"That should be enough proof," Akhil said calmly, a faintly smug grin tugging at his lips.
Samxon's chest tightened. Why did this bastard look so calm—almost amused—when he was surrounded?
"What's with the smile, you bastard?" Samxon asked, irritation flashing in his voice.
"Oh, I wasn't talking to you," Akhil replied evenly. His grin lingered, thin and knowing.
Samxon frowned, a thought crossing his mind. What's with this idiot?
'He's bluffing,' Samxon thought, forcing the unease down as he narrowed his gaze. 'He knows he's trapped, that's all.'
He turned his attention to Gon. "You'd better come over here, old man, unless you want to share their fate."
Gon froze, glancing helplessly at Akhil and Nibo before quickly shuffling away from them.
"Elder Gon!" Nibo shouted, disbelief and anger twisting across his face. He moved as if to stop him, but Akhil reached out and held him back.
"Wait," Akhil murmured quietly.
They both watched as the old orc hobbled toward Samxon's group, leaning on his crooked staff. When Gon reached the humans, Samxon gave him a satisfied nod and patted his shoulder.
"You've done well," Samxon murmured near the orc's ear, voice dropping into a low threat. "But we're not done with you yet."
As he spoke, his eyes flicked toward Nibo, savoring the fury and disbelief on their faces.
Akhil's jaw tightened, his expression darkening with disgust.
Samxon straightened up, stretching his shoulders. His voice turned cold. "Well, enough wasting time."
He raised a hand, about to give the order. "Atta—"
The word never left his mouth.
In a split second, the shadows shifted. Something darted past — too fast for the eye to follow.
"What the—?! Ah—!"
Two of his men barely managed a sound before daggers pierced their throats. Blood sprayed in violent bursts, painting the grass beneath their feet. The men clawed at their necks, choking on their own gurgled cries before collapsing lifelessly.
Samxon spun around in shock. "What was that?!"
From behind the fallen men, a figure stepped into view.
An orc — her long black hair tumbling over her shoulders, her green skin marked with faint scars. Her eyes burned with anger as she fixed her gaze on Gon.
"Aria…" Gon's voice trembled. He stumbled back a step, horror flickering across his face as if he'd seen a ghost. "Aria! What are you doing here? You were supposed to stay in the settlement!"
Nibo's expression mirrored his shock, though his surprise quickly shifted into something closer to awe.
Akhil, however, remained composed. His eyes moved from her face to the two men lying dead at her feet.
She killed the healer and the mage, he thought, feeling a wave of relief settle over him. Those were the ones I was worried about.
Then he lifted his gaze back to Aria — steady, unreadable.
'That was fast. They couldn't even react,' Akhil thought, his grin widening. 'Looks like the stabilizer really did its job.'
"What am I doing here? Is that what you should be asking right now?!" Aria snapped, her voice sharp with fury.
Her small canines jutted past her lip, eyes blazing as she glared at the old orc. Her tunic was splattered with the blood of the two men she had just killed.
She looked menacing, enough to make the old man tuck his tails between his butt.
Samxon let out a booming laugh that echoed through the trees. "You've really made yourself a lot of enemies, old man," he mocked, smirking at Gon.
Gon's body trembled, though he tried to steady himself. He hadn't expected things to go this far, but now that they had—there was no turning back.
Even Aria had managed to kill two of their men before they noticed. Impressive, but futile. There were still plenty of them left. The three of them wouldn't make it out alive.
Meeting Aria's glare, Gon lifted his chin. "You said it! we had to adapt," Gon snapped.
Aria bit her lip, fury burning through her words. "By selling out your own people? That's not survival. That's rot."
Gon chuckled weakly, a rough cough breaking through his laugh. "Little girl," he said, his tone turning cold, "you can't define survival when you're the sacrifice."
Samxon broke into laughter again, cutting through the tension. "Alright, enough talk," he said, turning his gaze back to Akhil.
"So this is what you were stalling for? A level two mutant?" he asked with a mocking grin.
The hostage from earlier had already told him everything he needed to know about the orcs' camp.
Akhil smiled faintly. "Check again."
Samxon frowned at his calm tone. That same uneasy feeling crept back into his chest. Still, he turned toward Aria, doing as Akhil suggested.
{Player: Ria}
{Mutant Level: 3}
'What?! She's on the same level as me?!' Samxon's eyes widened. He turned sharply toward the hostage who had fed him the information earlier.
The plump man paled under his stare. "S-sir, we checked! I swear—she was level two!" he stammered, his voice trembling.
Samxon drew in a slow breath, forcing his expression into a smirk as he shifted his gaze back to Akhil. "It doesn't matter," he said coldly. "One level three mutant won't make a difference."he stated with a casual shrug, he wasn't just being arrogant.
He was confident. There was no escape.
"You should've joined us when you had the chance," Samxon said, lifting a hand.
At his signal, the humans around him tensed immediately—blades drawn, bows raised, waiting for his word.
Akhil glanced over his shoulder, locking eyes with Nibo. A silent nod was all it took; Nibo understood and tightened his grip on his weapon.
Then Akhil turned back to Samxon, his calm expression unwavering.
"You're right," he said evenly. "One level three mutant won't make much of a difference."
He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "But what about a level five mutant?"
Samxon's gut twisted—the same unease that had been clawing at him since Akhil first smiled.
'What is this feeling?' he thought, his pulse quickening.
It wasn't fear—not exactly—but something deep, instinctive, warning him that he'd just crossed a line.
Akhil's gaze shifted to Aria. His eyes trailed down to the fresh blood splattered across the ground—the blood of the men she had just killed.
'I still haven't tested this yet,' he thought, taking a slow breath. 'Guess it's time.'
He raised his hand toward the blood pooling beneath Aria's feet.
The air grew heavy, and with a faint hum the familiar system interface flickered into view before him.
{Skill Activated — Blood Control!}