'The protagonist's luck had an expiry date, after all.'
Eren sighed as he heard about Ken's fate. He was just beginning to accept that Ken wasn't such a bad guy to be around. Out of all the shitty people he had met in his two lives, Ken was one of the few who he could say with confidence that wouldn't backstab anybody.
"Death is death. People die."
Eren said as he twisted his neck, his face emotionless, and his eyes void of sorrow. He looked left and right and rotated his wrists as well.
Ken's death did not change Eren's perspective on life. If anything, it only helped him strengthen his previous belief that strength was supreme in any society, in any era, or any world. And that showing compassion was a luxury not everybody could afford.
Eren's voice turned solemn as he spoke his next words.
"Death changes nothing for the one who is dead. And the change will eventually not matter for those who have been left behind in the grand scheme of things.
This is the reality for most people."
A few bone-popping sounds were heard by Meeshah and her teammates as Eren continued to speak to nobody in particular.
"Rest in eternity, Ken Riverine. Rest assured that I'll send your killers to meet you soon.
Have fun with them."
Bzzt. Swoosh. Zoom.
"Aaaaargh!"
The healer of the group cried in pain as his neck was suddenly slashed. People watched with a mix of shock and horror as they saw Eren appearing behind the healer like a ghost and yanking off the healer's vocal cords.
The first healer of the team had died within a fraction of a second before Meeshah had a chance to initiate a one-on-one with Eren. And there was nothing they could do to prevent it.
It was at this moment that Meeshah realized that Eren was too fast for her or any of her teammates to successfully intercept. She immediately used a Sansara Perk to boost her team's agility and other stats and intercepted Eren before he could kill the second healer in her group.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Streams of lightning surrounded Eren as he clashed with Meeshah. The dual-wielders exchanged a bunch of moves in quick succession and managed to inflict a few slash wounds on each other.
However, it was clear who had the upper hand after looking at the severity of the injuries they both faced. Meeshah had sustained severe injuries to her vital spots while Eren had ignorable wounds on his limbs. It could be said that the wounds Eren had on his body were a compromise Eren was willing to make to injure Meeshah to such an extent.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
The butcher was made to fight another pair of rankers in the next moment, allowing Meeshah to take a breather. The elf beauty was more hurt mentally than she was physically. She had thought that fighting with Ken was an exception. However, someone like Eren shouldn't have been too difficult for her to handle.
Turns out she thought wrong.
Eren was even more of a handful than Ken ever could be. At least in the Sansara world where everybody's powers were restricted. Meeshah watched with extreme vigilance and regret as her teammates kept on attacking Eren and receiving blowback from him.
Eren started killing without any remorse or vengeance in his head. He started injuring and killing Meeshah's teammates in the most horrific manner possible. The dislocation of organs, flesh, bones, and everything in between from his enemies' bodies came as easily as breathing for Eren.
The forces of Layos thought that they had become numb to the sight of blood and gore. And for the most part, they did. Nonetheless, Eren's method of killing them made them realize that mental fortitude could always be challenged by the tough situations they faced.
The butcher also got injured by his opponents. However, the injuries were not enough to stop him. He kept on moving about and killing the rankers before they had a chance to be saved by Sansara World's defense mechanism.
Meeshah tried to keep Eren from using various means and perks. She stacked many of them and came close to competing with him. However, the butcher wasn't idling around in the Sansara World either. He had his own set of Sansara Perks, which he used at the right time and in the right way to tackle Meeshah's entire lot.
There was one more advantage Eren had that nobody else did among the participants.
His mana circuit training had allowed him to alleviate the Sansara World's restrictions to some extent. Meaning he could adapt his mana circuits and his constitution as per the restrictions placed on his body. This would allow him to maximize the potential of the rank he was in.
Eren's current level should theoretically allow him to exert the powers associated with someone in the liquid stage of the F-Rank. In contrast, his mana circuit training allowed him to loosen those restrictions. He was basically fighting as a higher-level participant with powers that belonged to someone who was a quasi-Ace-Rank.
When the butcher stacked his unique traits with the unique perks he had bought from the Sansara interface, the combination was something Meeshah's team couldn't handle for long. They started dying like flies under his barrage of attacks one after another.
Unlike Ken, Eren did not hesitate in making his moves. All of his attacks were on point and nearly impossible to guard against. And this was despite the fact that he was engaged with several opponents simultaneously at any given moment.
Several organs danced in the air before decorating the ground like fallen autumn leaves. The puddles of blood and other bodily fluids started shimmering peculiarly under the starlight.
The scene was getting gory by the moment. And at the same time, the region was getting more haunting with a thick stench of fresh blood that one could almost taste in the air.
