10 minutes earlier
"I knew he was all talk." Maleek said, wearing a small smirk as he watched Delvin fire bolt after bolt at Elias, darting around him so fast that he was a blur.
"Yeah... but he was scary. I'm just glad that Delvin is scarier. Serves the bastard right." Dessia said with a sniff and an upturned nose.
Morgan just watched, and Valerie didn't miss the fear and worry in his eyes. The man had not said a thing ever since the incident at the Guild. Whatever Elias had done to him, it was like something had broken inside of him. His confidence, his ego, his imposing presence... it was all just... gone.
Valerie kept watching, and something didn't seem right. Elias had just stood there, and the look on his face before the dust began flying almost seemed like he couldn't even be bothered to dodge. It was as of he didn't even register Delvin as a threat to himself. So, even after lightning attack after lightning attack, Valerie couldn't help but think that Maleek and Dessia were wrong.
Suddenly, storm clouds appeared overhead, crackling magical lightning.
"I CAN JUST PICTURE THAT CAT'S FACE RIGHT NOW!" Dessia said, laughing gleefully, "I bet she's all like, 'NO!,' as she cries like a baby! Damned animal deserves it!"
"This seems like overkill, but still, I never had any doubt." Maleek said sagely.
Valerie sometimes had trouble believing that these people were this horrible, even though she spent all of her time with them. They were vile just for the sake of it, and it made her sick to her stomach. As she had that thought, large arcs of lightning shot down from the clouds, striking where Elias was standing. Once the lightning strike was finished, even Valerie had to admit she was a little worried. Elias seemed strong, but could he-
The dust abruptly cleared, and there stood Elias, with his arm out to the side, as if parting a curtain. He was completely unharmed, and even his clothes were in mint condition. Her eyes were so wide they began watering due to not blinking for several seconds.
"WHAT??" Dessia screamed, her bravado now replaced with panic.
Maleek stared in delief, his mouth opening to say something, only to click shut a moment later. His eyes were wide, and a fearful look overtook his face. Morgan was in much the same place, only the man had now chosen to sit back in his seat, and hug his knees to his chest as he rocked back and forth. He began to mutter about a monsters and death. Valerie couldn't blame him. As she looked at Elias, the cold look in his blood red eyes as he advanced on Delvin made her shutter.
"What is he?" She asked.
"DELVIN!!" Dessia shouted as Elias reached Delvin, and wrapped his hand around his throat.
■ ■ ■
I stared down the pathetic man as I lifted him off of his feet by his thin little neck. He had been reduced to a sobbing and sniveling mess, and to be honest, that really pissed me off.
"You don't get to cry. And you're not getting off that easy." I said.
Then, I released him, but before his feet could touch the ground, I punched him in the gut, and he was sent flying backward at an incredible speed before slamming into the arena wall behind him. I had held back my strength a great deal as to not kill him just yet, using just a tad more strength than I had against the Baron. I had no doubt that if I punched him as hard as I could, his body would habe vaporized.
I heard many people in the crowd gasp asnhe slammed into the wall, but I paid them little mind. I walked forward, reaching him in only a few moments. His eyes were wide, full of tears and fear, as I knelt down in front of him. His pleading eyes met mine.
"This is what happens to people who threaten my wife." I said, as I leaned in closer, "When I saw you with your slave, I already knew I'd be taking her away from you anyway I could. The fact that your dumbass then went after my wife and my friend... that sealed your fate." I growled, punctuating my words by grabbing a fist full of his hair, and slamming the back of his head into the arena wall.
Air and blood left his mouth as the shattered wall cracked and fell apart even more.
"Being as high a rank as you are means that you can take a lot of punishment before you finally go down." I said with an icy tone, before repeating the motion again, causing him to gag on his blood.
The silence from the crowd was a nice change of pace. They were probably used to brutality, but the fact that the one being brutalized was the leader of Tempest, a man thought unbeatable by normal challengers, must be jarring to them. I grabbed him by the collar and stood, taking him with me, before throwing him hard over my shoulder, sending him skidding and rolling across the arena floor until he landed directly in the middle.
