Inside the cavern’s inner sanctum, the Pope watched the massacre outside unfold through a crystal ball.
“Who is this person?” the Pope muttered, a rare trace of unease in his voice.
“Such terrifying speed.
To think Kress was killed so effortlessly.” He narrowed his eyes, studying Caelan’s glowing silhouette.
“Which Light Guild sent their S-Class Mage?
And why have I never seen his face before?” The Pope tapped his fingers against his throne.
“He seemed to be frantically searching for something outside.
Could it be…
someone he knew was among the villagers we collected?” “Your Holiness,” his trusted aide, Rama, spoke up from beside the throne.
“The villagers currently outside are the recent arrivals.
But do you remember?
One village from that batch was already sent inside ahead of schedule.” “Oh?
Is that so?” the Pope asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, Your Holiness.
According to our subordinates, the wealth plundered from that specific village exceeded the total wealth of the other border villages combined.
You personally ordered them to be prioritized and sent straight to the inner laboratory.” The Pope stroked his chin.
“Ah, yes.
I recall that now.
Which means this young Mage is likely searching for the people from that exact village.” He turned to Rama.
“What is their current status?” “According to the timeline, their evolution should be complete,” Rama reported with a sinister smile.
“Furthermore, Lord Fabu decided to take an experimental approach.
He fused all of them together.” Hearing this, a twisted, fanatic grin spread across the Pope’s face.
He quickly whispered a set of orders to Rama before turning his full attention back to the crystal ball.
Outside the sanctum, Caelan was already walking deep into the cavern.
Compared to the entrance, the stench of blood, rotting meat, and dark magic was suffocating.
The agonizing shrieks and guttural roars of mutated monsters echoed through the damp stone corridors.
Guided by his Observation Haki, Caelan bypassed the winding labyrinth entirely, heading straight toward the most massive energy signature in the cavern.
Within minutes, he arrived at the heavy iron doors leading to the throne room.
Just as he raised a foot to kick them down, the doors slowly groaned open on their own.
Caelan didn’t hesitate.
He stepped inside.
The vast room was dimly lit, and sitting at the far end was a single figure resting casually on a throne.
Caelan didn’t waste a single second on banter.
He raised his finger and fired a searing laser beam straight at the man’s head.
Right before the beam could connect, a shadow lunged in front of the throne, swinging a heavy broadsword to deflect the attack.
But the cultist severely underestimated the sheer density of Caelan’s Magic.
The moment the sword touched the laser, the beam violently exploded.
KABOOM!
The bodyguard was blasted backward, crashing heavily into the stone wall.
He coughed up a massive mouthful of blood and collapsed, completely incapacitated.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
“Impressive.
Truly impressive,” the Pope sneered, standing up from his throne and slowly clapping his hands.
“As expected of an S-Class Mage from a Light Guild.” Caelan stared at the man with eyes completely devoid of warmth.
“You know me?
I guess that makes sense.
You must be the rat who was spying on me earlier.” “Hahaha, I admit, I didn’t recognize you at first.
But once I saw the crest on your shoulder, it all clicked.” The Pope spread his arms wide.
“The youngest S-Class Mage in history.
The Golden Flash…
Caelan.” “Since you already know who I am, you can go ahead and die now,” Caelan said coldly.
“Patience, young man,” the Pope smiled wickedly.
“Don’t you want to know what happened to the people you’re looking for?” Caelan’s body involuntarily twitched.
Before he could speak, the Pope continued.
“I am a merciful man.
The people you seek are right here.” The Pope snapped his fingers.
The massive velvet curtains hanging behind the throne suddenly dropped to the floor.
A colossal, grotesque silhouette loomed in the shadows.
It was a massive, hulking abomination, bound to the cavern walls by incredibly thick, reinforced metal chains.
Dozens of heavily armed cultists stood guard around it.
At first, Caelan’s Observation Haki had only registered the massive creature as the Pope’s hidden trump card—just another mutated monster.
But as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, Caelan finally saw what the monster actually was.
His blood ran completely cold.
The abomination’s hulking, mutated body was entirely composed of melted, fused human flesh.
And embedded across its chest, arms, and back were dozens of agonizingly familiar faces.
The villagers of Tata.
Caelan’s mind went completely blank.
An unbearable, suffocating rage erupted from his core.
The entire mountain began to shake violently under the sheer weight of his magical pressure.
His expression warped into pure, unadulterated madness.
“You’re dead!
YOU ARE DEAD!!!” Fwip!
Caelan vanished.
Before the Pope could even blink, Caelan materialized directly in front of him.
With blinding speed, Caelan violently jammed his glowing fingers straight into both of the Pope’s ears.
