The arrogant look on Cael's face vanished the moment he saw this Amon gripping the neck of the man, along with the other two men, and even Rue, who was weak and lying on the ground. Their expressions all changed as they looked at the man who was killed effortlessly.
"Attack!!!"
Cael shouted to the two men beside him. Immediately, one charged forward, but the other collapsed on the ground in fear.
One man clad in black rushed forward. He raised his sword, which emitted a blue light, and charged straight at Amon. But Amon didn't move; he simply stood there, waiting for the man to get closer.
When the man got near and pointed his sword at Amon, Amon raised one hand and grabbed the sword with his bare hand. A shockwave burst behind Amon from the strength of the impact, but he still held the sword firmly. Then, without effort, he grabbed the man's head and crushed it.
Seeing this, Cael no longer hesitated to use the Stellar Artifact he was holding. It could seal the powers of anyone ranked 5 or below. He had intended to use it only for the legendary Beast, but Amon had already appeared.
A square-shaped object, about the size of Cael's hand, appeared on Cael's palm. He threw it toward where Amon was standing. As soon as the artifact reached Amon, it emitted a white chain that wrapped around Amon's hands and feet. But Amon remained unmoved at his spot, seemingly unaffected.
When Cael saw this, he charged forward, raising his golden sword. The bright moon was covered by clouds, and lightning flashed within those clouds, conjuring a gigantic sword that flew straight toward Amon.
Amon looked up and casually waved his hands. The white chains binding his limbs shattered instantly. Cael's eyes widened in shock. Above them, the giant sword summoned by Cael formed from lightning and storm clouds descended rapidly toward Amon.
Before the massive blade could strike, Amon swiftly grabbed the sword from one of the men who had charged at him earlier. Wielding that sword, he charged toward Cael. When he closed the distance, he raised the blade, preparing to strike.
Cael immediately blocked with his sword, but the force from Amon's attack sent him flying several meters, slamming into the ground repeatedly.
Rue watched from the sidelines, unable to believe what she was witnessing.
The giant sword disappeared from the sky, and the moonlight returned. Cael trembled on the ground, blood dripping from his mouth. He looked at his hand that had just blocked Amon's attack, trembling violently.
"Impossible," he muttered, unable to believe he had almost failed to block a simple strike from Amon.
Amon walked toward Cael, who was still on the ground. When he got close, he grabbed Cael's brown hair and effortlessly lifted him up.
"Who are you?" Cael asked, staring into Amon's red eyes hidden beneath a dark black hood.
Amon did not answer, only stared back at Cael. Then, gray-white smoke emitted from Cael's eyes and mouth. Cael screamed loudly, trembling and struggling to resist, but he could not move against Amon's strength. Eventually, he lost consciousness. Amon threw Cael's body aside.
Seeing this, Rue's weakness vanished, replaced by fear. It was the first time in her life she had witnessed something like that.
Amon glanced at the woman nearby but quickly turned his attention to a trembling man sitting not far from him. Suddenly, Amon vanished from where he stood and appeared before the trembling man.
"Please, don't kill me," the man begged, terrified upon seeing Amon. But Amon ignored him and grabbed his face. The man screamed loudly as gray and white smoke poured out from his eyes and mouth.
Amon did the same to the other two men who had already died. Rue watched all of this in disbelief, but it was happening right before her eyes.
After finishing consuming the souls of those he killed, Amon looked at Rue again. Rue saw the face with red eyes hidden beneath the black hood and the long black robe.
Soon, Rue noticed Amon's figure fading, merging with the air, until he completely vanished.
Rue closed and opened her eyes twice to make sure she wasn't dreaming and that what she saw was real.
After a while, she tried to stand but collapsed again. Her vision slowly darkened.
Not far away, Amon had returned home. He sat beside a lake and lowered his black hood, revealing his handsome face and long hair.
The black hood was the reward he received when accepting the system's mission. It could conceal his face even during the day, showing only blackness, but at night, his two red eyes glowed. Wearing it doubled his physical strength.
He took water with both hands and washed his face. No emotion showed now; only coldness remained.
PROFILE
NAME: AMON
AGE: 25
RANK: ?
RACE: HUMAN
TRUE RACE: ORIGIN OF XENTARI
TALENT: SWORDS
ABILITIES: SOUL EATER
HUMANITY: 55%
He checked his profile in the system and saw his humanity was down to 55%.
"System,how to remove the Xentari demonic sword from my body?"
