“ Hey Jeff.”

  “ Yes Geoff.”

  “ Do you think this guy is going to really let us go. Do you see all that blood he's covered in. It's like he was bathing in it.”

  “ Or he got a bucket dumped on him like that one movie.”

  “ Oh I like that one I heard they used pigs blood to do that scene.”

  “ There's actually a remake where they used real human blood.”

  “ Did they really kill people for it?”.

  “ Nah, some guy had found a way to expedite the embalming process with magic, some combination of water and earth elemented magic.”

  “ Creepy.”

  Rin who was walking behind the two men let out a soft groan as he ran his hand across his face. Their conversation did not represent the situation. As the three men walked Rin thought back to all the people he had killed to get here. He was unsure of how long it had been since he had woken up having gotten so used to having his interface his internal clock was completely messed up. It couldn't have been more than an hour or maybe two yet he had left a mountain of bodies behind him, Each kill was a new opportunity for him to feel remorseful or even reluctant to kill again yet he had done it again and again with ease. He knew taking another life was supposed to be life altering. He had watched enough movies to know it was commonly accepted that when someone has killed for the first time they would need time to come to grips with their actions. Rin didn't need that. He had felt many new emotions since being with Sophia, Douge, and Liliandra that he figured he was becoming more human. Maybe he was developing empathy but. Rin was distracted from his thoughts by Geoff tapping his could.”

  “ Hey boss you okay you had this real serious look on your face. Ya even stopped moving .” Rin looked at the pug-faced man. There was actual concern in his eyes.

  “ No, I'm not okay..” There was anger to his voice but Rin tamped it down speaking through gritted teeth. “I got blown up. I think, then I woke up with these things in me.” He flicked the tip of the tapered metal spike coming from his chest. The spike sent reverberations of pain that made him immediately regret the action. “Now that I'm close to my friends. I find myself wanting to see them and hoping that they are okay.” Rin stopped talking, realizing he was actually worried about them. His stomach twisted with the thought that they were hurt then he realized something. He hurriedly grabbed Geoff by the shoulders. “ You said there was one guy and two girls, there should be a second guy, what happened to him?” Panic alighted across Geoffs face.

  “ I don't know I wasn't part of the search team.”

  “ I was.” Jeff said. “ We only found you four and since you were the primary targets, we brought y'all back. There was a fifth person who couldn't be found and a few guys went back out to search for him. That's all I know.”

  So one of them was hopefully safe. Or dead.

  “ Okay thank you.” Rin held his hand to his chest looking at the floor.

  “ That's a cool tat by the way boss.” Jeff said pointing to the hydra on his left hand. “ Real mythical and shit. I've wanted to get her tattoo myself but I'm scared of needles.”

  “ Are we close?” Rin asked as he walked past the two men.

  “ It's right around the corner, boss.” Geoff said.

  Jeff stood next to a large metal door with a wheel in the center. Straight bars of steel spread across at an angle to rods that set into the wall. Geoff spun the wheel slowly moving the locking pins from their place.

  “ This whole place used to be an old explosives factory. I was told this is where they kept all the volatile materials. The whole room is encased in thick layers of steel like a big vault. You see in them fancy surface movies. I always wondered why would you keep the explosives in one room where one explodes. They all explode just seems like bad safety practices but it does make for a good base of operations ain't no one breaking in or out only the entrance is through this door right here.” Jeff said.

  “ No I heard.” Geoff spoke with a grunt of exertion. “ That they used to keep monsters and experiment on them.”

  With a loud clunk the door opened only slightly the foot thick door. Still having a good couple of inches inside the doorway.

  “ Is that good boss? We good to leave or…” Jeff asked. With a sigh Rin waved them on.

  “ Go on leave.”

  The two men nodded and were gone. They didn't run. Just leisurely walking.

  Rin Steeled himself as he pulled open the door, he didn't know what he was going to find. He was hoping that his friends were okay. This felt like the moments before the big boss fight. He couldn't help shake the similarities out of his mind. Once the door was open enough, a heavy scent of copper and dirt wafted over him. It was the very recognizable smell of blood. Inside was a horror scene, one that turned his stomach in anger and disgust. Large metal containers dotted the room but there was a clear view to a large open wall where Douge and Sophia Hung from chains. Their arms locked in manicles above their heads. Their legs pinned to the wall, The chains were long and were prevented from moving by rings of metal. Rin's I Darted from Douge to Sophia. Where was Liliandra? A man in dark robes stood over her body. Douge and Sophia were beaten and battered, covered in their own blood, but their injuries seemed tamed to the woman laying on the floor. Liliandra was missing whole body parts. Her body was cut and torn to ribbons. The man's foot sat atop her abdomen as her head lilted towards him. Tears welling up in her eyes. Her mouth moved but he couldn't hear what she said, his blood boiling. He can only hear the rush of a sound like water in his ears. Rin's breathing became ragged as his anger boiled over to a point more than he'd ever felt it rise up. His eyes fell upon the man. His expression was full of malicious mirth. Realization dawned on Rin's face.