The world went completely silent for the Pope.
A deafening, high-pitched ringing consumed his mind.
A second later, agonizing, unimaginable pain tore through his entire nervous system.
“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!” The Pope’s horrifying screams echoed through the throne room.
“K-kill…
kill him…” the Pope gurgled, his eyes rolling back in his head as he passed out from the sheer, overwhelming agony.
The cultist guards surrounding the chained monster finally snapped out of their shock.
Hearing their leader’s command, they all charged at Caelan.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
In a matter of seconds, dozens of blinding golden lasers pierced the air.
Every single guard was instantly perforated, collapsing to the floor in a bloody heap.
Amidst the chaos, the heavily injured Rama had managed to drag the unconscious Pope toward a hidden escape tunnel in the back of the room.
Caelan turned his head, his eyes glowing with murderous intent.
He raised a finger, firing a lethal beam straight at the two of them.
Realizing he couldn’t dodge in time, Rama shoved the Pope into the tunnel.
The laser pierced cleanly through Rama’s heart.
He collapsed dead onto the stone floor, his body blocking the entrance.
Caelan took a step forward, fully intending to blow the tunnel wide open and drag the Pope back out by his skull.
But suddenly, the massive chains behind him began to violently rattle.
Clank!
Clank!
Crash!
ROOOOOAAARRR—!!!
The Amalgamation had awakened.
With a sickening display of brute strength, it violently tore the metal chains out of the stone walls.
The monster locked its glowing, blood-red eyes onto Caelan.
Thick, viscous drool poured from its massive jaws—the primal, uncontrollable hunger of a mutated beast.
Caelan froze.
His eyes locked onto the central face embedded right in the middle of the monster’s grotesque head.
It was the village chief.
Caelan lowered his arms.
His glowing aura faded entirely.
He slowly turned around and began walking step by step toward the horrifying abomination.
The monster’s massive legs flexed, and it launched itself forward with terrifying speed.
It swung a colossal, mutated fist, slamming it directly into Caelan’s chest.
KABOOM!
Caelan didn’t even attempt to block or dodge.
He took the devastating blow head-on.
The sheer force sent him rocketing backward, crashing violently into the cavern wall.
He slowly slid down the cratered stone, a thick trail of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.
“That punch…” Caelan whispered, wiping the blood from his chin.
“That was for raising us when we had nowhere else to go.” He pushed himself off the wall and started walking slowly back toward the beast.
The monster roared again, raising both fists and bringing them crashing down toward Caelan.
“And that strike…” Caelan murmured, closing his eyes.
“…is for failing to protect you when you needed me most.” But the crushing blow never landed.
The massive, fleshy fists stopped mere inches from Caelan’s face, violently trembling as if fighting an invisible force.
A weak, agonizingly familiar voice echoed from the monster’s chest.
“Is…
is that you…
little Cae…?” Caelan’s eyes snapped open.
He violently grabbed the monster’s massive fist, pushing it aside to look at the face embedded in its head.
The village chief’s face was faintly twitching, tears of blood leaking from his hollow eyes.
“Grandpa…” Caelan choked out, his voice cracking.
“Little Cae…” the chief wheezed, his voice laced with unimaginable agony.
“Please…
kill…
kill us…” The moment the words left his mouth, the demonic instincts violently reasserted control over the body.
The monster roared furiously, ripping its arm back to throw another devastating punch.
But the human consciousness inside fought back with everything it had.
The massive fist wildly completely off course, violently smashing into the stone floor right next to Caelan instead.
“Please…
kill…
kill us…” the disjointed, weeping voices of the villagers echoed from the faces across its body.
“ROOOOOAARR!!” Driven completely mad by the internal conflict, the beast began violently pummeling its own body.
It smashed its massive fists into its own chest, tearing at its own flesh in a desperate, agonizing attempt to rip the human faces out.
Blood sprayed across the room as the familiar faces were battered beyond recognition.
Caelan watched the horrific scene, tears finally spilling over his cheeks.
His heart felt like it was being physically ripped in two.
“You all deserve so much better.” Golden light violently erupted from his hands.
“Ama no Murakumo!” “AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!” Caelan screamed, pouring every ounce of his grief and rage into the blade of solid light.
Shck!
The radiant sword pierced cleanly and deeply into the Amalgamation’s core.
The cavern fell completely, utterly silent.
Thud.
The massive monster slowly slumped forward, falling to its knees before Caelan.
The violent red glow faded from its eyes.
“Live…
a good life…
little Cae…” the chief’s voice whispered softly.
“I will,” Caelan choked, tears streaming freely down his face.
“I promise.”