Chapter 128 Chaos and Monsters
Chapter 128 Chaos and Monsters
Kalev stood still for a second, trying to take in what had just happened. Alexander’s decapitated head lay on the ground, eyes still wide in disbelief.
She turned to Iryoku—grinning, already facing the remaining enemies. Her gaze caught the dagger and the glowing white rope wrapped around his hand.
He got his weapon back.
“Father!” Magnus shouted, rushing forward.
“Kill them all!” Vadia snarled, fury twisting her face. She pulled out a handful of poisoned needles, ready to throw them at Iryoku and Kalev—
—but then she noticed something strange.
The crowd.
They were moving slowly, unnaturally, as if caught in a trance.
Her limbs grew heavy. “Wha… what’s—?”
Before she could finish, a flash of wind cut through the air—
SHHHK!
A roaring gust shot from nowhere, slicing through her arm. A shadow passed by.
“AGHH!”
Her severed hand hit the ground, the needles scattering. Above, an eagle made of wind dove from the sky—its body spiraling with razor-sharp currents.
It crashed down in a vertical line, forcing Vadia to dive aside as the creature screamed past her. The wind-bird tore through ranks of warriors and mages—bodies split apart in an instant, blood scattering across the plaza.
Kalev looked up at the creature in shock—recognizing it. Its form was even more magnificent and terrifying than before. Didn’t Ligero killed that beast?
A few hours earlier
Iryoku was sprinting through the mountain forest, his face hard and focused. His mind raced with worry.
Finally out of that fucking binding… First, get out of here and find the girls.
He leapt high—clearing several stories in a single bound—landing silently atop a tree. From branch to branch, he kept moving, a blur among the leaves.
Soon, he reached the outskirts of the city. Knights and warriors patrolled everywhere. He moved through the shadows, slipping past guards unseen, scaling the massive outer wall with ease.
From the top, he scanned the city below. His eyes locked on the far side—toward the bridge.
He climbed down quietly, moving through the shadows until he reached the crop fields where demihuman slaves toiled under watch. Staying low, he crept forward until the bridge came into view—heavily guarded.
He stopped. The bridge was crawling with soldiers and mages, and a large section near the middle had been lifted, cutting the passage clean. Beyond that, he could barely make out the opposite side.
“Damn it…” he muttered. “They probably have guards over there too.”
He scanned the area, jaw tight. What to do…
Turning away, he darted toward the island’s far edge, avoiding patrols with silent precision. Finally, he reached the other shoreline. The dark lake stretched before him, vast and quiet.
“The only way now is to swim.”
He cracked his neck and stretched, preparing to dive in—then froze.
A heavy chill crawled down his spine. Danger. Something massive lurked below.
“What the hell…” He peered into the dark waters—and saw a shadow move.
“Oh, great. That thing again,” he muttered. The image of the lake monster devouring one of the slave women flashed in his mind.
He backed away, thinking fast. He began to move along the shoreline, trying to find another way out. Desperation crept in.
Do I really need to kill my way out?
He glanced at the sword at his hip.
It won’t work—not without my harpoon and daggers.
Suddenly, his eyes darted downward. Movement.
He froze mid-step, crouched low, and hid his presence, scanning the sky above.
The sun glared down. Something moved across it—
and he smirked.
A moment later, he sprinted up the island’s highest cliff and leapt to the top, raising both hands.
A massive wind eagle descended beside him, talons digging into the stone. The creature was larger now, sharper—its body humming with power. Orn.
It dropped something at his feet.
Iryoku grinned. His harpoon and twin daggers—returned.
He looked the bird straight in the eyes. “Are you girls alright?”
Orn nodded its eagle head. Relief washed over him; the weight on his chest eased.
He reached out and brushed his hand over the wind-forged feathers.
Oh… I can actually touch you? I didn’t know that.
Then his expression hardened. “There’s someone I want to kill.”
He met Orn’s glowing eyes.
“And a couple of people I want to help.”
Back to the present
The ground shook.
Iryoku moved like a shadow—grabbing Alexander’s corpse and hurling it toward Magnus. The dead body slammed into the oncoming chains, disrupting the attack.
As the chains coiled around the corpse, Iryoku vanished—then reappeared directly in front of Magnus with impossible speed.
Panic flared in Magnus’s eyes. He conjured a shield of chains and leapt backward, but he could still feel death coming for him.
He fumbled in his pocket, pulled out the small vial Sigil had given him, and smashed it to his lips—draining it in a single desperate gulp.
Power exploded through him. The chains came alive, thrashing violently, his aura surging darker and heavier.
Vadia followed suit, yanking out her remaining vial.
“Aargh!” she screamed as energy ripped through her veins. Her missing limb twitched, burned—then the flesh near her neck turned a sickly gray.
She stumbled back, dragging nearby knights with her. “What’s going on!? Move, you idiots!”
But the knights barely reacted—their movements sluggish, eyes blank, entranced.
Her gaze snapped to the raised platform—the stage.
Laila and the performers.
The slaves kept playing, faces empty, lost in rhythm.
All except Laila.
Laila’s eyes burned—cold and furious. Her voice climbed higher, forcing the trance deeper into the crowd.
Vadia froze.
"It’s you."
Iryoku watched Magnus’s body twist, his skin turning dark gray, power roaring through him.
He frowned. Then shouted to Kalev:
“Move, puss—save them! I’ll kill this bastard!”
Kalev blinked, snapping back to herself. She saw Iryoku’s back, his aura flaring like a black sun. For a split second, her vision overlapped with a memory of the real Kalev—eyes full of determination.
She turned and dashed toward the burning flesh cocoons, her sword flashing bright.
Chains shattered under her blade; the heavy spheres toppled from the platform, rolling out of the fire. She rushed to the caged children and sliced the locks.
“Quickly, kids! Run!”
Suddenly—CRASH!
Glass shattered above. Kalev spun toward the crowd of entranced citizens and spotted someone standing atop a two-story building.
A loud, manic laugh echoed through the plaza.
“Hahahahahaha!”
It was Laila—her real body.
Naked.
Even Iryoku and Magnus, locked in battle, turned toward her.
Vadia—already on the performance platform where the black-dressed Laila had been—froze, poison needles in hand.
“Two Lailas…” she whispered.
“This is my last performance, dear masters…”
The Laila before Vadia screeched, her voice twisting into a magical resonance that froze Vadia’s body in place.
Even in her empowered state, Vadia couldn’t move.
“I’m taking all of you with me!”
The other Laila screamed, her voice cutting through the chaos like a blade—powerful, beautiful, and full of madness.