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Chapter 421: Outsider

Aeliana's world had collapsed into pain, but this—this was worse.

The agony tearing through her body was unbearable, but the betrayal—the betrayal—that was what made her blood boil, what made her want to claw at him, to scream, to fight.

And still, Luca just watched.

Silent.

Unshaken.

Unmoved.

Her breath came in ragged, uneven gasps, the cursed veins in her arms pulsing as if alive. She forced herself to look up at him, her vision swimming, her hatred burning through the haze.

"You…" Her voice was hoarse, raw. Her fingers curled weakly against the ground, trembling with fury.

Her lips trembled, the words breaking between gasps of pain.

"You… bastard…"

Luca didn't flinch. Didn't react.

"You used me."

Her body spasmed violently, but she forced herself up, even if it was just an inch. Even if every nerve in her body screamed for her to collapse.

"Was this always your plan?!" she choked out. "Was I just a tool to you?!"

Luca exhaled softly, tilting his head slightly, his expression unreadable.

And then, his lips parted.

"I indeed used you," he said smoothly, without hesitation.

Aeliana's breath hitched, her entire body shaking.

Luca crouched slightly, lowering himself just enough so that his gaze met hers. His dark, bottomless eyes reflected the firelight, but for some reason, she couldn't see past them.

They shone, but the light wasn't warm. It wasn't soft. It was obscuring.

Blinding.

A cruel, celestial glow that made it impossible to see what lay beneath.

"And?" he murmured. "Can you do anything about it?"

Aeliana's chest constricted, white-hot rage coiling through her even as her body betrayed her.

Luca's smirk widened as he studied her—not with amusement, not with mockery, but with something far worse.

Indifference.

At least that was how she had seen in her mind, as that light obscured her vision completely.

She glared at him, her vision narrowing to a single point.

That was all she had left—the last bit of strength, the only thing she could still do.

And yet—

Luca chuckled softly.

"That is a fierce glare," he mused. "Will that work, though?"

Aeliana gasped sharply as her body convulsed again, more of that dark blood spilling from her lips, staining the stone beneath her.

Her vision was flickering—collapsing—but she refused to break.

"Will that fierce gaze save you?"

She hated him.

She had never hated someone this much in her entire life.

"All the things…" she rasped, "all the things you said… about being different…"

Her body trembled violently, her fingers digging into the ground.

"They were just lies, weren't they?"

Luca's smirk widened.

But—

For just the briefest moment—

Aeliana saw it.

A faint twitch at the corner of his mouth.

A hesitation.

Something almost… off.

She barely had time to register it before the fury consumed her again.

To her, it was nothing more than mockery.

Her nails scraped against the stone.

Luca's voice dropped lower.

"What do you think?"

Something inside her snapped.

Her teeth clenched so hard it made an audible grinding sound.

And in that moment—

Hatred and rage were the only things keeping her alive.

Aeliana's world shattered.

Everything—everything she had ever known—was breaking apart, just like the body she could no longer control.

The pain was unbearable, but the betrayal—the sheer, soul-crushing weight of it—was worse.

Her entire life, she had been cast aside.

She had been nothing but a burden.

Too weak. Too fragile. A nuisance to her father. A disgrace to her bloodline. The people around her had always worn masks—pretending, whispering, waiting for her to finally break.

She had never been wanted.

Never been chosen.

Never been anything.

And then he came along.

Luca. Lucavion. The man who had carried her through battle. The man who had smirked at her, challenged her, made her feel like she could stand beside him rather than constantly being dragged along.

She thought—

No.

She believed he was different.

But now?

Now, he was just like the rest of them.

No.

He was worse.

He had lied.

He had used her.

And he was watching her die without a second thought.

Something cracked inside her.

Her trembling lips curled back, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps.

And then—

"I hate you."

Her voice was hoarse, but the words carried like a curse, laced with something raw and unforgivable.

Her fingers scraped against the stone, her body writhing, her vision swimming in and out of focus.

"I HATE YOU!"

The force of her scream ripped through her lungs, tore through her throat, so violent it felt as though it would burn her from the inside out.

But it wasn't enough.

Not nearly enough.

"I WILL KILL YOU!" she shrieked, her voice breaking, her entire body convulsing violently. "I WILL BUTCHER YOU ALIVE!"

Luca remained still. Watching. Letting it happen.

His silence only made her rage burn hotter.

"DO YOU HEAR ME, YOU BASTARD?!" she screamed, her throat raw, her chest heaving as if the words themselves could rip free from her skin. "I WILL TEAR YOU APART PIECE BY PIECE!"

Her nails curled against the stone, digging in so hard they cracked, but she didn't stop.

"I WILL RIP OUT YOUR HEART AND WATCH YOU BLEED!"

The cavern walls trembled with the sheer ferocity of her voice.

"I SWEAR TO THE GODS, TO THE HEAVENS, TO EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS, I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER!"

And still—

Luca just stood there.

His expression unreadable.

His dark eyes glowing, obscuring.

Mocking.

Aeliana snapped completely.

"I HOPE YOU ROT, YOU MONSTER!" she screamed. "I HOPE YOU BURN IN A PIT SO DEEP EVEN HELL WOULD REJECT YOU!"

