“Your confusion entertains me.”

  [Blink Step], [Swift Blade].

  Pulling out both of his rapiers, Marcus swung them rapidly around him. It was so fast that no one would have seen it, except for the aftermath.

  The unfortunate first wave of guards crumpled in the living room as a dizzying array of metal and flesh, all cut in clean chunks.

  There was no humanity in his execution. Blood and guts flew around him, splattering the walls and floor red.

  “W-what—”

  “Poor bastards.” Blood dripped down from Marcus’s rapiers as he looked at the count. “Dying to serve someone as ugly as you. Makes me think of it as a mercy kill.”

  “Kill him! Fight! Fight, you bastards! Stop him!”

  Marcus watched as the nobleman ran behind his soldiers, all of whom charged straight at Marcus with their weapons high up.

  Their war cries, however, were all for naught when Marcus lunged forward to chase the count, practically flying as he did—his speed stats weren't just for show after all.

  Using his double rapiers, Marcus made quick work of the count’s men. There were no fancy swordplays, parries, blocks, or anything else. All he did was cut, cut, cut, and cut some more.

  Not a single soldier managed to evade him. Not a single soldier managed to stop his rapid swings. All of them, no matter their rank, veteran status, and skills, were left as red stains on the count’s estate.

  “No! Who the hell are you? You’re a monster! You can’t do this to me!”

  The count ran outside of his estate, practically flailing to escape, while Marcus walked out of the entrance with a brisk walk.

  “Hey baldy, you’re getting quite desperate,” Marcus said, as the count neared the gate. It was a pathetic display, enough to make Marcus sigh. “Whatever happened to the fun you were having earlier?”

  [Blink Step].

  The count stopped, falling backward on his ass as he looked up at Marcus.

  “And what gave you the idea that you can flee from all of this?”

  “A-ah! How did you even—guards! Guards!”

  “Keep squealing like a pig. That’ll surely help you out.”

  “Damned cowards! Where are you all!? Fight him! Fight him! You damned maids—how dare you all run when your master’s in trouble?! All of you! All of you! Someone save me, please!!!”

  The count tried to run again in the opposite direction while screaming at his panicked servants, but there was not a single guard left to protect him.

  Marcus decided enough was enough, walking swiftly behind the count before grabbing him from the back and bashing him face-first straight into his well-cut lawn.

  “Aaaaah! You will regret this!” The count cried out, his face bruised and bleeding, tears and snot flying from him. It was quite disgusting. “You’ll regret attacking me! You will! You will!”

  “Listen closely. This might help you survive.” Marcus leaned close as the count struggled. “Tell me, who are you working with? Who’s supplying you with slaves? Spit it out. Now.”

  Marcus gave a light ‘tch’ as the pig below him continued crying and squealing.

  “The slaves?! You’re talking about slaves?! Why do they matter more than me? They don’t! So let me go, you monster! Let me go!”

  “I said, give me the names.”

  “I have no names to give you! You killed them all! You wretched monster, have you no shame? The men who worked for me had families, wives, and children—and you murdered them just for capturing filthy subhumans? We all work for a living; surely you understand that!”

  Just…working for a living? Subhumans? What are you—?

  …Did I fight for this? For you to be born?

  Not only was this man evil, but he even believed he was righteous. That made Marcus want to slice the count’s head then and there, but instead, he wanted something else first.

  If he faced his crimes, would he change his mind? Beg for mercy? Cry for leniency? Will he proclaim that he’ll change?

  I am terribly curious.

  [Blink Step].

  In a second, Marcus teleported straight into the count’s bedroom. There was a woman inside—a demihuman woman in silky laces. She had two bunny ears and red hair, and she screamed upon seeing the two.

  Marcus refused to look directly at the scantily clad woman, instead choosing to kick the count in the head to knock him to the floor.

  More blood oozed from the count’s nose as Marcus raised his face to present him to the frightened woman.

  “Apologies about my tardiness, Miss,” Marcus said, his voice now turning slightly gentler. “I believe this piggy kidnapped you, no?”

  “Raelina, please!” The count shouted. “Stab him with that knife! Kill him! Protect your master with your life—!”

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  Marcus bashed Richard’s face again on the floor, leaving a red mark on it. Then, he raised it, sighing.

  “Learn some manners, Lord Talsby. That’s no way to speak to an innocent young lady. Additionally, she has no ‘master’, not anymore.”

  “H…hah…please…”

  Richard was now so badly injured that he could barely speak.

  “W-who…” The woman, named Raelina, tried to hide herself using a blanket, unable to speak properly upon seeing the count’s barely recognizable face. “Who are you? And why is Sir Richard—”

  “My name’s not important. I am simply here to give this wretched pig the chance to see his crime. I was hoping that giving him a good kicking would wake him up and make him repent.”

  “B-but he’s a noble—”

  “And as you see before you, he still believes that what he did to you is not a crime. Disgusting. Now, I’m not going to force you to answer, but I do want to know—will you feel satisfaction if people like him are gone from this world?”

  “I—” Raelina was about to reply, but Richard spoke first.

