Mad God – Reborn

"I marked their shadows, Master," Ariana said while she was watching the village from above.

"Mhm, I'm locked in on it." She replied, waving her hand, and twelve bolts of lightning struck from the sky.

The buildings below them were blown to smithereens, but when the smoke settled and the debris landed hundreds of meters away from the impact site, twelve men were standing there with straight backs. They were surrounded by differently colored auras, shrugging off the residue of the lightning strikes. At the same time, the civilians around them were protected by Ariana's powers as an inky bubble surrounded them. It was popping apart like a water balloon, and after it did, even the enemies let them run away. They had to, as their whole focus was on the aura, pressing down on them.

"I commend your ability to find us." A hard, deep voice echoed out as the twelve rose into the air, surrounding the trio. "You are strong, but we have the numbers advantage. It was on our list anyway to either kill or capture you." He added, looking into Ren's eyes as he spoke, his appearance beginning to change, revealing purple eyes and short, silvery hair, shedding his previous unassuming disguise.

"You talk too much," Ren said as she flashed forward, already standing before him, punching him in the stomach. Only after her small fist sank into his abdomen did the thundering noise of her speed arrive, sending him flying backward. With one attack, Ren quickly separated the group into chunks of four with an explosion of lightning escaping her body. Nameless and Ariana also jumped into the action, choosing a group to fight against, while the members of Ironclaw finally realized that it was not going to be as easy a fight as they first thought it would be.

Nameless looked to be almost as fast as Ren, but only because he was already anticipating her moves. He held onto a black scythe, swinging it widely, aiming at one of the Ironclaw cultivators closest to him. His enemy could only raise his arms, unable to produce a weapon, but he had confidence in his own strength. A metallic hue covered him quickly, and his skin was just as hard as any real weapon could be. What he did not expect was that the scythe of Nameless started to vibrate and emit a strong, black light. It went through him like a hot knife through butter and sliced his body into two. The top half of his torso fell to the ground while the lower half still just stood there for a second or so before falling after it.

It was an instant kill, and throughout it all, Nameless remained silent, already blocking an incoming claw weapon with the blade of his scythe while his other hand stretched out, summoning a black veil, blocking off a fireball.

"Wide open!" One of his enemies arrived behind him just then. His sword was already in motion in his hands, aiming at the opening.

"Am I?" Nameless answered coldly as the tip of the blade hit his back, sending sparks everywhere, ringing out with a sharp chime before breaking into dozens of pieces. His black clothing, even though it was flowing like water at first, hardened at the exact moment the sword made contact with it. It fended it off like a metal plate armor would.

Nameless's body shook a little, enduring the rebounding force of the impact as he swung his scythe again, right at the man without a sword, defenseless... easy to destroy. His second kill was still holding onto his broken sword, eyes wide open, not expecting such a result, and his hands were still shaking from the force of his own attack. The arriving edge of Nameless's scythe ran clean through his heart without anything to stop it.

His last thoughts were swearing at the leaders of Ironclaw for being sent here as peasants… without any armor, caught completely off guard by their enemies. He was cursing them for his own death, not taking responsibility for his actions, not even in death.

"Idiots!" The one whose body was covered in red-hot flames cursed just the same. He was shielding himself with his own powers as he faced Nameless, suddenly bereft of two of his comrades. The quick deaths were surprising not because they happened, but because of how fast they occurred. The fight only started a few seconds ago, and they had already lost two people?! It seemed to him that only he knew how to use his own affinity to protect himself. Luckily, his remaining comrade, wielding the hook claws, showed some real combat experience as he was able to either block Nameless's scythe or dodge it. "I'll cover you!" He shouted, sending dozens of small fireballs forward. He was pressuring Nameless into a defensive stance, backing off from his advance, not daring to engage him directly with his armor or weapon.

At the same time Ren and Nameless attacked, Ariana was also surrounded by a group of Ironclaw cultivators.

"Are we really ganking upon a young woman?" One of them mumbled, wielding a greatsword of ice that emitted a chilly aura as he swung it at her.

"Shut it and kill her quickly so we can capture the main target! If we dawdle around for too long, we are going to throw away our opportunity to escape!" The second-in-command of the whole group shouted at him, while his body had a bronze sheen, looking like a statue.

"You already did. Also… I'm not a defenseless girl; come as hard as you can~!" Ariana smiled at them, taking after her Master's style after spending so many years under her influence.

