The Final Desperation

Genji felt dizzy, very dizzy like someone had thrown him into a washing machine and set the setting at max. His body had sprung in ways that he had never considered, going in a combination of all cardinal directions. It was a nauseating experience that pushed his tolerance to the limits.

In fact, he would have puked if it wasn't for the dread of what such loose matter could do in this environment. Just the thought of that compelled him to endure with everything he had.

Thankfully, this torturous experience came to an end once a slit in space appeared before him. Genji shot at this opening at breakneck speeds and crossed the boundary, ejecting into the rocky ground like a crashing meteorite. 

Upon contact, Genji instinctively rolled, dispersing the downward momentum over multiple seconds. When he stopped, his body was badly bruised, but nothing was broken. Blisters and burns scorned his chest and shallow scratches decorated his skin, making him very sore. 

"What a journey," he commented optimistically as he chugged a healing potion. "That was very clever, Sinclair, but you better hope you don't encounter me anytime soon or I will make you regret it."

Genji put aside these thoughts and observed his surroundings. Gone was the ground of sand that clung to his feet, replaced by a rocky terrain that stretched further than the eye could see. Nothing else was discernible, making it a stony desolation rather than a hospitable world. Large hills of stone sporadically covered the area, casting large shadows over the landscape.

The air was arid, having lost its moisture for years. His airways strained in this waterless environment, but he quickly adapted. This was a place dryer than the desert, making it actually impossible to survive in. At least the desert had a lush river to nurture life, but this place had none of that, not even a single drop.

On the bright side, the uncomfortable temperature had diminished, taking on a cooler tone. Lastly, there was the red sky, a telling sign that Genji was no longer in the same world. At least Genji didn't know any place with such a dull red as the sky.

"EverRealm, where am I now?"

But Genji got no response. It was very uncharacteristic, which uneased him.

"EverRealm?" He asked again, but the result remained unchanged. "How strange."

It was strange indeed, but Genji chose not to think much about it. He didn't want to get any bad ideas right now so he could only occupy his mind with something else. 

"Come out, Bruce."

When the red nightbane manifested, it looked around in confusion. Master, where are we now? Didn't you get sucked into that portal? How did you end up in this wasteland?

To not get sick, Bruce had shut off his senses during the tumbling in the spatial tunnel. That was why anything past that was foreign to him.

"This is the other side of the portal. Come on. Let's explore and see what we can find."

Bruce nodded in agreement and they started traveling again.

 

---

 

In a distant land, a demon with a loincloth made from animal fur shot to his feet. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the glowing orb across from him.

"How?" Then he calmed down, knowing that it wasn't the time to dwell on his shock.

"IT FINALLY LIT UP!" He roared, his voice trembling in excitement.

The next moment, he grabbed the orb and ran out of his cave, beelining for the distant circle of tents.

"Big news, generals! Big news!"

"What is it?" A larger demon asked, walking out from his tent with an annoyed scowl. How could he not be when this rambunctious demon intruded on his rest? If he had the time to bother him, why wasn't he spending the time trying to bewitch those ants? The more demons they had on the job, the higher their chances of invading again. 

"Big news! Big news! Generals, big news!" He repeated himself, awakening many others. As some of the demon generals gathered, glares full of killing intent landed on the raving messenger.

"What is it, Golala? This better be important or I'm turning your head into my stool."

At this rebuke, the demon shivered in fear. He had seen what had happened to the demons that experienced this fate, and let's just say an attached head doesn't make a good stool. 

"Genera Ikala, it is. Look! It glowed." Golala replied, holding up the orb.

"What glowed?"

"The orb of human detection! There's a human in our world."

At his words, all the present demon generals snapped their heads toward him. Their eyes wandered to the glowing orb and faintly recalled its purpose. Yes, that was it. It had been so long since they made it that they had forgotten about it.

Instead, they had delegated a demon to keep constant watch over it for the slimmest chance of it triggering. And now that it did, they needed to make the corresponding preparations. 

"Hahahaha. This is great." One general burst out laughing, never expecting such a lucky encounter. They had made the orb to assist their invasions, but they couldn't find much use for it. Yet now, it fulfilled its purpose and made their efforts that much easier. 

"Get the army ready. We need to capture him! If we can possess his body, then we should be able to return to that realm and undo the seal. That's when we will feast!"

The general was exhilarated by this possibility. Over the years, they had witnessed the other world's decay and loss of strength. Unfortunately, due to the world seal set by the hateful sages of the past, they couldn't invade in full. Additionally, the seal rejected the demons, weakening them over time.

If they stayed too long in the realm, they would become too weak to return and perish under the dangers. To the demons, such a death was a huge blow to their morale since each instance of summoning took years to achieve. Furthermore, they would lose the intelligence gathered by the demon, making it that much harder to gather information. 

However, all these drawbacks could be avoided if they possessed a human. With a proper vessel, they could dwell in the world for years without repercussions and search for the core of the seal. As long as they could destroy that, they could conquer and enjoy countless resources. 

