Chapter 57: Death, Himself.
Chapter 57: Death, Himself.
"AHHHHH!!!"
"RUN! ITS A MONSTER!!"
"PLEASE SPAR..AHHH!!"
A plethora of screams, overlapped with disordered running. Blood, flesh and screams were flying through the air, with chaotic curses following them.
In the very center of this chaos, moved a dark specter. It's movement was so fast, that one would not be able to catch it in their eyes. The only trace of it's movements were the dismembered body parts and fountains of blood that laid in its passing.
'Moving like lightning' this phrase was enacted in its truest essence.
'Che! Annoying.' Lucius clicked is tongue in annoyance.
Entering the warehouse district, Lucius carefully analyzed his situation and came to the conclusion that he was being manipulated by Ka'lor'ah. Understanding who his enemy was, he was no longer passive and set out to actively seek them out.
Dashing through the long paths, Lucius' path wasn't exactly free of trouble. He came across many squads of guards, patrolling the warehouses. Ever since, the 'incident' at the warehouse district, the various families had increased the security measure by a large margin.
Being in a irritated state, Lucius did not bother hiding himself anymore. He simply dashed towards them, without stopping or bothering to explain.
If they let him pass, as was well otherwise he would simply remove them out of his way. Alas, all the six squads he had come across chose the other option and Lucius was more than happy to comply.
Still, facing 10 men in each squad, all with the resolve to die, 6 times in a row was honestly getting annoying for Lucius.
It took him less than 30 seconds to wipe them out each time. But the way they clung to his body, even in death was proving to be bothersome.
Cutting of the arm connected to a body of one of the nameless guards, Lucius freed his body from it's grasp.
'Tch! Insects are always annoying.' Lucius cursed within his mind.
Wiping the blood of his robes and dusting his hands, Lucius was about to continue moving when his senses warned him about incoming danger. He immediately mobilized his soul power and hurriedly moved his upper body, till it leaned perpendicular to the ground backwards.
Lucius position resembled the 'c' letter.
Swissh!
A sharp object tore through the empty air, where his head was positioned in just a second ago.
Activating his [Killer Vision] instantly, Lucius jerked his head in the direction where the bullet had originated from. He could see a white cloud, moving from the location.
'A Sniper.' Lucius concluded.
The sniper used the split second when Lucius was stationary to take a shot. A shot coming from an electromagnetic sniper, meant it's speed surpassed anything the likes of what an ordinary sniper rifle could. A normal sniper bullet could travel at 760m/s, with this particular rifle achieving almost thrice that speed.
'With this, that monster will finally die!'
The sniper was confident in his shot and was rightfully so. After all how many people can dodge a projectile incoming at such speeds when they were caught off-guard. Still he was cautious enough to immediately move from his position, to prevent hostile forces from discovering him.
Alas, Lucius was already something that was far from human.
His instinct was so sharp that it bordered on precognition. From the second, the rifle was aimed at his head, Lucius instinct had already warned him of the impending danger and his body had taken the appropriate response. With the assistance of his soul power, he had dodged that shot successfully, albeit coming a little close to comfort.
Gripping the severed arm in his hands, Lucius immediately threw it towards the running sniper. He infused his soul power into the severed arm, to reinforce it.
At a speed which was similar to teleportation, the severed arm disappeared from Lucius' hands the pierced through the sniper's chest.
The sniper who had been running away, suddenly felt a force hit him in his chest and the power in his body being slowly drained away. Cranking neck downwards to observe his chest, he noticed an arm sticking out from inside his chest, holding a muscular red object seemingly pumping something.
'What just happened?' This was the last thought that went through that man's mind before he helplessly collapsed into the ground.
Seeing that white cloud being snuffed out in his vision. Lucius finally straightened his body. He did not deactivate his [Killer Vision] just to be guarded against similar foes.
'Now to continue tracki....' before Lucius could finish his thoughts, he suddenly felt a disturbance coming from this distance.
Faint traces of energy rippled into the air from one of the solitary warehouses that stood in the distance.
Lucius brows immediately furrowed, as he focused his senses in that direction. Picking up those patterns of energy being emitted, he realized it's familiar nature.
'Soul power?' he questioned within his mind.
