8 Chapter 8: Land of Shadows

A few days passed, and I decided it was time for the next location, Scotland, the Isle of Skye. 

By the end of the day, I would sneak out and go to Dún Scáith, or as it's also known, Fortress of Shadows.

According to Le Fay's information, the Land of Shadows was once located on the Isle of Skye but eventually separated into a space outside the physical world.

So, while I don't know where the gate to the Land of Shadows is located, considering Scáthach's residence was the Fortress of Shadows, it should be a good start to find it.

If it's not there, then I will look around the whole island until I find it.

Why do I still want to do this after meeting with the Lady of the Lake? Well, firstly, Scáthach could help me seal or control it. Also, I may want to meet Scáthach...

Of course, it's because she is a prodigy of spearmanship and runes while also being a great teacher... Nothing else...

Why am I even trying to defend myself?

Yeah, I shouldn't need to explain myself...

...

..

.

After the nightfall, I decided to sneak out again. I started by going around the Fortress of Shadows.

I didn't know what exactly to look for. They say it's the gate to the Land of Shadows, but it doesn't need to look like a gate to be a gate.

I walked around the ruins of the castle for hours, trying to find the gate. If it's not here, then I have no idea where it could have been. Truthfully, it could be located on a random hill.

  I continued to look around, and I didn't find anything. With a sigh, I sat down and rested my back on what remained of the castle's fall.

"Where could it be?" I asked, looking at the stars.

Time passed as I sat there just looking at the stars, and I might have fallen asleep for a few minutes.

When I woke up again, I stood up and thought about going back and returning here the next night. 

But before I could go out, I saw something. It was like a glowing thread floating near me and going somewhere. 

I instantly got on guard. I didn't know what it could be, so I was ready to take out my blades if someone attacked me. Something like this doesn't simply materialize out of thin air; therefore, there must be someone who created it, and I don't know if they are friendly or not.

It was late already, and the sun would be up in a few hours. I could ignore this and go back, but this could be from someone who could help me find the gate to the Land of Shadows.

"Fuck it," I said and went to find where the thread was leading me.

I followed the thread to see where it would lead me, and when I arrived, I couldn't help but stare with a dumbfounded look.

"... Is that really..." I mumbled, looking at the object the thread was leading me to. This wasn't even on the list of everything I thought this would lead me to. I thought it could be a person, the gate, or even a weapon, but not this.

The thing in front of me looked like an old bottle of alcohol with the glowing thread I was following tied to the neck of the bottle. 

I walked closer to the bottle while also looking around to see if there was someone around, but I didn't find anyone. 

When I reached the bottle, I glanced around again just to be safe before picking it up. 

My eyes widened when I read the year on the label. If this isn't some kind of a joke, then this bottle is over 2000 years old.

I raised my eyebrow at this. The bottle doesn't look to be that old. I looked at the glowing thread that started disappearing after I picked up the bottle. Maybe it has something to do with magic? 

What should I do with it? It's probably poisoned, but if it's truly that old, I could use it to bribe Uncle Azazel if I ever need his help.

I decided to put it in my storage ring. The bottle glowed and disappeared into it for a moment before I got a shock from my finger, and the bottle jumped out of it, hitting me in the face before falling down and rolling on the grass.

I glared at the bottle while rubbing my forehead. I'm starting to feel like destroying it would be the best idea, and if my glare could destroy something just by looking at it, then the bottle would be reduced to ash.

It looked like I couldn't store it, and I assumed that if I wanted to leave this place with the bottle in my hand, then the same thing would happen, so I did what someone with an adult mind would do in this situation.

I opened it and started drinking it.

While my physical body is that of a teenager, the fact that I'm a half-fallen angel with three pairs of wings shouldn't harm me in any way if I drink just a bit of it.

I mean, when would I stumble across another bottle of over 2,000-year-old whiskey? If someone wanted to attack me, they wouldn't do it by leaving alcohol, so this could help me find the gate.

While I was defending myself, I didn't notice that the alcohol in the bottle started slowly disappearing as my face started turning red.

"A-Another s-sip wouldn't h-hurt me..." I mumbled out, only to notice the empty bottle.

