[ ] = Doruuk's thoughts
{ }= System message
I shot out of the sewer with lightning speed, my body tense like a released spring. The fresh night air hit my face as I rolled on the damp grass, my muscles screaming from the effort. Behind me, the discharge exploded with a deafening roar, illuminating the putrid sewer water with a spectral blue light that reflected on the astonished faces of my pursuers.
Time seemed to have dilated. Every second was precious, every movement calculated to the millimeter. I rose with a jerk, feeling adrenaline pumping through my veins like liquid fire. Without hesitation, I lunged toward the enchanter who was still staring incredulously at the empty sewer where I should have been struck by lightning. My dagger glinted in the night before sinking into his flesh with a wet, conclusive sound. His eyes widened in surprise, then dimmed as his body collapsed to the ground.
"He's out! Kill him!!" The desperate voice of one of the swordsmen tore through the night air, breaking the spell of astonishment that had struck the group.
{ The character's strength has increased. }
{ Fear has increased. }
I felt the change in my body immediately. A new wave of power flowed through my veins, making my senses sharper, my muscles more responsive. The fear I emanated expanded like an invisible aura, touching the minds of my enemies.
I didn't attack directly. It would have been suicide. Instead, I moved like an elusive shadow, jumping from one point to another with unpredictable movements, confusing their attacks. Their blades cut through the air where I had been a moment before, their eyes desperately trying to follow my rapid movements.
The first fell with a quick slash to the throat, so fast he didn't even have time to understand what was happening. Blood spurted into the night air, black as ink under the starlight. I felt the hot liquid splash on my face, but I didn't stop.
The second died with the last arrow I had, shot with millimetric precision straight to the skull. The sound of impact was chilling, a dull and definitive noise. I saw him collapse like a puppet whose strings had been cut, his eyes still open in an expression of surprise.
The third tried to defend himself, raising his arm in a desperate gesture. Too slow. I planted the dagger in his heart before he could raise his shield completely, feeling the blade pierce flesh, muscles, and organs with disturbing ease. His groan of pain quickly faded as he slid to the ground.
The three remaining archers, seeing how quickly I had eliminated their companions, tried to attack me from a distance. Arrows hissed through the air, but their shots were imprecise, disturbed by the fear I emanated. With a fluid movement, I grabbed the fallen shield of the third man and rushed toward them, using the metal protection to deflect the remaining projectiles.
The distance between us rapidly decreased. I could see the terror growing in their eyes as I approached, unstoppable like a storm. The first archer didn't even have time to string a new arrow before the shield hit him in the face, shattering his nose and making him fall backward. My dagger completed the job, sinking into his exposed throat.
The other two tried to retreat, but they were too slow, too frightened. I reached them in seconds, eliminating them with precise and lethal movements, each blow perfectly calibrated to cause instant death.
{ The character's strength has increased. }
{ Fear has increased. }
Now only eight swordsmen remained. The combat had gone on long enough for my unease to rise significantly. I could feel it radiating from me like invisible waves, touching the minds of my adversaries. Their eyes betrayed confusion and fear, their hands trembled slightly as they gripped their weapons. My strength had increased to the point that killing them became easier and easier, like breaking dry twigs.
[ The combination of my active and passive abilities is working perfectly. It's as if they're paralyzed by fear. ]
I felt time passing inexorably. The "Escape" ability wouldn't last much longer.
[ I need to be quick, I only have 5 seconds of "Escape" left. ]
With a quick movement, I grabbed the bow of one of the fallen archers and created space, stepping back to gain distance. Even though "Escape" would soon go on cooldown, I still had a significant advantage.
[ Even if Escape goes on cooldown now, I still have the upper hand, thanks to my passive abilities. I can do this. ]
One of the swordsmen, in a desperate gesture, threw his dagger at me. The rotating blade rushed toward me, but my enhanced perception allowed me to dodge it with a fluid movement, as if I were moving through water. Without hesitation, I shot an arrow that flew straight into his heart, piercing it with surgical precision. I saw him slowly collapse, his eyes rapidly losing light.
{ The character's strength has increased. }
{ Fear has increased. }
And so I did again, with another and another. Each death fueled my power, each fall of an enemy increased the effect of my passive "Aura of Dread." The arrows flew with lethal precision, always finding their target. Each time I killed, the ten-second effect duration reset and started again, creating a continuous cycle of power.
The last two remaining were paralyzed with terror. I could clearly see the fear in their eyes, pupils dilated in the dark, faces as pale as corpses. Their weapons visibly trembled in their hands, their breathing was quick and shallow. The survival instinct finally took over and they tried to flee, turning their backs to me in a desperate attempt to save themselves.
