Raven's footsteps pierced the darkness of the forest as fast as the wind. The trees were only glimpsed as shadows, and the muddy ground did not slow his movement in the slightest. His breathing was steady, his gaze straight ahead, as if the whole world had shrunk to a single destination: the cave where his friends were.
A few minutes later, the faint light of a fire began to appear in the distance. The smell of blood filled the air, stinging his nose.
Raven slowed his pace, lowered his body, and entered the cave's mouth with silent movements.
And there, a hellish scene awaited him.
On the damp cave floor, the bodies of eight students lay lifeless. Some had slash wounds on their chests, while others had their heads covered in blood. The pungent smell mixed with the smoke from the flickering torches on the walls.
On the other side, eleven bandits stood inside the cave. Rough bodies, faces full of scars, wild eyes filled with mocking laughter.
Two women, Hana and Lisa, were dragged into the middle of the cave. Both were weak, their hands tied, their mouths choked with uncontrollable sobs.
A bandit pushed Lisa's head roughly until she fell. Her glasses flew off and shattered on the cave floor. Before she could get up, rough hands grabbed her again, pulling at her clothes with intentions clearly visible in the bandit's dirty gaze.
"AAAAA!! NOOO!!"
Lisa screamed, her voice breaking with fear.
The bandits seemed to laugh with satisfaction at the scene, as if they were laughing at what their friend was about to do to Lisa.
"Let her go!" Kyle shouted. Despite his body covered in bruises, he continued forward, trying to help Lisa.
Unfortunately, a burly bandit managed to pin Kyle to the ground. His knee slammed hard into Kyle's body, pressing him down until his face was almost touching the cold cave floor. Kyle's breath was choked off, his eyes bulging with anger mixed with despair.
The bandit chuckled, his voice hoarse and raspy. In the Murim language, which neither Kyle nor his friends understood, he spat on the ground and sneered,
"Still daring to fight back, huh? You think your life is worth anything in this place?"
A crude laugh immediately broke out from his companions. Some of them mocked, while two other bandits dragged Lisa forward.
Her body was fragile, her top torn off, half exposed, revealing skin that should have been protected. Lisa screamed, trying to push away the rough hands that groped her. But a hard slap made her body stagger and fall to the ground.
Her tears flowed. She crawled while begging,
"Please..."
"Please don't..."
"Please let me go..."
"Let me go... please... let me go..."
"Hahaha! Doesn't a girl become even cuter when she cries?" exclaimed one of the bandits with a grin.
"That's right! There's nothing more enjoyable than watching a girl fight back, then slowly break down," replied the bandit who had slapped Lisa, his evil laughter echoing in the cave.
Another bandit turned his head and sneered. "Hey, are you crazy? Want to enjoy that girl at a time like this?" he said, but instead he burst out laughing even harder, making the others laugh too.
Kyle, whose face was still pressed against the ground, didn't understand a word of their language. But just by seeing the dirty smiles and wild stares the bandits were giving Lisa, he understood what they meant.
His anger boiled over, no longer contained. His jaw tightened, and he bit his lip until fresh blood flowed. His body shook violently, holding back the turmoil that was about to explode.
The bandits didn't care at all. They just kept laughing, as if other people's suffering was entertainment for them.
"Hurry up and finish it!" snapped one of the bandits. "We still have to get back to headquarters before the leaders return."
"What about the other one?" asked another bandit, lifting Hana's chin.
His hand was rough, gripping the girl's cheek and showing her face to his companions. Hana struggled, pushing away, but the grip was too strong.
Another bandit glanced at her with a vicious smile. "Hmm... she's good. Keep her. If we give her to the leaders, maybe we can get an extra bonus."
Hana screamed, her voice hoarse with fear. "Let me go! Don't touch me!" She tried to turn her head towards Kyle and Lisa, her eyes wet with despair.
Not far from there, Theo stood with a trembling body. His breath was labored, sweat mixed with blood flowing down his temples. Even though his body was about to collapse, he still stretched his arms as wide as possible, standing in front of the few remaining students behind him. His face was pale, his knees shaky, but his gaze refused to give up.
"Don't pass…" he whispered to himself, as if speaking to his legs to keep them from collapsing.