Huh? Why was the bottle empty? I looked around myself to see if anyone drank it while I wasn't looking, but I only saw the blurry, moving background.

My eyelids felt heavy, and I started to slowly fall asleep, "I'll r-rest for a c-couple of minutes b-before going back..." And with that, I fell asleep.

---

"Urgggg..." I woke up with a headache. When I opened my eyes, I saw the sky was still dark. 

Why am I outside? Not just that, why does the ground feel so weird?

Oh right... I drank that bottle of alcohol...

I sat up and looked around, and the moment I did, my eyes widened. I wasn't in the same place as before, but in a place that looked dead. The grass was black, and the trees were dead.

I stood up as my headache intensified, "I shouldn't have drunk it..." I mumbled to myself.

"AGRSKREEEEEE!!!" I heard something that sounded like a mix between a screech and someone choking on water.

I didn't hesitate and brought out my twin swords and spun around to where I heard the sound come from. 

I didn't see anything, but that didn't mean I would let my guard down.

After a while, I heard something that sounded like someone dragging themselves in the distance, followed by the same gurgling screech.

A moment later, I saw it. I was reminded of the undead beasts I faced in my previous life. It looked like a mixture of a Wraith and a Zombie. 

I instantly took out my twin swords and got ready to attack while also observing the surroundings to see if there was more hiding. If this type of undead is similar to the ones I faced, then there must be more around here. 

The moment I was about to dash and take care of the undead, it screeched so loud it sounded like a signal, "Shit..." 

After I cut off its head, silence fell on my surroundings before I heard a hundred more screeches in the background all around me. They were getting closer and closer with each moment.

Can I get out of here without fighting? I wondered while clenching my fists tighter around my twin swords.

When I cut the head off that one, it felt like it cut through, but at the same time, it didn't as if I cut through a ghost. If they are ghosts, then I'm glad I can cut through them. 

Speaking of cutting through, I looked over to the one I killed. It wasn't there anymore. Instead, there was ash.

That one wasn't strong. Low-class, if I would guess, but what about the others coming closer with each second that passed? Are they stronger, or are they at a similar level of strength?

I let out a deep breath and got into position to fight. If the others are of similar strength, then this would be easy.

Not even a minute later, I was surrounded by what I'm going to assume are Wraiths coming out of the forest. More than a hundred of them, all of them were weak, but a few felt like they had the strength of a mid-class.

"AGRSKREEEEEE!!!"

"AGRSKREEEEEE!!!"

"AGRSKREEEEEE!!!"

The more I heard them, the more the voices in my head intensified as if my mana was getting lower and lower, but when I checked, it was full, so it was slightly unsettling that the Wraiths could influence my curse.

'Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL,'

The voices in my head slowly started overpowering the voices of the Wraiths, and my blades pulsed a crimson-red color for a moment before returning to their original white and black. 

Or maybe it was my vision that turned red for a moment?

My killing intent momentarily leaked out, but I quickly got a hold of myself and reeled it in. 

I need to get rid of them before I lose control!

My lips turned slightly upwards at the thought of killing the Wraiths before me. 

I augmented my body and reinforced my blades, then the next moment, I was next to one of the Wraiths, my right arm already swinging at it. The Wraith was too slow; it was sliced into two before it could even notice.

As soon as the other Wraiths realized that one of their own had been defeated, it was already too late. I swiftly pivoted my body, and my sword swung in an arc, easily cutting down three more Wraiths while my other blocked an attack from behind.

The black surroundings, as well as the Wraiths, flashed a crimson-red color for a while, and the smile on my face slowly started turning into what many would consider something an insane person would show.

I bit my lips until I could taste the blood. I need to quickly finish them off. Their presence had a bad effect on my curse.

I already killed one of the mid-class Wraiths; I should get rid of the other mid-class first before I take care of the weaker ones.

I pushed more mana into my legs to increase my speed even more and dashed towards another mid-class Wraith.

My speed was much faster, and I easily cut down the Wraith. With each kill, I tried to move faster and faster to kill the other Wraiths. My legs felt like they were set on fire as I pushed more and more mana into them. 

I don't know if it was due to me wanting to end this quickly or if it was the curse that made me not care about the pain that increased with every step, but I continued.

