Death To Power

Volume Three: Enemies To Friends

Chapter 101 – Daela...?

Kaden was stunned.

He just sat there on the ground, the words of his father echoing loudly inside his head.

"Daela... kidnapped?"

That thought was unbelievable.

How could his sister be kidnapped?

His chest started to hurt madly, not because his body was in pain, but because of Daela's disappearance.

That's when Kaden finally understood the unease that had been gnawing at him for days.

But...

"W-what's... what's happened?" Kaden asked, his voice raw and rasped as he tried to speak clearly, but blood wouldn't stop gushing from his mouth.

His parents' killing intent had been truly abnormal and powerful.

Serena took out a healing potion from her space ring, then opened Kaden's mouth lovingly and poured the potion inside.

Soon, his body began healing naturally. Then his constitution acted and in an instant, he was fully restored.

He inhaled deeply, exhaled once, and placed all his attention on his parents, waiting for their explanation.

Serena sighed at the sight.

"My baby..." she began, her voice low, trembling with the weight of emotion.

Seeing his mother like this only made Kaden feel worse. His heart ached even more.

"Beasts outside kidnapped her," Garros said suddenly, sitting on a nearby chair.

"You already know Daela is a Master-ranked being. But those bastards sent a Grandmaster-rank beast to capture her. She couldn't stand a chance," he added, his hand covering his face, trying to stay composed.

Kaden's expression twisted further in confusion.

"What beasts? Since when are we even fighting beasts? And how could you let Daela be in a place where a Grandmaster-rank could just appear?" he asked softly.

He wasn't blaming them.

He just wanted to understand. He just wanted to know what the hell was going on.

And that's when they told him about the Steelbeasts, about Goremaw, about everything that had happened while he was in Fokay.

And then finally, at the end...

"When the kidnapping happened, we were in a meeting organized by The Cerveau. We only found out after the fact," Serena said, her voice low, ending with a bitter chuckle.

"And it's not even over. Even now... we cannot act," she added darkly.

But Garros behind her frowned deeper.

"I told you, we don't give a fuck, Serena. We're going to kill all those beasts today, save Daela, and be done with it," Garros said, his killing intent leaking once more, making the very meeting room tremble.

"Why can't you act...?" Kaden asked, his expression darkening.

"Because," Serena replied coldly, "according to the Cerveau, the stronghold of Kaleith is preparing to strike us. So we, the patriarchs, need to conserve our strength and let the fight against the beasts fall to our subordinates."

Kaden didn't respond right away.

He already knew Waverith wasn't the only stronghold in the area, but a sudden move from Kaleith, right when his sister was kidnapped?

All that, with the Cerveau sitting right in the center of it?

You didn't need to be a genius to realize something was wrong. And Kaden knew, without a shred of doubt, that it was the Cerveau.

He looked at his parents, his gaze still and quiet—but the intensity behind his eyes, the anger, was strong enough to make both his parents freeze for a moment.

They had never seen Kaden like this.

But they didn't know.

They didn't know that Kaden was no longer who he was before Fokay.

"Who do you suspect?" Kaden asked as he slowly rose to his feet.

It was a simple question.

But,

"We don't care about that, Kaden. All we need to do is kill those beasts," Garros replied, his voice shaking the air.

Serena nodded silently at his side, her fists clenched tight. Her desire to kill them was just as strong.

Kaden wasn't surprised.

Even when he'd warned them about the Cerveau before leaving... they hadn't listened.

And now, even with all the clues laid bare in front of them, they still only wanted to attack.

Kaden couldn't help but wonder,

How is this family still standing with this kind of mentality?

It was madness to him.

Because strength without wisdom... was worthless.

Right now, they were being played by the Cerveau. And they didn't even know it. They didn't see it. All they could think about was a direct assault.

And the more Kaden thought about it...

The more he realized...he needed to change everything.

But he didn't say any of that out loud.

Instead,

"Let me take care of it," Kaden said simply.

He stood tall, his back straight, crimson eyes locked on his parents.

"Let me handle this mess. Let me bring Daela back. As for you... just wait for my signal. In the meantime, sharpen your blades and ready our armies."

He paused.

"And when the moment comes... you'll do what you, what we, were born to do."

Another pause.

This time, his eyes began to glow mysteriously, a crimson hue so intense it seemed to stain the world around him.

Reditha suddenly appeared behind him, her blade humming with a stable red.

Kaden's budding Intent had stabilized—fully awakened now, and razor-sharp.

And still, he kept speaking, sizzling with restrained power, like he hadn't even noticed the change.

"We'll go to war, Father Mother. And this time... it won't be beasts."

His voice was firm. Unshaken.

And that's when they finally looked at their son.

Really looked.

They saw a boy who had returned from Fokay, well no longer a boy at all.

