The man wearing the black suit emitted a very oppressive aura that made almost everyone in the arena look up in fear. The man then made an elegant bow as he smiled at everyone present.
"Good day ladies and gentlemen. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Nyarlom. Since it's our first meeting how about we play a little game to ease the tension?" Nyarlom smiled sinisterly as a black aura spread out of him. The black aura then surrounded the whole arena covering it in a black mist.
Nyarlom noticed that he wasn't able to trap all of the people present, and clicked his tongue. He was a bit irritated that the malice he absorbed wasn't enough to cover beyond the arena, but of course, he didn't show on his face as he continued to smile that sinister-looking smile of his.
"The rules of the game are simple. If you're able to kill one person within an hour, I'll allow you to live. If you don't kill anyone when the time runs out, then you get to die by my hands. Also, if no one kills within two minutes, I'll kill a dozen of you. Also, if you guys continue not to kill anyone, for every two minutes I'll kill more and more of you and when one hour runs out, I'll just kill all of you. Simple and easy to understand, right?"
When the people heard what Nyarlom said they started trembling in fear. The children were crying as were their mothers and fathers. Valdel wanted to say something but the thunder strike he blocked was more powerful than he thought and he was paralyzed for the time being.
Zwei and Nika started running towards him. Natasha looked at Nyarlom and was reminded of that Shadow figure that attacked the Temple of Justice. Yet unlike that thing, Nyarlom felt even more ominous.
"Why should we do as you say?! The Grand Mage will protect us from the likes of you! So you better run now or beg for forgiveness!" One of the High Mages could no longer take it and shouted at Nyarlom.
When Nyarlom heard what the High Mage was saying he tilted his head and looked a bit confused. After acting like he was pondering about something, Nyarlom tapped his forehead with his fingers and spoke.
"Oh the Grand Mage, I was wondering who that was. Is it perhaps this guy?" Nyarlom summoned the head of an old man onto his right hand. This was something he got from Nero and the others when he was still collaborating with them. Nyarlom tossed the head onto the floor in front of the High Mage.
Seeing the decapitated head most of the people started screaming. On the other hand, the high mages, the royal guards, and the royal family looked at the decapitated head in pure silent horror.
There was no use denying it, that was the head of the Grand Mage. The first thing that came to mind when they saw the head was to deny its authenticity, but after a few seconds of thought some scenes from the past started to click together in their heads. This would explain why the Grand Mage was acting weird as of late and why he hasn't shown himself for a few months now.
Even the confident Henrietta gulped dryly as she saw the head of the Grand Mage. Aside from Kretos the Grand Mage was the only other human she acknowledged as powerful. Seeing that person fall without anyone noticing was a huge blow to her.
...
Nyarlom felt ecstatic as the fear and malice he was absorbing had doubled. If this continued he would be able to release a quarter of his true power. As he was happily absorbing the malice of the people around, Nyarlom's body that was floating above ground shifted to the side.
Lara who initiated a surprise attack was surprised as she had missed her target. Nyarlom caught Lara's leg and spoke with a voice that sounded astonished.
"Oh, who knew that someone here could use the element of darkness to such a degree. I wonder who your teacher was. So-" While Nyarlom was talking he stopped as a sword wave sliced off the hand that was holding onto Lara. Lara who was freed from Nyarlom's grip landed on the ground safely.
"Oh quite feisty aren't we." Nyarlom showed Valdel who attacked him the stub were his hand used to be and then from that stub a new hand grew back. Seeing that scene Valdel frowned, even Ren couldn't regrow a hand like that.
Valdel gripped Zwei that was in her sword form and got ready for Nyarlom's retaliation. Lara stood beside Valdel and so did Natasha. Henrietta, Afeus, and the other brave mages went onto the stage and gathered around Valdel. The other tournament contestants that lost all gathered onto the stage as well and glared at Nyarlom.
"Oh, what's this, are you guys planning to fight me? You guys are adorable, and just for that you guys get a prize." Nyarlom snapped his fingers and a black aura that was the same as the one covering the arena had covered the stage as well. The people on the stage could no longer be seen by the audience as a black mist enveloped the area.
On the other hand, the people on the stage could see beyond the black mist. They had a good view of what was happening outside. Valdel and the others inside this sphere of darkness tried attacking the mist but no matter what they did it wouldn't disperse.
"This is your prize, front row seats to watch the wonderful chaos that will ensue!"
Seeing how easily Nyarlom trapped the powerful mages and contestants, the audience were suffocating in their anxiety. The whole arena was silent as they didn't know what to do. After a few minutes, Nyarlom spoke again.
"Oh this is disappointing, two minutes have passed and no one has killed anybody. You know what that means, I need to kill a dozen of you guys as an example. So who should I kill first?" Nyarlom looked around as the people recoiled from his staring eyes. Many tried to make themselves look smaller so Nyarlom wouldn't notice them.
After looking around for a bit Nyarlom stopped as he stared at the royal family. When the King saw Nyarlom looking at him and his family he stood up from his seat. The royal guards stood in front of the king and his family, but the king signaled them to stop.
"Oh, is there something you want to say?" Nyarlom asked the king. The king looked at the demon floating above him and did not falter from the demon's gaze.
"I am known as a foolish king by my people. Surely if I die nothing will change as I am worthless as a person and as a king." The king then looked at his frightened citizens and spoke in a louder voice.
"But today I stand against this evil being! If even I the foolish king, the most worthless of all can stand against this evil incarnate, surely all of you can do the same! If we-" The King stopped talking as he saw his wife, children, and even the royal guards were blowing up beside him.
"Sorry you're speech was taking too long and I got bored. Well, I'm not bored now, so do you still want to continue what you want to say?"
The King of the Serbek Kingdom looked at the mist of blood that covered him and was unable to process what had happened. After a while, he looked at Nyarlom in anger and despair. As the King was about to shout at Nyarlom, his head exploded.
"You took too long to speak so I just went ahead and killed you. Oh wait, who am I talking to you're already dead. HAHAHAHAHA!" Nyarlom's wild and crazed laughter echoed throughout the arena. After laughing for a while, Nyarlom turned around and saw some of the people in the audience were looking at him with anger, and a little bit of courage.
"Hmm, this is getting boring, so I'm changing the rules a bit. If no one kills in the count of three, I'm going to annihilate everyone on this side of the arena." Nyarlom pointed at the northern side of the arena.
"One"
"Tw-" Nyarlom wasn't even done saying two when one man suddenly stabbed the one woman beside him. The woman who was his girlfriend looked at the man in shock. As if that was the true signal, the people on the Northern side of the arena started killing each other. It wasn't just the Northern side but everyone in the arena started killing one another.
There were even some mothers who helped their children to kill them, their mothers. Of course, there were many who tried to kill the children first since they were the easier targets.
Valdel who was watching this horrific scene while being trapped in the barrier made by Nyarlom was outraged. He tried with all his might to break free from the barrier but it was to no avail. Even with the help of the people trapped with him, they couldn't break free. He screamed and shouted for the people to stop but no one could hear him.
On the other hand, Nyarlom who was watching the killings from above was feeling a thrill like no other.
"WHAT WONDERFUL, GLORIOUS CHAOS!"