Chapter 40

Kiyotaka looked around the hall that was about to become a hell.

Tessai, who had been staring at his dead lord with his usual morose expression, turned around and looked at the crowd of slum dwellers, then at the members of the Host. The giant lingered for a second and then said, his deep, dark voice reverberating through the ancient hall:

"...What are you waiting for? Kill them all."

And so, madness began.

Nephis was exhausted from the fight, especially after constantly using her white flames to heal herself. She was almost at the bottom of her essence, and the strain on her soul only worsened her state. Tessai was looking for this moment as he ordered his guards to kill them.

As Castle Guards dashed at Nephis, suddenly small blood needles shot and pierced through the guards' necks, penetrating deep into their throats and brains, killing everyone on the spot.

Tessai and other lieutenants immediately looked at the place where these blood needles were launched from. What they saw sent shivers through their spines. There, clad in a blood-red tunic, with an abyssal dark sword in his hand. Red aura was emanating from him as he looked at Tessai with deep bloodlust. Beside him stood a blue-haired woman with deep emotionless hollow eyes, a red bloodsword in her hand.

At that moment, everyone felt something within them. A deep sense of horror in the presence of a superior being.

Before anyone could react, Kiyotaka suddenly appeared beside Tessai and slashed horizontally at the giant. His Ascended sword, coupled with the sheer speed and strength behind the slash, cut through the giant's armor and waist like a knife through butter, effectively separating Tessai's body into two.

Soon, others came out of their stupor and an all-out fight began.

The Guards slaughtered indiscriminately, their powerful Memory armaments and training giving them a vast advantage over the disorganized crowd of slum dwellers. But they weren't killing just those who came from the outer settlement: in the panic and havoc that engulfed the throne room, differentiating friend from foe was not an easy task.

Several Artisan assistants fell to their blades, as well as a few unlucky people who had paid a heavy tribute in exchange for the promise of safety. With Gunlaug gone, that safety was now gone, too. It almost seemed as though the Guards didn't care who they killed, or were even glad to be let off the chain. Even if there were those among them who had preserved some vestiges of conscience, now it was utterly gone, devoured by the crowd instinct and the exhilaration of being free from all restraints. Their faces were contorted with ferocious grimaces, and their eyes burned with rage, hatred, and tenebrous joy.

There was one target they desperately wanted to kill though, and it was Kiyotaka. But whenever one tried to sneak up on him, a human Echo named Asher would flash at astonishing speed and behead anyone who dared to come closer. Kiyotaka himself fought with furious bloodlust, the atmosphere just flaring up his bloodlust despite his constant spree of killing. He danced through various attacks and aspect abilities, exploiting the flaws of his enemies that he had come to know in many months of working in the castle.

There was another group that desperately wanted to kill him. It was Hunters, led by Gemma. Gemma couldn't believe the betrayal of his Vice Captain, which made him even more furious as he also killed many unlucky Tenants, making his way towards Kiyotaka.

There was another group of "traitors" too, though, that made Gemma unable to focus solely on Kiyotaka. Handmaidens, led by Seishan, turned into terrifying assassins as they killed the members of the Host, siding themselves with Nephis.

Nephis herself was being protected by Caster and other of her adversaries. It was clear that she was temporarily out of the fight due to exhaustion from her battle against the Bright Lord. But when she recovered, everything would turn from bad to worse for the members of the Host.

At the center of all of it on his throne lay the dead body of the Bright Lord himself. Next to him knelt his forever loyal retainer, Harus. He looked like he was unaffected by all the madness and carnage that was happening and only paid respects to his Lord.

After a while, turning back he looked at the shadows out of the hall and saw Sunny. Grinning from ear to ear, Harus launched himself at Sunny, yet another battle starting within the castle.

All of this mayhem continued for a while. There were close to 400 people fighting in the hall, meaning 400 different aspect abilities being used at the same time. Fire, water, wind, light, blood, shadow, long-range and close-range attacks, curses, and more. Limbs, severed heads, burned skin, internal organs, everything flew throughout the hall as the once magnificent place turned into a bloodbath.

