The fallen Lord's castle was in ruins.
The hall, where once few moments ago a battle just occured, was now shattered stone and blood.
The Twilight members were dead.
The Lord and his subordinates were gone.
Only Evan and Elya remained.
But they were not fighting together.
Elya fought with hatred.
Evan fought to stop her.
He had given her two choices.
Move forward and grow stronger.
Or fall into the same pit Sylen did.
Blinded by vengeance, she chose the second.
Every swing hurt. Every step felt like bleeding.
Even then, Evan held back.
He chose to spare her.
He believed time could still change her.
Near the end, he finally subdued her.
Elya lay on the ground, corruption spreading under her skin like black cracks.
Evan stepped forward, hand glowing with healing light meant to cleanse her.
But before his skill touched her—
/BOOM/
A violent force burst out.
Strong enough to shred a normal Tier 0 body instantly.
It slammed Evan across the hall and crushed him into the broken stone.
His ribs screamed. His muscles trembled. His organs felt like they were tearing apart.
He forced himself to breathe.
Warm light spread inside him, mending flesh and bone.
His vision steadied.
He looked up.
Something floated above Elya.
A Medal.
A sword sheathed inside pale green wings.
Soft gale-like aura flowed from it, calm and gentle but filled with ancient pressure.
Elya's eyes trembled.
"…This… Master's last gift… he was still watching me…?"
Her tears fell.
Before she could reach for it, the medal shone.
A projection slowly formed above it—slowly taking the shape of a man.
Evan frowned.
He had never seen this person anywhere in the Expanse.
'A master soul fragment. Figures. They always leave some hidden trump at the end.'
He readied himself, not wanting to get launched again.
The projection spoke.
His tone was soft. Heavy. Final.
"Elya. If you are seeing this, then your life is in danger. This medal only activates under such conditions. As your teacher… and your guardian… I must fulfill my last duty."
Light wrapped around the medal.
The spell activated on its own.
"This will teleport you to the home I served before descending here. Grow stronger. Live longer. Reach the heights I could not see. That is my last wish for you."
The medal lowered, placing itself into her shaking hand.
A teleportation magic circle formed beneath her.
"No… Master… please… not again… don't leave me alone…"
Her voice cracked. She reached toward him.
The projection smiled faintly.
"The blessing of the fallen knight stays with you. And remember to call me the way you always used to back then, that's the Elya I remember."
Her lips trembled.
Her voice almost broke.
"Yes… bye… drunken old man… I will always remember you fath—"
Light swallowed her.
She vanished.
The hall became silent.
The projection remained only for a moment, his expression shifting as he turned to Evan.
His eyes sharpened.
"I do not know who you are, brat. But you made the final choice that led to this. You tried to kill my… daughter. Prepare yourself."
His aura surged.
Air cracked around him.
Evan's body tensed.
The pressure was overwhelming.
'This aura… Tier 3 mid… at least. If I don't escape, I'm dead.'
Arven's voice flicked inside his mind.
"If you don't want to die, leave now. This remnant won't let you go easily though. Expect to get torn up before it fades."
Evan clenched his teeth.
'Just shut up and help. You killed a God's fragment before. This is just Tier 3. This should be nothing to you.' {A/N: Ch 150.}
"I can. Without lifting a finger. But I won't. Good training for you to survive against someone stronger than you."
Arven floated back, clearly entertained.
"You traitor—"
Evan didn't get to finish.
A voice sounded beside him.
"So arrogant. Not even looking at your opponent."
A sword slash came for his head.
Evan moved just in time—barely.
He thrust his palm forward.
A shock force pushed the soul projection back, but not enough to harm him.
Evan followed immediately—dark tendrils burst from the ground, lashing forward.
The projection cut through them like paper.
Evan shifted to long-range attacks, trying to stall the soul's duration.
The projection's tone hardened.
"I see now how she fell to such a state. You are skilled enough to bring others to their knees with surprise alone."
"Shut up, old man." Evan snapped. "You think being higher tier makes you better? If I were in your tier right now, you'd be on the ground licking the floor. I've killed beings stronger than you. You're just another pest."
The projection paused mid-movement.
Evan pressed harder.
"I've seen worlds you can't even imagine. I've walked in the Sixth Expanse. You can't even step there."
"You—"
The projection trembled. Rage erupted.
"If you are so eager to die, then so be it."
Wind exploded around him.
His sword shifted into stance.
He traced his finger along the blade.
A dark green gale aura coated it.
"Witness the technique I forged in my lifetime."
The slash turned into a roaring green dragon made of sword-wind.
Evan didn't freeze.
Earth surged.
A massive stone pillar shot up in front of him.
He coated it in thick ice.
The dragon slammed into it.
The hall shook. Stone cracked. Ice shattered.
Evan reinforced it with more pillars, holding it up through burning effort.
The projection's eyes narrowed.
'Commendable. But I cannot let you live.'
He shifted into another stance.
