Reincarnation Of A Swordsman: The Omni Mage

Chapter 100: Azagrut, Demon of Chaos

[Yes] or [No]

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The two holographic options hovered directly before Kyle's eyes, awaiting his choice.

Kyle was still trying hard to comprehend the absurdity of what just happened—or rather, what was about to happen.

'What the hell is Chaos?' Kyle finally asked the question that disturbed his mind, and as expected he didn't get any response. It wasn't like he had expected one in the first place.

He wasn't completely lost on the matter though, as he had managed to gleam some details on what was going on from his earlier notifications.

...

[You have discovered a tome containing knowledge of a forbidden element: Chaos!!]

[The path of Chaos is unable to be harnessed by anyone in this world due to its requirements, instability and unparalleled power!]

[You have been found to be compatible with the element: Chaos!]

...

As exposed by the system, Chaos is an element—a forbidden one at that—which was exposed to be compatible with him. Maybe it was because of his nature as an omni mage, or a player; Kyle didn't know. But what mattered was that he could learn it if he willed to.

With this known to him, the next question that disturbed was: Is it a good idea to learn it?

Kyle had managed to catch up on a very crucial adjective used to describe the element—Forbidden.

The word echoed in his mind as he tried to understand what it meant in that context. Kyle had read about powerful skills, secret techniques, and hidden spells before, but nothing had ever been labeled "forbidden."

'What does "forbidden" really mean here?' he thought as he stared down on the old cover of the book.

Kyle knew that it was a word reserved for things that crossed a line, things that even those who sought power dared not touch.

"Why would the system term it as forbidden?" Kyle murmured. Could it harm him, corrupt him, or maybe even twist him into something unrecognizable?

What if the knowledge in this book had cost others their sanity, or worse? Kyle's mind raced with possibilities, each of them more disturbing than the last.

Chaos. The word alone sounded uncontrollable, volatile. Every element he knew had some order to it, a set of rules that governed its strength and form.

Fire, lightning, and all the rest— they were all powerful, but still bound by balance and discipline. But chaos? Its very nature was unpredictable to Kyle, maybe could even be untamable. He could only imagine what sort of power it could hold, but at what cost?

What if Chaos magic wasn't something he could turn off or control once it was unleashed? If that happened, he could endanger his friends, the academy, maybe even himself.

"Is that why it's forbidden?" Kyle wondered aloud. "Not because of its power, but because of its potential to destroy everything it touches?"

The system's strong recommendation to select "Yes" didn't ease his doubts, either. Why would the system push him toward something that was considered so dangerous? Did it know something he didn't, or was this some twisted test of his resolve?

'What if accepting Chaos could change me?' Kyle mused. Would it corrupt him, make him crave power beyond reason? What if he ended up like those mages in the ancient stories, the ones who had abandoned everything for power, losing their humanity piece by piece until nothing but a shell remained?

Still, he couldn't deny the curiosity that was within him. Power like this was tempting, yes, but perhaps it was also necessary and the system promised unparalleled power.

'If the system thought I needed this to survive… what kind of battles are waiting for me?' Kyle didn't really know what option to chose, he couldn't help but wish Void was around in moments like this, his advise would be really helpful.

Gazing at the notification once more, Kyle left out a breath. 'It wouldn't cost me any skill points,' Kyle thought before biting his lips and selecting [Yes].

[Excellent choice! You have embraced the path of Chaos. Prepare yourself…]

Kyle's heart pounded as a strange sensation washed over him. He barely had time to register the warning before a wave of pain exploded inside him, as if his body, mind, and spirit were all being twisted. He shut his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth, feeling like he was being torn apart.

Everything went dark, and for a moment, he feared he'd blacked out—except he could still feel himself, somehow detached, weightless.

His consciousness drifted, like he was caught in a vast, empty void, with no up or down, only an endless expanse of nothingness surrounding him.

He felt small, insignificantly floating through the dark unknown. There was no sound, no sensation of time passing—only an overwhelming emptiness pressing in from every direction.

Kyle couldn't even feel his heartbeat or the familiar comfort of his breathing. Panic scratched at his mind as he struggled to grasp his surroundings. He was… floating? Or falling? There was no way to tell.

As he drifted, a distant but growing sensation stirred, like an ominous presence watching him from the shadows of this void. And then, something caught his attention—a figure. It was far off at first, an indiscernible shape in the void, but as he approached, the outline began to solidify.

