Chapter 238: Judgement
Vyra’s squad were Early Spirit Soul at best.
The remaining Late Spirit Soul Draven soldier recognized that immediately. His eyes flicked between the four Pillar Knights, calculating odds, then turned to his comrade.
"Take the Lord back to the ship," he ordered. "You too." He gestured at the mid Spirit Soul soldier supporting Cassius’s limp form. "Go. Now."
They went.
The forest fell quiet except for the distant sounds of battle and the crackle of burning trees. The Late Spirit Soul Draven soldier stood alone against four Early Spirit Soul opponents.
Vyra frowned.
The Draven soldier was about to attack when suddenly an aura descended.
Late Spirit Soul realm aura, dense and oppressive, crushing the air itself. Vyra’s knees buckled slightly before she forced herself straight.
Two figures dropped from the canopy.
The first was a woman in elegant dark violet robes, her presence radiating controlled fury. Late Spirit Soul. The second was smaller, leaner, dressed in practical combat gear. Also Late Spirit Soul.
The woman in violet landed beside Kael. Her hood fell back, revealing storm-cloud eyes shot through with brownish, dark hair cascading over her shoulders, and an expression of barely contained anguish.
Kael’s one good hand reached up toward her face.
"Sophie..." His voice was barely a whisper. "You’re finally here."
His arm dropped. His body went limp.
Sophie caught him before he hit the ground, pulling his bleeding form against her chest. Her fingers found his lips and pressed a King Grade healing pill past them. Her expression twisted—pain, relief, rage, love, all fighting for dominance on her features.
"Yes," she said softly. "I’m here. Sorry I’m late."
The Late Spirit Soul Draven soldier weighed his options. Two versus one—no, two versus one plus four Early Spirit Soul nuisances. The odds had shifted decisively.
He turned to leave.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
Sophie’s voice cut through the forest like a blade of ice.
The soldier froze.
Sophie gently lowered Kael into Vyra’s arms. "Hold him."
Vyra obeyed without question.
Sophie turned toward the Draven soldier. Her storm-cloud eyes had gone flat and empty.
"Judgement."
The word hung in the air for a heartbeat.
Then force crashed down on the Draven soldier like the fist of an angry god. He screamed—not from pain, but from the violation of something fundamental being torn away. His mana circuits. His cultivation base. His years of accumulated power.
It drained from him like water from a cracked vessel.
When the pressure lifted, the Late Spirit Soul Rank 7 cultivator stood trembling at Rank 5. Two full ranks stripped away in an instant. His face had gone gray with shock and terror.
Sophie didn’t look at him. Her attention was already back on Kael.
"Ruby."
The Guardian Knight stepped forward, cracking her knuckles. A predatory smile spread across her lean face.
"Take care of him," Sophie said. "Ensure you take your time."
Ruby’s smile widened. "With pleasure, my lady."
She advanced on the trembling Draven soldier, who tried to run—tried to use what remained of his cultivation to flee—
SLAM.
Ruby appeared in front of him in a flash.
Ruby’s fist caught him in the stomach, doubling him over. Then she grabbed his hair and dragged him into the forest.
His screams lasted a long time.
Kael’s eyes fluttered open briefly. "Vyra..."
"Yes, Young Master?"
"Forest... three hundred meters northwest... my clone... mask and storage ring. Get them."
Vyra didn’t question. She handed Kael back to Sophie and vanished into the shadows with her remaining squad members.
Sophie cradled Kael against her chest, her fingers brushing blood-matted hair from his forehead. The stump where his left hand had been was already knitting slowly—King Grade healing pills working alongside his body cultivator’s natural regeneration.
The air shimmered.
Sophie looked up. The barrier was coming back down—visible now as faint golden lines reconnecting across the sky, weaving themselves back into the ancient formation that protected the Gra-Khazul territory.
"Ruby," Sophie called. "End it. We’re leaving."
A distant scream was cut short.
Ruby emerged from the trees moments later, wiping blood from her knuckles. Whatever remained of the Draven soldier would never be found.
They left the Gra-Khazul territory as the barrier sealed itself behind them.
Kael’s eyes finally closed.
Days passed.
Kael drifted in and out of consciousness—a haze of healing, rest, and fragmented dreams.
When he finally woke properly, the first thing he felt was warmth.
Soft sheets beneath him. A mattress that conformed to his body. The familiar hum of mana-gathering formations working in the walls.
His left hand flexed.
He stared at it. His left hand had grown back. The only evidence of the wound was a faint ring of slightly paler skin around the wrist where the cut had been.
King Grade healing pills. Body cultivator vitality. A combination that could regrow limbs given enough time and resources.
"It seems you’re finally awake."
Kael turned his head.
