Chapter 270: Sacrificed Intentions
A flash of green erupted from Yu-na's hand before the Chairman could reach her. A split second later, that same light burst from her mouth and eyes, forcing Seo-jin to squint against the glare.
"NO!"
Chairman Woon dropped to his knees in front of her just as her arms fell limp at her sides. Yu-na remained standing, her body motionless as the last traces of green faded from her eyes.
"It wasn't supposed... You weren't..."
His head dropped toward his knees, and a wail tore from his throat, carrying enough force to shake the ground around him.
[Her soul—]
'I know. It's gone.'
Suppressing his aura, Seo-jin backed away without making a sound, retreating toward where Pain and Panic waited. Whatever had just happened, he couldn't afford to stay and find out. The Chairman was distracted, and whether Seo-jin liked it or not, this was probably the only opening he was going to get.
'Don't move on him unless he comes toward me.'
He felt his Brood's acknowledgment through their connection, but it did little to reassure him. What he was about to do was a desperate gamble, one that would cost him dearly whether it worked or not.
He'd ordered his two oldest sons to wait behind one of the few remaining clusters of spires. When he reached them, he found both standing upright, their bodies practically whole despite the battle they'd endured.
Their armor functioned much like their own skin, repairing dents and fractures as their flesh healed beneath it. Yet through their connection, Seo-jin could feel a deep worry coming from them both.
Looking at his sons, he took a moment to study their faces.
"My flame and my blade. I am proud of you both."
The two Broodspawn froze, neither smiling nor trembling with their usual excitement.
"When this is over, know that it will be because of you."
A proud smile finally spread across Panic's face as he glanced toward his brother.
"Hey, Pain. You know I was always the strongest."
The corner of Pain's mouth lifted just a little.
"Yeah. I know."
Panic blinked hard, his smile fading as his expression grew still.
"Do not defend."
"Yes, Broodfather."
"Yes, Broodfather."
Both brothers straightened, their bodies relaxed as they stood before their father without resistance.
Neither moved as Seo-jin drove his claws into their chests, piercing their hearts before tearing them free.
One after the other, he consumed both beating organs, swallowing each in a single bite.
[System // Notification]
[Brood King Authority Activated // Sovereign Reclamation]
[Units Devoured // Broodspawn]
[Pain (Scorchclaw Mutant) & Panic (Killcraft Artisan)]
[Brood Lineage Reabsorbed // Soulmass and Mutation Data Restored]
[King Title Effect // Triggered]
[Absorbing Reclaimed Essence...]
He watched his sons collapse, their bodies striking the ground with a dull thud. He stood over them without moving. The notifications hung before his eyes as he felt his flesh shifting and his power growing. He couldn't bring himself to read them.
His sons were dead.
"Your lives wont be wasted."
His vision was drowned as bloodlight and fire consumed the area.
----
Staring into his daughter's lifeless eyes, the Chairman searched for something, anything that might tell him she was still there. But the light had faded, leaving nothing behind. She was gone, and for all the power he'd accumulated, there was nothing he could do to change that. Not anymore.
"Ji-yoon is gone...you would only do this if Hye-jin—"
His words caught in his throat. He reached for his daughter's limp hand, his fingers stopping just short of touching.
"If only you'd listened. All of you were going to betray me! You left me with no choice!"
His voice rose as his face contorted, anger forcing its way through the grief.
"I had to make sure—I couldn't risk everything I've built, not when I was so close! Yet you all..."
His hands clenched into fists, the black wings behind him curling inward as his shoulders began to shake.
"You left me no choice..."
He'd put the plan in motion when Yu-na left the tower for the Freelands to find Seo-jin. After using mind control on Hye-jin and Ji-yoon to uncover Yu-na's intentions, he'd given her what she believed was a means of killing him. In truth, it was meant to destroy her soul while leaving her body alive. He'd researched and confirmed ways to bring her back, methods that required time and resources he once believed he'd have. But the ritual had failed, his ascension was lost, and now that time was running out.
