Chapter 34: Lord Of The Night

For a second, nothing happened.

Caelan almost thought the command didn’t worked until the man slowly bent down and picked up the weapon he had just dropped. The two men connected to him followed almost immediately, reaching for their swords on the ground.

Caelan’s eyes widened slightly.

All three of them were following the command.

The man raised his weapon toward his own chest. The other two did the same, their movements almost identical as they positioned the tips of their swords against themselves.

There was no hesitation in their expressions. Not even fear.

[1:52]

[1:51]

Caelan swallowed.

He knew what he had ordered them to do, but actually seeing three people preparing to end their own lives because of something he said made his stomach twist.

For a brief moment, he almost told them to stop. Then his eyes moved toward the blood covering his clothes. He remembered the sword going through his chest.

If he didn’t do this, he’d be the one dead instead.

"Now." Caelan’s expression hardened.

The three men moved just as he said that word.

*STAB!

Their weapons pierced into their own bodies almost simultaneously.

Caelan flinched as he felt a big lump on his throat. ℴ

The first two immediately collapsed onto the dirt while the man who had controlled them remained standing for another few seconds, his weapon buried deep inside his chest.

His dull eyes remained fixed on Caelan before his body fell forward.

THUD!

Blood came gushing out of their wounds as they lay there on the ground.

[Kill the people who will go your way (6/8)]

[Kill the people who will go your way (7/8)]

[Kill the people who will go your way (8/8)]

Caelan stared at the notifications floating in front of him.

"8/8..."

All eight of them were dead.

The moment that rang in his head, the strange connections inside his mind disappeared.

[Mind Control has been deactivated.]

Caelan slowly lowered his shadow sword toward the ground.

"Hah..." Caelan released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

"Fuck..." His legs suddenly felt weak.

He dropped onto the ground, supporting himself with one hand while the other continued holding his shadow sword.

His entire body was trembling now as everything that had happened over the last few minutes suddenly came rushing back in his mind.

He had killed people...

What the fuck just happened? Caelan looked at his blood-covered hand.

"Caelan!"

He barely had time to look up before Eveline rushed toward him. She dropped to her knees beside him and immediately grabbed his shoulders.

"Are you okay?!"

"I..." Caelan looked down at himself.

His clothes were torn and his entire chest was covered in blood. There were also cuts across his body that were starting to hurt. He looked like he had just crawled out of a massacre.

"I think so."

"What do you mean you think so?!" Eveline immediately started checking him. "You were stabbed! I saw it! It went through your chest!"

"I know."

"Then how are you alive?!"

"Life Thread..." he breathlessly answered.

The driver slowly approached them as well. His face was pale as he looked around at the bodies scattered across the road before finally looking at Caelan.

"You..." He swallowed. "What exactly are you?"

Caelan just stared at him before shaking his head.

[Ding!]

[Immediate Objective Complete.]

[Objective: Kill the people who will go your way (8/8)]

[Reward conditions fulfilled.]

[You have received +1 Hollow Fragment.]

[Title Acquired: Lord of the Night.]

He had almost forgotten about that.

[Title: Lord of the Night]

[You have been recognized by the Night after killing their Lord.]

Caelan stared silently at the final line before his eyes slowly moved back toward the bodies surrounding them.

*Rustle!

Caelan’s entire body immediately stiffened when he heard that sound again. His head snapped toward the forest.

"You’ve got to be fucking kidding me."

Eveline and the driver reacted almost immediately as well. Eveline moved closer to Caelan while the driver quickly looked around them.

"What is it?" Eveline asked.

*Rustle!

Rustling sounds began spreading throughout the forest surrounding the road. Branches moved between the trees, and several shadows passed through the darkness underneath them.

That was when they saw there were more. A whole lot more.

Caelan immediately forced himself back onto his feet despite how exhausted his body felt.

"Stay behind me."

"Caelan, you’re already hurt!"

"I know."

His shadow sword was still in his hand, but his fingers were barely able to hold onto it anymore. Life Thread was gone, and he had already used almost everything he had just to survive the first 8.

If another group attacked now, he honestly didn’t know what the hell he was supposed to do.

Then the first figure appeared. A person dressed entirely in black stepped out from behind one of the trees. They looked the same as earlier.

Caelan immediately raised his sword in a protective stance.

However, another appeared several meters away. Then another one... and another.

Within seconds, dark figures began emerging from the forest one after another. Some stood between the trees while others stepped directly onto the road.

"Fuck this life." Caelan’s expression slowly changed.

There were far more than eight this time.

"Caelan..." Eveline grabbed the back of his clothes.

"I see them."

The driver didn’t say anything. Judging from how pale his face had become, he had probably already accepted that today was going to be the day he died.

"How many fucking people are there?"

None of the figures answered. Instead, they simply stared at him.

Caelan waited for someone to attack. However, a minute passed and they didn’t do anything except to show themselves.

’What are they waiting for? Is there another guy controlling them?’

That was when one of the figures finally moved.

A man standing near the front slowly stepped forward. He placed one hand against his chest and slowly bent down onto one knee.

"W-What?" Caelan blinked.

Before he could understand what was happening, another person followed. One after another, the black-clothed figures surrounding the road lowered themselves onto one knee, kneeling in front of him.

[Ding!]

[Title Effect Activated.]

[Lord of the Night]

[Members of the Night have recognized the Host’s authority.]

"Command us, O Lord of the Night" Their voices sounded in perfect unison, filling the silent forest.