"...You're trapped in here with ."
Adam's cold voice thundered in the cultists' ears.
In the vast hall of Jomuran's administrative center, it was as if ti itself had co to a standstill.
On the other side of the hall, Edsel's hand holding the Soul Lantern trembled as the red orb inside it pointed at "Orion".
The Mana Core Magi standing behind him - Morofin, Rigby, and Ayunka - were frozen in horror as they heard a different, youthful voice co out from "Orion's" mouth.
But no one was more horrified than Murphy, and then Vortigan and Elira.
Murphy, who had spent the most ti with Orion, never realized when Adam. had taken his place. The sa was true for Vortigan and Elira. Though they had only conversed for less than a day, they couldn't tell at all.
Everything about Orion, the way he talked, the way he moved, his personality, his mana signature, nothing even remotely hinted at the fact that he had been replaced by the very man they were hunting.
Vortigan and Elira had been so confident in taking down the Dark King. Yet now, when he stood right beside them, wearing a comrade's face, they felt a fear unlike anything they'd felt before.
The Dark King had been right there under their very noses, listening in on the plan to take him down.
And just when they thought that they had succeeded in cornering him, they realized... they had been the ones cornered instead.
Under everyone's fearful and shocked gaze, Orion - no, the Dark King, finally made his move.
Tap!
His hand gently clasped Murphy's head, his fingers slowly digging into the latter's skull.
There was nothing Murphy could do about it. He was so shocked out of his mind that he didn't even realize when the Dark King's hand had gripped his
head.
"Seven Mana Core Magi of the infamous Cult of Bones?" Adam's words echoed in the hall.
"What a grand feast this is going to be!"
The Dark King's expression turned into sothing ferocious and bestial. The grin on his face was so wide and crazy that the corners of his lips almost reached his ears, twisting his face into a parody of what a human's face should have been.
A piercing, blood-curdling scream escaped Murphy's throat as the Dark King's fingers dug deeper into his skull. His skull cracked, and hot blood poured down his face.
And then...
Crack!
The Dark King twisted his hand and violently tore Murphy's head from his shoulders.
As blood poured out from the stump on Murphy's neck, his knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground. His body still twitched as a crimson puddle ford beneath him.
The Dark King's joyous laughter echoed through the hall.
Everyone who watched that scene shuddered involuntarily. They felt sothing primal spread through their bodies.
Terror.
Absolute terror.
The scene of the Dark King wearing Orion's face, holding Murphy's mangled head in one hand and laughing diabolically like a madman, was sothing they'd never forget for the rest of their lives.
No matter how short their lives turned out to be...
Out of all the cultists present, Vortigan was the first to snap back to his senses. He strangled the fear in his heart and gritted his teeth as he took a step forward.
He shoved the artifact in his hands toward the dazed Elira and pushed her aside, roaring, "Have the rest mark it! Now!"
Elira seed to have finally awoken from the terror coursing within her. She gritted her teeth and grabbed the artifact from Vortigan's hands. Then, without another mont of hesitation, she rushed toward Edsel and the rest.
anwhile, Adam saw all of this take place, yet he didn't interrupt. Instead, he observed everything with a feral grin on his face.
The rage he had suppressed in his heart all these months... he was finally going
to let it all out.
His enemies wanted to summon more undead knights?
They wanted to deprive him of summoning his serpents?
So fucking be it!
He was going to slaughter them all by himself!
Adam saw Vortigan rush toward him, weaving hand seals to summon his undead servants. He gripped Murphy's head and hurled it at that man.
Vortigan's eyes narrowed. He didn't panic. Instead, he only leaned to the side ever so slightly, narrowly dodging the bloody head as he continued to weave
hand seals.
But the next mont...
Adam was already upon him, his knee brutally smashing into his face.
BAM!
Vortigan felt his nose shatter and his face cave in. Pain flooded his head, but he ruthlessly gnashed his teeth and managed to complete the physical
components of his spell.
As he was hurled back into the distance by the Dark King's knee kick, his shadow beneath him deepened and stirred. A split-second later, a pair of towering figures in dark armor erged from his shadow, weapons drawn and roaring furiously.
Two Rank 4 undead knights, one wielding a long sword, while the other a spear, suddenly appeared right below Adam. Their weapons were only monts away from hacking into him.
There was no purchase to be found mid-air for a follow-up physical counterattack. So Adam's hand turned into a shadowy blur, and he rapidly cast
his spell.
Rank 4 Spell: Shield!
CLANG!
Adam's feet finally touched the ground. Around him, a mana barrier made of interlocking hexagonal tiles materialized into place. They effectively stopped the two undead knights' attacks.
The next mont, the color of his garnts shifted, turning into his usual dark robes. A black cape materialized on his shoulders, fluttering behind him. His face twisted and churned again, before finally settling into his original self. Finally, a black, pointed hat settled on his head like a glorious crown.
The incredible Dark King was here!
His hands were clasped together as he poured mana into the defensive spell. The two undead knights just beyond the barrier roared in fury as they tried to overpower him.
And that was not all...
Across the marble floor, the five Mana Core Magi, including Elira, who had
already joined them, were finally ready. They had only a few monts to recover from the initial shock and terror, but for experts like them, that was all
they needed.
The vast hall lit up with a resplendent light as the Mana Core-level cultists cast
their spells.
Seeing the deluge of Rank 4 Spells about to engulf him, Adam's lips curled
upward and then...
He just laughed.
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