His sword thrust forward, sending a barrage of wind thrusts behind the dragon—destroying the fortified pillar from the inside.
The dragon surged again—hunting Evan.
"Just lose hope, kid. You can't face my strength. Even at one hundredth of my power, you won't leave alive now."
The man muttered as the Wind Dragon surged forward, bursting through the mountain in a storm of razor gales.
It didn't give Evan a second to breathe.
Evan gritted his teeth, frustration boiling.
He had no choice now.
He summoned Crimson Edge.
Flames gathered along the blade — bright, violent, nearly scorching white.
He raised it above his head.
Waited. Timed it.
The dragon rushed closer.
Every fraction of a second felt stretched — slow, ringing, heavy.
Then the dragon hit.
Wind and force swallowed Evan whole, tearing skin, flesh, spilling blood.
The man watched, convinced it was over.
But—
A flicker of flame leaked out from inside the dragon's body.
A heartbeat later —
/BOOM/
The entire dragon shattered, flames exploding outward and scorching the battlefield.
The man's eyes widened.
At the center of the crater stood Evan.
Barely standing.
Almost every inch of his skin was carved open by gale wounds.Blood dripped down his chin.
But his eyes—
His eyes were burning with killing intent.
Light green energy mixed with faint gold wrapped around him, slowly knitting him back together.
"You really are a monster in combat talent…" the man whispered. His voice hardened. "But it ends now."
He appeared above Evan — sword raised for the killing strike.
But Evan only smirked.
"You fell for it, old fool."
His gaze sharpened — so sharp even the man's soul trembled.
"Go—Veyr'Zhal. Bind this soul for me."
Evan raised his ruined arm.
A tattoo pulsed to life, glowing through shattered skin.
A chain materialized — plain, simple, almost harmless-looking.
It shot toward the man.
He scoffed.
"A chain? Do you think something like—"
He swung his sword to cut it—
But the chain split into two, slipped past the blade, and reconnected behind him.
In the next second, it wrapped around him — materialized body and soul both.
His eyes widened.
He felt weight.
True, crushing weight.
His soul began sinking under it, crashing him straight onto the floor.
He tried to move.
Nothing.
He tried to cut his way out.
Nothing.
His confidence shattered.
Evan walked toward him.
"What happened? Can't get away?"
His voice was calm. Cold. Controlled.
"Thinking it was a simple chain was your biggest mistake."
The man now looked terrified.
"Where… where did you get this…?"
"This chain came from the corpse of a Tier 4 being."
Evan wiped blood from his cheek.
"It died because of these chains. And now… so will you—if I want."
The man shook.
"No. No. This can't be in the hands of someone like you—this has to be some trick—"
He pulled. He struggled. Nothing moved.
Evan continued, voice low and steady:
"Feel it. Your mana. Your soul. Being eaten. The pain hasn't even begun yet."
The man's voice broke.
"No… please… listen… I misunderstood… I did not know… please—"
Evan stopped walking.
The man's tone changed — desperate, but not for himself.
"If I die, that medal breaks. And my daughter—Elya—will be thrown out. The corruption will kill her. That medal is the only thing keeping her alive. I beg you. Let me go. For her."
Evan's jaw tightened.
"First you tried to kill me. And now you want mercy?"
He laughed bitterly. "Anyone else would have finished you already."
The old man lowered his head.
"I know. I have no excuses. But I am a father. I can give you nothing but a technique… or a method… something in return for her life."
Evan thought for a second.
And exhaled.
"Hah… no. I don't need your sword style. And I doubt you have anything I want."
He started to walk past him.
"But. I'm a good guy, remember?"
He touched the chain.
It responded instantly.
Chains receded, returning into the tattoo beneath his torn skin.
The old man nearly collapsed from relief.
"Thank you… I have no words…"
"Yeah, yeah. Leave. You already ruined half my plans today."
Evan clicked his tongue, finding his own decsion meaningless.
'Am I a fool or something? I let them leave just like that. Maybe my kind nature got the better of me. I can't stand seeing someone that old begging, right?' Evan thought, leaving Arven almost speechless.
The man who had just made someone beg was now rationalizing his actions like this.
The man nodded.
His form flickered.
He began dissolving.
Evan spoke to Arven silently:
'Where is he going? Back to Elya?'
"Yes. He will return to the pendant. His original soul is long gone. He'll rest there, recovering. Even if he realizes the truth later on, he won't be your match anytime soon after that."
Evan let out a breath — then grinned.
The old man felt the chill and vanished faster.
Silence.
The battlefield was chaos.
Bodies he planned to plunder — scattered, shredded, burnt.
Evan's eye twitched.
"These destined ones…"
His voice rose to a roar:
"Are a pain in the as&!"
His shout echoed.
Far away, someone scratched his ear.
"…Did someone just call me?"
Kael muttered, walking back toward town, unaware that something much bigger was waiting for him.
To Be Continued
....
What will happen next? What big news awaits Kael upon reaching the town?
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