Marked By blood

The bandit's corpse lay still, blood pooling into the dirt.

Lee Byung Hun stood over it, his breath uneven, his hands still gripping the sword tightly. He had expected more—a feeling of relief, or maybe even regret.

But there was only coldness.

His first kill.

It felt too easy.

The forgotten god's voice echoed in his mind. "Death is not something to dwell on. It is a necessity in your path."

Byung Hun exhaled sharply and wiped his blade clean on the dead man's tattered cloak. He forced himself to move. He needed to leave before more bandits arrived.

But as he turned, a sound stopped him.

Rustling.

Someone else was here.

His body tensed. He spun, raising his sword—

A second bandit burst from the trees, wide-eyed with shock. He was younger than the first, barely a man, with wild brown hair and a dagger clutched in trembling hands. His eyes flickered between the corpse on the ground and Byung Hun's bloodstained sword.

"You… You killed Jangsu," the bandit stammered. His voice cracked, his breathing frantic.

Byung Hun didn't move. He studied the boy—his shaking hands, his uneven stance.

He was scared.

But fear makes people dangerous.

The bandit lunged. It was sloppy, desperate.

Byung Hun sidestepped effortlessly. His sword shot out, the flat of the blade smashing into the boy's wrist. The dagger flew from his grip.

Before he could react, Byung Hun grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into a tree.

The bandit gasped, eyes wide with terror. "W-Wait—"

Byung Hun pressed his sword against his throat. "Who else is out here?"

"N-No one!" the bandit stuttered. "It was just me and Jangsu! Please, I—"

Byung Hun's grip tightened. He could feel the boy's pulse hammering beneath the blade. He should kill him. Leaving him alive was a risk.

But something held him back.

The boy was weak. He had no killer instinct, no true will to fight. He was just another scavenger, another desperate soul trying to survive.

Byung Hun let out a slow breath. Then, in one swift motion, he knocked the boy unconscious with the hilt of his sword.

The bandit slumped to the ground.

"You let him live?" the forgotten god asked, almost amused.

"I don't kill the weak," Byung Hun muttered.

"Then you will learn that the weak come back to bite you."

Byung Hun ignored the warning. He turned away, sheathing his sword.

The first man he had killed… that was necessary. But this? This wasn't a war. Not yet.

He had bigger battles ahead.

And he would be ready