Published at 15th of September 2026 11:14 am

Chapter 249: Breaking The Light

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Chapter 249: Breaking The Light

Before the Light split the skyline of the city, before Ivan Cho and the Woon sisters descended into the streets, Shatterbay was already embroiled in destruction.

Surrounded by his aura, Seo-jin slowly licked the golden blood from his blade. His tongue sizzled and popped as the angel's essence burned across it, but his eyes nearly rolled back as he shuddered.

"I've never tasted blood like this. Why's it so spicy?"

The heavy beat of a massive wing sounded from above, pushing hot air across the ruined street. Still smiling, Seo-jin moved.

With his current Agility at eighty-four, his speed topped out close to nine hundred miles per hour, making him faster than a speeding bullet. Or, in this case, a speeding feather.

Glowing white feathers at least a foot long pierced into the ground around him, each impact cracking the street and throwing chunks of concrete. Yet not one touched Seo-jin as he danced between them.

"How many times you gonna try that?! Don't have anything new?"

Looking up, he raised one of his cleavers to block the glare of the Light overhead.

"Starting to get bored here!"

"Insolent creature! You will beg to speak your true name by the time I'm done with you!"

Spreading his wings wide, Cardinal Chelk was in quite a state. His white-and-gold robes hung scorched and torn from his body, while his eyes were wide and bloodshot. His emotions shifted wildly across his face as he raised his glowing sword high.

"You tried this alre—oh...wait. This is new."

Glancing toward Tiamat as the Serpent hissed at the Cardinal, Seo-jin smiled.

"Don't worry, his liver is yours."

Bahamut suddenly got in his face, chomping and hissing.

"He already called it. You can have his heart. Now—no, that's final—"

An extreme brightness flashed across the area, sizzling against his aura and forcing his eyes shut for a moment. The instant his vision settled, he smiled as he felt the Cardinal's power rising.

[Seems your act worked. He's completely enraged.]

'Took long enough. I was genuinely getting bored.'

Above, the Cardinal's wings were shrinking—or rather, their Light was being drawn into Chelk's gold sword. Seo-jin could make out elegant runes engraving themselves across the blade's surface, each one burning brighter as the Cardinal's strength continued to rise.

At the beginning of the fight, Seo-jin had noticed almost immediately after establishing his Kingdom that his power had outstripped the Cardinal's. He'd also noticed Chelk was hiding his true strength. It wasn't ascension. There was something else hidden inside the angel. It smelt like familiar, and Seo-jin was determined to get the Cardinal to bring it out.

Gathering his bloodlight, he felt Butcher's Wrath begin to glow in his hands as he braced for whatever came next.

Chelk didn't disappoint.

Eyes locked on the angel, he watched for his next move, and was surprised when the last of the Cardinal's feathers fully absorbed and Chelk dropped from the sky like dead weight. He struck hard enough to shake the ground and throw a thick cloud of dust into the air.

A bad feeling crept up Seo-jin's spine.

'Was he always that heavy?'

Before the voice could respond, a splinter of Light bled through the dust cloud—

Seo-jin raised Butcher's Wrath just in time.

The impact launched him backward like a cannon shot, straight through buildings and anything else in his path. His arms vibrated violently from the hit, and through his grip, he could feel his weapons' pain bleeding into him.

[Watch out!]

Light was closing in fast.

Still flying backward, the Serpents opened their mouths as pieces of metal rained from Seo-jin's shoulders—

[Maw Annihilation Beam // Activated]

[Cooldown // 59sec]

Both breath attacks ripped forward and slammed into the incoming mass of Light, but instead of destroying it, the beams were batted aside as if they'd come from a toy and exploded in the distance.

'Shit!'

His feet transformed, and Seo-jin dug his talons into the ground, tearing through concrete and dirt as he fought to slow himself. Still skidding back, he looked behind and made a guess—

[Black Pit // Activated]

[-30% Speed / Radius 4m / Duration 30sec]

[Cooldown // 44sec]

Turning toward his enemy, Seo-jin's eyes widened. Chelk was already in front of him. He barely managed to raise a blade before both of them entered the swirling shadow of Black Pit.

It barely saved him.

Slowing just enough, Chelk's sword came down, and thier weapons collided. The impact stopped Seo-jin in his tracks, driving him to his knees as he strained to keep the Cardinal's weapon from cleaving him in half.

Sparks danced between them, but now that they were face-to-face, Seo-jin got a good whiff of Chelk in his new form, and his guess was confirmed.

"I... didn't know... the Church used human souls like this. An angel after my own heart."

