Kael’s body flew through the air like a broken doll, crashing deep into the forest. The impact shook the ground, sending leaves and debris flying in all directions.
The knights and soldiers, who had been maintaining their distance while firing arrows, froze in sheer terror.
The battlefield turned into chaos. The Byk’s monstrous allies took advantage of the moment, launching themselves at the knights. Swords clashed against claws, shields cracked under the force of brute strength, and cries of pain echoed in the air. Blood splattered across the ground as some knights were flung away, their bodies rolling lifelessly. Others gritted their teeth, trying to hold their ground despite their injuries.
"Lord Kael!" Some of the knights screamed his name, their voices desperate, hoping for a sign that he was still alive.
Lyria, standing at the back, narrowed her eyes. Without hesitation, she sprinted toward the place where Kael had been thrown. Her cold, expressionless face showed no concern, but her grip on the small potion bottle tightened.
Meanwhile, a group of knights, led by Baret and Chris, rushed toward the forest, panic gripping their chests. They couldn’t afford to lose Kael. The thought alone sent a chill down their spines.
Gare and Handel, seeing the soldiers in disarray, took charge of the situation.
"KNIGHTS, STOP THIS NONSENSE!" Gare’s voice boomed across the battlefield.
"Nothing has happened to Lord Kael!"
"Hold your ground! Don’t let these bastards take advantage of your panic!"
Their words worked like a slap. The soldiers steadied themselves, gripping their weapons tightly.
Inside the forest, Kael’s landing had torn through the trees, leaving a trail of destruction. Some trees had been uprooted entirely. The knights rushed through the wreckage, searching frantically.
A deep, rhythmic sound suddenly filled the air.
Chris stopped dead in his tracks. His face paled.
That sound... it was coming from Kael’s body.
The others reached the spot and their eyes widened in horror.
Kael lay in a pool of blood. His armor was shattered at the chest, exposing a gaping wound where the Byk’s claws had torn through. Deep, jagged marks ran across his flesh, revealing bone underneath. Blood trickled from his forehead, mixing with the dirt.
But the real nightmare wasn’t his injuries.
His body was glowing.
A strange, eerie light pulsed from his chest. The air around him grew heavier, filled with an overwhelming, suffocating presence.
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Chris clenched his fists. He could feel it—the violent surge of mana awakening inside Kael. It wasn’t normal. It wasn’t natural. It felt like something that shouldn’t be happening.
"Don’t touch him," Chris ordered. His voice was firm but filled with unease.
They formed a circle around Kael, standing guard. The battlefield noises faded away, drowned by the steady rhythm of the unnatural heartbeat thumping through the air.
Kael’s mind was slipping between reality and something else.Memories of how he was lost, beaten, bruised until he became a powerhouse to be feared appeared in her eyes.
Quite long that he had forgotten that he was also a pathetic best up weakling.
For the first time in what felt like forever, he felt alive. This feeling of being miserable and weak.
It had been so long since he felt it.
The opponent was strong but this intense excitement filled him up.
The weight that had chained him down, the burden that had clung to his very soul—it was gone.
It was like being a king, stripped of his crown, forced to start from the bottom again. That bitter, gnawing feeling had followed him every day.
He never let it show.
Instead, he laughed...
He wanted to tear this world apart and rebuild it his way.
The pain that should’ve been unbearable now felt distant, as if his body wasn’t his own. He could feel the energy inside him, twisting and reshaping everything.
Kael’s eyes snapped open.
He pulled himself up, blood dripping from his wounds, and stood tall.
A fiery red aura crackled around him, growing wilder by the second.
The knights gawked at him, eyes filled with disbelief.
Lyria had reached the scene by now. She stepped forward, her face blank as ever, and extended the potion toward him.
Kael tilted his head, smirking. "Were you worried about me, Lyria?"
She didn’t respond. She simply stared at him, waiting.
But Kael noticed something—just for a second, a flicker of something behind her usual cold eyes.
She shook her head, as if shaking off a thought, and turned away.
Kael chuckled darkly and took the potion. As he gulped it down, he stretched his arms, rolling his shoulders as if shaking off a nap.
"I’m back," he muttered.
His gaze flickered toward the wounded soldiers watching him with anxious, teary eyes. He snorted.
"Oi, what’s with the crying? I’m not dead, you idiots."
"I’ve never felt better."
He raised his hand lazily and flicked his fingers towards Lyria,"Potions."
She immediately handed him which he quickly drowned.
Greenlight spread across the wounded, their wounds knitting together at an alarming rate.
Kael then turned to the most injured among them, and placed a hand on his shoulder," Here take one..."
The soldier looked at Kael and then took it.
A reddish emerged from Kael as he grinned.
"Alright.... Enough babysitting."
He turned toward the battlefield and cracked his knuckles.
"Let’s end that bastard."
Without another word, he launched himself forward.
A single jump took him fifty meters.
In a flash, he landed beside Heru and Kassel, who were locked in battle with the Byk.
Byk growled, its massive claws wrapped in a swirling darkness. It raised a gauntleted fist and slammed it toward Kassel.
The ground exploded under the force of Byk’s punch.But instead of Kassel taking the hit,Kael was there.
One hand gripping the Byk’s claw.
A deadly silence prevailed.
The Byk’s eyes widened while Kael grinned widened.
An immense amount of vitality surged within him.
"What’s wrong, ugly? Not so fun when someone fights back, huh?"
The Byk snarled and yanked its arm back, trying to free itself.
"Heru! Kassel! Find my sword!"
"They’re just standing there?! MOVE!" Kael snapped.
The two snapped out of their shock and ran off, searching desperately.
The Byk roared and swung its other claw straight for Kael’s head.
With a sudden yank, he pulled the Byk off balance.
The massive beast stumbled.
Kael tilted his head back, his wild red aura flaring.
"Oh, you poor, dumb bastard..."
He slammed his knee into the Byk’s gut.
The monster let out a choked snarl, its massive form buckling from the force.