Divine System: Land of the Abominations-Chapter 287: Something Truly Terrifying (1).

In that moment, Nero realized he couldn’t see anything strange.

However, he could feel it.

A subtle tug on his soul, pulling at the fringes of his senses and consciousness. It wasn’t like the watching sensation from before. This was invasive and yet intimate, as though something was reaching inside him to test the very boundaries of what he was.

A warning of sorts.

He instantly warned the others. "Be careful."

Arthur and Jacob suddenly stopped and turned to face him with confused expressions.

"What? What are you talking about?" Arthur asked.

Nero frowned. "What? What do you—?"

He froze.

His eyes began to widen as the world around him shifted.

"W-what is that?"

The other two turned forward, but they could see nothing.

Arthur frowned and placed a hand on Nero’s shoulder. "What’s the matter, Nero?"

The moment he touched Nero, however, he winced. Nero was burning hot, his skin radiating heat like a man afflicted with the fever in the throes of delirium.

He turned to Jacob, who had a strange look on his face as well.

"That! There! It’s! It’s—!" Nero’s voice came out strangled, his words fragmented.

As he yelled out incoherent things, Jacob’s expression changed drastically. "Damn it! Has the kid gone mad?!"

Arthur’s expression turned dark. "Don’t jump to any conclusions. He’s burning up. Quick, help me set him down."

Together, they both grabbed Nero under his arms and half-carried, half-dragged him away from the riverbed.

They set him down on a relatively flat patch of ground beneath a massive oak. The roots created a natural depression that cradled his body as Arthur and Jacob knelt beside him.

Nero’s eyes were wide open, the blacks of his pupils shrunk to pinpoint dots. Large, squirming veins had appeared on his head and face, pulsing visibly beneath his skin like worms writhing just below the surface. His lips moved constantly, forming words that came out as barely coherent mumbling.

Seeing all this, Jacob clicked his tongue and cursed. "When his head explodes, what do we do with the body?"

Arthur shot him a dirty look, then sighed heavily. "And I was fond of the kid. It is quite a shame."

He leaned down and scanned over Nero’s body, checking for any obvious injuries or signs of physical trauma. Finding none, his expression grew more troubled.

Then he let out another sigh. "He might have been possessed. He’s not wearing any warding charms."

Jacob turned to Arthur with wide eyes. "He has no wards?! Who would let him come out here with no protection? To think we didn’t notice as well."

He sighed, then a brutal look appeared in his eyes as he reached for his axe. The amber runes along its blade began to glow faintly, responding to his intent.

However, Arthur was quick to stop him, grabbing Jacob’s wrist. "Stop being hasty, damn it! We can’t be sure what’s going on yet."

Jacob snorted and tried shrugging his hand off as he pulled his axe out fully and pointed it at Nero. "It’s pretty clear if you ask me. That’s a dead man right there. The least we could do for him is not let his body become more tainted than it already is and help put him out of his misery."

Arthur grimaced and hesitated for a while longer. The practical part of him knew Jacob was probably right. Possession was a death sentence, and letting it progress only made things worse. Better to end it quickly.

Then he let go of Jacob’s wrist and stepped back.

Jacob gave him a strange look. "It hasn’t even been a few hours and you are already attached to the kid?"

Arthur snorted. "He’s intriguing for a commoner. I thought he would have lasted longer. I guess I was wrong. Do what you will." He turned around.

With a grunt, Jacob turned to Nero and shook his head. "Sorry, kid."

He walked over slowly, raising his axe above his head.

Jacob positioned himself carefully, angling the axe so it would take Nero’s head off in a single clean stroke.

The blade began its descent.

However, before it could complete its arc, a sharp gasp could be heard.

Nero, who had been laying flat on his back suddenly sat upright and exclaimed,

"Fuck!"

Jacob’s momentum carried the axe forward, but his reflexes kicked in at the last possible moment. He twisted his wrists, redirecting the blade so it embedded itself in the earth mere inches from Nero’s shoulder with a heavy thunk.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Then Jacob yanked his axe free and stepped back, breathing hard. "You bastard! I nearly killed you!"

Nero’s hand went to his head, his fingers pressing against his temples as if trying to hold his skull together. "I... what happened?"

Arthur had spun back around at Nero’s exclamation. Now he knelt beside him again, studying his face intently. "You are back? What the hell was that?"

Nero’s breathing was quick and trembling. Even now, his pupils continued to dilate. Beads of sweat rolled down his face despite the relatively cool weather.

When he tried to speak, he let out only a groan instead as two streams of blood slowly flowed down his nose.

"Hey, hey, easy... Take your time now." Arthur said as he glanced at Jacob.

After waiting for Nero to recover a bit, his eyes searched Nero’s troubled face as he asked,

"What did you see, Nero?"

Nero remained silent for some time.

Eventually, he spoke,

"How long was I gone for?" Nero muttered, his voice hoarse as though he’d been screaming.

"A few minutes," Arthur said. "Out with it already. What in the seven Hells did you see?"

Nero grimaced.

Then he sighed as he spoke,

"I saw... I saw ruins."

"Ruins..." Arthur whispered.

Then a look of excitement appeared on his face.

He turned to Jacob, 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Oi, did you hear that?"

However, Jacob didn’t seem as impressed.

A look of suspicion was plastered right on his,

"What do you mean? What ruins did you see?"

Nero’s face turned pale as he glared earnestly at the both of them,

"We can’t go there!"