Chapter 8: A terrible mistake

I was furious. At myself! Why did i even follow the orders of that bastard that i despised ever since coming to this world? He let my mother die he treated me like trash and except for having an orgasm which was good for him he did nothing for me ever. So why the fuck should i do what he wants me to do? Maybe because i was just born in this world i unconsciously accepted my parent’s decision? Maybe whatever the case it didn’t matter. When i saw Mia standing there crying and so scared that she wet herself, i for whatever reason decided to protect her.

I think i mentioned it. I am not a very good person but… in that situation even the heart i thought lost throughout the years of killing couldn’t help but stop for a second, she had never done anything wrong. If anybody knew that it was me the only person who would talk to her. I could kill her right here. Kill the last person afterwards and be done with it but somehow… I knew if i would do that i would turn exactly into the thing my father wanted to create. And seriously: Hell is going to freeze over before i let that happen.

I focus my sight on the young dryad: “Listen Mia. Take my hand, i will guide you. When i let go of your hand you don’t move you will exactly where you are for me to return do you understand?” I sharply look at her. The way i treat her may be harsh but i have to think about how to get us out of here. I had a plan regarding her soul slip but apart from that… not much. I just could not fight my father the king and all his men. Not doable. Damn it all.

She nods timidly and grabs the hand i extended to her. Her skin texture resembles a plant a bit. Well she IS half dryad. Well before all else there is one more cockroach to squeeze before we can move on. A wicked grin started to form on my face. I was so looking forward to make that bastard cower in fear.

The seventh prince was an arrogant bastard that looked for every opportunity to let others know that they are beneath him. Mia and i had to endure quiet a bit from his hands. Killing him, now that would be a treat. I knew perfectly well where he was. In fact i could feel the entire dungeon. I could feel every shadow it was like this dungeon was created for Shadow dancer. My awareness stretched a few hundred meters it was quiet convenient. Therefore it was no problem for me. As far as i can tell this dungeon stretches about 2 kilometers in every direction from the center.

With my speed and the battleground so favorable it was child’s play to get rid of most of the shadow beasts and all the weaker children. I swept through the dungeon like a death god within the first 15 minutes. There was nothing that could stand in my way everything fell with on lethal hit. All the while my heart grew colder and colder. I didn’t feel anything anymore slaying a 12 year old girl. And when i was about to kill Mia i realized: that’s exactly what that bastard wants! A killing machine with no feelings. One that can’t even think for himself. And i was this close to becoming exactly that.

But not anymore. It was time to leave dragonking castle! So lets get rid of this last pest and then: move on. So i lead Mia on the fastest way north. That was where i felt that bastard the last time. It didn’t take us much time to find him. As soon as he entered my range of detection i stopped. I let go of Mia’s hands and turned around. I make a serious expression: “Mia don’t move from here i will set up protection so you should be safe. But. You. Have. To. Stay. Here.” I emphasize the last six words. With teary eyes she nods and when i leave she doesn’t move. Good. Well then lets visit our dear last brother.

I move through the darkness as if it is a brightly lit summer day. With my shadow awareness i am completely aware of my surroundings. And finally in an average sized cave i finally found him. He was the son of a northern wind dragoness. So obviously like all dragons he possessed a perfect human form. Pale skin short blond hair and a face that seems to always frown. Thin but not unhealthily you could say he was rather attractive but that permanent mask of arrogance really destroyed that in my opinion. Well lets wipe that arrogant look of your face shall we. This one time i would not abide by the rules. This time i would let him feel the fear. I could play a little bit with him, i am after all far above him.

I would come to regret that dearly. The prince was standing just about 20 meters before me. I was pretty sure he couldn’t sense me yet. I took a deep breath and activated the rank six skill “Shadow step” it allows one to increase his movement speed by applying shadow to the legs. Or it originally was meant to be. I have developed that skill even further by applying “Shadow sword” and “Shadow step” together. I can know clad my entire body and weapons in shadows improving all my abilities by leaps and bounds. I am faster, stronger, have higher reaction time and even all my shadowdance skills improve in power. I call it “Shadow form”. But at the moment only “Shadow step” is necessary. Since reaching rank seven i have mastered two more of the shadow dance skills.

As mentioned “Shadow step” and “Shadow spike”. “Shadow spike” is a nasty ability that can materialize a spike of solid darkness from any shadow. It is seriously overpowered! Even i think that i mean. A sure kill skill that always fires from the opponents blind spot? Sure! I take that any day. Anyway with “Shadow step” active i close the distance to my target in the blink of an eye. Behind him i put my dagger on his artery and whisper: “Hello brother. Did you miss me?” I could have killed him. The second i approached i could have stabber his heart, nick an artery, anything but no. I decided to do the most stupid thing of all of them. And after my teacher has told me over and over: A fight is not a game. You aim to kill. When you can kill: You do!

