Once Kael calmed down from his sudden outburst, he resumed his rampage through the shattered amphitheater.
Students were still scattered, hiding in corners and behind rubble. Packs of wolves lingered nearby, prowling through the ruins, turning the place into their hunting ground.
Dancing through the chaos, Kael struck like the bite of a valiant hunter. His spears landed true at every turn, carving through fur and flesh. He turned the wolves into heaps of shredded meat, using his wits and cunning to twist their instincts against them.
With every vicious strike, Kael grew—becoming a stronger warrior with each battle. Even mid-fight, he absorbed Seraphiel's guidance like muscle memory etched into his bones.
"Now shift your weight—through your legs, into your core, then channel it through your arms into the tip of your spear,"
Seraphiel instructed, her voice calm and precise amidst the chaos.
Kael obeyed.
A grotesque zombie lumbered toward him, its bloated body resembling that of an obese man. The thing's flesh was thick and rubbery, resisting his attacks. Each stab barely sank deep enough to matter.
"Focus,"
Seraphiel whispered again.
"Transfer your weight—from the heels of your feet to the upper echelon of your arms. Drive the energy forward. Let it pierce through."
Kael shifted, adjusted. His stance grew sharper, his strikes more refined. With each blow, he moved faster, deadlier. His spear no longer just struck—it punctured, it punished.
Under Seraphiel's whispered commands, he wasn't merely surviving.
He was evolving.
Attacking the zombie, Kael danced around it, light on his feet. He used his smaller frame to his advantage, flanking the sluggish monster again and again, never giving it a clear opening.
The beast growled in frustration, unable to keep up with his movements.
And Kael?
He was only getting started.
After several minutes of relentless fighting, the zombie's body was covered in deep, ragged wounds. The damage was building—too much for even its bloated frame to endure.
"Now,"
Seraphiel's voice echoed in his mind, sharp and commanding.
Kael didn't hesitate.
He launched forward, spear aimed true, and unleashed a devastating strike that tore through the creature's swollen belly—piercing straight into its core.
The zombie let out a guttural shriek as the blow ruptured its inner workings, spilling rot and bile across the floor. The light in its eyes dimmed.
It crumpled.
Falling from its injuries, the heavy zombie hit the ground with a hard thump. No Hexagon Cube dropped alongside its body.
Kael stood over the corpse, breathing hard, his chest rising and falling as he loomed above the fallen zombie.
"I need to sit down," Kael muttered as he dropped to the ground, exhaustion catching up with him.
"Hey, can you open up my stats for me? I want to take a look."
"Sure."
[STATUS — Kael Riven]
Class: Pactbearer of the Forsaken Light
Race: Human (System Anomaly)
Order: Unkown
Level: 9
Titles: [???]
Bound Entity: Seraphiel [Warden Fragment – Active]
[ATTRIBUTES]
Vitality: 12
Strength: 11
Agility: 12
Endurance: 14
Focus: 16
Willpower: 20
Divinity: ??? (Locked – Requires Divine Fragment)
[SKILLS]
[Bearer of Flame]
[???][???]
[CURRENT STATE]
System Sync: 7%
System Stability: Fragile (Stable under Pact Shield)
Corruption Risk: Low (Neutralized via Bound Flame)
Divine Hostility: EXTREME
[EVOLUTION PATH: UNRECOGNIZED]Subject lacks a Seed of Light. Not eligible for Sparkborn Ascension.
Class path diverges from Divine Framework.
Evolution dictated by Pact resonance and Seraphiel's progress.
[WARNING]
Subject is outside the System's jurisdiction. Tracking impossible. Angels assigned to purge on sight.
Continue at your own risk.
"Finally… level nine," Kael said, breathing out a tired sigh. The fact that he had to fight through hordes of zombies and wolves just to gain a single level made the moment feel both rewarding and frustrating.
"Well, the Corruption Essence gave you five," Seraphiel replied. "We're making really good progress. You just need one final push, and then you'll be there."
She paused, then added,
"You can probably handle another Corruption Essence now. So if we get another one, it's best to use it."
"You know, that's what I was thinking too. Problem is, we haven't been able to find anyone that actually drops anything. Everyone we've run into has been weak."
Kael exhaled, brushing dust off his pants.