While I was enjoying this, I didn't want people here to think I was just some monster to be scared of if I was going to be staying in the area for a while. I was going to take advantage of the crowd's silence, as sound carried very well in this place. Plus, I had found that infusing your voice with mana could make it much louder than normal. A nice used of mana without Framework guidance, or something like that. I had an idea, and given the murky darkness of his soul, I figured it would work out quite well.
"This is your punishment!" My voice boomed, echoing throughout the arena, "You can make this easier on yourself by confessing your sins."
As I said that, I reached him as he attempted to crawl away, and I stomped on one of his legs, breaking it with a loud snap. Delvin screamed, blood flying from his mouth.
"Tell me, Delvin," I said, resting my foot on his spine, "What atrocities have you committed?"
I couldn't very well say that I could see the stains of his evil on his soul. People wouldn't believe me, and it would definitely make people wary of me. However, I didn't just want to do this for my image. His party needed to face consequences as well, because their souls were just as bad. Not as dark as Delvin's, but still disgusting. With something like this, I figured Martin might be able to do something about them, and I liked him enough so far to help him. He was our host technically, after all.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW??" Delvin screamed as I began to push down on his back, his spine creaking under the pressure.
"I don't know. You tell me." I said, pushing harder on his spine, "I guess we can start with your constant challenging people to duels. Why? And please speak loud and clear."
He screamed in agony, and I let off of him just enough to let him gather his breath.
"Ugh!" He coughed out blood again, but began speaking after a moment, "Their things! Money, possessions, weapons, armor..." He trailed off, so I pushed down a bit harder, "AGHH! THEIR WOMEN TOO! I WOULD DUEL MEN TO TAKE THEIR WOMEN FROM THEM, OR DUEL WOMEN AND MAKE THEM MINE!"
The crowd began murmuring, and I looked up into the crowd, finding Delvin's now pale faced party. I met their gazes, and they all flinched away like I had struck them. I then found the box where Cici was, as well as Clarissa, Martin, and the Misfits. Clarissa had her hand over her mouth, while Cici just looked proud of me. Martin though, he had a stoney gaze directed not at me, but at Delvin. I returned to the asshole in question.
"I see. Wanting more stuff seems normal for an asshole like you. Taking what isn't yours just comes naturally to you, as does bullying those weaker than yourself." I said, my voice cold and imperious, "I assume you've dueled a lot of people over the years. That's a lot of women, according to you. Tell me, where are they? They obviously aren't with you."
He froze, and it seemed like he really didn't want to answer that question. I brought my foot up, only to bring it back down heavily on his left shoulder, the bone breaking like fragile glass. He screamed, and I saw more of his tears falling down his face and onto the ground. He truly was a fucking coward.
"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" I roared, bringing my foot up again.
"NO! STOP!" He cried, sobbing as he spoke, "SOME ARE AT OUR HOME IN THE WEALTHY DISTRICT! I HAVE THEM LOCKED UP IN THE BASEMENT!"
Many people in the crowd gasped, and as I looked around, I saw anger on the faces of many people. Some of them were ao furious that I had no doubt they were the victims of this scumbag that they had left alive. The fact that no one had done anything about this guy was disgusting. Even I felt sick to my stomach.
"You said some. What about the rest?" I asked, one of his spinal discs cracking under my weight.
"AHHHHH!" He screamed in pain, "I SOLD MANY OF THEM TO MANY OF THE SURROUNDING TOWNS AND CITIES THAT ALLOW SLAVERY!"
I looked up to see Martin fuming with rage, and I was glad that he wasn't upset with me for basically torturing this guy. Granted, he did deserve it, and I doubted many people would disagree with me there.
"And?" I pressed.
"The rest... I got bored with them, and disposed of them." He said quietly, and I pushed down so hard he began to bend inwards, "AHHH! I KILLED THE REST! THEY WEREN'T FUN ANYMORE!"
"YOU MONSTER!" Someone in the crowd shouted.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY DAUGHTER??" A man screamed at the top of his lungs.
"WHERE'S MY AMELIA???" A man both shouted and sobbed.
Many similar shouts echoed throughout the arena, and my anger at the man below me intesified to levels I didn't even think was possible. He was no better than that fucking Baron, and no one did a fucking thing to stop him.
