Chapter 330: Void Claws And Beginning Of Massacre
I stood on Silver’s back, staring down at the chaos I had unleashed. Smoke curled upward from the shattered area around the statue. The once-proud statue of Azalea was now ruined—only its knees remained, the rest reduced to jagged rubble strewn across the ground.
’Sorry Azalea.’ I thought.
Below, the scene was painted in blood.
Half-broken bodies lay twisted in unnatural shapes, arms and legs bent where bones had snapped. Some were motionless—others screamed, clutching torn limbs or crushed chests. Pools of blood spread like ink stains over the stone floor, mixing with the dust and debris.
I watched a man crawl, one hand dragging behind him uselessly as he cried out for help. Another tried to stand, only to fall again when he saw his foot was missing.
Shouts of anger now rose from what remained of the Holts’ forces below Masters and soldiers barking orders, screaming in panic and disbelief.
"Enemy attack!"
"It came from above!"
"Sound the alarms!"
But it was too late. The barrier was gone.
I stood tall on Silver’s back, watching as the chaos unfolded beneath me. Their world had just cracked open and I hadn’t even stepped inside yet.
Below, I spotted Lyrate, Steve, and North rushing through the gates of the base, entering the huge hall that served as the entry point. They knew what needed to be done.
Silver growled beneath me, his wings twitching with anticipation. I could feel the power rising in him. Curious, I glanced at my status, my level hadn’t moved. Of course, I was still locked at 199 until I fulfilled the quest. But Silver, he had grown. His level had jumped, now reaching 180.
’So all the Essence from those kills is flowing into him,’ I thought, almost amused. I patted his neck.
"Silver," I whispered. "Kill."
The moment the word left my lips, I jumped off his back.
My body shot toward the ground like a meteor. Above me, Silver screeched and followed, his body cutting through the air with lethal grace.
I landed right in front of the massive entry gate, a deep boom echoing out as the ground shattered beneath me and a crater formed at my feet. Dust flew, and I rose from it.
My perception stretched wide, nearly five kilometers in every direction. Every heartbeat, every footstep, every breath within that range was mine to observe. The battlefield pulsed under my awareness.
Essence surged through me. My blood pounded, muscles coiled, and everything inside me came alive. I was ready.
Once I sensed that North, Steve, and Lyrate had stepped onto the portal leading underground and disappeared, I moved. I raised my foot and stomped the ground. Essence swirled upward like a storm, and instantly, the earth behind me froze solid.
A wall of thick ice erupted, blocking the entrance, three hundred feet high and thick enough to stop any Master’s charge.
I turned forward, eyes narrowing.
The field ahead was a mess. Rubble, smoke, and blood filled the air. I could see the remaining forces struggling to reorganize. More of them were rushing in from the forest, drawn by the sirens blaring across the realm.
And then the sky darkened.
A thick swirl of dark green and black clouds formed above the central mountain, heavy and ominous. The pressure dropped, air tightening around the area like a grip.
’They’ve started,’ I thought, knowing Dante and Hugh had begun their fight.
Dante had told me there were around 3,000 Masters scattered throughout this realm. So far, I had barely taken care of thirty, maybe forty. A long fight still waited for me.
I clenched my fists.
Essence churned through the channels in my arms and then, shadows burst out of my skin.
They wrapped tightly around my hands, swirling and thickening until gauntlets formed. Deep black and dark violet, they shimmered with power. Small jagged spikes jutted from the knuckles, and glowing runes danced faintly across the surface, and shadows flickered occasionally on them.
These weren’t ordinary weapons.
This was the trait I inherited from Knight based on his claws but adjusted to myself.
[Void Claws]
They did not display anything void related yet but I was a patient person.
The gauntlets constantly fed off the Essence I generated. And more importantly, they were inscribed with the Minor Law of Shadow. That let them do something most tools couldn’t: bypass certain types of defenses, absorb incoming force, and redirect it. They felt alive on my hands.
I let my arms drop to my sides and waited.
"Let them come."
The first one to step forward was a middle-aged man. Dust clung to his bloodstained clothes, and rage twisted his face. He had a short, neat beard and sharply cut black hair.
His glare burned into me.
"What have you done?" he snarled.
I glanced at him and immediately saw the system window appear.
[Stephen Holt – Level 187]
He wasn’t done. "Do you understand the consequences? Are you fucking mad?!"
More Masters gathered behind him, their weapons summoned and ready, power beginning to hum around them.
But I could smell it.
The fear.
It leaked out of them like sweat, clinging to the air. That first strike, the statue’s collapse, the explosion, the deaths.....it had shaken their souls.
I slowly exhaled.
"Yes," I replied calmly.
His face twisted further. "I’m going to kill you. ATTACK HIM!"
He charged, spear in hand, roaring as he came.
The rest followed, their energy rising but I didn’t move.
To me, they looked like they were dragging through syrup. I could hear their heartbeats, feel the blood pumping through their veins. The Essence in their bodies shimmered like smoke, I felt like I could rip it away with just a thought.
I stepped forward, and in the blink of an eye, I stood right in front of Stephen.
My right fist shot forward.
BOOM!!
A deep, wet thud echoed out. My punch didn’t just hit him, it crushed everything.
Blood, shattered ribs, broken flesh and he didn’t fly back, he exploded.
Only pieces remained....organs, bone shards, and a red mist that painted the dirt.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Close to twenty Masters stood frozen mid-attack, their skills half-formed, their weapons trembling in their hands. Every single one of them stared at me in horror.
The shadows on my gauntlets flickered again... almost like they were tasting the blood.
I spoke, my voice steady and cold.
"Let’s not waste each other’s time. I know by killing you I’m helping the Eternals... but you’ve left us with no other choice."
For a second, no one moved.
Then the ground cracked beneath my feet.
I vanished.
The first man, a tall one with a halberd glowing blue, didn’t even get a chance to raise it. I appeared behind him and drove my fist straight through his back. My gauntlet punched through his spine and out his chest. Blood sprayed in a violent arc.
Before his body hit the ground, I was already gone.
I appeared in the middle of a trio trying to cast a binding spell. My arms blurred.
One, his head exploded from a shadow-infused uppercut.
Two, I grabbed her face and smashed it into the ground. The soil cracked. Her skull split.
Three, I simply clenched my fist in the air. The Essence around him pulsed, then twisted violently. His body folded in on itself with a sickening crunch.
Screams sounded, unplanned skills were fired and chaos ensued.
A sword came from my left—I ducked low, grabbed the attacker’s leg, and spun him into the air like a ragdoll. While he was mid-air, I slammed my palm into his chest. A burst of compressed Essence blasted out. He flew back like a comet, crashing into another Holt soldier. Both turned into pulp.
They tried to surround me, but I was already slicing through the line. Shadows from my gauntlets flickered and stretched with every strike, forming claws that tore through armor like wet paper.
Many of them tried to run. I pointed at them and the shadows beneath them surged upward like spears, impaling them mid-sprint. Their bodies twitched and they felt silent.
I slammed my foot into the ground. A surge of ice erupted behind me, freezing the last few in mid-sprint, locked in place, limbs outstretched, eyes wide in panic.
I raised my fist.
Spikes burst from the ice, spearing through their frozen bodies.
A heartbeat later, the entire formation exploded into shards—blood, ice, and bone scattering through the air.
I turned around the, ice wall to my back and waited patiently for more of them to come.