Chapter 605: Chapter 604: The Gradually Changing Self

The attack on the HELLSING headquarters did not bring about any disastrous results. For Fang Zheng, the two vampires leading the attack were merely rookies, and he was able to easily take care of one of them. Naturally, the others were no exception. It didn’t take long before the vampires and ghoul army invading the HELLSING headquarters were completely wiped out. During the whole process, Alucard didn’t even have a chance to make a move.

Of course, there were many things to be busy with after the great battle. After all, most of the buildings had been destroyed by the ghouls and needed to be rebuilt. The bodies of the guard soldiers killed by the ghouls also needed to be collected. Although Fang Zheng had returned in time to save many, a check afterwards revealed that almost two-thirds of the defense troops guarding the HELLSING headquarters had died. The compensation and funeral arrangements for these people were going to be a troublesome matter.

But these were things that Intagura needed to think about. For Fang Zheng, he had another problem to solve.

That was the influence of the Abyss on him.

Fang Zheng knew that each world had its own distinct aura and feeling, just as walking in a spacious and bright futuristic hotel, a gloomy and cold tomb, or a cozy and pleasant cabin would give you different feelings and atmospheres, thus influencing your reactions accordingly.

Just like the malice and corruption he had felt from fallen humans in the Pitch Black World, in this world, Fang Zheng felt a kind of... instinctual berserk madness.

Even Intagura, who appeared cool and tough, and the old butler Walter, who nearly embodied the word "gentleman" to its core, Fang Zheng could feel a madness coursing through their veins, deep within their hearts. This seemed to be the norm for most people in this world, just as the maliciousness of humans in the Pitch Black World was infinitely amplified. Most people here seemed to have difficulty retaining their sanity... or rather, they maintained a kind of rational madness.

Even the seemingly naive and silly policewoman was not an exception.

If he had crossed over in a normal state, Fang Zheng would have been unaffected by the atmosphere of this world. However, the problem now was that he had been tainted by the Abyss.

This made Fang Zheng’s emotions extremely sensitive and easily influenced by external factors.

Like during that previous fight against the blond man, the Fang Zheng from the Main World wouldn’t have wasted words with him, would have simply gone over, chopped him up, and burned the remains. But the Fang Zheng in that battle instead wanted to squeeze and enjoy his torment; he yearned to see this pretentious guy wail, beg for mercy, and then die a miserable death in front of him.

Fang Zheng couldn’t deny that when he saw the blond man twisting his face and screaming in front of him, he felt a kind of... pleasure, from the bottom of his heart.

Like a person pouring water into an anthill, watching the ants rush out in panic and then struggling to death in the water.

Like the Swarm trapping desperate prey in a dead end and ripping it to shreds in one wave.

Like a Giant Dragon watching lower beings tremble and grovel before it, begging for mercy.

"I never expected, there would be such an influence..."

Fang Zheng’s biggest problem now was that the Abyss had not only affected his human aspect, but it was like a chain reaction, activating the parts of the Zerg and Time Dragon within his body as well. This meant that Fang Zheng had to endure the instinctual invasions from three races.

Plus the influence of the "external atmosphere" of this world, Fang Zheng found his personality undergoing subtle changes.

If Ester hadn’t reminded him in time, Fang Zheng did not know what he might have become.

"Master?"

Hearing the voice next to his ear, Fang Zheng turned his head to see the silver-haired Sword Sprite lying beside him, looking at him. Ester was still dressed in nothing but over-knee socks, but Fang Zheng was not in the mood to appreciate the physique of his own elf at the moment.

"Are you alright?"

"Hmm... strictly speaking, not really..."

Fang Zheng reached out and touched Ester’s head, the biggest problem now was that what Fang Zheng was encountering wasn’t some sort of curse or similar magic attack. The Abyss was a sediment of human nature, plainly speaking, it was the dark side of humanity. And if anyone has a bright side, they naturally have a dark side as well. If Fang Zheng wanted to discard the dark side of humanity, that would mean he had become a pure "Saint".

Those religious fanatics might aspire to such a state, but Fang Zheng did not want that. He was very clear that if humans weren’t driven by their dark side, they might end up achieving nothing. And Fang Zheng had such a large Heavenly Dao Palace to manage, he couldn’t just find some famous mountain or ancient temple to seclude himself for a lifetime.

If it was a curse, perhaps Ester could have solved it, but as it was an issue of "instinct," it was not so easy to address.

"If I could travel to the Immortal Hero World, perhaps I could find some solutions..."

As he looked up at the ceiling above him, Fang Zheng murmured to himself. Although he seemed normal in his daily life, once he was in battle, Fang Zheng found his emotions began to spiral out of control.

What’s more, since it was normal to feel intense emotions during battle, it was hard for Fang Zheng to distinguish between what was normal "passion" and what was twisted "darkness".

Not only that, but the reason Fang Zheng was so troubled was that... he found with the increasing influence of the "Abyss" power, his powers belonging to the Dragon Race and the Swarm were also gradually returning. After killing the blond man, Fang Zheng had regained half of his original physical strength.

If Fang Zheng was right, then at the end of this world, the powers from the Swarm and Dragon Race within him would awaken anew.

It was like walking a tightrope, where the end represented endless treasures, but one wrong step could plunge him into the abyss.

"Knock, knock, knock."

As Fang Zheng was deep in thought, a sudden knocking on the door interrupted him. Hearing the knock, Fang Zheng gestured to Ester. Quickly, a layer of photon particles appeared around the silver-haired Sword Sprite and formed into a crisp white short-skirted uniform—Ester could use the power of Elves to create clothes so Fang Zheng had her change into the battle uniform from the Hall of the Star Dawn managed by Black Katie in the Heavenly Dao Palace.

At least this gave Fang Zheng some peace of mind.

More importantly, he wasn’t keen on being seen as a pervert who wandered around with a naked, beautiful young lady.

And besides, as his Elf, it wouldn’t feel great for Ester to be exposed to others, would it?

"Come in."

Following Fang Zheng’s voice, the door opened and Walter respectfully entered.

"Mr. Fang Zheng, the Young Lady needs to speak with you."

"Oh? What is it?"

While listening to Walter, Fang Zheng got out of bed and casually picked up his jacket.

"Has there been another vampire attack?"

"No."

This time, however, Walter gave Fang Zheng a negative response.

"The additional personnel from the HELLSING organization have arrived; the Young Lady hopes you will meet with them."

"Oh? They’ve finally arrived?"

Hearing Walter’s response, Fang Zheng wasn’t very surprised. In the previous vampire attack, most of the guard soldiers from the HELLSING organization were killed and the rest had withdrawn from the combat sequence. Moreover, after that incident, the Young Lady finally began to take the internal defense of the HELLSING organization seriously—previous security measures were only intended to fend off minimal invasions.

But now it seemed that the defense level of the HELLSING organization needed to be elevated.

"Is it the military?"

"No."

Facing Fang Zheng’s inquiry, Walter shook his head.

"It’s mercenaries.

"...Mercenaries?"

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