Chapter 2664: Chapter 2664: The Dreaded Eye Demons
The warriors hiding in the hollows got disrupted when a grief-stricken cry reverberated across the temple, echoing off the bare walls. Presumably, someone got killed.
But the Soul-melting Light's deadly rays failed to penetrate the hollows on the walls, so how did this person get murdered?
“Harding! What just happened?” Hammer bellowed.
“I don't know. It's this guy settled next to me,” Harding answered in a shaky voice.
The man who screamed just now was the leader of the group who had confronted Hammer earlier.
Before Harding's voice fell to a whisper, he fumbled over his next few words. “Wh-what are these... m-monsters? Stay away!”
“Harding! What's happening to you there?” Hammer called at the top of his voice.
“Ahhh!”
Harding shrieked desperately; then his screams halted rather abruptly.
“Answer me! Harding, please, I'm begging you...”
No matter how much Hammer pleaded, his brother didn't respond.
With the Soul-melting Light outside the hollows, nothing could be done to help out his brother. He just roared, “No matter what monsters you are, come to me! Leave my brother alone! I'm going to tear you apart!”
As she listened to Hammer howl, Dorothy's face darkened. She never envisioned such a critical situation would befall her.
The monsters, in particular, scared Dorothy out of her wits. She knew nothing about their origin and form, which made her more apprehensive.
She squeezed in beside Zen despite the cramped space, soliciting for some comfort.
The emotions of the Soul of Light could be easily sensed, and Zen sensed Dorothy's fear. He pulled her closer and coaxed her softly, “Don't be afraid.”
“But what could they be?” Dorothy sighed under her breath.
“Whatever they are, they would reveal themselves soon,” Zen assured with certainty.
He already encountered several incidents similar to this before, so he consciously knew how to manage the situation better than Dorothy.
Just then, they heard loud, grinding bursts of sound which reflected from the nearby wall. Hammer's shaky voice came again, with a hint of anxiety and dread in it. “Go away! What are you? Nooo...”
Just like the previous confrontations, the sobbing stopped after a few seconds.
This time, Zen's brows knitted a pensive frown.
Despite its mixed reputation, if expressed appropriately, anger led to many beneficial consequences. It made people act brave and forced them to be energized in dealing with conflicts. The situation Hammer dealt with when his two younger brothers got killed one by one forced him to be enraged. His vexation made him fearless.
Besides, Hammer excelled in all aspects, and he always showed an ability to take risks. What on earth frightened him to such an extent? Nothing made sense.
“What the heck could those things be?”
Dorothy wailed, burying her head against Zen's shoulder. The two souls would've fused as one if only the Souls of Light were intangible.
Zen kept his silence and simply stared at the opening of the hollow. As a matter of fact, he felt alarmed as well, but his survival instincts kicked in. He needed to calm down and be ready for any possible danger that could happen. ꞦÂ𝐍𝔬𝐁Еs
Clip clop! Clip clop! Clunk! Clunk!
The light footsteps on the wall returned; only this time the noise sounded within close range. It came from the hollow beside them.
Dorothy trembled with fear, like leaves quivering in the breeze. With her body hunched down in horror, she shifted her focus towards the sound.
Traces of black liquid leaked out on each side of the rickety and grim walls. This dark ink abruptly transformed into tiny, black balls, as they trickled down the surfaces.
Crack!
These small black balls suddenly split from the middle, revealing small round eyeballs one after the other.
“What in the world are these? Argh!”
Dorothy screeched, her body shaking excessively.
When Zen examined the eyeballs, he instantly recalled the odd statues inside the Sacred Mallow Temple.
In fact, without the eyes, those figures looked nothing like statues. The artist carved in unusual shapes—curved, angular, and twisted. Only the eyes gave life and meaning to those statues.
When the eyeballs released black light, the fear in Zen's heart strengthened.
He recognized the inexplicable sense of familiarity right after his heart started to beat faster.
In the debate venue of the Sword Clan in the divine land, Harper released the Truth of Goodwill and Malice. The malice it bore aimed to liberate the inner fear of humans.
Nevertheless, these eyeballs in front of him seemed strange and excluded the power of the Truth of Godly Way. They were designed to uncover the fear in one's soul.
Dorothy's high-pitched cry rang in Zen's ears, intensifying his terror.
At this moment, Zen noticed that his Soul of Light became tensed and went beyond his control.
“Zen, I have a very simple approach to fight these Dreaded Eye Demons. Do you want to know?” The voice of No. 9527 verbalized suddenly.
“Tell me! Get to the point!”
Zen tried to stay sober and vigilant though he knew he couldn't hold on for long.
Once fear established control over his whole body, it would be the end. Dorothy's fate relied upon him, and the two of them would all be annihilated just like Hammer and his brothers if he let terror take over.
“Close your eyes and disconnect from the outside world. Cut off all of your spiritual sense. Empty your mind and concentrate. It shouldn't be complicated for you to do this with the guidance of the Emotion Closing Godly Way. Don't stare at the eyeballs. Just one glimpse and any great warrior would be slain,” No. 9527 said.
Before it could finish, Zen already closed his eyes.
Zen did as he was told—he cut off all of his spiritual sense and activated the Emotion Closing Godly Way. The ethereal soul arrows radiated with golden light on the surface of his soul.
In the past, the sharpened soul arrows had aided Zen in achieving his killing moves. The Emotion Closing Godly Way helped sharpen and refine those arrows to flawlessness. But after he entered the Source World where his soul couldn't be considered strong, he rarely used this skill.
However, Zen recognized his ability to put himself into a state of mind-blanking where he just shut down and meditated.
When Zen's awareness of the outside world subdued, the fear that surged in his heart beforehand instantly vanished. But the two senses of touch and hearing from his Soul of Light persisted.
He sensed those eyeballs advancing towards him. Simultaneously, he overheard Dorothy cry even louder. The stress caught up with her as she started to break down.
“Nooo... Zen, they got me! They're dragging me out! Please, help me...”
No matter how frantic Dorothy called out, Zen acted as if he hadn't heard it.
But he still clasped Dorothy tightly in his arms, not yielding at all. They were stuck in the hollow, not dragged out by the Dreaded Eye Demons.
'The Dreaded Eye Demons seem weak, ' Zen contemplated.
He figured that Hammer and his brothers weren't killed by the Dreaded Eye Demons. Fear controlled them until they lost the ability to resist.
Just like Dorothy.
But Zen clutched Dorothy tightly, and the Dreaded Eye Demons failed to draw her out of the hollow. She survived because she wasn't exposed to the Soul-melting Light.
'If that would be the case...'
Zen concentrated once more and raised his hand gently.
His fingers gradually changed into thorns and he poked the air before him with his fingers.
In this process, Zen measured the distance thoroughly so his fingertips wouldn't extend outside the hollow.
He took extra precaution for his fingertips to remain within the domain of the hollow. His attempts would deem useless if he brushed upon the Soul-melting Light and perished.
Zen tried a few times but failed to stab the Dreaded Eye Demons. He felt the force pulling Dorothy away had increased. Clearly, the Dreaded Eye Demons began to get agitated.
Zen sneered, his lips slightly curled upward. He thrust at the air with his thorn-like fingers more aggressively.
After he tried more than a hundred times, one of the thorns pierced through an eyeball.
Snip!
Ensuing a strange cry, the force yanking Dorothy eased.