The Strongest With Nothing Left

Li exhaled sharply, forcing the thoughts away. It's nothing. Stop thinking about it. He laid down on his bed, closing his empty eyes, hoping sleep would numb his mind again like it always did. But tonight… it didn't. The moment he closed his eyes, the past came rushing in.

Li's dreams dragged him back to a moment he had tried to forget but it always found him. It always did.

The sky was painted in a thick, dark crimson as smoke filled the air. The scent of burnt wood and flesh clung to his nose, suffocating him. His feet moved on their own, faster and faster, his heart slamming against his chest as dread flooded his veins. 

Please… let me make it in time.

He sprinted toward his village, his katana already drawn. The ground was littered with the corpses of his people men, women… children. Their faces were frozen in terror. Some were mutilated beyond recognition. His eyes desperately searched for his home. It was there, still standing, but flames were already devouring it. He forced his legs to move faster, ignoring the agonizing burn in his lungs.

He burst through the door. "MOTHER! FATHER! LITTLE SIS!" Silence.

His stomach twisted. He stumbled deeper inside, his throat dry, his heart screaming for an answer. Then… he found them. His father's lifeless body slumped near the entrance, his sword still clutched in his hand. His mother was collapsed beside him, her body shielding his little sister both unmoving. Their eyes were hollow. 

"No… no, no, no… NO!" Li dropped his katana and rushed to them, his trembling hands grabbing his mother's shoulder. "Wake up! Please, wake up! I'm here! I-I came back!" His voice cracked. His vision blurred. But his mother didn't move. His father didn't speak. His sister didn't open her eyes. They were gone. And he was too late.

His breathing grew erratic. His mind refused to accept it. "I-I can still save you… I just need a healer… I-I can—" A hand. Cold. Lifeless. It was his sister's. He gripped it tightly, his entire body shaking. "S-Stop playing around… c-come on… I'm home now. You can stop hiding… please…" 

But her hand didn't squeeze back. His head lowered. His teeth clenched so hard his gums bled. Then, from the depth of his stomach a scream tore out of him. Agonizing. Broken. Filled with grief. His wails echoed through the burning village, but no one was left alive to hear it.

He stayed there, clutching his family's bodies until the flames consumed his home. His mind fractured that day. I should have been here… I should've protected them… I should've died with them… 

But instead — he lived.

And from that day forward, Li swore one thing: I will never get close to anyone again. Because caring for someone only brought suffering. And he couldn't take it anymore. 

The scene shifted. The village was gone — replaced by cold, suffocating stone walls. The air was thick with tension, the only sound being the steady footsteps of six adventurers treading carefully through the dark dungeon.

Li walked ahead, his katana gripped tightly, his party behind him. They were confident. Too confident. After all, they were one of the strongest parties in the guild. Nothing could stop them. Or so they thought. 

"Keep your guard up," Li muttered, his voice calm yet firm. "This floor's different. Something feels… wrong." His party leader, a tall and proud man named Kael, scoffed. "Come on, Li. We've been through worse. This dungeon's nothing." Li didn't respond. He didn't like this. His instincts screamed at him to leave. But he couldn't his friends were here. His family was here.

"Relax, buddy," Kael clapped him on the shoulder. "After this job, drinks are on me. Ain't that right, boys?" The group laughed. Even Li found himself smiling faintly. Maybe he was overthinking it. But then… it happened. The ground beneath them trembled. The air turned heavy, suffocating. And from the shadows it emerged.

A grotesque, towering creature with skin made of writhing black flesh. Its face if it could be called that was a mess of mouths, each one twisted in a sick, eternal scream. Its limbs were long, too long, ending in razor-sharp claws. And its eyes it didn't have any. Only pits of endless darkness. The monster let out a shriek that shook the walls. Everyone froze.

"...What the hell is that?" Arlen, the mage, whispered. "...A Demon," Li muttered, his grip on his katana tightening. "Formation! NOW!" But they were too slow. The creature lunged. Its claw slashed through Arlen splitting him in two before he could even scream. Blood sprayed onto Li's face. His mind froze.

"ARLEN!" Lucia shrieked. "RUN!" Kael roared. The beast moved like lightning. Its claw impaled Serin, the rogue, through the chest hoisting him up like a doll before ripping him in half. Blood poured like rain. "SERIN!" "NO! I-I CAN HEAL HIM!" Lucia sobbed, stumbling toward Serin's corpse. 

The beast turned to her. "NO!" Li dashed, slashing his katana to intercept but the creature predicted him. A claw slammed him into a wall. Bones cracked. Blood burst from his mouth. "L-Lucia… r-run…" Li gasped. Lucia turned but the beast was already upon her. Its massive jaws clamped down. She was gone in one bite. Blood everywhere. 

"NOOOOO!" "LI!" Kael yanked him up. "WE HAVE TO MOVE!" A claw pierced Kael's chest. His body stiffened, eyes wide. Blood gurgled from his mouth. "…Run…" NO! KAEL!" Li caught him as he collapsed, lifeless. "STAY WITH ME! PLEASE!" But Kael was already cold. His light… gone. Li's mind shattered. "WHY?!"

