Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power

Kaden stood in front of Daela as he extended his hand, Reditha flashing into it silently, obediently.

His expression was focused, serious.

He hadn't forgotten the nature of his sister's Origin. It worked on echo.

Meaning, every strike she made would be echoed again.

Knowing that, Kaden didn't hesitate as he activated his perception to the max, making him able to feel even the faintest rustle of a distant tree leaf, the softest whisper of pressure change, the shifting tension in the air before movement.

"Start!"

The duel began.

Kaden dashed toward Daela, his speed so overwhelming it left afterimages behind, flickers of motion that blurred space as he arrived in an instant in front of her, Reditha raised in a simple but precise downward slash.

Daela's eyes didn't waver. She simply sidestepped, avoiding the blow with clinical grace before spinning impossibly fast and aiming a kick toward Kaden's chest.

The kick didn't land.

Kaden raised his right hand and caught her leg.

BOOOOMMM!!!

Shockwaves erupted from the point of impact, making the very training field tremble violently and dust rise in columns from the cracked floor.

Kaden was sent flying several meters back.

He glanced at his palm—red, throbbing, a sign of the sheer force packed into that single kick.

He smiled.

"You're so merciless—!"

But he immediately stopped talking as he raised his hand again.

BOOMMM!

Another kick slammed into him, the echo.

'How bothersome,' he thought, but didn't speak, his eyes locking on her again.

Daela's twin swords materialized, one in each hand, as she looked at him with the face of a true warrior.

In a single step, she vanished and appeared an inch in front of him.

Her two swords slashed—one downward, the other horizontal—crossing through the air like two axes carving an 'X' into the world itself.

All these actions barely took a second as her afterimage hadn't even faded.

That's how fast she was.

But Kaden had transcended speed.

His agility was no longer just a stat—it had become something more.

He phased out of existence for a heartbeat by using his high velocity, letting both slashes pass harmlessly through the space where he had just stood, and in the next instant, his left hand raised, conjuring a sword of blood.

The sword duel began.

Kaden didn't hold back.

He struck from every angle—left, right, high, low—with no hesitation and no mercy, his form like a red storm unleashed upon the battlefield.

The air itself shook from their clash.

The entire training ground echoed with the sound of steel crashing against steel, so loud and constant it sounded like war itself had come to life.

Their speed was insane.

Rory and Eimi couldn't even follow the fight.

All they saw were blurs—two phantoms tearing across the training field, exchanging strikes faster than thought.

Kaden slashed, blocked, parried—not just Daela's blades, but her echoes too.

His perception was burning, working beyond its limits.

Of course, some strikes slipped through.

Some slashes found his skin.

But it didn't matter.

Reditha healed him instantly, sealing wounds before they could bleed.

"Thousand Echoes Slash," Daela's voice rang out and suddenly time seemed to pause.

Kaden's perception screamed.

"Fuck!" he cursed, immediately taking his stance, Reditha gripped in his right hand and his blood blade in his left.

He was about to be hit by thousands of strikes from all angles, simultaneously.

He grinned crookedly, eyes narrowing.

Then he raised one leg and—

BAAAAAAAAAMMMMMM!!!

He slammed it into the ground.

The entire field cracked like an ancient statue breaking apart, dust and rock exploding into the sky as the floor split beneath him as if hundreds of giant beasts had stomped on it all at once.

"W-What?" Daela muttered, stunned by his overwhelming physical strength.

The debris swirled upward, shielding Kaden like a living barricade of broken earth.

But he wasn't done.

Blood surged out behind him, thick and fast, coalescing into dozens of floating, spinning blood lotuses that hovered around his form like demonic petals summoned by wrath.

The sight was terrifying.

Magnificent.

The echoes hadn't landed yet, but he wasn't taking chances.

He pushed his agility stat to the absolute peak, and then he moved as both swords in his hands flashing.

Not once.

Not twice.

But hundreds of times, within a single second.

And at the same time—

"Explode," he whispered.

The blood lotuses detonated.

And right then, the thousand echoes struck.

What followed—

BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!

Space itself screamed as if struck by a divine fist.

The air ignited, temperature soaring until it looked like hellfire had been released upon the mortal plane, heatwaves warping everything, vibrating light and shadow like a broken mirror of flame.

Rocks, dust, debris—everything was swept into the shockwave.

A massive explosion devoured the entire training ground, cloaking the world in thick red smoke, a haze that reeked of blood and fury, screaming death with every ember.

It was chaos.

But it worked.

The explosion blocked almost half of the thousand echoes. The rest were intercepted by Kaden's hundreds of slashes and the protective cloud of debris still circling around him like enraged spirits.

"This strong… at only Intermediate?" Garros murmured, voice low and amazed.

Kaden's stats—his strength, his agility, his perception—they were off the charts for someone at his level.

"Truly incredible," Serena said softly, pride and awe mingling in her eyes.

They focused again on the battlefield as the smoke cleared.

The training ground was unrecognizable.

Everything was broken.

The floor was shattered into uneven terrain. Daela and Kaden stood facing each other on scorched stone, surrounded by molten cracks and shattered fragments.

The air smelled like burning coal. The heat was unbearable.

Kaden's clothes were torn, slashed in multiple places, some spots singed and blackened but his skin was untouched, Reditha having healed everything.

Daela, on the other hand, had no such healing.

Her body bore the marks of their duel—cuts, burns, dried blood on her arms and legs, remnants of the lotus explosion on her side.

But she stood tall.

And Kaden could tell she hadn't used her full strength.

Neither had he.

He hadn't unleashed his flames… nor Soulbrand.

And as if they shared the same thought—

"Final strike," Daela said.

Kaden smiled. "Final strike."

They both took position.

Daela adjusted her stance—feet wide apart in a strange hourglass form, knees bent inward, her torso tilted unnaturally to the side, creating a distorted silhouette that looked unbalanced, yet radiated controlled lethality.

Her right sword was hidden behind her back, blade pointing downward, forgotten like a sleeping beast.

Her left sword pointed down in front of her, inverted, gripped by the blade with its hilt aimed toward Kaden like a silent threat.

Her head was slightly tilted.

Her expression was blank.

Emotionless.

Kaden's stance was simpler.

He stood upright.

Reditha raised high, glowing with red light as Crimson Sword Intent was activated, heat rippling around it like coiled wrath.

But Kaden wasn't done.

Not today.

He layered Reditha with flame, his Flame of Blood, making the blade erupt in an eerie bloodfire threaded with blue starlight.

He locked eyes with his sister.

They both exhaled softly.

Perfect synch.

Then—

"Echo Sever: Last Horizon," Daela's voice rang out like a proclamation of a sword empress declaring judgment on the world.

"Bloodflame Descent," Kaden said next, his tone royal, like a dark prince commanding the battlefield.

The moment their swords clashed—

The world erupted.

Flame. Blood. Echo.

Space rattled, time seemed to pause as the collision of incredible forces occurred.

All structure was devoured.

Only entropy remained.

—End of Chapter 130—