Chapter 15 - No Mercy

Charvet moved like a shadow of death, closing the distance between him and the fleeing enemies with terrifying speed. His Black sword gleamed under the fading sunlight, slicing through flesh and bone without hesitation. Screams filled the air, but he didn't slow down.

To him, these people weren't human anymore. They were filth—monsters disguised as men. Mercy was not an option.

His blade carved through a man's torso, splitting him open with a single stroke. Another tried to beg, raising his hands in surrender, but Charvet didn't even acknowledge it. His sword silenced him in an instant.

Behind him, Janry and Joseph moved in tandem, picking off the stragglers.

Janry's dagger found its mark in the back of a fleeing enemy, the man collapsing with a choked gasp. He wiped the blade clean without a second thought.

Joseph, still grinning, toyed with his victims. He slashed at their tendons first, watching them fall before delivering the final blow. "Running was a mistake," he whispered to one before finishing him off.

But it was Charvet who left the most carnage in his wake. The man who once lived in peace and righteousness was gone—replaced by something ruthless.

His heart had turned cold, hardened by what he had seen—by the brutality of those players in the small convenience store, by the horrors Ned had unleashed, and now by these people ambushing and killing others, kidnapping women. Each act of cruelty, each betrayal, had chipped away at the man he once was, replacing his humanity with a cold resolve. The world no longer felt like it deserved mercy. It was a place where only the strong survived, and the weak were prey.

And tonight, there would be no survivors.

After a few hours, only three players remained alive. Charvet decided not to kill them immediately; instead, he followed them, convinced that their camp was nearby. Sure enough, within minutes, the trio slipped into an abandoned building.

Charvet, Janry, and Joseph stepped into the building, and immediately, a foul stench of rotting flesh filled their noses. The air was thick with decay, but Charvet didn't hesitate. His expression remained cold as he moved forward, his footsteps steady and unshaken.

Without warning, mutated rats swarmed them from the shadows, their glowing red eyes filled with hunger. The creatures lunged, screeching, but Charvet cut them down with ruthless efficiency. His blade moved without pause, slicing through the horde as if they were nothing more than insects. Janry and Joseph stood back, watching as the last rat fell lifeless to the blood-stained floor.

Once the room was silent again, Charvet's voice broke the stillness. "Check the rooms."

Janry and Joseph moved quickly, pushing open doors one by one. What they found made even them pause.

There were five rooms, and inside each one, women were chained to the walls—twenty in total. Their bodies were bruised, their eyes hollow, their spirits broken. The sight only confirmed what Charvet already suspected.

His grip tightened around his weapon. He had seen enough.

They unchained the women one by one, but when they tried asking questions, none of them responded. Their eyes were empty, their bodies trembling. They were broken.

The youngest among them was only fifteen. Even Janry and Joseph, who had seen their fair share of cruelty, clenched their fists in anger at the sight. But there was no time to linger. They had to move forward.

Leaving the women behind for now, they proceeded to the second floor. The building had only two floors, but as soon as they stepped up, an overwhelming sense of dread filled the air.

What they saw was an abomination in human form.

A grotesque creature stood in the center of the room. Its head resembled that of a rat, but its body was thick with powerful human-like muscles. It was completely naked, its skin covered in grime and blood. In one hand, it held a set of chains, the ends bound to five kneeling women. They were stripped bare, their bodies covered in bruises, their heads bowed in silent suffering.

In its other hand, the creature gnawed on a severed head—the head of one of the three survivors Charvet had deliberately let escape.

Beside it, the other two players huddled in the corner, their bodies shaking, tears streaming down their faces. 

The rat-like man turned his beady, glowing eyes toward them, a sinister grin spreading across his grotesque face.

"So, you three are the ones who killed all my slaves? A pity… they were good at running errands," he said, his voice a guttural rasp. "But that's fine. I can always capture more. First, though…" He licked the blood from his lips, his sharp teeth glinting. "I'll eat the three of you."

Before he could finish speaking, Joseph had already vanished into the shadows. Using Shadow Step, he reappeared behind the creature, his dagger aimed straight for its neck—Backstab.

But the monster moved with unnatural reflexes, tilting its head sideways just in time to evade the strike. In the same motion, it twisted its body and delivered a devastating kick to Joseph's stomach. The force sent Joseph flying backward, crashing into the wall with a grunt of pain.

The creature lunged forward to finish him off, but Janry was quicker. With a flick of his fingers, glowing threads shot out—Puppet Strings. The invisible force seized the monster's limbs, holding it in place for just a second. It wasn't much, but against a foe far stronger, even a brief moment of control was valuable.

And it was all Charvet needed.

With a flash of steel, Charvet closed the distance, his sword slashing toward the creature. As he attacked, his voice was cold and firm.

"Janry, take Joseph and the women, and get out of here."

Janry nodded without hesitation. He knew they couldn't contribute much to the fight—they were only level 15, and their classes weren't suited for direct combat. Staying would only be a liability. Without another word, he helped the injured Joseph to his feet, gathered the women, and retreated downstairs.

