Chapter 39: Chapter Thirty Nine
House Aurelius — the leading family of the continent, the Expanse. The ones who held the reins of power within The Outbreak Aegis.
A family known to carry the sword as their symbol.
Swordsn by blood. They were born with traits that bent them toward the blade — instructors always at the ready, sharpening young Aurelians into sothing worthy of the na.
Of the twelve branches, Enel Aurelius ca from the tenth-ranked.
Talented enough to shatter restrictions and claim the mantle of the next clan head — the foremost awakened of his generation.
That talent bought him favors. He’d leveraged smaller guilds to carry his n, and once inside the dungeon, they had all gathered beneath the young lord’s banner. In his generation, among the seven SSS-ranked guilds, there was no one to match him. Those who could had already left for the Tower.
He was simply that strong. Stats mattered less to him than the sword itself — he had honed himself through countless duels, his fad blade Eve the only worthy partner he’d ever found.
When he first encountered Zeke, he’d felt a flicker of interest. A worthy opponent, perhaps. But only perhaps — Zeke showed none of the hallmarks of a swordsman, and Enel had long since stopped holding his breath. They all lost to him in the end. Talent had a way of making fools of effort.
Now, at last, the duel he’d been anticipating had arrived. But before he could issue a proper challenge — before the noise of lesser bodies could be cleared away —
He was trapped.
Spatial prowess?
Delightful.
But not enough.
---
Boom.
Enel pushed his Imperial Domain outward, regal and invisible, pressing against the Reality Anchor’s hold. The air thickened around him, crackling with the strain — like glass held a breath past its limit.
’Heh, he’s eager. Let’s loosen it a little,’ Zeke thought, a faint smirk touching his lips as he felt Enel’s power tugging at the lock.
"Free at last." The last spatial binding dissolved. Enel brushed a speck of dust from his sleeve, posture unshaken, as if he’d simply stepped through a door.
He surveyed the clearing.
"Eh?"
Zeke had already cut through roughly half the grunts. Bodies were scattered like broken furniture — so groaning, so unconscious, so trembling where they knelt. Now he stood before Cassian and one other A-rank: a stern-faced man whose sword humd with chained lightning. Zeke moved between them with lazy, predatory ease, making their efforts look like children swinging sticks.
"I rember you," Zeke laughed, ducking a clumsy thrust with a slight tilt of his head.
"Why do you run from the young lord?" Cassian shot back, sweat already beading at his temple. "Face him. Not weaklings."
"Heh. So you admit you’re a weakling."
"Tsk."
"You really don’t have the skills to taunt ." Zeke gestured toward Enel without taking his eyes off Cassian. "See? Your young lord’s already free. I’ll finish you, then do the sa to him. So — where are the valuables?"
I’m not letting them slip by
this ti.
"I told you before — face stronger opponents." Enel appeared at Zeke’s side, his step nearly silent, and dismissed Cassian with a clean, controlled kick that sent the man sliding across the ground. "Gather yourselves," he said to the rest, voice cool with authority.
"My prey," Zeke said, and blitzed back toward Cassian — only to find Eve resting gently but immovably against his chest.
"You’re clingy."
Boom.
Gold flared around Zeke, casting hard tallic reflections across the crystalline ground. Giant’s Dominion — ability slot, copied from Zeldris. With the surge of added power, he moved in a blur of golden light and dark coat, swept Cassian up, and drove him into the earth with a crunch that rang across the clearing.
"Prey one down. Prey two next."
"Stop running." Enel’s voice had gained an edge. He glanced at the remaining grunts, who watched him with wide, silent eyes, wordlessly begging for cover he couldn’t offer.
"Tsk. Useless."
"Face ," he said to Zeke, "and leave my n alone."
"Okay."
In the sa breath, Zeke stooped and snatched Cassian’s fallen blade. Energy humd through the steel as he drew it back and swept it in a wide, near-invisible arc.
Shhh-slick.
Clean. Surgical. Severed arms dropped to the ground — only those belonging to the won in the group, deliberate and exact. They staggered, faces drained, gasps swallowed by shock before pain could fully set in.
Zeke examined the blade with an almost boyish tilt of his head, tallic grey eyes glinting.
"Using Unseen Severance with a sword is exciting."
He turned to look at Enel, blade leveled, posture loose.
"You never ntioned the won."
He let the silence sit for a beat, then pointed the bloodied steel forward.
"Co at . I’ll beat you with what you’re best at."
"You should have kept the golden hue," Enel said. He didn’t know the precise nature of Zeke’s ability — only that the mont the gold dissipated, sothing in him settled back to baseline. Less than before. Or rather: ordinary.
Now Enel would make him pay. Not for his own pride — the grunts’ pain was their own concern — but House Aurelius did not absorb insults quietly.
He drew Eve fully. The blade caught the dungeon’s ambient glow and held it, cold and silvery, as though drinking light. His stance settled — refined, immovable, exact.
Let’s see you beat
with swordsmanship.
{You fool — did you forget the nature of his trait? Fighting him with a sword is stupid.}
’I know. But it says sword-based abilities. Sunder isn’t sword-based, and this is a duel of swords — using it would end things too fast.’
{You’ll lose.}
’I know. I’ll leave a scar across that pretty face and carve up his chest for good asure. For now — let
enjoy this.’
---
"So what are we doing in the anti?" Kai asked, glancing back to where Jude and Aaron had made themselves comfortable against a smooth crystal formation, backs against the sun-ward stone like they were waiting on a slow afternoon.
"Who’s ’we’?" Aaron said, already lowering himself flat on the crystalline ground, one arm tucked beneath his head.
"Are you looking for soone to play gas with?"
"Grow up."
They said it together — easy, reflexive, the timing of long familiarity.
Kai stared. "None of you are worried?"
"About what?" Aaron asked, sothing close to genuine amusent in his voice.
"Together, they wouldn’t make him sweat." Jude traced an idle line in the dust with one finger, not looking up. "The only real variable is Enel, and that’s a low-diff fight."
"That’s assuming he doesn’t drag it out," Aaron added, a knowing curve to his mouth.
"Uh-huh."
"I know that." Kai’s frustration ca through in the clipped words. "I’m worried he’ll take it too far. Enel has the full backing of House Aurelius."
"He’ll know how to control himself. The foremost genius of his generation — he wouldn’t stoop that low over a loss, would he?"
"Who knows." Aaron stretched one arm above his head. "I’d actually like to see the Chinese tropes play out in real life."
"This is hell." Kai threw up both hands. "You don’t even want to watch?"
"Nah," they said together.
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