CHAPTER 159: WHISPERING DECAY.

As this thought was instilled in his mind, Levi’s heart was set ablaze with unfiltered rage towards her murderers.

"THUNDER CHANT! X20!!"

Levi’s infuriated voice resounded from the sky, forcing everyone to lift their heads to see him falling with a twisted expression; his staff vibrating so much in his hand, his entire arm was shaking nonstop.

It was screaming at him... Release me, let me out, let the world hear your rage.

And his rage had been heard.

RUUUMBLE!!!

The staff roared a couple of meters above the ground, and specifically, above the two elites’ heads!

Before they could even understand what had happened, the two elites found themselves crushed to the ground, their bodies slammed hard!

Yet, this was merely the beginning as the roar kept on increasing in power until their proud crystallized bodies started shattering bit by bit under their horrified looks.

They could neither scream nor move; their death was assured.

BOOM!!

In an instant, their cores simultaneously imploded from the insane pressure placed on them, feeling like they were pressed by a hydraulic machine.

Levi didn’t break their tough crystals first; he imploded them from within, causing their bodies to turn into tiny crystallized fragments.

Thud!

Levi landed in the crater, which was filled with those tiny gemstones, and swiftly rushed off after the remaining three elites, surrounded by a murderous aura.

’Shit! The boy has lost it!’

’I am going to die!’

’Damned shadows!’

The three elites felt their cores disturbed by Levi’s bloodthirsty aura, resembling a demon bathed in blood, coming after them. Yet, Nurah kept them locked in their place, struggling immensely to pull it off.

Seeing this, Jojo and Rayan swiftly woke up from their daze and went after him, their expressions full of hatred as well.

But, just as they were about to assault them, the mirror in Nurah’s possession flew into the air and expanded.

Then, Velmira swiftly walked out while holding Ray’then’s severed head in her hand... His expression was filled with pure dread; no one could tell what went through inside.

Though Velmira didn’t look in the best shape either, wounds and purplish spots were covering her body and face.

She looked ill and weak, yet once she did a quick scan on the perimeter, her expression turned livid.

Sickness was gone.

Her murderous eyes swiftly landed on the remaining golems, and without an ounce of hesitation, she uttered: "Glassway Arts: Severance!"

Tens of needle-thin glass pieces flew in the direction of the entrapped golems and sliced up their energy veins, leaving them crumbling on the ground.

Levi and Jojo followed along, one smashing his staff and the other sending out her praying beads in a continuous barrage until their chests cracked.

Nurah finished it off with a shadow spike, piercing their cores.

As the last bit of light died out in the golems’ eyes, Levi and his friends turned around and sprinted in the direction of Melissa.

Levi knelt beside her first. He didn’t speak... He just stared... at her, then at the broken earth around her, then at his own shaking hands.

Jojo dropped to her knees on the other side, her voice barely a whisper.

"...I am sorry... I am sorry, this is my mistake... I shouldn’t have used my ultimate ability on him... I shouldn’t have pulled back my praying beads... I am so sorry... I let my anger get the best of me... Again... Sob."

Jojo couldn’t even look at Melissa or what remained of her. She just kept apologizing over and over again, fully believing that Melissa’s death was her fault.

After all, she wasted all of her spiritual energy on a single attack while she could have played it slow and kept everyone safe until Velmira returned.

But, Jojo wasn’t normal... Such decisions that revolved around anger always eluded her.

"No... It’s mine."

Rayan stood behind them, fists clenched, jaw tight, breath catching. His voice cracked when he tried to speak.

"I was utterly useless in this fight... I couldn’t help anyone or kill anything. I was running around until my legs gave out... What kind of Daywalker am I?"

Levi lowered his head until his forehead touched hers, blood smearing across both their faces.

"I should’ve been there," he muttered, voice hollow. "I wasn’t... I wasn’t there..."

Jojo wiped her nose with the back of her wrist, trying to hold it in... but a sob slipped out.

Alas, no matter what they did or said, Melissa didn’t move.

Her last bloom... had been her final.

Velmira left them to mourn in peace as she went to check on Omar and Keira, shaking her head after noticing their silent heartbeat.

