The instant the blast detonated, it completely obliterated the auction platform. However, as the smoke cleared, the pirate stationed near the stage remained completely unharmed. Seeing him stand casually amidst the fiery wreckage, I immediately deduced he had to be an Awakened from a Pathway related to explosions or combustion.
Isaac and I were perfectly fine, securely shielded inside the folded space of my Event Horizon.
Outside the dome, however, all hell broke loose.
The entire amphitheater erupted into absolute chaos. The crowd surged in every direction, screaming, crying, and trampling over one another. But the panic was immediately silenced by the pirate guarding the main exit. He raised a heavy rifle, fired a deafening warning shot into the vaulted stone ceiling, and then immediately lowered the barrel—blowing the head off a wealthy noble sitting in the front row.
The moment the man's brains splattered across the pristine stone floor, the sheer terror broke the crowd. The obscenely rich buyers instantly dropped to their knees, cowering behind the wooden benches. Some sobbed uncontrollably, desperately begging the Gods for salvation, while others simply fainted from the gruesome sight.
I didn't hesitate. I dropped the protective dome and pointed Isaac directly toward the red-haired captain.
"Secure the captain," I ordered coldly, drawing Bad News from my coat. "I'll take the guy by the stage. He'll be a massive problem for us later if we let him keep throwing bombs."
Isaac nodded, a dangerous glint replacing his lazy demeanor, and darted into the panicked crowd.
I instantly formed invisible spatial platforms under my boots, launching myself forward. But as I sprinted through the air above the screaming nobles, something in my peripheral vision caught my eye.
Sitting perfectly still in one of the middle rows were two very familiar faces.
Arthur and Sera.
They weren't panicking. They weren't taking cover. They were just casually sitting there, completely relaxed, watching the slaughter unfold as if they were enjoying a theatrical play. When Sera caught my eye through the slits of my Oni mask, the disguised Angel gave a subtle, elegant wave and actually winked at me—as if telling me to go ahead and handle the situation myself.
I scoffed internally, my Pride flaring. I am planning to kill these pirates for real, I thought, gripping the handle of my heavy hand-cannon. I don't need any reassurance or rescue from them. Ignoring the two overpowered monsters sitting in the audience, I refocused my gaze on the bomber near the stage, channeling my royal blue Ether.
The instant I moved closer to the bomber, he prepared to detonate himself again.
I quickly noticed a pattern: to trigger an explosion, he had to pinch his nose and point at his target—whether it was himself or me. Last time, he had pointed at himself to detonate his own location. But this time, seeing me charge at him, he pointed directly at my chest.
Because I couldn't use two or three applications of Event Horizon simultaneously, I didn't have time to switch my momentum into a defensive shield. The blast instantly hit my left arm, tearing a bloody, agonizing hole straight through my flesh.
"Shit, that hurts," I hissed through gritted teeth. Kallisto, activate Shadow Weave.
[System Notice: Activating Shadow Weave.] [System Notice: Healing complete, Lucian.]
The wound rapidly knitted itself back together, leaving fresh, unblemished skin. So he isn't stronger than me, I realized. He must be at the exact same Tier. If he was a higher Tier, that blast would have blown my arm off entirely or killed me outright.
Glancing back to check on Isaac, I saw the idiot casually pull a matchstick from his coat pocket.
What the hell are you doing at a time like this? I thought.
But he wasn't just lighting a smoke. Isaac flicked the unlit matchstick straight toward the red-haired captain, snapped his fingers, and instantly teleported to exactly where the match was traveling.
"You know me," Isaac taunted, suddenly appearing right in front of the captain. He drew the ornate sword he had just bought from the market and swung a heavy, horizontal strike.
But Isaac's swing was deliberately slow—he was taking his sweet time to show off. The captain easily blocked the blade and quickly retreated toward the stage, with Isaac casually strolling after him.
He can handle him, I decided, turning my attention completely back to the bomber. I knew this guy wasn't physically strong, but his explosive Pathway was a massive problem. I funneled my Ether into Event Horizon, creating a spatial shield of infinite distance directly in front of me, and advanced.
He pinched his nose and fired another blast, but the explosion harmlessly dissipated against the folded space of my shield.
"Oh?" he gasped, genuinely surprised. Then he sneered. "Well, let's see how long you can last!"
He raised both hands, pinching his nose and pointing furiously, volleying chain explosions at me. Nothing got through the shield. I raised Bad News and fired a compressed royal blue Ether round straight at his head. But he reacted instantly—he pointed his finger directly at my bullet. The explosion and my Ether round collided mid-air, canceling each other out in a blinding, deafening flash.
Ranged combat wasn't going to work. Time to try something else. "Isaac! Let's switch!" I yelled across the chaotic amphitheater.
