(19) The Iron Cross

"Do you have what I asked for?"

Those words rang deeply within the main room.

As the mansion was just a repurposed praying chamber, it looked gothic and intricately carved. Oil lamps on the pillars supporting the mansion were the only bright light sources that allowed them to see in a somewhat clear manner under the shadows casted by the endless dark clouds of the Masgracia Mountains.

The man's face was tough and angular, it added to the oppressive feeling others may get when looking at him.

But someone like Kejlar wasn't fazed at all.

In fact, Kejlar merely rolled his eyes.

"Would I return if I didn't? And I'm sure you have eyes… Can't you see the obvious treasure chest in my hand?" His tone was laced with scorn as he snapped back.

The man's gaze started to shift sharply like daggers.

The other people dressed up in neat and sleek clothes tensed up upon seeing how Kejlar spoke to him. These people weren't just the average, run of the mill outlaws.

No, the Tantaroz is a well funded terrorist organization meant to wreak havoc as strategic backhanded weapons. As for who is funding them, that is none of their business to know. All of them are trained and raised since childhood for this sole reason.

That explains the high quality, polished clothing and weapons that they had. All of them had at least one rune, enchantment or magical gemstones that applied a constant boost to their overall strength.

And yes, these highly trained combatants can all use soul energy in combat effectively. That is one of the main reasons why they are dangerous when provoked.

A woman in a jeweled coat with blue and purple coloring whispered, "That man has guts to talk like that.."

A man with the same color scheme as her with a sleeker beast hide tunic replied, "More like foolishness. He doesn't understand whose territory he's in." He then fixed the porcelain mask on his nose that covered only the upper part of his face.

The man seated in front of Kejlar soon dismissed his underlying anger and said, "Give me the treasure. Your job is done."

Kejlar threw the treasure chest, aiming towards the space next to the man's head.

*Pak.*

The man caught it, rattling some of the contents inside. And from the sound, it was crisp and metallic.

He then inspected it closely.

His eyes turned purple as they glowed in a soft hue.

Upon his observation, he saw that the treasure chest was not opened, there was no damage and whatever is inside is still in there.

While the man was scrutinizing the treasure chest, a voice broke his focus, dispelling his peering eyes in that instant as they abruptly lost their color.

"So, where's my payment?" Kejlar just wanted to get it over with.

The man sneered.

"Your payment you say?" The man snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, the people around Kejlar brandished their weapons.

Swords, daggers, knives, spiked mace on a chain. They were all ready to strike the moment the man gave the word to attack.

"Your payment is that I'm letting you leave alive." The man narrowed his eyes.

"Hernald, what's this all about?" Kejlar was a bit annoyed with the sudden betrayal.

The man named Hernald was slightly amused seeing Kejlar's reaction to the sudden turn of events. He decided not to humor him any further.

"Haven't I made myself clear? Leave now if you still like living… Maybe this will teach you to fix your attitude when facing someone you cannot cross." Hernald placed the treasure chest on his armrest. He wasn't going to repeat his words.

Kejlar looked around him and saw the bloodthirsty glint on the eyes of everyone looking at him.

Kejlar then sighed, "Fine… Take that dusty box away from me. I'm out of here." He then walked out of the mansion without any intention of fighting back.

After all, he was outnumbered and he would probably die if he did anything funny.

All of the combatants stepped aside to let Kejlar leave the mansion. The last they ever saw of him was when he closed the door, never looking back as he did so.

"Hmph." Hernald sneered contemptuously. He looked at the treasure chest and felt that his heart was at ease.

It was a golden treasure chest with exquisitely sculpted dragons coiling around the corners with three red, four-sided diamond shaped gems in the middle. There was an iron lock keeping the treasure chest from opening.

Hernald took a small key from his chest pocket and inserted it into the lock.

*Clack.*

The treasure chest was opened.

All of the Tantaroz combatants were curious. They couldn't help but steal a glance at it.

When Hernald revealed what was inside, his eyes showed shock under his stony expression.

Instead of a treasure, there was something that looked like an orange ball of flesh with a green stem connected to the treasure chest. It had a wide grin with numerous rows of sharp teeth. The creature pulsated like a beating heart, the veins around it writhed like tiny worms.

The metallic sound that Hernald heard from the treasure chest came from the large metal ring that was put alongside the creature.

"Kekekekeke-" The creature snickered before glowing bright orange.

It gathered an enormous amount of soul energy towards itself in such a short time that even Hernald wasn't able to react accordingly to it.

*BOOM!*

It wasn't a destructive explosion.

Instead, thousands of glowing spores flew out like fireflies. Because the mansion was a confined space, these spores quickly spread out and filled the area.

