Mick felt a cold chill run down his spine as he staggered backwards clumsily levelling his magical rifle towards the unknown figure.

While one would not mistake the weapon's purpose, it was still a far cry from the weaponry of Ru's world. No more than a wood stock with a grey, metal pipe that had silver runes carved down its sides and a small, unassuming trigger.

Having said that, even though it was crude, to those not possessing mana cores, crystals that were able to dissipate the refined mana projectiles, even a scratch could be lethal.

The slow agonising deaths of those not directly killed from being shot assured, that, unlike other magical weapons, magic rifles were illegal to own one outside of the military. Not that it stopped those that worked in the shadows, as the man who ambushed Ru and took Elelth had shown.

"H..H...Halt! Identify yourself!" stammered Mick barely believing his eyes.

A pale skinned, topless man, with large, white circular scars, blood red tribalistic tattoos and small patches of black skin covering his body, stood in front of him, or at least most of the man.

The right half of the man's chest was reconstructing rapidly, black liquid flowing out of the river, up his leg and filling in a massive hole, a pure blue crystal, held in place by what looked like black metal rods, where his heart should have been.

Many different races existed in the world, some capable of remarkable regeneration but none of them even came close to this causing Mick's mind to grind to a halt as his hands visibly shook.

Although the sight was enough for even the sanest man to doubt his senses, this was not what was terrifying Mick and the other guards, who were inching their way towards Mick after hearing his challenge. It was the unknown beings aura.

The surrounding area was deathly silent, only broken by the occasional screams of an inconsolable baby or the whimper of a dog that had strayed too close as civilians cowered in their homes or fled, fearing the unknown presence that had suddenly appeared in the midst of their town.

Mana, being one of the core foundations of the world's natural laws, had deeply engrained itself into every species, especially when it came to evolution, leading to most of what the sentient species called passive and racial abilities.

The most well-known, one that all species shared, both monster and sentient, was the ability to vaguely sense the danger posed by other creatures, in a similar way to how some could sense bloodlust.

There were many theories about what the senses picked up on, but it wasn't known for sure and scholars hotly debated the topic.

The consensus was that Bloodlust was based on how an individual's emotions affected the mana around them, where being able to tell how dangerous a creature was, was considered to originate from the age of the creature, multiplied by the number of lives it had taken.

Most thought that this was a survival mechanism that enabled those that had fallen prey to another, to mark the attacker so that they could either be avenged or that others would not fall to the same fate.

This theory was supported by the fact that the most monsters would starve to death after reaching a certain strength, being unable to hunt when their prey would flee the moment they entered an area or would quickly be killed off by high-level adventurers that could easily track them, keeping the status quo somewhat balanced.

With this common knowledge in mind, the guards were stunned that such an individual could appear so close to them without being sensed. It was as if he had appeared out of thin air and while there were methods to hide your aura, none were entirely capable, especially at close distances.

The man in front of them was obviously extremely dangerous, but they assumed that as he was in the town, and they weren't dead, that he was a sentient being and could be reasoned with.

If the guards had examined all the facts they had available to them with a clear head, they would either fall into denial or run for their lives. The glowing blue crystal being the most obvious indicator but there were more, subtle hints that they were dealing with a being far beyond their capabilities.

In the preceding silence, Ru slowly shook his head, grinning from ear to ear, not caring about his rampaging aura or his reconstructing body.

The blast that had damaged his physical body had provided him with enough refined mana to relax, and although he wouldn't be able to do it for long, it had been an age since he could let loose, feeling the storm of power raging through his body and invigorating him.

For hundreds of years, he had restricted the amount of mana and energy his body could use, storing it for his escape and dulling his senses but now, he felt reborn and couldn't help but laugh at the euphoric feeling. He was free. He was alive and most importantly, he had discovered another power source that seemed to be abundant.

Seeing Ru's gaze, as his maddened laughter echoed around them, caused the guards to flinch.

One of the younger men released an almost silent whimper, looking like he would faint at any moment.

If it weren't for their years of rigorous training and desire to protect the town, even if it cost them their lives, the guards would have crumpled to the floor in an instinctual attempt to make themselves as small as possible.

An existence like this was a law unto themselves, only the big organisations or the Alliance had any hope of controlling them, and the small town guards knew it. Yet, they remained, staying truthful to their oaths.

The rest of the guards finally arrived next to Mick and then, without even looking at each other, got into a standard formation.

They, like all town guards, were well trained for peacekeeping duties and low-level monster subjugation but in this situation, especially with fear gnawing at their minds, they could only rely on their training.

Ru completely ignored them, his wet, brown hair sticking to his forehead as he was examining the back of his hands, or more specifically, the black skin that had receded significantly. "To think that tiny stick has so much power... Interesting~."

His voice was steady but foreboding, causing a shiver to run down the guard's spines as they took a subconscious step back.

Seconds turned into minutes as Ru was seemingly lost in thought but, just as the guards were about to reissue their challenge and try and get the man to identify himself, Ru flicked his hand outwards. A pitch black metal spear, covered in glowing blue runes, appeared seemingly out of thin air.

The sudden movement spooked the already jittery guards, and by reflex, one pulled the trigger of their weapon. All but one of the other guards, who had fallen backwards in surprise, started shooting madly, still pulling the trigger after their five shot cartridge was spent.