"I like naughty girls!" A chubby cultivator laughed in response while he was attacking with a giant rock cudgel in hand. He did it in tandem with the one who wielded the ice sword, catching Ariana in a pincer attack.

"Good!" Ariana whistled, her smile growing even wider. "Because you are going to have an unforgettable time!" She laughed, and as the weapons reached her, her body twisted and turned unnaturally. She was morphing into a black sludge, changing her original form into inky slime that splattered all around them, covering their bodies.

"Shit! It was a clone!" Their second-in-command shouted, now smudged with black paint. Even as he was wiping at his eyes, they were sticking to his face like glue.

"Argh?!" The remaining one, who stood farther away, not even wielding a weapon, shouted out loudly, suddenly. He was secretly looking for a way to escape, not wanting to die here. As he tried to wipe his face, panic in his voice, he inhaled the slime into his lungs. "I'm not with them!" He screamed, coughed, and faltered, wanting to give up and surrender. He was already afraid when their team was sent here to hide away until further orders arrived, and with Ariana's spell all over him, that fear was raised exponentially.

"Traitor!" The bronze-colored Ironclaw cultivator shouted as he punched at his own man, smashing him in the face. He killed him with one strike, and his brain matter splattered everywhere like a blossoming flower in the sky.

"What the fuck is this?!" The duo who were attacking Ariana quickly stepped back, ignoring the trouble brewing behind them. Their weapons were submerged in that ominous sludge and... It was still moving. It was wriggling like a living being, swallowing their weapons slowly but surely as it was crawling up their hands, unable to be shaken off.

"What? I'm just swallowing your members... Isn't this what you wanted?" Ariana's playful voice rippled through the air as her face was slowly emerging from the slime. The aura she was exuding was horrifying, making every one of them around her feel their stomachs turn. "Come on, boys, be one with me!" She said as she grew tentacles out of nowhere. A black abyss was spreading under them, originating from their own shadows, latching onto their bodies. "It is going to be fun... Boys!" She laughed, and in the end her voice turned somewhat coarse and demonic.

"Steel yourselves! This must be an illusion!" Their leader roared as his body was tangled up by those black, slimy tentacles, and he could feel how they were growing stronger and stronger with every passing second.

"It is not~!" The voice replied, less and less resembling that of Ariana's. It was growing darker with every word it spoke, and by then, instead of tentacles, thin female hands reached up from the darkness, holding them, caressing their bodies. "Come, come! Be my good boys and wag your tails to your new master!" The voice laughed loudly, starting to drag them into the abyss.

"What the fuck?! Stop! Fuck! Stop it!" The chubby guy screamed, trying to tear himself out of Ariana's spell, but his struggle only resulted in chunks of flesh being torn off of his body.

"Too late." Ariana sighed. In reality, she was sitting inside one of the houses in the village, in a completely black room, without any light, controlling her spell up in the sky. She was invading her enemies' minds, drawing out their fears, darkest thoughts, and memories. As their emotions manifested in a corporeal form, it was impossible to escape them. If they could face their own hidden fears, then they had a chance to deal with Ariana's spell… until then, they were as good as ants trapped in honey. "The longer one lives, the more evil they could commit. Especially if you are part of an organization like Ironclaw." She shook her head, as it was easy to fuel her spell with their emotions. It was also why she arrived in the village well before anyone else, living amongst them for days. She not only identified the cultivators of Ironclaw but also collected all of the negative emotions of everyone present. She had enough time to set up everything, so they had zero chance of winning or escaping. "Just give up. If you struggle, you are only going to suffer more." She said, her voice resonating as a demonic whisper beside their ears. It further heightened their fear, empowering her spell and establishing a vicious but efficient feedback loop. In return, it was consuming very little energy from Ariana herself.

It was clear that Ariana caught her own enemies while Nameless was still fighting with two of his, coming to a standstill. Neither group had time to worry about the third chunk of their comrades, and even if they did, it would only destroy their morale in an instant.

"Is this all you have got?" Ren asked as she tilted her head, standing in the middle of their encirclement. She looked completely bored by their efforts, and even let the group's leader recuperate, not attacking back at all.

"Shut up!" He looked into her eyes, trying to influence her mind with his own so Ren would not dodge the next attack.

"Sure." Ren nodded, understanding his intentions and even smiling at him.

"Kill her!" The order came as a roar.