In all of that bloodbath, only one person was crazy enough to make it his heaven. Kiyotaka manipulated blood as he pleased, his Abyssal Reaver's cursed enchantment just making life harder for his opponents. His Human Echo had been fighting other Echoes in an all-out fight, creating a part of the hall where tens of Echoes fought against blue-haired Asher.

Effie and Kai also stood their ground, protecting Nephis and targeting the elite members of the Host.

Gemma finally made his way to Kiyotaka and engaged him in a fierce battle. But he was no match for him. How can a mere lieutenant fare against the Angel of War? Right, he can't. Blinded by hatred, Gemma failed to see the difference in power and paid the price for that. Many Hunters screamed in desperation as they saw the head of their lieutenant flying past them.

Enraged by the death of their leader, Hunters abandoned their own personal fights and dashed at Kiyotaka. They knew they didn't stand a chance individually, but maybe with numbers they could do something? They couldn't.

Kiyotaka knew everything about the Hunters. Their aspect abilities, their flaws, their fighting styles, even the relationships between them. He would dash at the girlfriend of one Hunter and kill her, making the said Hunter fall into madness and destroy the formation. He would dance through their blades and make use of their flaws to destroy their formation even further.

But there was a limit to everything. After all, he was getting tired. With every moment his essence dwindled as did his speed and strength. The wounds accumulated on his body, and he couldn't even spare essence for blood manipulation to heal himself up. When the Hunters saw that, they became even more frenzied, disregarding their defense, all just to kill Kiyotaka.

When everything seemed to come to an end, everyone in the hall felt a sudden chill. Stopping their fights, all of them looked at where Kiyotaka stood. There stood a man with one blood-red eye and one half of his hair turning blood red, oozing with intense bloodlust at everyone.

The man's usual indifferent expression turned into a half-twisted one. Half of his face was the same machinery emotionless...the other filled with madness.

The man's crazy part of his face revealed a twisted smile, while his rational part spoke.

"Let's end this quick."

The words echoed through the blood-soaked hall, a chilling promise of further carnage. The air grew heavier, the very essence of dread wrapping around the combatants like a suffocating shroud. Eyes widened in terror as they realized the depths of Kiyotaka's bloodlust.

In an instant, he moved, faster than thought, a blur of crimson. His sword cleaved through the air, a harbinger of death, and bodies fell in its wake. Screams filled the hall, a cacophony of agony and despair as Kiyotaka unleashed a whirlwind of slaughter.

Asher, his Human Echo, mirrored his ferocity. The blue-haired specter moved like a wraith, her blade reaping lives with unerring precision. Together, they were an unstoppable force, a symphony of destruction that left no corner of the hall untouched.

The Handmaidens, spurred by Seishan's unyielding determination, fought with renewed vigor. Their blades flashed, cutting down enemies with ruthless efficiency. They carved a path of death, their loyalty to Nephis and their comrades unbreakable.

The Tenants, though outmatched and under-armed, refused to yield. Their makeshift weapons struck with desperate strength, their unity a bulwark against the tide of death. They fought and fell, their bravery a testament to their indomitable spirit.

Kiyotaka's laughter echoed through the hall, a sound devoid of joy, filled only with the chilling delight of a predator among prey. He reveled in the chaos, his every movement a ballet of violence. Blood flowed like rivers, pooling around his feet as he danced through the slaughter.

In the end, as the last of the Host's forces lay dead or dying, Kiyotaka stood amidst the carnage, his eyes gleaming with unholy light. The hall, once a place of power and grandeur, was now a charnel house, a monument to his wrath.

He turned, his gaze falling on the survivors. They stood in stunned silence, their faces pale with horror and exhaustion. Just when it seemed Kiyotaka would lung at them ,he faltered and collapsed on the floor, his crazy half returning back to normal.

Laying on the pool of blood he mused:

"I still lack proper control"

And then he lost consciousness as the last thing he heard was soothing voice of Spell.

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