There was a large clearing in the dense forest about a hundred meters from the village. Although that clearing had been made by the human's cutting down trees — under the protection of the Karakter — in order to make logs, it still looked like the gaping maw of some gigantic beast.

There was a man standing in the clearing, he wore a white shinning armour which was covered in disgusting blood, holding a two hundred broadsword with one hand.

He was surrounded by three hundred Karakter's.

The man in white — Lucifer — scanned the surroundings, looking for any weak points or flaws. His expression was joyful as he was smiling, this was a good thing as that prevented him from thinking about any unpleasant things. As he went on in this manner, a Karakter suddenly jumped at him.

Slash.

And all that remained was a body cut in half.

This was the fourth time someone had attempted to attack him. At first, Lucifer was surprised when the Karakter attacked, but after the third one, the fourth time, it became quite banal.

All the Karakter's were wearing leather vests and ragged clothes. Some even went as far as to wear animal skins.

Despite their rough appearance, they clearly still had basic intelligence. Even though they had seen what happened to their comrade, the Karakter's came towards Lucifer without any hesitation.

Another swing.

Another corpse.

It was getting boring, these were so weak, so pitiful, he just needed to swing his sword wildly and he would be standing atop a mountain, albeit a small one, made of corpses.

"Puh.."

Lucifer raised a hand to his mouth, wiping the blood that had splattered on his helmet.

Although these Karakter did not look good when they lived and might have been called 'hideous' while they were alive, it was difficult not to feel sick when their bodies were stacked together. Lucifer's eyes fell on the pile of Karakter's that had fallen before him.

There were about fifty Karakter's in that pile

Lucifer looked down at his own armour, it was still as flawless as it had been right before the battle because he had used a spell to clean it.

"I'll let you all live if you submit to me."

Lucifer declared, he just wanted to see how they would react.

The three hundred Karakter, which were encircling Lucifer, just stared back at him with vacant eyes, growling and roaring, as if shouting curses at him and saying no in their own language.

"...No? I see."

Lucifer had been expecting that response, and had only proposed that simply to see if there was the slightest possibility that they might accept his offer.

Lucifer looked around, oxy was in his true form right now, and had casted a world separating barrier which made this place disconnected from reality, turning it into its own plane.

"Time to finish you all."

He said as his armour and sword disappeared into thin air.

From the mutants point of view, they were witnessing death take incarnate.

What they were seeing right before them was a Higher demon. The demon was quite muscular, his body covered in veins that looked like they would burst anytime. And his skin was as pale as the moon, but that was the only thing normal about him. He had horns coming out of his heads, his face was that of a beast with vertical crimson iris's and the scariest thing, he had wings like that of a dragon. That man looked like the devil and death incarnate.

The Karakter looked at the Demon in front of them, they could feel it. They were facing death itself. They were already weak and now there was no doubt that they were no match for the monster in front of them. They were filled with dread and fear, but they still could not give up.

They charged at him, all of them at once but that demon only muttered a single word.

"[Death]."

Red flumes emanated from him, surrounding a area of 5 meters around him. It was thick, like the smog covering the sky. And inside it, it seemed like souls? Souls of the dammed were screaming as if in constant pain. This was death.

[Death] was a skill that Lucifer had learned because he knew necromancy. It was a powerful ability

That caused anyone below level 40 to instantly die upon its activation. And for those below level 60,

It caused a 50% reduction in their HP and a 100% chance of poison or paralysis if they survived, with the help of an item or spell. For players from level 60-90 it had a 60% chance of decreasing their HP by 10% and a 50% chance of killing them and a guaranteed paralysis effect afterword's. And for anyone at level 100, it had a high chance of causing them paralysis. It had a area of effect of ten meters around the caster.

The aura itself felt like it brought dread or discomfort. And if anyone who knew what souls or spirits felt, they could have felt thousands of them screaming inside.

The Karakter weren't even at level 2 (estimate) and the moment they entered the aura, they started to scream and cry in pain, their skin started drying up, their blood and sweat mixed with tears, as their bodies started to twitch. As if they were having a seizure.

They dropped on the ground like insects, writhing in agony as they clutched their head in pain. The screaming of the souls could be heard in their head, driving them mad and in less than a second, they all died.

"..."

Lucifer looked at the dead Karakter's scattered around him and sighed. This was an ability that was meant for fighting others and shouldn't be used on normal enemies.

He felt it was a bit excessive, but at the same time he couldn't think of any other way to end this situation.

This was the best way, and probably the only way, that could have ended this encounter with the least bloodshed.

He looked out to the surroundings, his eyes could see oxy watching from behind the barrier.

"It's over."

Lucifer declared as his armour magically came back onto him, hiding his true self.

Oxy nodded, and with a wave of his hand, the world separating barrier disappeared. He made a beeline to where Lucifer was, stepping on and crushing the bodies of the Karakter's under his foot.

