Gravis waited with his saber readied. If the arriving force didn't decide to attack, he would ignore them, but if they came here to hunt for him, he would not show any mercy. If it were a beast, he would kill it. If it were bounty hunters, he would kill them. If it were disciples from one of the guilds, he would kill them.
Some seconds later, three people charged out of the trees into the clearing, their eyes focused on Gravis. Gravis saw their eyes and knew that they had come for him. Yet, there was an issue.
They were disciples of the Lightning Guild. This was an issue since Gravis wanted to support the Lightning Sect to repay them for everything. Yet, ironically enough, they were hunting him, and Gravis didn't want to fight them. They were his brothers and sisters, and even if they didn't look at him that way, he would still see them as such. Gravis would have already attacked if those people weren't disciples of the Lightning Guild.
"Betrayer!" a tall male disciple on the front shouted. "Finally, we've found you!"
Gravis narrowed his eyes. "I don't want to fight you," Gravis said. "I regret what I have done, and I will repay it all in the future."
The disciples looked at each other in surprise since that was not what they had expected. They had expected some cruel monster who would immediately attack them. After a while, they looked with disdain at Gravis.
"Now that you see that there is no way out, you want to claim that you are innocent. Don't joke around!" the same disciple said again. He was the leader of the three disciples, and he had reached the fourth level of Energy Gathering. According to intel, Gravis had only recently reached the Energy Gathering Realm.
Gravis released his Will-Aura but didn't compress it. The disciples immediately shook, and their breathing grew heavier. It felt like they were standing before someone who could kill them with a turn of his hand.
The leader gritted his teeth. "You can't intimidate us with your Heavenly Pressure! We know that it is only an empty shell and does not symbolize your true strength. We also know that it takes a lot of energy to release it! Give up and return to the Lightning Guild with us!"
Gravis sighed helplessly. "I can't! I still have many things to accomplish, and I will repay the sect in the future. Don't force me to get violent!"
"Arrogant!" shouted the leader and shot forward. Lightning appeared under his feet, and it increased his speed several-fold. Starting at the Energy Gathering Realm, people could use their elements for a lot of different things. Increasing one's movement speed was one such thing.
The disciple attacked at the front, while the two others flanked Gravis from the side. The leader attacked from the front with a stab of his spear, while the others shot their lightning from the side.
CLANK!
Gravis blocked the spear and didn't budge an inch, while the lightning hit his body. The disciples' jaws dropped as they saw how Gravis' body didn't care about the lightning. How was this possible?
The two disciples were only at the third level of Energy Gathering, and their lightning was natural lightning. Gravis' lightning resistance had increased with his breakthrough in the Energy Gathering Realm. His body had to be able to bear his own lightning, after all.
Gravis' body was able to resist his own lightning, which was Destruction Lightning of the third level of Energy Gathering. Even natural lightning from someone one level higher than him would not hurt Gravis. Only natural lightning from someone two realms higher would slightly injure him.
As for the disciple attacking from the front, he didn't even use his lightning to add damage to his attack. By trying to match Gravis with only his bodily strength, he was begging to be humiliated.
Gravis narrowed his eyes further, and his voice grew colder. "This is my last warning. Leave!" he shouted. Gravis used some strength and shot the attacking disciple back. The disciple flew for some time and created a ditch in the ground while trying to keep his footing steady.
The two other disciples looked at their leader and weren't sure if they could take Gravis. He had proven to be quite powerful. The leader looked at Gravis with a more serious expression. "You are stronger than I thought. Seems like I have to get serious."
After he said that, lightning came out from all over his body, and it all converged on his spearhead. With a shout, he shot forward, even faster than before. This time, he was not holding back. The lightning infused Energy Weapon shot towards Gravis' chest.
CLANK!
Gravis knew that this attack would be more powerful and decided to parry instead of blocking. Blocking it might stun him for a moment, and the others could take advantage of that. The spear passed Gravis, and the eyes of the leader shrunk to pinpricks.
SHINK!
Gravis slashed through both arms of the leader, and his arms and spear fell to the ground. The leader screamed in pain, and the others froze in shock. Gravis was way out of their league! They couldn't hunt someone like that! Which idiot said that he only recently reached the Energy Gathering Realm? Were they trying to get them killed?
Gravis looked on neutrally. "If you were anyone else, I would have ended your life already," he said and put his saber back. "Because you are from the Lightning Guild, I will spare your lives once," he said, and the fear of the disciple's reduced slightly, yet they were still prepared for an eventual battle.
"But," Gravis shouted. "This is the only time I will spare you! If you come after me again, I will not hesitate to take your lives."
The disciples to the side took a deep breath, while the leader was still screaming in pain. With some good medicinal pills, his arms could be reattached, but it still hurt like hell.
"You two," said Gravis to the disciples, who immediately froze in fear. Gravis' Will-Aura was still active, and they felt terror. "I have lost control in the Proxy-Lightning Guild, and I have committed the two grave sins of killing my Guild Master and destroying the Proxy-Lightning Guild. I can only repent by helping the Lightning Sect in the future as a payback."
"But," Gravis continued louder and with more seriousness. "I have not stolen anything from the Proxy-Lightning Guild! I confess to the previous two crimes, but I won't confess to me robbing the guild. I regret everything deeply, yet because of some reasons, I can't die yet. Tell that to the people in the lightning guild!"
The disciples looked at each other, unsure if what he said was the truth. Yet, even if that were the truth, it still wouldn't matter. Gravis had killed the Guild Master, and that was enough to kill him.
Gravis turned around and quickly left. He promised to repay the Lightning Sect, and he would not kill their disciples just like that. 'But,' Gravis thought while coldness shone in his eyes. 'If they return or someone else comes, I will kill them.'
The disciples looked into the direction that Gravis left to and then turned to their leader. They quickly collected his weapon and his arms. Then they supported him and started walking to the town. There, he could buy some medicine to reattach his limbs.
After some minutes, the leader stopped screaming. Instead, a cold look of hatred could be seen on his face. "A betrayer and murderer trying to get our sympathy?" he said as he spat on the floor.
"This isn't over!" he said through clenched teeth.