Chapter 1: Chapter 0: Prologue
TL: RuinsTranslator (Yes, I am not translating it, just editing some stuff, but he is the real translator)
First Person POV (MC)
*Whoosh*
The heat was intense. The building burned before my eyes. Inside and out, the building was a scene of complete chaos.
"Ahhhh!"
"Save me!"
People on fire, running amok amidst the blazing inferno. In my hands, was a sickle drenched with something red as I watched them.
The sight of the sickle soaked in blood for cutting herbs was chilling.
"Ahhhhhh."
"Help, please!"
Those who ran out of the building engulfed in flames rolled on the ground, desperately trying to put out the fire on their bodies. But the flames that covered their entire bodies were not easily extinguished.
In the agony of their flesh burning away, they died.
It was a horrific scene, yet I felt not an ounce of guilt. No. I didn't even understand what guilt was.
…
"Cough cough…..Promise me."
"What do you mean?"
"Never to reveal your true nature…"
"…Grandfather."
"This old man taught you that!"
"…I understand."
…
The promise I made with my grandfather before he passed kept swirling in my mind. But that promise was not kept. No, it was probably a promise that couldn't be kept.
I'm sorry, grandfather.
I can't stop this until I find 'him' who made grandfather suffer so terribly. Even if that end is what Grandfather feared would be reality. The more I see blood, the harder it is to control myself.
What expression was I wearing? Knowing that my lips twitched while watching this gruesome scene where flesh burned and blood was everywhere told me this was clearly enjoyment.
True nature… Is evil truly my nature? At least it felt more liberating than the demeanour grandfather taught me.
As if I've broken free from shackles.
"Sigh."
It didn't matter. Thanks to the smell of blood, I felt refreshed and closer to a clue about 'him.' Now, it was time to deal with all the survivors. I stepped towards a few survivors with my sickle in hand.
One step, two steps, as they looked at me with eyes full of fear. That fear didn't feel bad at all. Rather, it further tickled my murderous intent.
*Thud*
As I took another step, someone terrified yelled at me, "Scythe, Scythe Killer Demon!"
Scythe Killer Demon… a nickname that came about as I pursued his traces. Killing anyone even slightly related to him, people soon began calling me Scythe Killer Demon.
Due to the traces left by the sickle on the dead bodies, it seems I had unintentionally gained a notorious reputation. All within just a month.
It seemed touching slightly bigger villages compared to the remote countryside ones made a difference. Thanks to that, I had learned a valuable lesson.
I need to burn everything. So as not to leave unnecessary traces on the bodies.
No. Maybe it was better not to use a sickle at all? Oh well, I'll worry about that later; for now, let's just kill them all.
*Whoosh*
I raised my sickle towards a survivor crawling on the ground.
"Eek!"
As the survivor cringed with a pale face, I swung my sickle.
*Thump*
"Ugh!"
Something struck my abdomen with tremendous force, sending me flying backwards. I rolled several times on the ground, but the force didn't subside. After rolling for a while, I finally stopped, and a strange force made me vomit violently.
"Blargh!"
*Wowwwww*
As I was vomiting, I heard cheers. It seemed to be the shouts of the survivors who had been scared. Still feeling nauseous and with hardly any strength in my body, I struggled to raise my head.
What on earth? Wondering, I saw someone raising their hand. He seemed to be responding to the people's cheers as if he were a hero.
Then, he boldly shouted. "Truly, the Scythe Killer Demon. To withstand my Three-Star Power."
Three-Star Power? What is he babbling about? The only thing I could understand from what he was saying was the nickname; Scythe Killer Demon.
"Cough…cough…."
I forcibly suppressed the urge to vomit. I didn't know what this person's identity was, but it was clear he was dangerous. I tried to force myself to stand, but my legs wouldn't cooperate.
"Your evil deeds end now, Scythe Killer Demon!" He slowly walked towards me.
Dangerous. I gritted my teeth. If I couldn't move now, my life would be in peril!
*Swish*
What? It seemed like he was walking slowly, but suddenly he was standing right in front of me. Fast! How could a person move so quickly? It was absurd.
"Hmm," The middle-aged man let out a grunt.
I hadn't noticed from afar, but up close, I saw a long scar above his left eyebrow. In his right hand, he held a black sword that seemed burned, its sharpness was unmistakable.
I needed to escape. Every sense in my body was alerting me. No matter how much I struggled, I couldn't deal with him.
Then, with a chilling face vastly different from before, the middle-aged man softly said, "I wondered who was snooping around, and it turns out to be a kid who still smells of milk."
He felt like a completely different person. But what caught my ear was something else. Snooping around? Then this person was…
*Grip*
"Gah!"
Before I could think further, the man grabbed my throat. Even at seventeen, my height was not inferior to that of an average adult male. Yet he held me up so effortlessly. I looked at his forearms and wrists, but there was no change in the muscles. How could he lift me up like a feather?
Puzzled, the man frowned. "You…have not trained in martial arts."
"Mar…tial arts?"
"You don't even know what martial arts are? Ha!"
The man was astonished. What exactly is martial arts that he reacts this way?
"Interesting. A lad who hasn't trained in martial arts withstood my strike and is still alive….."
"Gah, what are you talking….."
*Thud*
"Ugh!"
My abdomen burned. The man's black sword blade had already pierced through my abdomen.
The man sneered bitterly and said in a murderous tone, "It's better to kill you now to avoid future troubles."
*Swoosh*
*Thud!*
"Gah!"
As soon as he pulled the sword from my abdomen, he stabbed my left chest. The sword pierced through my chest, and blood surged up my throat with immense pain.
"You should have lived quietly. Why hasten your death by overstepping?"
"Gak…..gak..."
As I barely moved my lips, he threw me to the ground. Then he turned around, raised his black sword, and shouted, "The evil deeds of the Scythe Killer Demon end here. Everyone can rest easy now!"
He acted like a hero again. The survivors, unaware of his true nature, screamed with joy. The pain from the wound in my chest was excruciating, but I was even more infuriated by his hypocritical demeanour.
I finally found who might be my enemy, only to be defeated so vainly. I never stood a chance. Grandfather… My vision started to blur gradually.
Am I going to grandfather without avenging him? He won't spare me the lectures for breaking our promise…