To Go (1)

Step, step, thud, step, stomp, step, step... Heian Ciemnosc welcomed more than a hundred thousand cultivators from all Races and different emblems, whose distinction could only be made by the latter as they were in a group of their own. Even with the loud noises of their footsteps as they slowly halted just a few tens of meters before Heian Ciemnosc, the students inside the palace weren't distracted and continued meditating.

"Look! It's them! That's their emblem. He must be their leader." - "They are enlightened! What are they comprehending? We must..." - "They are being protected? But what's that barrier? It doesn't look like a protective array formation." - "Send someone to step up!"

“... Are you that Heian Ciemnosc?” At this moment, while Heian Ciemnosc calmly observed them and they watched his fellow students, a voice sounded, and a person wearing Obscure Orb Sect’s emblem. He wore a dark pale uniform, denouncing a status similar to Riquel, but the latter was nowhere to be seen. He walked out of the crowd to stand before everyone else, but still far from Heian Ciemnosc, holding something in his right hand as he swung his arms.

It was semi-round and rotten but no longer smelled and was dirtied until some layers formed around it. However, Heian Ciemnosc immediately recognized the hair projection from a section of it, which the Obscure Orb Sect disciple used to grab it. It was a head and one that Heian Ciemnosc recognized to form part of Greg’s clique. She was one of the few who didn’t give Heian Ciemnosc a foul smell from that party.

Heian Ciemnosc casually looked down at that head as the disciple threw it, arching in the air before landing on the grassy ground, rolling a few steps towards Heian Ciemnosc before stopping, still far from him. Seeing that, the young man, a disciple of the Obscure Orb Sect, squinted before sending a bout of insanely mighty Power Energy to keep the girl’s head rolling a few tens of meters, helping it land to the left of Heian Ciemnosc’s left foot.

Heian Ciemnosc had slightly opened legs as he stood like a one-man-wall between the Wrath Nihility Academy students and the 100,000+ cultivators. The rotten head had shrunken, leaving only a third of its original volume when alive. Its neck was still attached to it strangely, but only its skin and some of its flesh remained. Heian Ciemnosc stared down at it for a little while before raising his gaze to speak to the young man.

“How did you find us?” Heian Ciemnosc emotionlessly asked.

“Hohoh, her? Well, I just had to use a little device any Core Disciple in the Obscure Orb Sect can get to track your Spirit Sense in her. It was strange. Like they couldn’t escape your senses unless they used a special device. How did you do it? Anyway, some little friend of yours managed to get away under your noses and spoke to me. Who would’ve thought there would be a traitor among us? Or should it be a loyalist? After all, she was clearly on your side, haha.”

The young man casually spoke as if speaking of simple matters without forgetting to boast of his status and background. Heian Ciemnosc spoke no more, and the young man took that as an advantage from his current position. The young man then said, his voice became slightly demanding, “Tell you what, Heian Ciemnosc. If you just give us all recommendations to get the treasures inside and share whatever you’ve gotten from this place with the rest of us, we won’t make any trouble for you.”

“Hm? How about it? In regards to your Wrath Nihility Academy being the beacon of knowledge and learning for the poor, we’ll let you join our group, and we can continue looking for treasures together. No big deal, right?” The young man spread his arms and shrugged his shoulders, keeping them up as he slightly raised his eyebrows. However, all the young man received was Heian Ciemnosc’s silent face.

“...” Heian Ciemnosc didn’t say anymore as he looked at the young man. He didn’t want to waste his breath with these people. He only wanted to know who did it, after all. But before Heian Ciemnosc could make a move, aggressive or as simple as tilting his head, the young man added. “Heh, it’s a pity she wasn’t willing to go through it and detonated her cultivation before I could even reach my hand out to her. Well, at least I could satisfy myself with whatever remained of her, heh heh.”

The young man’s chuckle was low and empty. Heian Ciemnosc looked at his eyes and face, slowly opening his lips without worrying about being interrupted. His fists remained tight as he moved not a step backwards, forward, or sideways. “It’s alright, I wasn’t asking. No. Nobody is getting anything. Much less after killing my fellow students.”

Pah- pshiiiftt- ssss~...

Heian Ciemnosc’s voice was cold but quiet, yet it reached every pair of ears in this hundred-thousand-big group. When they felt strange and abruptly alarmed when sensing the hostility within Heian Ciemnosc’s words, they saw Heian Ciemnosc’s mouth close before opening right after, spouting a small breath of dark Power Energy smoke. It was like a little cloud as it exited his lips pale red lips and moved 2 meters before him and up into the air.

