chapter_0041

Chapter 40 : Chain

In an instant, Kael blew away the woman who had tried to kill Elia and Asili.

And after hearing the situation from Asili, Kael let out a trembling breath and muttered a single word.

“You will die here today.”

Kael never spoke harshly in front of Elia.

Especially not words like “I will kill someone.”

Elia had seen Kael every day for the past few days, but this Kael, like today, was someone Elia had never seen before.

“Dad…….”

The face that always smiled at her now had the same expressionless face as hers, but it was clearly painted with anger that was full of emotion.

The hand holding the sword was filled with tension, and the muscles of his whole body twitched as if he was about to swing the sword.

“Damn it, run……!”

Had she noticed Kael’s energy?

The woman who had suddenly ambushed with twin daggers also, abandoning the fight, tried to run away.

But five arrows fell in front of her as she turned to escape.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-gan—!!

The arrows, thinner than her forearm, fell like the sound of a siege ballista, hitting the ground in front of the woman.

When she looked in the direction the arrows had been shot, she saw Ruina on top of the tree, looking down at them.

“Mom…….”

Perhaps because she had already confirmed her safety, Ruina’s gaze, just like Kael’s, was directed solely at the woman.

Filled with a murderous intent that Elia could never comprehend.

For the first time today, Elia saw this side of her parents, and it made her shiver slightly.

But more than that, Elia felt a deep sense of relief and peace, knowing that these two people, her parents, wanted to protect her.

In this moment, Elia felt that nothing could pose a threat to her.

As Elia looked at Kael, she caught Kael glancing back at her.

Kael then raised the sword he had lowered and said.

“Asili, cover Elia’s eyes.”

“Understood, as you command.”

As soon as Kael’s words ended, Asili, moving so fast she was almost invisible, grabbed Elia from behind and covered her eyes with her palm.

Elia’s sight was instantly covered and everything went dark.

“Hmm? Dad? I’m okay………..”

“I don’t want you to see this, so just stay still for a moment. It will end soon.”

Before Elia could even finish her sentence, Kael interrupted her in a gentle voice.

Then, the sound of wind being cut by a sword echoed.

At the same time, right before the sound of flesh being sliced reached her ears, Asili’s mana sealed Elia’s ears.

In a world where she could neither see nor hear anything.

The revenge of Kael and Ruina began.

Kwak-

A sword struck the heart in a single blow.

“Ugh……!”

However, she only coughed up a bit of blood, and Kali remained intact.

Even the heart that had been pierced was regenerating, and Kael could feel it as his sword was surrounded by the regenerating heart.

“Indeed, her regeneration ability is impressive. It feels even stronger than those guys from seven years ago.”

“How do you know………?”

I had only mentioned those guys from seven years ago, but perhaps Kali realized who I was referring to, as a shocked expression appeared on her face.

In fact, I had only encountered two individuals from the underworld over the past seven years: Benjamin and Sherda, so it wasn’t hard to realize who I meant.

And Kali, who hadn’t expected me to link her to the two who died in prison, looked shocked.

I could see the various worries crossing her face, wondering if information from Worst had leaked.

However, I had no intention of kindly answering her questions.

“That’s not important right now. You should be worried about whether you’ll die or not.”

“Gahhhh!!!”

I roughly pulled the sword out from her heart, and my sword immediately dismembered Kali’s entire body.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-gak-

Blood splattered as Kali’s body was sliced into pieces.

Her screams, which seemed like they would tear apart her throat, echoed from her dismembered body.

However, despite her body being torn into pieces, Kali’s body regenerated as if it were being glued together with mucus.

The regeneration ability she had, combined with the demonic rush factor, surpassed even the Demon Lord’s subordinates I had seen in the past.

‘The only way to kill such a being is to either reduce the entire body to ashes to prevent regeneration… or wait for the 10-minute limit.’

I already knew how to kill these Worst beings through knowledge from the game.

And because of that, I had the means to turn Kali into ashes right now.

But I had no intention of granting Kali such an easy death.

