"Khr."
Lifting her head and staring at Lance who was seriously looking back at her. Sirrah Alamak was indignant. Most of her ribs were shattered, her head was dizzy, and she could barely lift her body.
'Is this really how I die?'
She clenched her teeth, forcing ragged breaths through the pain.
"Haagh, hah, hurgh…"
With a glare sharp enough to cut steel, she hissed, "Hah… you murderous bastard. I'll kill you!"
Lance chuckled softly and shook his head in mock disappointment. "Funny coming from you. That's a really sad thing to say when we've both done a share of the slaughtering."
Alamak clicked her tongue in frustration, refusing to accept his words. "No, I won't accept this!"
This was supposed to be her moment. The moment where she proved that women alone, without the aid of men or powerful institutions like the Adventurer's Guild, could surpass all limits and achieve the impossible.
How could she let some man, a mere criminal, defeat her now just like that? She couldn't accept this!!
"Come at me, you slimy bastard!"
Using every last ounce of her strength she had left, Alamak forced herself to stand. Her body swayed dangerously left and right, her legs trembling as she leaned against a nearby seat for support. The next moment, a fierce pink aura began to radiate from her battered form. The vein bulge on her neck and head popped out, and her eyes burned crimson with fury.
Alamak was exhausted, had suffered fractures and was bleeding. And these conditions were all at a serious degree that it had absolutely whittled down her life.
It was now hard for her to even take one step forward. However, she still had her strongest method of attack at her disposal.
"I will kill you! Even if you'll die here together with me!"
Roaring out loud in a fierce voice, she poured everything she had into her last attack.
"[Spiritual Summoning Magic: Flames of Pride]!"
She had no choice but to use her last trump card, knowing full well the terrible price it demanded.
…And that is to sacrifice the bodies of her loved ones.
But desperation drove her. What she was about to summon wasn't just powerful, it was beyond anything she had ever called upon before.
Lance raised an eyebrow and seemed clearly irritated. "Again with another Elemental? You know I could just—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a roaring inferno was being manifested before him, cutting him off.
The flames surged wildly, and their colors shifted in a vibrant spectrum like a burning rainbow.
The sheer intensity of the heat was overwhelming, distorting even space around it.
And then, from the heart of the rainbow flames, an entity, born from the Immaterium itself, emerged.
Its glowing eyes pierced through the fire, radiating chaotic cosmic energy that screamed of danger. The ground beneath its feet and the space surrounding it warped, and the flames condensed into a tight, controlled aura that clung to its body like molten armor.
This wasn't just any Elemental, as its presence was far too immense for a mere entity of the Physical World.
Sensing this, Lance's expression hardened.
This was a Spiritual Lifeform.
"Fshuuu…"
The being exhaled, and with it, the room's temperature fluctuated wildly, from icy cold to sweltering heat in mere seconds. The oppressive power it radiated caused the very space to ripple, sending waves of unease through everyone present.
Lance glanced at the spirit, then back at Alamak. His casual demeanor faltered for a moment, and went to a hint of wariness now, as the Greater Spirit's presence drew the attention of even the most hardened warriors around, and their instincts flared at the sheer magnitude of its power.
"You summoned something from the Spirit Realm? That... can't be good."
With burning rage in its eyes, the Greater Spirit faced nearly a hundred men who charged at it in a futile attempt to take it down.
Their swords and weapons proved worthless as the Ethereal Entity tore through them like a whirlwind of destruction.
Its colorful flames spun like a tornado, moving with such speed that even Lance struggled to track its movements. He watched as the guards and his henchmen were shredded into nothing more than ash and fragments, as their screams drowned by the crackling of burning flesh.
"Okay, that is definitely not good," Lance muttered as his face went pale with horror. "Shit, that thing is like a fuckin' blender, turning my men into paste!"
After finishing every single man in the room, the Flame of Pride already reached Lance before grabbing him by the face and brutally smashed his head forcibly against the floor, dragging him across the room like a ragdoll.
Lance groaned and screamed, as he fumbled for his gun to shoot the summoner, only for the Spirit to slam him back down, rendering his weapon useless as it clattered away.
Before he could recover, the Spirit launched him into a wall, and proceeded to run at full speed while dragging him along the surface, as the right side of his head was ripped apart from the friction, with blood and flesh streaking the walls.
