The second chance of the uncrowned king - (Isekai)

It was a good idea to follow them; otherwise, these bastards would have killed that other group. When I was about to head in the opposite direction, I felt the presence of two people. As I got closer, I saw them—dressed entirely in black and overflowing with bloodlust, just like they are right now.

I glance briefly at the first group; their faces show fear, confusion, surprise, and two of them show a hint of hope.

The other group—the one with that strange tattoo on their hands—didn't like my intervention. Their killing intent is overflowing, and my initial threat hit hard enough to put them on alert.

Why did I intervene? Do I think I'm a hero now? No. I simply can't let something like this slide. Just imagining a family member or someone I know in this situation makes my blood boil.

I use my gravity prison to restrain the assassin who almost managed to stab me in the back—I had been following him the whole time. His attack was incredibly fast, and my prison almost didn't make it in time. Catching him off guard keeps him from breaking free, and with a calculated movement, I separate his head from his body.

The corpse drops, and his head bounces twice with dull thuds. I look into the eyes of the leader of these bastards—he doesn't look surprised or saddened by his companion's death; he just seems to be calculating the best outcome.

"The rumors are true. You really are a monster." That stupid laugh echoes throughout the cavern again.

"I'm more human than all of you." My response is short and direct.

"Who knows…" He twirls a dagger in his right hand. "If we give you our cores, will you let us go?" Some of his companions almost protest, but I feel him use his Imra to calm them.

"Who knows…" I don't budge at all. Now I have even more reason to kill them. They know who I am; if I let them go, it could affect my family in some way.

Susan made it clear—this is a band that works only for money. There's only one thing that would make them work for free: resentment. Better to cut off future problems at the root.

"I see." The leader glances at his group. "Are you sure? This may have consequences." His killing intent deepens with his words, and not just his—everyone in the group understands my intentions.

"You should have thought about that before acting." I release my Imra, holding nothing back. "Consequences? You're overestimating yourselves." My words anger them even more; the only one who stays calm is their leader.

"Kid, you don't know who you're messing with." Actually, I do. They're known everywhere, and Susan clarified even more about them.

"I don't know what you mean. I found your corpses while exploring this area." I shrug, making my intentions clear. No one is leaving alive, and no one will find out.

"You're right." His laugh echoes again. "The young prodigy of the Empire, protected by Director Susan, died in a dungeon for trusting himself too much."

For the first time, I can release my full strength without worrying about consequences—my only intention now is to kill them. My body overflows with power, all my combat abilities activate, and I feel light, ready to do what I must.

In the dungeon against the ogre lord, I couldn't unleash everything because I was protecting my students. Here, I don't have to protect anyone. The members of the other group are adults—they can take care of themselves.

When I fought Areci, the collars and the non-killing conditions held me back. This will be the first time I fight purely to kill without limits since reaching Sapphire rank.

Spells of all kinds fly at me—stone spikes, lightning currents, and fire spears all coming at full power. I construct several ice walls to block them. I take advantage of the explosion's smoke to camouflage myself, and the shattered walls obstruct their vision.

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I use my Dimensional Step to appear behind the mages. The melee fighters have already moved to intercept me at my previous position—now no one is watching their backs. I sense life mana in one of them; that's my first target.

I drive my sword through his back and out his chest. With his body still hanging from my left sword, I twist and strike toward the neck of the mage beside him. My attack never reaches him; a strong stone construct stops it a few centimeters short. I don't waste the movement and slice off his arm instead.

The melee fighters have already located me—I have to duck to avoid an enormous axe, and step back to dodge a spear aimed straight at my skull. The other one has a pair of daggers—so I throw the healer's corpse at him to slow him down.

I retreat to the side using my old movement skill, Charged Electrifying Steps. It isn't as fluid as before, but it still works. I've used it countless times—my body and mind haven't forgotten how to channel mana and perform the technique.

"I thought you were ten. Now you're only seven and three-quarters." For the first time, I see the criminal leader frown—his eyes now filled with immense anger.

"I didn't know you were all so afraid of death. Are you coming, or should I go?" I've been provoking them from the start—trash talk was widely used by competitors in my past life.

I managed to kill two of them because they underestimated me or didn't anticipate my moves. From here on, it's going to be harder. These bastards are filth as people, but they're strong—strong enough to make me hesitate to charge head-on.

The huge axe user activates his reinforcement skills and appears in front of me in a blink, swinging his massive weapon vertically. My left arm moves at full speed to intercept the blow. A loud crash echoes, and we both freeze—neither of us budges an inch. He resisted my full-powered strike without moving.

My right sword is already cutting toward his torso, and he doesn't have time to react. But my attack doesn't reach—again, the same spear intercepts it. The spear tries to pierce my chest; I move aside to dodge it, only to be greeted by the dagger bastard.

His strength is nothing compared to the axeman, but his speed is the real problem—and that layer of mana coating him. I dodge the poisoned daggers and break his offensive with a heavy slash. Before I can take his leg, the lancer strikes from behind and forces me to reposition.

I don't get a second to breathe—more spells fly at me. I intercept them by constructing more than a dozen Joyeuse, and I cross my swords to block the powerful impact of the axeman's strike.

This bastard defends well, using his weapon as a shield simultaneously. I'm impressed by the toughness of his axe—my Thundersnow Fangs break any normal weapon with enough force, but his only shows small cuts.

It doesn't matter if I gain an advantage—whenever I do, the lancer is ready to help him from a distance, and the dagger bastard is constantly lurking behind me. He has already tried stabbing me several times in this single minute.

That isn't all—the spells are getting stronger, and I'm using my swords just to keep the mages busy.

The other group is completely wounded and exhausted—they're useless in this fight. If they jump in recklessly, they'll just die. The ice mage is doing everything she can to heal them.

The axe user messes up his defensive stance, and my blow makes him stagger. I feint toward his dominant arm. When the spear comes dangerously close, I release my Electrifying Fierce River at full power. I notice the brief delay between the two of them—but they're not my targets.

At full speed, I rush the dagger user—he took the brunt of my paralyzing electricity. He reacts to my first slash, losing his balance. The second strike knocks a dagger out of his hand, and with my first sword, I pierce his heart in a swift, forceful motion.

I feel slight resistance from his body enhancement skills before I break through. Death mana spreads through his body instantly. He doesn't have time to scream or make a sound—only wide, terrified eyes before dying.

His companions, who were charging at me, freeze for a moment. I stare back at them with a completely cold gaze.

At first, I was a little hesitant—I had already experienced the feeling of stabbing a person and killing them, but that was a long time ago. Without my mental skill, this would be harder. Thundersnow keeps me calm and emotionless, and knowing exactly what kind of trash I'm killing helps too.

I take advantage of that instant to send all my Joyeuse at the melee fighters. Their reactions are fast—you can see the experience in the way they move. With their skills, they repel most of them, except one that pierces the lancer's weaker arm.

His face twists in pain—death affinity isn't easy to handle. My Imra clashes with his; I hold on as long as I can to inflict maximum damage before losing control.

I release my crushing zone on them—time to get completely serious and end this. "If you come at me, you'll die. Well… even if you don't, you'll still die. It just depends on whether you want to suffer or not."

"Shut up, damn kid! You've only gotten lucky! I'll make you suffer so much you'll wish you were never born!" the axeman spits while yelling at me.

"Kid, I'll rip out your fingers one by one and make you eat them," the lancer growls.

I pretend to yawn. "You're just barking. If you're so rabid, try biting me, puppies." I take my fighting stance—it's time to end this.