Chapter 69: Pursuit (3)

"Please….No….."

The young man stood over the bodies, his cold black eyes staring down at the pleading soldier. The moonlight filtered through the dense canopy above, casting eerie shadows across the blood-soaked ground. The forest was silent, the earlier chaos of battle now reduced to the hushed whispers of the wind.

Lucavion's expression remained impassive, unreadable, as he gazed at the soldier lying before him. The man was wounded, his armor dented and bloodied, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Fear and desperation were etched on his face, his hands trembling as he reached out in a futile plea for mercy.

"….."

Lucavion's grip tightened around the hilt of his estoc. The blade, still glowing faintly with residual starlight, seemed to absorb the light around it, making the darkness even more profound. His gaze was unwavering, cold, and devoid of empathy as he looked down at the soldier who was begging for forgiveness and mercy.

"This is the job you have chosen to do," Lucavion said, his voice flat and emotionless. "There is no need to ask forgiveness."

The soldier's eyes widened in despair, tears mingling with the blood on his face as he realized the inevitability of his fate. Lucavion's words were final, devoid of any offer of hope or reprieve.

"At least protect your honor as a soldier," Lucavion continued, his tone unyielding. "If you must die, do so with dignity."

The soldier's trembling intensified, but his pleas had died in his throat. He knew there would be no mercy here, no last-minute salvation. This demon before him had made his decision.

"Yo...You are a demon…."

The soldier mumbled as he gritted his teeth. All of his comrades…..All of them were fallen in this place….Their bodies were scattered around the forest.

"..."

Without another word, Lucavion raised his estoc and, with a swift, precise motion, drove the blade into the soldier's heart. The man gasped, his body convulsing as the life drained from him. His eyes, wide with fear and pain, slowly glazed over as death claimed him.

Lucavion watched as the soldier's body went limp, his expression unchanged. He withdrew the blade, the motion smooth and practiced, and wiped the blood from it with a cold efficiency. The stock's glow dimmed, returning to its usual appearance as if the act had been nothing more than routine.

But this was not the end.

Lucavion turned his gaze toward the three remaining chimpanzees. They stood a short distance away, their eyes locked onto him with a mixture of fear and caution. The earlier aggression they had displayed was now gone, replaced by a primal fear that emanated from their very cores.

Indeed, the reason for their fear was scattered around the forest. The carcasses of their own kin lay in the shadows, each one of them cut down by the estoc now held in Lucavion's hand. The once-ferocious beasts were now little more than lifeless husks, their bodies torn apart by the very force they had underestimated.

"Are you scared?" Lucavion asked, looking at them.

The three chimpanzees took a step back, their eyes darting between Lucavion and the remains of their fallen brethren.

They could sense the power and the lethal precision that had been their undoing. The confidence that had once fueled their bloodlust was shattered, leaving only the instinct to survive.

Lucavion met their gaze, his expression still cold, still merciless. He could see the fear in their eyes, the hesitation that gripped them as they weighed their options. But he knew they were cornered, their numbers too few, their morale too broken.

Lucavion pointed his estoc at the three remaining chimpanzees, the blade gleaming faintly under the moonlight. The air around them seemed to thicken with tension as the beasts locked eyes with the young man who had just slaughtered their kin with terrifying precision.

The chimpanzees, now fully aware of the threat before them, took another cautious step back. Their earlier ferocity was gone, replaced by a deep-seated fear that gnawed at their instincts. They could sense it—this human was no ordinary opponent. He was a demon, a creature of death who would not allow them to escape.

They knew, in their primal hearts, that fleeing would be futile. The demon before them would hunt them down, one by one, until they were all lying dead at his feet. There was no mercy in his eyes, no hesitation in his movements. The only thing they could see in those cold black eyes was the certainty of their own demise.

Lucavion's expression remained unchanged, his gaze unwavering as he assessed the three creatures. He could see the fear in their eyes, but he also saw something else—an understanding, a resignation.

'That is why they are more dangerous.'

He thought.

These beasts knew they would not leave this place alive, but that very knowledge made them all the more dangerous.

A cornered beast, when it had nothing left to lose, was at its most lethal. The instinct to survive was deeply ingrained in every sentient being, driving them to acts of desperation when faced with certain death.

The chimpanzees snarled, their fear now mingled with a desperate resolve. They exchanged quick, guttural sounds as they communicated with one another, their bodies tense and ready for the inevitable clash. They knew they would not survive, but they would not go down without a fight.

Lucavion watched them carefully; his estoc still pointed in their direction. He could see the subtle shift in their stance, the way their muscles coiled in preparation for a final, desperate assault. The beasts had made their decision—they would fight, not for victory, but for the slim chance of survival.

