Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 33: Traitor

Cedric could've stayed behind to check on his fellow convicts or at least, re-assure them that everything will be fine cause god knows they need it, even the wardens too.

But Cedric was preoccupied. He didn't think that it was necessary for him to do that. He's neither a Hero nor a member of the staff, so that kind of responsibility doesn't fall on him. Hell, even if it does, he doesn't want it.

After giving them a considerate glance, which looked like an act of intimidation to the eyes of his targets due to what they'd just witnessed, he turned around and disappeared into a blurry shadow.

With the Tiger Demon down, the rest shouldn't have a difficult time repelling the remaining invaders, especially since he's also cutting down their numbers. The pressure they would face shouldn't be as heavy as before.

Still, in search of Harold, Cedric continued to dash around the center, opening his field of senses to the maximum so that he could spot his only friend amidst all this chaos.

In his search, he stumbled upon a weird thing...

It was in the Reception Hall. There's a black bubble here which almost occupied the entire section of this center. He had a troubled expression on his face upon seeing this.

Cedric saw what happened here even though he wasn't physically present. Another demon of the Tiger Demon's caliber, or perhaps stronger, appeared here. That demon confronted the Chief Warden who was helping his men. It trapped itself and the Chief Warden inside this bubble, preventing him from providing help to the rest.

He contemplated for a brief second here. Thinking to himself if he could somehow help the Chief Warden. He tried to slice an opening to the bubble using his sword with Ki, yet it barely did any damage to it. The shell was too hard and weird for him to do anything to it.

After that attempt, Cedric decisively turned around and continued his search for Harold instead.

Cedric couldn't afford to waste time here. He already realized that he was too weak to help the chief so he might as well spend his time wisely and achieve his goal as soon as possible.

Besides, with the bubble still around, it means that the Chief isn't dead yet. It's illogical for the Demon to keep that bubble up if it already dealt with this enemy so since it's there, that means that the fight was still ongoing. The Chief Warden was strong, he could tell that much. He should be able to handle this.

With that, Cedric scoured the entire place for clues about Harold's whereabouts. He searched high and low, looking for any signs of his friend. He already searched Harold's room but only his belongings remained there. He already went to the bunker, he's not there either.

Obviously he wasn't in the Reception Hall since he already passed by that location. Cedric searched the quadrants, cells, rooms, offices...hell, he even checked the comfort rooms to see if his friend got caught with his pants down; which was horrible by the way, but he wasn't there either.

He also checked if Harold was amongst the people who were trying to take advantage of the situation, attempting to leave this place while the tragedy occurred, but even after combing through the people one by one, Harold was still missing...

Cedric was starting to feel nervous. His hope was draining as the number of his options dwindled. Even with his field of senses at full bloom, he couldn't spot his friend at all. He's now starting to think that Harold might've already turned into a demon's kiddie meal and that it's too late for him to do anything.

That was when he sensed a distortion on the edge of his senses. Something appeared just now and what he saw caused him to freeze in his tracks.

Cedric's heart sank to his stomach. His pupils constricted and an overwhelming sense of failure washed over his being. His grip on his sword tightened as he began to hesitate about his next actions.

After a minute passed, which felt like forever for him, Cedric wore a steeled expression. Gritting his teeth, he pivoted his foot and began running towards the source of distortion.

He was now heading towards where Harold was...

***

'...feels weird.'

That's what Harold felt upon opening his eyes to reality. There was a strange sensation coursing through his veins. Something unfamiliar...dirty, and unpleasant.

There's this urge for him to get rid of...whatever this was. His instincts screamed at him, telling him that this wasn't right. It irritated him so much that he wanted to claw at his own skin just to get rid of this unpleasant sensation.

But that thought didn't last long...

It was followed by an overwhelming sense of euphoria, which nearly gave him a whiplash. The feeling was positively pleasant...orgasmic, even. He couldn't help but release a groan from his lips.

He then felt something growing on his head. Something thick and quite weighty. Opening his eyes, he was momentarily confused about his new perspective.

'I'm...taller?' He mused to himself.

Sinking his senses into his body, he could also feel additional limbs behind him that certainly weren't there before.

Looking down at his hands, he could see that his forearm was scorched black. It didn't hurt of course, but it was an unfamiliar sight. He knew that he was a changed man already, he just didn't know how much.

Looking around, he saw chaos around. It's as if a storm just passed by. The walls were cracked and the windows were gone. His stuff was scattered all across the room as if a thief just went through them.

He could hear cries and groans of pain. He's also more sensitive to the environment now than ever...

Then, he spotted a shard of glass on the floor. Before he could even think about moving, the shard of glass already floated up in the air and towards him.

Harold let out a surprised sound and smiled, thinking to himself: 'Oh, how convenient!'

That's when he saw his reflection in the mirror. What he saw, caused his smile to freeze.

He still looks the same...at least considering his face and upper torso. The difference is that his forearms were scorched black, his eyes also adopted the same color as wine-red eyes, and he now had a pair of horns stemming from his forehead.

As for the lower body though, it was completely different...

He now had the lower body of a horse, which explained the additional limbs he felt earlier, hell he could even feel the wagging of his tail.

By all means, Harold was no longer a human at all. Judging from his transformed state, he was now a Centaur.

More specifically...a Centaur Demon.

Harold stared at himself for a good while. His thoughts turned chaotic at once before regaining their calm.

'What's done is done...' He sighed to himself. 'I made a decision. It's all a little too late to regret it, after all the conversion already happened.'

Closing his eyes, he discarded the glass which shattered upon impact with the ground. Harold paid that no mind, of course, he was more concerned about how he would move in this new body of his.

Well, as it turns out, he didn't need to worry at all. This new body of his felt like he had it since birth. He could move everything subconsciously just fine. It all came naturally for him which made him relieved.

At least he wouldn't need to spend time re-learning his motor functions since that could prove deadly in a time and place like this.

He also just discovered that he's holding a spear. There's also a bow strapped on his back as well as a quiver of arrows attached to his hip. Lifting his spear, he did some experimental thrusts and nodded to himself.

This felt natural for him as well. It would seem that being a Centaur Demon felt natural for him so there's no need for him to be worried. After checking everything, a small smile appeared on his face.

"Not bad, I guess..."

"Right, not bad at all."

A voice agreeing with him certainly alarmed Harold. Instinctively, he started looking around in search of where the voice came from. But deep down, he couldn't help but notice that the voice sounded extremely familiar.

When the realization struck him, he paused...

That was when a shadow solidified in front of him, revealing the familiar face of his friend — Cedric, who was now looking at his entire being impassive. His thoughts remained a mystery to the newly converted demon.

"Oh! Hey, there." Harold, unable to think of how to approach this situation, automatically reverted to how he usually talks with his friend. "Man, this is awkward...I guess you caught me, huh?"

"..." Cedric said nothing.

Inwardly, Harold started sweating. The way Cedric seemingly studied every single morsel of his body brought shivers down his spine. It's as if his friend was trying to discover all manner of ways to properly disembowel him.

"You know...I really...and I mean 'REALLY', didn't want you, of all people, to see me like this." Harold muttered softly, steeling his resolve. "But shit, of course, you'd be looking for me so I guess I should've seen this coming. Never thought you would succeed in doing so but damn, here we are I guess."

"..."

"Sorry, dude." Harold shifted his spear, "I can't stop here. Know that I never want it to end to end this way, but I'm gonna have to kill you here."