After turning the two high Diamond Rank creatures into his undead, Tom was greatly satisfied. Although fixing the fallen Armageddon would be costly, at least it was worth it. It had been ten years ever since Aldred pulled all the clones back and only left Tom to do the work. The organization still functioned well, but it didn't run as effectively and efficiently as before. Having three 'Aldred' at once really helped running some things get done much faster.
But it was fun. All these years he had found out that his mind and soul had begun the healing process. The blood clone ability was never meant to be used so carelessly. The only reason why his mind and soul could heal was because the original Aldred had stayed in the divine dimension and absorbed countless resources to cultivate the soul and mind. If the original Aldred came to reality, and coexisted with the clones for 10 years, there might be unexpected side effects.
"I have to return or they will start looking for me." Tom vanished.
But what he didn't know was that dark magic runes let out a glow on the blade of grass near where he was.
Tom exited the toilet and began to walk back to his seat.
"Took you a while," Zerdar said. "Did you eat the wrong pill today?"
"I think so. I let out a big one earlier."
Zyta grabbed Tom's hand and looked at him with her big round eyes. "You should be more careful, Tom. Next time, I should visit your place and make sure this never happens again."
"It's fine. One bottle of High Grade Healing Potion should fix it."
"Still, I want to help you."
"Alright, fine."
Tressa Hemlock sat with her head down, silently looking at Zyta who was all touchy with Tom. Her cheeks turned slightly red. She wanted to be close with Tom as well.
Over the years, after going through many trials of the universities, their circle of friends had actually changed many times. Some died, some left because of family matters, and a few just joined. Actually, most of them died because the university tested them every year to go into the wild and obtain the head of a creature slightly more powerful than them.
Those who failed usually died. Those who thought they would fail usually left the university and returned to their family.
Most of Tom's friends died. Now they were in a group of six friends: Helid, the skinny noble that Tom first met during his journey to the university, Zerdar, the one that tried to bully him when he first arrive in the university, Hemur which was Zerdar's right hand man who grew up with him at a young age.
The rest were girls: Zyta, Tressa, and Wilma.
"By the way. Where is Wilma?" Tom asked.
"I am here!" Wilma waved her hand as she brought a tray of food with her. Suddenly, she slipped and fell on her face. The food crashed onto the ground and splattered everywhere.
"Haish, we keep reminding you to be careful, Wilma." Tom pointed and all the food, plates, and the tray seemingly went back in time as they flew back and floated in the air.
Wilma pouted. "I told you that this is the side effect of my power."
It was indeed true. Wilma's power was clairvoyance and long-range explosion. These two capabilities let her put her sight on distance targets and destroy them. She seemed to be the best at these categories. But, the consequence of her power was that her sense of her immediate surroundings reduced to almost nothing. She was supposed to be blind and unable to balance herself. But with special rituals and spells, she was able to function like normal, but with extreme clumsiness.
A few years ago, she was a disabled blind person who could only stay still on a chair. She wasn't useless though, because her power was quite dangerous: able to effectively detect an enemy from a distance and obliterate them.
Now that Tom thought about it, her power was actually very similar to a nuke. If she developed her power more, she might be able to destroy a small town with magic alone.
"Okay, okay. Sit down and eat your food. You could have just told the attendants to serve you." Tom shook his head.
"Humph! She sat down and the tray followed her before landing on the table."
Tom was about to sit down as well until Corduul's mechanical voice entered his head. "Master, there are intruders detected trying to enter the train."
"Where are they?"
"On top of you."
Tom looked up and understood what it meant. "Sorry, guys. I think my stomach hurts again."
He quickly ran to the toilet, slammed the door, and teleported to the rooftop of the train.
Suddenly, a powerful wind force slammed into his body, forcing him to back step a few times, and stumbling on his feet. He stabilized his footings and stood tall.
The train was moving too fast. They had passed the Autumnspell Fall, so it had begun to increase its speed.
Even for a high Diamond Rank like him, this intense speed also caused him some annoyance. Though a normal person would already be dead.
But that wasn't his concern right now. Instead, it was the ten black robed men standing in front of him.
"I knew it was you people who led the dragon and the phoenix to attack the train. Too bad, I promised absolute safety for the passengers, and I cannot let you ruin its reputation."
The cost of the train was actually very expensive, but Aldred had promised incredible safety and quick transportation. Distances that would take months could be traversed in mere hours. Because of that, many people decided to use it despite the price. Most of them here were wealthy men or businessmen who value time.
After all, not everyone could use teleportation magic. And not everyone could use it as much as a spatial magician or Tom. They could use a teleportation altar, but that was even more expensive.
"Son of Hujarar, come with us. We need you as our king. We need you to guide us."
Tom frowned. "I don't want to do anything with you guys. Leave me alone or I will kill every single one of you."
He summoned his Phantom Doomblade. The blade glinted in the sunlight, covered in a dark crimson aura of blood lust and demonic energy while also being wrapped in hellish flame.
The robed men trembled, not in fear, but in excitement. They were looking at him in reverence as if he was their god. It made Tom felt weird and slightly disgusted.
"Such power!!! Oh, lord! Worthy being the son of the King of All Hell!"
With a wave of his hand, he summoned a ball of fire that crackled with energy circling around the blade. The cultists looked up in surprise, but they did not falter, instead, they began to chant.
Tom wanted to burn these dark and evil beings to dust. He wanted to light them up, letting them see the brightest light before evaporating them from this world. For some odd reason, he did not like these people at all. Perhaps because they were worshippers of hell and did so many things that were outside Tom's moral values.
Tom leapt forward, his sword raised high. He brought it down with a thunderous crash, and the blade sliced through the air, cutting through one of the cultists. The others turned to face him, their eyes filled with emptiness. It was as if they were dead, but somehow Tom could feel the feeling of worship and admiration from them.
Though… not in a good way.
He summoned another ball of fire, and this time it exploded in a shower of sparks, engulfing several of the cultists in flames. They screamed in agony as they burned, but Tom did not stop. He charged forward, his sword flashing as he cut through their ranks.
The cultists fought back, their dark magic slamming into Tom like a wall. But he was too strong, too determined to be stopped. He summoned more fire, and this time it surged forward in a torrent, engulfing the remaining cultists in a blazing inferno.
As the last of the cultists fell, Tom stood and tried to turn them into his undead.
He failed. There was even no notification that came out.
"They aren't real… they are bodies from the spiritual realm… but they are able to kill and do things in reality. A power only Adamantite Rank is capable of doing. Or someone with a Spiritbound Tower."
Tom actually agreed to come to this school trip because Corduul found out that there were clues about the Cult of Devour in their destination. He wanted to investigate with his own eyes. Corduul had an army of spies with him, but there were certain things that only the godly eyes could see.
"I cannot extract information from these cultists, but the fact that they are here means that I am going to the right place."
