The pale man with the golden collar let out a dry laugh, a sound devoid of any joy that seemed to freeze the ambient air of the clearing... He tilted his head to the side, making the links of his silver cross tinkle against his priest’s collar. His turquoise eyes, shining with a demented fervor, fixed on Gerhman with a disturbing intensity. Around him, the other members of the Cult of the Void tightened their formation, their hands slipping under their dark robes to grab hidden weapons.

"What audacity for a simple creature of rank D..." began the pale man in a honeyed and drawling voice. "You dare question us as if we were your equals... Do you even know who you stand before, you arrogant little thing? We are the shadows that precede the end... the servants of the ultimate truth."

Behind Gerhman, Hojin and his group stepped back several paces, panic visible on their faces. The mana pressure emitted by the cultists was unstable, jerky, as if their very essence was consuming itself from within. Gerhman, for his part, remained perfectly still, a gleam of pure contempt in his icy gray gaze.

"I don’t care about your pompous titles and your fanatical delusions," replied Gerhman in a monotone. "I asked you a question, trash... What is the Cult of the Void doing on this lower floor?"

The cultist displayed an even wider smile, revealing teeth of dazzling whiteness. He took a step forward, his robe floating slightly under the effect of his own magical pressure.

"Oh... you really want to know?" he asked with biting irony. "Since you are so curious before dying, I will tell you... We are here to sow the seeds of discord to open the gates of Lust upon this world."

His eyes narrowed as his expression suddenly became cruel... He raised a slender hand toward Gerhman, his fingers curling like claws.

"But the dead have no need to carry secrets..." he added coldly. "Zealots! Offer their flesh to the Void! Leave only calcined bones!"

At this order, three cultists sprang simultaneously toward the group... Their movements were fluid, almost supernatural, propelled by a black magic that left trails of smoke behind them. One of them, armed with a curved dagger, aimed directly at Nayun’s throat. The young woman, paralyzed by fear, could not make the slightest defensive movement.

Gerhman did not wait for the impact... He interposed himself between the young woman and her aggressor. Before the cultist could understand what was happening to him, Gerhman seized his wrist. The crack was sharp and brutal... The radius bone pierced the skin in a spray of blood, making the fanatic scream in pain. Without an ounce of pity, Gerhman used his other hand to strike the enemy’s throat. His palm strike was so powerful that it shattered the larynx and cervical spine in a single blow.

The cultist’s body was thrown backward, his head dangling at an impossible angle... His vitality began to escape, and Gerhman opened his mana circuits to absorb this corrupted essence even before the corpse touched the ground.

[ Ding ]

[ You have eliminated a cultist of the Void ]

[ EXP gained: +5 ]

[ Statistics increased: Strength +1 ]

"Pathetic..." murmured Gerhman as his body absorbed the energy.

The two other attackers, seeing their comrade massacred in a second, did not slow down... They summoned shadow hands that burst from the ground to try to immobilize Gerhman. The latter shifted a step, letting the claws of darkness scratch the void. He then leaped toward the second cultist, a massive man whose robe was already stained with blood.

Gerhman delivered a knee strike right to the sternum. The cultist spat blood before collapsing. Gerhman did not stop there; he seized the face of the third fanatic who was trying to cast a spell. He drove his thumbs into the man’s eye sockets with disproportionate force. The vitreous fluid and blood spurted onto his gloves as the cultist’s skull gave way under the pressure, literally exploding like an overripe fruit.

[ Ding ]

[ You have eliminated a cultist of the Void ]

[ EXP gained: +5 ]

[ You have eliminated a cultist of the Void ]

[ EXP gained: +5 ]

[ Your level has just increased! ]

Hojin and his companions watched the scene with total horror... They had never seen such savagery emanate from an Awakened. Gerhman did not fight like a mage, but like a wild beast endowed with predatory intelligence. He turned toward the rest of the Cult group, his gray eyes shining with a gleam of cruel satisfaction.

"So this is all your power?" asked Gerhman, his voice sounding disappointed. "You are nothing but trash who imagine themselves important."

The one with the pale face felt anger rising within him... His mana pressure became suffocating, making the charred trees around them tremble. He shook his golden collar and began to incant a complex spell.

"You will regret your arrogance, mortal!" he screamed.

< corruption >

The ground under Gerhman’s feet began to vibrate violently, cracking to release geysers of black and corrosive energy... Gerhman jumped from where he stood.

He propelled himself wanting to end this fight. In the blink of an eye, he was once again in close combat with the last three cultists who were protecting their leader. The first tried to slash him with a short sword, but Gerhman blocked the blow, with a circular movement, he broke the attacker’s arm. He then seized the lower jaw and pulled downward with inhuman power. The mandible was torn off in a ripping of flesh and muscles, leaving the man voiceless before Gerhman pierced his heart with a sharp punch.

[ Ding ]

[ You have eliminated a cultist of the Void ]

[ EXP gained: +5 ]

[ Absorption of vital essence performed ]

The enemies’ blood now completely covered Gerhman’s black vest, giving him the appearance of a demon emerging from the abyss... He turned toward the last two cultists who, terrified, tried to flee toward the forest.

Gerhman was on them in an instant. He crushed the first one’s skull under his heel, causing the brain to spurt onto the burned grass. The second only had time to raise his hands before Gerhman seized his throat and broke his neck with a sharp gesture.

[ Ding ]

[ You have eliminated two cultists of the Void ]

[ EXP gained: +10 ]

[ Statistics points gained: +2 ]

Only the leader remained, whose pale face was now deathly white with terror... His spells had proven useless against this young man who seemed to ignore the fundamental laws of magic. He tried to retreat toward the black portal at the center of the clearing, but Gerhman blocked his retreat.

"Where are you going..?" asked Gerhman with a smile "you were planning to kill us so you see no problem if I do the same, right?"

The cultist fell to his knees, finally realizing that the being before him was not a human, but a monster wearing human skin. Gerhman advanced slowly, his boots crushing the mutilated remains of the cultists, ready to finish him off.