11. Raising Children

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Within the shadows, I found the entrance to the alternate dimension.

It was incredibly grim. Layers of black corpses were piled dozens of meters high, forming pillars and walls. Worms within the remains peered at me, attempting to ambush me, forcing me to use my Mind Blades to survive.

This was not a confined space, but an outdoor ritual site. I beheld a black sky, bizarre birds, clouds that resembled human faces, and indistinct stars. I felt as though I were in a dream, yet I was struck by the sheer reality of it. This was not the result of spatial overlapping; I had truly arrived in the alternate dimension where the demons resided.

When space overlaps, it feels like a phantasmagoric dream, but now, I was in a dreamlike reality.

I cannot describe the specific sensation; I was completely captivated by this terrifying and exotic landscape.

Fortunately, I still remembered my mission.

The small white demons lost their ability to vanish at will here. I caught up to them without effort and pierced their skulls. They died like three-year-olds wrapped in bandages, yet I was the one who killed them. My heart wavered, but I forced myself to remain resolute.

Suddenly, screams erupted from above the corpses. Purple-skinned women descended from the sky, attacking me with ferocity. Their hands and feet were like the tentacles of black octopuses, yet their features were remarkably beautiful. I wielded my lightning sword, electricity surging, and struck them, forcing them to retreat in pain. They were powerful, however, and did not sustain significant injuries.

Their arms were covered in hard scales, and when swung, they acted like iron whips—swift and heavy, enough to shatter the bones of the white demons. I moved constantly, dodging repeatedly. I was hit a few times, and the defense of my Iron Lotus was nearly broken. At the same time, I had to be wary of the worms.

Thanks to my agility, even while surrounded and intercepted, I found an advantageous position. By chance, they lined up, and I focused my will to unleash the God-Slayer Mind Blade. When their chests were pierced, their screams sounded like the mournful north wind.

In an instant, they all fled. The corpses returned to silence, the worms fell into a slumber, and the labyrinth of remains finally settled.

I heard human wails and headed toward the sound. At the end of a wall of corpses, I saw some victims and quickly realized they were the men from Wailing Village.

I hid behind a tree to observe more closely—they were bound to the trees by black tentacles, and more purple women were feeding them worms. The men’s bellies were distended, swollen with membranes containing the fetuses of those small white demons. Occasionally, a membrane would rupture, and a purple woman would rush to cradle the newborn white demon, her face filled with maternal tenderness as she stroked and cared for it.

The men did not die after giving birth. Another purple woman approached one of them and embraced him tightly, and the man actually let out a cry of joy.

My heart raced, a mixture of fear and intrigue—these purple succubi captured men to use them to produce these space-manipulating demons. It was the exact opposite of human reproduction; the males gave birth, much like... like seahorses.

A man drifted down from a tree. His skin resembled black bandages, and where his face should have been, there were no features, or perhaps they were hidden beneath the wrappings.

He said, "They are very happy, and also very painful. Do you know what I mean?"

Had he discovered me? I did not answer.

He pinched the cheek of a man from Wailing Village and said, "When a man and a woman are together, the man is happier than the woman, but the pain of childbirth is borne by the woman. That is unfair, don't you think? Intruder?"

He truly knew I was here.

I shouted, "Are you Sokan?"

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Sokan replied, "Ah, I did not expect you to know me. That truly flatters me."

I said, "Why are you tormenting Wailing Village? Can you show some mercy? Your territory is here, and they have nothing to do with it."

Sokan said, "When you know nothing of a matter, any presumptive comment seems foolish, intruder."

I said, "Then tell me, perhaps I can help you solve your troubles and find a middle ground." Alone, I could never overcome so many purple demonesses. In this situation, I had to resort to the mysterious power known as the "talk-no-jutsu."

Sokan gripped the hand of a purple demoness and pulled her away from a man. He shattered the man's skull with a single punch. The man let out a foolish wail, and the worms spat saliva to repair his injuries. Sokan laughed heartily and said, "They are merely tools for reproduction. The worms will not let them die."

Seeing him torture them, I was not particularly angry, as I was certain these men were enjoying it—suffering a little was deserved. Isn't there a saying? "Better to die under the peony flower; a hero even in death."

Sokan said, "Thirty years ago, I was born in Wailing Village. My father was a mortal from the village, and my mother was one of these purple ladies."

I was deeply shocked, not expecting such an origin.

Sokan said, "My mother was a demoness who strayed into Wailing Village. They could 'use' her and humiliate her at will. When not in this plane, she lacked the strength to resist, and her method of reproduction was the same as humans. But she died after giving birth to me. I saw my mother for the last time, yet I do not know which bastard my father was."

He continued, "Look at this monstrous form of mine. I should have died, too, but a benefactor saved me. He brought me here and let me understand my heritage and these purple ladies. He said his name was Smith, a Kindred. Have you heard of him?"

I said, "I have. Smith seems to be one of the ancestors of the Kindred. That is great, truly great."

