Dark Magus Returns

The next few moments for Roku felt like he was in a living nightmare. He watched his men get taken out one by one, each with ease. The warriors struck back, but he saw a fist break through swords, smash through the faces of his colleagues, and kill them on the spot.

No one was able to put up a fight even for a moment. a warrior of this level was someone that should have been known in the outside of Pagna.

Yet the description of such a man didn't match anything in Roku's head.

The swipe of this mysterious man was sharper than any sword, slicing through limbs and dismembering heads.

All Roku could do was murmur to himself, his bottom lip quivering. His legs shaking.

"Stop it… stop it… why, why are you attacking us!" Roku eventually shouted.

That was when he witnessed the last of his squad perish, leaving only him alive. The attacker turned his head to look at him, blood splattered across his face, his hands covered in it, and some on his upper body.

This man looked nothing like a human and was even more frightening than any beast Roku had ever seen before.

The Qi that was coming off his body was making him feel sick to his stomach.

"Please, I'm sorry," Roku said, falling to his knees. "I had no idea a master from another clan had already entered this dimension. If we had known, we would have never entered such a place."

Hearing those words somewhat snapped Murkel out of his rage. He was filled with anger as he saw the dead beasts on the floor—beasts that had cared for him, that had practically become family.

"You entered through a dimension. Is the portal you speak of still open?" Murkel asked.

Roku was paralyzed with fear, unable to think straight. After all, how could a warrior who had entered through a portal not know where they were right now?

Regardless, he pointed with a shaking hand behind him. "Around 5 kilometers in that direction. Two trees cross each other like an X. That's where we entered from."

Murkel was ready to run off and head to where the exit was. Finally, after all this time, he could leave, and this time it would be with a sound mind. He took one step forward, and a strong force struck Roku's face.

When Roku turned around, he could no longer see the strange warrior. Somehow, he had managed to survive it all.

"I'm alive… I'm alive, the master didn't kill me. I have no idea why, but he didn't kill me!" Roku was ecstatic, jumping for joy.

That was until he heard a deep growl. When he looked around through the jungle, he saw several eyes staring at him. Looking up at the treetops, a number of beasts were starting to gather.

Unlike before, Roku had no one to help him, and the beasts were attracted by the smell of blood.

"Damn it, damn it, that master left me here to die!" Roku screamed at the top of his lungs.

He charged forward, swinging his sword wildly, but it wasn't long before he was pecked, pulled, and torn apart by several of the monsters. There wasn't even a part of him left that could be used to be buried.

Murkel ran through the jungle like a madman, and just ahead he could see the large X-shaped trees. He finally leaped onto both feet, skidding across the leaves and floor, and saw the portal lingering ahead of him.

As he approached it, he couldn't quite believe it and hesitated for a moment before reaching out to touch it. He saw his hand covered in blood.

'What did I just do? I completely killed those warriors,' Murkel said to himself. 'I haven't made any contact with humans in so long, and the first time I do, I end up killing them.'

The images of what he had done replayed in his mind. Despite being a Pagna warrior, Murkel had never killed anyone. However, his body had. The images of how the beasts had dealt with the clan members were similar to what he had just done.

'I felt pity for the beasts that helped me and felt nothing for those warriors. I thought there were no changes in me, that I hadn't changed at all. But what if I have changed? Just because I can't hear the voice doesn't mean the beast inside me isn't influencing my choices.'

Another thought ran through Murkel's head. At any point in time, the beast could take over his body like before. It was most likely just lying dormant in him, and then the world of Pagna, including his clan, would no longer be safe.

'Yet I'm worried about a clan that never sent anyone to come after me, a clan that had abandoned me?'

Thinking this way, Murkel wanted to be a little selfish. He had originally entered the portal with hopes of protecting the people from the village. Yet they did nothing. The people who had protected him were the beasts, and warriors had come to kill them.

So why should he care about the people of Pagna when they didn't care about him? With this thought in mind, he stepped through the portal and ended up back in the world of Pagna.

As he emerged, he recognized his surroundings—the hilltops, the large grass, and the flowing river.

"This isn't where the Erupting Fist Clan is based, but it's close—maybe around thirty miles or so. I guess it would make sense for the portal to open up here… and this time, I feel fine. There's no voice in my head; the body is still mine.

"My first stop will be back to the Erupting Fist Clan to get answers as to why no one had come after me," Murkel thought as he kicked off the ground with his new, powerful body.

Soon, he would become the legend of the one closest to reaching the Divine Realm—the strongest in Pagna.