Chapter 462: Tentacles

The gaunt man moved swiftly, a streak of black-purple light slicing through the air, splitting the murloc in front of him in two.

A wisp of demonic aura drifted out, quickly absorbed by the gaunt man.

The three exorcists were careful not to steal each other’s demonic aura from their kills.

How much they absorbed depended on their own abilities.

“Eaton, it seems those two didn’t follow us,” said one of the exorcists beside the gaunt man, glancing back.

Eaton, holding his short sword, replied, “Probably scared. It’s just as well; we can enjoy this all to ourselves.”

“This lake feels strange. I don’t remember there being murlocs here before,” the other man said, eyeing the lake warily.

Eaton shrugged. “What’s there to fear? We’re three full-fledged exorcists. If we want to leave, who can stop us? Even if there’s a demon in the lake, it can’t be that strong. Look at these murlocs—they’re weak. There’s no way an Apostle-level demon is in there.”

Apostle-level demons were incredibly powerful, and most exorcists never encountered one in their lifetime.

The other two agreed. As long as they didn’t face an Apostle-level demon, they could leave whenever they wanted.

Having reassured themselves, they remained cautious but stayed near the lake.

Leaving wasn’t an option; they couldn’t pass up the opportunity with so many murlocs around.

After absorbing more demonic aura, Eaton smiled. “I feel like I’m close to becoming a high-level exorcist. If only we could kill these murlocs every day.”

As soon as he spoke, a translucent white tentacle appeared, piercing through Eaton’s mouth and out the back of his head.

The scene fell silent, even the murlocs stopped their chaotic cries.

Everyone, including Helag, hadn’t noticed when the tentacle appeared.

It seemed to materialize out of thin air, but in reality, it moved so fast that no one saw it coming.

The tentacle was smooth and transparent, its origin unclear.

After piercing Eaton’s head, no blood seeped out.

Water began to seep from Eaton’s body, and he melted like a candle, turning into a puddle of lake water.

A wisp of black aura emerged, only to be absorbed by the tentacle.

The other two exorcists couldn’t believe their eyes, wondering if the fog was causing hallucinations.

Eaton, a full-fledged exorcist on the verge of becoming high-level, had turned into water in the blink of an eye.

The process was so fast that no one could react. Eaton vanished from the world without leaving a drop of blood.

“What the…” Jim, despite his years of experience, had never seen anything like this.

He turned to ask Helag, only to find he was gone.

Where did he go…

Jim looked around and caught a glimpse of Helag’s retreating figure through the fog.

“Damn, he’s fast!”

Jim was stunned, not expecting the master to flee so decisively and quickly.

He didn’t hesitate either, turning to run without looking back at the lake.

The mysterious tentacle was clearly beyond their ability to handle.

Helag had fled the moment he saw the tentacle.

Eaton had been turned into lake water by the tentacle, not through illusion or magic, but by rule power.

Though Helag didn’t know what rule power the tentacle used, he sensed it was indeed rule power.

Transforming a full-fledged exorcist into water with rules required an entity of unimaginable power.

Helag knew he couldn’t contend with such a being, so he fled without looking back.

He didn’t waste time, using spatial teleportation to escape.

Fortunately, the thick fog obscured his use of teleportation.

Helag wasn’t too worried about being seen; he could always claim it was his awakened ability.

Still, it was best to keep his abilities hidden, revealing as little as possible.

From the fog behind him, two screams echoed.

Hearing them, Helag quickened his pace, sparks of electricity flickering around him.

By the lake, the two remaining exorcists turned into water, merging with the lake and disappearing.

Two wisps of black aura were absorbed by the tentacle, leaving nothing behind.

The tentacle, having dealt with the exorcists, rose high, seemingly watching Helag’s escape.

It lingered on the lake’s surface as if pondering something, then submerged, leaving no trace.

Helag had reached the forest, putting some distance between himself and the lake.

But he didn’t stop, continuing to run as far from the lake as possible.

He knew the power of such entities, and distance was no barrier to them.

Helag soon passed through the murloc-infested area and reached the town.

Most of the townspeople were still asleep, with only a few awake.

Helag didn’t linger, heading straight to a stable, where he took a horse and rode off.

The town was too close to the lake; if whatever was in there emerged, the whole town would be in danger.

Kicking the horse into a gallop, Helag sped away.

He couldn’t wait for dawn, eager to distance himself from the place.

After Helag left, Jim, panting heavily, reached the town.

He went straight to the stable, looking around in confusion. “Where’s my horse?”

Jim found his horse missing, likely stolen. The stable was supposed to be guarded, but the guard was asleep, leaving no clues as to who took it.

With no other choice, Jim grabbed a strong horse and rode off.

***

After leaving the town, Helag avoided the main road to stay away from the lake.

He cut through the wilderness, aiming to reach the main road on the other side and head to Amy City.

He was only two days away from Amy City and would arrive soon.

Riding through the cold night air, Helag felt a chill on his face.

He realized he had underestimated the power of the demons and needed to be more cautious.

Though he didn’t fully understand the world’s power structure, the recent encounter suggested that high-level power here was still tied to rules.