The air in the mansion was no longer just hot; it was suffocating. Elder Thorne, now fueled by the forbidden mana stone, looked less like a human and more like a demon made of embers. The cracks in the floor glowed with a hellish light, and the noble guests had all fled to the corners of the room, watching in paralyzed terror.
[Alert: High-Level Corruption Detected!]
[Enemy: Corrupted Elder Thorne (Level 10 - Boss)]
[Warning: Host's Berserk Mode will end in 2 minutes!]
Arlan felt the countdown in his mind. He didn't have much time. If his Berserk Mode ran out before Thorne was defeated, the backlash would leave him helpless. He gripped the Shadow Dagger tighter, the blade vibrating as if it were laughing at the danger.
"You wanted to be a God, Thorne?" Arlan's voice was distorted by the system's power. "But you're just a parasite feeding on a dying village."
Thorne roared, a sound that cracked the remaining glass in the hall. He raised both hands, and two massive serpents of fire erupted from his palms, lashing out at Arlan.
[Activating Skill: Shadow Step!]
Arlan flickered out of existence just as the fire serpents melted the stone where he had been standing. He appeared in mid-air, right above Thorne.
"Die, brat!" Thorne screamed, turning his fire upward.
But Arlan was faster. He didn't use his dagger yet. He activated Soul Crush in both hands. As he descended, he slammed his palms against Thorne's flaming aura.
BOOM!
The collision sent a shockwave that blew the heavy oak doors off their hinges. The flames sputtered and died for a second, and in that moment of darkness, the Shadow Dagger struck. Arlan sliced through Thorne's shoulder, the obsidian blade glowing deep purple as it began to drain the corrupted mana directly from the Elder's body.
[Soul Hunger Activated: Draining Mana...]
[Health Restored: +20 HP]
"My mana! What are you doing?!" Thorne gasped, his body shrinking as the forbidden power was sucked out of him.
Arlan landed gracefully on his feet, his eyes glowing redder than ever. "I'm taking back what you stole from this village. Starting with your life."
With one final burst of speed, Arlan moved in a blur. He appeared behind Thorne, then in front, then to the side—multiple Shadow Steps in rapid succession. Thorne was spinning, trying to hit a target he couldn't see.
Finally, Arlan stopped directly in front of the Elder. He thrust the Shadow Dagger straight into the glowing mana stone embedded in Thorne's chest.
CRACK.
The stone shattered. A massive explosion of black and red energy threw everyone back. When the smoke cleared, Elder Thorne was lying on the ground, his skin pale and his magic completely gone. He was no longer a powerful mage; he was just a broken old man.
[Boss Defeated!]
[Experience Gained: 2,500 Exp]
[Level Up! Level 4 -> Level 7]
[New Skill Unlocked: Devourer's Touch]
Arlan stood over him, the Shadow Dagger slowly returning to its sheath. He turned his head to see Marcus and Elena cowering near the wall. They looked at him as if he were a god—a god they had once tried to kill.
"The village belongs to the people now," Arlan said, his voice echoing through the ruined hall. "If I ever see any of you trying to take what isn't yours again... I won't just take your magic. I'll take your souls."
[System Notification: System Shop (Gold Grade) is now OPEN.]
Arlan smiled. His revenge was just the beginning. With the shop now open, he could truly become the God-Slayer the world feared.
The atmosphere inside the banquet hall had transformed from one of celebration into a literal hellscape. The heat from Elder Thorne's corrupted flames was so intense that the fine silver cutlery on the tables began to warp and melt. The noble guests, who just moments ago were mocking Arlan, were now screaming and scrambling toward the exits, their expensive silks scorched by the rising heat.
Arlan stood at the center of this inferno, his silhouette flickering against the roaring fire. To any observer, he looked like a demon born from the embers. His golden eyes, now bleeding into a deep, vengeful red, didn't even blink as the fire licked at his skin.
[Alert: High-Level Corruption Detected!]
[Enemy: Corrupted Elder Thorne (Level 10 - Boss)]
[Warning: Host's Berserk Mode will end in 2 minutes!]
