My Demons

A sudden glimpse of death appeared before me, sending a shockwave through my body. My face turned pale, and my legs trembled as I stumbled backward.

“Oh, sh-shit…”

I quickly sank back into the seat, clinging to it desperately as I gasped for breath. Despite my instinctive fear, I reached out and picked up the fallen knife.

“Argh!”

“Grab your weapons! Hold on!”

Unexpectedly, small boats materialized, encircling our ship. Disordered and chaotic, each small boat carried about seven pirates, their oars moving swiftly.

“Fire!”

“Kill them all!”

The pirates looked repulsively filthy, as if they had never known the touch of water. Their hair and beards were tangled messes, and their teeth—no, fangs—were yellowed to the point of appearing black.

They brandished crude weapons: toothless axes, broken hooks, and spears fashioned from short swords. Despite their primitive appearance, those weapons seemed more than capable of ending a person’s life.

“Board their ship!”

“Board them! Kill them!”

The pirates, though lean and small, unleashed a brutal fury. Their savage cries filled the air as arrows and spears were launched, incapacitating crew members and enabling them to ruthlessly climb aboard our ship.

Thanks to a few passengers who joined the crew in resistance, armed with weapons of their own, it seemed as though they were managing to hold the pirates at bay.

However, as several large crew members fell to arrows shot from below, the pirates finally gained access to the deck.

“D-damn it! We need to hold them back…argh…”

One of the crew members fighting back fell, struck by an axe in the shoulder. With his last breath, it seemed that over a dozen pirates had boarded the ship, their ferocious screams piercing the air.

“Aaaargh!”

“Kyaah!”

What unfolded next was a surreal nightmare. As someone who had never killed anything larger than a frog, the sight of people being mercilessly slaughtered was incomprehensible.

“Aargh!”

“Please, save me!”

With every swing of the pirates’ weapons, lives were brutally extinguished. They showed no mercy, slaughtering men, young and old, while overpowering women and dragging them away to the small boats.

It was bloodier than any hero or action movie, yet less contrived than an intentional gore movie. The massacre on the ship resembled a scene from a well-crafted R-rated slasher film.

“F@ck, f@ck…”

I clenched my trembling jaw and tightly shut my eyes, desperately wishing that the approaching death was nothing more than a nightmare. But my heightened senses confirmed the brutal reality of the situation.

“Wa-wait, I surrender… gurk.”

Before I could finish my plea, I heard the sickening sound of flesh tearing and something spilling onto the floor.

Startled by a chilling sound nearby, I snapped my eyes open. My hands trembled as I hastily tightened the loosened breastplate.

So far, I had been fortunate enough to elude their notice amidst the chaos, but I couldn’t conceal my large frame forever. I refused to meet death with my eyes shut and my head buried like a terrified ostrich.

Despite my trembling, my hands found the string and obediently pulled it.

Thankfully, only one side of the connection between the breastplate and backplate had come loose, resembling a combat boot lace, making it relatively easy to secure.

After desperately fastening the breastplate, I gave up on the shoulder plates.

The shoulder armor was not only unfamiliar but also entangled, leaving me lacking the confidence to quickly deal with it.

“Damn it, I should have picked up a helmet too.”

In my arrogant progression through Chapter 1, I had neglected to acquire ordinary items. All the weapons, buckler, and breastplate I possessed were magical or rare.

However, I had no helmet or gloves, and the boots I wore were nothing more than junk from character creation.

“Huff, huff-” I gasped for breath, undoing the cloth that I had wrapped around the knife.

Unfolding the cloth and drawing the knife from its leather sheath, a falchion with a graceful curve and sharp tip came into view.

As I mechanically advanced through Chapter 1, the exact name of the main weapon, the knife, eluded my memory.

Was it Lion’s Tooth or Claw? Something of the sort.

Nevertheless, the falchion, with its substantial weight and comfortable grip, provided a reassuring feeling.

The formidable blade sparkled as if meticulously maintained, catching the sunlight and scattering it into fragments.

This fractured light immediately attracted the attention of the pirates scouring the deck.

Their eyes gleamed with an unknown fervor. I let out a soft groan in the face of those piercing gazes.

“Huuuh…”

I appeared somewhat panicked. I forced my trembling legs to cease their motion and swallowed hard.

“What’s with that guy?”

“Kill him!”

Despite their menacing cries, they hesitated to approach me. Likely because the sight of my level 10 Blood Knight, ‘NuclearWarStarter’, was quite intimidating.

Compared to the feeble pirates, I stood a head and a half taller, my lean form clad in muscle.

And there I stood, donning a dented breastplate, a shield dangling at my waist, a sharp knife, and eyes that bore black pupils tinged with hints of red energy.

In colloquial terms, Level 10 Blood Knight ‘NuclearWarStarter’ was a force to be reckoned with.

While keeping a wary eye on them, I fumbled around my waist.

I intended to retrieve the shield, but fear prevented me from diverting my gaze from these ruthless pirates.

As I tried to grasp and lift the shield, I realized it was firmly fixed to my belt, as expected.

With their watchful eyes upon me, I swiftly examined the shield’s condition.

“Damn it-“

The shield hung from a ring, but the problem arose when I discovered that the ring had rolled inward, entangled with the inside of the breastplate.

It must have happened during my hasty armor adjustments earlier.