I didn't allow it.
With one last dash, swift as a predator's leap, I reached them. I grabbed the first one by the hair, pulling his head back with a sharp movement. The blade of my dagger danced in the night air before cutting deep into his throat. Blood flowed copiously, black under the starlight, as the body went limp in my arms.
The other stumbled in his desperate flight, fell to his knees, and when he turned, his eyes were wide with pure terror. His pupils reminded me of those of a trapped animal, aware of the impending end.
"Wait! Please—" His voice was cracked with panic, his hands raised in a gesture of supplication.
Too late.
My dagger sank into his flesh with a fluid and precise movement, extinguishing his words in a suffocated groan. I felt the resistance of the body as the blade penetrated, then the final yielding when it reached vital points. Life abandoned his eyes, transforming them into empty spheres that reflected the starry sky.
Silence.
I was the only one left standing on the improvised battlefield. Heavy breathing, the furious beating of my heart still in my ears, my body trembling slightly from the effort and the adrenaline in circulation.
The night above my head was like a black cloak wrapping around me, punctuated by cold, distant stars. My hands were covered in blood, sticky and warm. My body emitted such a horrible stench, residue from my dive in the sewers, that it almost made me faint. Before my eyes, the lifeless bodies lay in contorted positions, white and empty eyes, mouths open in expressions of surprise or terror. It was such a horrible scene that it would haunt the nightmares of any normal man.
I looked around slowly, assessing the situation. No one had survived my attack. Quietness had returned, interrupted only by my labored breathing and the distant call of some nocturnal animal.
Fatigue suddenly overwhelmed me, like an unstoppable wave. I lay down on the ground, feeling the damp grass under my back, and looked at the starry sky that continued imperturbably in its eternal cycle, indifferent to the massacre just committed.
[ When did I become like this? ]
The thought emerged from the depths of my mind, unexpected and disturbing.
[ Now I don't even hesitate to kill a person. ]
[ A human life... I don't know how many I've killed until now. ]
My hand tightened on the hilt of the dagger, still warm with blood.
[ Am I an assassin? ]
The stars shined cold and distant, silent witnesses to my actions.
[ Everyone here is. ]
I tried to justify myself, to find meaning in what I had become.
[ I think I had already lost my humanity, my fear, and my heart when I landed in this world. ]
[ Now I just want to survive and nothing else. ]
I closed my eyes for a moment, allowing myself a moment of vulnerability that I couldn't afford during combat.
[ I am Doruuk Velor, who will not surrender until the end of his life. ]
[ Ahhhhh... ]
I opened my eyes, returning to harsh reality. I couldn't stay there too long.
[ Now I'll get up and do something with these bodies. If I leave them here, something might happen that I don't want to happen. Even if they are gangsters, you never know. It's better to dispose of them. ]
I rose with difficulty, my muscles protesting from the sustained effort. I began to consider my options, methodically evaluating every possibility.
[ I can create a pit and throw them in, but I don't have a shovel, and it will take time to create such a large pit. Time I don't have. ]
I looked at the bodies scattered around me. There were too many to be easily hidden.
[ I can't burn them, because I don't have the material. And even if I did, I can't risk it. People, seeing such a large fire and smelling the smoke, might come to investigate. ]
The last option appeared clear to me, even if disgusting.
[ The last way remains the sewers. The sewers eventually flow into the sea, and these are long enough to end far from here. ]
With cold determination, I began the macabre work. I took all the bodies, one by one, cut them into small pieces with precise and methodical methods, and threw them into the sewers. Blood stained my hands, arms, clothes. The smell of death mixed with the already nauseating odor of the sewers, creating a combination that would make even the strongest stomach vomit.
[ It's disgusting work, but I have to do it. I can't afford to leave traces. ]
After about an hour, everything was done. The bodies had disappeared, destined to be transported by the fetid waters to the sea, where they would become food for fish. I washed myself as much as possible with water from a nearby stream, trying to eliminate the blood and part of the stench.
[ Now I have to do something about the remaining gang that went with the boss. ]
I started thinking, my brain working at full capacity despite the fatigue.
[ I have an idea! ]
I headed toward the gangsters' weapons that hadn't ended up in the sewers, examining them carefully. Then I looked at their arrows, noticing a significant detail.
[ Good, as I presumed, they have their gang's mark on the arrows. ]
I collected three arrows and a bow, examining them carefully in the starlight. The mark was clear, unmistakable. The remaining weapons I collected and buried carefully in a random spot.
[ And now I know well what to do. I don't need to do all the work alone. ]
A cold smile formed on my lips as a plan took shape in my mind. I would use their own weapons against them, in a way they would never expect.
Chapter-End.