Blood Berserker - [ A Litrpg Apocalypse]

Nathan's eyes burned with fury; his entire being quaked with rage at the crushed-up token in his hand. A demon had decided to mess with him again; worse, the demon had chosen Diane, the weakest of them, to attack. Diane, who only wanted to be free, Diane... who he'd started to have a thing for.

For the first time in a long time, Nathan simply stayed there, letting the tears stream down his face as he gritted his teeth, the crushed talisman in his grasp as he swore death upon the demon who made the mistake of going after someone close to him.

Worse, Nathan knew he was partly responsible for what had happened moments ago. The token was the same one that the demon Taloth had pointed at him during their fight at the miner's camp. He'd initially sought the token after their fight but had ultimately given up after being unable to find it. He assumed that the token was nothing more than his own imagination. Due to his negligence, Diane was paying the price.

"GRAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Nathan growled.

He wouldn't sit here and beat himself up for something he couldn't control; he wasn't the problem, the demon was, and it was now on his shoulders to figure out how to get back the priestess. If a single hair had been harmed on her head, there'd be hell to pay.

"Who is in charge here?" Nathan screamed.

The Berserker stood to his full height, his face as cold as ice, as he stared uncaring at the terrified expressions on the faces of those who had survived the explosion. Some were still on the floor badly injured, but Nathan didn't care about them. He was simply a man on a mission and he wouldn't stop at anything to get the priestess back, even if it meant becoming the number one target of Hell.

"Are you all deaf?" Nathan asked. "Who is in charge here?"

Almost unanimously, those of Lady Piper's guards who were still conscious enough to understand his words pointed to a guard who was currently backed against a tree, his legs badly mangled. The sight almost caused Nathan to soften, but he steeled himself. He allowed the emotion to sweep over him like a gentle breeze before pushing it aside as he marched toward the crippled soldier.

Nathan wanted to show sympathy to the injured guard but couldn't afford to. The man wasn't the problem—the demon was. So many what-ifs ran through Nathan's head as he approached the dying man. What if this had only happened because he'd decided to play it safe by letting his team be led to Lady Piper in a position of weakness? Maybe if he had killed all their forces in one fell swoop, leaving one survivor to lead them to their leader, none of this would have happened.

Maybe...

Nathan shook the thought from his head as he focused on what he was actually supposed to be doing: interrogating the interim leader of Lady Piper's domain. There was no point dwelling on ifs and buts; there was no time for uncertainties. This was the moment for action; he could no longer make excuses or hold back. If the world was determined to corrupt everything innocent and pure, he would demonstrate his ruthlessness to the world.

"P-please, don't kill me," the guard begged as Nathan crouched to face him.

"If you cooperate, I won't," Nathan said in a clipped tone. "What do you know about what just happened? The explosion?"

The Berserker ignored the look of pure terror on the guard's face as he stared at Nathan's bloody and unfriendly visage. A scowl was clearly visible on the Berserker's face as he waited for the guard to speak. Nathan made sure to rub his fingers on the edge of his blade while keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the guard. The message was simple: "Either you cooperate or I'll dispose of you."

"It's the Claiming," the guard stuttered.

"The Claiming?"

"Explain... fast."

"The Claiming is when a demon comes to collect his debt," the guard hastily spoke, receiving a disapproving stare from Nathan before continuing. "A person trades a part of their soul, someone close to them, their entire soul, or something truly valuable to them in exchange for power. The Claiming happens after the deal has been completed on the demon's end. The demon usually demands servitude for fulfilling its own part of the deal—"

"Do you know which demon it was?"

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"Y-yes, it was Demon Prince Kabash," the guard said. "A lot of Claims have been occurring lately, with his hologram appearing before his claim just before he takes them."

"Interesting. How do I find it?"

"You don't..." The guard paused. "But there's a cult following, full of the demon's claimed. They worship him and offer sacrifices to him. If your friend is still on Earth, then I'm sure she'll be with them. They call themselves the Cult of Kabash."

"Where can I find them?" Nathan asked.

"I don't know; their stronghold location is a closely guarded secret," the guard spluttered. The glare on Nathan's face seemed to make the guard proffer a more reasonable answer. "B-but if anyone knows the location, I bet my life that Sparrow knows... His stronghold is to the North; you can't miss it."

