Chapter 226: The Smell Of Fear

(The edge of the Northern Forest, Randy’s POV)

Based on the carnage surrounding him and the warm blood currently showering his body, Randy knew that opening his mouth now was probably a terrible idea, and yet somehow, he couldn’t help himself.

"Boss... snap out of it, Boss. What the hell are you doing? This isn’t like you," he muttered, as Riven slowly turned his gaze away from the corpses and faced him instead.

’Oh, fuck....’

Randy thought, as the remaining hope inside him that maybe, just maybe, Riven wouldn’t go as far as killing his own teammates quickly disappeared beneath a much uglier emotion.

*Drizzle*

Something warm suddenly rolled down the inside of his thighs, and although Randy immediately understood what had happened, embarrassment never even entered his mind as pure terror overwhelmed his body completely.

He had pissed himself, and while the realization would probably have embarrassed him to death anywhere else, right now Randy couldn’t bring himself to care as Riven began approaching at a leisurely pace.

Still restrained against the muddy ground, Randy could do little more than watch helplessly as those unnatural bluish-purple eyes drew closer with every passing second.

"Boss?" Randy called again, his voice noticeably weaker this time, as Riven stopped beside him and stared down at his restrained body for several seconds.

The unnatural figure slowly lowered himself into a crouch, bringing his face closer until Randy could clearly see tiny branches of lightning moving within those bluish-purple eyes as Riven tilted his head and lightly sniffed the air.

"I smell...."

His voice made Randy’s blood run cold, as he sounded nothing like the Riven he knew, as every word he now spoke carried with it a strange depth that reminded him of thunder rolling somewhere beyond a distant mountain range.

"I smell fear inside you, boy," Riven continued, as a faint smile gradually appeared across his bloodied face. "Are you scared of me?"

Boy.

That single word terrified Randy more than everything else, because Riven knew his name.

They had been friends for weeks now, and yet Riven was now staring directly into his face and calling him boy.

’He doesn’t recognize me....’

Randy thought, as his breathing became increasingly erratic beneath Riven’s gaze while the horrible truth finally settled inside his mind.

Whatever was crouching in front of him genuinely had no idea who Randy was.

"Oh, Minerva.... Please save me."

Randy muttered, as tears mixed with the rainwater began to stream down his face, while he instinctively turned towards the only higher power he could think of at that moment.

However, somehow, the thing in front of him only seemed to be more amused by his actions as it smiled and matched his gaze towards the heavens.

"You’re not Riven, are you?"

Randy asked, his voice cracking as the words finally escaped his lips.

"Who the fuck are you? What are you doing inside my friend’s body?"

"Minerva, eh?" Riven muttered, repeating the name slowly as though tasting something vaguely familiar. "You pray to gods when you’re afraid."

Randy swallowed as Riven leaned slightly closer, bringing those glowing eyes almost directly in front of his own.

"Why do you need to look upwards for it though, how do you know where Minerva is right now?"

Riven asked, as the strange smile gradually disappeared from his face.

"If you grew wiser, you would realize that fear itself is God."

He said, as before Randy made much sense of that statement, Sky-Cleaver moved.

SLASH!

Randy’s head separated cleanly from his shoulders.

Blood erupted from his neck as his severed head struck the mud beside Riven’s feet, while the rest of his body remained motionless beneath the restraints that had prevented him from making even the slightest attempt to escape.

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

The scream came from behind Riven.

Batista, Flair and Matt had watched everything.

All three remained restrained across the ground after their earlier defeat, although the ropes were almost unnecessary now as terror consumed whatever thoughts they might have possessed about fighting back.

Riven rose.

He turned towards them.

"No! No, no, no! Boss!"

Flair writhed against his restraints as Riven began approaching, desperately attempting to drag himself backwards through the mud despite having almost no leverage. ℴℴ𝘮

"Please! Please, demon, spare me!"

Riven stopped beside him.

Flair’s breathing became frantic as he stared upwards, tears streaming down his face while the rain plastered his hair against his forehead.

"I don’t want to die," Flair pleaded, as his body trembled violently beneath Riven’s shadow. "Please.... I don’t want to fucking die."

Riven watched him struggle for several seconds.

Then he raised Sky-Cleaver almost casually.

"No.... Please."

Flair barely managed the words.

SLASH!

His head rolled across the muddy ground.

Blood poured from the severed neck as his body twitched beneath its restraints, while Riven watched the head travel several feet before coming to rest in a shallow pool of rainwater.

"DAMN YOU!"

Batista roared from nearby.

His face had gone deathly pale, yet unlike Flair, he refused to plead as Riven slowly turned towards him.

"Damn you, demon!" Batista shouted, as he strained against the ropes binding his arms and forced himself to meet those unnatural eyes. "You think I’m going to beg for my life like the rest?"

Riven began walking towards him.

Batista’s breathing quickened.

Fear was written across every inch of his face despite the defiance in his voice, although he continued speaking as Riven stopped directly before him.

"I’m not."

Batista lifted his chin.

"My name is Batista Van Cleef, and I am a proud son of House Van Cleef. I refuse to spend my last moments begging some fucking demon to spare my li—"

SLASH!

Batista’s sentence ended with his life.

His head flew from his shoulders before crashing into the mud, while another violent spray of blood erupted across Riven’s legs.

Riven looked down at the corpse.

"Your body reeks of fear just like the rest of them," Riven muttered, as he stepped past Batista’s severed head. "It doesn’t matter what your mouth says."

Matt was the only conscious member of the group left.

Jeff lay several meters away, completely unconscious from the beating he had suffered earlier, leaving Matt alone as Riven slowly approached him through the rain.

Matt didn’t struggle.

He had watched the rest of them die, and he knew what was coming.

So, by the time Riven reached him, something inside Matt seemed to have accepted death as inevitable.

"You look calm, so I’ll give you a choice..... Lightning or blade?"

Riven asked.

Matt stared upwards.

For several seconds, the question seemed so absurd that he almost looked ready to laugh.

His eyes eventually moved towards the electricity dancing across Riven’s fingers before returning to the blood-soaked edge of Sky-Cleaver.

"Blade."

Matt replied quietly, as resignation settled across his exhausted face.

Riven smiled.

"As you wish."

Sky-Cleaver descended.

SLASH!

The blade tore through Matt’s body and continued into the earth beneath him, splitting him apart as blood burst across the surrounding mud.

For several moments afterward, only the rain disturbed the silence.

Riven slowly pulled Sky-Cleaver free.

Blood ran along the ancient blade before dripping from its edge, joining the crimson water flowing across a battlefield that had stopped resembling anything remotely connected to an Academy competition.

Riven looked around.

His glowing eyes passed over the bodies surrounding him until they eventually reached Jeff.

The unconscious student remained motionless.

Riven stared at him briefly before his attention drifted elsewhere, seemingly finding nothing that interested him within the helpless body lying before him.

Then his head turned.

Far beyond the corpses, partially concealed behind a large boulder, someone was watching.

Mary had barely allowed herself to peek beyond the stone after witnessing what Riven had done to his own companions, yet the instant his face turned towards her hiding place, every muscle throughout her body locked.

Their eyes met.

Mary’s heart stopped.

Riven stared directly towards her from across the blood-soaked ground.

And slowly, a wretched smile spread across his face.