195 Gruesome battle.
[Third Person View]
A sly smirk curled upon the man's lips as he released the buckle, allowing his belt to slip away, and his pants to descend downward.
Before him, the girl's form.....maybe nothing more than seven years old in age who was teetered on the edge of consciousness. Her delicate figure confined, one leg ensnared within the unforgiving embrace of the cage's bars. This predicament forced her legs to part, an intimate display that unveiled every nuance of her being.
Amidst the vulnerability, the faint trace of blood seeping from her ovaries whispered a grim tale of the countless violations she had endured.
A stifled gasp quivered in the air, followed by an audible *gulp* as the man's throat tightened with anticipation. His eyes danced wildly, consumed by a manic fervor. His breath quickened, hanging thick in the charged atmosphere.
A low, sinister chuckle broke free from his lips. "Hehe, enjoy," the man who had orchestrated this macabre spectacle tapped him on the shoulder, retreating into the shadows.
Every gaze, including that of the broker, remained transfixed upon the unfolding tableau. It had taken him three grueling fights to earn this coveted opportunity.
The raucous cheers of the onlookers faded into a heavy silence. The collective breaths of the audience seemed suspended as they awaited his approach to the helpless girl.
With deliberate sensuality, he slid his thumb along the edge of his underwear, inching them downward. As they descended, his engorged manhood was unveiled.
Sniffing the air, he inclined himself toward the girl, drawn by an irresistible allure.
Thad...
It all unfolded with such abruptness that it caught everyone off guard, until a jarring noise reverberated through the stillness.
The collective gaze of onlookers froze as a gruesome tableau painted itself before their eyes. A torrent of blood erupted, splattering the surroundings, as if an invisible hand had detonated the man's head before it could make contact with the girl.
It was as though...
The broker's gaze faltered, and he couldn't fathom how he had failed to perceive anything amiss. His attention shifted to the far end of the dark chamber, where a silhouette perched atop a distant cage. Only the eyes gleamed with an eerie luminescence.
"What!??" Panic coursed through the bewildered goons around him. One of them bolted toward the fallen man but froze in his tracks. Where there should have been a head, there remained naught but a gruesome mélange of gore and flesh, with a peculiar, deformed scrap of metal - perhaps a sword, warped by the ferocious impact.
As their gazes converged toward the sword, a realization struck. Across from it, everyone silently faced the enigmatic figure who had emerged, a phantom amidst the chaos.
"Who are you?" Broker inquired, his hat adjusted with a touch of discomfort replacing any fear.
Tuk*
– the figure descended gracefully from the cage, unconcerned with concealing his presence.
The rhythmic cadence of his steps resonated with a crystalline clarity, impossible for anyone to overlook. After traversing a brief distance, he came to a halt.
His face, now fully exposed to everyone, revealed a shocking revelation. He was nothing more than a teenager, no older than seventeen, it seemed.
Yet, his visage bore an unsettling emptiness, devoid of emotion. Not a single furrowed brow or glimmer of light that pierced through his eyes. His hair, eerily long, framed his presence as he stood there, an enigmatic figure.
Tension mounted as the smugglers readied themselves for an impending confrontation.
The man, suspected that the boy might not be alone, cast a wary glance around. However, to his surprise, there was no one else present but the hooded boy.
Amidst the tension, one of the smugglers in close proximity to the hooded boy sprang into action. His fingers deftly closed around a small knife, twirling it with dexterity as he conjured a miniature whirlwind in his palm.
With a resounding *Thud*, he launched himself into a swift offensive, his muscles coiled like a spring as he lunged for the boy's neck.
"Fuck you!" He spat, venom lacing his words as he dropped his stance and released the spell. The arcane energies surged toward the boy's feet, unsettling his balance, and causing him to teeter precariously to one side. In the same breath, he hurled the knife, the blade slicing through the air and piercing the boy's left arm.
A puzzled frown creased the smuggler's brow. Why wasn't the hooded boy writhing in pain as he should be? He paused, uncertain. Shouldn't there be anguish etched across his face?
