Dangerous

...

After the orb cracked, a rush of black air gushed out from the gap. It was accompanied by screeches of terror and pain from countless men and women as a vision suddenly overwhelmed Arion, who stood right in front of the orb.

It was like a scene from a horror movie; men and women were slaughtered, blood filling the room in a gruesome display of carnage. The blood pooled on the floor as a man he recognized as the slaughterer stepped on it, creating splashes of red.

In the middle of this room, an orb floated quietly in the air. Then, all of a sudden, the blood was drawn to it by some unseen force, rushing toward the orb as if it were a magnet. Awakened from such a vision, Arion's eyes turned red, and he guessed that all of these orbs were probably created by sacrificing countless human lives.

"Unforgivable," he said through clenched teeth, his voice dripping with indignation. The black orb itself slowly vanished into thin air. Arion then looked at the other orbs and swiftly approached them one by one, dodging and slashing at the Void Spawn who dared to stand in his way.

After the last black orb was destroyed, with a final rush of black air and a screech that spread from the point of impact, Arion found himself facing all the Void Spawns, who seemed to be even more frenzied.

With each orb destroyed, the creatures around him became increasingly agitated, trying to reach and latch their claws or fangs onto him. Yet, with a spin, he dodged countless attacks. His extraordinary combat sense and fighting style – thanks to the lady's memories – shone through at that moment. He swung the bat left, right, up, and down, dealing with those menacing creatures with just one or two swings of his blow.

Out of nowhere, Arion's hands began to glow with a bright, milky light. The presence of this light felt warm and holy, yet it also radiated a kind of energy that made Arion certain it could obliterate a significant number of enemies with just a single touch. And true to that belief, a second after his hand shone with this unnatural luminescence, he dodged an attack from a Void Spawn.

As the creature lunged forward, its failed attack left it momentarily vulnerable, and Arion seized the opportunity. He reached out and touched the side of the giant snake-like Void Spawn with his glowing hand.

Instantly, the giant snake found itself engulfed in white fire. The flames appeared gentle, almost inviting, but the way they latched onto the snake's skin was enough evidence for Arion to judge just how dangerous they truly were. The fire spread quickly, consuming the snake's body until it could only wriggle for a brief moment before being reduced to nothing but dust and ashes.

"Arion, punch the statue with all the strength you can muster! Hurry! I feel a gaze directed here. Someone quite strong is approaching," the lady urged, her voice laced with urgency. Time was running out before Arion's "Muladhara" state would wear off.

"Okay!" he replied, dodging to the side to evade another attack from the frenzied creature. He sprinted toward the statue, determination fueling his every step.

Suddenly, the lady's voice echoed in his mind, "Arion, duck!!!"

Without hesitation, Arion dropped to the ground just in time.

Swish!

He felt something brush past above his head, and out of the corner of his eye, he witnessed an explosion that claimed the lives of several unfortunate Void Spawns caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Boom!

The explosion had been accompanied not by fire, but by a surge of black energy that reduced all the Void Spawn within its radius to mere pieces of flesh.

From Arion's side, he heard a man screaming in rage, "You ba*tard! How dare you? How dare you?"

The man, who had just flown in and landed right in front of Arion, wore the same cloak as the others he had killed, but his face was uncovered. He appeared to be a gentle middle-aged fellow with neatly combed hair, resembling an ordinary office worker who had just stepped out of a particularly dull meeting.

However, Arion knew better; this man was likely the leader of the assault, responsible for the deaths of countless people and students. Now, he sought to sacrifice all the living beings inside to feed the wretched entity they worshipped.

The man surveyed the area around the statue with a look of heartache, as if he had just discovered that his favorite coffee shop had run out of his beloved caramel macchiato.

"No, no, no! All the preparation is for nothing! The Lord will kill me if he finds out about this!" he lamented, his mind racing like a hamster on a wheel. It had taken him years to prepare, especially to gather the orbs.

Finding enough people to sacrifice was a monumental task, especially since the kingdom he was currently in was breathing down his neck like an overzealous personal trainer.

Turning his face angrily toward Arion, he was met with a glaring white punch aimed directly at him.

The man hurriedly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a potentially deadly blow to his head. But before he could even celebrate his narrow escape, Arion followed up with a knee strike that connected with the man's face.

The impact sent the man flying, but he quickly regained his balance, his legs planted firmly on the ground like a tree that refused to budge.

Spitting out a mix of saliva and blood, he realized that some of his teeth had been knocked loose from the force of the blow. Rage bubbled within him as he glared at Arion, convinced that this was the culprit who had disrupted the ritual and killed his own people.

"You bast*rd! I will kill you!" he shouted, shadows writhing around his feet as his eyes turned pitch black.

Arion couldn't care less as he ran in a blur, approaching the man ahead. He felt a twinge of wariness, though, because the lady in his mind had already warned him that the time for his state was drawing near, and the guy was strong.

 He needed to end that man and crush the statue.

Currently, {Strength} and {Soul Sense} were the active runes coursing through his body, closely followed by the "Muladhara" state. The {Accelerate} rune was a complicated one, only able to be activated for a few seconds at most.

However, he and the lady had already planned their next moves with silent consent, understanding each other's intentions and how to utilize this particular rune. They just needed to wait for the right moment when the guy was still unaware of how dangerous Arion actually was.

...