"I marked their shadows, Master," Ariana said while she was watching the village from above.

"Mhm, I'm locked in on it." She replied while waving her hand. Twelve bolts of lightning struck down from the sky.

The buildings below them were blown to smithereens, but when the smoke settled and the debris landed hundreds of meters away from the site of the impact, twelve men were standing there with straight backs. They were surrounded by differently colored auras, shrugging off the residue of the lightning strikes. The civilians around them were protected by Ariana's powers as an inky bubble surrounded them. It was popping apart like a water balloon, and they let them run away. Everyone who could was rushing out from the village, right into the arms of the army. They were expecting it, and they herded them into confined spaces but also into safety from the coming destruction.

"I commend your ability to find us." A hard and deep voice traveled upwards as the twelve rose up to the air, surrounding the trio. "You are strong, but we have the numbers advantage. It was on our list anyway to either kill or capture you." He looked into Ren's eyes while speaking. He also had purple eyes and silvery, short hair, shedding his previous, unassuming disguise.

"You talk too much," Ren said as she flashed forward, already standing before him, punching him in the stomach. Only after her small fist sank into his abdomen did the thundering noise of her speed arrive, sending him flying backward. She quickly separated the group into chunks of four with an explosion of lightning. Nameless and Ariana also jumped into the action, choosing a group to fight against. Members of Ironclaw finally realized that it was not going to be as easy of a fight as they first thought it would be.

Nameless looked to be almost as fast as Ren, but only because he was already anticipating her moves. He held onto a black scythe, swinging it widely, aiming at one of the Ironclaw cultivators closest to him. His enemy could only raise his arms, unable to produce a weapon, but he had confidence in his own strength. A metallic hue covered him quickly, and his skin was just as hard as any real weapon could be. What he did not expect was that the scythe of Nameless started to vibrate and emit a strong, black light. It went through him like a hot knife through butter and sliced his body into two. The top half of his torso fell to the ground while the lower half still just stood there for a second or so before falling after it. It was an instant kill. Nameless was silent all the way through, already blocking an incoming claw weapon with the blade of his scythe while his other hand stretched out, summoning a black veil, blocking off a fireball.

"Wide open!" One of his enemies arrived behind him. His sword was already in motion in his hands, aiming at his back.

"Am I?" Nameless answered coldly as the tip of the blade hit his back, sending sparks everywhere, ringing out with a sharp chime before breaking into dozens of pieces. His black clothing, even though it was flowing like water at first, hardened at the exact moment the sword made contact with it. It fended it off like a metal plate armor would. Nameless's body shook a little, enduring the rebounding force of the impact as he swung his scythe again. He had no time to take a breather as he was fending off the claws that came for his head and stabbed backward with the sharpened other end of his weapon.

His second kill was still holding onto his broken sword, eyes going wide open, not expecting such a result. His hands were still shaking from the force of his own attack. The arriving shaft of Nameless's scythe ran his heart through clean. His last thoughts were swearing at the leaders of Ironclaw. Being sent here as peasants… without any armor, caught off guard completely by their enemies. He was cursing them for his own death, not taking responsibility for his actions, not even in death.

"Idiots!" The one whose body was covered in red hot flames cursed. He was covering himself with his own powers while facing Nameless. The two quick deaths were surprising not because they happened but because of how fast they occurred. The fight only started a few seconds ago, and they had already lost two people. It seemed to him that only he knew how to use his own affinity to protect himself. Luckily, his remaining comrade, wielding the hook claws, showed some real combat experience as he was able to either block Nameless's scythe or dodge it. "I'll cover you!" He shouted, sending dozens of small fireballs forward. He was pressuring Nameless into a defensive stance, backing off from his advancement, not daring to take it directly with his armor or weapon.

At the same time when Ren and Nameless attacked, Ariana was also surrounded by a group of Ironclaw cultivators.

"Are we really ganking upon a young woman?" One of them mumbled, wielding a greatsword made out of ice. It was emitting a chilly aura as he was swinging his weapon at her.

"Shut it and kill her quickly so we can capture the main target! If we dawdle around for too long, we are going to throw away our opportunity to escape!" The second-in-command of the whole group shouted at him. His body was shining in a bronze color, looking like a statue.

"You already did. Also… I'm not a defenseless girl; come as hard as you can~" She smiled at them, taking after her Master's style after spending so many years under her influence.

"I like naughty girls!" A chubby cultivator laughed in response. He was attacking with a giant rock-cudgel in hand. He did it in tandem with the one who wielded the ice sword, catching Ariana in a pincer attack.