  "Hahaha..." I let out a laugh as I managed to split multiple of the Wraiths in one go.

I needed to deal with them as more Wraiths appeared each minute quickly, and my mind became more clouded.

My consciousness started clicking multiple times as I couldn't remember bits of the fight; at one point, I was dashing towards one of them; at the other, I was standing close to multiple Wraiths disintegrating into ash.

But in between the times I blanked out, there was something that happened. I was moving with a burst of speed that made it look like an almost instant, short-range movement.

How am I doing that? I wondered, but my mind couldn't focus on how my body performed the technique. 

I don't know how much time passed, but when the number of Wraiths started decreasing, I could feel myself returning to my senses. I tried to do that technique again, but it didn't work. The more I tried to perform it, the more my legs ached.

"How did I do it?" I voiced my thoughts out loud while trying to remember what I was feeling when performing that technique.

I looked around. I was surrounded by ashes from the Wraiths I killed with no others in sight. Everything was quiet. The only thing I heard was my heavy breathing. 

While the Wraiths weren't strong, their sheer number tired me physically. My mana was 3/4 full and would replenish in a couple of hours, so I decided to take a moment to catch my breath and see if I could find something here and, if not, then a way out of here.

...

..

.

Ten minutes later, I decided to see if I could find something in this dead wasteland filled with Wraiths and probably more and stronger creatures.

Right now, it would be easier if I had my wings and could fly up to see everything from above, but I didn't have that luxury anymore.

I looked at the dead trees surrounding me. The branches would snap if I tried to stand on them, but the trunk should be strong enough, even if it looks dead.

I walked towards the biggest tree and looked at my twin swords, "While I don't want to use you like this, I don't have any other choice." I said to the blades as if they could understand me before plunging one of them into the trunk high enough to see if it would hold my weight.

I dangled there for a minute or two before deciding to go higher. 

After climbing high enough to see outside of the dead forest I was in, I observed my surroundings to see if anything stood out, and it did.

Thanks to my augmented eyes, I could see something that looked like a castle about 15 kilometers away.

I did another scan of my surroundings just in case so I didn't miss anything, but the castle was the only thing that stood out in this place. 

"Then the castle is my next destination," I said and climbed down the tree. I could probably jump down without receiving any injuries, but I didn't want to risk it.

The moment I was on the ground again, I didn't waste any more time and started walking towards the castle, ensuring nothing wasn't anything close to me.

How did I do it? I thought about how I managed to create the almost instant, short-range movement technique. 

While walking closer, I tried to use it again, but I felt something was missing. A crucial part that would allow me to activate the technique. 

I tried to remember the feeling while performing it. It was hard due to my condition then, but I'm sure I could recreate it with enough time.

...

..

.

A while later, I could see the castle in front of me. During the whole time, I couldn't remember what I was missing from the technique, but I didn't have time to think more about it.

The castle in front of me was a castle that, if I looked closer, could be the Dún Scáith. It was similar to the Dún Scáith castle ruins I searched before, but this one wasn't in ruins.

Once I was close to the castle, I didn't come across any other Wraiths. It's like they are avoiding this place, and I can't say I'm surprised. This place gives off a feeling that makes me want to turn around and not come closer to it.

Now, I'm almost one hundred percent sure that this place I'm in is the Land of Shadows.

As I walked closer, I didn't notice the breath I was holding in as the gates opened themselves in front of me, "Well, that's..."

Deciding not to finish my sentence, I stepped inside and heard the gates close themselves.

"Must be magic..." I told myself, hoping there weren't invisible ghosts or something similar here doing it.

I didn't know where exactly I should go, so I went where my instincts told me it was most dangerous.

A normal person would go the other direction, but from my perspective, this place was owned by the person who would be the most dangerous here.

...

..

.

It didn't take long before I stepped inside a large hall, and there stood an extremely beautiful woman with long purple hair and red eyes, wearing a full-body outfit that highlighted her body and metallic shoulder pads.

On her back was a red spear that emanated such a strong bloodlust, making me gulp nervously. She wasn't even holding it, and it was so intense! I was scared of what it would feel like if she fought with it.

She looked at me with her red eyes that seemed to be able to look through my soul and slowly walked towards me. Her footsteps echoed through the empty and quiet hall. 

