Death System 1 Prologue

A question that once was asked by someone that was dear to me, until at the end, she left me as well.

Hands full of blood, quietly, I stared directly forwards as a group of people approached from a distance. Sighing, the grip in my right hand tightened as I walked ,sword in tow. Eyes staring to the front, I tried to observe the group that came to take my life, just like another dozen of a.s.sa.s.sins they've sent to me. 

"Blood for blood and life for life.

Unsheath your sword, and pay the price.

For no man shall walk the death's path alive."

While mumbling the words that had once been said by a respectable man in my life, every memory flashed by in my eyes in a very short moment. One step at a time, thunder rumbled in the sky as I held my head high, staring into the sky. The dark clouds started to gather right above me as drops of water dripped from the sky. 

It's raining… 

Just like that day, atop the skysc.r.a.per, with thunder booming on the horizon and a storm drowned out most of the noise in the world. And today will be the same as that day. 

"Zuyuan!" 

A man in his thirties led the group while shouting my name with rage in his tone and eyes. Due to his suit and firm walk, anyone with eyes could see that this man would be a member of the Nine clans, for only those in the Nine clans would wear expensive suits as something to wear in battle. 

One, two, three… eleven people in total huh? 

Counting the number of people that the man has brought with him, I saw that many experts of the Moying clan, one of the Nine clans, are now present for the bloodbath. 

*chuckle* 

Chuckling from the sight in front of me, I laughed without restraint as the man knit his eyebrows, watching my strange behavior. Unperturbed, the man asked with a stern voice, "What's so funny?" 

Sn.i.g.g.e.ring at his question, I said, "It will be an honor for any warriors that they have the attention of the great Moying clan, isn't that right? The esteemed guardian, Ru Yoming." 

Squinting his eyes, bloodl.u.s.t filled the atmosphere, "What are you trying to say? You have brought this upon yourself, silent demon Tan Zuyuan." 

Wiping off anything that resembled laughter from my face, my gaze became colder as I said, "You all will die." 

Unsheathing the sword that's strapped to his back, all the men behind him did the same in unison. As Yoming look into my waist that's been gus.h.i.+ng out blood all this time, he said, "With that kind of injury, it will be-" 

Before he finishes with his speech, I pumped every last power of Qigong within me, and dashed right into Yoming's side before he can finish, then swung my sword right into his neck. 

In less than a second, a head with a shocked expression soared through the air, and it's neck gus.h.i.+ng blood. Not wasting my chance, I changed my sword's trajectory into the man that's been standing right beside Yoming all this time. His wary gaze changed into a shock, and then morphed into murderous intent, with a hint of hesitation, which only lasted a blink of an eye. 

Raising his sword to his chest, he parried my strike with a smooth movement, as he followed up with his own attack, targeting my left kneecap. 

Without wasting the flow of Qigong that I'd used to kill Yoming, my body stance changed as I moved my left leg slightly to the side, enough for making his attack into a simple scratch as I raised my sword horizontally, going straight into the man's eyes. 

Successfully blinding the man, my instinct that had been forged from hundreds of battles started to take control over my body as I stepped to the right. Before I knew it, a foreign object was already inside me and stabs my insides from my back into the stomach. 

Without looking behind, I raised my left arm and elbowed the guy behind me. A faint sound of yelp sounds out behind me as I turn my body and try to slash the man who stabbed me into two, only to find that my sword is blocked with another sword from the side, and another man on my other side is swinging his sword at me. 

My retinas contracted as I saw death right in that moment. Without thinking twice, I burned every last bit of Qigong power inside me and sent a powerful, invisible wave that threw out everything around me, while ejecting the sword that was stabbing me. 

While they are still in the air, my body moved so fast that it left only a blur. Gripping my sword handle tight, I swung a full arc against both of the men's throats, killing them instantly. 

"Ackk." coughing out blood, I gasped for air. All the wounds started to widen and the blood started to flow faster. 

"That man is dead meat! He burned all his Qigong, kill him!" Seeing me kneeling on the ground and using my sword as a crutch, the rest of the experts started to move fast, and in the blink of an eye, all of them were surrounding me and starting to move all their swords at the same time. 

Sh*t… 

Gritting my teeth, I used the remaining strength I had and blocked one of the sword attacks, but the rest of them successfully found their mark. Two men behind me slashed at both of my leg tendons, crippling my legs instantly. While another one on my left side quickly chopped off my left arm, another one in the back stabbed me right where my heart was, and another two slashes that were deep in both of my shoulders. 

"Aaaaahhh!" shouting on top of my lungs, I drew the very faint power of Qigong in my right arm and pushed away the man with the sword in front of me, and then used the last bit of strength to chop off the man's head on my left side. My legs had nearly lost feeling, yet I found the strength to turn and stab the man who'd stabbed me in the back, driving my sword deep in his skull.

And then, suddenly, my vision changed as I saw my headless neck, along with a man with red hair, who'd beheaded me from behind in a quick slash. 

"Finally… he's dead." 

Someone's voice rang out, followed by more noise coming from the experts catching their breaths after fighting me. Somehow they sounded hushed—unrecognizable in the background as the sound of rain became the only noise I could hear clearly.

Through the eyes of my severed head lying down on the ground, I watched helplessly as they mutilated my remaining body. They did it in the open, knowing the crows of this mountainous area would come down to feast upon it.

After taking back their companions' corpses, they left the area. I was alone on the ground with only myself that was somehow trapped inside my head. I couldn't open my mouth, avert my eyes, or anything of the like, all I could  do was only blankly stare into the last direction my gaze was. 

Somehow, memories of the past returned; I saw myself sitting down in an expensive restaurant, with a blonde girl in a ponytail, giving me a lovely smile as we traded jokes with one another. 

And then, another scene came into view; when lacking the power to protect what I wanted, I'd decided to come back to the old family that once abandoned me, even if it hurt me from the inside, I had to do what I should. 

Another scene, and this time, I was atop of the highest skysc.r.a.per building in the city, belonging to the strongest clan of the Nine clans. There, I saw my master, looking at me with a gaze full of warmth, and the blonde girl that had chatted with me in the restaurant before, was now hiding behind me, crying out, sniffling, s.h.i.+vering. Although his gaze was warm, my master made a stern face as he looked into my eyes. His mouth opened, and he said, "Blood for blood and life for life, unsheathe your sword and pay the price, for no man shall walk the death's path alive." This will be my last lesson for you, Zuyuan." After that, my master dashed to the front and battled dozens of experts, each belonging to the highest clan of the country. Fighting for my sake with a very low chance of winning. 

"Why!? Why do you have to go against them!?! They are a gigantic organization that can kill us anytime!" The blonde girl shouted at me, right in front of my brothers-in-arms. "They have killed a lot of our brothers and sisters!" I shouted back as my face warped Into anger and annoyance. And then, without turning back, I stepped into the door and said, "Even if I have to do it alone and against an army, I'll fight." . Seeing my determination, the girl bit her lips, and walked to me slowly as she put her hand on my right shoulder, "You.. Do You not fear death?" 

Yes.. Yes I do… 

"Do you?" 

A man's voice rang inside my head as I found my head being held in one hand by a man, who wore a waxed coat with a black umbrella in his other hand. The man smiled at me as if he could look right into my eyes,and said 

"Greetings, pleasure to make your acquaintance on this lovely evening, I'm the [agent]."