"As long as I'm still standing… you won't be able to touch my friends…"
But deep down, Theo knew that without a miracle, they would all die tonight.
"I won't stand by and do nothing!" Karin shouted from behind, her voice breaking, her eyes red and filled with tears.
"Let them go! Hana! Kyle! Lisa! Don't hurt them!"
She tried to push forward, her steps unsteady, almost falling. But several students immediately held her back, including Theo, who with his last ounce of strength still stretched out his arms, preventing Karin from crossing the line.
"Let me go! I have to help them!" Karin struggled, pushing away the hands that were trying to hold her back.
She hit her friends' shoulders and chests in panic, tears falling heavily.
"Let them go... don't hurt my friends... I beg you!" Her cries echoed, filling the cave that was already crowded with fear.
In the meantime, Kevin lay helplessly on the ground. His body was also covered in wounds, his breathing labored, as if every breath was torture. Even though his eyes were almost covered by the blood flowing from his temples, his gaze remained fixed on Hana. There was bitterness, there was piercing pain, but there was also a final desire to protect her.
With his last ounce of strength, he raised his trembling hand. His fingers shook violently, as if trying to reach Hana, who was far ahead of him.
"Please... let go... Hanaa..." His voice was hoarse, almost inaudible, as if all his remaining strength had been drained just to utter those words.
The bandits laughed at their cries. A crude, cruel laugh echoed off the cave walls like a taunt from hell. One of them spat on the ground, then stepped forward.
"What are they talking about?" muttered one of the bandits in Murim language, his eyes narrowing in contempt.
He raised his axe high, the torchlight reflecting off the metal blade stained with dried blood. With a vicious grin, he prepared to slash Theo, who was standing protecting his friends behind him.
The torches trembled on the cave walls. Breaths caught. It was as if time stopped for a moment before the sword fell, a cold air instantly sweeping through the cave.
It was as if something was creeping in with the darkness, heavy, sharp, piercing to the bone. The torch on the wall swayed, the flame flickering unnaturally, as if sensing the approaching threat.
One by one, the bandits turned toward the entrance. From the darkness, footsteps could be heard. Almost silent, yet each step felt like the beating of a war drum in their chests.
A tall shadow slowly appeared, blending into the darkness before finally being revealed by the torchlight.
A sturdy body, a cold, emotionless face, and dark eyes that seemed to suck in all the light around them.
"Raven..." the soft sigh flashed simultaneously in the minds of his friends.
There was surprise, as well as a strange sense of fear that arose within them because the aura emitted by the young man was not that of an ordinary human being.
Hana, who was being held by one of the bandits, struggled hysterically. "Raven! Run! Don't come here!" she shouted in a hoarse voice mixed with tears. The rough grip on her arm grew stronger, causing her to whimper in pain.
The bandits began to laugh, trying to cover up the fear that was creeping into their hearts.
One of them stepped forward casually, a large sword slung over his shoulder. "Hahaha, what's this? ... It turns out their little help has arrived."
"This kid thinks he can save them?" replied another bandit mockingly.
"Don't let him escape out of fear. Do it gently," said another, laughing maliciously, igniting a wave of ridicule.
"Calm down," said the bandit who was walking closer, his eyes staring at Raven with murderous intent.
He tapped the hilt of his sword, as if toying with his prey. "I'm a gentle person... so this won't take long."
Raven didn't respond. He remained silent, his gaze sweeping across the cave.
The blood-soaked corpses of his friends. Kyle, pinned down, his breath choked off under a bandit's knee. Lisa, her clothes torn, her face covered in tears.
Hana screaming and struggling, her body being roughly strangled. Karin struggling behind Theo, begging while crying. Theo himself standing with a trembling body, trying to be the last shield. Kevin lying helplessly, his hand still weakly reaching out towards Hana.
All of that entered Raven's eyes.
And inside him... something cracked.
Slowly, it shattered. Shifting, it turned into sharp shards. The aura of death began to seep out of his body.
That aura was not merely the anger of a human. It was the aura of a predator, cold and merciless.
Raven's gaze was no longer just cold, it was the gaze of himself as
the Heavenly Demon...