To Charlie, there were only enemies and allies—no distinction between men and women. Politeness was reserved for allies, not enemies.
As a Sigma male, even if his enemy was a woman, he would kill her as a sign of respect.
A small fraction of the two hundred surviving members of the Whiro Familia attempted to flee, scattering in all directions. Charlie didn't let a single one escape.
*WHOOSH!*
Using Shukuchi, a technique to instantly close the distance between himself and his opponents, he became a blur of shadow. One moment he stood in the center of the settlement; the next, he was behind a group running toward the gate.
*PU-CHI!*
*PU-CHI!*
*PU-CHI!*
His katana swung, slicing through their necks in one fluid, swift motion. Blood sprayed, and bodies collapsed into the desert sand.
*WHOOSH!*
Without pause, Charlie appeared on another path. This time, he touched the back of a man attempting to climb a wall.
The man turned, his face filled with terror, but the next moment, a strike to the back of his head crushed his skull, and he fell lifeless.
Charlie leaped onto a rooftop, surveying the remaining fugitives. Then, he jumped from roof to roof, like a ghost dancing across the rooftops, pursuing his prey with terrifying precision.
Each time he landed, a body fell. Each time he moved, a life was snuffed out.
The cries and pleas in the air soon turned into a chilling silence.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
"Where did this monster come from?!"
"This is 200 adventurers! Not ordinary people! Even a Level 5 couldn't face these numbers unscathed! Maybe only the King [Ottar] could do it!!!"
Witnessing the slaughterhouse-like scene, Maxim, the captain of the Whiro Familia, could no longer stand by. If he didn't intervene, he feared everyone would be wiped out.
Of course, it wasn't out of camaraderie or loyalty to his Familia. For the Evilus, relationships were about mutual exploitation to satisfy their depravity.
*CLANG!*
Furious, Maxim gripped his greatsword and charged.
*WHOOSH!*
Gathering his strength, Maxim swung his greatsword at Charlie from several meters away.
*SWISH!*
A dirty gray crescent of energy shot from his blade, slicing through the air with a menacing hiss toward its target.
"Interesting." Charlie remarked.
It was the first time he'd seen someone other than himself produce sword energy. So, he let the wave of energy hit him directly.
*BANG!*
The impact was thunderous. Charlie's body was pushed back a few meters, his feet leaving deep tracks in the sandy ground.
"Damn it! Is his body made of steel?!" Maxim shouted, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
"No, even steel would be cut by my Wave of Despair!"
His heart pounded with a fear he hadn't felt in ages—fear of death, fear of powerlessness.
"That's it?"
Charlie straightened, dust falling from his cloak.
"Pathetic swordsmanship. Let me show you how to use sword energy properly."
With that, he raised his damaged katana.
*BUZZZZ—!*
Magical essence gathered and condensed along the blade, vibrating at a high frequency that produced a low hum.
*SWISH!*
With a seemingly casual yet precisely controlled swing, Charlie unleashed his own energy slash. A shimmering silver-blue crescent, radiant and deadly, shot across the distance between them at a far more terrifying speed.
(Danger! I have to dodge!!!)
Maxim's survival instincts screamed. Without thinking, he threw himself to the side with all his strength.
*BOOOOOOM!*
The crescent slash struck the wooden house and tent behind where Maxim had stood. There was no fiery explosion, only a clean cut. The structures split perfectly in two before collapsing into a pile of rubble, as if sliced by an impossibly sharp giant blade.
"Haah… Haah… That was terrifying!"
Maxim landed roughly on the ground, panting and sweating coldly. He could hardly believe what had just happened.
"Even though it wasn't my full power, you managed to dodge it. As expected of a Level 4. No one who reaches Level 4 is ordinary." Charlie said.
There was a faint note of acknowledgment in his voice, but he remained wholly unimpressed.
"…"
Hearing the praise, Maxim felt humiliated and enraged. He, the captain of the Whiro Familia, a Level 4, had nearly died from a single attack?
*CRACK!*
The sound of breaking metal shattered the tense silence.
Charlie's katana, damaged from cutting and stabbing over a hundred bodies, finally gave out. The chipped, dull blade cracked near the hilt and shattered into pieces, scattering across the blood-soaked ground.
