Chapter 163 - 161

Chapter 163: Chapter 161

At the northern border...

Soren had just driven his sword through the skull of a Rogue when he suddenly felt a crushing pain exploding in his chest.

"...!"

His hand instinctively flew to his chest as he plunged his greatsword into the ground, using it to keep himself from falling.

It felt as though an invisible hand had reached through his ribs and wrapped itself around his heart, squeezing so mercilessly that even breathing became difficult.

"...What..."

His breathing became ragged.

"...What is this...?"

Around him, the soldiers immediately abandoned what they were doing and rushed toward him.

"Commander!"

"Did the Rogue get you?!"

"Are you injured?!"

"Should we call the medic?!"

Soren lifted one hand to stop them. "...I’m fine."

He wasn’t.

Not even close.

This wasn’t the familiar pain of a battlefield wound. It wasn’t even close to a broken bone, a torn muscle, or a blade piercing flesh.

He had endured all of those countless times before but this was something else entirely.

It felt as though someone had reached into the deepest part of him and torn away a piece of his soul.

His gaze accidentally landed on a familiar figure several dozen meters away.

Vesphyr.

Meanwhile, several dozen meters away...

Vesphyr was standing motionless, staring blankly at the scene.

The imperial knights immediately noticed it as they turned their attention toward him.

"Your Grace!"

"Are you injured?"

"Should we call the medic?"

Vesphyr didn’t answer.

One hand remained pressed tightly against his chest as he fought to steady his breathing but no matter how hard he tried to suppress it, his instincts were in complete turmoil.

"...Something’s wrong."

The words slipped from his lips almost unconsciously.

His instincts had never screamed at him like this before.

Danger.

Loss.

Panic.

Every fiber of his being urged him to move.

But to where?

He couldn’t understand it.

He slowly lifted his head and saw Soren staring at him wearing the exact same confusion and pain reflected in someone else’s eyes.

The question was already written across both of their faces.

’What happened...?’

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Cartiere Underground Estate

The instant Blanca collapsed into Kayden’s arms, something inside him snapped.

His pupils narrowed into slits as an overwhelming surge of Hysteria burst from his body.

Silver scales flickered across his skin before disappearing.

For one terrifying second, it looked as though he would transform into his beast form right there.

"..."

"..."

’No.’

He forcibly stopped himself.

’Not now.’

If he transformed, he might destroy the whole cavern.

He looked down to see Blanca’s blood covering both his hands.

His mind refused to process what he was seeing.

"...Why...did you protect me...?"

Before he could carry her, someone violently shoved him backward.

"Move!"

Gawain dropped to his knees beside Blanca.

"Damn you!"

His voice echoed through the cavern with more fury than anyone had ever heard from him.

"Why didn’t you protect her?!"

Kayden couldn’t answer as he staggered back a step, eyes remained fixed on Blanca.

Gawain didn’t spare him another glance as he immediately started applying pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding.

"My Lady."

His voice shook despite his best efforts.

"Blanca."

"Stay with me."

"Open your eyes."

"Little sis."

For the first time, there was genuine panic in his expression.

Nearby, Islave had witnessed the entire scene as he turned towards the opposing faction, his smile completely disappearing.

"Who..."

His voice was frighteningly calm.

"...gave you permission..."

"...to hurt Lady Blanca?"

The gunman who had fired the shot immediately paled.

"I..."

"I wasn’t aiming at her!"

He frantically pointed towards Kayden.

"I was aiming at that bastard!"

"She suddenly went in front of him!"

"I swear!"

"I wasn’t trying to shoot her!"

"I see..." Islave looked at the blood pooling beneath Blanca then back at the trembling gunman. "...that changes nothing."

The gunman’s face turned ghostly white. "W-Wait—"

With a calm motion, Islave summoned his weapon revealing a long, jet-black spear. "Kill them all."

Every men behind him answered in unison.

"Yes, sir."

Before anyone could move—

"Islave."

The single word stopped everyone from advancing.

Gawain never looked up.

His attention remained entirely on Blanca as he carefully adjusted the pressure over her wound.

"Young Master?" Islave immediately turned towards him.

"Let Kayden handle them," Gawain’s voice was frighteningly calm. "We’re going back to the estate."

"You heard the Young Master," Islave lowered his spear as he casually pointed toward one of the cavern walls. "Make us an exit."

"Yes, sir."

The men didn’t even bother looking for a door.

Several of them stepped forward and somehow, they were holding a bunch of explosive bombs.

BOOOOOOM!

The entire wall exploded outward in a shower of rock and dust as the sunset immediately poured into the cavern through the newly created opening.

Across the cavern, Colt stared at the smoking hole, eyes twitching in annoyance.

He slowly pinched the bridge of his nose.

"...I swear..."

"...The moment I set foot inside the Delacroix Estate..."

He inhaled deeply.

"...I’m going to destroy every expensive things I see."

Remington nodded solemnly. "I’ll help."

"Start with the wine collection."

"The crystal chandeliers."

"The grand piano."

"The decorative sculptures."

"The eighty-year-old vase."

Gawain ignored every single conversation happening around him as he carefully lifted Blanca.

"We’re leaving."

Without waiting for anyone’s response, he walked through the newly blasted opening.

Kayden stood perfectly still, his gaze never leaving the tunnel Gawain had disappeared into.

For several long seconds, nobody moved.

The only thing left of Blanca’s presence was the trail of crimson staining the stone floor.

"So..." one of the them muttered nervously. "Is... is he just going to stand there?"

"I don’t know," another whispered. "Should we attack?"

"You attack."

"Why me?!"

"Because you asked!"

The argument died the instant Kayden turned around.

They suddenly found themselves standing before a man whose expression had become completely devoid of emotion.

The twins exchanged one look before turning towards the remaining enemies with smile on their faces.

It was the kind of smile that made grown men reconsider every life decision that had led them to this exact moment.

"You’d better pray that at least..." Remington said cheerfully.

"...one of you survives to tell this story," Colt finished.

They spoke so perfectly in sync that it sounded like one person talking with two voices.

Without another word, the twins stepped forward as their bodies began to transform.

One of the enemies stared at the two of them before slowly lowering his weapon. "...We’re fucked."

Another man beside him nodded weakly.

"...This is Lee’s fault."

Lee, the unfortunate shooter frantically pointed at Kayden, whose expression hadn’t changed even once. "For the last time, I wasn’t trying to shoot her! I was aiming at him! She jumped in front of the bulle—"

His sentence ended abruptly when Kayden was suddenly standing in front of him and in the next second, his hand had already disappeared into Lee’s chest.

Lee’s mouth slowly opened. "...Huh...?"

A wet, sickening sound echoed through the cavern.

CRACK

Kayden slowly withdrew his arm, his bare hand was wrapped around a still-beating heart as blood dripped lazily between his fingers.

Lee stared at the impossible sight, his knees started buckling, before collapsing without another sound.

Kayden looked down at the heart in his hand for a brief second before crushing it without the slightest change in expression.

CRUNCH

"You really chose the wrong time to annoy me."