The Dark Gathering [Pt 6]

Scylla was enjoying herself as she watched in silence.

This entire exchange was proving to be a lot more entertaining than she expected.

'It's making me so hungry…' She licked her lips as she watched Fenrir's wild grin.

'Looks like he's very confident. I suppose I was concerned for nothing, after all.'

Scylla wasn't a fighter, so she knew nothing about sensing the abilities of her opponents.

She only knew one thing about this entire exchange.

'Fenrir will win!'

"Ahh… I see what the issue is." The voice of the man in the mask suddenly filled the room.

He itched the back of his head a little, almost as if he was an incorrigible klutz.

"It seems [Grand Concealment] was still active. My bad…"

His whispers were barely audible, but Scylla caught on to those words.

'[Grand Concealment]? What's that?'

"Pfft! There's no need to keep up your bluff!" Fenrir yelled out, flinging his chair away as he stepped away from the table.

He seemed to be in a hurry to cause bloodshed, a sight that relieved Scylla from the slight unease that was beginning to form within her.

'That's right, Fenrir! Just finish the job right here and now!'

" I'll just end it with one mo—!"

~VWUUUUUUUUUUMMMM!~

An unbelievable pressure suddenly enveloped the room, instantly silencing Fenrir and everyone else who dared to leak out a single sound.

'E-eh…?' Scylla felt her body shaking. 'W-what is this?'

She couldn't understand it.

She could barely move her body, but she looked around her and found that she wasn't the only one trembling like a scared little child.

All the Warriors and Mages that she was counting on were also shivering.

'M-my body feels so cold… and heavy!'

Scylla couldn't grasp it.

She didn't understand that she was sensing the true presence of the man in the mask.

The higher one was in power, the greater their senses were when it came to those who were truly powerful.

Hence, a commoner might not be able to tell how strong an Expert is, but fellow Experts could gauge each other's strength.

In a sense, ignorance really is bliss.

However, what could be made of this situation, where Scylla—a commoner in terms of strength—could feel the powerful presence of the man before?

Was it even possible? Yes…

It only went to show how frightening the entity before them was.

At that moment, Scylla's instincts told her only one thing.

—RUN!

*********

"How is this? Much better?"

As the masked man—if he could even be called that—spoke, Fenrir's paralyzed body trembled even more.

His bulging eyes spasmed as he felt the weight of power halt his steps.

'W-what is this… this power?!'

It eluded Fenrir!

He had never felt anything like this in his life.

It felt like a blade was placed right in front of him. If he even dared to take a single step forward… he was going to die!

At least, in his current state… he stood no chance at all!

"Is that all it took? I didn't even activate [Greater Intense Bloodlust]…" The man in the mask muttered, clearly disappointed.

'T-this man… I was wrong! I was wrong to doubt him!'

Sweat fell from Fenrir's face despite shivering like someone who was freezing.

'He's more than strong enough to kill Anukus! In fact, he's stronger than I am!'

He had been the one who was arrogant all along!

His ignorance blinded him from truly seeing the power of the one before him.

'He was right. What a joke I made…' Fenrir swallowed as his eyes took in the masked one in all his entirety.

'How could I possibly see the depths of this thing?!'

"I suppose it's time to start cleaning up the trash." The masked man spoke softly.

He didn't move an inch, and he raised not a single finger.

He just stood there.

And—

~FWOOOSH!~

—The end arrived.

Faster than the eye could dare to process, a beam of light surged through the room, instantly disintegrating the heads of all nine hundred and ninety armed Warriors and Mages where they stood.

In no time at all, they became nothing but decapitated corpses, still having their stances.

'U-uaaarrrghhhhh!' Fenrir wanted to scream, but his lips wouldn't let him.

"I think this is pretty useful. It's fast and efficient."

Fenrir looked at the masked man and saw smoke dancing at the top of a finger he raised up.

'W-when did he…?! How…?!'

Fenrir couldn't not comprehend it. He just stood there, like a bumbling idiot.

"It's best this looks like a bloodbath… for later."

Before the man could process what those words meant, the remaining bodies of all the nine hundred and ninety were sliced into many pieces.

~SPLOOOSH!~

Blood gushed out of them as their meaty chunks flew all over the room in an instant.

The purple curtains and carpets were now dyed in blood, with the walls oozing with the liquid that once flowed through the veins of human beings.

These were people—hundreds of them—slaughtered in ways that even animals did not have to endure.

Fenrir could feel thick blood on his body, and several entrails clung to his body. It was sickening—feeling the innards of his subordinates now sticking to him.

The smell… the stench of death was strong in the room.

It made Fenrir go weak in his knees.

Before he knew it, his body descended and he knelt in the pool of blood and gore.

Compared to the terror of the Dragon he fought… compared to the mercy of the Elf he lost to…

'… This is the most humiliating!'

He felt an absolute feeling of powerlessness, and dread consumed his entire being.

It was at this moment that Fenrir knew that his life was no longer his own.

It belonged to none other than the man in the mask.

********

'I've taken care of all the mobs. Looks like [Absolute Ray] and [Severing Claw] are really something. Especially with [True Homing] working passively…'

He had deliberated on which move to use, but eventually settled on those two since he wanted to know how they would function against a large crowd of people.

'[Dead Calm] is active, so I feel nothing.'

Rey took in a deep breath as he watched the remaining enemies he had to deal with.

'Let's get this over with.'