The wraith's eyes turned to me after disemboweling the Deathwalker through her throat.

Ah, shit.

I activated transcendence and blood acceleration just as it pounced on me. Despite my buffs, the creature was still quick and took a chunk out of my right arm as I dodged, ripping through the defenses of my uniform.

I winced but held my ground. I decided to keep my three buffs running to survive.

The wraith is more dangerous than the daemon as it possesses the body of a Deathwalker who is probably higher ranked than me and the daemon I just killed.

Sparks flew as my daggers blocked the razor-sharp claws of the wraith as it unleashed a powerful swipe at me.

I grunted and the force pushed me back. I almost slipped down due to the bloody and slick snow.

The wraith pounced on me with a primal ferocity and brought down its claws. I flipped one dagger into a reverse grip and met the attack.

My blood tentacle sneaked behind the creature and stabbed it in the back. However, the wraith was unfazed and continued its savage assault.

Fortunately, I wasn't getting pushed back. Sure, numerous wounds were appearing all over my body but I was able to parry and deflect almost all of the wraith's attacks.

The wraith may possess the power of the Deathwalker it had possessed but is not using the young man's skills. It is fighting more like an animal than a skilled soldier.

And when it comes down to skills, I stand at the top.

Using transcendence I was able to see the attacks and respond accordingly. My white daggers became a blur as I gradually increased the speed of my attacks.

I coated my daggers with a thin and sharp layer of rapidly moving ardor to inflict more damage and sure enough, deep wounds began to appear on the wraith's body.

Unfortunately, the creature is too focused on ripping off my extremely handsome face to respond to the wounds forming on its body.

I need to make some distance to pin it to the ground.

I gritted my teeth and focused on the space between us. My area of influence may have grown over the past three weeks but it is still small.

So I can only use Blood Grenade three times a day.

This is my last chance so I need to act smartly.

This is going to be painful.

I leaned forward and relaxed a bit to close the distance between me and the wraith.

The detestable creature took the chance and broke through my wall of blades. It gnashed its teeth and sank its black claws into my shoulders.

My upper body felt like it was on fire and I let out a cry of agony. But I endured it and looked the wraith in the eyes.

"Wanna eat my face? How you gonna do that without a mouth?!", I yelled and activated the code between us.

{Haema: Blood Grenade}

The powerful explosion of blood blew me away and I landed hard on the bloody snow. I wheezed and my chest throbbed.

At the moment of the explosion, I channeled ardor on my chest, enforcing it and protecting me from the blast.

But even with that, I feel like I broke a few ribs. It is painful but I can manage.

I quickly got to my feet and took out the iron stake from my bracelet. I donned the Flare glove on my left hand and looked ahead for any sign of the wraith.

The crimson smoke cleared and I saw the wraith. I winced at its poor condition.

A major chunk of its chest was missing and I could see its beating heart through the mangled bones and flesh, its lower jaw was almost gone, hanging by a thread, and its face was so damaged it made the daemons look like models.

And those guys don't have a fucking face.

My blood tentacle wrapped around the stake and I gripped my daggers as I willed ardor into my legs.

As a result of my constant training, both in the real world and Eravon's dream world, I can now maintain transcendence, blood acceleration, and body enhancement at the same time for fifteen minutes.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

I call this my Triquetra state.

Man, am I good at names!

Anyway.

I leaned forward with my daggers and stake ready to take on the daemon when a familiar chill ran down my back and my instincts screamed at me.

Shit!

Before I could even move, a spear-sized arrow pierced through my abdomen and went through my body.

Those fucking daemons!

It appears that the arrow was shot by a very high-ranked daemon as I didn't see it coming even in my transcendent state.

It was as if a hole just appeared on my body.

Blood gushed out of the wound with some fleshy bits and I lost concentration. My blood tentacle splashed into the snow and my daggers almost fell off my hands.

The pain was intense like molten metal seeping into my body.

