NOVEL WEB Chapter 4: Blood on the Battlefield
[Half of Negative Karma negated.]
[Multiple kills achieved.]
[Ranking updated: 101.]
The battlefield was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that only followed after carnage. Blood soaked the ground, pooling around lifeless bodies, their vacant eyes staring at nothing. The scent of iron was thick in the air, mingling with the raw stench of fear.
A single woman remained, trembling, her once-pristine clothes stained with blood and dirt. Sweat slicked her body, her chest heaving in shallow breaths as she knelt amidst the corpses of her fallen comrades. Her snake-like waist trembled, her face contorted in desperation.
"Please spare me! I... I will do anything you say..." Her voice was hoarse, almost pleading, as she gazed up at Damien with wide, tear-filled eyes.
She was pitiful, the type of woman who could make any hot-blooded man waver. But Damien was not like other men. He gazed down at her, his cold expression betraying nothing. The sight of her didn't stir pity within him—only indifference. To him, she was no different from the corpses littering the ground.
If anything, she was a tool—a means to an end.
His crimson-streaked sword remained at his side, his grip relaxed yet firm. He could end her life in a heartbeat.
Finally, he exhaled, breaking the silence. "Fine… I will give you a chance."
Hope flared in the woman's eyes. "Really? I'll do anything! Just tell me what you need!"
Damien didn't answer immediately. His gaze flickered to the side, landing on the small girl standing stiffly a few feet away.
Jasmine's hands clenched into tiny fists. Her face was pale, her lips trembling, her eyes locked onto the headless bodies around her. The horror of what she had just witnessed made her stomach churn.
"He just killed them… like it was nothing."
She had never seen death up close before. Let alone a massacre.
A shiver ran down her spine as she slowly turned her gaze toward Damien, the man who had saved her. The man who had cut down a dozen people without so much as a blink.
Was he really her savior… or something worse?
Damien studied her reaction with mild amusement. He had expected fear, disgust. And yet, deep within her gaze, there was something else.
Relief.
Interesting.
"Little sister," he said suddenly, his voice softer than before. "Would you forgive this woman?"
Jasmine's breath hitched. The unexpected warmth in his tone momentarily eased the weight pressing down on her chest. But the question…
Forgive?
She glanced at the woman, who immediately latched onto the opportunity.
"Please, little sister! I—I didn't want to hurt you! I was just following orders!" The woman clasped her hands together, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I promise, I won't ever do anything bad again! Just… please, spare me!"
Jasmine hesitated.
The woman had tried to harm her. But… what if she truly had no choice?
She was just like the others, trying to survive. Right?
Slowly, hesitantly, Jasmine nodded. "O-Okay… I forgive you. But please, don't do anything like this again, sister."
The woman's lips curled in triumph for a split second before she masked it with gratitude. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Damien watched the scene unfold with an unreadable expression.... Truly Naive.
Then, he moved.
Like a shadow, he appeared beside the woman in an instant.
Her joy vanished, replaced by sheer terror. "W-What are you—?"
Swish!
A silver arc gleamed in the dim light.
Puchi!
The woman's body stiffened. Her eyes widened in shock as crimson sprayed into the air.
Her head hit the ground first. Her body followed a second later.
Damien flicked the blood off his sword with a lazy motion. His voice was calm, indifferent. "she may forgive you," he murmured, "but I won't."
[Negative Karma negated.]
[Ranking updated.]
A strangled sob broke through the tense silence.
"Wuwu… why did you kill her?!" Jasmine's voice was shrill, thick with fresh tears. "Wuwu… she could have changed!"
Damien didn't acknowledge her distress. Instead, his eyes flickered to the shifting map in the air.
The safe zone had shrunk. From its original ten kilometers, it had now collapsed into a mere two or three. The battlefield was getting smaller.
Time was running out.
His gaze returned to Jasmine. "Do you want to survive or not?"
The icy words sent a jolt through the girl's spine.
She shook her head vigorously.
Damien nodded in approval. At least she was learning.
—
Time passed. Damien moved through the thinning battlefield, Jasmine trailing behind him.
More people appeared. More challengers. Some moved in groups, others fought alone.
None of them mattered.
Anyone who tried to stop him died.
And eventually, he reached the center.
A crowd had already gathered.
Fifty people.
All of them waiting.
The moment Damien stepped forward, whispers spread through the group.
"Who is he?"
"Why is he alone?"
"Wait… is that a child with him?"
"Idiot. She's nothing but dead weight."
Damien ignored them.
Tension hung in the air. Fifty people… and only ten would survive.
A silent storm loomed.
Damien's grip tightened around his sword. He was outnumbered. If he acted first, they would all turn on him.
Patience.
Then—
"Die!"
The tension snapped.
A man lunged forward, blade gleaming.
And all hell broke loose.
The battlefield erupted into chaos. Swords clashed, blood splattered, screams filled the air. Bodies fell like leaves in a storm, torn apart by blades and desperation.
Damien's eyes sharpened. He moved.
A flash of silver. A spray of blood.
Another kill, followed by another notification like a bloodied symphony.
Jasmine clung to the shadows, her breath hitched in her throat, not daring to go too far.
The battlefield had become a slaughterhouse.
And Damien… Damien was only one of the executioner.
..
"Quickly surround him.."
At some point, a unknown groups emerged and blocked Damien escape path.
Damien looked at the three from the corner of his eyes.
Two man one woman, holding sharp weapons in their hands.
"Take our the girl first..."
Their leader coldly commanded.