Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power Chapter 428: Slithering runes
Previously on Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power...
Chapter 428 – Slithering runes
Kaden's Curse of Voice struck at the same instant as Rea's Blossoming Fear of Silence.
The result proved utterly ruinous, though no visible signs appeared beyond the Alchemist's eyes bulging wide and plucked free.
Rea's forceful strike brutally reshaped his brain, forcing every neuron—many capable of handling multiple duties simultaneously—to focus solely on a lone function...
...generating terror from the quiet.
That's when Kaden's assault sealed his doom like the final nail. Through his Curse, the Alchemist lost his ability to vocalize. Put differently, he could no longer perceive his own voice's echo.
Silence reigned even as his lips formed words. Nothing but quiet.
That quiet drove the Alchemist to collapse, curling into a tight ball while he strained to yell, yet no sound emerged.
Fear overwhelmed his thoughts, paralyzing him so he couldn't twitch a finger. Horror twisted his features, and relentless dread enveloped him.
Kaden and Rea backed away from the Alchemist, their mouths parched as if stuffed with fluff, their complexions ashen with sweat droplets sliding down.
Kaden's skull throbbed as if hammered relentlessly on metal. Deploying his fresh Harvester’s Will Ladder, his Domain, and the Seed of Prometheus together had drained his mental reserves far beyond expectations.
Particularly when facing the Alchemist. He'd poured in additional strain.
Rea fared no better off. In fact, she struggled more. Boosted by Kaden and Einar alike, and after fusing those abilities into one strike, she lay exhausted beyond measure.
Collapse tempted her sorely.
A steady, piercing ache wrapped their heads like a tight band.
That ache blinded Rea to the Alchemist's following move entirely, while Kaden scarcely managed a response.
His senses blared warnings, alerting him that during his vulnerable instant, black-and-white runes infested his entire domain.
They wriggled everywhere like serpents.
His pulse raced wildly.
He whipped his gaze to the Alchemist's spot, discovering instead a churning vortex of runes swirling before him.
Certain runes paused, then reformed into symbols, though Kaden couldn't decipher their significance.
He cursed his rune ignorance even deeper that day.
Abruptly, Kaden glanced down and spotted a rune carved into his torso. A dark one, familiar to him right away.
But it was far too late.
The strike hit swift and fierce, slashing into him like a savage blade plunge. His eyes flew open as he yelped and snarled, sensing a chunk of his soul sliced off.
Torment raced through his frame like raging flames. He stumbled several paces, knees buckling nearly, yet his strong Will kept him upright.
Next to him, Rea had already crumpled, her form convulsing while two runes—one sending green lightning surging through her vessels like vital fluid, the other devouring her essence—raged unchecked upon her.
’This...’ Kaden's thoughts fogged briefly, struggling to grasp the swift reversal of fortunes.
Reditha materialized in his right grip without delay.
He commanded Blanche to rush to Rea, aiding in stopping the Soul-Eating rune, as he charged the rune tempest that reshaped back into the Alchemist's figure.
The figure glared at Kaden with burning fury, his flesh rippling like a rune-built entity alive.
"You underestimate me rather much, little puppet." The Alchemist uttered, despite his mouth staying still.
Kaden held his tongue. He willed the runes' void within his domain, yet the command failed now.
Only then did it dawn on him: the Alchemist had deployed his own domain too. Its influence clashed against Kaden's, nullifying much of it.
Grimness filled Kaden's eyes as Reditha struck the Alchemist, who parried with an empty palm.
The collision resembled massive rocks smashing together. A blast wave surged outward like flooding tides.
The force shoved Kaden back a few steps. He adjusted his footing, vitality ebbing away too quickly, aware time slipped from him.
Now they confronted one another.
"Let me teach you who I am." The Alchemist snarled, clenching his hands into icy knots.
"You speak too much." Kaden shot back at last.
A wicked grin split the Alchemist's face, and the ensuing clash blurred into motion.
Kaden and the Alchemist lunged with explosive velocity, their stares seething with murderous resolve.
Kaden's blade clashed against the Alchemist's knuckles in a brutal ballet. Only streaks of ebony and scarlet glow twisted amid the fray.
The clashing domains groaned under each blow, flares erupting like dying stars in a crimson heavens.
Kaden's mind raced at full throttle, weaving dodges, blocks, and ripostes in seamless flow. His skeleton screamed in protest.
The challenge exceeded his wildest fears.
The Alchemist's punches shifted endlessly, as though locked in perpetual transmutation.
Yet Kaden refused to yield easily.
In a flash, he slammed his heel onto the Alchemist's left foot, halting the onslaught cold. Then he surged forward, threading past the arms, emerging mere breaths away.
He smashed his brow against the Alchemist's, hearing both craniums fracture amid the crunch. Crimson erupted.
Bracing for the hurt, with his blood mending the damage, Kaden released Reditha next. She vanished, then rematerialized overhead, plummeting down.
The Alchemist's crown morphed to iron from meat in a heartbeat.
Meanwhile, Kaden manipulated the gush from the Alchemist's brow, forging darts laced with eating and burning traits.
Then, he pressed his palm to the Forbidden's torso, attempting to mold internal blood into piercing lances.
Events unfolded in a frenzied blur, but the Alchemist spotted the deadliest threat and countered wisely.
On a single breath, his fists turned ethereal, ghostly and fading, slick with illusion, plunging into Kaden's breast.
That's when Kaden's onslaught detonated, spikes of blood erupting from the Forbidden's form, wracking him in spasms. His core, innards, and guts shredded apart.
Kaden escaped unscathed no more. The Forbidden's grasp had seized his soul, already frail from runes, and ripped it asunder.
Primal cries tore from Kaden's throat, laced with agony beyond words.
Both dropped to their knees. One teetered with his vital core and all within ravaged, knocking at death's threshold.
The other suffered his spirit rent.
In a flash, the surrounding domains shattered into glowing slag, returning them to Rudolph’s dwelling.
At last, Rea forced her lids apart, her essence shielded by Blanche and the runes undone by the Alchemist's dire condition.
Feebly, she lifted her gaze, then pivoted toward the splatter of fluid on the floor and a faint moan.
The sight crushed her spirit.
Denial surged through her at once, yet Blanche's furious, grief-stricken cry, as she dashed to the crouched Kaden, verified the horror.
Emptiness filled Kaden’s eyes.
His soul lay severed. And without it...
"N-No... No..."
[You are dead.]
...Kaden perished, as the Alchemist let out a harsh chuckle before succumbing moments after.
—End of Chapter 428—