Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power

Soul… Eat…

Soul eater?

Kaden's frown deepened so much you could almost see a chasm forming between his eyebrows. His face darkened, the words of the healer repeating inside his mind continuously like a broken record.

'His soul is being eaten?' Kaden managed to think, his heart pounding against his ribs like a prisoner desperate to escape its cage.

The room's atmosphere grew heavy, flooded with uneasiness. The feeling that at any moment something might snap lingered in the air like a coiled serpent ready to strike.

Meris and Inara, standing behind Kaden, remained silent. Their expressions grew darker, their stunning faces shrouded by the darkness that was slowly clouding the sky above Waverith.

No one said anything. Even Eliot fell silent. It seemed he had used all his remaining energy to utter those last words.

Kaden kept contemplating the situation, his thoughts weaving slowly into a canopy of grim reasoning. The very concept of soul eating might be unfamiliar to others, but not to him. He himself ate souls.

Not the souls of the living like the dreadful sight before him, but the souls of the dead…and his usage of them was to nourish his own.

He didn't have any direct control over the process, and yet, now more than ever, Kaden wished he had that kind of power. The only thing he possessed that came close to soul manipulation was his trait, Soulbrand. But even that was meant for killing and tracking.

Not healing.

Still, the situation wasn't hopeless yet. There was his black flame — the power that could devour mana, bloodline, and lifespan. So, logically, if the runes devouring Eliot's soul worked on any of these three aspects, then perhaps he could salvage the situation before it reached the point of no return.

He acted immediately.

He reached out his right hand and pressed it against Eliot's chest. Kaden suppressed a shudder as his fingers met the cold, wet surface of skin covered in pulsing, slithering veins that crawled like living worms beneath his touch. The instinct to recoil gnawed at him, but he clenched his jaw and forced his hand to stay.

Black flame flickered sporadically around his palm before spreading across Eliot's body like a funeral shroud woven for the dead.

All those present witnessed the sight but said nothing, not even a whisper. They all knew the weight of Kaden's power.

Except, of course, Medusa and Inara, neither of whom had ever seen this power firsthand. Yet even without touching it, they could sense the ghastly nature of that flame.

For Inara, the monsters dwelling within her began to squirm restlessly, whimpering to their mother to distance herself from Kaden.

She ignored them.

Still, Kaden's frown didn't ease.

As the black flame enveloped Eliot, Kaden was able to inspect his condition more thoroughly. He felt the sluggish rhythm of his heart, the lagging of his lungs, the agony deeper than flesh, the torment that went beyond anything physical. Only then did he fully grasp the suffering Eliot was enduring.

And with just a whisper of that pain brushing against his mind, Kaden could only describe it in one way…

It was as if he were alive while inhuman beasts, with teeth sharper than a Soulforger's blade, were tearing him apart limb by limb…savoring the taste as they devoured him alive.

And yet…

Eliot was feeling something far worse.

But his surprise was not over.

Step by step, careful not to hurt Eliot, Kaden searched for the mana responsible for this catastrophe. He intercepted one of the black veins that crawled out from the rune, attempting to devour it completely.

It didn't work.

He clenched his teeth, stress blooming beneath his skin like a fever. Refusing to give up, he targeted another vein, thinking maybe — just maybe — it was only that one. Still, nothing worked.

The silence that followed in the cramped, rocky room was the silence of the dead, of mourning. It was as if everyone present, unconsciously, had already begun to prepare themselves for the inevitable.

Because Kaden realized something terrifying. The black rune wasn't working with mana. It wasn't working with intent either, he would have known then.

Without a doubt, it wasn't Will.

So… what was it?

Kaden couldn't dwell too deeply on that thought yet. But even without understanding the full mechanism, he already had an idea. He snapped his head toward his parents, whose usually relaxed and warm expressions were now clouded by worry.

Not for Eliot. They barely cared.

But for Kaden. Because they knew what it would do to him, to stand here and witness the death of the father of the woman he had wronged.

That was the real weight of the moment.

Kaden already carried guilt for failing Rea, not only as her partner, but as the man who sought comfort in the arms of other women behind her back. And now, on top of that, you wanted him to bear witness to the death of her father?

That was a thought he would rather not entertain.

