"This is not good..." I said, noticing my flesh darkening and giving off the unmistakable sll of burning.
I clenched my teeth as the ground beneath began to sink into magma.
"Don’t lose your calm, Kai. Don’t lose it."
I murmured to myself, my eyes turning cold as I ignored the clear signs of self-destruction piling up.
"First, let’s redirect the energy."
I closed my eyes, my focus fully directed toward understanding the flow of energy and controlling it.
Soon, I rembered one of my mutations.
"My hands and feet are more suitable for containing heat and energy."
My hands and feet were black like magma and had handled more heat than the rest of my body combined from the very beginning—making them the best focal point.
With that in mind, the energy began to flow from the rest of my body to my chest, and from my chest toward my arms.
"ARGH!" I held back a scream of pain as the sudden concentration of energy in my chest burned intensely.
However, I could still heal, and so I did.
Heal and Destroy.
My body lived in a cycle of constant annihilation and reconstruction, yet even so, I continued.
Once I had begun, I could not stop, or I would die.
I exhaled fire from my mouth as my arms shone brighter and brighter.
Two stars ford in the shape of spheres in the palms of my hands.
"Defense! Defense!! Defense!!!" the Rat King shouted urgently.
The giant white rats quickly lined up as a living shield. Behind them, Ice and Blood created thick barriers while the rest of the royal guard ford up, protecting the king even at the cost of their lives.
"This is useless," I said, imrsed in radiance.
Imdiately, I thrust my hands forward, connecting the two blazing stars at the center of my palms.
"Die!"
BOOOOOOM
A beam of stellar fire surged forward, piercing everything in its path without hesitation or resistance.
The shields of ice and blood could not endure for more than a few monts before the giant rats were blown apart into countless smaller rats.
The Rat King watched in horror as the beam of solar light penetrated his entire formation and soon struck the giant rat where he was hiding.
BOOOOOOM
Tremors continued to ripple across the land, furious shockwaves emanating throughout the area.
The beam in my hands was far too powerful to be perfectly controlled, causing it to slide across the ground, lting everything in its path.
Several hills around were split in two, while the rest of their bodies were marked with trails of lava like scars.
Screams echoed throughout Shattered Sky.
[ You have killed the Hidden Mist Demon ]
[ You have killed the Steel Wing Demon ]
[ You have killed the Black Sword Demon ]
[ ... ]
[ Fire Resistance 4 → 5 ]
Death ssages kept reaching my ears as, by accident, more and more monsters died.
"Damn it! This isn’t enough." I clenched my teeth once more as my level rose like crazy.
More and more energy exploded inside .
BOOOOM
Imdiately, I blasted the ground beneath and rose into the sky, my hands once again concentrating the power of the stars.
The Rat King looked up in fear, trying to quickly organize his rats into more giants.
There were still millions of them spread throughout Shattered Sky.
The Rat King clenched his teeth, desperately trying to gather them as he attempted to defend himself and flee.
"As if I’d let you," I said, my body imrsed in radiance, my figure already indistinguishable.
My fists prepared to fire like a machine gun.
"Squeak?" He said, closing one eye.
BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM
Each strike was like a real cot falling, destroying the land and killing rats—and any other unfortunate beings—by the thousands.
[ You have killed... ]
[ You have killed... ]
[ You have killed... ]
[ You have killed... ]
[ ... ]
[ Fire Resistance 5 → 6 ]
More and more of them died. Slowly, my power began to run out, causing my figure to return to normal.
The world fell into complete darkness, while only the glow of the remaining heat on the land provided minimal illumination.
At last, I descended to the ground once more.
The scene around was completely different from when I had arrived.
My feet no longer stepped on earth, but on pure lava. The places where it had cooled beca rocky spirals.
And in the middle of one of the many red craters ford by the heat, thousands of rats lay dead, forming a barrier to protect what was in their midst.
"Co out already. Your energy is gone, and mine is still at its peak. We both know this is your end."
"I-I-I’m c-coming..." the Rat King stamred.
A small disturbance appeared among the rats’ bodies, and from there the king erged.
"Shattered Sky isn’t a very fitting na anymore, is it?" I said, looking at the forest of fire and magma. "Especially since the sky is barely visible now."
"Spare ..." the Rat King pleaded. "I’m just a lonely rat who did everything he could to survive in this poisonous land."
"You don’t look lonely," I said, looking at the many dead and alive rats around us.
"Who? Them?" the king laughed. "They’re just an extension of what I am—just with sothing extra. They’re not companions; they’re extensions of , or even possessions. Though I do have a special fondness for the royal guard."
I looked deeply at the rats around . I was certain—each of them was an individual living being, not a simple summon.
If I killed the king, they would continue to live and spread.
"I see..." I murmured. "I imagine this is a myriadic mutation. You had no partners and learned to reproduce asexually. They’re all your children."
I sighed, looking at the surroundings once more.
"I’ll give you a choice," I said mysteriously. "Order all your children to gather so that I may kill them, and then I’ll let you leave alive."
"I can leave alive? As long as I hand over my children? Right away!"
His eyes lit up with joy as he imdiately ordered the survivors to approach .
In just a few monts, they appeared before , erging from among the others’ bodies.
A few white rats ca along with the familiar royal guard.
Lightning, Ice, Fire, Shadow, Blood, and Love looked up at with lingering doubt.
"Here they are! These are all that’s left. See you later!"
He waved, turning his back on them and leaving them to die without the slightest remorse.
I looked at the rats below , their eyes fixed on the king as he walked away.
Love stepped forward, trying to follow him and quickly placing herself at his side.
"Love, you damn thing!"
SQUEAK
He struck her imdiately, sending her flying away.
"I’m going to die because of you—go back there and die for your father!"
SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK
Love kept trying to approach, only to be struck away again and again.
SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK
The rat king’s eyes were becoming increasingly bloodshot as his blows were growing heavier and heavier.
"Stop! Coming! Back!!!" He scread.
"squeak..." At last, she stopped getting up, too injured to follow him.
HUFF HUFF HUFF
The Rat King panted heavily, his eyes turning back to as I continued to observe without any emotion.
"Well, I’m leaving!" he said once more, turning his back, his fat, heavy body making him walk slowly.
The other rats watched him go as my eyes grew emptier and emptier.
As he disappeared over the horizon, their expressions turned despondent.
Eventually, they simply threw themselves to the ground, waiting for death.
I sighed deeply, with no desire to pursue him.
My body had cooled.
[ You have killed the Rat Demon King ]
Even so, he died...
Probably because of the volcanic environnt.
I sighed.
’You useless thing... you couldn’t even survive more than a few minutes without them.’
[ This domain is without a ruler. Do you wish to claim it? ]
The system asked as I felt a lingering aura perate the land beneath . It seed to be reacting to my aura.
’So that’s how he ignored my aura shield...’
However, I did not answer imdiately.
My eyes fell upon the rats at my feet, awaiting death. What I could only assu was borrowed aura, leaving their bodies.
[ Do you wish to bind with them? ]
Again, I felt my aura react.
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