I Refused To Be Reincarnated

On the other side of the battlefield, projectiles crashed like a raging flood on Adam's cocoon. The impacts sent tremors rocking him.

However, nothing passed through the pulsing elements fiercely protecting him.

After enduring for two minutes, his lips stretched into a grin, and he dismissed his barrier.

With a glance, he noticed the three Dreg'nar's ragged breaths and how they bent over to hold their knees in exhaustion.

"Out of mana already? That's sad because..."

He lingered, letting an ominous silence settle on his trembling enemies.

"I recovered."

His eyes were firmly planted in their sockets, glinting with a promise—the promise of death. Enjoy more content from empire

And he would deliver it now.

His knees bent, and his dark blade of adaptation's edges seemed to absorb the light like a black hole.

FWOOSH

The wind howled, whipping his red coat with a vengeance as he propelled himself towards his stunned enemies.

"W-Wait! We want to negotiate."

"Yes! Don't trust them!"

Their panicked shrieks echoed in his ears, yet his figure reappeared behind them.

Without answering, his hand moved in a swift, horizontal arc, leaving a scarlet and dark trail in its wake.

Three heads flew in the air, their eyes still trembling in disbelief as the cave spun before they collided with the cold ground.

However, a feeble voice still resounded one last time.

"You... doomed... our... species..."

As the words lingered, blood cascaded from the collapsing bodies standing nearby.

'What does he mean I doomed their species?'

His brows creased into a frown as he massaged his temples. They would change leaders and prosper under Picket... hopefully.

Yet, unbeknownst to him, a shadow lurked in the cave. Engulfed in silence, it rushed from one house to another, approaching similar crude altars supporting a gem swirling with energy.

With a voracious smile, he gripped it and, fist trembling, shoved it into its mouth.

Each gem swallowed increased his height and powers. After a single one, his bones cracked and expanded, reaching Adam's size. And after the last, he left the room, gazing at the confused man who had helped the rebellion.

CLAP CLAP CLAP

A deliberate clapping echoed in the cave, shattering Adam's thought process. In a flash, he turned towards the threat, an icy shiver running down his spine.

'Don't tell me!'

The thought rumbled in his mind, shattering his good intentions in a sea of deceptive shards. Because before him stood a two-meter Dreg'nar. His muscle fibers moved with every clap, and the thick veins protruding pulsed like pumps.

Despite the creature's foreign appearance, there was something he recognised: the shredded minor's clothes covering his thick legs.

"Picket?"

His voice cracked, unable to believe the scene his eyes fed him. How did he reach the fifth tier?

"Ah! You are sharp, my friend. Thanks to you, I recovered."

Picket's voice cut through the air like a sharp blade.

He noticed how his smile curled cruelly and the red light flickering in hus eyes.

'He scammed me!'

The realisation struck him harder than the hammer he used to forge ores. Picket and his friends weren't slaves. They were criminals chased out of the village!

That's why he saw no trace of the fifth-tier creature, even if he reached the end of the tunnels.

'Because it was him all along! They rebelled against him and sealed his powers with some method!'

His fists trembled, and his jaws bulged in self-reproach.

'I'm an idiot!'

Even if in the grand scheme of things, it didn't change anything, he hated the prickling sensation of being manipulated like a fool left behind.

Had he been too naïve to trust Picket? Or did he want to help because he reminded him of the enslaved summoned?

The more he thought, the more he blamed himself for his mistake.

'Hell is paved with good intentions.'

The saying suddenly rumbled in his mind. Intentions weren't enough.

'I lacked discernment and failed to judge him.'

His bony teeth cracked as his face distorted into an ugly grimace.

"Now what?"

He spat, mana wafting from his eyes, making them glow like azure and emerald stars, ready to explode into a supernova.

"Now? I'll reward you for your help, of course. Come!"

Picket's eyes locked with his, their red sheen burning with malice as he gestured amicably.

Sparks danced in the air as their glares collided with one another.

Then, the creature's laugh reverberated.

"Hahaha. I guess I can't fool you anymore? Such a shame."

He saw him lick his sharp nails with a disappointed grimace, making him shiver in suppressed anger.

"Death it is!"

His voice, a declaration of war, engulfed the cave as he blurred.

His blade reflected the light the next second.

CLANG

The clangour of metal resounded as Picket's nails moved like slithering snakes. Without a slight tremor, the creature's arm endured the strike.

"Physical blows? Amateur. I'm a magical creature!"

Disdainful words echoed in his ears before a forceful blow cracked the drake bones protecting him.

'Shit!'

His body flew backwards. The wind howled as his velocity surpassed his charge, making him understand the appalling truth. Picket's strength and speed surpassed his puppet's.

Before he could think of a countermeasure or break his flight, Picket appeared above him.

Dread gripped his heart as the creature's mouth parted, and its eyes sparkled with glee.

"Here is the reward you wanted, human."

BAM

A dull sound echoed as he raised his mana barrier in catastrophe to save his life. Yet, cracks expanded in a dangerous dance, threatening to shatter it the next second.

'Think! What can I do!'

"Below! Escape through the abyss!"

Anya's cracking voice echoed, making him react out of instinct.

BOOM

He detonated his barrier, using the blast to propel himself downwards and plummet into the unknown.

As his figure disappeared into the thick veil of darkness, Picket snickered.

"Wrong choice. You would have suffered less with me."

With a somersault cleaving the air, he landed at the hole's edges. Then, he raised his palm above it.

"Earth mend."

The rocks rumbled to life. Slowly, they crawled to the hole, covering the gaps with a thick layer.

A minute later, the abyss disappeared, leaving no trace behind.

"Even if you survive the fall, you'll die from the poisonous whispers with no way to climb back up. Hahaha."