I Only Want To Kill-Chapter 71: Blood Oath

Who is Talia Mariam?

William asks himself. There are only bits and pieces of memories scattered inside his mind.

The long, flowing blonde hair spread on the surface of the water.

Her body, motionless and lifeless, was gently drifting in the lake.

He, standing there frozen with his wide-open eyes, stared at the cold corpse of the one he held most dear.

"Wait... No. What is this?"

William can feel a stinging pain drilling into his skull.

Flashes of images keep popping up and down in his vision.

William holds his head and stumbles around on the ground before falling down on his butt.

"Who is she?"

William says, his voice shaking and barely audible.

"How much do you want to know?" Blaze says, stepping forward and looking down on the dreary William.

"Very much."

"Enough to sell your soul?"

"Enough for anything."

"All right. Let us see who you truly are then."

Blaze reaches out his hand and grabs William’s head.

Inside his soul, a green ball of energy shines brightly.

It is William’s Core so to say. Similar to that of the Crisis Beast, humans also have a Core to them.

But this Core does not reside inside the flesh but is within the soul.

Soul Genome. That is what the System always informed Blaze whenever one of the souls fused with his clones.

It wasn’t Physical Genome or Body Genes, but Soul Genome.

Since the moment Blaze took a look at that word, he already knew the true nature of the Awakened.

Why is it that nobody has figured out a way to artificially create an Awakened?

That was the question that was always going on in Blaze’s mind, back when he was powerless.

This world is advanced. They are able to create pocket dimension, extract power from supernatural beasts and many, many more miracles.

But why does no one create an Artificial Awakened?

Because no one can. The Core of an Awakened human does not exist in the physical world.

And no scientist has been able to cross to this mystical realm of science yet.

When Blaze touches William’s Core, his eyes shoot out green light, and it screams out an indescribable sound.

One that only a soul is capable of making.

And then, Blaze and William are transferred into his spiritual world.

Beside a lake surrounded by fields of yellow flowers, the naive and pure William D’Angelo runs on empty land with the girl.

"She is your sister."

Blaze says in a low, deep voice.

"I have a sister?"

"You once had."

"What... What happened to her?"

William’s lips shake profusely. He is too scared of the answer, but an invisible force urges him forward.

He needs to know. He has to know. For her.

"Your mother killed her."

And then it all comes back to William.

"You stupid bitch! Why do you look so much like him?!

Why is your hair blonde?!"

William’s mother was also an Awakened. A terrifying powerful S-rank Awakened that had completely lost her mind.

She suffered from mental health problems, which were directly caused by her power.

All-Range Nightmare Gate (S-rank).

Her name is Caroline Wright, ranked 7th supervillain in the entire country of Ranas.

William was powerless to do anything to stop Caroline. He watched his own mother murder his sister and then throw her body out on the lake.

The scene that is haunting William to this day, even though he himself may not remember it.

After the incident, the Giants took Caroline away and locked her up, leaving William alone to fight for himself.

This traumatizing experience had an extreme influence on him, causing him to forget even the very event that makes the man he is today.

The cold-blooded, cunning leader of the Nocturnal Animals who kidnapped and sold girls for profits.

William breaks down and begs Blaze to let him disappear from this world.

He wants to be eaten or burned. Either is fine.

Whatever feeling that is better than facing the truth of his past.

Blaze has other plans for him.

Inside this imaginary world of William’s soul, Blaze reaches his hand out to the sky.

The familiar bright yellow light of the Lantern of the Damned appears inside Blaze’s palm.

And then the entire sky turns green. A giant ball of green flame hovering upon the sky.

That is William’s Soul Core. His very own being and the source of this power.

Blaze’s eyes flare yellow also, and the power of the Lantern takes over William’s Core.

Its yellow energy covers his soul entirely.

"You are selfish, greedy and heartless.

You do not care for everyone else, William. You only care about yourself.

You were hurt as a child, and so you hurt the world in response.

Your fate, as it should always be, is to die in my hand and your soul crushed in my mouth.

But I am your master now, and I will give you a new purpose.

You are now selfless, caring, and sympathetic.

Sorrow fills you when you see someone else’s misfortune.

Hate fills you when you see evil incarnations.

Justice propels you to act on behalf of the one who can’t.

Now, William D’Angelo, be reborn into my light.

The light of my Lantern of the Damned.

Your name from now on is Snake."

Back in the real world, William is released from Blaze’s grasp.

He is now forever changed.

No longer does William have those distrustful eyes that always cause everyone to be antagonized by him.

Blaze raises the Celestial Contract in front of his face.

"Kneel, Snake."

"Your order is my command, Master." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Here is your contract.

The contract to redeem your soul.

First clause: Unable to fulfill the missions of this contract within 365 days, and your body shall be disintegrated.

Second clause: Your first mission is to find each and every victim of the Roof and make sure they are safe and provided for.

Third clause: Your second mission is to find all your kidnapped victims and ask them for forgiveness.

Fourth clause: You must not do any act of violence or intimidation to complete your mission. The only exception is when you need to protect someone else.

Fifth clause: You are only released from the burden of this contract when all of your mission is completed.

If you agree with all of the clauses above, sign here with your blood."

William doesn’t even hesitate. He bites off the tip of his index finger, blood spurts out from the flesh.

He touches the blood on the sparkling golden paper.

[Blood Oath is signed!]

[Provider: Blaze Singer]

[Participate party: Snake (William D’Angelo)]

A sea of blood pours out from the golden paper and envelops William.

The sickening smell of it disgusts William, but he tries his best to stay cool.

A symbol is engraving itself on the back of William’s hand. Blood seeps into patterns and slowly fills them to full visibility.

[Blood Oath is activated!]

[If any participating party fails to abide by the clauses of the Celestial Contract, they will be punished according to its provided conditions]

A gleaming blood-red symbol is now sitting on William’s head. It looks ancient and otherworldly, a power that no one here can comprehend.

William takes a deep breath. He bows to Blaze one last time.

"Thank you, Master, for opening my eyes.

I will do everything in my power to make sure they are alright.

If I fail to complete this mission, my soul is yours, and you can do whatever you want with it.

If, by some miracle, I am able to finish these missions. May I ask to accompany you as your servant forevermore?"

Blaze nods.

"If you’re able to complete the missions, you can continue to be my servant."

"Thank you, Master.

I will be going now."

"Before you go, take this."

A dark cube appears in Blaze’s hand, and from it, a large amount of zips pours out to the ground.

"These are 500,000 credits. Use it for the victims. Use it wisely. If you need more, come find me."

"I understand, Master. I will do my best to complete my missions!"

William puts the zips inside his jacket. Fire ignites around his feet and propels him away from the crevice.

Blaze originally thought to consume William’s soul, but no amount of punishment can change the past. He had another idea when he received the Celestial Contract.

Instead of wasting William’s soul, Blaze thinks it is better to make him do the deeds that are beneficial to the surviving victims.

That is a better use of him.