Randulo scread when he saw Ariana trying to escape.
"Block the exit! Don't let her escape!"
"Go! Go!" he roared at the top of his lungs.
Dark priests and abyssal creatures stirred as if awakened from a nightmare. They surged forward in a chaotic wave, rushing toward Ariana from all directions. Their footsteps pounded against the warped ground, claws scraping stone, magic flaring wildly.
Before they could even reach her, a blinding crimson flash cut across the surface.
A thin red line was drawn through the air.
Those who crossed it did not even have ti to scream.
Their bodies split apart in silence, torn cleanly in half. Limbs fell, torsos collapsed, and blood sprayed across the twisted ground as pieces of flesh hit the floor one after another.
A man stepped out from the fading glow.
His blade was still humming.
He lifted it lazily and pointed it around at the gathered cultists.
"Am I here for so kind of shit show?" he asked coldly.
His eyes swept over them without interest.
"As long as I am here, I will keep all of you busy."
Randulo's face twisted in open disgust.
"Cockroach," he spat. "You are Kael Veydrin, aren't you?"
Kael did not answer.
"You really have a habit of ssing with cults," Randulo continued. "Don't think you can do whatever you want. One day everyone will gang up on you. Stop being a nuisance and die."
His words had barely left his mouth when—
BOOOOOM! BOOOOOM! BOOOOOM! BOOOOOM!
Hundreds of dark curses and spells exploded where Kael had been standing. Fire, shadow, and corrupted mana tore through the area, collapsing buildings and ripping the ground apart.
Dust and smoke swallowed everything.
But when the chaos cleared, Kael was no longer there.
A blur streaked through the battlefield.
He moved like lightning, his speed bending the air around him. The ground cracked beneath his steps as he tore through the crowd. His sword flashed again and again, cutting through bodies with brutal precision.
This place was not a normal city.
It was a warped dinsion where old stone buildings rged unnaturally with twisted forest growth. Roots crawled along cracked walls. Black vines wrapped around broken towers. The sky above was distorted, pulsing faintly as if alive.
Kael moved through it like a butcher unleashed.
He slashed upward, cutting a cultist from waist to chest. He spun and drove his blade through another's throat. He kicked one enemy aside and crushed another's skull with the poml of his sword.
Blood splattered across stone and bark alike.
"Stop that bastard!"
"I'll hold him—arghhh!"
"Fuck you!"
"My hand! My hand!"
Screams overlapped, blending into a horrible chorus. Bodies fell one after another as Kael let himself loose completely. He did not slow down. He did not hesitate.
While cutting through the crowd, his eyes locked onto Randulo.
"Aren't you S-rank?" Kael shouted over the noise. "Then why aren't you fighting?"
The question hit harder than any blade.
Randulo stiffened.
"I don't need to lift a hand to deal with roaches like you," he replied, though his voice wavered.
"Oh?" Kael snorted.
He slid low, narrowly avoiding a spell, then rose sharply and smashed his elbow into a cultist's face, caving it in.
"I am a roach?" Kael continued. "Then what does that make you? A stinking bug rotting in the gutter?"
He twisted his body and struck another enemy down with blunt force.
"You don't want to fight," Kael said coldly. "Or you can't."
Randulo's hands trembled around his staff.
His breath caught in his throat.
Kael suddenly released a massive burst of force.
BOOOOOOM!
The shockwave blasted outward, throwing enemies in all directions. Bodies slamd into walls and trees, bones snapping under the impact.
"Got you," Kael muttered.
His legs coiled like springs.
He shot forward.
The ground shattered behind him as he closed the distance in an instant. The air scread under the pressure of his movent. Cultists barely had ti to react before Kael was already past them.
He raised his sword.
This strike was ant to end Randulo.
But just as the blade descended—
CLANG!
A sharp impact rang out.
Another sword intercepted Kael's attack at the last mont.
The force of the clash sent Kael sliding backward several ters, his boots carving deep grooves into the ground. He twisted mid-slide and steadied himself, eyes narrowing.
A figure stepped out from the shadows.
"Not on my watch," the man said calmly.
He stood tall, sword held firmly in his grasp. His presence was heavy, oppressive, and unmistakably strong.
Kael straightened slowly, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb.
"So you finally decided to show yourself," he said.
The surrounding cultists hesitated, fear flickering in their eyes as they looked between the two warriors.
Randulo exhaled shakily, relief briefly flashing across his face.
Kael rolled his shoulders and tightened his grip on his sword.
"Good," he said quietly. "I was getting bored."
The air between the two fighters grew tense, thick with killing intent, as the warped dinsion seed to tremble in anticipation of what was about to co next.
Kael stared at the figure standing before him. The man's face looked familiar, too familiar, and realization slowly settled in.
"So you are Ryan Serpentine," Kael said calmly. "The defector. The traitor."
Ryan's expression twisted the mont he heard his na spoken aloud. His aura surged outward without restraint, pressing down on the surroundings. The pressure of an SS-rank warrior spread like a crushing wave, making the air heavy and suffocating.
Kael's eyes glead.
Before, this level of power might have been troubleso. But not now.
"It's over, Kael Veydrin," Ryan said coldly. "Today, no one can save you."
"Save ?" Kael raised his eyes slightly, genuine confusion flickering across his face. "Since when did I need saving?"
Ryan did not answer. He took a single step forward, and his figure blurred.
Kael's eyes widened. Instinct took over. He twisted his body and swung his sword without hesitation.
CLANGGG!
A violent clash exploded between them, sending sparks flying. The impact shook the ground beneath their feet.
Ryan staggered half a step back, his face contorting in shock as he stared at Kael.
'What the fuck?' his mind scread. 'Why is this kid so strong?'
To Ryan, Kael was just another enemy to be crushed.
But in Kael's eyes, Ryan Serpentine was nothing more than fodder waiting to be cut down.
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