Chapter 3. The Innocent Prisoner (2)
Most of the soldiers were still inexperienced rookies.
It couldn't be helped. Veteran elite troops with real combat experience usually served under high-ranking holy knights. A newly appointed holy knight—one whose consecration water poured over his head hadn't even dried yet—had no choice but to command soldiers who had just graduated from the training camp or lacked experience.
That was why it was inevitable they failed to stop the barbarian tearing into the demon.
"U, ughh...."
"My God, E, Elga, give us strength...."
"Urgh, gkk! Gweaagh!"
Hands hastily traced holy signs everywhere. Far from approaching to restrain the barbarian, they didn't even dare to grip their weapons. Some soldiers couldn't endure the retching and vomited their guts out.
Meanwhile, Kadim ripped open the demon's neck and greedily drank its blood.
He didn't care about the nauseating stench that churned his stomach. Thanks to experiences from previous cycles, his tolerance had been thoroughly tempered. He gulped down the thick, pus-like blood, swallow after swallow. Gradually, his heart began to pound violently, and scorching heat bloomed from his muscles.
Now he had consumed enough blood. Kadim wiped his mouth and stood up. Slowly closing his eyes, he focused on the changes happening in his body.
'Strength enhancement... no other special effects?'
Not all demon blood produced the same effects. Depending on the demon's type and rank, different buffs would manifest. This time, perhaps because it was the blood of a low-grade demon with nothing special, only the most basic 'strength enhancement' buff appeared.
Still, that was enough for now.
The pain from the wound below his shoulder was gone. A faint dizziness rose as the blood throughout his body boiled. Muscles that had already been large swelled even further.
His unique trait, 'Blood Berserker,' had begun to do its job.
Now he could clearly wield power beyond the realm of humans.
First priority was breaking free from his restraints. Kadim poured strength into his forearms and biceps, then spread his chained arms outward.
Clank— krrrk, tick, tick, ting!
The metal links whitened as they stretched, unable to withstand the terrifying tensile force, snapping one by one. Twisted fragments of iron flew in all directions.
Pachang! Tuduk, tududuk—
In the blink of an eye, the chains were completely torn apart like rotten rope. Kadim shook off the heap of chains and flexed his hands with dull thuds.
An unreal, inhuman strength. The soldiers were stunned. Their bodies trembled as they staggered backward in unison, forgetting that they were armed while he was barehanded.
Not everyone fell into panic. The squad captain, who had experience facing demons, kept his composure to the end. He leveled his spear and shouted at the others.
"Don't retreat! Form up and subdue the prisoner! He's unarmed and wounded! A few more thrusts with spears and he'll be dead for sure!"
Hesitantly, soldiers gathered while reading each other's faces. They barely managed to raise their spears toward the barbarian. Still, not a single one burned with fighting spirit.
The fact that he was unarmed offered no comfort at all. Who would want to fight a mad barbarian with such monstrous strength? It would be less frightening to fight a frenzied troll—at least those were stupid.
All the soldiers adopted similar stances: legs sunken awkwardly, neck muscles stiff, torsos twisted slightly sideways, ready to flee at any moment.
With such postures, they could never withstand a single blow from a blood-drunk barbarian.
Power surged into his calves, and Kadim sprang forward like a coiled spring. With a fist laden with heavy inertia, he smashed the face of the soldier in front of him.
Pusshk!
The weak crunch of a nosebone shattering. The entire face collapsed inward from the impact point, eyeballs popping out. It looked like a watermelon crushed by a mace.
"...Huh?"
The next victim was the soldier beside him, still frozen in confusion.
Crack—
Kadim struck the soldier's lower jaw. The jaw joint tore apart, teeth and mandible ripped off entirely and sent flying. The soldier, collapsed on the ground and bleeding profusely, took a finishing blow to the crown of his head and rolled his eyes back.
"U, ugh, uaaaaaagh!!"
One panicking soldier lowered his spear and charged recklessly. Kadim merely shifted his body slightly aside to evade the blind thrust. He grabbed the spear shaft and applied light pressure with his thumb, snapping it in half.
Dduk—
"This should work as a short spear. I'll take it, thanks."
"W, what—?"
The broken spear became the barbarian's weapon. Closing the distance as he charged inward, Kadim turned the soldier's confused exclamation into his last words.
Thunk—
The spearhead pierced straight through the Adam's apple. When he pulled it out, a jet of blood spurted from a coin-sized hole. At that instant, Kadim sensed movement from behind. Wiping blood droplets from his face, he immediately turned and hurled the short spear.
