Capítulo 37: Chapter 37: The Streets Run Red
Chapter 37: The Streets Run Red
The streets ran slick with blood, pooling in the cracks between cobblestones. The acrid stench of burning wood and flesh clung to the air, thick and suffocating. My blade carved through the hapless bystanders, a symphony of steel and screams accompanying the carnage as both my servant and I tore through flesh and bone. Every kill, every gurgling death rattle, was punctuated by the cascading stream of notifications that filled my vision, level after level, point after point.
The city guard arrived soon after. They were strong, far more formidable than the panicked civilians, but their strength meant little in the face of what they were forced to witness.
Their city, the very streets they had once walked as children, filled with laughter, light, and the warmth of home, had become an abattoir of brutality and despair. Friends, comrades, maybe even family lay scattered in grotesque heaps, unrecognizable masses of crushed bones and shredded flesh. The guards froze, their hands gripping their weapons with uncertain resolve. Their expressions wavered between horror and duty, but I could see it in their eyes, their spirits were breaking.
There were about twenty of them. They outnumbered me, their training and coordination superior, and under normal circumstances, I would have lost this battle before it began.
But this wasn't normal.
A smile tugged at my lips as I activated my skills.
[Seed of Discord] [Grade: D-Grade] [Type: Active] [Details: Amplifies emotions such as fear or anger, making affected individuals significantly more prone to irrational or extreme actions.] [Proficiency: 11.3%]
[Despair Aura] [Grade: F-Grade] [Type: Active] [Details: Reduces the morale of nearby foes by 15%.] [Proficiency: 79.6%]
[Dark Dominion] [Grade: D-Grade] [Type: Active] [Details: Gain temporary control over weaker enemies who fear you.] [Proficiency: 24.1%]
Of course, the guards were too strong for me to dominate outright, but the fleeing civilians, the wretched souls who still clung to life, were another matter. The city was vast, and I had only carved through a fraction of it. There were still many to be slaughtered, but if I wished to truly bring this place to its knees, I needed to deal with these guards swiftly. If reinforcements arrived, this would become troublesome.
"All we gotta do is hold out until the commander gets here!" one of the guards barked, his voice laced with forced confidence.
[Activating Dark Dominion…] [Finding Targets…] [23 Targets Found!] [Give Command] [Duration of Control: 00:05:21…]
Attack the guards.
The command was absolute. The terrified civilians, previously driven only by their instinct to flee, turned as one. Their vacant eyes betrayed no thought, no hesitation, only the command that had been carved into their very being. Like rabid animals, they lunged at the guards, unarmed and untrained. They couldn't hope to wound the armored soldiers, but that wasn't the point.
This plan relied on the guards' humanity. Their compassion.
And it worked.
I saw it in their faces; hesitation, grief, revulsion. Some faltered, their hands trembling as they raised their weapons against their own people. Tears glistened in the corners of their eyes as they cut down civilians who had once been neighbors, friends, perhaps even family.
A grin stretched across my face.
The world had taught me a simple truth: compassion was a weakness. Humanity was a flaw.
All that mattered was power. My strength. My desires. My unquenchable thirst for more.
I surged forward beneath the veil of chaos, my sword slipping between the plates of a guard's armor, sinking deep into his back. He choked on his own blood as the blade jutted out from his chest. I wrenched it free with a sickening squelch, his body crumpling to the ground like a discarded rag doll.
Blood sprayed across my face. I licked my lips, the metallic tang of iron coating my tongue.
Was this… peace?
Then, the system's screen flashed before my eyes.
[Unyielding Wrath interacting with subconsciousness…] [Unyielding Wrath forcefully evolves…] [Unyielding Wrath (E) becomes Primal Berserk (Unique)]
[Primal Berserk] [Grade: Unique] [Type: Active] [Details: Increases all stats by 200% for 10 minutes, then decreases all stats by 50% for 1 hour. Whilst activated, player is entirely controlled by primitive drive. Decreases pain by 100% during its duration.]
A chuckle escaped me. So, I truly was no different from a beast now. Fitting.
