-2 days later.

In a large hall, which was plunged in darkness, a person could be seen sitting on a golden throne, his legs crossed. Right next to him stood another male whose face was hidden under a thick shadow layer.

"Brother Adriel! Brother Dawn! I don't know how it happened....really! The skeleton we brought to the kingdom turned out to be controlled and he....he!" Katherine, who was kneeling on the ground, muttered in fright.

"Don't call me your brother anymore." Adriel, who was sitting on the throne, coldly declared, "You are no longer part of our family."

"But bro-brother...king!"

"Be quiet." Before Katherine could say anything, Dawn interrupted her as his eyes gleamed with killing intent, "We've only been gone a few weeks, and yet you've managed to screw up so many times?! The professor is dead, all research information and energy are stolen! You even allowed a strange creature to roam the kingdom and escape!"

"We were going to kill the professor later anyway!" Katherine couldn't help but feel annoyed by her brother's words.

"How dare you talk back!? Bitc--"

"Calm down brother, she's not worth your attention," Adriel stated coldly as he rose from his throne, finally letting Katherine see his profound features and colorless hair.

Tap! Tap!

Slowly Adriel moved towards Katherine, descending from a set of stairs, "Katherine, since being born, you have always been the parasite in our family, no divine power, lack of discipline and talent. However, we were always kind enough not to react to the difficulties you caused. Unfortunately, this was the last straw"

"King Ad-Adriel! I'm making great progress in both cultivation and combat training! I'm on the verge of breaking through to the expert rank!"

"No more excuses! You will be punished and banished from the Romulus Kingdom" Adriel's eyes shimmered with coldness as an ice blade protruded from his hand.

"Broth-brother...please do-don't" Katherine's eyes watered at the sight of the approaching figure. She couldn't help but look around the hall, hoping that at least someone would show up to save her.

Thrust!

The ice blade moved, blood scattered all over the area. With a soft plop, Katherine's hand fell to the floor, spreading gloominess around the hall.

"AHHH!!!" Katherine cried out, feeling intense pain all over her body. The injury was more severe than it looked, as the Qi in the blade made its way through Katherine's entire body, damaging every muscle and nerve.

"Guards, take her away," Adriel didn't mind his own sister's screams, his eyes filled with intense killing intent.

While the guards rushed into the room and Katherine proceeded to loudly cry, Adriel returned to his throne.

"She got what she deserved," Dawn chuckled lightly, not caring about his sister either. Caressing his red hair, which fell onto his tanned forehead, Dawn added, "Now that the professor has died, we'll have to change the plan completely."

"Let's discuss this later. I need to spend some time alone," Adriel stated coldly before taking a seat on the throne.

As soon as his brother disappeared from the hall, Adriel's skin got covered in a thick layer of ice. Coldness spread further from the throne until it engulfed the whole place. The atmosphere tensed up as it got harder to breathe.

"STUPID KATHERINE!!!" Adriel roared at the top of his lungs, sending vibrations throughout the palace. Whether it was Dawn, Katherine, or the commoners around the kingdom, everyone heard the king's mighty roar.

"Damn it! We have to find the research that was stolen, no matter what!" Adriel wailed before dropping back onto the throne, his eyes sparkling white, "Guards! Take everyone and survey the area around the kingdom! You may search everywhere, all the way to the borders with other kingdoms!"

-

The wind fluttered all over the abysmal forest, moving the trees back and forth. In one particular area, the air was especially tense as even the huge bushes were pressed to the ground.

Zin! Zin!

The noise of swords clashing against something hard could be heard coming from an open area. A skeleton and a giant lizard were fighting against each other, the battle reaching its climax.

"Hhhh!!!" an ominous sound rang out from the lizard's mouth. Suddenly, his hands got covered by a thin layer of bronze color as Cale prepared to repel the attack again.

The battle had already lasted a full thirty minutes, with neither side giving up. The beast's absolute defense and quick regeneration caused most of Cale's sword attacks to fall flat.

Without risking his own life, Cale could not get close enough to finish off his opponent. However, he wouldn't back down until he had completely defeated this monster.

'It's rare to find a beast with divine power, especially one with such a low Qi level. I must defeat it' Cale declared in his mind. Together with Fenrir, Cale spent three whole days heading south, trying to find an exit from the forest.

They were faced with several dangerous situations, this one being the worst yet. Since Cale could reabsorb the orb of light, he had chosen someone with divine power as his prey, hoping that he could gain the ability himself.

However, the battle proved to be more difficult than expected. Coupled with the fact that Cale was still missing his hand, it was troublesome to even balance his "body" properly.

"!!"

While Cale was still deep in his thoughts, the beast has already started to charge forward, spreading his bronze hand foremost. Seeing the approaching danger, Cale also rushed forth, engaging in the eternal battle again.

Zin! Zin!

It didn't take long for both sides to retreat to their respective places, exhausted.

'This fight will go on for days if I don't do something,' Cale thought, letting his gaze wander over the surroundings. Initially, Cale wanted to exhaust this beast and finish it off later, but his plan didn't seem to be working well.

"Fenrir! Distract him!" shouted Cale as he looked towards a medium-sized bush. Suddenly, a head poked out from between the green leaves, glancing towards the beast.

Without a doubt, Fenrir charged towards the enemy while Cale followed his actions with an inner smile. The lizard chuckled lightly at the sight of the approaching wolf before his eyes flickered with killing intent.