Blood Drain!

"ARGH!"

Suddenly the middle-aged man began to scream hysterically. His body began to shrivel as if he was aging ten times faster, his skin clinging to his bones.

"N-no! No, wait! Please let me go!" the man pleaded one last time, his voice cracking with desperation, before the light in his eyes went out.

BOOM

An intense surge of energy rippled through Zynos as the man's body collapsed lifelessly.

BOOM

He broke through the Mater realm, and an immense wave of mana surged into him like a suction force of a black hole.

"Ahh~ That felt really good~" Zynos muttered, his eyes momentarily glowing a crimson red. His wounds began to mend themselves, the gaping cut from the phantom blade on his thigh vanishing as if it had never existed.

He turned towards the girl pinned to the tree, her body trembling uncontrollably. Her face had gone pale, drenched in fear and sweat. 

With deliberate, steady steps, Zynos began to close the distance between them. Then standing before her,

He crouched and yanked the sword out of her thigh without hesitation.

"AGHH!" She let out a muffled scream, biting her lip to avoid crying out further.

"Hahh G-go ahead and kill me. I'm not gonna beg you," she spat, her voice defiant even as her body betrayed her fear.

"Hoo? And here I was wondering who among you had some balls. And Guess what? You win! Hahaha!" Zynos laughed at his own lame joke,

The woman, however, remained silent, glaring at him with a mixture of pain and anger.

"Heh, I've changed my mind. I won't kill you. From now on, you're this Daddy's maid!" He declared in a proud tone, as though bestowing her a Nobel prize!

"W-what!? A maid? Never! You better kill me now!" she retorted, defiance still lingering in her voice.

Zynos's gaze dropped to her blood-soaked thigh, her once flawless skin now smeared with crimson. He crouched closer, his face inches from hers, locking his abyss-like black eyes with hers.

"Sweetheart, there are fates worse than death," he murmured. "I could drain your blood, leave you a mindless husk—alive but unable to do anything but suffer."

Her trembling intensified at his words. She glanced at the mangled corpses of her team, their lifeless eyes staring into nothingness. Her resolve began to falter.

Zynos reached out, his finger trailing over her wound. The sharp sting made her gasp, a pained moan escaping her lips. She looked up at him, her fear growing as his eyes momentarily turned red again, glowing with a predatory hunger.

"So, what do you choose?" he asked, his voice low but chilling, his lips curving into a wicked smile.

She swallowed hard, her breath shaky. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared into the void of his eyes. After a long pause, she nodded reluctantly.

"Such a good girl! Now eat this." Zynos tossed a small white pill toward her.

She hesitated, staring at it with suspicion.

"It's a healing pill. If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it long ago," he said with a chuckle, walking toward the fallen bodies to rummage through their belongings. He collected their spatial rings, pocketing them without a second thought.

As he turned back to her, he gestured sharply.

"Clean up all this," he commanded, his voice cold.

The woman staggered to her feet, clutching her bleeding leg as she limped toward the mess of blood and corpses. Her hands trembled as she began to gather the remnants of the slaughter, her defiance crushed under the weight of his presence.

Zynos leaned against a tree, watching her with a faint smirk.

"Status"

[DING!]

[Congrats to the host for breaking through to the Master Realm!]

[NAME: ZYNOS ZYPHRAX

[CULTIVATION: INITIAL STAGE MASTER REALM]

[STRENGTH (STR): 145]

[AGILITY (AGI): 200]

[ENDURANCE (END): 143]

[INTELLIGENCE (INT): 35]

[CHARISMA: 10 (MAX: 100)]

[LUCK: 2]

[BLANK POINTS: 15]

[ELEMENTS: SHADOW]

"W-what!" Zynos exclaimed. This! It was utterly ridiculous! Even he, who didn't know the shit about cultivation, could tell this was completely abnormal.

Not to mention this was just his stats at the initial stage without the elemental power! 

"I need to get my hands on the Appraisal"

"The Blood Devouring Art is really too powerful, and I've just used one of its many abilities,It can even devour the elements!" he muttered in shock, his mind reeling at the implications.

If the news of this Art spread out, let alone the empire, the entire world would be coming for him. It was just that impressive.

"Alright, let's calm down first. This shadow element—it's the key to hide this," he said, turning his attention to the assassin woman. She had finished cleaning up and now stood silently, awaiting his next command.

"Hey, you're pretty good at this work, huh?" he said with a faint smile, noticing how the traces of the battle had nearly vanished. The sun had dipped lower, and it was almost night.

"It's nothing, master," she replied, her voice steady as though she had accepted her fate.

"Remove your mask and tell me your name," Zynos commanded casually.

She quivered slightly but obeyed, raising her hand to remove the mask. As the cloth fell, a beautiful face was revealed. Her jet-black hair framed sharp green eyes, a strong jawline, and a prominent collarbone that added to her striking features.

Whistle~~

"Didn't I hit the jackpot?" Zynos smirked, his tone dripping with amusement.

She gritted her teeth, clearly annoyed. "It's Rowena, master."

"Rowena, huh? Alright, let's go. There's some unfinished business in the forest. After that, we'll head to my mansion," he said, turning around without waiting for her response.

"Oh, I forgot to ask—who sent you guys, and which organization do you work for?" he asked over his shoulder as he walked ahead.

Rowena sighed, having expected the question. "I don't know who the contractor was, but we are from the Shadow Moon Pavilion. It's a large underground organization that takes any kind of request for the right price," she said honestly, knowing there was no point in hiding it now.

"I see. Let's go," Zynos said with a smile, walking ahead without missing a beat.

"Yes, master," she replied, her tone subdued. She glanced curiously at his back, her mind swirling with thoughts. It seems the master is some big shot, she thought inwardly, though she dared not voice it aloud.

"Master, can I ask you something?" she muttered in a low voice after a moment of hesitation.

"Go ahead."

"What's your name?"

"It's Zynos, Zynos Eltharion," he said casually, without turning around.

"W-WHAT!? ELTHARION?" Rowena stumbled back a few steps, her eyes wide in shock.

…