'Arcane Expansion? Tsk, Sounds like a knockoff. Huuu, I was scared there for a second.'
"Golden Knight Severement."
He completed, and in the next moment, Cad froze.
From beneath the man's feet, a pitch-black shadow rapidly stretched out, and in a second, the entire world ceased to exist—only pitch darkness.
'Behind me!'
Revolving in a flash, his eyes widened as he witnessed a golden halo in the sky.
It was a knight.
A golden knight, who had his sword raised high up into the sky.
A pillar of golden light tore out from it, brimming with incredible might.
"BEGONE!"
The roar blasted out as the knight slashed down with the sword.
Cad's mind froze, completely awed by the golden light which closed in on him with insane, blistering speed.
There was no pain, simply a blinding light that made him shut his eyes closed, and when next he opened them, he saw the clear blue sky.
On his face, he could see the dark blood that flowed out from both lips and eyes as he lay there on his back.
He didn't need to be told.
Both his arms had been ripped off from the elbows, and both his legs had been severed from the knees.
A gash tore through from the right side of his arm, crossing down to the left side of his ribs, while right beneath his stomach, a sword had impaled him into the ground.
The stadiums, which had been cheering heavily with noise, suddenly came to a screeching halt, and slowly, the murmurs reached Cad.
"He… he crippled him!?"
"He...He destroyed his life!"
'Crip… ple?'
He turned his eyes up just in time to see the hand that grabbed the sword hilt, and a face holding a devilish grin.
"I forgot to tell you, everything has a price. And the price of seeing my art… is your cultivation."
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!
The sword was roughly torn out, followed by the heavy release of white energy that gushed out from Cad's broken core.
Weakness overcame Cad, and he collapsed, eyes rolling to the back of his head.
'No… way.'
_______
The darkness stretched on for longer than he could comprehend, but eventually, it gave way as a tiny flicker of light appeared.
It was a dim blue, and it came from none other than Cad, who found himself in an unending void of space.
He looked down at himself, finding that he had somehow lost his physicality.
Right now, he was seemingly made of motes of white light, and looking around at the endless darkness, he sighed.
"Talk about getting fucked sideways."
"First got my ass shot to death on Earth, only to reincarnate in a body and get crippled right after…"
"And now doomed to spend an eternity in the darkness."
Cad mused, clapping his head.
"Seems like I got tagged on by some sadistic devil."
{A/N: Hey, watch it!}
"Perhaps…"
The voice rang out repeatedly through the dark void, and Cad froze.
A sudden pressure encapsulated the space, filling it with unbearable fear and awe, and slowly, he turned behind him.
There, he found something that shook his heart.
Sitting on a throne of pure darkness was a figure hidden in shadows.
The only things visible were the throne and its eyes.
One golden, one crimson, staring right at him.
At first, Cad felt chilled, but in the next moment, the fear quietly disappeared.
"And now, my soul can't even rest in peace. Fated to, in the end, be devoured by a devil, huh?"
"Surprisingly calm for a person who has died twice…"
The figure spoke.
"Well the, getting shot for a cap part was shocking."
"As for the dantian crippling, that's just cliché. Whoever wrote that could have done better."
"And being devoured by a devil, I bet I ain't the first person."
Cad said with an uncaring shrug.
"Cad Dumbar…"
The figure called out.
"Your life on Earth was quite…"
"Boring?" Cad completed.
"Unadventurous,"
"You grew up in an orphanage, thrown out at sixteen."
"You fended for yourself by working at VcDonald's. Ugly and poor, so you had no friends, female or male."
"The only time you ever took anything seriously was when you found a doujin book and put effort into learning how to read."
"That shaped the trajectory of your remaining lives: drowning in web novels and animes, then dying to a hat con at eighteen."
"Yeah… that sounds about right." Cad mused.
"Cadwaladar Aegis…"
The figure called out once more, causing Cad's eyebrows to crease.
"Who's that?"
"The body you took over."
"Oh. Tell me about him."
"A boy with Grade E potential."
"Well, that ain't the worst."
"His father was a low guard at the Aegis family house and was killed in an Undead Invasion. Raised by his mother with two younger sisters."
"You were allowed into the Aegis Family School due to your father's noble death and your mother's begging, but with Grade E potential, you were quite weak and performed poorly."
"The good thing was you surprisingly caught the eyes of the fifth most talented girl in the Aegis Family School, invoking the jealousy of many, and the hatred of one Arthur Nodragon, who ended up crippling you in a challenge."
"Don't tell me the dude died fighting for love."
Cad asked, dumbfounded.
"Arthur said to you that he would report her wandering to her family, which could get her in trouble, as they were officially engaged at birth."
"He offered you a duel if you wanted him to keep it secret so she remains unpunished, while also swearing not to interfere in both your lives after if you win."
"You took the offer and unceremoniously got killed."
He explained, and Cad rolled his eyes.
"Dude had a poor mom and two sisters and still had eyes for some bitch. I don't even know if I should still be mad at him for getting killed."
"You're dead, Cad. You got a heaven-defying chance, and you died again. And now you're dead. Really dead."
The figure said, before silence reigned, allowing the words to sink into Cad's head.
It took a very long while, but eventually, the whisper rang through the void.
"I… I died."