"Ninety to go!"

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He smirked as a soft tingle tickled his soul. His head cracked to the side in the blink of an eye as the wind howled in his ears, ruffling his hair. Despite the fast movement, he glimpsed at the blunt, hammer-like silvery tail whipping the air from his dead angle.

His red coat fluttered as he spun, his arm following the movement like a vicious snake. The next second, the colorful mana blade bit into the Moonsilver Striker’s chest. Ignoring the thick fur and muscles, it dug deeply, cutting through everything as sizzling noises reverberated.

The creature’s skin turned purple, its veins darkened before melting, and its silver hair caught fire as blood evaporated into a scarlet mist. With a bloodcurdling howl, its body plopped to the ground, shivering and clutching its sides as frost, poison, acid, and fire consumed its body.

Gazing at the gruesome spectacle with twitching lips, Adam’s brows rose in innocence. Since it was the first time he tried this combination, he didn’t expect the effect to cause so much suffering. Yet, it was lethally effective. Explore more at empire

’Why am I feeling guilty? They tortured the poor men after capturing them.’

He shook his head, not letting the beast’s suffering sway him. If he could, he would end them painlessly. Unfortunately, his poor mana circuits didn’t allow him to use grand techniques capable of obliterating everything in a second. That’s why he relied on his strong wooden frame and mana blade to limit the output to something manageable.

But it wasn’t time to ponder. The beats grew closer with each passing second as more Moonsilver Strikers rushed to his location.

"Eighty-nine to go. I hope they are enough."

His lips curled back into a smile as he squinted at the ruin’s interior through the cracked roof.

Before they could find him, he would charge in first. After all, he wasn’t the passive type of fighter. That’s why he found Gaston’s style—even if the counters relying on reflexes and analysis were terrible, insidious, and lethal—not adapted to him.

Accompanied by the fall of rubble, he leapt down the tower into the building. Dust rose as his legs buckled into a roll to break the fall’s momentum.

With a rapid eye swipe, he scanned his surroundings, noticing the thick layers of dust covering the cracked walls and floor in a gray blanket. Any valuables that had once existed either rotted to oblivion or were destroyed by the magical beasts, leaving nothing behind but a desolate ruin. Yet, the unknown symbols covering the few intact parts of the structure drew his attention.

Planning to study them later to learn about the place’s history, he stepped out, racing towards his drumming enemies.

A moment later, his face contorted into a disappointed grimace.

"Only twenty?"

The displeased clicking of his tongue and derisive voice drew the beasts’ attention. Like a single man, they turned to glare at him with their ugly faces. Eyes narrowed into silvery lines, they snarled in fury as half rushed at him. Meanwhile, the other half’s lips cracked open, revealing their dagger-like teeth as guttural sounds echoed.

In a split second, he saw through their tactics.

’Not that it matters.’

He shrugged, unafraid by the ten casters. Then, his lips curled uncontrollably into a terrifying smile.

’If you like moonlight so much, let me show you its opposite.’

With an elegant hand movement, he aimed at the rushing enemies before voicing his technique’s name.

"Agni’s Wrath."

A torrent of white flames gathered in his hand into a blinding sphere, causing the beasts to cover their eyes and shriek. Their hair bristled in dread the next moment. They couldn’t see, but they heard it. The air sizzled and melted, the water and dust particles evaporating under the scalding temperature, causing sweat to prickle their skins.

They heard the roaring sphere cut through the wind before an agonising pain shattered their senses for a second. Then, silence. A deadly silence engulfed the room as everything disappeared in a silent white flash.

Meanwhile, a satisfied smile stretched Adam’s lips as he nodded at the devastation he caused. Yet, despite his easy victory, his wooden frame trembled as a searing pain assaulted his circuits.

’Can’t abuse this type of attack,’ he thought, cursing under his breath and promising himself to find the best mana circuits to replace them if possible.

He also frowned at the half-vaporised bodies sprawled before him. What material could he excavate if he left nothing behind?

"It’s hard for an honest man to win his bread."

With a sigh, he stepped away, summoning his chat box.

[I’m done with the beasts. Where are you?]

[By the throne room. Did you kill the leader, too?]

He tucked his finger around his chin with a pensive frown.

[Don’t think I did. Only found twenty-two weak cannon fodders.]

[Weak?! AHH!]

[Come fast! The leader! She is taking us out! I’m scared!]

"Shit!"

Alarmed by the message, he charged out. Even if he didn’t know where the throne room was, he didn’t need to.

The fascinating thing about the Earthlings was that, after recovering their memories, they also remembered their domains of expertise. None of the ones surviving until the end were weak or stupid. Therefore, they were wells of knowledge he liked to interact with... when they didn’t call him Prometheus.

And that led him to meld science with magic, just like the mana technique he developed after speaking with a marine biologist.

"Echolocation!"

With terrifying strength, he stomped on the ground, shattering the ancient rocks into dust. The impact echoed through the chamber, not with sound, but with a surge of invisible mana that painted a detailed picture of the surroundings in his mind.

[Hold on! I found you!]

He warned them, hoping they wouldn’t despair until he arrived as his figure blurred. Dust rose in his wake as he rushed through the corridors, destroying engraved walls with a pained grimace to save time.

After a minute, he rushed through the throne hall’s doorless frame and gazed at the twelve chained young boys, trembling like leaves. Then, at the five-meter creature dragging them like slaves. Finally, he saw something he wished he never had. Spread across the side, male carcasses littered the ground, each one bearing a single, horrifying mark: a missing body part.