Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power

It was maddening.

It was… awe-inspiring to witness such a thing.

What thing, you would ask?

Well, the fact that a fifteen-year-old boy at the Intermediate Rank was going toe to toe against a Master-ranked being but not just any Master, no—against a Warborn, a family whose very name bled battle and strength and bloody, beautiful carnage.

Granted, the boy was a Warborn too.

Granted, he had a cheat.

Granted, his opponent didn't truly go all out, shackled slightly by love and affection.

Yes, we can agree on all that.

But still…

To the world itself, to anyone who had even a hint of battle instinct or pride in strength, it was something worthy of respect.

And even more so if they saw the scene right now, this very moment—a moment that deserved to be captured, animated, spread, clipped, and dissected by crazy fans who would scream and cry over each frame like lunatics.

Because when Kaden slashed Reditha downward, glowing with bloody flame and flickering blue stars that made the very space around the blade tremble in dread, a trailing arc of that same fire followed behind him like a divine painter who had decided to paint the very fabric of reality itself and the moment Reditha clashed with Daela's sword skill, a pillar of flame shaped like the gaping maw of a deep, ancient beast made of blood and wrath erupted violently from the point of impact, swallowing everything in its path with unrestrained hunger and yet, a second later, the beast was cleanly slashed into two.

It looked like a simple slash.

But that slash… it touched something.

Briefly, subtly—it brushed against the concept of time itself and slashed space open even if only on the surface, even if only for a breath but that was enough as the beast of blood and flame froze, stuttered in time, before being completely shattered into nothingness.

But it didn't go quietly.

It didn't vanish peacefully.

As if it still had pride, still had fury…

BBOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!

The very air howled with divine violence as a massive cloud of bloody fire exploded outward, ready to consume the entire Warborn Estate in one wrathful breath, with shockwaves wild enough to flatten buildings and reduce stone to sand.

'Damn! I went too far!' Kaden thought in panic as he crossed his arms before him, bracing for the impact.

But…

"My dear children, that's enough."

A voice, impossibly calm yet completely irresistible, echoed clearly through the storm of chaos and power.

A feminine voice.

A voice filled with love, with peace, with warmth yet carrying the weight of law itself, calm and confident but all-consuming, like the voice of a goddess who bore no equal.

And the moment those words rang through the air…

The flames, the shockwaves, the dust, the debris, the smoke, the falling stones and molten echoes…

All of it vanished.

Gone.

Swallowed whole by some invisible, divine void that didn't even make a sound.

Silence took its place, sudden and jarring, spreading across the now-destroyed training ground.

Standing on something barely recognizable as ground, Kaden turned his head toward the source.

So did Daela.

And what they saw… chilled their hearts for a moment.

Their mother stood there, her usual soft smile still on her lips, but her black eyes… those eyes no longer looked human.

They looked like bottomless pools of ancient void, dark oceans that could drown anything between heaven and earth without a ripple.

'Scary!' Kaden couldn't help but think, his throat dry despite himself.

Serena smiled gently.

"You've already destroyed the training ground, and now you want to erase the entire estate?" she asked sweetly but no one trusted that smile.

"HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

A loud, booming laugh shattered the quiet like a hammer, breaking the already fragile space.

"Serena, you're worrying over nothing! My children are incredible!!"

"Kaden, that last technique you created it yourself, didn't you?!" Garros bellowed, voice filled with excitement as he laughed and stepped forward, eyes wild with pride.

Kaden nodded.

Garros laughed harder.

"HAHAHAHAHA!! PERFECT! PERFECT! PEEEERFECT!!!"

SHAAAAATTER!!!

Space cracked again from the force of his joy but it repaired itself instantly, as if the world had already grown used to this family breaking it.

He didn't care.

He was too damn proud of his son.

A technique like that, created in the middle of a battle, at Intermediate Rank?

Unheard of.

People around them could only watch Garros lose himself in pride as he laughed madly at the sky like a man unhinged by love.

Kaden ignored him and walked toward Daela with a soft smile.

A smile that held nothing but sincerity.

"Your last technique was incredible, Daela. How did you do it? It looked like time stopped for a second. And the fact that you slashed space itself while still at Master Rank? That's insane, sister!!" Kaden said with sparkling eyes, filled with amazement and admiration.

Daela said nothing.

Her face remained calm. Blank. Cold.

But inside…

'Eurghhh what should I say?! What should I say?!'

'Thank you? Yours was amazing too? I'm the best sister?'

Well, the last one didn't even make sense but that's how scrambled her brain was, all because Kaden, her little brother, was looking at her like she was the goddess of swords.

What an easy sister.

What a cute sister.

In the end, unable to bear the mental overload, she just barely nodded then spun on her heels and ran off, mumbling some excuse about healing her wounds.

Kaden stared, speechless.

'My sister… is she shy?' he wondered, unsure if he had just discovered a truth or deluded himself completely.

But he didn't linger.

He sat cross-legged in the middle of the shattered field and began replaying the battle, the technique, everything in his mind.

Bloodflame Descent.

He had created it in the heat of the moment now he needed to refine it.

And this time, he would add Soulbrand into it.

He hadn't before, he was afraid of accidentally damaging Daela's soul, but now that the duel is over he can add it.

Eyes closed, breathing calm, he sank into his own mind and began engraving the technique deeper.

From the side, his family watched him.

His parents.

Rory.

Eimi.

Each of them with a different thought, a different emotion.

His parents were filled with pride—pure, overwhelming pride.

They had never imagined their sickly youngest son would become this.

Rory, as always, was sparkling with joy.

'Master is so cool! He's even better now since he has a new body! I love him more!!' she thought with shining eyes, flying in happy circles above him.

Eimi, meanwhile, was thinking about something else.

She was still eight, almost nine.

Not old enough to awaken.

But she was eager.

So, so eager.

Not just to grow stronger.

Not just to be of use to her young lady.

But mostly…

'Zaki…'

She whispered inside her thoughts, her eyes soft and shimmering.

She missed him so much.

Since that day, she hadn't seen him again.

'I hope you're okay, Zaki…'

'…I really hope you're safe. I miss you.'

Her little heart clenched softly, but her spirit didn't falter in fact, it burned brighter, stronger.

Because when she thought of Zaki…

When his image came to her mind…

Eimi was ready to get stronger.

Strong enough to protect him next time.

Strong enough to stand by his side.

And this time…

She wouldn't freeze in front of a disgusting goblin.

—End of Chapter 131—