Chapter 325: Crow
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 325: Crow
"Phew—is... is he finally dead?"
In the woods, shadows flickered and swayed.
Liya slowly rose from a crouching position, letting out a long, heavy sigh.
She exhaled so deeply it felt as if she were trying to purge every last bit of air from her lungs. Yet, her heart continued to hammer against her ribs, refusing to settle.
She looked down at her hands.
Those slender, pale hands, once as delicate as white jade, were now stained crimson.
Stained with someone else's blood.
She had killed someone. For the first time in her life.
"Urgh..."
Liya suddenly felt her stomach churn.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Barton’s pale, lifeless face, still frozen in a mask of disbelief and hatred. In his chest, the massive hole carved and scorched by her Holy Light Blade—the result of her desperate, excessive force—looked like an eye staring back from the abyss, fixed intently upon her.
Having chosen the path of a Saintess to save the world and lead countless believers, Liya had never imagined she would ever be associated with the word "murder."
But she hadn't expected...
"Ugh... it’s so scary, so terrifying."
The sensation of the blade sinking into flesh, the spray of hot blood, and Barton’s curses, pleas, and screams as he teetered on the edge of death—it all swirled relentlessly in her mind.
She never wanted to experience that sensation again.
But... now was not the time for this.
Liya reached out and closed Barton’s staring eyes. Then, she shook her head violently, forcibly driving the chaotic thoughts from her mind.
She looked up toward the dark, deep distance, her gaze gradually hardening with resolve.
"Wait for me, Muen."
Liya took a firm step forward.
"I’m coming right now. Until then, please... you must stay safe."
*
After Liya left, silence returned to the forest.
The sun peeked through the dark clouds, illuminating the messy clearing where the giant trees had been hewn down.
Caw—!
Suddenly, a sharp crow’s cry shattered the stillness.
And awakened along with that silence was...
Barton.
"Damn it... cough, cough... is that crazy bitch finally gone?"
Under the light of the not-too-intense sun, Barton—who should have been dead several times over with a gaping hole where his heart used to be—actually opened his eyes.
He had come back to life.
Or rather, he had never truly died.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it! I almost actually bit the dust because of that slut."
Barton’s face was contorted with rage as he gnashed his teeth.
Having a blade made of Holy Light thrust into your chest and twisted several times was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a pleasant experience.
"Good thing I had a trump card."
He raised a trembling hand and reached behind him, pulling out an object that looked like a heart carved from stone.
Eerily, this stone heart was currently pulsing slowly, as if it were actually pumping fresh blood.
Barton slowly pressed the stone heart into the cavity in his left chest.
As the stone heart entered, it miraculously fused with his mangled blood vessels, beating powerfully as if it had truly become his own heart.
Barton let out a long breath, and a hint of color finally returned to his face.
Ancient Artifact: Stone Heart.
Its effect allowed it to replace the user's heart if it suffered irreversible damage. Furthermore, regardless of the cause of the injury, as long as the user was in a life-threatening state, it could temporarily sustain their life and extend it through the process of "heart replacement."
It was an incredibly powerful Ancient Artifact.
Back when Barton had killed that annoying old man in his family and was being hunted into a corner by the Empire’s hounds, he had accidentally discovered two Ancient Artifacts deep within a cave. It was those items that had allowed him to build his terrifying reputation as "Butcher Barton."
The other Ancient Artifact was, of course, the bracelet that possessed the power to sever all things.
However...
Thinking of the bracelet, Barton turned his head with difficulty to look at the pile of debris on the ground. His cheek twitched violently, and his expression turned hideous once more.
That Ancient Artifact was gone.
In just a few short minutes, the most important thing supporting his name as the Butcher had been turned into a pile of useless scrap.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it! You little brat, I will... I, Butcher Barton, will make you wish you were dead!"
Barton’s eyes were bloodshot as he cursed at the empty air.
"Just you wait. I’m going to torture you in the most brutal way possible. I’ll make you regret everything you did to me! I swear it!"
So what if he lost his Ancient Artifact? He was still a Fourth-Tier Martial Artist—a genuine Fourth-Tier!
Next, I’ll personally...
No, that little brat isn't weak either. A direct confrontation isn't wise.
So...
Family...
Yes, family, friends, whatever. As long as it’s someone that little brat cares about. I’ll catch them one by one, torture and ravage them, record it with image magic, and send the recordings along with their eyeballs and ears to her...
Ha, haha! Her expression then will be magnificent. Truly magnif—
Barton’s excited imagination was cut short by a fit of weak coughing.
"Damn..."
Barton felt his chest.
The wound was healing slower than he expected, likely due to the lingering effects of the Holy Light.
