"K… K… Kai…"
A broken sound escaped Parth's throat.
His eyes were locked on the scene in front of him.
Kai.
Bound. Broken. In his Commander Kai form.
A Soul Clan elder disciple was calmly rubbing salt into Kai's peeled skin, carving thin layers with a knife. Centipedes were being forced into his ears and nose. Mutant blood worms clung to parts of his body, drinking his blood and mana, then injecting corrosive acid back into his flesh.
Parth's teeth clenched so hard they ached.
Kai… how did you end up here…?
"Wait for me," Parth whispered, voice shaking with restrained fury.
"These assholes won't kill you that easily."
His gaze snapped away.
A compass hovered in front of him, pointing toward three targets:
Soul Mantra.
Soul Lamp.
Hell Gate Domain Technique.
"Ghhh… this place is crawling with bastards."
Parth activated Anti-Gravity Formation and silently rose to the ceiling.
"If you give others a painful death," he murmured coldly,
"then you deserve the same."
His hand moved.
Lotus Formation.
A forbidden formation.
Once placed on a human, their blood cells slowly transform into lotus petals. Mana is drained continuously. For normal humans, mana equals life force. The moment it is exhausted, the body dies.
But the mind doesn't.
As the body collapses, lotus blooms erupt from the veins, corroding flesh from the inside. The corpse melts… yet the mind continues to feel every second of agony.
Parth planted Lotus Seeds on every guard below.
He moved on.
Using artificial artifacts, his presence vanished completely.
Body invisible. Aura hidden.
Parth entered a massive treasure chamber.
There.
The Soul Lamp and the Hell Gate Domain.
He reached out
The moment his fingers touched the Soul Lamp, his skin peeled open violently.
"AHH !"
A web spread across the artifact.
A mutant silver, human-faced spider.
Its threads sliced his hand apart.
Blood erupted like a fountain.
"Damn it… good thing I noticed in time. Otherwise "
His blood revealed the invisible web.
Parth yanked his hand back, endured the pain, grabbed the Soul Lamp and Hell Gate Domain, and sealed them inside his ring.
Then he ran.
Sheeew !
While escaping
His injured arm was severed cleanly at the shoulder.
"Hehehehehe…"
A mocking voice echoed.
"Looks like I caught a bug.
Look at this… blood falling in midair.
And this… a chopped-off arm."
"Little thief," the voice continued calmly.
"Won't you show your face before you die?"
A disciple of the First Elder stood there, staring at Parth's severed arm after a single sword slash.
Then
"DIE!"
Parth reappeared mid scream and punched him.
"Heh. Bug."
The disciple caught Parth's fist and responded with a storm of punches to his face.
"UGH !"
With a final blow, the disciple blasted through Parth's lower abdomen and threw him to the ground.
"To be killed by someone like me," the disciple sneered,
"you should feel honored."
He turned away
And froze.
His blood ran cold.
His heartbeat spiked.
The world flipped.
He fell.
As he collapsed, he saw Parth standing behind him.
The white of Parth's eyes had turned red, blood vessels ruptured. Blood streamed down his face. He was vomiting blood.
Parth's hands twisted.
The disciple's head rotated unnaturally.
"Monster… you should never have lived."
Those were his last words.
Parth didn't stop.
He rushed into the Soul Mantra chamber, seized it, and vanished again.
But
His invisibility failed.
Five D-rank soldiers stood in front of him.
Parth had no mana.
He couldn't even touch an F-rank properly.
He ran.
Swinging his katana wildly, sprinting toward Kai's torture chamber.
He borrowed energy from the Leader's Badge
One slash.
Kai's Soul Chains shattered.
Then
BOOOOOOM !
Gravity Formation: Personal Space Collapse.
Space ruptured around everyone torturing Kai… and everyone chasing Parth.
Bodies exploded.
"KAI RUN!"
Kai took one step
And collapsed.
"Heh… Foil… carry me on your board…"
Parth lifted Kai onto his back.
Kai's life force… and mana… were critically low.
"Kai… are you okay?" Parth asked desperately.
Kai laughed weakly.
"Don't stop, Parth. Keep moving. Don't think about me."
"But"
"Parth," Kai interrupted calmly.
"We are on a mission. A true warrior prioritizes duty over emotion."
"Complete your action before emotion strikes."
"Emotions manipulate future decisions. One day, you may be ordered to kill someone precious to you… and they may be your greatest threat."
"If emotions stop you, they will kill you first."
"Remember this."
"Action is better than the ashes of regret."
"Now move."
As they spoke
Kai looked back.
A thousand soldiers were closing in.
"If I die today," Kai said quietly,
"bury me at the Demon God Tomb."
"Commander Kai no ! I'm running we'll survive!" Parth cried.
Kai smiled.
"This is my fate. One I wrote myself."
"Every mistake has a price. Sometimes honor. Sometimes life."
"As an elder… I will not let my sect bow in shame."
"I am one of its pride."
He laughed.
Parth whispered, "Sorry…"
Kai's body rose into the air.
A voice thundered
"Gravity Formation: Hell Rift Space."
In the midst of a thousand warriors, unarmed
Kai fought using only brute mana.
"One who cannot protect his pride," Kai roared,
"is not human… but a living corpse!"
Heads exploded.
Bodies shattered.
(Kai's mana was not draining. It was vanishing.
When it reached zero, his life would end.)
"Greed has already taken root in human life!"
Eighty warriors fell.
A-rank warriors.
Kai was S-rank.
But with leaking power, only B-rank.
He picked up a blade.
Massacre followed.
Two hundred.
Three hundred.
Skin peeled.
Bodies burned to ash.
Parth watched in horror.
Even villains would tremble at this sight.
A human full of emotion is fragile.
A human without emotion becomes a killing machine.
Five hundred.
Kai had slaughtered over five hundred A-rank warriors.
He grabbed one man by the jaw, tore it off, burned him alive to ash.
Parth shattered the Leader's Badge.
Far away
Raj felt it.
Blood filled his eyes.
Space rift open.
What he saw and heard froze his soul for the first time in his life.
Kai dragged an SS-rank General along the sharp edge of his blade, grinding him apart, splitting him in half
The corpse fell onto Parth.
"I I will save you ! I won't forgive them I'll end everything !" Parth screamed.
Kai spoke his final words:
Revenge is a sign of weakness.
It belongs to those who cannot let go of their past.
Such people are crippled by memories they refuse to release.
Hatred chains you.
Letting go throws you toward freedom.
In the end, only ash and regret remain.
And both are far more worthless than revenge.
Kai's life force vanished.
Parth collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably.
Raj turned away, tears in his eyes.
Parth wiped his tears.
He sealed Kai's body inside his ring.
One look at his eyes was enough to know
Something had changed.
Silently, Parth turned.
And walked toward the Demon God Tomb.