A man stood and gasped for air, hundreds of bird like monsters with sharp beaks and claws trying to rip his body to shreds.
"COME AT ME!"
Did the man cower in fear under the pressure of army of flesh eating beasts? No, his fighting spirit only rose up.
"hhwww~"
*Inhale*
"Haah~"
*Exhale*
Several birds dive bombed towards the man trying to rip off flesh bit by bit. However, the man moved his body with quick and precise movement hitting all birds that came too close to him with punches and kicks. His footwork was sloppy ang his movement wasn't smooth but the sheer power and speed was enough to kill every bird within striking vicinity.
*Splash*
Blood gushed out everytime he moved his arms and legs yet he didn't show any signs of fatigue nor exhaustion. The red tribal tattoos around his body began to faintly glow while growing.
*Swoosh*
The speed and power of his attacks became exponentially large that he began to create air currents. Now his fist covered with blood would create powerful gusts of win in the sane direction as his attacks yet the birds' persistence was as big as his. Tiny chunks of flesh would often be ripped off from his back or arms yet his face had a large smile etched into it.
"Hahahaha!"
A back hand smashed a bird away followed up by a back step and a round house kick. Using his right palm, he squished a bird by the sheer impact while quickly karate chopping diagonally down. Every limb he had available were used to attack the birds without end.
'You're almost there... i think? keep it up'
'Wwooahhh! You can do it! G E T T H E M!"
Voices rang on his head yet he didn't hear it. But the only sound that the man could hear was the noise made when he crushed a bird. Left, right, back, front, up, and even down, he needed to fully focus on his foes.
Was it dangerous? For someone like him, this was nothing. His smile became wider to the point where it showed his sharp canines, his red eyes burned with determination. And out of nowhere, the air around the man began to boil. His two horns on his head began to glow and his tribal tattoos were now fully glowing. The boiling air, similar to when air on too of flames, became tainted with a crimson colour.
"MORE! I NEED MORE!"
At this point, both voices inside the man's head knew that he was on a frenzy.
Attack after attack, punches after kicks, fists after legs. Everything had no longer been able to enter his range of attack, the birds who entered the vicinity turned to a pile of feathers, flesh, bones, and blood within seconds.
*Boom* *Boom*
Strike per strike, his fist became so fast the he broke the sound barrier. Every single bird could no longer handle their prey and decided that it was time to leave.
"GAAARGGHHH!"
Yet the man said otherwise. The red boiling aur around him burst out and expanded fully destroying birds who were too close and those birds far away were heavily injured.
He wasn't satisfied yet, he rushing through the forrest as every step he made create large prints and a 1.2 magnitude earthquake. Killing every bird or even any living being within his line of sight.
This continued until the man suddenly fell after commiting mass genocide for a week straight.
****
"Arghh... I feel like shit!"
The long white haired man, or Stephen, said.
'Yeah, no shit.'
'Satisfied, Adolf?'
Daniel and Jeremy was so shocked to see Stephen cruise through the forrest at mach 4 while breaking and ending all life within his sight.
"What did i do?"
'Genocide.'
'Ahem, mass genocide.'
He was shocked, Stephen was couldn't believe his ears as he herd those words. Although his memory was a little fuzzy and unclear, he could briefly remember running.
'Alright, it doesn't matter. What we know now is that you cant control yourself with [ Asura's Aura ] with [ Bloodshed ].'
'Yeah, you were like the hawk!'
"You mean hulk?"
'Not important, we need you to get situated in handling your [ Asura's Aura ] and [ Bloodshed ]. We don't know how strong our target so having a trump card like that is a must. Downside is that it takes an absurd amount of time for your abilities to kick in.'
Powerful was the only word that can be used to describe [ Asura Kin ]. [ Asura's Aura ] was an innate ability for all Asuras, it was earned and awoken through endless battles or harsh life and death situation yet for Stephen, it was hard to endure or control. Asuras are natural born fighter, they themselves are demons. Only after controlling one's desires can he became a true Asura. (AN: Made up bs)
And their are a handful of Asuras that lust for battle, they crave it and once they conquer their worldly desire can they then understand their power. They are feared and powerful entities that no mortal wishes to encounter, although they have control over themselves and found inner peace, this does not erase the fact thay they themselves are malevolent demons.
"Understandable, have a great day. Transferring control over to host [ Unforseen Cruelty ]."
