Chapter 212: My Power is Now Also Yours (Bonus PS)
"Have mercy on my soul." Kai looked skyward at the Gods, and then held the silver ring that was the centerpiece of the necklace while recalling Princess Diarbara’s beautiful face. "Forgive me for what I’m about to do, princess."
He let go of the silver ring and exhaled heavily through his nose.
His hand reached for something behind his cloak.
A blue apple was now within his grasp, the second apple—one that he had taken from the Kirinar Dark Forest earlier before walking down this road. Nobody has the strength to enter the forest and seize the second blue apple.
Even in the last several years, the blue apple remained intact.
Unlike the last time, retrieving it didn’t go smoothly, but Kai wanted it to be that way.
As he neared the fortified wall, the rage that he had suppressed throughout these years began to surface. His face contorted into a hideous snarl as he recalled what the kingdom did to its supposed princess.
It wasn’t only the King, the High Priest, and the nobles who were in the wrong.
Just like them, the people of the kingdom also supported the sacrifice.
But Kai knew better.
Knew that the people could only believe blindly in what they were told. That the princess was cursed and would bring ruin to the kingdom. His aim was never the people. His aim was the kingdom itself and those who sat in the pompous upper class of society.
People who sacrificed their own and lied to him.
"Kingdom of Agnia, I have returned!"
Kai raised the blue apple skyward as if it were a trophy.
"And I brought destruction with me!"
CRACK—!
The tremor underground sharpened from a rumble to a strong quake, and the ground behind Kai split open with a force that felt like the world tore into two. Stone screamed. Dust geysered skyward.
And from that wound in the earth, a gigantic creature exploded upward.
Its body uncoiled against the sun like a living pillar of black steel. A gigantic serpent. Its scales glistened jet-black—catching the light in oily, shifting patterns. A natural armour without any visible flaw.
Eyes of crimson rose fixed on the blue apple in Kai’s hand.
Angered at the sight of the stealer, its mouth opened as it let out an aggressive hiss, revealing fangs that curved downward like twin scimitars. Each tip was shaded a venomous red. Black roots and thorny vines came out of its neck—sleeked backward like hair caught in a hurricane and also writhed with a life of their own.
The gigantic serpent was so tall that it could be seen from miles away.
And the city behind the fortified walls erupted.
Screams tore through the air—raw, desperate prayers to the Gods who weren’t listening.
Even the soldiers on the fortified guard tower had gone pale—their spears trembled in white-knuckled grips. Kai’s own heart hammered in his chest—but his eyes held only a cold, steady malice as his mind focused on the moment.
He hurled the blue apple over the walls, vaulted after it, and ran.
ROAR—!
The serpent’s roar split the sky.
It lunged forward to chase after the blue apple, and the ground shook beneath its charge.
Kai leaped over the massive bridge at the capital’s entrance that was already pulled up by the soldiers who were quick to react, but it was nothing for him. He climbed and rolled onto the city steps right as the bridge slammed shut behind him.
Peasants scattered around him, frozen in terror.
"If you don’t want to die," Kai rose to his feet. "Then run."
Almost instantly, they fled without hesitation, scattering in every direction in search of a place to hide. At the same moment, the gigantic serpent burst through the entrance; stone and hard timber exploded outward into shattered fragments.
The cobblestone street buckled and centered beneath the creature’s coiling body.
A deep trench carved in its wake.
And any soul caught in its path was crushed with a wet, abrupt silence amidst the chaos.
Kai moved.
He grabbed a woman frozen mid-scream at the horror—and shoved her into an alley. A child stumbled, and he swept him up and brought him further away. The blue apple glinted ahead, and he snatched it mid-stride, hurling it farther.
The gigantic serpent followed.
Its massive form pulverized houses, taverns, temples—buildings that had stood for decades or even centuries were flattened into splinters and dust. Black roots and thorny vines spread from its flanks like a creeping sickness, snaking through windows, tearing through roofs, throttling the city in a grip of living decay.
The screams were constant now.
A high, keening wail that drilled into Kai’s eardrums as he moved.
The air was choked with powdered stone—and the sharp, metallic tang of blood. His senses dulled, one by one, until the world was a blur of grit and noise. Still, he did not stop. He could not. This was the path he had chosen, and he would walk it to its very end.
Royal knights poured from the castle and barracks. Armor flashed. Swords raised.
And then they saw it. The gigantic serpent. The destruction. And the lone figure leading the apocalypse with a blue gleam in his hand. Recognition dawned on their faces. They knew who this person was, and with it came a fear colder than the grave.
Many of them knew this man.
