章節 22: Prey

Lyken Beria was never a good man. He had made countless people suffer as a member of the Beria family. But he never cared about them.

The women and children he raped and killed were proof of his detestable existence. This was a very terrible person, one that became even more terrible after becoming a Devil.

He killed, raped, robbed, swindled, corrupted, among many other things. That's why he had many enemies, but he never cared about that. The Blood Sanctify Sect, the Beria family, would protect him after all.

That's why he did unspeakable things even against the Seven Churches.

Today, he got information from trusted sources that there would be a guest waiting for him in a certain building in East Borough. This guest wanted to contact the Beria family and would do anything for that purpose.

However, Lyken wasn't going to help him at all. No, he was going to rob and kill that guest, showing him what it meant to seek the Beria family of his own accord.

'I hope this guest is a woman. Hahaha.' As he had this thought, Lyken couldn't help curling his lips up into a smile.

As he approached the abandoned building in East Borough, Lyken was confident this wasn't a trap.

'My danger intuition is giving me no warnings, so it should be perfectly fine' He climbed the steps to enter the abandoned building made of concrete and wood, still feeling no sense of danger at all.

As he opened the door, he saw a masked figure wearing luxurious clothes seated upon a wooden chair.

He had long, pale white hair. His hands were covered by black gloves filled with red symbols, with a tail suit and trousers made from full black velvet. The man was wearing an iron mask with no details, but the piercing green eyes beneath it were easily noticeable.

As Lyken entered the place, his face soon filled with disappointment. 'It's a man…'

The masked, luxuriously clothed man's eyes seemed to narrow as he thought that, but the change was imperceptible for Lyken.

Lyken went to the table in front of the masked man and sat down, he then said with a tone filled with arrogance, "You are the one after our Beria family? Tell me what you want by looking for us."

The masked man opened his mouth and said in a calm tone, "There's no reason for that, you're already here after all."

When Lyken heard this, his face filled with confusion for a second before his danger premonition activated.

Lyken quickly jumped backwards and threw the wooden table up towards the masked man. Quickly making his way to the door, Lyken was just about to reach it when he heard a calm and uncaring voice behind him, "Seal"

It was said in ancient Hermes, and as soon as the words reverberated through the burnt and filthy hall, it seemed to have come alive. The light from the doors and windows instantly disappeared, leaving an inextinguishable void behind.

The table that was thrown at the masked man by Lyken shattered in countless shards along with dark-green flames consuming it.

Lyken looked around him, and seeing as the place had been seemingly sealed from the outside world completely by some magic, he turned around and threw a Sulfur Fireball at his assailant.

As the dark-blue flames approached the white haired masked man, it engulfed his figure completely, bursting into a huge explosion of dark-blue fire.

Lyken smiled when he saw his opponent being consumed by the fire, but his smile suddenly froze.

The dark-blue flames he had thrown at the masked man were being consumed by dark-green flames, as if they were far weaker than the fire that seemed to be as corrosive as acid.

Lyken couldn't believe his eyes, to think his enemy actually had greater control of cursed fire than him, a Devil, it was preposterous to even consider.

Seeing his flames being consumed by the other party's ones, Lyken conjured three more fireballs and threw them at his enemy. 'Let's see if you can disperse three at the same time!!!!'

As the Sulfur Fireballs were about to reach the masked man, Lyken suddenly heard a chant, "By ancient rhymes, flames dance higher and faster. Through whispered words, their heat they now have mastered."

When the chant finished, Lyken saw the dark-green flames become impossibly powerful, like they were awakened by some mystical power.

The tongues of flame easily consumed his Sulfur Fireballs like they were nothing. 'What!!!!'

Seeing this scene, Lyken almost lost his mind, he couldn't understand what was happening at all. He was a Devil, a powerful Devil that excelled in controlling cursed fire.

"Ahhhh!!" Lyken bellowed out with a strong voice, unsheathing the black sword that was at his waist.