Just as I had suffered from the pain of those she had killed, I would make her feel the same pain, and only after she reached the point of destruction from her demonic rush factor would I let her die.

“……”

Not wanting to waste any more time, I raised my sword once more.

Fwoosh-!

As I swung my sword, something transparent blocked my path.

Kururururuk

“Water?”

What blocked my way was none other than a barrier of water.

It was just a moderately thick layer of water, but the density was so high that my swinging sword couldn’t move forward and stopped between the water.

“Tch…!”

Thwack -!!

As I applied more force, enough to make my forearm swell, the sword that was stuck in the water finally came loose, creating a rough splash.

And just as I retrieved my sword and took a step back, two men and women appeared beside Kali, who was protected by the water barrier.

Ssssshh

“This… is quite a mess, Kali.”

“Liri, more…”

“I will heal with my heart.”

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you, Naila.”

A man with dark blue hair and navy-colored eyes, and a woman with light sky-blue hair and green eyes.

I knew who they were.

‘Chain… and Naila.’

Chain, the leader of Worst, and Naila, the first executive of Worst.

They were the head and the heart of Worst, respectively.

Their appearance was completely unexpected.

But at the same time, the sudden, unforeseen opportunity made me unconsciously tighten my grip on my sword.

‘If I kill these two here… No, even if I can just kill Chain…!’

For a moment, even my rage toward Kali, who had tried to kill Elia, was forgotten as my emotions surged.

Worst—an organization that would bring countless casualties and destruction in the future.

The eradication of Worst was what I had long awaited.

And now, standing before me was the leader of Worst.

If I could kill Chain here, I could bring about the downfall of Worst.

Because he was the irreplaceable head of Worst.

So, right here and now…

Wooooong

Slowly, a powerful aura began to form around the sword in my hand.

And just as I was about to unleash a full-powered strike, Chain, wearing a faint smile, looked at me and spoke.

“Sorry, but attacking me now is useless. What you see here is just an illusion created by mana. The only real person here is Naila.”

“…….”

Hearing that, my hand, poised to swing my sword, came to a halt.

My gaze shifted to Naila at Chain’s words.

There, I saw Naila piercing her own chest, pulling out her heart, and handing it to Kali.

Clearly, she was trying to save Kali, who was doomed to die from the rampaging demonic energy inside him.

Unacceptable.

The sheer outrage made me widen my eyes and attempt to move, but once again, Chain’s words stopped me.

“Just so you know, the water barrier I created is like a bomb.”

An overwhelming amount of water compressed with an equally overwhelming amount of mana.

Kael, someone as strong as you could probably break through it.

But in the aftermath, do you think your daughter would remain unharmed?”

“You bastard…!”

Chain shrugged his shoulders as he mentioned Elia, and in that moment, the rage I had set aside in my focus on eradicating Worst reignited.

But his words were undeniably true, and I couldn’t bring myself to move.

Within the water barrier, I could see an immense amount of mana, unstable and ready to explode at any moment.

I alone could survive the explosion’s impact.

If I used my mana to shield my entire body, I could withstand the force even if the water and mana erupted violently.

The same went for Ruina and Asili.

But could we protect Elia while defending ourselves?

Asili, having heard our conversation, seemed to decide to quietly retreat with Elia.

However, it seemed Chain had already anticipated that as well.

“Tsk, where do you think you’re going?”

“Ugh…?!”

The moment Asili tried to take a step, the water barrier visibly trembled.

A silent warning that if we moved even a little, it would explode.

At that, Asili let out a suppressed groan and put her foot back down.

In the heavy silence, Chain looked at me and spoke.

“I have only two requests. Our safe release and a conversation with you. If you grant me these, I swear we will leave without doing anything.”

“Even I know that if I fight you head-on, I will lose.”

“If you choose to abandon your daughter and kill me, then yes, I will die.”

Chain added those words with a smile, then looked at me again and asked—

“Well? Will you accept?”

From his detestable lips came an offer I couldn’t refuse.