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But i didn’t and i severely underestimated my brother. The second i opened my mouth he released a pre incarnated spell. “FIRE EXPLOSION!” To prepare a spell by incarnating it earlier, holding it and then releasing it when needed. It is a highly advanced technique that hardly anyone is able to master on the entire continent. And that son of a bitch pulled it off. Fuck. I sense the incoming danger and retreat full speed but… too late my left side gets hit by the explosion and i get thrown away. I am in real pain and when i hit a stalactite it gets destroyed. Thank god for my shadow senses otherwise I’d be a goner.

Cause as soon as i land that son of a bitch immediately sent several wind blades in my direction. I use shadow form and with inhuman speed i am just able to dodge it. I retreat 20 meters with top speed dodging stalactites and random windblades. As soon as he lost sight of me he started to fire of massive amounts of windblades in all directions. Fuck how much magic power does that argh can’t even think of an insult have? I can hardly dodge all the windblades coming my way even with my improved speed and reflexes. And then i see 4 blades coming in an angle that makes it impossible to dodge them all.

So i jump and turn in midair to just get nicked on the already battered left side. Fuck that hurts like hell. That nick wasn’t to bad but it was enough for the prince. Shit he could sense it. He turned and i could hear: “Spirit of fire lend me your strength and wipe away all that stands in my way: FIRE BALL!” The trademark fire spell Fireball. But his scale was on a different level. Three massive fireballs were fired towards me in quick succession.

Fuck no dodging that. Only one way: “SHADOW CANCEL!” Moving shadows suddenly jumped out of the darkness towards the three fireballs consuming them within seconds. Shadowpower is anti magic. Shadow interrupt works in the way that shadows filled with Shadowpower attach themselves to the target(mostly through their own shadow, as i said really overpowered right?) and therefore disrupting their gathering of elemental energy causing their spells to fail. Well until the gathered elemental energy surpassed the shadowpower of course. So it was risky cause it could drain my power really quickly if my opponent is stronger than me. That aside i theorized that if i could disrupt the gathering of elemental energy i should be able to disrupt already gathered energy as well.

After a lot of experimenting i came up with: “Shadow Cancel” It uses shadow power to wipe out already cast spells using shadowpower. As long as i use the appropriate amount of shadowpower i can cancel out almost any spell. And it has less risks cause its not a constant energy drain. Anyway canceling those three fireballs really took a lot out of me. Breathing hard i kept changing position to not give him another target. Shit i am really low on power, no choice but to do it. Gathering my “Shadow Form” i suddenly run towards the prince from the front. I release all my killing intent and it has the desired effect. He is hesitating for just a moment. Perfect. Only half a second he lost before starting to chant his spell but half a second. That’s a world in a fight like this.

Because just as he was about to finish his incarnation.. I am within ten meters of him. I gather all my remaining shadow power and concentrate it on the shadow behind the prince. Just when the prince wants to release his spell, i am a breath faster: “SHADOW SPIKE!” Suddenly a 10 meter long thin shadow spear shot from the darkness behind the prince impaling his heart. It was finally the end of the seventh prince of dragonking castle. When the “Shadow Spike” retracted the lifeless body fell to the ground.

And i had to sit down myself. I was all out of juice and my left arm shoulder and leg all had sever burns. A few cuts here and there i was a bloody mess. Well i had worse before. I was just about to release my tension when i hear a sound that makes my heart skip a beat. A roar unlike any i have heard ever before resounded throughout the dungeon. And the direction it came from was the exact direction i left Mia. FUCK.

All in all it could be said Asura did not do a lot of mistakes while down here. Even his arrogance that almost got him killed it could be said that was an excusable mistake. But he severely underestimated this dungeon. What he couldn’t know that in the furthest corner of the dungeon There was a corridor that did not lead to another cave. It was way bigger than any other corridor about ten meters high. What he couldn’t know is that this corridor went down quiet far. And down there about five kilometers below this dungeon there was another dungeon. And its size was multiple times that of the above. Down here the abyss and Vamon almost overlapped. It was a small small window in the deepest part. Below that window a black box sealed with chains was quietly resting. The power of this box was it that drew so many shadows from the abyss. Here the shadows mixed with the live energy of Vamon resulting in shadow beasts.

What did that mean? It meant that all those hundreds of shadow beasts that Asura killed were only the tip of the iceberg and they were the weakest shadow beasts as they were to weak to remain near the black box that was attracting them. But there was something that attracted them even more: the smell of blood. And Asura… had produced a lot of that in the dungeon above. Not realizing the true danger of this dungeon, that was his biggest mistake.