Empire Building With Infinite Warehouse-Chapter 50: Posession

The dark spike retracted as quickly as it had struck.

Cobra’s body didn’t even have time to hit the floor before the shadows descended upon him. The entity uncoiled from the ceiling, its massive form rippling with absolute, terrifying power.

Two thick, solidified appendages of pure darkness wrapped around Cobra’s expensive suit, lifting him effortlessly into the air.

Julien couldn’t see it, but the horrific sounds painted a vivid, gruesome picture in his mind.

Riiiip.

CRACK.

It was the sickening sound of fabric tearing, followed instantly by the wet, heavy snapping of a human spine. The Shadow Beast didn’t bother to swallow this one whole.

A heavy spray of warm blood rained down from above, a few drops splattering directly onto Julien’s cheek.

Julien didn’t flinch.

He remained perfectly still in his wooden chair, his breathing shallow, his useless, sightless eyes staring straight ahead into nothing.

The sound of Cobra’s bisected corpse hitting the concrete with two distinct, heavy thuds echoed loudly in the factory.

Then, the silence returned.

The temperature around Julien’s chair changed again as the massive entity moved closer.

It felt cold as the twin yellow eyes formed in the dark once more, locking onto Julien with that same malice.

The Beast leaned in, its breath washing over Julien’s face, and spoke again.

This time, the language was longer, more coherent, and carried the terrifying lines of a dark incantation.

"Vok thar’ul... zyn-korosh... mal’drun xel’kor... an-zhul k’thrall."

The words filled against Julien’s skull with pain, but this time, the System reacted.

A few golden notifications exploded into life within the pitch-black void of Julien’s mind. They spammed aggressively, flashing with a warning.

[Dimensional Anomaly Detected!]

[The Summoned Entity is attempting to initiate a secondary binding protocol outside of standard Tier 2 parameters!]

[WARNING: Host neural pathways are currently exposed due to collateral damage!]

The golden text suddenly glitched, the System font rapidly distorting into a chaotic jumble of unrecognisable runes.

[Zyn-Korosh?]

[Xel’kor: YES / NO]

Julien’s mind raced.

He couldn’t read a single word of the prompt. Was this part of the original overdraft contract? Was the Beast demanding a target? He was blind, completely vulnerable, and chained to a chair in a room with a monster that had just ripped a man in half.

He didn’t have the luxury of hesitation. If this was the command to end the summon or direct it outside, he had to take it.

Yes, Julien thought desperately.

The instant his mind confirmed the choice, the golden timer in the corner of his vision violently shifted from gold to a deep red.

[Time Remaining: 03:00]

Then, the world shattered.

The suffocating dome of black that had swallowed the centre of the factory suddenly violently compressed. It whipped into a violent cyclone, funnelling directly toward Julien.

Before he could even open his mouth to scream, the shadows slammed into him. The physical mass of the darkness forced its way down his throat, into his lungs, and poured directly into his completely sightless eyes.

He was drowning in an ocean of absolute void.

His body convulsed violently against the chains as the ancient, terrifying power of the Shadow Beast forcibly anchored itself directly into his fragile, E-Rank vessel.

The sheer agony was mind-breaking, and the last bit of darkness surged down his throat, leaving the factory floor instantly and completely illuminated by the buzzing emergency lights.

Julien slumped forward in the wooden chair, his chin resting heavily on his chest. His breathing was different.

Slowly, he raised his head and opened his eyes.

The dull, sightless haze was gone. In its place, his irises burned with a piercing, pupil-less yellow light.

He didn’t feel the pain in his optic nerves anymore. His body felt lighter than air, yet denser than steel. It felt like at any moment, his skin could rip apart to let the shadows out.

Julien slowly turned his wrist.

Snap.

Clang.

The heavy steel chains binding his arms to the chair shattered like brittle glass.

He stood up, his dress stained with Cobra’s blood, his yellow eyes scanning the brightly lit factory floor.

His gaze swept over the bisected remains of the syndicate boss, entirely devoid of human empathy.

"Vok thar’ul," Julien whispered, looking at the red sky above, but the voice that left his lips wasn’t his own.

"What the fuck?!" a panicked voice shouted from the far catwalk.

"How did you escape?!"

It was one of the remaining syndicate guards, gripping a heavy assault rifle, his hands shaking violently as he aimed it down at the factory floor.

Julien didn’t even look up. He simply raised his left hand, his yellow eyes still fixed on the exit gate.

A sharp tentacle of black shot violently from his palm and stretched forty feet into the air in a fraction of a second, the tip flattening into a razor-sharp, shadowy cleave.

SWISH.

The tentacle sliced horizontally through the heavy metal grating of the catwalk and straight through the guard’s torso, cutting him perfectly in two at the waist.

Julien didn’t break his attack.

Behind a stack of heavy industrial crates near the exit, Viper crouched in the dirt, sweating profusely.

The interrogator had his serrated combat knife drawn, but his hands were trembling so violently he could barely hold it.

He had heard the slaughter.

Julien stopped walking.

His yellow eyes locked onto the massive stack of crates where he could smell Viper’s terror.

Julien crouched slightly, the concrete cracking instantly under the unnatural pressure of his boots.

BOOM.

He jumped, flying thirty feet into the air and clearing the massive stack of crates entirely. His body descended like a meteor, landing with incredible, devastating force directly on top of the crate Viper was hiding behind.

Before the interrogator could even raise his knife, a hand shot out of the dust cloud.

Julien’s fingers clamped around Viper’s throat, lifting the grown man effortlessly into the air.

"Shur-na xel’kor," Julien vibrated, the double-toned voice filled with malice as he stared into Viper’s terrified, bulging eyes.

"Julien!"

A loud shout echoed from the main entrance of the factory.

Julien slowly turned his head. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Standing just inside the blown-out iron gates were four figures, their faces painted in absolute horror.

Chris stood at the front, his shield lowered slightly, his eyes wide in disbelief.

Beside him stood Alice, trembling violently at the dark aura radiating from her contractor.

Just behind them were Milana and the guy from Blaze Party Ignis.

"What happened?" Chris asked, his voice cracking as he stared at the bloody slaughterhouse the factory had become, his eyes finally locking onto the glowing yellow eyes of his friend.

"Julien... what is that?"

Julien looked at Chris for exactly one second. There was no recognition in the glowing yellow orbs.

Then, Julien effortlessly twisted his wrist.

CRACK.

Viper’s neck snapped instantly, the interrogator’s body going entirely limp in Julien’s grip.

Milana gasped, stepping back, while Ignis instantly dropped into a combat stance, his mana emitting aggressively around him.

Julien casually tossed Viper’s lifeless body aside like a piece of discarded trash.

He turned his full, terrifying attention toward the four people standing in the doorway.

The shadows around his feet began to writhe and boil, climbing up his legs like living ink.

"Mal’drun..." Julien snarled, the bone-grinding voice echoing through the massive factory.

And then, he moved in an absolute, terrifying blur.