"Phew...it's done." The hooded man let out a breath in relief as he stared at the bleeding figure of Eldna, "Any last words?"
"Fuck you!" Eldna roared as she took her final breath. The moment her stomach organ was extracted, Essencer noticed her state, immediately cutting off the supply of faith to her, resulting in her qualification as a Spirit being revoked.
The hooded man felt weak, for despite succeeding in the fusion of the various powers to result in an innate mutation of his body, he was at his limit. After all, his mind was bearing the burden of the God of Humanity's faith flowing through him.
It had been two years since he had been in this state. It was too long a time.
Even an Apostle would find it difficult to constantly wield faith for more than a few days. But he had been a madman, lasting for two whole years now, the longest among Aggressors.
Moreover, unlike most aggressors, his injuries were devastating. Lacking many vital organs, muscle structures to move, parts of limbs necessary to live, etc. He subsisted through everything using his shadow, and atop that, he targeted the Essencer Guild and even managed to kill two Spirits.
'No, I shouldn't faint, not now.' The hooded man took in deep, laboured breaths as he stretched his concentration, forcefully maintaining focus as he popped in a few pills. He stared at the Apostle, "Do you have any use for this corpse?"
"I've taken the stomach, but there's still traces of faith residue in the rest of her body."
"If you don't want it, then we'll take care of it. We intend to research upon it." The Apostle spoke with a respectful tone.
"That's it?" The hooded man was surprised, "None of us Aggressors have ever been treated well by people of other faith, especially by an Apostle."
"We're only following our Deity's orders." The Apostle said without a change in his level of respect displayed, smiling at the hooded man, "It seems you're supported a lot by the God of Humanity."
"The concentration of faith flowing into you just now was more than what I can accommodate in a month."
"What was that blessing about?"
"Just the usual." The hooded man nodded, his eyes lighting up a little as he took his leave. Originally, he would have consumed Eldna's corpse, for it was valuable research material to further make plans against other Essencer Guild Spirits and even target their Apostles.
But now, he couldn't afford to do so, realising that he didn't have long left to live.
Consuming the immense blessing took an irreversible toll on his body. Even at present, he was experiencing a searing headache while his body's remaining functions began to drop one after another.
As for his shadow, it was weakening rapidly since he was unable to bear the burden of the faith flowing into him.
Bang!
He entered his shack and jumped into the secret basement, his landing not smooth as he collapsed on the floor. The tendrils of shadow intended to act as a spring to cushion his fall broke off into pieces and vanished.
"Haah...hah...it seems my time's up." The hooded man grunted in regret, for he hadn't killed the culprit that destroyed his family yet. He had been killing everyone from the Essencer Guild that he came across, but the one responsible seemed to be at large.
The hooded man got up slowly as he stared at the blinking screen, "The things here are from a futuristic era thousands of years beyond the current technological prowess of this era. If it gets out, chaos would ensue."
With that, he tapped on a keyboard, pulling up a sequence to activate the destruction of the place. That way, everything would be perfectly wiped out and never see the light of day ever again.
The Aggressors were the most fanatic towards the God of Humanity. And hence, the blessings they received also trumped everyone else. Any knowledge in their possession was enough for others to kill to obtain.
So, despite burning with a desire for vengeance, they had also been imparted wisdom to clean up after their mission to ensure the technology in their hands wouldn't fall into the hands of anyone else.
Every time the hooded man left the shack, he had timed a destruction sequence. If he didn't return within two days or if the mode of entry was different from usual, the secret lab would destroy itself immediately.
Every Aggressor followed the same principle. And now, the hooded man was about to press the trigger of his final moments. Despite failing to achieve his objective, full of regrets, he had no other choice.
"Are you fine with leaving things like this?" Suddenly, a voice resounded from behind him, startling the hooded man who turned around and pulled out a miniature railgun that he kept as his trump card.
The infiltrator was just a boy, but the moment he was about to press the trigger, the hooded man muttered in surprise, "Pnolli?"
"You recognised me." Pnolli was pleasantly surprised to see the hooded man prostrate with devoted fanatism.
"Pnolli should be in his late nineties now. Even if he gained enough faith to reverse his age, he should still be an adult." The hooded man said in joy as he stared, "That means, the one before me is you..."
"Your Lordship!"
As obvious for a fanatic, he could instantly guess his true identity, smiling, "I was feeling regret before. But being able to see you in my last moments is all I need."
"You shouldn't throw away the very purpose for which you prolonged your life for the past two years," Pnolli spoke.
"I see..." The hooded man's eyes widened in realisation as he bowed in prayer, "So there was that option."
"I'm envious of Pnolli."
"Future Aggressors would learn about you and be better prepared..." Pnolli spoke when surprisingly, the hooded man shook his head.
"I'm just a helpless victim, Your Lordship. The day I called myself an Aggressor, I let go of everything other than my vengeance. So please, I wish to remain the same." He spoke and stared at Pnolli, "I wish to continue the legacy you created."
"Very well," Pnolli watched the hooded man breathe his last as his body transformed into a stream of faith and surged in him, "You'll be called on my behalf as my Avatar of vengeance."
"The Aggressor."