Shwaeak—
A streak of metal pierced the abdomen of a soldier who had been sneaking closer. Flesh and intestines were skewered, dragged out through his back. Dropping his weapon, the soldier collapsed, screaming like a child.
"Ueaaaaaah—!"
Crack!
The scream didn't even finish. Kadim's fist shattered the fallen soldier's skull. Clear cerebrospinal fluid mixed with nosebleed and streamed out as the soldier collapsed limply, never to rise again.
Kadim pulled the short spear from the soldier's abdomen, then stared coldly at the remaining soldiers. Their faces were pale like wax, shoulders trembling violently.
Four lives were lost in mere moments. The soldiers felt as if they were trapped in a nightmare. This couldn't even be called a battle—it was a massacre, no, a merciless slaughter.
The formation they had barely maintained collapsed. Nearby soldiers lost strength in their legs and sat down. Those farther away dropped their weapons and fled screaming.
"U, ughh, p-please, spare me...."
"Uaaah, uaaaaaaagh!!"
"It's a demon... th, that's a demon!"
"He's not a demon, he's human! Get a grip!! There's only one enemy! If we rush him together, we can win!"
The squad captain's shout was useless. No one believed him—not even the man who said it.
The squad captain thought that even if he had brought twice as many soldiers, he doubted they could handle that barbarian. Before such overwhelming force, numbers meant nothing. No matter how many chicks there were, they couldn't stop a lion.
To stop a lion, another lion was needed.
"Th-this, what is this madness, heretic...! How dare you... my soldiers...."
Elga's young lion bared his fangs at last.
The soldiers—even the squad captain—forgot all sense of dignity and hid behind the holy knight. The holy knight grimly swept his gaze over the corpses, then ignited a petulant fury.
"You filthy wretch! Did you sell your soul to a demon to gain such power? In the name of the august Guide of Light, Elga, I pass judgment upon you, heretic!"
Kadim examined the holy knight carefully.
Left foot forward, right heel slightly lowered behind it, the familiar long spear that had pierced below his shoulder in hand. He held the shaft with one hand for now, but would soon grip it with both.
His equipment and posture were far superior to those of the rabble soldiers, yet still crude. Compared to the monster-like high-ranking holy knights he'd faced in the first cycle, it was laughable.
Still, carelessness was forbidden. His own combat power wasn't that impressive either. He was no longer Atala's great warrior who had beheaded a great demon with a single axe.
'...I'm just a barbarian prisoner rampaging on a single buff.'
The demon blood he drank this time granted no increase to defense or recovery. One strike to a vital point could mean death.
Kadim picked up a long spear lying on the ground and resolved to finish it with this if possible.
Shwae— ak!!
A fierce ripping sound cleaved the air, a force comparable to a ballista bolt fired from a heavy crossbow. To the soldiers' eyes, they couldn't even see where the spear flew.
Thud—!
Amazingly, the holy knight dodged it. The spear only tore up useless grass and dirt. Though his plate armor made him seem sluggish at first glance, the holy knight was far more agile than lightly equipped soldiers.
Watching this, Kadim clicked his tongue.
'So he didn't earn his holy knight appointment for nothing.'
Yet for a brief instant, the holy knight's gaze wavered. Had that hit, death would have been certain. He'd dodged reflexively, but the terror of death was now etched into his mind.
The holy knight could not accept his own reaction. Gritting his teeth, he thrust his spear toward the sky.
"O Master of Eternal Radiance, Elga, Lord! Grant your proxy the power to purge the vile servant of demons!"
A pure white flash descended as if dancing through the air, flowing down the spear and settling into his body. It was Elga's divine technique (神技), one that cast aside fear and enhanced physical abilities. Terror faded from the holy knight's pupils, leaving only quiet-burning fighting spirit.
With the god at his side, there was nothing left to fear. Shouting the sacred name, the holy knight charged like lightning.
"For Elga!"
A collision was inevitable. Kadim charged at the holy knight at the same time.
The spear shot swiftly toward his heart, withdrew the instant Kadim evaded, then darted in again like a venom-fueled viper seeking its chance.
Whoong, hook, hook!
Bluish steel scattering cold air drew savage arcs in succession. The spearhead snapped back and lunged forward again, probing for an opening. As the blade grazed Kadim's right cheek, a crimson frost bloomed.
Yet Kadim felt his tension gradually fading.
The holy knight's movements were too honest.
Martial skill without deep-earned experience was easy to read, no matter how sharp it looked. And when facing someone who had slaughtered countless humans and demons, there was no need to elaborate.