They were fast, erratic, and seemed to be attracted to heat.

Like flies who smelled rotten stench, they began to flock over to the Tantaroz members inside.

The moment each spore touched human skin, they pierced deeply inside and sprouted out green tendrils which were a mix between flesh and plant.

Some members were quick to react, they reflexively used soul energy to guard against the growing spores, but the spores were just too insidious because they could use soul energy to pierce through these magic shields made in a second.

The entire place was thrown into chaos.

Every Tantaroz combatant couldn't do anything against the spores.

"Aaaghh!!!" A man had his face invaded by twelve spores, digging roots inside. Each spore used his blood as nutrition.

A woman hid behind a pillar and avoided most of the spores. One happened to land on her arm, but she pulled the green tendril out decisively before it could grow terribly.

Out of the forty-five Tantaroz combatants, only seven survived with minor injuries. And that included Hernald.

At this moment, when the orange dust around the throne dissipated, Hernald's figure became visible once more.

Hernald clenched his teeth together so hard that they were creaking. His body was being shrouded by a fiery violet aura of soul energy. The temperature around him rose up by around a few degrees. This was the reason why he was unscathed despite being in the middle of the spore explosion.

Tier-II Transformation Spell [Fatal Condition Activation Based Technique: Amethyst Magmatic Rush Form]

He looked at his surroundings.

When he saw corpses infested by parasitic plants, his anger kept boiling. The corpses all had gray skin after losing all of their blood to become plant food. Their teeth rapidly decayed, bones shriveled into dried prunes, and their organs turning into mushy liquid.

A few seconds later, the other spores died off after not being able to find a suitable area to grow.

Not only that, the culprit re-entered his crime scene.

The doors of the mansion creaked slowly and purposely loud.

When the doors were fully opened, they revealed Kejlar behind them.

He met their eyes, lacking any kind of fluctuation in his tranquil lake that he calls his mind.

Looking down low to his feet, the guards who were supposed to be at the doors could be seen with various injuries. But all of them appeared to have been killed with one hole that allowed anyone to see through their heads.

Raising his bloody spear, Kejlar took out an ancient golden draconic bracelet inlaid with five gems that looked like sapphires from his black cloak.

Kejlar raised it up for Hernald to see before stuffing it back inside his clothes.

"You were looking for that, weren't you?"

"KEJLAR!!!" Hernald wasted no time and rushed towards him with a punch. His fist glowing brightly with violet colored soul flames.

When soul energy is infused into a physical medium, that physical medium gains a subtle increase in durability. But if the medium used was living flesh, soul energy accommodates the muscles by augmenting it with durability, speed and strength as a reflex of sorts to protect itself.

In short, it is most certainly unwise to receive a punch overflowing with soul energy.

The flames covered Hernald's entire body, making him look like a purple human meteor.

Kejlar activated a spell, prompting a turquoise magic circle to appear on his right hand where he held his spear. The dormant symbols engraved on the spear's body suddenly lit up with the same turquoise color.

Kejlar thrust the spear straight forward like an arrow let loose.

With his large frame, Hernald crossed his arms together to block the spear, causing the tip to strike his arms.

*Bam!*

A bloody point appeared on Hernald's forearm, a small shockwave blew rings going outwards, knocking Hernald a step back. But that was it. It wasn't able to pierce through him.

Hernald's legs kicked down and launched himself towards Kejlar once again.

Kejlar's spear tried to stab him but all it took was Hernald's left forearm to redirect it elsewhere with a sweeping motion. Hernald gathered a magic circle containing powerful energy on his right hand and punched Kejlar.

*Whoosh!*

Kejlar leaped, dodging Hernald's punch nimbly. With swift and light movements, he stepped on Hernald's heavy fist and his arms, running across him to deliver a nasty knee strike towards Hernald's nose.

A red magic circle appeared on Kejlar's knee before it landed on Hernald's nose. It was a fire type magic circle meant to deliver an explosive blow.

*Boom!*

A powerful impact of fire and kinetic energy struck Hernald's face strong enough that it shook his facial muscles. Kejlar's kneecap was particularly hard, adding to the damage.

"Gurgh!" Hernald took a few steps back while covering his face while two bloody streaks flowed down his nose.

Kejlar took this opportunity to stab him while he was incapacitated. He thrust the spear towards Hernald's head.

But before it could land, Hernald grinned like a devil with his bloodied nose, quickly grabbing the spear with both hands.

The spear was now caught between Hernald's grasp. Unable to move an inch forward.

"Now what? Do you really think that you would amount as much as me?!" Hernald scowled fiercely.

"Hm.." Kejlar didn't speak much and instead used his soul energy to control a hidden mechanism inside his spear.