She spat at him, blood and fury mingling in her mouth.

"I HOPE YOU DIE ALONE—FORGOTTEN—JUST LIKE YOU DESERVE!"

Her voice was a broken thing, raw and vicious, but she did not stop.

She could not stop.

Every ounce of hatred, of grief, of pain she had ever held inside—she let it spill out, unchecked, like an endless, raging storm.

And Luca…

He only listened.

And that made it worse.

Aeliana wanted something out of him. A flicker of remorse, a sliver of regret—anything. She wanted to see him react, to see him hurt.

But he didn't.

He just stood there. Silent. Detached. Unmoved.

And it drove her mad.

Her body trembled violently, but she kept screaming, kept spitting out every ounce of hatred she had buried inside her for years.

"IS THAT IT?!" she shrieked, her voice breaking. "YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE THE DECENCY TO DEFEND YOURSELF?!"

Luca's expression remained unreadable.

"SAY SOMETHING!" she choked, her throat raw, her lungs burning. "SAY ANYTHING, YOU COWARD!"

Nothing.

Aeliana's vision swam, fury and pain blurring everything together, but she didn't stop.

"WAS IT FUN?! USING ME?!"

Her hands slammed against the cold stone, her nails cracking against the jagged surface.

"WAS I NOTHING MORE THAN A TOY FOR YOU TO THROW AWAY WHEN YOU WERE DONE?!"

Still—Luca didn't answer.

Aeliana let out a ragged, gasping breath, hatred coiling around her like something alive, something monstrous.

She didn't realize it at first.

But the air around her had begun to shift.

A faint glow flickered around her body, pulsing like an unsteady heartbeat. It was subtle at first, barely noticeable against the firelight.

And then—

SHRIEK!

A sound like tearing reality itself. A piercing, inhuman wail that sent vibrations through the air, rattling her skull, shaking the cavern walls.

The ground beneath them rumbled.

Aeliana froze. Her hatred still burned, her body still trembled, but something deeper stirred inside her—a primal, suffocating force pressing down from above.

Luca exhaled softly, as if bored, and raised his head.

"It appears that our talk is over."

Aeliana's breath hitched.

She followed his gaze, dragging her aching body to look upward—

And there, beyond the cavern ceiling, where the eerie, starless sky stretched out into an abyss—

A shadow.

Massive.

Moving.

Watching.

A shape too vast, too terrible to comprehend.

And then—

A single, monstrous tentacle came crashing down.

Chapter 422: Outsider (2)

"It appears that our talk is over."

Aeliana's heart pounded in her chest, her mind struggling to process what was happening. The Kraken. It was here. And it was coming for them—no, not them. For her. She could feel it, a primal, instinctive pull that made her skin crawl. The glow around her intensified, the light growing brighter, more erratic, as if responding to the creature's presence.

Luca's gaze flicked back to her, his dark eyes meeting hers for the briefest moment. There was something in his expression—something she couldn't quite place. Not fear, not concern, but… anticipation? Resignation? She couldn't tell. And then he turned away, his focus shifting to the descending tentacle.

Aeliana's breath hitched, her body trembling as the reality of the situation crashed over her. The Kraken was here. And it was coming for her. She wanted to scream, to run, to fight, but her body refused to move. She was trapped—trapped by her pain, by her rage, by the glowing energy that now surrounded her like a cage.

The tentacle was close now, close enough that she could see the suction cups lining its underside, each one large enough to crush her in an instant. She braced herself, her mind racing, her heart pounding in her ears.

And then, just as the tentacle was about to strike, Luca moved.

SWOOSH!

Luca moved like a shadow slipping through cracks in the air, his body propelled forward with an unnatural grace. His estoc was already drawn, black starlight gathering along its length as he surged toward the descending tentacle. His movements were impossibly smooth, a seamless transition between stillness and lethal intent.

His body coiled for a fraction of a second—then exploded forward.

「Void Starfall Blade: Starline」

The instant the words left his lips, the air around him shuddered. A thin, radiant line of black starlight traced the path of his blade as he slashed diagonally through the thick, writhing appendage.

BOOM!

The moment the strike connected, the starlight expanded, an eruption of force blasting outward from the thin line he had carved through the tentacle. A wave of distortion rippled through the flesh of the monstrous limb, and in the next instant—

CRACK!

The massive tentacle was torn apart along the line of impact, its own weight dragging it violently to the side as the severed chunk fell away. A spray of dark, brackish liquid erupted from the wound, splattering across the battlefield in thick, sludgy arcs.

Luca twisted his body midair, his foot barely brushing the ruined stone of the courtyard as he launched himself backward, escaping the immediate area of impact. His breath was steady, controlled, his eyes cold as he observed the result of his strike.

The Kraken recoiled.

A deep, guttural sound reverberated through the air, something between a roar and an unearthly shriek. The force of it sent tremors through the ground, making the already broken structures around them groan in protest.

Aeliana gasped, her wide eyes locked on Luca. He had moved faster than she could even register—one moment he was still, and the next he had shattered one of the Kraken's limbs as if it were nothing.

And yet.

