Heaven Breaker: SSS Rank Tiger Evolution-Chapter 53: Degenerate love

The silvery moon hung high in the sky, storm clouds passing before it from time to time, alternately hiding and revealing its pale light.

"Everyone should be asleep... it’s time to act."

I said as I threw myself from the top of one of the castle towers, my feet connecting with the snow-covered ground in a delicate, smooth motion.

Step by step, I headed toward the castle’s exit and soon crossed it without a care.

"Stealthy escape mission, successfully completed!" I laughed cheerfully.

"Unbelievable, but somehow expected..."

However, the moment I passed through the entrance, my senses sharpened as I felt a gaze fall upon me.

’Shit...’

"You never change, big brother," Gravis sighed, leaning against the wall. "Always sneaking off on nighttime adventures no one would approve of. Wasn’t it enough to worry our late mother? Do you really need to worry all of us who care about you too?"

Sigh.

I stopped amid the snow, my face becoming as cold as the ground beneath my feet.

"That’s exactly why I go out at night. That way, no one worries. I’ll be back before anyone even notices I was gone."

Gravis let out a deep sigh.

"You’re that confident in your victory? Aren’t you afraid that death’s scythe might be waiting just around the corner? Don’t you think about us, who would have to bury a body torn apart by some random beast? Don’t you think about our pain and suffering if you die? Do you really want to make us suffer that much?"

My face remained frozen.

"Don’t try to hold me back by using your emotions as an excuse. Don’t try to make me feel guilty for doing exactly what everyone knew I would do."

I turned and stared deeply into Gravis’s eyes, making him flinch—my gaze as deep and empty as the abyss.

"Why should I even care about your emotions? I’m not responsible for your feelings, Gravis. Nor for Raiden’s, Laxus’s, the Mad King’s, Agnes’s, or even Euphy’s."

I began walking toward him, one step at a time, once again making him swallow nervously.

"Tell me, Gravis—who among you was forced to love me? Who was compelled to grow attached to me? Didn’t you know from the very beginning that I walk the earthly path? Didn’t you know it’s a path filled with treacherous, selfish demons who constantly put their lives on the line? If, knowing all that, you still chose to cling to me, then you can only blame yourself. I owe nothing to you—or to anyone."

"..."

Gravis lowered his gaze, his hands gripping his clothes tightly.

"I didn’t choose," he said through clenched teeth. "I’m your family. We’re brothers... we’re supposed to face adversity together. It’s only natural... it’s only natural. No matter what I do, I’ll always like you and admire you because you’re my older brother."

"..."

I sighed, holding back a laugh, my eyes returning to their usual sparkle as I placed my hands behind my neck.

"Oh heavens. You’ve been spending far too much time with humans." I laughed lightly. "I don’t think there’s anything natural about that. In fact, it’s pretty strange and weird for a tiger to act that way."

"Shut up," he muttered, on the verge of tears. "Don’t tell me what I should or shouldn’t feel. If I’m the only one responsible for my emotions, then it’s only fair that I judge what I can or can’t feel. You don’t have the right to mock me."

"Sure, sure," I waved dismissively. "Anyway, I might die before dawn or be reborn by the afternoon. Wish me luck!"

I took a step forward as Gravis merely waved back.

"Come back safely—and try not to die, please..."

I just laughed in response as I used consecutive [ Quick Step ] bursts, vanishing into the forest like a ghost.

Trees and animals blurred past me.

Quickly, I began orienting myself toward Shattered Sky, which wasn’t all that far by demonic standards.

The truth was that both Euphy and I had taken too many detours and traveled at mortal speed...

Still, it was a considerable distance to go and return within a single day, which was my plan—unless, of course, you had a private jet in a fantasy world.

Which was unthinkable.

Or maybe not.

I laughed.

Taking a deep breath, I stirred my Primordial Force and lifted off, my body shooting rapidly toward the skies.

’First gear.’

Almost instantly, my feet ignited with flames, propelling me forward as my speed accelerated to frightening levels.

’Second gear.’

But this wasn’t the limit. I immediately infused even more air into my flames, turning them from orange to a deep blue.

BOOOOM

’Third gear.’

My body shot across Axel so fast that the entire scenery became completely indistinguishable, except for faint streaks of color from the sky, forests, and lakes.

’I hope the general direction is right...’ I thought, trying to avoid mistakes.

Before long, the sky began turning red, making me sigh in relief.

Even so, the heavens took on a macabre appearance.

