"Well, fuck me..." Cassian muttered, his gaze locked on the sar. This wasn't just any second-circle warrior he was facing—this was the real deal, a third-circle powerhouse, and one that radiated a crushing pressure. He had no clue how those fleshy wings had sprouted behind him, but they sure looked like some bizarre mutation. That was another pressing issue he had to keep in mind while fighting him.
"Grab it..." Cassian tossed the green sword to Simon, who, much to his confusion, didn't have one of his own. A red sword appeared in Cassian's hand instead, leaving Simon too stunned to even ask where the hell it came from. Then, they heard it—the sound of those wings flapping, sending a blast of wind toward them. Before they could react, the sar was suddenly in front of Cassian, its black-domain-covered sword coming down fast. Cassian barely managed to stop it, his own blade barely catching the strike, just managing to wedge it between himself and the enemy's sword.
Though he'd been saved from getting sliced directly, the force behind that slash still tore into his skin and bone, sending him flying into a tree. Next, Simon wasn't so lucky—he took a massive black energy slash, crashing into another tree. It looked like he was done for. But just as the fight seemed to reach its peak, Sar stopped mid-strike, turning to deliver some classic bad guy monologue.
Sar soared through the air with effortless grace, his eyes flicking away from Simon, whose body was sprawled unnaturally, twisted with one arm bent in a way that only death could manage. The damage was severe enough that it seemed unlikely Simon would be getting up anytime soon. But Sar wasn't done—his gaze locked onto Cassian, who, despite the brutal blow, was slowly rising from the wreckage of the tree, his wounds healing with an almost unnatural speed.
Flapping his wings, Sar hovered above Cassian, a dark smile curling on his lips. "Where was that healing power when I was torturing you?" he taunted, his voice laced with mockery as he looked down at the bloodied warrior.
Cassian didn't respond, gritting his teeth as his broken bones took longer to heal than he would've liked—there were a lot of them. But thanks to his pain immunity, he pushed through it.
Cassian didn't answer, his broken bones taking their sweet time to heal—too many fractures to count. But thanks to his pain immunity, he shoved the agony aside, gritting his teeth and refusing to give Sar the satisfaction of a response. Sar, however, was all smiles.
"Don't wanna spill the beans? Fine, I couldn't care less," Sar sneered. "But here's the deal—I'm letting you off the hook for that little trap you set earlier. Wanna know why?" His sword gleamed as he raised it, and in the blink of an eye, he sliced downward. Cassian's arm dropped to the ground with a sickening crunch.
Sar's grin stretched wider, his voice dripping with malice. "Because now, I get to nibble on your precious meat forever with that healing trick of yours… and I won't even have to burn through a single healing potion. Guess you've just become my personal all-you-can-eat buffet."
Cassian's expression shifted to one of shock as he felt the overwhelming power difference, but before he could think about it, a massive surge of killing intent erupted from him, shocking Sar to his core. The air around Cassian thickened, and deep red, rope-like strands began to coil tightly around his body, forming a kind of armor. Even his face was obscured, wrapped horizontally in the same eerie red ropes. Sar's eyes widened in disbelief as he muttered, "That's... how you got it?" His voice faltered, now on high alert, quickly dropping into a defensive stance.
Meanwhile, Cassian, undeterred, drank down another blood potion, his healing speed accelerating as he grew back the arm Sar had just severed. Sar watched in stunned silence as Cassian's body shifted and mended with unnatural speed.
"Who are you?" Sar finally asked, his voice filled with a mix of confusion and cautious respect.
By then, Cassian had fully regrown his arm, his killing intent surging like a tidal wave, fueling his domain. His vision blurred with bloodlust, and his very blood seemed to boil in anticipation. Without a moment's hesitation, he shot forward, a streak of red flashing through the air, sending shockwaves in every direction. As his sword clashed with Sar's, the force vibrating through the ground, Cassian's voice came out cold and sharp, "The dead don't need to know..."
Cassian reveled in the new sensation, the raw excitement flooding through him with every strike. His instincts, sharpened by the bloodlust, kicked into overdrive, each move driven by a single, unrelenting goal—to kill. His blade moved with a deadly precision, slicing through the air with vicious intent. Every time Sar attempted to land a blow, Cassian was already a step ahead, dodging, countering, and slashing with relentless fury.
Sar's sword clanged against Cassian's with growing frustration, but none of his strikes ever landed. The killing domain wrapped around Cassian like a living thing, feeding his every move, his every swing. His body, now completely in tune with the bloodlust, moved faster, more decisively, like a predator stalking its prey.
The war armor seemed to be feeding off the bloodlust as well, its killing intent uncontrollable and pulsing in a way that made Sar feel the pressure bear down on him. He struggled to create distance, but Cassian's relentless assault pushed him to his limit. Finally, in a burst of frustration, Sar roared, "Ahhhh!" The sheer force of his scream sent a shockwave through the air, halting Cassian's attack mid-strike.
Cassian took a step back, his eyes narrowing as he watched Sar glow in a sickly grey light. Flesh wings unfurled from his back, surrounded by a greyish corona, a sight that sent a chill down Cassian's spine. His voice barely a whisper, Cassian muttered to himself, "Dark aura..."
It was exactly what Sar's underling had warned him about—something he'd only heard of in passing, but never expected to witness firsthand. Seeing it now, in the flesh, Cassian felt an unsettling shiver crawl up his spine. It wasn't just the power that disgusted him; there was something inherently wrong about it, a darkness that seeped into his very bones. He couldn't quite place why, but the sight of it made his stomach churn in a way he couldn't ignore.