Chapter 431 431: Descent into Madness ( 431 )

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!!!"

Kenjirou gritted his teeth, his boots skidding over the blood-soaked battlefield.

His body was scorched. His cape tattered. His armor dented.

Around him—nothing but fallen corpses.

The 50,000 Amazarak warriors he once led—gone.

Burned. Pierced. Crushed beneath the halfling army's overwhelming numbers.

Magic arrows rained down without pause,

a constant barrage of glowing projectiles tearing through the dirt, exploding around him with deafening force.

"Arghhh!!!"

Kenjirou roared in fury, mana flaring violently from his body.

"How dare mere weaklings like you stand against me?! I am the chosen! The blessed one! The hero!!"

His left arm, black and artificial, pulsed with vile energy—veins of dark mana cracking through the air like lightning.

In his right hand, his divine sword gleamed—still radiating that holy golden hue twisted by corruption.

"FUCKING DIEEE!!!"

Kenjirou burst forward, a blur of madness and power, cleaving down halfling shields and spearmen in a single violent arc.

But they didn't break.

They didn't scatter in fear like the others before.

They surrounded him.

Dozens. Then hundreds. Magic arrows launched in waves, surrounding him in a cage of searing light.

Kenjirou swung wildly, blasting them back, slashing open the ground.

He screamed—his face contorted with rage and disbelief.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE ALREADY!!?"

The halfling captain gave a sharp command.

"Maintain distance! Tire him out! He can't last forever!"

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Kenjirou roared again, his aura boiling over.

Even the celestial inside him stirred, craving the blood and power around him—but the hero's mind was breaking, piece by piece.

"OI, CELESTIAL!! GIVE ME ALL YOUR POWER!!"

Kenjirou's voice cracked, almost pleading now.

"I ALREADY GAVE IT ALL!"

The celestial's voice echoed inside his head—strained, wild, almost afraid.

"FUCK!!"

Kenjirou staggered, knees buckling for a moment before he slammed his divine sword into the ground to steady himself.

"My mana's… wearing out!! SHIT! SHIT!!"

He activated his skill—mana siphon.

The air shimmered around him, drawing in ambient mana from nature itself.

The grass withered. The sky darkened. The ground cracked beneath his feet.

"I KILL YOU ALL!!!!"

He roared, bursting forward once more—mad with bloodlust.

CLANG!

Before he could swing, a coordinated strike landed from his side. A spear glinted with silver light, slashing across his shoulder.

A halfling elite?

No—a full party. Five. No, six. Halfling warriors clad in ceremonial armor and elite gear—mage, scout, shieldbearer, rogue, and dual-blade frontliners.

"Intercept! Don't let him recover!" one shouted.

They moved as one unit—blades flashing, magic chaining, forcing Kenjirou onto the defensive.

"Tch—WHERE DID YOU COME FROM!?"

He swung his divine sword in a massive arc, but the halflings parried and dodged with ease.

Inside his head, the celestial hissed.

"Absorb them! Now! Use their mana—devour their life force!"

CLANG!

Kenjirou parried another strike.

"HOW CAN I!? I CAN'T ABSORB THROUGH MY SWORD!!"

He shouted back at the voice in his head.

"Then get closer—rip them apart with your hands!! You have my arm!"

Kenjirou's eyes widened—then gleamed with red malice.

He grinned, wicked and unstable.

"Heh… fine…"

"You asked for it!"

With a sudden feint, Kenjirou dodged backward, then hurled a dark orb, blasting the earth beneath the halfling party and sending smoke and debris flying.

"Let's see how you taste—HALFLING SCUM!!"

Just as Kenjirou lunged forward to tear through the halfling party—

"—O light that banishes the abyss, seal the wicked flame!"

A ring of halfling priests raised their staffs—

their robes fluttering, magic circles glowing beneath them as they chanted in unison.

Blinding light burst from the ground, forming chains of pure divine magic that raced toward Kenjirou's legs and arms.

"ARRRGGHHHHHH!!!"

Kenjirou screamed as his body was suddenly pulled down by the radiant force.

His artificial arm flickered with unstable energy—black veins crawling up his shoulder, reacting violently to the light.

"W-WHAT IS THIS!?"

He thrashed, slashing wildly, but his sword was met with another volley of magic arrows—

Explosions rippled around him, magic pressure locking him in place.

"KEEP ATTACKING!"

The halfling commander shouted from the rear.

"KEEP SHOOTING HIM! DON'T LET THE SEAL BREAK!"

"HOLD THE LIGHT BARRIER!"

"OUR KING WANTS HIM ALIVE—BUT BROKEN!"

Kenjirou's eyes widened as he felt the celestial inside him screech.

"NO! STOP THEM! THE LIGHT—IT'S STRIPPING ME!"

"SHUT UP!!" Kenjirou roared, pushing against the chains, blood pouring from his mouth and eyes.

"I'M THE HERO!! I'M THE CHOSEN ONE!!"

Kenjirou spat blood, staggering as another wave of magic arrows tore through the air, exploding around him. His body was battered, his divine sword cracked at the edge, and his left arm trembled violently from the clash between light and darkness.

"Mana Siphon—!!"

He roared, slamming his palm into the dirt.

The earth screamed.

Grass withered. Stones cracked. The air thickened with unnatural force as mana drained from the environment into his core.

His aura flared—wild, unstable, flickering like a dying star.

He tried to turn—to retreat.

He had to escape.

But the halfling forces wouldn't let up.

"DON'T LET HIM FLEE!"

"KEEP THE BARRAGE GOING!"

"SLOW HIM DOWN—WEAKEN HIM FOR THE KING!"

Dozens of arrows, fire bolts, and binding chains shot from every direction.

Kenjirou batted some away, blocked others, but he couldn't dodge them all.

Boom!

Crack!

His knees buckled again.

And then—

A pulse.

Something stirred in the air.

A chilling hum swept through the battlefield like a whisper only he could hear.

"Kenjirou…"

The celestial inside him writhed.

"One of them is here."

Kenjirou's eyes widened, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth.

"Another celestial… I can feel it. The hunger. The malice. It's close."

"Who!?"

"WHO IS IT!?" Kenjirou growled aloud, staggering as he clutched his left arm—now glowing with erratic, pulsing lines of dark mana.

"I don't know—but they're close. They're watching. Waiting."

"USE ME. BREAK THE LIMIT. BECOME THE DEVOURER."

Kenjirou's vision blurred. His hands trembled. His divine sword pulsed with energy.

He could feel the pressure building.

Another celestial vessel—somewhere nearby—waiting to strike, or perhaps… to consume him.

And he knew the truth:

If he stayed here… he would fall.

If he ran… he might survive.

( End of Chapter )