"This is my chance!"
Maxim's eyes gleamed with hope.
An unarmed fighter was a far easier target, even for a monster.
"AAAAHHHH!!!"
Without hesitation, he charged, swinging his greatsword with all his might. The blade roared through the air, aimed at Charlie's shoulder to cleave him in two.
"…"
But Charlie didn't even try to dodge. He slightly turned his body, facing the attack head-on. Instead of raising his hand to block, he thrust his empty hand toward the blade's sharp edge.
*CLANG!*
A harsh sound of metal clashing with metal echoed. Not the sound of a blade cutting flesh, but a sword striking something unyielding.
"What?!"
The greatsword trembled violently in Maxim's hands, sending pain shooting up to his elbows. His eyes widened in disbelief.
Charlie had used the inside of his wrist to block the attack directly.
No skin was cut.
No blood dripped.
Only a small spark flashed from the impact. The Armor of Fafnir once again proved its legendary reputation.
"…"
Maxim quickly pulled his sword back, fear and frustration gnawing at him.
*SWOOSH!*
He swung again, this time a horizontal slash aimed at Charlie's stomach.
Charlie let it come.
*THUD!*
The blade struck, but it only tore his already tattered cloak and jolted his body without causing harm. He didn't move an inch, his feet firmly planted in the ground.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Maxim shouted, nearly hysterical.
He thrust the sword's tip at Charlie's chest.
*CLINK!*
The tip left only a faint white mark on Charlie's skin before bouncing off.
*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!*
The fight turned almost comical. Maxim, with his greatsword, unleashed all his signature techniques—thrusts, slashes, sweeps, even strikes with the hilt—in a frenzy of rage and desperation.
But every attack was futile.
On the other side, weaponless, Charlie didn't dodge. He parried the massive sword with his forearm. Each clash produced sparks and a loud metallic clang.
Then, he seized the blade with his bare hand, gripping it briefly before tossing it aside along with a stumbling Maxim. Charlie deflected attacks with his palm, redirecting the deadly sword's momentum with ease.
*BAM!*
"Cough!"
A palm strike to Maxim's stomach made him cough and double over.
*BAM!*
A swift low kick made Maxim's legs tremble. He grew exhausted, his breathing ragged, his hands weakening as the greatsword felt heavier.
"Let's end this before the rest escape my perception."
Charlie finally decided to end the game. As Maxim swung his sword overhead with his last strength, Charlie didn't block.
Stepping forward, he entered Maxim's range, his iron-like hand seizing Maxim's sword-wielding wrist.
*CRUNCH!*
"ARGHHHHHHHHHH—"
The wrist bones shattered under his grip. Maxim screamed in agony, his greatsword falling to the ground. Before he could react, Charlie's other hand punched his chest.
*BAM!*
Not a quick punch, but a restrained, forceful push. Maxim was thrown backward, landing roughly atop a pile of corpses.
Lying there, he saw his enemy approaching.
Without a weapon, with only bare hands that had defeated him so effortlessly, this enemy had crushed his pride.
Maxim lay helplessly on the pile of his comrades' bodies, his breathing labored, his chest feeling as if struck by a Minotaur. The pain from his shattered wrist spread like fire, but that wasn't the most terrifying thing. The most frightening was the figure now standing over him.
"…"
Charlie looked at him with the same flat gaze he gave the other corpses.
Maxim tried to crawl backward, his entire body trembling with fear.
"Wait… I—"
His words choked in his throat.
Charlie said nothing.
No warning.
No monologue.
Just action.
Charlie raised his right foot.
"…!!!"
Maxim saw the blood- and sand-soaked sole of Charlie's boot block his view of the night sky. His eyes widened, trying to scream, but his opponent gave him no chance.
*CRUNCH!*
A horrific, unnatural sound echoed in the night's silence. The sound of a skull shattering, a brain crushed, and a life extinguished under unbearable pressure.
Without resistance, Maxim's head was completely destroyed, reduced to a mangled, shapeless crater between his shoulders. Blood, brain matter, and bone fragments splattered, staining the ground and nearby corpses.