Chapter 158: Escape [2]
Chapter 157
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Episode 36 - Escape [2]
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Crack!
The air shattered as if it were a windowpane breaking, and a similar sound echoed loudly.
An old man with an expression so deeply wrinkled it clearly said, "I’m angry, get out of my sight," looked down.
At first glance, it was nothing more than an area filled with rocks and small hills.
Both the ground and the rocks were a deeply dark crimson color.
The typical color found in the First Layer of the Infernal Plane.
The old man floated in the air as it twisted around him, and the Power of Chaos seeped from his body.
It made even the gravity around him tremble.
The old man descended toward the rocky field, and then his body passed through the ground.
The next second, he appeared in front of an enormous temple.
Around the temple stood massive tents while several villains moved in and out of both the tents and the temple itself.
After touching the ground, the old man headed straight toward the temple.
The moment everyone saw him, fear, admiration, and fanaticism were clearly evident, as though they were gazing upon a god.
Without even looking at them, the old man walked at a slow pace and entered the temple.
He walked through a long corridor until he arrived before a massive dark oak door.
Without even using his hands, the door, which stood over ten meters tall, opened on its own.
A hall then came into view, with a table covered in a variety of objects.
The room resembled the command center of a military base.
The old man took a seat at the end of the large table, and the others present sat down as well.
Then a man wearing an elegant suit and a black mask approached him and spoke while holding several papers in his hands:
"Reporting, my lord."
The old man nodded, and shortly afterward the man continued.
"Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain the Rings of Origin, my lord. There was a complication."
Already furious, the old man clenched his teeth as the growing anger inside him intensified even further.
The man trembled; however, he had to suppress the urge to wet himself.
"Two suspicious individuals appeared, whose identities we currently do not know. They took advantage of the situation and somehow managed to steal the rings. One was a man and the other was a woman. However, there was something strange..."
He looked at the old man, who nodded. The man then continued.
"According to the reports, no type of energy, Mana, or Power of Chaos could be sensed from the man who stole the rings. However, he appeared capable of using a kind of telekinesis with which he sent one of our people flying. That individual had been assigned to obtain the rings."
"After they used a scroll to escape, we discovered that the spell used was <Exchange>, a 5-Star spell with a distance limit, so they are probably still in Black City."
"Therefore, we dispatched several teams to search for them; however, all of them were captured by the puppets and guards of Black City, causing us to lose their trail."
"Finally, we were forced to issue a retreat order because all of Black City’s forces, along with the Dome’s owner himself, mobilized within a short period of time. This concludes my report, my lord."
The man bowed and shortly afterward left through the main door.
"..."
Then absolute silence fell over the meeting room.
Everyone present, the Class 9 villains, broke out in a cold sweat as their hands trembled.
They had failed.
Each of them held different positions, as well as different ranks of authority.
Each had an order that had to be carried out.
And together, they bore the responsibility of completing the mission assigned to them.
However, at some point...
They had failed.
For villains, failure was not an option. They pursued goals, dreams, purposes, and ambitions.
They pursued a path that, in their own way, would raise them to the top no matter what they had to do.
And failure on that path meant the failure of everything that drove them forward.
The very reason they were villains.
"You know what failure means, don’t you?"
The old man’s voice caused everyone present to lower their gaze to their trembling hands.
"Failure leads to more failures, eventually."
"It means that you are no longer useful. It means that you will continue to fail."
"And one thing I hate is failure."
"Now you understand what it means to fail while serving under me, don’t you?"
Everyone nodded.
A twisted smile then appeared on the old man’s face.
"Then you understand what failure means."
Everyone nodded, and the old man’s smile only widened.
"Then accept the punishment for your failure."
The very next second, all the Class 9 villains drew their swords or raised their staffs.
Those with swords brought their blades to their necks and, without hesitation, swung them.
Clank!
The sound of several heads hitting the floor echoed through the room as black blood splattered across the table before them and the surrounding floor.