A hulking silhouette loomed before him, emanating a darkness so profound it seemed to swallow light itself. Kyle's instinct screamed at him to run, to put as much distance between himself and this entity as possible, yet he found himself unable to move, held captive by some unseen force.

A pair of red eyes flared to life within the darkness, piercing through him with an intensity that chilled his very soul.

The figure emerged further, revealing itself. It was a massive, easily towering over him even in this strange, soul-bound form. Its body was composed of shifting shadows, as though Chaos itself was found within its being.

A pair of goat-like curved horns branched out from its head, and its claws glinted with an otherworldly sharpness.

It was... A demon.

Kyle swallowed hard after he comprehended whom he stood before. He was short of words, and choked off his breath. It was as if its presence took out all the air around.

The demon's mouth began opening into a wide, sinister grin, revealing rows of sharp, glinting teeth that sent a cold shiver down Kyle's spine.

But then, just as quickly, the demon's grin vanished, replaced by a deep scowl. It was a look of pure contempt, as if Kyle's very existence was offensive. The air in the void grew colder, suffocatingly so, and Kyle couldn't even hear his heartbeat anymore as the dark, menacing presence pressed down on him.

"MARKED BY AN ANGEL... DISGUSTING!"

Kyle finally heard the demon's voice. It was suffocating as it echoed in the empty space. Kyle couldn't pay any heed to that though, as he tried to grasp the implications of the demon's word.

'Angel?' Kyle couldn't help but wonder, before coming to a conclusion. 'It had to be Elysia, she might be an angel, that blessing she gave me might have been the mark he's talking about,' Kyle guessed but didn't rule out other options though.

'There's also her father, who had supposingly brought him to this world, and granted him his system.' Kyle suddenly remembered something that made his body course with cold even more.

'But... if they had left some sort of divine mark on him, then… did that mean the demon saw him as some kind of enemy?'

As if reading his thoughts, the demon's eyes blazed with anger and his dark aura grew more heavier and more suffocating.

"An angel dared to taint my thing?" the demon continued, this time his voice was a low and Kyle could feel a chill through his soul and each word hit him like a shockwave.

The demon's lips curled back, revealing those sharp teeth once more.

"You are of no use to me," he simply said, his voice dropping even more. "It would be better if I ended you here and now."

Panic immediately spread within Kyle and his thoughts began racing frantically. Every instinct screamed at him to run, to do something to survive.

But he was trapped, there was no where to run to. He was completely at this demon's mercy, and the demon's rage was a storm ready to consume him.

A dark realization washed over him, this could be it. His life, his journey, all he'd struggled for—snuffed out here in an instant.

All for what? For making a choice that the system had practically pushed on him? The system should have know about all this, but still urged him to accept.

Beads of sweat dropped from Kyle's face, not from the heat but from fear. His mind was in hyper drive, trying to conjure a plan to escape from this predicament.

'Should I beg?' Kyle considered to himself before rejecting that thought. 'That will be stupid. Begging wouldn't save me from a demon, it might even anger him further.'

With no other plan in his mind, Kyle began observing his surroundings more intently, trying to locate an escape from here. He vigorously looked around until his eyes met that of the demon.

*Gulp*

Kyle couldn't help but swallow hard as he met the empty eyes of the demon. He noticed that the demon was deep in thought, as if pondering what to do with him.

That single act made Kyle calm down a little, the fact that the demon hadn't acted yet still gave him hope.

"A human…" the demon finally mummured with a twisted smile plastered across his face.

"…With both a demon's and an angel's mark."

The words hung heavily in the air, dripping with a strange mixture of fascination and malice. Kyle felt his stomach drop as the demon's gaze seemed to penetrate deeper, as though examining him with a newfound interest.

The demon took another step forward, his looming presence so overwhelming that it felt like the void itself was closing in on Kyle.

His voice softened, but there was an edge to it, something disturbingly eager. "How… curious," the demon said, his tone laced with dark amusement.

"A mortal tainted by both light and shadow. I wonder what such a creature is capable of…"

A chill crept down Kyle's spine as the demon's twisted smile grew wider and his eyes glinted with an even more predatory gleam.

"I'll see how this unfolds," he murmured with a cold breath. The smile that stretched across his face was nothing short of terrifying, it fully depicted a sadistic amusement. It was as though he saw Kyle as nothing more than a fascinating lab rat.

The demon straightened, and his voice shifted to a tone of dark authority.

"I am Azagrut, Demon of Chaos, harbinger of ruin and bearer of wrath. Remember my name, mortal, for it is I who decides your fate."