They whipped around — only to see… nothing.
One soldier had vanished.
Silence.
Aerik clenched his fists, voice breaking with panic and rage.
"He's hunting us. He's hunting us all."
Chaos erupted — soldiers clutching each other, panic rippling through the ranks.
The greatest terror was the unknown.
Suddenly, a scream pierced the night.
They whirled around, only to see another soldier vanish into thin air.
"Oh no… we're going to die," whispered one. "He won't let us live."
Aerik snapped, grabbing Eiden's collar, eyes wild.
"What have you done?! You brought this upon us! We're all going to die!"
Eiden's gaze was calm, unwavering.
"If we die for humanity, it will be our greatest honor. Now, fight with me. I will show you the right path."
Aerik deadpanned, "Are you… you know, dumb?"
Eiden said nothing, drawing his sword.
"Devil, come out and fight with honor."
Another soldier vanished.
Silence fell.
Aerik stared at Eiden strangely, thoughts swirling:
Is our Headmaster's son really this foolish?
One by one, the soldiers vanished into the shadows, swallowed by the unknown terror.
At last, only Eiden and Aerik remained.
Eiden kept shouting words like honor and duty, his voice echoing hollow in the dark.
Aerik, numb and broken, had lost faith in this world.
Somewhere nearby, Kael panted heavily, eyes straining to pierce the darkness. He couldn't see, but Yue moved calmly beside him, her vision cutting through the night like a blade.
He silently cursed the black slime coiling around his hand.
It hasn't done much. Just consumed the them I slaughtered.
Kael glanced at the living shadow in his palm.
"Are you really useless?" he muttered.
The slime ignored him, pulsating quietly, indifferent.
Whatever. Let's finish this.
Suddenly, Eiden's voice pierced the silence.
"Prepare yourselves. He's coming."
Aerik's body tensed, hands glowing with spell energy.
And then—
From the dark, Kael stepped forward.
Eiden's voice cut through the silence again, sharp and accusing.
"How can you be so cowardly? So shameless?" he spat, his words dripping with scorn.
Aerik looked away, embarrassed and defeated.
Kael remained deadpan, unreadable.
Then, suddenly, Eiden's eyes gleamed with cruel realization.
"So... you really bear that mark, huh?"
Yue stiffened beside Kael, a cold dread crawling up her spine.
She didn't like this.
Yue's voice was sharp, urgent.
"Kael, retreat! Run, now!"
Kael blinked, confusion flashing across his face.
"Why? What—"
"hahahah.....HAHAHAHAHA"
But before he could finish, Eiden's cruel laughter shattered the silence like broken glass, dark and bitter as if a devil had dropped his innocent mask.
"....Godbreaker," he hissed.
"Now, you will die by my hand."
The world seemed to freeze.
Silence swallowed everything.
Kael's mind raced, a cold dread creeping in.
Godbreaker… that curse. But how? How does he know? Shock rooted him to the spot.
Before he could react, Eiden's foot slammed into Kael's gut with brutal force—far too powerful for a mere Rank 2 magician.
Kael gasped, pain tearing through him as darkness flickered at the edges of his vision.
Eiden advanced with chilling certainty, a cruel smirk playing on his lips.
"You don't have a specific sword style, do you? Must be self-taught," he sneered, raining down blows with ruthless precision.
Yue's voice cut through the chaos, panicked.
"Run! Run, Kael!"
Kael's head was spinning.
Each blow was thunder in his bones—sharp, humiliating, unrelenting.
What… is this power? he thought, stumbling back, the taste of blood filling his mouth.
Eiden didn't stop.
His strikes came with vicious precision, a dance of cruelty wrapped in a smile. He moved like someone who had done this a thousand times, with no fear—only the pleasure of dominance.
"You're such a disappointment," Eiden sneered, catching Kael by the collar and slamming a fist into his stomach again.
"I thought the Devil of Velmora would at least give me a challenge. I haven't even used a fraction of my bloodline power to crush a worm like you."
Kael hit the ground hard, vision blurring. His limbs felt like lead. His thoughts, scattered. His pride? Splintering.
Aerik, still standing at the edge, blinked in disbelief.
This… this is the Devil? This beaten wreck on the ground?
And then—he laughed.
Not a laugh of relief, but something worse.
Shameless.
"Come on, Eiden! Teach him a lesson! Show him what real strength looks like!" he jeered, as if kicking Kael lower might restore his own sense of safety.
Kael's fingers dug into the dirt.
He wanted to move. To fight back. But his body wouldn't obey.
Was I… really this weak?
The slime at his side quivered slightly, sensing his pain. Yue, watching from the shadows, whispered his name—once.
Quiet. Desperate.
But Kael didn't rise.
Eiden crouched over Kael, his breath warm and cruel as it fanned over the red mask.
"Why… can't I see your face?" he muttered, eyes narrowing. "This mask. Is it some kind of artifact? Hiding more than just your shame?"
His fingers reached for it, intent on tearing the mask away—exposing whatever lay beneath.
Kael couldn't move. His body screamed with pain, nerves flaring, chest heaving. He felt every heartbeat as thunder through his skull.
His limbs wouldn't respond. The world was soundless, save for Eiden's voice.
Yue watched, frozen her fists trembled.
I should have helped him sooner, she thought. Why did I hold back?
Regret hollowed her chest.
It's too late now.
Eiden's fingers hovered over Kael's mask, mocking, triumphant.
But then—he stopped.
A strange look flickered across his face.
"What...?"
He looked down.
Something was on his wrist.
A black ooze, sluggish and quiet—like thick oil—had wrapped around his arm, coiling like a snake that had always been there, just waiting to strike.
He recoiled violently, stumbling back. "What the hell—!?"
The slime responded.
It didn't speak.
It didn't hiss or roar.
It simply moved.
The black substance slid off Eiden's arm and back toward Kael's broken body, slick and soundless—like it belonged there.
Kael, half-conscious, blood running into his eyes, barely registered the shift in weight against his side.
But then—
He saw it.
The black slime was looking at him.
Not with eyes.
But with intent.
And Kael, through some flickering thread that had formed between them—something beyond words or reason—felt it.
A thought.
Sharp. Pure. Ancient.
K I L L.