Chapter 313 - Instigating Chaos
Theo glanced at his group for a moment.
’’Stay here,’’ he said calmly. ’’I’ll be right back.’’
Before anyone could respond, his body merged into the shadows beneath.
Just barely able to see him disappear, Owen’s brows furrowed.
’’What the hell is he doing now?’’ he muttered.
Jim shrugged lightly.
’’As per usual,’’ he replied. ’’We’ll know when he’s back...’’
Meanwhile, Theo’s shadow raced back up the steps.
A plan had long formed inside his mind.
The voices ahead gradually grew clearer with every passing second.
’They are moving quickly,’ he thought. ’At this rate, they would’ve caught up to us within three minutes.’
Theo continued moving without slowing down.
He could already sense several mana signatures approaching from above.
Just then, Feng’s voice rang through his mind.
’’Contractor,’’ it said seriously. ’’There are three more groups behind this one, each with space between them.’’
Theo took note of it right away.
But, unfortunately... Feng wasn’t done.
’’Also,’’ it continued quietly. ’’A familiar presence has entered the hall above.’’
’’It’s the one you asked me to remember a while ago.’’
Theo’s eyes narrowed.
For a moment, his speed slowed slightly.
There was only one person he’d asked Feng to track.
It was the Calamity Covenant blood user who’d continuously marked him as his prey.
’Can you tell me more?’ he thought, clenching his fists.
Feng remained silent for a moment.
’’It’s still too far away,’’ he replied. ’’But I’m certain it’s the same presence.’’
Theo’s expression rapidly began darkening.
After a moment, he quickly shook his head, though.
’Concentrate,’ he thought, glancing ahead. ’This comes first.’
Far in the distance, he could already see several faint silhouettes.
They were approaching rapidly without a care in the world.
Even with the possibility of tripping or breaking something in the complete darkness.
’Are they insane?’ he thought, raising an eyebrow.
As they drew closer, their movements finally became clear.
Each of them had their hands pressed against the sandstone walls, using them to guide themselves while sprinting down the steps.
Suddenly, one of them stumbled.
’’Fuck!’’
Thud!
The man just barely caught himself before falling forward.
’’Slow the hell down! I can’t see anything!’’
’’Then keep your hand against the wall! We can’t let those kids get too far ahead!’’
’’That’s the last thing I want to hear from you!’’ the man cursed instantly. ’’I told you we should’ve gone first... now we have to get kids’ blood on our hands!’’
Theo’s eyes narrowed slightly.
His shadow immediately stopped moving.
The group was already less than sixty yards away and closing in rapidly.
’Perfect,’ he thought. ’Now I wait.’
Second after second ticked by.
Finally, the first person rushed straight past him.
Then another, and another.
Not a single one noticed the shadow beneath their feet.
Theo patiently waited until the final person passed.
Finally, a smile grew on his face.
’It’s time.’
Theo quietly materialized from his shadow, one of his hands already raised.
A green tube-like item materialized above it out of thin air.
’Never expected to actually use this someday,’ he thought, smiling widely. ’Oh, but am I going to enjoy this now!’
His thumb ripped off a metal pin.
Click!
The sound was incredibly faint.
But in the otherwise silent tunnel, it immediately caught the attention of the group ahead.
’’What was that?’’
Several spun around right away.
That’s when Theo dropped the item.
CLINK!
It landed hard on the sandstone steps beneath him.
The entire group ahead froze.
Then their eyes went wide.
BANG!
The entire tunnel lit up in a blinding white light.
’’ARGHH!’’
’’MY EYES!’’
’’FUCK!’’
After spending so long in complete darkness, the sudden flash was agonizing.
Several people stumbled blindly across the staircase, desperately covering their eyes.
’’WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!’’
’’WHERE ARE THEY?!’’
After the bright flash, Theo’s body had long since sunk back into the shadows.
His gaze locked onto the nearest man, who was staggering around blindly with both hands rubbing his eyes.
’Now to add the finishing touch,’ he thought, speeding towards him.
Only a split second later, Theo’s upper body emerged from the shadows.
Pitch-black mana wrapped itself around his hand in an instant.
Without hesitation, he reached forward.
Tap!
His palm touched the man for barely a moment.
’’Wha—’’
The man’s words turned into a short but excruciating scream.
’’AARGH!!!’’
His body suddenly began crumbling apart from the exact spot Theo had touched.
Skin, flesh and bone turned into black dust, spreading across his chest like a wave.
The man desperately reached for his chest.
But there was nothing he could do.
Within seconds, the entire midsection of his body had crumbled apart like sand.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The remaining pieces of his body crashed onto the ground.
They’d just barely been spared thanks to the black mana running out.
Sensing something amiss, the nearest member instantly began feeling around.
’’Hey, Hugo?’’ he called out. ’’Are you alright?’’
But no response came back.
Their expressions instantly began shifting.
’’Screw this!’’ a female voice said while raising her hand.
A soft fire appeared above her palm, lighting up the tunnel.
That was when they saw it.
’’What the fuck...’’
Hugo’s remains lay scattered across the steps.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
’’B-Brother?’’
One of the men stepped closer, his expression rapidly changing between shock, sadness and anger.
’’He’s... dead.’’
The others immediately tensed.
’’Someone fucking attacked us!’’
But before they could look around properly, the flame above the woman’s palm brushed dangerously close to the low ceiling.
FSSSH!
The sandstone above them was scorched ever so slightly.
And in the next instant, the woman vanished without leaving a trace behind.
Darkness took over the tunnel once more.
’’What the fuck?!’’
’’It’s that curse!’’
’’She damaged this fucking place!’’
Just like that, their group had fallen from ten to eight members in only seconds.
’’Do we damage this place too, then?!’’ one asked uneasily.
’’We should!’’ another replied. ’’Remember, we never leave one of us behind!’’
But then, one of them seemed to have another plan in mind.
’’We’ll meet her in a second,’’ he said through gritted teeth.
He slowly raised his head, glancing up out of the tunnel.
’’Those bastards behind us,’’ he continued angrily. ’’They caused all of this.’’
’’If our lives and deaths are going to be uncertain, let’s drag them down with us!’’