Supreme Magus

"My original would have definitely killed you. A Griffon filled with Life Maelstrom is a hearty meal that could quell my hunger for weeks, maybe months." Theseus lowered his eyes in shame since he had considered doing it.

Then you two are nothing alike." Dolgus said. "Paquut had no friends, only allies. He came here alone because he didn't trust anyone and that allowed you to kill him. I'm your friend and I trust you."

"But-"

"Listen to me. Everyone makes mistakes." The Griffon cut him off. "A stupid man never learns from his mistakes. A normal man does, and a wise man learns from the mistakes of others.

"Right now, you are someone who has been burdened with millennia of mistakes that don't belong to him. If you let them crush you, they will be a curse. If you learn from them, they'll be a blessing that will turn you into one of the wisest people of Mogar.

"You can use Paquut's memories to predict what will happen if you abuse your powers. The consequences of thinking solely about yourself in the here and now. His legacy is full of horrors, but also of precious lessons.

"If you find the courage to confront his life and make it your own, making the right choice under the hardest circumstances will be easy for you. Also, it will stop the blood madness and we'll reach that damn border in a jiffy."

Dolgus took more food out of his pocket dimension and they shared a meal worthy of a Divine Beast.

"Who's that?" He pointed at a figure on the walls, to move the conversation on to a less depressing topic.

"That's Elphyn Menadion, the daughter of one of my favorite painters. You see, Threin Menadion…"

Dolgus inhaled sharply, listening to what sounded gibberish to him with a smile on his face. He had noticed the joy in the Abomination hybrid whenever he talked about his passion.

Something that he hoped would help them to cover more than 200 kilometers a day and without being almost devoured three times in the process.

***

The next day, city of Necram, Republic of Wudao.

This time no one had stopped along the road to help the group of stranded merchants reach the city. The routes were filled with soldiers marching and the merchants were in a rush, moving as fast as they could. Pa nda

"Something tells me we are in the right place." Solus said.

"Indeed. Either someone has discovered a magical mine or Theseus can't be far." Zoreth nodded.

Once they reached Necram, it didn't take them long before hearing about the hunt for the mysterious creature that roamed the area. The army was on the prowl, mages were scouring the skies, and a hefty reward had been promised to anyone who would provide clues useful for its capture.

The local mercenary guild was empty and so were the taverns. Everyone was out, hoping to hit the jackpot.

"What's our next move?" Lith asked. "Do we infiltrate the merchant or the mercenary guild? Do we hit the slums for the black market's information network?"

"How cute and na?ve." Zoreth turned around, pinching his cheeks like Rena used to do back when he was little. "Why should any of them trust a stranger with vital information? Also, there's no point for them to help their competition in exchange for a few coins and risk losing the motherlode."

"We could shapeshift into someone they trust and-" Lith said before being cut off.

"That would take too long. As I told you at the beginning of this trip, we are Abominations. We don't hide or cower. Now that our target is in sight, the gloves are off." Zoreth shapeshifted, but back into her human appearance and so did Bytra.

People gawked at the sight of a burly man turning into a short woman, even more when she waltzed inside the local army branch as if she owned the place.

"This creature you are searching for, where is it?" She asked while two tall and muscular soldiers that guarded the entrance grabbed her by the shoulders, only to be dragged inside as she moved forward.

They planted their feet, using every ounce of strength they could muster but it was like trying to stop a tornado.

"Hands off, I'm a married woman." She slapped them with a simple flick of the wrist, yet the hit dislocated their jaws and gave them a concussion. "I asked you where the creature is."

Zoreth walked in front of the desk sergeant who took a hidden sword and lunged at her throat in one fluid motion. Her neck turned black and the blade sunk deep, yet not a drop of blood was spilled.

When the woman attempted a second attack, she discovered that the sword was no more. What she had mistaken for a successful thrust digging into the flesh was just the Chaos eating at the blade on contact.

What remained of it could be used as a box cutter.

"I'm not going to ask you a third time. Speak!" The power of her black and troll core mixed together, releasing a grey aura from her body that filled the room in a dark fog and the soldiers with dread.

Dragon Fear made Zoreth's mana seep inside their bodies along with the world energy, carrying her willpower and promises of agony.

The weakest among them died of a heart attack. Regular soldiers fainted, leaving only the veterans conscious and with their pants wet and stinky.

The desk sergeant stared at Zoreth in horror. Her mouth was dry, making her swallow so much that she couldn't speak. Her lips opened and closed non-stop, like a goldfish.

A snap of the Abomination's fingers made the right leg of those fainted on the ground explode. Some of them died of shock and others came back to their senses, screaming in pain.

A red mist colored the black fog, turning the dread into horror.

"Don't you care about your comrades?" Zoreth asked. "Then maybe you have family in this city. Look at the window and watch the east block disappear."

Her left middle finger touched the thumb, ready for another snap. The desk sergeant knew that it wasn't an empty threat because her whole body could feel the mana flowing from the Abomination into her and then into an area filled with thousands of civilians.

The same black fog that filled the army branch was spreading throughout the east block like a disease. Even from a distance, the sergeant could see the buildings crumble and people falling limp on the ground.

Her family lived on the west block, but the sergeant knew that the thing in front of her was going to destroy the entire city, block by block if she didn't give the information to it.

Still incapable of speaking, the woman pointed furiously at the door of the commanding officer, the only person who knew all the details of the mission.

"Was it so hard?" Zoreth snapped her fingers and all those in the room fainted, overwhelmed by the sheer pressure of her mana.

"That was quick." Lith said while they read the reports containing Theseus' past sightings and his last known position. "Are we going to kill everyone in this building? You know, to leave no trace of our passage?"