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUU…!!!" Lance howled in agony, but his cries went unanswered.
With a final bone-shattering toss, the Spirit threw him into the center of the room, and his almost destroyed body crashed down with such force that it left a crater in the ground.
"W-Wai—...!"
BAM!!!
Before he could utter another word, the Greater Spirit's flaming fist smashed into him, sending a shockwave through the room that shattered the very air and crumbled the walls.
Alamak stood over Lance, glaring down at him in disgust as his mangled body twitched beneath her.
"I... I—"
BAM!!!
Once again, the Spirit's fist crashed down, silencing him. The ground beneath them cracked, and the crater grew even larger.
"I don't want to hear ANY words from you! You RACIST!!"
BAMM!!!
"CISGENDERED!!"
BAMMM!!!
"TOXICALLY MASCULINE!!"
BAMMMM!!!
"MISOGYNISTIC!!"
BAMMMMM!!!
"INCEL!!"
BAMMMMMM!!!
With each accusation, the Greater Spirit pounded Lance into the ground as its relentless fury matched only by the force of its blows, and tore his body apart by every hit.
"HOMOPHOBIC!!"
BAMMMMMMM!!!
"PIIIIIIG!!"
BAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!
With a final devastating strike, the Spirit used both fists and slammed them down in a cataclysmic blow. The ground gave way, and Lance, along with the floor itself, was torn apart entirely, vanishing into a cloud of dust and flame.
With rage and disgust still burning in her eyes, she wiped the remains of Lance from her body onto the floor. Her summoned Greater Spirit engulfed his corpse in vibrant flames, reducing it to ash.
As she walked away from the smoldering remains, a sense of grim satisfaction settled over her.
"Finally done it," she smiled proudly as she moved to the exit of the auction, finally accomplishing her mission, even at the cost of her beloved friends, comrades, family… even lovers.
But just as she reached the exit, something caught her eye in the flames consuming Lance's body.
…A twitch.
"Huh?"
Confusion clouded her face as she turned to gaze back at the burning corpse, and noticed the rainbow flames that had been devouring him suddenly shifted, turning into an ominous orange.
And then, to her horror, his body jerked upright, and a mist of darkness began swirling around him, enveloping his charred flesh as it regenerated, layer by layer, from the very ashes. His eyes glowed a molten orange with tendrils of that same light spiraling around him.
"Guess who's back!" Lance declared with cruel amusement in his voice.
"H-How!? My Summoned Spirit killed you!" Alamak stammered with disbelief on her face.
"What Spirit?" Lance mocked.
Before she could comprehend what was happening, dark, misty tendrils erupted from his back and lashed out toward the astral form of the Greater Spirit.
In one swift motion, the tendrils pierced through the spirit and shredded it into nothingness, causing the once-mighty entity to vanish from the physical plane.
"There isn't one anymore," Lance shrugged with a sinister grin. "Anyway, you're probably wondering how I'm still standing here after literally being ripped apart during your little 'Girl Boss' moment…"
He stepped forward, and for the first time, Alamak felt genuine fear wash over her. She instinctively took a step back, and her heart raced as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.
Surrounding Lance was a swirling mist of darkness, and within that darkness, something else lurked, an ethereal, bird-like creature with glowing orange eyes, levitating behind him. The ominous presence made her blood run cold. But more than that, she recognized the sensation.
It was something only a Spirit Magic user like her could feel.
"Well…" Lance continued, his grin widening as he raised his hand, causing the black mist to expand, revealing the full towering form of the entity behind him.
Its shadowy, majestic figure loomed over them both, radiating terrible chaotic energy.
"You're not the only one who can summon a Spiritual Entity from the Sea of Aether."
Alamak's breath hitched in her throat as she stared at the monstrous form of the Chaos Spirit, the same cold dread she had felt moments ago tightening its grip on her chest.
Seeing the horror in her eyes, Lance let out a small laugh. With a flick of his wrist, a tendril of dark mist slithered across the ground, snatching the Magic Colt he had dropped earlier, and sailed through the air before landing back in his grasp.
Before Alamak could react, Lance quickdraw her, firing a bullet that struck her leg. She cried out and collapsed to the ground as pain shot through her body.
