Splurt!
A massive amount of blood splattered as a figure knelt on the ground, clutching his neck.
"Kael… no…" Valthera gasped in shock, covering her mouth.
"Crown Prince!"
"Crown Prince!!!"
"CROWN PRINCE!"
Shouts of disbelief and horrified gasps echoed across the battlefield as Kael struggled to stop the bleeding.
"I expected this… This speed, this strength… is this the true power of the Son of Destiny?" Kael thought, his hands drenched in his own blood.
His vision blurred. He was losing consciousness fast. Yet, no one moved. No one dared to interfere. After all, who would dare to stand against the world itself?
Kael forced himself to look up. Amid the stunned crowd, a few familiar faces stood out—Darius, Jack, his sister Valthera, and even, unexpectedly, Kim.
They were all shocked. They wanted to help. But they didn't.
To move now meant becoming an outcast. A traitor. Someone destined to suffer until death. No help. No salvation.
"Hahaha… So this is the extent of their love?" Kael sneered bitterly in his mind. "Even the ones I fought for… even the soldiers of the Jimi Kingdom… they won't help. My own people won't. Valthera won't. Darius, Jack… Ha! And Kim? I never expected anything from you anyway."
He laughed at himself. He had already died once before—death no longer scared him.
"Sigh… This is why it's better to see people as tools. Where does trust lead? Nowhere. Humans will betray you for the right price, and if they don't, it just means the price isn't high enough yet. And when death comes knocking… they'll abandon you too. Such repugnant creatures."
Kael opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
"There's no use resisting, Crown Prince," Garrick's calm voice echoed through the battlefield. "You have pushed me too far… and now, your end is here. No one will dare to help you."
Silence. No one opposed him. No one declared loyalty to Kael. No one was willing to die for him.
"Sigh… but dying here? No… that's not what I want." Kael's thoughts grew frantic. "No… I already died once. In this life, I must become the strongest. No… I want to be the embodiment of true power. I… I… what do I want?"
His body collapsed. The battlefield fell silent.
Crown Prince Kael was dead.
*********
"No… no…"
"Chaos… the Orb of Chaos trial… I want to be Chaos. Not just control it… but become it. I want Chaos to be me, and I, Chaos."
A voice answered.
(Chaos Body fully integrated. Let the birth of the Chaotic Being begin.)
BOOM!
Kael's consciousness reawakened as a black orb surrounded him.
In the bright daylight, a sphere of absolute darkness—five meters wide—formed around his fallen body. No one could see inside. It was unnatural. It did not belong.
Garrick turned, eyes narrowing at the eerie phenomenon.
"What is this…?" he muttered.
Valthera's breath caught in her throat. "Where's Kael?"
"This… Is this Garrick's doing?" Darius asked, confused. "No… even he looks shocked."
Then, suddenly—
BOOM!!!!
A shockwave erupted from the orb, sending everyone except Garrick flying backward. An overwhelming sense of dread crashed over them, making weaker warriors' legs buckle.
"This… this…" Valthera stammered, her body frozen in fear. She wasn't the only one.
"Crown Prince…" Garrick's eyes glowed as he stared at the black sphere.
Cracks spread across the dark orb as the sky itself darkened.
Garrick could feel it.
The world was trembling in fear.
BOOM!
The orb shattered—revealing a figure cloaked in pure darkness.
Garrick leapt back, but even he wasn't fast enough—he was blasted away, crashing into a distant mountain.
"What was that?!"
"Did Garrick just get sent flying?!"
"That speed… what kind of monster is this?!"
As the dust settled, the figure came into view.
It was still Kael—but different. His frame had grown leaner, and black flames coiled around his body. Dark scales covered his form, streaked with veins of deep purple.
"Kael… what have you become?" Valthera thought, trembling.
A single wave of his aura had forced her back. The sheer pressure… it was terrifying.
BOOM!
The mountain rumbled as a golden-armored arm emerged from the rubble.
DOOM.
The mountain collapsed as Garrick stepped forward, his body unharmed.
"So, you did have something up your sleeve," he smirked arrogantly. "But as long as your physique isn't stronger than mine, you are beneath me."
BOOOOM!!!
The air cracked as Garrick's speed shattered the sound barrier. A deafening ring spread through the battlefield, the sheer force blasting away anyone below Martial Grandmaster.
Kael turned his head slightly—just enough to let Garrick's fist pass by.
Behind him, an entire hill crumbled from the sheer force of the missed strike.
Kael countered—his knee shot up, aimed at Garrick's stomach.
Garrick's left arm blocked it just in time.
The battle erupted. Blow after blow, their attacks shook the land. The scale of destruction grew with every exchange.
At this point, those below Martial Grandmaster weren't just at risk—they would die if caught in the battle. Even Martial Grandmasters struggled to stay standing. The battlefield cleared itself.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! DOOM! GOM!
The earth caved in, sinking dozens of meters. Hills collapsed. Shockwaves tore through the land.
"Even at this level, you're still weaker than me," Garrick sneered, deflecting a kick with a casual swipe.
Kael was sent flying, flipping through the air before landing hard, skidding back dozens of meters.
But as he rose to his feet—
"You're right," he admitted. His voice was cold. Chilling. Like the abyss itself.
And the moment he spoke—
A change spread across the battlefield.
A strange, unsettling restlessness took hold.
The weaker warriors—Martial Masters—began turning on each other, their eyes filled with sudden, uncontrollable greed.
(Chaos gained: +5…+5…+7…+8…+9…??)
(Congratulations. Breakthrough to Grandmaster Stage 4 achieved.)
But Kael wasn't satisfied.
He vanished.
A second later, he reappeared—right in front of Lucian's younger brother.
The man barely had time to open his mouth—
SLASH!
A head flew. Blood sprayed into the air like a crimson fountain.
Lucian's younger brother—the leader of the Fin Land Army—was dead.
But Kael didn't stop there.
He stepped into the enemy army, cutting down Martial Masters like they were ants.
The Grandmasters wouldn't stand idle.
Their battle had begun.
(Ding — chaos trial completion 30%)
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