Reborn as a Useless Noble with my SSS-Class Innate Talent

The sky above the village outskirts had darkened unnaturally, a swirling miasma of corrupted divine mana coating the clouds in thick black veils.

Even before the first step into the afflicted territory, the land appeared broken, as though scorched by an invisible fire. Trees twisted into grotesque spirals, their bark peeling, blackened like charcoal.

The ground was soft and uneven, sloshing beneath Kyle's boots like mud—except it wasn't waterlogged, it was melting from within, corrupted at the very core.

Kyle's boots stilled at the edge of the ruin.

His eyes narrowed.

"Tch… even the outskirts are ruined. Looks like we're walking straight into a cursed swamp."

Melissa gagged beside him, her hand clamped over her mouth as she fought the instinct to retch.

The mana in the air was suffocating—too thick, too foul. Her whole body trembled like a reed in a storm.

"You can fall back. I'll handle this alone."

Kyle said, not unkindly, his voice calm as his hand slipped to his sword.

But Melissa gritted her teeth and lifted her chin, defiance hardening her gaze.

"No, young master. I'm not leaving your side. Not now. I've trained too long to keep standing behind you forever. Let me show you what I've learned."

Kyle glanced at her, a flicker of surprise behind his otherwise cold demeanor. But he said nothing.

Instead, he raised his hand, and the mana around him shifted, sharp as a blade drawn from its scabbard.

From the melting landscape, the first monsters emerged—formless shadows slithering like serpents, with only gaping maws and hundreds of tendrils leaking corrupt divine energy.

They screeched, not from mouths, but from the mana itself—each sound an affront to life.

Kyle stepped forward.

The monsters surged.

With a flick of his wrist, Kyle's sword was drawn, and in the next moment, he moved.

A blur of motion—clean, deadly, precise.

His sword slashed through the first three creatures, severing their mana core with such force that their entire bodies imploded in silence.

The foul energy leaked into the air but Kyle's own mana acted like a purifier, burning it before it could reach him.

"Stay to my left."

Kyle ordered as he danced through the next wave, his movements fluid and elegant, yet ruthless.

His footwork was deliberate—each step pressing down a rune that shimmered beneath his feet and launched a blast of purifying mana, erasing anything that dared follow him.

Melissa obeyed, but she didn't stay idle.

Channeling her mana, she drew her twin daggers and flicked them into motion. Unlike Kyle's pure force, her strength came from speed and precision.

She danced in the gaps he left behind—cutting down tendrils with rapid bursts of wind mana.

She called out, slicing through a monster that lunged from the shadows.

Kyle caught the glimmer of her blade out of the corner of his eye. She had grown. He could feel it—not just her resolve, but her execution.

Still a bit rough. Still too eager to impress. But it was real power.

He didn't say anything.

Words weren't needed when death surrounded you.

Another wave came—this time larger. The monsters had learned.

They shifted their shapes, some swelling to the size of carriages, others multiplying rapidly into swarms of snake-like creatures with jagged mana fangs.

Kyle sheathed his sword.

Melissa blinked.

"Young master?"

He raised his bare hand—and in a single breath, golden mana exploded around him like a second sun had descended into the cursed land.

A pulse rippled from his palm.

The moment it touched the enemy, the monsters convulsed. One by one, they exploded violently, the light of Kyle's mana cutting through them like a righteous guillotine.

Melissa stumbled as the shockwave hit her, but Kyle caught her wrist and steadied her.

"Careful!"

He muttered.

She nodded and steadied her breath.

"Thank you. And sorry. That was… incredible."

"They're not real gods. Just leftovers of their filth. Don't give them more respect than they deserve."

Kyle said.

As they moved deeper, the mana grew heavier, but Kyle's own aura was like a shield, pushing back against the decay.

Still, even he frowned when they neared the heart of the village.

There, rising like a tumor from the earth, was a writhing mass of black vines. It pulsated, breathing like a living thing.

Embedded within it was a massive mana crystal—dark and churning, glowing with the same power Kyle had sensed back in the god realm.

"This is no accident."

He said under his breath.

The crystal pulsed again.

From behind it, a monstrous creature began to rise. Humanoid in shape, but far too tall, and composed entirely of fused corrupted souls.

Its voice was a cacophony, screaming in dozens of different languages.

Kyle narrowed his eyes.

"A soul amalgam? They've resorted to this filth already?"

Melissa stepped forward, but Kyle raised a hand.

"No. You've done enough. This one's mine."

The monster lunged, its elongated arms stretching out like ropes of tar. Kyle met it head-on.

Sword clashed with corrupted soul.

The impact shook the ground.

The creature howled, claws scraping at Kyle's defenses—but he didn't move. Instead, he raised his left hand and summoned a rune circle in the air.

Chains of golden light shot out, wrapping around the beast's limbs. It fought, screeched, twisted, but the chains held.

Kyle's sword lit with pure mana, and in a single upward slash, he cleaved the entire beast in two.

It didn't just fall—it disintegrated, the souls within it screaming one last time before silence consumed the cursed land.

Melissa stared, speechless, at the remains—the now inert crystal crumbling to dust at Kyle's feet.

Kyle turned toward her.

"This isn't just about power anymore. They're trying to poison the world until it breaks. And I won't let that happen."

He said, his voice low.

Melissa bowed her head.

"Then I'll fight by your side, no matter what comes next."

Kyle nodded once—and then looked out into the cursed horizon.

There would be more.

But he'd be ready.

Kyle surveyed the wasteland around them, the air still thick with remnants of the battle's aftermath.

Though the corrupted mana had been cleared, the earth remained wounded, its soil blackened and its trees hollowed husks of what they once were.

He knelt and placed a palm on the scorched ground, releasing a gentle wave of his own purified mana into it.

The area lit up faintly, the veins of corruption dimming just slightly under his influence.

Melissa watched in quiet awe.

"…You're healing the land?"

Kyle stood, brushing the dirt off his glove.

"Temporarily. My mana can suppress the corruption, but this… this rot runs deep. It'll take time, or a more permanent solution."

She followed his gaze into the horizon.

"Do you think there are more of these crystals out there?"

Kyle didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned and walked back toward their horses.

"There are. And they won't stop until they've seeded enough corruption to reclaim this world."

Melissa jogged after him, determination flaring in her eyes.

"Then we'll stop them. All of them."

Kyle offered a small smirk.

"Good. I'll need people like you."

As they mounted up, a breeze swept over the ruined village, carrying with it the faint scent of death and divine mana.

But in the midst of that, something else lingered—hope. Faint, but persistent.

Kyle looked ahead, gripping the reins.

"This is just the beginning," he muttered.

And with that, they rode back toward the capital—to prepare for war.