Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 545: Collateral Damage

Asher stayed silent for a moment as he attempted to determine whether there was anything unusual about his body; someone like him would notice even the slightest alteration, no matter how subtle, yet he found nothing. His organs and internal systems were perfectly intact, his breathing steady, his heart rate rhythmically precise and flawlessly controlled.

’It seems my word game about high resistance worked,’ he mused to himself as his eyes fluttered open with quiet certainty. The moment he concluded his inspection, he did not shatter the chains and cuffs; instead, he remained exactly where he was. Although he did not know his precise location, he assumed that someone was at least observing him and possibly the others as well.

While he could not confirm it with absolute certainty, Asher refused to operate under the assumption that the kidnappers were foolish enough to leave their captives unsupervised.

So for now, he acted using only his eyes, nose, ears, and refined martial instincts. ’It seems I’m in a cell of some kind,’ he thought to himself as his gaze fixed upon the metallic, reinforced steel bars that confined him. The floor beneath him was cold, exceptionally so, but it made no difference to someone of Asher’s rank and physical constitution. His own cage was dimly lit, to the point that an ordinary person would have to strain their vision just to perceive their surroundings with clarity.

The smell in the air was heavy and oppressive, so thick that Asher could almost taste its unpleasantness on his tongue, as though the stench itself had weight and texture.

Asher shifted his head to his left, and there was another cell; within it, a woman sat hunched over, crying silently, tears streaming down her cheeks as she suppressed every sound that threatened to escape her lips and throat. Asher observed her for a moment, and although he felt a measure of sadness and pity for her, he was not some edgy young man who had reincarnated only to transform into an emotionless machine devoid of empathy.

Yet, although he felt sadness and pity, it was not sufficient to compel him into action or cause him to behave irrationally based on fleeting emotion, and if anyone were to call him selfish for that, he would happily accept the accusation without hesitation.

His eyes shifted to his right, and there, a man sat in absolute silence, staring into the darkness as though he had already surrendered every fragment of hope. He did not speak, he did not cry, and he did not even turn his gaze to acknowledge Asher’s presence; the man simply sat as though he had lost everything and had nothing left to lose, resting in a hollow stillness that resembled peace despite the grim reality of his condition.

With Asher’s heightened senses, the odor emanating from both of them was overwhelming, and he could not help but wonder when either of them had last bathed, or when anyone in this place had last experienced the luxury of clean water. Asher withdrew his gaze from the man on his right, his purple eyes sweeping across the vast chamber in which they were confined.

Although Asher could partially see through the darkness due to his enhanced vision, he decided to cease straining his senses and instead activated his Omni Perception. It expanded outward to its full three-hundred-meter range, yet to Asher’s genuine shock, he could not perceive the end of the chamber he occupied. Asher sat in silence, momentarily stunned, fully aware that a three-hundred-meter enclosed space could comfortably contain approximately six hundred individuals if each were granted reasonable space, and if packed tightly together like slices of bread, it could accommodate well over a thousand.

Through the headcount Asher conducted alone, he could already register over four hundred individuals; of course, some cells were empty, yet the number remained staggering. Over four hundred people was an immense figure, and those were only the living captives within the range of his Omni Perception.

’Can I save four hundred people at once?’ Asher thought to himself calmly. During the Monster Invasion at the Rivelle Barony territory, which had been his first mission, he had saved more than that number, the total rising into the thousands, and he had done so by encasing every citizen within an Astra barrier and lifting them into the sky.

But that strategy would not be viable here. For one, it had only worked during his first mission because he had eliminated every airborne monster before executing that maneuver. Here, in this unknown location, he was ignorant of the enemy’s numbers and completely unaware of their abilities. Even if none of them possessed flight or ranged capabilities, it would be foolish optimism to assume they would not simply direct their attacks skyward.

Asher could not help but exhale quietly; this situation resembled a team-based mission more than a solo operation. Not only did he have to rescue them, but he also had to fight for his life while minimizing collateral casualties. In most confrontations, once a villain realized that a hero was attempting to prevent a battle from spreading into a populated area, the villain would deliberately target that very population to force errors and hesitation.

Nevertheless, Asher could only attempt his best within the constraints of reality. If it ultimately appeared that he could accomplish nothing due to the presence of these captives, then they definitely will become collateral damage, because he placed his own life upon a pedestal higher than theirs without apology.

’There is no way they kidnapped all of them from one region,’ Asher thought to himself, the sheer number far too excessive. ’It seems this region wasn’t their first operation,’ his thoughts continued to spiral with cold logic, ’better to put an end to it all,’ he concluded decisively.

Although four hundred might seem like a vast number, it was insignificant compared to the population of an entire territory.

The next moment, Asher heard a distinct tone from the side, sharp and calm, and his head snapped in that direction with immediate focus.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: I’m still at work, so I can’t type more than two Chapters at the moment. When I get back from work (9 pm), I will rest a bit, then type and release another 3 Chapters for Cleaver of Sin, making a total of 5 Chapters.

Then for Might as well be OP, it will also be released after my work when I type it, and you all will get 4 Chapters.

I’m officially on the edge and about to collapse. Hope y’all have a good day, only gifts can save me