Chapter 116: Bloodstained
Chapter 116: Bloodstained
[Stand back, Mei Gui,] I said through our telepathic link. [I’m blasting this shit open.]
[Master…understood.] She seemed hesitant at first, but eventually succumbed to my will.
I know this probably is a bad idea, but right now, I don’t care. I don’t care about anything. I don’t care that some of them might be innocent. I don’t care that I’m going up against 100 Advanced Mages at once. I don’t care that this will stain my hands red with blood, forever.I don’t care…these bastards belong to the family that murdered my parents. And so, they must, and will, be killed.
Although I didn’t need to chant, right now, I did it anyway.
“Level Two Fire Magic – Twin Dragons.”
Immediately, two massive dragons conjured and took shape before me, and I sent them flying towards the door in front of me.
BOOM!
A loud explosion echoed across the silent night, as the doors were blasted into pieces. However, my pets didn’t stop there. They continued flying within the manor, attacking any mages within their range. By the time the Advanced Mages came to their senses, 10 of them had been greatly injured – some from the initial explosion, some from getting nearly eaten by my dragons.
“Don’t panic, men! Subdue the fire dragons using Water Magic!” a coarse voice yelled out. I assumed he was the head honcho of the Advanced Mages…the guards of the Xuan family.
“Y-Yes sir!” another voice called out in response, and several others followed.
“Level Three Water Magic – Aquatic Binding!” Having regained their composure, multiple Advanced Mages chanted out this spell simultaneously, and my two dragons were soon entangled within bright ropes of water, immobilized and helpless. Soon enough, their flames were put out, and the two of them vanished from existence.
[Master, should we launch another Twin Dragons attack?] Mei Gui asked telepathically.
[No…what’s the point of that? I’m killing them with my own two hands. I wouldn’t be satisfied if I just sat back and watched them get eliminated one by one…this, is where the real fun begins.]
[Very well, Master. I shall remain on stand-by.]
[Mhm.]
As Mei Gui sank into the shadows (using Vanishing Shadows), the guards seemed to have noticed me, and were glaring at me in disdain.
“Are you…Xuan Kai?” asked the coarse voice from earlier as he stepped outside the manor, the rest of them trailing behind him.
“So what if I am?” I responded with a smug tone.
“Hmph…how imprudent,” the man muttered. “I am the leader of the Xuan Family Sentries, Hon-“
“Shut up,” I interrupted coldly. “I couldn’t care less who you are or where you’re from. If you’ve got something to say, say it with your fists.”
As a dangerous gleam formed in the man’s eyes, I narrowed my own in return, and made a beckoning gesture with my right hand, taunting them.
“Come at me, weaklings.”
Several of the guards began making a ruckus as soon as they heard my words, but their leader with the coarse voice stopped them. “Fine. I shall take you on, boy.”
I scoffed and shook my head. “Just you alone?”
“Is that a problem?” the man asked as he drew his sword.
“Heh. Yeah, it is,” I replied slowly. “You’re…too weak.”
“What did you just say?!” the head honcho glared at me with face flushed crimson from anger. All he was missing was the steam coming out of his ears and nose. “I will show you your place, trash! Fight me, now!”
“Oh, sure,” I said casually. However, I then drew on the hatred I kept dormant for so long, and flashed a glare filled with killing intent towards the man. “Just don’t blame me…if you end up dying so badly even hell won’t accept you.”
“BASTARD!” he yelled, charging towards me with his greatsword.
I nimbly dodged out of the way to the side. So he’s a bruiser, huh…I see. Bruisers were people who excelled in using amplification magic on themselves to get close to their opponents and turn the fight into a melee one, which is to their advantage.
The man swung at me again, but I deftly dodged once more and appeared behind him. Of course, I had cast several Potentia spells on myself to make things easier, but honestly, I was pretty sure I could dodge his slow attacks even without the help of Blessing Magic.
I let out a low laugh. “Is that all you got, oh great leader of the Xuan Family Sentries?”
“Bastard…” he growled, and drove his greatsword into the ground, creating a crack on the pavement. “You forced me to do this, boy.”
