The grand hall still reeked of the pungent stench of liquor and burnt meat fat. In the center of the room, a sturdy teak table was surrounded by the five most feared men in the region.
Four bandit high-officials, men whose bodies were covered in battle scars were laughing loudly, celebrating the massive haul they had just acquired. At the head of the table sat Adolf, the one-eyed bandit leader with a reputation as a merciless executioner.
Keyzier stepped in calmly. His black cloak swayed slightly, revealing his light, soundless footsteps. The officials turned, but not a single one reached for a weapon.
They saw a lot of blood on Keyzier's clothes. However, they thought that he had just finished hunting monsters in the forest. Their trust in Keyzier, who had just "slaughtered" his own best friend's morale, had reached a point where they considered this teenager their most valuable asset.
"Ah, Key! Come here, boy!" one of the officials exclaimed, his face flushed from drink. "Sit down. We must celebrate your madness today. It's rare to find a boy genius with such a foul heart like yours!"
Keyzier stopped right in the middle of them. His blue eyes suddenly turned as cold as ice. In his heart, he whispered that it was time for the curtains to fall on this stage.
"Thank you for the offer." Keyzier said in a low voice that made their skin crawl. "But, I'd prefer it if you all went to hell right now."
Before their brains could process those words, Keyzier stomped his right foot onto the stone floor.
"Piercing Grave!"
In less than a second, the stone floor beneath the chairs of the four officials exploded. Four jagged earth pillars, as hard as steel, shot upward with the speed of a bullet. The sound of piercing flesh echoed simultaneously.
The pillars accurately impaled the chests of the four bandit officials, lifting their bodies from their chairs and hanging them in mid-air.
Blood splattered across the banquet table. The four men died instantly without even letting out a single groan. The sudden death left a haunting silence in the hall, leaving only swirling dust and the scent of demise.
Adolf's eyes widened. The glass in his hand fell and shattered into pieces. His lone eye stared at the lifeless corpses of his comrades hanging before him. An explosive rage began to cloud his face, turning his skin beet-red.
"You little brat!" Adolf roared, his voice thundering so loudly that dust fell from the cave ceiling. "How dare you do this... killing them right in front of me! I'll kill you! I'll tear your body apart!"
Adolf leaped over the table, his hand grabbing a greatsword leaning against a chair. The sword looked incredibly heavy, yet in Adolf's hands, the weapon swung with terrifying speed. He slashed vertically, intending to split Keyzier in two.
However, Keyzier did something Adolf never imagined. All this time, Adolf thought Keyzier was merely a talented mage who was weak in close-quarters combat. He considered a closed distance to be a fatal weakness for a sorcerer.
Clang!
The ear-piercing ring of clashing metal echoed throughout the cave. Adolf was stunned. His greatsword strike, which should have crushed bone, was stopped dead in its tracks. Keyzier drew his sword but stood firm, blocking Adolf's attack with just one hand.
"You thought I could only use magic?" Keyzier asked with a provocative, slight smirk.
The sound of clashing blades was so loud that the vibrations traveled through the stone walls and reached the prison at the end of the cave. The people inside the cells, including a sobbing Novalia, instantly fell silent.
They heard the sound of a fierce battle in the distance, but they had no idea what was happening. In the darkness of the cells, they could only stare at each other, filled with fear and uncertainty, choosing to remain silent, not daring to do anything.
In the battle hall, Adolf lost all self-control. "You bastard! You've been hiding your swordsmanship this whole time?!"
Adolf attacked again blindly. He used his body weight to put pressure on every slash. However, Keyzier moved like a shadow. He used his 'Shadow Step' technique to glide under Adolf's swing, then delivered rapid counterattacks to the bandit leader's legs and arms.
"You're dead wrong, Chief." Keyzier said, twirling his sword. "In our village, even a farmer knows how to hold a weapon. The training I underwent wasn't for show. It was to fulfill a promise from my past."
Adolf growled, attempting to release a physical enhancement spell (Berserk). His muscles swelled, and his attack speed increased. He swung his sword horizontally, creating a shockwave that shattered the stone pillars around them.
Keyzier leaped back gracefully. While mid-air, he cast an additional spell to reinforce his blade. "Enchanted Blade!"
Keyzier's sword was now enveloped in a clear white aura that radiated heat energy. As Adolf charged again, Keyzier did not retreat. He met the attack with a direct clash.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two blades collided at near-invisible speeds. Sparks flew every time the swords touched. Adolf began to realize the bitter reality; the boy before him was a complete monster. Keyzier possessed the sharp instincts of an assassin, the destructive power of a mage, and the high-level technique of a swordsman.
"Why... why are you so strong?!" Adolf screamed, gasping for breath. Small wounds began to appear all over his body, blood soaking his thick leather armor.
Keyzier didn't answer. He focused all his mana into the tip of his sword. To him, every second spent fighting Adolf was another second of suffering for Donovan, who lay slumped in prison. He wanted to end this as quickly as possible.
Keyzier performed a feint. He acted as if he were about to release a massive fire spell, causing Adolf to raise his sword in defense. However, it was a mere distraction. Keyzier vanished from Adolf's sight using raw speed and reappeared right in front of the man's chest.
Adolf's eye bulged. The distance was now too close for him to use his massive greatsword.
"It's over!" Keyzier declared.
Keyzier thrust his sword with terrifying precision, piercing through a gap in Adolf's armor directly into his heart. Simultaneously, he released the remaining earth magic from beneath the ground to lock Adolf's feet so he couldn't move.
Adolf coughed up blood. He stared at Keyzier with eyes full of disbelief. All his power, his grand headquarters, and his ruthless army all collapsed at the hands of the teenager standing before him.
He only now realized that he had invited the Grim Reaper into his home and treated him to a feast.
Adolf's ignorance of Keyzier's swordsmanship was his final mistake. Keyzier pulled his sword out with a swift jerk. Adolf's massive frame teetered for a moment before finally collapsing to the floor, slamming into the banquet table that had now become his funeral altar.
The hall returned to silence, leaving only the sound of Keyzier's breathing. The bandit leader was dead. Keyzier wiped the sweat from his forehead, then stored his sword back into his inventory.