"Good!" Ariana whistled, her smile growing even wider. "Because you are going to have an unforgettable time!" She laughed, and as the weapons reached her, her body twisted and turned unnaturally. She was morphing into a black sludge, changing her original form into that of an inky slime, splattering all around them, covering their bodies.

"Shit! It was a clone!" Their second-in-command shouted, now smudged with black paint. He was wiping at his eyes, yet they were sticking to his face like glue.

"Argh?!" The remaining one, who stood farther away, not even wielding a weapon, shouted out loudly suddenly. He was secretly looking for a way to escape, not wanting to die here. He was trying to wipe his face with panic in his voice, inhaling the slime down into his lungs. "I'm not with them!" He screamed, coughed, and faltered, wanting to give up and surrender. He was already afraid when their team was sent here to hide away until further orders arrived.

"Traitor!" The bronze-colored Ironclaw cultivator shouted as he punched at his own man, smashing in his face. Literally, he killed him with one strike while his matter splattered everywhere like a blossoming flower in the sky.

"What the fuck is this?!" The duo who was attacking Ariana quickly stepped backward, ignoring the trouble brewing at their backs. Their weapons were submerged in that ominous sludge and... It was still moving. It was wriggling like a living being, swallowing their weapons slowly but surely as it was crawling up on their hands, unable to be shaken off.

"What? I'm just swallowing your members~ Isn't this what you wanted?" Ariana's playful voice rippled through the air as her face was slowly emerging from the slime. The aura she was exuding was horrifying and made every one of them around her feel their stomachs turning upside down. "Come on, boys, be one with me~," She said as she grew tentacles out of nowhere. A black abyss was spreading under them, originating from their own shadows, latching onto their bodies. "It is going to be fun, boys~" She laughed, and her voice in the end turned somewhat coarse and demonic.

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"Steel yourselves! This must be an illusion!" Their leader roared as his body was tangled up by those black, slimy tentacles. They were growing stronger and stronger with every passing second.

"It is not~" The voice replied, less and less resembling that of Ariana's. It was turning darker with every word it spoke. Now, instead of tentacles, thin female hands reached upwards from the darkness, holding onto them, caressing their bodies. "Come, come! Be my good boys and wag your tails to your new master!" The voice laughed loudly, starting to drag them into the blackness.

"What the fuck?! Stop! Fuck! Stop it!" The chubby guy screamed, trying to tear himself out of Ariana's spell. His struggle only resulted in chunks of flesh being torn off of his body.

"Too late." Ariana sighed. In reality, she was sitting inside one of the houses in the village. She was in a completely black room, without any light, controlling her spell up in the sky. She was invading her enemies' minds, drawing out their fears, dark thoughts, and memories. As their emotions manifested themselves into a corporeal form, it was impossible to escape. If they could face their own hidden fears, then they had a chance to deal with Ariana's spell… until then, they were as good as ants trapped in honey. "The longer one lives, the more evil he could commit. Especially if you are part of an organization like Ironclaw." She shook her head as it was easy to fuel her spell with their emotions. She arrived at the village way before anyone did, living amongst them for days. She not only identified the cultivators of Ironclaw but also collected all of the negative emotions of everyone present. She had enough time to set up everything, so they had zero chance of winning or escaping. "Just give up. If you struggle, you are only going to suffer more." She said while her voice resonated as a demonic whisper beside their ears. It was further raising their fear, empowering their spell of hers, and establishing a vicious and efficient feedback loop. In return, it was consuming very little energy from Ariana herself.

It was clear that Ariana caught her own enemies while Nameless was still fighting with two of his, coming to a standstill. Neither group had time to worry about the third chunk of their comrades, and even if they did, it would only destroy their morale in an instant.

"Is this all you have got?" Ren asked as she tilted her head, standing in the middle of their encirclement. She was looking completely bored by their efforts. She even let the leader of their group recuperate, not attacking for a second time.

"Shut up!" He looked into her eyes, trying to influence her mind with his own so Ren would not dodge the next attack.

"Sure." Ren nodded, understanding his intentions and even smiling at him.

"Kill her!" Came the order as a roar. Three attacks followed suit in that instant, aiming directly at her from different sides. They were giving their all into their attacks. One was a flaming arrowhead, whistling through the air towards her head from the left. The second attack was like a giant, golden hedge clipper appearing behind her, snapping at her waist to cut her into two. The third was a metallic whip, tying her ankles together with sharp, small, curved spikes. The owner of the weapon was trying to sink them into her skin and drain her powers… with no success.