The moon no longer shone with sublime beauty, instead bearing a ruined face, fragments scattered across the sky.

For some degenerate reason, the sun glowed faintly beside it, ignoring its natural cycle, as if immersed in infinite pain—cracks covering its surface, what looked like blood flowing from them.

BOOM

I landed on the ground like a comet, leaving a blazing trail behind me and awakening the seemingly dormant environment.

Bloody mist quickly enveloped me, beginning to poison my body.

"This is annoying, but unfortunately I still haven’t learned how to deal with the mist, unlike the locals."

I sighed as I walked through the poisonous fog, simply accepting the constant poisoning.

As long as I didn’t enter areas where it was too dense, it was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

Soon, I found myself in a battlefield—dozens of swords, axes, and spears embedded in the ground.

White rats covered the terrain, analyzing me from head to toe with their red eyes.

I smiled when I saw, ahead of me, a large, fat rat with unmistakable red fur.

I stopped a little over ten meters away from the Rat King, his eyes studying me with curiosity.

The Rat King’s body contracted as he laughed.

"I didn’t expect to meet you again," he said, somehow recognizing me. "But it’s rather opportune. You know, there’s been something hammering at my mind for a long time."

"Royal Guard!" he suddenly summoned his most loyal servants without malicious intent.

Soon, they lined up in front of me, each one with a different color.

I recognized most of them, but one caught my attention—I didn’t recognize it, yet I felt a familiar energy coming from it.

Strange.

"Look at this," the Rat King continued. "These are lightning, shadow, fire, ice, and love. Each one of my beloved children." He introduced them one by one.

Except for one.

That strange one.

He laughed again.

"For a long time, my conscience weighed heavily on me. I needed to show gratitude—I needed to thank you."

He said, somewhat breathless.

"You led me to Vlad’s army, granting me an opportunity I had long desired. But as if that weren’t enough! You even killed his army and Vlad himself for me!"

"What does that mean?" I asked expressionlessly. "I certainly killed them for the village, and that has nothing to do with you. Still... what is this?"

"Don’t be hasty! I’ll tell you..." he cackled. "You killed them and went off celebrating with the cultivators... but do you know something? After every battle, there are bodies. Many bodies. Rotting, releasing terrible smells."

I frowned as his laughter grew louder.

"No one wanted to clean them up... so the cultivators offered the bodies to me."

"Unbelivable."I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

"Vlad’s flesh and that of his soldiers was burned and damaged, but it still carried a small, precious fragment that, when united piece by piece like a puzzle... allowed me to have one more beloved child—my newest newborn."

A blood-red rat stepped forward, the energy around it resembling Vlad’s.

"Blood, my beloved youngest son. He is everything I ever wanted. Everything Vlad was—now belongs to me!"

"I can only thank you, thank you so much! I’m your fan! I love you!"

He laughed insanely while all I could do was sigh.

"Nonsense..."

The omnipresent mist began to stir at the small rat’s command, attempting to poison me even more.

Yet it didn’t take much imagination to know this was only the beginning.

The rats would soon multiply, and the mist would grow dense enough to crystallize.

"I thought long and hard!" the rat continued. "What the hell should I do with this endless love I feel? How can I repay you?! But I finally found the answer!"

His eyes widened as the rats began to stir and multiply.

"Integration! Integration! Integration! I’ll devour you—every piece savored delicately until the end—and then I’ll turn you into one of us! You’ll be reborn as one of my children! Isn’t it divine grace? Isn’t it wonderful?! You will be integrated into us!"

He laughed with repulsive insanity as the rats multiplied faster and faster, the Love Myriad Rat accelerating the process even further.

Pink rats spread through the ranks.

Black rats followed, increasing the multiplication even more and strengthening the common Myriad Rats.

White rats surrounded me on all sides, taking the vanguard, planning to crush me with sheer numbers.

Meanwhile—

Yellow rats, orange rats, and blue rats multiplied incessantly, surrounding me as their bodies glowed with their respective colors.

They occupied all areas above and below the trees, taking strategic positions.

Finally, the blood-red rats multiplied around the king, exerting a pulling force over the mist—each new rat increasing the mist’s attraction even further.

I remained stoic, despite being surrounded on all sides.

"Soldiers! Royal Guard!" the Rat King screamed with clear madness.

"Kill him! Attack! Attack!!! Hahaha"

Millions of rats surged toward me, swallowing me like a tidal wave.

This scenario was the worst possible.

Even, so...

I grinned widely, feeling death’s scythe at my neck.

"I’ve missed a battle like this."