Arjun's fist fell from above like an execution hammer.
🦴💥 BONE KING FIST — CULT BREAKER!
The envoy looked up too late.
He raised his arms and crossed them—
🩸🔥 BLOOD CURSE FLAME ARMOR!
BOOOOOOM!!!
The impact shook the riverbank.
The earth cracked.
Water exploded upward in a tall wave.
Trees bent sideways from the pressure.
The envoy was slammed into the ground, his flame armor shattering like glass.
But he wasn't dead.
Not even close.
He rose slowly from the crater, blood running down his arms, a wide smile on his lips.
His third eye was open.
Watching.
Judging.
Calculating.
"Good," the envoy whispered.
"Good… you're growing even faster than expected."
Arjun stared at him coldly.
"You talk too much."
The envoy chuckled.
"That's because you still think this is a fight."
He spread his arms.
"This is a harvest."
Arjun's eyes narrowed.
The envoy's third eye pulsed.
And suddenly—
Arjun felt something press against his mind.
Not killing intent.
Not aura.
A command.
A spiritual invasive pressure…
aimed at the System inside him.
🩸👁️ CRIMSON EYE: SYSTEM DOMINANCE
Arjun's vision flickered.
The System panel glitched for half a breath.
🔊 [WARNING: External authority attempting system override]
✅ Threat type: Cult Eye Authority
✅ Solution: Devour authority (high difficulty)
✅ Solution: Cut source (recommended)
Arjun smiled.
So the cult could interfere.
So the cult could try to take his system.
Good.
That meant the cult was worth eating.
Arjun lifted his sword.
⚫ VOID-CUT SWORD ART (Fragment) hummed.
The envoy laughed.
"Do you really think a stolen sword art can stop the Eye?"
Arjun's answer was calm.
"It doesn't need to stop it."
"It only needs to reach you."
Then Arjun disappeared.
✨ SHADOW STEP!
He reappeared behind the envoy.
Sword raised.
The envoy's third eye widened.
"Fast—!"
Arjun slashed.
⚫ VOID-CUT — SECOND CUT
A black line tore through the air toward the envoy's neck.
But the envoy twisted strangely—like his bones were liquid.
The slash grazed his shoulder instead, cutting deep.
Blood sprayed.
Black blood.
Not red.
Black like poison.
The envoy hissed.
His smile faded for the first time.
"That sword…"
"It cuts curse blood too."
Arjun didn't reply.
He stepped forward again.
Punch.
Palm.
Slash.
A chain of death.
🦴💥 BONE KING FIST!
🔥 MOUNTAIN-SPLITTING PALM!
⚫ VOID-CUT!
The riverbank became a storm of impact.
The envoy was forced backward again and again.
His flame armor cracked.
His bones creaked.
His third eye flickered.
But he still laughed.
Even while bleeding.
Even while retreating.
"That's it…"
"That's what I needed to see…"
Arjun's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
The envoy's voice became soft and cold.
"I don't need to beat you."
"I only need to mark you."
Arjun's pupils shrank.
Mark?
The envoy slammed both hands into the ground.
Blood symbols lit up beneath Arjun's feet.
A formation.
A trap.
🩸 CRIMSON BLOOD ALTAR SEAL
The ground beneath Arjun turned into a red circle like a ritual altar.
Chains of blood rose and wrapped around his limbs.
Not physical chains.
Soul chains.
Arjun's body jerked.
His Devouring Body resisted instantly.
But the chains were different.
They weren't meant to bind.
They were meant to connect.
The envoy smiled again.
"You're linked now."
Arjun's voice became colder.
"Linked to what?"
The envoy's third eye opened wider.
The crimson iris spun slowly like a living vortex.
"To the Cult."
"To the Eye."
"To your true owners."
Arjun's aura exploded.
🩸 CRIMSON KILLING INTENT!
The forest trembled.
The blood altar seal shook.
Arjun's Devouring Body activated.
🩸 TRUE DEVOURING BODY — SEAL CONSUMPTION!
The chains started to dissolve.
But the connection…
didn't disappear.
Because the envoy already completed the ritual.
A tiny mark burned onto Arjun's chest under his robe.
A crimson eye.
Small.
But real.
Arjun felt it.
Not pain.
A presence.
Like someone was watching him from inside his own skin.
The envoy stepped back, satisfied.
"Perfect."
Arjun's voice dropped into ice.
"You marked me."
The envoy nodded.
"Yes."
Arjun's eyes became terrifyingly calm.
"Then you'll be my first cult meal."
The envoy laughed.
"You can't eat me yet."
Arjun stepped forward.
"I can."
The envoy's smile widened.
"Then try."
Arjun vanished.
✨ SHADOW STEP!
This time he didn't appear behind.
He appeared inside the envoy's guard.
His palm slammed onto the envoy's chest.
Not a strike.
A devouring seal.
🩸 TRUE DEVOURING BODY — FULL DEVOUR!
The envoy screamed.
His flame armor exploded.
His third eye flickered violently.
His body trembled like it was being pulled apart from the inside.
But then—
the envoy's third eye glowed crimson.
The air rippled.
A voice echoed from nowhere.
Not the envoy's voice.
Something deeper.
Something ancient.
Something that didn't belong to this world.
👁️ "STOP."
Arjun's body froze.
His devouring paused for one breath.
His System panel flickered violently.
🔊 [CRITICAL WARNING: High Authority Presence detected]
📌 Source: Crimson Eye Mainline
📌 Threat: Soul Crush Command
✅ Survival chance: low
Arjun's eyes widened slightly.
That voice…
was not the envoy.
The envoy laughed weakly through blood.
"You feel it?"
"That's a real Crimson Eye."
"You're devouring a messenger…"
"…and the master is watching."
Arjun's voice was cold.
"Good."
He intensified the devour.
🩸 FULL DEVOUR — FORCE MODE
The envoy's scream became a gurgle.
His bones cracked.
His body dried.
His third eye shattered like glass.
And then—
his entire body collapsed into ash.
Only the mask remained.
The riverbank went silent.
The forest wind returned slowly.
Arjun stood alone.
Breathing heavily.
Blood on his hands.
But his eyes…
were satisfied.
The System chimed.
🔊 [CULT ENVOY KILLED!]
🎁 +20,000 Points
🎁 Item Drop: Crimson Eye Mask (Minor Authority)
🎁 Skill Fragment: Blood Curse Flame Armor (Fragment 1/3)
🎁 New Status: CULT MARKED (Permanent until removed)
Arjun picked up the mask.
It was warm.
Like it still had life.
He stared into the empty eye holes.
And whispered:
"So the cult watches me now."
The System flashed again.
🔊 [NEW MISSION: ENTER BLOOD MARKET PAVILION]
📌 Objective: Find method to erase Cult Mark🎁 Reward: Bloodline Lottery Spin x1
Arjun looked toward the distant city lights on the horizon.
He smiled.
"Blood Market Pavilion…"
"A city built on greed."
He tightened his grip on the mask.
"If the world wants to hunt me…"
"Then I'll walk into the hunting ground…"
"…and turn it into a feeding ground."
Then he stepped into the darkness.