Chapter 453 - More Vicious Than The Most Vicious

Clang, clang, clang...

A half-meter-thick alloy door slowly rumbled along the track embedded in the ground before slamming shut with a final

thud

.

At the doorway, Sigal and Thomas exchanged worried glances.

"Are we really just going to let this gentleman do as he pleases?" Sigal hesitated for a moment before voicing his doubts. It was not that he distrusted Cassius's strength, but those four inmates held on the third underground level of the Savage Beast Den were truly the fiercest among the fierce.

A criminal who had killed a dozen people was nothing in comparison to them. If even one escaped, it could go on a rampage in Florence and take thousands of lives. Though they appeared capable of conversation and, in the case of Sigal's master Odo, even offered help from time to time, their minds were already warped by the bestial instincts of a dark creature. Any one of them was more savage than all the inmates on the first level combined.

Director Soul Scythe would usually subdue them one at a time and rarely dealt with two third-level rioters simultaneously. Now, this newly arrived Director White Aster intended to handle all four at once? Sigal could not help but worry.

"Don't be so tense. Lord Blood Fist must have a plan in mind if he's doing this. No one would jest with their own life..." Thomas spoke as he kept his eyes on the massive iron door in front of them. Blood Fist was the nickname Cassius had acquired upon becoming a Shadow Hunter, much like every other Shadow Hunter.

His eyes drifted for a moment as he recalled the earlier scene in the Chief Mechanist's office, where Cassius, Deleshart, and the Chief Mechanist had conversed while releasing an aura that divided the space into three evenly matched zones.

Each of the three spoke with a manner suggesting equal status and power, something Thomas, with his keen insight, found remarkable. He suspected there was a solid reason why Cassius had stepped straight into the role of Number Two Shadow Hunter.

Thomas had harbored a hunch all along, and now it grew more certain than ever. He reached out and patted Sigal's shoulder. "I'm sure that the one who emerges through this door will be Lord Blood Fist..."

***

At that same moment, in the Treatment Ward's Savage Beast Den, on the third underground level...

A series of specialized keys slammed into their respective locks, and every cage on the third level swung open. Though the cells remained in semi-darkness, there was utter silence. The four criminals peered out warily, like beasts confronted with an unfamiliar sight.

They did not step free until they felt certain nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

"

Hahaha

, I'm out! I've finally left this tin-can cage! Nobody can lock me back inside ever again!" The door to Cell Four banged open as a swelling cloud of crimson mist spilled out. The silhouette of Fog Man gradually emerged from within the mist.

"You bastard, who said you could leave? Get back inside!" Sigal's master Odo, in the form of a massive black spider, burst out in a rage from the adjacent Cell Three, looking thoroughly incensed.

"

Sssi...sssi...

" A serpentine hiss echoed from Cell Two, as a nine-headed giant snake rammed the iron door open like a clumsy elephant, taking up most of the corridor.

In the back, Hermit from Cell One likewise made a rare move to emerge. He was an old, silent ape, whose face had turned ghastly and fierce from dark creature corruption, yet there was an inexplicable kindness in his expression.

These four criminals, who had been confined for at least a year and some for as long as a decade, gained their freedom at last and proceeded through the corridor into a spacious hall.

Just as they set foot inside, they all came to an abrupt halt. Across from them, at the far end of that vast space loomed a sturdy door sealing off the second underground level from the third in the Savage Beast Den. But that was not what gave them pause. It was the massive figure wreathed in black mist, head scraping the hall's ceiling at a height of more than four meters and facing away from them, that made them wary.

It deliberately turned around upon hearing the four approach. It possessed a tail of bony spines, hooks and barbs, swordlike scales, gargantuan camel-like feet, and heavily veined muscle like some towering tank. Swollen protrusions on its knees and shoulders resembled a medieval knight's steel pauldrons. Its inverted-triangle back was lined with countless spines along the spine, interlocking like toothy jaws in a hideous display.

This was, unmistakably, a monstrous war machine born for slaughter. Its face, now turned toward them, wore a vicious, feral glare, and its crimson eyes stared out from within the swirling dark mist like two floodlights.

A hush fell. The Golem curled its mouth in a cruel grin. It lifted a hand, clad in what resembled ancient armor, and slowly formed a fist.

"Now, I offer you four a choice between two options. Serve me, or die!"

