Garrick and Michael met in the afternoon. Both were more than just a bit unhappy with the whole situation, now that they had lost their hard-earned credits for the second week in a row.
“We should set our differences aside and work together on getting rid of Thalion,” Garrick began, starting the conversation.
They were in Garrick’s house, and both had brought ten followers with them.
“I agree. What if he does something like that again?” Michael nodded, voicing his agreement.
Of course, this wasn’t the only reason they wanted to kill Thalion. He had found a way to steal credits from other survivors without even killing them. Even better, there were slave cuffs available that could bind people to their will. While the control wasn’t absolute, it was good enough for both men to use as leverage. Then there was the mysterious item Thalion must have bought from the system shop—a treasure that both men desired. The power such an item could hold was unimaginable, driving their determination.
This was why they had gathered all their strongest fighters. As night began to fall and a report came in that Thalion had returned to his tower, they knew it was time. Over forty people began moving in the direction of the massive tower.
Michael was at level 68, and Garrick at level 67. Most of their men were in the early level 60s. Of course, they were all angry and thirsted for blood. Thalion had stolen their credits, stoking their frustration. They arrived at the tower’s closed door, and the first man slammed into it but it didn’t budge.
“Should we ring the bell, or does anyone have a key?” the confused man asked awkwardly.
“You idiot, let me handle it,” Garrick snapped, his face reddening, before smashing his shoulder against the gate. Still, it wouldn’t move.
“You two, help me,” Garrick ordered two of the heavy warriors nearby.
Together, they crashed into the gate three times before it finally broke open, and the group surged up the stairs. Unfamiliar with the layout of the tower, they began opening every door they came across, but each room was empty.
Finally, one of the heavy warriors threw himself against the door on the top, the only one that was locked, shattering it and the entire group stormed inside as quickly as possible.
There, they saw Thalion standing calmly, with blood from the floor rising into his hand before disappearing.
“Kill that bastard!” Garrick roared before anyone else could speak.
The light warriors charged forward. Some wielded long, slender blades, others carried dual swords, and one even fought with just a dagger.
In a blur of motion, a crimson sword appeared in Thalion’s hand. With a fluid movement, almost too fast for the eye to follow, he spun to the side, dodging one blade, deflecting another, and slicing cleanly through the neck of the light warrior to his right.
In just a few exchanges, over six light warriors lay dead on the ground.
“How can someone be this skilled with a sword?” Michael said aloud, unable to hide his astonishment.
He shouted at his men, “Don’t just stand there—after him!”
But Thalion was already moving. Blood thorns erupted from his body, shooting with terrifying speed at the archers. Most managed to dodge, but one mage was hit in the leg and screamed as multiple crimson thorns sprouted from his body, killing him in moments. Even their two healers could do nothing to save him.
With another sweep of his sword, Thalion unleashed a mana wave, throwing several mid-level fighters and one heavy warrior back.
Michael suddenly felt a pull on his blood. Grimacing, he resisted with all his might, pushing back the strange presence invading his body. Most of his warriors managed to withstand the pull as well, but two were drained of their blood and collapsed. The crimson streams flowed toward Thalion, joining rivers of blood from the corpses already littering the room.
It was like a macabre red flower blooming, the blood forming intricate streams behind Thalion.
Michael saw his chance and unleashed a massive stream of flames at Thalion, but the attack was blocked midway by a mana barrier. An archer, seizing the opportunity, fired a charged arrow that shattered the barrier.
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Thalion moved fluidly, as if controlling gravity itself, dodging the incoming flames. The blood he had absorbed was nowhere to be seen after the barrier broke.
Swinging his sword in a wide arc, Thalion unleashed a devastating red slash, the attack racing toward the archers and mages with blinding speed.
Three mages combined their power to form a single, strong barrier, which successfully blocked the attack, though Michael noticed the shield vibrating for a moment. Just how much power was in that single attack?
Since the backline couldn’t contribute much at the moment, the heavy warriors charged in for the kill, unleashing multiple skills at Thalion. He deflected most of them with his crimson sword, but a few strikes landed, inflicting deep cuts. These deeper wounds, however, healed with incredible speed, leaving him fully recovered moments later.
