Mad Hatter's Guide to Clearing The Game
Chapter 81: Ch79. Pain as a teacher (3)

Chapter 81: Ch79. Pain as a teacher (3)

The growl echoed through the ruins, low and guttural, reverberating through the cracked walls like a death rattle. Miles tensed, shifting his stance, his grip tightening around the [Harbinger’s Scythe]. Diego stiffened beside him, his breaths shallow, his body still screaming from Shinji’s torment, not ready for another fight.

’Not now... Please... Not now.’ Diego bit his lower lip, unable to feel anything but the taste of blood from it as something moved in the shadows.

Then, they emerged.

Figures shuffled out from the crumbling alleys and shattered buildings, their forms jerking unnaturally, as if their bodies barely remembered how to move.

At first, they looked like normal humanoid creatures, until the dim moonlight caught their features. Sunken, hollow eye sockets filled with eerie green light, their flesh sagging from their bones, exposing raw muscle and decaying skin. Some had patches of armor still clinging to their rotting bodies, rusted weapons gripped in skeletal fingers.

[Monster: Undead Ghoul]

[Level: 47]

The name burned itself into Miles’ vision, blood-red, the system registering them as Monsters, but these were unlike anything he had encountered before.

"New monsters..." Miles muttered, stepping in front of Diego protectively. "Stay behind me."

Diego nodded weakly, but something about these creatures unsettled him on a fundamental level. Even after everything, after enduring Shinji’s torture, these things made his stomach twist with a sense of utter wrongness.

The first ghoul lunged, followed by many others.

Miles moved instantly, his scythe whistling through the air, slicing clean through its decayed torso. The creature’s upper half separated from its lower body, hitting the ground with a sickening splat, then it twitched.

A grotesque snap of bones realigning echoed in the night as the severed halves of the ghoul pulled themselves back together, grotesque tendrils of blackened flesh stitching the body back into one piece.

Miles’ eyes widened.

"They can... Regenerate?"

The ghoul let out a bone-chilling screech and lunged again.

Miles barely dodged, pivoting to strike again, aiming this time for its head. The scythe cleaved through its skull, the blade sinking deep into rotting brain matter, and for a moment, the creature went still.

Then, another moved, while the first one motioned to grab Miles in a deadly hug.

A horde of them, emerging from the ruins like ants crawling from a disturbed nest. Their eerie, glowing eyes fixated on Miles and Diego, their movements jerky yet filled with unnatural purpose.

"Shit!" Miles cursed under his breath, breaking free from the deadly grasp of the first ghoul.

Cutting them down wasn’t working.

He spun the scythe in a defensive arc, forcing some of the creatures back, but every monster he sliced simply rose again within seconds, as if nothing had happened.

"Dee, we need a different plan."

Diego didn’t answer.

"Dee?" Miles’ voice shook as he glanced back.

Diego took a shaky step forward.

"Wha-" Miles turned his head sharply, evading from a hammered, bony fist that launched at him like a rocket. He struck the ghoul with his scythe in a thrusting motion to keep it at bay.

Diego’s face was pale, but his eyes... They eyes burned with something Miles had never seen before. Determination, yes, but also understanding.

Like he had already known what he had to do.

Like he had been waiting for this moment.

"Dee, what are you doing?" Miles asked, stepping toward him.

Diego exhaled slowly, and when he spoke, his voice carried a weight beyond his years.

"Step back, big bro."

Miles’ breath caught in his throat. Diego never talked like that.

Then, Diego’s body began to glow.

***

A warm, golden light erupted from Diego’s skin, pulsing like a heartbeat. His wounds healed all of a sudden, gone in less than a second, the energy coursing through him making all the pain from Shinji’s torment session go away.

[You have awakened an Attribute: Child Savior.]

The warmth from Diego’s golden aura intensified, spreading outward in waves, and the ghouls staggered back, their glowing green eyes flickering with something almost like... Fear.

Then Diego raised his hand.

[Skill – Major Healing – is evolving]

[Skill – Major Healing – will be converted into Unique Skill – Holy Light]

[Skill converted]

[Skill Description: You have been blessed with the light of the Elusive One. His light, now yours, can heal any type of injury, and it’s highly effective against unholy beings.

A life can only cost another.]

[You have received a new Skill: Sacrifice]

[Skill Description: The blessing of the Elusive One allows you to exchange part of your life force for power, brightening your light to an extent known to only you and the Elusive One himself]

A pulse of golden radiance exploded outward, illuminating the ruins like the break of dawn. The moment the light touched the ghouls, their bodies convulsed violently, their flesh boiling away, reducing them to nothing but charred remains in an instant.

It wasn’t just light.

It was as though a heavenly Sun had descended upon the horde of ghouls.

The ghouls shrieked as the light consumed them, their bodies crumbling, unable to reform, unable to heal.

Within seconds, the battlefield was clear, nothing left but blackened dust.

Diego swayed on his feet.

***

Miles barely had time to react before Diego collapsed.

Diego’s body hit the ground like a ragdoll, the golden light around him flickering before vanishing entirely.

"Dee!" Miles was at his side in an instant, turning him over. Diego’s face was drenched in sweat, his breathing shallow, his skin even paler than before. But the cuts and bruises were all gone.

Aside from his sickly complexion, Diego looked like Shinji had never touched a single strand of his hair.

"The hell did you just do?!" Miles snapped, shaking him slightly.

Diego’s lips curled into a weak smile.

"I ... Saved your ass." he rasped, chuckling between a coughing fit.

Miles stared at him with a deadpan expression. After a few seconds, then, he hugged Diego again, softly, as if afraid to break his best friend.

"You sure did..." His voice was barely a chuckled whisper. "Since when?"

"Just now. But the system told me that I had an Attribute ready to bloom, a while ago. I just didn’t tell you because... I didn’t know what would happen." Diego’s smile didn’t fade, but his eyes didn’t meet Miles’.

Miles’ chest tightened, something deep inside him twisting in ways he couldn’t describe.

He should have been happy that they survived, that Diego had grown stronger. That the ghouls were gone. That his little brother was safe.

But deep down... He was not.

Before he could say anything else, a voice chuckled in his mind.

"Well, well, well... It seems even little Diego is leaving you behind now."

Miles stiffened.

The Hatter.

The voice mused, smooth and amused, curling around his thoughts like silk.

"Poor, poor Miles," it continued, mockingly sweet. "First Sarissa, and now Diego? They’re all surpassing you. Leaving you in the dust while you struggle to keep up."

Miles’ fingers twitched.

"How does it feel?" The Hatter whispered. "Knowing just how weak you are?"

A pulse of something dark slithered inside Miles, a sensation that was both familiar and foreign. A presence lurking beneath his skin, waiting. Watching.

He clenched his jaw, shoving the voice away.

’Not now.’ He thought, gritting his teeth. ’Not ever.’

Instead, he focused on Diego, scooping him up carefully, his mind racing. They needed to get out of here.

There were way too many dangers and uncertainties looming in the horizon as the moon crossed the sky, and Miles needed answers.

He needed a plan for whatever was to come.