A Feast of Slaughter
Nairin was astounded.
Was it because the other races had burst out all at once?
No.
Was it because there were too many of them alive?
No.
Was it because Lee Taepyeong had started slicing through them with sheer, unbridled joy, as if he had been waiting for this exact moment?
Yes.
Zzzzt!
Cyborgs.
Their entire bodies were made of machinery. They shared a single hive mind called 'Mother' and operated via special electrical signals.
Even elves found cyborgs unsettling.
The 'Mother' they shared was a program that analyzed, judged, and evolved in real-time.
They had no emotions and acted solely for the benefit of their race—another point that demanded caution.
Cyborgs did not let their guard down.
Cyborgs did not make mistakes.
Cyborgs were not swayed by emotion.
While many races did not know fear, cyborgs were practically the only race where the emotion of 'fear' itself had been entirely erased.
That was what made them so unpleasant to deal with.
And yet.
Sparks!
Clank!
Lee Taepyeong was casually separating the cyborgs' heads from their bodies.
He wielded the elven sword with effortless grace, as if it had been his own from the very beginning.
Screeech!
The chilling sound of mechanical joints being torn apart echoed through the air.
"Huh?"
Cyborgs did not die simply from decapitation.
They could only be destroyed by crushing the main circuit located in their abdomen.
That was a cyborg's true death.
Taepyeong, who had instinctively been aiming only for the neck and heart, sliced through three or four of them before realizing the truth.
"Ah, so this doesn't kill them?"
He figured it out almost instantly.
I have to tell him their abdomen is the weak point...!
Just as Nairin was about to shout.
Crunch!
Crack!
Thud!
Taepyeong was already hacking the cyborgs' bodies to pieces at random.
He stabbed everywhere he could.
Until their entire bodies were reduced to scrap metal.
And then.
Hiss...!
Smoke began to pour from a cyborg's abdomen.
Its main circuit had been destroyed.
"This is it!" Taepyeong shouted, his voice laced with excitement. "So even machines can die!"
It was a cry of pure admiration.
Nairin felt a shiver run down her spine.
But she had no time to dwell on it.
Crack!
Thud!
Crunch!
Now that he knew their weakness, there was no hesitation.
Taepyeong's sword movements flowed like water.
The blade thrust forward, unerringly targeting only the abdomen where the main circuit resided.
Fortunately, because Nairin was an elf, she could just barely track his movements with her eyes.
To the other races, however, it looked as if Taepyeong was teleporting, thanks to his skill, Killing Time.
Hiss!
Sputter!
As the main circuits ruptured, acrid smoke blanketed the area.
All of this unfolded in less than five minutes.
"Cough! Cough!"
Was even a genius killer helpless against smoke?
While Taepyeong coughed, a particularly massive Orc lunged at him.
"Uryahhhhh!"
Foolish creature.
For the first time in her life, Nairin felt pity for an Orc.
To think she could actually feel sorry for such a loathsome monster.
Just how far did Taepyeong's talent go?
"Whoa, it's been a while since I've seen an Orc!"
"Die!"
"Good to see you, buddy!"
Taepyeong ran toward the Orc with a bright, welcoming smile, as if reuniting with an old high school classmate.
Squilch!
The blade pierced through the Orc's belly, shattered its spine, and protruded from its back.
"Ah, right."
"Keu-ghhh!"
"Stabbing the stomach was only for the cyborgs."
"Aaargh..."
"My bad, my bad."
As Taepyeong pulled his sword out.
Spurt!
Blood geysered from the Orc's abdomen.
"Sorry about that, man."
"Ke-gack..."
"I wanted to give you a quick, painless death."
Smack.
Taepyeong smacked his lips in mild embarrassment.
Thrust!
He drove the sword precisely into the Orc's heart.
The Orc's breath stopped instantly.
Unlike with the cyborgs, the spray of fresh blood seemed to put Taepyeong in an even better mood.
"This feels like a school field day!"
In a way, he wasn't wrong.
He was killing various races.
In various ways.
"This is my first time killing one of these."
The wings of a bat-like Pantera were ripped apart.
A pair of Panteras, now unable to fly away, shrieked and tried to run.
Slash!
Their heads rolled across the ground.
And so, he killed, and killed, and killed, and killed...
About thirty monsters from various races met their end beneath Taepyeong's blade.
It took less than ten minutes.
Normally, this final battle was supposed to be the longest and most grueling!
My goodness...
Throughout it all, Nairin held her breath, not daring to make a sound.
Fear, and an even greater sense of awe.
Overwhelmed by both, she couldn't bring herself to move.
Now I understand why he told me not to interfere.
With such overwhelming power, Nairin would have been nothing but a hindrance.
She silently praised herself for staying put.
She offered a brief moment of silent condolence to her senior elves, who had met their demise because they dared to act up in front of this great slaughterer.
"...Is that all of them?" Taepyeong asked, standing tall amidst the thirty corpses.
"Y-Yes!"
Nairin nodded vigorously.
Trickle.
She summoned a water spirit, poured clean water into a makeshift cup made of leaves, and offered it to Taepyeong.
Using a water spirit for something so trivial was something Nairin had never done in her life, but in front of Taepyeong, such conventions meant nothing.
Gulp, gulp!
Taepyeong grinned and drank the water she offered.
"Phew, that was refreshing."
He spoke as if he had just finished a light workout.
Nairin felt another shiver run down her spine.
Gulp.
And then, fear crept in once more.
Taepyeong was still holding the elven sword.
