be shit, and Iʼd be forced to retry, I donʼt want that.”

Kulak watched James begin his ʼworkʼ once more, and instead of losing himself like before, he paid close attention to the man, contemplating everything.

He was stuck in thought, as James silently worked, paying the Supreme behind him no mind. Kulak was stunned. Normally, even that man wouldnʼt do something like that, so what was assuring him that Kulak couldnʼt take his life here?

Kulak, as a son of Ariel, could deliver true death easily, even more so if the target was in the form of a mere soul, and James knew that, so what was it?

What was giving him so much confidence? The black star above which housed a sleeping Aranus, or something else? What exactly was it?

No matter how much Kulak thought about it, he couldnʼt figure it out. He was busy going through his memories of every iteration that man had appeared in, and the ones before, but he couldnʼt figure it out.

The man was insane, pure crazy. The calm and composed attitude was but a front; all that existed inside was pure crazy.

There was a known saying among them that every Supreme was insane; every one of them admitted it. You didnʼt reach Supremacy by being normal, every one of the supreme beings had a screw loose somewhere... but James took that to another level, despite only having been able to reach Divine, even with Aranusʼs body...

He was batshit crazy. That man had won a wager against the abyss, and it was pathetically humiliating to the Abyssal Conscience; there was nothing he wasnʼt willing to do, and the ways he went about it were sometimes normal... and sometimes not. There was no telling what he wanted to do and what he would do.

But when Kulak really paid attention to what was in front of him, rather than the memories of the previous iterations, he realized what it was.

The answer was right in front of him, and there wasnʼt even the slightest attempt made to hide it.

He should have realized it sooner; the bright and deep blue was unrelenting. Kulak burst into laughter; he couldnʼt contain himself once he realized it.

Yes, he could escape from it by cutting a part of himself away... but that option wasnʼt available for James.

”It got you, didnʼt it?”

The Serpent turned his head, shrugged his shoulders, and exclaimed.

”Bingo!”