—Rexdeus—
STAB—
A dark stake etched with runes pierced straight through my heart.
But I didn't die.
On the edge between life and ruin—only one word crossed my mind.
Why…?
I could feel it clearly.
Something long and cold had driven itself directly into my heart.
Black blood burst from the wound—warm, yet reeking of rot. The unmistakable stench of Anathema blood, tainted by miasma.
Even as my mind refused to accept the reality before me—
"Hngh—!"
Pain coursed through my entire body—impossible to ignore.
It was real.
Too real.
And I understood him better than anyone—how he thought.
As a clan head… or as a father.
Erebos had always followed one unchanging principle.
He would choose to be a good leader for everyone.
Even if it meant—
Sacrificing me, his own son.
It had always been that way.
I understood it—far too well.
But when it actually happened—
it was far more suffocating than the pain of the Dark stake piercing through my chest.
So the feelings I thought had long died…
…were never truly gone.
They were still there—
buried deep, yet alive.
From this moment, I realized one thing with absolute certainty.
Without Erebos' approval—
a coward like Larcenous would never dare to do something like this.He wouldn't break the clan's laws. Nor would he attack someone stronger than himself.
Unless—
Someone had given him the order.
From the very beginning—
it was Erebos who summoned me to Haka.
And the moment I arrived—
Without warning—
the dark stake had pierced me from behind.
Wasn't that strange?
He was the one who established the rule—no killing among us.
A law he created—one every member of the clan was meant to obey.
Then—
What did all of this mean?
If not that he himself wanted it…
To erase me… to wipe me out.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Then I opened them again. When they did—there was no emotion left within them.
Everything that had almost surfaced…
was buried once more, just like always.
"HAHAHA! Rexdeus, die!!"
Larcenous raised the dark stake high, preparing to drive it down for the second time.
My body was still impaled by the lingering pain of the first strike.
But my instincts moved faster than my thoughts.
With trembling hands, I crushed the small black stone hanging from the bracelet on my wrist.
CRACK—
The stone shattered.
From within, an old scroll shot out—one I had never even had the chance to examine before.
A teleportation scroll.
Without a second thought—
I tore it open.
Zzzzt—!!
A foreign energy erupted from the scroll—a violent surge of power yanking my body away.
My vision spun.
The world distorted at an incomprehensible speed. Larcenous's laughter faded into the distance—its echo stretched, then torn apart by the vortex of space.
And yet, that was the only proof that—
I had escaped.
———
The Triple Peak-Astrea (Deep Forest).
"Ungh—!"
My body slammed hard against the ground.
The world spun around me. My head felt like it was being squeezed from the inside, and my stomach lurched up into my throat.
Damn… the side effects of random teleportation.
…Disgusting.
If not for my abnormal condition, I swear I would never use something like this. Using a random teleportation scroll was the worst decision I've ever made.
I lay there for a while, waiting for my vision to steady. When the world finally stopped spinning, I realized one thing.
I was in the middle of a forest.
A wild forest I didn't recognize at all. Towering trees stretched endlessly upward, packed tightly together. Thick undergrowth covered the ground. Everything felt unfamiliar.
I had no idea where I'd been teleported to.
But something felt… off.
Too quiet.
There were no signs of wild beasts.
No monsters.
Not even the faintest sound of insects.
Then it hit me.
I see…
They weren't coming closer. They were afraid of me. The creatures of this forest were keeping their distance—
hesitant to approach.
Should I be grateful for this cursed black blood?
How ironic.
I despise this cursed blood more than anything…Yet it's the very thing keeping everything else away from me at a time like this.
That foul stench returned.
Black blood flowed from the wound in my chest—warm, reeking of decay. A reminder that I wasn't much different from a walking corpse.
And this wound…
…it should have already closed.
My regeneration may be the weakest in the clan.
But a wound like this—
It should have healed by now.
Yet even now, my blood continued to flow.
Why…?
I stared at my hand.
It was trembling.
Not just my hand—
my entire body was shaking.
And then—
ZIIIT—!
Without warning, the pain I had momentarily forgotten came crashing back all at once.
It felt as if every part of my body was being torn apart from the inside.
Blue veins surfaced across my skin—
From my head…
to the tips of my toes.
My hand clawed into the ground. Before I realized it, my nails had lengthened—
digging deep into the soil and the tree trunks around me.
I gritted my teeth, trying to suppress the scream.
It was useless.
I couldn't.
"Ghh… Argh—!"
Sweat and blood soaked into the earth.
Black blood began seeping out from the pores of my skin—
from my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
My body was completely out of control.
And I could feel something even worse happening—
My organs…
…were rotting.
Rapidly. Far too fast to comprehend.
It was as if I was breaking apart.
As if something within me was changing.
What… is happening to me?
A fragment of memory resurfaced in my mind.
The long dark stake that pierced my heart.
The ancient runes carved into its surface.
The strange aura that surrounded it.
A faint laugh escaped me.
Empty. Hollow. Filled with despair.
Now I understand.
That dark stake—
It wasn't made to kill just anyone.
It was made for me.
…Specifically for me.
Everything began to connect inside my mind.
The summons to Haka, the perfect timing, the attack without warning—and that weapon. It had all been planned. A flawless trap.
A decision made long before I ever arrived. Erebos had already made his choice. Because to him—
I would never have a future.
"AARRGH!!"
My scream echoed through the forest.
Even I didn't know what was coming out of me.
Was it pain?
Sorrow?
Rage?
Everything twisted into something unrecognizable.
My aura and blood erupted into chaos—
wild, uncontrolled, without direction.
The power surging from my body crashed into the surroundings like an unseen storm. The ground beneath my feet began to blacken.
Drying.
Withering.
Turning barren.
The grass wilted instantly. The trees lost their green, and leaves rotted before they could even fall from their branches.
The air filled with the stench of death.
The life of the land around me—was being ripped away by my starving, cursed blood.
As if the earth itself was being drained dry by my very existence. A circle of death slowly spread outward.
And in the midst of that destruction—
I understood one thing. One thing that sent a cold fear crawling through my mind.
If I lose control now…
I won't be myself anymore.