My eyes cracked open, but all I could see was orange… or was it brown? I tried to open it further, but to no avail.

What happened? I thought. I tried moving my body, but it wouldn’t respond. Instead, sharp pain shot from all over my body, making me remember what had happened inside the Demon Lord’s Chamber. Bria and Shiki betrayed me. Not only that, my army… Even Rihoku was not spared. Wait, there’s something else. I was reminded of the ball of darkness that went flying towards me. That damn ingrate!

Thinking about it made me undergo a cycle of anger, rage, helplessness, and despair over and over again. My heart screamed for my tears to flow, but tear ducts had already run dry. My voice box couldn’t produce another sound, and every spindle of my muscles wouldn’t flinch. I was about to fall unconscious again, perhaps permanently, when a voice rang above me.

“Are you awake?” said a female sounding voice.

That voice made me grasp the last thread of my life, not because of the hope of survival, rather it was a voice I’ve heard far too many times. It belonged to Bria.

My mind raged, and my fingers miraculously twitched slightly. However, that was enough of a sign for Bria to know I was still alive. A moment later, my body was enveloped by another familiar feeling. Warmth surged to every cell of my body, recuperating a slight bit of my strength. After a while, I could feel that I had recovered enough to move.

What kind of sick joke is this? Nothing was making sense. I was certain they had abandoned me. Then, why was Bria there? Why was she healing me? If only I had the strength, I would’ve gritted my teeth to dust in frustration. Still, I managed to completely open my eyes and move a little. The reason I could only see brown was because I was lying flat on my face.

I wanted to shout, but I could only slowly regain my energy in silence. Even Bria didn’t speak another word after that. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally had enough strength to slightly move myself. I started twitching my fingertips just to see if I still knew how to make my body work. To my relief, they moved. I lift my elbow slowly trying to support myself a little. I’d just barely managed to raise it halfway when two hard greaves grabbed me by the armpits. It raised me, then sat me near a huge rock.

My eyes shot wide open. The hardness, the strength, I couldn’t be mistaken. I looked up. True to my expectations, Shiki’s clandestine armor stood in front of me. I grit my teeth as tears started to pool at the corners of my eyes. It was a mixture of anger and confusion. Just what do you want with me?!

“Kaito…” Bria started, “you are lucky you are still alive.”

Lucky?! How is this lucky?! I used my strength to glare at her, but what caught my attention was the creature lying around two meters in front of me. It’s black fur was muddled with blood, while the horn on its head lost its shine.

“Ri-riho— Agh!!!” I screamed with my newly regained strength.

Despite that, both of them didn’t even give any response. Not a word nor emotion. They stared at me like looking at another stone in the road.

“This is farewell, Kaito,” said Bria. She retrieved something from her dimensional pocket, then threw it at me. Whatever she threw landed beside, but I didn’t avert my sight from them.

“Just who are you?!” I screamed, then looked above their heads.

[Silver Witch

Lv 130]

[Black Sword

Lv 130]

“We are Demon Lord Lureschka’s generals. This is where we sever our ties, my liege,” said Shiki. “Don’t think of following us.”

Just as he said that, a huge amount of dark aura gathered around him. His armor then sucked the aura like a black hole. Something was happening to him. He was changing. Acape made of shadow sprouted from his back like a wing. His armor smoothened and converged into one. He looked like a shadow soldier, literally. His armor wasn’t just black. It turned into a shadow.

“Too weak. You are too weak,” he added. “Demon Slash!”

He swung Kirikiri, Kiriwan and Kirito’s fusion form, and a shadow slash appeared, sucking everything nearby it as it sliced the air. It looked similar to Crescent Slash, but different. It was fiercer, stronger.

I closed my eyes in anticipation for my end to arrive, but it never did. When I opened my eyes, a meter wide hole separated me from Rihoku, and Bria and Shiki were nowhere to be found.