The severed tentacle crashed into the cavern floor with a sickening, wet thud, splattering brackish ichor across the stone. The force of its impact sent tremors through the ground, loose debris tumbling from the jagged ceiling above. But even as the limb writhed in its death throes, the wound was already knitting itself back together.

Schlrkkk— the sound was grotesque, like flesh reweaving itself in fast motion. The Kraken's regeneration was instantaneous, dark energy crackling along the severed edges as new flesh coiled and twisted into shape. The gaping wound Lucavion had carved out mere moments ago had already sealed itself, as if the strike had never happened.

Lucavion clicked his tongue, tilting his head slightly as he took in the sight. "Well, that's just unfair," he murmured, though there was no real frustration in his voice. If anything, his lips curled into something dangerously close to amusement. "So, you regenerate instantly, do you?" He chuckled, tapping his estoc lightly against his shoulder. "I guess I should've expected as much. It wouldn't be fun otherwise."

Aeliana barely registered his words. She was still gasping, her body wracked with pain, barely clinging to consciousness as the glow around her pulsed erratically. Her entire body was screaming at her to collapse, to give in—but her hatred burned, white-hot and searing, keeping her conscious even as her limbs trembled.

The Kraken did not hesitate.

SHRRRIIEEEEKKKKKKK!

The cavern walls trembled as the monster let out a deafening, mind-rattling shriek. The sheer force of the sound sent a violent shockwave through the air, cracking stone and forcing Aeliana's already struggling body to convulse in pain.

And then— BOOM.

A second tentacle lashed down toward Lucavion with terrifying speed, its monstrous weight cutting through the air like a guillotine.

SWOOSH!

Lucavion moved.

He twisted his body at the last possible moment, a single step carrying him out of the tentacle's devastating path. The air pressure from the impact alone sent his coat billowing, his silver-streaked hair whipping around him as the stone beneath him shattered from the force of the blow.

But he wasn't done.

Even as he dodged, his Void Starfall Blade was already in motion.

SLASH—!

His estoc carved through the Kraken's thick, grotesque flesh in a precise, almost effortless motion. The dark steel of his blade glowed with a starry shimmer, leaving behind a thin, crackling line of starlight energy in its wake.

For a second, there was silence.

Then—

BOOM!

A violent explosion of force erupted from the wound, severing another chunk of the Kraken's limb. Ichor sprayed across the battlefield once more, the sheer impact sending tremors through the cavern.

Lucavion landed gracefully a few paces away, adjusting his grip on his sword as he studied his opponent. His smirk widened. "Still not enough, huh?" he mused, watching as the Kraken's wounds began to heal yet again, the grotesque process unfolding before his eyes.

The monster's remaining limbs twisted in agitation, its abyssal eyes narrowing as if recognizing Lucavion as a true threat.

SHRRRRRKKKKKKKK!

Without warning, three more tentacles surged toward him, their sheer size eclipsing the cavern's already limited space. They came from multiple directions at once, each one moving with unnatural speed, leaving no room to escape.

'Ah, there it is,' Lucavion thought, his smirk deepening. 'The moment when they stop underestimating me.'

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

The tentacles descended.

SWOOSH—!

Lucavion's body blurred.

He moved like falling starlight, his steps impossibly fast, fluid, weaving between the monstrous appendages with a speed that defied logic. Each time a tentacle struck the ground, it left behind massive craters, obliterating everything in its path—but not him.

His blade was already carving through the air.

CLANG. SLASH. SCHLKT.

Each movement was precise. Lethal. Tentacles were severed in the blink of an eye, the wounds glowing with that eerie, crackling starlight energy that prevented them from regenerating immediately.

The Kraken shrieked in agony, but Lucavion wasn't finished.

He launched himself skyward.

A single step on the air propelled him higher—above the chaos, above the carnage—until he was directly above the Kraken's massive, writhing body.

And there—suspended in the air, his dark coat billowing, his blade gleaming with an ominous, celestial glow—Lucavion smirked.

"Not so tough when you're not swinging those limbs around, are you?" he taunted, his voice dripping with amusement. He twisted his wrist, adjusting his grip on his estoc.

His blade thrummed with power.

"Let's see how you like this—"

「Void Starfall Blade: Event Horizon」

The moment he uttered the name of his technique, the cavern went silent.

And then— BOOM.

A pulse of pure starlight energy erupted from his blade, collapsing the very space around it. For a single, terrifying instant, it was as if reality itself warped inward, crushing everything caught within its radius.

And the Kraken?

It reeled. Its body convulsed violently, its monstrous form buckling under the sudden, overwhelming force. The very fabric of its existence seemed to strain against the attack, the eldritch energy that sustained it clashing with the starlight trying to erase it.

For the first time since the battle began—

The Kraken hesitated.

Lucavion's smirk widened. "Heh. Got your attention now, don't I?"

SHRRRRRRRIIIIIEEEEEEEKKKKKK!

The Kraken's scream was one of pure rage.

And then—

It evolved.

The air around it shifted, dark energy surging outward in a violent wave. The wounds Lucavion had inflicted healed twice as fast, the Kraken's body growing larger, stronger, its abyssal eyes glowing with something different.

Not just anger.

