The Path of Ruin-Chapter 108: A Young Monster

He was exhausted. Even lifting his arm, let alone taking a step, was so difficult it felt unbearable. His lungs were burning, and his heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest. After running that much, his senses weren't exactly normal either.

Was he really going to fight without using eon in a state like this?

It had to be a joke…

No, it was definitely a joke.

Something like this was impossible.

For this to be called a 'test', he'd have to be completely insane. Because this was no different from torture.

Maybe he was dreaming?

"Let's begin!

His eyes widened at the sight of Volka's moving figure.

No, this wasn't a dream at all...

This was reality.

"…!"

He dodged the sword coming at him at a diagonal angle by taking a step back in the last second. If he had been just a moment late, he might have been cut in two.

But Kael didn't allow himself even a moment to be shocked. He had to act quickly now that he had created himself an opportunity.

Since the sword looked quite large and heavy, redirecting it must have been difficult. That's why he thought he had managed to create a brief opening for himself with that and wanted to act quickly.

But…

He found the sword right in front of him again. As if to throw everything he'd just thought away, this time it was coming at a horizontal angle.

That's when Kael was certain.

He shouldn't have underestimated this man.

Yes, he could see his movements. Yes, it didn't seem like he was using techniques that would be too difficult for him, but the only reason for that was most likely because this was a 'test', not a real fight.

Volka was someone who was many times stronger than him and had far more combat experience. He shouldn't forget that.

That's why, even with his body this exhausted, he had to carefully choose every muscle he moved. He had to weigh every decision he made.

And he had to do all of this in fractions of a second.

Kael clenched his teeth and quickly crouched down. Like that, he managed to dodge it again. But without staying put, he shifted his position to the opposite side, where Volka would struggle even more to swing his sword.

"Nice!"

He ignored his booming voice. He searched for an opening to attack, but couldn't help his face contorting in frustration as he did so.

This man… was wearing plate armor.

How could he possibly think of inflicting damage on him with bare hands, when he had no weapon and couldn't use eon?

Just then, he saw Volka kick at him and cursed under his breath.

After narrowly dodging the kick, he somersaulted backwards to create some distance between them.

Normally, since his opponent's weapon was a long, massive sword, he would have had to stay as close as possible. However, with the move he just made, he had allowed his opponent to exploit their range advantage.

But… he wanted to catch his breath just a little. Scanning the terrain they were on and checking for anything he could use to his advantage was the best thing he could do.

What he hadn't realized, however, was that he had overlooked how exhausted and battered his body really was.

He did manage to perform the somersault, but when his feet touched the ground again, he struggled so much to maintain his balance that he nearly collapsed.

'Fuck… fuck!'

He tried to move quickly. As he regained his balance, he turned his gaze toward where Volka had been just moments ago. He was certain he wouldn't pass up this opportunity.

And he was right. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

With a huge grin on his face, Volka swung his sword at him in a way that made it nearly impossible to dodge. He had already closed the distance he thought he'd created.

There was no escaping this.

Even though their fight had only just begun, he had already dug his own grave without even realizing it.

His mind racing, he searched for a way out.

Time seemed to slow down. The sword coming at him was much slower than it should have been.

Then…

"Ah."

There was one thing he could try, even if it was risky.

It was his only option.

So, with all his focus on Volka's sword…

Suddenly, he scattered that focus.

"Huh?"

Volka's startled voice echoed in his ears, but he paid it no mind.

As his vision blurred, he let go of his eyelids, which he'd kept wide open until the very end. He lost the strength in his feet as if he'd completely lost his balance. His entire body collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The back of his head struck the earth, but he didn't care about the pain or the dizziness.

What he did was simple.

Right now, he was a sixteen-year-old boy whose body had been pushed to its limits and who had suddenly found himself in the midst of a stressful fight.

No matter how strong his will was, could anyone his age remain composed in such a situation? Could they stay calm without going into shock while a sword stood before their eyes, ready to split them in two?

The answer was no.

And so, he took a gamble.

As if he could no longer bear the shock and the strain on his body, as if his brain had shut down from the overload, he let himself fall to the ground.

It was a foolish idea that would have been useless on a real battlefield, leading to nothing but accepting his death.

However, this… wasn't a real battlefield.

It was a test.

And, precisely for that reason…

It worked.

His focus might have been off, his vision quite blurry…

But he could barely make out the sword Volka had swung at him changing direction mid-air.

Though the wind carried by the sword blew harshly against his face, the blade didn't reach him. Instead, it simply plunged into the ground just a few centimeters from him.

Kael snapped his eyes open. He quickly positioned his feet. Then, using his palms to push off the ground, he propelled himself up as if to stand. As he pushed himself back onto his feet, he could see Volka's wide eyes. But more importantly…

Right now, the sword was stuck in the ground. Under normal circumstances, Volka might have been able to pull it out instantly, but caught off guard in such a situation, he stood little chance of reaching it in time.

