Absolute Depravity: Reincarnated with a lustful System

Chapter 160 160 - Haunted By The Ashes

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By the time Rose made it to the last city in Aria, every other parcel of land had already succumbed to the undead warlock's fury. Flying lonesome at the top of the town, she'd set the plans for evacuation in motion for the demons still living in the city.

'This reminds me…' Watching the carriages fleeing away through the city gates, she took a moment to reflect on a similar past memory. In her desperate attempt to get the dragon slayer's attention, she would consume the city with her flames. Which reminded her of yet another man infamous for killing dragons. 'Curse you, Frost.'

Remembering her unfortunate clash with the primordial Frost, she breathed out a curse and even felt thankful that his bloodline had ended with Haruki's taking over Snow's body. But then, as the image of a fiery inferno flashed in front of her eyes, she felt her hands stained with the blood of the battlefield's victims.

Shutting her eyes tight, she tried to ride away from her memories, however, instead, it only made things worse. Like an arm pulling her in, she was snatched into a dream-like state projecting a collection of her memories.

"Fuck off, will you?" She mumbled.

"Still running away?" A raspy voice replied in her head.

Looking in through the dark with her eyes closed, she saw the pair of pale arms that'd pulled her into this state. Ignoring the sight, Rose shifted her gaze away. But no matter where she looked, the arms stretching from the darkness were already waiting for her there.

"I told you to fuck off!" She grunted and burst into a ball of fire.

Casting away the dark, her eyes opened up to the sight of a crimson sky. Fuming in rage, she glanced down at the flaming battlefront. The screeches, the screams, and the bodies of men young and old running about with their bodies ablaze served as a grave reminder of having once submitted to her rage.

"They had families too, but you killed them all," the voice whispered into her ears again. "I wonder how you'd feel once your children become orphans too?"

Swinging her fist to the side, she caused a ripple of force faster than sound as she tried to hit the phantom enemy. Realizing that no one was behind her, Rose once again closed her eyes shut and tried to get out of this nightmare. But when she opened her eyes again, she found herself laying on top of a bed, with an Azure-eyed man laying on top of her chest naked.

"No…Get off!" She screamed, and the scene changed to the same darkness as before.

"You're a monster, and look where you are? Back destroying cities, exactly as your nature entails," covering her ear to the voice, Rose tried to drown out the voice. However, when the voice spoke again, she knew all her attempts to escape it were useless, for she was not fighting an external enemy, but was being haunted by her own past. "I feel sorry for the children, the children that died because you lost control and set the cities ablaze."

"I…" She muttered, having no excuse to retort with at all.

Reaching behind her from the shadows, the fingers of the phantom hand slowly tightened up around her neck. Tired from fighting it so far, she let herself be choked of all air while ghosts of her past haunted her further.

"This isn't how it's supposed to be," it uttered, sounding surprised by how easily she'd given up. "You are meant to struggle, you are meant to fail, and then only are you meant to die."

As the hand retreated away, Rose's mind was filled with the sight of the villages she'd burned after her fury had consumed her at the battlefield she was forced to be on. The sight of crying children soaked in the blood of their parents, and the disgusted look from the parents who'd just lost their young, all had her heart tattered, but she knew this wasn't the time to mourn their deaths or try to repent.

"I do not care," getting back on her feet, she made her body burn an inferno once again. "I do not care because I have something to live for myself now, my children, and that's the reason why I can't let my past haunt me forever."

Turning her gaze to the hands again, she could finally see the face of the man she'd been talking to so far. Still somewhat enshrouded in dark, the azure hair and eyes struck out like an unhammered nail, and the long scar running down the man's naked chest confirmed Rose's suspicion about his identity.

"You're dead, how come you-"

Walking out through the darkness, the warrior of a man stood in front of her. His eyes shooting upward, he plastered a giant smirk.

"I am dead, but I still live in your memories. And that's possibly the worst place to idolize someone that you want to forget," with those words, he backed away into the darkness once more.

"Frost, if you were alive I'd kill you once more!" She exclaimed at the very man who'd fathered her children.

The next time she blinked her eyes, she'd escaped from the trap of memories. And even though she was left to wonder how it all happened, she was forced to push figuring it out upon looking down at the city.

'This shouldn't be hard now.' Fueled by the rage from the incident, she burst her body into flames and began breathing fire down at the building. After a while, however, she let her body swell up and her muscles enlarged into that of a true dragon. Once the transformation was done, she sat on top of the highest watchtower and let out a howl that could be heard a continent over.

'If that doesn't get Michael's attention nothing will.' With that, she began flapping her giant scaly wings to take up a flight. Opening up her jaws to reveal the countless razor-sharp teeth, she breathed down flames on each and every corner of the city.

Busy with her assigned task for the mission, an elusive figure escaped Roselia's eyes. Standing under the roof of the same watchtower Rose let out a howl at, was the mistress of dark onlooking the destruction of the city. 

'I guess it's time to meet with Almuld again.' Having witnessed Rose's fight with her own thoughts, the translucent figure of the mistress was ready to face some ghosts of her own past. 'I can't let Haruki kill him, and I can't let Almuld die by Haruki's hands either.'

Stuck with the dilemma, the queen of lust decided to take matters into her own hands.