"Two minutes," Arlan whispered to himself, his voice sounding like grinding stones. "That's more than enough time to end a legacy of lies."
Elder Thorne, his body bloated with the dark mana from the forbidden stone, let out a guttural roar. "You are nothing but a sacrifice that refused to stay dead! I am the protector of this village! I am its god!" He slammed his hands together, and the two fire serpents lunged at Arlan, their jaws wide enough to swallow a horse.
[Activating Skill: Shadow Step!]
Arlan vanished in a puff of black mist just as the serpents collided, causing an explosion of sparks that set the ceiling tapestries on fire. He reappeared high in the air, perched on a burning chandelier.
"Gods don't hide behind sacrificial children, Thorne!" Arlan shouted, his voice echoing through the chaos.
Down below, Elena watched in paralyzed horror. She remembered the Arlan who used to bring her wildflowers, the boy who looked at her with pure devotion. That boy was gone. In his place was a predator, a slayer who looked at her now with nothing but cold indifference. She clutched Marcus's arm, but Marcus was no better—he was trembling so hard his sword rattled in its scabbard.
Arlan kicked off the chandelier, descending like a fallen star.
[Skill Synced: Soul Crush + Gravity Drop!]
Thorne raised his hands to create a shield of solid flame, but Arlan's Shadow Dagger cut through it like a hot knife through butter. The obsidian blade hummed with a dark, hungry energy, greedily devouring the Elder's mana as it passed through the shield.
SHLICK.
The blade buried itself deep into Thorne's shoulder.
"AAAAAAAGH!" Thorne screamed, the sound echoing the agony of his soul being drained.
[Soul Hunger Activated: Draining Mana...]
[Health Restored: +20 HP]
[Mana Stolen: 100 MP]
Arlan didn't stop. He landed on Thorne's chest, pinning the massive man to the floor. He began to deliver a flurry of punches, each one boosted by his Strength +10 and the Soul Crush aura. Thud. Crack. Thud. Each blow broke a bone; each strike shattered a lie.
Finally, Arlan reached for the glowing, cracked mana stone embedded in Thorne's chest.
"This power never belonged to you," Arlan hissed, his red eyes inches from Thorne's terrified face.
With a brutal twist, Arlan ripped the stone out.
CRACK!
A massive shockwave of black and red energy erupted from the center of the hall. The force was so great it blew the heavy oak doors off their hinges and shattered every remaining window in the mansion. The flames died instantly, plunged into a suffocating darkness.
When the dust settled, Arlan was standing alone in the ruins. Elder Thorne lay at his feet, his body shriveled and magic-less, looking like a dried husk. He wasn't dead, but for a mage of his pride, living as a powerless "trash" was a fate worse than death.
[Boss Defeated!]
[Experience Gained: 2,500 Exp]
[Level Up! Level 4 -> Level 7]
[New Skill Unlocked: Devourer's Touch]
Arlan slowly turned his head toward Marcus and Elena. They were huddled together in the corner, covered in soot and ash. Arlan walked toward them, the Shadow Dagger still dripping with Thorne's dark blood.
He stopped just a foot away. Marcus wet himself in terror, unable to even look Arlan in the eye.
"The village is free now," Arlan said, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion. "Tell everyone what happened here tonight. Tell them the 'trash' has returned to clean the house."
He looked at Elena one last time. There was no love in his eyes, no hate—only a void. He turned and walked out of the mansion, into the cool night air of the village.
[System Notification: System Shop (Gold Grade) is now OPEN.]
[New Quest: Path of the Slayer - Travel to the Capital.]
Arlan looked at the system screen and smiled. Oakhaven was just the beginning. The world was full of tyrants, and he finally had the tools to slay them all.
The grand banquet hall of Oakhaven, once a symbol of the Elder's absolute authority, had become a tomb of fire and ash. The heat was so oppressive that the stone walls began to crack, and the air itself felt like it was made of liquid lead. Arlan stood in the eye of the storm, his silhouette a dark blot against the crimson inferno. His golden eyes had fully transformed, now burning with a deep, vengeful red that matched the blood on his hands.