Next, those carrying staffs created spheres pulsing with an enormous amount of Power of Chaos, and then...
Clank!
The spheres were fired directly at their own heads, exploding and vanishing, leaving behind nothing but lifeless bodies.
In just a few seconds, the room that had once been filled with Class 9 villains now contained only corpses.
The old man watched the scene as his smile faded away.
It was not a smile of ecstasy or euphoria; it was a smile born of disappointment, rage, and failure.
"I do not tolerate failures. A single failure leads to more failures."
And eventually, failures would continue to appear.
The old man rose from his seat.
He walked toward a wall and picked up a spear.
Clank!
He drove the spear into the floor, leaving its sharp tip pointed toward his chest.
Then the old man stepped forward and allowed the spear to pierce his chest as black blood spilled across the floor.
"And I do not tolerate my own failures."
***
A few minutes earlier.
The owner of the Dome, Johan von Falkenhayn, a Class 9 villain, was sitting in a chair as he finished reading a report.
Several villains stood before him. They were the organizers of the Auction who, together with him, had been responsible for everything that had happened.
As they reviewed a few matters, someone suddenly entered through the door.
"We’ve found them, my lord."
Upon hearing those words, a smile appeared on Johan’s face.
"Where are they?"
When Johan asked that, the man who had rushed in quickly replied.
"At the northern exit. They’re heading toward the mountains. They’re currently being pursued, but one of them uses Sorcery from the Deception branch."
"Good, I’ll go personally."
After saying that, Johan vanished and, in the very next second, appeared somewhere else.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He turned his head and looked in one direction.
A group of Dark Mages and Dark Knights was pursuing two individuals.
Only one of them used Sorcery and, from time to time, seemed to whisper something, causing all of their pursuers to stop for three seconds.
Then they looked around in confusion, and after another three seconds, continued the chase.
"There they are, you damned bastards."
A tremendous fury threatened to erupt within him.
If he let those two escape and failed to recover the rings...
The Sorcerer King would torture him for his negligence.
Just thinking about him made Johan’s body tremble with pure terror.
He had once witnessed the Sorcerer King torturing others and knew that death was true peace compared to such suffering.
Without wasting any time, his body blurred.
Then he instantly appeared in front of the duo.
The person using Sorcery stopped, and terror appeared throughout their entire being. Their body trembled as they muttered:
"Johan von Falkenhayn..."
At those words alone, a smile appeared on Johan’s face. Then he extended his hand toward the duo.
The Power of Chaos began to surge forth, but then...
"...?!"
Suddenly, a magic circle appeared on the ground beneath his feet.
His expression changed from satisfaction at capturing the duo to disbelief, and then to panic.
He quickly tried to use his Sorcery, but it was already too late.
Chains emerged from the magic circle, binding each of Johan’s limbs while his Power of Chaos was sealed.
Johan looked toward the source of that magic.
In the hand of the man standing beside the woman was a torn scroll: the Sealing Scroll.
And beside the scroll was a small emerald-colored sphere: the Titan Core.
’A Sealing Scroll...’
That man seemed to have been waiting for his appearance. He had anticipated Johan’s arrival and, because of that, had prepared the Sealing Scroll.
Instantly, immense fury exploded within him.
However, the duo in front of him wasted no time and started running.
"Let’s go."
The woman reacted a little late; however, she also began to run.
Johan watched helplessly as they moved farther away. Then he looked at the pursuers.
"What are you doing, you sons of bitches? Go after them now, or I’ll kill you myself."
"Y-yes, sir."
All of them quickly resumed their pursuit and began chasing the duo.
Meanwhile, Johan watched as the duo reached the foot of the mountain and appeared to enter through a crevice.
A premonition struck Johan.
’They’re going to escape.’
That was his thought, and soon the nightmare of the Sorcerer King and what he would do to him for his failure struck him once again.
