The four soldiers' eyes widened, breath caught in their throats as an icy dread washed over them. The stale air seemed to thicken, shadows lengthening as Jin stood like a specter of death
"He can't be human" One whispered under his breath.Voice trembling with fear.
Their grips tightened on the hilts of their swords as they surged forward together .They began to close distance between them and Jin. The weight of the moment pressed down like a stormcloud.
Their momentum died out as they halted mere inches away from Jin, hesitating - each unwilling to be the first to face this demon standing before them.
Seizing the moment, Jin struck the nearest soldier to him. Stepping in his sword drove through his abdomen. The steel pierced through flesh. Blood bubbled around the man's lips.
a swift, brutal kick he sent another one flying.
He retrieved his sword before plunging it deep into another's chest. They locked eyes for a second .One pair filled with shock, pain and fear all tangled together. The other pair brimmed with unwavering confidence and authority.
"Stop him" A soldier cried out.
The body dropped to the floor as Jin dragged his blade out of the man's chest.
His voice thundered through the clearing. "Only two remain. Didn't I warn you—five won't be enough"
The coppery scent of blood choked the air, mingling with the stink of fear.
The remaining two soldiers reeled back. One injured by the force of the kick ,the other traumatised by the scene before him.
The traumatised soldier ran towards Jin. His blade met flesh.
"I got him.I actually hit him"the thought echoed in his mind.
He looked up, searching for pain or fear in Jin's eyes — but instead found a cold, unsettling smile that froze his blood solid.
Jin's voice was a cold whisper, razor-sharp and unyielding. "You don't realize it yet... but your fate was sealed the moment you drew that blade.
The soldier fumbled to withdraw his sword. But it wouldn't budge. Panic clawed at his throat, his grip slackened, fingers going numb as cold dread seeped into his bones.
The sword was stuck - embedded in Jin's body.
With a single slice of his sword Jin cleaved through the soldier's flesh letting the blood gush out in a violent torrent that painted the earth beneath red.
Jin yanked out the sword that dug into his body. He threw the sword away. It clattered as it landed next to the dead owner's legs.
The last soldier's eyes glazed with terror. This wasn't his fight—not anymore. With a trembling breath, he turned and fled.
"Shit...I think he broke my ribs" The soldier muttered, each breath sharp with pain.
Pain seared through his ribs with every breath, dragging him down. The jagged rubble beneath his feet snagged and twisted, each step a gamble as he staggered, the landscape conspiring against his escape.
He looked back to see Jin walking behind him not even bothering to run. Just walking with a cold inevitability as he closed in on him.
That glance proved to be a fatal mistake as the soldier's foot got caught on a jagged piece of debris, he tumbled violently to the ground.
Jin was above him. Not a single thought behind his eyes.
The soldier pleaded for mercy" Please. I didn't do anything wrong.let me live I'm begging you" His voice was raw and desperate.
The soldier's voice cracked, desperation fraying every word, as he pleaded for his life with a trembling voice that no longer believed in salvation.
He looked up at the hostage the soldiers took.
Just then the chained woman's eyes locked with Jin's. She was like a zombie. A bruised face ,eyes devoid of emotion.
Jin looked at the hostage briefly.
He looked down at the begging man and said "Is that what your victims said"
"Did you let them live?"
His pleas faltered as cold realization dawned—too late. Desperation clawed at him as he lunged for his sword, but Jin's shadow was already upon him.
Jin stepped on his arm ,immobilising it.
Jin's boot pressed down mercilessly, pinning the soldier's arm to the cold, hard earth beneath them. The unforgiving pressure stole any hope of movement, crushing the weak resistance underfoot, sealing his fate in bone-crushing inevitability.
Any hope of movement was gone.
Jin raised his sword high into the air.
"Justice will be served-by my hand"
The blade descended in a deadly arc.
Crimson blood erupted in a violent spray, drenching the earth. The man's body convulsed, limbs thrashing as if struck by an immense force.
CRACK!
The blade landed on the man's collarbone. A guttural cry escaped the dying soldier's throat.
The soldier's scream was a fragile crack that was swallowed as the sword came down. His eyes went lifeless and his body gave way. The short shallow gasps ceased to exist, instead it was replaced by a cold silence.
Jin's face was streaked in blood-it was not his own. A silent testament to the carnage left behind.