Silence. Not a single sound could be heard other than the wind blowing around them.
The one-sided massacre Calian had just committed successfully silenced all the witnesses.
Everything had happened so fast, surpassing the limits of what a normal human mind could process.
In the back row, Robert, who was still gripping his axe tightly, slowly lowered his weapon. The tip of the axe touched the ground. The solidly built man swallowed hard.
As the leader of a Rank C adventurer party, Robert had seen many battles. However, what was just presented to him was not a battle at all. It was a one-sided massacre.
It is not only Wolvin who possesses power beyond reason. Robert thought, his eyes staring blankly at the dozen corpses sprawled about. Cold sweat seeped down his temples. Calian... he is actually hiding a far more terrifying power. I couldn't even see the slightest bit of his movements. Is this truly what is called the power of a Rank A adventurer? Or... is he far above that?
A feeling of awe mixed with a similar terror was also striking Catrina. The Mountain Cat beastfolk woman stood frozen, pressing her body against her husband. Her usually cheerful eyes were now fixated on Calian's back.
Is this the true power of the youth who always acts so calm? Catrina thought, filled with both awe and horror.
Suddenly, she recalled the incident when Wolvin glared at her so sharply and with full hostility during the introductions. Now, the Mountain Cat woman fully understood. No wonder that Night Wolf youth is so protective of his husband, especially toward the Mountain Cat race like me who are known to be flirtatious. It turns out... Calian is no ordinary human... he is a monster wrapped in a perfect form.
As for Eralio, his face turned deathly pale.
As the only person there who possessed a [Valuation] blessing, Eralio knew exactly how strong that bandit group was. The fact that the deadly group was wiped out in a matter of seconds without any resistance made the merchant fall even more silent.
His curiosity regarding the blessing possessed by Calian spiked sharply, gnawing at his mind. However, his survival instincts worked much stronger.
Never ask. Shut your mouth and your eyes! Eralio warned himself. His hand trembled as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Meddling in the affairs of an imperial prince and even audaciously asking about his blessing will only drag me and my entire family into the abyss of destruction.
Amidst the tension that froze everyone's blood, Wolvin was actually the only entity unaffected. The Night Wolf youth stepped forward casually, then stopped not far from his husband's back.
"Darling..." Wolvin called out softly, breaking the silence enveloping them. His tone of voice sounded very casual, in stark contrast to the scenery around them. "What are you going to do to the one remaining rat? Are you going to kill him too?"
Calian, who was still holding his sword angled downward, turned his neck. He intended to look back to respond to his spouse's question.
However, at the exact second Wolvin's voice hit the air, Holvis Gultern, the only surviving bandit, jerked violently out of his mental paralysis. The question he had just heard felt like a death sentence to his ears.
Absolute terror overtook him. Realizing that death was now staring right in his face, his survival instincts immediately took over.
Holvis did not care about his pride, nor did he care about his dead comrades. The man turned around abruptly and immediately took flight, running with all his might away from the caravan area.
I must live! I don't want to die here! he screamed internally.
While running, he desperately focused his remaining mana on his conceptual blessing. He was very certain that as long as he had [Unconditional Luck], absolute luck would always protect him. Perhaps a sudden dust storm would come and obscure his enemy's vision, or perhaps a forest monster would suddenly attack and divert the executioner's attention. Whatever it was, his luck had never failed to save his life.
Holvis glanced back briefly, making sure the distance was far enough.
However, when he looked forward again, his heart felt as if it had stopped beating.
Less than a meter in front of him, the purple-haired youth was already standing very calmly, as if he had been standing at that spot for hours, waiting for his prey to approach.
Calian stood sideways, holding his steel sword horizontally, its sharp tip pointed straight ahead, directly meeting the chest of the fast-running Holvis.
"Let we see..." Calian said coldly. "Is your absolute luck blessing will be of any use at this close of a range?"
Due to the full-force sprint he was making, his body's momentum shot forward too fast. His leg muscles were too late to brake. He no longer had the time to slow his pace, let alone change direction.
He lunged forward, propelled by his own speed.
Zrash!
The sound of flesh being forcefully torn could be heard. The sharp tip of the sword pierced the man's chest so smoothly, splitting his ribs and his heart, until the blade broke through the former noble's back.
Holvis's body slammed into the hilt of the sword Calian was holding. Fresh blood spurted out of his mouth.
However, Calian did not let the man die quickly. With an extremely subtle time manipulation around his enemy's vital organs, he deliberately slowed down Holvis's dying process, holding onto the man's consciousness for a few seconds longer to ensure his message was conveyed.
Calian leaned his face in, staring straight into Holvis's pair of eyes that were now dimming with the slow approach of death.
"Your luck blessing might be able to manipulate all unexpected things to your advantage." whispered Calian right in front of the dying man's face. His tone was flat, yet as intimidating as the whisper of the angel of death. "But all of that is useless if you fight me. Because I can stop time... and your absolute luck can never be created within time does not flow."
In his dying state, Holvis finally realized what kind of entity he had just provoked.
"You... truly are... a monster..." he groaned with his violently trembling last breaths.
Hearing that final sentence, Calian remained expressionless. He simply pulled his right hand back in one neat motion.
Splat!
The sword was yanked out of Holvis's chest, bringing with it a spurt of blood that fell and soaked the ground.
Thud!
The man's body collapsed, falling onto the ground, joining his comrades in the afterlife.
Holvis Gultern was dead. Even an [Unconditional Luck] blessing that could grant absolute luck to its user remained powerless and had to bow before the master of the flow of time.