"Heh~" Ren chuckled, turning her head, looking straight at the arrowhead as it landed in between her eyebrows.

What the others saw was that the arrow exploded into thin strands of flames, spewing it everywhere like fireworks. Yet Ren remained uninjured. Her head was surrounded by purple electricity, fending off the attack with only a look. As the scissor-like attack snapped close, its golden blades broke into pieces as soon as it made contact with her body, looking like a fragile toy and nothing more, stunning them even further.

"Annoying." Ren clicked her tongue as she shook her head. Then she lifted her leg, tearing apart the whip without any effort as if it was made from paper. "My turn!" She pointed at the one who tried to snipe her with an arrow. Violet lightning flew out from the tip of her finger, and the last thing he could see was an arrow-shaped, electric bolt running through his head, right between his eyes. It killed him in an instant. "Next!" She said as she moved her hand towards the one who summoned the golden hedge cutter. "Snap-snap~" Ren grinned, opening and closing her fingers like scissors.

"N-no!" He screamed, but it was too late. From nowhere, the same spell he had used previously appeared. It was made out of pure electricity, cutting him into multiple, gory, bloody pieces, raining body parts and flesh down below.

“M-m-monster!” The one who held the broken whip of his cried out, already flying away with a panicked expression.

"Tsk-tsk! Get back over here!" Ren shouted, lashing out with a violet energy whip that wrapped around his neck. As Ren pulled on it, her strength simply snapped off the man's head, killing him right there and then. "Weakling." She spat, not even paying attention to him anymore, looking back into their leader's eyes.

“W…w… wa…wa….w… wa….” He tried to speak, but nothing came out of his mouth, only incoherent, bubbling noises alongside his tears and snot.

"Relax! As you are their leader, I'll keep you alive. For a little bit more." She said as she stuck her pink tongue out with an innocent smile. She was skipping towards him in the air like a little girl, arriving before him, slapping his face playfully. She was looking into his eyes, easily overriding his every thought. "Go to sleep." She whispered, and as soon as she finished speaking, his body went limp. Ren caught him before he fell to the ground, and she grabbed his hair, holding his body by it. "Let's see..." She turned backward, watching Ariana capture her enemies. "Hehe… you silly girl, I told you, you can kill them; I only need one alive!" She shook her head with a smile. "Are you going to be okay?" She sent over a voice transmission to Nameless, who was the only one who was still fighting his enemies.

"Yes, I'll be fine." His reply was quick, surprising Ren with his honesty. "I'm not as strong as you. This could take a long time until I defeat them. I'm more proficient in taking them out by surprise. I'm not good at fighting a prolonged, frontal battle."

"Sure. Dodge backward." She nodded, looking at him with a new light in her eyes. He did not hesitate or question anything. His sudden departure amidst one of his attacks, breaking off the battle, surprised his two opponents.

"Huh?!" The remaining Ironclaw cultivators blinked their eyes, but not for long. When their blinking had ended and their eyelids opened up once again, they only saw Ren standing before them. She was holding their leader by the hair, like a kid dragging her plushie beside herself.

"Bye-bye~" She raised her free hand, tapping onto their foreheads as small sparks flashed between her index finger and their sweaty skin. The two went stiff in the next moment and then fell from the sky without any indication of an injury. Their eyes were already blank and without any light when they landed on the ground. Inside their heads, Ren's powers were still buzzing, turning their brains into a soup, killing them way before they could even process that death had come for them.

"What about the rest?" Nameless arrived next to her, breathing heavily.

"Dead. Or captured." She said, cracking her neck with a smile. "Go, tell the army to secure the village and process the people! We are going to question them all, starting tomorrow! I'll help Ariana and collect those who survived. My subordinates are going to come and help me by interrogating them soon enough."

"Understood." He nodded, cupping his hands, heading down, following her orders as Ren sent a voice transmission to her disciple.

"How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted, Master!" She replied as she stood up in the dark room. The blackness slowly receded, taking up the shape of her own shadow under her feet. After she moaned softly, she hurriedly walked outside, looking up at her Master in the sky with a satisfied smile. The clouds quickly dispersed, welcoming back the sunlight which blinded her a little. "But it was a great success!" Ariana giggled, using her hand to provide shade for her eyes.

"Ahaha, it was~ Let us collect the survivors! We still have a lot of things to do!" Ren laughed, nodding at her disciple.