  “...D-damned slut. Think about your tribe! Don’t you even dare—!”

  “Pig,” Marcus looked down at Richard from the side. “Who told you that you have the right to speak over this woman? I told you to learn some manners, didn’t I?”

  He bashed Richard’s face on the floor again, leaving a crack splattered with blood on it.

  “This man’s quite ridiculous, don’t you think?” Marcus asked Raelina as he slowly choked the count. “The way he degrades you with words—that alone, in my view, makes me think that he signed his death penalty.”

  “If you do this…” Raelina was now in tears. “Y-you might just endanger everyone I know. Please, please…I take it all back. I don’t want to be saved. Please. I’ll let him have his way with me if it means everyone else isn’t harmed!”

  “Shit,” Marcus’ grip on Richard tightened further. “Now you made her cry, piggy.”

  “Who cares…you damned…rascal?! Damn you!”

  “I do,” Marcus breathed out. “But thank you. Thank you for making this easy for me, Lord Talsby. Thank you. After seeing how much you traumatized this pure and gentle soul in front of me, and after your lack of regret about your crimes…”

  Most of all, after he harmed Stella, which made this entire affair feel personal.

  “...I have no doubts in my mind now. It’s your turn to experience what your victims went through.”

  Marcus stood up, letting the count free. But due to Marcus’s grip on his neck for a long time, Richard couldn’t even stand up and run. He could only gasp desperately for air.

  “I bet you did the same thing to countless innocent souls,” Marcus said as he watched Richard. “Maybe even laughed as they struggled for life like that. You must have thought you’d live a long, good life too, didn’t you?”

  “S-someone—” Richard tried to reach for the door.

  “Your kind sickens me. Do you even have an idea what my comrades and I sacrificed just so innocent people can live free and well?”

  Marcus picked him up.

  “I can’t let your kind live and taste the beautiful world my comrades died for. So I’ll show you tonight how wonderful this world is—and why you don’t belong in it.”

  He turned his gaze to Raelina.

  She doesn’t deserve to see more cruelty.

  “Don’t worry, Miss Raelina. He will never lay his hands on you. Not on my watch.”

  [Blink Step], [Levitate].

  After a few uses of [Blink Step], the two found themselves hundreds of feet above the city of Almarche. Marcus kept his grip tight on the count, letting him see the lights below.

  The sight was one of great beauty. From atop, the city was so well-designed, so peaceful, and so quiet. Truly something worthy to fight for.

  “My…” Richard choked out, in tears. “My city.”

  “Not anymore.”

  “No more. No more. Make it end, please!”

  “That’s precisely why we’re up here.”

  The count looked up at Marcus.

  “You…you can’t. I’ll pay you. Money, slaves, women, everything! Please!”

  You really are hopeless, aren’t you?

  “I apologize, but I have no interest in any of that.”

  [Blink Step].

  [Blink Step].

  [Blink Step].

  As the count screamed, Marcus threw him from the highest altitude he could reach. Then, Marcus got to work.

  [Levitate].

  [Swift Blade].

  [Blink Step].

  [Blink Step].

  [Blink Step].

  “Ahhhh! Have mercy! Please! Please, I won’t do it again! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

  Richard’s fingers, hands, feet, arms, and all of his limbs were turned into minced meat. As the count fell from the sky, Marcus teleported again and again to slice him from all angles, each time cutting small chunks of his body parts.

  Occasionally, Marcus also left glancing wounds on the count’s torso, face, head, and essentially any part of him that would be painful once sliced.

  He did this by using [Blink Step] to reposition, [Levitate] to move him in the direction he wanted rapidly, and [Swift Blade] to cut the count rapidly. And he did it dozens of times.

  Everything was meant to maximize pain and terror.

  “...Mother, Father…please—”

  Marcus grabbed the tearful count one last time, using [Blink Step] to fly up high briefly again.

  Marcus then whispered his final remarks.

  “I doubt that this will happen, but should you somehow meet the Death God on the other side—tell him that Captain Marcus Lieberman sends his regards. Farewell, piggy.”

  “Ahhhhhhh!”

  [Blink Step].

  Marcus landed back on the rooftop of the count’s estate, watching as a small black dot fell from the sky.

  The count’s screams were barely audible.

  After a rain of blood and body parts from the sky, there was an ugly splat that his ears picked up from a distance.

  And thus, the count was dead.

  Ah, it feels good. The silence after all that begging and squealing. Marcus felt himself smile in satisfaction. Been a while since I felt this alive.

  And by ‘been a while’, that was the few days that passed after he killed the Death God. That too felt very good.

  Marcus took a brief detour. Using [Mass Surveillance] and [Blink Step], he rapidly ransacked the count’s study room, office, and bedroom, taking in various documents that he folded and placed inside one of his sling bags.

  He took everything that would be necessary to find leads for his next targets.

  Once he was done, he returned to the rooftop of the count’s estate. Then, he observed the incoming reinforcements from the city’s guards.

  A grin appeared on his face.

  They all believed that Almarche was under attack by the Death God Cult.