Under Calian's guidance, Heaven-Breaking Annihilation flowed naturally into form.
CRASH—!
The combined attack formation, already disrupted once, was swept away by Mitchell's Heaven-Breaking Annihilation.
Those who failed to block it properly withered into mummies and dropped one after another, while even those who managed to block it fell to their knees and vomited blood.
COUGH—
But the same was true of Mitchell.
Using Heaven-Breaking Annihilation once more when his body was already in poor condition only worsened his internal injuries.
[Did I not warn you?]
Calian warned him, but a smile instead spread across Mitchell's lips.
The tingling sensation had grown even stronger.
A feeling he almost understood yet could not put into words shook his entire body violently.
Mitchell raised his sword again and charged at another group of enemies.
He swung his sword.
That was the only thing left in his mind.
As his body moved on instinct, the trajectory of his sword gradually became cleaner.
Thanks to the energy shrouding his entire body and frightening the enemy, tiny cracks appeared in the combined attack formation.
He disrupted the formation that way, then unleashed Heaven-Breaking Annihilation again.
[You brat!]
Calian cried out in disbelief.
If he was told not to do something, he should simply not do it. The brat was utterly incapable of listening.
Cracks were already appearing all over Mitchell's body after he had pushed himself to the limit.
At this rate, there were only two possible outcomes: he would either be consumed by the energy and die, or lose his mind.
With no other choice, Calian helped the lunatic and continuously guided his energy.
CRASH—!
CRASH—!
Before long, Mitchell had destroyed a third combined attack formation and charged at the last one remaining.
Then, just as before, he used Heaven-Breaking Annihilation again.
[You truly—! How long do you intend to…….]
Calian was about to say more, but after examining Mitchell's condition, he swallowed a groan.
Even without Calian guiding his energy, Mitchell was now correctly using Heaven-Breaking Annihilation's circulation method on his own.
Moreover, his vessel continued to grow even as he moved.
He had only just broken past his limit, yet he was already reaching the level of a fully matured Grade 3.
He had sounded so confident, and he truly had surpassed his own limit.
[How can this be possible…….]
A hollow laugh escaped Calian, but it was not over yet.
Mitchell's growth was astonishing, but the danger remained.
If anything, his condition was even more precarious than before.
That was because his rising realm allowed him to draw upon far more powerful energy.
SKREEEEEE—
When Mitchell opened his palm, chains shot out and dragged the enemies' souls toward him.
Calian had already seen them several times, but now there were twice as many chains as before.
The shape of the monster covering Mitchell had grown even more distinct, radiating an intense presence.
The same was true of the number of souls gathering in his sword.
[There is no point speaking to him now. He cannot even hear me.]
Mitchell was already swinging his sword in a state of complete trance.
He was intoxicated by the sudden rise in his realm.
It was one of the things those who wielded the Sword of Death had to guard against most.
Normally, this would have been the most dangerous moment, but fortunately for him, Calian was dwelling within him.
Calian waited tensely.
The moment Mitchell's power ran rampant, he would have to divert that power elsewhere.
And there happened to be a perfect place to use it.
CRASH—!
At last, Mitchell's Heaven-Breaking Annihilation shattered the final combined attack formation.
Until now, he had endured because there had been somewhere to release the power, but once every formation was destroyed, the seething power began to consume him.
Feeling it happen, Calian immediately poured out his own energy and redirected Mitchell's power.
[This is difficult.]
There was a limit to how much energy Calian, who had only just awakened, could use.
What he had used until now was the energy that formed the foundation of his soul.
It was pure, but faint.
Even so, it was enough.
A man who, in life, had reached a godlike realm.
A man capable of producing a miracle with no more than a bean-sized amount of energy.
That was Calian Runei.
SKREEEEEE—!
The surrounding souls convulsed and rushed toward Mitchell's rampaging energy.
Like moths flying into a flame, they swarmed toward the place where they would be annihilated.
Using the souls as firewood, the energy grew larger and larger.
The steadily increasing energy damaged Mitchell's body all over.