But Lucavion was ready.

"Come," he said softly, almost as if inviting them to their doom. "Let's finish this."

With a guttural roar, the first chimpanzee lunged at him, its claws outstretched in a furious attempt to tear him apart. The other two followed suit, their fear momentarily overridden by the primal need to fight for their lives.

Lucavion moved with the fluidity, his estoc slicing through the air.

SWOOSH! STAB!

The first chimpanzee barely had time to react as the blade pierced through its chest, the starlight once again flaring with lethal intensity.

"SCREEECH!"

The beast let out a final, pained cry before collapsing to the ground, its body convulsing as the life drained from it. Lucavion didn't pause, his focus already shifting to the remaining two chimpanzees.

SWOOSH!

The second chimpanzee tried to flank him, its eyes wild with desperation. It swiped at him with its claws, but Lucavion sidestepped the attack with ease, his estoc flashing in a quick, precise arc. The blade cut through the beast's side, the starlight searing its flesh. seaʀᴄh thё nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The chimpanzee staggered, blood pouring from the wound, but it did not back down.

"GROOOO!"

It lunged at Lucavion again, its movements more frantic, more reckless.

STAB!

But Lucavion was unrelenting, his blade finding its mark once more, this time piercing the creature's heart.

THUD!

The second chimpanzee collapsed, its body falling limply to the ground beside its fallen comrade.

Only one remained.

"Now, will you escape? Or will you try to avenge your fallen comrades?" Lucavion asked.

Some might think asking them was just pointless, but Lucavion had witnessed how smart those chimpanzees could be.

That is why he talked to them. Maybe they could understand him to some extent; who knew?

The last chimpanzee stood still for a moment, its body tense, eyes flickering between the bodies of its fallen kin and Lucavion.

"What are you going to do?"

The fear was evident in its gaze, but there was something more—a lingering sadness, a hesitation that Lucavion could sense even without being proficient in reading emotions.

Its chest heaved with heavy breaths, and its muscles twitched as if caught between the primal instinct to flee and a deeper, more complex emotion.

Lucavion, despite his cold face, recognized the weight of what the beast was feeling. It had lost its comrades and its pack and now faced an insurmountable foe. There was no way out, no escape from the fate that awaited it.

'In the end, you beasts are not that different from us humans, is it not?'

He thought. In his days on the battlefield, he had seen countless vile acts. How humans killed each other, how people just disappeared from the world….

He was also in the same spot as this chimpanzee once.

Lucavion met the creature's gaze, his own eyes unwavering, yet with a rare moment of empathy. "Come," he said softly, his voice almost a whisper. "Come and die a warrior's death."

The words seemed to hang in the air, and for a brief moment, it was as if the forest itself had stilled, waiting for the chimpanzee's response.

The beast's eyes locked onto Lucavion's, and something passed between them—a silent understanding, a recognition of the inevitability of the moment.

With a final, deep breath, the chimpanzee made its choice. It let out a fierce, guttural growl, its fear giving way to a desperate resolve.

This was not about victory or survival anymore; it was about facing the end with dignity, with the courage that its fallen kin had shown.

The beast charged at Lucavion, its claws outstretched, teeth bared in a last, defiant attack. The ground trembled under the force of its sprint, and the air crackled with the intensity of the moment.

Lucavion stood his ground, his estoc is steady in his hand, ready to meet the beast's final charge.

He watched the chimpanzee close the distance, its eyes burning with a mixture of rage and sorrow. There was no hesitation in its movements now, no sign of retreat—only the determination to face its fate head-on.

SWOOSH!

The chimpanzee lunged at Lucavion with all its might, its claws slashing through the air, aiming for his throat. But Lucavion was faster, his body moving with the precision of a seasoned warrior.

He sidestepped the attack, the motion fluid and effortless, and brought his estoc around in a swift, lethal arc.

The blade found its mark, slicing cleanly through the beast's chest, piercing its heart with unerring accuracy.

THUD!

The chimpanzee let out a final, mournful cry as it fell to the ground, its body collapsing at Lucavion's feet. Its eyes, once filled with fear and pain, slowly dimmed as the life drained from them.

The forest was silent once more, the only sound the soft rustle of leaves in the wind.

Lucavion stood over the fallen beast, his expression unreadable.

No, that was not the case….

His expression….

There was a smile on his face….

"Master…..This addiction to killing….I may never be able to forget it…"

----------A/N----------

You can see in this chapter that the battlefield and how he was raised affected Lucavion a lot…..

He is not a completely sane person. But I will not make him a copy of Astron.

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