Chapter 256 - 256 Deadly Meeting (2)

Having stood up and declared that he was going to kill everyone in the room, Obadiah was stunned, since from his perspective Marcus was the one caught in their trap with no way out.

Marcus was here alone and surrounded by armed guards on all sides that were the same if not higher level from Obadiah's knowledge. 

This just did not make any sense from his point of view, but since this was how things were going, he could only sigh and say, "Go ahead and restrain her, it looks like we will be doing this hard way."

Obadiah had been hoping to get Marcus' consent since torturing people into submission normally made their work sloppier, but this was the choice Marcus was forcing him to make.

However, as the seven guards in the room and the four above pulled out their weapons and got ready to apprehend Marcus, they all felt a sudden sense of danger.

In just an instance the tendrils of shadow Marcus had already hidden next to each of the guards sprang into action ensnaring many of them who were too slow to react.

Nevertheless, these guards were pretty high level and the three strongest on the ground managed to evade Marcus' initial attack.

They then began running towards him, weapons now trained to kill.

Wham!

The strongest of the guards slammed onto the floor as she felt a suffocating force smothering her as Marcus' phantom pressure restrained her.

The other two guards continued to advance and having closed the distance they swung their weapons aiming to kill Marcus.

Yet before either of them could hit him, Marcus fired his laser spell right between the eyes of the one coming at him from the left and used lightning bind to restrain the one coming from his right.

In just a few seconds Marcus had naturalized every one of the guards in the room, leaving both Obadiah and Ryker stunned.

What they had seen was unreal and they were both wondering if it was some type of illusion.

However, Obadiah quickly regained his senses and yelled up towards the ceiling expecting his hidden men to descend and attack Marcus.

And hope began to fill his eyes when he saw movement from above, but it was quickly dashed as he saw the dried-up corpses of his four men fall from the ceiling.

Both Obadiah and Ryker looked at Marcus in terror. They had no idea what kind of ability he had used to kill those four men, but seeing them as dried up husks of their former selves was beyond horrifying.

"Do you think you will get away with this. If you continue any further, I can guarantee you that Permafrost will not rest until you and everyone you care about are dead." Obadiah said with whatever bravado he could muster.

He was playing his last card hoping that Marcus would be afraid to start a fight with their entire criminal organization.

Unfortunately for him, Marcus had been prepared for that from the start, and simply smiled before saying, "If I was afraid of your organization do you think I would have come to this meeting alone and unarmed? No from the very start I planned to kill everyone here. You can simply blame your own arrogance for thinking you could get away with angering me."

Then as a show of further supremacy Marcus drained the life out of the remaining four guards wrapped up in his tendrils of shadows until they were nothing but dried up corpses.

At this point, panic overtook Ryker who began to run towards the exit in hopes of escaping Marcus.

Yet right as he was about to open the door, he felt himself being yanked back with great force before being slammed into the back of the couch he had been sitting on.

Ryker then felt his body being lifted up as Marcus' spectral arm brought him forward until the man was right in front of him.

"Please spare me. I was wrong to have your maids kidnapped, I promise I will tell you exactly where they are, just don't kill me." Ryker said pleading for is life.

However, in response Marcus just put on his most monstrous grin before saying, "Sorry there is nothing you can do or say that will save your life at this point."

"No, wait, I have money lots of money. If you have mercy on me, I will give you everything I have." Ryker said as he began crying.

Nodding his head Marcus said, "Okay I will show mercy if you tell me the location of my maids and give me all of the money you have. So first the location that you have my maids, and then where all of your money is."

Ryker then gave Marcus detailed instruction on where to find the prison that his maids were located at and where his residence was along with a secret entrance and the place where his safe was located.

"Well thank you for being so forthcoming and maybe in your next life you will not be such scum."

After saying that Marcus had three of his shadow tendrils wrap around Ryker who frantically said, "I told you what you wanted to know, you said you would let me live."

Shaking his head Marcus replied saying, "No I said I would have mercy. Now you will it least die with your soul still intact. Anyways I am grateful for your cooperation since I really did not want to have to eat your grimy soul."

Marcus then had his tendrils of shadows squeeze around Ryker until he popped like a balloon causing blood and organs to spray all over the room, though Marcus protected himself with a mana barrier.

With one more pest now dead Marcus turned his attention back towards Obadiah who had frozen in fear.

He was a man who had always gotten what he wanted, was someone to be feared for his position, so he had never experienced this level of overwhelming dread.

He wanted to run but seeing what had happened to Ryker he was certain that running would be futile.

While he was not weak at level twenty-four, he was definitely not a fighter, he had always had subordinates to do that for him.

Yet seeing the overwhelming power Marcus had was enough to scare him to his vary core, and looking at the mithril sword he had in his hand he knew there was only one way out.

