Chapter 34
"What do we have here?" a cold, chilling voice said.
"See, Varka. I told you some people would try to escape using this path," the mocking voice continued as a soldier stepped into the clearing. He wore silver armor, long wild black hair spilling down his back, a faint grin on his face like someone who had just won a bet.
"Really. Who would be stupid enough to think they could escape the king's direct order?" another voice replied. "Either brave… or extremely stupid."
A second soldier entered the clearing. Short brown hair. A large, ugly scar running across his face. Two more soldiers followed behind them.
Callack's pulse spiked. His eyes narrowed as the weight of the situation crushed down on him. They were caught. His wife was here. His child was here.
There was no doubt why these soldiers had come.
"What are you waiting for?" the silver-armored soldier said lazily. "Kill the baby."
He looked at a lower-ranked soldier beside him.
The soldier nodded and rushed forward, sword flashing as it came down in a wide arc toward the child's head.
Before the blade could land, steel flashed.
Callack moved instantly. No hesitation. No mercy.
His sword struck with brutal precision, embedding deep into the soldier's skull. The unprepared man died on the spot, his body crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.
Silence fell over the clearing.
The remaining soldiers stared at their fallen comrade, then slowly turned their gaze to the father who had struck him down.
Callack released his aura. Awakening Realm, first stage. Raw and violent.
He stood tall, sword dripping blood, eyes burning.
"Whoever wants to die next should step forward," Callack said, voice steady. "If you want the child, you go through the father first."
His stance did not waver as his aura surged. He would not let his wife be harmed. He would not let his child be taken. Not while he was still breathing.
The stunned silence lasted only a moment.
Then the soldiers sneered.
"So the father wants to fight," the brown-haired man said, his scar twisting as he grinned. "How about I keep him company?"
Callack tensed instantly. The aura coming from this man was heavier. Sharper.
Peak of the first stage of the Awakening Realm.
Stronger than him. And worse, a trained soldier.
Varka launched forward.
Callack met him head-on.
Their blades clashed, sparks flying. In seconds, the difference became clear. Callack's body was already marked with multiple wounds, blood seeping through torn flesh. Varka, on the other hand, had not a single visible injury.
He was smiling. Enjoying it.
"Do you want another round," Varka said casually, "or should I just let your family die already?"
Callack gritted his teeth, gripping his sword tighter. He roared and charged with everything he had.
The clash was brutal.
Then pain exploded through his body.
A deep gash tore across him. A straight, gut-wrenching punch slammed into his chest.
Callack was sent flying, crashing hard into the ground.
Just stay down and watch your family die. You are far too weak to stop it.
Varka mocked him, his grin cruel. "You think just because you've started cultivating, you're something. I will watch you break slowly. And then I will kill your loved ones right in front of your eyes."
Callack clenched his teeth, planning, launching himself forward again. Every strike, every trick, every strategy he had was useless. Varka's higher power, superior battle IQ, and flawless timing crushed him every time.
Callack slammed into the ground again, blood covering his body.
"Stop this!" Selene screamed, staring at her husband, desperate as he struggled to rise.
"Stop?" Varka said, his tone amused. "I will stop… only if you kill your own beloved child yourself. Choose. Your husband or your child?" His smile was cruel, sharp as a blade.
"You damn bastard!" Callack growled, launching himself once more. And once more, he fell flat into the dirt. Beaten. Bloodied. Broken.
And still he got up, again and again, like some undying zombie.
Even Vastro, watching, felt a grudging respect. The man had a will of steel. But he was blinded by his own hope. There was no way he could win.
The brown-haired man, Varka's companion, looked at Callack with amusement. "The strongest? Not him. Not even Varka. That man… he's just… persistent."
Vastro wasn't staying out of danger. He felt it now.... the precarious edge of survival. His chance of winning was near zero. Yet he still had one ace left. The system notification reminded him: his summoning matrix wasn't fully sealed. Just close. He could exploit the loophole to unleash a powerful summon.
He took a deep breath and called out a name. "Traziur."
Nothing.
Vastro blinked. "Wait… is the Terrific Dragon of Destruction… too powerful for this world to hold?"
He didn't dwell. Another name. "Seravix."
Nothing again.
Panic started gnawing at him. None of his overpowered summons answered. It was as if his link with them had been severed.
He tried again, calling names he remembered from the lower power tiers, sixty and seventy. Still nothing.
"Oh no… oh no… I'm doomed. Really doomed," Vastro thought, heart racing.
He watched Callack crash into the ground for the twentieth time.
There was no doubt he would reach his breaking point soon. And then, he would fall apart.... and the next would be inevitable.
"Why… why… why is this happening?" Vastro thought, anger and irritation boiling higher than fear.
He had been trapped. Born in the harshest realm possible, stripped of much of his power, with his realm-comprehension laws suppressed, the Hellbrand System malfunctioning… everything bound him to die just hours after birth.
Not good. Not good at all.
Vastro clenched his fists, racing through possibilities. There had to be a way. There always was.
Callack crashed into the ground for the twenty-second time. This time, he didn't get up immediately.
"What's the matter? Done already?" Varka taunted, voice dripping with amusement.
"It seems you've reached your breaking limit," Varka said, smirking.
But Callack rose again, blood dripping from countless wounds covering his entire body.
Step by step, he moved forward, eyes blazing with determination..... not just to survive, but to take every bastard with him.
Selene screamed, wanting to help, but she knew she would only get in the way. Her baby came first.
The black-haired man, known as Crow, sneered at Callack, then at Selene. "I've lost interest. Kill the child," he said, nodding toward the last soldier.
The soldier rushed forward, sword slicing through the air. Callack tried to dash toward his wife and son, but Varka's punch connected with his ribs, launching him into the air and crashing him down hard.
He groaned, eyes snapping open, heart pounding as he froze at the scene before him.
Selene had taken the hit meant for the baby. A massive gash ran across her back, blood spattering the air. Her scream rang with unbearable pain.
"Selene!" Callack roared.
Vastro, watching, froze. A surge of something deep inside him snapped as he saw his human mother collapse to the ground, still clutching him. She seemed dead.
Rage unlike anything he'd ever felt surged through the baby's soul. Survival was no longer enough.
He didn't just want to live.... he wanted them all wiped out. Every soldier, every officer, every last bastard in the kingdom dead. Everything that had irritated him would be destroyed.
The man who had slashed Selene turned his attention back to the baby. He muttered a faint "Sorry" before striking, aiming to kill the infant with a sword thrust.
Vastro's soul ignited. His eyes burned red with Hell's Essence, surging through his tiny body. A single name tore through his mind as he called forth the weakest summon he could think of.
"Is..... Ca.... Ris!" Vastro screamed internally.
For a brief moment, nothing happened. The sword was still coming straight at his head.
Then, suddenly, the soldier's eyes widened.
A powerful force slammed into him. His sword shattered instantly. He was hurled into the air, crashing to the ground with critical injuries.
But that was only the beginning.
The night, which had been giving way to the sunrise, twisted violently. Darkness returned, swallowing the sky. The crimson moon rose anew, bathing the world in blood-red light.
Varka, Crow, and the injured soldier felt their hearts sink. A powerful aura engulfed them, yet no one was there.
Then, adding to the tension, a massive eruption of flame shot straight up near the baby. From the inferno, a figure stepped forward.
Five feet tall, its body pulsing with heat and power, releasing waves of oppressive energy. Jet-dark eyes glowed, aura freezing the air itself.
Vastro grinned.
Finally… one of his summons had answered his call.
TO BE CONTINUED.....