Krad stood at the edge of what had once been the Kingdom of Darkness's grand plaza, his golden eyes scanning the horizon. One day had passed since defeating Barbara, one day of rest and recovery in the ancient stronghold. Mist was inside, finalizing their departure plans... but something felt wrong.
[ System Buddy: Hey, Krad? Is it just me, or does the air feel... weird? ]
[ System Alpha: Atmospheric pressure detected: Abnormal. Magical disturbance confirmed. Source: Unknown. Distance: Approaching. ]
"Approaching?" Krad's hand instinctively balled into a fist. "What do you mean approaching?"
Before either system could answer, the sky darkened. Three miles away, at the outer perimeter of the Kingdom of Darkness, five Slayers stood in formation. They were professionals, veterans, members of the prestigious Crimson Blade Guild. Their leader, Captain Valdris, was Level 380, a seasoned warrior who'd cleared over three hundred missions without a single failure.
"Sensors confirm magical signature ahead," reported Dani, the guild's tracker. Her hands glowed with detection magic. "It's... gods, it's massive. Whatever it is---"
"It's him," Valdris interrupted, his voice grim. "The corrupted mage. It has to be."
The youngest member, a healer named Kora, gripped her staff tighter. "Captain, the briefing said he was dangerous, but this reading... this is beyond Xtreme-Class. This is---"
"I know what it is." Valdris drew his greatsword, the blade igniting with holy fire. "Everyone, battle formation. Support casters in the rear. Frontline, with me."
They moved with practiced efficiency, spreading out across the barren landscape. These weren't amateurs. They'd trained for this exact scenario... then he appeared.
The corrupted mage materialized from the shadows like smoke. He was tall, impossibly tall, at least seven feet, draped in robes that seemed to be woven from darkness itself. His face was hidden behind a mask of bleached bone, carved with runes that pulsed with sickly purple light. But his eyes... his eyes were visible through the mask's sockets.
They were crimson. Deep, blood-red crimson that seemed to swallow light.
"Oh?" The voice that emerged was soft, almost gentle. "Visitors. How delightful."
[ Enemy Detected: ??? ]
[ Level: ??? ]
[ Threat Assessment: Catastrophic ]
[ Warning: All Combat Data Corrupted ]
[ Warning: System Cannot Calculate Survival Probability ]
Valdris' interface was screaming warnings, but he ignored them. "You're under arrest by order of the Continental Slayer Association! For crimes including---"
"Crimes?" The mage tilted his head, the motion disturbingly bird-like. "Such harsh language. I prefer to think of it as... research."
He raised one hand. No incantation, just a slight movement of his fingers. Three of the five Slayers exploded... not metaphorically. Their bodies simply detonated from the inside out, flesh and bone scattering across the scorched earth like grotesque confetti. The magical barriers they'd erected, the defensive enchantments that should have protected them... all of it meaningless.
"Mark! Tessa! No!" Dani's scream tore through the air.
Kora stumbled backward, her staff clattering from nerveless fingers. "What... what did you..."
"Hmm. Disappointing." The mage examined his hand as if inspecting a manicure. "I barely put any effort into that. You're all far weaker than advertised."
Valdris roared, channeling every ounce of power into his blade. Holy fire erupted around him like a supernova. "Divine Slash!"
He moved faster than the eye could follow, his greatsword carving through the air in an arc of pure radiant energy. The attack had felled demon lords. Had carved mountains in half. It was his ultimate technique, refined over thirty years of combat.
The corrupted mage caught it... with one hand.
Bare-handed, he stopped the flaming greatsword mid-swing, his fingers wrapping around the blade like it was a toy. The holy fire that should have incinerated anything unholy simply... sputtered out against his skin.
"Fascinating," the mage murmured, studying the weapon. "Divine-forged steel. Enchanted with seventeen layers of purification magic. Quite expensive, I imagine."
He squeezed.
The greatsword shattered like glass.
Valdris staggered back, staring at the broken hilt in his hands. Thirty years. Thirty years of missions, of victories, of proving himself as one of the continent's finest warriors.
And this thing had just broken his weapon with a casual grip.
"Run," Valdris whispered to the remaining two.