I stumbled forward but stopped at the last second. I gritted my teeth, stopped blood acceleration, and focused on healing the unexpected and unnecessary hole in my person.

I heard a noise and looked ahead. My eyes widened.

The wraith stood right in front of me, frozen at the spot with a black arrow sticking out of its body.

By some weird luck, the same arrow that pierced me hit the wraith it pounced on me as I was stumbling.

Huh. Weird luck.

But I didn't waste this opportunity. I quickly picked up the stake and rushed at the wraith.

With a yell, I crashed into the creature and we tumbled into the bloody snow. In a single fluid motion, I drove the stake into the wraith.

The unholy creature began to howl and thrash on the bloody ground, throwing me off its body.

With pain flaring all over my body, I got up and prepared to light the wraith up.

That's when a large shadow fell on me.

"Shit.", I swore as my eyes went up to the large daemon wielding a halberd looking down on me.

It raised its weapon to kill me when I heard the roar of flames.

Suddenly, a flaming sword sprouted out of the daemon's chest and it stopped moving.

"Heads up Mordred!.", a familiar figure appeared in the air right in front of the daemon and delivered a powerful flaming kick.

The daemon was launched high in the air and exploded midair in a ball of darkness. The crimson smoke wailed and dissipated as it failed to enter someone.

The sword that killed the daemon fell from the sky and was caught by the brown-eyed young man with obsidian hair who just saved me.

Damien landed gracefully beside me and helped me up.

He winced at my condition, "Damn. They really did a number on you."

I gave a painful smile, "At least you look better."

His obsidian hair was disheveled and numerous cuts marred his body but he was in a far better state than I am.

I pointed at the thrashing wraith, "I almost got one."

Damien looked at the wild wraith and furrowed his eyebrows, "Mordred. You didn't strike the heart. That's the diaphragm."

"It was?", I frowned and looked closely at the wraith.

Ah. He was right. I missed the heart.

Pinning a wraith by the heart restricts its movements and prevents regeneration. Due to my mistake, the wraith has now fully healed and is attempting to pull out the stake.

Good thing I drove it really deep into the ground.

The battle raged all around as Damien helped me walk to the struggling and screaming wraith.

"You want me to do this?", he asked me in a grim tone.

I know what he meant. Burning the wraith is the same as burning the person and subjecting him to one of the worst deaths.

For a kid like me, doing something like that could have dire effects on my psyche.

But I am not a kid. I am a battle-hardened veteran, a villain in the body of the child, I am not that fragile.

I shook my head, "I will have to do it sooner or later."

With Damien's support, I stood over the wraith, wailing and gnashing its teeth at me, ready to eviscerate my body as soon as the stake was removed.

Damien stepped on the stake that was half out, driving it straight back into the body and into the ground. The wraith wailed in agony.

That will remain in my nightmares.

I looked at the wraith with pity, "I'm sorry."

Soon after that, all emotions left me as I snapped my fingers, and the Flare Gloves unleashed a raging inferno on the wraith.

The flames caught quickly and the wraith's screams intensified. It quickly changed into the agonized screams of the Deathwlaker as the blue flames melted his flesh and blackened the exposed bone.

"WHY?!", he screamed at me, his burning eyes looking into mine, desperately hoping that I would extinguish the flames.

But it was in vain.

Damien tried to move me but I stayed in my spot, my eyes fixed on the Deathwalker who stopped struggling and whose screams faded with a final whimper.

The strong smell of burning flesh assaulted my enhanced nose but I didn't turn away from the horrifying scene.

This is something that I must do regularly. I cannot avert my eyes from this inhuman and heinous action of mine.

I must accept it.

The flames weakened and I looked down on the smoldering remains of the person I burned alive. I clenched my fist.

What a disgusting feeling.

Whoever you are. You are free to hate me and curse me for what I did to you. I am the one who mercilessly burned away your life in the most painful way possible.

I know what I did and will do in the future will never be forgiven. But even so...

"I am sorry."