Raven grabbed a man who was close to him and wrapped his hand tightly around his head.
"No let me… live…please…"
The man screamed, begging for his life.
But Raven ignored him, relishing his terror.
With a loud, sickening pop, the man's head exploded from the sheer pressure of Raven's grip. The remaining men lost all hope.
One by one, they dropped to their knees and placed their weapons on the ground in surrender.
Richard, though helpless, hadn't completely given up.
I just need to wait until he lets his guard down… then I'll slice his neck.
He slowly reached for the knife hidden in his back pocket.
'I have this as a last resort. It's an E-rank weapon which should even be able to cut those monsters that came out of that rift in China.'
'I used up all of my gold on this in the system shop. It will be worth it when I survive this bastard.'
Raven, on the other hand, felt no need to show mercy. With a single swing, he killed most of the remaining men, leaving only Richard and one other.
The last man, other than Richard, realising there would be no mercy, tried to get up, but his legs buckled in fear. Raven grabbed his neck, laughing like a predator toying with prey.
This was Richard's only chance. He lunged forward, brandishing his knife, and swung with all his strength, aiming for Raven's neck.
But just as the blade was about to connect, Raven caught it with his other hand.
Without even looking surprised, and ignoring the slight sting from the small cut he had received, he yanked the knife out of Richard's grasp.
"But… h-how?" Richard stammered in disbelief.
"You think I don't know what kind of person you are?" Raven said coldly. "I knew what you were planning from the very beginning."
Thanks to his awareness skill, Raven had been tracking Richard's every movement while finishing off the other man.
Removing his mask, Raven decided he wanted some alone time with the orchestrator of his family's massacre. He ended the last gangster's life with a brutal squeeze, then turned to Richard.
"Oh, why do you look so frightened?" Raven taunted.
He laughed—a dark, twisted sound. "Lost for words, are we?"
Richard's eyes widened. "It's you!"
Richard's eyes went wide. At first, he didn't believe it — the silver hair, the flawless features. But beneath it all, he saw the shadow of the boy he had crushed years ago. The realisation hit like ice, and his bravado cracked into raw terror.
"How did you get this power?"
"What makes you think I'd tell you that?" Raven replied, playing along.
"Know your place."
"If you don't want to die a gruesome death like your brother and parents, get on your knees and beg."
Richard still believed Raven was the timid slave who once obeyed without question. But that Raven was long gone. Years of torment had twisted him into something else.
Hearing Richard's arrogant tone, Raven snapped. He grabbed Richard's face, pulling him close, and stared into his eyes, deep, piercing, soul-crushing.
To Richard, those few seconds felt like hours. Fear consumed him as Raven's overwhelming bloodlust poured out like divine wrath.
'How is this that same brat who was grovelling on the floor just days ago?'
For the first time, Richard truly understood—this was no longer the slave he had once known. This was the man who would end him.
Slice!!!
An arm dropped to the floor. Blood gushed from the stump where Richard's left arm had been.
"Aaaaarghhh!"
Reality crashed down on him as he screamed in agony.
"No, you can't."
"HEEELP!" He belched at the top of his lungs, hoping the guards outside might still hear him.
"How are you this dense?" Raven spoke through his own laughter.
For him, this was the fulfilment of a dream that he'd been holding onto for three whole years.
And honestly, he was both baffled and amused at how easy it had been in the end.
"Don't you understand that no one will hear you and no one will arrive to help either."
Richard, still in denial, slowly started to comprehend his powerlessness.
"Please…, at least stop the bleeding! It won't stop!"
Richard begged, but Raven didn't move. He, instead, was enjoying this.
He wanted to break Richard completely, not just kill him.
With a savage kick, Raven slammed Richard's face into the wall, nearly killing him outright.
To most, the sight of Richard, bloody, broken, and missing limbs, would have been pitiful. But to Raven, it was his very own Magnum Opus.
"Now then," Raven said coldly. "Why did you go after my family?"
Richard finally broke. "Please… spare me and I'll tell you!"
But Raven had no intention of mercy.
Blood splattered as he drove his sword into Richard's left shoulder, twisting it slowly, giving him no chance to recover.
"Aaaargh!"
"Speak." He didn't plan on waiting at all.
"It was… someone powerful, connected to the government! We were commissioned to do it, and we didn't ask questions! We had to uphold our… integrity!"
"Someone like him… serving the motherland? You don't ask questions."
Richard, unable to endure the pain, confessed everything.
But Raven was far from satisfied.
"Integrity…"
"Hahaha… you call what you did to my parents integrity?"
His blade swung again, severing another limb from Richard's mangled body.
"Please stop! Just kill me—please just end it!"
Richard, wracked with agony, could no longer bear to live. But Raven wasn't about to give him the mercy he craved.
"Now, why would I do that?" Raven sneered.
He didn't move. Just watched.
Waited.
Gradually, the screaming turned raspy and started to die down.
Silence swallowed the room.
Raven crouched beside the ruined body, staring into Richard's fading eyes, unblinking, as the final traces of life slipped away.
[You have levelled up.]