Three attacks followed suit in that instant, aiming directly at her from different sides, and clearly, they were giving their all in their attacks. One was a flaming arrowhead, whistling through the air towards her head from the left. The second was like a giant, golden hedge clipper appearing behind her, snapping at her waist to cut her into two. Lastly, the third was a metallic whip that tied her ankles together with small, sharp, curved spikes. The owner of the weapon was trying to sink them into her skin and drain her powers… with no success.

"Heh~!" Ren chuckled, turning her head, looking straight at the arrowhead as it landed between her eyebrows.

What the others saw was the arrow explode into thin strands of flame, spewing them in all directions like fireworks. Yet Ren remained uninjured. Her head was surrounded by purple electricity, fending off the attack with a look alone, just as the scissor-like attack snapped shut, and its golden blades shattered on impact with her body, stunning them even further.

"Annoying." Ren clicked her tongue as she shook her head. Then she lifted her leg, tearing apart the whip without any effort as if it was made from paper. "My turn!" She pointed at the one who tried to snipe her with an arrow. Violet lightning flew out from the tip of her finger, and the last thing the man could see was an arrow-shaped electric bolt running through his head, right between his eyes. It killed him in an instant. "Next!" She said as she moved her hand towards the one who summoned the golden hedge cutter. "Snap-snap~!" Ren grinned, opening and closing her fingers like scissors.

"N-no!" He screamed, but it was too late. From nowhere, the same spell he had used previously appeared, but it was made out of pure electricity, cutting him into multiple, gory, bloody pieces, raining body parts and flesh down below.

“M-m-monster!” The one who held the broken whip cried out, already flying away with a panicked expression.

"Tsk-tsk! Get over here!" Ren shouted, lashing out with a violet energy whip that wrapped around his neck. As she pulled on it, her strength simply snapped off the man's head, killing him right there and then. "Weakling." She spat, not even paying attention to him anymore, looking back into their leader's eyes.

“W…w… wa…wa….w… wa….” He tried to speak, but nothing came out of his mouth, only incoherent, bubbling noises alongside his tears and snot.

"Relax! As you are their leader, I'll keep you alive. For a little bit more." She said, sticking out her pink tongue with an innocent smile. She was skipping towards him in the air like a little girl, arriving before him, slapping his face playfully. She was looking into his eyes, easily overriding his every thought. "Go to sleep." She whispered, and as soon as she finished speaking, his body went limp, and Ren caught him before he fell to the ground, holding him by his hair. "Let's see..." She turned backward, watching Ariana capture her enemies. "Hehe… you silly girl, I told you, you can kill them; I only need one alive!" She muttered as she shook her head with a smile. "Are you going to be okay?" She sent a voice transmission to Nameless, who was the only one still fighting his enemies.

"No." His reply was quick, surprising Ren with his honesty. "I'm not as strong as you. So... It could take me a long time to defeat them. I'm more proficient in taking them out by surprise, and I'm not good at fighting a prolonged, frontal battle."

"Sure. Dodge backward." She nodded, looking at him with a new light in her eyes. He did not hesitate or question anything, and thus his sudden departure amidst one of his attacks, breaking off the battle, surprised his two opponents.

"Huh?!" The remaining Ironclaw cultivators blinked their eyes, but not for long. When their blinking had ended and their eyelids opened up once again, they only saw Ren standing before them. She was holding their leader by the hair, like a kid dragging her plushie beside herself.

"Bye-bye~!" She raised her free hand, tapping onto their foreheads as small sparks flashed between her index finger and their sweaty skin. The two went stiff in the next moment and then fell from the sky without any indication of an injury. Their eyes were already blank and without any light when they landed on the ground, because inside their heads, Ren's powers were still buzzing, turning their brains into a soup, killing them before they could even process that death had come for them.

"What about the rest?" Nameless arrived next to her, breathing heavily.

"Dead. Or captured." She said, cracking her neck with a smile. "Go, tell the army to secure the village and process the people. We are going to question them all, starting tomorrow. I'll help Ariana and collect the survivors. My friends are going to come and help me by interrogating them soon enough."

"Understood." He nodded, cupping his hands, heading down, following her orders as Ren sent a voice transmission to her disciple.

"How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted, Master!" She replied as she stood up in the dark room. The blackness slowly receded, taking the shape of her own shadow under her feet. After she moaned softly, she hurriedly walked outside, looking up at her Master in the sky with a satisfied smile. By then, the clouds quickly dispersed, welcoming back the sunlight, which briefly blinded her. "But it was a great success!" Ariana giggled, using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

"Ahaha, it was! Come, let us collect the survivors. We still have a lot of things to do!" Ren laughed, nodding at her disciple.