The sound of hurried footsteps was muffled by the clap of thunder overhead. The two figures, covered from head to toe in dark cloaks to better blend into the night, were quickly making their way through the deserted streets, running from one shadow to the next as quickly and as stealthily as they could.

While they knew that their crude attempts at stealth were never going to be enough to truly escape from the hands of their pursuers, every second that they were able to wrestle away from those blood hounds, only served to increase their own odds of escape, regardless of how low those odds might have been.

Another crack of thunder sounded out once more, before a light drizzle of rain began to fall. The two figures paused only for a second before moving once more, this time running even faster than they had originally.

While the rain would assist them with their daring escape, they didn't dare put too much hope in it. Depending on who had been sent out to confront them, the rain would only serve as another source of strength from which they could draw upon to empower themselves.

Whether it was a good thing that a particularly violent storm was brewing tonight to aid in their escape or if  it would instead become the source of their downfall, was undecided for now.

The two quickly found themselves approaching the outer wall of the city, and thankfully, it seemed that the heavy rainfall had forced the patrolling soldiers to run for cover, causing a small lapse in the defensive formations patrolling along the top of the wall.

That, along with the fact that the defenders were more so focused on defending from external threats and not internal ones, meant that the two hooded figures only had to confront and disable several of the guards to bypass the wall sand make it into the mountain range beyond.

Now, free of the constraints of the city, the two assailants stopped holding back and began fleeing with all of their strength. From time to time, they would disappear in a flicker of light, only to reappear a few hundred meters ahead. Occasionally, they would even double back, heading off in different directions in hopes of confusing their pursuers. However, they still focused mainly on fleeing as quickly as they could.

Hours went by, and the feelings of fear and trepidation that had consumed their minds since the start of their attempts to flee slowly started to turn into feelings of hope and relief, as there were no signs of anyone following them.

Whether it was because they had managed to shake them off their tail or if there had never been any pursuers in the first place, the two fleeing figures didn't care.

In a few more hours, they would be free.

A new start awaited them, and while they would have to lay low for a while, their new life promised to be one where they would truly be happy.

Finally, as the eternal darkness of the night's sky started to brighten ever so slightly, heralding the start of a new day, they were able to make out the forest at the bottom of the mountain chain that they had been aiming for all night. As long as they managed to make it through the forest, they would have truly gotten away.

Thoughts of where they would go from here flitted through their minds.

No matter where they ended up, whether at one of the smaller sects across the continent or maybe even at one of the smaller cities outside of the influence of those who would do them harm, with their strength, they would be able to make a decent living for themselves and set a firm foundation for their future family.

They would have all the time in the world to decide, and that alone was a heartwarming thought.

Maybe it was because they were so close to freedom that they even allowed such thoughts to surface in the first place, giving in to a moment's carelessness as there hadn't even been a scent of their supposed pursuers at any point during the night.

It might have been because of that carelessness that they had slightly relaxed their strained minds that had been on high alert all night long, which would have explained why neither of them managed to notice that the storm that had been slowly dying down had started to strengthen itself once more.

It was most definitely such carelessness that resulted in neither of them being able to react in time to the sudden spine-tingling killing intent that assaulted them both, which explained why when the flash of lightning struck down from the heavens directly onto the two of them, the only thing they could do was rush to split apart in order to barely dodge the attack, that had either of them taken directly while unprepared, would have gravely wounded them.

Now alert once more, the two hooded figures only had a moment to catch themselves before they realized that they had been surrounded.

It didn't take much thought to realize that it wasn't that their pursuers hadn't been able to track them, nor had they managed to slow them down in the slightest.

No, it only took them a second to come to the conclusion that their pursuers had always been right behind them all this time. Always close enough to attack them at a moment's notice but had simply sat back and watched as the two of them made a fool of themselves in their attempts to escape unnoticed.

Both sides kept watching the other as the only sound that could be heard was the rolling thunder and gentle patter of the falling rain.

One of the pursuers, a tall, slim-built man with black hair tied up neatly with a gold accessory relaxed and stood up straight. With his hand tucked into his pockets, he slowly sauntered forward and sneered at the two 'minor characters' before him. He had been officially tasked with capturing and bringing them back to the clan but with all such task given to him, if capture of the targets proved to be too difficult, then it was completely acceptable for the mission to be considered complete as long he brought their cold corpses back instead.