He asked the system if there was a way to remove the sword from his body.
[THE XENTARI DEMONIC SWORD IS IMPLANTED IN THE HOST'S BODY. REMOVAL MAY RESULT IN THE DEATH OF THE HOST.]
Seeing this, Amon stood and walked into his house. He ignored the system's warning because he knew there was nothing he could do about the sword eating away at his humanity.
Back in the forest, Rue was still lying unconscious on the ground. The traces of the battle were clear all around her.
After a while, a man in white and two women wearing dragon armor appeared. The man in white hurriedly approached the unconscious woman, ignoring his surroundings and heading straight for her.
His hair was black, and his eyes were blue. He looked middle-aged. As he reached Rue, he placed his hands close to her body, releasing a strong golden light. Instantly, Rue's complexion returned to normal, and the wounds on her hands and feet vanished.
Rue slowly opened her eyes and saw the man with a worried expression.
"Father," Rue whispered weakly before closing her eyes again.
The man in white sighed with relief and lifted Rue, placing her in the care of the two women in dragon armor. They began to leave the area.
As the three moved away, the man looked around and saw the four dead men and Cael's body on the side. He walked toward Cael's corpse and examined it.
"You still want to bring my daughter here to die? Damn brat, serves you right," he said angrily. His face showed fury. Then he walked over to the other bodies. After finishing, he left.
Green Valley Town
In a large house, a woman lay on a luxurious bed. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw the bright sunlight through the window.
She stood up carefully. Her limbs no longer ached. Only her goddess-like beauty remained.
She walked to the window and looked outside. It was daytime. Many people were walking and vendors shouting their wares, children running and playing.
After a while, someone knocked on her door. A man with black hair and blue eyes entered. He saw the woman's back as she looked outside and approached her.
"Sorry, I'm late, Rue," he said.
Rue turned and looked at her father, whose face showed regret.
"It's okay, Father. I know I was wrong," she replied. The night before, she had told him she would leave with Cael to investigate, but he didn't agree because he wasn't sure if Cael had bad intentions. Rue insisted because she thought she could trust Cael but she was wrong.
Her father smiled and raised one hand to her head.
"You were small before, but now you've grown," he said, and they laughed together. Then he asked how he knew they were in the Elandor forest when she only told him they were investigating.
"How could I not know when I saw a giant sword in the sky heading toward the forest? I also saw Cael use it before, so I rushed there and found you lying there," he said.
Upon hearing this, the confusion on Rue's face vanished, but it was only a thought; she just assumed her father had sent someone to follow her.
After a while, her father left. She watched his back as he walked away. Then she looked back to the window, but no longer at the people her eyes focused on the distant forest, lost in thought.
She turned to the sword beside her bed, took it, and changed into a green-white robe. Then she left her room, heading toward her father.
When her father saw the sword she held, he knew where she was going, even without her saying it. He was familiar with her stubborn nature once she didn't understand something, she wouldn't stop until she did, even if her life was at risk.
He said nothing and only waved his hand. Rue saw this and walked out. The guards did not stop her and simply opened the door.
Outside, Rue walked toward the forest where the battle had taken place. Many men and women stared at her because of her striking beauty despite her cold demeanor. Her white hair and face, with red lips, matched her green-white robe and sword emitting a chilling aura.
An hour later, she reached the forest edge. She was about to enter when an old man appeared beside her. His hair and beard were white, and he gave off a gentle aura.
"Elder Galenor, what are you doing here?" Rue greeted him and asked about his presence.
This elder was one of the ten elders of the town. They were no ordinary people; each possessed rank 5 strength and had endured many trials.
"Haha, I'm here to see the battle that happened last night," the elder said, chuckling softly as he looked at Rue.
"I see, Elder. I'll be on my way," Rue greeted and continued walking toward the forest's center. But after passing the elder, he suddenly spoke.
"I heard you were involved in last night's battle. Do you know how the four died?"
Rue stopped walking. The elder released a strong aura. It was so powerful she felt like kneeling and begging for forgiveness even though she did nothing wrong.
"I don't know, Elder. I lost consciousness when they tried to kill me," she quickly recovered and denied seeing who killed the four, because If it weren't for him, I'd probably be dead by now.
Hearing this, the elder smiled and withdrew his strong aura. He said no more and left.
Rue felt relief that the powerful aura that had stopped her earlier was gone. She sighed and thought to herself, "The strength of rank 5 is really no joke."