I Became An Eldritch Horror-Chapter 25: Faceless (1)

Knowing Watchers, they weren’t the type of people to move around aimlessly. Did that mean the Outers already knew I escaped? Or was it only this one who knew?

Seeing no point in trying to come up with answers myself, I asked, "Did Amon send you? Or was it Abel?"

Daniella, who was bent over picking up the book, froze. Slowly, she straightened and offered the warmest smile she could muster. "I don’t understand what you mean by that." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Even if I had a little doubt left about what she was, now it was gone. Daniella was without a doubt a Watcher.

I leaned back on the couch, rested my elbow on it, and placed my cheek on my palm. "I thought there was a law that all Watchers shouldn’t lie. Did they remove it or something?"

Daniella’s gaze darkened, and the laptop she held gently in her hand cracked, the soft noise echoing through the silent apartment.

"It seems I brought the wrong person home."

I let out a small hum. "Yes, you did."

Without warning, she lunged forward, her hand extended as if to grab my throat.

White Qi coated her outer skin as her eyes began to glow pale blue. In an instant, the Qi around her materialized into a blade of light.

A smirk formed on my face as the blade drew closer.

[Master, you are currently using 0.01% of your power. Should I increase it?]

"No." I raised my hand to grab the sword. My Qi surrounded my body, fog escaping with each breath. A slight crack appeared on my skin as my energy clashed with Daniella’s.

The moment my hand touched the blade and I gripped it with one hand, an indescribable pain surged through me. It felt like my soul was being slashed instead of my flesh.

I retracted my hand immediately and used my energy to push Daniella backwards.

She crashed into the wall, completely destroying both it and the television mounted there.

"What the hell?" A long knife-like slash was carved across my palm. It wasn’t painful anymore, but I couldn’t deny it had hurt when she struck me.

My gaze shifted to the shattered wall. For a moment, there was no noise, only dust churning around the fallen debris, then a white burning light shone from within it.

The light formed into a dual-bladed sword, one in each hand of the figure coated in white radiance.

System, can you tell me her order?

[Yes, Master...]

As she stepped out of the hole, her white hair fluttering with her Qi, her pale eyes glowing even brighter, and a long cut running from the end of her shirt to the start of her trousers, the system chimed.

Ding!

[Watcher]: Daniella Zhāng

Rank: Overlord

Order: Thermodynamic Echo

Details: This ability grows stronger proportionally to the opponent’s energy (Qi). The more powerful the opponent, the greater the heat and destructive capability of the flames. Limited only by the amount of energy available per rank.

A bead of sweat formed at my temple. "What the hell?" This girl was strong. More than that, her order was borderline overpowered.

I rubbed my temples. "I need a break." Raising my gaze to meet the panting Daniella, I asked, "Must we do this?"

She met my eyes. "I don’t know who you are. But the fact that you know about Watchers and the Holy Ones, I shall behead you."

"Isn’t beheading a bit too much?"

She didn’t bother replying and raised her swords to point straight at me. "Say your prayers."

"Heh." I chuckled. "I don’t pray."

Daniella didn’t wait a second longer. She lunged at me.

My lips curved into a grin. "So... just how much flames can you handle?"

She didn’t react. She probably thought I was taunting her. That was her mistake.

’Do it.’

[Increasing energy to 10%]

[Master, should I use "Mysterious World" to hide the residual energy?]

Yes. I met Daniella’s gaze, and for a moment, I saw hesitation. She was rethinking her strategy, but she had already committed. She was mid-air. This was my move.

I raised my hand and flicked my index and middle finger downward.

I wasn’t Daniella, yet even I could tell from her expression, the sound of her body slamming into the ground, and the purple force crushing her that she was in agony.

She tried to stand or push against the energy, but it was pointless.

Seeing no path to escape, she unleashed another surge of flames.

She seemed to have forgotten her own ability. She could control flames, yes. But wasn’t there a limit to how much she could endure? And knowing Orders, there was definitely a flaw.

Ding!

[Daniella, the Fallen Star — Flaw: 10% felt heat]

Just as I suspected. "Now burn."

The flames she had once used to forge her weapons now burned her skin and flesh. At first, there was no sound, only the crackling of white fire, then

"AHHH!!!"

The raw, unrestrained screams were music to my ears. She burned, her skin peeling away, her inner muscles exposed.

"Aww..." Time for the taunt. "Does it hurt?"

Daniella lifted her gaze through the flames and pressure. She was trying to stop her Order.

"No need to struggle. You’re in my domain."

At that moment, the cracks on my face deepened. The skin beneath my eyes split open, revealing another eye, and the flesh on my arm tore away, exposing an arm formed of celestial bodies.

She understood then that I was not an opponent she should have faced.

Now, how should I finish her?

I wanted to kill her. I wanted to see another one of those Outer’s lapdogs perish. But that was too generic. Too easy.

I placed my broken hand on her forehead.

"From today, you shall be known as Morning Star, and you shall be my servant, bound to me for eternity."

I had noticed it during our fight. Daniella wasn’t fully a Watcher yet. If she were, she would have known who I was just by being near me.

The fact that she still fought me proved she was still in training.

She was the perfect pawn to begin my new journey with.

Besides, stealing what belonged to those bastards was oddly thrilling.

The flames covering her skin slowly faded. Her wounds healed on their own. When they closed completely, her eyes drifted shut as if she had fallen into deep sleep.

I removed my hand from her temple and, with a snap, dispersed the energy pinning her down.

[Removing the "Mysterious World"]

I let out a long breath and collapsed onto the couch. "Good thing I kept it to 10%. Any more and she and everyone else in this apartment would have died."

I was already struggling to keep this mortal skin together, and now I had to fight Watchers?

Still, this was an unexpected gain.

Ding!

[New Subordinate Gained!]

Daniella’s eyes slowly opened, her hands clutching her throat tightly. "You... you’re him."

I blinked, gasping innocently. "I am?"

"The only being who is the definition of nothingness. The Mad Emperor of Depravity, and the end of all things, Flawless."

I let out a small smile. "Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, Morning Star."

She raised her brow in confusion, then immediately checked her tattoo. It was no longer an archaic symbol but a coiled snake impaled by a staff.

"Welcome to the family."

She glared at me with a fury that could probably burn through my skull. "Bastard."

I shut one eye. "That’s Master to you."