Chapter 324: Strain

Kael met them.

Sage gathered Rue into her arms. Sage’s nine tails wrapped around Rue protectively as she launched skyward—FWOOM—fox fire propelling her away from the battlefield.

Behind her, the shockwave from Kael’s clash with Draxos and Claude hit—BOOM—a wall of compressed air that caught Sage mid-flight. She coughed blood—SPLAT—the crimson liquid spraying across Rue’s pale face. Her ribs cracked—CRACK—the pressure wave partially bypassing her Spirit Soul Rank 4 defense.

Sage pushed forward—GRRR—her teeth gritted, her fox fire blazing as she carved a path through the shockwaves. Each impact sent tremors through her body—SHAKE—but she didn’t stop. She flew—WHOOSH—putting distance between herself and the battlefield.

The sounds behind her were terrifying—BOOM, CRASH, FWOOM, CLANG—the earth-shaking violence of three monsters clashing. She could feel the shockwaves diminishing—dim, dim—as she put more distance between them.

"Hold on, Rue," Sage whispered, her voice trembling. "Just hold on."

The fight was brutal.

At this point, Kael’s combat style had abandoned all technique. Just raw, primal, unfiltered violence. His body moved on instinct, his soul sense tracking both opponents simultaneously, his reactions driven by the fused consciousness of rage, Slaughter Intent, and Astraeon bloodline.

Draxos swung a bone greatsword—WHOOSH—Kael caught it with his gauntlet—CLANG—the Impact Nullification absorbing the force. Kael’s other hand thrust forward—STRIKE—palm blazing with Demonic Asura Flame—FWOOM—the fire engulfing Draxos’s arm, burning through his exoskeleton—SIZZLE. Draxos grunted, swinging his second greatsword—WHOOSH—Kael ducked—DIP—the blade passing over his hair.

Claude teleported behind Kael—FLASH—density-manipulated fist descending. Kael’s soul sense registered the spatial disturbance—he spun—SPIN—his elbow meeting Claude’s fist—CRACK. The impact shattered the sound barrier—BOOM—both fighters skidding backward.

Kael pressed Claude—RUSH—his fists becoming blurs. Left, right, left—BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—each punch carrying the weight of gravity, darkness, fire, and lightning. Claude blocked desperately—CLANG, CLANG—his devouring bloodline pulling at Kael’s energy but unable to keep pace with the volume.

Draxos charged from behind—WHOOSH—four bone sabers replacing his greatswords for greater speed. He slashed—SLASH, SLASH—Kael’s body took the hits—SLICE, SLICE—flesh parting, blood spraying. But the mindless Kael didn’t flinch. He turned—SPIN—grabbed Draxos by the horn—GRIP—and slammed his forehead into the demon’s face—CRACK.

Draxos staggered—STUMBLE—his nose shattered. Kael followed with a Demonic Asura Flame-infused knee to the stomach—BOOM—the fire bursting on impact, sending Draxos crashing—CRASH.

Claude attacked from behind—FWOOM—a blast of wind. Kael absorbed it with Devouring Darkness—GULP—and returned it—FWOOM—amplified, striking Claude—BOOM—sending him tumbling.

Kael pursued—RUSH—his fists raining down on Claude. A left hook—CRACK—shattered Claude’s jaw. A right uppercut—BOOM—lifted him off the ground. A knee—CRACK—to the stomach folded him. A palm strike—FWOOM—Demonic Asura Flame to the chest launched Claude—WHOOSH—through the air.

Draxos recovered, charging—RARGH—his Wrath Intent blazing. He tackled Kael—BOOM—both of them crashing—CRASH—through the ground. Draxos mounted Kael, his four fists raining down—BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—bone weapons forming and striking in rapid succession.

Kael took the hits—CRACK, CRACK—his body cracking, bleeding. Then his hand shot up—GRAB—seizing Draxos by the throat. Darkness surged—HSSS—corrosive energy eating through Draxos’s exoskeleton. Kael lifted the five-meter demon—LIFT—and slammed him—BOOM—into the ground, creating a crater.

A Demonic Asura Flame blast—FWOOM—hit Draxos in the chest, burning through his armor—SIZZLE. Draxos roared—ROAR—his regeneration struggling.

Kael turned to Claude—TURN—rushing the injured Devourer. Claude teleported—FLASH—Kael tracked—TRACK—appeared at the exit point—FLASH—his fist already swinging. Claude barely raised a barrier—CRACK—the block shattered—BOOM—Claude’s ribs broke—CRACK—he coughed blood—SPLAT.

Kael grabbed Claude by the mask—GRIP—and slammed his knee into the man’s stomach—CRACK—again—CRACK—again—CRACK—until the mask cracked further.

Draxos recovered, bone spears forming—CRACK, CRACK—he threw them—WHOOSH, WHOOSH. Kael turned—SPIN—and fired three Pulsars—FWOOM, FWOOM, FWOOM—one for each spear and one for Draxos. The spears were annihilated—BOOM—and Draxos was launched—CRASH—again.

The mindless Kael landed critical hits repeatedly. Claude’s left arm hung broken—SAG. Draxos’s exoskeleton was fractured in a dozen places—CRACK. Both of them were bleeding—DRIP, DRIP—their regenerations struggling against the Demonic Asura Fire’s persistent burning.

Then Kael’s body betrayed him.

Blood poured from his nose. His vision blurred—WARP—the edges of his sight darkening. Blood leaked from his eyes—DRIP, DRIP—twin streams of crimson running down his cheeks. His ears rang—RING—a high-pitched whine that drowned out the battlefield.

The strain was catastrophic. Void Core infused with hsi not fully realised Astreon bloodline primordial power surging through his pathways and pushing his aura to Peak Spirit Soul—HUMMM—a level his Tier 5 body wasn’t built to sustain. Heart of the Carnage Deity burned his slaughter energy at ten times normal—BURN—consuming his reserves like wildfire.

His body was tearing itself apart from the inside.

The mindless Kael didn’t care.

He pushed forward—RUSH—rushing the injured Claude and Draxos. His fists were raised. His black eyes burned with void. Blood streamed from his nose, his eyes, his ears. His muscles screamed—GROAN—his bones micro-fracturing—CRACK—with every step.

Claude’s eyes widened behind his cracked mask. Draxos’s dark red eyes narrowed.

Kael swung—WHOOSH—his fist missing Claude by inches as his depth perception failed. He swung again—WHOOSH—missing.

He lunged—LUNGE—toward Claude, his hand outstretched, darkness and fire gathering—

FWOOSH.

A powerful soul attack hit him.

A concentrated lance of pure spiritual energy that pierced through Kael’s soul space—SHLUK—driving through his Soul Manifestation.

Kael faltered.

His body hit the ground—THUD—face-first, his limbs going limp. The dark ring behind him flickered.

He lay motionless in the dirt, blood pooling beneath him—SPREAD.