?836 Chapter 836: One of them
The Assassin watched as Karyk descended from the sky, his landing causing a small crater in the ground. As Karyk stood up, dust and debris falling from his body, he looked around. A small cut was visible over his forehead, bleeding.
The woman, still standing amidst the sea of corpses, observed Karyk with a mixture of curiosity. She hadn't expected Karyk to be able to survive that attack. Not only did he survive, but he was also mostly unharmed.
Right before her eyes, she saw the wound on his forehead healing.
"So you're indeed one of them," she spoke, the last semblance of emotions in her eyes disappeared. She was like the cold empress, who had sent this entire city straight to hell.
Karyk, unfazed by the attack, patted the dust off his clothes.
"I don't know who you are or why you attacked me, but I want to make it clear that I'm not an Elzerian," he said, his voice steady and resolute. "In fact, I hate the Elzerians as well. That's why I came here. We have both been touched by darkness. We can either be enemies or allies in this forsaken world."
"Lies! All you people do is lie!" The woman's shrill scream echoed in the entire city.
Even though the Assassin stood outside the city, he felt as if his head was going to explode from this scream. His ears started bleeding.
The Undead Beasts that had attacked Karyk came out of the ground, rumbling and growling with menacing intent.
The woman's ethereal light flickered, revealing a hint of vulnerability beneath her calm exterior. She had spent centuries guarding what remained of this place, keeping it safe from the prying eyes of outsiders.
The Undead Beasts flew straight to Karyk, its strength no weaker than the Elzerian King's Sister whom Karyk had fought.
"I told you I'm not an Elzerian. I have nothing to do with your problems! Why don't you believe me?" Karyk asked, barely avoiding the attack from the Undead Beast.
He didn't even want to face this person. He had limited strength in this world. And if he wasted that in fighting these Undead Beasts, there was no end to it.
The woman didn't pay attention to his words. She only looked at him with cold eyes as Karyk dodged another attack.
"Why would I come here alone if I worked for Elzeria? Would I not have known what kind of place this way if I worked for them?!" Karyk asked, avoiding another attack.
Unfortunately, the third time he couldn't completely avoid it as the beast's claws managed to leave a deep cut on his waist.
The woman didn't answer Karyk. She didn't care if Karyk was telling the truth. She had lost trust in outsiders, and she wasn't going to trust a stranger who appeared in her city with such ease.
She could see that even though Karyk acted like an ordinary person, he was dangerous. She knew the strength of the Undead Beast that was attacking him. Even an Elzerian General would've had a hard time avoiding attacks like this.
However, Karyk was able to achieve such a feat, although not with perfection. And that's when he didn't even use any extraordinary abilities. It was just his physical strength that he had shown until now. Moreover, all wounds over his body kept healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Are you really not going to give me an opportunity to explain?" Karyk asked as he moved back, avoiding another attack.
The more he avoided it, the faster the undead beast became, to the point where it seemed almost impossible to keep up.
"Don't blame me then!" Karyk clenched his fist, a pitch black flame burned around his fist.
As the Undead Beast came to attack him again, Karyk unleashed his full strength, launching a devastating punch infused with the black flame.
The punch landed with a resounding impact, causing a shockwave that rippled through the air. The black flame engulfed the Undead Beast, consuming it in an inferno of darkness. The beast let out a piercing screech before disintegrating into ashes.
The woman watched in astonishment as the powerful display of Karyk's strength unfolded before her eyes. Her cold facade cracked for a moment, revealing a flicker of uncertainty. This kind of strength wasn't something that even an ordinary Elzerian General could possess.
Although a General could also kill a beast with ease, but even they couldn't destroy the body to this extent that not even a single shred was left behind.
Karyk took a deep breath as the black flame subsided, leaving behind a trail of wisps that dissipated into the air. He looked at the woman, his eyes filled with determination.
"I don't want to fight you," Karyk said, his voice laced with sincerity. "But if you continue to attack me without giving me a chance to explain, I will defend myself. I'm not your enemy, but I won't stand still and accept death either!"
The woman's gaze wavered, torn between her duty to protect the city and her growing curiosity about Karyk. She had been alone for so long, guarding this place from outsiders, that she had forgotten what it felt like to come across someone like this.
"Prove it," she finally spoke, her voice softer than before. "Prove to me that you're not here to bring harm to this city. Prove to me that you're not one of them!"
Karyk frowned. Although he had an opportunity, he didn't know how he could prove it.
"Ah, that's right." He suddenly thought of something, realizing that he had forgotten something really important. He was inherently different from an Elzerian after all.
He removed his disguise while taking off the mask, revealing his real face. Just his eyes alone were enough to prove that he wasn't an Elzerian.
The woman looked at him with great interest as he removed his disguise. However, the moment the disguise was completely gone, she frowned while looking at him.