Hernald felt his gut shouting warning signals. He tried to do something about it when–

*Thwack!*

Two spearheads suddenly shot out of the spear's body, piercing Hernald's hands.

They quickly went back inside the slits of the spear, remaining hidden once again.

All of this just happened under a quarter of a second, making it appear as if Hernald's hands just suddenly bled for no conceivable reason.

Hernald stopped holding the spear in response to the pain. He glanced at his bloody hands and at Kejlar with intensified hatred and wariness.

The six other Tantaroz members finally caught up to him and started attacking Kejlar alongside Hernald.

A man in a fine suit wielding dual daggers ran towards Kejlar. He spun his daggers quickly before fixing his grip on each handle.

Kejlar responded with a nonchalant face and thrust his spear forward as usual. The man evaded the spearhead by moving his head to the side as he continued on with his sprint.

But as his head was adjacent to the hidden slits, Kejlar timed the mechanism activation properly and extended the hidden spearheads in and out, killing the man instantly.

In a small fraction of a second, the man's brain was no longer working.

*Thud.*

The man fell down on the red carpet lifelessly.

"…"

Silence…

The air in the mansion grew so thick that no one dared move rashly.

All except Kejlar.

Kejlar swung the spear horizontally to slice the air before holding it straight up, flicking away all the bloodstains on his weapon.

To the average onlookers, the man with the daggers successfully dodged the spearhead, yet he still died just as he ran past it. His head looked like it just bled out without warning.

The remaining five Tantaroz combatants alongside Hernald stopped in their tracks. Kejlar seemed to be more unfathomable now.

Noticing their hesitation, Kejlar spoke in a lifeless tone. "You know… I wouldn't have done this if you actually paid me."

"Nggh…" Hernald ground his teeth together. "You still messed with the treasure chest! Wouldn't that change nothing at all?"

"If I was paid, I would tell you that it was trapped and give you the bracelet. Don't blame me, the Firespore Parasite was merely an insurance." Kejlar spoke as if it was only a matter of fact.

"How were we supposed to trust that?" Hernald roared in indignance.

"You don't.. We're all criminals here." Kejlar didn't bother explaining anymore.

"Kejlar Yehedt…. You messed with Tantaroz. They will not stop sending people after you until you're dead." Hernald's warning was clear as day.

Although this was meant to deter Kejlar, to strike fear within him, it didn't work.

In fact, it did the opposite.

Kejlar's glare turned icy.

"That is unless the news reaches them…" Kejlar lifted his foot and took one step forward.

"So, if there's no one to report it… What can Tantaroz do to me?" Kejlar took another step forward.

Hernald took one step back subconsciously.

He was afraid, and understandably so.

However, he wasn't the type to back down.

Standing his ground, Hernald shouted, "Arrogant!" Hernald then gestured to the combatants behind him. "Kill him!"

The six of them rushed forward with the intention to surround Kejlar. Two men were armed with a sword, one woman had a saber, another woman was armed with a halberd and the last guy's weapon was a spiked mace attached to a chain.

Two identical looking men moved quicker than the rest to flank Kejlar from the back.

They were both equipped with the same swords, and their synchrony with each other was apparent by how they ran side by side. Just from how their swords were held, any competent fighter can tell that their teamwork had to be seamless. They were even wearing almost the same clothes for crying out loud.

One swordsman wore a deep azure coat and wielded a silver sword inlaid with red gemstones. Meanwhile, the slightly taller swordsman was wearing a crimson coat while wielding a sword inlaid with blue gemstones.

Kejlar held his spear horizontally and activated another mechanism using soul energy.

*Clack.*

His spear displayed a small line dividing it from the middle, turning the spear from one weapon into two. He pulled each end of the spear apart, and the slit revealed another blade hidden within the spear's body as the two halves were separated.

Now, he had two weapons.

One was a shortened spear with two hidden retractable spearheads, and the lower half was a strange sword with a long handle.

Because there is a sword's hilt on the lower half of his spear, it would appear as if the sword was stabbed on the spear's bottom.

The twin swordsmen attacked him at the same time. They attacked him from different angles and even utilized soul energy to amplify their slashes, only to be parried and countered in such a short timeframe.

The blue swordsman was parried by the upper half of the spear. It was quick, but he counterattacked by using a series of magic circles that spun on his wrist and on the hilt of his sword.

The sword's pressure against Kejlar increased tenfold for one second until Kejlar activated the spearhead mechanism, getting the blue swordsman's wrists slashed.

That one moment of carelessness led to him losing both hands after Kejlar sliced them off completely.

"Arghh-!" The man shouted in a blood curdling shriek.

