Chapter 93: No Mercy
The remaining space was filled with the stench of blood. The floor was littered with lifeless bodies, the dungeon walls smeared red.
The reserve general, who earlier brimmed with confidence, now trembled violently. His legs wobbled, his face turned deathly pale. His weapon was nowhere to be found, only his hands shook uncontrollably.
"F—forgive me... spare me...!" he cried hoarsely, his voice breaking as his body collapsed to his knees before Lyrith. "I surrender! I won’t fight anymore! Please... let me live!"
His hand reached for Lyrith’s leg, shivering, trying to clutch onto it as if that alone could save his life.
But Lyrith’s gaze remained cold. Her eyes showed not a single trace of mercy, only a frozen silence that pressed down upon the room.
"Mercy?" Lyrith’s voice was quiet. She glanced toward Alvaric, who was gravely injured. "You dared harm my comrade."
The reserve general shook his head frantically. "No! It wasn’t me who did it. When I arrived, that man was already wounded." Suddenly, something came to his mind. He quickly looked toward Ramiel. "It was him—"
Bruuukkgg!
Lyrith’s kick landed squarely on the general’s chest. His body was flung against the wall. As he tried to speak, he vomited blood.
His face grew paler, his vision blurred. His condition worsened and he was utterly alone.
"I... I was wrong! It was just orders! I had no choice!" screamed the reserve general, tears mixing with blood on his face. He pressed his body flat against the floor, bowing as though groveling would earn him forgiveness.
Although it truly wasn’t him who hurt Alvaric, whatever he said seemed meaningless. The demon woman before him would never believe a word from his mouth.
"Spare me! I beg you!" he pleaded again.
But Lyrith only lifted her hand slowly. The tips of her claws glistened, still wet with the blood of soldiers she had just slaughtered.
Her fingers gathered focused magical energy. It wasn’t overflowing, but sharp, compressed into needle-like strands.
Seeing that, the reserve general shook his head in terror. His face turned ghastly pale.
"Don’t... don’t do this!" he screamed suddenly, turning toward the only figure still standing. "Lord Ramiel! You see this, don’t you? Help me! We’re brothers-in-arms! You must aid me! Wasn’t it you who—"
But Ramiel’s eyes remained frozen. He clenched his teeth, his face taut with tension, yet he did not move.
He refused to be involved. He knew the demon woman before the general was not an opponent he could defeat. Facing her one-on-one was suicide.
"Lord Ramiel!!!" the desperate scream echoed. "Coward! You’re letting me die!? Damn you... the lord of angels will curse you! Help me!"
Yet no matter how he screamed, begged, or cursed, there was no one who could save him.
The enemy before him was not one he could ever defeat. Even Alvaric, who managed to kill one of the three main generals, was not a match for Lyrith. For them both together, she was still overwhelming.
"Stop begging. It annoys me," Lyrith scolded flatly.
The reserve general turned toward Ramiel once more. "Lord Ramiel..." he pointed at him. "He’s the one who injured your friend."
But the slash of Lyrith’s claw had already crossed his neck. At that very moment—
CRACK!
His scream stopped. The reserve general’s head rolled to the ground. Lyrith kicked it, shattering his teeth across the floor.
The man coughed blood, his eyes widened in terror at Lyrith now crouching before him.
"Did you think bowing could save you?" Lyrith whispered, her voice colder than ice.
Her hand seized the severed head. Her sharp claws slowly pierced through skin and flesh. Blood trickled, and a muffled scream escaped the general’s trembling mouth.
"P—please... don’t...!"
Lyrith gave no reply. She simply pulled her hand in one swift motion.
Somehow, the reserve general was still alive. Even though his head was separated, it defied explanation.
SLASH!
But when his head split cleanly in two, blood burst forth wildly. At last, he no longer moved. The reserve general was truly dead.
Silence returned, wrapping the chamber that now held only corpses, blood, and the aura of death.
Ramiel lowered his head, both fists clenched tight. Fear and regret tangled within him. He knew what he had just witnessed was only the beginning of a greater catastrophe. He had to make a choice.
"I’ve never feared death, but this time..." he swallowed hard. "Somehow, fear drags my courage into a bottomless pit."
Ramiel didn’t even dare look directly into Lyrith’s eyes. Though in truth, she wasn’t even gazing his way. That in itself was rare.
A main general, who should embody authority and courage, now looked like nothing more than a repulsive coward.
"There’s no other choice. Forgive me," Ramiel whispered to himself.
**
Lyrith rose slowly, staring down at the corpse at her feet without emotion. "No mercy for the weak."
With a snap of her fingers, the dungeon floor was suddenly covered by writhing black matter. It looked like sticky, repulsive tendrils.
They crawled over all the demi-human corpses. In only a few seconds, the black matter sank into the ground and vanished.
Once it disappeared, the bodies that had once been covered in flesh were reduced to nothing but skeletons.
Ramiel, Velka, and Marie were shocked. They were left utterly speechless.
"Were you comrades of those people?" Lyrith asked Ramiel.
Hearing her question, Ramiel froze for a few moments. Then, he shook his head.
"No. We don’t even know them. Isn’t that right?" he answered, glancing at Velka.
Velka wanted to reply ’no,’ but after recalling how Ramiel had chosen not to kill her earlier, she held back.
"Yes, they weren’t comrades," Velka said.
Lyrith narrowed her eyes. She looked back and forth between Velka and Ramiel before finally focusing on Velka. Her eyes thinned dangerously.
Velka, under that gaze, was clearly anxious. Especially after witnessing Lyrith’s unfathomable power.
"Who are you? Are you Alvaric’s comrade?" Lyrith asked.
Velka was startled but tried to keep herself composed. She forced her best smile. "Yes. We are Alvaric’s comrades. We came here to conquer this dungeon, but when we tried to leave, we were blocked by the demi-human army earlier."
Lyrith was silent for several seconds. The weight of it made Velka and Ramiel even more nervous—until at last, Lyrith nodded. Only then did they finally breathe in relief.
"Tell me everything," Lyrith commanded.
"All right."