Chapter 145: The Demon Within
Kael stood motionless.
The forest had gone completely silent.
A moment ago, the fourth floor had been filled with the sounds of battle. The cries of monsters, the cracking of bones, the impact of fists against flesh.
Now there was nothing.
Kael’s breathing was the only sound he could hear.
He slowly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"That can’t be good."
A deep growl rolled through the forest again.
This time, it was closer.
Kael’s expression became serious.
His body was exhausted.
His muscles were screaming.
His wounds were beginning to catch up with him.
Without mana, he couldn’t heal himself or reinforce his body.
Yet something inside him was telling him to run.
Not because he was afraid.
Because whatever was approaching was dangerous.
Kael lowered his stance.
His eyes scanned the darkness between the trees.
Nothing.
Then—
A tree exploded.
BOOM!
Kael jumped backward as a massive creature burst through the vegetation.
It was enormous.
Four meters tall.
Its body was covered in thick black fur, with two massive horns protruding from its head. Its arms were disproportionately large, each ending in claws capable of tearing through stone.
Kael stared at it.
"...What the hell is that?"
The creature roared.
The sound shook the entire forest.
Kael felt something stir inside him.
His demonic instincts.
They were reacting to the monster.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Almost excitement.
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
Why am I feeling like this?
The creature charged.
Kael immediately moved.
BOOM!
The ground exploded where he had been standing.
Kael flipped backward and landed on a tree branch.
The monster looked up.
Kael smiled.
"You’re strong."
The creature jumped.
Kael leaped away.
The monster grabbed the tree and ripped it out of the ground.
Kael’s eyes widened.
"Okay."
He landed.
"Very strong."
The monster charged again.
Kael met it head-on.
His fist collided with its claw.
BOOM!
Kael’s arm went numb.
He was pushed backward several meters.
He stared at his hand.
That strength...
The monster attacked again.
Kael ducked beneath its claws.
He struck its ribs.
BANG!
The monster barely moved.
It swung its other arm.
Kael blocked.
BOOM!
He was sent flying.
Kael crashed into a tree.
The trunk cracked behind him.
He dropped to the ground.
Pain spread across his back.
He slowly stood.
His breathing became heavier.
The monster was stronger than anything he’d fought on this floor.
And unlike the previous creatures, this one wasn’t merely testing his adaptability.
It was forcing him to survive.
Kael grinned.
"Finally."
The monster charged.
Kael charged too.
Their fists collided.
BOOM!
Kael’s body shook.
The creature swung again.
Kael ducked.
He struck its stomach.
The monster grabbed him.
Kael’s eyes widened.
It lifted him off the ground.
Then—
BOOM!
It slammed him into the ground.
Kael coughed.
The creature raised its foot.
Kael rolled away.
The stomp shattered the earth.
Kael jumped to his feet.
He rushed forward.
Punch.
Elbow.
Knee.
Kick.
The monster blocked most of them.
The few that connected barely caused damage.
Kael’s movements became faster.
More unpredictable.
He stopped thinking about individual attacks.
His body simply moved.
His instincts took over.
Infinite Adaptation quietly continued doing what it had always done.
It observed.
It learned.
It adjusted.
There was no switch to turn on.
No command.
No limit.
It was simply part of Kael.
Every attack that nearly hit him taught his body something.
Every movement he experienced became another piece of information.
Every mistake disappeared from his next exchange.
Kael suddenly ducked beneath a claw before the monster even began swinging.
He paused.
I knew that was coming.
The creature attacked again.
Kael stepped aside.
Again.
Kael moved before the attack fully developed.
His eyes widened slightly.
I’m adapting faster.
The monster roared.
It became more aggressive.
Kael’s smile widened.
"Come on."
The creature attacked.
Kael dodged.
Countered.
Dodged.
Countered.
The fight slowly began changing.
The monster was still stronger.
But Kael was becoming harder to hit.
He was learning the creature’s rhythm.
Its breathing.
Its footwork.
The way its shoulders shifted before an attack.
The slight movement of its hips before it changed direction.
Everything.
Kael was adapting.
Then something strange happened.
His vision darkened.
For half a second, the forest disappeared.
He saw something else.
A throne.
A massive black throne surrounded by flames.
Someone was sitting on it.
Kael couldn’t see the person’s face.
But he could feel the overwhelming pressure.
Then—
The vision disappeared.
Kael stumbled.
"What...?"
The monster attacked.
Kael barely dodged.
Its claws grazed his cheek.
Blood appeared.
Kael touched the wound.
His fingers trembled.
What was that?
Another vision flashed.
A battlefield.
Bodies.
Black flames.
A crown.
And a pair of crimson eyes staring directly at him.
Kael’s breathing stopped.
Then the vision vanished.
The monster roared.
Kael looked at it.
Something inside him answered.
His pupils narrowed.
His heartbeat became heavier.
His demonic instincts were no longer whispering.
They were screaming.
Kill it.
Kael froze.
The thought wasn’t his.
Or at least...
It didn’t feel like his.
Kill.
The voice echoed again.
Kael clenched his fists.
"No."
