Both lunged to kill. But Zekai was faster. He caught it mid-motion and drove it forward.
The impact didn't stop at contact—the force carried through, dragging its body across the ground, tearing through stone before slamming it into the wall.
It tried to stabilize. It couldn't.
That was enough. Zekai stepped in again, faster this time.
The next hit landed before the first impact had even finished carrying through.
Then another.
He didn't stop. Each strike came heavier than the last—driving it deeper, crushing it further.
The force carried through multiple layers of the wall. Each impact breaking stone and structure, but still it held together.
Still—it refused to die.
"...Of course you are."
It shouldn't have. Because something like that—doesn't follow normal rules.
Then it changed. The Soulreaver twisted. Not retreating—adjusting.
The creature shifted—its form collapsing into shadow as it wrapped around Zekai's arm, trying to consume him from the inside.
Pain shot through his arm—sharp, immediate.
"…Too slow."
He clenched his hand. And tore it apart. Piece by piece.
Zekai ripped it away and threw it aside.
It fled from him in absolute terror—like even it understood what he had become. But it didn't disappear.
It moved fast and sank into the dead King Knight's armor. It couldn't hold form on its own—so it took the knight.
So it needed a body… something stronger than its own form.
Then it merged into the King Knight's corpse.
The armor resisted for a moment—then gave in. The moment the shadow sank into the armor.
The blue flames changed.
Not faded. Consumed.
The light dimmed first—then twisted—
and turned into something deeper.
Black. Not the absence of flame—but a fire that devoured light itself.
[ ANOMALY CONFIRMED ]
Flame Type: Unregistered
Property: Light Consumption
Warning: Do Not Engage Directly
---
Black fire began leaking through the cracks in the armor, slow and heavy, like something inside had awakened.
The air around it grew colder. Denser. Like the world itself was rejecting what had just taken form.
The armor trembled—then rose once more. But this time… something else was wearing it.
The armor darkened. Completely black armor now.
White eyes opened. The presence had changed completely.
[ ENTITY SHIFT DETECTED ]
Host: King Knight (Deceased)
Override: In Progress
[ CLASSIFICATION UPDATED ]
SOULREAVER → SOULREAVER KNIGHT
Threat Level: Elevated
---
A Soulreaver Knight.
"Who did this… why did you bring us here…?"
The Soulreaver didn't answer.
Of course it didn't.
"Fine."
"I'll end everything at once."
The Soulreaver Knight raised its sword.
Zekai stepped forward with nothing but his bare hands.
It moved faster than before.
The blade came straight for his head. He leaned back just enough to avoid it, then stepped in and drove a kick into its side.
"Die."
It was thrown back. But it recovered instantly.
The sword came again—this time aimed at Zekai's stomach.
He caught it—
"No."
The pain came first. Then the blade. Steel was already buried in his palm before he even saw it move.
The blade drove deep into his palm.
"...Tch."
[ DAMAGE REGISTERED ]
Physical Integrity: Compromised
[ RESPONSE ]
Pain Suppression: Active
Motor Control: Maintained
---
Warm blood ran down Zekai's wrist immediately—but his grip never loosened.
If he let it go—it reaches his core.
Pain shot through his arm—but he stopped the blade before it could go deeper.
But not deep enough. Before it could go further, he grabbed the blade with his other hand—and snapped it.
For a fraction of a second—the world itself lagged.
Not time. Not space. The world… delayed.
His body didn't. He moved inside that delay. Before it could catch up.
[ PERCEPTION DESYNC ]
Reality Alignment: Unstable
Temporal Drift: Minor
User State: Ahead of Sync
---
Zekai grabbed the knight's body, spun it, and slammed it into the ground repeatedly, each impact breaking more of the armor.
The Soulreaver Knight crashed to the floor.
Then—something changed. His vision doubled—then struggled to return to one.
[ CRITICAL WARNING ]
Cognitive Split Detected
Stability: Dropping
Control Loss Risk: Rising
---
His balance tilted with reality. like his body couldn't decide which version of reality to follow.
Zekai body weakened. He dropped to one knee.
His vision split—two versions of the world overlapping for a second—before collapsing back into one.
His head throbbed—sharp, relentless. Blood ran down from his nose.
"...Not yet."
His body felt like it was tearing itself apart just to keep moving.
"Good."
"That means I'm still in control."
[ SYSTEM STRAIN ]
Output Threshold Exceeded
Backlash: Active
---
"…So this is the limit…"
His body already understood the truth.
"This power is burning something inside me just to keep going."
Zekai's consciousness flickered. His strength was fading—too fast.
"...Did I push it too far...?"
Maybe this power had always had a limit.
Maybe he crossed it. But that didn't matter—not now.
But Zekai wasn't done.
Not yet. He forced himself to stand and opened his eyes.
"No matter what happened—Aron had to survive this."
"I promised him."
Then one last time. Just once more.
"I'll protect him."
"No matter what it costs."
If he stopped here—everything ended.
"Whatever it takes."
He stood again.
"Yeah…"
"We're leaving this place… alive."
He could still move. That was enough. He launched forward with everything he had left.
"AHHH—!"
[ OVERRIDE ]
Limiter: Ignored
Stability: Critical
Proceeding...
---
"I don't need to win."
A step forward.
"I just need you to stop existing."
Zekai's fists slammed into the armor again and again.
Each hit landed before the previous impact could fully carry through, stacking force faster than the armor could recover.
Face, chest, joints—wherever he could reach. Each hit broke something, cracking it apart piece by piece until the entire structure collapsed.
"Break."
Zekai's vision blurred—but he didn't stop.
Relentless. He couldn't. His fist connected—the impact ran through its body—then the armor cracked. Until finally—the armor shattered completely.
It collapsed. The Soulreaver burst out of the broken armor.
It tried to reform—but couldn't hold its shape anymore.
Still reaching. Still trying to exist.
Then—it spoke.
"Return… what was never yours."
Zekai frowned.
…Return what?
The Soulreaver didn't respond.
Its head slowly tilted, locking onto something behind him.
The white glow reflected faintly in its hollow gaze.
The black stone card.
Of course. That's what it wants.
Zekai stepped forward, blocking its line of sight.
"…Whatever that is—"
His voice dropped. Cold.
"You're not getting it."
But Zekai wasn't done. Not yet.
He grabbed it again. Not its body. Not its form. Something deeper.
"I'm not destroying you."
His grip tightened.
"I'm removing you."
The space around it trembled.
Its form broke. Again. And again.
Until there was nothing left to return to.
Zekai removed its right to exist.
Piece by piece—until existence itself rejected it.
No body. No shadow. No outcome where it exists.
"There is no second result."
Again. Until nothing remained.
No regeneration. This time—it was truly gone.
[ CONFIRMATION ]
Target: Erased
Residual Presence: None
---
The fragments burned.
Its black form disintegrated into ash and scattered into the air.
Silence returned. Like the world corrected itself.
Zekai stood there, breathing heavily.
"…What comes next…?"
No answer.
Of course not.
His grip tightened. But he knew one thing. This wasn't the end of it.
"...Then I'll keep going."
If anything—this was only the beginning.
End of chapter 21 - Even If I Break