He jumped in the direction of the masked man, his sword shining with a dark hue. As he brandished it in an attempt to cut the masked man's head- *Ding

Lyken saw his sword be stopped by a piece of bone. However, he continued pressing forward, activating the powerful effect this weapon possessed.

*Crack

The bone cracked under the immense pressure the sword imposed on it. But before the sword could behead this powerful enemy. *Pah

Lyken was kicked in his abdomen, his opponent had contorted his left leg to an impossible degree to kick him.

The strength under the kick was so powerful Lyken flew more than ten steps and hit his back against a pillar, which cracked under the immense pressure.

With this, Lyken saw his opponent coming up to him almost like flying, it was like his body was as light as a feather.

The masked man had a pale white longsword in his hands, it was incredibly sharp and looked like it was crafted from a big piece of bone.

As the man approached with the longsword in a cutting motion, Lyken used his own black broadsword to defend against the attack.

As the bone looking longsword clashed with his own, Lyken saw the longsword break like a piece of glass. He couldn't help but curl his lips into a cold smile while casting another Sulfur Fireball at his opponent.

The fireball was once again consumed by the dark-green flames like it was nothing.

"Tch." Lyken clicked his tongue in annoyance and brandished his sword against his enemy once more. However, as the sword was about to reach him, the masked man evaded it by contorting like a snake.

He pointed at Lyken's face and from the tip of his fingers grew white pieces of bone, ready to be fired at Lyken.

As he saw this, Lyken quickly said a word filled with corruption and foulness, "Slow"

When this word escaped his lips, Lyken saw the masked man become incredibly sluggish, like being in a marsh. Lyken brandished his sword once more, this time confident the masked man would have no chance to evade.

And as his sword was about to cut through the man's neck, Lyken heard him say in a cold and slowed voice, "Protect!"

With this, a big swath of light shone upon the masked man. When he tried to cut the light, it was like Lyken was trying to cut through an impossibly hard boulder, it wouldn't bulge at all.

The effect of Slow reached its end and the masked man fired the pieces of bone at his fingertips at Lyken. *Swish

As the bullets pierced his body, Lyken transformed his body into that of a true Devil.

He was now standing at 210 cm tall (6 feet 11 inches), with black horns growing from his skull and dark red wings behind him.

Having finally transformed into his Devil form, Lyken conjured his Volcanic Eruption fire spell to burst his enemy into flames from the face of the earth.

The dark-blue flames were now much more powerful than before, and just when they were about to consume the dark-green ones, killing his enemy, Lyken heard another word, "Order"

As this word was said, a golden glow shone upon the masked man from his pocket. He soon continued on, "Fire is prohibited here!"

After that, all the flames were consumed from the hall, were they dark-green or dark-blue, they simply disappeared in the golden light that shone upon them.

With this, Lyken said another word filled with foulness, "Decay!"

But before the effects could show themselves, "Demonic language is prohibited here!"

The effects of another one of his spells quickly disappeared. Lyken found himself unable to do much with his Devil's powers, so he used another one of his artifacts.

His ring shone with a starlight blue light and an illusory book filled with strange symbols appeared in front of him. Lyken didn't take a second to coldly say, "Talking is prohibited here!"

He had suffered far too much with the masked man's words already, so he decided to make it stop.

The illusory book in front of him shone with golden light, like it was a command coming from a higher order. The prohibition quickly took effect and Lyken used his black broadsword to cut at his enemy.

*Snap

But before he could succeed, he saw the masked man snapping his fingers.

*Crack

The upper floor cracked like it was holding far too much weight, and Lyken noticed more than six strange aberrations falling from it.

They were amalgamations of different bodies into one. Some had five heads and ten arms, others had twelve legs and three chests. Each and every single one of them was made from multiple different human bodies, seemingly grafted to one another.

'What the fuck are these creatures!?' Lyken never saw anything like this before, these monsters were far too grotesque even for him.

The six aberrations started running towards him with their many limbs, seemingly wanting to tear him apart. As the creatures approached him, Lyken used the power of his ring once more, this time conjuring a bolt of lighting upon the monstrosities that ran up to him.

