*******
"So, which one of you idiots wants to come at me first?" Astrid commented with a smile, as he began doing jumps.
'Who the hell is this kid? I could barely see his movement,' the mercenary leader thought, looking at Astrid in shock. The hostages, as well as the rest of the mercenaries, had their mouths wide open, all thinking the same thing: how could such a small child kill a person and still be smiling? It was like they were looking at a monster walking around in the skin of a child.
"What the hell are you all waiting for? Attack the goddamn child!" The mercenary leader shouted, his command snapping the group out of their stupor. The swordsman rushed forward, while the two mages behind him began preparing spells to assist him. "I see," Astrid said, nodding his head with cold eyes. "So, this is the decision you've made. What else can I do but accept it with an open heart?"
******
"Aww, things are getting real hot up there, huh?" a woman with a tight-fitting suit said, looking up at the burning floors above her.
"Captain, we're done clearing all the floors. The squad is ready to move in," a voice reported. A large grin spread across the woman's face as she pulled out a stick from her pocket, lit it, and placed it in her mouth. "Ah, feels refreshing. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's move in." With her command, multiple people dressed in all-black uniforms moved in and began ascending the floors one by one.
*******
'Hmm, I'm sensing a powerful amount of aether ascending the floors at a fast rate,' Astrid thought, deflecting a strike from the swordsman while dodging an attack sent by one of the mages. "That look on your face? You really think you can hold out until reinforcements come?" the mercenary leader said with a frown plastered on his face. Astrid tilted his head as a wind attack barely passed his head. "Who's to say? I really thought you guys would back down after I made an example out of one of you idiots."
"Hmm, you make a good point," the mercenary leader said, placing his hand on his chin. "I see you're a strong one. But can you fend us off while also protecting these weaklings?" He swung his sword, sending out a large wind slash toward the hostages, killing three of them on the spot. As their blood painted the floor, the remaining hostages began screaming in fear. A deep frown found its way onto Astrid's face as he saw this; the sick look on the mercenary leader's face made his stomach churn.
"You know, I don't think anyone has ever made me this angry before," Astrid said as a massive amount of aether spread out from his body, making the mercenaries shudder in fear. In an instant, Astrid disappeared from the mercenaries' field of view, only to appear behind one of the two mages. Then, with a clenched fist, he threw a solid punch that connected with the mage's head, sending him flying across the room.
'Sigh! I have to end this before that bastard activates that damn orb' Astrid thought to himself, his eyes going cold.
The second mage looked at her fallen comrade in shock, her face twisted with rage as she turned to face Astrid. Her body erupted with a massive amount of aether, gathering at her palm as she prepared to release a large spell. "Die, you fucking monster!" she screamed, but before she could release the spell, Astrid disappeared once more, appearing in front of her. With his sword in hand, he slashed at her hands with precision. The sword passed through her hands with little to no resistance.
The female mage screamed in pain, falling to her knees as she looked at her arms on the floor. She looked up in pain, only to see Astrid's cold blue eyes staring at her. His gaze could freeze her if it could. "You monster!" she said with tears streaming down her face before Astrid swung his sword, cutting off her head coldly.
Before Astrid could catch his breath, the swordsman rushed at him, his anger palpable as his face contorted.
Reaching Astrid, he began slashing his sword angrily, but Astrid dodged and parried each strike with relative ease. "Do you know what I hate most about you people?" Astrid questioned as he parried another strike, before clenching his fist. Aether gathered in his fist as he struck the swordsman in the gut, causing him to cough out blood violently.
"You're fucking hypocrites!" Astrid added, unleashing a fierce kick that brought the swordsman to his knees. "You can kill other people without knowing how their families or close friends feel after their deaths, but when your comrade is killed, you bastards start making a fuss about it!"
The swordsman looked into Astrid's cold eyes, which made him shiver in fear; the boy's gaze was intimidating. The swordsman opened his mouth slowly before closing it again, almost as if he wanted to defend himself. But before he could say anything, Astrid suddenly exclaimed, "Fuck you!" before swinging his sword with cold precision, cutting off the man's head.
"Hahahahahaha! What a monstrous child you are!" the mercenary leader proclaimed with a large grin on his face. The orb he held in his hand had already turned a darkish red color after killing another thirty percent of the hostages while Astrid was fighting the other mercenaries.
'Damn it! He's already collected enough blood essence to awaken that thing,' Astrid thought as he looked at the orb.
"After seeing you fight, it's clear I can't win with my own strength," the mercenary leader said, collecting his fallen comrade's blood essence. "That's why I brought this!" He said, suddenly swallowing the orb, before laughing out loudly.
"Now let me show you the strength of the Blood Cult!"
*****
(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi guys! Long time no see, right? Sorry for the long wait between chapter releases. But now I'm back, and I hope you find this book interesting. This is my first time writing something like this, after all. I know you can't vote with golden tickets yet, but please support me with your power stones. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!)
strid commented with a smile, as he began doing jumps.
The