A sick girl leaned against the wall of a narrow alleyway, a wet, rattling cough tearing through her thin chest. She wiped the blood from her lips with a trembling hand, her feverish eyes locked onto the chaotic scene unfolding in the main square.

Just a few minutes ago, she had expected to watch another arrogant noble get bought off or slaughtered by the corrupt local houses.

But instead of begging or negotiating, the white-haired boy had simply reached out and taken Lord Vance’s head in a single, terrifying motion.

A strange, unfamiliar heat blossomed deep inside her chest, completely overpowering the freezing chills of the regional fever that was slowly killing her. For her entire life, the local houses had been untouchable monsters who starved the towns and ruled through absolute, suffocating terror.

Now, one of those untouchable monsters was lying in the dirt, his expensive blood soaking into the ruined street just like everyone else.

The young lord let out a tired sigh, casually dropping the severed head while the formation of armored knights stared at him in complete disbelief.

"Kill him," the scarred lord finally screamed, his voice cracking slightly as the reality of the sudden execution crashed over him, "do not let him leave this square!"

The remaining knights broke out of their shocked stupor, raising their heavy broadswords as they charged forward to avenge their fallen leader.

Hajin did not even draw his sword, merely gesturing for Loccy and the rest of his squad to handle the rushing wall of steel.

While they tore into the charging knights, the older lord with silver hair took the opportunity to slowly back away, fully intending to abandon the scarred lord and run for his life.

Before he could take more than three steps toward the side street, Hajin materialized directly in his path, completely blocking the exit with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Leaving so soon?" He asked dryly, staring down at the terrified nobleman, "we have not even discussed your severance package yet."

The older lord drew his sword, his hands shaking violently as he pointed the trembling blade at Hajin’s chest.

"Get out of my way," the nobleman demanded, trying to sound authoritative despite the raw panic suffocating his voice, "you have no idea who you are dealing with!"

Hajin did not even bother reaching for his sword, his ring flaring brightly as he summoned his chain into his right hand.

[Skill Activated: Eclipse Lash]

He had unlocked the new weapon skill recently when his chains repaired themselves further, and an unarmored, fleeing noble was the perfect target to test its absolute lethality.

The chain instantly turned pitch black, absorbing the surrounding light as he casually snapped his wrist forward like a whip. The man barely registered the blurred movement, taking a desperate, lunging step forward to swing his sword at Hajin.

"Die!" The older lord screamed, pouring all of his remaining strength into the downward slash.

The black chain completely bypassed the nobleman’s falling sword, slicing horizontally across his waist with a terrifyingly silent, dark streak of compressed mana.

The attack severed through the nobleman’s flesh and bone without offering even a single ounce of physical resistance. The man froze mid-swing, his eyes widening in sudden, uncomprehending shock as his sword clattered uselessly onto the road.

A perfect, razor-thin line of blood appeared across the center of his expensive coat, completely bisecting his torso before he could even register the pain.

The top half slid cleanly off his waist, collapsing onto the ground with a sickening sound while his lower half crumpled a second later.

"That is surprisingly efficient," Hajin noted, dismissing the dark chain with a simple wave of his hand.

He turned his attention back toward the center of the square, watching Loccy systematically dismantle the scarred lord’s remaining forces with her bare hands.

The scarred lord was desperately crawling backward on the ground, screaming for help while Loccy slowly stalked toward him with a wide, terrifying grin.

Hajin let out a low chuckle, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched his normally cheerful summon tear through the knights. He had never seen her act this incredibly brutal before, usually relying on her quick strikes instead of literally ripping people apart with her bare hands.

He wondered if the massive amounts of corrupted demonic mana he had absorbed were bleeding through their soul bond, slowly twisting her personality.

But as long as she was only targeting their enemies, he honestly did not care and within five short minutes, the battle in the square was over.

The screaming finally stopped, leaving a tense silence hanging over the entire place.

The courtyard was painted in dark crimson, completely covered in the broken bodies of over a hundred knights who had mistakenly thought they could bully a teenager.

Loccy stood in the center of the bloody carnage, licking a splash of blood off her cheek while her eyes slowly returned to their normal color. The scarred lord was lying dead at her feet, his neck completely snapped and his arrogant face frozen in a mask of permanent horror.

Hajin walked through the sea of bodies, his boots splashing lightly in the pools of blood as he regrouped with his party.

Cassie lowered her barrier, looking completely sick to her stomach while she carefully avoided stepping on the shredded knights.

Elise simply wiped her hands on her skirt, her expression completely neutral after helping slaughter an entire local army while Sable flicked the blood off her short sword, sheathing the weapon before stepping up beside Hajin to form a protective guard.

Only the clerks remained alive in the square, pressing their faces completely onto the blood-soaked ground while they shook with uncontrollable terror.

Hajin walked over to the shivering men, his boots leaving wet red footprints before he slowly crouched down to their eye level.

"Now what?" He asked flatly, his gaze piercing right through the fat clerk’s desperate facade.

"The noble lords you believed in are all dead," he continued, gesturing casually toward the headless bodies scattered across the courtyard, "so what exactly will you do now?"

Predictably, the men immediately broke down into pathetic sobs, grabbing at his coat and begging desperately for their miserable lives.

"Please, My Lord, we will do whatever you want!" the greasy-haired clerk cried out, tears streaming down his dirt-stained face, "we were just following their orders!"

Hajin ignored their pathetic pleading, standing back up and shifting his gaze toward the surrounding alleyways where the terrified townspeople were still hiding.

He locked eyes with a sick young girl leaning against a wall, holding her steady gaze, ’ohoo, what an interesting look you got in your eyes,’ he thought, before raising his voice so the entire square could hear him.

"What do you wish be done to these people?" He asked the silent crowd, his voice carrying clearly over the sickening smell of fresh blood.

The townspeople slowly stepped out from the shadows, their wide, hollow eyes staring at the young lord who had just slaughtered their untouchable oppressors.

"After everything they have put you through," he pressed, stepping away from the trembling clerks, "after all the loss and starvation... do they even deserve to live?"

While he stood silently waiting for the terrified townspeople to answer his question, he was completely unaware that he was already being watched. Miles away, perched high on the peak of a solitary mountain overlooking the entire sixth region, a pair of pink eyes stared down at the distant settlement.

The mysterious figure let out a low, amused chuckle, their gaze piercing through the clouds to perfectly track Hajin’s every movement.

"My, my, how incredibly interesting," a smooth, melodic voice murmured into the air, "I knew that boy was something special when my spatial barrier completely failed to flag him as a threat."

The watcher leaned forward against the harsh wind, a sharp, elegant smile pulling at their lips as they observed the young lord completely dismantle the corrupt local power structure.

"So, the King has finally decided to make his move," the voice noted with a quiet, almost playful hum, "let us see if this bold little piece can actually survive on my board."