"Please..."
"What?"
"Please kill me... I was wrong. I was really wrong. Just let this useless breath of mine come to an end..."
Nearly thirty minutes had passed. During that time, I had relentlessly bestowed upon Cluze a living hell. Even if he wished for death, I kept healing him, ensuring he could not escape the torment.
When his strength returned, I would wrench his entrails, causing him further agony. In the face of torture so severe, even the most resilient spirit wavered. In the end, Cluze began to confess his sins in a steady stream.
All of it was captured by the prepared recording device. Though the footage was brutal, I thought it necessary. After all, he was a vicious criminal, entangled in wickedness.
Not only did he deserve judgment, but I believed that many had the right to witness the act of his judgment.
"Enough!"
"Ugh!" I grasped Cluze by the hair and lifted him, placing the dagger of slaughter against his throat. "Do you have any last words?"
"Even if I die, the Umbra sect will surely take revenge on you."
"That's fine by me. I hate the Dark Sect with a passion."
"Ha, I'll be waiting for you in the afterlife!"
"Well, I'm not planning to visit the hell where you reside."
"I will curse you...!"
With a swift slice, I cut his throat before he could finish his words. In an instant, my level rose by five. At last, I had reached level 100.
[You have broken through level 100. The upgrade of your insight has been completed. Would you like to confirm?]
As expected, the message appeared swiftly. The insight grew in increments of level 50. However, the bonus effects gained from the upgrade were random. I immediately chose to confirm. An upgrade was always a pleasant turn of events, regardless of the reason.
[Insight: Triple]
[Visual Obstruction Correction: (See Details)]
[Vulnerability Analysis: (See Details)]
[Clairvoyance: You possess absolute sight that pierces through the opponent's clothing, armor, and concealments. You can detect hidden weapons or ambushes they have concealed on their bodies, as well as identify physical characteristics. However, using clairvoyance consumes 100 mana.]
“Clairvoyance!” I exclaimed in delight. This power was not simply for the sake of satisfying personal curiosity, although honestly, I did feel a little giddy about it. Just a tiny bit! Very little, in fact.
Yet, unconsciously, my gaze shifted toward Ella, and as if entranced, I activated clairvoyance.
"Oh!" A gasp escaped my lips. Ella truly was formidable.
“Let’s keep this in check. I’m too old to be blushing at such things.” I cleared my throat, shaking off the lewd thoughts that had filled my mind. Even though I wore the necklace of Gorzas, my suppressed desires occasionally erupted uncontrollably. I took my time to effectively utilize the clairvoyant ability.
Then, I spotted two concealed daggers hidden beneath the left side of Ella’s armor. These were weapons she always kept on hand for emergencies. Clairvoyance was indeed a half-baked ability in <Paradiso>.
While the system implemented all abilities, the game limited its functionality to merely detecting weapons. The reason being the controversial nature of seeing another player's body without clothing, even if it was just a virtual representation. Naturally, this became a social issue outside of the game, leading to the restriction of clairvoyance to ‘weapon detection.’
However, in this world, those limitations did not apply; it had come over untouched since the beginning.
“Considering there are no operators to filter or restrict like in <Paradiso>, it makes sense.” This realization reminded me of the privileges I enjoyed in this life. Although I was still just an extra, I had many special things that applied only to me. Abilities like clairvoyance and transcendence magic had become incredibly helpful.
“Let’s see.” I surveyed the battlefield for a moment. My desire was to check the options on the dagger of slaughter that I had taken from Cluze, as well as to check the new title I had gained from his death. I quickly glanced at the title, which read ‘One Who Overcame the First Crisis.’ Typically, this title was awarded after overcoming a life-threatening situation or a significant crisis in a player's story progression. This meant the system had recognized Cluze as my ‘first crisis.’
“Alright. I’ll check everything later; for now, let's go and gather the spoils of the Devil's Game while I tidy things up.”
With a swift motion, I opened a spatial pocket and shoved Cluze’s corpse inside. Without any formalities, I had no intention of honoring the dead.
“Hah!” After a short and deep breath, I activated the haste ability embedded in my footwear artifact, the Wings of Gapazis, and charged back into the battlefield.
[Slaying of 1,000 Humans: 0782 / 1000] I still needed 218 more sacrifices, and there were enough members left in the battlefield to fulfill that requirement.
Not long after, Eleanor watched in shock as Jared single-handedly swept through the battlefield. It was astounding enough that he was fighting alone, but it was the sight of their fallen comrades that left her dumbfounded.
“The wounds are deep. At a glance, it looks like he was just using haste to dart in and out with his dagger.”
Strangely, Jared was employing a two-pronged attack of magic and dagger. The issue was that the wounds left on the bodies of the dead were far deeper than Eleanor had anticipated. Despite wearing proper armor and protective spells, Jared inflicted severe injuries with simple movements. Thus, a high number of fallen members succumbed to excessive bleeding, unable to stem the flow even with first aid.
