Chapter 117: Forgotten Twin
Clayne looked at the scattered corpses littering the ruined streets before slowly turning his head toward the crimson mantis standing faithfully beside him. The battle had ended so quickly that there was barely any destruction beyond the bodies of the King-Class Beasts now lying across the city blocks. Each corpse still contained an abundance of vitality and spiritual essence, making them far too valuable to leave behind.
He lightly pointed toward the battlefield.
"Go ahead and take everything. Every corpse here belongs to you now. Eat as much as you want because letting all of this rot away would be nothing more than a complete waste."
The crimson mantis immediately raised its dragon-like head before releasing several excited clicking sounds. Through their spiritual connection, Clayne clearly understood the meaning behind those strange cries.
"Master... I’ll happily eat all of them, but I think I also need to learn better fighting skills."
Clayne blinked.
"You?"
The mantis nodded enthusiastically.
"I’ve realized something while watching Master fight. Every movement Master makes is simple, yet every attack reaches its target with unbelievable precision. I have strength, speed, and wind blades, but I mostly rely on instinct. If I learn proper fighting methods like Master, then I should become much stronger."
Clayne scratched his head awkwardly.
To him, he had merely been throwing rocks.
Still, seeing the mantis speak so seriously, he simply nodded.
"We’ll figure something out later. For now, eat."
The mantis no longer hesitated.
It immediately spread its wings before gliding across the ruined streets with astonishing speed.
One enormous King-Class Beast after another was dragged toward its waiting jaws.
Its powerful mandibles crushed bones with crisp cracking sounds.
Its elongated tongue extracted crystal cores with remarkable precision before swallowing them together with flesh and organs alike.
The corpses steadily disappeared.
Each time another King-Class Beast vanished into the mantis’ stomach, faint crimson light briefly flickered across the patterns covering its exoskeleton.
Its aura slowly continued rising.
Far beneath the Corrode Family estate, however, nobody paid attention to that subtle growth.
Every person inside the command chamber had become completely absorbed by the young man who casually commanded such a terrifying creature.
The military officers no longer spoke.
The researchers had stopped discussing biological evolution.
Even the elders remained unusually quiet.
Their attention rested entirely upon the recordings repeatedly replaying across the massive screens.
One recording showed the student casually flicking a pebble.
Another showed King-Class Beasts collapsing one after another.
Yet another displayed the crimson mantis calmly devouring creatures powerful enough to destroy cities.
The atmosphere gradually became heavier.
One elderly researcher finally broke the silence.
"Search every archive."
His voice remained calm, but everyone sensed the urgency hidden beneath it.
"I don’t care whether the records are military, civilian, educational, or biological. Search every database the family possesses."
Immediately, dozens of analysts began operating countless terminals.
Facial recognition programs rapidly activated.
National records.
School records.
Medical records.
Military registries.
Private intelligence networks.
Ancient family archives.
Everything was searched simultaneously.
Minutes passed.
Then one analyst slowly lowered his hands.
"No confirmed match."
Another reported similar findings.
"Nothing."
A third frowned.
"His facial structure feels familiar, yet every comparison returns negative."
An elderly family member slowly rubbed his chin.
"That feeling again..."
He looked toward the enlarged image.
"I could swear I’ve seen this child somewhere."
Another elder quietly nodded.
"It is the same for me."
A military commander folded his arms tightly.
"He knows the Corrode Family."
"He specifically mentioned Clay Corrode."
"He even referred to him as his younger brother."
The command chamber immediately became silent again.
One woman slowly spoke.
"If he truly knows Young Master Clay personally..."
She paused.
"...then why has no record of him ever appeared within the family’s internal databases?"
Nobody answered.
The contradiction made no sense.
The Corrode Family maintained records on every branch descendant, every servant, every distant relative, and even individuals only loosely connected to the household.
Someone capable of defeating King-Class Beasts should never have escaped their notice.
One strategist finally suggested the obvious.
"Summon Lord and Lady Corrode."
The old patriarch slowly nodded.
"They should already be on their way."
Almost immediately afterward, the enormous bronze doors leading into the council chamber slowly opened.
A dignified middle-aged man entered first.
His posture remained straight despite the dozens of powerful gazes focused upon him.
Walking beside him was an elegant woman whose expression remained calm, though confusion could already be seen within her eyes.
The couple respectfully bowed toward the assembled elders.
The patriarch looked directly at them.
"You both have already been informed why you were summoned."
The man slowly nodded.
"We were told there is someone mentioning our son."
The strategist immediately enlarged the captured image of Clayne.
The couple quietly studied the screen.
Several seconds passed.
The man slowly frowned.
"I don’t recognize him."
His wife also shook her head.
"Neither do I."
Another recording played.
Then another.
Different angles.
Different moments.
The couple continued watching.
Still...
Neither of them spoke.
Finally, the father calmly answered.
"No."
"Our family has only one son."
The mother nodded in agreement.
"Clay is our only child."
The elders exchanged uncertain glances.
Then another recording began playing.
This time, everyone heard the young man’s voice once more.
"...I’m already far stronger than my little brother... the golden boy... Clay Corrode..."
Silence.
The mother suddenly froze.
Her pupils slowly contracted.
Her breathing unconsciously became uneven.
The father noticed the subtle change and turned toward her.
She remained staring at the screen.
A forgotten memory slowly surfaced.
Something buried for many years.