His body began reforming, from the large muscular body now to a well chiselled yet smaller build. Instead of having white hair, it turned into magenta which was only slightly longer than Daniel's. Dark purple iris that seemed to glow stared at the sky as his body lost it's horns and tribal tattoos, the most distinctive feature was the light mist that covered his body.
'Steph?'
'Hm?'
'Why'd you switch out? We're gonna keep you doing the same thing till you master it.'
'Well im tired, mentally. Besides we should also keep Jerry as a trump card.'
Effects of having to enter a frenzied state was heavier than what people most people think. The twisted and unclear memories gives headaches and nausea, sore muscles from literally killing everything in sight, and most of all, the effects of having to wake up and then smell the dead bodies around you while knowing you'll be doing it all over again.
Having someone who is light hearted and now is forced to kill takes a large burden on said person.
'Yeah... keep it balanced.'
They had two plans, the usual plan A or plan B. The first former would kill the target in thw form of assassinations, they weren't professionals but they do understand the jist of it. First they would weaken the target, seclude said target, prevent any form of outside intervention, and deal a killing blow. Plan B is to simply use Stephen like the hulk.
"Open"
[ Identity: Jack
Status: Healthy
Talent:
[ Unforseen Cruelty ]
[ Colony Emperor ] (Locked)
[ Asura Kin ] (Locked)
Abilities:
[ Unforseen Cruelty ]
- [ Hidden Veil ]
- [ Unhindered Body ]
- [ Cold Blooded Killer ]
- [ Precision is key ]
- [ Fatality Emerges ]
Skills:
[ True Form: Jack ]
Target:
[ Herold Juniper ] ]
All of their talents were unique and out of all three of them, Jeremy's talent was the most suited for assassinations.
He stood up and grabbed a set of new trousers from a knapsack to which they made from horribly handled leather and stolen goods from wandering merchants. Those merchants were also the first practice run for Jeremy as every time it was Stephen's time to control the body, he often rips off all their clothing from just being oversized.
Now they made sure that they had ONE singular large pants for specifically Stephen. As for Jeremy and Daniel never really needed different clothes as both of them had a similar size.
Over the days of hunting and training, all of them except Stephen treated killing as nothing more than a means to an end. Daniel's monster body affected his mind which is directed to his brain, to him human morality or a sense of right and wrong were all gone. As for Jeremy, his ability [ Cold Blooded Killer ] allows him to be level headed, and... well to be cold blooded.
"Alright... Let's get started on mobility training."
He wore a set of white shirt, black yet flexible trousers which was made from an unknown set of monster hide, and a pitch black cloak that covered his entire body with a hood. You can only imagine the originality of his attire.
"Ready..."
'Get set.'
'G-'
"Shush."
His instincts told him something wasn't right. Scent, Vision, Sound, Touch, and Taste, all five sense were enhanced by [ Unhindered Body ]. Noises of branches being stepped on, dry leaves being crunches, and a familiar smell of blood lingered on the air.
Without delay, he jump above the trees and used his flexibility from [ Unhindered Body ] to travel on top of the tree line. Just by using his vision he could see several monster corpses being laid down like trail crumbs yet it didn't seem like a trap.
'What do you think this is?'
'I have a guess...'
Landing on top of a tree branch in silence, Jeremy could see it. Five human beings, one wore a heavy armor (Full plate) with a shield and a spear, another with leather armor and metal greaves and gauntlets and a longsword, another that seemed to be a magic user given the fact of a colorful robe with a long staff and a crystal embedded on to it, a cloaked man with two daggers out, and lastly a priest like person judging by their white rubes and cross embedded on to their book.
Adventures, it was the first time they met any. Merchants, and unsuspecting passengers were the only people that ever crossed their paths.
"Should we kill 'em?"
'NO!'
'Hold on... i think i know why they're here and we might be able to use this.'
Although Jeremy whispered, the cloaked figure of the adventurer group heard him.
"FORMATION!"
He didn't hesitate to shout and all of them covered the presumed priest, north side had the presumed knight, south had the presumed warrior, west had the presumed mage, and east had the presumed assassin. It was a basic formation that covered their healer with a tank and anyone capable of taking hits being placed on opposite sides while two less frontal units are placed between the two tankers all the while healer is safely healing them if the team take any form of damage.
They were afraid, an unknown force was around them and they were completely in the dark.
"How many?" Asked the man in leather armor.
Looking around him, the warrior seemed to be wary of his surroundings.