The monster charged.
Kael dodged.
His body moved naturally.
The creature swung.
Kael blocked.
He countered.
But his expression had changed.
The excitement he normally felt during battle was becoming something darker.
He wanted to fight.
He wanted to overpower the creature.
He wanted to see its blood.
Kael’s smile slowly widened.
"Interesting."
He didn’t stop himself.
The monster attacked again.
Kael stepped inside its reach.
He grabbed its arm.
Twisted.
CRACK!
The monster roared.
Kael’s fist slammed into its face.
BANG!
The creature staggered.
Kael followed.
Another punch.
Another.
Another.
His attacks became brutal.
There was no elegance.
No technique.
No wasted movement.
Just raw violence.
The monster swung wildly.
Kael caught the fist.
His fingers dug into its flesh.
"You’re strong."
He pulled the creature closer.
"But..."
His smile became almost feral.
"...you’re not strong enough."
Kael headbutted it.
BANG!
The monster stumbled.
Kael kicked its knee.
The creature dropped.
Kael grabbed one of its horns.
He slammed its head into the ground.
BOOM!
The monster roared.
Kael did it again.
BOOM!
Again.
BOOM!
The creature finally managed to push him away.
Kael slid backward.
His chest rose and fell.
His body was exhausted.
But he felt strangely alive.
His blood was pumping.
His heart was racing.
And somewhere deep inside him...
something was enjoying this.
Kael stared at his hands.
This isn’t me.
He knew that.
Or at least he wanted to believe it.
His demonic side had always been there.
He had felt it before.
But every time it appeared, he pushed it down.
He treated his demonic power as another ability.
Something he could use when necessary.
Something separate from himself.
But Xavier had told him otherwise.
"Stop limiting yourself."
Kael closed his eyes.
He remembered those words.
He had always thought Xavier was talking about his power.
Maybe he wasn’t.
Maybe he was talking about this.
The part of Kael he refused to acknowledge.
The monster charged again.
Kael opened his eyes.
This time, there was no hesitation.
He moved.
The creature’s claw passed beside his head.
Kael grabbed its wrist.
He twisted.
The creature swung its other arm.
Kael ducked.
His fist drove into its stomach.
BOOM!
The monster bent forward.
Kael grabbed its head.
He pulled it down.
His knee slammed into its face.
BANG!
The creature fell.
Kael stood over it.
His breathing was calm.
His eyes were darker than before.
The monster tried to rise.
Kael stepped forward.
The creature roared.
Kael smiled.
"Stay down."
It attacked.
Kael moved.
His body flowed around the attack.
Infinite Adaptation had completely adjusted to the creature’s movements.
The next attack never reached him.
Neither did the one after that.
Kael struck.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The creature staggered.
Kael moved behind it.
He grabbed its arm and pulled with all his strength.
The monster spun.
Kael drove his fist directly into its jaw.
CRACK!
The creature’s feet left the ground.
It crashed into a cliff wall.
Kael rushed forward.
The monster pushed itself out of the rubble.
Kael was already there.
He punched it again.
Then again.
Then again.
The monster’s body was covered in wounds.
Its movements became slower.
Kael’s became faster.
Finally, the creature dropped to one knee.
Kael stood before it.
He could finish it.
One attack.
That’s all it would take.
But he didn’t move.
Instead, he stared at the monster.
He could feel something inside himself urging him forward.
Kill.
Kael’s fingers tightened.
His demonic aura began leaking from his body despite his mana being sealed.
Black energy flickered around him.
Kael looked down.
"...How?"
The mana restriction should have prevented this.
Yet the darkness wasn’t behaving like normal mana.
It was something deeper.
Something tied directly to his body.
His blood.
His existence.
Kael’s expression changed.
So this is what Xavier meant.
The monster suddenly attacked.
Kael didn’t dodge.
He caught its fist with one hand.
The creature struggled.
Kael slowly crushed its hand.
The monster roared.
Kael’s eyes became completely black.
For a moment, he didn’t look human.
He looked like something born to rule the darkness.
The monster froze.
Kael leaned closer.
"You know..."
His voice was quieter now.
"I think I’m starting to understand."
He released the creature.
Then he punched.
BOOM!
The monster flew across the forest.
It crashed into the ground and didn’t move again.
Silence returned.
Kael stood alone.
He stared at the fallen creature.
Then at his hands.
A strange smile appeared on his face.
He wasn’t horrified by what had happened.
That was the frightening part.
He was curious.
He wanted to understand this side of himself.
The side that didn’t hesitate.
The side that didn’t fear its own strength.
The side that seemed to understand this world in a way his human mind couldn’t.
Kael slowly looked toward the darkness deeper within the forest.
His instincts reacted again.
There was something there.
Something calling to him.
Not with words.
With instinct.
With blood.
Kael’s smile faded.
"...There’s something deeper."
He took a step forward.
Then another.
His body was exhausted.
His wounds were numerous.
Yet he continued walking.
For the first time since entering the dungeon, Kael wasn’t trying to suppress his demonic nature.
He was listening to it.
And deep beneath the fourth floor...
something answered.