Without hesitating, Lucius immediately began moving in that direction.
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Approaching the warehouse, Lucius' eyes picked up the presence of multiple life forms on the other side of the tall, concrete walls. Stepping into range, he suddenly felt a prickly sensation in the depths of his soul. Stopping for a second and peering into his mindspace, he could see a thin line of energy searching to reconnect with the reddish-black human silhouette.
This line was the soul link that connected Ka'lor'ah and Lucius. Seeing that the line of energy required his permission to link with his soul, Lucius unhesitantly denied it.
He was no longer going to entrain Ka'lor'ah's whims, unless and until she provided him with a solid reason. If she could not explain her set of actions, Lucius had decided to crush the crystal on the spot.
'I can't allow anyone to jeopardize my plans. Even if it means I lose it's function to hide my causality.'
As he approached the warehouse, Lucius could feel some of the lifeforms having their presences snuffed out. He could not see through the other side of the wall, nor scan for the souls present. His vision had it's limitations too. Seeing through thick solid objects was not possible and peering at distances far outside of his range was also not possible.
Still, he could use it to vaguely identify the presence of life on the other side. Having cultivated the [Killer] soul to its highest level, Lucius was very sensitive to the presence of life. To him, detecting life forms was a bona-fide sixth sense.
Lucius tried to force open the door, only to find it locked. Not wanting to waste time nor strength, he simply gathered a ball of soul energy in his hands and converted it's property into [Decay]. Slamming it at the points were the hinges were located, he patiently waited.
Now that he had confirmed the crystal's location, he was in no hurry. As for the ongoing battle on the other side, judging from the sounds he could hear. He simply did not care.
'People are fighting among themselves. What has that got to do with me?' he thought to himself.
In less than 5 seconds, the metal had completely corroded and the door fell through.
Having his [Killer Vision] still activated, Lucius confirmed Ka'lor'ah's presence, thanks to the dark golden soul color.
"Found. You." he spoke in his usual voice.
After saying so, he stepped in while releasing his [Killing Intent] to the maximum extent of what his soul could handle. Just as he stepped in, Lucius suddenly furrowed his brows,
'Wait, why are there two other colors?' he was puzzled.
Looking up, he indeed saw two other colors other than Ka'lor'ah's dark gold.
There was a red, which resembled a burning fire. And then there was a deep violet, which resembled a calm ocean.
Due to having his vision triggered, Lucius could not properly make out the faces of these two people. In his eyes, they were simply dark bodies containing a colored soul.
'One is half-step Stage 1, while the other is relatively new.' he referred to the red and the violet respectively.
Having entered the warehouse, Lucius switched off his vision. He wanted to have a good look at the two people, who had unlocked their soul power.
Seeing their profiles reflected in his eyes, Lucius was astounded. His body freezing in surprise
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Seeing this new entrant, the fighting suddenly paused.
All who were present inside the warehouse, turned their heads to look towards this newcomer.
He had black hair and a slender build. His face was very handsome and the expressionless mask that he was wearing gave it an additional charm. Unlike how, having a expressionless face would give people a feeling of dissonance watching the other person, when it came to this young man there was a sense of harmony to it.
It just felt natural on his face.
Moving their gaze off his handsome face, their eyes were drawn to his eyes. Two crescent moons, crimson in color surrounded those abyssal black eyes. They involuntarily felt their eyes sinking into those irresistible eyes. Forcing themselves awake, they quickly broke their line of sight, returning to stare at him in his entirety.
Whoever this person was, they had to ascertain his intentions first. Either way, he was going to die.
But little did they know, this was just the start of their last and worst nightmare.
They quietly watched the young man step on the metal door and into the warehouse. He stood there for a second quietly scanning around the room, as if he was searching for something.
Just as one of the guards were about to call out to him, his body suddenly stiffened. To be precise the body of every single person in this place simultaneously stiffened. Cold sweat started to pour out of their backs. Their minds tempered through multiple life and death scenarios, immediately sent them warning singles.
Alas, their bodies were unresponsive and their wills helpless.
At this second, staring at his stiff unmoving body,they understood.
That person was a true killer.
A reaper of lives.
The Personification of Death, Himself.