Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Angra Mainyu
"Aaaaahhh!!"
He swept everything off the table—trays, saline bottles, everything crashed to the floor as he unleashed all the rage he'd held in for years.
For so long, he'd been nothing but a helpless experiment, a living puppet on a surgical table subjected to endless, incomprehensible pain. His anger had smoldered, dark and unquenchable, building in the abyss of his heart until it was impossible to wash away. His hatred was a bottomless pit, an accumulation of fury that even he couldn't cleanse.
And now, with his eyes taken from him, that hatred had finally erupted, his resentment reaching its peak.
"I'll kill them all! One day, I'll kill every last one of them!"
"Save the world? Hah! You want to save it? Then I'll tear it all down instead!"
"Someday, I swear it... someday…"
His face twisted with rage, his expression vicious and animalistic, a predator driven by nothing but raw, savage bloodlust.
A monstrous roar echoed within his mind, like the growl of a demon emerging from the pits of hell.
The room around him faded into darkness, until everything was shrouded in a black void.
Since that fateful moment when they had taken his sight, the world had become a place of shadows, only the hateful voice in his heart echoing back at him in this darkness, his malice radiating outward like a curse, infecting the very air around him.
And then—clap, clap, clap.
The sound of applause filled the silence.
"Oh, what a riveting performance!"
A dark figure appeared in front of Roy, stepping out from the shadows.
This figure was unlike anything else, entirely black from head to toe, his features a complete void that absorbed light like a black hole. Only his eyes, starkly contrasted in black and white, gleamed with a mocking glint, reflecting Roy's seething anger with cruel amusement.
It was as if he had been entertained by the suffering he had just witnessed, his gaze brimming with satisfaction.
"That was your past, wasn't it? Oh my, you're making quite the scary face!" The shadow's voice was playful, dripping with a sickly charm.
Across from him, Roy's face was filled with an almost palpable malice, a murderous intent so strong it seemed tangible, pressing down on the shadow like a blade. The shadow, unperturbed, chuckled quietly.
"Now, now, don't get the wrong idea—I'm not your enemy. Quite the opposite, actually. I'm here to help you. I'm your friend!"
With open arms, the shadow advanced as if embracing him, an almost gleeful grin on his face.
"After all, we've been together for three whole years, haven't we? I know you better than anyone!"
The shadow's words, despite their strange sincerity, only deepened Roy's scorn.
Roy's face twisted into a mocking smile, his expression worlds apart from the gentle one he wore around others. This was a darker, crueler smile, filled with nothing but contempt.
"You call that 'companionship'? Ha! You've tortured me constantly for three years, and now you claim that's some kind of friendship? Angra Mainyu, you're as twisted as they come."
"Oh, come on now, that's a bit harsh, isn't it?" The shadow threw his hands up in exaggerated resignation, his voice light and careless.
"I had to do something, didn't I? Letting you poke around with those Mystic Eyes of yours would've led to you stealing the Greater Grail right from under me! And I'm a pure-hearted warrior—I don't play the victim here!"
He didn't even deny Roy's accusation.
His identity was as Roy had said—Angra Mainyu.
For three years, this embodiment of malice had been sealed within the Greater Grail, continuously feeding Roy a steady stream of curses.
The shadow clapped his hands, as if dismissing the tension with a sigh.
"Let's not dwell on that," he said, his tone shifting to a false friendliness. "So, what do you say, Roy? How about a little partnership? Become my Master."
"No," Roy replied, his face filled with open disdain.
"Didn't even hesitate, huh?" Angra Mainyu blinked, looking momentarily insulted.
"Don't be so hasty! Just hear me out," he wheedled, as if trying to sweet-talk him into compliance. "What I'm trying to say is, I understand you. I know exactly what you went through. Those so-called righteous people tortured you in the name of salvation, pretended they were doing good while tearing you apart. You hate humanity for what it's done to you, right?"
"I'm just like you. Burdened with the title of All the World's Evil, accused of sins I didn't commit, tortured and killed by those who believed themselves righteous!"
"Humanity? Hah! Their hearts are darker than any void, doing unspeakable things in the name of some twisted idea of good. We're victims of their hypocrisy, you and I. I'm the only one who truly understands you, Roy."
Angra Mainyu extended his hand, his words taking on an almost heroic tone.
"So, why not make a pact with me?"
This was Angra Mainyu, the embodiment of all evil in Zoroastrian dualism, a figure forced into the role of the ultimate evil, the Devil. In reality, he was merely an ordinary young man from ancient Persia, chosen as a scapegoat and offered as a sacrifice by those around him. They twisted his life to embody humanity's darkness, torturing him to death in their so-called pursuit of "good."
"Give me your hatred, Roy. I know you want humanity to burn. This world still has over a billion people left. Don't you want to wipe them out? Let's get rid of every last one of them, once and for all. It would be true justice for all the wrongs done to you."
Angra Mainyu's pitch lacked finesse—he was no smooth-talking demon. His speech had no hint of manipulation, no seductive undertone. It was blunt, almost clumsy, spoken with a chilling honesty.
And yet, his words crawled through Roy's mind, trying to unearth every scrap of rage and pain he'd buried over the years.
"So that's why you dragged me here?" Roy's face was unreadable, his voice flat.
"Bingo!" Angra Mainyu grinned, not hiding his satisfaction.
"Too bad that old fool Matou Zouken didn't manage to break down your barriers before he died. Imagine coming out of hiding only to drop dead—it's practically comedy!"
So, this monster was somehow connected with Matou Zouken as well.
But that was irrelevant now.
"Angra Mainyu," Roy sneered, eyes flashing with open scorn, "you say you understand me. But if you truly did, you'd know that none of this would ever work."
"Yes, I want humanity wiped out. That hatred's still in me, buried deep down, a venom that could poison the world itself. One day, I might just let it all out, consequences be damned."
"But here's the thing—killing everyone isn't enough for me."
Roy's voice was a low, dangerous growl. He stepped closer, his gaze piercing, unwavering.
"So stop flattering yourself. You don't know a damn thing about me."
Angra Mainyu took a step back, the mocking smile faltering.
Roy's intentions, as they were now laid bare, exceeded even the scope of destruction. They were an unrelenting storm, a tempest beyond Angra Mainyu's understanding.
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