One of the guards looked at Aren, he scanned him from head to toe and then rushed at Aren, slashing down at full speed. Aren had barely any sword practice or any form of training, but he had watched some videos, so he made a move to block, but it went bad as the swords collided and his own was pushed down, digging into his shoulder. The pain shot through his body like a flood, his eyes popped, veins bulged and he looked the knight right in the eye.
The knight wanted to press the blade in more to finish the job, but before he could, Fang lunged at him, teeth going right for the neck. But the knight managed to step back and lift a hand to block. Fang's teeth wrapped around the metal armor, penetrating slightly. He used his body weight to send the knight down to the ground.
BAM, the knight slammed into the ground, knocking his helmet off his head and revealing his face. When Aren looked at the face, he froze, the sword in his hands shaking. The knight looked at him with eyes that pleaded, begged for mercy, and he had the power to give that mercy now.
Aren stepped forward, hands still shaking. He thrust the sword down, and it penetrated right into the neck of the knight. Blood splashed all over his face. He left the sword there in the neck, taking a step back.
[1/5 kills]
[You gained 50 soul fragments]
He looked at the screen. This man wasn't counted as a person, he wasn't counted as someone special. No, he was only a number added.
"I'm sorry, but I must survive," Aren said. He walked to the body and pulled the sword out. He looked at the body on the ground, wondering if he should turn it into his shadow, but he didn't. He wanted to have some humanity left in him when this was over.
One of the knights saw that Aren killed his partner, and rage immediately overtook him.
"Arghhhhhhhh!" He rushed at full speed. Aren turned, seeing him headed his way. This time he didn't bother about anything sword. He tossed the sword to his left hand and then activated the Wolf's Guard, covering his entire right arm, and then used the attack that it had—the claw strike.
Five claws made of darkness cut through the air faster than the man could react and cut right through his armor and hit his chest. They dug deep and the knight coughed blood, but he didn't stand down. Gritting his bloody teeth hard, he roared,
"I'll kill you, you were all meant to protect us from the trials." His voice cracked as he spoke.
Aren heard those words and his heart ached. He didn't know what the trial wanted from them, but this—this was a level of evil that they should put no man through.
Still, he shut his eyes and took one breath, and then uttered the last apology he would ever speak in the entire trial again.
"I'm sorry for everything."
He spoke, apologizing for what he was doing and what he would do. But he had accepted that if he truly wanted to get strong and survive, he would have to put his feelings aside. He wasn't planning to die at all. This was his second life, and this time he would thrive.
The knight slashed, but Fang lunged into him and bit the sword out of his hand. The knight landed on the ground hard. Aren walked to his side and thrust the blade right through his throat.
[2/5 kills]
[You gained 50 soul fragments]
He looked at the screen with a blank expression and empty eyes, not because he had lost all emotions right now, but because he needed the cold, turned-off way to survive.
He looked up and saw bodies of knights laying across the ground, bleeding and dead, but not them alone, as even the awakened had suffered some great losses.
Some had even gotten through the knights and headed inside to finish those inside.
Aren looked at the time on the system screen and somehow half an hour had already gone. "Tsk." He clicked his tongue and rushed at the next knight that he saw. Another awakened was also running for the knight.
The knight was trapped in the middle of both attacking parties, fear gripped him. Aren looked at the boy running his way; he didn't want the boy getting his kill, so he immediately gave Fang an order. "Get him," he said in a cold-blooded tone, and Fang immediately went after the man, lunging at him at full speed while Aren went for the knight.
He swung his sword at Aren, but Aren easily dodged the attack. It was extremely obvious, because the knight was attacking in fear. From underneath, Aren came with a punch that shattered the jaw of the knight and sent his helmet flying, before following up with a thrust and stabbing right through his heart, killing him instantly.
[3/5 kills]
[You gained 50 soul fragments]
[4/5 kills]
[You gained 50 soul fragments]
[Level up, +4 stat points]
Two notifications came in, meaning Fang actually killed the awakened. Aren looked at the body on the ground for a few seconds, but then looked away.
But someone else also saw it—the silver-haired S-tier. He had already gathered all his kills and had seen when Aren's wolf took out one awakened. The act made him frown.