After a few steps, darkness consumed the stairs as Eris pushed deeper.

Tip! Tap! She could only hear her footsteps as she looked into the dark. The stairs have shifted into a humid, musty cave stinking with blood. She could feel it in her bones. This cave isn’t a place someone should stroll into.

Thud! The cave opened into a large cavern with stone stairs spiraling down into an open plateau.

“You dare come back?” A voice called from the ceiling.

A man stared at Eris as he stood in a balcony-like stone formation close to the ceiling. He pointed a bow at her, “Can’t come here without murder,”

“Don’t worry,” Eris stared at him with a smile, “I will embalm you soon,”

“Sacrifice the priests to their god, poetic for our god,” The man smiled, “But your blood is far better for the job,” He pulled the string, “Murder her,”

Eris could hear several bows getting tight. She took a deep whiff of the air but couldn’t catch where they were hiding. The stench of blood masked everything.

She smiled. FUSH! A firey spear emerged in her palm, shedding light on the endless darkness. “Try if you can,” With one powerful jerk, she threw the spear toward the man on the balcony, blasting a hole in his skull.

At that moment, Eris could see ten arrows around her body. Her eyes darted between them, quickly deducing where they came from. ^Found you,^ Swosh! She dashed to the side, her eyes leaving a red trail.

CRACK! Claws extended from her feet as she started running across the wall with a smile, dodging the tens of arrows coming her way.

THUD! Her head jolted at an extreme speed, dodging the last arrows as she lunged at one of the archers, “Suprise!”

The man pulled a dagger and swung at her with a smile on his face, “Die!” 𝒷𝒹ℴ𝓿𝓁.𝓬𝓸𝓂

Eris blocked the attack with her arm and punched the man in the chest. As he gasped, her claw sliced his face.

Thud! The man fell on his face, bleeding, and she used him as a platform to jump from. More arrows rushed at her, but she already knew where the archers hid.

SWOSH! A fire spear emerged in her hand, and she threw it at the ceiling, causing stones to fall and kill two of the archers.

As the dusk masked the darkness even further, the cultist archers could only see the red trails of Eris’s eyes flashing in the dark. Her footsteps were as silent as cats, but her slashes left a gory and mushy echo in the air.

After a few seconds, only one cultist remained, “Magnificent murder,” He said with a smile.

Thud! Eris emerged from the darkness behind him, swinging her claw, “But I’m blessed,” With a smile on his face, he turned and deflected her strike. BAM! Punching her in the face, he sends her flying back.

“The more of my companions die, the stronger I get,” His fist crackled with strange red magic.

SWOSH! Eris quickly regained her stance and lunged at him, “Your blessing means nothing,” She swung her claw again, but he deflected it, countering with a punch that she dodged.

“Lucky,” He said with a smile.

CRACK! In the blink of an eye, Eris lifted her leg at a tremendous speed, hitting the man’s jewels as hard as she could. His eyes almost popped out of their socket as his breath stopped.

“Got the strength and speed, but not the skill to control them.” BAM! BAM! She gave him another two kicks to the jewels, dropping him on his knees.

Thwack! In the blink of an eye, she hit him with her knee to the jaw, lifting his body up.

“There is only one man!” Eris growled, punching the man in the chest and shattering one of his ribs. “That I would!” Two claw stabes to the guts almost drew his intestines.

“To hit me!” She unleashed a barrage of punches at the man’s chest, tattering his bones.

“In the face!” CLAP! She smacked him in the face with an open palm, following it with a downward punch to the collar bone, shattering it.

“And get away with it,” In the blink of an eye, she swung her claw and ripped the man’s throat, knocking his body to the ground.

CRACK! Her foot landed on his skull, “And he isn’t you,” With just enough force, she forced his brain out.

Eris stared around at the bloodbath, remembering the old days in Rita city where she killed for money and food. “We might not be so different after all,” She walked deeper into the cave.