But Calian continued redirecting the energy as he waited for the right moment.
CRACK— CRACK—
An eerie light shone through the cracks in Mitchell's skin.
The split skin peeled away as though shedding a shell. Newly formed skin filled in beneath it, only to crack again.
[Hah, what a fortuitous encounter.]
For a brat who was only Grade 3 to undergo something similar to Body Reformation—if this was not a fortuitous encounter, what was?
But if this continued, his body would eventually fail and break apart.
Fortunately, the opportunity Calian had been waiting for finally came.
He immediately guided the energy toward Cain Rapel.
It was not a properly executed Heaven-Breaking Annihilation, but the energy within it was powerful enough that even a Master could not ignore it.
"Hrk!"
Overwhelmed by the tremendous energy, Cain, who had been fighting without pause, sucked in a startled breath.
His sword was just then thrusting toward Kayden.
At this rate, that enormous surge of energy would strike him squarely in the back.
He hurriedly pulled back his sword, poured the maximum amount of Aura he could into it, and swung behind him.
The instant his sword met the energy—
CRASH—!
With a tremendous roar, Cain's body was flung away.
And then—
SQUELCH—
The tip of a sword burst out through his chest.
It was Kayden's sword, the same one he had been clashing with moments before.
Cain Rapel dropped to his knees and vomited blood.
Then he asked the question he was most curious about.
"Just who the hell is that bastard……?"
At those words, Kayden looked toward where Mitchell lay collapsed.
From the rise and fall of his chest, he did not seem to be dead.
Kayden turned back to Cain and uttered the only words he knew that could describe Mitchell.
"A hardworking genius."
"A genius? You think something like that can be explained by simply calling him a genius?!"
"Did I not say a hardworking genius?"
"COUGH! Heh heh…… I see……. A hardworking genius…… you said……."
With those words, Cain's head fell.
No one could know exactly what his final thought had been.
But one thing was certain.
The world was terribly unfair.
SHNK—
Kayden pulled out his sword, immediately ran over to Mitchell, and fed him the potion he had brought.
It was one of the few highest-grade potions in the Family, so its effect should be certain.
"Family Head!"
While Kayden waited for Mitchell's condition to improve, Martial Corps Commander Edrick approached with the Family's martial artists.
His eyes widened as he saw the corpses strewn around them.
"Hah, to think the Eldest Young Master's skills have improved this much."
"It was not Grant."
"Then did you do this, Family Head……?"
Yes, anyone would think the same as Edrick.
No one would imagine that Mitchell, a Grade 2 Aura User, had defeated people at the same level as Edrick or even above him.
Which made it all the more astonishing.
Kayden rose without saying anything.
"Watch over this boy carefully. The rest of you, come with me. We will finish this."
With Runei's martial artists joining the battle, the remnants of Rapel were easily dealt with.
***
When Mitchell regained consciousness, he looked around.
It was a familiar place.
Naturally so, since it was the room the Runei Family had assigned to him.
More importantly—
"Why does my body feel so refreshed?"
[Of course it feels refreshed. The impurities that had built up over a long time are gone, and the Family Head even fed you a highest-grade potion.]
"Ah……."
[Had your body been reconstructed just a little more, you would have completed the Body Reformation that one normally experiences only upon reaching Master.]
Mitchell smacked his lips at Calian's words.
Body Reformation.
It was something he had only ever read about in books…….
He regretted missing the opportunity.
But Calian found Mitchell's reaction absurd.
[You dare regret it? If not for me, you would already be dead.]
"Thank you, Lord Calian."
[Hmph. Do you think a few words are enough to brush this aside?]
"Of course not. You saved my life, so I'll help you too, Lord Calian. It's true that you can't properly act without me right now, isn't it?"
So he knew everything.
What a slippery snake.
He had calculated all of it before recklessly charging in and repeatedly using Heaven-Breaking Annihilation beyond his limit.
It was well and good that Mitchell said he would help him…… but somehow Calian still felt as though he were getting the short end of the deal.
Besides, the condition he intended to propose was not bad for this boy either.
Still, he had to say what needed to be said.
