I Refused To Be Reincarnated

He roared, trying to inspire the trembling escort by showing confidence. Yet, his eyes trembled, too.

Simultaneously, Marco clenched and unclenched his fists, adapting to his new form before his lips parted, letting a guttural voice resound in the camp.

"Scream your plan in front of me? Do you take me for a mere beast?"

Everyone\'s hair bristled in pure terror. Even the fire\'s light seemed to dim before the monster\'s voice.

"No... We have no chance to win!" Idiot one\'s voice cracked with terror. Intimidated by the monster\'s remark, the clanking sound of his armor striking his muscles echoed as he cut through the wind to escape, leaving a cloud of dust and his despairing companions behind.

Yet, a sudden blur appeared before him after a few meters, shattering any hope he had to flee because... Marco loomed before him, blotting the sun\'s light and casting a colossal shadow on him.

His eyes enlarged, the disgusting smell of urine rose in the air, and his mouth opened in a vain attempt to plead for his life. But before any sound could emerge, Marco\'s merciless fingers came to life, wrapping around his neck and lifting him to eye level in the blink of an eye.

"Until the end, you deserved to be called Idiot One."

A snarl, letting Marco\'s threatening teeth glint under the sun, resounded. Then, he squished lightly, crushing his colleague\'s throat in a cacophony of broken bones and gurgling sounds.

PLOP

The spasming body powerlessly met the ground as the groups\' eyes bulged and their heart sank in utter despair.

Their initial chances of victory were already close to zero in five versus one, and now... they were four.

Meanwhile, Julius watched the whole scene in muted silence, shaking his head at the knight\'s decision while searching for a solution to their desperate situation.

Stunned by Marco\'s velocity, he realised surrounding such a swift enemy was nothing short of a dream. Before they could, only stiff corpses would litter the ground.

\'We need to immobilise him, but how?\'

Unfortunately, Marco didn\'t plan to give him any time to think. Like a raging tier-two magical beast, he lunged at him, hands outstretched and a malicious grin reaching his ears.

As death approached like a horrifying nightmare, a nearby silhouette collided with him, forcing his body to the side and out of Marco\'s trajectory. Therefore, Marco rammed its shoulder, sending the individual flying a dozen meters as an agonising scream accompanied by cracking noises echoed.

CRASH

With a loud sound, an unmoving corpse collided with the ground, raising dust before revealing locks of long black hairs.

"No..." Julius muttered, his eyes fixing the young woman who once sewed him clothes and helped him in his investigation.

A shudder of deep sadness ran through his body as he noticed the broken bones piercing her shoulder and pale face, and a tsunami of guilt crashed against his heart. Because of his weakness, others were going to suffer again... like his mother.

Despite his usually resilient spirit, uncontrollable and voracious despair gripped and bit at his heart. There was no solution he could think of, no trick he could use. Just like Louise, they would all die.

Excited to see the color of a shattered spirit paint the boy\'s face, Marco\'s smile enlarged.

"Let me make you suffer a bit. After all, I sacrificed twenty years because of you," he said, licking his lips.

Acting on his words, he charged at the guard\'s captain, leaving deep gouges on the ground, and swung his powerful and bulging with unnatural power arm at her face. The wind roared, blowing her hair in a wild dance under the fist\'s pressure before...

PAFF

Before the experienced fighter could even react, a rain of blood and brain liquid exploded, filling the surroundings with the smell of death as her headless corpse dropped to the scarlet ground.

Then, with an evil smile plastered on his face, he turned. His icy eyes landed on the last guard alive, who was still processing the death of her two companions, unable to believe what her eyes fed her.

"Hahaha. I must be in a nightmare! I\'ll wake up soon!" She declared in delusion, tears streaming down her cheeks and blurring her vision as she watched her sisters\' corpses.

"I\'ll put you to sleep if that\'s what you prefer... an eternal one."

Marco\'s voice resounded behind her. Like a spear, his arm pierced her and impaled her beating heart.

In the meantime, Julius stared at the scene, eyes trembling in a muted stupor. Marco was too overbearing. He had killed everyone but him in less than three minutes, and that\'s because he wasted time taunting them...

"I can\'t win... what\'s the point of fighting..." Julius said, falling to his knees in despair. Tears of frustration streamed down his cheeks as he clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

The difference between tiers was too vast. He had witnessed it four years ago but never imagined it would be this massive. How did his big brother win against an even stronger opponent?

"You don\'t want to resist? Even a little? I still have seven minutes before the pill effects wear off."

Marco\'s grating voice interrupted his thoughts. He noticed the tempting smile and provocation attempt. By purposefully revealing his transformation\'s time limit, Marco wanted to revel in his vain struggle.

Unfortunately, Julius had truly given up. Seven minutes were enough for Marco to kill him a few dozen times, if not more, so why bother?

Instead, he turned, gazing at the carriage where Arun and Asha were hiding and trembling in fear after witnessing the massacre. They understood it as well. Julius couldn\'t win this fight, and they would soon follow their guards in the afterlife.

Then, he finally looked at the most important person to him. Like a silent observer, Adam\'s ethereal figure still floated behind him, hidden in a swirling gray mist. Yet, his usually luminous eyes, the only thing piercing the veil of darkness covering his features, were still dim.

\'I\'m sorry, big bro. I won\'t be there when you wake up.\'

His lips quivered as the taste of tears filled his mouth. Despite the four agonising years he suffered to reunite with, he would die before he could.

"Humph. What a disappointment. I wanted to see you struggle until the bitter end and crush all your hopes," Marco said, shaking his monstrous head and raising his arms in ridicule.

Then, he charged at Julius, thanking his lucky star to have brought him on his path.

Julius closed his eyes, resigned and waiting for death to reap him.

However, a sudden voice shattered the silence, forcing his eyes wide open and the despair gnawing at his heart to retreat. He recognised it! The familiar roar mixing anger, determination, and madness in a bizarre yet stable blend.

"GASTOOOOOOON!"