The air in the lower depths of the Dragon Bones dungeon was no longer just hot; it was heavy, thick with the suffocating pressure of a fallen god. The red mist had turned into a viscous fog that clung to Kael's skin like a wet shroud.
But Kael didn't mind. His [Magma Skin] passively absorbed the heat, converting it into a warm, tingling energy that saturated his muscles. He walked with a casual stride, stepping over rivers of lava that would have vaporized a normal D-Rank instantly.
He passed through a massive archway carved from bone. Beyond it lay the aftermath of a hurricane.
Corpses.
Dozens of them.
Massive, armored salamanders, Magma Golems, and Ash Wyrms—all B-Rank threats—lay scattered across the cavern floor. They weren't just killed; they were dismantled.
Kael stopped by the carcass of a Magma Golem the size of a tank. Its rocky hide had been split cleanly in two, the cut smoother than any laser.
He traced the edge of the cut with his finger.
"A single strike," Kael murmured. "No wasted movement. No explosion. Just... speed."
SYSTEM ANALYSIS
RESIDUAL ENERGY: SPATIAL WIND.
USER: SARAE HART.
Spatial Wind. A higher concept of the Wind element. It wasn't just cutting the target; it was cutting the space the target occupied.
Kael straightened up, his expression grim.
"I'm Level 50. C-Rank Peak," he whispered. "And I still feel like a child looking at a giant's footprints."
He continued forward. The path widened into a causeway of black glass. At the end, a faint, pulsating golden light shimmered. The Heart Chamber.
But standing between him and the chamber were four figures.
They weren't monsters. They were humans. The Hart Family's Elites.
They wore sleek, white tactical armor that hummed with energy shields. They stood in a diamond formation, blocking the bridge.
SYSTEM SCANTARGETS: HART FAMILY ELITE GUARD
LEVELS: 55 - 83
RANK: C (PEAK) / B (LOW)
One of them, a woman with a sniper rifle, stepped forward. Her visor slid up, revealing cold, amber eyes.
"Halt," she commanded. "This area is sealed by order of Lord Sarae. Unauthorized entry is punishable by execution."
Kael tilted his head. "Execution? By who? You?"
"If necessary," the woman replied, her finger tightening on the trigger. "Identify yourself. You are not on the manifest."
Kael smiled. The scale on his cheek glinted. "I'm the pest control. And you guys are in my way."
The woman's eyes narrowed. "Kill him."
BANG!
The sniper fired. The bullet was a Tier 3 adamantite slug, moving at supersonic speeds.
Kael didn't move. He didn't even blink.
[MAGMA SKIN] - ACTIVE.
PING!
The bullet impacted Kael's forehead and flattened instantly, falling to the ground with a pathetic clink.
The sniper's jaw dropped. "Im-impossible...!"
Kael yawned. "Is that it? My turn."
He raised his right hand.
"Trace: Black Steel."
MANA COST: 100.
Darkness coalesced in his palm, solidifying into a jagged, black kopis—a heavy blade designed for chopping through armor.
He didn't run. He simply vanished.
[SPEED BLITZ]
Kael appeared instantly in the center of their formation.
"Scatter!" the leader shouted.
Too late.
Kael swept the kopis in a wide horizontal arc.
SHING.
The heavy blade cut through the energy shields of the two flankers like paper. It sliced through their tactical armor, sending them flying backward, clutching their chests.
"AAAGH!"
The sniper tried to backpedal, ejecting a thermal grenade.
"Die, freak!"
Kael caught the grenade in mid-air with Telekinesis.
"Thanks."
He flicked it back at her.
BOOM!
The explosion consumed her and the remaining guard.
Kael walked through the smoke, unharmed. The four elites were down, groaning, their armor shattered.
He approached the leader, who was crawling toward his dropped rifle.
"You... you're not a porter," the man gasped, blood bubbling on his lips.
"I never said I was," Kael replied.
He placed his hand on the man's head.
DEVOUR INITIATED
MANA ABSORBED: 150
ABILITY ROLL: FAILED.
He moved to the sniper.
DEVOUR INITIATED
MANA ABSORBED: 180
ABILITY ROLL: SUCCESS!
ABILITY ACQUIRED: [HAWK EYE] (GRADE: C)
DESCRIPTION: VISUAL ZOOM UP TO 2KM. SLOW MOTION PERCEPTION OF FAST MOVING OBJECTS.
Kael stood up. His vision shifted, the distant walls of the cavern suddenly snapping into high definition.
