They all tried to cut through the table that Edsel had thrown at them, but it was much more durable than they had expected. The sudden infusion of ice energy had created a table made entirely of solid ice, and its immense weight crushed down on the men who were trapped beneath it.
"Uuuuaaaaaahh!" they screamed in agony while struggling to escape.
"Kyaaah! Spare me, please!" a woman begged while trying to crawl away.
Edsel moved through them without pause. He stepped over writhing bodies, ducked beneath a desperate swing, and drove his dagger down. Warm blood splashed across his sleeve. He twisted, rolled, and rose again, severing another throat in a single smooth motion.
A strange thrill coiled in his chest. The chaos, the fear in their eyes it stirred something dark and eager within him.
A woman stumbled backward and collapsed at his feet, tears streaking down her face. "Please—"
His blade cut her off and her head fell, and silence swallowed her plea.
The inn drowned in red. The scent of iron thickened the air, and death energy pulsed through the room like a heartbeat. It gathered around him, heavy and intoxicating, like a feast laid out for only one guest.
He had already reached his limit… hadn't he?
"I'll absorb it," he muttered. "Let's see what happens."
"Authority of Gluttony: Absorb."
All of the energy penetrated into his skin at once. His veins turned black and became visible through his flesh. The pain started to build up rapidly, and it was beginning to hurt him badly. He quickly stopped the absorption process.
"Tsk… what was that?"
The question lingered only a moment. He silenced it and hunted down the last few survivors hiding in corners and beneath broken tables. One by one, their life forces vanished.
When the final breath faded, the inn stood quiet. There was not one single life force left alive in the vicinity. He had annihilated everything that moved.
Ding.
[You have massacred 30 people.]
[Title upgraded to "Ruthless Villain."]
[Death mana accumulation has reached its limit.]
[Due to your title, mana capacity has increased.]
Edsel smiled with excitement. At least this system had answered his question about what would happen after reaching the maximum accumulation.
Title Acquired: Ruthless Villain
Condition Met: Emotional Detachment from Human Life
Death Affinity Stabilized
Authority Synchronization Increased by 20%
[You have obtained a new skill: Bone of the Deathbound Titan.]
His eyes gleamed.
"Two skills in one day… luck is finally on my side."
Description: Passive Physical Enhancement.
His skeletal structure would be reinforced with death mana. Physical attacks would require less reinforcement. His body could strike with strength comparable to enhanced knights. Resistance to blunt force would increase.
[Would you like to replace your bones? Yes / No]
"Yes."
Pain struck without warning. It ripped through him so violently that his knees hit the blood-soaked floor. His limbs refused to respond. It felt as though invisible hands were tearing his skeleton apart and reshaping it piece by piece.
Then, just as suddenly, the agony ceased.
Edsel blinked.
"That's it?"
He grabbed the broken leg of a table and squeezed. The thick wood splintered and crushed in his grip as though it were dry twigs.
A satisfied breath escaped him. "Now I won't need to waste mana reinforcing my body."
He turned as the lingering death mana drifted through the room like black mist and absorbed the remainder.
[◈ Death Mana Accumulation: 110%]
"Only ten percent?"
"Young master, the guards are coming!"
Mia's voice snapped him back to the present.
Edsel cast one last glance over the carnage before stepping over the bodies and walking out, Mia close behind him. The inn remained silent in their wake.
***********
Back at the estate, Fiora stood by the window of her room, staring at the courtyard below. A sigh slipped from her lips. Edsel had been gone since morning. No one seemed to know where he had gone, only that he had left the estate alone.
"Honestly…" she muttered. "Does he enjoy making people worry? Did he run off because he got scared?"
"My lady, is something troubling you?" Elena asked softly from behind her.
Fiora straightened. "Nothing at all."
She refused to admit what had been gnawing at her thoughts all day. Worried about him? After the things he had said?
She gripped her hair and shook her head. "Get a hold of yourself," she whispered under her breath. "You have nothing to do with that bastard."
Yet even as she said it, her gaze drifted back to the gates.
Elena watched her carefully and ground her teeth in frustration.
Earlier, when Edsel had wrapped his hand around her throat, fury had burned through her. That boy who never dared to meet her gaze and always laughed off any confrontation was now acting strangely. She had tried to ask the rest of the servants about him, but they all said the same thing. The young master of the Domitius household had changed completely. He no longer called for servants, and he had stopped beating them altogether.
Sometimes he spent his time with only one servant, a girl named Mia.
Elena made a mental note to ask questions about this Mia. She was sure that Mia was being mistreated by that boy in some way. But firstly, she would not let the lady change her mind towards Edsel.
More importantly, she would not allow Fiora's heart to waver. The young lady had begun to hesitate whenever Edsel's name surfaced. There was doubt in her eyes now. Even pity.
That would not do.
"My lady," Elena began gently, "what about the young master of the Duke Perrin family?"
Fiora blinked. "Huh? You mean Edwin?"
"Yes. Didn't you say young master Edwin won your duel before you returned to the estate for vacation?"
For a moment, Fiora had to think. Edsel's recent behavior had occupied her thoughts so much that she had nearly forgotten.
"You're right," she admitted softly. "He's strong… I would like to cross blades with him again."
Her eyes drifted shut as memory pulled her back two months, to the days before the third semester.
Edwin Perrin, the third son of the ducal house, was known for his refined swordsmanship and powerful aura control. She had approached him out of curiosity at first, wanting to test her own skill against his. Their exchanges had been sharp, exhilarating.
Edsel had not taken it well.
Jealousy had crept into his expression, and soon after, he began provoking Edwin openly. His behavior grew so unbearable that Fiora requested a formal duel with Edsel herself. She defeated him decisively, hoping humiliation would calm his reckless pride.
It hadn't changed much. At least, not then.
Elena tilted her head slightly. "Have you ever considered the possibility of him becoming your fiancé?"
Fiora's face flushed at once. "W-What? Why would you even say that, Elena!"
Elena smiled behind her hand, knowing that this was the way to keep Fiora from thinking about Edsel. After all, she had raised Fiora to become an incredible lady ever since the Countess had passed away. Thanks to her efforts, all the maids respected her, and she was finally getting acknowledgment from the Count himself. She smiled while adjusting her glasses again. Perhaps with some luck, she might even become Fiora's new mother one day.
But as a future mother, she would not let Fiora end up with that useless child of the Domitius family. He was trash, and he had even dared to strangle her. She would have to come up with a plan to ensure that Fiora stayed far away from him.