Pain.
That was the only thing left in Kael's mind as he parried yet another strike.
Eiden was toying with him—swordplay crisp, posture relaxed, eyes calm.
As if Kael were nothing more than an exercise.
Kael's body screamed with every movement.
He'd been burning mana since sunrise, hunting nonstop.
His reserves were low. His muscles on fire.
And now this bastard appeared out of nowhere.
Kael clenched his teeth, summoned what little mana he could, and cast Amplification—just enough to push Eiden back.
He immediately followed up with four Arcanum Vortexes, flinging them like spears of blue flame.
Eiden barely reacted.
Two were cut down with a single swing.
Two more fizzled against a casual shield.
He looked forward—only to find empty space.
Kael had vanished.
Hollowrush.
From behind, Kael's crimson blade came screaming toward Eiden's neck.
But Eiden didn't flinch.
He turned his sword behind him mid-swing, parrying blindly.
Steel met steel with a violent clang.
Kael skidded back, eyes wide.
Eiden exhaled, voice flat.
"Little tricks won't work.
Show me something good, Devil."
Kael growled and cast Amplification again.
No holding back this time.
He launched himself high, and without delay, fired tenArcanum Vortexes in a wide arc—his head spinning from the strain.
Eiden's eyes narrowed.
He moved swiftly to dodge, leaping between the swirling projectiles.
From the side, Aerik joined in, casting violent blood magic spells toward the Devil.
Kael didn't even glance his way.
He used Hollowrush once more—but didn't charge Aerik.
He vanished and appeared near Eiden again, who was still dodging the barrage of mana spheres.
Aerik froze.
He realized the Devil hadn't even considered him a threat.
Not once.
"He didn't even look at me…"
Humiliated, Aerik launched another round of blood spells.
Kael didn't flinch.
In a blink, his blade cut through Eiden's guard—landing a clean slash across his shoulder.
A rare hit.
Blood sprayed.
And then—
Boom.
A golden light exploded from the wound, erupting like divine flame.
Kael had no time to react.
A foot slammed into his ribs with the force of a collapsing wall.
Crack.
Kael flew backward, crashing through a tree, gasping.
His body screamed in agony.
One rib.
Maybe two.
Maybe more.
He looked up.
Eiden stood in the clearing, his body glowing.
Golden tattoos—no, runes —spiraled along his skin, pulsing with raw power.
His eyes shimmered with light.
"What... the hell is that?" Kael croaked.
From behind, Yue's voice rose in alarm.
"It's a bloodline ability!"
Kael's heart dropped.
Shit.
He reached for mana—tried to conjure another ArcanumVortex— but his core coughed back nothing.
Empty.
Bone dry.
No Rank 2 spells.
For the first time, Kael tasted the real weight of that word.
Doomed.
Eiden stepped forward, golden runes still glowing across his skin.
His voice was light, amused.
"So this is the Devil? You're weaker than I expected."
Kael didn't rise to it.
He was done wasting strength on pride.
Behind them, Aerik approached, his expression complicated—half awe, half shame.
He had feared the Devil.
Resented him.
Now, standing beside Eiden, he saw it all differently.
Kael was faltering.
Drenched in blood.
Barely standing.
And Eiden?
He wasn't even sweating.
Kael suddenly lunged, pouring everything into Amplification.
His blade blurred in a last, desperate arc toward Eiden's ribs.
Eiden didn't flinch.
He stepped in.
Steel clashed.
The impact rattled Kael's arms.
Yue cursed from the treeline.
"His bloodline—he's boosting his physical stats."
The worst-case scenario.
Kael's Amplification — a simple Rank 1 spell—was nothing compared to the monster Eiden had become.
He couldn't cast anything stronger.
Eiden moved with precision.
Power.
Purpose.
Every swing was measured.
Every parry flawless.
He wasn't just strong—he was trained.
Disciplined.
A duelist born and bred.
Kael, by comparison, looked feral.
Each strike fueled by instinct, not technique.
Brutal. Raw.
Effective—until now.
"You don't have a sword style, do you?"Eiden said, parrying Kael again with ease.
"Just rage and luck."
But Kael didn't answer.
He couldn't.
His whole body screamed, but he kept swinging.
Because if he stopped—
He died.
He ignored the pain.
Ignored the fear coiling in his gut like smoke.
He pushed.
He fought.
And then—
Mistake.
He didn't see Aerik moving.
Didn't sense the spell until it was too late.
Blood surged through the air.
Chains exploded from the ground—thick, red, writhing—and wrapped around Kael like vipers.
His limbs locked.
His sword halted mid-swing.
"Damn it—!"
Yue screamed from the shadows, panic sharp in her voice.
Eiden laughed.
"Well, well," he said, stepping closer.
"Not completely useless after all."
Aerik stood still, panting, his spell holding fast.
He didn't speak.
Didn't need to.
The truth was written all over his face.
Eiden was the stronger one.
So he smiled and said nothing.
Kael was barely breathing.
His chest rose in short, ragged gasps, ribs cracked, blood dripping from his mouth.
The blood chains coiled tighter with every second, leeching away the last dregs of strength he didn't have.
And still… he refused to scream.
Across the clearing, Yue was shaking—eyes wide, face pale, muttering prayers that no god would hear.
Her fists clenched at her sides, lips trembling.
She was trying not to cry.
Trying to be strong.
Kael gave her a faint smile.
"Don't. ...It's okay."
But it wasn't.
His mana pool was dry.
Even Amplification was beyond him now.
This was checkmate.
The end.
Footsteps crunched through the snow.
Eiden.
The golden runes across his skin glowed brighter with each step.
His blade gleamed in the moonlight, his eyes filled with cold certainty.
"Let's end this," he said calmly, lifting a hand.
Beside him, Aerik nodded—smiling.
Kael saw it.
That smug look.
That shared victory.
And then the spell began.
A golden sphere formed in Eiden's palm, swirling with immense force.
The glow turned the trees to silhouettes, casting everything in holy shadow.
It was beautiful.
Deadly.
Final.
Kael watched it.
And… smiled.
Just slightly.
He couldn't move.
Couldn't cast.
Couldn't fight.
But in that moment—he was strangely calm.
His heart slowed.
He exhaled.
"….So this is it,"he whispered.
In his fading mind, fragments flickered—Selene's laughter.
Yue's nagging voice.
The mountain wind.
The ruined chapel.
Memories.
Small.
Fleeting.
But warm.
"I made it farther than I should've…"
He smiled.
"Guess that's enough… for someone like me."
He turned his head slightly, eyes meeting Yue's.
"Don't blame yourself."
And then he closed his eyes.
Ready.
The golden sphere burst from Eiden's hand—blinding, roaring forward like a miniature sun.
Time slowed.
Yue screamed.
Aerik grinned.
Kael did not flinch.
Then—
Something moved.
A twitch.
From inside Kael's robe.
Right pocket.
A pulsing sound.
Soft.
Wet.
Hungry.
And then—
Black tendrils shot out.
Faster than light.
Faster than thought.
The golden sphere struck.
But something else had awakened.