Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 165 Crack in the Wall

The feeling of slowly descending into a pool of water, and the extremely uncomfortable moment right when the water is about to hit your ears and slightly enter them — that is what Rhys was feeling right now, except it was scattered across his entire body… except instead of water, it was wet sand.

He was currently hiding within the shadows, with only a part of his face exposed. Fortunately, his face was still well hidden, if it was not, someone would have already screamed and revealed his position in the dark — perhaps one of the times Rhys was thankful for having black hair.

"Where is she!? How can someone just disappear like that!?"

"You fucking twat! You were supposed to be the one watching the hostages!"

Hostages — Rhys could not help but lower his eyebrows at the word. He was currently listening in on the conversations of the infiltrators, trying to see if they would reveal more information. They haven't, but considering they used the term hostages to describe the royal family, that could mean they weren't completely after the royal family themselves and were just using them for something.

But of course, all of this was speculation.

"That cunt's not even supposed to be here! We prepared this for years and an unexpected entity just has to ruin it!"

"Relax, Akita. Husky and the others are already searching for her and the princess. The Boss will be here in a few minutes, we have no time to be screaming at each other's throats."

"Tch…"

There were 10 men there, 6 of them masked and the 4 wearing a guard's uniform. But seeing as the only ones who were talking were the ones wearing a guard's uniform, it was safe to assume they were of a higher rank than the masked men… or at least more important in whatever their plan was.

There were also at least 3 guards dead on the floor, so Rhys was sure that the people who were still standing who were wearing a guard's uniform were part of the infiltrators.

That means… Rhys was free to eliminate most of them.

"!!!"

And as Rhys slowly emerged from the corner of the dimly lit surveillance room, one of the hostages surprisingly seemed to have detected him even though all of them were currently blindfolded; It was Vicky; her head, twitching and moving toward Rhys as soon as he stepped out of the darkness.

Rhys almost took a step back since someone might notice her suddenly facing him, but Vicky quickly turned her head to the floor; clearly trying to hide the change of expression in her face. Well, perhaps it did not really matter if someone spotted him at this point…

…they were all trapped in the same room.

Rhys did not really know any of the hostiles' abilities, but it also did not really matter — he would just eliminate them before they could even use their powers. And so, without even moving from the corner… threads started flowing from Rhys's fingers. And as soon as he was satisfied with the length, he finally started moving from the shadows and into the light.

And with just a single breath, he started letting the threads dance in the air — and with how thin they were, one would not really be able to see them until light happens to reflect on them.

"What the…"

And with Rhys's third step, the men finally noticed him emerging from the corner of the surveillance room — perhaps a mistake, as when all of them turned their heads toward Rhys, they did not notice the threads that were slowly and gently falling upon their shoulders.

"Is… that Rhys Wilder?" One of the men who was wearing a guard's uniform looked at his other fellow guards, but before anyone could confirm it, Rhys suddenly balled his hand into a fist — instantly hardening the threads that were just previously softly hanging above their shoulders. And then, with a flick of his arm…

…the sound of heads hitting the floor started to whisper in the air.

It was only the sound, as the only one who survived Rhys's surprise attack could not really comprehend what had happened just yet. He was still looking at Rhys and in the process of thinking why he was suddenly there, and yet, all of a sudden, he could hear the sound of something heavy thudding on the floor.

It was really only after his colleagues' bodies started dropping to the floor at the same time that the man realized what had just happened. He then looked down as he felt something tugging on his ankles, only to see a head covered in a mask rolling and bouncing beside his feet.

And as he saw his colleague's head, the only thought running in his mind was that this would have also been him… if it wasn't for the fact that his neck and the other vital parts of his body were protected by a layer of crystal.

"Kh…" He then immediately grasped his neck, only to feel a sharp dent on it as well as a thread so sharp that it almost sliced his fingers.

"I suggest you don't do anything, Sir," Rhys only glanced at the man before he checked on the 3 guards who were lying on the floor. And as soon as he confirmed they were dead, he took all of their ID badges and hid them in his trusty utility belt.

"I was actually hoping at least two of you survived," Rhys then let out a sigh as he stood up and started approaching the survivor, "But I suppose you'll do."

"W—"

And before the man could even speak, Rhys punched him right on the gut, causing him to almost drop to the floor; he desperately tried not to, however, as the thread wringing around his neck seemed to tighten with every move and even started to crack the crystal protecting it.

The man could really only grit his teeth; his saliva shooting out of his mouth as he endured the pain; his eyes glaring furiously at Rhys.

"As soon… as soon as I get out of here, I will fuck you up, Blackie," the man breathed out.

"!!!" Vicky and the others who were tied with each other on the floor started moving their heads; their muffled voices, loudly whispering in the air as they seemed to ask Rhys for help.

"Hm," Rhys, however, just nodded as he stood in front of the man; his eyes that were hidden behind his hair, returning the man's glare. Rhys did not say anything, however, and just stared the man straight in the eyes for a few seconds.

"What do you fucking want!?" The man screamed.

"There's no use screaming," Rhys finally spoke up, "Your men outside are already dead."

"Wh…" The man quickly turned to look at the monitors to check the hallway, only to see the two men assigned to guard it still just casually standing there like they had been doing for the past hour. But as he squinted his eyes and looked more carefully… he finally noticed that their feet weren't actually touching the floor anymore and their bodies were slightly swaying in the air.

"I am only going to ask you once — what happens next is completely under your control. Do you understand?" Rhys then grabbed the radio that was in the man's ear, causing him to slightly flinch, "I know that assassinations on the Royal Family are not uncommon since Agatha and Lina told me about it, but this isn't just a simple assassination. It is too meticulous and all of them are still alive…

…so what are you truly after and who is this Boss you speak of?"

"This… this doesn't concern you, Mr. Rhys Wilder," and even though the man was clearly wary of Rhys, he still acted unfazed; even spitting on the floor as he cackled and smiled at him, "You're not even supposed to be here — why don't you just walk away with your little princess and just let us do what we came here to do?"

"Hm," Rhys shrugged.

"These people wanted to kill your lover, no?" The man laughed, "So, just leave them — and we're going to forget that you killed some of our men. You haven't even set these cunts free, that means saving them isn't really your priority."

"That's true…" Rhys turned to look at Vicky and the others, who seemed even more agitated than before when they heard Rhys's words, "...But Lina wants to save them so, that's my mission."

"Wh—"

"Tell Husky and your other men that you need them down here," Rhys did not let the man speak another word as he placed the radio back near his ear, "Or I am going to start cutting pieces of you until you—!!!"

And before Rhys could also finish his words, his eyes started to widen as the wall behind the monitors just exploded in an instant — no, a large man rammed through from the other side and completely destroyed the wall; his rampage not even stopping as he also mowed through Rhys, causing him to be violently thrown away straight toward the wall and through it.

"I knew something wasn't right, my intuition is always to the max," the man that rammed Rhys just casually shrugged off all the debris and dust that stuck onto him; his head, almost hitting the ceiling if he did not slightly hunch; his entire silhouette, almost filling a fraction of the room due to his sheer size.

"Boss! You…" The man smiled upon seeing this giant… that was the last thing he did, however, as his head rolled on the floor as the force of Rhys being thrown caused the threads around his neck to slice through his armored skin.

"Well…"

"Hm…?" The man called Boss could not help but squint his eyes as he heard Rhys speak even though his entire body was embedded through the wall.

"...That was not my fault at all."