Chapter 33 Ab Absurdo

The moment Amos closed Kairos’ diary—

He stood at once.  The underground halls of the Kyros archive lay silent as he ventured deeper beneath the manor. Ancient mana lamps cast a faint glow over black stone walls lined with centuries-old records. Usually, Amos relished exploring hidden places.  Now he was certain something awaited him down here—the homunculus crafted centuries ago by Kairos E. Kyros himself.  He shifted the lantern in his grip, heading toward the deepest sections linked to the treasury vaults. Kairos’s diary had hinted at it. 

“The child sleeps beneath the inheritance.”

“Closest to the heart of House Kyros.”

“Protected from the greed of lesser descendants.”

“That definitely sounds like treasury language.”

The main treasury doors loomed ahead, massive black steel etched with countless magical engravings. Even now, the pressure seeping from behind them was overwhelming. Amos pressed his hand to the seal, and the barrier instantly recognized the Kyros blood. With a deep, resonant rumble, the enormous doors began to part. Gold spilled into view—mountains of it—alongside ancient weapons, cursed artifacts, and treasures amassed over centuries of dubious deeds.

“I still respect my ancestors’s shameless corruption.”

The treasury was as bizarre as ever, but this time Amos ignored the glittering hoard. His attention drifted to the hidden central chambers—areas even previous visits hadn’t uncovered. The deeper he went, the quieter it became, until even the cursed relics offered no sound. That was unnerving. Then he noticed something odd. Dust or more accurate,the absence of it. A single section of the floor was spotless, untouched by time, despite clearly being abandoned for decades. 

His eyes narrowed.

“Hmmm.”

Amos crouched low, feeling mana quietly ripple through his senses. Then he saw it—a hidden magic circle etched beneath the floor. Ancient, impossibly intricate, and unmistakably crafted in the style of Kyros magic.

“You paranoid old monster.”

The moment Amos channeled mana into the mechanism, the floor gave a soft tremor before splitting apart. A staircase appeared, spiraling down into the darkness beneath the treasury. For a moment, there was only silence as Amos gazed into the void—then he stepped forward without hesitation.

The underground chamber felt nothing like the treasury above. No piles of gold, no cursed artifacts, no over-the-top displays. Instead, it was more like a serene sanctuary—walls lined with bookshelves, old paintings kept safe under enchantments, a chessboard waiting by a timeless fireplace. At the very center, a figure lay still inside a massive crystal coffin. Amos froze. Blond hair. Tall build. A calm, peaceful face. The resemblance was undeniable.

“…Oh.”

Karos looked almost human—no, that wasn’t quite right. She resembled an idealized vision of humanity itself, beauty sculpted into something unnaturally perfect, as if crafted by obsession rather than born of nature. Silver markings shimmered faintly beneath the crystal encasing her, while ancient mana pulsed through the chamber in a slow, steady rhythm, like a heartbeat.

Amos stepped closer slowly.

Then I noticed something next to the crystal—a final letter, written in handwriting that looked strikingly similar to the one in Kairos's diary.

“For my child.”

Amos gazed quietly at the sleeping homunculus. At the girl who had waited centuries beneath House Kyros. At Kairos’s greatest sin—and perhaps his greatest act of love.

“…Well.”

Amos folded his arms.

“This became more emotional than expected.”

The underground sanctuary was utterly still, the air heavy with silence. Gentle waves of mana drifted through the chamber, steady and slow, like the heartbeat of something asleep. Amos stood quietly before the crystal coffin, eyes fixed on the unmoving figure within—Karos. The child of Kairos. An artificial being who had lingered for centuries in the depths beneath House Kyros.

“…You really do look like trouble.”

The homunculus didn’t respond. Obviously—she was asleep. Probably. Amos stepped closer, the crystal surface casting a faint golden glow across his face as he studied the intricate magic circles encasing the chamber. They were absurdly advanced; the kind of work even modern royal magicians would struggle to replicate.

“Impressive.”

Then—

Crack.

Amos froze.

A slender crack crept across the crystal, quickly followed by another.

Crack.

Crack.

The mana in the room shifted abruptly, hitting like a sudden wave. Amos’ instincts flared without hesitation.

“…Oh that is definitely not good.”

The crystal exploded.

BOOM.

Fragments blasted across the chamber like glass bullets as ancient mana erupted outward in a violent shockwave. Amos crossed his arms in front of himself immediately, reinforcement magic surging through his body just in time.

The floor split under his feet, sending the bookshelves rattling. The ancient sanctuary shuddered, then fell eerily still. Karos stood frozen in the center of the wreckage, awake at last. Her silver eyes fixed ahead, void of emotion—just a hollow calm. Amos slowly let his arms drop.

“…Good evening?”

No response came.  

Karos tilted her head a little, the movement oddly stiff, almost like a doll mimicking a person.  

Then—suddenly—the pressure burst.  

Amos’s eyes widened and Karos vanished.

BOOM.

The floor detonated where Amos had stood an instant earlier.