They saw how his gaze was firmer, wiser. How a strange light flickered deep in his eyes.

How his face and physique had become more defined. Lean, compact, ascetic. A fighter carved by battle.

How his presence now carried the scent of blood... but especially...

Death.

And they sensed the Intent rolling off him.

And with all that, they realized something,

They'd been so caught up with Daela... they didn't even properly welcome him home.

Worse—they had hurt him.

But Kaden didn't complain. He didn't whine.

He simply said he would save his sister. He asked them to believe in him.

And they did.

A proud smile spread across their faces, but it was also a guilty one.

"We'll let you take care of it," they said in perfect sync.

Kaden nodded and turned, walking away calmly.

But in his mind... only one word echoed.

'KILL.'

A single and simple word, but one that perfectly reflected the state he was in.

Because right now...

He would drown the entire beast domain in blood.

And so...

It began.

Chapter 102 – Intermediate rank

Kaden found himself back in his room, lying on the bed, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling.

He didn't know what to do.

Well... he actually knew.

But he was lost.

True, he had expected something bad to happen with how his senses had been going wild for days now, but at this level?

At the level of his own sister being kidnapped by some damn beast?

Kaden was having trouble accepting all this. But it's not like there was any choice left now.

And he had just come back from Fokay—tired, worn, needing rest, healing—but each second wasted was another second Daela's life was being threatened.

So, without another word, he sat up at the edge of his bed, staring at the glowing red panel he had ignored this whole time.

The Will.

{Child of Blood, you have completed your evolution quest.}

{Rate: Glorious.}

{For achieving a rating never before seen, you have received one additional reward.}

The Will paused. Then,

{You have received information.}

{Information: There is a clan of blood called Bloodborn in Fokay that exists under the Ocean of Blood.}

That was it.

Kaden had expected some world-breaking revelation, something that could elevate him on the spot or at least help in his current situation but instead, he received a simple message about a mysterious clan?

Not that he wasn't interested, but now wasn't the time.

Still, Kaden accepted the reward with a quiet nod.

He knew The Will always had its reasons.

Then came the next message.

{You are ready to step into the Intermediate Rank. Brace yourself, Child of Blood.}

The moment it appeared, pain surged through Kaden's body like a divine punishment.

His entire being began to change. His mana expanded, thickened, strengthened. His mana veins stretching, tearing, then reforging stronger.

His muscles broke apart and rebuilt on an entirely new level—firmer, more defined, more powerful.

His skin shed its dullness, becoming clean, radiant, and faintly glowing.

His hair grew longer, brushing just past his shoulders.

His crimson eyes didn't change, but there was a new depth inside them now. A bloody, ancient gleam that made anyone who stared too long instinctively avert their gaze.

Soon, thick black blood began to ooze from every pore, impurities being purged from his system, showing the internal cleansing was complete.

All of it was painful.

But Kaden didn't make a sound.

He just sat there, cross-legged on the ground, unmoving and his expression not even twitching.

When it was over, he opened his eyes slowly, inhaling, then exhaling in complete silence.

A few moments passed before he looked again at the panel in front of him.

{You are now in the Intermediate Rank.}

{Your sword has grown.}

{You have unlocked a new skill under your Origin and your previous skill has been enhanced.}

{Skill: Flame of Blood.}

And then The Will faded, its job complete.

Now it was Death's turn.

[Flame of Blood: A flame that can burn blood and all types of liquid inside an enemy's body. Using your own blood as fuel, the effect can be enhanced.]

Then,

[DING! You have completed the quest: Evolution Quest I.]

[It was Glorious.]

[Rewards: Death Coins: 4000 | Stat Points: 200.]

Kaden observed the rewards, then glanced inward, feeling the new skill now pulsing within him.

With a flick of his finger, a crimson-red flame emerged.

It was beautiful.

There was no heat or even smoke. It looked like a pool of thick blood, with fire blooming at its surface.

Kaden stared at it for a moment, then pressed it against his own body.

The flame burned away all the crusted black blood, cleansing his skin, but never once did it harm him.

He was the master.

The flame would never harm him.

'Death, how many Death Coins and Stat Points do I have now?'

[Death Coins: 10,000 | Stat Points: 235.]

Kaden noted the numbers silently.

That's when a question crossed his mind.

'What's the stat limit in Intermediate Rank?'

[500.]

Kaden raised an eyebrow.

The Awakened cap had been 200.

Now it was 500?

'Why such a massive difference?'

[When you evolve, your natural birth order changes too. It's not a simple transformation, host. Your presence becomes fundamentally different. That's the reason for the gap. It's like comparing an ant to a human. The birth orders are simply not the same.]

[And the more you evolve, the wider these differences will grow.]

