Chapter 2: Pursued by Evil Souls
Though not dead, he felt worse than dead. Every inch of his skin seemed to be tearing apart, and the intense pain rapidly drained his strength. As soon as he ran out of the square and into an alley, he felt extremely weak, his mind blurred, and he could no longer maintain his original form. Within the silver-blue light, Neo reverted to his human shape, only to stagger and fall, sliding several meters down the muddy, snow-dusted path, his face and body covered in bloodstains.
“Huff! Huff!” Neo gasped heavily. White vapor came from his mouth and nose, and steam also rose from his filthy body, just like fish freshly taken out of a steamer.
The cold wind mixed with snow, and the damp ground made Neo’s remaining clarity of mind tell him that each wisp of white vapor took away a bit of his life’s warmth. His top priority was to find a warm and dry place to rest; otherwise, even without the pursuit of the devil’s minions or soldiers, he would freeze to death in this filthy alley.
“Ah!” With a low growl, Neo struggled to get up. Muscles in his arms and body trembled—not only from the cold but also from the pain.
Puff! Clank, clank! Strange rhythmic sounds came from somewhere. As a werewolf, even when not in his true form, his vision, sense of smell, and hearing were far beyond those of ordinary people. Coupled with his regular training, Neo easily noticed these strange sounds and became alert.
“Armored Wild Lions?” Based on the sound and rhythm, Neo first thought of large feline mounts equipped with armor. He had seen such mounts in Asia. It was said that some wild elf tribes in the Barren Plateau had specialized lion riders. However, since wild elves disliked metallurgy, it was mostly humans and dwarves who came up with the idea of equipping Wild Lions with armor. They served as both mounts and battle beasts, but their durability was poor, and they were bumpy—not particularly good mounts.
The Free United Kingdom of Frey was known for its merchants, wine, poets with suicidal tendencies, and tangled power relations like broken fishing nets. Thors followed this tradition. Yet, despite its many factions, Neo didn’t think any of them would have kind intentions toward him. Especially after the public trial, he had been labeled a devil’s servant and a dark puppet. Instinctively, he put up a “do not approach” sign around himself. Now, hearing the sound approaching rapidly from a clear direction, he reacted immediately. Enduring his physical discomfort, he slipped into a narrow gap barely a meter wide beside the alley.
The buildings in Thors City used a lot of inkstone stone, but even residential houses usually had two floors plus an attic, giving them a solemn yet not oppressive style. The western district where Neo was hiding had dense housing, and this gap was just a small space between two houses, separated by walls on both sides and not very passable.
Soon, two evil soul servants appeared where Neo had fallen. They hissed while licking the bloodstains on the ground with their forked, snake-like tongues. Then, like wild beasts, they scanned the area, growling at each other before suddenly pouncing on the gap where Neo was hiding.
There was no one in the gap, only increasingly heavy snowflakes falling softly.
With a gentle leap, one of the evil soul servants jumped onto a 2-meter-high wall several meters away. It peered down with eyes emitting a gloomy green glow; there was no sign of Neo on the other side of the wall either. Unwilling to give up, the evil soul servant spat out its snake core, twisted its body, and soared high toward the roof of the house on the left. Then, using its hands, which had already transformed into claws of abnormal size, it dug deep into the wall, scrabbling and kicking, sending showers of stone dust into the air before reaching the roof. After a brief pause, it silently made its way toward the skylight in the attic. By then, the other evil soul servant had also climbed onto the roof.
As the vanguard evil soul servant approached the skylight, it leaped suddenly, appearing right in front of it. Yet, neither its prior stealth nor this sudden attack managed to evade its opponent’s keen perception. Before it could stabilize itself, its feet were slammed into its face, sending it flying several meters like a cannonball. It then crashed to the ground along with the shattered small window. Coincidentally, it landed right in a well. The black iron frame used to tie the bucket rope looked quite sturdy, and indeed it held up—its waist landed precisely on the frame, with a crisp crack. Judging from the curvature of its body, even a fool could tell its spine must be broken; otherwise, such a curvature would not occur.
At the same time, the other evil soul servant, having failed in its ambush, instantly transformed from a sneaky lurker into a fierce attacker. With powerful leaps and shattered tiles flying, it rushed at the skylight. Already in motion, it swung its claws—black and sharp as if solid—hitting the side wall of the skylight with the force of a axe, sending showers of limestone dust. Unfortunately, this attack did no real damage to its opponent.
In the blink of an eye, this evil soul servant reached the window and saw a figure disappearing around the corner of the attic stairs. With a low growl, it leaped forward, covering six or seven meters in one simple jump, then landed on the wooden stairs again. Yet all it saw was another figure vanishing at the end of the stairs.