Then, movement in the distance. I turned my head, my gaze snapping toward the far end of the street. More guards surged forth from both directions, their armor gleaming beneath the crimson glow of the burning city. At their front stood a particularly imposing figure, likely the commander.
And then another voice, raw with fury.
"You…"
From the smoldering remains of the tavern, a figure emerged. The mercenary commander. Though battered, he was still very much alive. His face twisted into a mask of unbridled rage, his gaze burning with murderous intent.
"You fucking bastard!" he spat, his voice a venomous snarl. "We should've left you to rot where we found you, you fucking demon!"
The irony was not lost on me. He looked far more like a demon himself, emerging from the flames unscathed, his expression warped by wrath.
I took stock of the situation. There were now more than a hundred guards, the commander, and the mercenary leader. My odds? Slim. Perhaps nonexistent.
And yet, the thrill that coursed through me was intoxicating.
It had been a long time since I faced a battle where victory wasn't assured.
My fingers twitched, navigating the shop as time seemed to slow.
[Current Points: 248]
Enough for two items. New skills had appeared, no doubt rewards for my continued destruction.
[Skill: Shadow Steps (C-Grade), Dark Sword Aura (C-Grade), Villain's Laughter (C-Grade), and Pyrokinesis (E-Grade) (New!)]
Pyrokinesis. A tempting choice, likely born from my recent displays of arson. But too weak. I needed something that could work with Primal Berserk. Something that could tip the scales.
And I found it.
[Dark Sword Aura] [Grade: C-Grade] [Type: Active] [Details: Coats your blade in darkness, enhancing its strength, sharpness, and swiftness according to stat: Dark Aura. Unlocks stat, Dark Aura. +20 to Dark Aura.] [Proficiency: 0%]
A perfect complement to my newfound berserker state.
And one more thing…
[Darkness In A Bottle] [Type: Item] [Details: Engulfs the area within a 2-kilometer radius in a dark mist, decreasing all stats by 10% for all who do not possess evil alignment. Duration: 1 hour. One-time use.] [Cost: 100 Points] [Available: 1]
A gamble. But one worth taking.
As time returned to its normal pace, I met the eyes of my enemies.
Now, I'd show them why I was the greatest.
Capítulo 38: Chapter 38: Crimson Rampage
Chapter 38: Crimson Rampage
The bottle sits heavy in my grasp, its weight amplified tenfold by the pressure of the moment. War cries tear through the night, a deafening, desperate cacophony. Soldiers surge forward, a human tide crashing into its counterpart, their captains cutting through the battlefield like executioners.
Time is a luxury I can't afford. Not now.
My grip tightens. The fragile glass shatters in my fist, and white-hot shards bite deep into my flesh. The pain should be unbearable. But it isn't. It's nothing. Just fuel.
The world warps. A feverish hunger rises within me, and my mind shatters beneath its weight. Thought, reason, and hesitation are swallowed whole. There's no more Cassian, no more control. There's only the bloodlust. My body moves without my command, faster than I can comprehend, tearing through the battlefield with the primal drive of a predator.
My vision narrows. The world is no longer people or soldiers. It's movement. It's bodies. It's death. The shards in my hand? Gone. The pain? Gone. It's all irrelevant now. There is only the hunger.
The battlefield drowns in shadow.
A mist, no, something far worse, churns like a living thing, swallowing the light, devouring sound. The air thickens, suffocating the world around me. But I don't care. I'm beyond it. I'm beyond anything but the fight.
I glance at my bleeding hand, now a mess of embedded slivers. The blood pools, but I don't even feel it. It's just a part of this, just another mark of the beast I've become.
"Why the actual fuck did I do that?" A chuckle bubbles up, a strange, hollow thing. "At least it probably looked cool."
[Activating Dark Sword Aura]
[Total Dark Aura: 20]
A swirling blackness coils around my blade, barely visible in the oppressive gloom. It pulses, tendrils of shadow licking hungrily along the steel. My grip tightens, and I'm one with the darkness.
I've never truly been a monster, until now.