Then, she stood up with some difficulty; Rhy’tha’s poison was too potent for her... She used a recovery totem to heal her wounds and as an antidote, but it wasn’t enough to restore her strength by even 20%.

If only she had it in her to seal the elites and Rhy’tha in the dimension of Perception, she would have done so... But, her access was extremely limited to it.

She could only take one with her, and she needed to be there with him. Otherwise, the dimension would kick him back to the same place.

If she wanted to brute-force it and take more, her spiritual energy couldn’t maintain it.

"You can mourn her death, but you must not blame yourselves for it," Velmira spoke, her voice bitter, "I have lost many friends and family members to the point I grew numb... To the point, I started to believe that making new relationships is nothing but putting bullets in a gun pointed at my heart."

Everyone remained silent; only Jojo’s sobs and Rayan’s deep sniffs were heard.

"This is the life of a Daywalker... We must accept that our lives will be lost at any given moment, and the same goes for our loved ones." Velmira added softly as she closed Keira’s hollow eyes, "Only when we accept this fact can we live a life worth remembering..."

She walked in their direction after giving a short prayer to Omar and Keira... Then, she knelt next to Melissa and added, "If you truly loved her as a friend, you must live on, so her memory can live forever... You owe it to her as much as we will owe it to our next generation..."

"Now... Who wants to do a prayer for her soul?"

Jojo stepped up and swallowed her sniffs, regaining control over her emotions for a moment... Then, she started her prayer, none of them caring about the fast-approaching nightcrawlers’ army.

"May your spirit find the stream beyond. No pain... no burden... only sky. Ivory to bone... light to light... return, sister, to where all things begin."

She clasped her palms together and uttered one last time, "You bloomed... and we will never forget your blossom... Namaste."

"Rest in peace."

Levi, Arthur, Rayan, Nurah, and Velmira uttered simultaneously... Even Demetris said it with a saddened expression.

But in reality? He was on cloud nine... His identity remained intact as no one would question his survival now.

’I can’t believe this cockroach is still alive... Do I really need to kill him myself?’ He thought, his hand clasping into a totem in his bag.

Unbeknownst to him, Levi was in a hyper-emotional state, making him extra sensitive... The instant Demetris had a sudden shift in heartbeat, Levi’s chilling spiritual eyes turned to him.

When he saw his hand placement, he used his harmonic spine to peek through Demetris’ bag contents.

’Growth totems, recovery totems, protective totems... What’s that?’

Swiftly, Levi noticed a strange skill totem in the shape of a rune ’ᛉ’... He knew this rune was called the Rune of Decay, but he didn’t recognize what kind of totem it was.

This was strange in his mind... Although Levi wouldn’t brag about knowing most totems in his region, his library was quite decent.

’Ash’Kral, do you recognize it?’ Levi asked the true expert, describing it to him.

Ash’Kral gave it some thought and then murmured, ’I know of a grade B totem that fits the description, but it should be impossible for it to lie in the hands of that brat...’

’Why?’

’Simple... It’s not from this dimensional sector, which means the boy has to obtain it from the Boundless Expense... Or.’

’Someone gave it to him.’

Levi’s spiritual eyes turned chilly... He understood that it was near impossible for Demetris or even Mantis to possess this kind of totem.

By the time such a totem entered their planet, it would fall into the hands of other entities, who possessed the necessary intel.

Demetris was far from it.

’What does it do?’

’It’s a silent killer... called Whispering Decay.’ Ash’Kral shared, ’Once invoked, the totem releases a spectral filament of rotting essence... Decay Thread... that silently weaves into the target’s life force. Upon contact, it bypasses armor and physical defenses, anchoring itself directly into the marrow and vital channels. Once connected, each heartbeat causes the thread to rapidly decay tissue, sever nerve signals, and rot the target from the inside out until they drop dead.’

Hearing this, Levi felt a shiver course down his spine, realizing that Demetris was aiming to use it on him.

He always knew that Demetris hated his guts and wanted him dead for upstaging him and ruining his future legacy... But, he believed that he was too chicken shit to act on it.

Now? He realized that he had underestimated how black Demetris’ soul was.

His classmates were dead near his feet, and yet, the only thought roaming through his mind was killing Levi.

’Is he still a human...’