Frantically, I moved my hands, all while monitoring the pirates and the shield. Yet, the shield showed no signs of coming free.

What was fortunate was that the pirates were merely observing my actions.

Or so I thought.

Whoosh, Thwack!

“Gah!”

A horrendous pain coursed through me, causing me to shudder and stagger. Instinctively, I swung my knife to keep the pirates at bay.

“You damn mutt.”

As I backpedaled, I menacingly brandished my knife.

“Heehee.”

“Look at that idiot’s face.”

The pirates watched with eerie laughter.

Leaning against the rail and peering down, I noticed an arrow embedded in my thigh. The arrowhead had pierced deeply, several finger-lengths into my flesh.

Remembering how it was done in movies or dramas, I attempted to pull the arrow out.

“Ah! Ughhhhhhh!”

Even the slightest touch to the arrow shaft sent searing pain coursing through me.

‘F@ck, f@ck, f@ck! How do I pull this out?’

“Hahaha!”

“What’s that fool doing?”

The pirates, who had been laughing at my efforts, began to approach slowly.

It seemed they had realized that I was not the formidable Level 10 Blood Knight ‘NuclearWarStarter,’ but a frail old man.

“Ugh, you damn-“

I grumbled, gripping the arrow shaft once again. I took a couple of deep breaths.

I wasn’t sure why I did it. Perhaps I lacked the courage to swing my knife and harm anyone, and I didn’t want to meet my end without a fight.

“Ahhhh!”

With a groan, I seized the arrow shaft lodged in my thigh and pulled.

What I discovered then was that an arrow does not easily come out, and the pain of its extraction surpasses that of its initial impact.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Letting out a scream that felt like I was expelling blood, I yanked out the arrow, tearing flesh along with it. Tears streamed down my face, but I forced a triumphant smile.

“Huff, huff-“

Observing the slightly repulsed pirates, I discarded the blood-soaked arrow.

“Huff, huff! Come at me, you worthless bastards! Ahh!”

Feeling a surge of adrenaline, I bellowed, only to suddenly collapse to the ground, screaming. Another arrow had found its mark, burying itself in my shoulder.

Roars of laughter reverberated from the pirates. With no time to dwell on humiliation, I crawled on the ground, struggling to rise.

Whoosh, thud!

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

Two more arrows struck in rapid succession, one in my thigh and the other in my calf.

An arrow hurtled towards my chest but met only a dull thud as it bounced off my sturdy breastplate. It was a miraculous stroke of luck that it hadn’t struck my throat or head.

Collapsing against the corner of the ship’s railing, I gasped for breath.

“Huff-“

The pain surged through me, surpassing any torment I had endured in my lifetime.

I sprawled on the floor, forming a pool of blood like a helpless insect pinned down.

“Uhhhhhhh.”

Shivering uncontrollably, I couldn’t even muster a curse.

Each of my limbs seemed to have a heartbeat of its own, blood pulsating violently through them. With each forceful throb, blood spurted from my wounds.

It felt as though I had been stripped naked and thrown into a freezing chamber, an icy chill enveloping my entire body.

In the throes of death, my gaze involuntarily drifted upwards. In stark contrast to the horrifying scene aboard the ship, the sky above remained a clear, serene blue.

A shadow loomed over me, accompanied by a low growl. Amidst the pungent scent of blood, the stench emanating from the pirate’s unwashed body assaulted my nostrils.

“Bastard-“

‘Couldn’t you have at least bathed? I have to die while enduring this stench?’

Just as I was about to close my eyes, hot blood splattered across my face.

But… it wasn’t my blood.

“Huh.”

The pirate, who had been blocking the sun, toppled over. As his head tilted unnaturally, the hidden sun revealed itself.

Squinting, I tried to make sense of the situation. The pirate in front of me lay sprawled, a massive amount of blood pouring from his throat, which had been partially slit.

What the hell had happened?

“It’s a wizard!”

“Watch out!”

The pirates screamed, their voices tinged with terror.

From somewhere, a silhouette emerged, wielding what resembled a small flute. No, it wasn’t a flute, but rather a diminutive wand.

Whooosh!

A deep green wind coalesced at the tip of the wand.

The wind extended forward, gradually spreading out, and finally spun around like a swirling blade, forming a semicircle.

Swish!

The green wind cut deep into a pirate’s arm, eliciting a guttural scream.

“Arrgh! Damn it!”

“Capture that wizard!”

Witnessing this mystical spectacle, I recalled a skill from Dark World.

Sword Wind!

“Sword Wind” was a wind-based spell utilized by the Elementalist class, inflicting slashing damage in a narrow range.

Emerging from the cabin, the Elementalist swiftly dispatched two pirates, causing the remaining ones on the deck to scatter in panicked disarray.

Rather than pursuing them, the Elementalist directed Sword Wind towards the pirates who were launching arrows from a distance.

With each sweeping motion of the wind-blade, the pirates lost limbs or met decapitation.

Meanwhile, the green-tinged wind continued to disperse and gather, flowing along the wand.

As the wind’s current shifted, the robe that had concealed the wizard’s face billowed open.

“Uh…”

Unintentionally, I let out an astonished sound as her visage came into view.

A stunning girl with long, wavy blonde hair and delicate features. It was the female Elementalist character who had graced one side of the Dark World package.