The bandaged skin on Sokan’s face parted, revealing a pale face. He asked, "Why is it great?"

I said, "I have heard of Smith, and you... also know him. We have a common topic; isn't that... good?"

I was just making conversation, but being thick-skinned enough to engage in awkward small talk is a skill in itself.

Sokan said, "It is not good, because you come from Wailing Village. My oath compels me to kill every man in Wailing Village, for any one of them could be my father, and more so because every one of them is inevitably my enemy."

I hurriedly said, "I can make them compensate you, how about that? I see you have suffered for thirty years; you deserve at least thirty million in credit. But they are very poor right now; could they pay it off in installments over thirty years? You could even charge interest..."

He grabbed a rigid corpse, and the worms within it turned into vipers. He said, "These corpses, these worms, are things I have carefully cultivated. They are weapons for killing. This plane is a dangerous place. Do you know how many demons I have killed with them over the many years I have survived?"

I decided to continue flattering him: "I am a novice who has trained for years to kill demons. I could learn much from you. By the way, may I take you as my master?"

In an instant, Sokan flashed to my side and smashed the corpse into me like a war hammer. I blocked with my fish-bone spear, the impact causing my bones to ache so intensely I screamed like a fish being butchered.

Sokan brought the corpse down again. I dodged with ghost-like footwork, but the worms inside the corpse suddenly coiled around my right hand. I gripped them with all my might and shouted a spell, turning the worms into gold dust.

Sokan swung his left fist, and I was sent flying, perhaps ten meters, crashing through a wall of corpses. Blackened bodies tumbled toward me, and I turned into a shadow to escape.

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He said, "Mr. Smith said this is a profound technique of the Lasombra. No wonder you can traverse space. Are you one of the progenitors of the Lasombra bloodline?"

I shouted, "Indeed. If you are afraid, why not just admit defeat?"

Sokan leaped, and the corpse war-hammer struck again. I unleashed "Roaming Cherry" and merged my shadow with myself, making my movements almost as agile as Bella's. He slashed and hacked; it was clear he was a seasoned warrior, but how could he compare to me? I am a martial arts prodigy personally taught by two masters, Orchid and Hellsing...

He used a treacherous feint to smash my back. I spat blood and escaped the danger like a swimming fish.

Sokan flicked his fingers, and a corpse beside me exploded. I was bitten viciously by worms, looking utterly wretched. I raged, "If you have the guts, don't use the corpses! What kind of hero relies on terrain advantage?" In my fury, I used my Mind Blades to shake the worms from my body.

Sokan walked toward me and said, "You have powerful blood within you. It is this blood that allows your injuries to heal; otherwise, you would have been dead long ago."

I knew, of course, that Vasilisa had saved me. My only chance of winning was to escape this pile of corpses and break free from the disadvantageous terrain, but this demon was almost on par with Legan. Even without these corpses, how long could I survive?

I turned into a shadow, flowing like water, fleeing at full speed. But Sokan moved with the velocity of a gale, like a sports car with a brutal engine. Within ten seconds, he was within inches of me.

Let him chase. Once he caught up, it would be my turn to make him suffer.

Suddenly, he swung the corpse war-hammer. I had been prepared; my fish-bone spear clashed with it again. My hand bones ached, but at the same time, the spear embedded itself into the corpse. As we stood in a stalemate, I suddenly exhaled the blood of the Lasombra, enveloping both him and myself, and then leaped away.

He immediately shattered the shadow, and I landed not far away. His gaze swept left and right; Solace and Waste-Bell had surrounded him. It was now three against one.

My retreat was merely a ruse; I had been searching for an alternate spatial passage to lure him into the main battlefield.

Sokan said, "Do you think you can avoid death here?" He flashed toward Waste-Bell, who was closest. He was mistaken; Waste-Bell's movements were fluid, causing Sokan's attack to miss. Suddenly, Solace's hair-needles struck him, but they were completely ineffective. His body was impossibly strong.

Sokan leaped high and snapped the steel pipe we were standing on, then continued his pursuit like a mad lion. We resisted for a while, but we couldn't hold him back. The three of us fled in another direction. Solace shouted, "He is too strong! I never expected this!"

I replied, "Don't panic. Old strategy. You try to trap him; in three seconds, I will end this fight!"

Sokan charged forward and grabbed Solace's hair. I hurriedly severed her hair, but Sokan's terrifying weapon struck me. I spat blood again and fell onto a crossbar below.

Solace said, "Waste-Bell, protect him!" Waste-Bell got there first, caught me, and carried me away from Sokan.

I was dazed, racking my brain for a plan, but suddenly, I saw countless golden rays strike Sokan. The golden light seemed to be a tangible substance, shaped like sharp golden longswords, piercing Sokan and pinning him heavily to the wall. This time, Sokan was covered in wounds.

The one who fired the golden light was a heavily armored warrior. He was not tall, standing twenty meters away, with the Duke of the Sword and Shield Guild's emblem on his armor.