Before, Eris defeated one of Alice Dagon’s projections. That feat alone put her on a power level compared to S-ranks. As with the combination of her bloodline magic and vampiric nature, she won’t be killed with normal means.

****

A long hallway of smooth and marbled stones spread in front of Eris, leading to a massive stone door. A dreadful aura emanated from the cracks, chilling the air.

^An ancient burial, they must be using it as a temporary base. Since where those lunatics were holed up here?^ She approached the door, touching it.

The door remained sealed, refusing to budge an inch no matter how strongly she pushed.

Eris looked around, inspecting the area around the door only to find the murder god symbol on the ground, ^A sacrifice? No, something else,^

“Mistress? Did you come back?^ A squeaky voice came from the dark, startling Eris. She lunged forth, catching the ugly creature.

Red, tiny, and disgusting. Long ears, mangled eyes, and a massive nose. The stench of the hells reeked of the cursed being. An Imp, drenched in its own blood.

“Monster!” Eris growled.

“Mistress, I’m no monster, I swear.” The creature cried, “No, wait. You aren’t mistress, she’s already dead,”

“What are you?” Eris extended her claws, ready to open the creature like a pumpkin.

“Name’s Pin, ugly Pin Mistress called Pin.” The creature lifted his hands, “I’m Mistress Demitric’s loyal pet,”

Thud! Eris threw the creature on the ground, “Mother’s pet?”

Cough! Cough! Pin coughed, rubbing his neck, “Rough with Pin, just like your mother was, I like it,” He smiled.

“Why are you here?” Eris growled, willing to listen to the creature, but still considering turning him to ash.

“Ahem,” Pin cleared his throat from the blood and looked at Eris, “Since your mother failed her task, Pin was sentenced to kill himself over and over, and over until the god of murder willed me free,”

Eris stared at the creature, “What mixed you, mother, and the god of murder?” She couldn’t understand what the god of murder had to do with it all and why he had a say in her mother’s familiar.

“Your mother was a candidate to inherit this place, and lead the believers of blood to salvation.” Pin lifted his hands, “Pin was excited, drenched in joy as she almost stood atop this disgusting place. But Alas, she failed,” He shook his head.

The blood in his eyes flowed, “But, that doesn’t matter now, past is past.”

“It matters,” Eris growled, conjuring her spear and pointing it at Pin’s head.

“It isn’t for Pin to speak in the matter now,” He waved his hand, moving out of the way and leaving Eris facing the massive door. “You’re her daughter and the rightful heir. And I shall be your, little Pet.” He giggled.

CRACK! The door cracked as it slowly opened, “Go ahead, Blood mistress. Reclaim your inheritance, your birthright from the usurper inside.”

As the door opened, a wave of magic and death stench washed over the cave.

“What a magnificent odor,” Pin twitched, sniffing the air, “Like a rotten rat on the street of a sunny summer day. Utterly disgusting,”

Eris glared back at Pin.

“Go ahead, Mistress. Pin opened the door for you. My the god of murder watch over you,” He said with a grin.

CLING! Eris pointed her plasma spear at his neck.

Pin lifted his hands. “Pin Is sorry, Mistress. I forget my usual compliments.” His head twitched, “You smell utterly, rancid. Like you’re been playing with corpses for decades. Ah, yes, I can see it.” He smiled, “You’re been a mortician all those years, a befitting job for someone so attuned, to death. Pin likes it.”

Disgusted, and feeling a bit uncomfortable, Eris decided to ignore the imp and proceeded into the cultist’s base.

***

Pin watched her march inside and nodded with a smile, “May murder guide you.” He giggled, “Ph! What is Pin saying, Murder already guides you, isn’t it?” He looked back, able to smell the corpses Eris left in her wake.

Puff! He disappeared in a puff of flames.

***

Inside, Eris could see the burial expanding and the symbols of the god of murder filled the place, drawn in blood. She looked forward, and the main hall was filled with chanting cultists, standing around an altar with the kidnapped woman chained to it.