Below the stone structure lay the village, or what remained of it.
Most of the houses were flattened and destroyed.
Blood and flesh were splattered across the ruins, with severed limbs and mangled bodies scattered everywhere.
Though Kayden had read about this battle, reading about it and seeing it in real life were two different things.
Still, he didn't feel much when he saw the flesh of the dead men.
He had seen it too. He had seen it every day back in his world.
Death was just a wrong word to the wrong person away.
Could he have saved these people? Yes, he could have.
'I'm already going to change a lot of fates, but altering a major plot point like this will significantly change the future.'
He did not want that at all.
He would rather live knowing what would happen, even if it meant the death of a few thousand, than live in a world where anything and everything could happen.
Kayden was not the hero who saved everyone.
He was the devil who would just sit there and watch the world burn.
'Their fates are already written by that stupid author. There's no reason for me to change that.'
'Tsk, tsk.'
In the middle of the flattened village lay eight scattered dead bodies of regular humans and... dwarves.
If Kayden hadn't read the novel, he would have mistaken the small bodies for children.
'Well, child labor is still prevalent in some kingdoms here.'
Not that he cared, since all the children in Rusty Ridge worked before they could even think.
"There, that thing is..."
In front of the eight people, a large bundle of black mass lay.
It had limbs like humans, but the thing was unnaturally long, stretching about seven or eight meters, and it was completely black.
Kayden strained his eyes to look at the thing and was relieved when he saw it twitching from time to time.
"It isn't dead yet. If it were dead, I wouldn't be able to harness its power."
In the novel, it was portrayed this way. Whoever kills these ancient beings absorbs their powers, but there was another complication in the equation.
This power, this Celestial art powering energy was not compatible with someone who had either mana or aura.
Mana being used by magicians and aura being used by weapon masters alike.
So how did the hero use the Celestial power then?
Well, like all the YA stories, the overpowered main character will meet an overpowered villain, gets his mana and aura core destroyed, which will make him a suitable vessel for the Celestial art if he manages to kill an Ancient being.
And no, everyone is born with either a mana core or an aura core, rarely with both essences combined into one core.
Kayden is special. Special in the sense that he was cursed in the womb, which made him this twisted and cruel being.
'Smoke is coming from the being.'
'Looks like it's dying.'
With a huff from his belly, he started to climb down the rocks.
The body was so fragile that even when he was careful, he slipped and tumbled down, hitting rocks and stones, bruising his body.
Finally, he landed on the ground with a thud, lucky enough that his head didn't hit the ground.
"Ugh...shit."
He was thankful he fell near the ground, or else he would've been the unluckiest person to transmigrate in fiction.
But the damage was done. Blood flowed from his head and body.
His luxurious dress was torn here and there, bruises forming on the torn areas.
Now he looked like a survivor of this village.
An unfortunate one, at that.
"Huff~ His pain receptors are messed up."
Kael Ryuu would've just stood up and dusted off from a fall like this.
This was nothing new to him.
Blood wasn't a stranger.
But Kayden Ashbourne had lived a peaceful life.
He had never tasted the feeling of pain and torture.
'Dammit. My head is spinning.'
Kayden slowly sat on the ground and closed his eyes, resting for a bit before limping towards the battleground.
He had to walk over the mangled corpses of the villagers.
Even when he managed to jump over a pile of corpses with his limp leg and broken body, he somehow managed to safely land on mashed flesh and blood.
"..."
He wanted to peel off his outfit, which seemed like it was dragging him back, but any evidence left here would lead back to the Ashbourne duchy, which was a big no-no.
And finally, he hid behind a broken house and peeked through the remaining wall.
The sun was blazing high in the sky, and the scene looked straight out of a hack and slash game.
Kayden's vision was getting blurred, and he couldn't stand straight anymore.
"..."
'Dammit, I'm losing consciousness.'
'Tsk, tsk.'
'What a broken body!'
He waited for a moment, observing the scene and ensuring none of them were moving other than the Ancient being, which was holding on for its life.
It was a sad state for both parties.
It was said that the ancient beings were brought back to life by the cult called the Hand of the Dead, the same one responsible for the Night of the Ashes, and they were just sending them here for a trial run.
'How messed up is that.'
They wanted to know how powerful their reanimated puppets were without their full power awakening.
'After seeing this, they will get their answers.'
There was one more in this kingdom, that's running around and killing people.
It's less powerful than this but more sentient that's what makes it all the dangerous.
'That person is there too.'
He then slowly walked towards the scene.
His steps were slow, and he tried to make no sound at all, fearing the Ancient being would wake up.
"..."
The closer he got, the clearer he saw the faces of the dead heroes.
'Nobles. All of them. Not a single commoner in the ranks of the heroes.'
'Well, that will change today.'
It was common knowledge that the nobles, with their infinite wealth and generations of knowledge, produced the best warriors and mages in the world.
But if a smart person can understand the concept of mana and aura, they too can become powerful.
After all, a person's power is directly proportional to the amount of understanding they have with their essence.
'Tsk, tsk.'
Clicking his tongue, he turned towards the ancient being, which still had smoke emanating from its body.
It was like hot air moving upwards on a hot road.
The thing looked like a bodybuilder elf. Yep, an elf. It had long, pointy ears.
But the elves of this world were elegant and sophisticated, with skin as pure as crystal and hair as shimmery as a gem.
This thing was nothing like the elves.
It had long, messy black hair, its limbs were unnaturally long, its face was elongated and muscular, and its mouth was too big that Kayden could put his entire head inside it.
It looked like half-cooked animal intestines mashed together like a snowman, but for the carrot nose, they slapped two ridiculously shaped elven ears made of clay.
The thing didn't even have armor with it, only a piece of plain cloth wrapped around its waist.
"Grr..."
Suddenly, he heard a growl that made Kayden jump back two steps.