The creature loomed but it didn't kill him. It just… left. It spared him. Because it knew. Leaving him alive broken, alone was a fate worse than death. Li knelt in the blood of his friends. His throat raw from screaming. His body cold. His soul shattered. 

As Li knelt in the pool of his friend's blood, his body trembling, a faint voice called from behind him.

"...Li…?" His body froze. That voice. His heart sank as he slowly turned around. There she was — his childhood friend. The most important person in his life. She was barely standing, clutching a wound in her stomach, blood pouring out endlessly. But her eyes… they were still gentle, still filled with warmth. 

"No… no no no no…" Li stumbled toward her, his voice cracking. "I'll get you out of here! I-I can still—" 

"Li…" she interrupted, her voice soft. She smiled, despite the immense pain. "It's… okay." "NO IT'S NOT!" Li screamed, tears finally bursting out. "I PROMISED I'D PROTECT YOU! I PROMISED I'D KEEP YOU SAFE! I— I—" She reached out, her trembling hand brushing against his cheek. "You did protect me… You always did."

"THEN WHY— WHY ARE YOU—" "Listen to me, Li." Her voice was gentle, yet firm. "You have to keep going. Even if it hurts. Even if it feels like you have nothing left." Her smile quivered. "Because… one day… you'll find something worth protecting again." Li shook his head furiously, clutching her hand. "No. No, I can't… I can't go through this again… please don't leave me too… please…"

Her smile widened, despite the tears streaming down her face. "Live, Li. Please… live." And then, her hand fell. Her eyes slowly lost their shine. Her body went still. "No… NOOOO!!" Li's scream echoed in the void a scream of utter agony and despair as his entire world shattered once again.

Li's eyes snapped open, his breath steady as if nothing had happened. His expression remained cold, his body unmoving. He stared at the ceiling, his mind still lingering in that nightmare. But it wasn't a nightmare. It was a memory. One that played every night like a curse. The screams, the blood, the sight of his childhood friend's lifeless body it haunted him like a never-ending loop.

But by now, it no longer affected him. He slowly sat up, his face blank as ever. No tears. No grief. No pain. Just emptiness. This was his reality. It had always been. "Tch… again, huh?" He muttered under his breath, his voice devoid of any care. "Guess it's morning…" 

Without wasting another second, he stood up and went through his daily routine just like always. It was as if the dream never happened. Eat. Take a quest. Complete it. Go home. Sleep. Repeat. Like always. Like it had always been. 

Li stepped into the forest a different one this time. This forest was notorious for being the dwelling place of high-ranked monsters, particularly S-rank creatures that even large adventuring parties dared not approach. But Li didn't care. He walked in, his katana loosely hanging by his waist. No hesitation. No fear. Just another job. 

Hours passed and five colossal, grotesque beasts lay dead around him. Their corpses still fresh, their blood dripping from his blade. He hadn't even broken a sweat. One swipe. One kill. That's all it took. "…Disappointing." He muttered, his voice as empty as ever. He stared at his blood-stained blade, feeling nothing. Not satisfaction. Not pride. Just… nothing.

Without sparing another glance at the corpses, he cut out their cores, casually storing them in his bag. Then, without a single glance back, he began his trek back to the guild. 

As he entered the guild hall, the bustling noise immediately died down the moment people caught sight of him. Their eyes first landed on the bag slung over his shoulder dripping with blood. Then, they looked at his cold, dead eyes. "…Y-You're back early," one of the adventurers stammered. "Did you not take a quest today?" 

Li didn't respond. He walked straight to the receptionist's desk. The receptionist blinked in surprise. "Ah… Li, did you–" Without a word, Li dropped the five monster cores onto the counter. The sound of heavy thuds echoed across the hall. The receptionist's eyes widened in disbelief. "…W-What are these?"

"S-rank monster cores," Li stated flatly. "Five of them." Silence. The entire guild froze. 

"…W-What?" The receptionist's voice cracked. She quickly reached for one of the cores, inspecting it carefully. The sheer density and magical energy contained within it confirmed its authenticity. "…T-These really are S-rank monster cores…!" Gasps erupted throughout the guild. Murmurs began to spread like wildfire. 

"Five of them…?""No way… even an entire elite party couldn't handle two of those, let alone five…""He did it alone?""He's a monster…"

The receptionist swallowed hard, trying to maintain her composure. "L-Li… did you… kill them all by yourself?" "…Yes." The room fell into stunned silence once again. "…Did you encounter any difficulty?" she asked cautiously. "No." His response was as cold as his gaze. "Payment."

The receptionist hastily counted the reward money, her hands slightly trembling. The sheer magnitude of what he did was unfathomable. Even the guild's most powerful party would have been obliterated by one S-rank monster yet he killed five without a scratch. 

As she handed over the reward, she couldn't help but ask. "…Why did you do it?" Li paused. "…Bored." And with that, he turned and left as if killing five S-rank monsters was nothing more than an errand. The guild remained silent long after he disappeared from sight. "…He's not human," one adventurer finally muttered. "No… he's a walking calamity," another replied.

But none of it mattered to Li. He was simply filling his void one meaningless task after another.