Lord of Annihilation

A long, magnificent corridor laid behind the pair of white doors. Torches glowing with a dim, icy-blue color hung on the walls, providing light within the corridor. The floor was covered with dark-blue stone slabs that shined under the reflection of the light.

"After you." Ka'lor'ah softly said.

Stepping into the corridor with his right foot, Lucius immediately noticed a gust of extremely chilly air hit his body. Followed by the gust of cold air was a low hum. The sound was extremely soft while being increasingly shrill, similar to the cries of banshees.

The blue-flamed torches which decorated the walls were radiating with chillness, cold enough to be felt within one's bones. Clearly, these were no ordinary flames.

Alas, a scene that seemed straight out of horror fantasy, held on effect over Lucius. His heart was too steady and his mind was eerily calm. He looked at the polished ground beneath him with his indifferent eyes and noticed a reflection of himself staring back.

He then raised his head and bravely marched into this corridor. Darkness sought to encompass his body, as Lucius walked deeper into the abyss. Unknown danger waiting for him on the other end.

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Walking deeper into the corridor, neither Lucius nor Ka'lor'ah spoke with each other. A vague sense of pressure, which was growing increasingly terrifying hung in the air. As they continued to walk through the corridor, they finally understood why this ruin was called the catacombs.

The stone walls on both sides of the passageway held the faces of countless creatures. Some were humanoid in shape and others were heteromorphic beings. These faces were embedded into the walls and progressively increased in numbers as they walked deeper within.

Although the faces in the wall belonged to different creatures, one thing was common among them. The faces were filled with anguish and the eyes were filled with hatred. Whatever or Whoever built these catacombs, clearly forced death upon these creatures.

A normal person or perhaps even an experienced veteran, who has seen cruelties of the world would start to feel uncomfortable inside this passageway. A seed of fear would sprout in their hearts. However, such a horrific thing did not affect Lucius.

His face continued to remain expressionless and his eyes gazed at the faces with indifference. Having walked the path of a Killer in his previous life, such scenes were all too familiar.

He had seen these looks of hatred, anguish, pain, unwillingness, and many more, in the faces of his opponents. In the end, all of them fell under his blade and served to pave his path to the peak of the Universe. 

The strong live while the weak perish. It was that simple.

After what seemed like an eternity later, the long corridor finally came to an end. Exiting the passage, what lay before them was a large mausoleum.

"We have reached the heart of the mountain," Ka'lor'ah spoke after scanning the surrounding. 

The mausoleum stretched a few hundred meters in length and had a height of 30m. Large stone pillars uncarved and unadorned extended from the base of the floor all the way to the roof of the mausoleum.

The roof of the mausoleum was unembellished and made of dark-blue stone, similar to the pillars which held them up. Apart from the floors which were polished to the point of reflection and the blue-flame torches illuminating the space, the entire mausoleum was plain.

Most of the space was empty, apart from the elevated platform which stood at the center of the mausoleum. 

Walking up to the elevated platform, he saw 23 coffins placed in a circle. At the very center of the circle was a single large stone slab. Unlike the rest of the stone inside the mausoleum, this stone slab was pitch-black in color. The coffins were made of plain stone, bearing no inscriptions or decoration. 

"23?!" Lucius asked while feeling astonished. 

"Yep. Who would have thought? Such an unexpected harvest!" she enthusiastically replied.

"Shall we begin?" she then continued.

"Let's get this over with soon. This trip has taken us longer than expected." Lucius replied.

Having said so, Lucius stepped onto the platform. Ka'lor'ah who was next to him began with her preparations. Moving to the top of the first coffin, golden light started to leak from the crystal and started to condense atop the first coffin.

Controlling her golden energy, she started to draw runic patterns atop the coffin. Completing the first pattern, she then moved to the second coffin in a clockwise direction. In such a manner, she spent the next 10 minutes drawing the remainder of the runic patterns.

After doing so, she then moved out of the circle of coffins and spoke.

"My part is done. You can begin now."

Nodding his head in response, Lucius stepped to the center of the circle, standing directly before the stone slab. He then raised his left arm and held it directly above the stone slab. Using the nails on his other hands, Lucius cut across his left wrist.

A thick, viscous, black blood poured out from his injury. Not a hint of pain flashed through his eyes as Lucius continued to stare at the pouring blood with an indifferent expression. 

Blood continued to pour for a few seconds before the injury on his wrist healed. The healing factor of the Void Eater was very terrifying. Although Lucius was suppressing his body from healing itself, it still healed after a few seconds.

As such, Lucius cut across his wrist restarting the process once more.

In such a manner, blood continued to drop atop the stone slab. Before long it was completely bathed in his blood and a small puddle had formed underneath his legs. Lucius' face looked pale and hunger began to grow within his body.

Suppressing his desire, Lucius then began to infuse his soul power into the stone slab. Streams of black energy surrounded by threads of crimson and white energy were poured into the core of the runic formation.

HUM!

It was at this moment that a change finally occurred within the mausoleum. A low ringing noise sounded out in the air. The black blood which was poured atop the stone slab started to boil before eventually turning into a black mist.

Suddenly, the runic patterns drawn atop the stone coffins started to shine with a bright golden color. With the radiation of light, a strong force of suction was emitted from those patterns.

Instantly, the black mist split into 23 even portions and headed towards the respective coffins. At the next moment, the black mist was absorbed into the runic pattern and the golden glow continued to weaken in power.

The ringing noise in the air slowly started to quieten down as the last bits of the black mist were completely absorbed into the coffins. The runic patterns then disappeared along with the golden radiance.

Silence returned within the mausoleum.

Seeing this scene, Lucius and Ka'lor'ah did not panic. Ka'lor'ah on the outside and Lucius on the inside. Both of them continued to stare at the coffins with an unmoving gaze.

THUD!

A low thud was suddenly heard. The sound was similar to a fist knocking on a heavy object.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Following the first appearance, many followed. The 23 coffins surrounding Lucius, started to fiercely shake as the frequency and sound of the dull thuds started to increase. Small cracks started to form on the cover of the stone coffin and black mist started to leak from within.

ROAR!

Suddenly, a beastly roar blared from within one of the coffins. Accompanying the roar was the sound of an explosion, as one of the stone coffins exploded. Having expected this, Lucius quickly dodged the flying projectiles and extended the scythe in his hands.

Lucius crouched onto the floor and assumed an attacking posture. His cold eyes intently stared at the black mist and dust-covered coffin.

���Haa...』 a sharp exhale sounded from within the black mist.

The dust slowly settled and the black mist parted, revealing the scene behind it. The stone coffin had completely shattered, with deep scratch marks on the reflective floor. A pair of black-armored legs stood at the center of the explosion.

『Whom dares disturb the slumber of my brothers and mine.』

A deep, solemn voice rang out. A voice was overbearing and filled with deep-seated arrogance.

Standing at the location of the exploded coffin was an 8ft tall entity. Its size could only be described as humongous.

Pitch-black armor covered every-inch of its bear-like build, save for its eyes. Noticing Lucius' presence, the entity directed its icy-blue eyes towards him. Its armor was covered with many exquisite lines, forming a mini-runic pattern.

『A human?....No. You aren't human.』

The black entity raised its foot and stepped forward. Extending its hands into the air, black mist started to leak from its body and gathered within its hands. The black mist condensed together and formed a huge, double-handed battle axe.

An overbearing pressure suddenly exploded off of it as the runic patterns on its armor suddenly started to glow with blue light.

『Well, whatever you are, it does not matter. For the sin of disturbing our slumber, you must now die.』

It immediately swung its enormous battle-axe towards Lucius.