"Only heard one, but i presumed two or more. I only heard a faint whisper and all i could understand was 'kill'." Replied the assassin.
'They're speaking english?!'
'Hmm... this is gonna be complicated.'
'Sorry, i messed up. What should we do?'
Jeremy didn't know that the assassin also had a strong sense of hearing.
'Make contact. Don't, i repeat, Don't make any stupid mistakes.'
Leaping down from the branches he stood in front of the knight.
All five changed formation with the knight in the front, warrior slightly behind him, priest in the center, mage at the back, and assassin on their flank. The assassin was listening more and more yet he only ever heard Jeremy.
"Scratch that, i think he's the only one."
No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't find or perceive anyone other than Jeremy and that alone is forcing him to concentrate as hard as he could.
"Who sent you here and what's your business!" said the warrior.
This wasn't their first rodeo. It was a fairly rare predicament that an adventurer team would get attacked by an unknown party.
'What's their deal?'
'Oh i don't know, maybe you said 'ShOuLd We KiLl ThEm' and is literally dressed as an assassin!?'
'Touche.'
'Get to the point, don't waste any time.'
While they were having an internal argument, the adventure team was slowly and surely making an escape route and a way to attack Jeremy.
"Im gonna ask you one last time! Who sent you-"
Jeremy suddenly raised his hands up which alerted the adventurers.
"I ain't here here to cause trouble."
His hand held no weapon which gave the adventures a relief. Their enemy was unarmed which might mean that he's not an enemy.
"You lads really did a number on those monsters, killing them like no ones business."
Jeremy didn't put too much effort into thinking what or why they killed hundreds of monsters. They were usually passive until provoked.
"What'd you expect? Some lunatic has been slaughtering monsters left and right, now their forced to group up and protect themselves. And with them being grouped up, attacks on adventurers will now be assaulted by large groups instead of small parties."
It was true, since the start of Stephen's genocide training, many if not all monsters were forced to group up and hide. They weren't smart but they knew what danger was, and the adolf rip off was a sign of danger.
Now that they are grouped up in large numbers, food had become a large problem. They would hunt but it would never be enough, attacking adventurers was successful for them in the first try mainly because the adventurers weren't prepared for a horde. Now that the problem has escalated to an absurd degree, the adventurer guilds have given a huge task on investigating and cleansing the large hordes.
"Any how, why are you here? This section of Kheld mountain ranges was supposed to be closed off. You're violating guild law!"
They've only been living on the new world for one year and two months, yet it was only now that they got any form of problem or news of an actual government.
'Dan, what should we do?'
"How was i suppose to know that? I've been hunting that beast for months now! Do you have any idea how long i've been out here for!"
Out of nowhere, Jeremy spouted out nonsense.
"You've been hunting the 'Slaughterer' for months before it became a problem?"
"That's what you call it? I've been tracking it down for a year now."
'King bullsh*t has arrived'
Even Daniel couldn't help but comment on Jeremy's crazy yet believable acting and alibi.
"Speaking of which, you got any food?"
After figuring out that he had enhanced tastes, Jeremy tasted and eaten all types of monsters. They were disgusting, there was no flavor at all.
All of the adventurers looked at each other.
"We still don't know who you are. And based on your body, you're demonkin so... this kinda puts us in an awkward spot. How bout you throw away your weapon."
Mist surrounding the body was a hint that one could use to tell that the person was a monsters, however, the dark purple glowing eyes was a dead giveaway for all demonkins. Mostly demonkins had glowing eyes unless they're a variant.
As for the 'throw away your weapon' part, it was common logic. An unknown individual who is a demon is in front of you, one must and should always prioritize safety over curiosity.
"Name's Jack, weapon got stabbed on the bloody 'Slaughterer' and broke. Im currently unharmed and hungry, but mostly hungry."
Jack lifted his cloak to show his waist and back clearly showing no weapon. He even lifted down his hood to show his face.
"WAIT! YOU STABBED THE 'SLAUGHTERER'!"
'I hate that name.'
"Umm... yeah?"
"THE SAME THING THAT KILL HUNDREDS OF MONSTERS WITHOUT EFFORT!"
"A little exaggerated but yes."
'Nice one, this solves a lot of problems for us.'
Jack's story of having hunted down the 'Slaughterer' for a year will cover up their identity for some time all the while it makes it seem as the 'Slaughterer' went into seclusion to heal itself from being stabbed by some unknown individual.
