บท 28: The Final Test
Atenzi stepped into the grand chamber, its ceiling lost in shadows. Black marble pillars rose high, and the floor showed scenes of ancient battles.
At the far end stood a powerful figure on a shiny black platform. Atenzi grinned as he walked in, his eyes fixed on the stranger.
Every muscle in his body tensed, ready for action.
"Welcome, Atenzi of the Sovereign Lands," the figure said in a deep voice. "Or should I say, Oni no Atenzi?"
The figure was a vampire unlike any Atenzi had seen. Tall and strong, with dark skin and glowing eyes. He wore armor that seemed to swallow light.
"I am Thanatos," the vampire said, pulling out a huge sword. "Captain of Queen Báthory's Black Guard. I'm your final test."
Atenzi's response was a low, animalistic growl.
Words seemed unnecessary, primitive.
All that mattered was the fight to come.
Without warning, Atenzi launched himself forward, his blade singing through the air.
They clashed in a fierce battle. Atenzi moved incredibly fast, his sword everywhere at once.
Thanatos matched him blow for blow, his strength clear in every move
They danced across the chamber, their duel more akin to a force of nature than a mere fight.
As they fought, Atenzi felt himself sinking deeper into the embrace of his newfound identity and power.
The last shards of his old self, the idealistic young man who had entered the maze, were burning away in this lethal battle.
*MORE,* the voice in his head demanded. *SHOW HIM TRUE POWER.
SHOW HIM WHO IS THE REAL PREDATOR HERE.*
With an animalistic scream, Atenzi redoubled his assault.
His blade moved in patterns that defied human logic, weaving slashes that even Thanatos struggled to defend against.
Blood flowed freely from dozens of cuts on both combatants, but neither showed any sign of slowing.
If anything, the wounds seemed to drive them to greater heights of violence.
As the battle continued, Musashi watched from afar, his face concerned. "This is not the way of the sword I taught him," he murmured. "This is the mix of my technique and Oni no Hanzos technique."
Báthory, observing from her own vantage point, felt a thrill of excitement. "Yes," she whispered, her eyes glowing. "Embrace it, little king.
Show me the true extent of your power!"
Back in the chamber, Atenzi and Thanatos had reached the peak of this duel.
Their blades moved faster than the eye could follow, and the sound of their clashes was a constant, deafening cling.
Then, in a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, an opening appeared.
Atenzi saw it, a split-second vulnerability in Thanatos's defense.
Without hesitation, he struck.
His blade pierced Thanatos's armor like it was paper, driving deep into the vampire's chest. For a moment, they stood frozen, locked together in the intimate embrace of mortal combat.
Thanatos looked down at the sword protruding from his chest, then back up at Atenzi.
A smile, tinged with both pain and respect, crossed his face. "Well fought... Oni no Atenzi," he gasped.
With a savage twist, Atenzi wrenched his blade free. Thanatos stumbled back, dark blood pouring from the wound.
He fell to one knee, his own sword clattering to the ground.
Atenzi stood over him, chest heaving, eyes blazing with predatory energy.
Every instinct screamed at him to finish it, to take Thanatos's head and claim total victory.
But something held him back. A tiny voice, almost lost in the roar of bloodlust, whispered for mercy.
For a long moment, Atenzi stood poised on the knife's edge of decision.
The chamber was silent except for the ragged breathing of the two combatants.
Then, with a motion almost too fast to see, Atenzi's blade flashed out once more. Thanatos's head hit the floor with a dull thud, his body following a moment later.
As Thanatos's head hit the floor, something snapped inside Atenzi.
The last thread of his humanity, already stretched thin, finally broke.
With a very loud scream, Atenzi threw himself at Thanatos's fallen body.
His sword fell on the ground, forgotten, as he straddled the corpse and began to rain down blows with his bare fists.
"Why?!" he screamed, each punch punctuated by a word. "Why did you make me do this?!"
Blood splattered with each impact, covering Atenzi's face, his chest, his arms. But he didn't stop.
Couldn't stop.
The fury, the pain, the transformation he'd undergone - it all poured out in a torrent of violence.
Thanatos's face, once noble and proud, became an unrecognizable ruin under Atenzi's relentless assault. Still, he continued, lost in a frenzy of rage and anguish.
It was only when a firm hand gripped his shoulder that Atenzi finally stilled.