Recognition.

Lucavion's eyes narrowed slightly, his amusement not fading, but his grip on his estoc tightening just a fraction.

'Ah…' he mused, rolling his shoulder as the starlight energy in his blade intensified.

'So, you're finally taking me seriously, huh?'

He grinned, stepping forward as the Kraken's monstrous energy surged once more.

"Good."

His blade hummed.

"That makes two of us."

Chapter 423: Outsider (3)

Aeliana could barely breathe.

The world was slipping—flickering between two realities, both equally surreal, equally horrifying.

The cavern. The Kraken.

And beyond that, the strange, dream-like dimension that clawed at the edges of her vision.

There was something watching.

Waiting.

⍀☌⋔⏃⟒⍀☌⏃⟒⍀⍜⌰⌿☌⏃⟒⍀⍜☌⏃⟒⍀☌⏃⟒…

The noises filled her head, incomprehensible whispers that slithered through her thoughts like oil, twisting around her mind, sinking into her very being.

She didn't understand—couldn't understand—but they were there, pressing against her skull like a thousand unseen hands.

Yet, despite that, her eyes kept returning to him.

Lucavion.

Standing before that thing.

Before the Kraken.

It was huge. Unfathomably massive. A creature born of nightmares, its grotesque form pulsating with an abyssal energy that made the very air vibrate. It radiated power, its sheer presence enough to crush lesser beings into the ground.

And he was still there.

Facing it.

Fighting it.

Her body burned, her cursed veins pulsing, her breath ragged, but her mind couldn't let go of a single, brutal thought.

'Why is he fighting?'

This thing—this monster—was after her.

Not him.

So why?

Why wasn't he just letting it take her?

Why was he standing there, blade drawn, grin sharp enough to cut through the very fabric of existence itself?

She hated him.

She hated him.

Didn't she?

Didn't she?

'I hate him…'

The thought echoed in her head, trying to take root, trying to cling to her like a lifeline. But even as she forced herself to hold onto it, she saw it—

That look in his eyes.

That madness.

That smile.

A twisted, exhilarated grin spread across his face, his dark eyes alight with something wild, unhinged.

Like he was enjoying this.

Like the fight itself was what mattered.

Like everything—this place, this moment, her suffering—

Like it was all just a game to him.

Her stomach twisted.

Her vision blurred.

The whispers clawed at her mind again.

But she couldn't look away.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

*******

The Kraken loomed before me, its abyssal eyes gleaming with something beyond primal hunger. Recognition. Understanding. A knowing that stretched past the physical, past the battlefield, past the clash of blade and limb.

And beneath that knowing, I felt it.

A pulse. A tether. A resonance deep within my core, thrumming in time with the eldritch energy swirling around the creature. It wasn't just a monster, not just another obstacle to be cut down. No—this thing was something else.

And it was calling to me.

'Indeed… this sensation…'

It was the same as when I had first forged my core, when I had shattered my limits under the weight of [Devourer of Stars]. That dream—that vision—where countless stars burned across an infinite void. And mine?

Mine was black.

Even then, I had known. There was something else in me, something beyond the system of cultivation I had been taught. Gerald had felt it. Master had warned me of it.

And now, standing before this thing—this grotesque convergence of abyssal energy—I felt it again.

Familiar.

For the first time since the battle began, I hesitated.

And in that hesitation, the Kraken struck.

BOOM!

A massive tentacle lashed out, warping the very air with its sheer force. My body moved on instinct—too late. The impact grazed my side, pain flaring sharp and electric as the force sent me skidding across the ruined stone.

I landed in a crouch, exhaling through my teeth. The pain settled, a dull ache already fading into the background, pushed aside by something sharper.

Excitement.

'Heh. Sloppy.'

And yet, my lips curled into a smirk.

Because now, I was sure.

This wasn't just an anomaly. It wasn't just some overgrown sea horror with regeneration too annoying for its own good.

The thing inside the Kraken—the thing that resonated with me—was something more. Something deeper.

Something waiting.

I straightened, rolling my shoulder as the starlight along my estoc pulsed, faint embers of void-light flickering through the air. The Kraken reared back, its remaining limbs writhing, but its abyssal gaze never left mine.

It knew.

And so did I.

"As expected," I murmured to myself, absently tapping my estoc against my shoulder, my voice barely louder than the crackle of abyssal energy in the air. "When it comes to lore and fantasy, a romance-fantasy novel falls short in expansion."

The Kraken loomed, its grotesque form shifting, distorting, as though it too was listening. The resonance between us deepened, the pulse in my core growing stronger. The weight of the moment pressed against my skin, but my mind was elsewhere.

'Shattered Innocence.'

In the original novel, this entire event—the emergence of a Kraken in the Thaddeus Duchy—had barely been a footnote. A brief mention, a passing reference, nothing more. The book never explored it, never lingered on the details of the destruction it wrought, the chaos it left in its wake.

Because it didn't matter.

Not to the story. Not to Elara's path.

The book skipped over it entirely, jumping straight to the academy arc after her banishment, using fragmented flashbacks to hint at the devastation that had unfolded.

A Duchy nearly destroyed.

A Duke who almost lost his right arm.

