Chapter 35: Torrent city[6]

[buzz...buzz]

The buzz sound of a communication device on a table was heard in a dark room. It was a disc like object with a flat, translucent crystal embedded at the centre. It was called a communication disc.

The disc like body was coloured in gold and it had very intricate carvings and runes etched on to it's structure. The disc was by far the most eye-catching part of the entire thing, hence it's name.

The center piece crystal was blinking a bright light, and coupled by it's incessant buzzing, the receiver was all but compelled to pick up.

A fat hand stretched out and reached for the communication disc which lay on the table. The hand picked it up, and using a small amount of Mana, he answered up the call.

The translucent crystal was used as a screen as the image of a person appeared on it. The caller seemed to be heavily sounded as blood flowed from several bodily crevices, both natural and artificially made. 

"Report." The receiver said.

[bzzzt...bzzzt....reporting...the count...] The caller began. The poor signal was caused by the powerful fluctuations of Mana that affected the waves transmitting the call.

[Bzzt....count Raymond has appeared!...bzzt...kuok...bzzzt]

The call ended and the translucent crystalline screen turned white again as the caller seemed to have gotten impaled from behind by someone.

The message was delivered well as the receiver quickly grasped the situation at hand. The man turned his neck to face two other existences that sat behind him.

"Well, you heard him. It's you guys' cue. We have completed our end of the deal and lured him out for you, so get it done." The man said to the other two. They immediately got up and began walking forward.

"Got it." One of them replied simply.

"And who gave you the permission to order ME around!" The other one said with an irritated tone.

"It seems like you have forgotten that I don't work for you.....baron. I am only doing this at the request of the boss, nothing else.....Che, I don't even know why HE would stoop so low as to pair me up with a noble like you." The man added.

"I see...I'm deeply sorry for my tone....Mr Aaron." The baron replied with a humble voice.

Just who was this Aaron person that he could make even someone like the baron Trent become an obedient dog?

"And you, Lark." Aaron called out to the person beside him. The captain Lark.

"The count is my prey, DON'T touch him. You can take care of all the other small fry." Aaron said to Lark. What confidence, to refer to someone like the count, a highly decorated S-rank and sword saint, as prey.

"Sure." Lark responded simply.

'like hell I would ever try to fight someone like the count. I know that Aaron is very strong, but after seeing that....I'm not so sure. No, I should not be thinking about this, we have already come too far to turn back now. And besides...I still have a score to settle with that other bastard.' Lark said inwardly in an attempt to erase the doubts that lurked around his mind as well as to prepare himself for what's to come.

"Good. Now let's go join in on the fun." Aaron said and walked away. He was headed to the battlefield that was not to far away from the secret bunker which they were currently in.

'well I should not worry too much. After all, we still have that..' Lark thought before following right behind Aaron.

——–

*Slash*

"Kueok!" The last remaining opponent spat out blood as the fiery sword dug into his chest, dealing him fatal damage. He felt flat on the ground as his body went limp. He was dead.

*Slice*

A slicing sound was heard as the sword drew an arc in the air, leaving behind a bright red trail and ridding the blade of the crimson liquid which previously coated it.

"Hmph. In the end, they didn't amount to much too." The count said as he sheathed his sword and looked at the destruction he had created.

Across several meters sprawled numerous dead bodies. The criminals had all been sent to eternal rest, courtesy of the black haired swordsman that was now staring at them with an indifferent expression. It was the count Raymond.

His eyes didn't show any sort of fear, remorse or regret as he surveyed the battlefield. He had created this very same scene quite a few times in his lifetime so this was not of any consequence to him.

He was actually thinking about something completely different from combat in it's entirety. 

'i wonder what sort of souvenir I should get for Isabelle.'

The other mages, except Alvin, all had their mouths open in a complex combination of shock, thankfulness and horror.

They were surprised at the count's prowess as he had utterly decimated the opposition in mere minutes.

They were thankfull as the count's appearance had saved them from inevitable defeat.

They were also horrified at the sight that currently lay before them. They were all mid to high ranking mages so most of them had seen their fair share of massacres, but the problem was that this massacre was too...clean. 

The corpses that littered the area were not mangled or mutilated beyond recognition like normally, quite the opposite actually. They all either had their heads cleanly chopped off, or clean but deep slashes and a few of them had signs of stabs. But it was all too neatly done.

ALL the bodies still retained their human form, but the blood that seeped from the sword wounds merged together to form a large pool of thick red blood. The sight was in its own way, extremely terrifying.

"Alvin." Raymond called out to his partner.

"Sir." Alvin responded with his usual courtesy.

"Is this all? If so, then I shall take my leave now." Raymond said.

"I do not think so sir. The suspect we interrogated definitely made mention of some kind of trump card. And if their plan was to lure you out here, then surely they have a lot more planned than this." Alvin reasoned. And as if to support his claim, a voice was heard from a distance.