He looked up, vision blurred with tears and blood, to see Musashi standing over him.
"It's finished, Atenzi," the swordmaster said softly, his eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and concern. "He's gone."
For a moment, Atenzi stared at Musashi, uncomprehending.
Then, slowly, he looked down at his hands - bruised, bleeding, covered in black blood. The reality of what he'd done, of what he'd become, crashed over him like a tsunami.
Atenzi stumbled to his feet, backing away from Thanatos's mutilated corpse.
He looked around wildly, seeing the destruction he'd performed, the trail of bodies he'd left in his wake.
Something was building inside him, a pressure that threatened to tear him apart.
He threw his head back and let out a scream that shook the whole chamber.
"I AM UNPARALLELED UNDER THE HEAVENS!"
It was a declaration, a challenge to the gods themselves.
In that moment, Atenzi - no, Oni no Atenzi - truly believed it.
He had faced the trials, had descended into the darkest parts of himself, and had emerged... transformed.
As the echo of his cry faded, slow applause filled the chamber.
Báthory watched Atenzi's metamorphosis, she felt something she hadn't experienced in centuries: genuine surprise, tinged with an emotion she barely recognized as admiration.
The change in Atenzi's eyes captivated her.
She had seen those eyes when he first entered her realm - wary, determined, but ultimately those of prey.
Now, as he stood amidst the carnage of the final trial, those same eyes blazed with a predatory glow that sent a shiver down her spine.
It wasn't just the physical transformation that intrigued her.
It was the raw, unbridled killer instinct that Atenzi now exuded.
In all her years, Báthory had never witnessed such a complete embrace of one's darker nature.
Even her most vicious vampires retained a spark of their former humanity, a hesitation before the kill.
But Atenzi... Oni no Atenzi... he had transcended such limitations.
His movements, his attacks, even his very presence radiated a pure primal ferocity that both thrilled and unnerved her.
As she watched him declare his supremacy, his voice shaking the very foundations of her chamber, Báthory felt something stir within her long-dead heart.
It wasn't love - such a human emotion was beyond her now.
But it was a fascination, an attraction to the sheer power and potential that Atenzi now embodied.
For the first time in centuries, Báthory found herself viewing someone not as prey, not as a pawn, but as a potential equal.
Perhaps even more.
The implications both excited and terrified her.
Atenzi had entered her trials as a man.
He was leaving them as something far more - a force of nature, a being that defied categorization.
And in that transformation, Báthory saw not just the key to her plans for Naaim, but a chance at something she had long thought impossible: a true partner in eternity.
The game had changed.
And Báthory found herself eager to see how it would play out.
She then materialized from the shadows, her eyes glowing with a mixture of approval and hunger.
"Bravo, little king," she purred, circling Atenzi like a predator sizing up its prey. "You've exceeded my wildest expectations.
Oni no Atenzi indeed.
A fitting title for one such as you."
Atenzi turned to face her, his golden eyes now stained with a deep crimson, "Is this what you wanted?" he growled, his voice deeper, rougher than before. "To turn me into... this?"
Báthory's laugh was like shattering glass. "Oh no, my dear.
This transformation was all you. I merely provided the stage. The performance..." she gestured to the carnage around them, "was entirely your own."
As the full implications of her words sank in, Atenzi felt something inside him crack.
The last tenuous thread connecting him to his old self snapped.
With a roar of pure, primal rage, he jumped at Báthory.
But she was gone in a swirl of mist, her laughter echoing around him.
"The trials are complete, Oni no Atenzi," her disembodied voice announced. "You've proven yourself beyond all doubt.
Now, let us discuss the terms of our... alliance."
Atenzi stood alone in the chamber, surrounded by the evidence of his transformation.
As the adrenaline of battle faded, he was left with a chilling realization.
He had entered the maze as Atenzi, ruler of the Sovereign Lands, a man driven by ideals and hope for a better future.
He was leaving it as an Abomination, a being of terrifying potential.
The question that echoed in his mind, as he prepared to face whatever came next, was simple yet profound:
Was this metamorphosis the price of victory, or the first step towards an even greater darkness?
As if in answer, the chamber began to change, preparing to return him to the world above.
To a Bloodmire that would soon learn to fear the name Oni no Atenzi.
The die was cast.
The demon was unleashed.
And the true battle for the soul of Bloodmire was only just beginning.
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