The red swordsman who attacked at the same time as the blue swordsman couldn't support him because he was parried by the lower half of the spear. He couldn't get close enough to attack because of the absurd length of the weapon. The force that Kejlar used to parry him was monstrously strong, forcing him to bounce several steps backwards.

Kejlar then used a silver magic circle with a tint of red, lighting up the symbols of the weapon with the same color as the magic circle.

A thin beam of red light shot out of the blade's tip, piercing the man's shoulder.

Because the other guy had both hands sliced off, Kejlar finished him off with a stab to the neck, severing the spine.

Kejlar's ambidextrous nature is partially displayed right this moment.

"I'll kill you!" The red swordsman ignored his bleeding shoulder and smashed a glass amulet circulated by soul energy on his chest.

Suddenly, incorporeal shadows escaped the shards of the amulet, gathering around his body. These shadows then became lines that wrapped around his body, increasing the aura that he exuded by tenfold.

The red swordsman's eyes bulged in pure rage. He then dashed forward and began to deliver an onslaught of slashes like a relentless tornado.

*Clink! Clink! Clink! …*

Kejlar held the lower part of his spear by the hilt and deflected each hit.

However, every single strike slowly started to overwhelm him, his defense was starting to break down under the red swordsman's rage.

Kejlar's situation was getting worse as the others were getting closer.

He sighed and stomped his foot on the ground, cracking the floor as a bright yellow shockwave of light travelled towards a spore infested corpse on their path.

Once this light reached the corpse, the dormant spores deep within its flesh sprouted in an instant.

More orange orbs of writhing living tissue with sharp teeth grew up from the corpse's putrid flesh. These Firespore Parasites weren't fully matured yet, but they were grown up enough to gather soul energy. And because there's a lot of them, the explosion is going to be deadly if it was received point blank.

"Stay behind me!" Hernald commanded his men.

He was confident that his amethyst flames would burn the spores coming for him just like how he did earlier.

*Boom!*

One Firespore blew up earlier than the others. The firefly spores that it shot out flew towards Hernald, who was ready to receive them head on.

The idea of blocking said spores didn't last long when a spore flew through the purple flames surrounding Hernald's body and directly pierced his skin. It was like a needle went through his forearm.

Hernald was alarmed.

He quickly leapt back and shouted once more, "Avoid those spores! They aren't normal!"

The rest of the Tantaroz members were shaken by what they heard. They quickly dispersed away from the spores, giving Kejlar some breathing time.

…

"Not enough!" The red swordsman yelled crazily. He saw that his group wasn't able to bridge the distance just yet.

He had to stall for more time.

He summoned all of his soul energy to cast a multitude of magic circles all at once. These magic circles all had different colors from dull gray, shiny silver, red and orange, translucent light blue and bright green.

Tier-II Defensive Spell [Boulder Ape Dominant Poise]

Tier-II Amplification Spell [Silver Shard Edge]

Tier-II Attack Spell [Explosive Contact Surge: Volcanic & Electric Combination]

Tier-II Amplification Spell [Wispy Cloth Blade]

Tier-II Transformation Spell [Thunderous Bellow]

…

"GRAAAAHHH—!" The red swordsman's rage manifested as an ungodly roar.

Veins popped around his face.

The red swordsman began to increase his attacks with even more intensity to the point that his arms were moving so fast, they became a blur.

However, Kejlar was still managing to defend himself with one weapon. But even so, he still felt the ravaging strikes of the man's attacks.

Green lightning cracked around the two of them. Small shards of metallic dust grinded against Kejlar's weapons and the sword began to move like a piece of cloth, erratic and smooth.

*Swish!*

A cut was formed on Kejlar's left cheek.

His eyes widened for a split second, "It's come to this then.." His eyes remained calm and unbothered.

Kejlar stabbed the upper part of his spear into the ground without warning.

*Th–rack!*

His spear pierced through the stone floor, because of that, his left hand was now free. Kejlar clenched his hand into a fist then tucked in his thumb. After that, he turned his hand upside down as if he was about to pour out something.

And that's exactly what he's doing.

Tier-III Attack & Movement Hybrid Spell [Dipsomaniac's Dark Regurgitation]

A black viscous liquid began to seep out of Kejlar's upturned fist. The liquid was so dark that it wasn't letting light reflect off of it. Kejlar continued to pour out more until it covered his feet like a dark circular shadow casting below him.

This liquid was pungent with the strong stench of alcohol.

Kejlar grabbed the upper part of his spear impaled on the floor and began to use it to attack the red swordsman.

The amplified swordsman didn't find it troublesome to cope with Kejlar's attacks as he would dodge it and circle around him to get by safely.

Like a sparrow, it was as if he was flying around Kejlar while brandishing his sword at him. He was careful not to touch the black puddle as he didn't know what it did at the moment.

