"It seems Lady Drishti still has not seen all of my cards," Ryuk said, standing there while gripping the sword's hilt in his hand. The image of him in the initial position faded away, revealing his utilization of his ability.

While engaged in battle with these people, it was clear that once they realized he was fooling them, which he knew they would, they would burst into anger—a common enemy of a rational mind.

This proved true when, in anger, this man made a rash decision to blink for a moment before channeling his mana to launch towards him.

In that instant, Ryuk switched places with a fake image.

Due to his speed and the man's inability to sense his presence, this sabotaged a surprise attack, directly piercing the man's heart while using *Shunya*, which instantly nullified all energy.

"Khucck....L-lady Drishti will not leave you alone." The man's loyalty, even at the last moment, didn't wane. His mind still thought about the consequences the young man would face if these things were known to his master.

SCHLKT

"It's good then, I don't plan to do that either." Ryuk's cold amber eyes were fixed on the man's contorting face while he forcefully twisted the sword with much force, since the physical strength of the man had hardened his muscles and bones much stronger than any normal metal.

Thud

The man's body fallen on the ground, cloaked in black clothes. Standing there, while seeing how he secured an energy core, Ryuk felt satisfied.

Now, the next thing left was to get a meat shield.

SWISH

Thud

In an instant, Ryuk swiftly knelt, avoiding the sharp blade that was sliced at his neck by the other cloaked figure who had been thrown at a distance sometime ago, a glint visible in Ryuk's eyes.

"You bastard!" the man shouted upon seeing his comrade falling for trickery and dying at the hands of this young man.

Even in anger, the man didn't blink, already aware of the way this young man used to kill his comrade.

But it seemed Ryuk also didn't have the same plan for him.

'Grimoire,' Ryuk commanded, while in that short span of time, he directly activated his other ability which still remained hidden from the woman, something specially prepared for her.

SWOOSH

Without any delay, a swift, dense fluid burst out of Ryuk's body, the darkness absorbing the surrounding light, while the man's pupils widened upon seeing something unknown.

In a swift manner to avoid that thing from touching him, gritting his teeth, the man swiftly shrouded his upper skin with a dense mana aura, creating a shield.

"Agghh.....W-what is this!" As if ignoring all his defenses, the black substance passed through his mana shield and covered his body.

"Kughh!..." The black fluid started to enter his facial orifices—nose, eyes, ears, and mouth—while he kept struggling by breaking that slimy thing into pieces, but all was worthless.

"Haa.....Haaa.....What have you done to me!" The man distanced himself from Ryuk, who slowly stood from his knelt position, looking at the cloaked figure whose eyes were widened due to not understanding what just happened to him.

"Kneel."

"Huh?, How dare— AaaaGgggHhh!" The man tried to retaliate upon hearing Ryuk's words, but his body could not withstand the bombardment of enormous pain.

Thud

He fell to the floor, coiling in agony while screaming at the top of his lungs.

A veteran of that caliber was brought to his knees within a mere second, screaming in pain as if his soul was being torn apart, veins popping, and finally his heart bursting while his brain was assaulted with a barrage of pain signals.

.

.

.

.

.

.

knock knock

"Come in"

Krieeek

Hearing the approval from inside the room, Dreck slowly opened the door, his eyes reflecting a black-cloaked figure cutting the abdomen of another individual dressed similarly, lying on the broken floor.

"T-this?" Dreck, confused by the scene before him, turned his gaze towards the young man seated calmly on the sofa with folded hands and closed eyes, immersed in thought.

"Is it not done yet?" Ryuk inquired about the task he had given his newly acquired slave, already contemplating his next step.

"J-just a moment," the cloaked man hesitated, trying to control his surging anger, his now crimson eyes evidence of the nightmare his body had gone through. Of course, he was not a weak person, but...

Slowly lifting his eyes to see the night that had fallen on Ardoros, he realized that he had been enduring that excruciating pain for more than twelve hours, something that had broken his mentality.

Schlkt

But now, after using a knife to cut the abdomen of his own comrade, he regretted his decision to beg for his life while screaming in pain.

Death seemed peaceful instead of going through that nightmarish experience once again. His eyes had already lost any hope of freedom.

Slice

"D-done." Finally reaching the part just beneath the solar plexus, a small marble ball of crystal white became visible. Taking it out while tearing the small veins attached to it.

'So, this is the energy core,' Ryuk's eyes fell on the small marble ball in the man's hand, not shining due to being devoid of any energy, which was nullified by him when he pierced the sword.

Normally, energy cores were not physically visible until phase one, but after entering phase two, the enormous amount of energy starts to concentrate in a single part of the body, slowly forming a new organ or energy core.

Instead of a vessel that carries the energy, the marble in the man's hand was more of a crystalline form of energy held by a Peak Legendary powerhouse. Due to reaching saturation, the extra amount starts to expand the area of that place.

Due to the enormous concentration, the marbles are naturally very tiny, but as the vast amount of energy expands, they also increase in size.

"Give this to Mia, Dreck, and tell her to add this core inside this device," Ryuk said, turning towards Dreck and stretching out his hand, offering a device that no one other than himself recognized: the Energy Stabilizer, which he had once used on the Heindal Continent five years ago.

"...." Feeling confused, Dreck placed his hand in the device, unable to notice a black fluid slowly traveling from Ryuk's hand towards his, before vanishing inside Dreck's clothes.

After all, it was impossible for Ryuk to blindly trust these people until his instinct told him otherwise.

"...Why do you trust me this much, Young Master?" Dreck felt confused. He was the person who had mixed poison in Ryuk's healing potion and even tried to destroy Crawfords.

Yet, this young man trusted him enough to reveal all these secrets.

Inside this room, he could see one of Lady Drishti's loyal subjects betraying her, which would definitely bring him enormous profit if he told her all this.

Yet, this young man was so naive and kind-hearted.

thud

Gritting his teeth, feeling hatred towards himself for planning against such a kind person, Dreck swiftly knelt, his eyes filled with determination as he vowed,

"Even if I die, Young Master, I will always be loyal to you. I vow on my Energy Core."