Boom!!!

The entire hall shook violently as the massive weight of air pressure erupted. Cassius's colossal body seemed to teleport in a flash, materializing right before the four and unleashing a single punch. The Golem's arm swung mercilessly, smashing into Fog Man like a marble column.

Bang!

He detonated on impact. Fog Man had no time to react to that horrifying onslaught. The moment he regained his senses, he could already feel a force against which he had no defense blasting him backward.

Right then, Fog Man felt as though he was nothing but a plastic bag filled with water, smashed by some high-speed iron ball from nowhere and bursting to pieces.

The half of his body that was pale as a human corpse vanished, leaving only blood-red mist in the air, scattered to every corner by swirling gusts throughout the hall. Fog Man was not quite dead, though he was close enough. His mist form that was now sprayed into every corner was a last-ditch survival tactic. In this form, he was nearly powerless.

He had transformed into a stationary cloud. All he could do was hover like a spectator, watching what transpired in the hall.

Cassius, still in Golem form, did not pause after exploding Fog Man with a punch. Instead, the moment he succeeded, he spun and blocked a blow. Odo, who had just attacked, sent four black spider-leg spears whistling through the air, which clashed head-on with the Golem's fist.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Four consecutive snaps rang out as the spider legs shattered inch by inch. It was the sound of a hard object fracturing, as if smashing an incomparably solid diamond. Blood gushed wildly from the broken cross-sections of the spider legs, and Odo's expression contorted in agony. Clearly, these limbs were part of his body.

They could only move so freely because they had nerves and could feel pain. Having been instantly overpowered, Odo threw himself back. However, Cassius was unrelenting, darting across the ground like a cannonball to pursue him.

He whipped his right arm, accelerating it like a wildly spinning pendulum and delivering a cataclysmic smash. Another thunderous crash resounded, and shards of broken black spider legs rained down like snapped metal fragments, accompanied by blood that fell like crimson rain.

Cassius charged through the four as though there were no one else present. The overpowering aura radiating from him surged like blazing flames.

Bang! Crack, crack, crack, crack!

Suddenly, a counterattack arrived almost instantly. Nine Serpents, resembling a primordial giant python, coiled its body, which was thicker than a barrel, tightly around the Golem's form.

At the same time, aside from the main head, the other eight snake heads shot forth like tensioned slingshots released, baring fangs in a vicious bite. They attacked eight vital points savagely, pulling with colossal force from eight directions. Even an iron-clad rhinoceros would have been torn to shreds.

However, the Golem seemed unaffected, standing unmoving like an iron tower. Even Nine Serpents' horrifying power could not budge it by so much as a single step.

The Golem simply allowed its adversary to strike, exuding a potent air of contempt and overwhelming might. The fangs, which were powerful enough to tear through refined iron, could not even crack the Golem's armored surface. Nine Serpents’ fearsome attack was no more than a mild mosquito bite to the Golem.

No, calling it a mosquito bite would be generous; a mosquito at least pierced the skin to draw blood. Nine Serpents could not even break the surface! Even as Nine Serpents coiled its entire body, biting and crushing, with its tail pounding crater after crater into the floor and shaking the hall, it believed itself locked in a stalemate.

But then, the Golem lowered its grotesque, medieval-helmet-like head, regarding Nine Serpents as though it were merely a tiny kitten. Crimson eyes roved as if contemplating how best to utilize these vicious henchmen's unique traits in the future.

After two or three seconds, Cassius grew impatient. His arms, tightly bound, suddenly spread apart like an eagle stretching its wings. The two colossal arms of iron drove downward, and he crushed each of the eight heads in a blur. Immediately after, he threw a knife hand strike that, like the ultimate guillotine, forcibly sliced Nine Serpents' body in half and reduced it to several segments within the blink of an eye.

"Sssi...sssi..."

A pained reptilian screech filled the air as each severed section of the thickly scaled body writhed, blood gushing everywhere. They resembled helpless earthworms.

Cassius's hands dripped with blood as he slowly turned toward the giant ape, which stood with its head lowered in the distance. They appeared simply to exchange calm stares, but they both vanished from sight in the next instant. Two deep craters were torn into the ground, and a resounding crash reverberated through the air.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Two hulking forms collided in the center like cannonballs. Hermit was far from a frail ascetic who had sat unmoving for ten years. Now, he moved like a seasoned warrior knight, tempered by countless trials.