*Crackle

As the lightning charred their bodies, jumping from one to another, Lyken saw the creatures start breaking apart in puddles of dark blood.

After using another power from his ring, Lyken was about to cast another spell when he suddenly stopped.

*Boom

His body burst into countless chains. The chains slithered out of him in many different directions, seemingly looking for something to attach themselves to hold him.

The aberrations that were killed by his lightning completely melted into big puddles of blood that wriggled into different symbols on the ground.

Blood started gushing from the walls and ceiling, writing innumerable arcane runes and strange letters on everything inside the place.

The ceiling of the second floor also fell down, along with the one from the third floor, showing a black and red circle filled with thousands of runes on the ceiling of the last fourth floor.

The black chains that bound Lyken's body floated upwards, carrying him ever closer to the ritualistic circle written from blood.

All the prohibition effects were dispersed. Dark-green flames started burning around the ritualistic circle, as if protecting and enhancing its powers.

"This! Impossible!!!! WHO ARE YOU!!!?????" Lyken completely lost his composure when he looked at the ritualistic circle.

He didn't know the exact effects that it had, but he recognized some of the runes that composed it. They read, "SACRIFICE"

The masked man looked at his figure being carried towards the ritualistic circle and calmly replied, "As I said, it doesn't matter anymore."

He pointed at Lyken's finger with the ring and hand holding the broadsword and fired his bone bullets, bursting his fingers and hand apart, allowing the items to fall to the ground.

Lyken was about to lose all of his sanity from this, he looked up at the ominous circle and back at the masked man with an expression full of fear, "The Beria won't let you off if you kill me!!!!!"

The masked man looked at him for a second before murmuring, "Does becoming a Devil lowers one's mental faculties? Uhh… Sullivus had nothing in his memories that indicated so…"

Lyken was filled with a paralyzing fear, he knew that when reached that circle he would be dead. "Let me go! Please! I'll give you anything you want!!! Anything!!!!!"

The masked man kept looking at him with calm and uncaring eyes, but Lyken could feel some slivers of amusement from his eyes.

Soon enough, the masked man started walking towards the building's front doors, all while singing a chant:

"In ancient cadence, magic intertwines,

With bardic's touch, the veil unwinds.

Seals yield their grip, as verses unfold,

Enhancing powers, the gifted behold."

Lyken interrupted his chant to cry out once more, "HEY!! I'll kill you damned bastard!!! I'll make your head into a fucking decorative to my walls!!!!"

"Through unseen barriers, they swiftly pass,

A dance with fate, as destinies amass.

Words entwined, like keys to realms unknown,

Unlocking paths, once secret, now shown."

The chains that bound Lyken started burning with the cursed dark-green flames, charring his body. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Lyken screamed with pain as his Devil form melted into a dark red sphere of blood. The sphere floated towards the masked man like an item that had always belonged to him in the first place.

"Inscribed sigils, now flicker and fade,

The bard's enchantment, a potent cascade.

Past sacred wards, they gracefully glide,

With harmonies woven, no secrets to hide."

The ritualistic circle shone with a dark red light as it opened a passage to a world filled with darkness and corruption. Lyken couldn't do anything as he approached the door to that corrupted realm, he didn't know where it led to or what hid behind it.

"So heed the bard, his mystical art,

As powers surge and worlds they impart.

Phasing through seals, their spirits ignite,

Guided by song, they bring eternal blight."

As the long chants finally came to an end, the masked man- Ethan, used his highly enhanced Apprentice powers to start phasing through the seal he put in place himself.

His target was also entering the corrupted portal to the 'Abyss', still screaming to the top of his lungs.

While leaving, he picked the dark red sphere- Sequence 6, Devil Beyonder characteristic. About to leave, Ethan couldn't help but say to his target, "Say hi to the 'Father of Devils' for me."

With this, he left the building. And with his departure, the entire place started falling apart, burned with dark-green flames. His target being consumed by the dark portal.