Her lips trembled slightly.
The father also seemed to remember something at almost the exact same moment.
Both of them slowly looked toward one another.
Neither spoke immediately.
The surrounding elders patiently waited.
Finally...
The mother lowered her eyes.
Her voice became almost inaudible.
"...We..."
She swallowed.
"...did have another child."
The chamber became deathly silent.
Her fingers slowly clenched together.
"...Clay..."
She closed her eyes briefly before forcing herself to continue.
"...had a twin brother."
The council chamber became so quiet that even the faint hum of the ventilation system seemed unnaturally loud. Every elder remained seated, but the atmosphere had changed completely. Moments earlier, the mysterious young man on the screen had merely been an unknown powerhouse worthy of investigation. Now, after the mother’s hesitant admission, every person in the room understood that the matter had become one involving the Corrode Family itself.
The old patriarch rested both hands upon his cane before speaking in a measured tone.
"...Explain everything."
His voice remained calm, but everyone in the chamber understood it was not a request.
The middle-aged man slowly lowered his head.
"There is nothing we intend to conceal from the family. Since this matter has resurfaced after all these years, it is only proper that we explain it from the beginning."
He paused briefly, gathering his thoughts.
"When the twins were born, both children underwent the family’s standard bloodline examination. As everyone here knows, every newborn of the Corrode Family is evaluated immediately after birth. We examine not only physical aptitude, but also compatibility with the family’s parasitic bloodline, genetic adaptability, future growth potential, and overall synchronization."
The room remained silent.
The father continued.
"The initial examinations shocked everyone."
Several elders slowly nodded.
They still remembered those reports.
"Clay possessed extraordinary compatibility with the family’s parasitic bloodline. Every test exceeded previous records for his generation. His adaptation rate was astonishingly high, and every projection suggested he would become one of the greatest talents our family had produced in centuries."
One researcher quietly added from memory.
"His synchronization exceeded ninety-eight percent."
The father nodded.
"Yes."
He slowly looked toward the frozen image of Clayne displayed upon the enormous screen.
"His brother..."
He paused again.
"...was different."
The mother quietly continued in his place.
"Clayne’s compatibility was extremely poor."
Her voice remained steady, though a trace of regret lingered beneath it.
"The family’s parasite barely responded to him. Every cultivation simulation predicted slow growth, limited synchronization, and very little long-term potential."
Several elders remembered the reports.
One quietly murmured,
"I remember now..."
"The younger twin’s numbers were among the lowest ever recorded."
The mother slowly nodded.
"That was the conclusion reached at the time."
The father continued.
"Initially, the family intended to raise both children equally despite the difference in talent. After all, even a less talented descendant remained a member of the Corrode Family."
He stopped for a brief moment.
"Then..."
"...another discovery was made."
The atmosphere gradually became heavier.
The father looked toward the old patriarch.
"Further research revealed something unprecedented."
The researchers present quietly lowered their heads.
"The parasites within the twins displayed an unexpected interaction."
He slowly continued.
"When Clay’s bloodline matured slightly, we discovered that his parasite possessed an extremely rare trait."
The chamber remained completely silent.
"It could absorb biological potential from its twin."
Several expressions changed.
The mother quietly finished the explanation.
"It did not merely consume ordinary nutrients."
"It consumed compatibility."
"It consumed bloodline potential."
"It strengthened itself by drawing from Clayne."
An elderly researcher slowly closed his eyes.
"The reports stated that maintaining both bloodlines simultaneously produced diminishing returns."
Another researcher nodded.
"The stronger parasite continuously absorbed the weaker one."
The father spoke again.
"As long as Clayne remained nearby, Clay’s bloodline continued improving."
Several family members quietly remembered those years.
The medical observations.
The laboratory reports.
The endless meetings.
The difficult discussions.
The father sighed.
"Eventually..."
"...Clay’s bloodline reached complete maturity."
"The examinations confirmed that no additional benefit could be obtained."
"The absorption had effectively reached its limit."
The chamber remained silent.
The mother lowered her gaze.
"After that..."
"...the family gradually stopped paying attention to Clayne."
She did not attempt to justify it.
She merely stated the facts as she remembered them.
"No further research required his participation."
"No further examinations were scheduled."
"He was permitted to live as he wished."
The father’s voice grew quieter.
"He rarely involved himself with the family."
"He eventually requested permission to leave."
The old patriarch interrupted.
"And?"
The father answered honestly.
"We granted it."
Several younger family members looked surprised.
The father continued.
"At that point, everyone believed his future had little connection to the family’s plans."
"He possessed poor compatibility."
"His bloodline had already served its purpose."
"He wished to live independently."
"There appeared to be no reason to stop him."
Silence settled over the chamber once more.
Finally, the mother quietly added the last piece.
"To avoid unnecessary attention from rival families..."
"...his records were removed from the family’s active archives."
Another elder corrected gently.
"They weren’t merely archived."
The father nodded slowly.
"No."
"They were completely erased."
His eyes remained fixed upon Clayne’s image on the screen.
"Every public record."
"Every internal profile."
"Every reference identifying him as a Corrode Family descendant."
"We erased them."
The chamber fell into complete silence.
No one had expected that the forgotten twin, whose existence had been deliberately removed from the family’s records years earlier, would one day reappear standing alone in a ruined city...
...displaying strength capable of effortlessly killing King-Class Beasts.