Chapter 27: Unity Sealed In Blood
Darian and Niara were in shock. She ran ahead, seeing more and more fallen beast corpses scattered around. There were hundreds of them, like the entire race had been wiped out. None of them were alive; their bodies had been cut by powerful blades, many missing limbs or completely sliced apart.
"It was those bastards from Bloodkill Claw!" Niara quickly concluded.
Darian took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He looked at her, and she quickly explained.
That was an independent Mannaz sect that had existed for countless eras in this universe, even before the Risen showed up.
They were basically hired assassins. If the price was right, they'd kill any normal person. They didn't accept Summoners as targets, since that was nearly impossible, and the Academy would retaliate hard.
They weren't particularly strong. A Summoner, or even Niara alone, could wipe out as many as needed. But against regular people in this universe, they were deadly.
When the Risen appeared, these assassins didn't change. They trained and lived to control and maintain "unity" in the universe... a unity sealed in blood, of course.
The Academy let them continue working because it needed things to stay in order, with the Mannaz following the rules and being watched.
Surviving against the enemies of this universe wasn't easy. They weren't just attacked directly, but also poisoned from the inside. In the past, there had been cases of Mannaz joining the Risen, which caused the fall of many galaxies.