The Minor Soul-Linked Watchtower pulsed once inside Kai's mind exactly at midnight.
[ALERT: 32 hostile signatures approaching from the northeast.
Estimated arrival: 4 hours.
Leader – Plague Warlock Valthor,
Level 28.]
Kai stood alone on the newly repaired eastern wall, black cloak snapping in the cold wind. Through the tower's all-seeing vision he watched everything in perfect clarity: Valthor's corrupted riders on rotting horses, black banners oozing green slime, and the warlock himself at the head of the column, staff of fused human spines glowing with sickly light.
The watchtower didn't stop at the enemy.
It flooded his mind with the true map of the continent.
Seven major powers ruled this world:
Human Empire of Ironreach – steel-clad conquerors and war-machine builders.
Elf Kingdom of Sylvandar – forest lords whose arrows never missed.
Dwarf Underkingdom of Korrak – rune-forgers and black-powder masters.
Magic Mageocracy of Eldrath – floating crystal cities.
Vampire Blood Dominion of Vorath – immortal night lords. Demon Dominion of Zeth'ka – chaos-loving demon overlords.
Beast Kingdom of Tharok– savage tribes ruled by raw fury.
Deadhollow was nothing more than a forgotten speck on the border between the Human Empire and the Elf Kingdom — a worthless testing ground… until now.
Kai exhaled slowly.
Seven empires.
One tiny village.
And I just killed their caretaker.
He needed the village's own history.
He pressed his palm against the glowing orange anomaly buried beneath the central square.
The Dark Origin Anomaly flared.
Centuries of sealed memories poured straight into his skull.
Two hundred years ago this place had been a hidden outpost of the Demon Dominion.
The first Dark Lord had planted a fragment of his own soul here — the very same fragment now burning inside Kai's chest.
Every lord, every poisoning, every act of sabotage had been designed to keep the anomaly weak… until the perfect vessel finally arrived.
Boryn had only been the latest puppet.
The truth settled in his veins like liquid ice.
He had four hours.
Building His Own Army
Kai didn't ask for trust.
He forged it in fear and darkness.
At 2 a.m.
he gathered every single villager under flickering torchlight.
Ten dark summons stood behind him like statues of death — Shadow Knight, Crimson Blade Assassins, Demon Archers.
Finn and Lira stood at the front, faces pale but eyes hard.
"Valthor is coming," Kai said, voice flat and cold.
"He serves the Demon Dominion."
"He wants the anomaly."
"He will burn every one of you alive to get it."
"But I am not Boryn."
"I do not run."
He didn't offer them new weapons.
He offered them survival.
"Anyone who fights with me tonight gets clean water tomorrow morning — no delay. Anyone who runs dies first by my hand, then by Valthor's."
"Choose."
Lira stepped forward.
Hate still burned in her eyes, but now it was mixed with desperate hope.
"If you save my baby… I'll fight."
One by one, forty-three villagers picked up spears, axes, and old hunting bows.
Kai bound the willing ones with a weak Soul-Link Contract.
Their loyalty pulses in the watchtower shifted from angry red to steady green.
Finn looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"You turned fear into weapons in one night."
"I still don't trust you… but I'll fight beside you."
Kai gave a single nod.
Good enough.
The first corrupted rider crested the hill at 5:47 a.m.
Tense silence exploded into chaos.
Valthor's riders charged, green plague mist rolling ahead like a living curse.
Villagers screamed.
Summons roared.
Kai fought at the very front.
The Shadow Knight tanked the first wave like an unbreakable wall.
Crimson Blade Assassins flickered in and out, throats opening in sprays of black blood.
Demon Archers rained death from the wall.
A rider broke through and swung a plague blade straight at Lira.
Kai moved without thinking — he took the hit on his shoulder.
Pain exploded.
Blood sprayed.
Not today.
[BATTLE COMPLETE – 11 kills]
Level: 14 → 15
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Dark Origin Summoning System – Milestone Achieved!
New Skill Options Unlocked (Choose ONE):
Origin Venom Spit – Expel a jet of black venom infused with the Dark Origin.
On contact it seeps into flesh, blood, or weapon, slowly rotting the soul from within. Causes agonizing pain, progressive weakness, and visions of despair. Limited to three uses before mana exhaustion.
Shadow Leech Chains – Summon four shadow chains that bind enemies and drain tiny soul fragments. Chains last only 10–15 seconds.
