Chapter 161 Debt To Repay
For the rest of the days, Vik would roam around the sect to find clues, but he halted that when he started having nightmares about the burdens that the dead comrades had left behind for him.
Vik would hear their voices, telling him why he wasn't taking revenge for them. His mental health was deteriorating because of that, and it got worse when he faced Manji.
Manji also joined the sect when he was of the right age. Surprisingly, he was also very talented and rose to the top fast, just a little slower than Vik. He was currently an inner-sect disciple like Vik.
"Hey, Manji." Vik greeted him with shame. Vik and Manji had grown a bond that transcended the realm of friendship with the help of Manyu. So, Vik was ashamed to face off against Manji, as Manyu had to sacrifice his life to save his own.
And the thing he feared most entered his ears.
"Why are you alive?" Manji's nonchalant question made Vik's heart drop.
Yes, why was he alive? He could have denoted his dantian, sacrificing himself to hold off the Demon Blight Sect inner elders for a few seconds, letting Manyu and others escape. He could at least have done that to repay the huge debt he owed to Manyu.
But he didn't. He ran away, saving his life again. This time, because of his selfishness, to complete his revenge.
"I am sorry." Vik uttered that with great difficulty.
"You know I have no siblings to call brother or sister. But later I found a close friend who I thought I could call, brother. However, it seems that was my delusion." Manji seemed not to have heard Vik's apology, just talked all by himself. Then he walked past Vik while leaving behind these words. "You should have died instead in Grandpa Manyu's place."
Vik was left in that place, contemplating silently.
For the next few days, Vik would drown himself in beer and alcohol, trying to soothe his heart.
That was also the moment his archrival, the son of a core elder who had the potential to lead the sect too, poisoned Vik's soul, completely ruining his path of cultivation.
Vik became devastated after getting plotted like this. He was about to completely let go of his life and maybe kill himself.
But that was when he met someone.
He was at a bar, occupying a table completely, which was filled with empty mugs and bottles. He was about to call the waiter for more, but someone sat across from him.
Vik looked at who it was, as no one wanted to drink with him even if he would pay the bill. So he was surprised to see someone sit with him.
Vik might have become drunk, but he was still a cultivator, so he was able to clear his drowsy eyes and see carefully who it was. His eyes widened as he saw the man wearing their sect's robes and having a familiar face that Vik was having a hard time recognizing.
"Who are you?" Vik asked, tilting his head.
The man before him grew a smile on his face. "It seems like Junior forgot me. Well, that was to be expected, I haven't left the seclusion after so many years. Let me freshen up your memory, I am Odino Glacier, Elder Manyu's eldest disciple."
Vik's eyes widened as he looked at Odino in surprise. "Senior Odino, is it you? I didn't expect to come here."
Odino carefully glanced at Vik and said. "How can I not? When Elder Manyu's favorite disciple has fallen so low that only booze is keeping him alive."
"Are you here to make fun of me like everyone else?" Vik asked with a sour face.
Odino shook his head in reply. "No, I am here to send you on a mission."
"Mission? Can someone like me even be worthy of doing missions?" Vik looked down and mocked himself.
Odion stood up from his spot and put a letter before Vik. He tapped on Vik's shoulder and said with a sigh. "Listen, I am as heartbroken as you are over Elder Manyu's death. He also took me in, like you, an orphan roaming alone in this hellish world. So, I can understand what it feels like to lose the only one who you can call family."
"I.." Vik was at a loss for words, as he could also feel the pain and anger in Odino's voice.
"Take this mission as a chance and redeem yourself. There are thousands of paths to immortality; it is just left in our hands to find them. So, don't feel down seeing the path you're walking getting destroyed. Find a new one, and for that reason, I am sending you there. Go to this place and watch over the town and its people. I hope you understand the path you will be walking and the teaching Elder Manyu gave."
Odino left the bar, leaving behind those words, leaving Vik all alone, looking at the latter before him as he contemplated in his mind what he should do.
Eventually, he came to a decision. Vik picked up the latter and said to himself. 'Let's see what my future will be."
Vik arrived at Highload Town, becoming its main protector. Just after his arrival, he saw injustice and corruption. He wanted to solve this but got stopped by his coworkers, who had many years of experience.
They told him they were from the two overlords of this town, and the sect was restricted to not obstruct in what they do. They can warn them and such, but not completely stop them, or it might spill into something else.
Vik contacted Odino for confirmation and got the same answer.
Vik, calming himself down, just watched the injustice and corruption unfold. He also learned and felt many things these past years.
He also had found his path — the path to cultivate sword spirit in his soul using his sword intent — after years of cultivation. He cut apart the previous soul that was filled with poison, stopping him from cultivating the spiritual energy.
He had experienced extreme pain and various mental demons when he cut open his soul, but he was able to endure it because of all the things he had gone through, letting go of the compassion he had in his heart. He had firmed his will.
For this reason, Vik was able to cultivate once again and see the hope of change.
But the town got invaded by multiple strong guys back to back, and he wanted to stop himself from meddling in. However, he couldn't because he felt he owned this town's people and wanted to repay them.
***
"So, how can I have the thought of leaving without repaying them?" Light started to appear in Vik's eyes as he remembered the path he was walking.
Above the pile of tree roots and branches was Julie, Brustiar, Galibar, the ancestors, and the elders — all are here to defend the people from fleeing — where Fiona and Jasmine could be seen too.
They were attacking with all their might — their strongest of strongest attack — to destroy the encroaching tree roots and branches.
Behind them was a large influx of people escaping alone or with their family members.
Naile, who was running with Niloy and his mother, looked back and asked with skepticism. "Can we even escape?"
Niloy looked back and saw the defenders trying their hardest not to let a single tree root bypass them, but their strength was falling short as they started to get exhausted, which led the tree roots to bypass them gradually.
'Why are we even going to escape?' Niloy thought in horror as he saw the tree roots approaching the people running away.
Not only him, but many others had the same thought; even the defenders felt the same.
'Should I run?' Jasmine, Julie, Fiona, and Kaley, who was also down below guarding the people's backs, thought at the same time as they saw there was no hope.
And at that moment,
Ching
A barrage of white flashes shot up in the sky; that came from the piled-up tree roots.
BANGGG!
Right after that, the tree roots broke into multiple pieces, falling onto the ground.
This sudden change of events shocked everyone, including Nimona. She looked down, raising her eyebrows. 'Don't tell me that cockroach is still alive.'
As the tree roots fell, a silhouette shot up from the pile of broken tree roots, revealing the instigator of this change.
"He is still alive!?" Grelia said with a stunned expression, as she was having a hard time believing Vik was still alive after all that beating.
It wasn't like Vik was out of injury, as one could see his armor and clothes in tatters, his white hair disheveled with dirt stains all over it, and his body that was riddled with injuries and scars.
"Why don't you just die? You always come back alive, even after facing deadly blows. What is keeping you alive?" Nimona looked at him with a stern face, as she wasn't able to understand how Vik was able to always keep himself alive, holding his last breath.
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