Kaden listened and nodded simply.

He was curious, sure but he didn't really care.

Because as long as he had points and death coins...

He would break every limit eventually.

Once he was done processing it all, Kaden thought about distributing his stat points.

But for now, he decided to wait.

He didn't have that many, and he preferred to see what stat he'd need most...

...once he arrived.

He smiled coldly, then stood up.

He turned his gaze to the side of his bed.

There, curled up peacefully, was Little Rory fully healed and resting.

He didn't want to wake her up so Kaden quietly changed his clothes, then stepped out of his room into the hallway.

The moment he did, a presence appeared behind him.

It was Sabine, his maid.

"Young master, I have all the information you requested," she said softly, her voice respectful... but tinged with awe.

'I never thought he would come this far...' Sabine thought, chuckling inwardly. '

How could I ever have doubted a Warborn?'

"Is my sister's location confirmed?" Kaden asked directly.

"Yes, young master. She is imprisoned inside the castle of Goremaw, in the underground."

"We tried to learn more, but all of our spies and warriors were killed." Sabine's voice darkened, her anger barely restrained.

"Where is the Castle of Goremaw?"

"In the southern area of the wilderness. It's surrounded by mountains...mountains made of steel and fire. The castle sits in the heart of it."

Kaden stopped walking.

He turned his head and locked his crimson eyes on hers.

"Thank you for all the information and..."

He smiled.

It was beautiful but deadly.

"Good to see you again, Sabine."

Then,

He vanished.

Disappeared in a single blur from the Warborn estate and heading straight for Goremaw's territory.

Leaving behind a stunned, speechless Sabine.

Chapter 103 – New lens

Kaden walked through the streets of Waverith, wearing a long coat that covered his face. He was heading toward the great gate of the city, ready to step into the wilderness.

He should have been in a hurry, mind racing with the need to find his sister, but he wasn't.

Yes, he felt all the emotions that came with...fear, urgency, desperation... but right now, more than anything, he needed to calm his mind.

So Kaden chose to walk.

And with his perception heightened, he started to notice things—things he wouldn't have paid attention to in a normal situation.

He noticed how all the houses of Waverith were built in similar shapes: rectangular bodies with triangular roofs, the only distinction between them being the colors painted on the walls.

Some were vivid. Some subtle. Some were a chaotic mix of color. And some had chosen the lifeless, heavy tone of grey.

Looking at them, Kaden could already guess the temperament of their owners. The vivid ones must belong to the loud, the passionate. The grey to those who had long stopped caring.

He noticed the people,too, busy with their lives.

Some rushed along the road, clearly late, trying to catch a carriage.

Others walked slowly, taking their time, not because they had the luxury of it, but because they simply didn't care enough to rush.

He listened to the rhythm of his own boots hitting the ground, and how it sounded... different from everyone else.

He watched the way people moved...the way they dressed.

He paid attention to the merchants lined up along the edge of the roads, shouting to advertise their wares, smiles bright on their faces—but twitching, just slightly, every time a customer walked past without buying.

He noticed the atmosphere itself.

It wasn't chaotic.

It wasn't calm.

It was... solemn.

Not because of some event or tragedy, but just because of life.

Everyone wore a face that looked like they were going to battle against some deep terrifying monsters...and maybe it was, after all...

...each person with their own definition of monsters.

But amidst all that quiet resignation, Kaden noticed the odd ones—the bright, joyful souls that still burned amidst the grey.

And one particular scene made him stop.

A young girl, barely eight, stood barefoot on the side of the road. She wore torn, dirty yellow clothes clinging to her like a second skin—clearly, it had been ages since she'd changed.

Her black hair, once likely beautiful, was matted and tangled with dirt. Her small, delicate face was smudged with soil and dust, almost hiding the radiance beneath.

She looked pitiful.

But her eyes... her smile...

Ah.

It was blinding.

It was warm, pure, radiant—so full of joy and contentment that Kaden couldn't help but pause, his heart skipping a beat.

She was talking to a boy, no older than fifteen, whose red hair shimmered softly under the sunlight like celestial fire. His expression, however, was clouded in fear, in worry, in the kind of internal battle that had no clear cause.

His clothes were expensive—fine red silk embroidered with golden thread, elegant and noble. Kaden didn't need to look twice to know the boy came from wealth.

And yet here they were:

A joyful poor girl and a wealthy, trembling boy.

He watched the contrast, the irony, and felt something stir in his chest. A voice in him told him to go talk to them. To ask. To understand.

But he didn't.

'I've lost enough time already... Let's go,' Kaden decided.

He had wanted to clear his mind.

But now, after walking through this world with new eyes, he only had more questions.

He sighed softly and diminished his perception.

Then, with a burst of speed, he moved.

The world blurred around him.