“Could it be?” Eleanor wondered if Jared had used some kind of dark magic to drastically lower the opponents' defenses. However, Jared was a white mage; it was impossible for him to employ debuffs typical of dark mages or shamans.
“…”
At some point, Eleanor and the Agresio Guard had become mere onlookers, Witnessing Jared's overwhelming prowess. He hardly seemed to need any fire support. The members of the Umbra sect fell like autumn leaves in the wake of his passage.
“The Lord is truly amazing!”
“He's a battle mage, no, a high-ranking mage! Even beyond that!”
“Is it possible that Cluze died at the hands of the Lord? Really? If that’s the case, it would be monumental!”
The Agresio Guard praised Jared’s incredible strength in unison. Among them, some noticed the truth about Cluze’s demise. Yet, Eleanor still could not believe that Jared had managed to kill Cluze. Cluze was the second-in-command of the Umbra sect, not someone easily dispatched.
At that moment.
“Your leader is dead!" Jared, having pulled something from his spatial pocket, threw it into the center of the clustered members. All attention gravitated toward him—Ella’s, Agresio Guard’s, and the Umbra sect member's gazes were fixed on the object.
Then, “Aah…!” They screamed. A gruesome sight rolled at their feet—it was none other than Cluze’s head, staring wide-eyed with mouth agape, lifeless.
“No way, did he really kill Cluze?” Eleanor was equally stunned by the sight. Radius sect didn’t place a bounty on Cluze for nothing. Many had wished for his death, yet all attempts had failed. Countless had suffered at the hands of Cluze, thanks to the power of his rings and dagger artifacts. Yet Jared had, with a single blow, brought Cluze’s life to an end.
“Don’t you dare think of surrendering! Regardless, I have no intention of sparing you. The atrocities you’ve committed against innocent people can only be paid for with your lives.”
The members who had for a moment held onto a glimmer of hope quickly grew cold upon hearing Jared’s pronouncement.
“I’m coming!”
The true showtime had begun. Amidst Jared's movements and the dazzling dance of his magic and dagger,
“Guhk!”
“Cough!”
“Eek!”
The sparks of life were extinguished rapidly from every direction. There was no exit to flee or any place to survive from this hellish express train headed straight to doom.
[You have achieved the slaying of 1,000 humans! You have received the title ‘Slayer of Darkness.’]
[Along with the title, you have acquired the artifact ‘Devil's Game!’]
As the battle reached its conclusion, I naturally managed to fulfill the conditions for the title. As soon as I achieved the slaying of 1,000, the Devil's Game artifact appeared in my grasp. It was a ring, crafted entirely in dark hues, making it appear even colder and more intimidating with its matte finish.
[To unseal the Devil's Game, the blood of a still-warm evildoer is needed.]
“That’s not a problem.” I pulled out Cluze’s corpse halfway from the spatial pocket and soaked the ring in the blood that covered his clothes.
[The seal has been released.]
The seal was lifted swiftly, as Cluze was a formidable villain. I slipped the unsealed ring of the Devil's Game onto my left finger. I was eager to check its options.
[Devil's Game]
[Classification Level: 7 Stars]
[Option 1: Increases mana by 500]
[Option 2: Increases strength by 100]
[Option 3: Increases stamina by 100]
[Option 4: Increases magic resistance by 50]
[Option 5: Increases physical resistance by 50]
[Option 6: Special Antidote – Instantly neutralizes poisoning caused by deadly toxins. Cooldown: 12 hours]
[Option 7: Devil's Game – Each time you complete an additional quest, the artifact’s rating increases by 1 star, and the stat boosts from options 1 through 5 double.]
“Slaying 10,000 humans for 8 stars, 100,000 for 9 stars, 1 million for 10 stars, and for 10 million, transcendence. Something like that.”
Having understood the options clearly, I nodded. I would need to engage in many wars, both big and small, and since war was essential for me, this artifact was a definite boon. Achieving options like ‘slaying 10 million humans,’ which bordered on ‘genocide,’ might be a tall order, though.
“Lord!”
Just then, Ella ran toward me, her face lit with joy. Whatever the process, she seemed incredibly delighted to have removed Cluze, a long-standing enemy of the sect.
“I can't believe it. How did you manage to kill Cluze?”
"That is also part of skill." I replied briefly yet firmly to her question. It was just as simple as stated. There had been an insurmountable power gap between Cluze and me.
‘This marks the first turning point that could lead to significant changes in the future.’
I quietly contemplated while glancing at the blood of Cluze that stained my fingertips. In <Paradiso>, he was a name that tormented players relentlessly after the Demon War broke out. It was almost enough for players to tremble at merely hearing his name. His repeated ambushes had greatly hindered players as they progressed through the main story.
But Cluze was gone now. One source of future danger had been irrevocably removed.
“The Radius sect will deeply commend Jared for his contributions! You've killed that nuisance right in front of us!”
Ella’s words rang true. I would bear the glory as the one who triumphed over Cluze, the long-standing adversary of the Radius sect!
The 95th Chapter.