The forest trembled.
Not from the assassins.
Not from the Divine Beast.
From something deeper.
Something approaching.
FAST.
The wounded assassin clutched his severed arm while corrupted mana surged wildly around him.
His voice distorted with rage.
“…Kill him!”
The remaining assassins moved instantly.
Two rushed Kael.
One attacked Lyra.
The others activated more corrupted chains around the clearing.
Purple-black mana spread rapidly across the forest floor.
The Divine Beast roared furiously.
“They are trying to anchor corruption!”
Kael immediately understood.
“…A summoning point.”
The system flickered violently.
====================
Critical Warning!!!
Corruption Formation Detected
Estimated Completion: 43%
Failure Result: High-Level Corrupted Manifestation
====================
Kael narrowed his eyes.
“…That’s bad.”
Lyra blocked an incoming blade with a wind barrier.
CLANG!
“…You think?!”
The assassins attacked without hesitation.
Unlike academy students—
these people fought to kill.
Every strike targeted vital points.
Every movement was calculated.
Kael dodged another poisoned blade by inches.
Shadow Step.
WHOOSH.
One assassin instantly adjusted direction.
“…He predicts too quickly!”
Kael appeared above him.
Shadow Strike.
BOOM!
The assassin smashed into the ground.
But another immediately appeared behind Kael.
A hidden dagger pierced toward his spine.
TOO CLOSE.
CLANG!!!
Golden claws intercepted the attack.
The Divine Beast tore the assassin away violently.
Blood sprayed across the trees.
The beast’s golden eyes burned with killing intent.
“Focus on the formation.”
Kael looked toward the corrupted chains.
The purple mana lines were connecting beneath the clearing.
A ritual.
And at the center—
something was trying to emerge.
The air itself felt wrong.
The system reacted rapidly.
====================
Quest Updated
Primary Objective: Destroy Corruption Formation Core
Secondary Objective: Survive
Reward: Shadow Points +700
Rare Artifact
Unknown Evolution Progress
====================
Kael exhaled slowly.
“…Of course survival is secondary.”
At the center of the clearing, beneath the corrupted mana lines, a black crystal pulsed violently.
Each pulse released waves of corruption into the forest.
Lyra noticed it too.
“…That thing is the core!”
The wounded assassin laughed coldly despite his injury.
“…Too late.”
“…The gate is already opening.”
BOOM!!!
The ground cracked violently beneath the crystal.
Dark mist erupted upward.
The Divine Beast growled deeply.
For the first time—
Kael sensed caution from it.
“Something ancient answers corruption.”
Kael immediately moved.
Shadow Step.
WHOOSH.
He appeared directly beside the crystal.
But the remaining assassins blocked his path instantly.
Three against one.
All stronger than him.
The lead assassin sneered.
“…You die here.”
Rare Mage mana exploded outward.
Kael’s shadow trembled under the pressure.
But his eyes remained calm.
Calculating.
Observing.
The system flickered.
====================
Enemy Patterns Recorded
Prediction Accuracy: 71%
====================
One assassin attacked high.
Another low.
The third delayed slightly behind.
Layered attack pattern.
Kael moved instantly.
Shadow Step.
The first blade missed.
Kael twisted sideways.
The second strike barely grazed his ribs.
Blood spilled.
But Kael ignored it.
Because he had already seen the third attack.
He grabbed the final assassin’s wrist mid-motion.
The assassin’s eyes widened.
“…Impossible—”
Kael pulled him forward.
Directly into the second assassin’s blade.
SHINK!
Blood sprayed.
Confusion.
One second.
That was enough.
Kael formed a shadow blade instantly.
And stabbed downward.
CRACK!!!
The corruption crystal fractured.
The clearing shook violently.
The assassins screamed.
“…STOP HIM!”
Too late.
Kael’s shadow surged into the crack.
Then—
BOOM!!!!!!!!!
The crystal exploded.
Dark mana burst outward in all directions.
The corruption formation shattered instantly.
The forest shook violently.
Several assassins were thrown backward.
Lyra barely stabilized herself with wind mana.
The Divine Beast stood firm.
But Kael—
was caught at the center.
The explosion swallowed him completely.
Darkness.
Cold.
Silence.
Kael floated inside an endless void of corrupted mana.
The system flickered weakly.
====================
Critical Damage Sustained
Corruption Invasion: 38%
Emergency Response Activated
====================
Kael struggled to breathe.
The corruption tried to enter his shadow core directly.
To consume it.
Then—
another voice echoed within the darkness.
Not the system.
Not the sealed entity underground.
Something else.
Ancient.
Hungry.
“Interesting…”
Kael’s eyes narrowed weakly.
“…Who are you?”
Silence.
Then—
“A fragment.”
A pause.
“Of what will devour your world.”
The darkness pressed harder around him.
Corruption flooded toward his shadow.
Trying to consume him entirely.
But suddenly—
the shadow inside Kael moved on its own.
Not defensive.
Predatory.
The corruption stopped.
Then—
it began flowing INTO Kael instead.
The unknown voice paused.
Surprised.
“…You consume corruption?”
The system flickered violently.
====================
New Ability Discovered
Shadow Corruption Absorption
Status: Unstable
====================
Kael’s breathing steadied slightly.
The corruption entering him no longer destroyed him.
It strengthened something deeper.
The voice spoke again.
This time slower.
“…So the shadow chose you completely.”
Kael looked into the endless darkness.
“…What are you?”
A long silence followed.
Then—
“Your future enemy.”
The void shattered instantly.
BOOM!!!
Kael’s eyes snapped open back in the clearing.
He crashed onto the broken ground, coughing violently.
Lyra rushed toward him immediately.
“Kael!”
The Divine Beast stared at him intensely.
Not at his injuries.
At his shadow.
Because the shadow around Kael had changed.
It now carried traces of corruption within it.
And somehow—
the corruption was obeying him.