“What the—”

Amos barely twisted away as a fist ripped through solid stone beside his head as if it were paper. The impact shattered the nearby wall, sending dust billowing across the sanctuary. Karos lunged again without pause—no warning, no hesitation, no words—just raw, unrelenting violence. Amos blocked on instinct.

BOOOOM.

The collision blasted him backward across the chamber, his boots ripped through the floor before he stabilized himself against a broken pillar.

“…EXCUSE ME?!”

Karos stood quietly a few meters away, silver eyes fixed on him without a hint of emotion. Then she lunged—faster this time. Amos’s instincts roared in alarm as he barely leaned aside, a hand whipping past his throat. The force alone severed several strands of his blond hair.

“…THIS IS EXTREMELY RUDE!”

Amos fully reinforced his body and struck back at once with a compressed mana attack. Karos caught it with her bare hand. Silence hung in the air. Then Amos’ eyes went wide as the mana suddenly destabilized absorbed in an instant.

“What?!”

Karos shifted once more, and Amos ducked under another blow just as the shockwave tore apart the ceiling overhead. Chunks of stone tumbled down, and the underground sanctuary started to cave in.

“This is exactly why people should not fall asleep while still being angry!”

Karos remained silent. Not a word escaped her lips, yet her attacks grew sharper—more violent, efficient, and unnervingly precise. Amos barely deflected another blow, the force rattling through his entire frame. His expression changed at last, because in that moment, he understood.

Karos was ridiculously strong. Not just adventurer strong nor a knight strong but monster strong. Every move packed an insane amount of raw power, honed to an impossible degree. All thanks to Kairos’s centuries-old attempt to create perfection itself.

“Shit.”

Karos froze in place, and for a moment, silence hung over the ruined sanctuary. Then the homunculus spoke at last, its voice soft, cold, and hollow.

“Kyros.”

Amos blinked. Karos stared directly at him.

“…Why are you here.”

Before Amos could answer.

Karos’s killing intent exploded throughout the chamber. “…Leave.”

The underground sanctuary shook violently as Karos struck once more, her fist crashing down. Amos reacted in an instant, and a layered shield barrier burst into existence between them.

CRACK.

The shield shattered instantly.

“…What.”

The impact still reached Amos despite the defense.

BOOM.

He was hurled backward across the chamber, smashing through an ancient stone pillar before managing to steady himself mid-slide. Pain ripped through his arms.Real pain.

Amos gaped at the shattered remnants of his shield magic in stunned disbelief.

“…Excuse me?”

His shield magic was supposed to be absurdly tough. Even seasoned adventurers had a hard time breaking through it head-on. Yet Karos shattered it with a single blow, like it was nothing. The silver-eyed homunculus stood quietly in the wreckage—no emotion, no satisfaction, just silent violence ready to erupt again. Then Karos moved.

BOOM.

The floor erupted beneath her—fast. Too fast. Amos dove into his spatial storage without hesitation. A flash of metal, and the partisan-headed sword was his hand. It was a strange hybrid, shorter than a spear but longer than a sword, ideal for aggressive mid-range combat. The instant his fingers closed around the grip, his entire stance shifted. Karos’s fist slammed into the waiting blade.

BOOOOOOM.

Shockwaves tore through the underground sanctuary, splitting the walls with violent cracks. Ancient bookshelves toppled in a cascade of dust, while mana surged chaotically around the chamber. Amos was pushed back several meters, but this time, he stood firm.

“Okay then.”

A grin slowly appeared despite the situation.

“This is fight has officially begun.”

Karos lunged forward without hesitation, and Amos met her head-on. The partisan blade sliced through the air with unnerving accuracy, but Karos slipped out of harm’s way by mere centimeters. Mid-motion, Amos twisted and snapped the strike back toward her throat, only for Karos to block it sharply with her forearm.

CLANG.

The sound resembled metal colliding against a steel.

“Your body is quite absurd.”

Karos stayed silent and struck back without hesitation. Amos leaned back just in time as a punch missed his face by mere inches, the force alone smashing the wall behind him. He reacted instantly, channeling reinforcement magic through his body as he thrust the partisan toward Karos’ chest, only for her to catch the blade with her bare hand.

Then—

CRACK.

The reinforced weapon actually groaned under the pressure of Karos’s grip.

“THAT IS MY FAVORITE WEAPON!”

Amos lunged forward without hesitation to attack. Karos met the attack head-on. The impact sent another shockwave rippling the sanctuary. For a few moments, their clash seemed evenly matched—almost. Amos’ instincts adjusted at lightning speed, each exchange honing his movements. Spatial compression. Mana reinforcement. Sharp footwork. Unyielding counters. Against anyone else, he would have looked unstoppable. Against Karos? He was barely managing to hold his ground, because Karos was something truly terrifying—perfectly efficient, with no wasted movement, no hesitation, and no openings. Every strike hit with force yet stayed impossibly controlled, as if Kairos had spent centuries honing a weapon disguised as a human being.

BOOM.

Amos barely managed to throw up another shield in time, but Karos smashed through it instantly. The shattered mana barrier burst outward, and the blow landed squarely against Amos’s ribs.

