Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power

Selene's whole body was suddenly gripped by an instinctive fear the moment Kaden grabbed her mouth.

A fear she didn't even know the origin of, one that surged deep from her core.

Her eyes shook, darting around, trying to see what was going on.

And that's when she heard the voice… his voice… a voice that made the very blood inside her churn in pure dread.

"Didn't you want to hear my voice?" Kaden said, his voice as cold and deadly as a steel sword.

Those words made Selene instantly connect the dots and just like that, she calmed down.

Her body stopped trembling. She stopped struggling.

Kaden noticed the shift in attitude instantly, and his perception immediately went wild in pure danger.

Instinctively, he thought of taking a step back, but he held firm, refusing to obey that survival urge.

'Truly… you Warborns are so predictable.'

Selene's voice suddenly echoed inside his head, something that should have raised alarm, but it didn't.

Because Kaden was more concerned by what Selene just said.

'So predictable… You're like an army of ants. Trap one of you in a pit, and all of you will rush in like instinct-driven, deranged beasts to save your kin.'

'Admirable and self-sacrificial, others would say. But to me? Just a bunch of fools who wear death like a badge of honor.'

Her words continued to echo through Kaden's mind, each one dripping with venom, with disdain, as if the very existence of the Warborns was a stain, a disgrace.

And to people like her…it was.

Because they couldn't stand to imagine what they would've become… if they had the raw strength of the Warborns coupled with their mind.

They would have become monsters, real ones, something no family within or outside the Stronghold of Waverith could ever hope to match.

But they didn't have it.

So they sought to take it.

Kaden listened to Selene's words with cold calm.

By now, he already knew that Selene had anticipated his, or any Warborn's arrival and had prepared accordingly.

Nothing surprising.

His family was predictable. And he knew it.

It was a weakness. But it could be used beautifully.

Because no one expected anything from a Warborn… except brute force.

He smiled, cold and sharp.

"What did you plan? To call a grandmaster to kill an intermediate-ranked being?" Kaden asked, his hand still over her mouth, fingers slowly clenching, causing a cracking sound to echo as Selene's jaw began to crunch under the pressure.

"MMMMJHHHHHH!!"

'YOU FUCKING BASTARD!'

A muffled sound erupted through the air as Selene screamed inside his mind, simultaneously launching a mental attack.

But Kaden didn't flinch. Not even slightly.

With his Will… such a simple mental assault was like spitting at a fortress.

But…there had been a sound. Muffled, yes. But still, a sound.

And that kind of sound…

A grandmaster wouldn't miss it.

Instantly, Laye appeared in front of the door, his flickering blue flame eyes locking onto Kaden with piercing curiosity.

"A Warborn who didn't attack from the front but instead snuck in…" Laye muttered, his voice low—before suddenly, the temperature around them spiked exponentially, his aura crashing down as his gaze turned cold.

"What a disgrace to your name, Warborn. That's not the kind of warrior we, the Glorious Beasts of Steel, acknowledge as a rival."

He spoke with pure disdain.

But Kaden's disdain was purer.

His hand clenched harder, bones cracking louder as Selene's jaw dislocated.

"Shut the fuck up, you fucking beast. Acknowledge? What a load of bullshit."

"You think we need the acknowledgment of a grandmaster beast who captures a master-ranked girl just to use as leverage, huh?"

He paused, his crimson eyes gleaming now, filled with disgust, anger, and the beginnings of hate.

Because this was the one who captured his sister.

And he didn't even want to imagine what they had done to her.

But it didn't matter. He now knew where she was. And who was involved.

So…

"You're all just puppets of these bastards. Worthy of the word 'beast.' Even after gaining intelligence, you're still dumb enough to get manipulated by bitches like—"

BOOOOOM!!!!

Kaden's half-head exploded in a burst of blood and brain, splattering across the corridor and onto Selene, who was already drinking a health potion.

Thud.

Kaden's body hit the ground.

"You… You should've cap—!" Selene started, only to stop the moment she saw the expression on Laye's face.

Pure anger.

She clicked her tongue in irritation.

'Fucking beast, still complexing over their intelligence. Pathetic.'

Selene's thoughts dripped with scorn as she turned to look at the remnants of Kaden's half-face.

And what she saw made her tremble.

Kaden's crimson eyes were still locked onto her, glowing with a silent intensity that reeked of something unholy.

Then slowly… a smile crept onto the corner of his remaining lips.

A smile worthy of a demon king from the lowest circle of hell.

Selene instinctively reacted, kicking Kaden's face with her full master-ranked strength, and—

[You are dead.]

…

"My death-courting skill has improved, it seems," Kaden muttered to himself dryly. His voice held no humor.

He closed his eyes calmly, drifting in the boundless darkness.

He recalled everything—the City of Steel, the Cerveau family, the grandmaster-ranked beast.

"I can't win against a grandmaster," Kaden said with a serious expression.

No matter how many death coins he had, he couldn't bridge that gap.

The Grandmaster Rank wasn't like the others.

From Awakened to Master, you gained one skill per rank—sometimes special, sometimes not. But at Grandmaster…

You gained a Domain. One tied to your very Origin.

And that—

'That's not something I can deal with. Not yet. I just stepped into Intermediate.'

And remembering what Death said about birth order… yeah.

Better to forget about winning.

He might, after dozens of deaths, manage to survive a meeting with Laye—but…

'I have to save Daela.'

So the only real option left was to save her before the Commander or even Selene could react or be there to catch them.

Kaden recalled the explosion he'd heard coupled the moment that terrifying grandmaster presence arrived.

So…

"The explosion is the cause… and the cause of the explosion is…" He didn't even need to finish.

It was obviously that Cerveau woman.

"I either get there before her… or silence her before anything happens and get Daela out."

But after what he experienced in the Forest of Eternal Sunshine, Kaden knew better.

There would be tracking runes, either on Daela or on the woman.

Killing her might alert the others.

As all these thoughts raced through his mind, Kaden couldn't help but want to curse.

This was getting too complicated.

'Alright… first try, I get there before any of them and save Daela. If I fail, I'll adapt.'

Kaden finally decided.

Then—

[You have died.]

[At which point of time do you wish to return?]

If he wanted to be early… then maybe…

"The moment I just arrived in front of the territory of the steelbeasts," Kaden said firmly before adding with resolve,

"I want an Origin-type fragment."

[DING! Confirmed.]

[You have been killed by Laye, Commander of Goremaw the Ironbound.]

[You have obtained an Origin-type fragment.]

[Origin: Blue Flaming Body]

[Type: Body]

[Rank: Rare]

Looking at the panel, Kaden couldn't help but smirk.

[Do you wish to integrate it?]

"Interesting…"

—End of Chapter 107—