Chapter 16: Massacre and Change
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Ananova headed into the mountain, while Sayru returned to the city.
He walked straight toward the Merchant Guild.
The moment he arrived, he released his presence—and in no time, the Guild Master himself came to greet him.
"Did you really think a mere Three-Star assassin could kill me?"
Sayru asked angrily, while the Guild Master stood frozen in fear, unable to believe Sayru was still alive.
He couldn't even come up with an excuse—
And that, in itself, was an admission of guilt.
"Good... very good...
So you refused to give me my money and sent an assassin instead...
And now you don't even have an excuse to justify yourself?
Perfect... now I can enjoy this massacre!"
Sayru began gathering mana from across the city into his hands—
And forged a black sword from that mana.
The Guild Master could sense how dangerous that sword was—even as a Three-Star Martial Artist.
He turned and tried to flee.
But Sayru didn't chase him.
His focus was on the building itself.
"Hmm... about 350 people inside.
Mimin, deploy a spiritual barrier. Don't let anyone escape."
Mimin emerged from Sayru's mental sea, annoyed.
"Are you really going to carry out a massacre now?
Didn't we agree to wait until the war—five years from now?"
Sayru looked into Mimin's eyes and replied with sorrow:
"I have to do this now…
I no longer know what I should be doing since the Seal of Emotions disappeared…
But there's one thing I am sure of:
I'll never repeat the mistakes of the past again.
This time—I'll protect you!"
With that, he raised the black sword into the air.
It grew in size… and kept growing… until it was as large as the Guild Tower itself.
Then he hurled the blade down.
The building was dyed crimson with the blood of those within.
Some survived, screaming in agony from their injuries.
Mimin couldn't bear to watch the gruesome scene any longer.
"The barrier is up… I'm going back..."
She returned to Sayru's mental sea.
The stench of blood filled the air, and the screams echoed through the city.
People began to gather.
Some mourned—the Guild had been their only source of trade.
Others wondered what was happening.
And many couldn't stomach the sight… and began to vomit.
"Tsk… I should end this."
Sayru dismissed the mana sword.
Some of the survivors, though injured, tried to fight back.
Others gave up—awaiting their deaths.
And some fled.
But Mimin's spiritual barrier blocked them all.
Its pressure bore down on everyone—inside and outside.
All of them, now, were at Sayru's mercy.
Seconds later, the city guards arrived.
They tried to stop Sayru.
"Good… now everyone's in place."
In the midst of the chaos, Sayru broke through to become a Four-Star Martial Artist.
The breakthrough destabilized the world's energy.
Sayru used that moment to absorb as much mana as he could.
When it was over, he stopped gathering.
The density of mana in the city had grown so thick—
The air turned foggy.
⊕ Primal Explosion ⊕
The entire city turned to rubble and flames from the overwhelming blast.
Sayru had been at the center of the explosion
Yet emerged without a single scratch.
A city once famed for its great barrier and advanced arrays…
Was now nothing more than ruins.
…..
Three days passed.
News of Cloud City's destruction spread across the empire.
Martial experts began arriving—trying to uncover what happened.
Even a Seven-Star Expert passed through… but quickly left.
All the while, Sayru sat in the mountain, stabilizing his breakthrough.
At the same time, he waited to see if Ananova would return.
But after a few more hours…
He gave up.
He stood and began heading toward a different city.
Just then, he heard a voice from afar.
"Ma—"
He turned around—and was stunned by what he saw.
"Master! Why did you leave me behind? I was looking everywhere for you.
Did you hear what happened to Cloud City?!"
Sayru smiled and thought to himself:
' Maybe... Mimin really was right.'
"Come on. We're heading to the next city."
The two of them left Cloud City behind, bidding farewell to the Beast Mountain.
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Meanwhile, far away from the Magic Empire—
A young girl was running through a narrow alleyway, desperately fleeing something.
"Catch her! Don't let her get away! She'll sell for a great price!"
A cruel man's voice echoed as he chased after the girl.
The terrified child kept running, tears streaming down her face.
She was scared beyond reason.
And she had only one wish in her heart—
" Please… someone… help me!"