His fists struck with power and dominance! Every blow resembled a missile fired at high velocity, sending shockwaves through the air. However, Cassius's fists proved more powerful, more domineering, and more forceful. The Golem utterly overwhelmed the giant ape in terms of speed and power.

Boom!

A deformed, pitch-black fist smashed against the ape's broad chest. The fanlike ribs caved in with a sickening crack, blood spattering in all directions. The enormous figure flew backward and crashed heavily into the wall.

The entire hall shuddered violently, as though the space itself wavered for a moment. The Golem was the only one who remained standing in the now bloodstained center of the hall. The other four vicious criminals had already been felled.

Yes, they were indeed brutal criminals, but they had met someone even more vicious. Cassius had crushed them in a matter of moments. First, to gauge their level of strength, and second, to rob them of any ability to resist so he could seamlessly proceed with deeper treatment afterward.

Fog Man now drifted as a cloud of mist. Odo had all eight spider legs shattered, and was slumped pitifully in a corner. Nine Serpents, lacking all eight heads, lay chopped into segments that twitched feebly in a pool of blood. Meanwhile, Hermit, having taken on the form of a giant ape, knelt with a caved-in chest, coughing up blood.

Cassius's gaze swept the area, having now formed a clear impression of each foe's power. They truly possessed the means to threaten a Shadow Hunter—especially Nine Serpents and the giant ape. One on one, even the Number Four Shadow Hunter, Soul Scythe, might not have been assured of victory.

Such was the monstrous effect brought about by beast transformation, which was perhaps linked to their sacred marks. Indeed, once these hunters succumbed to the dark creature transformation, the enhancement from their sacred marks seemed to enhance that darkness.

Hence, once in beast transformation, these hunters were incredibly powerful, and losing their minds only forced their strength to rise instead of diminishing. A beast-transformed hunter was not merely a dark creature but one fortified by sacred marks, making it significantly more formidable and perilous.

Cassius lingered momentarily in thought before reverting to his ordinary human physique. He then proceeded toward the fallen group at an unhurried pace.

***

Meanwhile, Sigal and Thomas were pacing nervously on the second underground level, near the heavy iron door, along with two or three other hunters drawn there by the commotion.

They had all heard what sounded like bomb blasts echoing from the third underground level, one after another, shaking even the second level beyond the walls. No one knew what was unfolding down there to make such a racket...

They waited for a long while, and eventually the noise ceased, replaced by silence.

Just as Sigal was about to resume his anxious pacing, the iron door stirred abruptly, and a low hum arose from within. The massive metal sheet then seemed to melt, churning like boiling water. Its flat surface rippled into folds, and in the next instant, the specially crafted iron door suddenly collapsed into a heap of metallic powder on the ground.

A figure dressed in a manner reminiscent of a general emerged from the swirling silver-black dust. Cassius remained expressionless, his gaze steady and calm.

Sigal and Thomas peered past him and beheld four figures in the rear. They were led by a person Sigal knew well, his master, Odo. His spider legs had been retracted and folded behind him, locking together like plates of armor, forming a black shell of defense.

Nearby, Fog Man had reverted to a half-human, half-mist form. His crimson haze had previously sprawled out to fill half a room, but now the tentacles had condensed to form the rest of his body.

Nine Serpents, meanwhile, had transformed from a snake into a human form. She was now a seductive woman swaying with a serpentine grace, her ample chest bared without shame. Her long, flowing hair had turned into eight writhing venomous serpents coiled around her head, their hideous appearance leaving no doubt of her lethality.

Lastly stood the elderly Hermit. Stooped, gaunt, and dark-skinned, he resembled an old farmer in no way reminiscent of his earlier frenzied, ferocious ape form.

At that moment, these four criminals who had been imprisoned for years had finally emerged from the third underground level. Yet this time, the madness and fury in their eyes had been replaced by reason and humanity.

It was just as Cassius had told Sigal. The Treatment Ward, which was in dire need of manpower, had received its first wave of reinforcements. Without question, Cassius had proven himself a masterful physician. He had used fists and brute force to subdue his patients, then carefully tended to them. He had already performed the most difficult operation in the Savage Beast Den. The simpler second and first levels now awaited him...