Aurora Scroll

By reaching the hidden floor beyond the fifth, Tanael felt Freya had successfully fallen into his two-fold trap.

After his talk with Cedric, realizing he shouldn't kill him, the villain repurposed the otherworlder into a liability.

The wound on him would make Freya go to seek treatment for him instead of chasing Tanael. He’d also led Cedric to believe he was after the ‘domesticated’ otherworlders under the Church’s care.

Without question the domesticated otherworlders had their uses, but Tanael aimed for another prize.

Besides the Sanctuary -the glorified otherworlders kennel- the fifth floor connected to other hidden spaces. Tanael knew two others: the place with the Realm Core and what the prison guards called the hidden floor.

Basically it was where the worst of the worst Tower of Remorse’s convicts went. They were so evil that the Church tried to erase their existence. In other words, it was the sixth level of Impel Down and that’s what drew Tanael here.

He would shanghai the miscreants to his ship just like Blackbeard did, then attack Marineford to kill Whitebeard during the chaos of war and take his earthquake power!

Wait, wrong story! Oh dear, the venue is so similar I got lost. Teeheeheehee.

Tanael was having so much fun.

Whether the hidden convicts would give more benefits than the otherworlders, Tanael didn't know. It was apples and oranges, both had their good points. Ultimately, Tanael chose the convicts. He also didn't wish for otherworlders to be freely walking the surface. The less of them, the better.

Incidentally, the baby dungeon core from whom Viers gained the potent booster drug Nutra was caught and currently in the Sanctuary. Their reunion was not meant to be, perhaps forever. Tanael already cut any possibility of visiting Sanctuary after leading Freya to stand guard at its entrance. The hidden floor was where his evil plan culminated.

Because of its nature, the hidden floor was known to a select few even among the Tower guards. The floor was named Bleeding Hearts.

By recruiting these big-shot convicts, probably all Level 5s, Tanael would become a major power in the Continent!

And it would also put a major target on his back, especially from the Church. He would like to pull this jailbreak when he was at least a Level 5 but the window of opportunity arrived and he had to take the shot or lose it.

Now then, with Freya splendidly lured away, ready or not... Here’s Tanael!

Tanael put his game face on and activated an Arte. Dark smoke began covering his body.

***

Terrance wondered if he would die today.

He shouldn't even be here today. It was his day off but he was covering a fellow guard’s shift who had a sudden family emergency. He only agreed because the guy promised to give him extra money, money that he would use for ale funds.

Terrance thought, what was the harm? Every day in the Tower of Remorse was a routine anyway. By all that was holy, how could he know that on this day the impregnable prison would face an unprecedented catastrophic security breach?

What did he do to deserve this? Was it because he sometimes slept with his neighbor’s wife? Was this the way the Goddess punished him?

“Fuck me...” Terrance sighed as his surroundings were abuzz with armed guards.

“The intruders have arrived! Look alive, men! We are the 6th Riot Force! The blackguard intruder son of a whore will be sorry that he was ever born when we finish with him! Who are we?”

“The 6th!”

“What do we do?”

“Kick ass!”

“Do you mean it?”

“YEAH!”

“I CAN'T HEAR YOU!”

“YEEEEEEEEAAAAHH!!!”

“Fantastic! I feel sorry for the bastards who comes to face us! We will crush them to paste and feed them to the pigs! HOOOOAAAH!”

The 6th responded with a warcry of their own. Terrance felt a bit of hope feeling their enthusiastic Victa. The 6th Riot Force’s leader, Captain Ernesto’s had a dependable personality and the voice that could put a fire inside your bellies even in the coldest nights.

Terrance wasn't with the 6th Riot Force. When convicts sometimes broke free of their cell and caused a ruckus, the Riot Force were the ones who would fix the situation and the 6th was the strongest of them all, the best of the best. A dozen of Level 4 veterans, including their leader. By these men, Terrance witnessed that even the most bloodthirsty criminals were brought to heel like trained puppies.

But Terrance was not cut from the same cloth. He was just an ordinary guard that delivered meals to the special prisoners of the hidden floor. The person that managed to enter the Tower of Remorse and get this deep must be extraordinary. Terrance would be killed like a mosquito if he fought them.

Perhaps the 6th could take care of the intruders without him lifting a finger? A man could only hope. But he must still show an effort so he was among the 6th’s backline, weapon in hand.

They were in a hallway. They knew the teleportation way point to the hidden floor had been activated. Terrance didn't know if he should be happy that the Warden had the foresight to post the 6th here as a last resort or hate the man for not coming himself and dealing with this problem. He was the freakin’ Warden, right? He had one job! Just one!

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Holy shit... Why is this happening? He tried to stop his trembling hand but the hand had a mind of its own at the moment.

Seeing the dimly lit hallway, Terrance was reminded that the only thing standing between him and the scary intruders was a closed enchanted door and twelve people of the 6th. Nowhere near enough to erase the fear in his heart but there was nothing else to do but pray. Either the intruders went through them, or stopped here completely. There was no other way.

“He’s coming!” Ernesto shouted. “Brace!”

It’s beginning!

Terrance felt power from the other side creep this way. It was slower and not as oppressive as he thought it would be. And yet, as it approached, the lights dimmed.

One by one, the hallway’s lamps winked out, like breaths smothered by an invisible pillow, suffocating.

The door was completely shrouded by darkness now, thankfully, there were still lights coming from behind Terrance and the 6th so the hallways weren't completely dark.

“Flares, cap?” Someone asked for permission.

“Hold,” Ernesto said.

The darkness was oppressive, then it screeched. It made Terrance’s heart skip a beat until he realized it wasn't the darkness but the sound of the metal door being pried open.