"Stupid girl. Too much like your mother."
Pushing himself to his feet, he reached out again. This time, he let his fingers rest against Yu-na's cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath his hand.
The moment he touched her, a pillar of bloodlight and fire erupted into the sky behind him.
-----
It had been a while since Seo-jin had felt this much pain. He'd suffered one injury after another recently, some severe enough to nearly kill him, yet compared to what he was experiencing now, those had felt like a rough massage.
Every inch of him was on fire, literally. His skin peeled and charred as the heat worked its way inward, leaving him with the sensation of his organs boiling in his own blood. Even the Twinback Serpents weren't spared. He could feel the flames consuming their bodies, their screeches cutting through his agony as they burned away, only to be reborn and suffer through it again.
As the heat finally began to subside, Seo-jin regained his senses and forced his eyes open. Bloodlight rose from them in thin streams, while steam poured from his body as his skin cooled and hardened over the red flesh beneath it.
Something moved behind him, sending a jolt through his mind—
The sharp crack of his tail.
As he shifted, chunks of charred flesh broke away and fell to the ground, revealing a new layer of armored hide beneath. Heat glowed through the cracks between its hardened plates, distorting the air rising from his body. He raised his hands, examining the long black claws extending from each finger.
[Focus.]
His brows rose at the interruption, and the Chairman's face immediately came to mind. Remembering where he was, he pulled his attention away from his body and hurried through the notifications waiting for him.
[System // Notification]
[Sovereign Reclamation Complete]
[Targets Consumed]
[Broodspawn // Pain (Scorchclaw Mutant)] [Broodspawn // Panic (Killcraft Artisan)]
[Lineage Essence Reclaimed]
[Strength (STR) // +10 (Reclaimed Scorchclaw Muscle Density)]
[Agility (AGI) // +10 (Reclaimed Kinetic Twitch-Reflex)]
[Vitality (VIT) // +8 (Reclaimed Emberplate Hide)]
[Soulmass Reservoir +50 // +15,000 Max HP (Pool Density Restored)]
[Brood Commander Slots // 2/2 Reallocated]
[New Passive Traits Assimilated]
[Emberplate Hide / A]
[Mark of Flesh / A]
[Fire Eater / S+]
[New Active Skills Reclaimed]
[Furnace Maw / S+]
[Frenzied Carve / S+]
It was a lot to take in, more than he'd expected, but Seo-jin felt no satisfaction as he read through the rewards. Under any other circumstances, he would have been thrilled with the gains. Perhaps he would be later. For now, every increase in power reminded him of what it had cost, and he found himself unable to appreciate any of it.
Two low hisses drew his attention as the Serpents slithered into view on either side of him. Both Tiamat and Bahamut had grown thicker, their scales now resembling overlapping plates of forged metal. The ridges along their faces had sharpened as well, giving their heads the appearance of being covered in small blades.
"I know. I see him too."
Giving Tiamat a quick scratch beneath the chin, Seo-jin dismissed the System panel and looked ahead. The Chairman was floating in the air, watching him from above about thirty feet away.
"What did you do?"
A series of clicks sounded from Seo-jin's chest, accompanied by an unfamiliar sensation beneath his skin. The T-shaped arrangement of fangs across his torso began grinding against one another, reacting to the human hovering in front of him.
"You're gonna have to get more specific. I've done alotta shit today."
System light washed over Seo-jin as he equipped his King armor, and he was surprised to find that it had changed along with him. The chestplate was gone, replaced by armored sections that followed the contours of his ribs and back, leaving his chest and stomach exposed.
He could see the Chairman studying him, his anger giving way to a moment of scrutiny as he took in the transformation. His horns had grown larger, with a core of white running through them that radiated heat into the surrounding air. His frame had thickened with muscle, while the rows of teeth across his chest continued grinding against one another. His tail had regrown, ending now in what appeared to be a curved-blade of pitch-black material. Between the hardened hide, the heat rising from his body, and the changes to his proportions, Seo-jin barely resembled the demon he'd been moments earlier.