Kejlar swung the upper part of his spear in a large swinging motion, leaving his back exposed.

The red swordsman quickly weaved to his back and was ready to deliver a nasty slash. His eyes were flickering in confidence and contempt.

*Schhh–wahck!*

Until he was the one who received a fatal wound instead of Kejlar…

The red swordsman's eyes grew wide in disbelief. Numerous black tendrils sprouted out from his chest, sharp enough to skewer him a hundred times over.

Looking back, the puddle of black alcohol had an outstretched tentacle that branched into small tendrils, the same tendrils that perforated his chest like a pin cushion.

A dizzying sensation filled his mind that was similar to heavy alcohol intoxication. He mustered the will to fight but a sharp blade pierced through his skull before he could do anything.

The swordsman was dead.

"He's fast!" The woman with the saber was shocked.

They had just dealt with the spores as they started to die off.

Hernald was silent. He wasn't expecting two of his men to die that quickly.

They were even using soul energy to strengthen their physical power and that still wasn't enough.

Hell, the red swordsman gave it his all, but still died under Kejlar's spear.

Hernald assessed Kejlar with even more caution. The stench of alcohol and blood permeating the mansion made it slightly difficult for Hernald to think.

His heart started to give out warning signals, but he swallowed them all deep inside his mind and gave out his command.

"Make sure to restrain him enough and leave an opening for me." Hernald used his soul energy, creating a healing magic circle to prevent the injuries on both hands from getting worse.

"Because of the conditional activation of my current form that only occurs when I face a fatal attack, I am severely limited by it. I can't use most of my spells even if I want to.. Well, except for one." He explained further.

The remaining combatants nodded.

Kejlar saw that the three of them aside from Hernald would pose some level of threat, so he decided to combine both halves of his spear together again.

The woman with a saber began to sprint alongside the others.

"Cenva, use your halberd to keep him occupied. Belir, create openings by breaking his defense with your mace.. I'll be the one who attacks him when he's vulnerable, do you understand!?" Ulayen shouted as she prepared her saber.

"Yes!" Cenva and Belir shouted simultaneously.

Ulayen was at the forefront of the attack. She activated a spell, prompting for a half white, half red magic to appear on her sword's hilt. This magic circle began to coat the blade with a thin crystalline sheen of red.

Tier-II Amplification Spell [Rusty Fang Crystal Blade]

She began to try and close her distance but was blocked by Kejlar with a swing of his spear.

He didn't let her get close.

Ulayen thought to herself as she dodged Kejlar's spear, 'How was he able to do that strange attack? It seems like an invisible wave or something?' Her eyes were trying to make sense of what happened earlier.

The more she tried to think about how Kejlar achieved that weird attack, the more lost she felt.

She didn't know that the spear had a mechanism for that, so her confusion was natural.

However, she sweeped off any distracting thoughts at the moment and focused on the fight.

Kejlar watched out for Hernald's rush.

He could see his eye-catching purple soul aura even from far away. By dividing his attention, he could watch out for sneak attacks.

Kejlar took the liberty to watch out for Hernald who was currently keeping his distance from him until he saw that the woman named Cenva had already brought down her halberd closer to his head.

Puffing his cheeks, Kejlar's head faced the halberd and suddenly spat out a splash of black liquid. When this black liquid escaped his mouth, it reformed into something resembling a skeletal arm, halting the halberd's descent by grabbing it with its crooked hand and fingers.

Cenva was troublesome because of her long range, similar to him.

Cenva was shocked that Kejlar blocked her halberd. She tried pulling it away but several tendrils grew out of the black puddle by Kejlar's feet and bound the halberd tightly.

Her face shifted from shocked to glee after activating a hidden magic circle on her halberd.

Frosty air emanated from the halberd's body and froze the incoming tendrils by sealing them in a foggy white crystal of ice alongside the arm from Kejlar's mouth. The frost crept towards it, forcing Kejlar to swallow the arm before it spread any further.

This momentary distraction gave enough openings for Kejlar to be attacked.

Belir attacked from the left and spun, gaining enough acceleration to smash his spiked mace against Kejlar while Ulayen dashed to Kejlar's right, ready to slash him with her saber.

Belir activated a spell alongside his attack in order to make sure it packs a punch.

Tier-II Attack Spell [Heavy Hammering Wheel]

Kejlar stomped on the ground, about a hundred black droplets of the black liquid that reeked of alcohol flew up. These droplets then shifted into the shape of spears and shot forward, aiming themselves towards Ulayen and Belir.

Belir was caught off guard. He stepped back and smashed the incoming miniature spears and broke them with ease. Every time he broke a black spear, it dematerialized into liquid that gathered at his feet.

