Josh and Derek hurriedly made their way to the Master's bedroom.
"Hurry!"
"I know already f*cker! This is the fastest I could go!"
*Bang!
They pushed the door open and were shocked at what they saw.
There was no one inside, only bloody bat corpses and some broken furniture could be seen lying around. The powerful Rune Formation displayed its full power, tricking the two causing them to let their guard down.
"Where are they?" Derek asked.
Seeing the open window, Josh replied "Perhaps the perp got away, and they gave chase?"
'If so then it's odd. Why didn't the Captain inform them?' The two thought and decided to investigate.
But after stepping foot inside the room...
*Swooosh!
Out of nowhere, a dozen chains appeared in midair at lightning speed. Their bodies were stabbed, then dragged toward the room where they vanished.
…
[Inside the barrier]
Josh couldn't believe what he was seeing. Nick and John who came before them were kneeling in front of a being that looked like the incarnation of Demon.
Their blood then erupted from their body which was absorbed by the Demon-like being.
"Ahhhh!" Josh screamed with all his might as he struggled, pouring out all of his Aera in one go to break the chains but it was easier said than done. Derek on the other hand remained frozen. Too many things happened so fast that his mind couldn't properly process it. The absurdity of their situation was just too much for his mind. 'What the hell-'
After all the blood that erupted from Nick and John was absorbed clean, Arthur dragged the newcomers closer. Josh and Derek looked at Arthur with agony and panic.
'Where did this monster come from?' The two both thought.
They failed to recognize Arthur since he doesn't have an ounce of resemblance to his normal form, other than being skinny.
"Choose, be my slave or my puppet." Words laced with malevolence pierced their ears. Their souls shivered at the bone chilling power they could feel from Arthur's voice as well as his piercing red eyes.
"S-spare me. PLEASE!"
"Choose. You have three seconds" Arthur repeated then started his countdown with a wide smile, showing his jagged teeth.
"3"
"AHHH! Your slave! I want to be your slave!" The weak-willed Josh immediately succumbed to fear.
"2"
"M- me too! I- I'm willing" Derek followed suit after the imminent crisis finally dawned on him. His eyes moved back and forth from the bodies lying around.
Derek thought that if he refused then he would surely end up like the rest on the floor. He recognized that these dried-up bodies were his teammates, if even their Captain was reduced to such a state, then what chance do they have.
Arthur lowered the two who thought that they managed to escape certain doom. Seeing their reaction, Arthur smirked and proceeded to do the same as he did to the others. Josh and Derek couldn't even fathom what had happened until the very end.
"Haaa... I'm overflowing with strength."
"If I go all out, I'm roughly at Upper Stage B-Rank, bordering A-Rank. If I transform partially, I'm at Upper Stage C-Rank. And in my normal form I'm Lower Stage E-Rank" After a quick estimation, Arthur clenched his fist after feeling his power growing, but it wasn't enough. He needs more.
In this world, the power scale that determines the strength and status of a mage goes from F-Rank being the lowest and weakest all the way to A-Rank, the top, the strongest. These ranks are further divided into three stages, Lower, Middle and Upper Stage.
Even though the Ranks only go up to A, there are still individuals that surpasses this rank and were given the special S-Rank. This Rank was the pinnacle and currently there are only Nine known Mages that have this Rank called the "High Nine"
These individuals are beings that have long escaped the chains that binds their mortality, some of the current S-Ranks have been alive for more than 400 years. But they are not the absolute rulers of this world, for there are still Ancient Beings who already surpassed this Ranks and had stepped in a new Realm. They are detached and have no time to dip their fingers in the affairs of the weak, so they hid themselves. Only Arthur and a few individuals were privy of this secret.
The squad that Arthur subjugated were all C-Rank Mages, except for the Captain and Vice-Captain which were at Lower Stage B-Rank. Now although at the same rank, Arthur could demolish a hundred Captain George, that's how powerful his Half-Awakened Primordial Vampire Physique paired with Devil Origin Physique was.
'So what if I can kill a hundred B-Rank. In the end I'm still a speck of dust compared to those monsters.' Just the thought of their overwhelming power made Arthur clench his teeth. The fury he had burned ever brighter.
After calming his mind, he cancelled the Shadow Chain spell he set up using his blood. The chains faded like ashes and the floor returned to normal.
Earlier during the commotion as the blood of the bats covered the floor, Arthur wielded the blood he puked to crawl under it forming a magic circle that covered the room.
The soldiers failed to detect it since Arthur moved the blood using only his mind power. A telekinetic prowess that only those who have complete dominion over certain things could do. He used his blood since it was a Devil's blood, making the spell more potent and stronger.
Arthur collapsed the Rune Formation next and called in a hundred bats from outside. He ordered them to dispose of the other bat corpses and clean up the mess. His instructions were engraved deeply in the animal's mind and what followed was a sight for the eyes. Hundred bats working together, cleaning and tidying the room as much as their physical ability enabled them to.
Arthur soon left them to do their job as he dragged the others to the study room. He conjured a magic circle using his shadow, greatly utilizing his darkness affinity. Black whip-like tendrils sprang out beneath his feet wrapping the soldier's bodies, carrying them behind Arthur.
...
[Study room]
A massive room with hundreds of properly arranged books welcomed Arthur. He reminisced about the time he had spent in this place, just reading and looking for a way to overcome his mortal status. He cherished every clue he could get and come up with his own theory. Desperately doing his best without anyone noticing other than Dian.
One day during his previous life or future life to be exact, as he was going through the books he had already read countless times, when he noticed a crack in one of the shelves. After silently and secretly prying the crack open, he found a diary of a maid that used to manage the manor. This very diary contained the information of a secret chamber that Arthur's great grandfather used to sneak out.