  “ Paul?” He asked however it was more of a statement than a question. What was Paul doing here, why was he standing over Liliandra, his foot pressed into her. A million questions swarmed around his head and none he could grab on to. He watched nobody moving, only the subtle rattle that chains could be heard in the room as they echoed across the concrete walls. Everything he knew about Paul seemed to contradict this exact moment. Paul was trying to become a city rink adventure but something had happened. He shouldn't be strong. I could take him. Rin noticed the suppression spikes and came to a conclusion he knew his friends were too strong for Paul to effectively hurt, but with those suppression spikes he would have an easy time. Rin retained all of his own strength that he gained through his physical and mental evolution skills there should be no issue yet why did every fiber of his body scream at him? His legs didn't respond as something inside him told him to run. Something here was dangerous.

  “ It's so good to see you Rin, it's been —what a couple of months since I led those Skreen into the city. You were supposed to die that day or at least be horribly maimed. But you have found your own path once separate from the Lord and that's why we're here. I will give you time to mourn. It's only right of me as the pseudo Father figure, I always saw myself as.”

  Rin was already moving before Paul finished speaking. His legs felt like lead and each step. Although it moved him closer. Didn't feel fast enough as if he was running on ice. Instincts told him to run, run far away, an instinct he'd never had before. He'd always felt confident in his ability to win even when he had no powers. His first inclination was to fight. Paul's foot touched the concrete floor separating Liliandra's lower body from her torso. Fresh screams both gargled and hoarse filled the room. Paul was on the other side away from them all in an instant

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  “No no no no.” The words came from Rin's own mouth yet he did not feel like he was speaking them. He understood the emotions he was feeling right now. They were alien and still knew and that made them hit even harder. Kneeling down he propped Liliandra up in his arms resting her body against his. Closer he took in more for battered form. The rage turned into sadness as he sobbed. In all the time they have spent together inside that astral dungeon she had been a constant with him every night. He had known how she felt about him and he used that to his advantage. He didn't feel remorseful or even regretful when she had found out. Yet now he felt like scum. Liliandra's hand rose up to cup his face but was only able to rest the stub against his cheek.

  “ It's okay.” Liliandra in a coughing rasp her voice still somehow soothing. “ I love you Rin Wezts. I don't care if this was some childish puppy. Love or an emotional connection built on strife. I enjoyed every moment of it. And as selfish as it is to see you cry over me, it makes me happy to see it.” Her voice was nearly a sob but she held on. “ Seeing you cry like this lets me know that everything I felt wasn't a lie even if it was something you told yourself was one.”

  “ I don't know” Rin said. “ I can't control my own emotions. They're so erratic and everywhere and I don't know what half of them are. They feel like hollow responses yet also so full of life. I think I loved you, I've seen people in love and I know what it looks like. I've seen it in the movies but this right now doesn't look like what I've come to know and associate. It feels like grief, longing, and regret.” Rin was biting the inside of his mouth trying to stop the tears. He tasted iron as his mouth filled with blood.

  “ Rin. Will you give me one last selfish request” Liliandra leaned in close. The two of them shared a kiss. Her body falling limp.

  “ That wasn't selfish.”

  Rin reverently laid her body down, wiping the tears from his face he turned to Sophia and Douge. They two were sobbing.

  “ I will get us out of here.” Rin said, turning back around to face Paul. He grabbed the suppression spikes from the front. They where thin and smooth making them hard to get a good hold on. An idea formed in his mind and he grabbed one of the suppression spikes from Liliandra's corpse pulling it out. He used the spike to push his back through his body letting them fall to the floor behind him. Paul watched with abstract amusement patently waiting. Notification filled his vision too many to read so he pushed them all to the side. His body became shrouded as he equipped his armor. A leathery brown trench coat and bone white armor appeared on his body.

  [Overclock activated.]

  The holes left from the suppression spike began to close and with a burst of speed Rin rushed forward malice in hand formed into a black obsidian blade.

  [Rush activated.]

  [Unstoppable force activated.]

  Goose bumps were forming on Rin's arms as he moved closer to Paul. Rin while studying under Alverez had managed to develop a few new techniques in regards to how he used Malice. In combination with the various stances the others had tried to teach him. Malice allowed him to pull mana from the self made mana shells and manipulate it. Thanks to Kenji's wisdom and foresight the vague yet oddly specific words of command engraved into the very make of the gun he the mana didn't need to be constantly pulled from the mana shell Rin could pull out an amount such as enough to maintain a blade. His most used and stable skill and then switch the mana shell to use a new element effectively giving him a way to create dual elemented spells even if it was only a facsimile. Malice chamber rotated on his command alone a geyser of fire mana flowed out mixing with the earth mana he was already maintaining. Shaping the mana had changed from a thought to more like molding clay with invisible hands. It was complicated yet provided better results. Rin molded the two elements together. The mana change colors from red and brown to maroon. He wanted earth to be the base and fire the power and he needed more. The mana continued changing becoming vibrant shades of red eventually settling to the low glow of lava the bright tones had a yellow hue and Rin could feel something more the. Fire and earth elemented mana he had added. Rin's obsidian blade melted into a chain whip connected by strands of flowing lava. The whip trailed on the floor behind him gouging and melting the concrete. With a swift transition Rin moved into Wind stance using his gathered momentum to bring the whip around the sound of a gun shot off at the tip breaking the sound barrier.

