******
The Village was currently cloaked in an oppressive, tense silence, the air so heavy it seemed to suffocate.
Every eye was fixed on Xylen, whose head lay motionless on the block — the executioner’s blade glinting ominously above, moments from cleaving through flesh.
The Villagers watched quietly, their faces contorted in horror, breath caught in their throats.
To be honest, none of them harbored any loyalty to Xylen. Pity, perhaps — a fleeting, bitter sentiment.
They had endured far too much anguish, too many deaths, and terror to feel any allegiance to a lord they barely remembered existed.
What truly terrified them, however, was none other than Kaelrik and the looming future.
The thought of Kaelrik—the sadist Demon as the sole lord of the fief, wielding absolute power to do as he pleased- sent chills down their spines.
Although no one could predict just how much darker and twisted he would become once Xylen was taken out, the mere memory of him as the acting baron was enough to warn them, that without any more opposition, he would rise as an even greater tyrant, tormentor, and oppressor, ruling with such a cruelty they dared not imagine.
Meanwhile, Venomspite and his cohort of demons quivered with anticipation and anxiousness, their hearts hammering against their ribs, knowing fully well that the moment they had been waiting for so long had finally arrived.
Fear and bloodlust churned within them as they secretly gripped their weapons tightly, gritting their teeth against each other as they waited for the perfect moment to strike.
And then, there was Lilith.
If anyone felt true terror toward Xylen at this moment, it was none but her.
Right now, staring at Xylen as his head rested on the execution block, her entire body trembled, her blood turning ice-cold. Her complexion had drained of all color, and her chest heaved as her heart slammed wildly, threatening to burst.
She had almost forgotten that this was part of the plan — almost leaping forward in desperation to protect him, but...
She could only clench her fists tightly, her nails digging into her flesh.
They were already completely past the point of return. So, right now, all she could do was silently plead to the Demon God, praying nothing untoward would unravel.
Still, she slowly readied herself to intervene the instant anything went wrong.
...
On the other hand, Kaelrik stood tall, soaking in the tension in the Square like a predator relishing his prey’s last moments.
He could feel the dread emanating from the crowd and see the silent pleas, desperation, and hopelessness in their eyes. But it only made his grin stretch wider, until finally...
"From this moment forward, everything about this territory will change!" His voice exploded through the Village like a thunderclap, sending violent shivers down the spines of all who heard him.
"Once I become the rightful Baron and controller of this fief, whether old or young, weak or strong — you all will be conscripted into my army, and together, we will conquer every neighboring territory, and your blood will pave the path to my dominion!"
’This...’
The Villagers froze, their souls crumbling. Faces turned ashen and gazes locked in shared despair.
’Is... is he serious?’ they silently questioned, their blood turning cold.
In the next instant, their hearts nearly stopped working in their chests as they stared blankly at Kaelrik.
’He... this monster is going to have all of us ground into dust to fulfill his insatiable hunger for power!’
The realization hit them like a death sentence. In the next second, terror gripped their faces, their bodies turning weak.
Only a fool would fail to understand his words at this point.
Kaelrik had no intention of sparing anyone. Young or old, weak or strong—it didn’t matter. Their lives were nothing more than fuel for his ambition and sacrifices to pave his path to conquest.
Tears slowly welled in their eyes, their bodies weakening under the weight of helplessness. Yet Kaelrik remained unfazed, lifting his colossal blade with chilling ease.
"From this day forward, my name — Kaelrik shall travel far and resound across the Demon continent and beyond, a name synonymous with fear and reverence!" His voice resonated, shaking the very earth.
.....
’This is our lord!’
This thought struck the guards all at once after a moment, and in the next moment, their blood surged.
"Go for it, my lord!" a high-ranking guard suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.
In the next instant, as if they had been waiting for this very moment...
"My lord, we will gladly lay down our lives to make your dream a reality!"
"Lord Kaelrik!"
"Glory to Kaelrik!"
"Yah!"
Their war cries thundered through the village, merging into a hellish war cry, their echoes crashing like relentless waves of doom against the villagers’ ears.
Meanwhile, the villagers’ terror deepened, their hearts jolting in fear. But beyond silently weeping, what else could they do?
They could only glare at Kaelrik and his guards, their eyes burning with such raw hatred and disgust toward them that, if only looks could kill, they would have been reduced to nothing.
Yet, Kaelrik only basked in it.
To him, it didn’t matter whether anyone loved or loathed him. As long as he held the absolute power to crush them beneath his heel, their feelings were irrelevant.
....
"Silence!"
Kaelrik’s voice cut through the cacophony like a blade after a moment, and the guards instantly obeyed, their mouths snapping shut.
Without another word, Kaelrik tested the weight of his blade, his fingers curling tighter around the hilt as he unhurriedly turned around.
He approached Xylen’s limp body, the scrape of his boots against the wood echoing like funeral bells.
The two guards holding Xylen stiffened, while the third adjusted the head on the block, his heart pounding in his chest as though scared his arms would be chopped off alongside Xylen’s
Kaelrik’s eyes held no humanity, no pity — only cold indifference as he stared at Xylen.
"You should have died eighteen years ago," he finally muttered after a moment, his voice low yet unmistakably clear in the dead silence. "But since you chose not to do that, I’ll correct that mistake today."
His lips curled into a cruel smirk, a strong murderous intent suddenly flaring in his gaze like a raging inferno.
In the next instant, the heavy blade in his hand soared into the air, exuding a crushing pressure and a razor-sharp aura that seemed capable of cleaving through mountains and rivers.
"Die!" he roared, the word reverberating through the Village like a death knell, the sheer pressure of his aura crushing against every soul present.
Then, the blade descended with a diagonal cut, wanting to land squarely on Xylen’s neck when suddenly—
"Die instead!"
Another voice exploded with hatred and desperation, tearing through the silence, and before anybody could react...
Boom!
A surge of power erupted through the air, unleashing a terrifying pressure that instantly caught the guards around Xylen off guard and blasted them off the platform like rag dolls, their bodies crashing down as a chorus of shocked gasps rang out.
With this, Xylen, with his eyes blazing with defiance, sprang to his feet, ripping the Rusthorn Blade from within his robes.
Without hesitation, he lunged forward, thrusting the short blade toward Kaelrik’s chest with every ounce of strength he had in his body.
"Die!!!" he bellowed, voice cracking with fervor and rage.
But then, instead of the wet, sickening squelch of a blade piercing flesh that was supposed to follow—
Ting!
A metallic clang reverberated like a cruel mockery, and Xylen staggered back, his body reeling from the recoil.
His mind instantly whirled, panic flooding his veins.
’What... what just happened?!’
He lifted his gaze, and what he saw nearly drained the life from his soul.
The towering, muscular Kaelrik stood there, unharmed, and instead of shock, an amused grin stretched across his face like a mask of pure malice.
Just at that moment...
"I never imagined my rash, impulsive brother could sire a son as patient as you," Kaelrik sneered, his voice dripping with venom and his eyes gleaming with wicked delight.
The moment Xylen heard this, a cold shiver ran down his spine, but before he could process what had just happened nor react—
Bang!
Kaelrik’s fist crashed into his chest like a war hammer, sending him hurtling through the air, and in the following second:
-5 Hp
A red, negative number flashed above him, but Xylen barely noticed. His body slammed into the ground, lungs spasming, ribs screaming.
Xylen, however, felt no pain because right now, his mind was completely consumed by a single thought, drowning out everything else.
’He knew all along!’
Kaelrik had known he had already woken up from the coma.
And he’d been playing along.
From the very beginning.