"Silence!"

Chelk's voice came out like a layered chorus as his Light expanded. His skin, eyes, clothes—everything had become pure Light element, while the sword bearing down on Seo-jin had transformed into a living flame of gold.

As Chelk's shout rang through his ears, the weight bearing down on Seo-jin's arms suddenly doubled—

Yet he smiled.

[Core Reforge // Activated]

[Base Damage +400% (True Damage)]

[Cooldown // 1 Hour]

[Black Pit // Deactivated]

Below, the shadow slowing Chelk faded. Behind him, scattered throughout the trail of destruction, the five blades from the Forgefather's Mantle fused together in a burst of crimson. A split second later, Chelk's expression shifted—

[+2437 Damage Dealt]

A fist-sized hole had appeared through his shoulder, golden blood spilling from the wound.

Using that moment, Seo-jin twisted his blade and caught the Cardinal off balance before planting a foot directly into his ribs.

[+487 Damage Dealt]

Using the force of the attack, he sprang backward and gained some distance, while Chelk slid only a few feet.

'Feels like kicking a mountain! How many souls did he eat?!'

[Might want to stop holding back. I know you're worried about the Woons, but that won't matter if this guy kills you.]

'His reserves seem endless. He's using thousands of souls with every attack, but his aura isn't fading for shit.'

Spitting into the dirt, he wiped his mouth and straightened, his arms still aching from their clash. As things stood, the voice was right. But he couldn't let loose. Not yet.

"How many?"

Seemingly ignoring Seo-jin's question, the Cardinal stared at the golden blood coating his fingers. A moment later, it broke apart into motes of Light and flowed back into the wound.

Seo-jin sneered as the fist-sized hole in Chelk's shoulder closed in an instant, and with a flash of Light, the angel leveled his blade, and pointed it directly at him.

"That won't work again."

[4th Weapon Effect // Activated]

[Slicing Damage Converted → Bludgeoning / Piercing]

Steam began rising from Butcher's Wrath as the metal screeched and shifted. The broad cleaver blades thickened and warped until both weapons had transformed into heavy, spiked maces.

"I'm going to fight to the death no matter what. It's just my nature. Can't start all this and just give up. So come on, just tell me before you kill me... it's fucking good, right?"

A flicker in Chelk's eye. That was all, but Seo-jin knew he'd nailed it.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Nor do I—"

Laughter erupted from Seo-jin, cutting the Cardinal off. Flustered, he stepped—

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Cardinal! Isn't lying against your religion? How shameful. Just confess. You love it, don't you?"

"I have nothing to confess to a demon!"

"Then why do you smell just like me? It's like you've practically bathed in their blood. The reek of slaughter hangs heavy in that aura of yours. You can't hide the truth."

That flicker in the Cardinal's eyes appeared again.

"Come on, I won't tell anyone. Unburden yourself."

They flickered again. After a few more, the Cardinal's stoic expression finally cracked.

His lips pulled into a snarl before, then with visible effort, he gritted his teeth into a crooked smile.

"I hate this world."

Letting his body relax, Seo-jin made a show of lowering his weapons while Tiamat and Bahamut retreated into his back.

Looking toward the sky, Chelk sneered at the sun, its light faded behind the thick smoke rising from fires throughout the city.

"I've been here too long. Stuck in this... flesh. It disgusts me. I feel this world's stink. It clings to me, like a disease. Killing them just eases the symptoms."

Seeing the Cardinal finally reveal his true face, Seo-jin pushed harder.

"Doesn't it feel good to admit it. You're just like me. We're the same, Cardinal. I just don't lie about it."

A sudden burning pressure forced him back as Chelk's aura exploded.

"Hold your vile tongue! I am nothing like you!"

"Why not? Because you have wings and I have horns? Tell me, angel, what is so different about us? Because to me, you look like a bigger villain. I wonder how our sins would compare."

"Enough!"

His trap worked. Gone was the stoic killing machine; the Cardinal's emotions were back to fluctuating again. Chelk started to raise his sword toward the demon, only for his eyes to suddenly widen.

"You cannot run!"

He wasn't.

[Sovereign Flesh // Activated]

Taking advantage of the cloud cover, Seo-jin had leapt into the sky. Relying on [Stealth], he silenced his aura as he activated his new Class Skill. Sovereign Flesh gave him complete and total control over his body. It had replaced Rend, but the added benefits more than made up for it.

Cardinal Chelk didn't notice anything until the air pressure shifted, but by then it was too late.