"You know," Lance mused as he spun the gun in his hand, "You make some interesting points with all those insults. But here's the thing, they are kinda poor." He paused as his smirk widened. "You should know by now my gang's pretty diverse in race. I've even had a little 'fun' with all of them. I don't discriminate, and I hate everyone equally!" He laughed, until his voice turned cold. "But before you start spouting name callings, maybe you should've checked your own privilege, Miss Sirrah."
Alamak struggled to rise, while her bloody hand clutched her bleeding leg, but Lance was already upon her, and gripped her by the throat, lifting her effortlessly off the ground as she gasped for breath.
"W-wait...! What are you—?"
Her words were cut off as Lance pulled her close, as his arm was roughly snaking around her waist, while his other hand gripped the back of her neck and held her head fixed, locking the Dark Elf in place.
Without warning, his lips crushed hers in a forceful, possessive kiss.
"Mmph?!"
The Dark Elf's eyes widened in shock at the manhandling and the kiss as she instinctively tried to resist, weakly pushing against him with her powerless fists.
But when Lance's fingers grazed the sensitive tip of her pointed ear, something within her snapped.
Her body betrayed her, as her arms wrapped around his back in a groping manner, and to her own horror, she began to respond to the kiss.
They both sucked on each other's tongue and saliva, indulging deeply in the act. Alamak, overwhelmed by a surge of foreign emotions, kissed him back with clumsy desperate passion, as if she hadn't witnessed him slaughtering her friends and family earlier.
And all the while, Lance's eyes remained half-closed as a sinister smile curled his lips. Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, the once-beautiful ebony skin of the Dark Elf began to wither beneath his touch. It turned gray and brittle, and deep wrinkles formed at a pace that was mind boggling to anyone who views it.
Soon, in a matter of seconds, Alamak's vibrant form had shriveled into a lifeless husk, barely unrecognizable as the beautiful and powerful warrior she had been moments before.
Lance stepped back and released her now mummified body as it crumbled to the floor. The next moment, a pale white energy flowed from her eyes and mouth, and began swirling into him.
As it entered his body, he felt a surge of raw power coursing through his veins.
30,000
.
.
.
.
.
40,000
.
.
.
.
.
50,000
.
.
.
.
.
60,000
The numbers flashed in his mind. The strength he had absorbed through his lethal ability, [Kiss of Death]. Not only could it kill a person by a long kiss, it could even arouse anyone from both genders and trap them in a state of intense lust.
And best of all, using that skill on a Transcendent Tier-1 was beyond any power he could have gained through normal means.
Decades of gaining power, was acquired in mere moments.
He looked down at what remained of Alamak and chuckled darkly.
At that moment, a group of Lance's henchmen burst into the auction room, one of them cautiously stepping forward toward their leader.
"Um… boss."
Still standing over the lifeless body of Alamak, Lance looked up with an annoyed scowl. His patience was already wearing thin.
"What do you want?" he snapped.
"I've got news to report," the henchman stammered, glancing nervously at the grotesque scene before him.
With a sigh of irritation, Lance threw the shriveled body of the Dark Elf aside and stared back at his henchmen.
"This better be good. You interrupted me at a very satisfying moment, you imbecile."
"My apologies, boss," the henchman said, swallowing hard. "I'm only here to report that we managed to kill all of the remaining adventurers that attacked us."
Lance's expression remained cold. "Good. We need to leave the Third Civilization Zone as soon as possible. Teleportation spells our best bet. Gather everything. We're compromised, and it's only a matter of time before these assholes from the Second Civilization Zone, or worse, the First, show up."
The henchman hesitated, and shifted uneasily. "Erm… well, funny thing… there's some bad news too, boss."
Lance's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Go on."
"Well… we couldn't give the products to the winning bidders and we didn't get the money. They fled already during the attack, and, uh… half of our stock is missing, including the magic human."
"WHAT?!" Lance roared as his eyes brightened with an intense orange light. The black mist surrounding him swirled violently and filled the room with a dark oppressive energy.
His henchman stepped back and trembled under the weight of his leader's rage.
"Should we...?" the man stammered in a weak voice.
"YES, YOU SHOULD!" Lance snarled and leaned forward menacingly. "Get my stuff back NOW, or I'll feed my little friend here with your soul."
The Chaos Spirit within Lance seemed to echo his fury as its glowing orange eyes pierced through the mist and locked onto the henchman with a predatory gaze.
"Y-Yes boss!" the man nodded frantically before scrambling to carry out his orders, terrified of what might happen if he failed.