But suddenly, this calm was shattered by a shrill, almost piercing sound that tore through the air like a blade. The villagers, startled, looked up at the sky. There, above the village, a strange rift appeared, floating between the treetops. The rift undulated, as if it were tearing the very fabric of reality.
From this rift, a young man emerged slowly, floating with a supernatural ease. His skin was an unsettling pallor, almost translucent under the flickering light. His long black hair fell in unruly locks, contrasting sharply with his equally dark clothing. His black coat, adorned with thin, bright red lines, seemed to move independently of the wind, as if obeying an invisible force.
A mischievous smile appeared on his face, revealing sharp canines, too long to belong to a human. His eyes shone with a deep mischief, a spark of danger that made the atmosphere oppressive. His hands buried in the pockets of his coat, he floated above the ground with a detached air, observing the villagers with a mocking amusement.
Silence fell upon the village, the birds ceased their singing, and every breath of wind seemed to freeze, as if nature itself was holding its breath in the presence of this strange visitor.
"At first glance, I didn't detect any Elysians or mana within a 1000-kilometer radius," he murmured to himself, looking down at the people below.
"Well, I have to build my empire anyway. And we'll start with this little village... But it's easier said than done..."
Linfer took a pensive pose; so far, he hadn't thought of a plan. He was a guy who lived in the present moment, but he still needed a plan to build his empire and claim his father's throne.
"Basically, I need competent and loyal subjects!?"
A slight smile appeared on his lips as ideas flooded into his mind.
"They're way too rudimentary... Every proper civilization starts with cultural shock."
His smile widened as he let himself fall.
*BOOM*
The ground shook violently as he landed, causing a deafening crash. Clouds of dust swirled around him, enveloping his strange figure that had just descended from the sky. Yet, despite the fear that gripped their chests, a few curious and disbelieving villagers began to approach, trying to penetrate the mist. They had enemies from other villages, creatures from the woods, bandits, and even myths about people who could create fire without anything, but never someone capable of floating in the air and descending like a god.
Among them, a middle-aged man, his face marked by years of labor in the fields, stepped too close. His face showed both curiosity and ignorance. He took another step forward.
Suddenly, without warning, a pale, slender hand emerged from the thick fog. Its icy fingers closed violently on the man's face, gripping his skull with an immense force. For an instant, everything seemed to stop. The man's gaze reflected surprise, then pure terror.
A sharp crack sounded, followed by a grotesque squelching noise. The man's head was pulverized in a splash of blood and brains, splattering the ground around him. The closest villagers screamed in horror.
Cries resounded, women called out to their children, while some, paralyzed with terror, could only watch, unable to comprehend what had just occurred.
The lifeless body of the man collapsed heavily onto the ground, a deathly silence reigning around the scene, as the warm blood slowly trickled away. Linfer, with a simple gesture of his hand, dispersed the mist, observing the villagers' reaction with an evil smile.
Linfer's smile widened as he fully savored the terror spreading across the villagers' faces, before declaring with malicious pleasure:
"Step one: genocide!"
Before anyone could react, Linfer disappeared, his body dissolving into a series of residual images. Mad cackles echoed as his shadows appeared and vanished all around the village. With each reappearance, screams were heard, followed by the sinister sound of blood spurting. Linfer surrendered to a murderous frenzy, striking down men, women, children, and elders, without discrimination. His sole purpose was death.
There was only his demonic laughter floating in the air, transforming the peaceful atmosphere of the village into a hell on earth. In a matter of seconds, the village, once bustling with a hundred lives, fell into a morbid silence. The ground had become muddy, soaked with blood that flowed in thick streams, creating a macabre scene of carnage.
With a simple gesture, Linfer made the blood evaporate, which condensed into a bright red orb in his palm. His silhouette remained strangely clean, except for his hands, which he had deliberately left stained with blood. As he observed the blood sphere, he furrowed his brows, a hint of disappointment crossing his gaze.
"As I thought... No mana or interesting abilities," he murmured. "The ambient mana is miserably weak here."
Then, a sadistic smile reappeared on his face. "I have a head start on you, bastard," he thought, thinking of Leviathan.
He knew that one of the first people he had to eliminate would be his brother, and for that, he would have to stack the odds in his favor. And especially that morality was not one of his strong points, he had not held back.
With a brutal gesture, he plunged his claws into his left hand, making his own blood flow, which mingled with the red orb. Drawing a deep breath, his necklace faintly shone with a red glow as his usually silent heart began to beat. Slowly, his body began to change: his red bat wings pierced the flesh of his back, a curved horn emerged from his forehead, and his ears became pointed. Corrupted mana surged from him, transforming the air around into a storm of pure malevolence.
He clutched the sphere in both hands, holding it tightly as it struggled to free itself from his control. "Blood Slave," he whispered, and the sphere shattered, releasing a bloody mist that enveloped the entire village.
The minutes passed in stifling silence, the thick, shifting mist obscuring vision. Then, slowly, figures began to form in the fog. About fifty villagers appeared, those who had survived the transformation, kneeling before Linfer in silent deference. Their appearances altered: they were paler, thinner, and their eyes bulged, glowing with an unhealthy red light.