Abyssal Whisper – Send invisible whispers of doubt and despair into nearby enemies, causing hesitation and self-betrayal. Affects only 5–6 targets at once.
Kai's mind burned with the choices. The Dark Origin inside him stirred, hungry.
He didn't hesitate.
"Origin Venom Spit."
The system accepted instantly.
A cold, venomous power coiled behind his tongue like living poison.
The Warlock Arrives – Pure Tension
Valthor himself rode forward on a horse of bones and rot.
His voice echoed like a thousand dying screams across the battlefield.
"Kai Ren! You stole my village and my anomaly! The Demon Dominion and the Beast Kingdom of Tharok will hear of this! Kneel and I will only kill half of them!"
Kai stepped onto the wall, shoulder still bleeding.
Behind him the newly summoned Plaguebane Guardian roared, black flames licking the air.
"Half is still too many,"
Kai replied, voice colder than the grave.
The final clash began.
Valthor raised his spine-staff.
A plague storm exploded outward.
Green mist rolled over the square.
Villagers coughed blood.
Mira's mother Lira collapsed to her knees.
Finn took a hit protecting a child and dropped to one knee, arm burning with rot.
Kai felt the old hesitation flicker — the same one from the well.
He crushed it.
He sprinted forward, leaped off the wall, and landed in front of the warlock.
Valthor laughed and swung the staff.
Kai dodged the first strike, but the second caught his side, cracking a rib.
Pain flared.
Before Valthor could strike again, Kai opened his mouth and spat.
A thin jet of pitch-black venom shot out and splattered across the warlock's staff and right forearm.
The venom hissed on contact.
Valthor's eyes widened.
"What… is this—"
The corruption began instantly.
The staff's bones started to blacken and crack.
Valthor's veins bulged under his skin, turning dark green then black.
He screamed as invisible rot chewed into his soul.
But the warlock was Level 28. He wasn't finished.
With a roar he slammed the corrupted staff into the ground.
A wave of plague spikes erupted toward Kai.
The Plaguebane Guardian charged in and took the hit, black flames clashing against green rot.
Kai rolled aside and spat again — second use.
This time the venom struck Valthor's chest, soaking through his robes.
The warlock staggered.
Visions of his own death flooded his mind.
His left arm went limp.
The rot was spreading, slow but unstoppable.
"You… insect!"
Valthor snarled.
He floated upward, staff spinning despite the corruption.
A barrage of plague bolts rained down.
Kai weaved between them, using the Shadow Knight as moving cover.
One bolt grazed his thigh.
He felt the poison trying to enter, but the Dark Origin inside him burned it away.
He closed the distance again.
Valthor swung wildly now, movements slowing, face twisted in agony. "
The Dominion will crush you! Tharok will—"
Kai spat the final time — straight into Valthor's open mouth.
The warlock choked.
Black venom poured down his throat.
His eyes bulged.
The soul rot reached his core.
His spells faltered.
The plague storm above began to dissolve.
Kai grabbed the warlock by the throat, ignoring the burning pain in his own wounds.
"I'm from somewhere much worse,"
he whispered.
With a single brutal twist he snapped Valthor's neck.
The last of the warlock's soul shattered and flowed into the Dark Origin fragment inside Kai.
[BATTLE COMPLETE – Major Threat Eliminated.]
Souls +1,840
Village Reputation +300 (Fear → Awe)
The remaining riders fled screaming about the
"venom demon lord."
When the sun finally rose, the square was littered with corpses.
But every villager who had fought was still alive.
Kai personally carried Lira's baby to the well and activated the purification array with the silver Finn had brought.
Clean water gushed out for the first time in decades.
Lira drank, tears streaming down her face.
"You… you could have let us die. But you took the blade for my child."
Old Man Renn limped over and slapped Kai's back — then immediately regretted it when every summon glared at him.
"Lad, you're still a bastard… but you're our bastard now."
Finn stood apart, arm bandaged, watching Kai with that familiar mix of respect and suspicion.
"You made us fight for you."
"And we won."
" I won't call you lord yet… but I'll call you Kai."
Kai looked at the forty-three villagers now bound to him by Soul-Link Contract.
His own small army — part summon, part human, all bound by darkness.
He allowed himself one small, tired smile.
Seven empires out there… and they just tasted the venom of their future.
Status Window
Name: Kai Ren
Level: 15
Title: Lord of Deadhollow
Souls: 2,772
Resources: Moderate
Active Summons: 11 (New: 1 Plaguebane Guardian)
New Skill: Origin Venom Spit (Active)