Richard rushed forward, his figure blurring as he aimed at them.
The hooded duo responded instantly.
"Tenebrae, protege nos!"
The one with the axe slammed the haft of his weapon into the ground as a wave of darkness erupted in all directions like liquid shadow, coating the area in murky black fog.
"Terra, forma murum!"
The one with the daggers raised his hands. Jagged walls of stone burst from the ground around them like jagged fangs, creating cover points and corridors in the mist.
Richard's blade gleamed under the low light, the white grip stark against the ink-stained fog.
He stepped left, only to twist his body mid-step and duck under a flying dagger laced with corrosive darkness.
Clang!
It skimmed past his cheek as he deflected it with the flat of his blade.
A grunt resounded. Then, a blur.
The axe wielder came swinging down with a vicious overhead cleave.
Richard sidestepped to the right, letting the weapon slam into the cracked pavement with a BOOM, fragments of stone erupting like shrapnel.
Before the attacker could pull the axe back, Richard stepped in.
His blade flashed and–
Slice!
A thin, precise cut across the attacker's ribs–but the darkness immediately surged, closing the wound.
"You can heal huh?" Richard muttered, slightly impressed.
Behind him, he sensed movement. The dagger wielder carted through the fog, using the stone walls to rebound like a wild beast.
"Umbra spiculum!"
A dozen shadowy spikes launched toward him every direction.
Richard's eyes narrowed.
He then spun his body, his blade dancing in a tight spiral. Each strike that neared him was met with the clean clang of steel.
Sparks and black mist flew with each clash as he deflected them all in a swift, elegant pirouette.
His back was to the axe wielder now. It was a fatal position for most.
Not him tho.
He leapt into the air just as the axe wielder lunged for a horizontal strike.
As the axe carved through empty air beneath him, Richard twisted mid-air, feet first.
Crack!
His boots slammed down on the man's shoulders, driving him into the ground. The earth cracked beneath such force.
In a seamless motion, he backflipped off the man's back and landed in a crouch, only to spring forward a heartbeat later.
The dagger wielder blinked. Just once. And Richard was already in front of him.
The man raised both daggers to block.
But...
He was too slow.
And it was too late.
SHHHING–!
A single upward slash.
His blade cut through the air with a cry like tearing silk, and in the next instant–
Splurt!
Blood sprayed in a crescent arc.
The dagger wielder stumbled back. His arms, both severed at the elbow, fell uselessly to his sides.
The twin blades clattered to the floor, drowned in his own blood.
"No... no–!"
Richard didn't stop. A cold, clean thrust straight through the man's chest silenced him forever. The tip of his blade jutted out his back.
With a sharp pull, Richard withdrew it. The body collapsed at his feet.
The fog flickered. The shadows trembled.
The axe wielder, barely recovered, charged with a bellow of rage. His dark aura swelled violently as his muscles expanded grotesquely.
"Umbra daemonium!"
Shadow wings burst from his back. Horns of darkness curled out of his forehead. His axe glowed with runes, black flame licking the edge.
But Richard only smiled.
"Slow. You're too slow."
FLASH–
Richard vanished from his view.
And a split-second later–
CLANG!
He reappeared behind the axe wielder. The enemy froze.
No wound.
No pain.
And then–
Slice.
A thin red line appeared on his neck. And then his head fell.
The mutated corpse hit the ground a second later.
Richard exhaled, spinning the blade once in his grip before letting it rest on his shoulder.
>You have killed two apostles of the Demon Cult.
>Exp received:700Exp
"Nice," he muttered.
Then he turned to look at the town.
Then a smile popped on his face as he walked toward it.
No mercy.
The streets echoed with the screams of the dying.
It didn't matter who they were. Civilians, cultists, beasts, all were torn apart in a single stroke. Some hunters tried fighting back but they were torn apart moments later.
Blood soaked the soil. Flame and smoke followed him like a cloak. He was a reaper in the shape of man.
The town was dying. No. It was already dead at this point.
Most of its inhabitants were dead already.
Then–
He paused.
Something... shifted in the air.
His head turned slowly to the west, eyes narrowing.
Far off, just at the edge of the destruction wrecked, a sleek black car sped through the ruined streets. Reinforced armor. And the sigil of the Holy Order.
But more importantly – he sensed the ones inside.
And his lips curled upward.
"Crusaders, huh..."
But that wasn't the only thing that captured his attention.
Ben.
Ben was in the car.
The boy he originally planned to kill but decided against it cause of risk.
But that was before this.
In this chaos, he could kill Ben and no one would know it was him. He may have been Richard's friend, but he was Deivaros' potential enemy.
And for Deivaros, it was better to nip that threat in the bud.
A faint twitch started at the edge of his mouth. Then a low chuckle. That chuckle turned into laughter–a manic, uncontrollable one.
He may have no choice but that doesn't mean he doesn't or wouldn't enjoy doing this.
He then raised both arms, letting the blade float beside him as lightning crackled around his left palm and fire roared in his right.
"Let's try something new..."
The lightning arced violently–bright, jagged, blinding.
The fire flared, forming a searing ball of molten rage.
Richard brought both together, his palms almost touching. The elements hissed and fought–then, they began merging.
Blue and red twisted.
The air screeched, warped with heat.
Then came the pulse.
And a new energy formed.
Different from fire and lightning.
Plasma.
Pure, unstable, and destructive plasma.
It hovered between his hands, growing into a spear–long, jagged, and pulsing with energy.
The ground beneath him melted. The air rippled. And then, he hurled it.
BOOOOOOM–!!
The spear rocketed through the air, a blinding trail of destruction in its wake. It hit the car just as it passed a three story apartment building.
And a white-hot explosion erupted.
KRRAAA-KOOOOM!!
Sound shattered.
Glass, steel, and blood sprayed into the sky.
The shockwave leveled three buildings nearby.
Flames reached the cloud.
And Richard just stood there, watching the inferno while grinning with cold satisfaction at his work.