Creating A Succubus Army In A Fantasy World!-Chapter 73: Rift Exploration! (3)

Creed stood frozen, his mind racing to process what he was seeing.

He had expected trouble, sure, because let’s be honest, this was an Active Rift, and something always went wrong in these kinds of places.

But this? This?!

He hadn’t expected the Rift Streamer Idiot himself to be the first major threat they had to deal with!

Did this guy wake up today and just choose death?

His eyes flicked to the pulsating red magma still dripping from the empty socket where the crystal had been.

His thoughts spun wildly. What the hell is that stuff? It didn’t burn his skin, didn’t melt his armor, and yet, just like that, it turned him into a crazed maniac?

Serves him right, honestly.

Creed knew that was not the best thing to think, but come on!

This idiot ignored every single warning, touched something no one understood, and now—shockingly—he was paying the full price for his stupidity.

If this wasn’t proof that recklessness had consequences, Creed didn’t know what was!

Meanwhile, the rest of the group was in full-blown panic mode.

Axel still had his hands locked around the woman’s throat, his fingers digging into her skin as she kicked and clawed, struggling to break free.

But it was useless. Even though she was a Stage 3 Awakened, Axel was Stage 4, which meant he had an undeniable physical advantage.

His grip was like iron, and her face was turning blue from lack of air.

Then, a large, battle-worn hand shot out, grabbing Axel’s wrists.

The silver-haired Stage 5 leader appeared beside them in an instant, his expression steely and controlled.

With a single, powerful yank, he pried Axel’s fingers off the woman’s throat, letting her drop to the ground, where she collapsed, gasping for air.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" the silver-haired man growled, his sharp, piercing gaze locked onto Axel.

But Axel—or whatever he had become—didn’t seem to hear him. His body twitched unnaturally, his eyes still burning red.

Then a sudden surge of silver lightning erupted from his skin!

Boom!

The crackling energy surged around him, making his whole body glow with raw power. Then, with a single flash of light, a slender, golden-yellow rapier appeared in his grip.

Then, a tremendous power bloomed around the rapier!

The entire group stiffened. Someone cursed under their breath.

"Shit—he’s really gone! He’s pulling out a Stage 4 Peak technique right from the start?!"

Creed’s breath caught in his throat as he felt the immense power radiating from Axel’s weapon.

Even though Axel himself had lost his mind, his body still remembered how to fight. The aura around him was focused, deadly, and filled with terrifying killing intent.

And then, he moved.

Axel lunged!

Whoosh!

His rapier pierced forward, cutting through the air like a bolt of lightning, aimed straight at the silver-haired man’s heart!

A shockwave rippled through the cavern walls as the sheer force of the attack made the air tremble.

But the silver-haired man wasn’t just standing there waiting to die.

His halberd glowed.

A deep blue radiance engulfed the weapon, followed by an even more terrifying golden energy that coated its entire length.

Creed’s eyes widened in shock.

’That’s—! That’s not just energy—that’s Will!’

Will was the third and rarest of the Three Fundamental Sources. If Force was raw energy, and Aura was mastery over combat, then Will was the embodiment of sheer unbreakable dominance.

It was the hardest to understand, the hardest to achieve, and yet here it was, pouring off this man like a raging storm!

The moment his Will-infused halberd met Axel’s lightning coated rapier, the entire cavern shook.

Boom!

The clash of power was so intense that most of the group couldn’t even follow what happened. ƒreewebɳovel.com

To the weaker ones, it was just a blur of movement, followed by a sudden burst of golden and silver light.

But Creed, who had been training his perception to new levels, barely saw everything.

In fact, he almost saw nothing!

What he managed to see was that at the last second, Axel twisted his attack.

His rapier, instead of clashing head-on, coiled like a serpent, bending unnaturally in mid-air, twisting past the halberd’s defense and aiming straight for the silver-haired man’s throat!

Creed’s heart lurched.

He’s going to land the fatal hit!

The attack was so smooth, so unpredictable, that it was impossible to stop!

It was like a snake slithering through the tiniest gap, a movement so refined that even a master would have trouble reacting!

And then, a flash of gold, a burst of blue light, and then something hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Blood splattered.

And an arm went flying!

Axel’s severed limb tumbled through the air before crashing to the stone floor, his golden rapier still clutched in his lifeless fingers.

The battle which had lasted less than five seconds was over.

Creed stood there, frozen, struggling to comprehend what just happened.

The others around him were just as stunned.

Axel, who had looked like an unstoppable force just seconds ago was now staggering backward, clutching the stump where his right arm used to be.

His breath came out in ragged gasps, his body shaking violently. The crimson glow in his eyes intensified fiercely, as if the sheer pain had become fuel for his madness.

