He Became A Monstrous Genius After Obtaining A Time Dilation Artifact

The appearance of his children, their words, their insults… it had all been some sort of hallucination , probably from some hallucinogenic substance.

And Kailen Darkhaven was behind it…

But the words still gnawed at his soul.

The expressions on the faces of his children...

Their pain...

Samaron knew one thing. Inasmuch as it had been a hallucination by Kailen Darkhaven...

He realized one thing , if there was an afterlife, his children would not be happy to see him in the afterlife.

Because he had failed them...

And the hallucination from Kailen Darkhaven

was just something to remind him of what a failure he was,

and how his children would see him even after reuniting with them in death...

Samaron thought he'd find peace in death.

But Kailen Darkhaven had just reminded him , that even in death, he wouldn't have peace.

And that... had made him completely broken.

Samaron was dying, knowing he was a failure of a father — something his children would have abhorred if they were alive.

As for his dying state, Kailen Darkhaven was a Black Flask.

It was definitely a poison Kailen Darkhaven used to kill him.

But how did Kailen Darkhaven even know about him?

Had Kailen Darkhaven been monitoring him from the beginning?

Watching his every move?

Had Kailen Darkhaven known his plans from the beginning?

He had never openly plotted, or shown any sort of desire to get rid of Kailen Darkhaven.

He had always acted like a minor character.

So how did he draw Kailen Darkhaven's attention?

How did the bastard find out about his plan to get rid of Arrie Hall?

This didn't make any sense.

Samaron had collapsed psychologically.

In his final moments, he realized that Kailen Darkhaven was someone he should have never messed with.

He realized that he had himself to blame for being a failure of a father in the first place ,and no one was to blame for the loss of his children but himself.

Heck, it was not even his wife he should have blamed.

Had he been a capable man, his vile wife would have been subdued under his authority... and she would not have destroyed their family.

In the end, he had lost everything , his will and freedom included , had sold his soul to a vimodial to at least avenge his children... but even that had not been fruitful.

He had failed.

It all boiled down to the fact that he had been a shell of a man...

If only he were to receive another chance , but alas...

As Samaron's vision faded, he managed to whisper some words.

He didn't know whether the Kailen Darkhaven he was seeing was really him, or something Kailen Darkhaven had conjured to make Samaron realize he was behind his death...

But he knew that Kailen Darkhaven was looking at him.

So he whispered softly... "I'm sorry."

Then his form shriveled completely... and turned to dust.

Samaron was dead… and not even his bones remained.

The vimodial sighed in its incorporeal form, gaze hovering over where Samaron stood previously.

"What's up with contractees these days?"

The creature sighed... and disappeared.

The powerhouses guarding Arrie didn't see Kailen, neither did they know how Samaron had died without Kailen making an actual appearance here — but they knew he was behind the whole thing.

"This kid is terrifying."

"Are all Black Flasks this terrifying?"

"This is why Black Flasks are revered so much. He's just a beginner stage ascendant level lifeform, but because he is a rank 1 Black Flask, even we will be no match for him if he were to act. Killing beginner stage galactic level lifeforms will be no problem for him, as his alchemical poisons, just like his other alchemical products, can affect beginner stage galactic level lifeforms."

"It's really fortunate that our respective organisations didn't make him an enemy. With him as an ally, the future will be boundless."

"Mmm..."

The powerhouses spoke amongst themselves, veiled from the presence of Arrie, whose eyes were closed in meditation , and from Samaron's anticlimactic end.

Kailen, observing everything from his room through the eyes of Hound 2 , who had introduced the gaseous hallucinogen and poison into Samaron's system , couldn't help but nod in calm satisfaction.

Through the eyes of the shadow creature, veiled from even the presence of the rank 7 beginner stage galactic level lifeforms, his gaze lingered on Arrie with warmth... then drifted towards the veiled outlines of the powerhouses through observing their universe energy pathways.

Kailen took a sip of his coffee, then summoned Hound 2 into the shadow expanse.

"He said he's sorry? Was that supposed to make me feel bad for killing him? Or was he apologizing to his dead children?... Whatever. Not that I care. Anyway , there was nothing more interesting than watching him crumble psycologically. No one goes after someone I care about and gets away with it.

Now , on to the main course. "

****

Astral Empire.

Harkers Estate.

Whispers and conversations travelled amongst clan members.

"Did you hear? Apparently, the clan leader seems to have entered into a state of depression."

"Really?"

"Yeah... she locks herself up in her residence all day. The last time some of the higher ups saw her, she smelt of alcohol and had extremely dark circles under her eyes."

"Well, she can't be blamed though. Kailen Darkhaven is now some sort of myth whispered in fear in the empire."

"Black Flasks are terrifying... but what makes him stand out the most amongst those who may be at his level is the fact that he has a purity level of at least 91 percent for alchemical products he makes."

"As potent as his other alchemical products are, so will his poisons be."

"Right. He can raze the clan to the ground at any time with his power as a rank 1 Black Flask. With the demonstration of his capabilities as a Black Flask, it's no doubt that he's a monster amongst monsters."

"His backing now is also extremely terrifying. The Alchemy Association, Runesmith Association, Long Hai Training Hall, and Atrexia Conglomerate are openly backing him. All these powerhouses are enough to sneeze our clan to death. It's no surprise that she's depressed."

"It's such a pity that we are bound to her by rune oaths. If we flee the clan, the rune oaths will trigger the death mechanism for betrayal... and we will die."

"The clan leader has really doomed us all by offending Kailen Darkhaven... sigh."

"She has ruined us all."

"The fact that Kailen Darkhaven is not attacking the clan makes it all the more tormenting."

"No one knows what the hell he's thinking..."

Suddenly... as the clan members were talking...