With each step she took, I felt like this was a mistake and I shouldn't even have tried coming to this place. She didn't even speak a single word, just walked towards me, and I got this feeling.

When she got close enough that she could easily strike me with her spear, I involuntarily took a step back. The moment I did, I'm certain a small smirk formed on her face before she quickly returned to her neutral expression.

But she still didn't say anything; instead, she walked around me several times before stopping in front of me again.

"I expected more from you," She said in an almost bored tone. 

My eyes widened slightly, "Wh... You know me?" I asked.

"I have often predicted the future and knew you would come here one day." She replied.

"Then can-" I wanted to ask her if she could help me with my curse, but she stopped me.

"If you want anything from me, you must first prove you are worthy of my time."

I didn't say anything for a while, thinking over what she said. The way she said it, I can't be certain she knows how to help me with my curse. 

She said that if I prove my worth, she will tell me if she knows. Is this worth risking my life? Then again, it could be worse if I don't do what she says. She could kill me here or just don't let me leave this place.

"Then what do I need to do to prove my worth?" I asked.

Her lips turned upwards into a small smirk, "Go east from the castle. There will be a Wraith I want you to kill." 

"How will I know what Wraith you want me to kill?" I asked.

"Oh, don't worry, it stands out, you can't miss it... Now then, off you go." 

I nodded, and after a moment, I turned around to leave the castle before I stopped in my tracks, "Umm... Where exactly is east?" I asked.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but this place has a pitch-black sky without stars or a moon, and I don't have a compass.

She sighed disappointedly and pointed to her left, "That way..." 

"Thanks..." I replied awkwardly before leaving quickly while feeling embarrassed. 

It must be my body affecting me. I tried to tell myself while quickly making my way out of the castle. 

...

..

.

The moment I stepped outside the castle, I let out a deep sigh before looking towards the east, "Kill a Wraith, and it's impossible to miss it, huh?" I said out loud.

This is a test made by her, so the Wraith I'm supposed to hunt down must be at least at the strength of High-Class, but I'm guessing it must be stronger if it's supposed to be a challenge.

Without thinking any further, I augmented my legs and dashed east. While  I was running, I avoided the other Wraiths I could see; they weren't anything I needed to concern myself about.

I continued running in the direction I was told to, but nothing stood out. That was until the ground shook violently, forcing me to stop and try to regain balance. 

What followed was the sounds of a footstep and trees breaking before the ground shook again. 

This continued, and after a while, I saw it! Now I understand why she told me I couldn't miss it!

'KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL,'

As a massive headache hit me, the voices clouded my mind again. 

The power of that thing surpassed even the entire group of Wraiths I fought when I first woke up. The pain made it difficult to stay conscious as the monstrous creature drew nearer, and what I witnessed only increased my fear. 

The colossal Wraith was crafted entirely of other Wraiths. I could see hundreds, if not thousands of them, extending their arms and writhing in agony as they attempted to free themselves.

To avoid being crushed by the giant, I leaped back and observed as the creature consumed the Wraiths near me. The sound of their screams echoed in my mind.

As I struggled to think, the creature drew closer and closer. I could feel its icy breath on my skin, and I knew that if I didn't do something soon, I would be consumed like the other Wraiths. 

But how can I combat it? I don't have any destructive techniques that could eliminate something so massive. I racked my brain, trying to come up with a solution, but nothing came to me. 

Suddenly, a voice spoke to me. 'You're weak! Give me your body!' it said before being overlapped by the other voices in my head. 'KILL IT! KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL.'

My eyes widened as I remembered the voice, and my whole body froze in place. That voice terrified me more than the massive Wraiths before me.

I remembered that voice after almost three decades since I first heard it.

How could I not remember it!?

That was the voice of the demon that gave me the curse. 

Hearing it again sent shivers down my spine, and I almost got slashed by the claws of the gigantic Wraith.

'Give me your body! Give me your body! Give me your body! Give me your body!' It demanded while the other voices were screaming at me to kill.

Why am I hearing its voice now!? 

I started stabbing and slashing the gigantic Wraith as if I were going berserk by the curse. 

