Black String of Fate

"Haha, it's normal to get nervous before meeting powerful people like him."

While making the atmosphere friendly, Hyuk knocked on the door of the office politely and announced his presence.

"Messenger Hyuk has brought the Maknae along."

Even though Xavier did not recognize the word, he understood that Maknae referred to him.

Soon, a heavy and commanding voice sounded out from the inside,

"Come in."

Hyuk slowly opened the door and motioned Xavier with his head to go inside. Xavier nodded and stepped foot inside the office.

"Welcome to the demonic sect, youngest disciple. I am Jun, the head of this branch and 500-man commander of the great demonic sect."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Xavier, a guy who was cleaning up his back alleys when you guys called."

"Hahaha, I've heard all about the terror you've instilled among the local gangs in your neighborhood. I must say, I never expected you to be so young. I was shocked to learn that the infamous Demonic Vigilante was a slum kid. With your potential, the heights you could reach with proper training would be unimaginable."

"Haha, thank you for the compliment. I already know that I'll be great, it's just a matter of time and achievements. And speaking of achievements…

Your head will be a nice start."

Before Jun could even react, Xavier drew his sword and channeled all his strength into his sword strike.

'Supreme Demonic Arts:

Advent of Insanity

Forbidden Bloodlust

Desolate Requiem: Controlled'

'This won't be enough, I need to draw out more. I need to realize my lost powers more.'

'Demonic Sword Aura: Complete form'

A stable, solid red glow erupted from Xavier's sword in a split second, basking the entire office in its glow. All this happened in a fraction of a second, but in the world of masters, even that is a long time.

Jun, now having overcome his surprise, maniacally smiled at the child's audacity to betray him. He was even more pissed that an Initiate Novice, however talented, dared to challenge him.

"You're too weak, brat!" Jun shouted as he drew his own bastard sword from its scabbard and reinforced it with massive amounts of orangish-red Aura. Although the quality could not match Xavier's, it was still an amount like a lake compared to the drop that Xavier had.

'A small piece of metal cannot withstand the might of a huge boulder. So what if your talent gave you that sword Aura, you'll still die.'

Xavier also knew that he could not match an Advanced master like this. He could practically read his opponent's thoughts. All that boosting from his techniques and perfection in his mastery would only take him so far in the face of absolute power.

But, such things apply when the swordsmen are at least comparable. Jun was facing a monster, a monster that was unmatched in the world. In the path of warriors, there was one thing that distinguished a great swordsman from an otherworldly powerhouse.

'Still not enough. After so long, I must recall my oath. The Oath of the Champion…'

'...I, Xavier, the Immortal Demon Swordsman, pledge my sword to my power.

Let my will be executed, let my demons be free.

Let my rage be unbounded, let my sword be my decree.

Sword Force Manifestation: Sovereign Wrath.'

The glowing red aura that surrounded Xavier's sword suddenly disappeared, catching the master off guard. He could still see Xavier swinging the sword, and by all logic, it should've been harmless to a master like him.

But his instincts were screaming otherwise.

"No amount of rock can shatter a diamond."

A translucent, dark, bloody crimson flame erupted from Xavier's whole body, filling the room with its suffocating presence. Jun couldn't even comprehend just what that energy was, but he knew that it was very bad news.

And he was right.

*SLASH*

Xavier's sword cut clean through the Aura that Jun had put up, almost as if it was nothing more than butter in front of a hot knife. Jun could only spectate in shock with his eyes open as the sword bisected into two, and soon, the sword went through his neck.

'Just what is he…' Jun thought as he saw the world spinning and saw his headless body from a bird's eye view. He slowly closed his eyes, embracing his death in wonder at this malefically horrific power he had the honor of witnessing in his last moments.

*thud*

The head of a now-dead master fell down, and Xavier quickly picked it up. He remembered what Seraphina had told him and quickly crushed the stone in his pocket.

Soon, he saw space itself tearing up and a person emerging from it. Xavier's exhaustion had reached its peak, he could only see the silhouette of this person, and after seeing the resemblance to a certain someone, he closed his eyes smiling while saying his parting words.

"Keep…me…alive."

Murmuring these words, he collapsed and completely blacked out.

"...What a monster."

Seraphina whispered to herself after seeing the destruction Xavier's Force had caused to the whole room. The starry skies were visible, everything was thrashed around, and a dead body lay bleeding headless. The atmosphere was disturbed by the level of this energy that Xavier had released.

She got the chills being in the presence of that chaotic energy, that same energy that she saw capable of splitting continents once. It was not even a fraction of its former glory, but the essence was still the same.

'Just what kind of ridiculous talent he has to be able to bring out something like Force out of an Initiate Novice body? I can't even form a pseudo-domain with my current mana reserves, yet this guy used the highest form of power known to warriors so casually…

He'll be out for quite a long time after this stunt, so I suppose it's up to me to clean his mess.'

Just as she predicted, a large number of demonic sect members rushed into the broken office. Each one of them was armed, enraged, and most importantly, the cream of the crop with none below the expert level.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARDS! YOU BACKSTABBED OUR LEADER! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" Hyuk, the one who stood at the forefront of all those gathered, shouted with extreme rage. The way Xavier behaved and the vibes he got from a person like him, he never thought he was one to stoop so low to infiltrate and assassinate so cowardly.

Seraphina darkly smiled as she revved up her mana. She had gathered a lot for the past few days in case of emergencies, and to her luck, she was as ready as she could be.

'No masters in sight, that'll be doable.'

She grabbed Xavier and the head he cut off, and just as the swordsmen started rushing in, she casted her escape spell she had been preparing silently the moment she stepped in this place.

'Wind and Space, Elemental Combination: Flight Magic.

Water and Fire: Elemental Combination: Vapour Magic.

Vapour and Flight: Dual Element Spell: Rocket Launch.'

"RELEASE!"

*WOOOOSH*

Suddenly, from the bottom of Seraphina's soles, an explosion of steam occurred, blinding the whole gang of experts. The steam was hot enough to scald many of them, but rank 4 superhumans couldn't be deterred just from that.

"ARGH! No more of your petty tricks!" Hyuk exclaimed as he swung his sword with force, clearing out almost all of the steam. When they regained their vision, they were flabbergasted to find a trail of clouds reaching high up in the sky, with no sign of the culprits anywhere close.

[P.S, read author's notes, I cleared up the warrior path revealed up until now in case it's hard to follow]