His frivolous great grandfather was a third son, so he didn't have any claim to the throne. He was a free spirit who didn't care about power or politics, he only wanted to enjoy his life. One of the things he regularly indulged in was women, the pleasure of the flesh. Because of this habit, the family assigned him to the Manor where he could reflect on his obscene behavior all alone.
The Manor- which was later turned into the Head Maid's lodging, which later became Arthur's prison!
Unfortunately, unbeknownst to anyone, Arthur's great grandfather was secretly a genius. He was talented in space magic and array formation. He hid this talent in fear of being used by the family in their political games and gaining too much responsibility. A burden he didn't want to bear.
Arthur stared at a lifelike painting of a white snake on the wall. The Painting was hanging 3 feet above the floor and was as big as a door. This was painted by his great-grandfather. Anyone who sees it would think it was just a design for the room. A centerpiece one would look at when taking a break from reading or whatever they're doing.
Arthur pressed his palm on the painting and poured his Aera inside it. The painting glowed and the snake came alive. It slithered around the painting for a bit before slithering out. It was a massive snake that only grew larger as it got out of the painting. It was roughly five times Arthur's size.
After coming out fully, it coiled around Arthur and bared its fangs toward him, ready to strike. The snake was a defensive spell that required a specific code to deactivate. Arthur didn't know the code as it wasn't written in the diary. The snake lunges toward Arthur with its mouth wide open. Unperturbed, Arthur whipped out his tail and slapped the snake's head aside. He poured more Aera in the painting, even mixing some demonic energy overloading the canvas. This causes some patterns to show on the surface of the painting, Arthur then forcefully breaks the pattern making the Snake glitched and then finally disappearing before its second attack ever reaches him.
A black hole swirling counterclockwise was all that's left of the painting. Without hesitation Arthur jumped and dived deep inside it.
…
[Inside the sub-space]
'It's as I remembered it.'
What greeted Arthur was a small hall with a huge bed in the middle of it. There was a small bar with some finely aged wine stocked in the corner and jacuzzi on the other end of it. Everything was preserved and left as it was.
Nobody knows how his great grandfather died but according to the rumor, he was assassinated. 'He probably slept with someone he shouldn't have' Arthur guessed.
Currently nobody knew this secret room except him, the maid who wrote the diary was already dead and based on what she wrote, it was clear that she was also his great grandfather's woman. She was of mortal status and was favored by someone she could only dream of being with. Her loyalty and devotion could be felt in her words, unfortunately she was too drunk on love. She committed suicide when the news of her lover's death came to her.
Arthur drew nine magic circles on the floor and placed each body on one. He then left and went straight to the surveillance room where he thoroughly checked if there was a need to report or do a log. Fortunately, there was no need to. Arthur also looked at their report history and found out that they didn't suspect anything, his and Dian's acting sold it off.
After tampering with the security cameras Arthur went back to the room and seeing that the bats were doing just fine, he carried Dian with him and checked the soldier's condition.
…
[Inside the sub-space]
Arthur sat on the bed in a meditative pose while Dian lay quietly on it.
It was already midnight.
'The passages in my Aera circuit is cracked." Arthur sighed as he checked the condition of his body.
'It's too soon for me to be exerting such power. I need to first solidify its walls and expand the Aera pathways before I get into another fight. Unfortunately, I still have some unfinished business to attend to later.' Arthur focused on circulating the Aera in his body while patching up the broken pathways. He was recovering as much as he could.
After a rushed power up Arthur now needed to focus on building his foundation, slowly and steadily getting used to his power. Arthur believed that the ultimate weapon is after all an individual's body. He learned this through many trials and tribulations. A man would always have his body and how he used it would depend on how he trained it.
It could become a sharp sword that could pierce the hardest mineral or an impenetrable wall that no weapon could ever put a dent on it.
"Grr-ugh"
"Finally awake. I knew you'd be the first one." Arthur looked at Captain George's body twitching as it slowly stood up.
"Haaa. Haaa. HAAAAGH" The Captain breathed heavily, his voice was hoarse as if he hadn't drunk any water for days. He was pale and skinny, literally skin and bones and his sunken eyes glowed in red blood color.
"W-Wha dyu t-to me haaagh"
"I gave you a choice." Arthur smiled brightly as he looked at the scared and confused expression of the man in front of him. "And your answer is what made you what you are right n-
"Grugh. Haaagh Haaagh"
"Hmm so he finally lost his rationality." It doesn't matter once George regains it back, he can explain further.
George stood up and took a step forward, but he hit an invisible barrier. The patterns Arthur drew on the floor shined brightly, it released an invisible barrier that prevented George from stepping foot out.
…
After a few minutes passed, the rest of the group began to stir. However, unlike George, they were not lucid. They resembled wild, mindless animals, snarling and fighting to break free from the invisible boundary that held them captive.
They weren't directing their aggression towards Arthur, but rather facing away from him, desperate to flee from the demonic presence looming before them.
The minds of the lower class Nightwalkers are quite fragile. 'Nightwalker' is the term Arthur used to call the ones he tuned. If Arthur only had the Primordial Vampire Physique, then these new Nightwalkers would have been more behaved. But because of the overpowered Devil Origin Physique, the Nightwalkers felt deep seated fear in their bones. They feel restless and afraid.
'Devil Origin Physique is just in another league of its own in this lower realm.' This was no joke. Because of the immense power this physique holds, Arthur managed to easily subjugate a whole team of experienced and strong fighters.
Arthur smiled as he got up and walked towards the Nightwalkers, finding their behavior funny.