Shyla Kendrall was overwhelmed with fear, worry, and anger, her mood not improving in the least after a confrontational encounter with Kerum. To clear her mind, she retreated to the serene forest of the Eternal Realm. The calming surroundings did wonders for her and allowed her to go over the new knowledge her system had granted her for reaching the Mortal King Stage.
As she walked, she planned on how she could support Ken by utilizing her newly gained expertise in the arts of blacksmith, alchemy, and talismans. As long as they had the ressources she would be able to create a well-rounded set of equipment for him. After two hours of contemplation, she was ready to return to Eternal Valhalla and put her plan into action. She even had drafts in mind for the other members of her group, including the idea of gifting Kerum an effective armor, though in a nice piggy pink.
Upon her return, she found Kerum and Yang Yin arguing with David and Richard while Rejansam Resemen looked on. In a fit of rage, Kerum was shouting and physically accosting David, his face red and the shadow of golden flames flickering around him.
Shyla was shocked by the current situation. Normally, David would never confront Kerum, who was known for his unparalleled martial arts skills, the only thing holding him back was his tendency to lose control of his rage.
"Have you lost your mind?! How dare you say something like that to my face?!" It appeared as though he was on the brink of snapping David's neck.
David, however, was unafraid and spoke up against Kerum.
"Kerum, just use your damn head for once! I'm telling you that it's the only possible conclusion! These System have been fucking us sideways, top and bottom since our arrival in this hellhole! Just look at Ken! We've been here for a few days, yet in that short period of time he has come close to death more often than his entire life up until now!
"What lunacy makes you think that he had any say in the matter of when he will have to qualify or whatever his quest is. In case you didn't notice, he wasn't the only one who vanished, his Knights are gone as well, most of them in the middle of training! What more evidence do you need that these damned Systems are playing with us like toys?!"
Kerum was not used to being spoken to in such a manner, especially without Vera present to mediate between him and others. Before anyone could react, Kerum angrily attacked David, slamming him into a tree with such force that several of David's bones broke and the tree splintered.
"You damn shiteating bastard," Kerum growled, his Eternal Slaughter Intent manifesting in the air, easily suppressing David's Domination Intent. His appearance flickered between human and demon form as he stomped on David's legs, breaking them. Just as Kerum was about to deliver the final blow, Shyla screamed from the edge of the forest.
"KERUM, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" she yelled, stopping Kerum in his tracks. He turned towards her, snorting a jet of golden flames before it disappeared.
"Seems like you got lucky this time, David. Don't count on her being there to save you next time!" Kerum spat on David's broken body before walking away. The injured body was healing at an alarming speed due to the Eternal Realm.
"What happened?" Shyla asked her brother, who was still in a terrible state.
"Ken vanished, followed by his Knights just an hour later," David explained while wiping the blood from his mouth. "Well, that is just an estimate, we're not sure when exactly he disappeared, since we only noticed after the Knights were gone. By we, I mean Richard and me, 'cause Kerum and his new partner seem to have known all along not bothering to share that information." David gave an angry look at his abuser. "Sigh, I don't think I'll ever get used to this, and honestly I'll miss it dearly once we return to the outside world. It's like a never-ending tutorial."
Shyla was taken aback when she noticed that her brother was already fully healed, despite the severe beating he had just received. "David, what are you talking about?" she asked.
"Haven't you noticed? I guess you weren't fighting, but while we're inside of this world, we're basically immortal," David explained. "No matter the injury, we heal at lightning speed. Even if we die, our bodies just resurrect after some time. The Eternal Einherjar have killed me a few hundred times already. But if you try to take advantage of this immortality to attack, you receive a severe beating that takes time to heal and brings insufferable pain."
Shyla looked at David in disbelief. "So, you're saying my efforts to save you from Kerum were in vain?"
"Yeah, kind of," David said, feeling slightly embarrassed. He hated to admit that Shyla's efforts to save him were in vain, but he knew that lying to her was not an option. She would have found out eventually and would have punished him severely.
"Where is Keiren?" Shyla demanded an answer.
"My best guess is that he's in the Qualification Realm he talked about," David shrugged. "He vanished after receiving a weapon from Yang Yin, though he reappeared apparently for a moment. I'm not really concerned about him. He'll either show up again or you'll be a widow. But at least you were never really married," David spoke without thinking and immediately regretted his words as soon as he realized who he was talking to.
"What did you just say?" Shyla's outburst was accompanied by a punch that sent David flying like a rag doll hit by a truck. The violence of her outburst even affected the space around David, crushing his bones and hastening his death.
"Who isn't really married?!"
Richard and Kerum watched from the side, feeling pity for David. Although Kerum was quick to anger, he could also calm down quickly. Seeing Shyla manhandling her brother like that gave them shivers.
"Kerum, remind me to never make Shyla angry, ever," Richard said.
"You realize that you are addressing the wrong person regarding this matter, don't you? I would assist her, but I have no intention of inciting her wrath towards myself. David should have kept quiet when he still had the chance to do so." Kerum replied.
Observers were stunned by Shyla's display of power, which was putting the regenerative abilities of the Eternal Realm to the test. The intense anger that Shyla was unleashing upon David was enough to intimidate even experienced fighters like soldiers, and was guaranteed to haunt everyone's dreams.
By the time Shyla forcibly extracted David's tongue and simultaneously crushed his jaw with her superhuman strength, both Kerum and Richard had a newfound appreciation for her showing off how she had reached the Master stage of the old way.
David had never been so humiliated in his life. Getting pummeled around like a child was bad enough, but having his tongue torn out and his jaw crushed in front of his own eyes made him realize that he was beyond saving. It got even worse. David was already feeling his consciousness fade away, a sign of imminent death, but the brutal beating suddenly stopped. Shyla stood above David, her breathing only slightly heavier due to her rage.
David lay there as if dead. Shyla crouched down and whispered in a voice so that only her brother could hear: "If you ever utter or even think that sentence again, I will destroy you like this in the outside world and leave you bedridden for the rest of your life. I will even go so far as to cripple you here." Shyla grabbed David's testicles and squeezed hard, making every man in sight clench their legs in horror. "Should we ever find Vera, I will convince her to find someone else who can fulfill her desires."
David's death was a traumatic experience for everyone present. Kerum barely restrained himself from making any sarcastic comments about Shyla killing David after saving him moments before.
As if noticing his desire, Shyla's gaze shifted to Kerum and asked, "Will he come back to life or did I just permanently kill my brother?" Rajansam offered, "He will be resurrected within the hour, my Empress, but if it would bring you satisfaction, I can personally kill him a few more times."
Shocking the two even further, Shyla seemed to earnestly consider the offer, before eventually declining.