Chapter 388: 388

Hal roared in pain, his voice shaking the land. He swung wildly, mountains of snow collapsing under his rage. Kael moved faster, striking again and again. His blade left trails of red light across the demon’s body.

Then, in one final burst, Kael closed in. His sword gleamed brighter than before. He leapt fo¹rward, his figure almost vanishing in the glare.

SHHHK!

The slashes were quite clean.

Way too clean.

Hal’s massive form froze, then split apart. His body fell in pieces, crashing down on the ruined ground. Blood sprayed into the air, darkening the snow beneath.

Silence swallowed the battlefield.

Riley stood frozen, his lips parting in disbelief. The cigar slipped from his mouth and fell to the ground.

"This..." he whispered, his voice hoarse.

Cries and shrill screams erupted across the camp. The air shook with the sound of death.

Riley blinked several times, almost rubbing his eyes as if he was dreaming. But the scene before him stayed the same.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Flashes of lightning split the sky, each one followed by a violent blast and a deep tremor that shook the ground under their feet.

"Holy Mother," Riley muttered, swallowing hard. His throat was dry.

"I can’t really believe this." His voice broke as he whispered to himself.

Leviathan were such beings that can fight way beyond ranks...Even a low rank one can give B and C rank travel..The more they rank up,the more diverse transformation they can go through causing quite a mess.

The storm of destruction did not last forever.

Soon,they saw countless flashes followed by hundreds of lines cutting across the sky that lit up the place for few moments.

Slowly, the earth grew quiet, though the silence carried the weight of devastation.

He and Martina exchanged a tense look, then began walking into the demon camp.

What they saw froze their hearts.

Corpses of demons lay scattered everywhere, torn into broken pieces. Their limbs and heads were split apart as if cut by an invisible blade. The air smelled of blood and ash.

The camp itself was ruined. The buildings had been shattered into piles of rubble. Large craters scarred the ground, glowing faintly with molten lava and leaking hot gases that hissed into the cold air. Snowflakes melted the moment they touched the scorched earth. The place looked like the remains of a nightmare.

Step by step, they moved to the center.

And then they saw him.

Kael sat on a chest made of corpses, blood dripping down his face. His eyes glowed with a restless light, and his body was drenched in crimson. He looked like a man possessed akin to a beast wrapped in human skin. Between his lips sat a cigar as he rummaged through his clothes as if searching for something.

He turned his head and noticed them.

"Oh," he said in a hoarse voice. "You’re here."

His blood-stained lips curved slightly. "Sir Riley, please pass me a lighter."

For a moment, neither Riley nor Martina spoke. Silence weighed on them as they stared at him.

........

Then, WOAAAHHHH!

Loud cheers and screams erupted one after another from the audience who had been watching through the screens.

"Shit..." one voice cried out.

"That’s... that’s fucking awesome!" another shouted.

The fight had already drawn the crowd into madness. Most of the royals were busy commanding troops, but those who did fight were weaklings,and their battles dull and unremarkable.

But Kael’s fight with Hal... that had been the true storm.

The clash of two S ranks shook the field. Every strike lit up the battlefield.

Every roar split the night. The audience gasped with each swing, their hearts racing as they witnessed the impossible.

The screens showed only what was allowed.

The mages had worked over the filters, and created the world with a blend of alchemy and intelligent systems, ensuring privacy where it was needed and revealing only what served the spectacle.

But even that was enough.

The last scene of Kael lighting up a cigar over a demon corpse alone drove people wild.

"Damn, I want to bet on Sir Kael Veydrin!"

"Did you see the way he sat on a corpse after killing it, then asked for a lighter?"

"That’s too cool."

"Veydrin!"

"Veydrin!"

"Veydrin!"

The name spread through the stands like wildfire, echoing again and again.

At the top, Emperor Edward sat on his throne. His hands gripped the armrest, his expression twisted with anger.

"Disappointing," he muttered.

But his words were not for Kael. The Emperor’s focus was elsewhere. To him, Kael’s fight was nothing more than child’s play. His eyes were fixed on his own blood, his own children.

And what he saw burned his heart with shame.

Several had already been killed and forced out of the field. If the screen had lingered on them, it would have been a grave humiliation. T

hankfully, their weakness was hidden.

Then his gaze landed on Verion.

"Another piece of disappointment," Edward said coldly.

Pleard, seated beside him, tried to calm the storm. "Your Majesty, please soothe your anger. We cannot dictate the fate of every child. As an Emperor, you cannot personally babysit them all."

Edward shook his head slowly. His voice turned low and sharp.

"I know not everyone can be extraordinary. I do not despise the ordinary. But..."

Veins bulged on his forehead as his eyes stayed locked on the screen.

"What irks me are those who do not know their place. If you have power, then fight. If you lack it, then improve yourself or stay within your limits. Do not grovel like discarded trash and foul the sight."

Pleard let out a tired sigh. He could see Edward’s anger was not shallow this time. The Emperor was truly enraged.

Suddenly, the cheers and screams filling the stadium cut off. Silence fell so suddenly it chilled the bones.

Edward frowned. "What happ—"

His words died in his throat and he almost rose from his throne.

Not only him, but every person in the stadium stood up in shock.

Ramos, who had been humming in a pleasant mood, felt his heart stop. His eyes bulged in horror, and his voice exploded.

"FUCK!"

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU BRING HER HERE?"