Overwhelming Firepower

It took a while, but Lucen finally found one of the future antagonists who had a rather tragic backstory.

It was the man who lost everything and wanted to protect his new home, which he came to love, but in the end, he was betrayed by the very people he came to love and trusted.

That love turned into hate, and he massacred hundreds of people. Anybody who was related to that place was killed.

Right now, that man was just a young man, and he had just arrived at the village that he would call a second home. The village whose people would later betray him. It turns out that the young man was from Stellhart.

The village was attacked by monsters, and as if guided by fate, Lucen was the one who dealt with the monsters in that area.

Despite looking very different from the one in the game, he recognized the young man. The swordsmanship that he displayed was something that someone without an aura shouldn’t be able to do.

When Lucen arrived, the monsters had already started attacking the village. They weren’t that strong compared to those found in the monster waves, but, of course, it wasn’t at the level that villagers could win.

He saw villagers desperately swinging axes and pitchforks, barely holding back the beasts trying to claw their way past the barricades.

But one figure stood out, a young man, barely older than Lucen, who moved in the middle of the chaos with a fluidity no ordinary villager should have possessed.

His blade cut arcs through the air, clean and precise, despite the fact that Lucen could sense no aura coming from him.

Despite being younger than those in his memory and having a lighter complexion, this person was obviously none other than one of the chapter bosses, Liger the auraless.

Lucen wanted to observe a bit more, but he needed to help the citizens now. Lucen created his favorite revolvers and started shooting at the monsters.

With each shot he made, a monster was killed. At Lucen’s current level, these kinds of monsters were pretty much fodder, and he would barely get any experience points from them.

When the villagers heard the sound of gunfire and saw that the monsters were dying without any resistance, they all looked to where the sound was coming from.

That silver hair and those ruby-red eyes, if that wasn’t enough to guess who this was, those weapons he had in his hands that made thunder-like noises made everyone sure who this person was.

The one whose name resounded ever so loudly nowadays, the ever-victorious Lucen Thornehart.

The villagers’ fear melted instantly, replaced by relief so strong some of them nearly collapsed on the spot.

”We’re saved!”

”It’s Lucen Thornehart!”

Their voices mixed with the ring of gunfire as Lucen strode forward. Monsters fell one after another, dropping with clean holes through their heads or hearts, each shot precise, efficient, almost lazy in its confidence.

It didn’t take long for Lucen to kill all the monsters. Despite his reluctance to save most of these people, he still did it, since even though in the game they had done something unforgivable, they were still clean right now.

He could not help but remember the reason why Liger became an antagonist in the first place.

When the villagers needed him, they were kind and extremely courteous, but when true danger came, he was sacrificed.

When Stellhart was being ravaged by a monster wave while simultaneously being attacked by the neighboring nobles, this village was attacked by a group of knights.

These knights were ordered to kill and plunder, so when Liger could not protect them, the villagers fled after tricking Liger.

They told him that they would go to the nearby village and ask for help. Liger stayed behind, thinking that reinforcements would come. He did his best, fully trusting the villagers, but no one ever came.

He waited until the barricades fell, until houses burned, until he was fighting with broken bones, cracked ribs, and a dull, chipped blade.

He had somehow survived against the knights, against the monsters. He was eventually captured by one of the knights from the noble alliance that conquered Stellhart.

When he was in a cage, he saw a few familiar figures in the city; it was the villagers that he had protected. The villagers who had treated him kindly as if they were family. When he asked them to help him, they turned their heads.

When they were asked if they knew him, a few denied it. Some even told the knights that he was someone who forced them to do things they didn’t want to. That he was violent, unstable, a danger they had tolerated out of fear.

The betrayal wasn’t loud; it wasn’t dramatic. There was no shouting, no begging, no attempt to reason with them.

Just a quiet, frozen moment where he stared at the people he had shed blood for. People who had smiled at him, eaten with him, patted his back, called him family, and watched them throw him to the wolves to save themselves.

A few of them even threw stones at him, hitting his head, making it bleed, but Liger did not react at all. In that moment, the light in his eyes dimmed, replaced by something cold and hollow.

Everything he thought he had was nothing more than a lie. Everything he tried to do was nothing more than lie. That was the moment when love turned to hatred.

