Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power

"Right now, I am just a vengeful little brother, my dear," Kaden said, voice low and cold as he looked at the terrified Selene who wanted nothing more than to run, to flee, to crawl away from him like her life depended on it—because it did.

The moment she heard those words, something inside her snapped, a broken mind trying to rearrange its fragmented pieces in order to make sense of it all.

Vengeful little brother… Death Envoy… Child of Blood…

You didn't need to be particularly smart to figure it out now.

"I-It was you… you are the Envoy of Death… you saved Daela…?" she asked, her voice trembling so hard it couldn't even form a full sentence without shattering midway, each word falling like fractured glass.

And then, it clicked.

Her pupils shrank as she realized it…she had been played.

No, they had been played.

Every single one of them had been fooled, manipulated, puppeted without even a thread of suspicion, because not a single one of them ever imagined the one behind the identity of the Death Envoy… was a Warborn.

A fifteen-year-old brat.

A child.

A fucking Warborn.

A stupid, blunt, straightforward, honor-loving, brainless Warborn.

One of them dared to fool the Cerveau?

No.

No.

No.

To her, it was beyond mere mind games—it was humiliation incarnate, an insult not just to her name but to their entire legacy, to their very foundation.

And so, she snapped while lunging, clawing, screaming as if her madness could change the reality now etched into her soul, struggling toward Kaden like a deranged beast with nothing to lose.

But Kaden didn't move.

He simply stood there. Cold, still, watching her with that silent apathy that screamed louder than any scream could.

And in that moment, he learned something important.

Stereotypes.

Just because someone comes from a certain group doesn't mean they embody it and treating them like you do to the other only means you're gambling with ignorance.

And if you're wrong?

Then you bear the consequences.

'Never generalize. Each person is their own being. They might carry the traits of their kind… but they also might carry something more, or less. Observe. Learn. Differentiate…'

'Selene made the mistake of assumption. I won't.' Kaden thought, locking this truth deep into his mind, treating it like another sharpened blade in his growing arsenal.

Because learning from your own mistakes is good.

But learning from the pain of others… that was better.

And with that final thought, he decided it was time to end this.

He raised his right hand and Reditha flashed into it like a heartbeat, her gleaming body pulsing gently with a dark red light that made Selene freeze mid-struggle.

Her eyes locked on the blade.

And she laughed.

Hollow. Broken. Bitter.

"Hahaha… I'm gonna die in the hands of a Warborn?" she muttered, voice empty, like her mind had stepped outside of her body and left her behind.

She continued laughing, insanity dripping from every note.

But…

"Well, yes, definitely," Kaden replied casually, tilting his head with a faint smirk, "But first, I must make you feel what you did to my sister, right?"

He leaned in slightly, his voice almost playful,

"Let me recall… was it her right arm and left leg? Or left hand and right leg?"

Selene shuddered, violently, as his voice slid across her skin like a frozen dagger.

She couldn't speak. She didn't need to.

Kaden shrugged, uncaring.

"If you won't answer…"

He grinned devilishly.

"Then I'll just cut them all."

"NO WA—!!"

"No can't do, my dear," Kaden cut her off mercilessly.

Then, softly,

"Reditha. Dull your blade as much as possible. I want her to feel it. Slowly. Cruelly."

Reditha hummed in satisfaction.

Behind them, Rory stood watching with wide, glinting eyes—eyes that held no fear, only admiration.

'I want to be like Master…' she thought, her innocent mind twisted by the sheer awe she felt, thinking that torture was the epitome of cool.

What a terrible influence Kaden was.

What a dangerous little beast girl she was becoming.

And then, Kaden moved.

One by one.

He cut off her limbs slowly, methodically and without mercy.

The sound of torn flesh and dull slicing echoed again and again, mixing with the relentless screams of Selene that seemed to shake even the walls of the soundproof basement.

If Rea had been here, she would have drowned in the raw fear radiating from Selene. A crippling and mind-breaking fear of the boy in front of her.

A demon.

That's what he was.

That's the only thing she could comprehend.

This child was no human.

He couldn't be.

And soon, it was over.

Selene lay on the ground, her arms and legs gone, her torso heaving weakly, her face pale and soaked in sweat and blood and tears.

She wasn't dead.

But she wasn't far.

Kaden kept her alive with a few drops of a unique potion, just enough to sustain her.

"Ah… d-demon… demon… demon…" she whispered, her eyes hazy, foaming at the mouth, mind completely shattered.

Over and over she muttered it, like it was the only word she remembered.

Kaden crouched beside her.

"I'm a demon? Fine. Then I'll be the demon for you Cerveau," he muttered coldly, reaching out to place his hand on her trembling head.

"Now, my dear… tell me something useful."

And with that,

"Mind's Eyes."

He activated his trait.

Instantly, he was in a different space. It was a fractured blue void, where screens of memories flashed like countless televisions all playing at once.

Each memory flickered and danced, showing one thing before cutting to another.

But the cracks in the space… they were everywhere.

Selene's mind was crumbling.

Kaden narrowed his eyes and pushed his perception to its peak, focusing on each memory, filtering, sifting.

And then he frowned.

Because in all the memories… none included Brain Cerveau.

None.

Even though Selene had clearly mentioned speaking with him, being guided by him, obeying him.

But the memories were gone.

'He's erasing his presence even in the minds of his own people…'

'He doesn't trust anyone. Not even them.'

Kaden grit his teeth.

But he didn't stop.

Instead, he dug deeper by learning the structure of the Cerveau family, their power divisions, their allies, enemies, and their dangerous, manipulative philosophies.

He saw her exchanges with Laye, especially the conversation about Goremaw… and about the place called the Desert of the Lost.

"Legendary and Mythic dungeons… inheritance grounds left behind by ancient beings. Beasts and humans alike," Kaden muttered, watching the conversation unfold between Selene and Laye.

"Places where one can find Origins, rare affinities, impossible treasures…"

"If Goremaw succeeds, it'll be a disaster," he said, his frown deepening.

Desert of the Lost.

He etched the name into his memory.

And as he dug further, he uncovered information about strange beasts. The ones with unique blood, perfect for rune crafting.

And there was one in particular, one beast with an affinity that made Kaden's grin slowly return.

"My luck is definitely divine."

—End of Chapter 124—