[Tyrant's Aura // Activated]

Two house-sized maces slammed into the Cardinal like meteors, the impact blasting bloodlight into the sky.

The impact flattened everything around them. The street collapsed beneath Chelk as a ring of broken concrete erupted outward, crushing abandoned vehicles and punching through the lower floors of nearby buildings. Windows burst for blocks, and the shockwave rolled through Shatterbay with enough force to shake the surrounding skyline. At the center of it all, crimson bloodlight poured from the crater while dust and debris rained back down.

[+3250 Damage Dealt]

"That's it?!"

[I estimate he has a negation of 75% to physical damage. Your aura is doing most of the work.]

Seo-jin landed hard at the crater's edge, the impact pulling against the stretched tendons connecting him to his weapons. He yanked them free with a wet snap as the massive maces rapidly shrank back into his grip.

"I need to end this."

He could feel the chaos rising through the Broodlink, especially from Pain. Whatever was happening, his Firstborn had been struggling, but suddenly the Broodspawn began radiating power.

Looking west, he saw a massive glow burning against the horizon miles away. A sea of magma filled the streets, and at its center, something dark and massive was moving through the heat.

His eyes glowed as he tried to focus on it, only for the Cardinal's voice to cut through his thoughts.

"No more. I've had enough."

Looking back, Seo-jin was greeted by a face full of Light.

"Fuck!"

Throwing himself back, he retreated until the burning against his skin eased, watching as a massive beam of Light rose into the sky.

[This is bad. You better kill him fast. He'll only be able to maintain this form for a minute at most. If he gets back home, you're fucked.]

Guess there was no point in holding back anymore.

"I was saving it...oh well."

Shielding his eyes with a mace, Seo-jin watched through the glare as the Cardinal rose into the sky and discarded his shell.

Chelk's human shape disappeared inside the pillar, his robes and flesh broke apart into glowing particles as the thing hidden beneath them began to expand. Seo-jin had to turn his face aside, even with the mace shielding him. The Light burned through his aura, leaving heat crawling across his skin.

'That's been inside him this whole time?'

[Not exactly. Keep watching.]

The shape inside the pillar grew until Seo-jin had to crane his neck back to follow it. Buildings that had towered over the Cardinal minutes ago barely reached the lower portions of whatever was taking his place, while the air filled with a deep vibration that Seo-jin could feel through his teeth.

Then an eye opened.

"...whoa."

A massive blue iris stared down through the Light, large enough that a hundred Seo-jins could have fit inside its pupil. There was no face around it. No head. Just a swollen mass of glowing flesh surrounding the enormous eye, its surface twisting and folding as countless white tendrils grew from it.

More followed.

Long, rope-like appendages spilled from beneath the eye in a tangled curtain, some thick enough to crush buildings beneath their weight. Others spread outward through the sky, curling and twisting through the smoke as the thing continued forcing itself into the world.

Then the wings opened.

Seo-jin couldn't even count them.

Great white wings unfolded behind the creature in layers, each one large enough to cover sections of the city. They overlapped until they filled the sky, feathers stretching through the smoke while the pressure from their movement rolled across the coastline. Loose debris skittered across the broken streets, and Seo-jin widened his stance as hot wind pushed against him.

And somehow, that wasn't the weirdest part.

Faces began emerging beneath it.

Dozens of massive golden faces hung below the angel, smooth and almost human except for the single eye set into each one. They stared in different directions as they descended beneath Chelk's true body, connected by pale flesh and Light until the entire thing looked less like one creature and more like a collection of parts that had decided to become an angel.

Seo-jin slowly lowered his mace.

"Okay... that's fucking cool."

[You understand how much stronger he is now, right?]

'Yep.'

[And you're still excited.]

Seo-jin smiled.

'Yep.'

The enormous blue eye shifted.

It found him.

Pressure slammed down across the city. Seo-jin's knees bent slightly beneath it, broken concrete grinding beneath his feet as the massive angel focused entirely on him.

This wasn't Cardinal Chelk anymore.

Whatever limits that human shell had placed on the angel were gone. The thing filling the sky above Shatterbay was what had been hiding inside him all along.

Seo-jin rolled his shoulders and let Butcher's Wrath hang at his sides.

He'd been holding back because of the Woons. Conserving cooldowns. Saving his strongest abilities while the Brood handled the rest.

That wasn't going to work anymore.

Seo-jin had done enough. It was time for him to step aside.

And let Azakh-Tur fight.

Skin split across Seo-jin's skull. He grinned through it as bone cracked, his skin darkened, and two blood-red horns began to grow.

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