Chapter 26 26: First Blood

"Haha..."

A low chuckle echoed from the silent alleyway. Rio laughed in amusement at the sheer insanity of the situation. He welcomed murder and killing as if it was a mere game. Something was inherently wrong with him.

No, not inherently. He knew himself clearly than any other. He was not like this. Like any other human, he knew the consenquences of killing. Then if he eliminated all improbable answers, the only remaining suspicioun was:

He had changed. Something was changed within him. He could even go as far, someone had changed him, but who? His morality, or lackthereof, was removed by a being. What else could explain the situation?

"Oho, you have the gall to laugh even at this situation?" Mo Zhu quirked his eyebrows as his expression transformed to amusement.

Rio didn't reply and stayed silent. His well rounded, purple eyes staring deeply in the eyes of Mo Zhu. Right, he had an opponent. This was not the time to go insane. He would finish this guys first.

Rio after calming down, casted a skill with his hand and a sharp ice dagger formed in thin air. He grabbed it with his right hand and swung it vertically. As he swung it, he casted a skill in his left hand.

Woosh!

"Tsk, t—" Mo Zhu clicked his tounge as he simply stepped aside and avoided the dagger, however as he stepped to the left, a sharp raging force came as it devestated his face. It was a volatile wind.

"Argh! Damn you!" Mo Zhu growled in anger as he took a step back, the sharp wind ruined his face as several wounds were inflicted. His eyes were clouded by pain. This was why he hated Sorcerers, they were sneaky pest. In anger, he gripped his right hand as he thrusted it with all his strength.

Bam!

But, he didnt feel anything. He didn't feel the skin of the man. He hit nothing again. In sheer rage, he continued to attack and attack without rest. Each time he propeled his arms, Rio dodged in response. This time Mo Zhu repeated his previous attack once more, attack with everything he has and adding more speed.

However, it hit nothing but air. Mo Zhu opened his eyes and saw Rio to the left. Only a few centimeters away from getting hit. Somehow the man dodge again, by that Mo Zhu confirmed the hypothesis he had.

"So you can indeed predict my movements!" Mo Zhu said as he gnashed his teeth. After realizing it, he calmed himself and prepared both of his fist, he continued, "If that's the case..."

Rio noticing the sudden pause, was alarmed. He looked at the gauntlets in Mo Zhu's arms. He had felt heat. His senses were telling him to retreat as far as he can. Trusting the skill, he slipped out a card to the ground for emergency as he immediately retreated away from Mo Zhu.

Mo Zhu slowly raised both of his arms that was covered in metal gauntlets. He accessed the magic in his body and casted a skill. In an instant, heat converged in the metal. Embers of flame that burned in the gauntlet becoming hotter and fiery each second. After a few seconds, the gauntlets was covered with raging flames on it.

"You left me with no choice!" Mo Zhu said as he laughed maniacally. He raised his arms that were covered with fiery flames, and pointed it at Rio. His feet moved as he rushed to the professor.

In a mere split of a second, he arrived at where the brown haired professor was. Mo Zhu eyed the man, his lips forming a cruel smirk. The man was standing still, unable to react. He wouldn't miss this time. In that second, without hesitation, he propeled his arms that were covered with flames forward.

Bam! Poof!

Rio blinked as he wiped the sweat that poured down on his forehead. He looked at his coat, some of the sides were charred. He looked at his back, staring at the brutish servant that once again hit thin air. He had timed «Substitution» right.

"For the last time....!" Mo Zhu howled in unfiltered rage, the man avoided once again and again. He had lost counts of how many times he had missed. It was infuriating! As he was going to continue, he heard a small ringing sound. Before he knew it, his mind churned as it suddenly lost focus. He was blacking out. But how?

"Ha..." Rio sighed as he withdrew his hand that was pointed at the head of the brutish servant. «Psyche Bolt» was truly useful, especially againts Martial Artists who completely lacked any kind of protection on the mind.

"You...!" Mo Zhu gritted his teeth as he slowly lost focus, his mind dizzy and chaotic, causing his bulky body to fall, "You and your weird skills...!"

Thud!

