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POV: Arthur
I didn't understand why they were crying at first.
They fell to their knees, sobbing so intensely that I froze for a moment.
Before I could process what was happening, the system spoke with something that almost sounded like a sigh:
[You should've seen your face…
In your berserk state, with the darkness of night behind you, those terrifying violet eyes, and that cold voice.
Imagine anyone seeing you like that.]
I blinked twice, stunned.
Was I really that scary?
Aren't people supposed to see me like… an angel? Extremely handsome?
…Wait. Am I turning narcissistic?
No, no. Since when do I even think like that?
I scolded myself: Focus, Arthur.
I tried to make my voice sound normal—even though it already was—and said:
"Hey… kids. I'm really sorry. I didn't know you would suddenly appear. I thought it was a monster trying to attack me."
Of course… none of them believed me.
But the younger boy stopped crying.
He lifted his head to look directly into my eyes.
His eyes… they were strange.
Gleaming like a glowing blue moon.
Then he turned to his older brother and whispered:
"He's telling the truth… he wasn't trying to kidnap me like that evil woman."
I froze.
Kidnap? Evil woman?
What was he talking about?
And slowly… memories surfaced.
Fragmented glimpses of the mission—of the secrets we uncovered about the "Blood-Madwoman."
We found only a few clues, but they were enough to point to the truth.
And years later, the company revealed the rest:
> "The Blood-Madwoman spent weeks searching for her younger siblings.
Anxiety devoured her, and the Abyss whispered to her…
telling her the world feared her power, feared her betrayal.
Months of pressure, insanity, and sleepless nights…
until she found her eight-year-old brother butchered in a horrific way.
His face pale… his eyes empty… his features twisted in agony before death.
Anyone seeing a family member like that… would lose their mind.
And with the Abyss corrupting her thoughts… the last shred of her sanity vanished.
But she didn't join them—she turned their plans against them.
She fought the Abyss and the other races like a mindless beast,
and specifically—she ruined the Abyss' plans countless times.
She killed half the vessels they gathered, delivering a catastrophic blow.
The Abyss was forced to summon a monster of Black-Crystal rank—above even pure black.
It defeated her… but at a devastating cost.
Before dying, she compressed her core into an explosion equal to four nuclear bombs,
obliterating a massive Abyssal rift.
And thus ended the story of the Blood-Madwoman."
And now…
with that memory, I understood.
These two children… were the last remnants of her family.
The system's voice returned, stunned:
[Are we blessed… or cursed?
Every place we go, we somehow get tangled in someone's fate… literally hours before the event!
My dear friend, you truly—]
I snapped mentally, careful not to scare the kids:
"Don't. Finish. That. Sentence."
I stepped toward them, ready to grab them and teleport immediately.
I wasn't stupid… someone was clearly hunting them.
And to avoid another "Dirk" situation, I decided to take them with me instantly.
But of course…
luck made its grand entrance.
A cold female voice pierced the night:
"Ohhh… what do we have here?
A strange man… getting a bit too close to my precious children?"
I stood slowly.
From the first hint of her tone… I knew she could rip out my organs without hesitation.
So I chose the only option—
I turned my head, lifted my face, and slowly opened my eyes…
A desperate attempt at charming her.
The system:
[.....]
[Are you cra—?]
I didn't answer because…
The woman said:
"You seem to have surrendered… you litt—"
And then she froze.
Literally froze.
The moment her eyes landed on Arthur.
He was… beautiful.
She tried to maintain composure, but all her restraint shattered when his eyes appeared.
She was used to seeing desire in men's eyes…
But Arthur's eyes were cold, dangerous, mesmerizing—
Eyes that made any woman feel as though her soul belonged to them.
She swallowed hard—
from fear… and hunger.
She wanted him at any cost.
But her partner, who appeared suddenly, snapped her back to reality.
A man of Small-Master rank.
He said coolly:
"We need the children."
She looked confused.
The orders were simple:
Retrieve the vessel, kill anyone with it.
He continued:
"They want them to stage a performance for someone… important to them."
She smirked.
She understood instantly:
They planned to summon the "Blood-Madwoman."
(At this time, she wasn't yet known by that name.)
Then he looked at me with disdain:
"I'm annoyed by his face.
I really want to rip it apart."
The woman snapped, disgusted:
"And who are you to decide that?
Touch him… and I'll make you wish you were never born."
The man narrowed his eyes, then looked back at me.
I had begun to move my hand toward the children carefully…
But he teleported and grabbed my arm—
and broke it.
I didn't scream.
Thanks to my skills, I suppressed the pain…
but he twisted the broken limb further, forcing a sharp gasp out of me.
The woman—Renar—released her aura, screaming:
"What are you doing?! Let him go right now… or I'll kill you!"
He dropped my arm, then kicked me hard enough to send me crashing into the children.
I recovered quickly, grabbed them, and activated teleportation…
But my speed dropped after my core weakened.
The man caught me before I completed the skill.
I spoke to the system with faint hope:
"Expand your domain… and search for their sister."
The system did, replying anxiously:
[She's outside my range… still too far.
Don't worry—
I'll send distress waves.
Just hold on.]
A mission notification appeared:
Ding
Mission Name: Shards of Fate (3)
Objective: Protect and rescue the siblings of the Blood-Madwoman
Reward: (Progress toward Basic Trainee stage + new ability for Insight Eye)
Penalty: None—challenge exceeds host's expected capability.
I was confused for a moment…
but time didn't allow it.
Renar and the man clashed again.
The man shouted:
"What's wrong with you?! Why are you attacking me, crazy woman?! We need the kids and we need to kill this hunchback!"
She screamed, her tails extending, her body shifting into a half-celestial-fox form:
"I want him. He's my type!
And if you dare touch him again… I'll kill you!"
I tried to escape during the chaos…
but the man had a short-range teleport skill.
He appeared in front of me and kicked me away from the children.
They trembled, crying.
I grabbed them again and turned to Renar:
"Take this man… imprison him wherever you want.
I don't care.
I just need the chil—"
He didn't finish.
One of his arms—the one holding the child—
was severed.
The limb fell, engulfed in cold violet flames…
Flames that felt like death.
Fire spread from his shoulder… then intensified.
He looked at me, terrified…
and what he saw made him shake violently:
My eyes had turned completely violet.
The iris vertical, white.
My teeth sharpened.
My hair thickened.
I transformed into a predator… with a wicked smile.
And behind me—
a giant shadow with monstrous eyes staring at him like a death decree.
He tried to defend himself.
But the flames were already consuming his core from within.
And since he was only a Small-Master… his core was unstable.
His body began to swell… ready to explode.
I teleported beneath the shadow, wrapped in black stone armor and sparks of lightning.
And with my other hand…
I cut him down using Cordelia's sword.
The sword changed… its power surging.
Because I fused shadow with flame, resulting in—
Ding
New Skill: Essence Reforging
Allows the host to alter the essence of any weapon—even spiritual ones—
binding them to the host permanently.
I grinned—wide.
This skill elevated Cordelia's sword entirely.
Renar watched… amused.
Her eyes filled with adoration.
The man she wanted moments ago… had just defeated a Small-Master.
And her desire… grew stronger.
Because—
I looked at her with a hunger for destruction.
And instead of frightening her, it ignited her further.
She lowered her power to match mine…
then attacked.
And we clashed.
Two beings wielding Abyssal power.
Two creatures bound by their love for battle.
One fights for destruction…
the other fights for possession.
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