[Activating Primal Berserk]
[Increasing all stats by 200%]
[Warning: Losing control in 3... 2... 1…]
Raw, primal power floods my veins, dousing thought in its violent tide. My body moves faster than I can track. The battlefield becomes a blur, a frenzied nightmare. Pain, blood, and death become a melody I can't stop dancing to. Every muscle is an instrument, tuned to perfection. Nothing hurts. Nothing matters. There is only the blood. The kill. The hunger.
My blade becomes an extension of my will, carving through armor and bone like water splitting against a rock. Each strike, a brutal rhythm. A rhythm that doesn't stop. That won't stop. Flesh tears beneath my onslaught, a slick, satisfying sound that echoes in my ears. Each victim, each kill, a brief moment of ecstasy.
Limbs scatter like discarded scraps, swallowed by the abyss, consumed by the darkness I now call home.
This is my domain now.
Then—
CLANG!
The momentum halts. My blade meets steel, parried with merciless precision. A pair of searing red eyes cut through the darkness, brimming with unrelenting fury.
The mercenary captain.
His aura burns, an inferno against my abyss. The air crackles with the clash of our blades, and I can feel the raw force rippling out with each strike, sending shockwaves through the night. His strength is immense, but it doesn't matter. I am beyond strength. I am the storm.
We trade blows, each strike a brutal test of endurance. The ground beneath us cracks with the force of our battle. He's good, too good. But I am faster, relentless. A blur of motion, a savage beast.
[Race: Tiefling]
[Level: 293 (47.2%)]
[Title: Captain]
[Skills: Captain's Command (S), Intuition (A), Swordsmanship (A), Hand-to-Hand Combat (B), Riding (B), Flame Aura (B), ...]
[Stats: Str-594, Agi-573, End-528, Int-313, Aura-522, Luck-144]
[Status effects: Furious, Grieving]
[Player: #23081]
[Level: 54 (62.7%)]
[Title: True Villain]
[Skills: True Villain (Zenith), Devil's Eye (God), Plot Armor (Unique), Hero's Growth (Unique), Noble Sacrifice (Unique), Merciless (Unique), Primal Berserk (Unique), Swordsmanship (B), Slaughterer (C), Shadow Servant (C), Dark Sword Aura (C), Torture (D), Pain Tolerance (D), Cold-Headed (D), Dark Dominion (D), Seed of Discord (D), Tracking (D), Despair Aura (F)]
[Stats: Str-642 (214), Agi-594 (198), End-522 (174), Int-249 (83), Mag-120 (40), Luck-339 (113), Dark Aura-60 (20)]
[Unallocated stat points: 0]
[Status effects: Primal Berserk]
I can't overpower him with raw stats alone. But I have something he doesn't.
Luck. And I don't feel pain.
The clash of our swords is deafening. Each strike sends shudders through my body, but I don't stop. I can't stop. I'm just a force, a machine of war, and nothing can break my momentum.
Then, a misstep, a momentary hesitation. I feel the cold bite of steel as his sword plunges into my gut. Blood floods my throat. I cough, tasting iron, but I don't stop. I don't even care.
His eyes flicker with something. I don't know what it is. Fear? Victory?
No. It's joy.
A wicked grin spreads across my face. My fingers clamp around his wrist, vice-like, and I lunge, teeth sinking into his throat.
The sound is wet, guttural, as flesh tears beneath my bite. He screams. Then confusion, then sheer horror. His grip falters.
I spit out the mangled flesh, grinning through bloodstained teeth.
Then—pain.
I don't react fast enough. A flash of motion. A blade from the side.
My left arm is gone.
The severed limb arcs through the air, blood trailing in its wake before landing with a sickening thud. My body reels, but I don't stop. Not yet.
Another flash of steel—
Then my leg is gone.
I collapse, the ground rising to meet me in slow motion. Blood pools around my broken form, my severed leg twitching uselessly beside me. My vision flickers, the world teetering between reality and oblivion.
But I don't care.
The mercenary captain stands over me, blade poised for the final strike.
[Time left on Primal Berserk: 00:53…]
[Adjustment Period: 12 Days 07:22:09…]
Is this where it ends?
No.
Not yet.
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