The Transcendent Godslayer

Yula recovered quickly, braving through the pain that stung and biologically caused her eyes to water slightly.

Although Kallen's eyes were frighteningly calm and his methods completely methodical, she could hear his faint, labored breaths.

It was obvious to her that exhaustion was getting to him. Although he was a monstrous kid, fighting a Second Ascension ascendent as an Unawakened was something she would have called impossible before now.

One would have to burn through a vast amount of energy to sustain that. She also knew the pain must be getting to him as well.

She refused to believe that it wasn't, even if his expression said otherwise. However, she did admire his tenacity.

She was already moving as her mind completed thoughts and calculations.

Her chain snaked through the air toward his location as he used his arm to push himself up.

'Lucky for you, I'm not fighting to kill you. You wouldn't have lasted this long otherwise,' she thought coldly.

From the first strike, Kallen would be dead if she had wanted to kill him, as she would have gone for his neck rather than his leg.

Kallen knew that as well and preyed on it. The issue was that trying to restrain him posed as much lethal danger to her, as trying to kill him did to him.

The moment Kallen landed on his good leg, the chain snapped around it again, just like it had the first time.

Kallen's eyes still held that same calm, even as the chain became taut.

Whether it was because he couldn't react fast enough or because he had given up, Yula didn't know, nor did she care.

Either way, she would still immobilize him completely... by crushing all his limbs, of course. That way, even if he used his illusions, he wouldn't be able to heal, as she doubted he could regenerate from even that.

'A human that can regenerate... Complete enigma.'

She cleared unnecessary thoughts from her mind as she pulled the chain with full force, the meat on Kallen's leg splintering into minced chops, and lone tendrils.

All this could be healed with one high-grade healing pill or elixir. She just needed to hold him here, until Zephyrus arrived.

Kallen's good leg faced the same fate as the other, his blood spraying like mist, and once again, he was pulled through the air toward Yula.

His eyes however, still held the same depth of calm.

Clenching his core to generate torque and spreading his arms, he was able to change his body dynamics mid-air, now flying toward Yula like a spear.

Their eyes met across the distance, and then Kallen's killing intent descended like an abrupt storm.

A heavy feeling crashed into Yula's psyche, overwhelming her mind and soul in an instant so completely that she almost became a vegetable.

[Blood Will (Second Ascension Passive Skill): A Will steeped in blood, and forged by it.]

[Like a true predator, your killing intent seeps into the minds of those around you—friend or foe alike—numbing their souls and freezing their blood.

With more kills and even more blood in your vicinity, its potency amplifies.]

Kallen's irises shimmered.

What better place was there for this skill to shine than here and now, with fresh blood and bodies all over the place?

This was his trump card. He could have used it from the very beginning, but her guard had been too tight. He had just gotten the skill and had never utilized the skill before, so he didn't know how potent it was.

So he had lured her into a false sense of security, making her feel that even though he was dangerous, she was still stronger than him.

His hand flashed as he crossed the distance between them and crashed onto the grimy floor.

Blood drenched his body the next second, pouring on him like rain, as Yula's head dropped to the floor a moment later—her headless body following not long after.

[You have slain Second Ascension Orc — Deathly Blade]

[Do you wish to digest her Essence?]

[YES] [REJECT]

[REJECT]

Kallen lay on the floor, huffing and panting.

His brain throbbed with aching pain, and his mind was fatigued. All the while, he felt completely out of energy, and his Will was also depleted.

He felt spent in every sense and let out a groan, his last working limb massaging his temple.

After almost a full minute of silence, his breathing and the crackling sound of the flames in the furnace the only sounds in the air, he sighed.

"How long do you plan to keep hiding?" he asked, feeling an agonizing itch in the wounded regions of his limbs as his regeneration trait worked overtime, trying to put him back together.

There was no answer to his question. He seemed to be talking to thin air.

He strained his neck, turning his head toward a particular direction, where Yula had set him down after Menelaus had disemboweled him with a punch.

There, slumped against the wall, was an orc with his chest caved in and bloodied like the others.

He looked every bit dead, but Kallen didn't tear his eyes away from him.

"He's dead already. Isn't that what you've always wanted?" Kallen asked with a smile.

If someone could see him now, they'd think he was mad... talking to a corpse. Except he wasn't.

Democles' eyes stirred open, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, his pained breaths escaping through clenched teeth.

His eyes, however, were completely cold.

Kallen smiled in response.

Of course, Kallen knew he was still alive, he had never received a notification about killing him and had never wanted to kill him in the first place.

"Why did you let me live?" Democles asked coldly.

"Because I find you interesting," Kallen responded.

"I don't have the patience for your mind games. If you let me live out of pity, then you better kill me now, or you'll regret it," Democles replied, his tone final.