Darian and Niara were in shock. She ran ahead, seeing more and more fallen beast corpses scattered around. There were hundreds of them, like the entire race had been wiped out. None of them were alive; their bodies had been cut by powerful blades, many missing limbs or completely sliced apart.
"It was those bastards from Bloodkill Claw!" Niara quickly concluded.
Darian took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He looked at her, and she quickly explained.
That was an independent Mannaz sect that had existed for countless eras in this universe, even before the Risen showed up.
They were basically hired assassins. If the price was right, they'd kill any normal person. They didn't accept Summoners as targets, since that was nearly impossible, and the Academy would retaliate hard.
They weren't particularly strong. A Summoner, or even Niara alone, could wipe out as many as needed. But against regular people in this universe, they were deadly.
When the Risen appeared, these assassins didn't change. They trained and lived to control and maintain "unity" in the universe… a unity sealed in blood, of course.
The Academy let them continue working because it needed things to stay in order, with the Mannaz following the rules and being watched.
Surviving against the enemies of this universe wasn't easy. They weren't just attacked directly, but also poisoned from the inside. In the past, there had been cases of Mannaz joining the Risen, which caused the fall of many galaxies.
At the top of the enemy hierarchy, the Risen Lords were extremely powerful and intelligent entities. They liked scheming and stirring up division among the living. After all, winning a fight without fighting was the most efficient and fastest method. Those betrayals were one of the reasons the current universe only had one galaxy left.
That was why the Bloodkill Claw sect still thrived today, and why the Summoners didn't bother with them. These days, they weren't just assassins — they also watched over all regular people, spreading terror. They were always hired to find and eliminate anyone even slightly suspicious.
Niara had been targeted by them for a long time, even though she had absolutely no connection to the Risen. People with dragon blood had paid to have her killed, so she knew them very well.
'What makes them so strong? Only Summoners were supposed to be able to use martial arts or have powers, right?' Darian asked seriously.
"Yes, they don't use any of that. Their power comes from a really ancient heritage, from before the Risen ever existed," Niara explained seriously. "No one knows much. But their weapons have a strange rune-shaped mark. When they attack with that mark active, they can cut through anything in a single move. Even I have to be careful not to get hit — it can break through my defenses. Luckily, they're weak, and I can dodge everything."
"There's also another type of rune, on their armor. When activated, it lets them blend with the environment. They become invisible to the eye; only sharper senses and certain abilities can detect them. That part's easier to deal with. An experienced warrior can spot them from afar. But for normal people, they're invisible and undetectable assassins."
Darian listened, eyes widening. He had recently learned that the figure from the book was supposed to have been a god once worshipped in this universe.
That protagonist wasn't altruistic or some divine being who thought he deserved pure worship. He made a trade: people worshipped him, and he gained power from that. In return, he gave his followers powerful knowledge and techniques.
His main trait was being a disciple of the God of the Forge. The God of the Forge's greatest creation was the rune seals — marks that could be placed on weapons, armor, or anything else, creating unique effects.
The most basic rune seal was called: Sharpening Seal.
That seal did exactly what had been described about those assassins' weapons. If they were able to cut even Niara's scales, which should've been the most impenetrable defense against any Mannaz, that confirmed to Darian his guess was right.
Bloodkill Claw wasn't exactly a group of assassins, but rather of forgers capable of creating those seals. The assassins were just the tip of the iceberg.
'Why the hell did those assassins attack those demonic beasts?' Darian muttered to himself.
He'd seen everything about the ancient leaders of that race. He learned about their sacrifices and pain throughout history. He also saw how they never rebelled or fought back. They only fought to save the universe, doing everything they could with honor, even while being used and treated like mere insects.
It was so messed up that, on this planet, from time to time, rookie Summoners were sent here to fight over the Rainbow Lily. There was no real reason for the Academy to do that. That herb could be turned into healing pills that were only slightly better than normal — it didn't justify the damage it caused.
The rookies would show up, and the beasts would lose a good portion of that resource. That meant there wasn't enough left for the corrupted ones, who then had to be sacrificed way earlier than they should've been.
That medicinal herb didn't grow back fast, and the shortage would last for years. The Abyssal Corrupted Wolves had to send even more of their own to be sacrificed, since the corrupted ones didn't survive long — making their losses even worse.
And now, those assassins had been hired by someone to kill them?
Darian was sure the beasts hadn't done anything. His eyes glinted coldly.
'Assassins, huh...? Think you can hide from me?'
Now that he knew what to look for, it wasn't hard. Just like he could feel the Risen from far away because of their karma, he could focus and sense where there was a large group of Mannaz with much heavier karma than usual.
It didn't even take two seconds. They were really close. And it wasn't just denser karma than normal — there were other, more neutral ones nearby too.
'Niara, they're all behind that far mountain, together. Hundreds of enemies. It's possible not all the beasts are dead yet.'
She heard him, clenching her fists with a bloodthirsty expression. Her scales covered her body. Darian moved on his own, slipping into her clothes and taking his usual spot.
She took a deep breath and flapped her wings, shooting forward at high speed.
To the south, coming out of that region surrounded by mountains, a large movement soon became visible.
There were nearly forty figures covered in black cloaks, completely hiding their forms. They were all gathered in front of a cave entrance on the mountain.
A strange smell was picked up by Niara's sharp senses.
She saw them holding something green and glowing. A faint greenish aura was emanating from it, flowing toward the cave entrance.
It was clearly poison. As she focused on the entrance, Niara spotted countless rune marks forming a sort of barrier, stopping the assassins from going in.
'This is the sealed nest,' Darian said, recognizing the place from the memories he'd absorbed earlier, including its creation and purpose.
They both instantly remembered the moment the Beast Leader took them to the ancestral tomb. He had ordered his people to take those Darian had healed, along with his still-unconscious brother, to that sealed nest.
'Sons of bitches...' Darian muttered, filled with rage. 'This place was built to be as safe as possible, created specifically so the youngest and newborns could develop faster.'
Niara's eyes went wide. Those assassins had wiped out almost the entire race… and now, unable to break through the entrance's barrier, they were dumping poison in an attempt to kill even the ones who couldn't defend themselves.