Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Striking at Pride (9)
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He held his breath and began to listen intently to the sounds outside.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Amid the noises of trees splintering and shattering,
"Gah, guh!"
"Krgh...."
Chilling sounds were sporadically mixed in.
They were horrific noises, the kind that made one wonder if a human could scream in such agony.
"Huh!"
Something was going terribly wrong. An ominous, chilling sensation reached even here.
Right now, the bandits were being mercilessly slaughtered by some unknown intruder. The fact that their yells were gradually dying down was proof.
"Wh-what do I do?"
Philip's lips trembled as he retreated to the corner of the prison cell.
Whoever was out there cutting down the bandits wasn't the guard unit. It was uncertain whether they would even find him and spare his life.
"I thought I'd finally survive...!"
Philip whimpered in lament. His fate truly felt too cruel.
It was then.
Boom!
Something slammed into the prison wall.
"Eek!"
Philip jumped in fright and fell flat on his butt. His lips quivered as he stared at the shattered wall.
"Pruu?"
Through the gap in the wall, a pair of gleaming golden eyes appeared.
A m-monster?
"Huh!"
Did that mean the thing out there killing the bandits was a monster!
'In the end, I'm going to die here.'
Tears streamed down Philip's wrinkled cheeks. He missed his daughter so much.
❖ ❖ ❖
His vision flickered red.
Every time he blinked, it returned to normal, only to turn red again.
"Damn it."
He bit down hard on the soft flesh inside his mouth.
All his senses had become unbearably acute, tormenting him.
Bandits were running around like their asses were on fire, and Blackstar was rampaging in every direction.
The scent of grass on the ground, the smell of burning wood from the torches, the smell of the wind from the fields—it all assaulted his nose intensely.
And then, the rich scent of life.
[Kill.]
Requiem whispered, pushing at his back. He instinctively tensed his legs.
Yet for some reason, he didn't want to resist it.
"The entrance! It's at the entrance!"
"We can't see the boss!"
"Then call the underboss!"
The bandits' shouts stabbed at his ears. The metallic clink of them gripping weapons, the footsteps growing louder as they approached.
The sounds kept provoking him, sounds, sounds.
"Fuck, shut up."
He ground his teeth and muttered,
[Then kill them.]
A low, hissing whisper reached him.
[Kill them, and they'll be quiet.]
A voice filled with pitch-black, rippling void. Even amid this chaotic feast of senses, it clearly drenched him.
[Come on.]
His foot moved as if tugged by something.
Step, step.
One step became two, then three.
The flickering of his vision quickened. The humans approaching him began to look reddish.
"Haa...."
A sigh escaped him unconsciously.
It wasn't from suffering. It was anticipation for the ecstasy he would soon taste.
"Hungry...."
His stomach wasn't just hungry—it hurt. Like dozens of fingers clawing at his insides.
If he didn't shove something into his gut right now, he'd go mad.
He had starved for far too long.
"Quickly...."
The blood bursting from torn skin, the vivid life force swirling around his body.
"You bastard!"
One bandit charged at him, spear gripped awkwardly. It was the one he'd sent flying into the door earlier.
Thwack!
Kicked by his foot, the bandit soared through the air. The spear slipped from his hand and rolled limply on the ground.
"Guh!"
The moment the bandit's body hit the stockade, he drew Requiem and thrust.
Squelch!
Requiem pierced the bandit's shoulder and embedded into the stockade with a thud. It felt like stabbing tofu—no resistance at all.
"Aaah!"
The bandit's body impaled on the stockade convulsed wildly. He writhed like a fish skewered on a harpoon.
"Haa."
A low groan leaked from his mouth.
The taste of life force he'd endured and waited for so long was sweet, so sweet.
He wondered how he'd ever lived without it. He felt foolish for suppressing his desires all this time.
Requiem thrashed in delight.
'More, more.'
He wasn't sure if it was Requiem's whisper or his own mutter, but the words scattered in his mind.
Fsssh—
The bandit's shoulder began to shrivel bit by bit. As his nearby mouth dried up, his groans turned into increasingly grotesque noises.
"Krrgh...."
Another bandit charged from behind.
"Charlie!"
Without turning, he thrust his left hand backward.
"Gk?!"
His hand shot out like lightning and seized the charging bandit's throat.
"Gurhk."
The bandit's feet slowly lifted off the ground. Because he was raising his arm higher and higher.
Clang!
The bandit dropped his weapon and grabbed at his hand. In a situation where he could barely breathe, he had no choice.
"Kek, kehk."
The bandit struggled to pry his hand from his throat. But the hand gripping it didn't budge an inch.
"Kek...."
The bandit's face turned purple, like it might burst, and his eyes rolled back. His nails scraped futilely across the gauntlet before slipping off.
Just then, the first bandit pierced by Requiem breathed his last. He yanked Requiem free,
Thud.
And the corpse toppled to the ground like a log.
'Not enough yet.'
Absorbing one human's life force barely registered. It was like tossing a pebble into a vast ocean.
'Quickly. The next one.'
The heart of the bandit in his grasp pounded fiercely.
The blood laced with terror, that life force—his mouth watered just thinking how sweet it would be. No, he already knew the taste, which made him crave it more.
He immediately thrust Requiem into the bandit's abdomen.
"Gulp!"
Even with his throat constricted, the bandit convulsed in extreme pain.
