Peacekeeper's Wrath

Everything had gone far beyond what I had imagined. The pain, regret, suffering, and frustration were gnawing at me from the inside. My weak body couldn't even do anything. Now, I lay in the tree trunks, missing my right arm. My vision blurred, a reflection of the endless hopelessness I felt.

I realized that everyone who had come into contact with me faced brutal consequences. First, my family, then my girlfriend, followed by the clingy bear, and now Areina. I knew Selva would face the same fate.

Seeing Areina's lifeless body filled me with a strange loneliness. I wondered why. This was the first feeling that truly bothered me. 'Why do I hate seeing her like this?' I asked myself, but I didn't expect an answer.

My body stopped trembling, and the pain was swallowed by my body. I could hear Selva's crying voice, begging the bandit to stop. The pain in my heart surged again upon seeing Areina's body thrown over the cliff, but no matter what I did, I was still weak as ever.

Even as my body was dragged by the bandit, I didn't fight back. I recognized the feeling of dying, so I simply accepted it. I was trapped in an endless cycle of death. I wondered if I could find a place that would fulfill my dream of peace and freedom.

The silver sword slowly pierced my neck. I could feel my breath getting slower and heavier. I saw Selva fighting the bandit with all her might, but she collapsed before her sword reached her enemy's neck.

For some reason, I wondered why the bandit hadn't moved. No, everyone had stopped moving. I heard a noise behind me and felt a dark aura emanating from it.

"What a horrible situation," the shadow muttered.

"Yeah, it is," I answered. "What just happened?" I countered.

"Well, I just stopped time to talk with you."

"And who are you? What do you need?" I asked.

"I'm here to watch the sacrificial rights." The shadow explained.

"So you're the one they call the 'Angel of Death'? What a nice nickname you have."

"I love your humor, kid. Do you desire anything? Just wish something, and I can give it to you..."

"Anything... that's too much for me, who was fated to become a sacrifice for you."

"Well, you don't have to be the sacrifice if you can kill everyone here."

I thought for a second and asked, "Are you really going to give me anything?"

"Yeah, even the most impossible things you can wish for, like resurrection."

"Never mind. I only wish for peace, but if you can't give it to me, then I reject anything."

"Well, your wish isn't impossible, but you can achieve it by yourself."

"I can achieve it by myself, huh..."

"Then allow me to give you the power to achieve your peace and live in freedom." The shadow declared.

"Then I accept your power."

I felt a warm sensation throughout my body. The feeling of pain and suffering faded away as time continued to flow.

I silently rose up and glanced at the bandit. He felt my presence and stared at my location. I couldn't even describe his face upon seeing me. He grabbed his sword and swung it wide.

With my bare hand, I crushed his skull into pieces, and a black mist emerged from my back, completely swallowing my body. The mist gathered around the dead body of the bandit leader, and his memories suddenly entered my head.

The remaining horde of bandits rushed towards my position, trying to kill me. But instead of taking my life, I ended up taking theirs.

A minute passed, and the whole area was completely coated with a dark red color. Bodies and their internal organs were scattered around every corner. I stood at the top of the pile of dead bodies, and the mist started to eat their memories. It was enough to understand each of them. It wasn't just their memories I absorbed, but also their abilities and skills.

From the huge amount of mist, a book with a black cover emerged. I took it and started to browse its contents. Upon opening the book, the memories and feelings of the people I had just killed re-entered my head. I couldn't stop thinking about them, so I wrote them down. I raised my fingertip and clicked it. A pen emerged from the mist on my body. Ten minutes passed, and I had completely finished writing their memories. Each story was long enough to cover the whole book, but surprisingly, the first paragraph was enough to cover their stories.

It seemed that the book was from my power, and I had to write down every memory of the people I killed to obtain their abilities and skills.

This was my new power, the power of the dead. I gained the ability to take their memories and abilities. I could also summon their souls and make them my servants, but I didn't like having dead souls as my servants, so I didn't summon anything.

[ You gained a new title { Prince of Death} and {???} ]

[ You obtain the the enough souls]

[Your ability was rise to three]

[Due to the new title, your ability to communicate to the humans are completely banned]

'It seems that I've become an enemy of humankind. Suits me. I don't really want to get along with them anyway.'

The sun had completely risen, like an early adult, burning my whole body. It wasn't a good idea to stay here for too long. The knights might arrive in a few minutes, so I decided to jump off the cliff where Areina had been thrown.

Upon landing on the ground, my bones were literally broken, so I used my healing ability. A mist started to cover my whole body, and my broken bones were completely back to normal. I walked through the trees and suddenly stumbled upon Ariana's body. To my surprise, she was still breathing, but it was slow and heavy. I held her body and started to contemplate what to do. I had two choices: end her suffering or save her. I didn't think any longer and put my knife to her neck. My blood dripped out and entered her mouth. Her wounds healed as if nothing had happened. She slowly opened her eyes and glanced at me.

"Master Cry? Wait, what happened?" she asked. It seemed that I could still communicate with her, which was a good sign.

"You were so brave. You sacrificed your life for your master..." I mumbled.

"Wait, the Princess, is she okay?" she hurriedly asked.

"Yeah, she's now with the protection of the knights." I answered.

"Thank you...." She smiled and hugged me tight.

"Oh, it's not a big deal."

"Did you save me? And how?"

I ignored her questions and stayed quiet. "You can go back to your master. I know you can catch them if you start moving right now."

"Ehh... Aren't you going back?"

"I don't plan to get involved with the Princess, and for your information, she believes that I'm already dead, so I don't want to bother her." I explained and walked away.

She followed me like my own tail. "How long are you going to follow me? It wasn't a good idea to stalk a guy you just met a few hours ago."

"Well, I want to follow you and travel with you. In fact, my duty as a private maid of the Princess is now nullified, and I've already given my life for her, so this time I want to go with you. She might also think I'm already dead, so it's not a real problem."

"Do you really think you can follow me everywhere? I can't allow you to do that. Everyone who has come into contact with me ends up losing their lives because of me. I'm too unlucky. You'll just suffer if you continue to follow me."

"Well, I don't really know you, but just by looking at you right now, I can feel that you suffer the most. But let me tell you something: YOU ARE NOT AN UNLUCKY PERSON. Remember all the struggles you faced, you managed to survive. Isn't that luck already? So DON'T LOOK DOWN ON YOURSELF. YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO SURVIVE. And I've decided to follow you and help you."

After hearing those words, my heart melted a little. She was the first person who understood my struggles and appreciated my worth. For some reason, I thought I could relate to her, even a little. I had already seen her loyalty and dedication, so I didn't doubt her intentions.

********

A: hmmm...