No, I knew it wasn't the curse this time, at least not fully. Just hearing the voice of that demon made me think that the Wraith was it, and I started attacking it without thinking.

'GIVE ME YOUR BODY! YOU CAN'T KILL IT!'

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" I roared while using Alteration on my blades to extend them and slashed at the Wraiths that made the gigantic Wraith. 

Slowly, more and more of the inside Wraiths turned into ash, but while looking at it as a whole, I barely did any damage to it.

'WHY WON'T YOU GIVE ME CONTROL!'

"IT'S MY BODY WHY THE HELL SHOULD I GIVE IT TO YOU?! NOTHING EVER GOOD CAME OUT OF ME LOSING CONTROL!"

'YOU WILL DIE IF I DON'T TAKE OVER. YOU DON'T HAVE THE POWER TO KILL THAT THING!'

"IF I CAN NOT THEN HOW WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO!? THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO IS MAKING ME GO BESERK!" 

'I can do more than that!' It said in an almost offended tone.

"Then prove it! Give that power!" 

Silence. All the voices in my head stopped momentarily, and my mind cleared a bit, but I didn't stop trying to kill that Wraith.

Then I heard an ominous chuckle that turned into an evil laugh before the demon's voice said something again, 'Fine, let's see if you can survive using it.'

A searing heat spread throughout my body as every single bone was ignited with fire, making me scream in pain as my blades turned crimson and ignited with dark red flames with a hint of purple. 

"What are those flames?" I wondered out loud; I knew they weren't normal flames. When I slashed the Wraith with it, it howled in pain and stepped back. 

The flames on the Wraith started disintegrating it; they weren't even leaving the ash behind.

That wasn't the only thing that the flames did. While I couldn't hear the voices I usually do, it felt like the flames were affecting me, telling me to kill and destroy everything in my path. 

The dark-red flames around my blades started growing stronger and becoming more purple. The flames started creeping toward my hands, and when they touched them, I didn't feel them burning me. 

The heat was like a warm breeze, but I could see my skin disintegrating.

I continued slashing and stabbing the creature, and after what felt like hours, I could see the center of it. Unlike the rest of the gigantic Wraith, the center looked like a massive sphere made of eyes all staring at me. 

I was coughing out blood and could feel I would die soon if I didn't kill that thing.

I augmented all the mana I could into my legs and jumped towards the eye sphere, ready to stab it with my twin swords. 

I put the rest of my mana into the blades so the purple flames could feed on it and stabbed it into the biggest eye.

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" The pained scream came out of the eye sphere and the mouth of the gigantic Wraith at the same time.

I continued pumping more mana for the flames to feed on.

The eye sphere continued being disintegrated by the flames, just like my fingers and then my hands. 

The flames continued up to my elbow, disintegrating everything aside from my bones.

While everything was happening, I let out a single long, insane laugh that sounded like a mix of my own voice and the voice of the demon that gave me the curse.

I don't know how long it took, but the gigantic Wraith was gone when the purple flames started to die down and turn back into their dark red color.

There wasn't any trace of it left, not even the ash. Leaving me on my knees, the twin blades on the ground as I couldn't even hold them anymore; only the bones remained of my hands.

The last bit of the flames died down the moment my mana reserves dried out.

'Oh, y-you s-su-survived..." The demon's voice said in my head, sounding like it was also about to lose consciousness, and then my vision turned black.

---

Scáthach POV: 

I had a small smirk on my face as I walked closer to the unconscious Elijah before healing him and taking him back to the castle. 

Only his bones remained from elbows down, while many of the organs were also destroyed by the flames. If I didn't heal him now, he would have died.

I remember seeing the flames in my visions before I met him. 

The potential to become one of the strongest warriors, and the purple flames capable of even killing gods and leaving destruction when they are released.

I need him to learn how to use the flames. If he does, then he could kill me.

After I healed him, I noticed his blades. They changed slightly; the tops have become mostly red with a hint of purple. I placed them on his back, where they disappeared together with his broken halo.

If he learns how to use the curse, he will also learn how to use magic...

I sighed, "He will be out for at least a week..."

Good thing I took his ring while he was in the castle; otherwise, he would have lost it. 

I looked at the ring, "A rune would have been better..." I muttered.

---

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading this chapter.

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