All but one of the other guards, who had fallen backwards in surprise, started shooting madly, still pulling the trigger repeatedly after their five shot cartridge was spent.

Mana projectiles smashed into Ru, causing his body to twist and turn violently as he was pushed backwards before disappearing into the faint, blue smoke created by the exploding crystals that failed to penetrate his skin.

The appearance of mana reside, blocking their sight, was an amateurish mistake made by the guards, but although their training was good, they were on the verge of panic, and once the first shot was made, they knew they had to kill the man or forfeit their lives.

Those with strength or power rarely let any slight slide, especially an attack on them as it was seen as a sign of weakness.

The silence when they had emptied their weapons, only disturbed by the panting breath of the guards, was immediately shattered.

Mick's agonised scream, caused when a foot landed on his knee, shattering it, ended as abruptly as it started, when a fist smashed through his skull, sending shards of bone and brain matter outwards in a gruesome mist, blinding those behind.

The guard standing beside him in the formation faired no better, his decapitated head already tumbling towards the floor, confusion etched on his face as his body slammed heavily into the nearby building.

Being a summoned, Ru had no way of gauging the threat of another, he simply didn't inherit the instincts, acquired from thousands of generations, to acquire this skill, and so, the moment they attacked him, he responded without mercy as ten years of hellish combat experience exploded forth.

Ru's figure left afterimages as he quickly passed through the guards, his spear nothing more than a trail of blue light, leaving a trail of blood, spraying high into the air as body parts, sliced with a large amount of force, slammed into the nearby walls or splashed into the river.

Ru stopped a couple of feet behind the last guard, not a single drop of blood staining his skin, before slowly turning around, his cold, grey eyes look at the gruesome scene behind him without emotion.

The only survivor, the female guard that had fallen, was now in a kneeling position, shaking as she stared at their comrades remains, tears streaming down her face.

The woman released a sob, drawing Ru's attention. "Whoops, left one... seems I am a bit rusty."

The black spear smashed into her chest, penetrating her heart before slowly being retracted. The spear turning into a black liquid that was rapidly absorbed into Ru's skin.

Ru, as well as the rest of the Summoned, learnt very quickly, that to hold back in any circumstance was beyond foolish, often leading to death or worse.

Unlike the natives, the Summoned quickly gave up concepts like honour, fairness and mercy. They had been slaves, given none of these as they forced to take the 'jobs' too disgusting or dangerous for others. To show even a hint of weakness in such an environment was akin to committing suicide.

Due to this, it wasn't long before they stopped referring to themselves as human, distancing themselves from the concepts and ideals of their old world. They believed they had become monsters in human skin, the idea exasperated by the mutations their body underwent, and had no right, or need, to follow any rule other than survival of the fittest.

Their new, self-proclaimed identity enabled them to salvage what sanity they could and live, though as slaves, that was a very loose term, with the guilt of their deeds. Little did they know that their captors had been indirectly manipulating their minds to achieve this state. Broken tools were worthless after all, and the Summoned had nearly unlimited potential in the war against the Dark Races.

The fact that they did not hold back did not mean that the Summoned did not pace themselves, or that they were in any way reckless, just that when they had to act, just like when the guards attacked Ru, they were fully committed to the eradication of all threats, present and future. The latter applying to the female guard.

Luckily for the guards, Ru did not feel he had the time, or he would have identified and eliminate their friends and families, starting a domino effect that would have probably resulted in the purge of the entire town.

In the early days, most of the Summoned were killed in revenge attacks, and they, or more specifically Ru's squad, quickly learned to leave as few loose ends as possible, even if the concept was a very slippery slope.

There were exceptions, like Styx, but after being forced to commit atrocities that would even make a god sweat in horror, they were few and far between.

This line of thinking created a new problem. They needed to find out large chunks of information, which steadily became harder as their reputation grew, to identify threats as well as complete their mission.

In the end, they resorted to quicker, more brutal methods, eventually resulting in Ru's squad's official name. The Inquisitors. A name that gave many sleepless nights to any that opposed the Alliance.

After the demise of the group in the Demon Lord's fortress, the Alliance had renamed its intelligence division after them, using the already well-established reputation to inspire fear in those who would go against them, though nowhere near as much as when Ru last stalked the shadows. This was why the badge, a creation of Ru's best friend, was recognised at the town gate. It was no longer linked to the Heros of old but the cloaked dagger of the Alliance.

This was why the badge, a creation of Ru's best friend, was recognised at the town gate. It was no longer linked to the Heros of old but the cloaked dagger of the Alliance.

The warped ideology, both from his Alliance handlers and his questionable sanity, became so ingrained, that even after centuries of imprisonment, Ru acted almost subconsciously, killing the guards before he realised what he was doing.

Ru looked at the woman, her head, dead eyes still staring forward, resting on her chest, with a complicated expression. He had hoped to limit the number of new faces that would haunt him in his dream space, but it looked like it was an impossible goal.

Not that he felt a pang of guilt. The guards had attacked him and so, paid for it with their lives, just like the man on the bridge would. The biggest problem with killing guards in a town was that it immediately put you in enemy territory and would certainly make his current objectives difficult, if not impossible.

Ru chuckled as he removed the female guard's cloak, only a bit bloody, and after letting her slump ungraciously to the side, wrapped it around himself. "Well... this is going to make things difficult."