Though his physical prowess was gone, his experience remained intact. To Kadim's eyes, the opponent's every movement was obvious. After grazing his cheek once, the spear could no longer touch him at all.
The counterattack came in an instant.
'He'll stab to the side this time.'
Kadim deliberately exposed his flank and waited. As expected, the spearhead flew straight for his side.
Hook!
Kadim twisted his body and easily avoided the strike, then burst inward like a flash.
The holy knight panicked and tried to pull the spearhead back to regain control, but it was futile. Kadim had already wedged the shaft firmly between his arm and torso, locking it in place.
"W, what...?"
It wasn't only the spearhead that carried cold. A bone-chilling frost seeped into his skin, but Kadim endured it. The spear shaft was now immovable, as if jammed between rocks.
Had he released it immediately, the holy knight might have escaped. But in his panic, he couldn't think that far. His youthful face turned deathly pale. Kadim spoke in a stern voice, as though pronouncing a death sentence.
"Pray you can stay with that damned god even in the afterlife, Elga's puppy."
"W-wait, no... p-please...."
Thud—!
The holy knight's skull was crushed by the barbarian's fist. Blood gushed from his ears and nose. Though he wielded a special weapon and refined martial skill, his end was no different from that of ordinary soldiers.
It didn't end with death alone. As Kadim stared at the corpse, a tenacious light burned in his eyes. There was still a debt to repay to this holy knight.
He grasped the holy knight's spear. Crack— in an instant, frost spread around his palm. A rejection reaction, preventing anyone other than its master from wielding it. Enduring the cold, Kadim stabbed hard beneath the holy knight's shoulder.
Crunch! Thunk—
The spear pierced through both the breastplate and the upper pectoral muscle. It was the exact same spot where Kadim himself had been stabbed. The holy knight, pierced by freezing cold, twitched reflexively, then went still. Kadim hurriedly released the spear before suffering frostbite.
The debt was fully repaid.
Silence engulfed the plain.
The futile death of the holy knight, their last hope. The soldiers trembled as if seized by convulsions. Not one of them still felt any sense of duty to carry out the mission.
"N-no way... Lord Linton...."
"U, uaaaaaagh!!!"
"Ruuuun!!"
The soldiers crawled along the ground like dogs or fled the scene on two legs as fast as they could.
Shwaeak, shwaeak—
He couldn't leave future trouble behind. Kadim returned the abandoned spears to their owners. One by one, large spikes sprouted from the soldiers' backs, and they collapsed before they could even take a few more steps.
"Wh-what are you...? Are you really a demon's servant...? How could you possibly have such power...."
Crush!
Even the squad captain, who had held his ground to the very end. Not a single soldier was spared.
Kadim stood still for a moment. Calmly closing his eyes, he focused on the changes throughout his body.
Muscles settling down, pain from old wounds resurfacing—the buff was gradually fading. Being the blood of a low-grade demon, and already decayed at that, the duration was indeed short. Still, he wasn't focusing solely to observe the buff.
'Side effects... still at a mild level?'
Fortunately, being the second cycle didn't cause the side effects to rush in any faster. In the first cycle, full-blown madness only set in after drinking the blood of over a dozen mid-grade demons. Under similar conditions, a single low-grade demon wasn't enough to matter.
Kadim opened his eyes again and belatedly looked over the corpses of the holy knight and soldiers.
A blood-soaked chaos spread across the quiet plain. A merciless slaughter had flamboyantly opened the curtain on the second cycle.
"...."
Even so, he felt no particular guilt.
Seeing this much blood had been common even in the first cycle. Kill or be killed—that was the reality. If he indulged in guilt over things like this, he would never survive in this damned world.
Clink, clink—
Not everyone at the scene had lost their lives. Prisoners cautiously revealed themselves. Most had been hiding in nearby bushes, taking advantage of the soldiers' lax watch.
They, too, had vividly witnessed Kadim's superhuman might. They were deeply shocked, yet none fled. No one considered Kadim an enemy.
Rather, the prisoners regarded the barbarian who had eliminated the soldiers as a benefactor—or a rogue worthy of becoming their leader. Some were already busily calculating in their heads how to join him and pull off a big score.
One prisoner stepped toward Kadim, hoping that if he sweet-talked this ignorant barbarian well enough, he could make him handle all kinds of dirty work in the future.
"Hey there, brother! That was an impressive performance! I've got something to discuss, but could you at least loosen these chains first?"
That expectation shattered—along with his skull.
Crack—
Kadim left a brief answer for the prisoner whose forehead had caved in.
"No."