Soon, he was outside Waverith, in the middle of nowhere. Brown sand stretched endlessly beneath the bright sun of Darklore, painting a harsh yet still landscape.

He pulled out a map from his space ring and studied it quietly, eyes scanning for the route to take. Once he had what he needed, he stored it back and—

BOOOOM!

An explosion of force erupted from beneath him as Kaden shot forward, his speed blinding. The echo of his footsteps made the earth tremble beneath each stride, as if straining under the sheer pressure of his movement. A massive cloud of dust rose behind him, towering into the sky, shrouding the land in its wake.

And yet, as Kaden ran, something began to shift.

His footsteps started to make no sound.

Then his shape started to blur, until it was impossible to see his features or even his full body.

He became nothing but a ghost streaking across the world.

For hours he ran. Through forests, over rivers, past mountains.

Some beasts tried to cross his path, but they died before they even realized it.

Until finally...

He arrived.

He stood behind a thick tree, its bark a strange mixture of steel and wood, and looked up at the sight in front of him.

Just like Sabine had described.

A massive castle surrounded by jagged mountains. All of it, castle and peaks, crafted from a blend of steel and flame, raw and wild, yet undeniably beautiful.

The air was thick with the scent of molten metal, like burning steel—faint hammering echoed in the distance, like an unending blacksmithing song.

And before the main entrance stood a massive gate made entirely from an unfamiliar red alloy that shimmered strangely under the light. Two massive beings guarded it.

Kaden narrowed his eyes.

'Steelbeasts.'

Humanoid in shape, but made of flesh and iron, their bodies glowing from within with fire, their eyes vacant of thought.

Kaden observed calmly.

His expression didn't change, but his mind raced, calculating.

He couldn't attack directly. That was obvious.

He was here to save his sister—not to throw himself at a Grandmaster-ranked beast and die before even learning where she was.

No. He needed to be subtle.

He needed to act like an assassin.

And how fortunate, that he had just learned how with his recents battles.

DING!

{You have received a quest.}

Kaden smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

A new hunt...had begun.

Chapter 104 – Foul smell

[Quest: Save your sister.]

[Difficulty: Hard.]

[Description: Your sister is being held inside the underground of the Castle of Steel. Save her and escape this situation together safely.]

[Rewards: Depends on performance]

[Penalty: Daela's death.]

Kaden looked at the quest, but his eyes lingered especially on the penalty.

He could guess it wasn't the system punishing him, it would simply be the consequence of his own inability to save his sister.

And that was something Kaden would never accept.

'Daela's death...?' Kaden thought, a dark chuckle rising from his throat.

That was something that would never happen in this life.

Because as long as he was here, he would rewind time a million times if it meant saving his sister or anyone in his family.

'Ah... let's finish this rapidly.' Kaden thought inwardly.

He focused on the task ahead: infiltrate the Castle of Steel, more precisely the underground, and then save his sister.

There were two major problems Kaden faced in this mission.

First, he didn't know how to bypass the two guards stationed at the gate and enter the territory of Goremaw unnoticed. And even if by some miracle he managed to pull that off, he still had no idea where exactly the underground prison was.

He didn't know the door. He didn't know the way. He didn't know anything.

He was operating in complete... blank.

But he wasn't discouraged, not even slightly.

'If one game isn't enough to understand all of its mechanics, then surely playing multiple other games will be.' Kaden added silently, his expression now firm and resolute.

Having made up his mind, he acted.

But just because he could rewind time didn't mean he'd waste his death coins carelessly, so he decided to act... smart. Or maybe, let's say, ingenious.

His stats were incredible, versatile even. He just needed imagination to wield them, just like with his traits—especially Soulbrand and Synthesis.

He remembered the description of Synthesis, how it could combine and transform anything.

'And by anything...' Kaden began to think, but didn't finish the sentence.

Instead, a wide and feral grin stretched across his face.

While heading toward the castle, he had marked many beasts with his Soulbrand, mostly just to train it along the way.

And now, all those beasts he had marked...

'I can sense their location...' he thought, closing his eyes and pushing his perception to its max.

He could feel them. And, as if fate had decided to favor him today, two of them were even close...very close.

He smirked, then vanished in a blur of terrible, silent speed, heading straight toward the two beasts. In less time than it took for a teacup to grow cold, Kaden was back at his original position—two beasts clutched in his hands.

The beasts looked like rabbits, but their fur was so dark it seemed to absorb the surrounding light, and their red eyes brimmed with unfiltered malice.

They were the size of human toddlers, but they were... fat. Yes, that was the word.

Their teeth were jagged and sharp. One bite, and an unawakened human would lose their entire arm. Even a regular awakened would suffer a permanent wound without a high-ranked health potion.

