"So you're the guy who's been breaking all our crap, HUH!?

" The short red haired man shouted

Four stood in John's path, all with their own unique characteristics. Judging by the timing and how they weren't wearing cloaks, John could tell that they weren't just another useless pawn.

A young girl who appeared to be around the same age as him held on to her doll as she stood beside three other guys

The one to her right had short purple hair with a pony tai on his back. His frame was balanced and muscular and overall, he didn't seem to have anything which stood out.

With a calm look on his face, he stared straight at John.

The one to her left was the short red-haired man who had shouted a moment ago, an angered frown was formed on his red brows under his short red hair

He began to descend the stairs with anger displayed all over his face, and the other two just waited and watched while the last one which was the one who was next to him, wanted to stop him but decided to also watch.

Long curly brown hair which covered his eyes with an innocent and fragile look on his face. He was the only one wearing a cloak, and seemed to be a few years older than John.

With each step that the red-haired man descended, a fiery gauntlet made of pure flames could be seen forming over his hands.

It was strange how he wasn't chanting but John wasn't surprised at all when he saw this.

He had already expected the higher-ranking ones to have sacred treasures.

John walked towards the Red-haired man, and the man continued to get closer and closer.

And once they were only a few feet away from each other, he stopped. John on the other hand continued to walk.

"The hell do you want here?! Do you wanna die, HUH!?

"

John ignored him and walked right past him, heading straight to the gate.

"Oi... Who said that you could pass?

"

After asking that he grabbed on to John's shoulder with his burning hands with a murderous look on his face. John ignoring him only pissed him off even more.

*Slash*

But the instant his hand touched John, it was cut off.

Everyone's eyes widened as they saw this, they had expected him to be strong but not to this level.

"Huh?

" He unintentionally let out as he noticed what had happened

Half of his arm laid on the floor while the other half which was still intact on to his shoulder, had blood gushing out of it.

The fire was still burning brightly on his arm despite having been cut off, but none of that matter. What mattered was what the boy had just done.

He saw it, in a split second, slash the man's arm off with his sword, but he wasn't able to react in time.

"GAAH!! ARGH... You little...

"

The man grabbed on to the part of his arm which had blood pouring out of it and began squeezing it.

"AAARGH!!!

"

He was able to completely stop the bleeding, but right when he did, he suddenly felt the whole world turn upside down.

As his head rolled on the ground, his body fell to floor.

"Get in my way, and I'll kill you all.

" As he said that, electric sparks could be seen flowing around him.

John hadn't looked at anyone, there was no need. he only stared at the gate. He was still giving them the option to be spared, whether they accepted it or not was up to them.

After saying that, John lowered his dagger and began walking towards the staircase, it was then that he noticed it.

The people at the top of the stair case had all pulled out their sacred treasures. The girl continued to carry on to her doll, but John could feel a strange feeling coming from it.

The purple haired man was nowhere to be seen, while the curly brown-haired boy had his arms stretched out.

Seeing this, John let out a sigh before looking back.

His body was being clouded engulfed in a dark flame which began to take the shape of an armour.

The armour then began to attach his ripped off arm and head back on to his body, before he stood up.

There was no doubt that he was dead, John could feel his life force seep away from him, so then how could his body still move?

As john wondered this, he remembered something.

Sacred treasures had a will of their own, meaning, what he was looking at now, wasn't the man he had killed but the Sacred Treasure itself.

Could every sacred treasure do this? Did it get stronger after his death? Why was did he only use the gauntlets instead of the whole armour?

Such questions popped up in John's mind, but they all disappeared, as he took in a deep breath to prepare himself for battle.

The Dark armour began to charge him and he braced himself while keeping his attention on the other 2.

He had no idea where the fourth was, but that didn't matter for now.

The armour was fast, in just a few seconds, it was right In front of him.

As it sent a fiery fist from it's flame engulfed gauntlet straight at John's head, but he ducked avoiding by a hair stand.

However, in that instant, something else appeared from behind John, slashing at his head.

John avoided this by shadow stepping above them, but right when he did, he was caught on strings which had been placed around the air.

!

John's eyes widened as he noticed a fiery fist heading straight at his head.

Before he could shadow step in time, it hit him straight on his face, pushing him back.

The strings ended up cutting through parts of his arm and back as they tightened while he was pushed back.

As he slammed on to the wall to the right of the stairs, the strings wrapped around his neck and all around his body, squeezing and tightening more and more with each passing second.

Without making a single move, John stayed on the wall, and the armour quickly leapt at him before piercing John's chest.

At the same time, the wires ended up cutting off John's head, causing it fall off as the life in his eyes disappeared.

Right when everyone had thought it was finished. The body dispersed into shadow as John came out of the shadow's on the far corner of the room.

His neck had a strangle mark which was caused from the string, and the burnt marks from the punch from the gauntlet could be seen on his face.

But that quickly disappeared as a bit of steam was let out the areas with the wounds.

"Phantasma umbra

" Translation: Shadow dummy

Right as they went to finish John off, he created a shadow imitation of himself before shadow stepping away.

It was one of the tricks he had learnt during the week which he had spent looking for Serena. He knew he had to get stronger, so he went back and thought deeply, using every bit of energy he had to remember what he had learnt.

Because of that, he had developed his understand of magic to an even deeper point.

Shadow dummy was an optical illusion, with the use of magic to give it mass. But for it to have been believable, he had to properly inspect his body to have the proper image in mind.

And the rest was to just form that image with magic.

"You just keep getting in my way... All of you, and that kid...

"

More and more darkness began to surround John as his eyes began to show signs of glowing a darker colour than it already was.

John's hair seemed to be slightly getting longer, but right when it did.

"No.

" John muttered as he placed his palm on his face

He quickly suppressed whatever was trying to come out and as the three saw this, in that moment, for just a single moment they felt it.

An unimaginable amount of darkness coming from within the boy, one which surpassed even their boss.

Modero, Verum Tenebris Fulgurationem

Dark Lightning began to circulate through his body as he vanished

Seeing this, they all got on high alert, and John made his first move.

He appeared behind the brown haired boy with his arms stretched out, before landing a kick on him, which sent him flying straight towards the wall to his right.

The instant that happens, the transparent strings which he couldn't see, all retracted back into the boy's hand as he laid on the wall.

While John was being beat up, he got to see what all of their sacred treasure's could do. The boy who he had just kicked was the one who was controlling the strings which had been placed all around the area.

"Now I can move around freely.

" John muttered as he released another wave of bloodlust

The only ability John didn't know was the ability of the girl around his age who stood right in front of him with a doll