The dark Power Energy smoke started expanding before resuming its motion towards the cultivators as they looked on wide-eyed and speechless. When the young man felt the dark smoke approach several meters before him, he suddenly felt a strange cold and freshness. It was more like emptiness and the lack of everything… even life.

“What are you doing??” The young man questioned a silent Heian Ciemnosc. Not receiving any response, he asked again. “We are doing you a favor. You have people with malicious intentions within that place, even now as we speak!”

“They should be worried then. My people also happen to be inside,” Heian Ciemnosc finally said, taking a step forward with his left foot. His darkest eyes set on the young man as he added, “And you should worry about yourselves first. You’re trapped out here with me.”

“Hahaha.” - “Aheheheh, this dude.” - “What is he talking about? Hey, that smoke is getting larger…” After Heian Ciemnosc’s words, some nervous laughter and silent mocking chuckles resounded. He ignored them as his dark smoke became 200 meters wide and tens of meters tall, already obstructing their sight of him and the palace. Well, at least for those cultivators standing directly before Heian Ciemnosc.

‘And her death… it will be paid with your corpses left in this place to rot!’ Heian Ciemnosc thought. As soon as he finished that train of thought, he freed and clenched his right hand, Vocón Link appearing in it as the dark smoke suddenly turned darker and seemed about to condense into a solid form. This alarmed the cultivators at once, but all they could see was darkness as a sound akin to a man being thrown off an endless cliff, wailing at the sensation of falling to a sure but certainly painful death.

… … RaaaaaaaaaAEEEEEEEAaaaaaEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~~- WHI- PLASHHH. Pshift, pshift, pshif~~~. Heian Ciemnosc bent his knees and lowered his body, his right-hand thrust forward from below to up with his arm fully extended. The dark whip seemed to strike like a snake as it suddenly shot forward into the dark smoke. It rapidly reached the other side, its extremity showing before the alarmed cultivators’ eyes. But it was too late to even think.

The dark whip shot past them, above their heads, but it didn’t do so alone. From the dark smoke, countless shapeless, dark limbs emerged, shooting straight into the crowd and impaling chests, legs, abdomens, heads, and necks in a matter of seconds!

Psif, psif, psif, psif, psif, psif, psif, psif… pshiiiiii~~fft… STOMP, crack- POOOM…

The Vocón Link continued advancing above their heads as if guiding those shapeless dark limbs as more and more were created from the back, distending from the other limbs that fell onto the cultivators and repeating the cycle of following the dark whip before crashing down into living beings’ bodies. The cultivators that were farther behind were astounded. But the Vocón Link’s speed was unimaginable, especially when the Second Step cultivators had their cultivation base forcefully restricted.

They couldn’t react in time. It was physically impossible. Some turned around, only for their bodies to be brutally slammed on the ground. Becoming smithereens as they placed no protective Power Energy layer around them or effectuated within. Others tried forming a barrier or protecting themselves. But the dark, shapeless limbs smoothly penetrated each like a lava-hot tube through a piece of paper.

Those who were slammed down and turned into gore were constantly slurped by the shapeless limbs, instantly transmitting all that nutrition to Heian Ciemnosc. With such a self-sufficient resupply, Heian Ciemnosc continued the same act for minutes until his Vocón Link was directed to crash into the ground and lift the earth. Everything: rocks, dirt, grains, and body parts rose 4 meters into the air in the middle of the hundred thousand cultivators. Working like a calling bell to sober everyone up.

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They felt their backs sweat coldly as their chests raggedly breathed. Everyone, including the Second Step cultivators, experienced what could only be considered impossible. Thousands of deaths by a single move from one person!!

Heian Ciemnosc’s Vocón Link fell into the ground and created an area of effect 200 meters from its epicenter, destroying anyone’s body inside that range and heavily injuring those even one kilometer away from the core. Just in time for Heian Ciemnosc to free himself from the focus of elaborating such a technique, deathly and without glamour, but efficient and quick! Just then, all at once, Heian Ciemnosc felt the auras of hundreds of cultivators come towards them. Meanwhile, many other thousands rushed into the palace.

To them, it didn’t matter who Heian Ciemnosc was. He would get exhausted and die after a few hours. But the treasures within the palace weren’t that many. They would detour and break the ‘protective’ array formation open before exterminating whoever wasn’t from their group and competing with their fellow cultivators for those treasures. Besides that, even with his Spirit Sense nearly dull, Heian Ciemnosc sensed their medallions’ fluctuations. This was but a combined act!