Kaden observed them carefully, and the bunnies glared back, their eyes filled with animosity.

They would have screamed if they could... but Kaden had already silenced them using a special artifact he bought long ago—an item that robbed its victims of their voices completely.

A Voice Oublié, a rare-rank artifact that had cost him dearly. It looked like a sewn mouth, sealed shut with dark red threads.

A very unique design to say the least.

And Kaden didn't regret buying it.

'Just the perfect tool to tortu—no, I mean interrogate someone unruly,' Kaden mused before refocusing on the two black bunnies.

'Synthesis.'

He activated the trait, his intention clear—to fuse the two into one unstable being.

Yes, he made sure to specifically order Synthesis to make the fusion unstable.

And the trait obeyed.

A few minutes later, there was no trace of the two bunnies, only a single towering red monstrosity standing nearly six feet tall, with rows upon rows of jagged teeth and eyes that glowed with a madness so intense it seemed to distort the very air around it.

Kaden had already disappeared before the transformation was done. So when the red bunny finally emerged and started hunting for prey... it found two delicious-looking steel-and-flesh guards.

It didn't hesitate.

In an instant, it lunged at them, its massive feet slamming into the earth with such force that the ground creaked violently beneath its weight. A loud crack echoed through the air, making the steelbeasts turn their heads sharply toward the creature.

Their expressions twisted in momentary confusion, their minds failing to comprehend what was going on. But soon, they abandoned all logic and yielded to the one instinct engraved into them since birth...

Kill.

But before they could even take a step...

BOOOOOOMMMM!

The red bunny exploded into a grotesque rain of flesh, blood, intestines, and pulsing organs. It looked like a downpour of monster remains.

It was a disgusting sight—flesh and entrails still wiggling on the ground as if alive, writhing in pools of black and green blood.

A deep, putrid stench spread instantly, a horrific mix of rotting meat, feces, sulfur, and that unbearable stench that filled your nose when old fish was left under the sun for days.

It was that foul.

So foul, in fact, that the guards didn't even notice the shadow that streaked silently past them.

And so,

Kaden...

...had entered the territory.

...

Meanwhile, as Kaden risked everything to pass through the gates,

Deep beneath the City of Silver, in a cramped cell forged entirely from burning steel, a young woman sat on the floor, her back against a wall that sizzled with heat.

Her expression was void of emotion as she stared at the glowing, burning bars in front of her.

The cell was barely large enough to fit two grown people. The floor, made of crimson steel, radiated heat so intense it could sear the flesh of a mundane in seconds and the walls weren't any different.

The air was nearly impossible to breathe. Inhaling even once would scorch your lungs. It was suffocating.

And yet, amidst all this, Daela sat still, her face utterly blank inside this little imitation of hell.

Her face was untouched but her body...

Ah, Lord...

It was a sight that, if Kaden saw it...

Then I'm afraid that even death would not be enough for whoever was responsible for mutilating Daela Warborn.

Chapter 105 – Selene Cerveau

Daela sat there, expressionless, but the pain she was going through was something no mundane human being could even begin to fathom.

Her right hand had been severed entirely, and clearly without any care, there were still chunks of flesh dangling from the wound, dried blood crusted like an old, forgotten painting of agony.

Her left leg, too, had been cut, starting at the knee and done with obvious brutality and merciless intent.

Her entire body was torn, slashed in so many places, and so deeply, that even a mundane eye could see her bones peeking through the broken flesh.

It was... atrocious.

It was the kind of sight that could break a soul, the kind of torture that shatters even the strongest of minds—but Daela...

Daela didn't cry. She didn't whimper. She didn't beg for mercy.

She remained silent the entire time, even as her body was torn apart for information—or worse, for pure pleasure. Even her expression never changed, not once.

And that's why,

"I truly loathe you, Daela Warborn," a voice suddenly echoed through the cell, making Daela slowly lift her eyes and glance toward the steel door.

There stood a woman with long blue hair and matching eyes. She was tall, almost six feet, with long legs and thick thighs that would have caught any man's gaze, clad in a tight dress of deep blue with white lotus patterns clinging to her body sinfully.

She was Selene Cerveau, one of Brain's closest agents.

She looked at Daela with disdain, with loathing, the kind of emotion that can only exist when someone's mere existence irritates you to the bone.

And for Selene, it was quite simple why she loathe her.

It was Daela's eyes.

She looked at her mutilated state—her broken body, her missing limbs—and still, even after all that, Daela looked at her as if she wasn't even worth a speck of dust. As if she was...

Nothing.

"Do you think you're better than me, huh?" Selene asked, voice cold as she stepped into the cell, completely unaffected by the infernal heat, thanks to the invisible barrier surrounding her body.

A barrier Daela could never replicate, not when she was shackled with mana restriction chains so tight and cruel they made breathing feel like chewing on glass.

