Chapter 73: Food at last
Kaedros didn’t defeat the golem quickly.
It took several grueling minutes before he finally drove his sword through its chest with a furious roar.
Chef had enhanced this one after Taria’s match. It was stronger. Smarter.
The golem matched Kaedros in strength and speed but what tipped the scales in his favor was his adaptability. He bent, twisted, moved with a fluidity the golem couldn’t replicate. In the end, that saved him.
"Well," Thalso murmured as Kaedros’ blade pierced the construct’s heart.
The word was small, but to Chef, it spoke volumes.
She hissed softly and took a slow swig from her bottle. "Are you sure we should continue their training? Their strength... it’s more than we projected. The shadow blades were supposed to break them, not sharpen them this much."
"It didn’t," Thalso said, voice unshaken. "There’s no record of anyone surviving shadow blade trials for more than three days."
"And yet you let them endure seven?" Chef’s voice hardened. "Did you trust them that much, not to die?"
"No," Thalso replied flatly. "They did start dying. Several times. I would’ve stopped it if they crossed the line."
He turned to her. The polished surface of his helmet reflected the flickering torchlight. "Let them become powerful. They must. You know why. We all do."
Then he walked toward Kaedros, who was still catching his breath beside the crumbling body of the golem.