CHAPTER 125: SHOCKING AURELUS

Aurelus could still feel his hands numbed from the impact of the bazooka shot.

The weight of the blast lingered in his bones, his ears still ringing with a sharp vibration that refused to fade for a while.

For the first time in years, his body registered something beyond irritation or mild strain.

’what the...’

To be pushed back that far by an artifact tool, even for him, was startling.

He flexed his fingers slowly, his sharp gaze locked on the strange weapon clutched in the mysterious knight’s grip.

A hint of curiosity flickered in his fiery eyes.

"What an interesting artifact. I have never seen one before." His voice was low, but the battlefield seemed to hush just to hear him.

He studied the gun for a brief moment before shifting his focus to the mysterious knight standing across from him.

"Impressive. For a level twenty-seven knight to release magic power on par with a level fifty mage... I think I want that artifact for myself."

Aurelus’s lips curled faintly, his murmur like a predator savoring the moment before the kill. But Auren’s cold gaze never faltered.

"And he is connected to Robert as well," Aurelus added with a mysterious smile, his words laced with implication.

"That bastard! Leave the intruder to us, my lord!" shouted some of the Dark Fate members, their faces twisted with eagerness. They began to step forward.

But before they could advance, Aurelus’s overwhelming aura surged outward like a tidal wave.

The Dark Fate members froze, their bravado snuffed out in an instant, trembling in hesitation.

His confident gaze and wicked smile told them clearly—this knight was his prey, and none of them were permitted to interfere.

Auren stood still, unmoving, his eyes like shards of ice. His murderous intent spilled silently from him, sharper than any blade. His face showed no flicker of emotion, but inside, his mind was a storm raging with voices.

"Kill him!"

"Make him pay!"

"Please, big brother... avenge us!"

The cries pressed in against his ears, a haunting chorus of children’s voices, thousands of them.

They were not faint whispers this time, but loud, desperate, clinging to him as though their tiny hands were wrapped around his arms and shoulders.

Their pleas begged, urged, demanded.

Auren drew a long breath, steady but heavy, his chest rising with restrained fury.

As Aurelus stepped closer, his footsteps cracking stone beneath their weight, Auren’s thoughts drifted unexpectedly into his past life.

Back on his previous life on heart, he had been six years old when the memories carved themselves into his mind, when the shouting of his parents drowned out the quiet of his childhood.

They had not been poor, not truly, but greed, vices, and pride had poisoned everything.

His father, though hardworking, drowned his strength in alcohol, chain-smoked until his fingers were yellowed, and carried a temper that burned as quick as dry straw.

His mother was beautiful and diligent, but her pride was just as sharp. She was materialistic, boastful, her words cutting as much as his father’s fists.

On one terrible day, their screaming erupted into violence.

Plates shattered against walls, chairs splintered under careless rage.

Rin—his name in that life—had sat frozen, watching his world crumble as egos clashed and jealousy turned reason to dust.

Money vanished, respect rotted, and love dissolved into venom.

Finally, they walked away from each other, abandoning him to the weary arms of his grandmother where he grew and died in that accident that sent him in this world.

But the truth remains: that scar never healed.

Auren had grown up with the taste of abandonment on his tongue, left behind by selfish people who never owned their mistakes.

And now, staring at Aurelus, with all his arrogance and self-indulgence, he was reminded of them all over again.

His lips barely moved as he whispered, words carried to no one but the spirits clinging to him. "Don’t worry. I promise... today I’ll end this man’s reign."

Then suddenly, his hand switched back to his bazooka, bringing in the literal big guns for bigger prey.

"Oh?" Aurelus’s head tilted, his expression shifting as he caught Auren’s action. He paused mid-step, fire flickering faintly across his shoulders.

"What confidence, young man. Tell me..."

He strode closer, looming until he was only five meters away, lowering his massive frame with a mock bow so their eyes leveled.

His voice dripped with disdain.

"What can a foolish level twenty-seven knight possibly do to me?"

CLICK.

Auren’s hand blurred, faster than his level should ever allow.

The bazooka snapped up, pointed directly at Aurelus’s face.

"I can do this."

ZZZT–KABOOOOM!

The blast thundered like a cannon, light searing across the battlefield.

Flames burst from Aurelus’s wings as they instinctively folded around him, but even so the explosion struck with enough force to drive his massive body several meters back.

His chest shook faintly from the impact.

Yet Aurelus only smirked, straightening with contempt.

"Hah! Not this time! Is that the best you’ve got?—"

ZZZT–KABOOOOM!ZZZT–KABOOOOM!

