The burly shield-bearer, Tery, the apparent tank and strongest member of the group, charged directly at Alex, his massive shield raised to block and crush anything in his path.
"What the hell?!" Alex cursed aloud, bracing himself as Tery closed the distance. He raised his sword just in time to deflect the incoming blow.
From behind Tery, Rex smirked, his hand glowing with fiery energy as he cast a spell. A fireball shot toward Alex with blinding speed.
Alex's instincts kicked in, his body reacting before his mind could process. With a twitch of his fingers, he unleashed a Dark Bullet, the black projectile streaking through the air and colliding with the fireball mid-flight.
The explosion was instantaneous, a violent burst of flames and dark energy that briefly lit up the battlefield.
The group froze for a moment, stunned by what they had just witnessed. Rex's smug expression faltered as he processed the fact that Alex had not only survived but had countered his spell so effortlessly.
The momentary pause was short-lived. The poison mage, a woman, seized the opportunity, chanting rapidly. From the ground, poisonous thorned vines erupted, writhing toward Alex like serpents.
"Don't think that same trick will work on me twice!" Alex sneered, his voice cutting through the chaos. Black, obsidian flames erupted, consuming the vines instantly in a hiss of smoke and ash.
Tery pressed the attack, slamming his shield into Alex with relentless force.
Alex's sharp eyes caught movement at the edge of his vision—the vanguard, charging at him with a sword raised for a decisive strike.
Reacting instantly, Alex shifted his weight, using the momentum from Tery's shield thrust to create just enough space. With a fluid motion, he spun on his heel, his sword arcing through the air in a precise, deadly slash.
A sudden system notification flashed but Alex ignored it.
His eyes widened in shock as the blade found its mark, slicing cleanly across his neck. He crumpled to the ground, lifeless, before he could even comprehend what had happened.
For a moment, Alex froze, his gaze fixed on the blood pooling at his feet. The brutal finality of his actions hit him like a blow to the chest. He hadn't come here intending to kill, but the situation had left him no choice.
That split-second hesitation was all it took.
The remaining three surged forward with renewed fury, their anger and fear propelling them. Alex barely had time to brace himself when a sharp whistle cut through the air.
"Ahh!"
A painful scream echoed ahead of Alex, and a projectile streaked past him, embedding itself deep into the chest of the poison mage. She gasped, her spell unfinished, before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
Alex recognized who the attacker was, but his mind was still reeling from everything else that had just happened.
"W-Who's there?!" Rex shouted in a terrified voice, his eyes darting around in a panicked frenzy.
"Alex! Ahead of you!" Aurora shouted.
The jolt snapped him back into the moment. His senses sharpened instantly, and without a second thought, he reacted.
His grip on his sword tightened as he pivoted sharply, his blade flashing like a streak of light. The burly shield bearer, Tery, raised his shield in a desperate attempt to defend himself, but Alex's speed was overwhelming.
A calculated strike to his exposed side sent the larger man stumbling backward, blood pouring from the deep wound. Tery collapsed, his shield slipping from his grasp as he let out a gurgling breath.
Only one remained.
Rex, the fire mage, stood trembling, his earlier bravado replaced by sheer terror. He stumbled back, raising his hands in a futile gesture of surrender. "Please... don't! I—I'll do anything. Just let me live!"
Alex's expression was cold, unreadable. A vicious light flickered within his eyes.
Without a word, he stepped forward and delivered the final blow. Rex's pleas were cut short as the mage fell, lifeless, to the forest floor.
Turning back, Alex stared at the lifeless bodies strewn across the ground. His grip on his sword slackened, and it fell to his side with a dull thud.
Despite having taken another human's life for the first time, he felt… nothing. No remorse, no regret. The emptiness clawed at his chest, hollow and unfamiliar.
He could justify the first two deaths as self-defense—leaving Alex no choice. But Rex?
Before he knew it, his knees gave way, hitting the cold forest floor. His palms dug into the dirt as he doubled over, trembling. He tried to steady his breath, to push the nausea back, but it was futile.
He gagged once, twice, and then he was vomiting, his body purging itself as if trying to expel the bitter taste of guilt and the harsh reality of what he'd done.
When it was over, Alex stayed on all fours, his body wracked with shudders. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, spilling over as the wave of emotions he'd been holding back finally crashed over him.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
Alicia watched Alex kill with a satisfied smile, her gaze cold yet filled with an unsettling pride. But as she saw him crumple to the ground, broken by the weight of what he'd just done, her face contorted.
The satisfied smile that had graced her lips moments ago faded, her expression shifting into something more complex. She stepped closer, crouching down beside him, her cold hands wrapping around him in a possessive embrace.
"Shh, it's alright." she murmured, her voice low and velvety, the kind of tone that could both comfort and unsettle. "You did what you had to, Alex. This world isn't kind, nor is it fair. The laws, the rules, the society—they're all just pretty lies to hide the truth. The truth is this: the strong survive, and the weak die at the hands of the strong."
Aurora stood off to the side, her eyes distant as she silently observed the scene. She could feel the tension between them, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something inside Alex had changed.
Something had finally snapped. She hoped it was just her imagination, but part of her feared it wasn't.
Slowly, Alex began to calm down, his breath steadying as he processed Alicia's words. The harsh truth of the world had already settled in his mind, and he now finally understood it.
Aurora thought, her chest tightening. 'I just hope it's for the better.'
Alex rose to his feet, and without a word, he approached the corpses and began rifling through their belongings. His hands moved with practiced efficiency, patting down pockets, unbuckling belts, and checking hidden compartments in their gear.
Alicia's lips twitched upward slightly, and she broke the silence. "What exactly are you doing, my disciple?"
Alex didn't pause in his task, "Oh, just looting them. Checking for anything valuable they might have had on them." His tone was casual, as though this were the most natural thing in the world.
Alicia's faint smile widened, equal parts amused and incredulous. "You're quite the odd one, my disciple? You don't need to do that. If you want I can give you more, or tell me what do you want?"
Alex shrugged, "Master, frugality is a virtue, and you never know—they might have been carrying something rare, maybe even a hidden treasure they didn't recognize the value of."
Alicia chuckled softly, shaking her head. "You have a peculiar way of thinking, but I can't fault your logic."
"Alright, so what should we do with the bodies?" he asked, glancing at the corpses sprawled across the forest floor.
Alicia shrugged nonchalantly, "Just leave them here for the monsters to eat them."