The leader of the Wild Dogs Gang, the thin man who had been smiling in his office earlier, now stood with a pale face. "Wh-why are you here?"
The masked man tilted his head. "Guess."
The gang leader laughed nervously. "Who do you think you are? Taking out Kail doesn’t make you king! Teach this bastard a lesson!"
About forty men drew their weapons and charged forward.
The masked man sighed. He snapped his fingers.
Click!
All the shadows inside the tavern came to life. The shadows under every table, the shadows under every chair, and the shadows beneath the feet of every gang member.
Dozens of pitch-black shadow spikes erupted from the packed dirt floor. They pierced through leather boots, legs, and the lower bodies of the attackers.
Horrifying screams of pain filled the room. Dozens of men collapsed, clutching their impaled legs.
The masked man walked in casually, stepping over the men groaning on the floor. He walked straight toward the gang leader, who was now frozen in fear.
"Monster!"
"He’s a monster!"
"No, no, nooo!"
"Where is all that arrogance from earlier?" Bayren said.
"We surrender!" The gang leader immediately prostrated himself, begging for mercy.
His remaining subordinates were shocked by what their leader was doing.
Bayren pointed to a few of his subordinates who were still alive. "You."
"Y-yes," they answered in unison.
"Spread what I have done. Starfall did this." He then pointed toward the door. "Go."
Instantly, the four remaining men ran terrified out of the room.
"What about me?! W-what about me?!"
"Spare me!" the gang leader said. He pointed at his chest and begged for mercy.
Bayren did not answer.
He raised his hand. A pitch-black shadow dagger formed in his palm. He slashed it at the gang leader’s head.
Bayren turned and walked out of the tavern, which was now filled with the smell of blood, leaving the dying to perish slowly.
On the border between Dark Town and Stone Town.
The masked man walked on the cleaner stone streets. His next destination was the Tyelven branch of the Adventurers Association.
He knew killing thugs and gang members wouldn’t be enough for his ritual. He needed stronger fighter souls.
He arrived in front of the Association building. Two adventurers serving as guards at the front door immediately blocked him.
"Stop!" said the first guard, his hand on his sword hilt. "You’ve got nerve! Coming here, you little bastard! What are your last words, huh!"
Bayren did not stop walking.
"We’re warning you! Back off! Are you crazy?" shouted the second guard.
Bayren continued forward.
The two guards drew their swords. Just as they were about to attack, their own shadows shot up and grabbed their necks.
KRAK.
Both guards collapsed, their necks broken.
The masked man pushed the Association doors open and stepped inside.
Inside the lobby, about fifteen adventurers were drinking at the bar or looking at the mission board. They all turned. They saw the white mask and the black cloak, now covered in blood.
"He’s... he’s attacking the Association!"
"SOUND THE ALARM!"
"He’s insane! Surround him!"
The adventurers inside Hunters, Berserkers, and a few Kinetis drew their weapons. They were professional fighters. They spread out, forming a semicircle.
The masked man stood silently in the middle of the lobby.
Bayren raised both his hands.
All the shadows in the spacious lobbythe shadows from the large pillars, the shadows from the tables, the shadows from the adventurers themselves gathered behind him. The shadows formed a pair of giant black wings made of pure darkness.
He then flapped those wings forward. Hundreds of razor-sharp shadow needles shot out in all directions.
The adventurers tried to parry them. Their armor was useless. The needles pierced skin, eyes, and necks. In seconds, the lobby was silent. Fifteen professional fighters were dead without a chance to fight back.
Bayren now stood in the middle of the ruined Adventurers Association lobby, surrounded by corpses. He had just finished slaughtering the adventurers.
BRAK!
Suddenly, the lobby’s back door shattered to pieces. Broken wood flew into the room.
A group of soldiers dressed in all white with white cloaks stormed in from one side. With them, a dozen City Guards in blue armor also entered, their steel shields raised.
At the same time, the second-floor windows shattered. Glass rained down onto the floor. A dozen more of Martis’s elite soldiers leaped down, landing on the other side of the lobby in ready stances.
They immediately formed a formation, surrounding Bayren from all directions.
There were dozens of people. The air in the lobby felt heavy with tension. Among them, Bayren could feel different auras of power: a Fire Hunter, a Level 34 Assassin, an Ice Hunter, and several Lightning Hunters. They were professional fighters, far stronger than the gang thugs he had slaughtered earlier.
The leader of Martis’s troops, a burly man with two swords on his back, stepped forward. His gaze was sharp. "In the name of Lord Martis, you are under arrest, Starfall."
Bayren just nodded. "Okay."
"ATTACK!" yelled the City Guard captain.
The Fire Hunter immediately shot a large fireball. The surrounding air instantly grew hot. The Ice Hunter next to him launched a shower of sharp ice spears.
Bayren used another ability. His body melted into the shadows on the floor and disappeared in an instant. The fireball and ice spears struck where he had been standing, creating a large explosion of steam as fire and ice met.
"He disappeared!"
"Find his shadow!"
SST!
Bayren reappeared. His body materialized right behind the Ice Hunter. "Good work."
He created a Shadow Sword in his hand. The pitch-black blade reflected no light. He slashed it horizontally, passing through the Ice Hunter’s body.
The Level 34 Assassin, who had anticipated this move, lunged from the side. His gleaming dagger aimed for Bayren’s neck. Bayren parried the attack with his shadow sword.
CLANG!
Dark sparks erupted as the two weapons met. Metal clashed with shadow energy.
"Wh-who are you, really!" the Assassin hissed, his eyes wide behind his mask.
"I am Starfall," Bayren replied.
As the two were locked in a power struggle, a Lightning Hunter shot a spear of electricity at Bayren. Bayren, still holding back the Assassin’s dagger, could not dodge.
At that exact moment, he activated another of his assassin abilities. Three pitch-black shadow duplicates appeared around him. One clone took the full brunt of the lightning spear. It disintegrated into black smoke, buying Bayren a fraction of a second.
Bayren pushed the Assassin back forcefully. Then he and his two remaining clones dashed in different directions. This created total chaos among Martis’s troops and the City Guards.
The forces split. Part of them chased the clones, while the others chased the real Bayren.
Bayren moved between them. His shadow sword moved quickly. He slashed using his shadows in all directions. Each slash wounded his opponent’s physical body, and their soul.
CLANG!
A City Guard managed to block a slash with his steel shield.
But he still screamed in pain. He looked down in horror as his chest area began to blacken, as if his veins were being filled with black poison from his own shadow.
Finally, Bayren raised both his hands and murmured, "VaKSvia."
Instantly, pitch-black shadows crept quickly, surrounding them. The shadows sealed all the doors and windows, plunging the lobby into darkness.
Clap!
After Bayren clapped his hands, the shadows on the floor formed thousands of sharp, sword-like blades. The blades shot out in all directions, killing all the Hunters and guards who were there.
The lobby fell silent again. The shadow clones had vanished. All of Martis’s troops and the City Guards lay on the floor. They were dead, or dying slowly from the shadow poison of Bayren’s attacks.
Bayren stood in the middle of the new pile of corpses. He flicked his shadow sword, and the blade vanished into smoke.
Suddenly, Bayren felt an excruciating pain in his body. His head felt like it was being stabbed by thousands of hot needles. Every part of his body felt like it was being cut to pieces by a dull knife.
He endured the pain. His jaw tightened behind the mask, but he fought not to scream or make a sound.
After several agonizing seconds, the pain subsided. His body returned to normal.
Bayren controlled his breathing to calm himself.
Now, his ritual was truly complete.
He turned and walked calmly out the front door of the Adventurers Association, leaving the chaos and slaughter behind him.