The bandit walked casually, his shoulders raised high as he carried his sharp sword as if it were a toy. His smile widened, full of arrogance. His every step echoed in the cave, clearly audible to their frightened ears.
When he arrived right in front of Raven, the bandit stood up straight. He moved his shoulders slowly, rotating his joints, then lifted the sword slung over his shoulder. His smile widened, his gaze full of mockery, as if he wanted to enjoy every second before cutting his opponent.
"This is going to hurt a little... so bear it, kid!" he shouted hoarsely, full of arrogance.
Hana screamed, tears streaming down her face. "Raven! No!!" her voice shrieked hysterically.
Lisa couldn't bear to watch, closing her eyes tightly until her body shook violently. Kyle, who was pinned down, roared, trying to get up in vain. Theo clenched his teeth until his jaw stiffened, while Karin struggled with her last ounce of strength, screaming her friends' names as if trying to stop the impending disaster.
Everyone in the cave, their faces filled with despair, seemed to scream silently in their hearts, begging Raven to run.
But Raven remained silent.
His gaze was cold, not a single flicker of emotion on his face. His body did not move even though the sharp flash of steel was about to pierce the distance between life and death.
And suddenly...
The sound of tearing flesh echoed loudly,
"CRACK!"
Everyone's eyes widened. The bandit who swung the sword paused, confused, before he realized... his own hand was gone.
The severed hand, still clutching the sword, flew through the air. It spun slowly, its silhouette dancing in the torchlight. Time seemed to slow as blood spurted wildly, dripping heavily onto the stone floor with a sound that pierced the ears.
All eyes followed the severed hand. Until finally, it fell to the ground.
Sudden silence engulfed everything.
The bandit finally realized what had happened. His face turned pale, his eyes widened, and then a hysterical scream burst from his mouth.
"AAAAAAAARGHHHHHH!!!"
The scream echoed off the cave walls, piercing the ears of anyone who heard it. Meanwhile, the sword that had been severed along with his hand was still spinning in the air, as if reluctant to fall to the ground. It was as if time had stopped, waiting for the end of the iron dance.
The torchlight began to reflect a cold glint on the surface of the sword as it slid down. But before it could touch the stone floor, Raven's left hand moved. As quick as lightning, he grabbed the hilt in midair. His movement was smooth, without hesitation, as if the sword was meant to fall into his hand from the start.
In an instant, Raven swung his sword.
One clean, quick, and unstoppable movement.
"SHRAAKKK!"
The bandit's neck was split open. His head flew to the side, hitting the rock with a heavy thud. His body remained standing stiffly for a few seconds, blood spurting wildly from the slash, before finally collapsing hard and the flowing blood began to soak the cave floor.
Raven stared at the corpse. Expressionless, emotionless. His gaze was cold as ice, yet contained a pressure that pierced the heart of anyone who looked at him.
His voice was finally heard, flat, low, but each word like a deadly whip.
"You're too noisy... for someone who's about to die."
A sudden silence fell. All the cruel laughter of the bandits that had previously filled the cave vanished. All that remained was the smell of blood, racing heartbeats, and the tension that gripped every soul there.
Raven's friends could only stare in shock. Theo, Kyle, Hana, Lisa, and Karin held their breath, their bodies stiff as if they couldn't believe what they had just witnessed. Something they could never have imagined was now being done by Raven right in front of them.
Meanwhile, the ten remaining bandits suddenly turned pale. Some of them unconsciously took a step back, their grip on their weapons shaking violently. Their eyes were fixed on the small axe that Raven now held tightly in his right hand, the same weapon that had just slashed one of their comrades' hands. The distinctive carving on the blade made them recognize it immediately.
"That... that's the second leader's axe..." one of the bandits' voices broke, trembling, almost inaudible.
"How could one of the leaders' weapons be in his hands?" said another bandit.
At that moment, their entire bodies seemed to freeze. The realization hit them hard—the leader who was supposed to have returned to headquarters... had not yet appeared. A terrifying thought crept into their minds.
Could it be… that one of the leaders had been killed by this boy?
And now the raven stood directly before them. Fresh blood still dripped from the two weapons in his hands, each drop echoing on the stone floor of the cave. His eyes emitted a terrifying aura, cold and merciless, like the god of death descending directly into the mortal world.
"Why do you look so scared?" Raven's voice finally sounded, calm, low, but with a pressure that pierced the ears.
"Weren't you the ones who tried to kill me earlier?"
His language was not murim, but a modern language that only his friends understood. It was a deliberate choice, so that his secret would remain locked away, even from those who were now staring at him with pale, frightened faces.
The bandits looked at each other, their eyes wide, their lips trembling. They didn't understand a single word that came out of Raven's mouth, but they didn't need to. The deadly aura emanating from the boy's body was enough to make their chests tighten, as if his every step was a drumbeat of death accompanying their journey to hell.
"Did... the second leader meet this boy... and lose?" said another, his eyes trembling as he stared at the axe now in Raven's hand.
"Impossible!" replied another quickly, though his voice was hoarse.
"As far as I know, the leaders always move together. It's impossible for one of them to just die."
"But how do you explain that?" the third bandit pointed with his chin, his face covered in cold sweat.
"That axe... clearly belongs to the second leader!"
That statement silenced them all, their pale faces turning even paler.
"Don't panic!" snapped one bandit, trying to muster what courage he had left. But the tremor in his voice made the sentence sound more like despair.
"We still have hostages! If we threaten their lives, he definitely won't dare to act!"
Panicked whispers began to be heard among them. The voices were broken, hoarse, like the breath of a person being strangled. Cold sweat flowed profusely from their temples, dripping one by one from their foreheads.
Their eyes were fixed on Raven, a figure who was supposed to be their prey but had now transformed into a predator who was intimidating them with his mere presence.
Revan stepped forward, the sword in his left hand gleaming, while the blood-stained axe in his right hand still dripped red liquid onto the ground. With each step he took, the air seemed to thicken, suffocating everyone in the cave.
"Hey! Back off! We have a hostage here!" one of the bandits shouted in panic, pulling Hana closer to his body. The tip of his weapon was pressed against the girl's neck, just an inch from her trembling skin.
"If you come any closer, this woman will die!"
Hana sobbed loudly, her body trembling in the rough grip. Her tears fell uncontrollably, but she kept looking at Raven, as if begging for something.
Raven stopped. His head was slightly bowed, hiding his expression. The bandits looked at each other, seeing the movement as a sign of hesitation. A small glimmer of hope appeared on their faces, a fragile hope that their threat could truly stop the figure standing before them.
But behind that bowed gaze, Raven was preparing something. Something they could never have imagined.