Rune and his Instant Kill by Nick Venom (the reading strategies book .TXT) 📖

The Seventh Hero, Mido, led himself and four other members through the dangerous terrain known as Demon Territory to reach the Demon King and rid the world of him. The task of killing the Demon King was a daunting one that wounded the members involved and forced them to undergo many changes----physical and mental ones. 

He led the Hero Party towards the Demon King, spending two days and two nights to kill the fierce beast. After sticking the Demon King’s head on a spike and raising it for all of demonkind and humankind could see, Mido and the others returned into the castle where they were faced with a choice.

“You have slain the 14th Demon King and have taken over his castle! You now get to decide what happens to demonkind. Choose either option!” A voice blared from in front of them. The voice was coming from a small orb that was positioned in the middle of the Demon King’s chambers. 

“What is that? Is it magic? Tech?” Avom questioned. A large man with lime-green hair stood behind Mido, said as he stared at the orb. “Is it demon tech?”

“Demons don’t use tech, they’re not humans.” Mido, a skinner but muscular man, stated. “It has to be some kind of forgotten demon magic.”

“What are our choices?” Rea, the only non-human member of the party, asked. She ignored Avom and Mido. 

The orb spoke again. “Purge the world of demons and prevent the species from ever returning or enslave all demons under one person’s control.”

“Those aren’t good options.” Rune, a scrawny black-haired teen, spoke up. “Let’s go with the first one. The demons will be destroyed forever and we can live our normal lives.”

The others shook their heads, not wanting to get rid of the demon race. “How about,” Vul, the shield of the party, started, “we go with the second option. It makes the most sense.”

The others nodded their heads. “Let’s go with that-” Avon started, grinning.

“It is our job as the Hero Party to destroy the demons and bring about peace! We have a good chance to get rid of our enemies and you all want to let them live? They’ll attack us soon!”

Mido shook his head. “You don’t get it Rune. If we control them, we can make sure they never rise again. Plus,” He smiled. “We get to do whatever we want to them.”

Rune stared at Mido with a face full of disgust. “This cannot happen. I need to report this to the Kingdom. We shouldn’t be enslaving the demons like they were going to do. Let’s-” Rune felt something hit him, looking down at his chest. An arrow had cleanly gone through his heart, leaving a hole in him. Where… Where did this arrow come from? Where did…?

He struggled to turn around to face his party, seeing them with smiles on their faces. They were happy to see Rune struggling to live. 

Mido shook his head as he approached Rune, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Man, you were a pain. The only reason why we kept you along was that you could heal us. Otherwise, you were annoying and a pain in the backside. “ He pushed Rune backward, laughing as he hit the ground. His blood began gushing out faster than he could stop it. 

“W-Why?” He croaked, staring up at them.

The others laughed at his expense as Mido crept closer to Rune. “Because we have our desires. Avom wants women, Rea wants money, Vul wants knowledge, and I… I need strength. Guess what?” Rune didn’t have the strength to respond, glaring at his ex-leader. “I need sparring partners, don’t I. Plus, some of my skills are sort of deadly aren’t they?” He shot Rune a toothy grin. “Slaves with high pain tolerance are more than enough to fit the criteria. However, that’s only if we enslave them, which you don’t seem to agree with. So… time for you to go.”

Rune’s eyes widened as Mido brandished his sword, Crimson Hell, and ram it through his chest, tearing downward. His body was nearly eviscerated by the strike. Mido grinned as he watched Rune’s eyes collapse on themselves - signaling his death. 

“Dump him in the back. No grave.” He ordered. Avom nodded, quickly grabbing Rune’s body and making his way outside. He chucked Rune out of the castle and watched with glee as it rolled down a small hill before coming to a stop. Rune laid headfirst into the dirt, his back facing the sky. 

“Damn Rune, you could’ve become somebody if you had kept your mouth shut. Now you’ll die a dog’s death. Don’t worry about your reputation, though. We’ll make sure to spread good rumors about you dying to the Demon King.” Avom faked as if he was crying, “He died a true hero,” before erupting in laughter. “What a loser.” He turned around and headed inside, locking the door behind him. The door slammed loudly.

“Do you want to live?” A being asked Rune. Rune wasn’t completely dead, his soul attached to his corpse, but not for long. “I can help you, but I need one thing from you.”

Rune didn’t mutter anything, not having enough strength to do so. 

The being, a figure masked in a black cloak, crouched down. He picked Rune’s head up. “Give me a sign and I’ll help you.”