“How was such a feat possible? Was it the item he bought that healed him?” Michael wondered, throwing a lance of fire at Thalion. Thalion spun to the side, dodging the attack with perfect precision. His movement was flawless, adjusting just enough to evade the skill while slicing the leg off a heavy warrior with a single, fluid motion.
Next, he slammed his fist into the ground, sending a shockwave rippling through the room. The wave knocked several fighters off their feet and even fractured the floor beneath them. Michael could only watch as Thalion dropped through the resulting hole.
“He’s trying to escape—after him!” Michael and Garrick roared in unison, raising their weapons in triumph as their warriors scrambled to pursue. Some leapt down the hole, while others exited through the door. Michael and Garrick opted for the door; there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
Thalion had killed some of their men, an impressive feat, but even he couldn’t hold out against over thirty warriors who were almost twenty levels higher than him. He had most likely used all his mana and stamina and was now trying to escape with his life.
Meanwhile, Thalion was jolted back into his body as he ended the ritual. This time, he hadn’t traversed through countless planes of existence. Instead, he found himself rooted firmly in the present. The power he had drawn from the outsider currently coursed through his soul and body, filling him with overwhelming strength.
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Just as he stabilized, a heavy warrior smashed through the door, with several others close behind.
Thalion felt confident about his chances to win this fight, but his first priority was to recall the blood from the ritual circle. He didn’t want anyone to discover what he had accomplished today, just in case any of them managed to survive—a possibility he would not allow.
It was time to send a message, to make an example of anyone foolish enough to defy him. It was Garrick's and Michael’s fatal mistake to assume Thalion had broken the floor to escape. While the onslaught had grown challenging, his intention had never been to flee. It was to ensure none of them would escape.
Thalion stepped into the shadows, transforming into the umbral predator. The room darkened as the shadows stretched and deepened, growing heavier under the weight of his presence.
The first seven warriors to jump through the hole didn’t spot him at first—a mistake that cost them their lives. A claw of shadow shot out, tearing four of them apart instantly. The remaining three reacted just in time. Two managed to partially block the attack with shields and weapons, though they were badly injured, while the third crouched low, dodging the strike completely.
Thalion wasted no time, launching himself at them just as two more fighters dropped into the room. His claws slashed from side to side, cutting down warriors left and right. One man, confident in his speed, tried to evade him, but Thalion was behind him in an instant, ripping the man in two.
Garrick and Michael hurried down the stairs as fast as they could, with Garrick and some of his heavy warriors rushing through the already-open, three-meter-tall door leading into the chamber where Thalion and their fighters were battling.
Garrick was eager to go for the killing blow. It would strengthen his position in the camp considerably. He was accompanied by two healers, four archers, six mages who had stayed with Michael, and five additional heavy-class fighters, including heavy warriors and berserkers.
Garrick entered the chamber first with a triumphant roar, only to witness a man being effortlessly torn apart by a creature of darkness. Violet eyes turned toward Garrick, holding the promise of death.
Garrick couldn’t stop now—not without blocking his men from entering—so he charged forward. What could a level 47 beast do against him, someone close to level 70? With the help of his men, it should be more than manageable to kill this abomination.
Thalion watched as the warriors rushed toward him. He had hoped to block the stairs, but it seemed things wouldn’t go entirely his way. No matter.
Thalion charged Garrick, who looked momentarily surprised. Garrick clearly hadn’t anticipated such aggression, especially against an opponent outnumbered and out-leveled. There were weapons in the group that Thalion preferred to avoid—for example, the massive hammer wielded by one of the heavy warriors.
Thalion smashed into Garrick’s shield, knocking him backward, then immediately found himself surrounded by multiple warriors. They swung at him from all directions, forcing him to dodge an arrow and an icicle aimed at his head.
Though he was struck several times, none of the blows were strong enough to sever limbs, and his wounds healed almost instantaneously. His recovery speed had more than doubled, allowing him to exchange blows freely with the heavy warriors. The pain was bad, but the golden mountain had pushed his pain tolerance to an entire new level. It allowed him to have a clear mind even with the damage done to his body.
Before Garrick could regain his footing, Thalion had already killed half of his men. An arrow struck him in the shoulder, but the creature just ignored it.
