Round two

BGM

The leader—a woman in her forties with long black hair, a scarred face and a ceremonial dagger—laughed bitterly. "So you're the Scourge, the heretic who defies the Demon Queen's will. I am Kain."

I shifted my weight, ready for their inevitable attack. "I prefer 'rational being who thinks critically about his actions'."

"We do this for the Queen's glory," she hissed, raising her weapon.

I didn't bother responding. I simply raised my shotgun and fired.

The blast caught a female cultist next to Kain in the chest, sending her stumbling back with a wet gurgle. She fell, clutching at the gaping wound as blood poured between her fingers.

They charged—an incoherent mass of hatred and blades. I didn't hesitate, stepping forward to meet them with calculated brutality. The first few cultists never got within striking distance; I fired my shotgun into the crowd, the blast tearing through the front line. Bodies flew backward, limbs severed, skulls shattered. Bodies collapsed in the mud, their blood mixing with the rain now falling in sheets. The survivors faltered, their charge breaking apart as they tried to process the carnage. I moved through them like a reaper, my sword, I will call it SkullHacker, flashing in the dim light. A man lunged at me with a rusted dagger; I sidestepped and cleaved through his collarbone, the blade passing cleanly through his body. He fell in two pieces, blood spraying in an arc. The cultists around him recoiled, their confidence visibly shaken.

Kain watched in horror as her followers were cut down, her ceremonial dagger quivering in her grip. "You... you can't be real," she stammered, backing away. "The Queen will not allow this."

I advanced on her, my SkullHacker dripping with the blood of her comrades. Kain's scream was raw and guttural as my blade sliced across her cheek, leaving a fresh gash to match the old scar. Kain's ceremonial dagger clattered to the mud as she clutched her face, blood streaming between her fingers. The remaining cultists hesitated, their resolve crumbling as they watched their leader stumble back, half-blind from the gash across her face.

She backed away as I advanced.

"You don't deserve to live," I said coldly. "But I'll give you a choice. Tell me everything you know about the Demon Queen's plans, and I'll make it quick. Resist, and I'll make sure you suffer."

The cultists tried to make a stand, but their attacks were **** and uncoordinated. I cut them down without mercy, my SkullHacker moving with mechanical precision. A man swung a scythe at me; I sidestepped and opened his throat. A woman lunged with a dagger; I caught her wrist, twisted, and drove my knee into her face. She collapsed, nose broken, teeth knocked loose.

I glanced over my shoulder. Behind me were two more cultists. One was armed with a large scythe, the other was muttering the chant to a spell.

They intended to surround and ambush me.

Idiots.

I sliced straight at the spell cultist.

The end of SkullHacker crashed into the spell cultist's eye hard enough to make it burst, causing him to fall over screaming, interrupted his spell.

The scythe cultist swung his weapon at me, and I parried with SkullHacker. I snatched the scythe cultist by their robe. With one swift motion, I yanked him forward and drove a knee into his face. Bone cracked. He collapsed, dazed and gurgling blood.

More cultists surrounded us, raising shields.

Yes, bunch up, make it easier for me.

I ripped into the wall of shields with SkullHacker, cultists screaming as my blade shredded through them. A few managed to get close, causing me to raise a dead cultist's shield. I dashed into them, causing them to fumble as they harmlessly hit the shield.

I dropped the shield and stabbed the first cultist in the stomach with SkullHacker. With an upward slash, I raced aside as the split cultist fell to the ground. Blood sprayed as I cleaved through cultists' hands, arms, and torsos with equal ease.

Sora had stood in shock at that

CLANG!

Sora didn't get to ponder for long, as she found herself parrying sword strikes from another cultist.

The cultist jumped back, jabbing with his sword. Sora swung and blocked the attack, retaliating with a swing of her sword.

The cultist parried Sora's attempts to land a hit flawlessly.

Sora increased the ferocity of her attacks.

CLANG!

SHING!

SLASH!

STAB!

Sora finally managed to land a decisive blow, bringing the cultist to his knees. She followed by squarely punching the cultist across the jaw, knocking him out. She breathed heavily and looked around.

In the time it took for her to defeat the one cultist, I had killed fifty more.

Kain, her face still bleeding, backed away until she hit the wall of a nearby house.

"You... you're not human," she whispered, her voice thick with terror. "What are you?"

I stood before her, SkullHacker dripping with the blood of her comrades. "I'm the Scourge," I said, voice flat and cold. Kain's hand shook as she plunged the syringe into the neck of a nearby cultist. The man stiffened, his body convulsing violently as whatever poison or **** she injected took hold. A low, guttural sound escaped his throat as he doubled in size, muscles swelling grotesquely. Dozens of rusted nails poked out of his arms and shoulders. His hand ended in a massive battle hammer, with the other side of the hammerhead pounded into a crude and gory axe.

Kain laughed. "Our Queen's blessing transforms the weak into weapons! Kill him!" she screamed. "Kill the heretic!"

I looked up at the creature. "That's a level 30 Executioner!" Sora said. Sora must have chosen the Pro Gamer HUD. I rejected this cheat because I didn't want to treat this world like a game.