CHAPTER 62: CHAPTER 62: CRIMSON MAYHEM

Chapter 62 – Crimson Mayhem

Kaden had done just what he intended to do.

He went wild. Literally.

He had no fear of death—not when he still had more than enough Death Coins to burn. So with Reditha in his hand and a grin behind the mask, Kaden ran through the forest blindly. No destination. No plan. Just one direction. Completely random.

With the black mask covering his face and the way he moved—fast, erratic, brutal—he didn’t even look human anymore.

He looked like a reaper.

A reaper that had escaped Hell and was now running loose.

His first opponent was a green tortoise—awakened rank, fat, and far too slow. The thing had barely sensed him before trying to retreat into its thick carapace.

But Kaden was faster.

With a single step, he appeared right in front of it and grabbed its slippery head just before it could hide.

He smirked.

"Not today, buddy."

His hand flashed.

The head fell.

Without missing a beat, Kaden plunged his hand into the beast’s body and ripped out its origin core, still warm,before tossing the corpse aside like trash.

He stored the core and kept running.

This time east. He chose it without any reason. He just followed his intuition.

As he dashed forward, he encountered weak beasts—nothing worth the name. He killed them all, one by one, without slowing down. And with every kill, their bloods stirred—trailing behind him, following him like a loyal pet.

By the fifth kill, the puddle of blood was so thick, so large, so close to him—it looked like he was wearing a cape made of blood.

"Reditha," Kaden called, "don’t let it stretch longer. Any added blood from the fallen should be used to make the cape denser. Stronger."

Reditha pulsed with a faint hesitation, almost like she wasn’t sure she could do it.

Kaden just smiled. "Try it. I am not expected you to succeed all this in one go."

That one line settled her.

The blade flashed bright red, a response filled with resolution.

Kaden chuckled. Sometimes... his sword was just a little too cute.

And so, the duo—warrior and weapon—ran through the middle zone like it was their personal hunting ground.

Anything in their path?

Dead.

No mercy. No pause. No hesitation. Just kill after kill after kill—until Kaden stopped counting altogether.

But not all enemies fell in one strike.

No. Not all of them.

At one point, Kaden ran into something else—something stronger.

A Terraclaw Devourer.

It was a monster draped in cracked earthen armor, obsidian spikes running along its spine, and six jagged limbs—perfect for digging and ripping things to pieces.

And it attacked from below.

Kaden didn’t see it coming.

One moment, he was running. The next, his clothes were torn and blood spilled from fresh cuts along his ribs.

So... Kaden bled.

And that was a mistake.

Because by now, after hours of rampaging, both Kaden and Reditha had been using their blood manipulation skills nonstop. They had learned a few things. Not everything. But enough. Enough to start truly controlling the corrosive blood.

So the moment blood touched the air—

He grabbed it. Controlled it.

Guided it straight to Reditha’s tip.

He stood silently now, perception flaring, every sense sharp.

"You’re not gonna get out?" he asked, softly, eyes locked on the trembling ground.

One second. Two. Three.

No response.

Not like he expected one.

"Fine by me." Kaden said—and in a flash, he turned, moved, and appeared exactly where the monster was hiding.

Reditha plunged deep into the soil.

Then Kaden grinned.

"Explode."

RRRMMMMBLLLLAAAAAM!!

The ground erupted with a force so brutal even he lost balance, stumbling until he caught himself on Reditha’s hilt.

When the quake stopped, he stepped forward and kicked the loose dirt aside, cracking the earth like it was nothing.

Beneath it—

The broken body of the Terraclaw Devourer. Chunks of obsidian shell rained down as the monster’s body was left half-embedded in the dirt—twitching, leaking, dying

"I told you to come out," Kaden muttered, pulling the core from the dead thing’s chest, "Next time... better accept an invitation."

He took the corpse too. That armor looked useful.

Then he kept running.

A few hours later—

[You have completed the quest: Slaughter.]

Kaden had completed his quest.

But...

In the process, he had become too loud.

And things changed.

...

The middle zone was bigger than the outer zone, but not just in size. It had more territories. More danger. Stronger beasts. It wasn’t just about numbers here. It was about power.

Only intermediate and higher awakened beasts could survive here—maybe rare types or stronger. And based on what Kaden had read and heard from reports, the chance of meeting a Master-rank beast in this zone was less than 1%.

Hell—not even 0.5%.

Pretty damn low.

So Kaden, ever the confident one, had said:

"I think I’m good. My luck’s not that bad."

He dared to say that.

And now...

He was wondering whether some higher being had a personal vendetta against him for being too damn handsome.

Because—

’Ain’t no way I’m this unlucky.’ Kaden thought, mouth twitching as he stared at the thing in front of him.

Even looking at it made his body scream run.

The pressure it gave off was unreal. Monstrous wasn’t even enough.

It looked like a panther—sleek, muscular, fur blacker than shadows, like it devoured light itself. Its eyes weren’t just black—they were like pools of shadow ink. Unreadable. Bottomless.

And it just stood there.

Watching him and calculating. Like a predator analyzing its next meal. Wondering if Kaden was dinner... or just a snack.

Kaden exhaled.

’Another death today. This one’s gonna be special.’ he mused.

But then again—

’Maybe I’m not that unlucky after all...’ Kaden thought inwardly.

Because if he died, the reward might be worth it. Rare beasts dropped rare fragments. The stronger the death, the better the reward.

At that thought, he smiled.

To the panther, that smile looked like mockery.

And it didn’t like that.

The beast vanished—shadow flickered—and reappeared directly behind Kaden.

But this time Kaden was not caught off guard.

He was ready.

His blood cape responded instantly.

The blood around him shifted—sharpened—morphed into dozens of floating red lotuses.

Each petal glimmering with power. With promise of death.

It was a beautiful, haunting sight.

And Kaden, smiling calmly as the beast’s claw came just inches from his face, said the one thing he knew how to say best these days.

"Boom."

And then—

Blood. Light. Fire.

Red lotuses exploded in every direction like a storm of crimson petals, tearing through the silence, ripping into the air, shaking the entire middle zone with a bloody, violent bloom.

—End of Chapter 62—