Death Heir’s Devouring System

The instant he saw that his teammate was dead, Azrael moved. Staying in one place with an archer gazing at him was a death sentence.

Tensing his legs to the limit, he dashed forwards, gaze locked on the woman readying her next strike.

He was at a severe disadvantage. High on the mountains, with nothing to use as cover to shield from her arrows. Even worse, his movement speed was severely impacted, having to run upwards while the woman had a perfect view of his figure.

'How did her projectile move so fast? Does it teleport rather than fly? Is that what Chunk was trying to warn me about?'

Numerous questions flowed through his mind. But he kept his cool, sprinting upwards.

'She will be able to fire at least two more times before I can reach her. Not to mention, I don't know where her teammate is.'

His thoughts were interrupted as the woman let go of the string.

Instantly, his senses screamed at him to move, even before he could track the projectile's flight. All he could do was anticipate its path from the tip of her arrow.

A heartbeat later, he ducked to the left.

His body felt colder and lighter; blood gushed from his severed right hand.

'To think it was so easy for her to wound me, despite my armor.' Azrael reminded himself that he should never get too arrogant.

There was always the chance that the opponent before him possessed some insane power capable of piercing his Radiant armor effortlessly.

Gritting his teeth, he ignored the pain. With his arm gone, he became lighter, managing to accelerate even more. He had to reach the woman before she could fire her next shot at all costs.

The woman's delicate fingers trembled slightly, surprised by Azrael's ignorance of pain.

'Don't hesitate,' she reminded herself, nocking another arrow.

Taking into account her enemy's tolerance to pain, she knew there was only one way to stop him.

Aim at the legs.

'Troublesome,' Azrael cursed inwardly, collapsing on the ground.

It wasn't due to exhaustion nor pain. With his left leg disintegrated, there was nothing left to support him.

Yet that didn't mean he would just lie there; dispelling his weapon, he used his remaining limbs to move like a wounded quadruped beast.

Still, that diminished his speed greatly, giving the woman time to fire once more.

'Ah,' he thought bitterly, seeing the tip of her arrow pointing at his face.

'If the use of Remembrances was allowed, I would have won. Cinder would have kept her distracted long enough to reach her… Or maybe I am thinking about it the wrong way. Was there something I could have done differently to change the outcome of this battle?'

Even in his final moments, instead of fearing pain, he was already planning what to change, how to improve, and how to grow stronger.

[You have died.]

[Your placement: 16th place]

In a flash, Azrael found himself back at the lobby with Chunk.

"You are seriously a monster, you know?" The man praised. "Despite missing a leg and an arm, you charged like you don't care about pain."

"I care about it." Azrael shook his head. "I just choose to ignore it. Physical pain is nothing compared to the pain of weakness."

Scratching his head, Chunk took Azrael's words to heart. It felt like the right thing to do.

'Maybe if I live and think like him, I can become even stronger.'

"Never mind that. How did you like your first game? Do you want to play again, or try out the other modes?"

Azrael observed the modes once more; they seemed endless as such. He noticed a few that he had missed the first time.

Eventually, his gaze stopped at 'Faction War.'

"What is this?" He asked.

"My favorite mode… or at least it used to be," Chunk sighed. "Unlike most, this one doesn't defer to Ascension Level, so Marked could find themselves fighting against Sentinels."

The man reminisced about the past. "It used to be a great mode for forming connections and challenging those above you in the name of your faction, conquering more land. But most people began to cluster around two of the three factions. Now it's an unbalanced mess that, unless you want to answer to the leaders, has become a chore to play."

With an arched brow, Azrael scanned the faction list: three human factions and one reserved for simulated monsters, their pledges, and the percentage of land they controlled over the whole map.

Crimson Accord—Suffer, adapt, overcome - 40%

Iron Howl—We remain unbroken, not in the name of glory, but conquest - 30%

Monster Tide—What the vile Corruption rules - 25%

Ashen Vow—Only through death can the world be purified - 5%

From the written rules, to enter, a Chosen must pledge allegiance to one of the three factions. Then they had the option to battle against the vile Corruption or the other factions to gain more land.

Changing a faction was possible, but it bore a hefty price.

"I like the sound of that," Azrael nodded. This sounded even better than battle royale. The more unbalanced and unfair a mode was, the more things he was destined to learn by participating in it.

Chunk sighed. "Sure, since we don't want to be overwhelmed, I presume you want to join the Crimson Accord since they hold the most land."

A subtle smile spread across Azrael's face.

"What are you talking about? Where is the fun in choosing the winning side?"

Without hesitation, he selected Ashen Vow, officially joining, pledging to the faction, and becoming a part of it.

"Come on, let's go conquer some land."

*****

It was surprisingly easy to persuade Chunk to join the faction. Otherwise, he would have had to face Azrael as an enemy.

And Chunk shuddered just at the thought of that.

Once they pledged to the Ashen Vow faction, they were transported to a ruined castle, with several Chosen occupying the place.

Most of them looked tired and regretful for still being part of the almost extinct faction.

Ignoring them and their pitiful state, Azrael looked around. The first thing that caught his attention was the large circular table with a map drawn on it.

What was more impressive was that the map updated in real time, showing the land the three factions, as well as the monsters, controlled.

Next to the table, there was a large signpost with numerous missions that the Chosen from the Ashen Vow faction could take part in.

Most of them were about planting a flag in a territory and either defending or attacking until there were no enemies left.

Azrael noticed one where all the factions were involved. The battle was meant to start in a few minutes, with 100 Chosen from both ruling factions and only 5 from Ashen Vow.

"Hey, hey," Chunk guessed what Azrael was thinking and called out to him.

"Don't forget, this isn't like the other modes. If you die here, there is a 24-hour penalty where you can't respawn. So don't go into suicidal missions from the start."

With an arched brow, Azrael studied how much land the Ashen Vow faction could claim if they managed to win against the overwhelming numbers.

A moment later he scoffed.

"Die? Suicidal mission? All I am seeing is land that is ours for the taking."