CHAPTER 111: [STILL BREATHING]

Kael stood frozen for a heartbeat, chest rising and falling beneath the cloak—subtle, but strained.

He wasn’t invincible.

Not today...

His masked face gave nothing away, but Yue—hovering above—saw the tremble in his hand.

The slight hitch in his breath.

The smallest signs of fatigue catching up.

The young elf, shaking, suddenly yanked something from his robe.

A slip of etched crimson parchment glowed faintly between his trembling fingers.

"I... I meant to save this for later..." he whispered. "But now—"

Yue’s voice snapped, sharp.

"Kael. Careful. That’s not ordinary."

But before either of them could move—

The old elf woman’s voice cracked like a whip, words slicing through the clearing in a different tongue.

Magic surged.

Thorned vines burst from the earth—fast.

They wrapped around Kael like snapping vipers, binding his arms, his legs, dragging him to his knees.

"Got you," the elder hissed, triumphant.

Kael grunted, teeth clenched beneath the mask.

The vines burned.

Not just physical—but laced with mana to suppress movement.

A trap meant for monsters far more dangerous than him.

But Kael’s sword was already flashing—carving through the bindings, dark energy clinging to the blade’s edge.

He moved with grim purpose.

Not rage.

Not panic.

Just cold, practiced violence.

The old woman staggered back.

"NOW!" she screamed, eyes wide with panic.

"QUICKLY—TEAR THAT RANK FIVE ATTACK TALISMAN—AND THROW IT ON THIS BASTARD—NOW!!"

Kael and Yue’s eyes widened.

Rank 5?

The thought struck both of them like a thunderclap.

The young elf clutched the talisman in trembling hands, its surface glowing faintly—unstable, alive.

Yue panicked.

"I told you we should’ve let them leave," she hissed, voice tight with fear.

"What do we do now?!"

Her gaze darted around, desperate for a plan that didn’t exist.

She looked lost.

Like a hen in a thunderstorm—scattered, helpless.

Kael didn’t answer.

His face, half-shadowed beneath the red mask, betrayed nothing.

Unreadable.

Unmoving.

Then—

The talisman tore.

Softly.

A sound like silk being ripped in a silent room.

All eyes locked on the young elf.

Yue held her breath.

The elder smiled—calm, confident.

Certain of her win.

It was as if time itself held its breath.

The wind stilled.

The forest hushed.

Then—

Kael spoke.

"Dreamweaver.

....Second form."

His voice was quiet.

So quiet.

Like a single pebble dropping into the still surface of a midnight lake.

Ripples. Confusion.

The elves didn’t understand.

The old elf woman looked around, expecting something—a spell, a strike, a surge of magic.

But nothing happened.

Confusion flickered across her face.

And then—

Just as the young elf raised the talisman to throw it directly at Kael—

His body jolted.

His eyes rolled back.

Thud.

He crumpled to the ground, still clutching the talisman.

It looked like sleep.

But unnatural.

Too still.

...

Silence.

The silence afterward felt wrong.

The elder blinked, confused.

Then her eyes widened in horror.

The talisman—

It was still in the young elf’s hand.

Still glowing.

Still unstable.

Before she could move—

BOOOOOOOOOOM.

A shockwave ripped through the clearing, wild and violent.

The ground shattered. Trees bent.

Both Kael and the elder were thrown backward, flung like ragdolls by the force.

Smoke rose.

Yue’s voice cut through the haze—sharp and shaken.

"Kael!"

Tense, frantic, she hovered above, eyes scanning the devastation.

And then—

Movement.

Kael stirred.

Alive.

Breathing.

His robes were tattered—ripped and scorched in places.

But the red mask?

Not a single scratch.

Yue exhaled slowly.

She had nearly forgotten.

With Dreamweaver’s second form, Kael could pull an enemy into the dreamrealm—so long as he marked them.

A silent curse.

Invisible.

Subtle.

The moment the young elf collapsed, still clutching the talisman, she understood.

He’s not unconscious. He’s been taken.

His real body had fallen into sleep—because his mind had been dragged elsewhere.

Into Kael’s realm.

Yue hovered above, silent.

Speechless.

He must have marked him during the fight, she realized.

Somewhere in the blur of sword swings and shadows.

She turned slowly toward Kael.

He was stirring—rising slowly from the broken earth.

His cloak, torn. Robes scorched and frayed.

One hand pressed to the ground for support.

The other still clutching his blade.

Even from a distance, she could see it.

The weariness.

The weight in his shoulders.

To force a Rank 3 magician into the dreamrealm against their will—even briefly—wasn’t easy.

It took more than power.

Will.

The toll was written across his posture.

Yue’s voice was quiet, uncertain.

"...Are you alright, Kael?"

A breath passed.

Then his reply came—low, rasping.

"Yeah. Still breathing. What more do you want?"

Before Yue could say anything, a faint rustle cut through the tension.

The old elf woman was stirring—barely. Blood trickled from her mouth. Her limbs trembled, body wrecked, but somehow... she was still alive.

Kael moved toward her in silence.

She looked up—eyes wide with horror, breath rattling.

"What... what have you done...? You—"

She didn’t get to finish.

Kael shoved his blade through her eye, straight into her skull.

A wet crunch.

Then stillness.

"Silence," he muttered flatly, withdrawing the sword without emotion.

Yue landed behind him with a sigh.

But her relief evaporated the moment her eyes landed on the bag beside the scorched earth—the one used to lure beasts.

Her expression twisted in alarm.

"Kael," she hissed.

"That scent bag—it’s still open. We have to go. Now."

Kael followed her gaze.

He exhaled long and slow.

"...Can’t even change clothes first," he muttered, glancing down at himself.

His robe was a mess. Burned in patches.

Torn like it had been mauled by wild animals.

"...I look like Tarzan in the jungle."

Kael sighed, long and quiet.

His fingers moved automatically—removing the red mask, the weight of it familiar now—and sliding it into his space ring alongside his blade.

Gone, for now.

His breath fogged faintly in the forest chill.

Then—

A low, guttural sound curled through the trees.

A snarl.

Closer than he liked.

He paused.

Listened.

More rustling. Multiple sets of paws. Wet breath on wind.

"...Beasts," he muttered.

Another curse slipped through clenched teeth as he turned, boots crunching softly on damp leaves.

And then he ran.

Back toward the last place he’d seen her—the elf girl, unconscious’

The damsel in distress.

Kael’s lips tugged into a crooked, amused smile.

"Oh no... I’m becoming that protagonist."