"But Captain---"
"That's an order!"
Dani grabbed Kora and they fled, their boots pounding against stone as terror overrode training. Behind them, they heard Valdris' final battle cry. Then silence.
---
Krad felt the shockwave from three miles away.
"What the hell was that?!" He spun toward the source of the disturbance, his instincts screaming danger.
Mist emerged from the ruins, his expression dark. "That magical signature... no. No, it can't be."
"Captain?" Krad had never seen Mist look afraid before. "What's wrong?"
"We need to leave. Now." Mist's hand went to his sword. "That signature... it's him. The corrupted mage. And if he's really here..."
Another explosion rocked the landscape. This one closer.
[ System Alpha: Multiple life signatures detected. Status: Terminated. ]
[ System Buddy: Oh no. Oh no no no. Krad, we need to go right now! ]
But Krad wasn't listening. His eyes were fixed on two figures stumbling through the ruins, a woman supporting another woman, both wearing the insignia of the Crimson Blade Guild. Both covered in blood.
"Help!" Dani's voice cracked with desperation. "Please! Someone help us!"
Krad moved without thinking, rushing toward them. Mist cursed and followed.
"What happened?" Krad reached them, catching Kora before she collapsed. The healer's robes were torn, her face pale with shock.
"The... the mage..." Dani gasped, tears streaming down her face. "He killed them. All of them. Valdris, Mark, Tessa—they're dead. He just... he just..."
"How many were in your squad?" Mist demanded, already assessing their wounds.
"Five. We were five." Dani's laugh was hysterical. "Five Level 300+ Slayers. Top ranked guild members. And he killed three of us in seconds. Captain Valdris lasted maybe thirty seconds longer."
[ System Alpha: Calculating threat assessment based on provided data... Error. Threat level exceeds calculation parameters. ]
[ System Buddy: Translation: This guy is way out of our league! Like, not even close! ]
"We have to leave," Mist said firmly. "All of us. This isn't a fight we can win."
"Such wise advice."
The voice came from everywhere and nowhere. The corrupted mage stood atop a broken pillar thirty feet away, appearing as if he'd always been there. Up close, the wrongness of him was even more apparent. His robes didn't move with the wind, they moved independently, writhing like living things. The bone mask covering his face was actually growing, tiny tendrils of white material creeping across his skin in real-time.
But those eyes. Those crimson eyes that fixed on Krad with immediate, terrifying interest.
"My, my. What do we have here?" The mage descended from the pillar, not jumping but simply floating down as if gravity was optional. "Something... unusual. Yes. Very unusual indeed."
[ System Alpha: Warning! Enemy locked onto User! ]
[ System Buddy: Krad, he's looking at you! Why is he looking at you?! ]
Mist stepped in front of Krad, sword drawn. "Get behind me."
"Touching. The brave captain protecting his young charge." The mage's head tilted again. "But unnecessary. I have no interest in killing the boy... not yet. Not when he carries such a fascinating specimen."
Krad felt ice flood his veins. "What?"
"The Moon Eater." The mage's voice dropped to something almost reverent. "One of the Mythical Beasts. Sealed within a mortal vessel. Oh, how deliciously ironic. Do you have any idea how rare you are, child?"
[ System Alpha: Hostile intent detected. Threat level: Maximum. ]
"How do you know about that?" Krad demanded, his fists clenching.
"Because I'm the one who awakened it." The mage laughed, a sound like breaking glass mixed with dying screams. "Did you think it was coincidence? That the Moon Eater just happened to stir within you? No, no, child. I spent three months carefully corrupting those Pure Slimes, turning them into Devourers specifically attuned to trigger dormant Mythical powers."
The words hit like physical blows.
"You..." Krad's voice shook with barely contained rage. "You did that on purpose?!"
"Of course! How else was I to test my theories?" The mage spread his arms wide. "Those slimes were perfect test subjects. Naturally attuned to magic, resistant to corruption, but ultimately malleable. I needed to see if targeted corruption could awaken dormant Mythical entities. And it worked! You are proof it worked!"
Mist's sword ignited with gray fire. "You used innocent creatures as lab rats to experiment on this kid."