Meanwhile, Charvet clashed with the abomination. He was only level 17, but his stats far surpassed that of an average player at the same level. Combined with his Vanishing Step and advance swordsmanship, he pushed the monster back, forcing it onto the defensive.

The rat-man snarled, frustration flashing in its beady eyes. "Damn you! You think you can kill me?!"

Its muscles tensed, and a dark aura surged around its body. With a guttural roar, it activated a skill. Its body swelled, growing larger, muscles bulging unnaturally. Its claws extended, its fangs lengthened, and its movements became faster—much faster.

A brutal, enhanced form.

The floor cracked beneath its feet as it charged at Charvet with overwhelming force.

Shit

Charvet gritted his teeth as the rat-man's monstrous form blurred before his eyes. The creature's speed had nearly doubled, and its strength was overwhelming. Every swing of its massive claws sent shockwaves through the air, tearing chunks out of the concrete walls and floor.

Charvet barely dodged a swipe aimed at his throat, twisting his body at the last second. Still, the sheer force of the attack grazed his shoulder, tearing through his armor and leaving a deep gash. Blood splattered onto the floor, but he didn't have time to react—the rat-man was relentless.

With a beastly snarl, the monster spun and aimed a kick at Charvet's ribs. He managed to block with his sword, but the impact sent him skidding backward, his boots carving deep grooves into the dust-covered floor. The moment he steadied himself, another attack came—this time a clawed hand flashing toward his chest.

Charvet tried to sidestep, but the rat-man's unnatural speed outpaced him. The claws raked across his torso, shredding his armor and drawing more blood. Pain flared through his body, but he didn't let it slow him down.

Damn it… if not for my passive skill Instinct, I would've been dead ten times over by now.

That skill was the only thing keeping him alive—heightening his reflexes, forcing his body to move before his mind could process danger. Every attack, every movement was just barely keeping him from being torn apart. But the rat-man wasn't letting up, and Charvet knew that if he didn't end this soon, his luck would run out.

The rat-man grinned, blood dripping from its fangs. "You're slowing down, human. I expected more."

Charvet didn't reply. He couldn't afford to waste a single breath. Instead, he exhaled sharply and tightened his grip on his sword. His injuries were stacking up, but he had no intention of losing.

The monster lunged again, claws aiming for Charvet's neck, but this time, Charvet anticipated it. Using Vanishing Step, he flickered out of the creature's sight for a brief second. The rat-man's attack missed, slashing through empty air.

In that instant, Charvet reappeared at its side, his sword already descending in a deadly arc. The blade bit deep into the monster's shoulder, cutting through thick flesh and bone.

The rat-man howled in agony and lashed out in rage. Its claw struck Charvet's side, sending him crashing into the wall, blood spraying from his wounds.

Both combatants panted, glaring at each other.

Charvet wiped the blood from his lips and smirked despite the pain. Slowing down? Who, me?

Charvet knew that Telekinetic Grip wouldn't work on this kind of opponent. The rat-man's sheer speed and high-level reflexes made it ineffective, and wasting MP on a failed attempt was not an option.

His breath was heavy, his muscles burning from exertion. Vanishing Step had kept him alive so far, but it was draining his MP fast. A quick glance at his status confirmed his fears—he barely had any left. One final move. That was all he could afford.

With his MP nearly drained, Charvet had no choice but to unleash his final move. He activated Thunder Flash, and in an instant, his body was engulfed in raw, crackling lightning, becoming a streak of pure energy as he rocketed toward the rat-man.

The monster lunged, its claws aimed to tear Charvet apart, but the lightning-infused form was untouchable. Every swipe passed through him harmlessly, the rat-man's savage strikes failing to land as Charvet surged forward, leaving a trail of blue-white electricity in his wake.

Without hesitation, Charvet struck. Five bolts of lightning ripped through the air, each one devastating the rat-man's body with brutal force. The first bolt struck its chest with a sickening crack, the electricity violently tearing apart its ribs and scorching the organs within. The second bolt hit its arm, and the limb disintegrated, shredded into a twisted mess of burning flesh, bone, and muscle, leaving only a smoking stump. The third strike hit the rat-man's face, vaporizing its features in a flash, the heat so intense that its skull melted away, leaving a hollow, charred ruin. The fourth bolt tore through its legs, the electricity racing through its body, frying the flesh and causing its limbs to jerk and spasm uncontrollably. Finally, the fifth bolt struck its heart, the blast so powerful that it exploded, showering the room in a rain of gore and sizzling fragments of the rat-man's body.

When the storm of lightning faded, nothing remained but a smoldering, mutilated corpse. The rat-man's body was torn to shreds, burned beyond recognition, reduced to nothing more than a pile of charred meat and bones, a gruesome testament to the brutal power Charvet had unleashed. The air still crackled with the remnants of lightning, and the room was silent, save for the faint sizzling of the monster's remains.