Sophie sat in a chair beside the bed, a book open in her lap, storm-cloud eyes watching him with undisguised relief. She looked tired—dark circles under her eyes, hair slightly disheveled—but her smile was bright enough to light the room.
Kael returned the smile. "Well, it’s not bad to wake up to such a beautiful face once in a while."
Sophie’s cheeks flushed pink. Even after all this time, even after everything they’d done together, a simple compliment could still make her blush like a maiden.
Kael pushed himself up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. His body ached—residual soreness from the healing process—but nothing serious. He took stock of himself internally.
"The tribe," he said. "What happened?"
Sophie closed her book. "The Draven attack failed. Their forces retreated once the barrier reactivated—every Spirit Soul soldier inside had their power sealed. The Patriarch slaughtered most of the remaining invaders." She paused. "As for the tribe’s political stance... you accomplished what you went there to do. After being attacked by an external force, they’re far more likely to accept an alliance with the Vorns. Cassius Draven’s assault pushed them directly into our arms."
Kael nodded slowly. Mission complete, technically. The inheritance ground information was secured. The alliance path was open. The Dravens had made enemies of a previously neutral power. Alll that remained now was to report his findings.
All at the cost of his left hand.
"Where are we right now?"
"World Thirteen." Sophie gestured around them. "Your mansion. Specifically, your bedroom."
Kael looked at the room properly for the first time. Black stone walls inlaid with subtle runic patterns. Climate control humming softly. A window overlooking the city he’d built from nothing—Starfall City, his territory, his power base.
Sophie’s smile turned approving. "I must say, you did a very good job renovating this place. It’s almost unrecognizable from the dump it used to be."
Kael nodded again.
His eyes drifted to the window. Starfall City sprawled below—his city, his people, his foundation. The Shadow Hounds training in the yards below. Soldiers patrolling the walls.
Kael leaned back against the headboard and let out a slow breath.
"Thank you, Sophie."
Her expression softened. "You don’t need to thank me."
"I do." His silver-flecked gray eyes met hers. "You came when it mattered."
Sophie’s blush deepened. She looked away, suddenly very interested in her book.
Kael allowed himself a small smile.
Sophie reached into her sleeve and withdrew two items—a simple storage ring and the Mask of a Thousand Faces, its surface dull without mana to activate it.
"Vyra said you asked her to collect these from your clone," she said, placing them on the bed beside him. "The clone dissolved the moment it handed them over."
Kael took the storage ring and threaded it onto his right hand. "Right."
The moment the ring registered his mana signature, the transfer completed. Memories that weren’t his own flooded into his mind—the clone’s experiences over the past hours. Fighting through the settlement. Saving civilians. Building Finesh’s legend. The cold efficiency of killing without hesitation.
And the fifteen Soul Vein Crystals stored inside, each one pulsing with concentrated soul force.
Sixteen total now, counting the one Goran had given him. More than enough to sustain his soul cultivation for a long period of time.
Kael let out a slow breath as the memories settled.
"Hmph."
A snort from the corner of the room.
Ruby stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall in her Guardian Knight stance.
Kael smiled. "Hey, Ruby. It’s been a while."
"Hmph."
"It seems you still don’t like me."
"Hmph."
Sophie sighed, setting her book aside. "Come on, Ruby. Be nicer. I understand you still hold a grudge for that prank ages ago, but come on—it’s been ten years already."
Ruby’s glare intensified. "Ten years, four months, and seventeen days. Not that I’m counting."
Kael laughed. He couldn’t help it.
Ten years ago, he’d been a ten-year-old brat with too much curiosity and not enough sense of self-preservation. Ruby had just been assigned as Sophie’s Guardian Knight—young, serious, utterly dedicated to her duty. She’d also been incredibly proud of her jet-black hair, which she kept long and immaculately maintained.
Kael had gotten into Sophie’s alchemy supplies. Not the dangerous ones—Sophie kept those locked away even then. But the cosmetic reagents? The dyes and temporary colorings used for intelligence work?
Those had been accessible.
One night, he’d slipped a modified hair dye into Ruby’s bath water. The dye was supposed to wash out after three days. Harmless. Temporary.
Except Kael, being ten and overconfident, had miscalculated the ratio.
Ruby’s hair hadn’t just turned pink. It had turned neon pink. Flamingo pink.
The next morning had been the annual Guardian Knight formal review. Every Guardian Knight in the Vorn estate, assembled in full ceremonial dress, presenting themselves to the Family Head.
Ruby had walked in with hair the color of a highlighter.
The silence had been deafening.
Thalia had laughed so hard she’d fallen off her chair.
Ruby had spent two weeks with neon pink hair before an alchemist could reverse the effect.
The dye formula had been corrected afterward. But Ruby had never forgiven Kael.
And she made sure he knew it every single time they crossed paths.