So far Marcus had caused everyone in the room a gruesome and horrifying death and Obadiah had no intention of going out that way.

Thus, he pointed the sword towards his throat and thrust planning to take his life on his own terms.

However, as he braced himself for the searing pain followed by death, nothing came, and he realized that the sword was no long in his hands but in Marcus'.

"Sorry, but I cannot let you kill yourself. Yours is the only soul that I definitely have to devour for information. I would say you could blame your bad luck in the next life, but you will not be having one."

Locking his hand around Obadiah's throat Marcus began to devour his soul.

It was a messy process as he sundered the soul from the body it inhabited before the tattered remains were absorbed by Marcus.

"Ughhhh."

Dealing with the backlash of absorbing Obadiah's soul, he felt his feelings of greed and indulgence while reliving portions the vile man's life.

However, the information about Permafrost her gained from devouring Obadiah's soul was worth having to deal with the negative effects of his skill.

'To think they would be this deeply rooted into the kingdom. But it does not matter, come tomorrow I will have their entire organization toppled.'

With a plan to completely destroy Permafrost already forming in his mind, Marcus suddenly felt a sense of danger coming from behind him.

Casting his radiance scales spell Marcus felt the shimmering barrier activate as the guard he had restrained with lightning bind had managed to get free and attack him.

Unfortunately, his spear thrust only cracked through one of the shimmering scales protecting Marcus before coming to a dead stop.

"What kind of monster are you?" The guard said in terror.

His last hope had been dashed when Marcus blocked his sneak attack, and after watching everything Marcus had done, there was no doubt in his mind that before him was a monster.

Humans could not drain the life out of people or devour their souls, that was something that belonged to the realm of monsters.

Looking at the guard with cold eyes, Marcus responded saying, "I'm the monster? I am not the one that kidnaps people's maids or little sisters. I am not the one that sells weapons to tyrannical rulers so that they can slaughter their people by the thousands. I am not the one that hooks people on deadly drugs. I am not the one who rips families asunder killing the old and men while selling the children and women. Yes, I may be a monster, but it is all of you who have lost your humanity."

After devouring Obadiah's soul Marcus' emotional state was in turmoil.

He had learned plenty of useful things but now he also knew of some of the darkest secrets that Permafrost had.

Now he knew that it was them that Ander had been working for. His little band was just one of many roving parties that went to remote areas and kidnapped people for the illegal slave trade.

With rage in his eyes Marcus pulled back his right hand and slashed forward casting his blades of darkness spell.

Five blades began flying towards the guard that had freed himself from Marcus' restraint, and with all of his skills and techniques he did his best to block Marcus' attack.

Nevertheless, the difference between them was too great, and after blocking three of the five blades the remaining two sliced through him.

One of the blades sliced through his left arm while the other sliced deep into his side cutting through his right lung and causing blood to begin gushing out of his side.

The guard collapsed to the floor in horrible pain as his body lost blood at an alarming rate and the corroding properties of the darkness magic ate away at him.

Soon he succumbed to the pain and blood loss, as life left his eyes, and he was finally able to find relief from his last few agonizing moments.

Turning towards the only remaining guard who was alive, Marcus saw her trying to get up and fight against his phantom pressure, but even just keeping her head up was all she could manage.

Walking over to her, Marcus could see the look of fear on her face, but for him everyone here was scum not worth worrying about.

So, thinking she as the strongest guard here might have some useful information, Marcus activated his soul devour and began to eat her soul.

However, unlike Obadiah who was much weaker than him, this guard put up quite the fight her soul not being easily rended from her body.

Yet in the end her resistance was futile as after a battle of the spirt that lasted a minute Marcus devoured her soul.

Reliving some of the most memorable moments from the woman's soul he had just devoured, Marcus fell to his knees as her painful life played out in his mind.

He saw her with a loving family only for her husband and son to be killed by a noble for standing up to them about their unjust treatment of the people.

She then spent her years wallowing in despair before joining Permafrost and working her way up the ranks as an enforcer until she was able to have the noble that had taken her family away killed.

'Damn it damn it damn it.'

This was the first time Marcus had devoured two souls in such quick succession and the aftereffects were making him a bit unstable.

Ripping out and integrating a portion of someone's soul into his own was not easy and he was now having to deal with price of his power.

'Marcus get ahold of yourself.'

Hearing the voice of his partner, Marcus came to his senses and pushed the cacophony of emotions and memories he had just absorbed into the back of his mind.

He then rolled over onto his back and closed his eyes to sort out everything that was now swirling around inside him.

Taking a good five minutes, Marcus was able to get himself back under control and telepathically said to Roxene, 'Thanks for your help back there, I am doing better now so no need to worry.'

After sending that message Marcus got up and began to collect the items and magic bags off of everyone in the room, before rifling around the room and gathering anything of value.