"That was sooo cool, LORD LUCIF—"

Oxy cut himself off, calming himself down before saying.

"That was amazing, Sato-san."

"...Thank you."

Lucifer said, his tone somewhat hollow. He was glad that his abilities were powerful, but at the same time, he felt like they were unnecessary. In fact, he felt he was cheating.

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"They were so weak...I don't even think they were level 2. They were like ants."

"And they deserved to die like so."

"W..yeah..yeah.."

Lucifer awkward said before continuing:

"Anyways, can you call Dark and ask him to take these corpse's away to my home, I'll try to come there if possible, I have to do some experiments."

"Yeah sure."

Oxy said as he looked at the corpse's with a bit of disgust before calling Dark. While he was doing that, Lucifer was looking on the distance, to the village.

"You can wrap this up, I'll go to the village first and join the blood wolf's."

"Hai."

The two had parted ways and Lucifer headed towards the Village. He wasn't walking fast, more of a casual walk. However, that was the best pace he could go at that time, a man wearing heavy armour and waking too fast after a supposedly "huge" battle would look unnatural.

He was a bit anxious, but he was also very excited at the same time. The excitement did not only come from that battle just now, but also he was curious what the result of the battle between the blood wolf's and the Karakter's, would look like. While he had taken the majority of the mutants and faced them, the blood wolf's had been left to fight the remaining 10-20.

What would those ten or twenty be able to do against the blood wolf's? Would they be able to beat them? Or would they be overwhelmed and killed? Or would the Karakter's lose but injure the blood wolf's to the extent that they wouldn't be able to move in the next battle? Lucifer was looking forward to finding out.

It wasn't long until he reached the wall of the village which surprisingly so was decorated with the corpses of Karakter's.

"So they won."

The corpses were being displayed as if they were a prize of sorts, a humiliation ritual.

It was understandable since they had killed a member of the blood wolf's.

He was a bit impressed, the Karakter's were really pathetic, they really made it seem like the blood wolf's were just facing mindless puppets instead of real people.

He went around the corpses, walking through the village's entrance, while looking at the destruction that was left behind.

Some of the houses that were already on the verge of collapse had completely collapsed, others had deep gashes in them, and even more were completely destroyed. It looked like a battlefield.

"They certainly did their best."

He walked over to the centre of the village, he saw Saul, Luna, Taguchi, Nomi, Hirata standing around what he presumed to be Aoi's corpse which was covered by a black cloth.

They were surrounding Aoi's dead corpse, it seemed that they were going to bury him.

The air was deathly silent, it was as if someone had sucked out all the life from the area. There were no greetings, or any words, just them looking at Aoi's body silently.

Suddenly, Saul spoke up:

"We'll be entering the forest after this, so I'll be counting on you to protect me. That said, the area just inside the forest is part of the King of the radiated forest's sphere of control, so under normal circumstances, the chances of meeting other mutants are very low. The problem is that the werebears we met yesterday came from a place near the kingdom of the radiated forest territory , so something must have happened in the woods. Although it's hardly something that I need to warn you gentlemen about, I hope everyone will remain on guard."

Saul's gaze rested briefly on Lucifer.

The blood wolf's turned to look at Lucifer as well.

"Well, with you around, we should be fine, Sato-san."

"…If that monster called the King of the radiated forest appears, let us hold it nack. You should escape first."

They could not help but gasp as they heard Lucifer's confident pronouncement.

He seemed to shine even brighter in their eyes than after yesterday's battle with the werebears.

Lucifer felt like something was wrong every time the people around him did that. This was a relic of rarely being praised in his past life. He envied the way oxy could accept their awe so naturally with a smug look on his face.

"If there's a need to run, could you please leave without delay? If the King of the radiated forest is strong, I'll need to face it with my full power, and I don't want to get everyone caught up in it."

"Understood. If that happens, we'll protect Saul-san and flee the forest. But don't push yourself too hard either, Sato-san."

"Thank you. I'll escape when it gets dangerous."

"Then…..Sato-san."

Saul seemed to be wavering between speech and silence. In the end, he made up his mind and said:

"Could you not kill the King of the radiated forest, but instead chase it away?"

"…Why is that?"

"Mm, Neo-Tokyo has not been attacked by monsters because the King of the Radiated Forest's territory is nearby. If you defeat the King of the Forest…"

"I see…"

"That might be a bit much. Sato-san is strong, but his opponent is a legendary monster. Wouldn't he be in trouble if he couldn't defend himself with his full strength? How would he have the luxury of—"

"I understand."

"Wha—!" Nomi exclaimed in shock.

The other Blood Wolf's remained silent, but their surprise was written all over their faces.

"It might be difficult, but I'll try to go easy on it and merely chase it away."

Lucifer's reply, brimming with confidence, raised goosebumps on the skin of his fellow adventurers.

