Within a separate private room, a large man sat calmly as his gaze panned across the chaos that had descended on the convention.
Even with the pandemonium and festival of blood taking place, his expression didn't change. Instead, he focused his gaze on a private room far removed from his current location.
Even with his strength, he couldn't see through the glass wall, but that didn't mean he wasn't aware of the happenings within. There were 3 strong life auras that he had been keeping track of ever since the auction ended.
Once again turning his attention to the slaughter taking place below, he let out a light snort.
'Those idiots. Did they truly think such gaudy tactics were enough to mask their identities?'
He knew very clearly who they were, but he said nothing. They had even approached him before beginning their act, so he had no reason to be surprised. Still, he didn't expect that there would be someone bold enough to oppose him previously.
And with the start of the show he was forced to take part in, he had no time to retrieve his possessions with his own hands.
As he was thinking, he noticed the life auras he had been tracking vanish, reappearing a few meters away.
'It seems he's trying to run.'
"First shadow." He called, seemingly speaking to empty air.
The shadows on the walls behind him danced and transformed, coalescing into a hooded figure. "You called, my Lord?"
"Mm. Tell the 5th through 12th shadow to move out. Their goal is to reclaim the treasure someone dared take from me."
"As you command, my Lord. Would you like that person to be brought back?"
"No need. Just kill him and be done with."
First Shadow voiced his confirmation before retreating once more. Without looking back, the large man stood up from his seat. It was time for him to put on a performance.
He had received a hefty offer in return, so he figured he should play along. Besides, it was a good way to waste time before he inevitably got his hands on the Death Seed.
The man's aura billowed, attracting the attention of the 4th class beings among the inquisitors. And without further ado, he entered the stage.
***
Damien spared no effort in fleeing. At the moment, he had no thoughts other than maneuvering through the complex maze of spatial layers in front of him.
Ever since he was in the dungeon, he had been able to easily sense and even physically see the spatial layers, but he had never done such in-depth combing of them before today.
For the most part, his moveset was based on wider-scale destruction. It was crude and with a singular motive. This kind of action was much more methodical and graceful than anything else he had put his mind to.
He weaved through the fabric of space with his hand grabbing Ruyue's arm, pulling her along with him. There was nothing else he could do at this juncture, he couldn't even alert her of his plan.
His entire attention was focused on the task ahead of him. As such, he slowly forgot his surroundings. He waded through the intricately spaced layers like a snake, reveling in the feeling of spatial fluctuations around him. And by the time he snapped out of his trance, he had effectively dragged Ruyue to the cavern of the main convention.
The scenes of slaughter hadn't spread here, but he was still within range of the spatial lock. Due to this, he decided the best course of action was to make a run for it.
There was a sinking feeling in his chest that he couldn't get rid of. It had been a long time since his danger sense and intuition had rung alarm bells like this. This was the feeling of true life-threatening danger.
In his hurry, he finally made it out of the main convention, using the same route he used to enter. And seeing the light of day and the thick fog that befuddled even his senses around him, he was hoping to feel comfort.
But even still, he was unable to do so. Abruptly, his facial expression changed. He grabbed Ruyue by her waist and twisted his body, narrowly evading a projectile that flew past.
It impacted the trunk of a nearby tree, instantly corroding it until it became a withered husk. Ruyue's face paled at the sight, but she was quick to regain her bearings.
The entire time so far, she had been too confused to act herself. She had just let herself be caught in the momentum. But seeing them be targeted in such a way, she was able to come back to her senses.
What the hell was she doing? Perhaps it was the scenes of slaughter from before that left her in such a state, but it was no excuse. Damien had gotten them this far with her only acting as a burden, so there was no more room for her to sit still.
She made her way out of his grasp, vigilantly scanning the surroundings for the perpetrator.
Swoosh!
A thin arc of blue fire left her fingertips, aimed at the air in front of her. And surprisingly, a set of needles was caught and melted.
But was that the end? Multiple concealed attacks followed, barraging the duo from all sides. They evaded ceaselessly, but it was evident they were at a disadvantage.
They had no opportunity to counterattack.
Blades flew through the air and the smell of poison wafted into the atmosphere. The sheer amount of projectiles being dispatched was enough to terrify any normal cultivator.
But just as suddenly as it had started, the onslaught slowed to a halt.
From the murky atmosphere of the forest around them, eight figures emerged. Since the two targets obviously weren't susceptible to sneak attacks, a head-on approach was the best move.
"Who are you?" Damien growled. He already had his speculations and didn't really expect them to answer, but he needed to stall for time somehow.
Their auras were entirely concealed, but they couldn't hide from his sight. Six of the eight figures were high-level 3rd class beings, while the foremost two were at the peak of the class, perhaps even on the cusp of ranking up. And from the density of the mana surrounding them, Damien was sure they weren't weaklings.
Perhaps if he was on Apeiron, he had a slight chance against this number of opponents but it was different here. He had just recently realized the difference in strength between the two worlds, so he was in his utmost cautious state right now.
He was sure he had no chance to beat them.
"Make no mistake. A dead person has no need to know too much. I shall only say one thing, it will be your eternal regret that you have offended our master." An altered voice came from the cloaked figure in the middle.
Damien was surprised that he had actually elicited a response, but there was nothing more. He had already made his decision on how to act.
He looked over at Ruyue and noticed her gaze on him as well. He didn't need to do too much for her to understand his intentions.
There was no hesitation in their actions. Turning swiftly, they dashed along the Bloodstone River, hoping to make distance from their opponents.
Damien first thought to flee out of the forest, but it currently wasn't a liable option. If anything, the Myriad Illusion Veil was something that could help him in this situation.
However, there wasn't much room to run. They could only follow the river in one direction or the other, since the distance between the river and the edge of the forest wasn't large enough.
The 8 shadows glanced at each other and smiled. Although their Lord had given them the order to kill, he hadn't made any comments on the speed at which they did so.
And knowing their Lord, he was quite meticulous about even the smallest details. He would never leave out something that needed to be said.
There was only one conclusion they drew at this point. Their Lord wanted the target to suffer. Watching the target turn and flee, they thought this was the perfect situation.
With only a single glance, the shadows were able to hatch their plan. Their figures turned into streaks of darkness and spread out, melding into the shadows and chasing their prey.
The situation was eerily similar to Damien's encounter with a certain wolf many years back, however, this time the danger had multiplied by many times.