To the demons, the barren desert was a paradise compared to their world. It might be worse than the golden era, but who said they couldn't nurture it back to that state? The most important part was to control the world and ensure their livelihoods.

But possessions couldn't be done normally. If it was accomplished under the seal's detection, then they would be marked and rendered useless. Basically, they needed to possess someone in their world and cross back over. That was where they met their main problem.

How were they supposed to find such a person? They were the schemers in the dark, whispering to some desperate souls, not a tourist destination. Did the people even know how to enter their world? Also, kidnapping doesn't work because the seal registers them once they cross the barrier with a demon. Trust them, they've tried.

That meant for this plan to succeed, they needed someone to unknowingly stumble into this world. It was very unrealistic, which was why they were so elated when they heard the news.

"Go! Find him. Remember, he needs to be alive. I don't care if he's in a coma, but he can't be dead. Our treasures can heal such wounds, but they can't bring someone back from the dead. We can't risk possessing an undead. Who knows if the seal will allow such a being through."

The demons had waited too long for this and they weren't going to take any chances. They will capture him alive, no matter the costs. To them, this was worth it if they could win.

"You don't need to tell us twice. We've waited for this day as long as you," another general replied. 

"Yes, but we can't all go. Someone needs to inform the other generals and prepare the materials. We need to sculpt the perfect body for our plans."

"Jalak, you stay and gather everyone. It's going to take a few weeks so there should be plenty of time for preparations."

"Just remember to let me have the first pick when we cross over."

"Haha. Thinking of victory already."

"Who isn't?" 

All the generals grinned barbarically, fully agreeing with him. Then they bid their farewells and gathered their clans for a grand hunt.

 

---

 

"This place is as barren as it looks," Genji commented as they stopped to rest. It had been a few days since he arrived and he hadn't found any other signs of life. 

There were the occasional remains of aged bones and torn leather, but they were too old for him to make any conclusions. It was as if this world had experienced an apocalypse and wiped out all life.

Bruce nodded in agreement and kicked the large ribs on the side. The fragile bone shattered on impact, bursting with shards that harmlessly bounced off them. At this moment, Genji got a notification that he wasn't expecting.

[Connection established. Prompts will now be displayed.] 

Genji inwardly let out a sigh of relief at this sound. It had been so long since the last message from EverRealm that he had suspected that he had been abandoned. Now that he knew the communication was stable, he was assured of his return.

2 days, 18 hours, 47 minutes

That was the time he had before he could leave this barren world. It was a decent chuck of time, but Genji didn't have the motivation to do anything. He was stuck in this unknown world and the scenery hadn't changed the entire time. It was still just rocks and bones, making it very boring to traverse.

Instead, he meditated, using this time to practice. It wasn't like he had anything else to do. His initial plans had been disrupted and he could no longer continue his mission.

Hours passed like this until Genji sensed the pebbles around him vibrate. Something heavy was approaching and there was a decent number of them.

Genji looked into the distance and spotted a group of red-skinned humanoids. Their muscles pulsated with strength, stretching their skin taut. These were demons, a familiar race to Genji. He had seen one such being before, but he never expected so many of them at once. It surprised him since the previous one was so rare.

The demons swayed their heads, searching their surroundings for anything unfitting of this world. Moments later, someone spotted Genji and pointed at him. A series of gurgling that encapsulated their dialect resounded and the others followed the gaze. Seeing Genji, they fell into a daze, surprised by their luck, before snapping out of it and charging at him.

Genji understood that combat was unavoidable and drew his daggers. Then he flashstepped at them, taking the initiative before they could surround him. Flashes of metal swept through their bodies, leaving multiple deep wounds. The heaviest of these was their forearms, which they used to cover their necks. 

"They're weaker than the first demon, but their bodies are still hard to cut. This is going to be troublesome."

His daggers gouged into one demon's arms and yanked it aside. Genji capitalized on this opening and launched the demon at the others, crippling the arms and hindering the others. [Curse Bearer] manifested and delivered three quick, successive shots at them, killing one instantly. 

The demons ogled at him in shock, but they unleashed a nightly war cry and steeled their resolve. A large burst of flames exploded above them, signaling to all nearby parties. Genji knew he had to finish this quickly and unleashed a large coating of shadow flames.

Dagger Arts: Flow

The next moment, all the demons froze mid-movement. Their inertia carried them to continue moving, but their other muscles remained paralyzed. As they stumbled, the impact revealed a red line arcing through their necks. Then their heads slid off and their bodies collapsed into a disheveled pile.

[You have slain 23 elite demons.]

[Your max energy has increased by 87 points.]

Genji pulled out a stamina recovery potion and chugged it in stealth. Something about that signal told him that this encounter was only the start of everything. He adjusted his breathing and thinned his presence, awaiting any pursuers. 

Minutes later, another group of demons appeared in his sight. The group crouched down near their fallen associates and examined their wounds. Seeing their actions, Genji knew that the first encounter was no coincidence. 

