CHAPTER 424: 424

Kael’s brows furrowed as he watched the chaos unfold below.

The battlefield was collapsing into madness with humans and demons fighting side by side against the monstrous abomination, while the air trembled from the clash of countless spells and weapons. But amidst all that, Kael felt something off, something that didn’t fit in the rhythm of the battle.

He tapped his temple lightly, trying to piece together the unease gnawing at his mind.

"What am I missing?" he muttered. The mana currents in the area felt strange, flowing in ways that made no sense. He closed his eyes for a moment, sensing the subtle disturbances moving beneath the surface of the fight. Then it struck him.

"Wait a moment..." His eyes widened, and then he jumped up from the boulder like a beast awakened. "Where is that bitch!" His voice echoed like a crack of thunder, startling the few soldiers fighting nearby.

His gaze swept across the field, sharp and cold as a predator’s. Slowly, both sides were reaching a stalemate, their forces nearly equal now. Yet something was missing.

He couldn’t see Adele.

He clenched his fists and focused, tracing the streams of mana swirling around the mountain range. That’s when he felt it—a faint yet growing pulse of ominous energy seeping through the air.

It was dark and ancient. It wasn’t part of the ongoing battle. It was something else.

"Damn it," Kael hissed. "It’s behind the mountain."

Without hesitation, he leapt from the ridge and raced across the battlefield. The explosions of spells and bursts of flames tore the sky apart as he passed, but he ignored them. His boots slammed into the frozen ground as he propelled himself forward, mana wrapping around his body.

When he landed near Martina and the others, the ground cracked under the impact, sending dust and snow swirling in all directions.

"HRGHHH! Something is wrong!" Kael shouted over the roar of battle. "Adele is missing, and a huge amount of mana is getting concentrated behind the mountain!"

Everyone froze for a heartbeat. Even the dark mages paused their attacks, startled by his sudden declaration.

Rein, who had been casting spells while defending against Roosevelt’s sword strikes, stopped. His gaze turned toward Kael—sharp, unreadable, and unnervingly calm. For a moment, they locked eyes.

Then Rein turned his head slightly and spoke in a cold voice, "No matter what... don’t let him disrupt it."

Immediately, the cloaked mages around him began to move. Dozens of spells ignited in the air, glowing red, black, and green. The ground began to tremble as runic patterns formed around Kael.

Kael’s expression hardened. "So you’ve chosen death." He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, mana flaring around his body like a storm.

The mages released their spells at once. Firestorms, acid spears, shadow chains, and darkness orbs flew toward him from every direction but Kael didn’t flinch.

He drew his sword, and with a calm exhale, he whispered, "Dimensional Swordsmanship."

He swung at once.

The world itself seemed to twist. The first slash cut through the incoming firestorm like paper, splitting the attack into harmless particles that vanished into thin air. He swung again, and the ground split open, absorbing the surge of magic that was about to explode.

Each movement was precise and clean, his blade shimmering with faint blue light.

He performed the 0th and 1st Forms of Dimensional Slash in quick succession, each strike bending the fabric of space and unraveling the structure of magic around him.

The intricate magic circle nearby began to crack and tear apart as if invisible blades were slicing through its core.

A deafening explosion followed. The runes shattered like glass, and the flow of mana in the area dispersed violently. The air around him screamed under the pressure as the balance of magic broke.

Rein’s eyes widened slightly. "He cut through... magic itself?"

Roosevelt, who had been fighting beside Martina and Hans, shouted, "Kael! Go! We’ll hold them back!"

"GOOOO!" Martina screamed as she raised her sword and blocked an incoming burst of black lightning.

Kael gave a quick nod and tightened his grip on his sword. "Don’t die."

Martina smirked faintly despite the chaos. "Just go already."

The next instant, all hell broke loose.

The cloaked mages unleashed high-tier spells at once, and the ground erupted into chaos.

Flames burned blue, shadows reached out like living things, and the air filled with the scent of ozone and blood. Roosevelt, Martina, and Hans fought fiercely, taking the brunt of the assault. Their swords danced, parrying, cutting, and deflecting the deadly attacks to carve a brief passage through the storm of destruction.

"Go now!" Roosevelt roared, his sword glowing gold with divine power.

Kael didn’t hesitate. He slashed the air before him, performing Dimensional Slash Second Form.

Space itself split open into a narrow path of stillness amid the raging mana. He dashed through it, leaving behind only a fading ripple in the air.

As he sprinted toward the mountain’s rear, he could feel the mana growing denser, heavier.

The world seemed to twist unnaturally as he passed through broken ruins and shattered peaks. When he finally reached the backside of the mountain, he stopped.

The sight before him made his blood run cold.