"Whatever. I'm gonna hit level ten, and then I'm heading back to the dorm. I'm taking the biggest sleep of my life. And you…"—he glanced upward—"you're going to answer some of my questions when we get back. Don't think I'm just going along with you because I'm easy. It's just—we don't have time."
"I understand,"
Seraphiel replied calmly.
"And I'll be ready to answer all your questions once we're there. But like you said… we've got more important things to focus on."
Just as she finished speaking, the sixth sense from the lining of Kael's jacket flared to life.
His instincts screamed.
Kael jumped to the side just in time—
as a man came crashing through the wall of the building, shattering brick and wood in an explosion of dust and debris.
Dust exploded into the air as the wall collapsed, creating a haze that made it hard for Kael to see through. But even through the swirling debris, he could make out a figure lying on the ground.
A man.
Tall, broad-shouldered, with luscious blond hair that caught the light. Blood streaked along the fringe of his body, but that wasn't what made him different.
He was glowing.
Not just faintly—he radiated light.
The glow surrounding him pulsed in the shape of glyphs, eerily familiar. The same kind of divine markings that had burned themselves into people's foreheads when the System first descended from the sky.
However, that wasn't all that pulled Kael's attention. From the hole in the wall—right where the man had come crashing through—he finally saw the reason.
A grotesque zombie.
Ten feet tall, with razor-sharp fingernails like claws and legs thick as tree trunks. Its face was scarred and twisted, marked by something unnatural. It let out a roar that echoed like a beast dragged from a nightmare.
"Oh, shit," Kael muttered, tightening his grip on his spear.
"Sorry to bother you, mate," the man on the ground said as he slowly pushed himself upright, reaching for a gleaming sword. "But, uh… you mind giving me a hand with this abomination?"
"I don't think I have a choice in the matter," Kael said as the zombie lunged forward, swinging a massive arm toward him.
He rolled to the side, just barely avoiding the blow.
Coming up from the ground, he launched a counterattack, aiming a precise strike at the zombie's knee to hinder its movement. But the moment his spear connected, it barely dug in—just a shallow cut across thick, rubbery flesh.
"Oh no," Kael muttered as he looked up, seeing the zombie completely unfazed by his strike.
It swung its massive arm in a wide arc—backhanding Kael with brutal force and sending him skidding across the floor.
Kael rolled across the ground and came to a stop, dragging his spear behind him as it tore through the floor, ripping up shards of tile and debris. He coughed, spitting blood onto the ground, pain blooming across his ribs.
Looking up, he saw the man who had crashed through the wall now locked in combat with the zombie—fighting with precise, practiced skill.
Every attack was parried or redirected. The man's movements were clean, efficient. And with each strike of his glowing blade, golden light flared—searing deep gashes into the zombie's thick flesh.
"Careful, Kael. That light is the holy energy of an angel. Don't use your flames," Seraphiel warned. "If you do, that man will strike you down immediately."
Kael took note of her words, rising to his feet with a stumble.
Even without his flames, he knew he couldn't sit this one out. He needed to grow. He needed to fight.
Pushing past the pain, he rushed forward—fast and focused—flanking the zombie from the left while the golden warrior held its attention on the right.
"On your left!" Kael shouted, darting in.
He moved with precision, slipping through the creature's blind spot and driving his spear up into its exposed armpit—straight into the soft, vulnerable flesh.
The blade sank deep. The zombie roared in pain, stumbling under the weight of Kael's strike.
"Thanks for the assist," the golden warrior said as he danced around the zombie with practiced precision, striking at the hinges of its hips. Each cut was deliberate and deep—severing muscle and tendon, rendering the creature's mobility useless.
Kael instinctively jumped back, not wanting to get in the way.
He watched as the golden warrior continued his assault, targeting one joint after another—knees, elbows, shoulders. Every movement was calculated, meant to dismantle the zombie piece by piece.
He's attacking each limb... breaking it down methodically.
I've tried that before, Kael thought, but his skill is on another level.
Seraphiel as if she could read his thoughts answers a question of where such power came from.
"I was wondering which angel blessed him with such holy power," she murmured. "But I recognize that technique now."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"It seems you're rather unlucky," Seraphiel continued, voice sharp with something between caution and awe. "That man is using Archangel Michael's blade art."