Chapter 118 Scar

Chapter 118: Chapter 118 Scar

A crow flew across the platforms before landing on Kai’s shoulder. It was about the size of a normal crow, but there was one major difference.

It possessed three red eyes. At this moment, one of those eyes was bleeding before it slowly closed and became dormant.

Kai gently petted the crow. The bird let out a low caw as it rubbed its head against his hand.

Just as Kai was about to move, a figure suddenly jumped onto the platform in front of him.

"Where are you going, Kai?"

The newcomer wore the purple uniform of the House of Avaris.

He had a long scar running across his face, while strands of black hair hung over his forehead, attempting to conceal several bald patches on his head.

His eyes were fixed firmly on Kai, carrying a hint of anger.

Kai calmly raised his gaze and scanned the man standing before him. His expression remained as indifferent as ever, but his eyes carefully examined every detail of his opponent.

"Don’t tell me you forgot who I am? I am Brogan! This scar that you left on me three years ago still aches even now. I had been praying and planning to find you all across the kingdom, but fortunately, I found you here, attending the same academy as me. I couldn’t have hoped for anything better than that."

Kai remained silent for a moment as he tried to remember what had happened. Then, the memory finally surfaced.

Brogan.

One of the men he had attacked after they insulted him that day. That incident had eventually led to Kai being expelled from the town.

"I see," Kai finally said. "It seems you are still alive."

Brogan’s face immediately twisted in anger.

"What do you mean by that!? You think that attack of yours could kill me?" He pointed at the scar on his face. "Huh! This time, I will be the one who kills you!"

The hatred in his eyes was obvious. For three years, he had carried that grudge with him.

Yet Kai’s expression remained completely calm, as if the threat meant nothing to him. To Brogan, that indifference only made him even angrier.

Ting! Tong!

Ting! Tong!

The timer finally sounded. At the same time, several more empty platforms collapsed and disappeared from the arena. The five-minute duration for the second battle phase had officially begun.

"Ze-Vront!"

Brogan slammed both of his fists together. Suddenly, three machine monsters appeared beside him.

Each of them stood around two meters tall and moved on four mechanical legs. Attached to both of their arms were massive circular grinding saws that spun rapidly, producing a sharp metallic whine.

<Ze-Vront>

Without hesitation, the three machines charged toward Kai at incredible speed.

The crow on Kai’s shoulder immediately flew away and circled high above the battlefield. Kai calmly reached for his weapon and drew his blade.

The Forgotten Blade.

The sword measured roughly 0.7 meters in length and possessed a razor-sharp double-edged blade. Its elegant hilt was crafted from black crystal, giving it a mysterious appearance.

The dark crystal reflected the surrounding light, causing faint glimmers to dance across its surface.

Kai held the blade loosely in one hand as he watched the three approaching machines.

His expression remained completely unchanged.

Kai slowly raised his sword before suddenly dashing forward. The leading Ze-Vront immediately swung one of its grinding saw arms downward toward him.

However, Kai imbued the Forgotten Blade with black energy, causing a dark aura to envelop the weapon. He then swung his blade upward.

SWOOSH!

The black energy erupted from the strike. The Ze-Vront’s arm was violently pushed back as its massive frame staggering from the impact.

At that moment, another Ze-Vront rushed to Kai’s side and swung its saw arm horizontally, aiming to cut him in half. Kai immediately jumped onto the first Ze-Vront, using its body as a foothold to evade the attack.

CLANG!

The second Ze-Vront’s attack accidentally struck the first one. Sparks erupted as the spinning saw tore into its ally. The first Ze-Vront instantly stopped moving as the light within its mechanical eye faded away.

Meanwhile, the second Ze-Vront’s arm became lodged deep inside the destroyed machine. Its grinding saw continued spinning, but the arm was firmly stuck. For a brief moment, the machine was unable to free itself.

The third Ze-Vront rushed in from behind Kai and swung both of its grinding saw arms downward.

BOOM!!

The platform shattered beneath the impact as chunks of stone flew everywhere. A thick cloud of dust erupted and spread across the battlefield.

Brogan smirked. For a moment, he thought the battle was already over. However, as he waited, he realized something was wrong. There was no light of elimination.

The Ze-Vront also seemed to notice something strange. Its mechanical head slowly tilted upward. Then it saw Kai was already above it.

With both hands gripping the Forgotten Blade, Kai thrust the weapon downward.

SHUNK!

The blade pierced straight through the Ze-Vront’s body and sank deep into its mechanical core. Cracks immediately spread across its metal frame as black energy surged from the sword and flooded the machine’s interior.

The Ze-Vront froze in place. Its glowing eyes flickered violently. Then the light within them began to fade.

Kai jumped down from the destroyed machine and began walking toward Brogan, intending to finish the battle quickly. However, unknown to him, movement was occurring among the three machine monsters behind him.

His biggest mistake had been leaving one of them alive.

Brogan smirked as he watched Kai approach. Then he burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Do you think Ze-Vront is the name of each of those three monsters? You are wrong!They were never three separate monsters to begin with!"

Kai stopped and glanced over his shoulder.

"They are actually a single monster!" Brogan’s grin widened.

Rumble! Rumble!

The remaining machine monsters suddenly began moving toward one another. Metal screeched against metal as countless gears shifted and locked into place.

The damaged Ze-Vront that Kai had disabled also started moving once more. The three machines drew together before merging into a single gigantic construct.

Mechanical limbs twisted and reassembled. Legs folded into new positions. Armor plates slid across one another and grinding saws rotated as the entire structure transformed.

Within seconds, a massive machine monster stood before Kai. It possessed six powerful arms, a dozen mechanical legs, and three glowing cores embedded throughout its body. A deep mechanical growl echoed from within its body.

At the center of its frame, a giant red eye slowly opened. The eye rotated once before locking onto Kai. The monster now stood nearly five meters tall, towering over everyone on the platform.

This was the true form of Ze-Vront.

<True Ze-Vront>

And it was far more dangerous than the three smaller bodies Kai had faced earlier.