Isaac didn't hesitate. He tossed his sword high into the air toward me, and I violently chucked my heavy hand-cannon straight to him.
I caught the hilt of the blade perfectly, the leather grip sinking into my palm. "Okay, it's been a long time, my friend," I muttered, the weight of the steel instantly reminding me of the brutal close-quarters combat of my first trial.
I dashed forward to sever his head, but the bomber just kept spamming his explosions, showing absolutely no signs of Ether fatigue.
He aimed a massive, point-blank blast straight at my face. I didn't try to block it. I leaped, twisting upside down in mid-air to completely dodge the expanding shockwave. I landed perfectly behind him, brought the sword up in a blinding arc, and executed a clean, brutal sweep.
The blade sheared effortlessly through his neck. His severed head hit the stone floor before his body even registered that it was dead.
"Perfect hunt," I whispered, flicking the blood off the steel blade.
I turned to check on Isaac's fight with the red-haired captain. But as the adrenaline slightly faded, a chilling realization hit me like a bucket of ice water. In the chaos of the fight, I had completely missed two major pieces on the board.
The sniper guarding the main exit... and the fourth crewmate sitting right beside the captain's empty seat.
I immediately locked my eyes onto the sniper guarding the main exit. He was violently trembling just from watching me butcher his comrade. Since I knew he wasn't physically strong, I gave him an instant goodnight's sleep. I manipulated Event Horizon directly around his face, creating a localized vacuum of space. He suffocated and collapsed, dead before he even hit the floor.
That just left the fourth guy. I quickly scanned the chaotic amphitheater, but I couldn't find him anywhere. Is he a shadow type? Like that Devil I fought back in Sector 2?
I kept my Event Horizon active as an infinite spatial shield and rushed forward to help Isaac. Mid-sprint, a jagged dagger materialized out of thin air, thrusting directly at my eye. It harmlessly deflected off my folded space, but it confirmed one thing: the fourth guy was right here, hiding in the unseen dimensions.
Ahh, this is annoying. I couldn't use offensive spatial applications while maintaining the infinite shield. And I couldn't use the King's Aura to crush him because I couldn't actually see him to establish a target.
Across the stage, Isaac was genuinely struggling. He was desperately avoiding using his cursed glove, but the red-haired captain was pressing him hard. "We don't have time, Isaac!" I shouted over the screaming crowd. "With all this commotion, the King's authorities will be here any second!"
My warning distracted Isaac for a split second. The red-haired captain grinned viciously, drew a small flintlock pistol hidden in his boot, and fired a shot straight at Isaac's chest at point-blank range.
But in that exact instant, Isaac raised his right hand. The golden threads on the black glove flared to life. A grotesque, spectral monster's face with jagged teeth manifested directly over his palm, snapping its jaws shut and completely devouring the bullet mid-air.
I was dumbfounded. So that is the Weeping Gluttony.
"Shit! Now I can only use it two more times before I go crazy!" Isaac shouted, visibly panicked.
Since Isaac still had Bad News, he quickly fired off several royal blue Ether rounds. But nothing happened. Every bullet that approached the captain was instantly swallowed by a thick, swirling wall of absolute darkness manifesting in front of him.
"Do you see how magnificent the power of the Devil Pathway truly is?!" the red-haired captain roared.
So, he's from the Devil Pathway, I noted grimly.
I briefly glanced over at Arthur and Sera in the stands. They still weren't making a move to help. And from the sheer pressure radiating off the captain's darkness, it was obvious the red-haired guy was a higher Tier than both me and Isaac.
Ahh, this is driving me crazy.
"You there. I am really not in a good mood right now," I said aloud to the empty air, speaking directly to the hidden assassin.
"Switch back with me, Lucifer!" Isaac yelled as he realized the gun was useless against the captain's dark shield.
We swapped weapons again. I caught the heavy frame of Bad News and tossed him back his ornate sword.
"Now, if you don't show yourself, you better be careful," I warned the empty space, my patience for this hide-and-seek game completely exhausted.
On the stage, Isaac went back to constantly lighting and flicking matchsticks, desperately teleporting around to dodge the captain's massive dark attacks. But I knew he was going to run out of matches soon.
I deactivated my defensive Event Horizon. Let's see if this works. I closed my eyes, focused purely on my spatial perception, and reached out. I grabbed the thin, invisible fabric of reality concealing the assassin—and I violently pulled it apart.
The spatial tear instantly ripped away the illusion, exposing the fourth man hiding right in front of me in the darkness.
"The only good Devils are dead Devils," I sneered.
I raised Bad News and fired a condensed shot point-blank into his skull. The sharp smell of burnt Ether smoke filled the air as his body crumpled to the floor.
"Good."
I turned my heavy hand-cannon toward the stage. Now, onto the final guy.