Ulayen had some difficulties though.

She was forced to run away from Kejlar as the spears were more concentrated on her.

Cenva was now left with Kejlar.

She broke the hold on her halberd as she forcefully yanked it away, shattering the frozen alcohol into shards.

Without thinking twice, she raised her halberd and swung it down at Kejlar's head.

Tier-II Amplification Spell [False Hammer]

*Boom!*

Kejlar's head was reduced to a splattered mess of black goo. His spear lost form and color, reverting itself into alcohol.

His body began to melt down into black liquid, disappearing into the puddle alongside everything else belonging to him.

Ulayen saw this and was shocked. She quickly looked for any signs of Kejlar's location until she turned towards Belir and shouted.

"Belir, behind you!"

Belir heard her scream but it was too late.

When he turned around, all he saw was a spearhead.

Kejlar easily plunged his spear into his skull. This jolted his body and caused an uncontrollable surge of ammonia to trickle down his lower regions.

*Thwack–!*

Belir's body went limp, his arms flailed downwards, dropping his mace.

After he killed Belir, Kejlar jumped back down into the puddle of black liquid that seemed bottomless, completely disappearing from sight.

Cenva, Ulayen and Hernald were all shaken.

Suddenly, Kejlar jumped out of the black puddle behind Cenva and attempted to catch her off guard. However, Cenva was prepared for any sudden moves and leapt back several meters away.

Hernald knew that this was his time to attack.

After gathering soul energy in his fist for so long, he launched himself forward in such a speed that it broke the floor under his feet.

A shockwave cracked outwards, Hernald accelerated like a bullet as he covered the distance between him and Kejlar in only a few breaths.

Hernald brought his fist towards Kejlar's face, but Kejlar remained stoic as ever. Not even paying him heed as he watched the destructive force about to obliterate his head.

When Hernald's fist and Kejlar's head collided, Kejlar dissolved into a splotch of black liquid. He stood his ground, as his body reformed itself back to its original shape as if nothing happened.

Only difference was that his hand reformed around Hernald's neck.

Kejlar exhaled in pure disappointment. "You know…. I was actually looking forward to the attack."

With a loud sonic boom, he threw Hernald like a small piece of rock. Hernald's large frame tumbled on the floor, destroying the stone as he did so.

His momentum didn't stop as he rolled towards the wall and crashed into it. Hernald's innards were bleeding, his purple flames kept healing him as he slumped down the floor.

Kejlar shook his head upon seeing this.

He looked at Cenva and pointed the spear at her. Kejlar changed his grip to hold the lower half firmly as if the spear was now a cannon of some sort.

He then used soul energy to activate another mechanism.

*Clink!*

A slit appeared in the middle, separating both upper and lower halves once again.

*Shoosh–!*

Out of nowhere, the upper half of the spear shot forward at unbelievable speeds that it was impossible for someone in their level to dodge.

The blade that was supposed to be attached to the lower half of the spear also changed. It unfolded in a specific pattern to become a chain, connecting both halves together.

Because it was so sudden, Cenva couldn't block it and the spear made its way through her chest.

*Thwack!*

Her pupils shrunk. 'When did this… come for me?' She was horrified. She didn't even have time to react.

She pulled herself together and tried to heal her wounds, frost was already gathering to prevent bleeding.

But Cenva wasn't let off so easily. If the attack ended right there, it wouldn't be Kejlar's style.

He almost always aims for the kill…

Thinking about it again, whether he goes for the kill depends on his mood…

Without delay, the upper half of the spear extended the hidden spearheads from the side, puncturing through Cenva's lungs and heart, more than enough to kill her.

It looked like two spearheads grew out from both sides of her ribcage.

Kejlar activated the chain mechanism once again and pulled the upper half of the spear back towards him.

The woman's body was snatched away alongside the spear.

And when Cenva reached Kejlar, a fist burning with three layers of red magic circles struck her face with pinpoint accuracy.

Tier-II Attack Spell [Intermediate Detonation Layer] (3x)

*Sploosh!*

Cenva's head exploded like a watermelon. Blood, bone and bits of brain matter spread outwards. Her two eyeballs disintegrated into scorched orbs of flesh and charcoal.

Kejlar pulled his spear out and retracted the two spearheads back, dropping the headless body to the ground. Blood was still seeping out of her neck as warmth started to fade from her body. Creepily enough, her headless remains jolted two times before remaining completely immobile.

Ulayen felt her blood run cold seeing all of this happen before her eyes.

"This man… He isn't human…. He can't be." Ulayen mumbled to herself, her mind rattled.

She could faintly sense that her time was close.

