The Slayer Ascension: Cursed and Blessed.

Chapter 72 72: Hunger

Death.

That was all Gazel could think about.

Death.

He wanted to kill. He needed to kill. Killing would refill the energy draining from him second by second. His body was weakening, but the hunger was rising. Rising like something alive inside him.

His mind emptied.

The demon took over.

His eyes burned crimson. A thin, deadly smile stretched across his lips.

With one goal carved into his skull, Gazel stepped out of the room he had been occupying. His movements were sluggish, but careful. Controlled. This place was filled with demon slayers. Surely there would be protection against creatures like him.

Runic circles.

Holy constructs.

Something.

Yet as he moved through the corridor, nothing stopped him. No barriers flared. No sacred scripts ignited. No divine pressure pressed down on his bones.

Was it fate?

Luck?

Or something worse?

He reached the backyard without facing a single restriction.

The more he walked, the angrier he became.

The hunger twisted harder. Every second without blood felt like claws scraping the inside of his soul. He needed prey.

But the place was quiet.

Too quiet.

Everyone must have locked themselves inside their rooms. He had seen the arrays at each doorstep. Breaking one would trigger consequences he was not prepared to face. Even in this state, he was not foolish.

That would be suicide.

So he chose the easier path.

Stray prey.

He stepped outside.

Nothing.

Midnight had swallowed the city. Most, if not everyone, was asleep. The silence pressed against his ears.

Then—

A voice.

Faint.

Barely there.

But he heard it.

His senses were sharper than any human's. Heightened. Alert. Predatory.

Gazel's red eyes shifted.

He followed the sound.

In a dark alley where even the moonlight struggled to enter, a girl was pinned against the cold wall.

Two men held her down.

One looked to be in his early twenties. The other was bald, older, thicker. Their uniforms bore the Shural's badge. One star bronze Shurals.

Protectors of humanity.

The girl beneath them was younger. A teenager. She struggled, of course she did. She was about to be raped.

She was stronger than an ordinary civilian, but weaker than these men. She had no chance of fighting through sheer force.

So she did the only thing a normal human could do.

She screamed.

At the top of her lungs.

The sound echoed uselessly.

The two men were not bothered.

If someone looked closely, they would not be shaken by the vile act about to unfold.

They would be shaken by the girl's face.

Despite screaming, her expression did not change.

It was empty.

Dead.

"You two should stop this."

A voice came from the side of the alley.

A young man leaned against the wall, probably in his late teens. Short brown hair. Unease written all over his face.

"Don't you idiots realize if this comes to light, we'll all be executed?"

The bald man laughed.

"What are you rambling about, San? Relax. We won't get caught."

He pointed at several circular disk-like devices embedded in the alley walls.

"I set this place up. Detection whips can't reach us. Noise neutralizers in every corner. Nothing gets out."

He smiled wider.

"We're perfectly safe."

San shook his head.

"We might be safe now. But what happens when she reports you to the higher-ups tomorrow?"

The black-haired Shural looked at him like he was disappointed in a child.

"What do you think we'll do?" he asked calmly.

"Let her walk free after we're done?"

A dark smile pulled at his lips.

"That would be foolish."

Sanm's voice tightened. Rage bled into it.

"What are you saying?"

The bald man's grip tightened around the girl's wrists.

"To prevent unwanted future complications…"

His grin widened.

"We erase the problem."

Silence fell heavy.

"You're going to kill her?" Sanm asked, disbelief cracking his voice.

They were Shurals.

Saints.

Shield and sword of humanity.

Yet here they stood, ready to commit something only demons would proudly claim.

"Stop being unnecessarily dramatic, San."

The black-haired guy, Rasno, shook his head with a lazy smirk.

"You knew what this could turn into before you agreed to join us. Don't act holy now."

He reached out and grabbed the girl's chest, squeezing without shame.

"You were tempted too. A body like this. Don't tell me you didn't imagine how it would feel."

The girl did not scream anymore.

She simply turned her head and looked at him.

Empty.

No fear. No hatred. No tears.

Just nothing.

"You see?" Rasno said, glancing back at San. "She might even enjoy it. No need to raise alarms."

San swallowed.

"Will you kill her after?" he asked quietly.

He did not want that to be the answer.

He had been dragged into this because of a thrill. Because of lust. Because of stupidity. But now that thrill was gone. His impulses had burned out, leaving only cold regret.

He wanted her to leave alive.

Even if scarred.

Even if broken.

Anything but dead.

"If you don't want in," Rasno said with a lust-soaked grin, "you can leave and go do your own round."

San looked away, disgust crawling under his skin.

I'm sorry.

He said it in his head, not to them, but to the girl.

He could not stop them. He knew that. He was weaker than both. Outnumbered. Outmatched.

He would make up for this later.

Help more people.

Save more lives.

Maybe that would wash this filth off his soul.

The bald Shural stepped forward first.

"My turn."

He unzipped his trousers and freed himself, gripping his warrior with a crooked grin. He played with it for a moment before bending down over the girl.

"Ready, sweetheart?" he asked in a low, mocking tone.

The girl looked at him.

Dead eyes.

"Just die," she said calmly.

The man chuckled.

"You can wish all you want. Who's going to make that happen?"

Her wrists were locked down with hardened earth seals. Same with her legs. Her neck restrained. She was completely immobile.

Helpless.

He reached for her skirt.

And then—

Something changed.

A presence.

Cold.

Heavy.

It swallowed the alley whole.

The dark luminous objects they were using to light the place flickered violently. Shadows stretched unnaturally long. Thick. Twisted.

The bald man straightened immediately, shoving himself back into his trousers.

"What is happening?"

Something was wrong.

All three of them felt it.

Rasno pulled out two daggers from his sides. The blades gleamed faintly under the unstable light. He shifted into stance, eyes narrowing.

San did not move.

He stared toward the mouth of the alley.

What is this suffocating presence?

And the smell.

It was not rousy or nice.

It was not rotten.

It was not anything normal.

It felt wrong.

Deeply wrong.

Unease clung to the air like damp fog.

Then—

Footsteps.

Slow.

Soft.

One step.

Another.

Closer.

Closer.

Each sound heavier than the last.

The three Shurals tensed.

Had they been discovered?

Was another Shural coming to drag them before the higher authorities?

It was not impossible.

And that possibility alone made their breathing unstable.

They waited.

The footsteps stopped.

A leg stepped into the faint light first.

Thick dark boots.

Dark trousers.

A black shirt beneath a long dark overcoat.

The build suggested a teenager.

Slim.

Young.

Ordinary.

They slowly lifted their gazes to his face.

And froze.

The girl remained motionless.

The figure that stepped fully into view looked nothing like a human.

Long white and black hair drifted around his face as if stirred by invisible wind.

His eyes.

Two glowing crimson orbs.

Burning.

Hellish.

But worse than that was his presence.

It did not feel like one voice.

When he spoke, it sounded layered. Thousands upon thousands speaking at once, a deeper tone rumbling beneath them all.

Ancient.

Hungry.

Amused.

He tilted his head slightly.

Red eyes scanning them.

Then he spoke.

"Did someone just mention death?"

To be continued.