The silence that gripped the Grand Arena was a living entity, a suffocating blanket woven from terror and disbelief. The joyous roars for Captain Valerius's victory were a distant, forgotten memory, replaced by the gruesome tableau on the blood-soaked sand.
Two Core Formation experts, powerful figures who could command respect and fear across the southern coast, now lay in pieces, their lives extinguished with a casual, almost contemptuous, ease.
Khaos stood unmoving, his divine face a mask of cold fury, his twin abyssal scythes floating behind him like dark, hungry specters. His nebular eyes, now held a chilling light as they swept over the eastern stands.
The remaining members of the Riptide Legion, including one final, terrified Core Formation elder, were frozen in place, their bravado shattered, their minds struggling to comprehend the absolute nature of their defeat. Beside them, Elder Feng of the Azure Shell Chamber was trembling so violently his teeth were chattering.
He took a slow, deliberate step towards them, and the remaining Legion members flinched as one.
"You have a main nest, I presume," Khaos continued, his tone conversational, yet carrying the weight of a final judgment. "A place where the rest of you irritating insects scurry about. Tell me where it is."
The final Riptide elder, a man with a face like a bulldog and the aura of a 2nd-level Core Formation expert, was caught between terror and a lifetime of ingrained loyalty. His face turned pale, then red, then pale again. Finally, driven by a foolish, desperate pride, he spat on the ground.
"We will die before we betray the Legion, you monster!" he snarled, his voice cracking.
Li Yu, who had been watching from the western gate, took a half-step forward. "Khaos," he began, his voice a low, cautionary murmur. "That is enough. We have won."
Khaos didn't even turn. He simply raised a single, perfectly formed hand, a clear gesture for Li Yu to stay put. "You are the master of your sanctuary, boy," Khaos's voice echoed in Li Yu's mind, cold and absolute. "But in matters of my own honor, you will not interfere. A lesson must be taught."
He turned his gaze back to the defiant elder. A faint, pitying smile touched his lips. "A noble sentiment. And a foolish one."
He did not attack. He simply clenched his fist.
In the stands, the defiant elder suddenly cried out, a strangled, horrifying sound. His body began to distort. An invisible, irresistible pressure crushed him from all sides, warping the very space he occupied.
His armor crumpled like paper, his bones turned to dust, and his flesh was compressed with a series of wet, sickening sounds. The crowd watched in mute horror as the powerful Core Formation expert was squeezed, imploded, and reduced into a small, perfectly spherical ball of matter no larger than a melon, which then dropped to the stone floor with a dull, heavy thud.
There was no explosion, no grand display of energy. Just a silent, absolute, and deeply personal annihilation.
The remaining Legion disciples screamed, their minds finally shattering under the weight of the terror.
"A regrettable necessity," Khaos said, his voice devoid of any emotion. He turned his gaze to the last few trembling disciples. "The question stands. Where is your nest?"
This time, there was no defiance. They stammered and sobbed, tripping over each other's words to reveal the location: a fortified island fortress known as the Maelstrom's Eye.
"I see," Khaos said with a slow nod. He raised his hand again.
"They told you what you wanted" Li Yu's voice was sharp, a plea for restraint. He was afraid things would get out of control but understood Khaos's anger. This was supposed to be an arena match, yet it was one they were never going to anger. If they didn't have strength they would be the ones to die today.
"Their minds harbor thoughts of vengeance against us," Khaos's voice echoed back in his mind, cold and logical. "Their continued existence is a potential future nuisance. I am merely… cleaning."
Before Li Yu could argue further, Khaos clenched his fist again. The remaining disciples met the same silent, horrifying fate as their elder, their bodies crushed into small, dense spheres.
As Khaos dealt his merciless judgment, a cheerful, portly figure was already in motion. Kui, his face beaming with a merchant's glee, had waddled out onto the blood-soaked sand. With a practiced, nimble efficiency that belied his size, he began to collect the storage rings from the dismembered remains of Commander Vorlag and the other slain experts.
However, when he looked over at the small, dense spheres of matter that were once the other Legion members, his cheerful expression faltered, replaced by one of genuine, profound grief. He stared at the spheres, shaking his head with a sorrowful sigh.
He brought the collection of salvaged rings back to the group. "A fine haul, Wise Host, but it could have been so much more!" he said, his voice filled with the pain of a true tragedy. He then turned to Khaos, bowing deeply. "Grand Elder, your methods are as absolute as the void itself! Truly magnificent! However, this humble one has a small, logistical request for any future... cleansings."
Khaos raised a perfect eyebrow, his expression one of cold annoyance.
"If it would not trouble the Grand Elder," Kui continued, his tone pleading, "could you perhaps aim to crush only the bodies and not their storage rings? The senseless destruction of perfectly good resources... it is a crime against commerce that this old merchant's heart cannot bear to witness!"