He turned to face one of the cloaked figures and shook his head in disappointment.

"You should have known that your little attempt at rebellion against the orders of the sect was never going to work. No one has ever managed to escape from us before and no matter how talented you may think you and your little whore are, you definitely aren't going to be the first."

The cloaked figure to whom he was speaking didn't respond for a while and simply retained his battle-ready posture. But as the seconds ticked by without the trapped figure saying or doing anything, his heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

They had already made several plans and even though there only seemed to be several of his men present at the moment, there were several more teams scattered around who hadn't revealed their presence just yet. There should be absolutely no way for the cloaked figures to escape, but for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that his death was nearing as time continued to tick by.

Finally, with a sigh, the cloaked figure threw their cloak to the ground, revealing the man hidden beneath. Standing tall with his head held high was a man with regal poise. His large frame was on full display as he only wore sandals, armoured pants, and silver gauntlets that covered his hands. His barrelled chest, littered with scars, was exposed for all to see. While most would have looked barbaric in such attire, his large frame coupled with his chiselled face and short-cropped coal colored hair only served to enhance his regal bearing.

As he opened his mouth and spoke, all those present could hear him clearly, yet it didn't seem like he was straining himself to overcome the noise of the storm at all. But once those that stood opposed to him heard what he had to say, they all tensed in preparation for the coming battle.

While he didn't shout or curse at them, an underlying sense of barely suppressed rage was palpable in his speech.

"Instead of causing trouble for the sect, I chose to quietly leave everything behind and flee, not because I feared retaliation from the clan but because I simply respected the clan too much to cause trouble for them. However, it appears that I may have been too passive in my approach if even pathetic dogs such as yourselves dare to speak to me like that. No matter, though, I will show you all exactly what happens when I decide to cause problems for the sect."

No sooner had he finished speaking than tendrils of lightning began to worm their way around his body, snaking their way unto the ground and causing the storm above to roll with even more intensity.

*******

"You all ... failed? You're telling me that four elite teams trained and nurtured by the sect for years couldn't deal with two people?! How did they manage to escape?!"

The kneeling figure was forced to his knees as his face slammed into the ground, trying and failing to resist the spiritual pressure he was being forced to endure. He couldn't help but cough up another mouthful of blood as his injuries that had barely stabilized from his recent battle were once more aggravated. He could only keep his grievances to himself though as he wasn't foolish enough to give the woman in front of him even more of a reason to wipe him off the face of the continent.

With difficulty, he managed to raise his head from the floor long enough to give a response. He couldn't even fully see the face of the woman to whom he was reporting, as she stood mostly in the shadows, only revealing white tender legs exposed thorough a slit in the dress that she wore that seemed to sparkle in the fading moonlight.

"He ... He had already secured his eighth soul ring ... and was much more powerful than estimated."

The spiritual pressure that had been rampaging around the room suddenly winked out of existence, and before the kneeling man could relax, he was raised into the air by the scruff of his neck. He could only listen to the mumbling of the woman in front of him as he was held like a sack of potatoes in the market.

"He had his eighth soul ring? Already? But he was only... no, no, when did he even... could it be when he left to see... but he shouldn't have been ready for a new spirit ring back then... He hid his strength much deeper than I thought. Maybe it was a good thing he left after all or else..."

The woman once more focused on the operative in her hand, and without saying a word, the man continued to give his report. At the end of the report, the only thing that the operative saw as he gazed upon his superior was a smile that froze all the blood in his veins. The last thought he had before his head was separated from his neck was how could such a simple smile could convey such hatred, remorse, mockery, and savagery all at once.

Glancing down at the headless corpse that had started to pool blood all over her floor, the woman in question simply waved her hand before several maids entered and began cleaning up the mess.

"So, even though you managed to escape, you lost a hand and your precious woman was poisoned with the spirit-devouring poison of the soul torturing worm. The more I think about it, the more I think that this is a much better result than simply locking you up in the clan's discipline hall. Just the thought of you watching as that bitch slowly weakens day by day as the poison eats away at her, while you stand by unable to do anything for her makes my blood boil in delight!"

With a gentle, relaxed look on her face, the woman lay on one of the beds placed in the room and couldn't help but laugh merrily to herself in delight.

"You'll regret your decision for the rest of your miserable life, and that alone is all that I could wish for."