A shift in the political landscape, power scrambling to fill the void left in the wake of the disaster.

And, most importantly—Elara.

The novel barely scratched the surface of what this event did to her. How it shaped her, how it carved itself into her story like an unspoken scar.

It was a choice of the author, and it could be understood.

I could understand it.

The choice of the author. The way the story was structured.

'Shattered Innocence' had always been more about Elara than the world she existed in. It was her journey, her suffering, her growth. Everything else—the political shifts, the tragedies of others—was simply background noise, events meant to propel her forward.

And I could respect that.

After all, a tightly woven narrative had its strengths. A story that didn't meander, that stayed focused on its protagonist, was compelling in its own way.

But at the same time…

It didn't do her justice.

Elara had taken my place in the original story. She was the one who had fought the Kraken. The one who had somehow found Aeliana.

And she was the one who had befriended her.

Aeliana—who was never your typical noble lady. Who didn't fit into the mold of delicate refinement the world expected of her. Who carried her scars with an inherent resentment, because no matter how strong she was, no matter how much she endured—there was always someone who had it easier.

And that someone was Elara.

Their dynamic had been interesting.

Elara, the protagonist, blessed by fate. Beautiful, powerful, beloved. And Aeliana, born cursed, carrying the weight of her affliction in every fiber of her being.

Of course, she had resented her.

And yet, somehow, they became friends.

Not because Elara pitied her, nor because Aeliana wanted to be saved. But because Elara was stubborn in the way only a protagonist could be. And Aeliana, for all her resentment, found herself intrigued.

The book had painted their friendship in fragmented moments, scattered through flashbacks—small glimpses into the past, scattered breadcrumbs meant to make Elara's later grief more impactful.

But that was the problem, wasn't it?

It was never about Aeliana.

It was about Elara's loss. About the pain of losing a friend, rather than the depth of the bond itself.

And now, standing here—living in the unwritten pages of this world—I found myself irritated by that fact.

Because I was seeing Aeliana in real-time. I was watching her struggle, watching the way her body trembled, the way her breaths came in sharp, ragged gasps. I could feel the weight of the whispers clawing at her mind, see the way she refused to look away from me, even as she drowned in whatever hell her body was forcing her through.

'It may be a bit cruel and hard for you….'

The words I had spoken might have been harsh.

I knew how hurtful they can be.

'But, you see….Hatred is a strong feeling.'

With a condition like hers, I wanted her ending to be different.

Chapter 424: Outsider (4)

It was ironic, really.

Protagonists were supposed to change everything.

Their presence bent the world, shifted the tides, rewrote the fate of those around them. They were the axis upon which the story turned.

And yet, Elara—who had befriended Aeliana, who had tried to save her—had failed.

No matter how much she had fought, no matter the strength of their bond, it hadn't mattered in the end.

Aeliana had still lost herself.

To her curse. To her illness. To the inevitable spiral that the novel had already written for her.

'Shattered Innocence' had cooked with that twist. The protagonist, bound by fate rather than defying it. The world, unwilling to let her rewrite certain tragedies.

And it had been good.

But now—this world was no longer a book.

It was real.

And I was here.

Which meant I didn't have to accept that ending.

My grip tightened around my estoc, the void-light along its edge pulsing in time with the abyssal energy surrounding us. The Kraken loomed, waiting, watching, its resonance with me deepening.

But my focus wasn't on it.

It was on her.

Aeliana, whose body trembled, barely able to stand, yet still glaring at me with something raw and unyielding. Aeliana, who had every reason to collapse, every reason to give in, yet refused to look away.

'It may be a bit cruel and hard for you…'

I knew the weight of my words. I knew how much they could cut.

'But, you see… hatred is a strong feeling.'

And with a condition like hers, she would need it.

Because hatred—resentment, rage, fury—was an emotion strong enough to keep a person alive.

I knew that better than anyone.

I had seen how far it could push a man. How it could keep them fighting long past their limits, keep them moving even when the world had long since turned against them.

Because I had lived it.

And if it worked for me—

Then maybe it would work for her too.

I exhaled, stepping forward, meeting her unsteady gaze. My smirk softened—just slightly.

'Hope you don't resent me too much.'

Then I turned back to the Kraken, lifting my blade.

Time to see if fate could still be rewritten.

BOOM.

The Kraken lunged.

But I was already moving.

My body twisted, feet barely grazing the broken stone as I evaded its strike with ease—no, with certainty.

"As expected."

My eyes flicked over the Kraken, watching as something new coiled around its grotesque limbs, slithering through the thick, pulsing flesh.

Starlight energy.

Faint at first, but unmistakable. Flickering like dying embers, yet carrying a weight far beyond this creature. Beyond this world.

'So it's true, then.'

The monster's energy finalized my doubts.

In the novel, the Kraken's connection to something greater—something outside—was only revealed near the very end.

That time, it wasn't Aeliana.

It was someone else.

A male lead. A favored son of fate.

Another disaster. Another tragedy. Another nearly irreversible curse.

But this time, because it happened after the academy arc, Elara had been strong enough to stop it.

And when she did—when the monster fell, broken and writhing in its final death throes—something had been revealed.

