I withdrew into the basement's darkest, deepest corner, where the air was heavy with stillness and oppressive silence. This area of the room was hardly illuminated by the faint blue light from above, which created long, erratic shadows on the damp, cracked stone walls.
Positioned myself carefully, I squatted behind the menacing stone door that stood like a silent guardian, whose very presence contributed to the basement's gloomy, ominous atmosphere.
"I must minimize the damage." Swearing that to myself, I held the sword and clenched it tight, tight to the point it almost became a part of me.
Then, with a deep breath, I channeled all of my mana into the core, concealed it completely to the point of invisibility, and made my passive aura become that of a stone wall.
I stayed as still as possible, blending into the gloom, and masterfully held my breath. My heart beats slowly, each pulse steady, filling with calm and composure. My body heat also decreased to that of the environment, as if I were a snake.
Waiting—watching, listening, calculating—I patiently awaited the perfect moment to strike.
Stealth—a great weapon not only for the weak but also for the strong. With the element of surprise, you could send your opponent to death without them retaliating.
This is neither cowardice nor a dirty trick; it is strategy, especially for one who doesn't have any magic skills like me.
I will stop at nothing to ensure the safety of the kingdom and my family. And anything that poses a danger to the peace I have so desperately worked for will be destroyed.
Be it these books, the demons, those heretics, or just even an ignorant bystander, I will burn them all.
There is no exception; they will have to disappear; the only difference is when.
I already had my priorities in mind. The first will be the heretics; all of them will get public execution to set an example for anyone foolish enough to challenge the system. Any ember of revolution will be stomped by me.
These prohibited books will be burned after that to make sure no one tampers with reality. This world is chaotic enough; I don't want it to become even messier. I can't do it now. But I would have the authority to do so once I became the head of the family and a general.
Finally, there are the demons. I will start a campaign to exterminate them; no demons, not even the baby, shall survive. I will have to reimburse them for all the lives they have claimed.
Am I evil? Is all of that overkill and unnecessary? Maybe.
But I don't care. All that matters is that everyone I care about is alive and content. I have decided that for a long time now, and there is no going back.
That was the plan, and when I decided to do something, no one could sway my mind; I would follow it till they were finished or I die.
And if those memories are real, I already have a tool to help me achieve my objective. I will be using them for my cause; all I need to do is wait.
Come, my little heretic, show me if this was real or not. Give me the excuse to exterminate you.
As this venomous instinct of mine lingered in the shadows, it lay in wait, fully attuned to the subtle shifts in the air around me.
I could feel the slightest tremor, the faintest disturbance in the atmosphere, like a whisper that cut through the silence. My senses, heightened to a razor's edge, detected it—something was approaching.
It wasn't just one, or two, but at least twenty—maybe more—invaders, their presence unmistakable. The air around me seemed to thicken with tension as they drew closer, their footsteps muffled but deliberate, their movements synchronized in a way that suggested they knew exactly where they were headed. It was only a matter of time before they reached this room. And when they did, the security system would activate.
"Oh! They activated!" From above, I heard voices of people remarking on the activation of those statues.
Bloody screams rang out and the ceiling vibrated violently. They were using a significant number of attack spells to eliminate the golem, and I could even sense the instantaneous change in the magic flow.
Boom! Suddenly, a big bang erupted, bringing with it a crunchy sound of rock falling apart. After that, there was no more screaming.
Hmm, they really packed some heat, huh? Make sense since they already knew about this.
As the footstep came closer and closer, I heard the banter become clearer. Their presence was unmistakable, only about three meters from the door.
Even though I could strike them right now, I would prefer to hear what they had to say for a little while.
"Huh, this was easier than I thought." One nameless grunt commented
"Idiot, It was supposed to even be easier than this. The sire even sent me to help out, and you retards still died." The supposed leader went on a rant and scolded them. His voice was filled with annoyance and anger.
To that, his subordinate did not appear to take it well. "Boss, you were supposed to use that cannon right away and not wait for us to come and block those attacks!"
"The only reason why you were chosen by the sire was because of your strength!"
The grunt retaliated and questioned their boss, displaying disgruntle.
A bold move, in my opinion.
But of course, this act of rebellion can only result in a bad way.
"Oh, you have a big mouth, huh?"
splashed! A grotesque, bloody sound echoed out near my hiding place. Blood, they dripped down and sept through the tiny door slit and stained my clothes.
Following that, there were no more grievances, only silence.
How annoying. It seemed that he had killed one of his just because of that big ego. What a terrible boss; only idiots would join him in this risky operation.
Made sense to me though; they were nothing but low-life commoners and scums, weak, gullible, quite stupid, and incompetent.
To avoid the hard path in life, they ruined a lot of lives and, in turn, their future.
So now, they will pay the price.
I don't need a judge; I am the judge; I am justice.
As I felt the slight vibration—a quiet prelude to the door creaking open—in an instant, I released every ounce of pent-up mana I had been holding back.
A surge of power exploded within me, a force so overwhelming it felt as though the very fabric of the world itself bent to my will. My body hummed with energy as invisible channels—my "True Demon Veins"—flared to life, glowing with an eerie crimson light. For a split second, I radiated an aura so intense it seemed to scorch the air around me.
Time itself seemed to stretch, slowing to a crawl, and I felt lighter—almost weightless—as if the weight of the world had been momentarily lifted. A power unlike any other coursed through me, and I knew, deep down, that nothing could stand in my way.
Disappeared
As fast as teleporting, I rushed up and went to the door. And then I unleashed hell upon those idiotic morons.
"Furioso." Pulling the sword from its sheath with a swift, deliberate motion, the air around me seemed to tremble in response.
A terrifying pressure, born of supercompressed magic power, erupted from the blade like a storm unleashed. It was as if the very fabric of reality buckled under the intensity of the energy coiling around the weapon, pressing down on everything in its proximity.
The blade itself shimmered with a dark, ethereal glow, its edges razor-sharp, vibrating with the raw potency of arcane forces contained within.
As I gripped the hilt, the overwhelming force seemed to course through my veins, an almost tangible force that threatened to tear me apart—yet I embraced it. The pressure itself became an extension of my will.
In that moment, time seemed to slow. I focused all my energy, aligning myself with the immense power surging from the blade, allowing it to synchronize with my very being. Then, with a single, fluid motion, I released the attack.
A devastating slash erupted from the sword, its force so overwhelming that it felt as though the air itself had been sliced open.
The speed of the attack was beyond mortal comprehension. A blur of motion, a streak of light and destruction, as I became one with the violent force of the slash. The very ground beneath me seemed to shatter, the air to vibrate with an explosive shockwave.
As the blade tore through the space before me, anything in its path—rock, metal, and flesh—was obliterated with surgical precision. The shockwave of compressed magic blasted outward, annihilating everything it touched with a terrifying, almost tangible force, carving a path of utter devastation in its wake.
I didn't simply strike; I became the storm, the weapon, the unstoppable force, and everything around me ceased to exist the moment it was touched by that destructive power.