Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Chapter 2008: "If Pain Is the Price of Becoming Stronger, I’ll Suffer in Silence".

White Raven Island. Labh Salem.

Way past midnight.

It was as if someone had cast a sound-element and gravity-element Skills together, turning the air as rigid and unmoving as a mud lake.

Seven forms of Sin Series Mana were summoned into the surroundings all of a sudden.

Even without Eren wanting to, it turned the space around him into a demonic zone.

This was the same form of demonic corruption on the surroundings that he had encountered when he first came to Labh Salem.

At that time, the Helenbora coven wanted to make use of the special demonic zone to summon the wills of Immortal demons. Instead, they acted sort of like a pathfinder for Eren, allowing him to enter Labh Salem. One could say that it was Helenbora coven that had summoned Eren in this world.

At that time, Eren had used the properties of the demonic zone to enter Labh Salem. However, this time he had turned the space around him into a demonic zone simply by unleashing the passive effects of the Greater Skills he had.

It could be said that the Menaka's Mesh didn't treat the root cause but only got rid of the symptoms. Eren still hadn't managed to take full control of his Greater Skills. So the passive effects they generated kept on leaking.

The Mesh only covered these passive effects and the leak using its spatial restrictions. However, the leak kept on piling up. After Eren was finally affected by the liquor for a split second, this accumulated leak finally found an outlet.

Azurea suddenly felt a chill crawl down her spine.

Her body tensed as if something invisible had wrapped around her.

She looked at Marina and saw her sister reacting the same way—eyes wide, breath caught, shoulders stiff.

A thick, oppressive aura had blanketed the garden without warning.

It was vile and heavy. And it was unlike anything they had felt before.

At first, it was just a strange pressure. But in the next moment, emotions started flooding in—one after another, too fast to resist.

Anger surged through Azurea's veins, making her want to lash out. Then came a wave of greed, making her crave everything she never had.

Right after that came lust, pride, envy, gluttony, sloth… All of it crashed into her soul like a raging storm.

Marina clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white. She gritted her teeth, trying to keep herself grounded. But it wasn't just emotion anymore. She could hear whispers now—quiet, persuasive voices that echoed inside her mind.

Give in.

Hehehe, with my liege's blessings, I can grant your wishes.

Power. Love. Revenge. Name it.

There were no beings nearby. The voices weren't real. And yet, they felt far too real to ignore.

These were hallucinations. Or rather, manifestations of the passive effects of Eren's Sin Series Greater Skills.

The aura wasn't just leaking out—it was invading their very souls. Their Soul Spaces were being flooded with twisted mana that carried the essence of seven deadly sins.

The Sin Series Mana was corrupting them from within, trying to stir their inner darkness.

The twin dragons were shocked. How could this passive effect affect them who were S-Rank draconic beings? Weren't they supposed to be at the top of the food chain when it came to intent-based magic? How could a mere A-Rank being make them lose their control over their thoughts?

Azurea growled, biting the inside of her cheek hard enough to bleed. She forced herself to focus and channeled her mana violently to clear her thoughts. The drunken haze she had felt before was instantly wiped out.

Marina did the same. An intense glow appeared around her body as she steadied her breathing and cast away the intoxication clouding her mind.

Her eyes locked with Azurea's for a second, both silently acknowledging how close they had been to losing control.

Together, they pushed back against the corrupting aura, trying to shield their minds and souls from the influence.

They didn't say anything to Eren just yet—but their serious expressions said it all. The atmosphere had shifted. Something had gone very wrong. And it was coming from him.

Eren took a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to stabilize his shaken mind.

His expression turned serious for a moment. He then summoned the Spectral Screen in front of him.

He tapped on one of the glowing icons and navigated through the Menaka's Mesh interface. His fingers moved quickly but calmly, adjusting the flow of Origin Force Points into a specific setting labeled under the Sin Series Greater Skills.

