Ryojin walked down the stairs, his footsteps echoing against the floor.
"These steps are longer than expected," he sighed in frustration as he took another. The interior, unlike outside, was dark, but Ryojin could still partially see due to his heightened vision. "This ability will come in handy."
He finally reached the end of the staircase, and before him was a door.
"Seems this one was stubborn against destruction." He pushed the door open and stepped in.
The room was small and intact for a building that was half destroyed—only small stones could be seen on the floor.
"Ah, so this thing is also intact," he muttered mockingly as he looked at a large statue depicting a god at the end of the room. "And when people see this, they will think it was your doing that this room was unscathed." He walked closer to the statue. "But in reality, it was just a coincidence."
A smile tugged on his lips before he spoke.
"Collapse."
And immediately the statue began to disintegrate—its once solid form turning to soil in a matter of seconds.
"I wonder if this ability has limitations," he muttered. "What would happen if I used it on a living being?" He knelt down and touched the soil of the once mighty statue. "Would they too turn to nothing?" He shook his head. "I will have to try it one day."
His gaze drifted around the room as he searched for a place to put his armor and katana.
"Damn, what kind of room is this," he hissed under his breath as he saw nothing in the room. "So they built an entire room just for a statue—people are really something else. They can never build homes for the homeless, yet they spend money to build statues and worship sites for gods who don't even give a damn about them."
He remained silent as he got up and let out a sigh. Then he heard the whispers.
"Devour."
"Devour."
"Here we go again. I thought I had now begun understanding what these whispers say." He paused realization begining to strike as he recalled the fight with Seraphis. "If I think about it, maybe even these words have meaning. I guess it's a warning of danger." He tapped his katana on the floor. "If it's a meaning of danger, does it mean when I was queuing with Kina there was something that could have harmed me?"
He lifted his katana. "It does not make any sense—if it's a sign of danger, does it mean that cocky pact bearer could have harmed me?"
"Hey whispers, what does it mean when you say those words?"
For a moment there was no response.
"Tch."
Then the whispers spoke.
"Devour."
"Devour."
This time they were louder.
"Ok, OK, stop," he said, grinding his teeth in frustration as the voices echoed in his head, but they did not cease.
"Devour."
"Devour."
Ryojin knelt on one knee, dropping his katana and armor on the floor—the voices now louder, making every second unbearable—then they ceased.
Ryojin's breathing quickened. "I hate these voices," he said as he got up and closed his eyes, taking in four measured breaths.
He reopened his eyes as he heard the sound of a carriage outside.
"People traveling?" he muttered. "At this time?"
He took slow, measured steps as he walked out of the room and onto the staircase. As he began ascending the stairs, the sound of the carriage stopped. He continued walking until he was on the main floor of the building. This time, what he could hear outside was the sound of people talking. He walked towards the doorway and peeped outside—three men were there—one man with a lean build sat in front of the carriage, holding the harness, probably the driver, while the other two—a fat bald man and a tall, lean man—stood beside the carriage, facing the tower.
"What could these people want here?" he thought as his eyes drifted to the body of the carriage, which had a white roof and curtains covering the sides. "It looks like they are waiting for something."
"Ben, Kal, hurry up," the man in front of the carriage said nervously, his eyes glancing back. "What if they catch up to us?"
Ben—the fat one—chuckled. "Oh relax, Ryan, we are just taking a piss."
"And I'm pretty sure they won't find us," Kal added as he removed his trousers. "Even if they do, we have Ben—he will burn them into ash."
"I see what you did there—Ben will burn," Ben joked as he unbuttoned his trousers and began urinating.
"Hey Ben," Kal said, his voice low. "Can't we have a little fun with the girls before we deliver them?"
"Girls?" Ryojin thought.
Ben looked at Kal, then smiled. "Of course, but also bring one for me."
Kal smiled back at Ben before walking to the body of the carriage.
"Who among you wants to have some fun with yours truly?" Kal said as he entered the carriage.
"Guys, no, we don't have time for this," Ryan said nervously. "Ben, please tell Kal to stop."
"Ryan, just shut up," Ben sneered.
Kal came out of the carriage with two women, hands tied, on his shoulders—they were shaking uncontrollably. A cloth was also tied on their mouths and eyes.
Ryojin clenched his fists at the sight as realization sunk in—these men were human traffickers.
Ben turned to Kal and walked towards him. "I see you brought quality."
Kal chuckled as he dropped the two women on the ground; they were still struggling. The two men stood before the women, their backs facing the tower.
Ryojin slowly stepped out of the building and stood in the doorway, his fists clenched and eyes begun to glow.
Ryan was the first to notice the pair of glowing eyes at the tower's doorway.
"What the—"
Before he could finish, something grabbed his head and slammed it hard into the ground. The impact was so strong it knocked him out cold.
The horse snorted in panic, broke free from the harness, and bolted into the night.
Ryojin stood there, holding Ryan's limp body by the head. His face was blank, cold. Without a word, he smashed Ryan's head into the ground again. A deep, echoing thud rang out.
Kal and Ben stood frozen, confusion painted on their faces.
They hadn't seen anything—only heard the loud crashes and the horse fleeing into the dark.
"Where's Ryan?" Kal stammered, voice shaking.
"Check... the other side of the carriage," Ben said, breathing heavy.
Kal took one step forward—and black tendrils shot from the other side of the carriage, wrapping around his leg.
"Ben! Help!" Kal screamed as he was yanked towards the other side—towards Ryojin.
Another heavy thud shook the air.
Ben's whole body began trembling involuntarily. His breathing quickened. His eyes darted around wildly before he lunged at one of the women, pressing a knife to her throat.
"Show yourself!" he roared, voice cracking. "Come out or she dies!"
From the side of the carriage, Ryojin emerged, eyes still glowing and his aura flaring.
The moment Ben saw him, his hands shook even harder. The air itself seemed to grow heavier, crushing his chest with fear.
"Wh-who...?" he tried to speak, but only choked sounds came out.
"You told me to show myself," Ryojin said, voice low and calm. He took a step forward—his aura flaring out like a raging storm.
"So... what now?"
"S-stay back! I'm warning you!" Ben yelled, voice breaking.
Ryojin chuckled softly.
"Warning me? Look at yourself—your knees are about to give out."
He tilted his head. "Here's the deal. Drop the knife. Walk over here. I'll only beat you until you can't walk, but you'll live. Sound fair?"
"I... I'm someone important! You don't know who I am!" Ben stammered desperately.
In a flash, Ryojin moved
Ben's eyes darted left and right, terror setting in.
"Where is he—?!"
A voice whispered behind him.
"Right here."
Before Ben could even turn, a brutal punch smashed into the side of his head, sending him flying like a ragdoll.
Before his body could hit the ground, Ryojin moved again—two crushing punches to Ben's ribs, fast as lightning. Then, grabbing his head midair, Ryojin slammed him into the dirt with bone-cracking force.
Standing over Ben's unconscious, bloodied body, Ryojin casually wiped his hands.
"...Maybe I went a little overboard," he said, voice quiet.