The sky turned grey.
Swirling clouds formed from thin air and gathered into a thick canopy spanning countless tens of kilometers.
It was instant.
A group of twenty-something people came to a halt, warily watching their surroundings.
"Keep your guard up!" A man shouted. "This is either a natural phenomenon of the secret realm or an attack. Move based on your best judgement!"
Many silent affirmations were given as the group surveyed the surroundings.
However, no matter how they spread their awareness, they weren't able to find a trace of a perpetrator.
Crackle!
Black and silver lightning crackled through the clouds.
Rain began to pour.
"Dodge!"
KA-BOOOOOM!
A hurried exclamation was followed by a shattering sound as lightning struck the ground. The terrifying force of nature drilled into the ground and formed a massive crater almost as large as the storm itself.
Bodies flew through the air as the group stabilized themselves and moved away from the explosion.
"Get in formation! We need to leave the vicinity of these clouds!"
The same man shouted once more, making his status evident. The group followed his order and rapidly fled the area, palanquin in tow.
However, the storm didn't leave them alone.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Bolts of harrowing lightning struck behind them constantly as the storm followed their movements. The shockwaves from the resulting explosions pushed against their backs, both helping them in their escape and slowly injuring them further.
"Dammit! If we can't avoid it, let's fight!"
The leader halted his flight and stared at the storm. Even though the lightning bolts struck with the strength of a late-stage 4th class being, it wouldn't be too difficult to avoid them if they worked as a group.
"Get into formation! Split into two teams and form two lines of defense! First group, follow my command to fend off the lightning! Second group, focus on dispersing the storm!"
The group leader gave out a barrage of orders that were quickly followed. The group formed a barrier with the palanquin at their center, intent on protecting it at all costs.
"Franklin! What is happening out there?!" Reavus shouted from within the palanquin, not bothered to even observe the situation for himself.
"Everything is fine, young master. We are merely being targeted by a natural phenomenon. It will be taken care of soon."
Franklin, the leader, calmly replied while facing down the storm.
'Something doesn't feel right…' he thought with a frown.
For a natural phenomenon, the storm's movements were too intentional. Even now, the lightning halted while he conversed with the young master. No natural phenomenon would do such a thing.
'Are we being targeted?'
Franklin's eyes narrowed. If they were being targeted, the enemy was someone far exceeding them in power. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to stay so perfectly concealed from the group's perception.
'We will deal with this storm first, and find the perpetrator afterwards.' Franklin decided. At the moment, the immediate threat was more pressing.
As long as he remained on guard for the enemy…
'This…when…?'
Franklin's eyes snapped open.
Or rather, he rapidly blinked his eyes to make sure they were open.
Total darkness.
Since when had it enveloped them?
The crackling thunder of the storm could still be heard from above, but all sight was blocked from an unknown point in time.
'Not good!'
Franklin immediately mobilized his mana and lunged for the palanquin. If the enemy was so skilled, then the young master would be…!
"Keuk…!"
Franklin coughed out a mouthful of blood and keeled over.
'…my mana…?'
He couldn't feel its existence.
No…
"HAK!"
Franklin clutched his throat, his eyes bulging out of his head from the suffocating pain in his body.
It was being torn apart from the inside. The mana within him was raging and rebelling, rapidly destroying his Mana System and targeting his organs.
'Why…?!'
Franklin gagged and tried to drag his body forward, not even realizing that at some point, he'd been transferred from the sky to the ground.
He moved his bloodied body and finally caught sight of the palanquin…
…and the demonic purple eyes of the being standing atop it.
'A…devil…'
Franklin took his last breath.
The mana in his heart rebelled and burst it, killing him instantly.
And the twenty-something companions he once had…
…all suffered the same fate as him.
***
'Good. My attainments in Void comprehension are much more substantial than they were before. It seems that understanding the universe to a greater extent through my Celestial Class supports my comprehension. Is this the result of having a duel class?'
Damien casually took his time to arrange his thoughts from atop Reavus Bloodlock's palanquin.
[Storm] was a trait he'd had for a very long time, but with his lightning losing its value over time, Damien didn't quite have a use for it anymore. This time, he'd merely used it to lure the enemy in a certain direction.
The main reason for the assassination squad's rapid deaths was Damien's Void comprehension.
The two concepts he'd comprehended, the "Breath of All Things" and the "Breath of Nothingness," were base abilities of the Void, but actually represented grand concepts that needed to be deeply explored before they could be considered wholly comprehended.
From the Breath of Nothingness, Damien obtained the ability to destroy, manipulate, and erase. The abilities of the Breath of Nothingness tended to lean towards the spiritual or conceptual aspects, rather than the material ones. Damien's previous ability to alter Baek Woojin's memories could also be attributed to this ability, though he didn't know it at the time.
On the contrary, the ability Damien gained from the Breath of All Things was centered around "control." Control over all material things was a grand concept in theory, but Damien couldn't harness the absolute dominance of this ability with his current comprehension.
However, controlling the mana of these unsuspecting assassins was a minor task.
They were weaker than him, after all.
"MMPH! MMGH!"
"Hm?"
Damien snapped out of his thoughts and looked below him where the strange sounds were coming from.
"Aha, my bad. I almost forgot about you."
Damien smiled at the passenger of the palanquin, a miserable Reavus Bloodlock who was currently bound and gagged by chains made of space itself.
"Did you enjoy the show? Ah, sorry, sorry, let me remove that gag so you can speak."
"Puha! Damien Void, you trash! How dare you do this to me?!" Reavus immediately screeched upon regaining his ability to talk.
"Are those words you should be saying to someone who holds your life in their hands?" Damien responded sarcastically.
"Ha! You? Hold my life in your hands? Such a thing is impossible!"
Haa!
Reavus let out a fierce battle cry and galvanized his mana, flaring his aura to its limit as he tried to formulate blood mana in the air.
Damien watched him blandly.
The Void Curtain that surrounded them was like an enhanced domain. All mana was under Damien's control, and even those stronger than him would feel pressured by this nigh-absolute ability.
Reavus Bloodlock?
Even the fact that Damien considered him an opponent in the past was a great honor.
Now, the two simply couldn't be compared.
At this time, Reavus seemed to finally realize the situation he was in.
His face paled, but at the same time, a slightly crazed smile spread from his lips.
"Damien Void, Damien Void…HAHAHAHAHA! If you kill me, you're dead! My father won't let you off! Hahahaha! Even if I die today, I'll be seeing you in hell!"
Damien's eyes turned mocking.
The fish had finally taken the bait.
