11 Chapter 11: the worst of the worst

Kiara's POV:

What unfolded after the grim word came out of the mysterious boy's mouth was a scene that you could only dream about or more accurately a scene only from a nightmare that you would rather forget.

The boy's body dissipated and after that 6 of the 30 bandits turned into a bloodied mess as they collapsed like puppets without strings.

Kiara didn't know what happened, no more exactly she couldn't know what happened the time during which these events happened were too short even with Kiara's experience as a former adventurer she has never seen lives being taken with such speed.

"What the!? What just happen..."

The bandit couldn't even finish his sentence before he and 3 more of his friends were turned into bloody paste.

By the look of the bodies, the boy was probably using a sharp and short blade like weapon perhaps a knife since the cuts weren't too deep, but since they were all aimed at vital spots of the human body it wasn't long before the victim collapsed.

Using her battle hardened experiences Kiara tried to analyse the boy's fighting style.

(He doesn't look like a warrior nor a swordsman, his fighting style consists of dishing out fast, precise and fatal attacks from behind, considering the level of skill he's displayed he's gotta be a seasoned assassin which explains why the cuts he makes on his enemies don't need to be deep in order to be fatal, assassins have the perk [silent death] which has a high chance of Insta killing their enemies if they land a surprise hit on them without their opponents knowing...)

"Don't panic! Magic casters! Try to cast large area of effect magic and weed him out, the fact that he's not showing his face means that he probably doesn't have much confidence in a frontal confrontation! The rest of you protect them while they cast! If we can't kill him with this we'll at least force him to retreat back into the woods"

A man who was bigger than the rest of the other men said, he seemed to be a lot more competent than the rest and thought rationally in order to combat their new enemy, seeing their leader like this the troops recovered from a state of fear and confusion, following their superior's order immediately.

(Oh no, assassins are known for their lack of power in a frontal battle)

Kiara thought getting worried about the boy, maybe it was because of her desperation but she has come to rely on this boy.

4 people in the group started casting magic as ordered by their leader, but then...

""Oh so that's your leader as well as your magic casters, thanks for showing me if I didn't discover which ones should be prioritised for elimination first taking all of you out would've been much more time consuming""

That same haunting, monotonous voice came out from every direction of the remaining bandits causing them to instantly lose the morale they regained thanks to their leader's effort.

Their leader had the most extreme reaction of all for he had known then that he had fallen into Markus's trap, the moment he gave that order he had consigned both himself and his men to their deaths.

Markus's POV:

(([multi-shot greater bolt lance]))

Markus chanted in his head as a small yellow palm sized formation appeared on his left hand which was pointing at the bandit's direction.

From his palm 5 bolts of black lightning much like the ones that he summoned during the magic test that noon shot out, they curved, bend and changed directions as they chased their target.

"From above!"

One bandit screamed and tried to step in the way of the lightning heading towards their leader in order to use his own body as a shield for the leader as the other four bolts had already hit their targets frying all of the magicians in their party, he must have thought that if his leader survived his friends will to.

But his efforts were in vain as the pitch black bolt of electricity curved around him and hit his leader.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!"

The leader screamed in pain as he was literally being cooked by the high voltage lightning.

"John!"

The bandit shouted, turned around and tried to check on his leader.

The leader went on his knees as the pain was too much for even him to bear, although he did survive unlike the four magicians.

But the bandit had made a mistake in taking his eyes off Markus as the very same moment he tried to run to and help his leader...

""How noble of you to try and sacrifice yourself for your commander but unfortunately, nobility is sorely overrated""

Coming down on top of the bandit Markus stabbed down onto the bandit's head driving his knife through the bandit's skull with the kinetic energy of his fall.

The bandit's body went limb as Markus used his left leg to kick the bandit's skull removing his knife from it.

Seeing his most loyal subordinate have his life taken away in a single breath, the leader's heart was overcome with sadness, anger, hatred but above all despair.

"You bastard!!!"

Even then he tried to get up despite the pain and paralysis he got from the lightning.

But just as his friend before him, the leader's effort amounted to nothing in front of the monster known as Markus.

With one swift spinning motion Markus closed what little distance they had between them and slashed at John's neck causing blood to splatter out like a fountain.

Markus dodged the blood as if he got any on his clothes Zen might find it suspicious.

Before the leader's body collapsed and his consciousness faded into oblivion he had one final thought as a smirked formed on his face.

(Such a relentless bastard...)

John was dead, his life force (and blood) drained from his body as he collapsed onto the ground motionless.

The remaining 14 bandits saw this and instantly gave in to despair.

Their leader, the strongest member of their party had died as well as all of their magicians, just as Markus calculated most of them turned tail and ran for the forest which was exactly what he wanted while 2 or 3 remained standing up to Markus bit with heavy sweats on their face and shaking weapons in their hands.

Markus didn't care about the ones that remained too much as he immediately started pursuing the ones that ran.

The forest was the perfect environment for Markus's skillset as an assassin so he planned to make them flee into there somehow and just as he planned, they did.

Little did those bandits know the moment they stepped off the road and into the woods they had fallen into Markus's trap, like prey falling into the hands of the predator.

((Ideally I would have liked to pick them all off from within the woods without ever showing my face since that would have been faster, easier and less tiring but since that bandit got on the carriage I had to intervene immediately))

Screams echoed throughout the forest as Markus cut down each and every bandit at a high speed, until things were silent.

Watching this the bandits that remained were driven further into despair as they watched their comrades mercilessly slaughtered.

