"The news of your failure—I can cover it up for a while," Kairos said, his voice low and tense, "but eventually, the truth’s gonna come out. And when it does, Sea King Maelthorak won’t just sit back. He’ll come for you himself, even if it means disobeying orders or abandoning the battlefield."
Kairos’s eyes flickered with intensity as he stared at Ethan. He spoke slowly, deliberately. "If it really comes to that, I want you to promise me something—no matter what it takes, we kill him. Together. If he lives, neither of us will have a future worth living."
Ethan blinked, caught off guard. He looked at Kairos, surprised.
"You’d actually go against him? Aren’t you one of his contracted heroes?"
"The contract I signed with him is the most basic kind—just a mercenary agreement. I can break it anytime I want. If he were still the man he used to be, I wouldn’t even consider betrayal. But now... sigh."
Kairos let out a long breath. "I’ve already made one wrong move, and now every step I take just digs me deeper. If I don’t betray him, with the way he is now, he’ll destroy me anyway. So yeah... I’m gambling everything on this."
Ethan opened his mouth, hesitated...
Then finally gave a small nod. His voice was quiet. "Alright. I’ll go along with it. But I’m not promising anything about the outcome. If we fail, I’ll do what I can to save myself—but you... you’ll be on your own."
"I understand," Kairos said with a nod.
"Alright then," Ethan said softly. "Let’s seal the deal."
The two of them proceeded to sign a contract.
Not long after, a familiar chime echoed in Ethan’s ears.
"Ten minutes have passed. Your opponent, Naga Swordmaster Kairos, is currently in soul form and has not chosen to resurrect. Soulbind Nexus is now opening an exit... Please note: Soulbind Nexus is now opening an exit..."
In that moment, a swirling vortex appeared before Ethan—an exit portal.
"Let’s go. Time to get out of here." With a sweep of his arm, Ethan led Seraphina, Cicero, and the others through the portal.
Ethan found himself once again inside the palace of the Stellamaris Kingdom. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novelꜰire.net
At the same time, a strange object floated in front of him—something that looked like a fossilized chain. Ethan reached out and grabbed it. As soon as it touched his hand, detailed information about the item appeared before his eyes.
Soulbind Shackles – Level 4 Strategic Artifact
Allows the user to drag both themselves and an enemy into a special dimension—Soulbind Nexus. Within the Nexus, the exit only opens when one side has died three times in a row, or when one side dies and chooses not to resurrect.
The defeated party may choose whether or not to revive. If they refuse, their soul is sealed and imprisoned within the Soulbind Shackles.
The victor may choose to either permanently imprison or release the captured soul.
Current Status: Unusable
Souls Imprisoned: 1/1
The Soulbind Shackles were his.
"So the Soulbind Shackles can only hold one soul at a time, huh..." Ethan muttered, eyes narrowing as the realization sank in.
"Player Valkarion, are you sure you want to release the soul currently imprisoned within the Soulbind Shackles? Warning: This action is irreversible. Once released, the soul cannot be reclaimed."
Ethan nodded without hesitation.
Honestly, no matter how things had gone with Kairos, he’d always planned to let him go. Because in the end, his real target wasn’t Kairos—it was the Leviathan Hero lurking beneath the Arcane Mistsea, deep in the ocean’s abyss.
And to take that monster down, he needed the Soulbind Shackles empty—ready to trap the Crimson Ultimate’s Leviathan.
"With these shackles in hand... we might actually have a shot at beating that Leviathan," Ethan whispered, eyes blazing with intensity.
His fists clenched tight.
Everything was in place now—timing, terrain, allies. All the pieces had finally come together. Whether they won or lost would come down to this final gamble.
Ethan roared silently in his heart, brimming with unshakable confidence.
At that moment, a flash of white light burst forth, and Kairos’s soul vanished in an instant, whisked away to a distant deep-sea altar.
But he didn’t choose to resurrect right away.
Instead, barely holding himself together, he turned to a nearby guard—who was already pale with shock—and spoke in a weak, strained voice.
"Go... get Orykas. Hurry. I... I don’t have much time..."
"Y-Yes! Right away, Lord Kairos!"
"Master, you’re really just letting him go? Isn’t that kind of a waste?"
Kyros stared at the spot where Kairos’s soul had disappeared, a little disappointed. "That was a once-in-a-lifetime chance! If we’d killed him two more times, I bet I could’ve leveled up like crazy!"
"Cut it out. You really think he’d just sit there and let you kill him two more times?" Ethan shook his head, eyes gleaming. "No one’s that stupid."
"Besides, if we didn’t let him go, the Soulbind Shackles would be useless. And without that artifact, how the hell are we supposed to take on the Leviathan Hero?"
"We’re going after the Leviathan Hero again?!"
Before Kyros could even respond, Seraphina practically jumped forward, eyes blazing with excitement. "Master, when do we leave? I’ve been ready for this! Don’t worry—this time, we’re taking it down for sure!"
Even Cicero, usually the calm and collected one, looked fired up. "With the Soulbind Shackles in our hands, that thing’s innate ability is basically neutralized. With our current strength, we’ve got a real shot."
"Crimson Ultimate Heroes are insanely powerful after their second awakening, yeah—but they’re not invincible. We’ve got a chance."
Seeing Seraphina and Cicero so fired up, Kyros couldn’t help but jump in too, practically bouncing with excitement.
"Take it down! Take it down! Take it down!"
Truth be told, when they first took out Naga Swordmaster Kairos, it didn’t feel like much. But now? Now the energy in the room was electric. Seraphina, Cicero, Kyros—even Ethan himself—could feel their hearts pounding, blood surging with adrenaline.
They were about to go up against a Crimson Ultimate Hero.
Legendary-tier heroes—those orange-ranked powerhouses—were strong, sure. But they were still mortal. Crimson Ultimate Heroes? Even fresh out of the womb, people called them demigods walking the earth.
That wasn’t just hype. That was a whole different tier of existence.
And if their plan worked—if they actually pulled this off—they wouldn’t just be winning a battle.
They’d be slaying a god.
And what could possibly be more thrilling than that?
So yeah, the mood in the room was very different now.
"Rest up for a few days," Ethan said, his voice like thunder, firm and resolute. "Then we go god-hunting."
The chant erupted from Seraphina, Kyros, and the others, echoing through the palace halls like a war cry.