At her question, Daela didn't respond, just like always.

Selene wasn't surprised. Daela hadn't spoken once since her capture. Not during torture. Not during interrogation. She just stared... with apathy, at her, at the world.

But today... today Selene was determined to make her speak...and she already had an idea.

She crouched beside her, meeting her gaze directly.

"I've looked into your mind, Daela Warborn," Selene said softly.

Daela didn't flinch.

"I expected secrets. Maybe information about the Warborns—dungeons, hidden bloodlines, even the reason why someone like you, with that broken brain of yours, can still stand at our level. I expected all that, but..."

Selene smiled. It wasn't friendly, it was dangerous.

"...but I only found one thing. Or rather, one person. One person so deeply embedded in your thoughts that everything else was drowned beneath him."

She paused, her voice dropping to a blade's edge.

"Care to guess who that person was?"

And this time... Daela twitched.

It was subtle. Barely there. But Selene saw it and her grin widened like a cut opening across a corpse.

"Who would've thought," she whispered, "that the great and infamous Princess of Apathy would love her little brother so much... so obsessively much... that it almost didn't look like love between siblings."

Her eyes narrowed as her words grew more venomous, more surgical, until...

"Makes me wonder, what would the world say about that? Or better yet... what if I went to visit Kaden myself?" she said, tilting her head thoughtfully, pretending to consider it—knowing full well the provocation she was throwing into the fire.

And then...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!

A deafening explosion tore through the cell as Selene was flung backward, her body slamming into the red steel bars with such force they shook and rattled wildly like a cage holding back a monster.

The entire room was suddenly drenched in a heavy, oppressive red—so thick it looked almost solid. Behind Daela, two twin swords appeared, flickering madly, vibrating as if fighting to manifest into reality despite the restrictions binding her.

Cough. Cough.

Selene coughed violently as the air around her thickened with such dense killing intent she could barely breathe. She raised her head slowly... and when she saw Daela's face, her still expressionless eyes, her entire body shuddered in instinctive dread.

Daela's face hadn't changed.

But beneath that cold apathy... was something darker.

There was a depth to that coldness. A purity to that killing intent. A fury so raw, so absolute, that it began to take form—solidifying into something real, something that shouldn't exist.

But before it could fully emerge,

"You little annoying human," another voice rang out. This one was deeper. Older.

And filled with so much power that the killing intent surrounding the room was forcefully, instantly dispersed.

Both Daela and Selene turned toward the new arrival.

It was a steelbeast, but not like the others.

His body was still made of steel, fire, and flesh... but this steel wasn't dull gray. It was a deep, majestic blue, with flames to match. His eyes burned with ancient wisdom, flickering like twin blue infernos that refused to die.

He stood tall, between seven to eight feet, and wore black trousers and a shirt that somehow didn't burn despite the roaring flames within him.

This was Laye, the Grandmaster-ranked beast who had captured Daela.

He looked at her, still leaking killing intent even after being suppressed, and then at the coughing Selene.

He shook his head in disdain.

"I told you to know your place," he said coldly. "This Warborn would've killed youor at the very least fatally wounded you, with just her killing intent if I hadn't been here."

He narrowed his eyes. "What did you do?"

Selene only smirked.

She knew. The Warborns might be stronger than the Cerveau in raw force... but they were impulsive. Emotional. Predictable.

'They are all fools...slaves to their emotions,' Selene thought with pure scorn.

'Not a threat at all.'

Because power without control is nothing. Power without calculation is just a weapon waiting to be used.

And that's what they intended to do.

They needed the Warborns beneath them. As slaves. As tools of war. As weapons of conquest.

And the more she looked at Daela, the more she knew...

It was possible.

Now that she'd found what triggered her, the rest would fall into place.

Selene slowly stood up.

"I wouldn't have provoked her if I didn't know you wouldn't let me die," she said with arrogant calm, before turning to Laye, her voice dipped in threat.

"After all, you wouldn't want the wrath of my Lord on you."

And with that, she turned and walked out of the cell.

But then—

"I will kill you... I will kill all of you if you touch him..."

Daela's voice.

It echoed coldly, clearly, filled with the chill of death itself.

Selene just smiled.

"You have a sweet voice, Daela Warborn. But now I wonder..."

She paused, eyes glinting with sadistic curiosity.

"...what does his voice sound like?"

And with that, she vanished into the underground corridors, heading back toward the surface, her mind racing with the secrets she would report, with the weapon she now believed she could build from Daela's mind.

But the moment her foot touched the edge of the surface—

A pair of hands grabbed her face.

Fierce. Merciless. Fingers gripped her mouth with so much force it felt like her jaw might shatter.

Then...

A voice.

