CHAPTER 49: DECAY EATER

"Blessing of Rot," he hissed in return, slamming his staff down.

The corrupted glade shook as their auras collided—red rot clashing against golden blessing, decay slamming into elemental fury.

The ground beneath them pulsed with corrupted glyphs, each beat like a war drum. Jagged, obsidian trees surrounding the altar seemed to lean closer, their bark weeping black ichor as if eager to drink blood.

Ghratal’s guttural voice rolled through the glade like a storm.

"You cannot stop the Deathborn! I am the chosen conduit of decay!"

Rhys’s smile was razor-sharp. "Blah Blah Blah, Let’s just fight already!"

With a roar, the Hobgoblins surged forward. Totems flared, wreathing them in blood-hued light. Their bodies hardened, blades shimmered crimson with lifestealing magic. The Decay-Eater’s commands rolled like thunder, blessing his minions with unnatural strength. But Rhys stepped forward without hesitation, unleashing his own rallying cry. Golden and blue light spiraled around him like a tidal surge, flooding the battlefield with radiance. Puddle’s aura ignited—three elements, Water, Light, and Dark, blazing in perfect harmony.

Rhys moved first.

He vanished in a blink, a Flash Step putting him directly in the center of the charging horde. A Whirlwind Slash, wrapped in the sharp surge of a Water Blade, exploded outward—steel and slicing waves ripping through armor and bone alike. The force flung three elites backward, their cleavers spinning uselessly into the dirt. Another tried to flank him; Rhys pivoted, blade erupting in a burst of holy light. The Light Burst shattered its chestplate, and a lightning-fast Swift Cut ended it in a single heartbeat.

But Ghratal had already begun chanting. Black winds rose from the ground, thick with the stench of rotting corpses. Rotstorm howled through the glade, corroding the edges of Rhys’s armor and leeching warmth from his flesh. Then—chains. Rusted, pitted links wrapped in necrotic fire lashed into existence, snapping around his torso and legs, dragging him toward the altar’s cursed glyphs.

Puddle reacted instantly. Dark tendrils erupted from the earth in a writhing wave, Abyssal Grasp pinning the Hobgoblins to the ground long enough for Rhys to shatter the chains with a single twist of his blade. The Decay-Eater hissed, eyes narrowing.

Rhys slammed his palm against Puddle’s trembling form. The slime dissolved into a swirling vortex of water, light, and shadow, rushing into his chest like molten magic. His veins burned with elemental power. In his hands, a sword took shape—crescent-bladed, forged from Puddle’s essence, its steel shimmering in braided colors of deep blue, burning white, and void-black. Aether Vein pulsed like a living heart in his grip.

His aura erupted outward in a storm of power, ripping apart nearby glyphs as he surged forward. One swing of Lunar Break split the ground, a shockwave of light and dark tearing through the ritual circle and stalling the summoning by precious seconds. Ghratal roared and thrust both hands upward, unleashing a Plague Nova. A wave of plague magic detonated outward, slamming into Rhys like a tidal wall of death. His Mana Shield flared and shuddered but held.

From within him, Puddle’s magic ignited. A golden halo spun into existence above his head, burning like a miniature sun. Gleaming Halo pulsed every heartbeat, each flare ripping through the decay mist and scouring the curses from his body. Hobgoblins screamed as the holy light seared their flesh. Rhys raised a hand—Magic Missiles streaked into the enemy ranks, immediately followed by an Arcane Echo that doubled the barrage without costing him a breath of mana.

He tore forward again, his blade a whirlwind of technique. Vertical Slash cleaved a Hobgoblin Captain in half. Power Slash knocked another sprawling. Piercing Thrust skewered a third through its chestplate.

But Ghratal’s fury only deepened. He slammed his staff into the ground. Corruption flared. The remaining Hobgoblins were consumed in a frenzy of deathlust, their strength doubling. The Decay-Eater himself encased in a Rotarmored Shell, cutting incoming damage in half.

Rhys’s eyes burned with a hunter’s light. He called upon Predator’s Archive, and glowing sigils of weakness shimmered across Ghratal’s warped frame. The largest pulsed bright at the base of the monster’s spine. Rhys vanished in a Flash Step, feinting left, then spun into another Whirlwind Slash. Shadows from Dark Mist spilled outward, cloaking the field and dulling enemy aim.

The Decay-Eater’s staff came down like a hammer—Rhys stepped inside the arc, Light Shield sparking around him, and poured everything into one strike. Elemental magic flooded Aether Vein until it roared with the combined fury of water’s relentless surge, light’s cleansing blaze, and darkness’s suffocating embrace.

Beastarmament: Elemental Overdrive.

He drove the blade down with an Overcharged Lunar Break, and the area exploded. A dome of searing light and choking shadow expanded from the point of impact, crushing waves rippling outward. The altar cracked, glyphs shattered, and Ghratal’s regeneration collapsed like snapped sinew.

The Decay-Eater staggered, ichor spilling from his mouth. Rhys’s steps slowed but never stopped as he approached, sword blazing brighter with each pace.

"Thanks for an great battle, it was the first time I was pushed to use almost all my skills" Rhys said lightly swinging his sword.

The blade fell like divine judgment. The strike was perfect, burying itself in the heart of Ghratal’s corruption. A shockwave of light, dark, and water rippled out as the Decay-Eater let out a last, shuddering scream—then his body dissolved into ash and rot.

The ritual Altar connected to him imploded in a final, blinding flash.

For a breathless moment, the forest was silent—only the whisper of dying magic lingered. The stench of death faded from the wind, replaced by the clean scent of rain-soaked earth.

The Deathborn summoning... was over.

Then the System’s golden light flooded Rhys’s vision.

[ Congratulations! Hidden Quest Completed – "Shatter the Deathborn Conduit" ]

[ Special Feat: Defeated a Ritual-Channeling Boss in Soul Fusion State ]

[ Difficulty Rating: High – Tier 0 ]

[ Reward Unlocked: Legendary Skill – Ritual Break ]

Ritual Break

Type: Legendary | Active

Effect: Instantly severs and nullifies any ritual within your current rank tier, bypassing all defenses, wards, and shields. Ignores interruption resistance.

Mana Cost: 1,000

Cooldown: 1 Day

Tier Restriction:

– Tier 0: Lv. 1 – 100

– Tier 1: Lv. 101 – 200

– and so on...

Special: Using Ritual Break on a ritual above your tier will destabilize it instead, causing backlash damage to its caster.

The golden light pulsed again.