Inside that beast, inside its very essence, was something else entirely.

[The KONG.]

A sublime, blackish creature. Something not of this world.

'An outsider. An alien. Call it whatever you want.'

Duke Thaddeus had been the one to confirm it. He had seen it before, felt it before. And though the novel had never focused on him, his words had carried weight.

Because the energy within that thing—the KONG—had been the same.

The same as the Kraken.

The same as the energy that had once nearly destroyed him.

And it was the same star energy that I was seeing right now.

The tendrils of void-starlight coiling through the Kraken's massive body pulsed again, stronger this time. The resonance between us deepened, a call-and-response that vibrated through my very core.

I understood it now.

This thing, this monstrous force—

It wasn't just a mindless creature of the deep.

It was a vessel.

A host for something greater. Something older. Something… wrong.

The realization sent a slow, amused breath through my lips.

"Heh."

No wonder the novel had only hinted at it, only revealed the truth at the very end.

Because this wasn't just a single disaster.

This was a pattern.

A deliberate force moving in the shadows of this world, slipping through the cracks, infecting hosts, creating destruction at precise, calculated points in time.

This Kraken.

The monster that had nearly killed Thaddeus.

The beast that had cursed the male lead.

And who was to say how many more were out there?

'Hah. Looks like the world-building was deeper than even the author intended.'

A slow smile curled onto my lips.

I had expected this.

That was why I had come here in the first place.

Something had been calling me. A pull at the edges of my awareness, subtle yet undeniable. The kind of instinct that couldn't be rationalized, that couldn't be explained in simple logic.

It wasn't concrete, wasn't anything I could prove.

Superstition? Intuition? Call it whatever you want.

At the end of the day, I had known.

And I was right.

My fingers flexed around the hilt of my estoc, the void-light along its length pulsing in time with the foreign starlight that coiled around the Kraken's massive body.

It was coming down now, its colossal form twisting, shifting—breaking.

Not from my attacks.

But from within.

Something inside it was stirring, unraveling, trying to claw its way free.

And I could feel it.

The resonance between us had deepened to something undeniable, something raw and vast and familiar.

'The condition for my breakthrough lies here.'

That thought settled into my mind with certainty.

I had reached the limits of what this world's cultivation system understood. [Devourer of Stars] was never meant to follow the same path. My core had formed outside of convention, my ascension had been different from the rest.

And now, the answer was in front of me.

Because the Kraken was proof that I wasn't the only one.

That something else—something older—had already walked this path before.

I exhaled, rolling my shoulders as I met the abyssal gaze of the dying monster.

"Good," I murmured, my smirk widening as I shifted my stance.

"Then let's see what you're really hiding."

BOOM.

I surged forward.

Chapter 425: Outisder (5)

BOOM.

The Kraken's form twisted unnaturally, its massive bulk moving far faster than something of its size should be capable of. Its enormous tentacles lashed out in a blur of motion, cutting through the air with enough force to collapse the cavern walls.

SWOOSH!

I dodged.

My body moved instinctively, my feet barely grazing the ruined stone as I weaved through the onslaught. The tentacle struck where I had been a fraction of a second ago, shattering the ground into jagged debris. The air rippled from the sheer force of the blow, dust and ichor spraying in all directions.

Another strike.

Another.

SWOOSH. SWOOSH.

I bent backward, narrowly avoiding a crushing sweep that would've flattened me. Another tentacle came from above, a blur of abyssal muscle descending like a falling mountain.

This time, I deflected.

CLANG!

I twisted my estoc, angling the edge to redirect rather than resist. A pulse of black-starlight flickered along the blade's surface, sending the Kraken's strike veering slightly off course. It wasn't enough to fully stop it, but enough to buy me the fraction of a second I needed to shift my weight—

And move.

The impact missed me by inches, sending shockwaves through the battlefield. The cavern trembled, cracks splintering across the already ruined terrain. The sheer force sent loose debris tumbling from the jagged ceiling above.

'It's fast.'

It was regenerating, too.

Every time my blade carved into its grotesque flesh, the wounds stitched themselves back together. The black, brackish ichor spilled from its injuries, but it didn't weaken. If anything, it seemed to be getting stronger.

Tch. Annoying.

I exhaled, rolling my wrist, my estoc humming with faint starlight energy. My body burned with exertion, the wounds along my ribs and arms throbbing, but I didn't stop.

This fight was dragging on.

'It's not good.'

And it was not. After all, the more this monster lived, the more it fought, the harder it would get for me.

'I can't match its regeneration.'

Maybe, if there were other monsters that were around here, then it could have been possible. After all, I could utilize [Flame of Equinox] to absorb their vitality.

'Vitaliara would help as well.'

But, none of these two above conditions were met.

Hence there was not much that could be done.

I stepped forward, blade rising.

「Void Starfall Blade: Starsurge」

The air shuddered.

A deep pulse of black-starlight radiated from my weapon, expanding outward in sharp, crackling arcs. The energy around me condensed, space bending as the technique activated.

And then—

I vanished.

Or rather, I moved too fast to be seen.

A streak of starlight tore across the battlefield, my figure blurring into a trail of pure, condensed energy. My estoc carved through the Kraken's defenses, the force of the strike expanding the moment it connected.

