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.
Not shouted. Not screamed.
Whispered.
Like a promise. A purpose.
And Kael's breath hitched.
Because the slime wasn't angry.
It wasn't protecting him.
It was just hungry.
Yue's eyes widened in horror.
Eiden took a step back.
For the first time, something broke through that perfect smile—that arrogant calm that had never once cracked before.
Fear.
"…What… what is that thing?" he whispered.
Kael staggered upright.
His breath came ragged, but steady.
Focused. Controlled.
He had felt it—that shift. That click deep in his core.
This was it.
Not power. Not magic. Not technique.
Intent.
A will sharpened by pain.
Kael's thoughts were clear—cut like a blade.
In battle, it's not the one who strikes first who wins.
It's the one who still stands when everything's burned down around him.
So what if he didn't have noble blood?
So what if he wasn't trained like Eiden, born with magic from birth or name or heritage?
He had something else.
Something stronger.
Will.
He looked at the slime on his hand and whispered,
"Thanks, buddy."
"...Let's finish this."
The slime pulsed once—like a heartbeat—and then surged.
It crawled over Kael's arms, chest, legs, curling up his neck like liquid shadow, until it covered him whole.
His red mask, once chipped and demonic, turned a deep obsidian, veins of crimson light cracking across its surface like molten scars.
And then—from his back, four tendrils burst forth.
Slick, sinewy, and whispering with barely contained violence, they writhed like serpents in the air, lifting Kael off the ground.
He didn't move.
He just hovered, suspended by the writhing tendrils—a silhouette of dread, glowing faintly in the darkness.
Yue gasped, her voice barely a whisper.
"Kael…?"
But even she wasn't sure.
Eiden stepped back, his smile gone.
No more speeches. No more righteousness. Just a face pale with dread.
"What… are you?" he asked again.
No answer.
Only the pulsing of the black armor, the hiss of the tendrils, and the low, humming growl of Kael's katana—like a storm waiting to fall.
Aerik fell to his knees.
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to run.
But his body had locked itself. His heart was hammering too fast. His breath caught in his throat.
This wasn't the masked devil they feared.
This was worse.
A monster in black.
Hovering.
Silent.
Watching.
The forest itself seemed to pull back, the trees swaying away from the thing that had once been a man.
Slime dripped like tar. The tendrils twitched, sensing movement, tasting the fear.
Still, Kael said nothing.
The silence dragged on.
Heavy.
Unbearable.
A breath.
Then two.
Then—
The katana twitched.
And the monster moved.
Too fast.
Eiden raised his blade, but Kael was already there—one tendril slamming into his side, hurling him into a tree with a crack.
The trunk split down the middle.
Bark exploded.
Blood misted the air.
Eiden spat crimson, coughing as he staggered up, fear replacing his arrogance.
"You're just—just a cursed wretch!" he snarled, charging forward.
Steel clashed against steel with a deafening clang that echoed through the shadowed forest.
Eiden's sword moved with brutal precision, fueled by the raw power of his bloodline, every strike carrying the weight of a born warrior bred for dominance.
But Kael was no longer the weak prey he once was.
The slime coursing through him didn't just grant dark power—it amplified his very body.
His muscles swelled with newfound strength, each movement now heavy with brutal force.
Where before a single strike might have drained him, now his fists shattered stone and his kicks sent shockwaves through the earth.
His black slime tendrils writhed and pulsed behind him like living shadows, four long, serpentine limbs flicking and coiling with uncanny speed and purpose.
As Eiden pressed his assault, Kael lashed out, tendrils whipping around to slash at the headmaster's son with serrated edges that hissed through the air.
Eiden snarled, muscles bulging, as he caught a tendril with one hand, crushing it like a brittle branch.
"You think your little tricks will save you?" he spat, his eyes blazing with feral intensity.
"TitanBlood"
With a sudden roar, Eiden's body surged, veins darkening as the bloodline power awakened fully.
His sword strikes became faster, stronger, tearing arcs of crimson through the air.
"You should've run when you had the chance," Eiden said coldly.
"Whatever you've fused with… it won't save you."
Kael didn't speak.
The tendrils moved first.
They launched.
Eiden reacted instantly—steel flashed.
He danced between them like a phantom, slicing one aside, rolling under another.
A blast of Flame Lance shot from his left hand, exploding on Kael's mana shield.
Kael skidded back, tendrils sizzling but not destroyed. The shield cracked like spiderwebs.
Eiden didn't wait—he lunged, sword angled for Kael's throat.
Kael blocked with his katana—barely.
The force sent vibrations through his arms. Eiden's strikes weren't wild—they were precise, beautiful even.
Years of noble training honed to lethal precision.
Kael was on the defensive.
He moved awkwardly, parrying slower. His footwork wasn't refined.
Eiden pressed forward, slicing down, then spinning with an upward slash. Sparks danced as Kael's sword caught each blow—but barely.
Then—
Tendril sweep.
Kael's lower right tendril lashed out and cracked across Eiden's shin.
The noble grunted, balance broken for half a second.
That was enough.
Kael cast: Arcanum Vortex.
A maelstrom of arcane energy erupted, ripping bark from trees and flinging rocks skyward.
Eiden roared, blood dripping down his cheek as the vortex tore into him.
Eiden's eyes narrowed.
"You… bastard."
He retaliated with a shout—"Sealbind Chains!"
From the ground, spectral chains shot upward, wrapping around Kael's limbs. The tendrils shrieked, writhing against the magical bindings.
Kael was stuck.
Eiden charged—his blade ignited with glyphs.
The noble slashed across Kael's chest. Sparks.
Then again. Blood splattered.
Eiden laughed—arrogant again.
"You thought this parasite made you strong? It's just a crutch!"
Kael's voice came, muffled beneath the mask.
"No… it amplifies me."
The slime burst.