The Transcendent Godslayer

That memory, too, was washed away... until only one remained.

Drawing the runes on himself for the ritual, he smelled blood. A thick scent of blood.

Instantly, he knew something terrible had gone wrong. When he got to the forge, where he had left the children, and from where the smell came, he saw something that made him lose his mind.

At that moment, he realized Kallen walked a path not of simple hatred... No, it was hatred, but a different kind, one steeped in slaughter and massacre.

The children he had raised like his own, protecting them from the evil that was the surface, were all being slaughtered before his very eyes... by the one he had thought of as a student.

He knew, then, that perhaps he had created a monster... He had created his own monster. And thus, decided to put him down.

If Kallen thought he had rage, he would show him what true rage was.

How funny it was to discover that the kid had been toying with him all along, and he had practically just offered his own head to the guillotine.

"HAND OF THE FORGE!!"

A roar snapped him out of his memory lane, and its reverberating impact stirred something deep within his soul, so deep that the chains snapped completely.

Instantly, his perception of the world changed, and he found himself in the familiar forge... now wrecked and unrecognizable, littered with the corpses of children.

His gaze fell on a spearhead that seemed to grow larger and larger before his eyes, until—

Chi.

It pierced through his eye sockets, into his brain.

At the end of the spear stood the same boy. Crimson hair with hidden strands of silver. Blood trickled down his nose, and his eyes were... still and indifferent.

Menelaus memories came crashing down on him like an avalanche, and he finally understood.

He had always been playing to the boy's tune.

There had never been a time when he was superior.

'Monster,' he thought, as his consciousness slipped into the forever visit to oblivion.

---

[You have slain Second Ascension Corruption State Deviant — Expert Blacksmith]

[Do you wish to digest his Essence?]

[YES] [REJECT]

[REJECT]

Kallen slowly let go of the spear, dismissed the notification, and let out a breath.

There was something in the notification that bugged him, but he couldn't look into it at the moment... The next stage wouldn't be so kind.

As if on cue, a chain whipped against the back of his knee, then wrapped tightly around it.

The serrated little teeth like blades on it sank into his flesh, but Kallen knew that wasn't all... and more did come.

The chain snapped taut and was pulled with such force that it completely tore apart his muscles, tendons, and even ligaments.

The only thing keeping his leg from being completely detached was the joint still held together by bone.

The momentum of the chain pulling back was so powerful, it even pulled him toward the attacker...

Big mistake.

---

Yula had been frozen in shock as she watched Kallen move into an attack, and Menelaus practically slide toward him, offering his head on a platter.

While she appreciated the ingenuity, she thought it was pointless.

She knew just how strong Menelaus had become, and not long ago, he had turned Kallen's insides into his outsides when he was weaker.

Screaming at the idiot, she rushed forward to save him, but against her expectations, he actually succeeded, and using such an unconventional tactic.

She was utterly gobsmacked, but made a decision instantly.

Kallen was open now. The Kallen before her was the real Kallen, not an illusion.

She lashed her chain toward his knee, tearing it completely. Using the recoil, she pulled him toward her, before he could use his illusions.

Even with the wrecking pain, Kallen's eyes were calm, like the surface of a glacier.

Two kunai blades, long forgotten in the depths of his soul, instantly appeared in his hands.

Yula's instincts screamed for her to get as far away from the beautiful, deadly blades as possible.

She dodged a swipe from him that nearly cleaved her nose, eyes turning frigid. Though Kallen wasn't awakened, he gave her more feeling of danger than even Menelaus.

An unawakened making her feel this way... it was interesting. She had no idea what kind of sorcery he even used to manifest these frightening blades.

Her fist struck his midsection, sending him crashing into the ground.

She raised her foot, ready to stomp and shatter his legs, so as to immobilize him completely.

At the same time, a creeping feeling of danger breathed down her neck, but she ignored it. Who knew if his illusions could affect not just her senses, but her mind?

However, instead of the snapping sounds she expected, the Kallen on the floor dissolved into smoke, and she stomped only on blood.

Whoosh.

The sound of a blade cutting through air reached her ears, and she could already feel a tingling on the side of her neck before it even hit.

Luckily, she hadn't fully ignored that sensation of danger. Trusting her instincts, she moved her body aside, and her hand snapped out, clamping down on his arm like a vice.

She exerted her full grip strength, and the bones in his arm fractured into shards.

In the same breath, she flipped Kallen over her shoulder, slamming him to the ground and knocking the wind from his lungs.

Now in position, her hand shot toward his remaining arm, all her perception, and even her Will, locked on him, so she wouldn't be fooled by his illusions again.

But before she could reach it, Kallen's knee slammed into her nose with brutal force, using both his momentum and hers against her.

Her head whipped back from the blow, the impact rattling her brain, jarring it with pain, and disorienting her senses.

Kallen rolled away, pressing his weight onto his only good arm. The muscles of the arm bulged, veins rising like steel cords beneath his skin.

He pushed himself upright, balancing on his only good leg while his regeneration trait worked to repair the obliterated leg muscles, and the shattered arm.