Cain Valenos: Annihilation in a Single Moment
It was Cain Valenos, delivering annihilation in a single instant.
It wasn't the pitch-black sword aura that the great knight Rian Rose had unleashed. Still, it was dazzling enough—captivating enough—to steal one's gaze completely. Rowen was furious. He couldn't hide his surprise at the sudden surge of emotion within himself. Was it because that idiot Cain had ignored orders and wandered outside? That was part of it, but the real source of his rage stood right before him.
"That guy's Kael?"
"Nah, he's too young for that..."
"Forget him—the one next to him is insane! He's way too fast!"
Arkanthia. The soldiers now calling themselves the Arkanthia Imperial Army whispered among themselves. Flashing faint smirks, they raised their swords.
"Doesn't matter. We just need to capture all three alive, right?"
"Extra pay means I can get some more mods."
"Careful. Their eyes are different."
"Puhuhu. They don't know the power of magitech. Wonder if they even have a clue?"
Rowen's brow furrowed naturally. From their words, it was clear they'd already fallen deep into the allure of magitech. Even if they used it, it was useless against true power. Rowen expanded his Mana Zone and began a full scan. Blue lines of mana flowed into view before his eyes. A massive presence enveloped the surroundings. The world brimmed with mana. He read its currents within.
Now, Rowen's eyes had become like the Magic Eyes of a master mage. They looked bloodshot at a glance, but they weren't. Mana had simply concentrated there, causing fatigue. Circulating it through his core would fix it.
Lucius Dragnik kicked off the snow-covered ground, whipping up a blizzard. Screeeech! Like an arrow slicing through wind. Lucius's movements cleaved the air! The snowfall continued unabated. Amid it, his form vanished. In the void, only round pillars of snow trailed his path, sending out ripples.
In an instant, Lucius crossed blades with an Arkanthia soldier. Another flash of annihilation rippled. Sword met sword, booming through the snowy forest.
"What happened to Kadan!" Lucius bellowed.
The Arkanthia soldier ignored him cleanly, swinging a massive greatsword. Lucius leaned back, dodging. Snow spiraled in the blade's wake. Before he could straighten, the greatsword came crashing down. Magitech had amplified his muscle mass across his body—rune-enhanced body strengthening and haste spells. Massive rune script flickered on his shoulders and legs.
Rowen didn't miss it. He charged in, releasing the Ice Blade in his right hand to form an Ice Shield. Frost mana cloaked his shoulder, grinding along his forearm. Clang! The ice mana shield blocked the vicious downward chop of the modified greatsword. Rowen deflected it outright, spinning his body to lock down the enemy's movement. The heavy greatsword would have wrecked his balance even more.
Rowen wouldn't let that chance slip. Combat prowess honed in his past life. He unleashed his killing intent without restraint and leaped onto the enemy's back. As if he'd been waiting, the Ice Blade in his left hand—shaped like Abel Tarkhan's assassin's dagger, a short blade rippling with blue aura—thrust sharply enough to pierce the skull.
"Guhk...!"
"Sounds just like a piglet squealing."
Traces of magitech on the shoulders and legs. Rowen clicked his tongue at the forced implants. Power unfit for one's station only bred arrogance in the weak. It was an unchanging law, everywhere and always.
In that split-second exchange, the soldier collapsed, brain matter spilling out and staining the pristine snow red. Foreign substances leaked visibly.
"Tch, how much crap did they shove into this body."
"What's all that?"
"Rune fragments implanted to force rune acceptance into the body."
"...Brutal. Even for a role like that. Then the magitech of the forgotten era must have been..."
It was grave. That era had been so repulsive it made his blood boil. A thousand years ago, the world wasn't as pure as now. Rian Rose's party had smashed magitech to pieces, causing regression. But swords and magic suited the world far better than this "advanced" magitech. They didn't ravage nature, drawing on the world's energy, mana. Magitech needed mana too, of course. But forcing it out only wounded the world.
"That's why these bastards disgust me."
"I agree completely."
The rotating core made his heart pound fiercely. Rowen summoned his most familiar weapon. Ice armor covered from wrist to just below the shoulder—solid, unobtrusive in movement, seamlessly converting overlaps with mana to avoid clashes. Soon, a longsword rippling viciously with frost aura rested in his hand.
Drip, drip! Blood trailing down the blade dyed the white red. The bloodstains soaking the snow formed pools vast enough to mirror Rowen's emotions. His rage showed no sign of fading.