The demons were looking for something and Genji had the suspicion that it was him. After all, he hadn't encountered any other beings since he entered this world. Putting the two clues together, there was a good chance he was the target. But even if he wasn't the target, he would treat it as if he was. He had already killed some of them and he doubted that they could reconcile.

Plus, he needed some reason to start a massacre and rebuild his stats. So far, he had refined his shadow core twice since the start of the world and he wanted more. From what he could tell, all the demons were at minimum elites, meaning he could make a decent harvest. The only questions now were their exact numbers and how many could he kill before they changed their plans.

"I'll think about that later. For now, let's take care of these guys."

Genji snuck up on them and chucked an empty can. The clang of metal attracted their attention and Genji capitalized on this moment to ambush them. As he moved, his gloves heated up and provided his attack with a significant boost. His dagger glided through their vulnerable necks as Genji clasped the mouth shut. 

By the time the others noticed this death, he had already entered stealth and begun his stalking. The demons were taken aback by the sudden death but they remained level-headed. Genji smirked at this display and threw another distraction. This time, two demons fell and sent a wave of terror through the group. 

Sweat raced down their backs and they gathered together, pressing their backs against each other. As long as they kept their focus, it should be impossible for their unseen ambush to succeed. 

The shattering of glass sounded between them, but the demons had learned their lesson. Instead of darting their eyes at the source of the sound, they scryed the surroundings intently, wary of the next attack. Yet this attack never came, leaving them all unscathed. Many of them sighed in relief, but the leader remained vigilant.

"Ignore the distractions and find him," he ordered as a soft pop came from his left.

The group nodded in agreement and scoured the surroundings, but their attacker remained elusive. This tense standoff lasted for some time, but none of them relaxed their stance, believing that Genji was playing a game of patience. The demons didn't mind this since the more time that passed, the more reinforcements would arrive. 

Once they gathered enough, they would overwhelm him and emerge victorious. They refused to believe that he could get away from such a watertight encirclement.

Yet as these thoughts formed, they realized their muscles felt stiff and their limbs numb. Weakness overtook them, but no matter what they did, they couldn't shake off this feeling. The next moment, they collapsed with heavy lungs and a strained heart. As they lay there, a shadow manifested in their blurry visions. 

"Thanks for ignoring my distractions so confidently. It's almost too easy to poison you all."

Those were the final words they heard before Genji slit their throats and bled them out. When the last demon died, Bruce drained their foul blood with a disgusted expression.

"I know you hate it, but endure it for now. Demons have a lot of vitality and it's good for you."

Despite this, Bruce had an unwilling look. He knew Genji was only getting started and there would be much more blood to come. How could he bear this torture when such a bleak future awaited him? Is there any justice to it?

"How about this, if you can do this, I'll let you eat as much as you want. I'll pay for it and you can keep your allowance for next time."

Bruce's eyes instantly lit up with anticipation. Are you sure?

"I promise."

At his promise, Bruce stopped sulking and became highly motivated. His taste buds are going to suffer, but everything will be worth it. The worse it is now, the better it will be later. Just you wait, master. I'll make sure to empty your wallet!

Genji saw Bruce’s motivation and smiled. He didn’t mind the cost because he was getting the better end of the deal. Even if Bruce did manage to eat at a high cost, Genji wouldn't care. At most, he would consider it the price of upgrading his companion. It was not like he needed that amount of money since he could earn it back with a single potion.

"Alright, you can celebrate later. For now, let's prepare for the guests."

Bruce nodded in agreement and started dragging the bodies into the shadows. If they wanted to greet their guests, they needed a proper stage.

---

 

"Something's not right. It's too quiet," a demon thought as he approached the destination. It had been several hours since the signal was first released, but there were still supporting signals.

All of them were gathered around this area, which made no sense to the demon. Why were they unleashing signals if they were all gathered around here? And why were they still unleashing signals?

It had been several hours and they still hadn't resolved the problem? Just what did they encounter that demanded so much reinforcement? Also, why couldn’t he find anyone? Didn’t a lot of demons come here? Where is everyone? 

Moments later, his eyes dilated in horror as he got his answers. However, he wished that he hadn’t because the aftermath was too terrible to think about. Across from him, was a hill teeming with the bodies of demons. There was so much that many of them were rolling off and scattering into the surroundings.

However, the scariest realization for the demon wasn’t that, but the lack of blood in the area. What could have possibly created such a phenomenon? And how? That was enough blood to fill a lake, yet it all disappeared into thin air! 

The eerie scene eventually got to him and he took a step back. This demon didn't want to continue anymore. Everything was too scary to think about and he wanted to run. Run and never look back. Someone else could deal with this, but he didn't want to be the one. Yet before he could take another step back, he felt a small breeze on his back.

Panic and fear overtook him, but it was gone before it could unsettle him any further.

”I must be too scared. Even a gentle wind is getting to me.”

The next moment, his view slanted toward the ground and a chilling voice came from behind.

”I guess it’s time to end this. I don’t think I can hide the bodies anymore. Oh well. It was a decent harvest at least.”

Then the demon’s view faded into darkness, forever terrified of the unknown.