Who knows what the outcome would have been if, instead of joining Kreyn at the very beginning, Laura had fought against him and the others, as Enor and Merina did.

She was an Origin, so even if they couldn't defeat them, they would most likely have been able to wound and kill someone.

But, in that case, Kreyn would not have had a hostage. He would not have been able to buy time by holding Merina at the prison gate, and Ardur would have immediately unleashed all his power on him before Kreyn could make a deal with Vaarh and Merissa.

In a way, if she had known right away what he wanted and hadn't tried to understand her feelings during all the events, Kreyn would have been doomed to failure or would have had to flee to Frost Ridge, where it was no less dangerous.

Deep down, Laura understood all this, especially after what happened at Varthon. This was not what she wanted.

When Ardur was ready to take her back, even after everything she had done, Laura's weak mind and innocent heart simply could not resist.

Step.

The moment Laura stepped toward Ardur, an invisible judge signed her death warrant.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The earth shook as the Elder of the Arakta Worms shattered the surface with his great body.

Under Ardur's wide-open eyes, Laura disappeared into the closing jaw as hundreds of teeth sank into her flesh, crushing her bones with a particular, cold cruelty reflected in Vaarh's many eyes. They all looked down on Ardur, wanting to say:

'You think too highly of yourself, Ardur. You cannot even protect your daughter, your children, and your family. You are pathetic.'

The massive shadow swept upward, causing Ardur to tremble with helplessness, a feeling he had long forgotten.

Rumble!

From the trembling shadows, the great sword woven from darkness appeared in his hand as he lunged forward with a roar coming from the depths of his heart:

"VAARH!!! I will not forgive you for this! I swear! I will gut you! I will tear you to pieces!"

Before Ardur could reach Vaarh, several more Arakta Worms burst out of the ground, blocking the path to Vaarh with their bodies.

But nothing else could stop Ardur. Vaarh and the Arakta Worms were wary of his influence for a reason.

"Out of my way!"

Ardur swung his sword, cutting two Arakta Worms in half, monsters that were terrifying to ordinary Origins, but not to someone of his level.

Blood and painful screams covered the field as Ardur jumped away from the falling corpse of the monster, determined to reach Vaarh at all costs. The hope of saving Laura still burned in his eyes.

SLASH!

With the next swing, the blade of darkness cut through the flesh of the last Arakta Worm as the path to Vaarh opened up to his desperate gaze.

At the same moment, out of nowhere, Kreyn appeared, coming after the splash of blood. Several crimson drops fell on his face as his cold gaze turned to Ardur.

By a strange coincidence, their eyes were similar, they were the same color - like two black abysses staring at each other, but only one of them was destined to devour the other.

An unknown feeling reflected on Ardur's face, as he did not understand what Kreyn could do to him.

'What does this weakling think he is? One swing of my sword is all I need to get rid of the cause of all my problems!'

He leaned his torso forward as his sword came into motion, but Kreyn was faster.

"Ahg?"

He tore the black chain from his belt, deftly wrapped it around his wrist, and threw it forward.

In a heartbeat, Ardur's arms were pinned to his body as the black chain bound him.

If it had been a normal chain, he would have easily torn it apart, and even when a stream of flame passed through the chain toward him, Ardur was not afraid, he was merely surprised.

'He decided to use an Artifact against me? It's the First Manifest Artifact! It's nothing against me!'

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

He tensed his arms as the chain trembled. A little more, and he would tear the chain into pieces. Kreyn didn't have enough strength to hold Ardur back.

But... That was exactly why he had asked Merissa for help.

Click.

The red box opened as Kreyn pulled out the glass orb half-filled with crimson liquid inside.

'The Chain of the Crimson Seal is a powerful Artifact,' Kreyn thought. 'Its strength directly depends on the amount of energy. I don't have enough strength, but that's why a human needs tools — to do what he cannot do with his bare hands.'

[Orb of the Enhanced Blood

Type: Tool

Blood enclosed in a seemingly simple glass sphere. The shell has no value, unlike the blood, which, due to its impressive energy density, can be used as a weapon, protection, and a healing potion.

It is practically pure energy filling the blood. If the blood falls on a wound, it will heal it, if it falls on a flame, it will strengthen it, if it falls on armor, it will make it stronger.]

Initially, Kreyn planned to use this Artifact as his trump card. He knew that without wounds, he would not be able to defeat Ardur, so this was his one-time opportunity to heal even the most terrible wound.

"But..." Kreyn's hoarse voice rang out. "I am not in a position to keep trump cards, I must use everything I have!"

Crack!

Kreyn smashed the glass orb against the beginning of the chain as crimson blood covered the black links.

In a heartbeat, the flame of the chain grew stronger, and red cracks ran across its surface. Even for an Artifact, it was difficult to withstand such an amount of energy, but the goal was achieved.

"GRH!" Ardur groaned in pain as the chain tightened and the flames headed for his broad shoulders.

Still, keeping the target in place did not mean victory.

"When your target doesn't move, it's much easier to hit." Kreyn threw his head back. "I'm right, Vaarh?"

"Agh?"

Ardur's eyes widened as the green light fell upon him.

The killer of his eldest daughter and long-time enemy was about to end their feud right here and now.

The green ray that would strike Ardur would be the most powerful attack that Vaarh, the Elder of the Arakta Worms, was capable of.

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