A voice so drenched in anger and bloodlust that Selene's very blood churned wildly, erratically, like it too wanted to escape her body in fear.

A voice that didn't whisper,

It pronounced.

"Didn't you want to hear my voice?"

A voice laced with death...

...in its purest form.

Chapter 106 – Stat manipulation

Let's rewind time for a bit.

...

Kaden entered the domain of Goremaw unnoticed by using the distraction caused by the unstable fusion.

But now that he was inside, he not only had to make sure he wasn't found out but also to rapidly find where Daela was being held.

It wasn't easy, because the moment he stepped in, Kaden saw nothing but fire and steelbeasts everywhere.

Hiding behind the shadow of the massive wall near the entrance, he looked at the constructs of the territory, and unsurprisingly, they were all forged from fire and steel but their colors were different. Blue, orange, black... even pure white.

The shapes varied greatly, it looked like a deranged artist had gone wild, throwing away all restraint and simply creating whatever madness passed through their imagination.

Kaden sighed and closed his eyes, activating his perception to its absolute limit, once again.

And once again, he began to feel and see countless things.

He noticed how the air inside the domain was saturated with the sharp, metallic scent of molten steel and burning flames, how thick clouds of smoke gushed out of nearly every construct around him.

Constructs that, Kaden could now say with certainty, were forges.

It was surprising—shocking, even—to witness such a scene in the heart of a beast territory.

But what truly unsettled him was how structured, how civilized everything looked, despite knowing full well that most beasts hadn't yet developed intelligence.

After all, beasts only fully awakened their mind, their intellect, and their consciousness at Grandmaster rank.

'So how the hell is all this possible?'

Kaden couldn't help but wonder, as his gaze fell upon the well-paved steel roads, the ordered layout, the faint echoes of logic that mirrored what he'd seen in places like Waverith.

It was a good question.

But maybe a better one was,

Why wouldn't this be possible?

After all... why not?

But that question never crossed Kaden's mind, and truthfully... he couldn't care less at that moment.

He was observing the city, yes—but at the same time, he was scanning for a path, a way to move unnoticed and search for Daela's prison.

It would have been easier if he had some artifact that could alter his body or grant him invisibility, but he had no such tools. The only thing close was a mask and that wouldn't be of much help here.

So Kaden decided to rely on what he did have, his stats.

More precisely, his constitution stat.

He had once used it to alter his body and mimic the appearance of corpses in the forest of Asterion, but he doubted that trick would be enough here.

So he pushed further.

'They may lack intelligence... but their instincts are sharp. And instincts are easy to fool.'

'But I need to fool them in such a way that they'll only be confused for a short while, just enough for me to slip in, without causing them to act in a way that will attract attention or suspicion.'

His mind was racing now, faster than most could ever hope to keep up with and thanks to his high Intelligence stat, a solution came to him naturally.

He slowly raised his head and looked at the sky, at the sun shining brightly overhead, and at the shimmering heat that distorted the air across the steel terrain.

And he smiled.

Constitution was an incredible stat. just like all the others, and if you knew how to use it properly, you could do things that most would call miracles.

And right now, Kaden was going to use his skin... like a mirror.

So with skin turned reflective, bending and bouncing the light off him like polished glass, he stepped out into the sun.

And the sun bounced back, deflected off his skin just like light hitting a mirror. On top of that, he used his high control over speed to manipulate the air around him, bending it to distort sight further, and with the heat shimmering all across the city of fire and steel...

Kaden became invisible.

But that wasn't enough.

He needed more.

So on top of it all, he masked his scent, replacing his human presence with something these beasts wouldn't find strange or alerting.

The scent of burning.

Using his Speed stat, he manipulated the molecules around his body to rotate so fast that kinetic energy transformed into heat and heat released the faint, familiar scent of something burning.

And just like that...

Kaden vanished.

And so, his search began.

He moved swiftly, quietly, walking only through the most deserted paths, staying clear of crowded forges, avoiding areas where Master or Grandmaster-ranked beasts might patrol.

His perception stretched around him like a living net, his senses expanding to such a degree that he could now hear even the faint, subtle crackle of embers inside nearby forges.

Half an hour passed.

And Kaden approached the Castle of Steel but not too close.

The Castle of Steel... truly lived up to its name. It was forged from an amalgam of different-colored steels, mixed and alloyed in such a way that each section of the castle reflected a different spectrum of light.

Its shape was strange, uncanny even. It didn't resemble any castle Kaden had seen or imagined.

It looked like...

An anvil.

Yes... an enormous, majestic anvil of steel, glowing beneath the scorching sun of Darklore. Each edge shimmered with colored heat, and it towered in the distance like a monument to war and creation both.

Kaden stared at it, awe slowly spreading across his face.