But that was a minor issue. The only real trouble was... the Stone Heart did not come without a price.
While it became your heart, it drained half of your lifespan and all of your current strength.
There was nothing to be done about the lifespan, but fortunately, his strength could be recovered. With the potions and magic stones he had stored away, it would only take about half an hour to recover enough to move freely.
It wasn't a big deal.
Even though he was currently just a powerless ordinary man, the aftershocks of his battle with that brat should have scared off any Variants in the area. No mindless beast would dare...
Barton idly scanned his surroundings, only to lock eyes with... a crimson pupil.
"Holy shit! What the hell?!"
Feeling like his newly installed heart was about to jump out of his chest, Barton stared in shock, only to realize the owner of that crimson eye...
Was a crow.
A giant crow, half the height of a man and native to this forest. It had its wings tucked in as it hopped over to Barton’s side, tilting its head and staring straight at him.
"Fuck, you scared the life out of me."
Barton frowned and waved his hand dismissively. "Scram, you dead crow! Or I’ll drain your blood in a minute!"
"..."
The crow ignored Barton’s threats and dismissal, allowing his weak hand to brush against its feathers.
It was so powerless.
A flash of human-like mockery flickered within the bird's crimson eyes.
Caw—!
It suddenly spread its wings and let out a loud, piercing cry.
"Huh?"
Barton blinked, and then his expression shifted.
Because more crow cries began to echo through the surrounding woods.
Caw—!
Caw—!
Caw—!
A black torrent swept in, circling above Barton and blotting out the sun.
It was a massive, uncountable murder of crows.
Then, the crows began to land one by one—on fallen trees, on shattered rocks, and all around Barton.
The light vanished.
Barton was surrounded.
Every single crow tilted its head, staring at Barton with crimson eyes.
It was as if they were staring at a steaming, hot buffet.
"You... you... you lot..."
The color drained from Barton’s face again, leaving him as pale as parchment.
He suddenly remembered that there were no "ordinary" creatures in this forest. Even these crows, which seemed unremarkable aside from their size, were actually vicious Variants.
Before, he could have crushed these stupid birds with a single hand.
But now, he didn't even have the strength to stand up.
And clearly...
Just as these damned crows had ruined his ambush on Muen by the lakeside earlier...
Crows held a grudge.
Caw—!
The slightly larger crow that had landed first hopped onto Barton’s chest.
Its crimson eyes reflected Barton’s terrified face.
But Barton didn't have time to say anything else.
The crow pecked down. Within its long, slender beak, it now held... an eyeball.
Barton’s eyeball.
"AAAAAAAH!"
Barton screamed, but his cry was quickly drowned out by the excited cacophony of the crows.
As the lead crow cried out again—like a dinner bell ringing for a cafeteria—the long-starved diners swarmed forward. Amidst wails of extreme agony and despair, they used their sharp beaks and talons to enjoy this feast of blood.
*
A short while later, the slightly larger crow—its feathers darker and glossier, its eyes more intelligent—spread its wings and took flight.
It had not partaken in the feast; to it, the flesh of a mere human was somewhat filthy.
Its wings swept over countless giant trees until it suddenly paused at a certain spot.
Its crimson eyes reflected several figures locked in a fierce battle.
It watched for a moment, its gaze lingering a few extra times on a certain blond figure, before spreading its wings again and gliding silently into the distance.
This time, it moved with incredible speed, like a bolt of black lightning.
Giant trees, lakes, and clouds blurred past behind it.
Finally, it arrived at a massive mountain peak.
Half the mountain was buried under eternal snow and storms, yet the bird easily bypassed this forbidden zone that was impassable for ordinary men, reaching the very summit.
There was no wind here; only silence.
There was only a massive, crater-like hole, pitch-black and bottomless.
The crow dove into the hole and landed upon another mountain.
Caw—
It opened its beak.
The object it had been carrying fell naturally.
It wasn't the eyeball from before, but... a heart.
A heart that looked as if it were carved from stone.
Thump, thump, thump...
The Stone Heart rolled down the side of the mountain.
The faint glimmers it emitted illuminated the true nature of this "mountain."
It was a mountain piled high with countless treasures—bronze, gold, gemstones, blades, Ancient Artifacts, and riches that generations of dynasties could never hope to match... and skeletons.
And judging by the blurred silhouettes nearby, there was more than one such mountain.
Clang.
The Stone Heart rolled to the very bottom, hitting something with a crisp metallic sound.
Another brief silence followed.
Suddenly.
A low hum vibrated through the darkness, like countless bellows drawing in a massive amount of air.
The mountain trembled.
In that instant, the darkness was utterly banished.
For two majestic Golden Pupils ignited, like two brilliant suns, looking down upon all of creation.