"Even if your opponent is… a legendary monster that's lived for centuries…"

"Is this the sort of attitude that only the strong have…"

"Judging by Sato-san's personality, he probably isn't exaggerating or bluffing…"

"If I fight for real…"

Lucifer muttered softly, the words were barely understandable. In stark contrast to the Blood wolf's, Ox had an idea of Lucifer's power, and he had a relieved expression on his face. As he looked toward the man, Lucifer laughed in his heart.

Saul hoped that monsters would not attack Neo-Tokyo. That being the case, all Lucifer needed to do was to have other monsters replace the King of the Radiated Forest in enforcing its area of influence. That way he could still fulfill Saul's wish.

Even if he ended up killing the King of the radiated forest, all he had to do was dispatch vassals from his house to replace him.

"alright, let's bury Aoi."

Saul exclaimed.

Everyone nodded in agreement as they set about preparing for the burial. It would be a very simple funeral. They were in hostile territory and had to continue their journey quickly, so this was an appropriate action to take.

"Everyone, let's dig."

Saul said, as everyone nodded in acceptance. Lucifer was silent as he helped the Blood wolf's prepare for the burial. It was simple burial, with no extravagant things. They had nothing to prepare for a proper funeral.

All they were doing was just digging a hole and laying the body inside. There was no altar, candles, coffin, or any of the other things that would be needed for a proper funeral.

It was an extremely crude funeral, but it was the best they could do in the current situation. The Blood Wolf's, without any words, grabbed a nearby branch and used it as a makeshift shovel to make a hole in the ground.

It did not need to be much, they just needed a dug large enough hole for the body to fit into. They worked in silence, which made them look like living statues, as the only sound that could be heard was the scraping of their makeshift shovels in the dirt.

"...That's deep enough."

Hirata said as he looked at the hole. The hole was about a meter deep and was around two meters wide. It was around the right size that a body could fit, while also not being too deep that it would be hard to burry the dead. It would be easier if they had a proper shovel, but using a branch as a shovel was a bit more difficult.

After the digging was done. Everyone held Aoi's body in their hands, gently laying down the body of their comrade. He had died so young, it felt like they were sending off an infant still bathing in his mother's blood. Despite the situation they were in, they all experienced this feeling. However, they did not linger, only a few words were said as they quickly piled earth onto the corpse.

"...Rest in peace..."

Lucifer stood on the side, looking into the hole. He looked at the dirt being piled over the dead body. This was how funerals were usually carried out – a hole was dug, and once dead body was placed inside, then dirt was thrown onto it. It was a scene that he had seen many times in real life, yet it was still hard to stomach.

"Well, it's done."

Saul said as he pushed the last of the dirt into the hole.

The ground looked like a small hill had been formed.

"He's gone."

Nomi muttered, her words barely loud enough to be heard. Her eyes were red, and the expression of her face was one of sadness.

"It happens. You can have to learn to embrace it."

Lucifer could easily bring Aoi back to life using all manners of resurrection magic but it's cons far outweigh it's pros.

As he looked, he saw Luna staring at the makeshift grave with a blank expression on her face. Her eyes were blank, as if she did not have the will to do anything. All she did was just stare at Aoi's grave while her hands were trembling.

Lucifer didn't know for what reason, but he walked over to her.

He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay...Luna?"

He asked, his tone somewhat gentle and comforting, something that wasn't common for him.

"Y..yeah..I'm good."

But clearly she wasn't. She was far from good. No one could be fine after seeing someone get killed before our very eyes. Lucifer knew it was pointless to continue this act of her being fine, but he held himself back and decided to keep quiet.

Luna stared at Aoi's grave for a moment more before turning to Lucifer.

"Thanks...for asking..."

"Yeah...no problem."

He said as he walked over to Saul.

"What happened to the human's these mutants were using as slaves?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask."

Saul said as he looked back at the village.

"They're all in a building just at the edge of the village. Some kind of storage place, I think. They said that they'll go back to their village and have no need for us. I have left them an emergency button to call the police just in case."

"I see."

Lucifer said with a nod. That was a very logical thing to do for the current situation. And from what he could see, Saul was a very pragmatic leader.

"So..did Aoi have any family?"

"As far as I know...no." Saul said, as shook his head while his gaze lingered on the makeshift grave.

"His cut from this mission will be donated to a charity, along with everything he owned, i think that's what he wanted."

"Saving the world in even his death.."

"No."

Saul said, looking up and into Lucifer's helmet's eyeholes.

"You know, i consider everything I do as saving myself, this is what it's all about. Not saving the world."

Lucifer could understand what he meant. At the end of the day, all humans could only save themselves.

"You sure are a blunt one..."

Lucifer said, his head tilting slightly.

Only human's could save themselves, because they had a limited lifespan, limited power, but he wasn't a human. Lucifer was the only one capable of saving the world.

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