XP GAINED: 600
LEVEL UP!LEVEL 50 → 51
He looked at the open gateway ahead. The golden light was pulsing faster now.
"System," Kael thought. "Status update."
HOST: KAELLEVEL: 51 (C-RANK)MANA: 3800/3800
He walked through the archway.
The Heart Chamber
The room was a geode the size of a stadium. The walls were lined with glowing crystals of every color. In the center, suspended by chains of pure mana, was a massive, beating heart.
It wasn't made of flesh. It was a gemstone—a ruby the size of a car, pulsating with the rhythm of the earth itself.
SYSTEM ALERT
ARTIFACT DETECTED: [HEART OF THE DRAGON GOD]
RANK: SSS (RELIC)
And standing directly beneath it, his hand raised to the sky, was Sarae Hart.
Sarae looked different up close. His white hair flowed like silk, and his skin was pale, almost translucent. He radiated a silver light that pushed back the darkness of the dungeon.
He wasn't alone. Two A-Rank attendants flanked him, channeling mana into a containment circle.
Sarae turned his head slowly. He didn't seem surprised to see Kael. In fact, he didn't seem to see Kael at all—merely a speck of dust that had drifted in.
"Silas," Sarae spoke, his voice echoing with a dual timbre. "Your security is lacking. A rat has entered."
Kael stopped twenty meters away. He didn't attack. Not yet.
"I'm not a rat, brother," Kael said, his voice steady.
Sarae paused. His attendants froze.
Sarae turned fully. His silver eyes locked onto Kael. For the first time, there was a flicker of something other than indifference.
Recognition.
"Brother?" Sarae whispered. The word hung in the air, heavy with confusion.
He stepped forward. The pressure in the room doubled.
"I have no brother," Sarae stated coldly. "My lineage is pure. Who are you to claim kinship with the Ageless?"
Kael smiled, showing his elongated canines. He let the [Draconic Bloodline] flare. Red scales shimmered on his arms. He let the [Dhampir] nature leak out—the cold, deathly aura of the undead mixed with the fire of the dragon.
"Kaelyn," Kael said. "Son of Elena. The one you left behind."
Sarae's eyes widened slightly.
"Kaelyn..." He tasted the name. "The failure. The one without the Physique. I was told you died in the gutter."
"I got better," Kael replied, drawing his Kopis. "I ate the gutter. And now I'm here to eat you."
Sarae stared at him. Then, he laughed.
It wasn't a cruel laugh. It was genuine amusement.
"You? A C-Rank—against me?"
Sarae held up one finger. A small, concentrated ball of spatial wind appeared on the tip.
"I have surpassed the mortal coil, Kaelyn. I am Sovereign. I am Eternal."
He flicked his finger.
The ball shot toward Kael.
[INFINITE BLADE ARTS]
Kael didn't dodge. He traced.
"Trace: Shield of the Dragon."
A massive, translucent red shield formed in front of him.
BOOM!
The spatial wind hit the shield. The shield shattered instantly, but it deflected the attack enough that it missed Kael's heart.
Instead, it grazed his shoulder.
CRITICAL HIT!HEALTH: 40%
Kael was blown backward, crashing into the crystal wall. He coughed up a mouthful of blood.
So fast, Kael thought, his vision swimming. I didn't even see the movement.
Sarae lowered his hand. "You survived. Impressive. Most B-Ranks would have been erased."
He turned back to the Heart.
"But you are still irrelevant. I have business with the Dragon. Do not interrupt me again, or I will erase you from existence."
Sarae ignored him. He reached for the Heart.
Kael pulled himself out of the wall. His regeneration was already stitching the wound closed.
He's strong, Kael admitted. Stronger than anything I've faced.
But he's arrogant.
"System," Kael whispered. "Prepare for mass consumption."
WARNING: TARGET MANA TOO HIGH FOR DIRECT DEVOUR.
SUGGESTION: DAMAGE THE TARGET FIRST. WEAKEN THE SHELL.
Kael grinned.
"Works for me."
He raised his hand. Not one sword. Not ten.
He poured 50% of his mana pool—nearly 2000 points—into the air.
"Trace... Infinite Blade Arts: Grim Nova."
The cavern changed.
Thousands of swords materialized in the air behind him. Swords of fire, swords of lightning, swords of bone and shadow. A sea of steel, floating like a tidal wave ready to crash.
Sarae stopped reaching for the Heart. He turned, his expression finally shifting to surprise.
"What... is this?"
"This," Kael spat, his eyes glowing gold and blue, "is my welcome home party."
FIRE.
A thousand blades screamed toward the Ageless One.