Gabriel was perched atop a roof, the dark shroud of night obscuring him as his feet hung over the edge. No matter how dark the night, the city remained alive. Lanterns and street lights illuminated every road, casting long shadows across the walls and other structures.

And what part of the city would be most alive at a time like this? Naturally, it would be the underbelly of the city, the so-called red light district. As the common people went to sleep, the night-walkers came alive to comfort all those who had coin to spare.

And in this empire, who had more money to spare than the nobles that made it their home? He could see them from above, milling about, scurrying through the streets. Some strode about with unbound confidence, others snuck around like they were trying to hide, ashamed of what they were doing under the cover of night.

A small patch of darkness rose up next to Gabriel, a mud-like tendril crawling up his arm before settling on his shoulder. Teeth spun around within the darkness, a few red spots marring some of the teeth as Nergal was detailing his little trip through the streets.

“More familiar faces than expected, but they can wait until we’re done with our man. How many in his entourage?”

According to Nergal, there were a whole lot more nobles lurking in these shops than expected, quite a few of them among those he had investigated prior. But, as he said, they could wait until he was done blowing things up for Alice.

“Just about enough… for a light little breakfast. Very tasty.”

As usual, the way Nergal described things was… Less than exceptional, requiring a bit of deciphering. Well, Gabriel had luckily spent a fair bit of time with Nergal over the years so he was rather adept at understanding the nuances of his analogies.

“If it’s that few then it won’t be much of a problem. Stay put while I’m out.”

Gabriel rose from his seated position and muttered a short spell, his fingers twitching as they drew the needed formation. Another patch of darkness rose next to him, spitting out what he had the Night Pack prepare the moment he killed Heywood.

The item in question, or rather items, were the pieces of a suit of armor. Naturally, it wasn’t Gabriel’s own suit of armor but one belonging to the house of Marquis Bruno, someone from the Nobles faction of the Kasarias kingdom.

It couldn’t be helped, his men hadn’t properly infiltrated the members of the Royal faction of the Kasarias kingdom so he couldn’t ‘borrow’ a suit of armor from them. But oh well, just wearing the armor of the Kasarias kingdom would be enough.

Yeah, it would be suspicious. Yeah, the imperials and others would definitely call into question whether or not they were being tricked. But what could they do? They would be forced to investigate whether they wanted to or not. And Gabriel just had to get them to the Kasarias kingdom, he just had to add a bit of fuel to the fire.

He donned the armor, the helmet covering even a part of his eyes, narrowing his vision. A helmet made for wild combat, it served a purpose similar to the blinds you put on horse. Focus their vision, focus their mind, don’t let them get distracted by what’s around them. Very efficient, depending on how much value you placed on a human life.

“Waraya, Alect Hui Alect.” (Strength, Rise And Rise.)

He cast the spell, the number that constantly hung in the air decreasing as he burnt a couple of souls to empower the spell. Power rose in his body as he grasped the spear, one made completely out of metal, that accompanied the armor, quietly dropping down from the rooftop. He slowed his descent by occasionally grasping something along the wall of the building, landing in front of the entrance, nestled between two guards.

He gave them no time for words, grasping the middle of the spear and giving it a nice twirl. The sharp head of the spear came down on the head of one guard, the blunt end of the shaft rising to meet the chin of the second guard.

In his strengthened state, the spear Gabriel swung around was no different from a boulder. The spearhead cut through the guard’s helmet and sliced through his head, the second guard not faring much better. The shaft of the spear crushed his armor and smashed against his jaw with such force that it simply took it clean off, his skull was fragmented so badly that the shards tore his brain apart before he could even muster up the breath to make a sound.

The two fell down like puppets who had their strings cut, Gabriel kicking down the door to the brothel now that the guards were dealt with. He wasn’t being quiet, he wasn’t being stealthy. This would be a job he had to do loudly.

His gaze scoured the inside of the brothels as shrieks started to rise from the separate rooms. The first floor held 10 prostitutes, 15 clients, and a further 10 guards. The second floor would have three prostitutes, three clients, and around 30 guards. Just about what he expected after Nergal gave his report.

Well, no, that statement wasn’t entirely correct. Currently, other than the prostitutes themselves, everyone else worked for the third prince Silvanos. Even the so-called clients were just guards in disguise. And judging by the sounds coming from the closed doors, or rather the almost complete lack of anything other than shrieking, they were probably lying in wait just beyond the doors. Just looking for a chance to burst out.

“Azui, Devak.” (Ice, Burst.)

Gabriel didn’t need to chant the spell. Hell, he didn’t even have the ice element, he was just putting on a show for everyone present as he conjured up several jagged spikes of ice. The gathered ice burst out once he finished gathering it, tearing through the doors around him. And as expected, the familiar sound of flesh tearing and pained groans reached him soon after.

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He didn’t stand still as he launched the ice, his spear blocking two swords that came for him. He used his sheer strength to push one of the attackers to the side, placing them squarely in front of two magic attacks that had been launched. The second man was run through by the spear and then picked up by Gabriel, he got the pleasure of having his dying body used as a shield against the other magic attacks that came at him.

Well, he used a bit of ice to also block them, but he had no choice after the man’s body exploded into a fine mist of blood due to the barrage of spells. Gabriel pushed forward, his spear tearing through flesh as ice scattered all around, tearing through whatever it touched.

It was carnage, pure and simple. Blood splattered, body parts flew through the air, screams blocked out all other sounds. Death was abundant as the guards did what they could to hold him back. More guards came from the second floor, a handful of them positioning themselves so that they blocked the stairs.

