Return of the Demon Sovereign (Book 1) [MxM]

14. Swiftmoore (3)

Before the Warring Era officially started, and when Erebus was learning to be the Demon Sovereign, Fenrir talked about the three types of bloodlust.

One was of divine righteousness. It was a bloodlust of virtue and integrity. Legend says this bloodlust belonged only to the Deities who had once walked the realms with the Titans. 

Another blood aura was of vengeance and retribution. It was cold, like a blizzard filled with dark rage that would bite into the enemy and devour them. It was the aura that Erebus radiated.

Finally, there was the malignant blood aura of one who killed simply for pleasure. It was a foul stench and filled with pointless slaughter and evil intentions. This man was easily the latter.

The man cackled and clapped his hands. "Shadowbane has an interesting new friend."

Leanne clenched her teeth. "Rancor, what are you doing here? If I recall, you have already turned in your Shadowbane Hunter token."

Rancor's face split with a grin. He caressed the Golden Mountain medallion on his belt and lifted it as if to boast. "I did. And replaced it with something better."

The pub grew quiet, and the patrons all stood with dark looks on their faces. However, no one approached Rancor because they noticed three people beside him. Their cultivation was slightly higher than average, and the people of Shadowbane were unsure if they had some ranking within Golden Mountain. They could start a fight but risked a sect grudge. Grudges could lead to war, and they could not carelessly put their sect brothers at risk.

Rancor turned his attention to Erebus. "Friend, I heard about you from the guards at the gate. Don't take my greeting personally. I just wanted to test if you're worth all the hype. I have to say, I'm not disappointed."

Erebus tilted his head and turned towards Castian. "Who is this?"

Castian lowered his head. "He was one of our top hunters but switched to Golden Mountain."

Erebus examined the group and used his mana to find the medallions on each of their persons. Each person had a hunter medallion, meaning they were not sect members. Based on his conversation with Olly, hunters held a lower status than sect members and were not protected the same. Plenty of hunters frequently fought and sparred.

Erebus smirked. "A top hunter? It's good that he ran to another sect. It would have turned a loss for Shadowbane if he remained, considering he scammed you."

Rancor growled with irritation, his hand still clutching the medallion. "Scammed?"

Erebus shrugged. "There's no other excuse for someone as weak as you to be considered a top hunter. You must have run from the Devils like a craven wretch. You're only ranked because you ambushed weakened hunters and plundered their spoils. If you truly fought a Devil, you would have known it is impossible to slay one with the low-level technique you just showed me."

"I am using a secret assassin technique that hasn't been broken." He said through clenched teeth.

"Hasn't been broken? Are you sure about that?" Erebus chuckled. His fingers held up the small knife. "Well, if you don't want to blame the technique, the fault lies on the cultivator who has besmirched it."

He moved his mana through his fingers and utilized the shadows around him. Like lightning, he threw the knife back at Rancor. It pierced deeply into the medallion and sunk into his palm. Rancor let out a yell when the pain registered in his mind.

Erebus sighed. "Is catching a knife with the palm of your hand a new technique? You may want to reconsider this move. I don't believe it is truly effective. Or perhaps your only skill in your repertoire is your loud mouth."