"You..." I said, gritting my teeth, "You abused all of them sexually, didn't you?" My voice was a low growl, yet heard by all.
"Yes..." He said, and I stomped on his other arm, "YES!" He screamed the words this time.
"And your party was knew of all of this, yes? And what about Valerie?" I asked, and he quickly nodded this time, finally understanding that refusal to answer meant more pain.
"YES! THEY ALL HELPED ME! MALEEK LOVED TO TORTURE THEM WHEN I WAS DONE! MORGAN WOULD BEAT AND FUCK MOST OF THEM TO DEATH! DESSIA JUST LIKED TO WATCH AND LAUGH AT THEM! AND THE DHAMPIR... SHE WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT ME FORCING HER TO! SHE WOULD ALWAYS CRY AND TREMBLE WHEN I MADE HER KILL PEOPLE, SAYING SHE DIDN'T WANT TO!" He screamed, sounding like his mind had just broken all at once.
I was both shocked at how quickly he threw his party under the bus like that, and horrified at things being far worse than even I could have imagined. I wanted to kill all of them, but given the look of pure malice and rage on Martin's face, I figured he'd have thag covered. I looked up at his party, who looked like they were attempting to run away, but then they all screamed as an invisible force pushed them to the floor. I saw Martin glaring at them, and making hand gestures to a few different people. I assumed they worked for him with the way they rushed towards where the fuckers were. It also showed he was pretty damn strong with his magic, given he was forcing them to the ground at an incredible range.
A few men swarmed the party, and placed shackles and collars around their necks, but I was at least grateful that he was leaving Valerie out of this. The poor girl had been through so much already, and it looked like someone had come to personally escort her away. She would technically belong to me after this, even though I didn't intend for that to be the case for long. I will not, and would not ever have a fucking slave. The idea made me sick.
"Duke Seruud!" I shouted, causing his gaze to shift back to me, "Please take care of Valerie until I'm done!" He looked at me, a cold look in his eyes, but not towards me. He simply nodded, before turning back to his men and shouting orders.
I looked back down at Delvin, and my lips curled back in a snarl at the mad smile that was now on his lips as he attempted to crane his neck back to look at me.
"You're fucking sick, and you deserve far worse than this."
He tried to open his mouth to speak, but I didn't want to hear any more out of him. My hand shot down, and my fingers punched through his back right where his heart was. I gripped it, and with a satisfying squelch, I ripped it out of his back. He screamed the most agonizing scream I'd ever heard a human being make, and then I tossed it on the ground right in front of him. I watched as he stared open mouthed and wide eyed at his heart as he reached out for it with a shakey hand. And then, his arm fell to the ground with a satisfying thud, and his eyes dimmed. I made sure to step on the heart for good measure.
"Fuck you." I said, before reaching down and searching his body.
His pockets contained nothing of value, but the ornate ring on his right seemed to be packed full of shit. I activated it and peered inside. He definitely had a lot of shit inside of it all right, but all I cared about was the slave binding crystal, which I indeed found. I took once last look at his corpse, spit on him, and then turned around, and made my way towards the tunnel. Everyone up top was already gone, so I assumed everyone left and was hopefully waiting for me in the lobby.
"Not even here one fucking day, and this shit happens." I said, my anger still not yet fully faded.
Maybe if I asked Martin nicely, he'll let me have a room alone with the rest of Tempest. Just as I was about to leave though, I heard people begin to clap. I stopped, and looked around at the crowd, and saw many people looking at me with faces of awe, but also gratitude. There were many people openly crying, as well as many people beginning to shout. Then, that loud ass voice came back at full force.
"WE... WE HAVE A WINNER! EVERYONE, I GIVE YOU THE VANQUISHER OF EVIL. ELIAS CROSSE! HE EXPOSED TEMPEST'S EVIL WAYS, AND PUT AN END TO IT ONCE AND FOR ALL!"
Despite myself, and the events of the day, a small smirk found its way onto my face. I could get behind that title. I held a fist up in the air in triumph as I made my way out of the arena, and the crowd roared my name. Definitely not anything I ever would have expected, but it was nice, especially after a shit show like today. I really hoped the rest of the day would be less eventful.