The scarred man raised his hammer high.
Edward's eyes locked onto the hammer, its shadow looming high above him. Every one of his muscles tensed.
But before he could make a move, and before the hammer would come crashing down, a sudden scream tore through the battlefield.
"Stop it right now!"
Two soldiers burst from behind the trees. Their armour clattered as they rushed forward, blades already drawn.
Edward's eyes darted to one of them—he recognised the man instantly. It was the same soldier whom he had shown the crime scene he had found earlier.
The scarred man froze mid-swing, his expression faltering for a heartbeat. Surprise was clear on his face.
"What the hell is going on, kid?" the soldier barked. His eyes flicked to Edward for only a moment before narrowing on the scarred man.
"He's the one," Edward spoke, his voice flat and clear. "He killed that man."
The soldier's face darkened.
His gaze dropped to the warhammer clenched in the man's hands, remembering Edward's earlier suspicion.
"Is that true, Borr?" he demanded. "Did you kill that man?"
For a moment, silence fell upon the battlefield.
The scarred man's jaw tightened as though fighting himself not to speak. Then, a twisted grin split across his bloodied face.
"I missed it," Borr said, voice dripping with hunger. "The feeling of crushing someone's skull…"
The words slithered through the clearing, sending a chill up the soldiers' spines.
"It's just so exhilarating!" Borr exclaimed, surging forward like a beast.
Steel met steel.
The soldiers barely managed to parry the first swing.
Sparks flew as their blades scraped against the descending hammer, the force rattling their arms to the bone. They struck back, swords flashing through the air, carving shallow cuts across Borr's torso. But the man refused to slow down.
Each strike of the warhammer shook the ground. The soldiers' defences buckled under the relentless barrage, their blades quivering from the sheer weight behind every strike.
Then—
One soldier raised his sword to block—but his rusted weapon couldn't withstand the impact any longer.
A loud crack split the air, and his blade shattered into countless pieces.
The hammer's path didn't falter. It slammed into the soldier's skull with a sickening crunch. Blood sprayed, and the man's lifeless body dropped to the ground with a loud thud.
The face of the familiar soldier twisted with rage. "You!" he snarled, lunging at Borr with reckless fury.
But the warhammer came swinging again.
Edward should have been watching the fight. He should have been terrified for the last soldier's life. Yet his attention was pulled elsewhere—toward the fresh corpse lying in the mud.
Something called to him.
It wasn't a sound. It wasn't sight. It was a pull. A whisper only he could feel.
It wasn't a sound or a sight. It was a quiet pull only he could feel.
Then—
[Extraction Available]
The notification burned across his vision.
A memory of the last time he saw this exact notification and what came after resurfaced.
Edward's lips parted, his mind clear on what to do next.
"Extract"
At that exact moment, the hammer fell once more.
The second soldier didn't stand a chance, driven by fury and open to attacks, it wasn't long before the hammer found its mark. The blow turned him into nothing but blood and shattered bones, his scream cut short under the hammer's impact.
Silence followed, broken only by Borr's heavy and ragged breathing.
Then, he turned, his wicked grin crawling back onto his face. His blood-spattered eyes fixed onto Edward.
"You—"
But before he could finish, the shadows stirred.
A blade of pure darkness erupted from the corpse of the fallen soldier. It tore through Borr's abdomen.
His eyes widened.
Shock froze his features as the weapon tore him open. He stumbled back, clutching his gut, but before he could take another step backwards, a second blade whistled from behind.
Borr gasped, blood bubbling at his lips. His massive frame faltered, swaying on his legs. The hammer slipped from his hands and slammed heavily into the ground.
Edward walked forward. Each step was slow and deliberate.
Their eyes met.
For a fleeting moment, all Edward saw in those scarred features was a savage murderer. Then it was gone, life vanished from his eyes and features.
Borr collapsed to his knees.
Then, with a final heavy thud, his body hit the ground.
Edward stood over him, his gaze cold.
He paused for a few moments, his gaze shifted momentarily from his two Shadow Soldiers back to the massive corpse.
He had almost died, just like in the previous life, he found himself outmatched and almost slaughtered helplessly. But he knew better now—if he wanted to catch murderers, he needed to be able to face them.
His voice dropped to a low whisper.
"Extract."
The air around him grew thicker.
Shadows and dark green motes gathered above the corpse, coalescing into a humanoid silhouette.
This time, however, it wasn't a frail Shadow Soldier that emerged, but a towering, broad figure, wreathed in darkness.
A massive warhammer rested in its hands, and above its head, glowing letters appeared different from the previous ones.
[Shadow Warrior]
But the system wasn't done with its notifications.
[Requirements met!]
[Rank Up! F -> E]