CHAPTER NINE
The weight of silence was unbearable.
Tendou froze in place, his body still trembling from the sudden halt of storm-forged mana. Xelvar straightened, wings twitching, sneering with that usual feral arrogance that had marked him from the start.
"Another one?" Xelvar spat. "How many worthless humans must we drag from their hiding places before one of them gives us a real fight?"
He didn't get to finish the next insult.
A gust of pressure tore through the room. The air warped, rippled. Magic trembled. Walls cracked from the sheer weight of presence that stepped forward—her every stride like a warning before a calamity. With a subtle flick of her fingers, a pulse of mana surged from her right hand—sharp and commanding. The massive war axe, lying dormant amid the dust and blood, trembled before launching through the air and slamming into her open palm with a satisfying, thunderous clang.
Tendou's lips parted to speak, but no sound came. When he finally found breath, he chuckled nervously, like a man trying to joke at the gallows. "Ryuuka. I—I didn't expect you to arrive so soon."
Ryuuka's eyes flicked to him, slow and piercing. Her voice was velvet over steel. "You never do. It's good to see you again, Uncle."
She stepped past him like he was an empty doorway.
Her axe—taller than most grown men—rested effortlessly on her shoulder, its golden emblem glowing faintly with mana.
"I thought you'd finish my father," she continued, calm, steady. "But from the looks of it, you only managed to take an arm. He's still breathing. Weak effort. But then again… small upgrades, small results."
Tendou swallowed.
The temperature seemed to drop.
Xelvar, however, puffed out his chest. "Big woman. Big talk. Let's see what's left after your first scream."
He launched himself forward, wings snapping like thunder.
Ryuuka didn't flinch.
Their faces were inches apart before she smiled.
Then, without warning, her fist collided with his gut. The force sent him barreling into the stone floor like a ragdoll. The impact shattered a crater beneath him.
Xelvar groaned.
"Still breathing?" she called, tilting her head. "I expected more screaming!" Her eyes twisted with madness and battle hunger.
Tendou watched, frozen. Sweat slid down his neck. Xelvar was six-foot-two. But she towered over him.
Xelvar rose, face twisted with rage. "You're dead—"
He flapped his wings, faster this time, and blurred forward.
Ryuuka moved casually. She spun her axe, slammed the handle into his jaw, and sent him flying again.
The room groaned from the impact.
Xelvar, now growling, stood again—blood in his teeth.
"Fine. You want to play?" he hissed. Chaos erupted around him, shadowy tendrils lashing his limbs in black fire.
"I'll show you real chaos."
Ryuuka raised a hand, lightning flickering between her fingers, then darkness coiled along her knuckles. Her Chaos mana was quiet—controlled—but it distorted space itself.
Xelvar laughed. "You're using our magic against us? You're using a level 1 spell on me?! How stupid—"
She raised her hand.
His spell vanished in midair.
He stumbled back. "What the hell are you?"
Tendou, exhaling slowly, spoke as she did.
"I am Ryuuka Kintaro," she said.
"Divinity Class," Tendou added. "The Demon Elf of the East. The Strongest Daughter of Emperor Tenchi Kintaro."
"And today, your mistake," she finished.
Ryuuka blurred forward. She was in Xelvar's face again before he could react.
She laughed.
Then she split him in half from the groin area up to his head. She smiles menacingly.
Blood sprayed across the tower. A crimson mist splashed across the stone, warm and iron-scented. Some of it speckled her cheek. She paused, her eyes half-lidded with something close to reverence. Slowly, deliberately, she swiped her thumb along her jawline and licked the blood off her skin.
Her pupils dilated. She inhaled through her teeth and grinned.
"Demon blood," she purred. "So bitter… yet so sweet."
His body hit the floor with a hollow, wet thud.
But she didn't even blink.
"I meticulously avoided all nine hearts," she said with a cold grin, flicking the blood from her blade. "If I wanted you dead, I'd have scattered your organs across the mountain. But where's the fun in that? We wouldn't want it to be that easy."
Tendou flinched and instinctively took a step back, his pupils constricting. "Nine… hearts…" he muttered, but his voice barely carried.
It wasn't just shock. It was fear.
Cold, creeping fear that slithered into his bones. She hadn't just injured Xelvar—she'd dissected him with surgical precision and left him breathing out of sheer calculation. No hesitation. No mercy. Just knowledge—and monstrous control.
A single bead of sweat traced down his temple.