It wasn’t a charged arrow but carried the element of ice, attempting to freeze Thalion's body. This, however, failed entirely, as the darkness rising from his skin annihilated the ice instantly.
Garrick and Michael watched with wide eyes as over half of their men were killed in mere seconds. Realizing there was no way they could kill Thalion today, they faced a grim truth. With their credits gone, they couldn’t escape to the next stage. There was only one option left to survive: run.
Garrick and Michael turned, fleeing the room and running down the stairs, desperately hoping their men could hold the monster off long enough for them to escape.
Thalion saw them abandon their people and narrowed his eyes. This was unacceptable. He had no intention of letting those cowards escape. Pushing his body to the limit, he continued tearing apart the last heavy warriors. Arrows from the rangers flew toward him, but his heightened senses—an effect of his title—allowed him to distinguish which arrows needed to be dodged and which he could simply endure.
The mages were the first to notice that their leaders were fleeing and already slipped away toward the door. Meanwhile, the two archers and the healers fought desperately, unaware that the rest of their allies were either dead or gone.
Thalion grabbed the last heavy warrior and hurled him at the archers, then unleashed another shadow claw. The attack tore through the remaining fighters, either killing them outright or injuring them so severely that they could no longer pose a threat.
Thalion activated abyssal devourer, sending dark tentacles shooting out from his body. The tendrils engulfed everyone in the room, dead or alive, absorbing their darkness into him. As the tentacles retracted, the room fell silent. The darkness he consumed greatly empowered him, and he shifted back into his human form.
Without hesitation, he activated mistform and sped after the fleeing fighters. Moments later, he materialized outside the tower, spotting seven arcs of fire streaking across the sky toward the jungle. Pulling out a token, he sent a message to Kaldrek, instructing him to kill Garrick or, at the very least, stay close so Thalion could deal with him later.
Thalion triggered mistform again, surging toward the nearest mage. The mage shouted in alarm as Thalion appeared beside him, unleashing a barrage of blood thorns. Still caught off guard, the mage failed to muster a proper defense and fell within moments. A single thorn pierced his foot and grew rapidly, spreading through his body and killing him in seconds.
The other mages, having witnessed this, scattered in different directions, flying as fast as they could. Thalion had no difficulty pursuing them. With his title, the sanguine thorn, the amulet, and the connection stolen from the Outsider, his mana replenished almost instantaneously. It took only ten seconds for half his mana pool to recover—a rate that was truly insane.
Using mistform repeatedly, Thalion quickly caught and killed four of the fleeing mages. However, the other three had gained too much distance, disappearing into the jungle. Thalion had to choose since, after killing one more, the others were likely out of reach for him.
He targeted the fastest, Michael, who had traveled the farthest. Clearing half the distance with mistform, Thalion transformed into eagly. Although his mana regeneration was extraordinary, using mistform for the entire pursuit was too risky, so he opted for flight instead.
With feather glide and tempest shroud active, he accelerated rapidly. Every time Michael transformed into flames to teleport several kilometers ahead, Thalion countered with skydive, closing the distance in bursts.
Soon, Thalion was within range. Charging a lightning beam, a skill stolen from the snake boss, he let the power hum through his body, amplified by his horns and connection to the outsider. He released the beam in a devastating burst of electricity.
Michael barely managed to transform into flames again, narrowly dodging the attack. He reappeared a few meters to the side, but Thalion quickly adjusted, forcing Michael to teleport yet again. The fire mage barely evaded another beam, the attack grazing him as he reappeared.
Thalion wasn’t finished. Activating all his skills, he conjured a storm. Lightning struck from the sky as winds howled, creating a chaotic domain. Michael struggled to launch any attacks, his fire magic disrupted by the storm’s interference. After being struck by two lightning bolts, Michael faltered, and Thalion seized the opportunity.
A final lightning beam hit its mark, ending Michael’s life instantly. Thalion caught the falling corpse and placed it in his spatial ring before turning back toward his base.
By the time he returned, Kaldrek had already sent word. Garrick was on the road, holding a woman hostage in a desperate attempt to escape.
This was perfect. Thalion didn’t need to play the villain anymore. Saving the woman’s life would show everyone he wasn’t interested in enslaving them or stealing their credits. But would assist them in their progress for power. He needed strong citizens to gather materials and blood for himself after all.