Nyx moved slightly, turning her body slightly to the side as her hands came together, causing the man who had just taken another step to hesitate.

While her eyes remained indifferent, the aura of her body had suddenly changed into that of a dangerous, cornered animal.

The lust, mostly forced bravado, visibly diminished in the man's eyes seeing this, realising that his taunts and threats seemed to be falling on deaf ears.

He wanted the woman before him to break down, fall to her knees and plead for her life, to wallow in despair at her fate or even just lose her mind — anything but the reaction he was getting.

Fury merged with a growing sense of fear erupted from depths of the man's soul as met Nyx's gaze with bloodshot eyes.

"Little slut, you think you can scare me with your weak ass, common mental attack. I, a cultivator that has already formed their core?" spat the man, saliva spraying across Nyx's face.

However, even though he had raised his fists, his face red with anger, he no longer dared to approach. If the woman's behaviour wasn't unsettling enough, he could see the flickering torches in his peripheral, casting long, haunting shadows across the walls.

Even an enraged fool would be able to tell something wasn't right.

Just as his sight flickered towards the torches, trying to identify the cause, Nyx burst into action.

Leaping forward at an impressive speed, Nyx swiped her outstretched fingers as if they were a blade, aiming for the man's throat.

Cursing, the man stumbled backwards just in time, his knee-jerk reaction was the only reason he hadn't suffered severe injury as he watched Nyx retreat back to her original position.

Cold sweat poured down the man's forehead as he stared at the Nyx's fingers.

Where they were usually extraordinarily slim and fragile looking, even with the copious amount of scars that littered their surface, right now they resembled the claws of a demon.

Black, twisting shadows coiled around her wrist and hand, flickering in rhythm to the sputtering torches.

"You're a cultivator?" hissed the man between his teeth as his eye's snapped back to Nyx, shock and confusion plastered upon his face.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

While he was also a cultivator, due to his personality, he had never been able to form his first lay and so, was considered the weakest rank one could be. "I guess your bloodline isn't just a fancy rumour."

The man tried to regain his composure, attempting to look indifferent yet inside he was severely shaken. If Nyx was a cultivator, even at the same rank as him, he as in a hazardous situation.

Nyx revealed a smile that, by a smiles definition, was anything but. She had yet to form her core and so, was not however able to use any skills or ability. Instead, in a snap decision, she had attracted the nearby dark essence, even if they were full of corruption, and wrapped them around her hand making it look like she could.

She was a snake without fangs, a dragon that couldn't fly, yet, at this moment in time, as long as she could continue to fluster the man, her chance would come.

There was another, unexpected benefit. Though Nyx couldn't sense the strength of others, due to her lack of cultivation, Nyx had discovered by the man's reactions that he wasn't any stronger than the core forming stage.

Nyx's smile turned terrifying, filling the man with the urge to retreat. However, he also knew that not only couldn't he take his eyes of Nyx, if he withdrew now, but his heart demon would also become a severe problem that could threaten his life.

As such, even against his better judgement, the man decided that he would stand and fight.

"Good~ Good~." Snorting, the man took a deep breath and cracked his knuckles. "This way, you won't be so fragile, and I can enjoy myself more before your corpse becomes too stiff."

While the man was trying to motivate himself, Nyx was constantly circulated her essence, drawing but not absorbing all of the energy she could effect in an attempt to extinguish the torches yet, no matter how she tried, the most she could do was make them flicker.

Sneaking a look at the door, Nyx realised that the only difference from when she had extinguished them before was that it was still open.

Unable to withhold a frown, wondering just what magic was used to light such an everyday item as a torch, the chilling thought that maybe the man had left the door open because they had been monitoring her constricted her heart.

However, Nyx's frown had a different meaning to the man, making him feel as if his words had struck fear into her, filling him with confidence. "Its good to see you haven't completely lost yourself, princess Camilla. It wouldn't be any fun if you had completely lost your mind."

Subconsciously, the man had already defined the changes in the woman known as Camilla as a result of losing her mind.

It wasn't as if it was rare for his captives to go insane, in fact, the man didn't believe there had ever been an exception to the rule. It was just that usually, they would crumble and become lifeless puppets or turn into raving mad lunatics. He had never witnessed someone seemingly turn into a seemingly heartless demon, void of fear.

"Camilla?" Nyx tilted her head, yet the man couldn't help but shiver at the sight. It wasn't an abnormal movement for a human, but the smile combined with Nyx's eyes made it seem terrifying "I'm not Camilla."

Nyx had already picked up that the man held some sort of subconscious fear to her, not that she could explain why, yet with her vast experience, she already planned to fully capitalise on it. Hopefully, even though there was a vast difference in their strengths, if she used his fear correctly, she might be able to overcome the difference.

All she needed to do was push her advantages while continually adding more fear and doubt to the man without throwing him over the edge.