Chapter 80: Breaking Chains: Forging Chaos [IV]
"E-Rank! He’s already advanced to E-rank!" A shriek cut through the crowd, then a flurry of murmurs erupted.
"B-but... it’s hardly been a week since the awakening ceremony... how’s that possible?"
"Unless he isn’t just a genius... he’s a fucking monstrous genius!"
"How powerful does his second awakened talent have to be to grant him that kind of potential?"
"I don’t know, man. He didn’t even use it but still kicked the guy’s ass. That’s some next-level shit."
"So... it... means... he wasn’t planning on dying and leaving us the treasure? Noooo!"
"What was that last move he used? It looks like he poked him to death. How the fuck is that possible?"
"Holy shit! You’re right — I recognise that last move from the rumours about the prodigy who cleared the evolved E-rank Slime Grime dungeon. If that’s true, then it can only mean one thing. Aurelian... he’s the... Grim Reaper!"
"Wait, aren’t you focusing on the wrong thing? You heard the vow he made before he left, right? You don’t think he’s going to level up and come back to fuck us all up?"
"Argh! It should’ve been me, not him! If only I hadn’t awakened that stupid D-rank talent. I wouldn’t still be level 7. All that glory would be mine! MINE!"
Sigh* "Dream on, buddy. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to indulge your fantasies."
After what had just happened, a huge pressure blanketed the youths who’d witnessed the fight. Their accomplishments seemed like trash next to a figure like that.
***
"I-impossible!" Aurora breathed, finally finding her voice as she took in the aftermath, her eyelids fluttering in disbelief.
A realm that usually took months to eclipse, or at best a couple of weeks by overwhelming geniuses, had been conquered in just over a week?
It was ground-breaking. It shattered everything she thought she knew about talent and power. Worse, it stung her pride.
She’d been preparing relentlessly the last few days, driven by the payoff she’d expect from crushing him. But after today, that would have been a death wish.
If he could crush an E-rank being that easily without even using his talent, it proved how insurmountable the gap between them had become.
As she thought it through, more worries spiraled out of control.
Was his second awakened talent even S rank? The only feasible explanation was that it was far more monstrous than he let on.
"Yes... it has to be SS rank," she murmured under her breath, unable to shake the thought once it took root.
And if that was true, and this frightening pace of advancement continued, it wouldn’t be long before he rose far out of reach.
"No. No, I can’t let that happen." She whispered, clenching her fists. "I won’t let this be the end of me. I won’t be meaningless. I’ll show them. Yes... I’ll show them." Aurora muttered, her voice swallowed by the murmurs.
***
"I... was wrong." Artorias breathed, his white hair stirring in the gentle breeze, regret tearing at him.
"What use is power if not to protect family and those close to us?" he muttered. "But I used it for the opposite... and now the family I swore to protect is crumbling."
"This isn’t all your fault, patriarch," an elder at his side said, resting a hand on Artorias’s shoulder. "With the talent he showed, he was bound to leave the Graeogor family sooner or later to venture into deeper waters. The only difference is he left on bad terms."
"That’s a world of difference!" Artorias snapped, shrugging the hand off. He saw a powerhouse in the making — someone who could have made a name the Graeogor family would have lived under. Now it was gone.
"If only... I had been with him at his lowest like I should have. This wouldn’t have happened. This battle would have been a reason to celebrate," Artorias said, lifting his head. A glint returning to his eyes as he regained composure.
"What’s done is done. All we can do is make sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes. Relay my orders: don’t cause him any more trouble than we already have. Leave him be. Maybe he’ll change his mind and come back. If not, then so be it."
"B-but, patriarch, don’t you see something odd about all this happening so suddenly?" another elder murmured, drawing Artorias’s attention. "What do you mean?"
"Don’t the coincidences seem to be stacking? Awakening an F-rank trash talent, then at his lowest awakening this other talent, his sudden monstrous leveling speed... it all seems too perfect to be true."
"What are you insinuating?" Artorias growled. "That he has a powerhouse backing him up?"
"Worse... the demonic faction. It’s the only thing that makes sense..."
"Do you have proof of this?" Artorias glared.
"Uh, no — not yet, but..."
"You dare lay baseless accusations without proof?" Artorias snapped, letting a sliver of aura press against the elder. "Just do as I said. Keep your wild thoughts in check." With that he flickered away.
As he left, the elder straightened, a bitter smile crossing his face. "Fine. If you won’t do it, I will. I’ll uncover whatever little secret your grandson is hiding. Whatever the cost."
***
Elsewhere, at the fringes of the crowd, two figures watched the spectacle unfold—one a pale-eyed young man, the other a woman.
"Interesting... very interesting," the youth murmured, a smirk stretching across his lips.
"Huh?" The woman beside him blinked, momentarily blanking out as she registered his words, surprise arching her eyebrows.
This was the first time she had ever heard the youth express interest in anyone since they had been together.
"A true warrior," Azrael muttered, nodding in genuine appreciation. It seemed talents sprouted in every corner of the universe.
"Our paths are bound to cross soon," he whispered, his eyes trailing after Aurelian’s flickering figure in the distance.
"Should we follow them, Master?" Tara breathed, her eyes shimmering with untamed curiosity. What was so peculiar about the youth that he could spark interest in someone who overlooked everything around him with mortal disdain?
"Not yet." Azrael snickered. "I have other matters to attend to." He paused, then glanced at her. "My mortal vessel grows stronger. It’s time to devour more talents, break my first shackle, and ascend to E-Rank."
"But..." Her eyes bulged in shock before she remembered who she was dealing with as a whisper slipped from her lips. "I know what to do."