BOOM!

The impact was devastating.

The black-starlight exploded outward, carving through the Kraken's grotesque flesh in a spiral of obliterating force. A massive section of its body was severed, black ichor spraying into the air like a ruptured dam.

For a moment, there was silence.

And then—

Schlrkkk—

The sound of flesh reforming.

I watched, my smirk fading slightly as the severed wound stitched itself back together, the Kraken's body regenerating in mere seconds.

My attack had landed.

But it hadn't worked.

My smirk twisted into something colder. I exhaled, adjusting my stance, but before I could move—

BOOM.

A tentacle came from my blind spot.

I twisted—too late.

The impact slammed into my side, pain exploding through my ribs as I was sent flying.

CRASH!

I hit the ground hard, skidding across the ruined battlefield before slamming into a broken pillar. Blood filled my mouth, the taste sharp and metallic. My fingers tightened around my weapon, my breaths coming out ragged.

'Tch… So it's like this, huh?'

I clenched my jaw, pressing a hand to my side, feeling the deep gash along my ribs. My mind was working, analyzing, dissecting. My technique had been perfect.

And yet, it wasn't enough.

Why?

What was I missing?

I gritted my teeth, pushing myself to my feet. My vision blurred for a moment before sharpening, my gaze locking onto the Kraken's writhing, abyssal form. The resonance between us was still there, pulsing, watching.

I exhaled slowly, the taste of blood thick on my tongue. My ribs throbbed with each breath, the pain sharp but manageable. I tightened my grip on my estoc, forcing myself to ignore the lingering ache.

'Why?'

My technique had landed. It had cut through the Kraken. But it hadn't mattered.

I channeled my core, willing the Starlight Energy into my blade. A soft hum reverberated through the air as black-starlight pulsed along the weapon's edge, flickering with celestial brilliance.

At the same time, I let my [Flame of Equinox] surge through my veins.

WHOOSH.

Blackish flames coiled around me, licking at the air with an eerie, consuming heat. Unlike ordinary fire, this was something more—something that straddled the line between life and death.

'For now, I need to understand.'

It wasn't going to be that easy. I knew that.

I didn't expect a simple answer.

But I needed something.

I shifted my stance, my vision locking onto the Kraken once more. Its abyssal form pulsed, its grotesque limbs twisting, shifting unnaturally as it watched me.

It was waiting.

Almost as if it knew I hadn't figured it out yet.

Tch. Annoying.

BOOM.

I shot forward.

My movements blurred into streaks of starlight, the celestial energy crackling around my frame as I closed the distance in an instant. My estoc slashed out, carving through the thick mass of flesh before twisting in an elegant arc.

SLASH. SLASH. SLASH.

Each strike landed with pinpoint precision.

Each cut was clean.

Each wound burst apart with black flames and searing starlight.

But none of them mattered.

Schlrkkk—

The Kraken's wounds stitched themselves back together before I had even finished my next attack.

'Not enough.'

SWOOSH!

I twisted midair, dodging a massive tentacle that came crashing down where I had stood. My body flickered again, moving with the momentum of my strikes, my blade lashing out in rapid succession.

SLASH. SLASH. SLASH.

Still nothing.

Fine.

I pivoted, pressing my free hand forward—

BOOM!

Beams of starlight surged from my palm, arcs of pure celestial force ripping through the battlefield. They sliced through the Kraken's form, illuminating the cavern in a flash of radiant destruction.

Then, I shifted my mana.

The [Flame of Equinox] flared up, black flames twisting into scorching waves as I unleashed them in rapid succession. Projectiles of death and fire shot toward the Kraken, consuming the very air as they tore forward.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM!

The cavern shook from the force of the attacks.

And yet—

When the smoke cleared, the Kraken remained.

Untouched.

The wounds I had inflicted were already gone, the regeneration surging faster than ever.

I landed several paces away, breath steady but gaze cold.

'No. This isn't working.'

My flames weren't stopping it.

My starlight wasn't enough.

Even the combined force of my techniques—something that should have erased lesser creatures entirely—was useless.

Tch.

I exhaled sharply, rolling my wrist, feeling the black-light flickering at the edge of my consciousness.

There was something I wasn't seeing.

Something I was missing.

"Heh…."

But that was the fun part.

"Hehe…"

The answer was here. Right in front of me.

"Stepping into the unknown."

I just had to figure it out.

Chapter 426: Outsider (6)

Aeliana watched.

She couldn't stop watching.

The battlefield was chaos—an endless, violent blur of motion, but her eyes never left him.

Lucavion, moving like a living star, a streak of black-starlight carving through the air. His blade danced in elegant arcs, each strike perfect, each movement precise.

And yet—

It wasn't enough.

The Kraken was different now. Stronger. Faster. Its wounds no longer just healing—they were becoming impenetrable. With every passing second, it adapted, shifting its monstrous form in unnatural ways, its grotesque limbs pulsing with a dark energy that felt wrong.

And then—

He got hit.

BOOM.

A tentacle slammed into him from behind, crushing force breaking the sound barrier as it sent him flying.

Aeliana's breath hitched.

