What met Caine was a field of destruction. The once peaceful and warm camp had become a chaotic battlefield where Jamie’s people clashed against strange, grotesque humanoid creatures of flesh and bone.
Caine’s gaze immediately narrowed.
’Abominations.’
In his past life, the Three Realms had been in a constant state of war, battling countless forces and races, with some of the strongest being these same entities—abominations.
Nova, the entity who had once enslaved Caine as a child, had been from this race.
’So they exist here as well. Interesting.’ He began to walk toward the chaos. ’They always have a pack leader… let’s see.’
His sharp gaze scanned the battlefield, quickly analyzing each abomination. His attention locked on one that appeared indistinguishable from a regular human.
It was a tall young woman with long, curly, vibrant green hair, her piercing emerald pupils glowing with an unnatural intensity. She wore tight-fitting leather that hugged her curves, the black lipstick on her plump lips accentuating her fiendish grin.
Her gaze locked with Caine’s, and her grin widened. She flicked her reptilian tongue across her lips, her body radiating predatory glee as she shot forward in a blur.
"Not here," Caine muttered, taking a single step forward and vanishing.
When they reappeared, they were in a vast and empty plain, far from the previous battlefield.
The abomination leader, Lady Emerys, stumbled slightly, her eyes narrowing in confusion. She didn’t understand how Caine had managed to teleport them so far without her being able to react.
Her gaze hardened, and she immediately shot backward, her wand swirling in her hand as she summoned countless runes. The air vibrated as these runes formed layered formations in front of her.
The world quaked as clones of her began to appear, circling Caine. Within moments, a torrent of chaotic qi gathered around him, slowing the flow of his own qi and clouding his qi perception.
’I see.’
Such tactics might have worked on someone else, but Caine’s evolved senses rendered them meaningless. How could an entity like her, even an abomination, hope to muddle his perception?
’She’s tainting the qi around her with her blood, converting it into atmospheric abomination qi. With this, she hopes to slow me down and use these clones as a distraction for…’
His gaze shifted upward, piercing through the clouds to locate her true body. ’…that.’
Caine shook his head. His arcane ring manifested behind him, its oppressive force causing his robes to flutter lightly. Continue your adventure at freewebnovel
Extending a palm, he tapped the air. The fabric of the tainted qi around him shattered instantly, dissolving into waves of broken energy. With a flick of his wrist, the chaotic qi condensed into intricate runes. But instead of forming a formation, the runes seeped into the fabric of space itself.
Caine’s hand clenched into a fist. A deafening BOOM! echoed as all of Emerys’ clones exploded simultaneously, crushed under the weight of the distorted space.
But Emerys had anticipated this. The remnants of her clones broke down into swirling emerald currents, forming a portal from which hordes of abominations began to surge forth.
Caine smiled faintly. "Sure."
He waved a hand, and his own army of summons appeared, surging to meet the onslaught.
As his summons battled the abominations below, Caine stomped the ground, leaving a crater in his wake as he ascended into the skies. His wings erupted from his back, spreading wide as he faced Emerys high above.
With one arm clasped behind his back, he looked at her with calm detachment, his gaze serene yet mocking.
"You huma—"
Caine shook his head, cutting her off. "No talking. Attack or die."
To punctuate his words, his leg blurred, sending a compressed projectile of qi rocketing toward Emerys. The impact sent her careening through the air, her body crashing into the ground below.
"I guess I’ll have to be a little violent."
Caine’s wings flapped, and he shot down toward her, grabbing her by the hair. With a sharp twist, he slammed her into the earth, creating a crater beneath them. Lifting her from the rubble, he drove his head into hers, fracturing her skull.
His eyes glowed, and beams of searing plasma erupted from them, burning into her chest and charring her flesh. He hurled her into the air, summoning an array of ice spears that tore into her body before detonating, encasing her in a crystalline prison of frost.
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Runes erupted across the surface of the ice, triggering a chain reaction of explosions.
Each detonation transformed the chaotic qi into broken runes, which further exploded in a relentless cascade.
BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!
Emerys screamed, her form disintegrating before reconstructing into her true self—a massive, grotesque amalgamation of flesh, bone, and countless inhuman eyes.
Caine remained unimpressed. His True Will condensed into a spear, its sharpness palpable even to Emerys.
With a single slash of his spear, the world seemed to freeze. For a moment, there was silence.
Then…
SHURRRRRRRRRR!
The skies split apart as the world itself was cleaved in half.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Caine’s True Will blanketed the battlefield, silencing all resistance. He descended gracefully, his summons retreating in unison.
Standing before the remains of Emerys’ shattered form, he murmured softly:
"…[Nameless Call]…"
Her mangled body reformed into a summon, now bound to Caine’s will. With an air of indifference, he turned and began his journey back to the camp. His expression remained calm, though his mind processed everything with sharp clarity.
To say Priestess Enya’s healing had been miraculous was an understatement. Thanks to her efforts, Caine could now fully wield his cursed and blessed power.
’Decent,’ he mused, nodding to himself. ’Still more to refine, though. On another note, it would be unfortunate if anyone died while I was gone.’
His leg muscles tightened as he suddenly exploded with speed, tearing through the air to return to the camp.
***
Caine’s heart sank as he arrived. The battlefield was empty. Blood stained the soil, and shattered weapons littered the ground, but not a single body remained.
’How did they…?’
His gaze shifted, catching movement in the distance. Slowly, he turned, locking eyes with Emerys. Her form had reappeared, her grin stretched wide with a malevolent glee.
"Oh, Lord, you people have a thing for backstabbing, hm?"
Before he could react, sharp pain tore through his chest. Blood began to pool from the fresh wound, soaking his robes. Yet, unlike before, this time, Caine was prepared.
BOOM!