How many foes had he cut down? The white fur he'd hated staining with blood was now crusted. No—frozen solid. The corpses he'd felled with his blade were already icing over. The cold was relentless.
Rowen thought: Their numbers were dwindling. But prolonging the fight might draw reinforcements who'd noticed the anomaly. If his guess was right, their heads were in Snowfall. He'd spotted golems there during recon. Delay too long, and they might catch on. These were just disposable grunts.
As Lucius had said, the magitech soldiers raiding the Pentagon hadn't matched Kadan but were strong. So Rowen decided to accelerate.
If he'd had his past life's realm, he'd have turned them all to ice shards with a single sweep. Frustrating. Sometimes, swinging too instinctively failed to produce the pitch-black sword aura waves. He still wasn't used to it. Rowen wasn't Rian. When Rian unleashed black sword auras, mountains crumbled and demons wailed. Rowen's swings were just slashes laced with aura.
He yearned for that past realm. Lucius seemed to be tiring. Rowen wasn't. From childhood, he'd built muscle and agility, stamina too. At sixteen, his build rivaled adults. A level his peers couldn't touch. He marveled at faint echoes of his past prowess.
'Monster bastard.'
His past self had been a monster. No other way to put it. He understood mentally, but his body lagged—maddening.
"Who the hell are those guys...?"
"Not Kael. No way that one's...!"
"The bastard child?"
"Can a bastard wield that much mana? Must take after Kadan!"
The five survivors gaped. Cain couldn't faint amid their duel. Drained of energy, the fight still stimulated his brain. Brutal corpses and splattered blood. Beastly yet precise swordplay and magic. Cain wailed inwardly at his own incompetence once more.
"...Damn it!"
"Yo, you're awake? Thought you were a goner, not moving."
"I didn't faint, asshole."
Short exchange. Tense brothers' talk, but routine for them. Lucky Cain hadn't frozen in his stupor.
Rowen pondered why this brief moment ignited such fury. Simple answer.
"Beat this punk yourself, fine by me."
"What?"
"But you lot? No right to touch Cain, you pieces of shit. Only I get to beat that moron."
What gave them the right to hit Cain? To kidnap him? Only Rowen could torment him. Only he could repay the childhood abuse and pain. But them touching him?
"You're crossing the line."
Another flash from Rowen—not a sweep, but a frenzy. Thud thud thud! No sword's ring, but heavy punches pulverizing air. Rapid swings crushed the void. Whirling snow burst in circular waves. Each flake bloomed into water droplets like flowers. Sword dance adorned the Albrin Forest.
Lucius's jaw dropped at the speed. No time to waste, no reason to hold back. Just rage. They'd killed his father, Kadan. Boldly conquered Snowfall. Cain's fault, sure, but their kidnapping attempt was real. They deserved death.
Rowen's swings unleashed blue ice auras, freezing the air. Magic Sword. Unlike steel, his was pure mana magic. Blue flames roared along the trajectories. Cold and heat clashed—opposing energies sparking mini-explosions.
Magitech was strong, no doubt. But in unskilled hands? Like giving a staff to an armless man. Useless without arms to wield it.
"That guy's burning alive standing!"
"Shit! Run! Report to the general!"
Rowen pounced. Lucius pressed with his pure-white holy sword Rosmerta, unleashing a sweep. Rowen's body felt lighter than ever. A moment's gleam. Blue flash erupted!
"Hey."
"...What."
"Hurts?"
"Nah."
Every Arkanthia soldier slaughtered. Battle over. Without Lucius's speed, Rowen would've been pinned. Thank god for him.
Cold snowfield. Cain's clothes soaked from melted snow, now frozen stiff in the chill. Frostbite wounds everywhere. Rowen waved lightly, conjuring warm light. Rune script swirled around his fingers. The glow enveloped Cain gently.
Rowen poked Cain's back. Each prod made him flinch like a grub. Wormy bastard! Pure thought, no lie.
Why charge out and cause this mess? Sure, it'd stung the Arkanthians good—satisfying. But his stupidity baffled.
So he asked.
"Why'd you go out?"
"Dunno."
This fucker...
Rowen's brow twisted. But he held back. Wrong vibe. Cain was dumb, perverted scum, but his face showed genuine cluelessness.
"...You really don't know?"
"Yeah. Not lying. Came to when I was already here."
"I hate lies."
"...You know it's not. You get me best."
"...Fuck."
For real.
"No damn clue."