Killian met that stare without flinching.

A faint smirk touched his lips. It amused him, even if he couldn’t spare any funny bones in the current situation.

"Didn’t you want to play?"

The orc priest staggered, and one knee bent to the ground as Killian pushed him further down. His regeneration slowed at his shoulders, and his eyes gradually widened in panic

His glare softened to almost a plea.

Killian lessened the pressure, letting him rise on one knee, then forcing him back step by step.

’Now it was working.’

His left hand compressed his flames into a thin focused point that sucked the air around it. In one movement, he slammed his bat against the orc priest’s head, pushing him against a pillar.

The flames also released from his palm, piercing through the air and slicing the neck of a younger orc priest who was cautiously forming a fireball. He dropped instantly, a smoking hole burned through his neck.

The other orcs collapsed on the ground with the body. They grabbed it, trembling as they moved away from Killian.

"You think I wouldn’t notice." Killian clicked his tongue. "Any heat produced that isn’t mine, I will know."

A female orc screamed as she moved. An impressive amount of fire pulled within her palm.

"No... no..." the priest tried to call out but his voice was weak.

STAB!

Killian let her get close, before striking her neck with the dagger connected to his garter. "In your next life."

He pushed her body back, and it fell on the tendrils that scampered onto it like they did the first younger orc.

The last young orc shook, staying in place, not even breathing in case that would be his sin. Tears streamed from his eyes as Killian moved towards him, but went past heading to the door.

The orc priest tried to stand, but the pain had affected his sense of balance. He stretched his hand towards his students that were being wrapped by the Void.

"You... you said you wouldn’t use the Void."

Killian hummed. "If they didn’t move, no?"

The orc priest’s stretched hand slowly clenched, and his jaw tightened.

"You look down on us, don’t you? Unlike you humans who are chosen, we orcs are nothing but fodder for your glory."

Killian slammed the bat on the door but the padlock didn’t budge. He noticed the rune on the door, and he hissed.

The door would only be able to open under specific situations. He turned to the orc priest.

"Open this. My sister is waiting." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The orc priest forced a grin. He jerked his body off as he left the ground, crawling towards the girl’s body. He brushed her hair softly before leaving the ground.

"Play with me some more."

Killian’s eyes narrowed at him.

The wound on his skin was still deep and bleeding. There were only a few movements he could do with such a grave wound.

He couldn’t decide if the orc priest was being vengeful or gave up and just wanted to die. And if the latter was the case, was that brave or cowardly?

The only reason Killian wanted to let him slowly die instead of doing it himself was because he respected the protective instincts of the orc priest who took the fight away from the younger orcs.

"I also have someone I don’t want to die. I don’t have time."

The priest rolled his shoulders, exhaling. He sounded almost pleased, like the pain was something to enjoy. The grin returned to his face and felt more genuine.

Killian clicked his tongue softly.

He swirled his bat, advancing quickly towards the priest, aiming for his neck. The Void-Bat crashed down, but the priest dodged.

The strike grazed over him as he hurried back forcing the fight into tighter quarters where swings lost their edge. Killian followed him, forming fire balls in his arms.

The fire flickered in his palm, an indication that his mana was getting into reserves. He stared at it for a second, before extinguishing it and holding his Void-Bat again.

’I will just give him what he wants.’

’Opening that door is most important right now.’

Killian thrust the bat into the priest’s side, only for the orc priest to catch it. Barehanded.

Heat flared across his palm, crawling up his arm as he held it there, grip tightening despite the burn of the Void on his bare palm.

Killian pulled once, but the priest didn’t let go.

Instead, the priest leaned in, and headbutted.

Killian shifted aside, but the hit grazed him enough to force space between them. The faint tension in his movement showed his hesitation.

Then, the next hit landed. The priest’s fist slammed Killian across the face.

Killian staggered back, his head snapping to the side. Blood slid from the corner of his mouth. He spat it out slowly, rubbing his lips.

He stared at it blankly, and lifted his head when the priest burst out in laughter.

"Oh, you, void-born. Do you think I’d feel better if you let me hit you?" The priest’s body crashed into the pillar tiredly.

The punch had taken his strength. The stone pillar he fell on cracked but didn’t give way.

"For a voidborn, you actually have a heart. But a punch can’t replace the students that you killed." His eyes moved towards the tendrils that still moved leisurely over their corpses.

"You..." he rasped. "...are pretty strong."

Fire erupted outward from him. A last attempt to do anything about his situation. His fire surged across the tendrils, engulfing them completely.

The temperature rose quickly and the orbs of heat around Killian worked overtime to absorb everything.

However the tendrils absorbed the fire instead of burning under it. The priest’s expression shifted. Confusion, then realization and acceptance.

Killian walked forward. "Thanks for feeding them," he said, voice flat. "I will leave you corpses to bury."

Behind him, the tendrils responded, moving away from the corpse of the two students and returning to Killian.

The priest nodded and the last trembling student struggled to his feet, his hands quickly working to open the padlock.

A soothing breeze washed over Killian’s frame as he stepped out the door. The smaller temple was ahead. He hurried towards it, his breathing growing quicker.

He kicked the door open, looking around. His narrowed eyes raised when he laid eyes on the large bed that filled the whole room. Naked orc women sprawled on the bed, trembling and holding onto an orc lying on the bed, with long golden hair.

"Scion of Darkness. You finally arrived."

Killian narrowed his eyes at the figure that slowly rose from the bed. He didn’t recognize him as the one he was supposed to meet.

This person was just another orc through and through.

Yet. He felt his tendrils lose their agility at his mere presence.

"You are a demoted angel too, aren’t you?"