Two more blasts tore through the air, echoing like thunderclaps.

Auren advanced step by step, matching Aurelus’s retreat, each shot carrying fury, each impact forcing the tyrant further back.

ZZZT–KABOOOOM!ZZZT–KABOOOOM!ZZZT–KABOOOOM!

Smoke and light cloaked the battlefield. Deep inside his fiery wings, Aurelus’s jaw tightened, a flicker of disbelief breaking his mask. A cold realization struck him like ice while he struggled to even open up his wings.

"Don’t tell me... that artifact has zero cooldown?!"

ZZZT–KABOOOOM!

"Enough!" Aurelus roared.

His massive frame surged forward, greatsword cleaving through the haze in a deadly arc.

But Auren’s MJ boots ignited, mana flaring beneath his feet.

His body blurred with speed unnatural for his level, his vision sharpening as he summoned one of his most advance skills.

[TIGER FOCUS]

SWOOOOSH!

Aurelus’s eyes widened as his swing carved only air.

"I missed!?"

Auren slid past the strike like water flowing through cracks, his movement precise, merciless.

His bazooka tilted up at point-blank range, and fired.

ZZZT–KABOOOOM!

The blast slammed into Aurelus’s face, bypassing his fiery guard and even breaking through one of his protective spell.

Unlike an ordinary missile, Auren’s bazooka unleashed magical runesteel spheres, each the size of a clenched fist. On impact, they exploded with the force of a dozen dynamite and the crushing weight of a speeding bus behind every shot.

Ugh!~

Aurelus’s body was hurled through the air, crashing into the lake.

BOOM–SPLASH!

Water surged skyward, waves tearing outward.

The Dark Fate members froze, silence consuming them.

Their strongest champion, their king, had been knocked into the water by a level twenty-seven knight. Disbelief warred with fear on their faces.

Some wanted to charge forward, but the memory of Emeru’s fate still lingered, the image of bodies broken and torn. None dared step closer.

On the opposite side, Austaire, Mardonio, and even the barely conscious Robert gaped, their eyes wide, breath stolen by what they had just witnessed.

Dodging Aurelus’s attack was one thing, but countering with such precision, then sending him flying?

That was something beyond reason.

Mardonio pressed a trembling hand to his chest, his body weak yet his mind spinning.

"It makes no sense," he muttered. "How can a level twenty-seven knight wield such mana capacity and move that fast?"

Austaire steadied her breathing before answering. "Because... that isn’t his true level."

Mardonio turned to her, disbelief painted across his face.

"What do you mean not his true level? It is impossible to fake a Divine Frame."

His voice cracked with strain, even as he forced his weary body to channel more mana. The lingering effects of their healing potions slowly knitted their strength back together, but exhaustion weighed on every bone.

"Save your strength, Grandpa," Austaire urged, slipping an arm around him to help him stand.

"I’ll explain when we get out of here."

"I... I can’t believe Auren has become this strong," Robert whispered hoarsely, his voice trembling as Austaire reached for him as well.

"You’re right," Austaire said softly. "And thankfully, he was holding back when I fought him."

Robert’s eyes widened, his wounds almost reopening from the shock. "You fought him?!"

"It’s a long story," Austaire cut him off, shaking her head. "But trust me, that’s the least of our problems right now."

Their exchange was short-lived, because the stares of dozens of Dark Fate members now pinned them down like knives.

"Hehehe... where do you think you’re going?" one sneered, his voice crawling with malice.

Meanwhile, Auren calmly checked his remaining bullets, eyes flicking toward the system interface of his storage ring.

’Three shots left...’ he thought grimly.

’After that, it’s hand to hand. I’ll have to make every one of them count.’

The lake rippled violently, inviting his attention back to his enemy.

Then the water erupted.

Aurelus burst forth like a dragon ripping out of the depths, his frame wreathed in flames, his wings tearing the lake into storms and sizzling the water.

His eyes glowed with fury, but beneath the rage shimmered a sharp, dangerous excitement.

"That’s it!" he roared, his voice shaking the battlefield.

"I am done playing, boy!"

Auren’s gaze slid to Robert’s hand, where the Divine Rapier trembled weakly in his grip. A faint smile touched his lips.

He flicked his wrist as he cast a silent spell.

’Sword Recall.’

SHHHING—

The weapon vanished from Robert’s hand and appeared instantly in Auren’s.

Clink.

The knight’s stance shifted, his figure coiling like a drawn bow.

He raised the blade near his face.

"Bring it on."