Nathan stayed crouched, silently staring into the guard's eyes as he searched for any signs of deceit. If he detected even a hint that the guard had concocted some story just to spare his life, Nathan would kill him without hesitation. Satisfied that he hadn't spotted any deception, he stood and reached for his bag of holding, which made the guard's fear levels skyrocket. The man closed his eyes as he accepted that the warrior before him might not keep his word.

Thunk!

"Thank you."

Nathan threw a minor health potion onto the dirt where the guard sat. The dying man quickly opened his eyes at the sound, his gaze widening in shock. Nathan couldn't tell if it was because he'd thanked the man or because Nathan had just gifted him a potion that could potentially save his life. Either way, Nathan left before the praises and thanks could commence—he had important tasks to attend to.

He glanced around and scanned the area; the place looked nothing like it had before the start of their scuffle. The snow that had initially covered the ground was nowhere to be found, courtesy of the two explosions that had rocked the area. The one that Diane—or the demon—had summoned seemed to have done the most damage to the snow. The blood-soaked snow that had covered a wide area had simply disappeared, replaced by dry dirt.

Baked earth.

The atmosphere still felt warm even though whatever the demon had done through Diane had since stopped. Focusing on the issue at hand, he turned his gaze around the area until his eyes caught the figures he'd been unconsciously searching for—Pirlo and Daniel—and began making his way toward the pair. The ranger and the rogue were still unconscious, which was understandable due to their proximity to Diane before the explosion. The sight made him begrudgingly respect Lady Piper, who had remained somewhat conscious when the explosion happened.

Of course, the lady's body had been tossed aside like a rag doll in the end, her neck snapped. The resilience she had shown had meant nothing to Demon Prince Kabash, who had been acting through Diane. She'd been easily discarded, her neck snapped like a twig, and what bothered Nathan most was that the demon hadn't even been stressed; it hadn't even struggled. If what the guard had told him was true, then he found it hard to believe that Diane had sacrificed her entire life in service to a demon just because she didn't want to die, especially when the said demon hadn't even struggled against its foe. Everything about the deal felt wrong to Nathan, but then again, these were demons. Everything about them was wrong.

Nathan's scowl morphed into something worse as he cracked a maniacal smile, crouching just as he reached his intended targets—Daniel and Pirlo. He had some steam to release, and the opportunity was right in front of him. Despite all the trivial things he'd had to endure and the pent-up anger he was currently holding in check, Nathan pulled back his hand and slapped the unconscious rogue across the face. He pulled the hit enough to ensure he didn't accidentally snap off the rogue's head.

"Arrghhh!" Pirlo screamed like a zombie seeing fresh brain.

Nathan snorted before turning to the side and shaking Daniel awake, much to Pirlo's chagrin. The Berserker wasn't even bothered about that at the moment—his brief amusement at slapping Pirlo had already faded as reality settled in.

"What happened?" Daniel asked groggily.

"A demon named Kabash has taken Diane, and I need to save her. I need to move now," Nathan said as he stood. "I can't take you guys with me; it's too dangerous, so this is where we part. Any objections?"

"Yes," Pirlo said. "On one condition: you release me from my fealty to you. I need to get stronger, and I can't do it without severing that tie."

Nathan stared at the rogue for a couple of moments, searching his gaze for any signs of hate or malice, but the only thing he saw was hunger—the same type he knew probably burned in his own eyes. What kind of leader would he be if he held back one of his own from progressing just because he didn't want to let them strike out on their own? Reluctantly, he nodded to the rogue, and within moments, a notification appeared:

[Faction member Pirlo Vox has requested permission to leave the faction Blood Army. Do you approve?]

"Yes, I do."

Pirlo was removed from the faction, and now they were nothing more than three young men staring at each other, connected only by karma and shared time. Nathan nodded in response to the look of gratitude in the rogue's eyes. Pirlo was clearly too moved by emotion to speak, and as Nathan stood there watching the two others, he sincerely hoped they wouldn't become enemies someday.

"I guess that's it. Stay safe, guys, and don't forget to watch your backs. Any immediate plans?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to take over this stronghold," Daniel said sheepishly.

"I'm going to grow stronger," Pirlo said quietly.

"Good luck to you both. If you ever need a hand, Blood-Rock will always give it," Nathan said with a nod to the pair.

Without waiting to hear anything else they might add, he dashed out of the stronghold. His destination was somewhere north; he had a priestess to save and an old mentor to meet with. Most of all, he had to become himself again, ruthless and relentless. He had to become Nathan Orion, the Blood Berserker.