The second he had a chance to escape, Liger did so. He then started perfecting his sword technique, a way to kill aura users without any aura.

He then started hunting the knights, the villagers, and everyone related to his fall. He also killed anyone who got in his way.

This was but a brief cutscene during the battle against Liger when Alexander asked him why he killed all of those people. Instead of answering, Liger simply recalled the reason; he never told Alexander anything in the end.

Lucen exhaled softly, pushing the memory away. Those were the villagers in the game, the liger in the game.

The current villagers and Liger were still on good terms. He could not kill the villagers for something that they might do in the future.

Many gamers who learned of Liger’s backstory really wanted to go back to the past and burn down the village.

’I guess now’s my chance to do that, but... These people just did their best to survive, just as Liger tried his hardest to survive. Unfortunately, only Liger was courageous, while these people were cowards.’

Now was the time to change everyone’s fate. Lucen let go of his revolvers, making them disappear.

The adrenaline faded from the villagers’ faces, replaced by weary gratitude. Mothers hugged their children. Men slumped against barricades.

Lucen started approaching Liger, who still had his sword at hand. His breath was uneven, with some blood splattered over his body.

Unlike Eisesn, who had the gift or curse of a vast amount of mana, Liger had a similar thing; his body was practically superhuman.

He might never be able to gain aura, but what the deities gave him was a body beyond any in this world.

Lucen’s body was powerful because of Sir Thalos’s training alongside his system that rewards his efforts, but Liger’s strength was similar to the super soldiers in the comics in his past life, and he will continue to get stronger.

Right now, he hasn’t even perfected his self-created sword techniques, and he hasn’t become the demon that would slaughter anything in his way.

’If I want to change his fate, now is the time to do that.’

Lucen stood in front of Liger; despite Liger being a little older than Lucen, it was Lucen who was slightly taller than him. Liger’s eyes flicked up to meet his, wary and confused.

”Young Lord... Thank you for saving us.” Liger spoke rather stiffly.

”No need for thanks, this is my duty.”

Liger lowered his sword slightly, though his posture remained tense, as if he still expected another threat to appear at any moment.

”I understand what you must feel right now. I’m guessing you’re feeling powerless, and you’re thinking the next time this happens, you won’t be able to do anything.”

Liger looked at Lucen’s eyes when he heard what the other party said. It was like he could read his very thoughts.

”... Are the nobles able to read minds?”

”No, there’s no such thing.”

”Then how?”

”I could guess what you’re thinking simply based on what I have observed...” Lucen paused for a few seconds before continuing to speak. ”I have a proposal for you.”

”A proposal?”

”Yes, come with me, and I will grant you strength so that you can never feel like you cannot protect what you wish to protect.”

”Bu then, what of the villager who would protect them? There will be no point if I get stronger, but the ones I want to protect are no longer there.” Liger spoke while looking at the villagers, who did not approach them but looked worried.

Lucen wanted to say these guys were going to betray you at some point, so it would be better to leave them be.

But of course, Lucen could not say that. Seeing as there was a chance even these guys could change, or they could remain kind as long as they weren’t pushed too far.

”Don’t worry, I will send a few men to protect this village, and also to teach them how to protect themselves. So what do you think? Join Thornefang, and you’ll gain strength to protect not just this village, but many more people.”

”... Strength to protect more...” Liger was then reminded of his family, the village he came from, burned to the ground by bandits. He was so weak at the time that his mother hid him under the house.

He could do nothing but watch as his parents were killed, as his village was burned down to the ground. He almost died back there but was saved by some random mercenaries.

He promised back then he would never feel so hopeless again. That was why he asked the mercenary leader to teach him swordsmanship.

Unfortunately, without an aura, he was unable to learn the entirety of the mercenary leader’s swordsmanship, so he created his own style.

He thought that he was strong enough to never feel hopeless again, but it just happened again. If Lucen did not appear, many of the villagers would have died before he could defeat the monsters.

Liger looked at Lucen’s outstretched hand and no longer hesitated as he grabbed hold of it. ”Please grant me strength.”

The second Liger took hold of Lucen’s hand, his fate had completely changed.