Khaos stared at him for a long moment, then let out a soft, disdainful 'hmph'. "You would dare critique this king's methods of annihilation over a few mortal trinkets?" His gaze then softened almost imperceptibly. "However... your logic is not without merit. More resources are beneficial to the boy's endeavors. Very well, little turtle. In the future, this king will endeavor to be... neater."
"The Grand Elder's wisdom is boundless!" Kui declared, his cheerful demeanor instantly restored. He presented the rings to Li Yu. "The spoils of a decisive victory, Wise Host! A proper merchant never leaves profit on the table!"
With the Riptide Legion's contingent utterly annihilated, Khaos turned his attention to the last remaining loose end. His nebular eyes fell upon the Azure Shell Chamber's delegation. Elder Feng let out a small, terrified squeak and fell back in his chair, his face the color of ash.
"As for you…" Khaos began, taking a step towards their stands.
"Grand Elder!" Branch Master Jing's voice rang out, firm and clear. He strode forward, placing himself between Khaos and the terrified Azure Shell merchants. He gave Khaos a deep, respectful bow. "The duel is won. The terms were clear. Their assets are now ours. By the ancient laws of the duel, their lives are now under the Pavilion's protection.
To harm them further would be to break the very tradition that has granted us this victory." Where he got his courage from was unknown but he needed Feng alive to easily transfer all the assets.
He then looked at Khaos, his eyes pleading but his voice steady. "You asked for the location of the Riptide Legion. The Maelstrom's Eye is a pirate stronghold masquerading as a martial sect. They are a cancer on these southern seas. For you to remove them would be a blessing to every honest merchant and sailor in this region."
Khaos looked at the brave, principled Branch Master, then back at the sniveling Elder Feng. After a long moment, he gave a soft, disdainful 'hmph'. "Very well. Your human traditions are tedious, but you have courage. I will respect it, this once." He turned his back on the Azure Shell delegation. "The turtle and I will go and attend to this… cancer."
Kui's eyes lit up. "An expedition to claim more resources for the Wise Host's glorious ventures? This old turtle is always ready!"
He and Khaos began to walk towards the arena exit, ignoring the stunned crowd. Li Yu and Xylia did not move to follow. This was no longer a defense of their allies. This was a punitive expedition, a matter of sovereign pride and commercial expansion. This was now purely the business of the Golden Shell Guild and its enigmatic Grand Elder. Li Yu had no concerns that there would be any trouble for the two of them. Worse case, Khaos could just run away with his void abilities.
As they reached the edge of the arena, Khaos and Kui rose into the air, their forms streaking across the sky and vanishing in the direction of the sea.
The journey was a silent, swift affair. Kui, for once, was not chattering, content to ride in the powerful slipstream of the divine being beside him. They flew for a bit, crossing the vast, open ocean until a dark blot appeared on the horizon. It was a massive, perpetual storm cell, a vortex of dark clouds, raging winds, and colossal waves. And in the calm, quiet center of this maelstrom, like the eye of a hurricane, was an island.
It was a jagged, black-rock fortress, its shores bristling with watchtowers and massive, ballista-like siege weapons. Defensive arrays shimmered over the entire island, drawing power from the storm itself. Alarms were already blaring, the sentries having detected their approach.
They came to a halt a mile from the shore, hovering in the air, the raging winds of the storm parting before Khaos's mere presence.
"A formidable fortress," Kui commented, his eyes scanning the defenses with a professional, appreciative gaze. "They have spent centuries building this nest."
"It is a tomb," Khaos stated, his voice flat. He raised a hand, a terrifying concentration of void energy beginning to gather in his palm, enough to wipe the entire island from existence.
"Grand Elder, a moment!" Kui said quickly, putting a hand out to stop him.
Khaos turned, an eyebrow raised in annoyance.
"My Lord, your power is absolute, and your wrath is justified," Kui began, his voice a torrent of smooth flattery. "But we are not in the wilderness. There are eyes everywhere. The other powers of the southern seas are no doubt watching this place with great interest now. To simply annihilate it would be the act of a tyrant. But to demand justice for their unprovoked aggression, to act as righteous arbiters… that is the act of a true, benevolent sovereign. We must give them a chance to answer for their crimes. It is a matter of appearances."
Khaos considered this. The little turtle's logic, as always, was annoyingly sound. A show of righteousness before an act of overwhelming destruction did have a certain… dramatic flair.
"Very well," Khaos conceded. "You may have your pretext."
Kui beamed. He floated forward, his Core Formation aura flaring, and his voice, now stripped of all cheerfulness and filled with a cold, righteous fury, boomed across the stormy sea, piercing the Legion's defensive arrays.
"People of the Riptide Legion! I am Kui, Guild Master of the Golden Shell Guild! Your leaders, in their arrogance and greed, have attacked my allies and business partners without provocation! They have conspired to sow chaos in the southern seas! An act of war against us all! I come here today to demand an answer! Surrender your new leader and all those responsible for this treachery, and you will be shown mercy! Defy us… and your precious Maelstrom's Eye will become your watery grave!"