Death Heir's Devouring System
Chapter 33: Scent of Corruption

Chapter 33: Scent of Corruption

At first, Azrael thought that the man was lying. After all, if what he had claimed was true, he should have felt the most happy when he was being stared at by the moon—it was of the Genocide Danger Level, after all.

But then again, why would Victor make up such a pointless lie?

’It’s better to take his words at face value and act accordingly,’ he concluded, eyes scanning the gathered Chosen.

Students at the Marked and Proven Ascension Levels were present, their instructors—even principal Arthur—didn’t seem worried. There were some that looked bored out of their minds, but otherwise nothing stood out to him.

He gritted his teeth. It wasn’t like he could just get off the podium in the middle of principal Arthur’s speech on a whim. That could spell disaster.

In his search for any kind of irregularity, his eyes stopped at the members of the other school. Particularly the two that had scored higher than him, Seraphina and Isolde.

Both seemed relaxed. Calm. Not like people who sensed imminent danger.

Until Isolde’s head moved abruptly, her blind eyes locking onto something. Her body trembled, displaying a sigh of worry, as she took Seraphina’s sleeve and pulled her closer in the form of a warning.

Azrael frowned, following her line of sight. His eyes landed on an unremarkable-looking Marked student—eyes closed, nothing visibly unusual.

’Wait,’ his eyes widened. ’This is the first time I am seeing this uniform.’

It was green, just like the ones worn by the Moon Breakers—but something was missing. The two insignias that should have been stitched on both sides of the chest were gone.

Now aware of the discrepancy, he began noticing more. Dozens of people wore similar imitations—green uniforms, eyes shut, lacking proper insignias.

’But what could they be doing with their eyes closed?’

His mind went into overdrive. A second later, a realization hit him.

Remembrances.

If a human chose to undergo the submission ritual, they would face the monster they had previously slain, challenging it again in hopes of claiming the right to command it. If victorious, they could summon it.

But if they failed... the creature would be unleashed into the world.

Before another thought could form, Azrael spun around and grabbed Victor’s shoulder.

"RUN!"

His shout echoed across the courtyard, causing even the winds overhead to fall silent.

Seraphina had already started to move, with one hand she held her sword, while with the other she had picked up her blind companion.

As if on cue, the bodies of the closed-eyed impostors twitched. Crimson trails seeped from their eyes.

They had challenged a Remembrance through the submission ritual.

And lost.

All of them.

A terrorist attack—by mass suicide.

Principal Arthur stopped mid-sentence, his eyes darkened, the ground beneath his feet shattered. The gathered instructors from both schools were already moving, summoning weapons and armor.

The Proven, having experience with dealing with such situations, turned to the closed source of Corruption that stained that normally clean air.

And the Marked, many of them young and inexperienced, felt the shift.

Mighty roars erupted from the spasming bodies of the ones that had killed themselves. They were about to be attacked by the strongest Chosen to exist. _{fre ewe bnove l.com}

But it was too late.

Their bodies twisted, fingers split into several parts. Foreheads tore open, revealing crimson eyes staring at their surroundings. Their jaws expanded, dropping lower than should have been possible. Their perfectly white teeth were gone—replaced by several inches-long black fangs.

Skin changed texture and color. Hair fell out. Some grew more limbs at an alarming rate. Others grew wings several times wider than them.

A scream of plea sounded from the first victim. As soon as the first monster had completed its transformation, it pounced on the nearest Chosen.

The abomination’s maw had closed on the human’s head, drinking his insides like juice—leaving the body dry, a husk of its former shell.

The scream triggered chaos.

The principal and instructors didn’t try to put an end to it—the most important thing was to get rid of the threat. The other ones were running with everything they had, unwilling to face the beings that had appeared in the middle of the military school.

Azrael was one of them, he ran with a pale face, Victor not far behind. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it was about to explode. He had used [Inspect] on the first monster that entered his field of view.

What he saw nearly made him pass out.

Their danger level wasn’t Feral, the ones he had fought against up until now. It wasn’t Savage, the level he was expected to be able to put down after his first Ascension.

It was Reaver.

Each and every single one of them. That made them at least as strong as his instructors.

’We will be fine. They will take care of it,’ he reassured himself, trying to stay calm. The worst thing one could do was succumb to panic in a situation as dire as this.

’We are in the safest place in the entire world. The instructors are of the Champion Level and if my hunch is right, the principal should be at least one level higher—Sentinel.’

Humanity would prevail. All he had to do was make sure he didn’t die before that.

With the ceremony in chaos, he sprinted with everything he had. The more distance between him and the monsters, the better.

He wasn’t sure where he was supposed to be running toward—but that didn’t matter. All he had to do was keep moving. His life depended on it.

But what he saw next drained what little color remained in his face.

On a bench to his right sat a Chosen—calm, eyes closed, uniform nearly identical to his own. But not quite.

’They are scattered around the entire area?!’

He changed his course, his foot stepping over a small branch, producing a crunching sound.

Alerted by the sound, the calmly sitting Chosen opened his eyes.

Azrael used [Inspect].

Name: [Unnamed]

Race: [Mindweaver]

Danger Level: [Reaver]

Corruption Rank: [Tainted]

The body of the Chosen shuddered.

His eyes bulged forward and split. Thin insect legs came out of them, stomping on the ground and lifting the body high overhead. Several more insect legs tore out from his back, stomping onto the stone courtyard.

The hair of the now-dead Chosen fell off, and on its scalp a giant crimson eye opened, landing directly on Azrael.

Without producing a sound, the deadly hunter moved.

Its sight fixed on Azrael.