He had fought wars. Killed kings. But nothing—not even Makaius—had made him feel this helpless in such a short span of time.
His hands trembled.
And in that moment, Tendou understood something harrowing.
He was no longer the apex predator in this tower.
He was prey.
Xelvar rose again—this time larger, grotesquely mutated. His wings expanded with a wet crackle, his horns doubling in size and spiraling like jagged blades. His muscles contorted, bones snapping and reforming beneath twitching skin. Chaos mana pulsed around him, thick and oily, crawling over his form like smoke caught in flesh.
Veins of black lightning coursed down his arms. His eyes glowed, but not with focus—only hunger.
Ryuuka grinned and tilted her head.
"This must be good," she said, loosening her stance. "I haven't hit anything hard all week."
Meanwhile, Samara knelt beside Tenchi, her hands trembling as she pressed them against his bleeding shoulder. His skin was clammy, his pulse shallow. Her breath caught, the world blurring around her.
"It's my fault," she whispered, choking back a sob. "All of this…"
Then—
Ding!
Congratulations! You have leveled up!
Level increased 15 times.
Current Level: 16.
Another prompt appeared:
New Skill Unlocked: Create Doll.
Each doll inherits the material and magical properties of the components used to craft it—ranging from physical durability to elemental affinity, magical resistance, or even spiritual effects depending on the source material.
Sam blinked through the fog of panic. Her body moved on instinct. She reached into her satchel, fingers brushing the last HP potion—a glowing red vial—and pressed it into the floor as she channeled her mana.
Light burst upward.
A figure rose—glass-bodied, red liquid pulsing in its core. It stood nearly her height, eerily resembling Samara herself, but stripped of kimono and ornament. A reflection of herself, reformed in crystal and blood.
Doll creation success! New subskill unlocked: Create Healing Doll!
Effect: Instantly heals, removes fatigue and debuffs. While highly effective for restoring stamina and health, this skill cannot regenerate lost limbs or replace irreversibly damaged body parts.
The doll radiated soft green light. Warmth swept over Tenchi's body. His wounds closed. Color returned to his cheeks.
He gasped, breath dragging back into his lungs.
His eyes fluttered open.
He saw her.
Samara.
And beside her—Ryuuka.
No—his daughters.
He smiled, just barely.
She really grew up.
In his mind, he saw a younger Samara holding his sword with both hands. "Train me too, Papa," she had said, her arms shaking, eyes burning with longing.
And now…
Now she was trying to save him.
Tendou turned away from the battlefield, shaken. "Wrap it up," he muttered to Ryuuka, his voice tight.
But Xelvar was not done.
"I'm not retreating," he snarled. "You're treating her like she's stronger than us—like she's something to be afraid of!"
His aura flared again. Horns elongated. Wings spread wide. His muscles twisted further, black energy leaking from his pores.
"You're lucky to see this, girl," he growled. "This is my demon release!"
Ryuuka yawned.
Then casually tossed something from her coat.
A severed head hit the ground—armor-plated, insectoid.
Tendou's blood turned cold. "Hectolase…? He was assigned to raze the southern cities."
Ryuuka rolled her neck. "He begged for his life. Told me all sorts of things. Like where your agents are hiding in the capital."
Xelvar bellowed in rage. "Liar!"
They threw down a mist bomb—thick, foul-smelling vapor that hissed as it spread, clinging to the ground like a living fog. The entire tower was swallowed in seconds.
"Go! MOVE!" Tendou hissed.
They bolted through the fog, wings thrashing. Chaos trailed behind them.
But before they could vanish fully—
"BOO!"
Ryuuka stood behind them.
The demons flinched.
"Missed me?" she purred.
They scrambled away.
She laughed. "Run along. And next time… bring your whole damn army. I could use the exercise."
Then, her voice dropped to a growl. "I'll be waiting."
They vanished into the fog.
Samara swayed, her vision swimming. Her legs gave out.
Tenchi reached for her—but he was still too weak.
She fell into his arm. He caught her with a groan, cradling her close.
"I… I'm sorry," he whispered. "I should've protected you."
His vision dimmed.
Then—he too went still.
Ryuuka approached, her expression unreadable.
She looked down at Samara, eyes cool. Her jaw clenched.
She scooped her sister into one arm and her father into the other. Effortless.
Her gaze lingered on Samara—just long enough to let something bitter flicker across her face.
"You're still too weak! " she muttered. "Let's hope he didn't spoil you too much."
She turned.
And with the storm receding in her steps—
"Let's go home."
To be continued...