They were trying to slow him down so that Prince Silvanos could escape out the back with his closest guards. But there was no stopping Gabriel as he tore through all in his path. His other arm rose, a finger pointing at the guards that blocked the stairs to the second floor. A thought struck him, a moment of curiosity. And he decided to act on it.

“Azui, Devak.”

He once again chanted the fake spell as he conjured up ice, but this time he also burned some of the souls inside him like he did when he wanted to empower his spells. His Unique Magic, would it work even on this ability that wasn’t a spell?

The answer to that question was a scream. Or rather, screams. A collection of screams that all blended together into an indistinct roar, the sound of a great massacre, of death inescapable.

The ice bloomed in front of the men guarding the stairs. If his first usage of ice here brought forth about 10kg of ice, which was then quickly separated into several smaller jagged shards, then this second usage brought forth over 100kg of ice.

There was no separating, no jagged shards. The ice bloomed from the floor and erupted outward, forming a gargantuan pincushion that tore through people and walls alike. What started as pristinely clean deep blue ice quickly became a dirty stained red, the frozen blood almost resembling rubies.

What followed the cacophony of screams was the same as it always was, the eerie silence of death, terror, and despair. Those who lived saw the dead, they saw the horror. And they knew that they had been mere inches away from switching places with all of them. Thus, there was silence.

Yes, it would appear that his Unique Magic worked just fine with this ability of his. A good note for the future.

Gabriel strode past the stained ice and entered the second floor, which looked terrible because the spikes of ice from below had torn their way through the floor. At the end of the hallway, halfway through a window, he saw his target.

“Silvanos De Earhart. Would you like to join me for a chat?”

As he spoke, Gabriel used a bit of ice to grate his vocal cords, producing a distorted voice that didn’t sound anything close to his normal one. The third prince naturally wouldn’t w ant to go with him, but one such spike had made its way through his leg, entering his shin and digging upwards before finally poking through his thigh. He was stuck. A pig waiting to be slaughtered.

Gabriel crushed down the guards that managed to make their way through the mess of frozen spikes, but ignored the rest. They could do nothing but watch as he went up to the third prince and broke the spike that had ruined his leg.

And then he just left. He hopped through the window that they had tried to escape from and made a run for it, dashing into back-alleys and smaller streets before anyone could catch up with him. He didn’t need to kill everyone present. In fact, he wanted to spare several of them. He needed them to see him, to report what had happened.

Meanwhile, Gabriel dragged the third prince with him, dipping into the darkness once he was out of sight. Nergal met up with him again as he left, and the trio scurried through the darkness. They occasionally popped out of the darkness, but it was never in places with people. And as the capital got brighter and brighter, guards flooding into the street, they left the city.

Gabriel didn’t speak to Silvanos, he didn’t give him a chance to beg or question. He simply dragged him along as he headed for his next target. It was quite far away, but by utilizing portals and his own marks, he managed to cover the distance in just three days.

The Barong territory, the northern edge of the empire. The third prince had been kidnapped, but they didn’t think that they would be able to make it this far in such a short time so the Barong territory wasn’t as hectic as the central territories. Well, it wasn’t like Gabriel stayed in the territory for long, he just passed through it and continued on towards his actual target.

The Jaws of Barong, the frozen mountain range that served as the northern border of the empire. It was technically part of the Barong territory, but in all honesty, it had already become a land that belonged to the beasts. It was here that they fought against that strange talon, who Gabriel had subsequently absorbed using Akasha and thus gained his control over ice. It was here where Alice first managed to properly paint Gabriel’s world.

And now he had returned to that very spot. The traces of the battle still remained, but the snow was slowly starting to cover everything up again. One day, there would be nothing left here to mark the events of that day.

Gabriel looked down at the hole from which the talon had come, he could still see a few faint lines in the distance through the thick ice if he focused his eyes. And he followed those lines. Step by step further and further away from the original hole, slowly drawing an image in his eyes. If there was a talon, then there should be an arm. And judging by the size of the talon, the elbow should be around… here.

His feet stopped and he chanted a short spell, dragging the third prince out of the darkness. He tossed him aside and let him roll through the snow. He was starving and somewhat dehydrated, his leg forever ruined even if he somehow managed to make it out alive. But Gabriel had no plans of such things.

“Karas, Takt Elu Val Moka Valar.” (Darkness, Mask Us From The World.)

He torched the souls that formed him as he cast the spell, his shadow stretching out and rising into a great dome. This was a prison, one that cut them off from the rest of the world. Nothing would get out, nothing would get in, be it magic or people. Assuming they couldn’t over power the magic.

“…”

The third prince struggled to catch his breath, the unforgiving chill of their surroundings piercing into his bones. But he didn’t groan, he didn’t scream in pain, he didn’t plead for mercy. He caught his breath and then looked directly at Gabriel.

“I don’t know if you’re actually from Kasarias or not, but are you aware that your actions could lead to war? Will you be willing to bear the blood of all those who will die in such a pointless fight?”

War was a terrible thing. Thousands upon thousands died, and many more ended up injured or scarred for life. It was a thing that ruined not just one generation, but even those that came in the future. But what a shame that his argument was made to the wrong person.

“I’m betting on it, Silvanos.”

As he spoke, Gabriel’s magic moved. It dug into the ice beneath them and struck the lines lurking within, agitating the seal just as Alice had done in the past. The talon he took in gave him a great deal of power, so what if he took in more? So he dug into the ice, the seal beneath them cracking bit by bit as the thing lurking within was roused to life once more.

——-

It was a strange day for the rest of the world. Few could pinpoint exactly what happened or when it happened. But all who noticed it agreed on it, all reached the same conclusion.

This was a day where the world grew just a bit darker.