He didn't expect this. He never would've imagined it.

And that's when he truly began to question—

'Can a beast's mind even think of something like this?'

'Are they... really this intelligent?' he wondered, but he quickly shook the thought away and returned his focus to the task at hand.

He scanned the castle—or rather, the anvil—with his perception pushed to its absolute limit... and he began to pick up traces.

Traces of danger.

But also, traces of familiarity.

Traces of warmth.

Of something... good.

Daela.

She was near or inside.

So...

'What should I do?' Kaden asked himself but chuckled almost instantly.

'What a stupid question...'

And indeed it was.

Because even if it meant dying, even if it was suicide, the most important thing was knowing where Daela was.

So even if he perished, it wouldn't matter.

'Alright then, let's—!'

He abruptly stopped.

His eyes locked onto one side of the castle—onto the black portion.

There, with his perception... he saw it.

A door, so well hidden it looked like just another part of the steel anvil.

And from that door, he heard an explosion.

Without hesitation, without a second thought, Kaden bolted straight toward it. He reached it in an instant.

And the moment he arrived, he noticed the door wasn't even fully closed and through that little crack...

He heard Daela's voice, cold and sharp, threatening someone.

And then, he heard another voice.

It was a female voice filled with pride, arrogance so much it was disgusting to hear.

"...But now I wonder... what does his voice sound like?"

Kaden's expression turned ice-cold.

Soon after he heard footsteps.

He immediately stepped back, hid in the shadows.

And the moment that woman appeared—

Kaden moved.

Before a thought could even form, before a single breath could escape her lips, his hand slammed against her mouth with a crunching force.

And his voice, low and dark, filled with pure rage...

"Didn't you want to hear my voice?"

Kaden whispered under her ear like a Death Envoy coming to get her soul.

Chapter 107 – Disdain

Selene's whole body was suddenly gripped by an instinctive fear the moment Kaden grabbed her mouth.

A fear she didn't even know the origin of, one that surged deep from her core.

Her eyes shook, darting around, trying to see what was going on.

And that's when she heard the voice... his voice... a voice that made the very blood inside her churn in pure dread.

"Didn't you want to hear my voice?" Kaden said, his voice as cold and deadly as a steel sword.

Those words made Selene instantly connect the dots and just like that, she calmed down.

Her body stopped trembling. She stopped struggling.

Kaden noticed the shift in attitude instantly, and his perception immediately went wild in pure danger.

Instinctively, he thought of taking a step back, but he held firm, refusing to obey that survival urge.

'Truly... you Warborns are so predictable.'

Selene's voice suddenly echoed inside his head, something that should have raised alarm, but it didn't.

Because Kaden was more concerned by what Selene just said.

'So predictable... You're like an army of ants. Trap one of you in a pit, and all of you will rush in like instinct-driven, deranged beasts to save your kin.'

'Admirable and self-sacrificial, others would say. But to me? Just a bunch of fools who wear death like a badge of honor.'

Her words continued to echo through Kaden's mind, each one dripping with venom, with disdain, as if the very existence of the Warborns was a stain, a disgrace.

And to people like her...it was.

Because they couldn't stand to imagine what they would've become... if they had the raw strength of the Warborns coupled with their mind.

They would have become monsters, real ones, something no family within or outside the Stronghold of Waverith could ever hope to match.

But they didn't have it.

So they sought to take it.

Kaden listened to Selene's words with cold calm.

By now, he already knew that Selene had anticipated his, or any Warborn's arrival and had prepared accordingly.

Nothing surprising.

His family was predictable. And he knew it.

It was a weakness. But it could be used beautifully.

Because no one expected anything from a Warborn... except brute force.

He smiled, cold and sharp.

"What did you plan? To call a grandmaster to kill an intermediate-ranked being?" Kaden asked, his hand still over her mouth, fingers slowly clenching, causing a cracking sound to echo as Selene's jaw began to crunch under the pressure.

"MMMMJHHHHHH!!"

'YOU FUCKING BASTARD!'

A muffled sound erupted through the air as Selene screamed inside his mind, simultaneously launching a mental attack.

But Kaden didn't flinch. Not even slightly.

With his Will... such a simple mental assault was like spitting at a fortress.

But...there had been a sound. Muffled, yes. But still, a sound.

And that kind of sound...

A grandmaster wouldn't miss it.

Instantly, Laye appeared in front of the door, his flickering blue flame eyes locking onto Kaden with piercing curiosity.

"A Warborn who didn't attack from the front but instead snuck in..." Laye muttered, his voice low—before suddenly, the temperature around them spiked exponentially, his aura crashing down as his gaze turned cold.

"What a disgrace to your name, Warborn. That's not the kind of warrior we, the Glorious Beasts of Steel, acknowledge as a rival."