He crouched even lower, bringing his bum just 2 inches above the ground level and his torso against his thighs. Letting go of his Vocón Link as it disintegrated on its own, Heian Ciemnosc attended to his hearing sense, and his eyes crazily darted around. Before long, many shadows started appearing. Everyone seemed to know where he was and waited so they could cooperatively besiege him. But by then, Heian Ciemnosc was no longer looking around as his eyes turned fierce and his nose wrinkled. His eyebrows’ tips shot down, and the flesh above his upper lips twisted upwards.

Dark fangs peek between his lips and dark claws appear at the end of his fingers. Claws Out!

Stomp, stomp- fwoooshh. Heian Ciemnosc’s body stomped hard after leaping forwards in a direction. He dissipated within the dark smoke and rapidly approached a lonely figure. However, the others followed behind him with slightly lower, if not equal, speed! Heian Ciemnosc ignored it, however, and wholly concentrated on his target as he rushed towards him without considering anything else.

“!” The lonely figure seemed to notice something as he clutched his mouth as if believing this dark smoke was poisonous and detrimental. But it was, naturally, too late! Heian Ciemnosc arrived before the young man with the Obsucre Orb Sect’s emblem and was precisely the one who threw him the girl’s head from his Academy, his target!!

Whoosh, psiu, cuh- cuh- cuh- cuh- cuh- cuh. Pshift- click, pshift- click. Cuuuuuuh~~ cuuuuh~~, crreeshhk, crreeshhk, crreeshhk, crreeshhk.

Heian Ciemnosc’s right foot stepped 2 steps before the young man. He threw his arms forward, his dark claws about to rip the latter’s arms off his shoulders. But then, six different polearm weapons came from behind the young man and himself, 3 on each side. Heian Ciemnosc’s feign attack was followed by a swift movement as his body seemed to fall to the left and forward. The spear, pike, and halberd heads went through the air, cutting it and dissipating the dark smoke around by a little.

Their synchronization was top-notch, and Heian Ciemnosc could tell they were each from the Obscure Orb Sect, their emblems visible to him and their Art basically the same. Those 6 enemies were in the later stages of the Spirit Rebirth realm, but their attacks went through the void and didn’t even reach Heian Ciemnosc’s hem of his clothes. Their mortal weapons became useless toys for Heian Ciemnosc to play with. And as his body was still falling, his left foot finally landed and impulsed his body back up.

With his dark claws and his dark Power Energy covering his body, Heian Ciemnosc’s hands went through the air, aiming at the young man’s chest and back. His right claw-like hand cut open the young man’s chest and collarbone, and his left claw-like hand opened the young man’s upper back, revealing bones and blood. His left-handed pinky’s dark claw even cut the lower middle of the young man’s nape when it returned from slashing, paralyzing him with dark Power Energy, taking the young man’s body hostage.

The six polearm disciples were still recuperating when they saw the young man become Heian Ciemnosc’s hostage. But they didn’t hesitate to lunge at him and try to impale him with their fellow disciple. Heian Ciemnosc had to act fast, so he positioned the young man to watch the palace’s gates and Heian Ciemnosc’s Golden Array Snakes under the siege of thousands and thousands of cultivators. These weren’t everyone, but the rest were still recuperating from Heian Ciemnosc’s attack.

… … whoooooosh- pah. Cruuuggsshh… flop.

Heian Ciemnosc didn’t say anything, but the young man felt as if lifetimes had occurred all this while. Suddenly, the young man felt his vision clear as if dark smoke was no longer around. He could see the palace in front clearly. Its walls weren’t too big but were magnificent despite their dulled color and decrepit touch. He could see the students within. They were tranquil and unaffected by the commotion outside, even as cultivators employed several pseudo-Arts to break it open. However, it was fruitless.

A sudden thought emerged in his head. ‘I want to be there. I want to be away from so much trouble and cultivate diligently…peacefully.’

However, it all ended when Heian Ciemnosc’s right palm struck the back of his head. The motion was swift and fierce. Heian Ciemnosc retraced his arm almost entirely before letting it smack on the young man’s head. It was a simple move as he calculated his bodily strength and the young man’s defenses. The latter was nearly null because of the sudden dizzy state, but he could feel the pain of being murdered.

