Chapter 98: Broken Bonds

In a vast chamber, where the walls were etched with runes that never stopped shifting, emitting a soft green glow, Rainslif Crowley sat lounging in a solitary chair, his head resting on his hand.

Around him, the deep green wind mana swirled restlessly, occasionally gusting through him, causing his hair to flutter ever so slightly.

His eyes, devoid of pupils, slowly opened, revealing a deep green as a frown creased his forehead. With a simple thought, a scroll materialized before him, floating in the air. With just a flick of his finger, the scroll unfurled itself, revealing a single line of glowing text at its base.

"A hundred years? Curious... it couldn't be the boy..." His eyes briefly intensified with a flash of green light, the glowing text flaring brightly before the scroll rolled up and vanished.

"He must be confronting a mage or knight of at least the 5th tier. Did the Valdenes still have allies?" Closing his eyes, a faint smile curled at the edges of his mouth. "No matter, they are all doomed now."

----

Peering into the aftermath of the explosive attack, Darius urgently channeled his lightning mana, projecting his thoughts to Haku, 'Aid the others, I'm gonna lay down a formation array, so keep him occupied.'

Bolstered by the urgency, Haku's form swelled as he invoked his Celestial Blaze Phantom Art, conjuring two fiery duplicates a third of his size to join the fray.

Simultaneously, Darius communicated with the three knights, briefing them on his strategy and emphasizing the need for time.

Marcus, Clarke, and Atleman converged around the blast's epicenter, their weapons and auras radiating intense elemental energy.

As the lingering flames subsided, Atleman swung his massive axe, clearing the smoke to reveal a startling scene: Trayton, untouched and enshrouded in shadows, his eyes a fierce red, aiding a weakened Solomon to his feet.

Solomon presented a ghastly sight. Half his face was charred to the bone, exposing his skull and teeth, also missing an arm on the same side. Drawing a raspy, garbled breath, he fixed a deathly stare on his brother. "You lose, Atleman. I lived, and you'll die."

With that, he brought a scroll up to his mouth, and ripped it with his teeth. Stepping aside, Trayton grinned widely as Solomon activated his transportation spell, dissapearing in a gust of wind.

"Fuck!"

Everyone paused, turning towards the voice. Crelos, looking unexpectedly flustered as he supported the wounded Percy, paled. "I'm a dead man. The Tower Master, he's gonna know."

"This one is surprised. Did not think it would be this hard to catch a child, did not think a century would be needed."

The three knights inhaled sharply, their faces clouding over. Unsure if Darius and Haku had grasped the gravity of the situation, Marcus called out, "he sacrificed a hundred years of his life to boost his power. He’s now as strong as a peak 5th tier Silver Knight."

Hearing this, both Darius and Haku snapped to attention, their eyes widening in realization, "Four hundred Cauldrons..."

Trayton's shadow began to swell, his physical form appearing unchanged yet the oppressive aura he emitted was now almost unbearable. His blood-red eyes lazily shifted toward Darius, his fanged grin widening unnaturally as his jaw unhinged, "You should have come with this one, now they all will die because of you."

"Haku!—"

Darius's plea cut through the air, his voice faltering as Haku was instantly engulfed in shadows, seized and bound. With brutal efficiency, Trayton slashed through both phantoms, their flames snuffed out easily. Completing his assault, he jumped and drove his knee savagely into Haku's throat, the sickening sound of collapsing cartilage echoing in Darius’s ears.

Marcus reacted first, his blade thrusting forward as repeated blasts scorched Trayton’s back. Unfazed, the Vampyre grasped Haku's head, smashing it down onto his rising knee, shattering his jaw with a gruesome crack.

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"YOU DARE!"

Instantly, Trayton leapt back. Landing, his body tensed while his eyes, burning with malice, locked onto Darius. A palpable wave of pressure rippled from the human, visibly distorting the air and unsettling the debris at his feet.

Every ounce of Darius's killing intent surged, his eyes darkening almost to black, veins bulged visibly as he faced the monstrous vampyre. Undeterred, Trayton matched his gaze with a ghoulish smile, sensing the lethal aura swirling around Darius. "You are no child," he taunted, his cold, pale eyes laced with wicked delight. "Tell this one, how many lives have you taken?"

Seizing the moment, the three knights launched their assault. Marcus's blade danced furiously, his thrusts erupting like cannonballs as he yelled, "Run! We'll hold him off." Atleman and Clarke summoned the full force of their auras, converging their elemental powers in a desperate bid to strike Trayton's head.

As the trio engaged, Haku, now free, retreated to Darius, rapidly regenerating his injuries. His thoughts reached Darius urgently as his jaw stitched back into place, 'We should run! I felt it, he's too strong!'

'No! They will die if I do!' Darius's breaths came in labored gasps as he wrestled with his decision. "I'll go! I'll go with you to see Crowley!"

Time seemed to slow for Darius, sounds around him blurring into a distant hum. Trayton stood unaffected as attacks aimed at him were effortlessly deflected by his shifting shadow.

"Monster!" Lady Clarke charged, her hammer encased in a sharp, glowing spike of rock. With swift ease, Trayton caught the spike, tore the hammer from her grip, and backhanded her across the field into a collapsed bulding.

Without pause, he speared his claws into Atleman’s shoulder, lifting him high before slamming him down with brutal force, spattering blood across his pale skin as he turned his cold gaze towards Marcus.

Haku’s pleas of retreat failed to reach Darius, who stepped forward, his voice breaking as his eyes barely glowed azure, "Stop!"

