Answer: I would contend that the right answer is actually the A) The author's use of verbal irony to illicit a feeling of dread.
Explanation: Just to elaborate a little on the answer, it can be added that the author is not comparing two unrelated things, so he is not using a simile. The author is personifying death, that is, attributing it human qualities. He says that "Death went his way without a word," without announcing its presence, even though he and his readers know that death neither talks nor walks. He continues by noticing that he has already killed a thousand people. This mocking or sarcastic tone is called irony, and, in this excerpt, it has been used to suggest a feeling of dread and intimidation.