However, it didn’t show on his face. It instead demonstrated a clueless expression. From the young man’s head, only his face’s skin, the front half of his eyes containing his irises and pupils, nose, teeth, lips, and eyebrows became a one-dimensional image as it was the only thing remaining from the young man’s body. The rest turned into fleshy blood and crushed bones, falling to the ground as if having rained from several kilometers above the ground level. On the other hand, the remaining layer of his face floated forwards due to inertia before ultimately falling with a flop on the ground and becoming dirtied.

The sight wasn’t simple. It would make existences tremble just from such a sight. The insane manipulation Heian Ciemnosc had over his strength and calculating the outcome of his blow were top-notch. It would make even those powerhouses startled and appear ghastly. Heian Ciemnosc didn’t stop for a moment. This action only took him a couple seconds, even if they were like several eternities for the now deader-than-dead young man.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh… Crrreeesshhhhkk, phhshk, phhshk- clank clank clank… phhshk, ckrsheerr, swiiishhh.. Clank, CLII~NK, ckrsheerr~~~...

Heian Ciemnosc felt various auras approach, as strong as the first six polearm disciples and needing only a few seconds before joining the fight. Heian Ciemnosc abruptly jerked his head to the right and avoided a polearm’s blade. It passed above his right ear and clashed with his pitchest-blackest hair, incapable of cutting through it. Heian Ciemnosc put strength on his shoulders and pushed his body forwards, meeting with the disciple whose polear almost struck him.

Heian Ciemnosc opened his mouth, and his dark fangs glowed in reflection in his soon-to-be victim’s eyes. But the disciple's stomach was cut open first, shocking his overly opened eyes as he looked down to see Heian Ciemnosc’s left hand deep in his abdomen, still slicing to his left, revealing bouts of Power Energy and innards as they flew out of his skin.

Heian Ciemnosc didn’t bother with this disciple anymore and continued to deal with the latter. He pushed this one to the ground and leaped backwards, just in time to avoid 2 swipes from other polearms and 3 others attempting to cleave him into 4 parts. With his dark claws leaving contrails, the disciples didn’t feel threatened, retracting their weapons to attack again, when one of them suddenly held his polearm to his front and covered his body with Power Energy.

The other disciples looked at him and suddenly widened their eyes as if noticing something. But they were slow as they could only hear the sound of bodies collapsing and being penetrated as their eyes went dark. For the disciple who kept himself in the defense, he wasn’t better off. One of his eyes was pierced by a diminutive claw-shaped trace of dark Power Energy, which stabbed into his head, even hurting his brain.

But with his Power Energy, he kept himself standing and was recuperating. The dark Power Energy was equal to his, so he could live through it. But the dark Power Energy was eating his Power Energy, devouring some tissue, causing him to frown and become weary against Heian Ciemnosc’s methods, but not fearful.

However, before the disciple could think of retreating, Heian Ciemnosc was already floating towards him and swinging his left leg to kick the disciple's chest. The disciple didn’t even have a chance as his polearm was placed in a defensive stance against lethal attacks against another weapon. His chest sunk and gave rise to an exaggerated bout of pain. His eyes began coming out of his skull when Heian Ciemnosc finished kicking his body away.

But just then, Heian Ciemnosc was besieged by several Mortal weapons at melee, and he had to spin, twist, and turn his body as he clashed off with those weapons. His dark claws flashed with dark Power Energy, exchanged between the cultivators and fending them off one by one. They couldn’t keep up with Heian Ciemnosc. After 3 consecutive blows, their bodies became tired as Heian Ciemnosc went from employing heavy attacks to dealing a lethal blow.

A head, chest, heart, organs, or a body exploding would ensue, indicating the massacre had started. Heian Ciemnosc hasn’t even begun eating his victims. He could see the thousands of cultivators trying to break through the Golden Array Snakes, but not even he could do so in less than half an hour with all his power. He was confident to attract enough attention before they started shaking his Artifact.

With this thought in mind, Heian Ciemnosc continued clashing off with cultivators who wanted nothing else but to be the one to kill him, hoping he was distracted with the last kill or momentarily tired after being besieged yet again. But nobody noticed his Vocón Link, dissecting corpses left on the ground after he finished off each besieging group of cultivators. He would remain below until they were eaten up before resuming the massacre.

Heian Ciemnosc could do all of this, to the shock and growing fear of the cultivators, and as he moved towards the strange goldish protective barrier keeping the students inside the palace from even becoming distracted. He was, indeed, attracting the fear and discontent of everyone.

…