She had never seen him take a hit like that.

Lucavion crashed hard, his body skipping across the ruined battlefield like a broken doll. The impact was enough to shatter stone, his coat torn, his body slamming into a jagged pillar with a sickening crack.

Blood sprayed into the air.

And yet—

He stood.

Of course he stood.

Of course he did.

Aeliana clenched her fists, her own body trembling as the pulsing light around her flared erratically.

Lucavion pressed a hand to his ribs, exhaling sharply. Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth, the wound deep, his breathing uneven.

But still—he grinned.

That damn grin.

That reckless, wild grin.

His fingers curled around his estoc, his posture unshaken despite the pain. He was still standing. Still fighting.

But something was different now.

Something she saw before anyone else.

He was slowing down.

Just a fraction. Just a moment. But it was there.

The Kraken saw it, too.

It knew.

It was waiting for this.

Aeliana's pulse pounded, the voices in her head growing louder, more alien, twisting through her thoughts like an infection.

"⍀☌⋔⏃⟒⍀☌⏃⟒⍀⍜⌰⌿☌⏃⟒⍀⍜☌⏃⟒⍀☌⏃⟒…"

She clutched her skull, her breath uneven.

'Shut up.'

She didn't want to hear it.

Didn't want to understand it.

But her body—her soul—was already changing.

Her cursed veins pulsed harder, and this time, she didn't resist.

This time, she accepted it.

A revelation bloomed in the back of her mind. A truth she had never allowed herself to grasp.

"I am not weak."

Her nails scraped against the broken stone as she forced herself to move.

"I was never weak."

Pain seared through her limbs, her body screaming for her to stop, but she refused.

She took a step forward.

Then another.

The glow around her flared brighter, her body trembling with something new, something undeniable.

"I won't let this define me."

Aeliana clenched her teeth, her breath ragged, and as she did—

A sharp, grinding sound echoed through the battlefield.

It was her teeth.

She was gritting them so hard the sheer force of it reverberated through the air.

And she kept walking.

Because Lucavion—

That bastard.

That liar.

That monster.

He was hers to kill.

Not the Kraken.

Not this cursed land.

Not anyone else.

She had meant every single word she had screamed at him.

And she needed answers.

Which meant—

Lucavion wasn't allowed to die here.

Aeliana refused.

She refused.

Her body screamed, every nerve shredding from the inside out, her cursed veins pulsing with a violent, unbearable heat. It hurt. It hurt—a pain deeper than anything she had ever felt before, like her very soul was being ripped apart.

But she would not fall.

Her blurred gaze locked onto him.

Lucavion.

The bastard. The liar. The monster.

She burned his image into her mind—every detail, every drop of blood smeared across his skin, every inch of his battle-worn coat, every flicker of madness in his starlit eyes.

She would not let the Kraken take him from her.

"I will not let you take him from me."

Her voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper, but the weight behind it cracked through the air.

Her body begged for her to stop.

To let go.

To end it.

Her very cells screamed for release, the agony drowning her, crushing her bones from the inside out.

But still—

"I refuse."

She refused.

She reached inside herself, beyond the pain, beyond the overwhelming madness clawing at the edges of her mind.

Her vision flickered. Reality twisted.

And then—

She saw it.

Inside her.

A writhing, slimy, disgusting mass of pitch-black darkness. It pulsed unnaturally, sickening, vile, wrong.

It didn't belong there.

It had never belonged there.

But beside it—

A color.

A deep, rambling blue.

It was not calm. It was not gentle.

It was a storm.

A raging ocean, swirling violently, fighting against the invading force.

It called to her.

Aeliana's breath shuddered, her fingers twitching as she clung to it.

This—

This was hers.

This storm—this raw, violent force surging through her veins—

It was hers.

And she would not let go.

The moment Aeliana clung to the storm—she felt it.

A pulse.

A deep, resonant force, something primal, something old. It surged through her veins, crashing like waves against the black mass inside her, colliding with it—fighting it.

And then—

The sky rumbled.

A violent tremor echoed through this strange space, this dimension that wasn't quite real, wasn't quite a dream. The heavens above—if they could even be called that—shook, like something vast and unseen was awakening.

And her body—

Her body jolted awake.

"AAAAAH! IT HURTS!"

The scream tore from her throat as pure, unfiltered agony flooded her.

It was not pain from her body.

It was not something as simple as flesh and bone breaking.

This was deeper.

This was her soul being shattered.

The storm inside her clashed violently against the sickening black mass, crashing into it, tearing into it like a hurricane against a parasite that had burrowed too deep.

It hurt.

It hurt more than anything she had ever felt in her entire life.

And at the exact same moment—

SHRIIIIEEEEEK!

The Kraken writhed.

Its massive form lurched, its abyssal eyes widening, its monstrous limbs twisting unnaturally. It felt it too.

It knew.

Its grotesque, writhing tentacles shot forward—

Straight toward her.

Aeliana barely had time to register the incoming attack. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, could barely even see through the unbearable, soul-crushing pain.

But just before the massive limb could strike her—

CLANK!

A flash of black-starlight.

A sharp, metallic clash.

And then—

A voice.

"Not on my watch."