My head drooped. Again, everything felt heavy. I lost both strength and spirit. Weak… Too weak…

***

A throbbing burning pain from my lower extremities woke me up. I tried moving my legs, but it felt heavy. It was as if it was submerged in water. Slowly, I opened my eyes. A giant blob of translucent green goo was covering my legs. It wasn’t liquid, but it wasn’t particularly solid. What’s this?

Just then, it moved, and the burning pain was back. Only then had I realized that it wasn’t just a substance, it was a monster. Fortunately, my slumber recuperated some of my mana. It wasn’t much, but it should be enough to conjure Wind Cutter. I sensed and gathered what little mana I had left and focused it on my right hand. For some reason, the mana wouldn’t follow my will smoothly. I had to focus hard just to gather them together despite being able to do it with ease before.

I shrugged it off. I didn’t have enough strength to expel the mana, so I just let it sit on my hand instead. Then, I ran it through the glob again and again. Each strike felt like it was hitting water. If not for the goo splattering, I would’ve doubted my attacks were working. After a few more hits, the glob just melted just in time for the mana around my hand to dissipate. My mana reserve had almost depleted, but it wasn’t to the point for me to fall unconscious.

Propping my head, I looked forward. Another green blob seemed to have found its prey a few meters in front of me. Unlike me, however, its prey was more unfortunate. It’s flesh was exposed, as I assumed its skin had already been digested. Just then, something familiar caught my eye. There was something pointy protruding out of the goo. It was black and looked like a horn. No, it was a horn!

“Rihoku!” I shouted. I tried to jump up straight, but my knees buckled, and I fell on all fours. I managed to break my fall with my arms, but I was running out of strength. I hadn’t recovered enough to support myself outright. I stared at the ground and cursed at my situation. A glint caught my eye. What seemed like a vial was lodged between a crack. I dug my fingers around it, and snuck it out of the crack. It was what Bria threw before they left.

Knowing Bria, if I even actually knew her, this was either a potion or a poison. At that moment, I didn’t know which was the gift, and which was the curse. I popped it open without much thought, then downed the content. I closed my eyes in anticipation of what to come, for better or for worse.

Just then, pain shot out through every cell of my body. Burning, acidic pain seared my skin. It felt like I was being grilled, while each pore of my body was being forced open.

I wailed. It was an understatement to call the pain overbearing. Then, it suddenly vanished. It was like nothing actually happened. In fact, I even felt refreshed. My strength had recovered to half, and I could even fill some mana inside me.

Finally, I managed to stand up. Hanging in front of me were a few blue windows

[Demon Lord Lureschka’s Seal has been broken]

[Congratulations! You leveled up. Your current level is 2.]

My eyes shot wide open. Two?! I was more than level 30 already. What in the world happened?

Literally after I said that, everything hit me at once. Yeah, that happened.

I turned my sight towards the goo digesting Rihoku. Again, I channeled mana around my hand, but didn’t release it. I maintained it by pouring mana into it. It covered my hand like a blade. Then, another window popped up.

[Congratulations! You’ve learned Wind Blade.

Mastery: 30 percent]

My brow creased. It was the first time I saw a message window like that. Even when I learned Crescent Slash, nothing like that popped up. Still, I paid it no mind for the meantime. All my focus was on Rihoku.

I raised my hand. Just as I was to swing it down, a particular phrase echoed inside my head. “Failure is part of a warrior’s journey. Don’t let it hinder your path.”

Instead of finishing it, I held out my hand and grabbed it. Subjugate.

[Would you like to subjugate Slime lv 3

(Yes) (No)]

Yes.

[Subjugating Slime lv 3…

Subjugation successful.]

I stared at the remains on my feet, and all our memories flashed in my mind. From the moment we met, to our fight with the Spiked Vipers. I could feel tears pooling at the corner of my eyes, but I bit my teeth to stop it. I’d cried far too many times already. Instead, I grabbed Rihoku’s horn. With a sharp flick, I cut it from Rihoku’s head.

Rihoku is dead.