Dozens of complex magic circles overlapped one another, glowing faint red and violet. The air was thick with the smell of burnt incense and blood.

Ancient symbols shifted constantly, as if alive, and the ground pulsed with dark light.

In the center of the largest circle sat a familiar figure. Her eyes were closed, and her body was surrounded by chains of mana that connected to the ritual. Her hands were lifted as if offering herself to the heavens.

Kael froze, realization crashing into him like a hammer. "Adele..."

He took a step forward, his voice trembling between rage and disbelief. "Adele! What the hell are you doing!"

The magic circles around her brightened, their runes glowing ominously. The air began to tremble as the ancient ritual reached its final stage. Kael’s instincts screamed that something catastrophic was about to happen.

"Stop it!" he roared, his sword blazing with energy. "Don’t you dare finish that spell!"

But the ritual’s hum only grew louder. The mountains started to shake, and the light intensified, and Kael could feel the pull of something that should never have been awakened.

Adele lay amidst a pool of blood, her eyes fluttering open at the sound of a familiar voice echoing through the chaos.

"YOOOO!"

Her heart trembled, and her blood boiled at the sight of Kael approaching through the haze of dust and smoke. Every nerve in her body screamed to fight, but she forced herself to stop. Biting her lip until blood dripped down her chin, she clenched her trembling hands.

’Damn... what should I do?’ she thought bitterly.

’Should I sacrifice already? Or should I just go out and kill him?’

Her gaze darted toward the distant battlefield, where spells collided and the air itself was cracking from pressure. Her mind raced.

’No... I might do so if he was alone. But what if reinforcements come?’

She shut her eyes and exhaled deeply. Her fingers tightened around the blood-slick hilt of her sword.

’This is early, but this might be enough to disrupt the entire battle scenario...’

Gritting her teeth, Adele raised her sword slowly, pressing the edge against her throat. The metal glinted faintly under the dull light.

Kael’s eyes widened. His heartbeat pounded so loudly that it drowned the sound of destruction around him.

"FUCKKKKKKKKKK!" he screamed, his voice shaking the ground.

He dashed forward, fury and terror twisting his expression. His hand gripped his sword tightly until his knuckles turned white.

"I didn’t want to do this but now..." he muttered, his voice trembling.

His blade began to hum, faint cracks of energy swirling around it as the ground beneath his feet shattered.

"Dimensional Slash... 3rd Form—Abyssal Severance!"

The world warped. Space itself seemed to shatter. The air twisted violently, bending light and shadow alike. Kael’s body trembled as every muscle in him tensed to the limit. His veins bulged as his blood vessels ruptured under the strain. Blood poured from his nose and mouth.

Then the slash fell.

A single strike that ignored the boundaries of distance and time. A cut so clean and absolute that even sound vanished for a heartbeat. The rift it left behind tore the world open, glowing with a cold, dim light.

Everything it touched split apart...

The rocks, the mountain, the air itself.

The slash carved through the ritual circle and ripped straight into Adele. The ground trembled violently as shockwaves erupted outward. Dust and stone shot high into the air, and the mountain’s peak was split into two clean halves.

When the light faded, Kael stumbled backward, gasping for breath. His vision blurred, and his knees gave way.

"Ha... If I was even one second late, I might have fucked up," he muttered weakly.

He coughed violently, blood spilling from his mouth. His body convulsed in pain as the recoil of his attack tore through his insides.

"ARGHHH! This is still too much!" he groaned, clutching his chest.

The third form always took a toll, but it was the only way to reach her in time. He wiped the blood from his lips and tried to steady his breathing.

Then suddenly, a chilling sound sliced through the silence.

SWOOSH!

Kael froze. His pupils contracted as a screeching noise, sharp like nails scraping glass, filled the air. He turned his head slowly toward the source.

Adele’s body cut into two halves lay in the pool of blood. The sword he had driven through her heart was still there.

But her body... was moving.

Her limbs twisted unnaturally, her head turning a full one hundred eighty degrees with a sickening crack. Her mouth stretched far wider than it should have, a horrific grin spreading across her face, her cheeks threatening to tear apart.

The air grew heavy. The ground pulsed faintly beneath her as black mana seeped through the cracks.

"That... was a good attack," she said, her voice echoing with two tones.

One sounded human, one something else.

Kael’s heart sank and his face paled.

"FUCKKKKKKKKK!" he shouted again, his sword trembling in his hands.

A massive shockwave erupted from Adele’s body, tearing through the ground like a storm. The explosion roared so violently that it drowned all sound.

BOOOOOOOM!

The world vanished into a sea of dust and destruction. Kael’s body was thrown back as the force smashed into him.

"DAMNNNN!"

BOOOM!