Chaos' Heir

Khan had sparred on relatively even terms with Lord Mighty. Lord Enforcer believed his fellow Royal Guard would have won, but Khan still held his ground valiantly and forced Lord Envoy to intervene.

The Empire's Royal Guards weren't simple evolved warriors. They were the best of the bunch, having standards so high only four had seized the honor of protecting the Emperor.

Meanwhile, Miss Christen had evolved through the aided metamorphosis process. That didn't intrinsically imply weakness, especially after enough time passed, but Khan had always placed her under her fellow guards. Bruno and Adrian felt far stronger than her.

So, defeating Miss Christen could give Khan a good idea of where he stood. His existence ignored ordinary power classifications, but he wanted to have terms of comparison. If not for himself, he wanted his enemies to know them.

Miss Christen wore her most displeased face yet. Her existence was antithetical to Khan's, and she personally disliked his way of waging politics.

The two fused into a singular feeling that somehow didn't conflict with Miss Christen's element. Her previous bloodlust had weakened her, allowing Colonel Norrett and Major General Arngan to exploit that opportunity. Yet, now, Miss Christen felt able to summon the core of her existence since it wanted to extirpate that blight onto the world.

Khan only needed his eyes to see that change. The symphony in his vision grew brighter and whiter, and the same went for the trees, blades of grass, ground, and roots underneath it. The forest echoed Miss Christen's stance with different levels of intensity, highlighting her serious stance.

As if to respond to that show of power, random pieces of terrain around the area started exploding, creating trails of dust that rose toward the sky. The same happened to grass, trees, and crowns above while slight tremors tried to take control of the forest.

Miss Christen's presence filled the forest with boundless vitality, while Khan's existence echoed destruction, littering the area with wound-like damage that seemed to bleed into the sky. Stay updated via My Virtual Library Empire

Thunderous noises accompanied each explosion, but the loudest came from the cursed knife. The purple-red membrane over it had transformed into a continuous flow of crackling sparks, seemingly giving Khan's element a new shape.

Which Khan's element did get. Chaos was unreasonable freedom, and only knew one way of pursuing it. Those sparks simply were the most suitable new form toward that goal.

Khan kept staring at Miss Christen, but part of his attention went to the cursed knife. He didn't do much testing on Zedekiel. He had only accustomed himself to that new shape, but whether the weapon could endure it was unclear.

The cursed knife did struggle under the sparks' passive barrage. Their destructive energy left marks on the weapon's edges and body, often reaching deep enough to threaten its structural stability.

However, the weapon endured, fueled by the foreign bloodlust resounding in Khan's brain. It would fight even if the effort could break it, and Khan couldn't deny that straightforward wish.

Also, Khan had accepted a sad reality. The cursed knife had served him well, but he couldn't hold back for its sake. If it couldn't follow him anymore in battle, it was better off being broken by his power.

"Since it has come to this," Miss Christen announced, dropping the formalities. "I'll admit I never liked you. Your very existence is an insult to the Nognes family and my standing as an evolved warrior."

Miss Christen didn't indulge in more pointless words. She lifted her right hand, waving some of her hair away while summoning a barrage of tiny white spheres. Their glow hid her pure figure, but something landed on them before Miss Christen could release them.

Khan materialized before the white, blinding barrage, delivering a violent kick on its perimeter. His bare foot seemed to land on the empty air, but a destructive energy shot from it, affecting the spell, Miss Christen, and the ground behind her.

The white spheres exploded into a burst of light, and their energy crumbled into harmful smoke. A patchwork of wounds opened on Miss Christen's torso, gory chunks of flesh and hair exploding outward. The ground behind her broke, too, shattering into a series of concentric holes that reached deep underground.

The cursed knife followed. Khan slashed downward, and the weapon released a thunderous noise as a thick, uneven slash shot forward. The attack hit Miss Christen, opening a long, diagonal cut on her already damaged torso.

The slash met some resistance. An invisible force opposed its advance, but its uneven edges suddenly grew, giving birth to branches that grew inside that ethereal barrier.

Something shattered, and the slash dug deeper into Miss Christen's body, releasing its sharp, destructive power and exposing her bones and organs. More cracks appeared there, too, seemingly preparing a gory explosion.

However, Miss Christen's vitality suddenly skyrocketed. Her existence regained its former power and surpassed it. New flesh, muscles, nerves, and skin instantly grew over her damaged tissues, restoring her body before Khan could make another move.

Actually, it was Miss Christen who moved. She advanced while still healing, thrusting her palm forward as if pushing something. A gale blew toward Khan, submerging him in a debilitating energy and trying to weaken his body.

Khan clearly felt it. His body was losing energy at an unfathomable pace. In a second, he was on the verge of dropping to the ground, unable to move anymore, but his element didn't let that invasion stand.

A clicking cry escaped Khan's mouth. He roared angrily, bursting with new energy. Flares of violent mana rose from all over his body, piercing and destroying anything they touched.

Miss Christen was the only exception. Multiple flares landed on her, bathing her body in purple-red light. Yet, her flesh could survive that destructive glow and currents. Of course, the same didn't apply to her remaining clothes, but neither warrior cared.

Khan's time to catch Miss Christen unprepared arrived. She had just delivered her attack, so Khan's counter exploited that opportunity. She tried to teleport away, but his kick landed on her abdomen while she was still physical enough to deliver some damage.

Miss Christen's ability succeeded. She teleported to a nearby tree to her right. Except, she wasn't in one piece. Her naked body still radiated her usual purity, but a gaping hole hovered at the center of her waist now, leaking blood over her crotch, legs, and ground.