"Research materials." The mage waved dismissively. "Semantics. The point is, the boy survived the awakening. Most vessels die immediately, you know. Their bodies can't handle the strain. But him? He adapted. He even made a deal with it to save his friend."
The mage's eyes gleamed with malicious delight. "Yes, I know about that too. I've been watching. Waiting to see if my experiment would bear fruit. And oh, how spectacularly it has!"
Krad's entire body trembled, not with fear... with fury.
"Those slimes suffered for three months because of you. They died begging for mercy because you turned them into monsters!"
"They died serving a greater purpose," the mage countered. "Their sacrifice allowed me to confirm that corrupted magical entities can indeed trigger dormant Mythical awakenings. Do you understand the implications? I've discovered a way to artificially create vessels! Imagine an army of Mythical Beast carriers, all under my control!"
[ System Buddy: This guy is insane! ]
[ System Alpha: Psychological profile: Severe megalomania. Moral compass: Nonexistent. Threat assessment: Unprecedented. ]
Dani and Kora had gone completely white. "An army of Mythical Beasts?" Dani whispered. "That would destroy the entire continent..."
"Precisely!" The mage clapped his hands together. "Finally, someone who grasps the scope of my vision! Though destroy is such a negative word. I prefer reshape, evolve... transcend."
Mist's eyes narrowed. "You're collecting them... the Mythical Beasts. That's what this is about."
"Ten points!" The mage's voice dripped with condescension. "The Moon Eater is merely the first. There are seven others sealed across the world, waiting to be awakened. And now that I've perfected the method..."
He took a step toward Krad.
Mist's blade intercepted him, the gray fire burning hotter than ever. "You take one more step, and I'll cut you down."
The mage paused, seeming to genuinely consider this. Then he reached out and touched the flaming blade with one finger.
The fire went out instantly.
"Celestial-tier magic," the mage observed clinically. "Impressive for your age. You must be quite talented, Mist of the Tiger Squad." He smiled behind the mask. "Yes, I know who you are too. Third-ranked Slayer on the continent, the Fog Phantom... very impressive credentials."
He flicked his finger.
Mist flew backward like he'd been hit by a cannonball, crashing through three pillars before slamming into the ground thirty meters away.
"Captain!" Krad screamed.
[ System Alpha: Captain Mist status: Critical damage detected. ]
"Don't worry, he'll live," the mage said casually. "I merely moved him out of the way. Our conversation is between you and I, young vessel."
Krad's hands ignited with a faint silver glow, the Moon Eater responding to his rage, his fear, his desperation.
The mage's eyes lit up with childlike excitement. "Yes! Yes! Show me! Show me the power I helped create!"
"You didn't create anything!" Krad roared. "You just twisted something that already existed!"
"Semantics!" The mage waved dismissively. "Now, shall we dance? I want to see how much control you have. How much power you can draw upon. Don't disappoint me, vessel. I have such high hopes for you."
[ System Buddy: Krad, don't! He's way too strong! ]
[ System Alpha: Probability of victory: 0.00001%. Recommended action: Immediate retreat. ]
But Krad wasn't listening to either system. All he could see was those Pure Slimes. All he could hear was the corrupted mage admitting, bragging, about torturing them for three months just to run an experiment.
"I'm going to kill you," Krad said, his voice deadly calm.
The mage laughed. "Oh, I certainly hope you'll try!"
The air between them erupted with power as two forces collided, one ancient and hungry, the other twisted and insane.
And watching from thirty meters away, struggling to his feet with broken ribs and internal bleeding, Mist realized something that made his blood run cold.
This mage wasn't just strong, he was playing with them. All of this... the reveal, the monologue, the casual displays of overwhelming power, it was entertainment to him. He was toying with Krad, seeing how far he could push the vessel before the Moon Eater fully awakened.
And if that happened...
If Krad lost control with an entity this powerful watching...
"We're all going to die," Mist whispered.
---
The corrupted mage's true name: Xerxes the Myth Scholar
Current known victims: 247, 000 Slayers (confirmed), thousands of corrupted creatures
Bounty: 10,000,000,000 Pesos (Dead or Alive)
Last known location: Kingdom of Darkness Ruins
Threat Classification: Continental Extinction Event