Hernald was also getting less optimistic about their situation. It was previously a seven against one fight, but Kejlar still reduced them to just two people.

It was supposed to be their victory, but the odds were now slowly tipping to Kejlar's favor. The situation was now dangerous for the two of them.

'If I can somehow warn the other Tantaroz members, I can get out of this mess… Tch, what if I sacrifice Ulayen?' Hernald was thinking of sacrificing Ulayen so that he could get a headstart.

He shook his head, disagreeing with that plan. 'No, that wouldn't buy me much time.'

'Kejlar can move through that black mess.. Grh– it's disgusting to the nose…'

It had been years since Hernald felt this cornered before. His techniques involving soul energy consisted of increasing his defense, compression of soul energy and releasing these compressions to achieve bursts of impact when delivering his punches.

He can also use compression on his feet to shoot forward. Usually, these were enough to amplify his strength to overwhelm opponents to the point that they wouldn't be able to do anything at all.

But that is only true if they were around the same level.

So that means, because of his [Amethyst Magmatic Rush Form] activating, he sealed his defeat against Kejlar immediately.

It was actually pathetic, honestly.

He originally made the fatal conditional activation for this form of his to save him from certain death in dangerous situations. However, since it operated by using all of the reserved soul energy in his clothes equipped with runes and gemstones, it barred his access to his spells in order for it to work in 100% capacity.

It would give him top notch physical ability that was meant to run away for prolonged periods of time.

A lifesaving measure turned into a fatal error.

Ironic.

Right now, he felt that the violet flames surrounding him were his only lifeline. Despite that, it was easy to see that Hernald's hope was beginning to diminish.

"…"

Kejlar controlled his breathing.

His injuries were only shallow cuts, so it was nothing life threatening.

His body was strong, very strong..

Ce'tali, as people of Adhaesit would call it, refers to physical capabilities encompassing strength, endurance, resilience, flexibility, and speed.

Just like Siyech'ans who are ordered in tiers, that goes the same for Ce'tali.

Kejlar is a Middle Tier-III Ce'tali while Hernald was slightly higher.

Undoubtedly, his body could be said to be strong. But his skeleton was stronger…

Not his physical skeleton.. No, it's his Soul Skeleton.

It acts as an artificial support that guides the travel of soul energy throughout the body. And when soul energy is circulated, the energy will be guided by the soul skeleton in a specific route and sequence to achieve a certain effect.

It operates on the concept of applying runes on one's own soul in order to turn your body into one big magic circle.

The best part is that a soul skeleton can be modified to perform different tasks. It could be for strength, mobility, cognitive speed or weight reduction.

As a soul skeleton is an artificial construct, it must be 'carved' upon one's soul to acquire a soul skeleton. But whoever is doing it must know how to carve the soul skeleton properly, or else it will cause damaging effects instead.

There's a saying among humans that goes, "A weak soul is a weak mind, a weak mind is an incapable body, and an incapable body results in a weak soul."

So why is this important?

It's because specialized soul skeletons can be used to achieve things the normal human body cannot. Like special techniques that are impossible to do normally can be done with the right soul skeleton for the job. Given that the technique is realistically achievable, of course.

As all things were said, Kejlar began to circulate his soul energy rapidly around his body. Light blue ethereal lines and shapes appeared like tattoos above his skin depicting a feathery coat. They spread out from his chest towards his arms, faint trails of smoke escaped from the tattoos.

Compared to the depressing visage that he was moments ago, now he looked slightly more dignified when the ethereal coat of feathers began to appear.

A gorgeous wreath of feathers ran across his eyes. It didn't fit his self loathing persona in any way.

Hernald's eyes narrowed greatly, his expression grim.

Another interesting detail about soul skeletons is that it requires an absurdly powerful physical medium in order to operate properly.

Anyone in the level who could use Tier-IV spells or are Tier-IV Siyech'ans are considered as the minimum requirement for using a soul skeleton.

Since Kejlar could use it, that would mean he could have used a Tier-IV spell during the entire fight, yet he didn't do so.

Kejlar was no regular mercenary, he had already reached the higher realms of power achievable by normal humans.

"RUN AWAY, NOW!!" Hernald screamed in genuine fear.

Ulayen's heart pounded as she prepared for Kejlar's attack. She held a defensive stance and prepared her soul energy to counter it.

Kejlar tensed up his heels and his calves, he raised his spear and pointed it forward.

*Whoosh!*

Soul Skeleton "Unfettered Drunken Angel", Tier-I Movement Technique: [Frontstep Flash Footwork.]

Kejlar quickly closed the distance between him and Ulayen. With that opportunity, he shot his spear forward with a thrust.

Out of sheer luck, Ulayen managed to dodge out of the way, but she still felt danger despite this.