What if Lord Taepyeong decides to kill me too...?
Aside from Taepyeong, there was only one other race left alive: Nairin herself.
If Taepyeong killed Nairin, the last survivor...
Naturally, he would receive a new reward.
The Survival Match Annihilation Reward!
When her thoughts reached that point, she felt a chill that went beyond a simple shiver.
If Taepyeong decided to kill her for the reward, Nairin had no way to stop him.
Her only option would be to accept death...
"Hey."
Just as Nairin unconsciously took a step back.
"What are you doing?"
Taepyeong looked at her.
His smiling face looked exceptionally terrifying!
Taepyeong walked toward the retreating Nairin, holding the elven sword, which was still dripping with warm blood.
Am I going to die like this...?
Nairin trembled involuntarily.
Then, she tried to change her mindset.
If she had to die by the hands of a slaughterer with such overwhelming power...
Perhaps it would be an honor.
Grab!
The moment Taepyeong grabbed her shoulder.
"Ah!"
Nairin gasped, bracing herself for the cold blade to pierce her heart.
But instead.
"Hurry up and get out of the way, dummy."
Instead of piercing her heart, Taepyeong pulled her by the shoulder.
"We don't have time."
Taepyeong pointed to the flames licking their way toward them from behind.
Only then did Nairin snap out of it.
He's not going to kill me!
The god of slaughter possessed mercy as well!
What a truly magnificent person...!
Before she knew it, hot tears were streaming down Nairin's face.
Whoosh!
The flames raged with a terrifying force, as if they would swallow the sky.
"Hey, are you sure we're safe?"
"Do not worry."
Do not worry? They were on the verge of burning to death!
"Look over there."
"Huh?"
"The World Tree has already sprouted."
Where Nairin pointed, a green sprout was indeed growing rapidly.
Emitting a faint glow, the sprout shot up like the beanstalk from Jack and the Beanstalk.
"Oh."
Amazing. So this was the World Tree!
Rustle.
Branches spread out in all directions, and before they knew it, the sprout had transformed into a colossal tree.
A breeze blew through the glowing green leaves.
That refreshing wind extinguished the raging flames.
Crackle, pop.
As the fire vanished, the lush green forest was nowhere to be seen.
All that remained was a wasteland covered in gray ash.
"That Wrath of the Sun is something else."
"It is not entirely a bad thing."
"Huh?"
"For where death has passed, new life sprouts."
As if on cue, the moment Nairin finished speaking, green sprouts began to pop up from the colorless ruins.
Grass, flowers, bushes, and trees.
Carried by the wind, a new forest was taking shape.
"..."
Where death has passed, new life sprouts, huh?
That phrase felt a bit bothersome, but...
"Lord Taepyeong!"
Nairin called out to me urgently.
Flash!
When I turned my head, the World Tree was emitting a blinding light.
I instinctively closed and opened my eyes.
"Ah, reward chests."
There were brilliantly glowing reward chests.
Nairin's was a Gold Box.
Mine was a Platinum Box.
"A-A Platinum Box...!" Nairin gasped in admiration. "You truly are amazing!"
Flattery will get you nowhere.
It wasn't my first time getting a Platinum Box anyway.
I casually opened the chest.
Click.
Weapon. Weapon. Weapon. Please let it be a weapon!
Flash!
◈ Can revive a dead target.
What popped out of the chest was some kind of weed.
A Resurrection Herb?
The description was simple. It could revive the dead.
Wait.
Why would I revive someone I went through the trouble of killing?
What a ridiculous item.
Damn it. I thought I was finally getting a weapon.
"T-The Resurrection Herb...!"
Meanwhile, unlike my indifferent self, Nairin was utterly shocked.
She stared back and forth between me and the Resurrection Herb with a look of sheer disbelief.
"What did you get?"
In her hand was an arrow.
Wow. An arrow for an elf?
What a god-tier item.
It was a weapon that received a racial buff!
Ugh, this is so frustrating. Why can't I ever get a weapon!
"T-The Resurrection Herb... The Resurrection Herb..."
Regardless of whether I stared at her with envious eyes, Nairin just muttered "Resurrection Herb" like a crazy person.
"Tsk..."
What a waste. If I had just killed everyone, would it have been a Diamond Box?
Would a Diamond Box have given me a weapon?
What a shame...
No.
No, it wasn't!
I had decided to spare Nairin from the start.
Besides, I already opened the reward chest, so what would be the point of killing her now?
Calm down, Lee Taepyeong.
"Phew..."
Well, at least I made a friend.
Since Nairin was around a similar level, there was no telling where we might cross paths again.
She didn't seem like a bad person for an elf.
And since she seemed to follow me quite well, she would definitely be of help when we met later.
Sparing her was the right call.
"The Resurrection Herb... The Resurrection Herb..."
...Was it really the right call?
Anyway.
Leaving the dazed Nairin to her own devices, I put the Resurrection Herb into my inventory.
Well, I'd find a use for it someday.
Or I could sell it.
Honestly, it didn't feel like a particularly good item.
Even if I died, it wasn't like my dead self could pull the Resurrection Herb out of my inventory and eat it.
No.
Actually, I had no intention of dying in the first place!
None at all!
Ugh. Another bust.
When on earth am I going to get a weapon?
Everyone else seems to get them so easily!
"The Resurrection Herb..."
Leaving Nairin behind as she continued to mutter to herself, I spoke.
"Hey, I'm heading out first."
And with that, I returned.