A thud rang out as the servant's body fell. The man was unconscious. Rio sighed in relief as he walked over to the body. His steps were silent, he put his hand in his pocket as be approached. This would be the moment of truth.

Rio looked at unconscious body of the servant. His eyes overlooking everything, reflecting emotions of resolve and indifference. The man wanted to kill him, so it was likewise fair for him to die. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Rio grabbed a silver metal firearm in his pocket. His fingers traced the lines of the gun callously. It was cold, like his heart that wasn't reacting to what he was about to do. Adding weight to his palm, slowly raising it as he pointed the tip of the barrel to the head of Mo Zhu.

"Ah, Is this what it feels like to hold a man's life?" Rio muttered in the quiet alleyway, his voice echoing in amusement. Some maniacal urge within him smiled. He put his finger in the trigger. At just one move, he can cause a life to vanish.

His fingers once more, tracing the lines of the metal gun callously. This was a moment of truth, whether he was human or a monster. He held the trigger tigthly, at one insignificant move he can cause a life to extinguish.

Bang!

And so he did. The loud gunshot resounded in the alleyway, the silence was disrupted as black crows flew to the air in panic. Rio looked at the laying servant, blood dripped from the tiny hole on the head, sensing no more life within the man. He was dead.

"How fragile human life is." Rio commented with a sigh as his voice echoed in the quiet alleyway. Just as he thought, he felt no guilt and remorse.

His morality, or lackthereof, vanished. He was now insane. No, not insane. Rational. That he was, a man without morals and principle, without regard to human relationship.

A devil, in guise of a man. A monster who dwells admist society.

"Over here..!" A loud voice resounded outside the alleyways. Hurried steps were echoing.

Rio snapped out of his daze and looked at beyond the end of the alleyway. It seems the city force had noticed. The only reason they had not noticed far too sooner was because this particular alleyway was quite obsecure and hidden.

He had to get out of here quick, he had no plans of getting caught. He looked up at roof upwards. He had to climb again. However, before he left he looked at the dead servant once more.

He hadn't forgotten him, however maybe he would in the future. Mo Zhu. His first kill in this fantasy world. The turning point to his path of madness. You were too much a threat, so you had to be brought down.

—

Rio leapt from the roof as he fell to the alleyway downstairs. He hadn't forgotten the bodies he previously shot down unconscious.

He looked at the blacked out servant in the ground. He had no plans to kill them. If he did, then the one that ordered them would easily suspect him.

In their thought process, they just ordered several servants to make him submit. If Rio killed them all, then the noble behind them would quickly realize that he was dangerous and thus would try to eliminate him much sooner.

He couldn't reveal himself yet, not yet. He had to wait until he has enough power to easily destroy their advances.

Rio suddenly kneeled down and put his hand on the servant's head. Accessing magic in the body. Dictating the magic. Redirecting the flow. Altering the mind by skill.

«Memory Change»

A luminous pink light suddenly brightened beneath Rio's palm. So thus, to prevent suspicouns and get away scot free. He will change their memories to an understandable narrative.

"As soon as you exited, you tried to follow the brown haired professor in the Royal Capital, and after an hour of tailing. You and the others realized he wasn't going to do anything, thus got bored and get careless at your job. Therefore, lost motivation and slowly lost trail of the man. In anger, both of the Rank C servants fought each other in the midst of blaming for fault. In the end, at the sheer chaos you decided to join and kill Mo Zhu, some decided to kill the other Rank C. In the end, before you lost yourself to unconsciousness you saw a man with a cloak beside the two Rank C...."

Rio muttered as he instantly created a narrative that will fit in the situation. He was in a rush, there were several more bodies he had to change the memory of. He had no time to create an extremely elaborate situation.

Though, he had to comment. The synchronized skills were truly useful in any occassion. Changing the memories of a person was quite a feat.

However, it doesn't mean that this skill and plan of him were foolproof. If the noble behind them had the sensibility to use the Holy Church's soul searching, Rio wouldn't be able to do anything.

At that, he was hopeless. He had no skills nor way to counter that risk. He could only hope that the noble would be unsuspectible and thus not resort to soul searching.