[Warning: Host's Berserk Mode will end in 1 minute 30 seconds!]
[Physical Strain: 65% - Internal damage detected!]
"One and a half minutes," Arlan muttered, his voice a low growl that vibrated through the floorboards. "More than enough to finish a coward."
Elder Thorne, his body bloated and pulsing with the corrupted power of the forbidden mana stone, looked like a nightmare brought to life. "I was the one who kept this village safe! I was the one who made Oakhaven prosper!" he screamed, his voice cracking under the strain of the dark mana. He raised his hands, and a massive tidal wave of fire erupted from his palms, sweeping across the room toward Arlan.
[Activating Skill: Shadow Step!]
Arlan didn't just dodge; he vanished into the very shadows cast by the oncoming fire. He reappeared instantly on a burning chandelier, hanging from the ceiling like a predatory bird. Without a second's hesitation, he dove downward, the Shadow Dagger held in a reverse grip.
"You didn't protect this village, Thorne," Arlan shouted over the roar of the flames. "You fed on it! You sacrificed the weak to satisfy your own greed!"
Thorne looked up just in time to see Arlan descending. He tried to raise a mana shield, but Arlan's dagger hummed with a soul-piercing frequency.
[Skill Synced: Soul Crush + Falling Shadow!]
The impact was cataclysmic. When Arlan's dagger hit the shield, it didn't just break the magic—it devoured it. The obsidian blade flared with a dark purple light as it drained the Elder's mana instantly.
[Soul Hunger Activated: Draining Mana...]
[Critical Strike! 500% Damage!]
[Enemy Mana Shield: Shattered!]
Arlan's blade sliced through Thorne's shoulder, pinning the old man to the floor. The sound of bone snapping echoed through the hall, followed by a scream that silenced the fire itself. Thorne lay there, gasping, his face twisted in a mask of agony and disbelief.
In the corner of the room, Elena and Marcus were huddled together, paralyzed by the sheer scale of the violence. Elena looked at the man she had once called her friend, but she didn't see Arlan. She saw a monster—a product of her own betrayal. Marcus, the great warrior of the village, was sobbing quietly, his sword discarded on the floor.
Arlan stood over Thorne, the red glow in his eyes reflecting the dying embers of the room. He reached down and grabbed the mana stone embedded in Thorne's chest.
"This was never yours to take," Arlan hissed. With a brutal, bone-crunching twist, he ripped the stone from Thorne's flesh.
BOOM!
A massive shockwave of pure, unfiltered energy exploded outward. The force was so great that it blew the heavy mansion doors off their hinges and shattered every remaining window. The fire was extinguished instantly by the blast, leaving the room in a cold, suffocating darkness.
[Boss Defeated: Corrupted Elder Thorne!]
[Experience Gained: 3,500 Exp]
[Level Up! Level 4 -> Level 8]
[New Skill Unlocked: Devourer's Touch]
[Item Acquired: Corrupted Mana Fragment (Rank D)]
Arlan stood in the silence, his chest heaving. The Berserk Mode had ended, and he could feel the immense pain of his muscles straining, but he didn't care. He looked at the broken body of the Elder, then turned his gaze toward Marcus and Elena.
He walked toward them, each step echoing in the hollow silence. He stopped just inches away from where they sat trembling. He didn't say a word. He simply showed them the Shadow Dagger, still dripping with Thorne's blackened blood.
"The debt is paid," Arlan said, his voice flat and devoid of any humanity. "But remember this: Oakhaven is no longer your playground. If I ever find out that you've harmed a single soul in this village again... I won't just kill you. I'll make sure the system erases every trace of your existence."
He turned and walked toward the exit, his shadow stretching across the ruins of the mansion.
[System Notification: System Shop (Gold Grade) is now OPEN.]
[New Quest: Beyond the Gates - Travel to the Imperial City of Valoria.]
Arlan looked at the system screen and felt a cold smile spread across his lips. Oakhaven was a small cage. Now, the world was his to conquer. The God-Slayer had truly awakened.