She looked down, wondering why her danger instincts were at an all time high.

That was when she noticed that Kejlar's spear had two slits on its sides.

*Thwack!*

The spearheads extended outwards, piercing Ulayen's heart, killing her in that moment.

Her eyes shrunk to a pin's size.

'A- am I not dead… yet..?' Her last words echoed in her mind.

Kejlar retracted the spearheads and allowed her body to fall down to the floor.

Kejlar canceled the activation of his soul skeleton with his back turned against Hernald. The blue coat of feathers hanging on his shoulders floated up into blue dust, disintegrating before Hernald's eyes.

Now that they're back to a classic one on one, Kejlar knew that he didn't have to worry for all kinds of interference any longer.

Kejlar looked at the broken portion of the wall where Hernald was sitting down all bloodied. "So, who's telling Tantaroz again…?"

Hernald gnashed his jaws tightly, blood spilling out of the gaps between his teeth.

He staggered, but still stood up.

He walked one step at a time towards Kejlar, unperturbed that he was going to die.

Once he was in front of Kejlar, his frame looming over him, Hernald assumed a stance with both of his arms in front of him.

Kejlar closed his eyes as he nodded. "At least you won't go out a coward."

Kejlar lifted his eyelids and brandished his spear.

Like earlier, Kejlar began to circle around Hernald and delivered one slash after another.

Hernald couldn't do anything but passively take the slashes from him. Any kind of attack that he did, it would only backfire.

A punch? That led to getting his arms slashed.

A kick? Great, his legs are now bloody.

Charging forward? That's just running uselessly to get pierced.

Hernald was not afraid, he was more afraid of not putting up a fight.

Right now, he appeared as a dog desperately biting at one mosquito repeatedly as it flew around him while slowly whittling his vitality away.

"Nrah!"

Hernald punched Kejlar out of instinct.

But surprisingly, Kejlar also responded with a punch this time. Only difference is that Kejlar used a fire magic circle on his elbow to thrust his punch forward like a rocket.

Hernald was still wincing in pain with trails of crimson liquid on his teeth. His fist sped up, hoping to damage Kejlar even though he knew his demise was near.

"I curse you with all my life… Remember that, Kejlar Yehedt.." Hernald's face was solemn.

Kejlar didn't show any kind of emotion except for eyes that showed pity.

*Bang!*

Hernald fell backwards from the punch. His right forearm and his hand were obliterated to a fleshy pulp because of Kejlar's fist.

"Wh- What?" Hernald looked at his right forearm that was left in a mangled state.

He tried standing up again but his injuries wouldn't let him. This attempt only caused him more pain than necessary.

"Confused?" Kejlar walked up to him with his spear held upwards, pointing at Hernald's forehead.

"You already ran out of soul energy…"

Hernald's final layer of hope shattered. He looked around his body and saw that he was indeed no longer covered by violet flames.

He took a deep breath.

"May I ask why my soul energy ran out faster than usual? Is that your doing?" Hernald looked up at Kejlar who stood above him with a condescending air.

Unexpectedly, Kejlar bothered to explain it to Hernald. "Yes, and it was simple… All of my spearheads are coated with poison. Poison with soul draining effects made from a certain plant native to the Masgracia Mountains… I never go out without them."

Kejlar knew that this fight was finished.

He raised his spear like death's scythe and chopped Hernald's left arm off.

*Shwich!*

"GAAH!!" Hernald screamed in pain. His expression let loose to express the agony that he was forced to suffer.

Kejlar extended the hidden spearheads.

He gently tapped Hernald's forehead, wounding it in the process. It leaked crimson while he looked at Kejlar with anger and futility in his eyes.

"A tip for your next life. If you're going to hire a mercenary, remember what people call them… Those titles aren't mere nonsense." Kejlar spoke calmly.

Hernald's eyes widened in shock.

"Your title?" Hernald tried to remember it.

Without even waiting for Hernald to figure it out, Kejlar walked a few steps back and began to sprint towards Hernald's kneeling body.

He quickly spun his body with spear in hand, gaining enough momentum to slice Hernald into ribbons.

He swung the spear towards Hernald's head, performing a brilliant and gruesome fatality.

The blood splattered all over Kejlar's cold and unmoving face.

When he saw Hernald's body of minced flesh, he sighed and took out the bracelet from his person.

"Eh, I guess I can sell this…" Kejlar decided to leave the mansion and take it as his enumeration.

He ran his fingers through his hair as he walked away.

Approaching the doors of the mansion, Kejlar swung them open with one arm and then left.

*Bam*

He slammed the doors behind him as if what happened inside the mansion wasn't his business.

[Kejlar Yehedt, The Iron Cross.]