He had to abandon his sword.

And that's exactly what he did.

As he quickly released his grip on the sword's hilt, he tried to grab Kael, who was struggling to regain his balance, with all his might. But Kael was prepared for this.

Using the precarious balance he'd managed to maintain, he threw himself to the ground again, this time with a bit more control.

Using his 'puny' body, the very thing Volka had pointed out to belittle him, he slipped between his legs.

Getting behind Volka was the greatest advantage he could gain. He'd finally gotten his chance; he could finally strike back…

But suddenly, his vision went dark.

"Huh?"

A buzzing sound, fainter than he'd ever noticed before but now loud enough to split his head open, filled his ears. As his head spun, he nearly fell. He wasn't just feeling his heartbeat—he could actually hear it.

"Ah…"

He'd reached his limit.

That was the limit of his body.

But...

He didn't want to end it here. He couldn't accept defeat like this.

He bit down on his tongue on purpose. The metallic taste in his mouth and the sharp pain he felt brought a momentary clarity to his mind. And he used that clarity to lift his arm.

As he clenched his fist, he tensed his arm, then drove it as hard as he could into Volka's armor, protected by plate armor.

His punch wasn't exactly weak. There was a surprising amount of power behind it; it truly carried the full force of the adrenaline from his final moments.

Still, it didn't even cause Volka to flinch. There was no damage at all. On the contrary, the one who received damage from that punch was Kael himself.

He could feel a sharp pain in his knuckles from striking something hard, and he couldn't move his arm.

And yet… he smiled.

He had succeeded. He had managed to throw that punch.

Then came the consequences.

As his knees buckled, he finally felt he couldn't breathe at all. All the sounds he could hear grew muffled. The world seemed to spin upside down.

The last thing he saw before everything was swallowed by darkness was the ground he'd fallen flat on his face into.

*******

~thud!

Volka slowly turned around, right towards where the sound had come from.

What he saw was… Kael's body, face down on the ground.

"Oh…"

As his muscles relaxed, he straightened his posture. He tried to close his gaping mouth but couldn't quite manage it. He was stunned. Truly stunned, in fact. So much so that he didn't know what to say.

He swallowed hard. Then, he bent down and checked Kael's pulse.

Even though he was unconscious, his heart was racing like crazy.

"…"

Volka stepped back. He took a deep breath first. Then…

He couldn't stop his lips from curling upwards involuntarily.

What he saw was merely the tip of the iceberg. He had only tested Kael's physical abilities, reflexes, and combat intelligence, and had no idea how he would perform in the other tests.

Yet even these were enough to make the child before him seem no different from a...

"What kind of monster have you created, Hakon...?"

Monster, yes. That was the correct word.

He had no choice but to give Kael a perfect score in every way in his mind.

The fact that he'd managed to dodge multiple sword strikes and make radical choices during the heat of the moment after running nonstop for two and a half hours was enough to show he was different from the others.

Kael had surpassed his expectations in every way.

His willpower was flawless, and his pain tolerance was so high it was as if he couldn't even feel it.

His decision-making speed was almost instantaneous. His analyses and conclusions were spot-on. He had never encountered anyone so aware of their strengths and weaknesses, nor anyone who utilized them so effectively.

He didn't even want to talk about his reflexes.

And he had demonstrated all of this at just sixteen years old, despite exhausting himself to his limits.

As a Follower, his physical capabilities might be slightly higher than those of ordinary humans, but it was still an achievement that couldn't go unrecognized.

After all, he knew Pursuers who couldn't even run for two hours without using eon.

"Heh. 'Monster', you say?"

The familiar voice from behind snapped Volka out of his thoughts. He glanced sideways at his friend, who was standing diagonally behind him, his eyes fixed on his disciple on the ground.

Volka wasn't aware of it, and Hakon wasn't going to say anything either… but it wasn't himself who had created the young monster before them.

He had taught him only the basics in every subject and refrained from teaching him anything else.

Kael's achievements were largely his own doing.

"You might actually be right. Maybe he's something else in human form? Sometimes he does things that are hard to fathom, downright impossible."

Hakon widened his smile after his comment.

"But I suppose that's what makes him interesting. Despite his abnormal potential, he acts more 'human' than most people I've seen, after all."

After those words, he took his eyes off Kael. He turned around and began walking slowly.

"I'll go get the healer. We have a long day ahead of us, and there's a lot we need to do."

With that, Volka let out a slight sigh. He looked once more at Kael, who lay motionless on the ground.

He couldn't imagine what Kael might become in just a few years, unless he fell victim to an unfortunate fate.

Though he was certain of one thing.

By the time Kael became a Seeker, his name would likely be known throughout the entire Empire.