When it descended from the attic, it found its target had turned into the stairwell leading to the first floor. By the time it entered the stairwell, the target had already entered a room on that floor. Despite chasing closely, it couldn’t launch an attack. Fueled by rage, it charged violently, like a battering ram, smashing wood and crashing down the stairs. After scanning the area, it lost sight of its target. As it hesitated, it noticed dust falling from the extinguished fireplace.
Though not particularly clever, this evil soul servant was smarter than ordinary low-level undead, with courage and bravery unmatched by most. It was definitely the kind to follow its target even into lava. Seeing the dust falling from the fireplace, it charged again, smashing a chair and rushing straight at the fireplace. Without hesitation, it crawled inside.
Neo was indeed in the fireplace’s flue, which went straight upward, typically wider at the bottom and narrowing upward like a funnel. Neo, like a fat worm, moved upward bit by bit by shifting his limbs.
The evil soul servant spotted its target and chased after it frantically, using its hands and feet to move. It was manageable at the bottom of the fireplace, but up there, the tight space was unbearable for it in its armor. What drove the evil soul servant crazy the most were the black iron bars spaced every one or two meters in the flue. Originally meant to hold things in place, they now acted like constricting curses. At first, the evil soul servant broke through bricks and stones with brute force and didn’t mind much, but as it climbed higher, the resistance grew stronger and its momentum faded. These bars became like binding curses, restricting its movements. Despite Neio being right in front of it, it couldn’t catch up. Going any higher became even more difficult, and it got stuck in the flue, unable to move forward or backward, left only to roar in fury. Meanwhile, the evil soul servant with its broken spine had already recovered. Such special undead, transformed when still fresh and full of life, relied on the foul energy of evil souls to heal much faster than ordinary lower-tier undead. Even in broad daylight, they were hardly restricted, as long as the injury wasn’t fatal and their foul energy wasn’t exhausted all at once, they remained truly immortal. Even if their spine was broken or all 206 bones were shattered, they could quickly get back on their feet. After recovering, this evil soul servant rushed upward and climbed back into the attic through the skylight. It heard its companion’s angry and resentful roars, rushed down a floor, and arrived at the fireplace. Seeing its trapped companion and Neio struggling to climb up, it didn’t rush to save it but instead headed back to the stairs, trying to block Neio from the top of the roof flue. Its sharp thinking was almost on par with that of an ordinary person. Yet once again, Neio was slightly faster. That tiny difference meant the evil soul servant, just out of the skylight and before it could turn around, was caught off guard as Neio kicked it again, sending it flying once more. It unfortunately got stuck in the railing of the well, breaking its spine a second time without any suspense. This time, Neio had no reason to give it another chance to recover. He slid down the roof slope using the snow, jumped from the second-floor roof to the ground, rolled twice to absorb the impact, then rushed to the well. Reaching in, he pulled out the sword at the evil soul servant’s waist, which it didn’t even know how to use. The evil soul servant flailed its arms and scratched wildly, on the verge of losing balance and falling into the well. With two swift slashes, Neio severed both of its arms. Though the cross swords made in the city of black iron, Solis, were sharp, Neio, as a champion of the arena, also possessed remarkable swordsmanship. Even when not in top form, his cuts were highly skilled—smooth wounds with the sword tips not even touching the inner layer of the armor, showing perfect precision. Without its arms, the evil soul servant, perched on the railing, had better balance. Neio leaped onto the railing. The evil soul servant tried to lift its head to spit venom at Neio in a final act of resistance, but it was too late. Neio pierced it with a sword from below the jaw, with the tip emerging from the top of its skull, breaking the straps of its helmet as it plummeted into the well.
With a strong push from his right hand, Neio swung the sword again. This time, the evil soul servant was completely silenced, and the eerie glow in its eyes quickly dimmed. Worrying that it might not die outright, Neio leaped down from the scaffold, grabbed the servant’s ankle, pulled it to the ground, beheaded it with his sword, then ripped open its chest plate and drove a sword into each side of its chest before twisting them violently—destroying whatever was inside, whether the heart or its core. As the right side of its chest was shattered, the evil soul servant released a large amount of greenish flames and black smoke like a deflated balloon, its body rapidly shriveling until it became a withered corpse. Without stopping, Neio grabbed his crosssword—now pitted and rusted from the foul energy—and rushed into the room. The unfortunate evil soul servant was still struggling against the chimney. Neio thrust his sword in with a powerful swing; the sword went all the way to the hilt, entering from below and emerging from the top of its head. After stirring it around a few times, he pulled it out with effort, breaking the evil forces within it. Then he sat down on the ground, gasping for breath. The rapid series of battles had all taken place in just a few minutes. Though exhausted beyond measure, Neio felt much less pain from his wounds. However, the energy and strength he had lost would take a long time to recover. Moreover, Neio knew that these two undead creatures were special. By the time they were eliminated, the demon maiden would likely have sensed it. And given her ruthless nature, her pursuit of him would not end there—it would only be the beginning.