Marcus's aura exploded into a tower of fire, his skin igniting like paper as his eyes flared, "TAKE PERCY AND RUN!" In an instant, he and Trayton disappeared, clashing high above with bursts of shadow and fire scattering across the sky.

"Darius! You heard him! We need to go now!" Haku yelled, his voice drowned out by the chaos around him.

Frozen, Darius's vision blurred, echoes from his past merging with the present.

"She's gone!"

"He will still die, Jarek! Give him to me if you truly love him!"

"Our little wolf..."

'Your going to get them killed!'

A fiery explosion shattered his daze, debris and flames soaring as Percy's agonized shout pierced the air, "Father!"

Trayton descended, shadows swirling around him like a cloak in the wind, his gaze fixed on Marcus who lay in a smoldering crater. "Not bad, human. State your name; this one will remember who he has killed today."

Struggling amidst the debris, Marcus pushed himself up, revealing a massive, bleeding hole in his stomach. "Marcus Kinneman. And I'm not dead yet, baldy." He laughed as he coughed up blood, his torn armor flickered with renewed energy from his manaforged set. Glancing towards Haku, he yelled as he tried to stand, "Get them out of here! N—"

But before Marcus could finish, Darius suddenly fell to his knees, his face contorted in rage, "NOOOOOOO!!"

Standing protectively over Marcus, Percy's body went limp, Trayton's arm gruesomely impaled through his chest.

Darius's scream tore through the air, his eyes and senses dimming into complete darkness. Just as the blackness fully consumed him, he heard his own voice, mocking and bitter, 'you failed, and you will always fail, Xue Feng.'

"PERCY! GET OFF HIM!" Marcus's form blazed to life, scorching the earth as he surged forward like a comet. He slammed his heel into the vampire's gut, grabbing Percy and retreating with explosive force, the impact sending them both tumbling across the ground as Marcus's aura flickered out.

"You're okay, come here, come here...no, no, no. Please, PLEASE!" Marcus cradled his son, his hands trembling as they hovered over the massive hole where Percy's heart should be.

"Foolish, he wasted his life for nothing." Trayton's voice was cold as he strode back toward them, his burnt skin visibly healing.

Haku watched, his fur on end, terror evident in his posture as he faced the advancing vampyre, his voice small and fearful, "Big brother, I don't wanna die..."

Tears streamed down Marcus's face as he clutched Percy, shaking as he whispered hoarsely, "Percy?... Percy? Say something, please. Your mother will be home soon... we need to be there..."

A soul-shattering scream tore from him, its raw agony halting even Trayton in his advance. Marcus's aura flared weakly around his son, his flames flickering dimly before fading with his cry.

Trayton resumed his approach, stopping beside the fallen knight with a tilt of his head. "This one will end your pain, Marcus Kinneman." Lifting his hand, claws extended, he reached towards Marcus's head.

Looking down at his son, his mind clouded with grief, Marcus suddenly caught a glimpse of something falling next to him. Looking over, his eyes widened, twitching on the ground, lay a severed, pale arm.

----

Floating naked in a void of darkness, Darius, appearing as his twelve-year-old self, hugged his knees to his chest, his head buried.

Voices echoed around him, each one laced with venom and accusation.

"You killed him!"

"Why did you get them involved?"

"Even your parents died because of you!"

"Coward!"

"I hate you!"

"Weak!"

The voices overlapped, each word hitting Darius like a physical blow. He remained still, offering no defense or denial, as the barrage continued endlessly.

----

Trayton's blood-red eyes widened at the sight of his missing arm, "Interesting." He turned towards Atlemans axe buried in a wall behind him, shadows swirling around his stump as he inhaled deeply, his head turned back as his arm began to regrow, "You smell different."

Off to the side, Haku shook, his form suddenly enveloped in flames as he shrunk, shifting into his ghost-form, "Big Brother? Is that you?"

Darius stood unmoved, his expression blank, black eyes fixed on Trayton. His white hair hung long and straight, surrounded by a vivid blue aura from which visible bolts of lightning crackled wildly.

"What spell is this? No matter, you will still die, Vald—" Trayton's taunt was abruptly cut off as a hand clamped over his mouth, forcing him back through the city in a streak of destruction that culminated in a thunderous explosion.

Unmoved, Marcus watched them disappear, then turned back to his son. He picked up Percy's body, the distant sounds of battle echoing through the city, and walked over to where Crelos stood shocked.

Emerging from behind a crumpled wall, Crelos approached hurriedly, his gaze dropping, "…he… I wasn’t strong enough, I couldn’t… I’m sorry, I should have stopped him."

Marcus gently laid his son down, tenderly brushing the hair from Percy’s face. After a silent moment, he stood and consumed a potion from his pouch.

Turning to Crelos, his voice steady, "Take my son from here. If I don’t make it, ensure he reaches his mother."

"I will," Crelos pledged firmly. "I swear on my life he will be returned to her."

"Give me your mana," Marcus extended his hand, his voice firm. "You should know how."

"I do." Crelos grasped Marcus's hand, the ground trembling beneath them from the battle as he focused intensely, channeling his flames into Marcus.

Marcus's wounds visibly began to mend faster. He watched the distant battle, his aura intensifying and his manaforged armor gaining complexity.

With a heavy heart, Marcus swore, "I'm sorry, Percy. I failed you as a father, but I swear to avenge you. That vampyre, and the one who commands him, I'm gonna kill them both."

As Marcus absorbed Crelos's fire mana, he watched the elemental chaos erupt throughout the city. Flames towering against gusts of wind and mountains of ice, while earth trembled and lightning crackled above.