"Doesn't matter. You've barely moved."
Knowing exactly what the Chairman meant, Seo-jin couldn't help but smile.
"But you have. You're not even S-rank anymore."
With a single flap of his wings, the Chairman gathered a swelling mass of black flames before him. Whatever curiosity he'd shown toward Seo-jin's transformation was gone, replaced by a murderous glare as the heat from the growing fire distorted the air around him.
"I don't need to be to kill you."
Seo-jin sent a command through the Broodlink, forcing it into the minds of every surviving Broodling with enough intensity that none could mistake his meaning. Do not interfere.
They had all felt it when he'd consumed Pain and Panic. The sudden loss of their two eldest brothers had left the Brood stunned, and when the Chairman had moved from Yu-na, none could bring themselves to attack, much less move. He intended to deal with that later. If there was one.
"I'm so tired. Let's end this—"
With those words, the enormous ball of black flames shot toward Seo-jin, closing the distance before he could dodge. Not that he had any intention of moving.
The attack struck Seo-jin head-on, erupting into an explosion that tore through the surrounding ruins. Black flames surged into the sky as the ground collapsed beneath him, sending chunks of molten stone and debris flying in every direction.
The Chairman beat his wings, retreating from the blast as he gathered another two balls of black. With a flick of his hand, he launched them into the burning crater.
Both detonated, sending another shockwave through the city. The fire swelled, consuming what remained of the nearby rubble as the heat continued to rise.
Still hovering above the destruction, the Chairman raised his hand to summon another attack. But just as the flames began gathering around his palm, he stopped.
Something was wrong.
The enormous column of black had stopped rising. Instead, the flames began twisting downward, their movements growing faster as they were pulled toward something at the center of the crater.
The Chairman narrowed his eyes, watching as the burning mass collapsed inward. Within seconds, the flames had been reduced to a spiraling current of black fire, all of it pouring into the open maw across Seo-jin's chest.
Row upon row of fangs surrounded the opening, leading into a space filled with absolute darkness. Even with the fire pouring into it, nothing within could be seen. The air shuddered as it rose from the opening, carrying enough heat to distort Seo-jin's outline.
The last of the flames disappeared inside him, leaving the surrounding ruins exposed once more.
With a series of heavy clicks, the fangs across his torso began closing, grinding against one another until the opening was completely sealed.
He opened his eyes, and a small black flame appeared above his forehead. It hovered between his horns as he looked up at the Chairman.
"Thanks for that."
With a sudden rush of heat, two enormous black wings erupted from Seo-jin's back, spreading wide enough to engulf the ruined street in their shadow.
He knew he couldn't afford to hold anything back. Even weakened, the Chairman was still a monster, and the power Seo-jin gained from consuming his sons wouldn't mean a damn thing if he died before he could use it.
[Mutation / Slot 3]
[Crown of Glory // Activated]
A ray of sunlight broke through the smoke overhead, falling directly upon him. Above his horns, a halo began to form, its golden light spreading across the ruins as the air around him trembled.
Light gathered around his body, mixing with the black flames pouring from his wings. Red fire bled from beneath his armor, twisting together with streams of bloodlight until all four elements were circulating around him. With the Twinback Serpents twisting from his back, Seo-jin felt his body brimming with violence.
A wet tearing sound filled the air as Butcher's Wrath ripped free from his forearms. The twin cleavers extended into his hands, their edges glowing with the same heavenly light radiating from the halo above his head.
"LIGHT?!"
The Chairman's eyes widened, his wings stiffening behind him.
"WHAT ARE YOU?!"
A heavy chord answered him.
The sound of Hex's guitar rolled across the ruined city, its low vibration carrying through the broken streets. There was no surge of power, no blessing from the Brood.
It was only the opening chord of the battle hymn.
Seo-jin gritted his teeth, tightening his grip around the cleavers as the four elements continued twisting around his body.
"I am the Broodfather."
Then, with a single beat of his enormous wings, he vanished from the Chairman's sight.