The silence was like a windless, moonless night in the wilderness. The feeling that something was out there in the dark, watching you, waiting for the right moment to bite at your jugular.

Until the being in the dark made its presence known.

Out of the six senses Terrance had, it was his ears that detected the sign. His mana sense that should be the sharpest of the six was powerless before the darkness.

The sound of breathing.

Not normal human sound, but long and deep, as if muffled by something else. Whatever it was, it made Terrance sweat bullets. There was no echo of footsteps, just one set of bizarre inhales and exhales.

His descent into fear was shallow because soon, the unknown broke the veil of darkness on their own.

By igniting a red... rod?

The red light showed the form of the assailant. He stood on his own, without anyone at his side or back. Did he come here alone? He wore a black unusual helmet that covered his entire face and his armor also entirely black with a cape that reached his feet. Despite the full armored form, the physique showed he was a man. As the glowing stick cast its light on its wielder, it made a humming sound. There he stood, appraising the 6th Riot Force in front of him.

The way the man showed not a single hint of fear unsettled Terrance.

He wasn't the only one that felt the intruder felt strange. Ernesto ordered an attack.

“Light ‘em up!”

The 6th used their ranged attacks. Terrance followed suit. The hallway was narrow so there was nowhere for the intruder to run or hide.

Turns out, he didn't need to.

The intruder moved for the first time, responding to the deadly Artes coming his way. He swung the glowing red rod and cut apart the incoming attacks with horrifying ease and finesse.

While Terrance wondered what the heck was that red rod, Ernesto began their next strategy, Domain Crusher.

Terrance had seen them use it in action. The gist of it was that one of them attempted to engulf the target in their Imaginary Domain. The target would then use their own Domain to prevent being engulfed, but instead of the standard Domain battle, the 6th forcefully hammered their Domain against the target to damage it. If the target Domain was not crushed, the next person from the 6th would repeat the process until the target couldn't open their Domain again and be forced to fight in an Imaginary Domain without one of their own.

The 6th had refined this simple technique to a very high degree; the twelve of them could batter a target with twelve hits within two seconds. It sounded simple but for this technique to work, the caveat was that each person’s Domain normally cancels another’s, whether it was an ally or not. But the 6th could pull it off. Terrance refrained from joining in because opening his Domain would interrupt the 6th, causing more harm than good.

And yet, the intruder bore the brunt of the twelve Domain battering rams with the steadiness of a towering mountain.

The intruder Domain remained steadfast, while one after another, the 6th’s Domain broke apart. Even Ernesto’s Domain failed.

It was like throwing twelve eggs at a rock wall. The eggs broke first.

The intruder didn't stop walking. He had won the Domain battle and could have brought them all into his killing ground but he didn't do so. With confident steps, he marched forward.

It was like the men of the 6th were mere pebbles on the road for him. Terrance could understand if the intruder was a Level 5 against a bunch of Level 4 but he was not! He was just a Level 4 mid! What was going on? This was not right. Each of the 6th had a higher Level than the intruder so why was this happening!?

One normal step after another, the intruder approached steadily and without haste. The 6th and Terrance kept their barrage of Arte but that red rod of his, with each swing the touched Arte was cut apart. Water, wind, mist, nothing worked. Even Ernesto’s Gravity Sphere was split into two and lost its effect. Meanwhile the intruder didn't even have a single injury.

One of the 6th, the closest, charged to engage in a melee. With ranged battle failed, this was the only option left. The prison guard tried to hit the intruder with his electrified baton. The intruder adjusted his weapon to block.

Terrance saw that the red rod melted the baton then proceeded to sever the upper half of the man’s face. His mouth was agape. The red rod, it was not a rod at all! It was a flaming sword! He’d never seen anything like it. He should have guessed it, seeing the intruder wield the glowing weapon on its metal hilt just like a sword. And what unbelievable heat edge it had. How... marvelous. It made Terrance forget his life was in danger for the faintest of moments.

The 6th didn't retreat. One after another they threw whatever they had at the intruder, once he got close enough, they even threw themselves at him in an attempt to bring the intruder down with them.

The intruder revealed another one of his powers. As one of the 6th lunged at him, he lifted the guard without touching, pressing him against the low ceiling. When he walked past him, he slashed his gut without turning his head.

Terrance was grateful for the lack of gore because the red sword cauterized the wounds almost instantly. He couldn't imagine what it’s like to be cut by the immolator sword.

The stranger’s telekinesis proved to be as potent as the terrifying sword. Terrance saw him stopped an Arte as it launched towards him and pushed it back to the caster just by waving his hand. He could slam a man to the wall with enough force to cave his head in. He disarmed them of their weapons just as easily, which then they fell prey to the sword. Several severed heads were tumbling down the floor, expression of shock and fear eternal.

With each member of the 6th that fell, desperation grew more staunch for the rest. Someone even tried to detonate himself in a suicide attack but the stranger incredibly contained the explosion in a sphere that he compressed until it winked out of existence.

Who the fuck can do that!?

When it was his turn, Captain Ernesto was lifted into the air, making sounds as if he were being choked. The stranger thrust the sword into the captain's chest. Terrance’s mana sense told him that the man died instantly but what he didn't expect to see was how Ernesto’s middle torso turned into melted goop.

Just a couple of seconds with the sword in his chest and the flesh and blood of the human body transformed into melted ice cream. Terrance was about to hurl.

The stranger with the glowing red sword massacred them like helpless chickens. That deep breathing of his would hound him in his nightmares.

After Ernesto’s death, there were still four more men alive from the 6th Riot Force but Terrance had no faith that they could stop the walking calamity.

...Fuck this shit.

Terrance dropped his riot baton and shield, about-faced, and ran.

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Chapter 514 - Darth Tanael