I didn’t know how strong he was. The Dark Sword Clan Head, my father’s brother, my uncle.
He should be pretty strong as the clan head.
But Roc was a dangerous opponent, even with one arm. His Ord was just as intense, and this guy was the same person who had thrown down against a raging Agon in a fistfight.
“Brat! I will kill you for taking one of my arms!” Roc stared at me with eyes full of hate. Blood pooled on the ground below his arm.
But as he rushed us, a large gash suddenly appeared on Roc’s face. The cut was straight and clean as if it was made by a razor, and it ran from the right part of his forehead to his lip.
“Huh?” Roc stopped whatever raging thoughts he had, and froze. He reached to touch the wound warily and turned toward the clan head. “I didn’t sense an attack, this isn’t the result of a Blaster ability?”
“Only a dumbass would explain how their abilities work,” Delia’s father had an unreadable expression on his face.
“I haven’t had the chance to battle a powerful opponent like this in a while. Your attack had no trickery behind it, it was just raw power!” Roc’s eyes brightened up.
The Clan Head had no expression on his face. “No, I will not battle some second-rate. I’m quite angry… how convenient it is that you stand right before me. This will just be a simple massacre.”
Delia’s father intertwined his pointer and middle finger..
“{Mass Murderer Shrine of Glory}”
As soon as he said that, the world shook. Space itself twisted.
This!
This was the advantage of having one strong affinity instead of a hybrid. Most people assumed that having hybrid affinities was better than just one, and for most exorcists that was true. But later on, as an exorcist started reaching the latter levels of their affinity, there was an insurmountable wall.
For example, a Master who had reached the peak of his affinity could fuse with his tamed demons. But for someone who had double or more affinities, that was impossible for them.
Just like how Masters had their own peak, Creators had theirs too. A Creator who has reached their apex could make a barrier and manifest their ‘world’ inside that barrier, which will enhance their special ability to a ridiculous level.
Everything turned dark, and we were on a black liquid-like floor.
The only thing visible was a mountain of human skulls crying with tears of blood. At the peak was a shrine, and Delia’s father stood atop the shrine and looked down at Roc.
“W -What is this?” Roc’s mouth was agape. He had all his defenses up, and Ord flowed to protect his body.
The Clan Head explained nothing, and the next second, Roc’s arm detached from his body in a clean cut. He looked down at his missing limb. “How-”
He didn’t get to finish, as another slash cut everything above his jaw. Dicing the upper part of his head into small cubes of flesh.
No wonder the Dark Sword Clan had been confident in challenging the other four great clans.
I had assumed they were just a clan of bloodthirsty people who only got their position because of their cruelty.
But that wasn’t all there was to it. The Dark Sword Clan had a genuine chance of becoming one of the four great clans!
The world around us dissipated, and we returned to the hallways. Roc’s corpse was the only thing that seemed to have changed.
Delia’s father crouched down and touched the corpse, and there was a grotesque sound of grinding flesh. Roc’s corpse turned into a mush of meat.
“I would have liked to torture him a bit for injuring my daughter. But we don’t have the time,” the clan head took out a napkin and wiped his hand.
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I carried Delia on my back and turned toward the clan head. “We need to find Ellen. With her special ability, we can heal Delia.”
“Ellen?” The Clan Head looked confused.
“The Lover, 6th ranked Special Exorcist,” I clarified.
“You have a relationship with her? Those rumors then… hmmm…” his eyes shone with greed.
“Please don’t propagate the rumors even more.”
“What’re you talking about? You’re a member of the clan, I would never do something like that. Also, spreading rumors is below us.” The clan head seemed offended.
He spoke with such conviction that it almost made me believe him. But I came back to reality when I remembered this was the same guy who fanned the flames of the rumors spreading around that I had fought the Demonic Exorcist to a standstill.
We started going down the hallways and toward the direction of the VIP rooms. But when we arrived there, a zombie in samurai armor was patrolling the hallways.
“Hey!” I called out to the samurai zombie. “Is Ellen here?”
“No, she has gone with the World Exorcist to confront some attackers while the rest of the exorcists are going to confront the demons charging at the city’s walls,” he responded. The sword glistened in his hand. “As for me, they sent me here to take down some other ruckus.”
Ellen and the World Exorcist had gone to confront the attackers? That was bad!
“We took care of the ruckus below. So how about you come with us and find Ellen? My cousin is injured,” I put Delia down. She wore hot pants and a small tank top showing off her well-toned midsection.
I took off my shirt, and the cold air washed over me. I put the shirt on my cousin and picked her up again. “Uncle, you keep your hands free in case an attacker comes.”
He smiled. “Even at times like these, you’re worried about your cousin.”
No, that wasn’t it at all. I just needed Delia to appear less feminine. Ellen’s healing ability doesn’t normally work on women.
..
We arrived at the exit, and my heart almost stopped. Ellen was there with The World Exorcist, but Pixie and the Demonic Exorcist were in front of them.
Why the fuck was Pixie acting all mushy with the Demonic Exorcist?! They were supposed to be enemies!
My plan to kill the Demonic Exorcist had fallen apart before it even began.
But I didn’t have the time to think too deeply about that, as The World spun around and stabbed a knife right into Ellen’s ribs. Her eyes widened, blood dripped from her mouth, and she slumped to the ground.
The Demonic Exorcist clapped. “Nice! I wonder how the higher-ups will react when they learn that another one of their Special Exorcists is a traitor.”
“Ellen!” The samurai zombie growled. “You bastard!”
He kicked off the ground, causing a web-like crack on the stone, and charged at The World. The samurai’s face had no expression. He was an undead, after all. But by the Ord he released showed unbridled rage!
“Shit!” The World panicked, jumped away from Ellen, and couldn’t deliver a finishing blow.
“{Sword Wave}”
A giant sword beam blasted toward the enemy.
BOOM!... The tremendous explosion caused the earth to shake like a miniature earthquake.
As the dust cleared up, it revealed a black centipede coiling itself around the enemies. As it released its hold, the Demonic Exorcism whistled. “Damn, your attack managed to scratch Blacky. Amongst the demons I own, he is the one with the strongest defense. Impressive!”
But he didn’t dwell on that for long and waved at me. “Hey there, long time no see. How have you been? Did you manage to tame a demon? Who am I kidding, of course you did!”
If this were any other situation, an outsider might have assumed that he was simply an old friend. But behind that friendly smile was a ruthless murderer.
Pixie stared at Delia, and then her gaze wandered toward me. “Where is Roc?”
Oh wait, she was staring at the unconscious Delia.
“Obviously dead. Why are you asking stupid questions?” The Demonic Exorcist answered before anyone could even get a word out.
Pixie frowned but said nothing. She wasn’t happy, but what could she do about it?
It was a miracle that Red Tails was working with the Demonic Exorcist. How the hell did they convince him?
He was working with them. But calling the Demonic Exorcist a bad team player was an understatement. That guy was the definition of bad.
When I thought of loose cannons, a crazy idea came to mind. It was so ridiculous that it was insane to even think of it.
I met eyes with the Demonic Exorcist and asked him. “How about joining our side?”
“What?” He tilted his head.
“After all, if you joined us, the boss of the Red Tails would hunt you down. Doesn't that sound exciting?”
Even the people on my own side looked at me like I was crazy.
That was everyone except the Demonic Exorcist… The bastard had a huge face-splitting smile.