But the more cornered an animal was the wiser it became as one of the bandits who remained had an ingenious idea and shouted to his friends.

"Hey let's take the people on the carriage hostage, if we do that we may be able to bargain with this monster!"

He started running towards the carriage at top speed.

His friends followed soon after as they saw no other way to survive.

Seeing this Kiara was worried and held Clara close, intending to protect her daughter.

But unfortunately for the scoundrels their hopes were once again crushed by Markus's superior planning, as soon as they stepped in a 1 meter radius of the carriage a familiar yellow magic formation appeared under their feet.

"Wha..."

The bandit couldn't even react in time as once again black lightning appeared from the magic circle and completely fried him and one more of his friends.

Markus expected that they might try something like this so he planted the spell [electric trap] around the carriage the first time he approached the carriage just in case.

With two more of the bandits down that only leaves one of the original group still standing.

"Hiiiii!!!"

Jumping back in fear as he didn't want to get zapped like his friends it would take a minute before the reality settled in.

They were checkmated, no they never had any chance to begin with, as soon as this monster appeared out of nowhere he had already blocked off all of their possible escape routes, they were already fvcked the moment he set his crimson blood red eyes on them.

Someone with those physical and magical abilities as well as the mental capacity to make up the perfect plan to corner an experienced bandit group like this in less than a few minutes, a person like that could only be described with these words.

"What an absolute monster..."

The bandit muttered.

""Well...that's hardly the worst thing I've been called but it is pretty accurate, I'm not gonna lie...""

The voice that the bandit feared called out from behind him.

A chill colder than ice in the winter night ran down the bandit's spine, he was completely frozen mentally and physically as he saw the eyes of the grim reaper set their sights on him.

He gulped as every part of his body refused to turn back and look at what's behind him, for he already knew what was there, it was the thing the boy said at the beginning of this battle:"death".

""What's the matter cat got your tongue?""

Markus tried to talk sarcastically but his voice just came out as bored and uninterested although that may have also successfully conveyed some form of sarcasm to everyone present.

"..."

Taking another gulp to reaffirm his resolve the bandit finally had the courage to turn around and face Markus who now had blood on both his face, his white hair as well as the knife he was holding with his left hand, it was literally a scene out of a slasher horror movie.

In the moment before death a man or woman will always show their true colors, it is a natural instinct a final ultimatum to the world offered using their most honest self before bidding farewell.

"Please spare my life! I'll offer you anything!!!"

Assuming a Dogenza like position with his head plowed straight through the ground, the bandit begged Markus with the sincerest voice he could give.

This left Markus bewildered for a moment as considering how experienced of a bandit this group were, they would probably know that surrendering to Markus in this situation is the same as death, whether it be by the hand of the law or by Markus's own, this bandit was not going to live long after this.

And yet he still tried to beg for Markus's mercy, this can only mean one thing and that was: right now, at this very moment, Markus himself was much more frightening to the bandit them death itself.

""Hmm...""

Markus actually considered the bandit's offer for a moment before an idea popped into his head.

""Nah...denied, it's not like you have information of where the rest of your bandit friend's hideout is or anything""

With that very same uninterested voice, Markus said.

"Nononono!!!! I know where that is, it's north of the capital Millelith, we hid it near the entrance to the valley of mist about 2 miles away from the capital, it's a hut on top of a cliff overlooking the valley surrounded by salt rocks and a thick auburn forest"

The bandit hurriedly said, not hesitating to sell out his friends for his own survival.

""Oh really? Thanks! And with that you have run out of valuable things you can offer to me...""

A shadow once again cast over Markus's eyes as he said that.

"Hiii!!!...that's not what you promised!"

The bandit jumped as he tried to distance himself from Markus.

""I don't remember making any promises that I'll spare you and even if I did...well let's just say I'm not above making promises that I can't keep""

Markus stated as a matter of fact as he slowly approached the bandit that's crawling away from him in fear.

"But but but, I gave you what you wanted"

The bandit said in a tone that is not much different than a child trying to beg his mother not to hit him.

""That's just because you're an idiot and besides if our positions were switched right now, would you have spared me?""

Markus asked, looking down on the pathetic buffoon in front of him right now as if judging the bandit.

"..."

The bandit was silent, whether it was because he was frozen in fear or because he already knew the answer even he didn't know.

""Or better yet, let me ask you this: How many men and women have you killed while you were in my position right now?""

With those crimson shiny red eyes seething with the flames of disdain Markus asked.

""Or was death a mercy to them back then when you enslaved, sold, r*ped and did worse things to those women? Did you spare the man, the children that begged for your mercy?""

"That's..."

The bandit truly didn't have anything to say as deep down he knew that everything Markus said was true.

""Those incapable of showing mercy shouldn't have the gall to ask for it""

With his killing intent at its highest point Markus readied his knife to finish off this despicable piece of trash in front of him.

((No, to call him trash would be an insult to garbage, he's the lowest of the low, the worst of the worst, at least the other bandits had enough honour to live with their actions until the end and didn't sell out their friends just to live))

"Ah...ahhhhh!!!! Get away from me you demo..."

Before the bandit finished, he suddenly felt light, as if a load had been lifted off his shoulders, that's because a literal load had been lifted off his shoulders as in: his head.

""A demon huh?...""

Markus had an expressionless face as always.

""If I really am a demon, then it's my job to drag sh*ts like you off to h*ll""

Markus said as he looked at his knife.

He had injected a bit too much mana into the thin blade to give it the power to behead a man, as a result the blade shattered as it wasn't made for something like that.

""This was my favourite too...""

Markus muttered in silence.