Eddy didn't even get the chance to run a dozen steps before his path was blocked off by two new knights.
"Give up and surrender, there's no point in resisting the young lord," Mercidin said.
"Get the fuck out of my way!" Eddy charged forward, putting the force of his charge on his shoulder.
Just before he could crash into Mercidin, the man moved out of the way and tripped him.
Like a child being bullied, Eddy skidded across the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
"So much for an academy student." The knights around muttered.
Shame and fury quickly filled Eddy's heart. At the same time, his vision seemed to change.
"What a disgusting piece of shit, how is he the son of our father?" A child said, one that Eddy was very familiar with.
"Hahaha, just like his mother, he would never amount to anything. Wretched, talentless, and poor. It will be a waste to spend resources on a maid's bastard." Another child chimed in.
"No, I'm not useless," Eddy whispered. "I've been working hard, I'm strong now!" His anger intensified twofold, causing veins around his head to enlarge.
Emotional scars from his childhood that he had worked so hard to hide began to surface.
"Worked hard? You call this hard work? Then prove it."
"Argh!" With a crazed battle cry, Eddy ran at the closest knight.
His eyes were blurred from anger, and he was unable to see his opponent's face.
However, he didn't care. Only the intense anger, and the thought of proving himself remained.
Unfortunately for him, the closest knight was Caleb.
The silent knight dodged the incoming blow, before skillfully shifting to the side and sweeping Eddy's legs off the ground.
Once again, his body met with the floor. And just like before, his vision changed.
"Disgraceful!" A thunderous boom exploded in his ears, sending waves of shame into Eddy's heart.
"Father?" He muttered.
"Who gave you the right to call yourself my son!? Just because I fu*ked your mother doesn't make you my son! A child of mine wouldn't be this useless!"
Eddy's state of mind was completely shaken by these words.
His mind was already at the point of breaking.
What is real and what's fake? He couldn't properly discern.
"Father please, just give me one more chance. I'll bring honor and glory home, please father, I beg of you." Eddy sounded desperate as he got to his knees and begged.
He bowed his head in the direction of Marcus.
This scene left everyone speechless.
This was a completely different thing from what they imagined would have happened today.
Marcus in particular was caught off guard.
His brows furrowed as he tried to process what he was seeing.
"There's no ingenuity in his actions. It is as if he's actually making a plea to his father."
However, which one of those cultists isn't a crazy bastard?
This made Marcus believe even more that Eddy was involved with the Faceless Order.
"Stop this charade and give in," Marcus said.
But to Eddy, Marcus's voice was no different from his father's own.
It brought out his deepest fears.
"Mother please, help me beg father, or else he will abandon me." His voice cracked midway, as though what he said was soon to happen.
"Take him away," Marcus ordered, unwilling to watch this madness anymore.
Two of his knights approached Eddy slowly.
"No, please! Don't forsake me, I'll do better, I'll train harder! Father, please!" Eddy scrambled on the ground.
"See, we told you that you're nothing without us. Your Blood Force is weak, a mere Tidal Wave fighter. What can you do without us?"
The whispers began again, taking advantage of his intense emotions.
"If you want to prove your father wrong, then. Let. Us. Take. Control!"
Those words echoed in his mind, breaking every form of resistance Eddy previously had towards the whispers.
His last trace of sanity sank into a quagmire of darkness.
The abyss was staring back at him.
At the same time, just when the two knights had grabbed Eddy's shoulders to restrain him, a chilling aura forced them to halt their actions.
"What's this?" Marcus uttered. "Back away for now."
The knights obeyed.
Eddy's pupils had become a window to his mental state, as they had turned pitch black.
Oozing out faint wisps of darkness.
This feels… familiar.
Carlouses!
The thought had only crossed Marcus's mind when a wicked smile appeared on Eddy's face.
His aura slowly transformed, until his entire body was releasing dark smoke.
But how? Shouldn't he be a spy for the Faceless Order? Why is he from that madman's camp?
Marcus was referring to Cassir.
No, Cassir was also assisting the Faceless Order before he vanished. Who's to say that there won't be another person helping them from the Dark Order?
"I smell noble blood," Eddy spoke, but it was as though dozens of entities were speaking at the same time.
His eyes were pitch black, but Marcus was certain that the young man was staring at him.
"What shall we do--"
"Drink this noble's blood essence..."
"Or consume his soul?" A laugh, creepier than anything the knights around had heard so far, came from Eddy.
"So, are you an underling of Cassir. Or is your boss someone else?" Marcus asked.
Regardless of the transformation Eddy had undergone, his aura was still not enough to make Marcus feel threatened.
Nor did he think the young man could do anything to harm him.
Especially after facing a monster like Cassir.
"Cassirrr!" The entities said, and this name echoed, as though they were trying to recall where they had heard the name from.
"The abyss recognizes this name. But it is nothing." They said.
As Marcus was trying to make sense of this response, Eddy moved.
His fingers bent like a claw as his arm stretched out to grab Marcus's neck.
Marcus saw this calmly, and unmoving, as if he couldn't be bothered.
Just when Eddy was an arm's length away from the young lord, three swords blocked his advance.
His body reeled back immediately, avoiding the sharp edges of the blades.
For the first time since his transformation, the entities within acknowledged the other presences around.
"Pesky pests of lowly standings. You dare to hinder us, servants of the abyss!?"
In response to that, another sword came from the side.
Eddy saw this and moved to dodge the strike, however, he wasn't fast enough.
The tip of the sword knocked his cheek.
Blood immediately flowed out.
"Impudent!"
Boom!
A stronger force of Dark power exploded from Eddy.
The explosion pushed the knights back a few steps.
"I will devour your souls!"
Eddy immediately charged at the closest knight.