They were in fact, very merciless.
Requiem kicked away dead bodies, swaggering down the halls until he ended at the top of the tower. He raised his leg and kicked down the door to the room and it collapsed, sending dust rising as he stepped in with his head bowed.
Shrieks filled his ears as he spun his blade, slitting the throat of the sole guard in the room and rendering the nobles in the room vulnerable. He counted three women — two adults and a child — plus two fully grown men. They all stared upon him in horror.
"Huh?" he looked around. He had reached this point but no system messages showed up. They looked pitifully vulnerable but he decided to slaughter them all until the screen showed. Once he'd confirmed he was finished here, he would move on with a clear mind.
"Which one of you wants to live…" he spoke calmly, stepping forward and crouching so he could stare the child directly into the eyes, grinning as the child stared back fearlessly. He reached out and pushed past her silver hair, touching the side of her face on an impulse, feeling a familiarity.
"Please, we will do anything! Let the child go!" one of the women threw herself to ground and begged Requiem but he turned to her for a second before averting his gaze. Lifting her head and noticing that he paid her no attention, her eyes welled up with tears.
Requiem felt strange. He caressed the side of the child's face and the sense of familiarity he had only grew stronger, when she reached out to pinch his nose, their eyes flashed in a strange light. He quickly withdrew his hand and stood to his feet.
"Hey, you child! I will not let you—" one of the men stepped forward, drawing out a blade he had hidden in his robes and attempting a sneak attack on Requiem. He raised his sword and that was the end — an arrow through the heart finalised his story.
Requiem dropped his hand, turning to the surviving male, "I have taken over this castle. There is nothing you can do now except obey simple commands and hope for a painless death." He turned to the child, "Little one, which one of them is responsible for these slave trades?"
The child blinked then turned around and pointed to a woman huddled in the corner. Her black hair scattered across her body as she bowed her head and hugged her feet. She felt a wicked aura bearing down upon her and she turned to see the child pointing at her.
Before she could react, an arrow was fired into her collarbone, pinning her to the wall. In the next second, a pain assaulted her and she screamed. The other woman and the man trembled as Requiem dropped his hand again, his grin fading away as he walked past the child.
He reached out with his hand and grabbed the woman by her face. She was crying from the pain, and he could care less. He tightened his grip around her cheeks, aiming to shatter her skull in his fist and call it a day, but he paused, lowering his gaze calmly.
The child had a dagger buried into his guts and the woman and man drew out hidden swords. It all became clear in an instant. He sighed, releasing the crying woman calmly to rub his head with the dagger digging into the depths of his abdomens.
Requiem smacked the child away with the back of his fist, sending her flying and crashing into a wall with her back. He was not smart but he was not stupid either. Years of experience had beat into him, and he knew better than to act the fool before an enemy.
He raised his leg and kicked the woman with a sword away, parrying the man's sword while the woman flew into a corner. Her lower jaw was crushed from his attack and she shrieked like a siren, her eyes widening as she lifted her hands to touch her crushed face.
Requiem spun around and dashed forward, stabbing his dagger into the man's chest. There was no better opportunity than an opponent that fought while being wide open — and his hand drove in straight, bursting the heart and shooting out of his back.
He lifted his leg and kicked the man back, dragging his hand out. The man fell down with a thud, a cloud of dust rose and fell. Requiem towered over his body, turning to the other woman, "I had not imagined that such evil exists in this world. What would you gain from all this?"
He turned to the child, watching as she struggled to her feet, "and you!", he waited for her to stare up to meet his gaze then continued, "I feel like I know you. Where — where do I know you from? Why is this sense of familiarity so strong?"
She blinked, then scoffed. The girl, a head shorter than Requiem proved to be twice as nimble as he had imagined, rushing forward to stab him with her dagger twirling in her hands. He waited for a chance but before he could make his move, attacks had come pouring.
Clang! He deflected the blades effortlessly, and they locked in a fierce dance of blades. Before he knew it, her dagger had formed an illusion around him, clawing from all directions in a blurry web. A calm smile was on his face as he spun his blade — Clang! Clang! — deflecting the attacks.
She panted, her small chest heaving with beads of sweat rolling down the side of her face. All the initial vigour had disappeared in an instant. He sighed to himself, stepping back and letting her chase before turning his fake retreat into a vicious attack, stabbing her in the shoulder.
"Ah!" she screamed in pain as he twisted the blade, watching as she crumbled in pain. Her facial expression twisted into a grimace as he grabbed her hand, slamming it against the wall as her blade fell to the ground. Blood dripped as she staggered back, grasping her shoulder.
"If I were to see my face now, would I look like you?" he asked a dumb question but that caused her eyes to widen with rage and she roared with a maddened expression on her face. She rushed to pick up the fallen dagger, but he stepped on her feet, drawing another scream.
He kicked her away with a rising knee, sending her head flying back. She landed on her butt, the expression on her face had twisted from madness to confusion then something unsightly. How could he explain to her that he meant little harm? He needed to know — what exactly he was.
She jumped to her feet and charged forward madly, swinging her hand. Requiem stared at her as if she was some sort of fool, throwing these childish tantrums. He reached out his hand and grabbed her by the neck, dashing forward and slamming her back on the wall.
"I guess you know who I am… I am sorry I can't remember you." Requiem secured her in his grip without loosening, prepared to squash her neck if she made the wrong movements. She reached her hand to grabbed his, clawing at his fingers with her eyes blazing, "Sister, just answer my question."
"Sister?" she paused and his pupils narrowed to needle points. His hair stood on ends as a cold shiver ran down his spine. He tightened his grasp and rolled to the side, pulling the young girl along as a massive axe slammed into the wall, digging into it and causing cracks.
"Fuck…" she cursed, dangling from his grasp like a rag doll. She turned to the woman whose jaw had been shattered by Requiem's blow and her pupils shook. There was a magic circle drawn on the floor with blood, it shimmered with lights, the woman lay fainted within it.
"A summoned centaur?" Requiem frowned. He turned to the silent young girl and threw her to the beast and the moment it dragged out its axe from the wall and cleaved down to kill her, she was quick to dash away. Requiem used the opportunity, dashing forward at a fast speed.
He grabbed her by the head and circled around the monster, making his way for the doors as it remained occupied with dragging its axe from the ground. Summoned beasts like these were not the type of things he would want to fight at this stage. Especially after an ensured victory!
A confirmation on completing the quest had still not arrived. He turned to the half human—half horse beast in the room as it finally pulled its massive axe from the ground. It ignored the summoner and did not sight the woman hiding conveniently in a corner.
It marched out, then entered a fierce charge, chasing after Requiem, "This means that there are more to this quest than I expected! More like nobles who have the power to summon live centaurs!"