Mystica: Reincarnated Into A Novel As A Villain With 3x Reward System
Chapter 28: Kill Astrea

Chapter 28: Kill Astrea

[Unhuman Mission-05]

Mission Title: Kill Your Friend, Astrea Nyxbourne

Description:

Your task is to kill Astrea Nyxbourne, your friend. The mission may seem unbearable, but failure will result in severe consequences.

Failure Penalty:

If you fail, you will lose your human heart, and your humanity will slowly fade away.

Time Limit: 1 hour.

..

[Notifications-3]

’Holy Smokes....hell... How am I supposed to complete this? And what does it mean by ’lose human heart’? Does it mean death? Or is the system wording it like this to mess with me? Damn it... There’s no way out of this, is there?’

Though his thoughts were racing, Astrea’s voice brought him back to the present.

"Why are you just standing there? Are you okay?" With her brows knitted in worry, she inquired.

The professor’s loud, authoritative voice pierced the atmosphere before Arvian could reply.

"Everyone, you may now enter the dungeon path! Be careful, and don’t go too far ahead, or you’ll lose sight of the instructors!"

As they hurried to the dungeon’s entrance, the students’ voices echoed with excited cheers.

Arvian, however, remained still. Still caught up in his thoughts about the system message, he inhaled deeply.

"Hey, Astrea," he said finally. "You go ahead. I’m not feeling well. I’ll enter later with the professors."

Astrea looked at him, confused. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Arvian nodded, turning to Jaxyn and Lioren. "You two go as well. I’ll catch up soon."

After exchanging glances and nodding, Jaxyn and Lioren went into the dungeon with the others.

As Arvian watched them disappear into the portal, he clenched his fists. ’This... This is going to be a problem..’

Scrolling through the unread system notifications made Arvian’s heart skip a beat, and every one made his blood chill.

[Cry On Feet! You have become a vessel for The Bloody Demon King—Zaryx.]

[You can lose control at any time...]

He was out of breath when the words hit him like a wave. He made an effort to concentrate, but the message was weighing him down.

[If you want to use Zaryx’s power for an unhuman mission, be warned... The more he takes control of your body, the more power he will gain over you.]

Arvian balled his fists, trying to focus his thoughts. ’Hell..how is this possible....Dang...This is bad. This is really bad.’

Before he could gather his thoughts, another message popped up.

[Oops! The Bloody Demon King wants to take control of you. He wishes to complete the unmission...]

Arvian’s breath caught in his throat. He could sense Zaryx’s stifling presence attempting to advance inside of him. It was an unfamiliar, icy, and perilous sensation.

’.....’

Fighting the overwhelming urge to let go and let Zaryx take over, he gritted his teeth. The battle inside him had only just begun.

Arvian’s hands, feet, arms, legs, and even his head began to feel warm, and the sensation spread throughout his body. ’What is this...’ he thought, trying to make sense of the strange feeling washing over him.

Suddenly he felt a strong impulse to move, and he ran mindlessly in the direction the others had gone.

He was truly afraid that the professors and students would perceive him as Zaryx if he lost control now. Worse, they might attempt to kill him or even suffer injuries because they believed he posed a threat.

His instinct to avoid people overrode his uneasiness and uncertainty about what was going on inside of him.

He saw the students battling smaller monsters that had emerged from the dungeon as he got closer to them. He felt detached from the chaos around him, as though he had lost complete control over his own behaviour.

Then, everything went black.

He felt as if he were falling into the water, the coldness consuming him. In the distance, he saw a bright light, but it seemed so far away. His body suffocated as he struggled to breathe, but something inside of him persisted in the face of panic. He couldn’t tell whether it was fear or something else—he just couldn’t stop.

Arvian’s body was completely under Zaryx’s control again. His appearance returned to that of his monstrous self, his flame-red eyes and swirling lines of terror. But underneath that face, Arvian’s body was still there, entangled in their conflict.

No one noticed the change. Everyone was too focused on fighting the monsters that had appeared in the dungeon.

In a flash, Zaryx disappeared, vanishing into the shadows. He moved quickly, scaling the upper wall of the dungeon, hidden from everyone’s sight.

Arvian, meanwhile, was sinking deeper and deeper into the shadows of his own thoughts. He could now clearly see the dungeon through the light in the distance. The realization that he had lost all control of his body came to him with a sinking feeling. Arvian could do nothing to stop Zaryx from taking control now.

Zaryx, having chosen his targets, swiftly disappeared from the upper wall of the dungeon. In an instant, he reappeared behind a student who had just defeated one of the monsters.

Zaryx growled menacingly and drove his claws through the student’s chest and deep into his back. As they ripped through the student’s body, the claws were plainly visible.

Then, Zaryx opened his mouth, sinking his teeth into the student’s neck. The body was rendered lifeless as he drained the last of the freely flowing blood.

When the other students saw the gory scene, they screamed in horror.

Without wasting time, Zaryx moved on. He dug his claws deep into the flesh of another student, but this time he did not drain the blood. His eyes locked onto Astrea.

Before he could reach her, Jaxyn appeared beside her, rushing to protect her. However, Zaryx was too powerful, and Jaxyn was quickly overpowered and knocked aside.

Lioren tried to step in, facing Zaryx in an attempt to protect their friends. For a brief moment, they were able to hold their ground, but exhaustion took its toll, and soon Lioren, too, was beaten and left struggling on the ground.

Just as hope seemed lost, a mysterious figure emerged from the shadows. Likely a student, he spoke with a confident, almost mocking tone, "Everyone, thank you for your hard work in saving Astrea-san."