A soft click echoed in his ears—more a feeling than a sound—letting him know that the adjustments were accepted.

In the next instant, the heavy pressure that had blanketed the area vanished completely. It was like someone had snuffed out a storm in a single breath.

Azurea and Marina both blinked in confusion.

What had happened just now?

The voices were gone. The oppressive emotions disappeared. The aura that had pressed down on their bodies and twisted their thoughts faded like it had never been there to begin with.

Marina was the first to speak, her voice low and still tense.

"Eren…. What… What was that?"

Eren looked at her, then at Azurea, and smiled mirthlessly.

"That? That was just the pressure from the Sin Series Greater Skills I've got stored in me," he said quietly. "It's nothing. I just lost control for a moment."

He leaned back slightly, resting one arm on the edge of the table, looking into the distance.

"Kekeke… to be honest, this soul strain was the reason I couldn't get drunk. Those passive effects keep me away from drunken stupor. But… like everything else, even that has a limit."

He waved a hand dismissively, as if brushing away the weight of what had just happened. "Anyway. Things are under control now. Don't worry."

But Marina didn't seem fully convinced. And Azurea's narrowed eyes made it clear she wasn't about to just let it slide.

Azurea slammed her hand down on the table, rattling the glasses and bottles around them. Her eyes were sharp, glowing faintly with her draconic aura as she stared at Eren.

"You call this keeping things under control?" she snapped, her voice loud and clear in the quiet night.

"Eren, that wasn't normal even by the demigod standards. Believe me, I know. I have seen and observed Shir when he was alive for quite some time. If he was exposed to this demonic field, he would have lost his sense of being as well.

That aura… that pressure… if your soul is exposed to that kind of strain constantly, you'll eventually break down. It's not something non-Immortals like us can just endure forever."

Eren blinked but didn't flinch. He leaned back in his chair, his arms resting calmly as Azurea continued.

"Even Immortals would struggle if their soul had to handle something like that," Azurea added further.

"It would either drive them mad or twist them so badly that they'd lose themselves. Everything that made them who they were would change."

Eren chuckled quietly, the sound low and dry.

"Kekeke… I know that already."

He looked at Azurea, his smile fading into something more serious.

"Do you know that God Aleph—when he took on the burden of the Seven Sin Series Planes—had to strip himself of all emotions?

He didn't just throw them away for fun. He did it to survive. This thing was too much even for an Elder God like him. Of course, the pressure he must have experienced by taking the full brunt must have been countless times more than what I'm facing right now. But you get the jist."

Eren paused for a moment before continuing.

"As his true inheritor, I don't get to choose this path. This… this was bound to happen to me eventually. This thing is part of my demonic heritage."

His voice turned heavier, slower. For a moment, there was no teasing in it. Just quiet truth.

Marina watched him closely, her brows furrowed. Then, she leaned forward slightly, her voice softer than her sister's but no less worried.

"Even if you say this is normal… that it is part of your demonic heritage… your soul is still that of a mortal, Eren. You haven't become an Immortal yet.

This kind of strain will keep growing. It'll haunt you. It'll hurt you—physically, mentally, spiritually. You'll suffer more the stronger you become. Things will get worse before they can get any better."

She hesitated, then added, "Unless… you give up God Aleph's inheritance. That might be the only way to stop it."

Eren didn't respond at first. He turned his gaze away from the table, looking beyond the garden and into the sky. The three moons of Labh Salem hung above them, their light bathing the garden in a gentle glow.

"Pressure and pain, huh…" he muttered, almost to himself.

The breeze rustled through the garden trees, carrying with it the scent of flowers and wine. He looked back at the twin dragonesses. His emerald green eyes held no fear of his own legacy. Unlike God Alephe, he seemed to like the soul-shaking pressure his demonic heritage had brought him.

"If pain is the price of becoming stronger," he said with a small smile.

"I'll suffer in silence. In fact, give me more of that."

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