He released the throat and placed his hand over the one gripping Requiem. Clutching the hilt with both hands, he pushed it upward into the air.
"Gk, krgh."
Impaled on Requiem, the bandit rose slowly. Like a frog skewered on a wooden spit.
"Guhk!"
Blood erupted from the bandit's mouth. Blackened blood, as if afflicted with some incurable disease.
Due to the weight, the bandit's body began sliding downward along the blade.
"Kruuugh...."
Desperate to ease his pain, the bandit grabbed at Requiem. But the moment his hand touched the blade,
"Kaaaah!"
He screamed as if being torn apart, thrashing wildly.
The hand that touched Requiem melted away. Black flames scorched the contact point with a sizzle.
In the end, he couldn't let go of Requiem. His withered arm could no longer move.
"Krgh...."
The bandit's body twisted, shriveled, and finally dried up completely.
Gulp, gulp.
Requiem sank its teeth into him and greedily sucked up the life force. At last, a satisfied groan emanated.
[Delicious....]
It wasn't just Requiem that murmured it.
"Delicious...."
To savor the taste even a little deeper, he closed his eyes. His heart raced from the long-awaited gourmet feast.
Shaaa—
At some point, the exquisite flow from Requiem stopped.
"Ah...."
Already over?
He snapped his eyes open, filled with regret.
"Haa, damn it."
Smacking his lips, he pulled Requiem from the bandit's body.
The fingers that had touched the blade had already turned like rotten twigs. As he withdrew Requiem, even they crumbled to dust and vanished.
The bandit's body collapsed to the ground, scattering like black dust. He stared at the remains.
Only one thought came to mind as he gazed at them.
'Next.'
He wanted to devour the next life quickly.
He turned around. The bandit camp was utter chaos.
Boom! Boom!
Thanks to Blackstar charging around and demolishing every building.
"Uwaaah!"
"Dodge! Get out of the way!"
"What the hell is that?!"
The bandits were busy screaming and fleeing from Blackstar. None approached him.
Whoosh!
In that instant, he heard metal slicing through the air. He stepped aside,
Thuck!
And an arrow whistled through the space he'd vacated, embedding behind him.
"Tch."
A grumble came from above his head.
On the watchtower, a bandit was nocking an arrow to his bow. Their eyes met, and the bandit's hands moved faster.
'Next.'
That single thought still dominated his mind.
Thud!
He kicked off the ground and dashed. He leaped up the ladder several rungs at a time, instead of one by one.
"Wh-what!"
He snatched the wide-eyed bandit and hurled him down.
"Aaah!"
The bandit plummeted to the ground, still clutching his bow.
Boom!
From atop the watchtower, he looked down at him.
"Ugh, uuuugh...."
The bandit groaned on the ground. His legs were twisted at grotesque angles.
He looked like a worm crawling on the earth. Even that form soon turned red and distorted.
'Quickly, I want to eat.'
He leaped down from the watchtower. Despite the height of a three-story building, he landed lightly.
Step.
The bandit who'd heard his footsteps looked up.
"Eek!"
The bandit frantically looked around. Ahead, he spotted the bow he'd dropped.
"Ugh...."
He began crawling toward it on his elbows. His legs seemed broken and useless.
Step, step.
He approached the bandit slowly. Watching his worm-like struggles.
"Huff, huff."
The bandit's breathing grew ragged. Even using both arms to crawl, the distance between them shrank.
"Hah, hah."
The bandit glanced back and met his pitch-black eyes.
"-!"
A streak of fear flashed across the bandit's face.
"N-no."
The bandit's arms moved even faster. Just as he stretched out to reach the bow,
Squelch!
"Aak!"
He stabbed Requiem into the bandit's broken leg. Requiem burrowed into the ground, pinning the body like a stake.
"Agh, aaaah!"
The bandit flailed in agony. Even if broken, he hadn't lost sensation in his leg.
The more he struggled, the more vigorously life force surged up through Requiem.
"Haa...."
It was truly delightful.
Watching this futile writhing, savoring the thick scent of life force wafting from him.
"Krk, gk."
The more he moved, the more areas touched Requiem. Realizing he couldn't advance no matter what, the bandit looked back.
"-!"
The grotesquely bent leg had now become a rotten stump.
Naturally, absorbing from farther from the heart slowed the drain. But that made it better.
He could savor it longer, more thickly.
Confirming one leg fully withered, he pulled Requiem out. Then stabbed the opposite knee.
"Aaah!"
The bandit's upper body jerked up and down. Half his lower body was already beyond his control.
Grrrr—
Requiem growled in satisfaction, slurping up the life force. The leg above and below the knee shriveled rapidly.
"Kruuugh...."
The bandit had completely lost the will to fight. He didn't even think to grab the bow anymore.
"Yes, that's right."
He found the bandit's state commendable.
'If you resist, I have to kill you quickly.'
He wanted the bandit to last longer. To endure until every last drop of life force from his body was absorbed.
Shink!
He pulled Requiem out completely and approached the bandit's side.
"P-please...."
The bandit's face was hideously contorted with tears. His nails, scraped painfully against the ground, had broken and bled.
Of course, no pity stirred.
"S-spare me...."
The bandit before him was mere prey.
Something to fill his ravenous void, to sweetly drench his mouth, to pour sweet sounds into his ears.
Prey like that.
"L-li...."
Squelch!
Requiem pierced the bandit's throat.