Many of them had dismissed him as a barbarian and thought he was done for good.
Now, they stood paralyzed as this man brought ruin to their doorstep.
Above, the King and the High Priest emerged on the royal balcony to see the commotion, and their eyes widened in shock at what they saw. Kai pulled his arm back for the last time—and threw the blue apple past the castle wall.
A perfect arc of blue light.
He cast a smirk at the King and High Priest and leaped aside.
The gigantic serpent thundered past him, heedless, chasing the magical fruit.
It charged straight into the castle, crumbling its walls.
As Kai crashed and skidded across the cobblestone ground, he groaned in pain, and when he rose to his knees, the pain only intensified. Kai looked up—and saw a landscape of rubble as far as the eye could see.
For a good moment, Kai looked at the scenery in awe.
It took another moment for him to realize that this landscape was the Kingdom of Agnia.
Now, it lay waste in ruin.
He brought destruction to the kingdom, and he succeeded.
Kai looked down at his body and realized he was missing an arm. Have two gaping holes in his stomach and chest. And a pool of blood was surrounding him. He raised his head and saw the gigantic serpent lying on the ground.
It was unmoving. Dead.
Seems like he had fought against the gigantic serpent in the end, killing it for good.
But now, he was dying.
For miles in every single direction, he was the only living person—kneeling alone surrounded by ruins. And soon, very soon, as blood seeped steadily from his wounds, even that would no
Kai slowly turned around and saw that the broken temple was behind him.
It was the only building left that was still standing, the one he had protected.
He dragged himself toward the entrance, crawling on his heavy body that fought him with every inch. Halfway there, his strength gave out, and he collapsed with a dull thud. Still, Kai clawed forward, refusing to stop, doing whatever it took to reach her.
His vision was blurry, and his lungs burned.
Kai could feel his body was moving purely through determination.
And when he reached the entrance, reached where the pyre once was, his body fell.
Slowly, weakly, he reached for the silver ring and held it against his heart.
"Princess Diarbara..."
As the name escaped his lips, the world around him dissolved. The bright light swallowed his vision again, suspending him in a void of light. The beautiful face of Princess Diarbara stayed in his mind. The pain that wracked his body lingered. And the taste of blood is still clear in his mouth.
Kai could finally breathe again.
It took him a long moment to remember his name was Kai, not Kaelmorath.
And it took him longer to realize the grief coiling in his chest was not entirely his own.
Kai blinked his eyes at the perfect moment as Kaelmorath opened his eyes.
A tear slipped through Kaelmorath’s defenses as the memories came rushing back to him like a tidal wave. He had buried his past or had it suppressed for so long—that he had convinced himself remembering would bring peace.
Not this searing, unbearable pain.
But as he remembered his past, remembered Princess Diarbara, emotions surged inside.
Kaelmorath turned around.
He stared into the broken temple and clutched the silver ring in his hand.
"Now you understand me," Kaelmorath said, but his voice came out weaker than expected.
"Yes..." Kai nodded—the pain and grief that Kaelmorath felt flowed into him. Fuel that powered the Reckless Fray Ending. It was not his, but comprehending Kaelmorath fully made it his. "I fully understand you."
The Reckless Fray Ending was born from the recklessness to protect someone.
Kaelmorath had used his own life to find the cure to lift the curse binding Princess Diarbara.
And when he was tricked, the King and the High Priest had no intention to wait to see whether he would succeed in finding the blue apple; he returned with the gigantic serpent. Yet he did not kill the King or the High Priest with his own hands.
He let the gigantic serpent do the task.
Just so that he could still protect what Princess Diarbara wanted.
She didn’t want him to return to being a barbarian. Didn’t want him to come back and lay waste to the kingdom for vengeance. In order to avoid having blood on his hands, thereby keeping his promise, he used the gigantic snake to make the King and the High Priest pay.
It went as planned, but it backfired as the gigantic serpent laid waste to the kingdom.
Kaelmorath fought it to protect the people and the temple where Princess Diarbara died.
And in the process, he also died.
"I have felt your pain and understood it." Kai extended his hand. "You’re now a part of me."
"My power is now also yours, First Son of the Primordial Night." Kaelmorath looked over his shoulder; his eyes glistened—with the fire of determination. "Call me out, and I will help you protect anyone you want."
Kai’s body dissolved as he woke up from the Deep Slumber.
He opened his eyes and saw the familiar darkness and the sound of pounding.
Makos and Damas are trying to break in.
"Thank you, Perion." Kai reached out his hand and placed it against Perion’s chest, thankful that Perion had gone this far to protect him. "But now, your task is done. Kaelmorath, come out."