  Paul did not move; he did not flinch as the lava whip approached his face; he simply and calmly brought his hand up to grab it, arresting its momentum at the moment it cracked. The air stirred and wind created from the force of the attack jostled his robes. As the mana Rin controlled a notification from his interface appeared.

  [Hierophant of the Void]

  [Level 300]

  [ Your Spirit attribute is too low of a level to harm. Hierophant of the void]

  Rin was taken aback by the notification he had never gotten an info screen like this for anyone outside of his own team members. He instinctively knew that this was a part of his advanced interface skill. Seeing Paul's level did nothing for him however. He couldn't give in and within milliseconds already formulated a new plan. Rin activated False legs, a skill from his armor that created an illusion of himself that should Paul decide to attack should buy him the moment he Rin needed. He controlled the mana inside the crystals he embedded into his greaves as he jumped back to create distance. The level disparity between himself and Paul was immense, something he was most likely unable to close the gap on but he had to try. Rin pulled out every single mana crystal he had in his inventory through experimentation with Alvarez and he had found he didn't need to physically consume the magical items and instead could consume them with a mental thought. Strings of notification flew across his vision as each consumed. Crystal granted him more power increasing his stats far beyond his limits. His overclock ability further increased those gains tripling the effectiveness of each Crystal. Rin's body felt like energy. He felt the power, his body barely able to contain it, cracks begin to appear on his skin, and warning notifications begin to appear. Paul casually walked forward stepping through the illusion unphased and undistracted by it. He had an amused look on his face as he watched Rin.

  [Warning: your physical and mental attributes have far exceeded the natural limits that your soul can contain. Your soul will continue to convert excess elemental mana however to prevent further degradation the mana will be released externally in an unusable state.: Warning]

  Through the cracks forming rainbow collard steam begin to rise out of them. He did not bleed from them but he could feel the excess as it burned his body. In his desperate attempt to close the gap between himself and Paul, he had mistakenly hit a limit he had never knew but that was something he cannot dwell on for long as he rushed in swinging his chain whip, The sound of a thunderstorm echoed through the room, Paul seemed unphased only having bothered to dodge the first few attacks after assessing their strength. He just let them hit each attack. Sending a shock wave of power concrete around both men began to crack and crumble yet Paul did not move; he did not react until suddenly and swiftly he was a blur of speed, searing pain radiating from his left shoulder along with the hot sticky wet of blood coating his body. Rin stumbled back in shock at the sudden pain, his eyes wandering down to the source. His arm was missing the shoulder ripped out of the socket.

  “ Such a shame, if only you had accepted the Lord's offer and you might be strong enough to save your friends and yourself, but they would have already been dead wouldn't they? So I guess that's a mute point.” Paul was now standing in front of Rin, his dismembered left arm casually held up to the light as if he was examining it. “ To receive such a blessing and only to reject it. I feel like my years have been wasted. Watching you grow slowly and gently pushing you in the direction you needed to be. The Skreen should have killed you allowing our Lord access to your soul but that, Bitch! Goddess had to interfere as well. Really you should blame her for putting you on this path.”

  Rin began to breathe rapidly in sharp intakes of breath “ One last offer Rin.” Using the disembodied arm form the fingers into a pointing gesture and pointed it at Liliandra.

  “ Devour her and gain her powers. Gain the strength and become the rightful vessel for our Lord.” Paul's words were spoken through clenched teeth each word punctuated with anger and venom.

  “ No.” Rin spoke out clearly and in defiance. “ You can tear me limb from limb, bone by bone but I will never give into the Demon King's will. I find myself asking why, what's the difference, you have killed plenty by now. So many dead by my own hands in this past hour it would be easier and perhaps if I devour Liliandra’s soul then I might. Might! Gain the power I need yet I find myself physically revolted at the thought, she is my friend and that is what makes it different and like everyone else I killed to make it here your just another obstacle in my path.”

  A puddle of blood was forming at Rin’s feet yet he did not feel woozy from blood loss. His body was so flush with life from his enhanced constitution that it almost felt like a video game. Rin charged again, Paul's face turning up in a snarl slapping Rin down with his own hand.

  Rin lay on the floor with Paul looming over him. Using Rin's dismembered arm as a cudgel Paul started relentlessly hitting him, each hit echoing off the surrounding concrete. Rin could hear the vague screaming of a woman.

  “You — will — capitulate — everything — I have done — Since the moment — I — have met you — was for the moment of our lords — arri.”

  Rin's consciousness was fading as Paul spoke, his words punctuated each hit, each one more savage than the last. A gust of wind blew across his body as his vision faded. A fist connected to a well tailored suit slammed into Paul's face.