Chapter 83: 83:The Rotten Memory

Kael laughed wildly as he slashed through the undead, his sword moved like blur leaving silver light. Blood and rotting flesh splattered across the battlefield, but the numbers kept growing. His knights were getting overwhelmed, their formation breaking as more undead poured in.

A knight screamed as a clawed hand ripped into his shoulder. Another fell, his leg snapped at an unnatural angle. Blood stained the ground, and for a moment, Kael clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Knights, don’t fight alone!" he roared. "Form teams of three! Rotate in three directions, cover each other’s backs! Stop fighting like idiots and letting these damn corpses sneak up on you!"

The knights froze for a second, then glanced at their captain.

"What are you looking at, shitheads?! Follow the Lord’s orders!" Chandler bellowed.

Gare, Baret, and Chris immediately grouped together. Gare swung his greatsword in a wide arc, cleaving two undead in half. Baret used a swift, dual-blade technique, parrying strikes while Chris jabbed with his sword piercing skulls with deadly precision. They covered each other’s blind spots, moving like a well-oiled machine.

Kael watched, satisfied. "Tch. Not even C-rank. Saves me the trouble."

He stepped forward, raising his sword. "Open a path for me, soldiers! Let me have some fun!"

"YES, MY LORD!"

The knights roared, smashing their shields against the undead, forcing them back. The path opened, and Kael charged in like a mad beast.

Marconi’s eyes widened. "You bastard!" he snarled. "Why are you ruining everything?!" He raised his staff, summoning a wave of dark curses, launching them at Kael.

Kael dodged effortlessly, his body swaying left and right, letting the curses miss by inches. His grin widened as Marconi’s anger flared.

"Why are you blocking God’s will?! You will be cursed for eternity! You will never know salvation!"

Kael vanished in a blur, appearing before Marconi, sword aimed for his throat.

CLANG!

A barrier snapped into place, stopping the blade. Kael’s eyes flickered, sensing something.

"Tsk!"

SWISH!

A sharp bone shard shot through the air, tearing into Kael’s chest.

"Fuck!" Kael snarled, jumping back. Blood gushed, exposing his ribs. But then—his ring glowed. The Veydrin insignia pulsed, and the wound knitted itself shut.

Marconi grinned, dark energy swirling around him. "Let’s see how long you last, mad dog."

Kael grinned back. "Bring it, old fuck."

Marconi raised his staff, summoning shadow tendrils that lashed out. Kael weaved between them, cutting them down with swift, precise strikes.

A bolt of dark fire shot toward him. Kael angled his blade, deflecting it, but the heat burned his arm. Marconi chanted, the air thick with necrotic energy, and a black spear formed in his hand.

Marconi’s staff crackled with dark energy as he snarled, raising his hand. The air grew thick, heavy with the scent of decay and burning flesh. Shadow tendrils erupted from the ground, writhing like living snakes, lashing out toward Kael with terrifying speed.

Kael’s eyes gleamed with manic excitement. He twisted his body, dodging the first tendril as it slammed into the ground, shattering the stone beneath it. Another tendril whipped toward his head, but Kael ducked, then twirled his sword, slicing through it in one fluid motion.

"Not bad, old bastard. But you’re too slow."

Marconi’s lips curled into a snarl. He slammed his staff into the ground, and the entire battlefield shook violently. The ground beneath Kael split open, releasing a massive black firestorm that surged upward like a raging inferno.

Kael barely had time to react. He threw himself sideways, rolling across the ground as the flames scorched the air where he stood moments before. The intense heat melted the surrounding earth, turning dirt into bubbling sludge.

Kael skidded to a stop and growled. "Hah, I can feel that one." His arm sizzled from the heat, but he ignored it, tightening his grip on his sword.

"Burn, you insolent fool!" Marconi roared, hurling a black spear of necrotic energy toward Kael. The spear howled through the air, warping reality around it.

Kael’s pupils shrank as he brought his blade up just in time.

CLANG!

The impact sent a shockwave ripping through the battlefield, kicking up dust and debris. Kael’s feet dug trenches into the ground as he slid backward, his arms trembling from the force.

"Tch! That’s got some weight to it." Kael exhaled, shaking his hands. The blade hummed with energy, absorbing some of the dark magic.

Marconi didn’t give him time to breathe. He chanted rapidly, his staff glowing with unholy symbols. A circle of twisting black flames formed beneath Kael’s feet forming a trap!

"Oh, shit." Kael leaped just as the ground exploded, sending fiery shards flying in all directions. One grazed his cheek, drawing blood. Another tore through a nearby knight, reducing him to a pile of ashes.

The surrounding battlefield descended into chaos. Undead creatures snarled and screeched, charging the remaining knights. Buildings in the distance collapsed under the force of the fight, sending debris crashing into the streets.

Kael landed on a broken pillar, his breath ragged but his grin still wide. "Damn, you really want me dead, huh?"

Marconi’s eyes burned with fury. "You are a blight upon this world! You stand against the will of the Gods!"

"Screw your Gods. They’ve done nothing but screw people over." Kael suddenly vanished.

Marconi’s eyes widened in alarm. A flicker of silver. A blur of motion.

Kael reappeared above him, sword already mid-swing.

"Kudan Rekkairyu First Form!"

His sword sliced downward, cutting through the air itself. The pressure of the attack warped the surroundings, sending out a visible shockwave.

Marconi barely had time to react. A barrier snapped into place, but Kael’s blade tore through it like paper, slashing deep into Marconi’s chest.

"GAH!" Marconi stumbled back, blood spraying from the wound.

But before Kael could finish him, Marconi thrust out his hand. A pulse of dark magic erupted, catching Kael in mid-air.

"Die, you cursed wretch!"

BOOM!

A massive explosion of pure dark energy engulfed Kael, sending him hurtling like a ragdoll. He crashed through a crumbling wall, then tumbled down a rocky incline. The earth trembled from the force of the impact.

Kael was blasted backward, sent flying through the air. He crashed into a mound of dirt, tumbled down the slope, and slammed into a pit of rotting corpses diving deeper into the pit.

Kael finally hit the bottom of the pit, slamming into a mound of rotting corpses. His head spun, pain flaring through his entire body.

The stench was unbearable.

He coughed, spitting out blood, then groaned.

"Well... that fucking hurt."

He then tried to get up but froze seeing the sight before him.