Saying that, he began muttering some inaudible words, charging up energy as a black whirlwind began forming around him, and my eyes widened at the realization of what he was going to do. I quickly moved in to stop him, but it was too late. A massive shockwave sent me flying backwards into a tree, as the man’s transformation was complete.
“Ngh…” I struggled to my feet once more, and glanced down at my bloodied fists. They had scraped somewhere as I was falling, I assume. Man, I should get some gloves…
“Boy, do you understand the difference between us now?” the man walked, no, flew closer to me, now in his demon form.
“Heh…you’re a member of the Midnight Syndicate too, huh?” I asked, patting down my cloak to get dust off.
The man smirked and showed me the unmistakable dragon emblem of the criminal organization on his right arm. “So what if I am?”
“Birds of a feather flock together, as they say…” I murmured. “Idiots are going to band together too, naturally.”
“Bastard!” he heaved his greatsword and swung it down at me, but I vanished in an instant.
Space – Eliminate.
I reappeared directly in front of him, and punched him directly in the face, sending him crashing into the ground.
“Huh…shame I couldn’t unsheathe my weapon in time,” I murmured with a sigh. “Otherwise, your head wouldn’t be still on your body right about now.”
“Impossible…how are you able to use Space Magic?!” the man cried out in shock. “I was told you could only use Fire, Light, and Blessing Magic…I let my guard down, tch.”
I merely smirked, and looked at him condescendingly as he stood back up. “I’ll consider telling you if you killed yourself right now.”
“Don’t look down on me, boy!” the man yelled with rage, charging towards me once again, greatsword in his hands.
“Too slow.” I jumped directly over him as he cleaved down with his weapon, and landed on his head. In Demon Form, he was a lot bigger, so I could stand atop his hair no problem. In the process of jumping, however, I had used the Level One Ice Element spell, Freeze, to immobilize his hands, keeping them glued to his greatsword. That way, he was unable to get me off using his arms.
[Mei Gui, keep his hands in check for me.]
[Copy, Master.]
After telling Mei Gui telepathically to help out slightly, I noticed that the man was flailing wildly around trying to get me off, but I used one hand to hold on to his hair so I wouldn’t get thrown off. And next, with the other, I aimed it directly at his head…
Level Two Fire Magic – Pyroflux.
A long disintegration ray of black magma shot out of my hand, and burned a hole straight into his head.
“GRAHHH!” the man yelled in pain, anger, or perhaps both. However, I kept a firm grip on his hair and remained on his head while continuing to pour the 5000 degrees ray of death directly into his body.
After around 30 seconds, I finally decided it was enough, and jumped off of his head. Mei Gui, seeing that I had gotten off safely, released the support she had been giving in keeping the man’s hands frozen. The black ice shattered immediately, and the man fell to ground, clutching his head in a bloodcurdling howl of pain.
“I’ll…kill…you…bastard…” he muttered, and fell to the ground with those as his last words. Just like with another Midnight Syndicate member a while ago, his demon-transformed body evaporated directly into thin air, as his soldiers watched on in shock. The only thing that remained, was his greatsword, emitting an ominous red glow from the runic characters inscribed on the flat side of the blade.
“N-No way…Commander Hong, defeated?!” one of the guards stammered, trembling from fear.
“F-Fret not, everyone!” another said forcefully. “H-He may have defeated Commander Hong, but there is no way he can take on all 99 of us at the same time….t-there’s no way…y-yes, there’s just no way…”
As that guard trailed off more and more trying to convince himself, I walked closer to the 99 Advanced Mages. “Wimps…are you going to sit here and be slaughtered by me, or come and fight? Either way is fine by me…but just keep in mind – both options will inevitably result in your deaths.”
“E-Everyone! If we fight him, we still have a chance!” a voice shouted. “He’s just a damn Intermediate Mage! W-We can take him on together!”
“R-Right! Better than just being killed off one by one!” another agreed.
I looked down and laughed darkly. “Well then…come at me, idiots.”
Kukuku…my hands are already stained with the blood of many…what’s another few dozen more?