"Your little sidekick over there is very observant and logical. Tis a shame he would have to die.....but at least I will be sending you to his side soon after though." The voice said.

Ahead, multiple figures could be seen making their way forward. Although the path which they were advancing from was lit, they were a few hundred meters away so one couldn't quite make out their features.

They could only notice that most of the advancing forces donned a black cloak which covered not only their entire bodies, but also their faces, leaving only their eyes which radiated a battle crazy intensity that could be felt from a mile away.

  Amongst the many cloaked individuals, one walked a distance in front of the crowd. He was the only one who did not even bother to cover his face, and the same person that also earlier referred to the count as prey. 

It was Aaron, but Raymond and company would not know that.

Aaron had used Mana to enhance the sound of his voice, making it loud enough to be heard over such long distances. Raymond, not wanting to waste much time, responded in kind by using Mana to increase the loudness of his voice as it left his mouth.

"Who are you?" He asked. He had utterly ignored the obvious threat as most of his mind was actually headed towards brainstorming possible gifts for his...princess.

The voice did not respond and just walked forward. The walk continued on for about a minute before they arrived at a suitable distance for proper conversation. The time it took for them to get to that stage completely and tottaly killed the dramatic entrance atmosphere. It was kind of pathetic.

But all superficial thoughts dissolved as soon as they actually arrived. From the presence they were giving off, it was quite apparent that none of the mages present were weaklings. 

Aaron's features were now visible. He had short black hair and eyes as well as a slightly above average height of about 5'9 with a muscular frame and firm build. There were two conspicuously large scars on both his cheeks, like tribal markings, and one at the corner of his lips.

He carried a large great sword on his back. The sword had a silver blade, but it's hilt was covered in bandages, probably to make it easier to weild.

When Aaron finally arrived, he was about to open his mouth to talk when he noticed a disturbance beneath his feet. He looked down to discover that he was now standing a pool of blood. But instead of a shocked, surprised or disgusted expression to form in his face, he just looked at the blood like it was a natural occurance before opening his mouth to speak.

"Now this won't do." He said and cast a spell.

"Suction wind." A third tier spell.

A wind akin to the sucking force of a black hole drew upon the blood that lay on the ground. It gathered the blood to Aaron's out stretched hands before stopping.

Aaron cast another spell. "Air vacuum." Another third tier spell.

A hollow ball of condensed wind formed and like pouring water into a round cup, the blood flowed into it until the vacuum filled up. It was good to note that each vacuum could hold about one litre of blood.

Aaron continued casting the spells with astounding speed and precision, such that it only took two minutes for him to clear most of the blood. The floor was now dry to a manageable extent.

Aaron now had about a hundred air vaccums filled with blood hovering above him, as well as a smug grin. He had just casted two 3rd tier spells, multiple times with practiced ease without any sort of chant. And even after that, he was maintaining more than a hundred air vaccums without even breaking a single sweat. It was a demonstration of power.

"You see....the thing I love about this air vaccum spell is this." Aaron said and clenched his fist a bit, though not completely. Immediately he did, all the vaccums in the air shrank dramatically. They had all gone from the size of an average head to that of a peanut. 

'How is that even possible?!' such were the thoughts of the other mages.

"The air vaccums spell is a ball of condensed air, with a hollow space within it. If one condensed it enough, the pressure builds up to the point where it is capable of breaking down matter at an atomic level!" Aaron souted out, simultaneously clenching his fist completely. 

The peanut sized air vaccums shrank again until it finally disappeared. The air vaccums had just shrunk to Oblivion.

"I-i never knew...." A random man uttered. He was a wind mage who had graduated from an academy, but he never knew that the 3rd tier spell could do so much more.

Truly, Aaron's intelligence contradicted his outward appearance. A living example of never judging a book by its cover.

"You asked for my name right.....well, it's Aaron. The man who is going to send you to the graveyard." Aaron finally introduced himself. The confident grin still plastered on his scarred face.

All the other mages in Raymond's side except himself and Alvin had their mouths opened in awe. The feat he had just demonstrated could easily propel him to the level of an S-rank mage. It now became apparent that he was not one to be trifled with.

Alvin was on guard against him, but Raymond still looked on with his indifferent expression. He was clearly unimpressed as his condescending gaze fell upon Aaron and the later could not help but get pissed at this.

"Is that all?" Raymond asked with an uncaring tone.

Aaron opened his mouth in an attempt to speak, but his jaw was snapped shut when the temperature rose dramatically. Everyone in the room could feel it as Raymond's aura was released.

Once he was sure that he had everyone's attention, he spoke.

"I don't like wasting time, so let us get this done quickly shall we?" Raymond unsheathed his sword once again and pointed it at his opponents. 

His actions signifyed the commencement of the main event.

A/N:

Looks like I now type an average of 2k words per chap, damn.

Anyways, special thanks to my old and loyal fans, as well as the new ones; halis_eren_balaban, Courtney_Taylor_8326 and Ifinnl. Luv you guys!!!