Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

The scream that echoed was unlike anything those present had ever heard. Let alone those present, even those that weren’t even watching the proceedings from a far-off distance felt their blood curdle, their souls feeling as though they were trying to claw out from their very bodies.

It was pain incarnate, hardship and grotesque discomfort distilled into the purest of liquids and forced down their throats.

As painful as the sound was to hear itself, one could only imagine what the person in question was suffering through.

Ryu didn’t just want Silent Quibus to suffer normally. That was too good for him. He didn’t want him to experience the same things as his victims either, at least not in the normal sense.

A man like this, toeing the line between life and death, had long since come to terms with the fact that he would either reach the pinnacle of the world or one day suffer no less than all those that had died at his hands.

It was something that all those of his cult had long since become comfortable with. They were ready for this sort of death.

So how could Ryu give him what he wanted?

The truth was that Silent Quibus had never loved Ailsa, at least not in the conventional way. What he wanted was the experience, the pleasure, of ripping a woman of her caliber down from her throne. He wanted to see what it would feel like to make her suffer, to make her moan, to make her feel true humiliation.

He fantasized about it, allowed it to soak his spirit and calm his soul. It was something he thought about every day, and maybe to him, this was the pinnacle he chased.

To want his wife alone was already more than enough of a sin for Ryu to make a man suffer the worst of fates. But for something like this… he couldn’t forgive it so easily.

So he erased everything that was Silent Quibus, replacing it with the lives of those he had ruined.

Did this also shatter the paths of reincarnation of these people?

Yes.

But Ryu didn’t give a damn. And, this was a Fate that Silent Quibus had long severed for them. These shadows that followed him were none other than their souls. They would have never had such a chance to begin with unless Ryu released them.

That said, judging by their reactions… the pain they had suffered, for a chance at revenge like this, they would give up everything they had.

The level of suffering these people had to endure to produce Corpse Poison was beyond what the concept of humanity itself could withstand. Many of the things that Silent Quibus had done… simply couldn’t be written about at all.

But now, in their own way, through the use of Ryu’s strength, they were earning their path to their own revenge.

Every time one of Silent Quibus’ past lives was erased, it was replaced with the life of one he had killed. He wasn’t just suffering the pain of their bodies, he was feeling their humiliation, he was experiencing the breaking of their hearts, the shattering of their souls. But worst of all…

Again and again, he was brought to that very same tipping point he had brought them to.

There was no way to shut it out. They had become his own experiences now.

They were him, and he was them.

He couldn’t remain indifferent because they hadn’t remained indifferent. He couldn’t close off his emotions because he had made sure to tear theirs open. He couldn’t withstand the torture because he had never failed to bring even the most prideful of people beyond the point of no return.

“Do you feel that?” Ryu asked as though Silent Quibus could hear him at all. “I wonder what will happen when your Cult sees this method. They’re probably watching right now, don’t you think? Do you think they’re feeling a little bit of fear for the first time in their lives?”

Ryu crouched to the balls of his feet, pulling the slobbering Silent Quibus up by his hair. Tears, snot, and pain warped his features. It was probably the most pathetic a Sovereign had ever looked in the history of Existence, much less one as talented as Silent Quibus.

“I’d honestly prefer not to see this face of yours, but I think my wife deserves to, and I think it’s best the world see it too.”

“You see, I’m not a man with a great amount of patience. Today will be the last chance any one of you have to kill me. Because after I leave here today, I’ll be crossing from Quasi Lord to true Lordhood.

“You sent your best geniuses, they died. You sent a Sovereign, look at him now. You sent a God, he hasn’t even dared to attack despite my back being to him. The Heavenly Court themselves descended, and their little mighty tyke got slapped and sent back to his little corner of the world.

“Honestly, if I were you all, I’d be doing my very best to rush here with all my might and make certain that I don’t take a single step out of here.”

Ryu grinned a fiendish grin.

“What do you think, Silent Quibus?”

“… Kill… Me…”

“Oh, no, no, no. I can’t do that. You still have a few billion more lives to go through. You’re only on what, the dozenth or so? My, my… you really have quite some bad deeds on your hands. You really have no one to blame but yourself for all of this.”

Silent Quibus keeled over, vomiting up mouthfuls of black blood. But because Ryu was still holding up his head, it pooled over his jaw and down his body, the scent of sizzling blood filling the air.

“You’re a grown man. I know you just experienced being an infant again, but some propriety, please.”

“… Ki..ll… me…. Ple…ase….”

Ryu smiled a smile that could only be described as devilishly handsome.

“No. I don’t think I will.”