The silver-haired man stood tall, his halberd still humming with golden Will energy, his expression unreadable.

And Creed?

Creed was just standing there, thinking the most rational, logical thought possible in this situation.

’WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST WITNESS?!’

For a few heart-stopping seconds, everything was still.

Axel stood there, one arm missing, blood pooling beneath him, his breath ragged and uneven.

His crimson-glowing eyes flickered slightly, as if some tiny part of him was aware of what had just happened.

But then, with a sudden, horrifying snarl, he lunged forward again!

Boom!

It was insane. Creed’s mind struggled to comprehend how someone who had just lost a whole damn arm could still be moving as if uninjured, let alone attacking.

But Axel didn’t move like a man anymore, he moved like a rabid beast.

With his remaining hand, he swiped wildly at the silver-haired man, his fingers crackling with violent silver lightning.

His missing arm? He didn’t care. He even swung the bleeding stump at him like it was still functional, splattering blood with every erratic movement.

It was pure madness!

The group collectively felt a deep, gut-wrenching dread settle into their bones.

This wasn’t just insanity. This was something even worse.

Creed gripped his spear so tightly his knuckles turned white. His heart pounded as he felt, for the first time, the full weight of how terrifying this rift really was.

They had just watched a Stage 4 Awakened warrior transform into something that felt less than human and yet far more dangerous than a normal beast.

And it had all happened within seconds!

That crimson magma, whatever it was, wasn’t just some random corrosive liquid. It was a damn curse!

"He’s too far gone," the second Stage 5 finally spoke, his voice calm, emotionless.

Creed stiffened.

The man had barely spoken since they entered the rift, standing silently in the background like a shadow.

His presence had been so quiet, so cold, that most of them had nearly forgotten he was even there.

But now, as he stepped forward, his eyes dark and unreadable, a sharp chill ran down everyone’s spines.

"We have no choice," he continued, disappearing into the darkness before anyone could react.

Creed’s breath hitched.

And then... a flash of black light, a barely audible sound, like a whisper slicing through the air.

The next thing they knew, Axel’s head slid cleanly off his shoulders.

His body froze mid-attack. For a fraction of a second, it was as if his very existence lagged behind reality.

Then, in one smooth, final motion, his head hit the ground, rolling a few inches before coming to a stop, his lifeless red eyes still open.

His body collapsed right after.

Silence.

Thick, suffocating silence.

No one spoke. No one moved.

The second Stage 5 slowly reappeared behind Axel’s fallen corpse, his dagger still gleaming with fresh blood. His expression? Completely indifferent.

Not the slightest flicker of regret. Not the smallest sign of hesitation. Just... cold, absolute finality.

And that was the moment, the exact moment when everyone else took one step back.

Creed could feel it; the unspoken agreement that had spread like wildfire through the group.

This man wasn’t just powerful. He was terrifying. F*cking scary!

It wasn’t just because he had killed Axel. It was how easily, how effortlessly, how completely emotionlessly he had done it.

Like swatting a fly. Like breaking a twig. Like it was just... normal. The air grew heavier.

Then the man chuckled. It was soft, almost amused, but it made the hair on the back of Creed’s neck stand up.

"What?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "You think I enjoyed that? You think I wanted to kill him?"

Nobody responded.

The second Stage 5 sighed, casually flicking the blood off his dagger. "Let me explain something to you all, so you don’t start getting any ideas."

His voice was calm. Controlled. Even kind, in a way. But that only made him scarier.

"Axel wasn’t human anymore." He gestured toward the headless corpse.

"Did you see how he moved? How he didn’t even react to losing a whole arm? That wasn’t willpower. That wasn’t some insane pain tolerance. That was something... wrong."

The group remained silent, processing his words.

The silver-haired man, still standing firm at the front, finally spoke up, his voice steady.

"He’s right."

Everyone turned to him.

"We should be grateful we discovered this early." His sharp gaze swept over the team, his presence commanding.

"That’s likely the biggest danger in this rift; the crimson magma. Now that we know, we can avoid it. We can prepare."

He nodded toward Axel’s body.

"That won’t happen to anyone else again."

The tension in the air eased slightly. Creed took a slow breath. It made sense. It was logical. It was a bit reassuring.

Maybe... maybe they could still handle this. Maybe they could still...

Thud.

A sudden dull sound echoed through the cavern. Creed whipped around and then his stomach dropped.

The Stage 3 woman—the one Axel had tried to strangle, the one who had finally recovered, the one who had been standing just fine a second ago had collapsed.

Her body lay on the cold stone floor, completely still. Someone rushed forward and checked her pulse.

And then—

"She’s dead."

Creed felt a cold chill creep down his spine. His grip on his spear tightened even further.

The air changed.

If it wasn’t Axel, then what the hell killed her?!