Not only that but they would have a name for themselves as hunters, more importantly, the fact that they will now have a sort of fame for being a hunter, no one will question why they would be purchasing information from others.
However, they are walking on thin ice as well. One could simply connect the dots to find out that they(Stephen) were responsible for the killings. They are the most and will be known closest to the 'Slaughterer' and judging by the sheer impact they made on the ecosystem then their case might be nation level threat.
"You'll have to come with us. Whether you like it or not!"
It was only then did the night and assassin moved, their weapons aiming at Jack.
"Sure."
Jack knew none of them posed a threat. Why? well as his intuition told him that they possessed little to no chances of killing him. [ Fatality Emerges ] is an ability that makes or outright turns his attacks to deadly blows. His [ Misty Veil ] is currently being suppressed and he could cover the entire forrest in a thick fog which will perfectly conceal his presence. Striking them down one by one would be only take a matter of time.
But as for now, he is following Daniel's command. He needed to get into any city with an alibi, what more can they get from a devil sent gift other than a perfect infiltration plan.
'Why can't we just... enter?'
'Ever played "papers please"?'
'No.'
'Then shut up.'
It was absurd to think that a likely medieval fantasy world to have any form of identification system, yet it's better to overestimate your opponent rather than underestimate them.
If they get taken and presumably questioned, he would let Jack's bs story telling create their alibi. And once they convince the 'guild' or a high ranking official that they mean no harm then their fame will allow them to have a slight privilege than normal citizens.
"Umm... You're okay with this?"
The warrior took out an old model handcuff. It functioned like a handcuff only for it's shape to be different.
"Yeah."
Jack's signature 'go with the flow' nature activated which was a perfect addition for Daniel's plan.
"Sorry but we don't usually do this."
A chain was connected to the cuffs and pulled Jack. However, it was more of a gentle nudge.
"What do you mean?"
"Well let's just say our jobs were usually exploration, reconnaissance, even being guard yet it's our third time doing investigations."
Looking around him, Jack found out that all eyes were glued to him.
"I see, i guess this is the first time taking someone to custody?"
"Second actually."
"Who's the first one?"
"It was a serial killer."
"..."
An answer that came out and surprised all three of them. Baffling how random encounters are interesting stories.
"How'd he react?"
"Trying to rip our throats off."
"Creepy..."
It was the priest that spoke this time. He had a white robe with yellow engravings on it, while he held a book with a cross.
'So Jesus was here?'
'Maybe.'
His face was calm, brown hair well kept hair, and a sharp chin.
'huh...'
Now that he thought about it, he never really took the time to see their faces. The warrior had green eyes and black hair with a well built body. The assassin was unidentifiable and the same could be said to the full plated knight. Their mage however had long beautiful blonde hair with hazel eyes and milky white skin.
"Should i be... incapacitated or something?" Jack asked.
"Not really, as long as you don't resist we don't have much to do."
"So mind telling ne who you are?"
"Oops forgot about introducing myself."
Raising his sword from it's sheath and aiming it up high, the warrior said in a dignified tone.
"I am Rosan Diam Deltarth. Captain of the Crest Vanguard adventurer team. And soon to be the legendary adventurer who might one day travel the world and create legends with his name."
"Ambitious much?"
Jack, although handcuffed, clapped as hard as he could.
"That's what we've been telling him!"
This time the mage interrupted.
"Shut up! At least it's better than being coped up in a fancy tower dowing nothing but reading!"
"It's called researching!"
"Would you both cut it out!"
As both Rosan and the mage argued,the knight stopped their bickering.
"My name is Greght Fernt Lien. The hot headed mage is Yve Gustus Verkon, our priest is Khert Serthon Celth. Lastly the assassin is Rigeria Weller Piones. Were all adventurers, how bout you sir Jack?"
From the sound of their name, they were definitely on a medieval world. As for her plan? Oldest trick in the book, basic way to gain information. Appearing as a harmless little lamb that 'only wanted to know you more' only to be gathering information about saud person.
'Hmm...'
[ Message from the director: All your last names are Lucifer. ]
It was out of nowhere, literally. Satan just comes in and tells you that he's your father? what type of sick joke was this?
"Call me Jack Lucifer, a huntsman."
It was a simple, brief, quick, and short answer.
Greght merely nodded.
It took them five hours to reach the main road and began to walk along side it towards the nearest city. The night would be long for both adventurers and brothers.
Ch: End.