CRACK.

Pain shot through his body as Amos was hurled across the chamber, slamming into the far wall with enough force to leave a crater in the stone. Blood trickled from his mouth. For a moment, there was only silence before he slowly pushed himself to his feet.

“Ow.”

That one hurt. A lot. His ribs were definitely in bad shape, maybe even broken. The realization alone felt surreal.

Karos had smashed through his shields again and again with nothing but her fist. She moved in quietly through the swirling dust silver eyes blank and unreadable. But now—Amos sensed something different. Her strikes weren’t growing more brutal; they were becoming quicker. Each motion sharper, more deliberate. It was as if the fight itself was stirring something deep within her.

“You’re still growing too.”

Karos stopped several meters away. Then finally spoke again.

“Why.” Amos wiped blood from his mouth lazily. “Why are you trying to kill me?”.

Karos stared at him quietly.

Then—

“Because you are a Kyros.”

The pressure in the chamber spiked without warning. Amos squinted, sensing something off in those words. Then Karos disappeared again, and Amos knew at once—the next strike would be far worse than anything before. The underground sanctuary was in ruins: pillars toppled, stone shattered, ancient shelves splintered. Overhead, the treasury shook with every clash of the two monsters.

BOOOOM.

Amos twisted just in time as Karos’ fist smashed through the wall, shattering layers of enchanted stone like brittle glass. Dust burst into the air in a violent cloud. Amos struck back without hesitation, his partisan blade snapping upward toward Karos’s throat. Karos caught the strike, but Amos spun on his heel, reversing the blade in a heartbeat—driving it clean through Karos’s chest.

THUNK.

The tip emerged from Karos’s back.

Amos’s eyes widened slightly. “Got you.”

For the first time since waking, Karos froze. The silver-eyed homunculus looked down at the weapon lodged in her chest. No blood. No flinch. No pain. Then Amos’s instincts kicked in with a jolt. But it was already too late. Karos’s hand snapped forward and grabbed Amos by the wrist.

“Ah.”

Amos realized it instantly—he’d been baited. Karos yanked him forward with force, and the combo kicked off.

BOOM.

A fist slammed into Amos’s stomach with enough force to crack the floor beneath them. The air was knocked from his lungs in an instant. Before he could catch his breath, another smashed into his ribs.

CRACK.

Pain ripped through his side. A third blow smashed into his shoulder, then his jaw, then his chest again. Karos moved without slowing, without mercy, without leaving a single opening. Every strike flowed into the next with frightening precision. Amos couldn’t escape, couldn’t retreat, couldn’t even block properly—his weapon was still lodged in Karos’s chest. Letting go meant losing it and worse, losing all control of the fight.

BOOOOM.

Another fist smashed into Amos’s side and sent blood spraying from his mouth. His vision blurred.

“…This…is bad.”

Karos’s empty silver eyes stared directly into him.

Amos’s mind raced in desperation.

Shield magic? Gone in an instant, useless. Spatial compression? Not a single opening to work with. Mana burst? Karos was right there far too close; he’d be hit just the same. Every idea fell apart before it could even take shape.

Karos kept attacking, relentless as an unstoppable machine. Amos felt another blow slam into his torso, followed by the sharp crack of something breaking again—definitely ribs, maybe more.

I’m actually going to lose and die to her.

The realization settled in with an odd calm.  No fear—just the simple truth.  Karos was stronger, faster, tougher.  Amos had nothing left to slow her down.  His gaze shifted to the blade still buried in Karos’ chest, piercing straight through the heart and yet, Karos fought on as if it were nothing at all.

“You really are a monster.”

Karos lifted her fist more, and Amos decided in a heartbeat. If there was no way out, then he’d double down. Gripping the weapon with both hands, he pushed it in even deeper.

CRRRRACK.

The blade tore further through Karos’s chest cavity. Still, Karos barely reacted.

“WHAT ARE YOU EVEN MADE OF?!”

Another punch came. Amos caught it in his sights this time—too quick to dodge, too close to block, with death rushing straight for his face.

Then—Amos coughed blood, right onto Karos. Karos froze—not from injury, but out of instinct and confusion. Just the briefest pause, less than a second. But for Amos, that single moment was all he needed. His eyes sharpened in an instant.

“Found it.”

Mana burst through the partisan lodged in Karos, triggering spatial compression right inside the wound—not outside, but within. For the first time, Karos’ silver eyes widened in shock.

BOOOOOOOM.

The compressed space detonated internally.

Karos was hurled backward for the first time in the fight, smashing through several stone walls before vanishing under a heap of falling debris. The underground sanctuary trembled with the impact. came silence. Amos stood, barely managing to keep his footing. Blood trickled from his mouth, one arm hung at an odd angle and every breath was agony. Everything ached.

“…Haah…”

He wiped blood from his chin slowly. “I cannot believe coughing blood will create the opening I needed.”

The rubble ahead shifted. Amos’s smile disappeared instantly.

“…Oh, come on.”

Because Karos was already standing back up.