Killian’s expression darkened at the figures as he saw the emblem on their robes. It was unmistakably the Light Sigil.

A dignified emblem on the robes of monsters was an insult to everything he stood for as a Warden. They sullied it.

"Do they? They are just like you. Wardens of their own Realm?"

Killian gritted his teeth at how right he was, even if he didn’t want to accept it.

He spoke up. "Where is the Warden that came here? What did you do to her?"

The figures stared blankly at him, their eyes being a hollow black orb that seemed to hold nothing. He walked closer, noticing one of them digging into his robe.

"I asked you a question. Don’t play dumb."

He knew they understood him. They were more advanced than the last orcs he fought.

SHING!

Large scissors cut through the air in an instant.

Killian dodged it by a hair’s breadth, leaning back, and watching it slice past where his throat had been.

<Shadow Writhe> <Umbral Override>

<Ablaze> <Orbs of Scorch>

All skills were activated, with the last two on standby.

One orc rushed forward, fist clenched, and her green knuckles aimed to cave his ribs in.

At the same time, the second closed the distance, his scissors snapping in at Killian and trying to trap his movement.

Burning tendrils twisted in the space around Killian as he shifted, letting them shoot forward from under his arms.

A group of tendrils grabbed the female orc mid-punch, raising her into the air.

Killian’s bat descended on the head of the scissors wielder quicker than the orc could snap his weapon.

A kick followed, slamming the orc to the ground. The head burst open on impact, and the orc never moved again.

A shrill scream erupted in the forest, scattering the birds, as the tendrils devoured the female orc limb by limb.

Her screams and spatter of blood irked Killian but he kept his feet on the head of the dead orc.

[Capacity: 90 → 114]

Killian glanced briefly at his interface, then back at the last one who stood calmly, unaffected by the deaths happening.

Killian hummed, gripping his green-stained Void-Bat.

There was no reaction from the last orc. "I ask again, where did you keep my sister?" Killian raised his arm to throw his weapon. "Or do you need me to break your mouth open?"

The orc jumped back, before the Void-Bat even left his hand.

Killian huffed, looking down at the tendrils that were about to mark the orc. "So you can move? That means you are physically here."

As he spoke, his tendrils spread across the vicinity, eating everything that obstructed its path; corpse, rock or grass, sucking its ambient mana with it.

The nearby trees were marked by darkness. Meanwhile, three orcs walked out from the trees, dodging the tendrils that covered the area. They surrounded the last orc protectively.

Killian deduced he was their leader.

The orc leader glanced at the tendrils, a small frown creasing his forehead. "You are a Scion of Darkness, aren’t you? And worse, a Void-Born."

He looked back at Killian. "The girl is with our patron."

"I keep getting nicknames that I don’t care for. Where is your patron then?"

There was no response from them so Killian decided there and then. The quicker he forced him to spill the location of the patron, the closer he’d be to finding Quara.

"Since you don’t care about dying, I’d make it quick."

"You are a necessary practice," another orc said. "If we die, it just means we weren’t strong enough."

The detachment in the orc’s tone caused Killian to hesitate. He took his leg off the corpse under him as it suddenly disgusted him. "So you are puppets of your leader to die for his game?"

He glanced at the familiar emblem on their robes. The same one on his badge. The similarity of their path irritated him. "I haven’t seen such foolishness."

The tendrils had covered every path on the ground. More tendrils grew from the shadows of the trees, supplying more range than Killian’s mana would’ve accounted for.

They completely ate through the grasslands and rocks. They trapped the orcs at the corner of the forest where they stood, writhing darkly with faint intent.

That should be enough to let them know their place.

Yet Killian heard the leader’s command. His voice was sharp and absolute.

"Kill him."

Killian paused, turning halfway to watch the foolishness.

One by one the orcs stepped forward, their boots sinking into the tendrils while they bit down their lower lips in pain.

The tendrils ate their soles away, gnawing at their mana and wrapping their ankles. With deliberate pressure, the tendrils snapped their ankles, letting them fall to their surface.

"Argh! Argh!" Screams of agony came from the party of orcs.

Killian looked away, and ordered with a tone of finality.

"Eat them whole. Just as I taught you."

The tendrils spread like a mattress over the ground, increasing their range and hastening the orcs’ descent into their living abyss.

The orcs dragged themselves and scrambled for survival but their limbs disappeared beneath the mass of shadows.

Their screams did nothing to reduce their pain nor increase it.

The tendrils just ate. The last thing visible was their hands, reaching out to their leader, before they were erased.

The orc leader’s expression faltered, watching his subordinates get swallowed. No remains.

Only blood darkened the surface, seeping into the tendrils that drank it without haste. He staggered back, his eyes widening as he saw the Void element in action for the first time.

The tendrils reclaimed the space his subordinates had taken, creeping onwards with quiet inevitability and a promise that he was next. His knees hit the ground with a dull thud.

Silence followed. Only the tendrils’ movement could be heard within the forest, and the leader’s heavy breathing.

[Capacity: 114 → 150]

[New Skill Series Available!]

Killian’s eyes remained blank. He turned fully to the orc leader, his red eyes narrowing at his surrendered body.

"Now, let us try again. Where is my sister?"