"!?" The smuggler's eyes widened, a peculiar sensation crawling through his abdomen. He lowered his gaze, only to be met with a disconcerting sight - a hole passing clean through him. His vision wavered, rapidly fading, but in that fleeting moment, he locked eyes with the hooded boy. What he found etched on the boy's visage was a haunting mix of disappointment and disdain.
W.E.A.K
"Four down," the hooded boy's voice remained eerily calm as he conjured a sword seemingly out of thin air. It materialized in his hand, a gleaming presence that shimmered in the obscurity of the chamber.
"Thirty to go." With a fluid motion, the sword arced through the air, bathed in a brilliant layer of white energy. It was unlike the atmospheric mana typically used to reinforce weapons; this was raw, unadulterated mana, crackling with untamed power.
The remaining smugglers, shaken by the abrupt demise of their companion, snapped out of their initial shock. Panic surged, and they began to regroup, realizing that they faced a formidable adversary.
Broker's eyes widened as he detected a presence, something utterly incongruous yet seamlessly integrated into the scene. A faint, almost imperceptible outline loomed behind the hooded boy.
Years of experience in the beast smuggling trade had honed Broker's instincts to a razor's edge. He recognized the telltale presence of a creature, but what kind remained an enigma.
With a swift flicker, the beast vanished from its position behind the boy.
"Aghh," a guttural screech pierced the air, drawing Broker's attention to his left. There, a colossal feline creature with wings loomed, its powerful jaws clamping onto a hapless individual and cleaving them in two. It was the same person who had approached the man who about to have turn with the girl.
"Five," the hooded boy murmured in another quiet count, and with those ominous words, chaos erupted in the chamber.
[Ren Hilton POV]
"Five," I counted in a hushed tone, my voice barely audible amidst the mounting chaos. Blaze, darted between shadows with uncanny agility, poised to strike whenever opportunity arose, conserving his energy to maintain his elusive form.
Dash*
Suddenly, a man, his face obscured by a cloth, lunged towards me with fervent determination. He was swiftly followed by his three cohorts, forming an unyielding wall of adversaries.
One after another, they closed in, their intentions clear. The man leading the charge drew forth a vicious claw-like weapon, thrusting it menacingly toward my throat.
I swayed to the side, narrowly evading the lethal strike. But before I could react, he deftly redirected the weapon, aiming for my exposed neck. I instinctively ducked and propelled myself skyward with a powerful leap.
Caught off guard, the assailant's claws raked into my left thigh, tearing the flesh apart but most of all it slowed down my launch.
"Ugh"I used his face as a makeshift platform, planting my right foot firmly upon it, leveraging it to ascend further.
Adding another layer of raw mana to my sword, I knew its fragility was a foregone conclusion. Yet, I couldn't wait... The sword descended, plunging into the man's face.
"Aghhhhhhhhhh!" His agonized scream pierced the tumultuous atmosphere as the blade traversed from his left eye....then lower jaw and then to the inner end of his shoulder blade. The sword sank deeper with each passing moment, each bone it shattered eliciting new waves of torment and a new tone of pain to be heard.
Tud*
With a straight descent, my feet touched the ground, bringing me eye-level with my victim. His eyes, now clouded with a terrifying blend of fear and anxiety, locked onto mine.
I maintained my grip on the sword, buried hilt-deep within his shoulder. For a fraction of a second, I pressed my ear against his chest, listening for the rhythm of his heartbeat.
Then, I withdrew my ear, shifting my gaze beyond him. Why had their assault ceased? His three friends, once poised for battle, remained eerily still, their positions unyielding.
Around me, I sensed the activation of various mana types, a kaleidoscope of colors indicating the presence of numerous mages, each attuned to a different element.
"Six," I murmured, attempting to withdraw the sword. However, the blade had become too brittle, leaving behind only the hilt. The rest must have remained lodged inside the man's body.
"Buy another sword." I don't have time to pick up the fallen weapons.
[A/N: Cough* You are telling me that.....he just started?]