He needed a way out…something, anything. So he spoke, his voice colder than frostbite.

"The traitor…" he growled. "Where is he? Where is Luke Thornspire?"

He demanded, his mind consumed by a storm of anxiety and rage.

Before his parents could even answer, Meris did. "He's chained inside the pit," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, her fingers brushing softly against him.

Kaden exhaled sharply, the warmth of her touch grounding him.

Abomination hadn't killed Luke, he still belonged to the family of her mistress, after all. So she had killed the rest and left him there, surrounded by the undeniable evidence of his betrayal.

Kaden, at that time, didn't know who among them had helped the Thornspire, but whoever it was, he was ready to give that person a bloody kiss.

He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly before speaking again.

"His soul is the issue, Mother, Father," he said, turning his gaze between them, then to Mayari. "We need a way to keep his soul from being completely consumed by that rune."

He fixed his stare on them, eyes flicking with restrained urgency. "You can do that, right?" His lips curved into a crooked smile. "Just enough to buy us time," he pressed.

"We will," Serena said firmly. "We will, my baby."

Without another word, Kaden stood and moved toward the pit, his eyes lifeless.

Accompanying him on each side were Meris and Inara, left and right.

The moment he stepped outside, a crow dropped onto his head like a falling rock.

"Master! Master! Where are you going?!" Little Rory chirped, his beak pricking gently at Kaden's left ear, red eyes gleaming with childlike excitement.

Inara raised an eyebrow, her Origin stirring instinctively at the sight of the crow. She frowned, but said nothing.

Kaden fell silent for a heartbeat, then muttered, voice low and unshakable,

"I'm going to meet a betrayer."

…

Fokay — Emerald's Forest.

Hot.

Huff, huff, huff

The sound of heavy breathing was loud as a young man, battered blue clothes clinging to his body, dried blood streaking his face, his blue hair and eyes dulled by fatigue, walked down a road scorched by rock and grass alike.

The yellow sun of Fokay was shining furiously, casting a haze so thick and bright you felt you could almost touch it.

The road was trapped between rows of emerald trees, forming a landscape too green for the weary young man walking along the path.

It had been days since he entered this place, walking in circles in search of the Kingdom of Elves, but nothing was in sight. Only beasts like castely apes, leavely birds, and persistent wolves surrounded him, bothering him to no end.

They were weak, but too many for someone who had escaped death only by the sheer mercy of the watchful gods.

"By the Brain, where is that damned kingdom?" he cursed, his tone soaked in annoyance. He really couldn't take it anymore. His body was failing him, and soon it would stop moving altogether.

Deciding to avoid that outcome, he sighed and slumped his heavy body beneath a tree. His back rubbed against the rugged bark, feeling both discomfort and relief at the same time.

"A breath… I need to catch a breath!" he said, his nostrils and mouth wide open as he tried to pull in the air around him like a vacuum.

He then closed his eyes, intending to sleep, too tired to care about his safety anymore.

That decision cost him.

Not even a second later, he felt the cold touch of iron against his neck.

The tip of an arrow, he guessed.

He froze.

His eyes fluttered, about to open, only to close again as an emotionless voice reverberated deep into his skull.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The voice was feminine, soft and calm like the clacking of the leaves above him. But the man felt none of that, he only felt the cold, sharp tip of the arrow threatening to pierce his throat in one strokes.

He swallowed loudly, his throat dry like droughted land, then stammered, "I… I'm sorry, but I'm just looking for the Kingdom of Elves."

The arrow pressed harder against his skin. A thin line of blood trickled down. His body trembled, he bit back a yelp.

"Who are you?" The voice was colder this time.

Fear and urgency clouded his thoughts. Death was standing right before him, and he needed to complete his mission before anything else. He brushed his finger against his space ring.

"I-I'm here to see my young master!"

He said, then, more strongly…

"I'm here to see young master Nuke Cerveau!" he shouted, and the woman, silver-haired, brown-eyed, and sharp-eared, had her eyes widen at the name he uttered.

"You… You're looking for the Princess's Aurelia's consort?"

Silence fell like a blade.

The man froze, stunned. Instinctively, he opened his blue eyes and looked at the elf with a dumbfounded expression. Then with a cracked and exhausted voice…

"W-What?"

—End of Chapter 275—