Chapter 80: 80:The Guilt
Reigns’ lips trembled, and his breathing became completely uneven and chaotic.
Despite the pain spreading throughout his entire body, he slowly tried to stand. His hands shook uncontrollably as he pushed himself off the ground.
Another familiar voice suddenly echoed nearby.
"Reigns... Why... Why did you abandon us?"
The moment he heard that voice, Reigns immediately turned toward the direction it came from.
Fear slowly spread across his face, and the instant he saw the figure before him, all color drained from his face.
Ren was slowly crawling across the floor toward him, dozens of arrows still embedded deep in his back. Blood streamed behind him, leaving a horrifying trail across the cracked ground.
His fingers clawed weakly at the floor while his face twisted painfully with despair and agony. Every movement looked difficult, as though his body was going to collapse at any moment.
On the other side...
Mira stood there silently.
Or rather...
Half of her did.
Her body had been completely severed at the waist. Blood, organs, and torn flesh spilled across the floor beneath her, slowly spreading outward.
Blood continuously dripped from her mouth as she slowly turned her head toward Reigns.
Her eyes were filled with grief, disappointment, and pain.
Spitting blood weakly, she looked directly at him and spoke in a trembling, broken voice.
"I thought of you as a dependable comrade, but you..."
Her lips quivered painfully as tears mixed with the blood on her face.
"How could you leave us like that..."
The moment those words entered Reigns’ ears, his entire mind shook violently while his fingers trembled, and his heartbeat became chaotic and unstable.
"No..."
Reigns subconsciously stepped backward as he stared at the horrifying sight before him. His breathing grew heavier and heavier with every passing second.
"No... I didn’t abandon you," Reigns muttered to himself.
"Didn’t we decide that I would go ahead first?"
"PUAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
Reigns flinched at the sickening laughter.
He quickly turned around and saw Arvin laughing wildly while clutching his stomach.
"Hahahah!"
"Reigns... stop kidding yourself..."
Arvin slowly raised his head and stared at him, his eyes filled with mockery.
"Every one of us knows why you went ahead."
Ren, who was still crawling across the floor, forced himself while coughing blood violently. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Reigns.
"You left us because you thought of us as a burden, didn’t you?"
"You just used us as support. The moment you found your girlfriend, you decided to leech off her."
"Yes, Reigns, just accept it. We were nothing more than a stepping stone for you," Mira’s grieving voice came from behind him.
Reigns fell silent.
He slowly looked around before closing his eyes for a brief moment as countless thoughts surfaced in his head.
They were right.
Everything they said was correct.
He had joined the group because he needed help. He felt too weak to contend against others in the zones.
He was just a novice who could swing his scythe in a brutish manner. There was no elegance to his techniques. His Splash Shooters were also nearly useless against swift enemies. All of this put him at a deadly disadvantage.
That was when he found a team that aligned with his goals. They were simple people who lacked craftiness. They were easy to trust and rely on.
But once he found Nyxara, he felt that they would only slow him down.
So they weren’t wrong when they said he had abandoned them.
"So you accept it, right?" Arvin asked in a mocking voice before suddenly screaming.
"We died because of Reigns!"
"We died because of you!"
At the side, Ren and Mira also began screaming along with him.
"You left us behind!"
"You abandoned us!"
"Because of you, we died like dogs!"
Their voices echoed from every direction while their faces twisted with pain and hatred.
Soon, the entire scene changed.
Reigns watched helplessly as they were brutally slaughtered by monsters one after another.
Blood splashed everywhere.
Their screams filled the surroundings.
Ren desperately tried to fight back before being torn apart.
Mira cried out in agony as blood covered her entire body.
Arvin screamed furiously while countless monsters ripped into him.
Reigns could only stand there, frozen.
His voice slowly broke apart as guilt exploded violently inside his chest, poison spreading through his entire body like poison.
The faces of his dead companions...
Their screams and desperate struggle to survive...
Everything replayed repeatedly inside his mind while the horrifying memories refused to stop.
And the worst part was that a part of him truly believed their words.
Reigns stood there, weighed down by guilt, feeling heavy when countless pairs of hands suddenly erupted from the cracked ground beneath him.
"Since you led us to death, it’s only right that we do the same."
The ground split apart completely as countless pale hands emerged and grabbed his legs, waist, and arms before slowly dragging him downward.
At the sides, Arvin, Ren, and Mira continued screaming at him endlessly.
"Come with us!"
"You don’t deserve to live!"
"You should die with us!"
Their horrifying voices echoed nonstop as the hands dragged Reigns deeper and deeper underground.
But Reigns didn’t resist.
He simply lowered his head and allowed his body to sink until half of his waist disappeared beneath the dark abyss below.
"I was wrong."
The words slowly left his mouth.
"I know I was wrong to think only of myself and go ahead."
Mira’s grieving voice echoed again.
"Yes... accept it and submerge with us."
A pale hand slowly stretched toward Reigns’ face.
Its bloodied fingers moved closer and closer and were just about to touch him when suddenly...
CRACKLE!
A spark of lightning suddenly exploded from Reigns’ body.
The hand instantly froze.
"I was selfish, but that doesn’t mean I had ill intentions."
Reigns slowly opened his eyes.
The guilt that had filled them moments ago was replaced with a flash of unwavering resolve.
"I am not the reason behind your deaths, nor did I abandon you. I simply wanted to grow stronger. Since when is it wrong to aspire to become stronger?"
Lightning crackled faintly around his body.
"Yes, I leeched off you at times, but that didn’t mean I didn’t contribute. In fact, I was one of the leading warriors in your battles."
