10: A Noble Sacrifice.

He constantly looked around, trying to figure out where the man he was just fighting had hidden. The flames around him began to grow more intense, forming a larger and stronger armour of flames around him.

The doors slowly began to merge and multiple orbs just like the first one he saw, slowly began revealing themselves and standing next to them, was a sight that left him totally confused.

" I see now, but this is not clone creation." He thought as a smirk slowly crept up his face.

The clones that had now surrounded him immediately held out their hands towards him, dark swirling orbs immediately began to form above them and they all shot it towards him at once.

" Hey, you're hearing me, right? Maybe it's time you let me out of this damn cage." A voice said in his head.

Right before the orbs could begin reaching him, he jumped high into the sky and sent a fist of flames flying towards the closest clone, his fist went straight through the clone and he fell into the golden void that now surrounded him. He then fell out from another part of the void, into the midst of the clones once again.

He clenched his fists and began to look around once again. The veins on his forehead began to bulge and a huge frown became apparent on his face.

" Let me out already you fool. Burn his soul to ashes and leave nothing behind. Our contract is soon to end, why not make good use of your last moments."

After hearing those words he paused for a moment, staring up at the clones which had now fired multiple black holes towards him once again. The flames around him slowly began to grow more and more intense and his eyes began to slowly turn to a more darker blue as well.

Flames began to erupt out of his mouth and nose and an ethereal creature with horns and an outstanding menacing figure stood firmly behind him, completely made of flames and giving off nothing but malevolence.

A circular line of flames appeared underneath his feet and began to stretch to a certain parameter past the void, an eruption of flames appeared right after that and nothing was left around him when the smoke began to settle.

He slowly began to walk forward and that was when another golden void appeared to his right. Fred jumped out of it but he was quick to quickly stretch out his hand and send intense, soul-burning flames his way.

His momentum was slowed down significantly by the attack and he ended up crouched on the ground, grunting in pain.

" Now, how about with you telling just how much you've ever done to care about their personal interests and needs rather than your own misplaced beliefs?" He asked, turning towards the young man who was lying on the ground.

The man suddenly began to flicker, shadows suddenly disappearing and reappearing. He instantly gasped in shock, quickly turning around but it was already too late.

Blood gushed out of his mouth and he looked down to see a sword that had pierced straight through his chest. Its tip had a yellow glow to it and the moment it came inside his body, the flames quickly began dying down.

His gaze slowly began to blur as he tried to keep his eyes open with his hand on the tip of the blade. They were trembling uncontrollably, far more than the other entirety of his body.

" Leave them alone you monster." He warned before falling face down to the ground.

Fred stepped back slightly after that with his gaze on the man who was lying on the ground. He was panting slightly and his insides were slightly heated up, turned out the flames actually managed to hit his soul.

He reached out his right hand towards him and a spherical void appeared beneath the man, he was slowly pulled into it and he turned towards the building after that.

He slowly began walking towards it, the golden glow around his body slowly brightening up once again, his head was slightly throbbing with pain as he constantly twitched his eyes but it wasn't enough to stop him.

" So it's an underground facility." He said, slowly reaching out for the door handle.

The moment his fingers came in contact with the door, a great feeling of pain went through his entire body. He flinched as he quickly backed away from the door. A vision of the ethereal figure that had appeared suddenly appeared before him.

" Hallucinations." He thought as he quickly blinked his eyes and the figure disappeared right after that.

With his hand held out, he created a black hole, tearing the door right out of its frame. He slowly walked into it but the inside wasn't that much different compared to the outside of the building.

He could still sense the presence of mana beneath the floor he was on but the malevolent presence swirling around him was one that would have destroyed any other person within seconds.

" This is such a high level of defence and must have been why he's been able to stay here with them for so long." He thought, walking forward with his right hand placed on his forehead, " But it also places a high risk of unprecedented death on the refugees."

He cast another black hole, tearing off the next door that stood in his way, revealing a staircase which led into the underground room where the other-worlders were being kept.

The intense headache he was feeling was growing stronger and his gaze was quickly blurring with each step he took. He was huffing and panting with his right palm against his forehead as he slowly walked down the stairs.

It wasn't long before he began to see slight glimpses of the flickers of light coming from the room and the slight chartering of what sounded like children.

His leg slipped on the last stair and he quickly staggered forward, keeping his footsteps heavy in an attempt to regain balance. Most of the people in the room quickly ran forward to see who it was and there was a quick instance of silence when it wasn't who they were expecting.

He was bent on the ground and on his knees when they arrived and slowly looked up to see that they were mostly children ranging from the ages of eight to thirteen.

" He's been taking care of every single one of them, all by himself?" He thought as he began to cough violently, " I may not be able to leave on time but I can at least get them out."

He slowly raised his hand and stretched it out towards them, it was trembling as he slowly unfolded his palm and created a void which instantly began to pull all of them into it.

He began to cough violently as blood began to gush out of his mouth as just as he was done with all of them, he collapsed on the floor.