[There is only one thing I want. The Runei Family…… Hmm, you have a guest.]
"Huh? Mitchell!"
The instant Calian stopped speaking, a loud voice rang out.
Grant entered the room, saw Mitchell sitting on the bed, and hurried over.
Mitchell craned his head and saw Kayden coming in behind him as well.
"Are you okay? Does anything hurt? They said they gave you a highest-grade potion, but Father's such a miser that it might not actually have been highest-grade."
"You brat, what do you take your father for?!"
"Even after taking a highest-grade potion, he still only woke up after two days! Of course I could be suspicious!"
Two days?
Mitchell was surprised that he had been lying unconscious for so long.
[Your mind took longer to recover than your body.]
At Calian's following words, however, Mitchell gave a small nod.
His body felt full of energy, but he was still mentally fatigued.
"And it could've lost its effect after sitting around for over a hundred years."
"A genuine highest-grade potion will be fine even after two hundred years, never mind one hundred. This is why I told you not to devote yourself solely to martial arts and business, and to learn some basic common sense as well."
"Why are you bringing that up now?!"
"Because you stupidly walked straight into a death trap. Knowing not to blindly trust information from the underworld is also common sense."
"Urgh……."
Kayden scolded his son while reminding him of his recklessness.
The problem was that Mitchell did not really know such things either, so he somehow felt as though he were being scolded along with Grant.
'I should ask to learn with him later.'
Since Mitchell had spent his childhood doing nothing but studying black magic within his own Family, he knew even less than Grant in matters like these.
Who knew when or where he might run into another situation where basic common sense mattered?
There was no such thing as learning too much.
That was how Mitchell had lived his life until now.
"So, is your body all right?"
"Yes. Highest-grade potions really are impressive. And thank you. If you hadn't arrived in time, Family Head, I really might've died."
There was no need to say anything here about Body Reformation or the like.
"There is nothing to thank me for. This was our Family's affair to begin with. Besides, Grant was the one who dragged you into it."
Ah, that's true.
Thinking about it made Mitchell's temper flare, and he glared at Grant.
Grant cautiously watched his expression before speaking.
"I'm sorry, Mitchell. Like I promised, I'll compensate you properly. Right, Father?"
"Why are you looking at me? If you said you would compensate him, then you should take responsibility for it yourself."
"F-Father……."
While Grant stood there devastated by the cold response, Kayden turned his gaze toward Mitchell.
"Take as much from this brat as you can. That aside, I should compensate you as well. You helped with the Runei Family's affairs, after all."
"Wasn't the Heaven-Breaking Sword already my compensation?"
"No. That was for the matter involving Chief Steward Hail. What I am talking about now is your help in eliminating Cain Rapel. The battle could have dragged on and caused casualties, but thanks to you, we ended it easily."
"Oh!"
Mitchell's mouth fell open at the unexpected offer.
Once again thinking that Kayden was a truly decent man, Mitchell was considering what he should ask for when a voice rang in his head.
[Ask him to let you into the Family's storehouse.]
Mitchell did not think Calian would deliberately tell him to do something harmful, so he repeated the request exactly and received permission without hesitation.
"The Family's storehouse? Hahaha, that may be even better. It is best to see what you want for yourself. Grant, learn from Mitchell. Look how wise he is."
"……."
Grant wore a sullen expression at being compared.
But no one there cared.
Mitchell shrugged, and Kayden gestured to Grant.
"It seems he has only just awakened, so come find me when you are ready to visit the storehouse. You come out too and let Mitchell rest properly."
"But I still have things I want to ask him."
"Ahem. Ask him later."
With that, father and son left the room, and silence returned.
Only then could Mitchell resume his conversation with Calian.
"So what is it you want? You said there was only one thing."
[Yes. One thing. If you accept it, I will teach you everything I know.]
Oh, what kind of windfall is this?!
Mitchell had been grinning with delight, but Calian's next words made his face crumple.
[Become the Family Head of the Runei Family.]
"What?"
The two-hundred-year-old geezer was spouting senile nonsense.