Rune’s arm shifted slightly after a few seconds of silence, which was enough for the figure to nod his head. “You won’t be able to do anything right now. I’ll send you away from the castle and you can figure out how to deal with your ex-party members. All I need for you, in exchange, is the soul of every victim you take. And I want yours. Do you agree?”

Rune’s head shifted slightly. The figure dropped Rune’s head, taking a few steps backward. “From this day on, you will be embedded with the most dangerous skill there is. Instant Kill. Kill as many people as you can. I’ll be waiting for you. Goodbye.”

And just like that, Rune’s corpse was teleported off the castle’s ground with his ex-party oblivious to his disappearance. They paid more attention to dividing their new slaves. 

***

Rune awoke a month later. He was dressed in a black cloak that covered him from head to toe. He was in the Slums of the capital of the Kingdom, the place he used to call his home. How did I get here? He asked himself. I was…. I was at Death’s door in Demon Territory, not here in the capital. He wandered around aimlessly, contemplating returning to the Royal Family. However, he decided against it due to Mido and the others returning to the capital and spreading the news that he was dead. He knew that the Royal Family would side with Mido since he was a hero and Rune was a healer. 

Instead, he decided to stay in the Slums for the time being. With his sights on the Hero Party, he decided to avenge himself. His party betrayed him for their worldly desires at the cost of a future war and his life. He wasn’t okay with that.

I need to kill them, but how? I can’t kill Mido or the others with simple healing skills? Even my strongest magic is just a healing skill. I have no offensive skills strong enough to kill them. Wait… if I can lure them out… Women. Avom is in love with women. An idea that Rune didn’t enjoy was quickly born. Using a slave woman, he would lure Avom out and attack him with his guard lowered. If he didn’t sense anything, Rune would be able to kill him with ease. 

Rune headed to a slave shop hiding in the Slums, one of the places he despised the most. However, he couldn’t fight Mido and the others head-on. He had to use cowardly tactics.

“Why hello! What type of slave would you like to buy today?” The owner, a chubby black-haired man, asked. 

“A strong one,” Rune responded in a deep voice. He didn’t want his identity to be revealed, making sure the hood of the cloak covered as much of his face as it could.

The owner smiled before walking into a back area and coming out with four slaves. Two males and two females. None of them were human. One demon, one elf, and two demi-humans. 

Rune was familiar with Avom’s interest in demi-humans, especially cat ones. If he could get his hands on a cat demi-human then he’ll have an easy way in. 

“I’ll take the cat one,” Rune said. 

“Uh…” The owner awkwardly chuckled. “I shouldn’t have brought that one out. I’m sorry, sir, but that slave is sick. She could only be healed by Holy Magic which costs two gold coins to use.” He explained.

“I said I’ll take that one,” Rune repeated. The owner shrugged his shoulders before charging him for the girl. Once the transaction was over, using up what savings Rune had on him, he left the building with Lyla in tow. The owner had explained that Lyla, which was her name, was a good fighter with extremely good combat skills. However, her sickness has restricted her from using her skills, rendering her useless. If Rune wanted her for combat, she needed to be healed.

“If she is a good fighter and if I can heal her then we can make a great team to fulfill my revenge. Maybe I could have her help me kill Avom then move onward and kill the others. Instead of a pawn, I just snatched a knight. Rune thought. 

“M-Master.” Lyla barely managed to mutter before going into a coughing fit. 

Rune shook his head as he led her to a nearby abandoned house. He sat her on the only chair in the rotting house. He quickly activated his Holy Magic skill on her, watching as her coughing fit miraculously disappeared. Lyla looked up at Rune, tears at the corner of her eyes.

“You can use Holy Magic, master?” She asked.

“Call me Rune, not master. It… hurts me more.” Rune remarked. 

Lyla nodded. She jumped off the chair, kneeling in front of Rune. Rune took a step back, surprised. “W-What… What are you doing?”

“I pledge my undying loyalty to you, my master.” She said, lowering her head. 

“Why are you doing this?’

“You purchased me even though I was sickly and even cast Holy Magic on me. Holy Magic is the rarest skill there is and only one percent can use it. It takes a lot of mana and can kill casters if used incorrectly. Thank you for healing me even though you knew this.”

Rune took another step back before taking a step forward. I never thought about that. I could’ve died if something went wrong.  

“Well… Lyla, I’ll need your help soon. Have you ever heard of Avom?”

Lyla tilted her head. “He’s part of the Hero party? Why?”

“Because I’m going to kill him.”

TBC…

“What are we doing here?” Lyla asked, dressed in her new clothes of black wool pants, black boots, and a blazer made out of metal and cloth with a tee shirt under it. It was the basic