Chapter Twenty-Six: An Old Acquaintance

The fall of the Star Condensation Squad bought Kerbei precious time to escape. The moment he slipped out of the strange man's line of sight, he immediately changed direction. The power of that uncanny man was terrifying; if Kerbei kept running in a straight line, he would be caught in no time.

Stumbling and hiding as he went, Kerbei soon lost all sense of direction, eventually dashing headlong into a half-collapsed residential building, where he leaned against a wall, gasping for breath.

After running for more than ten minutes, his stamina was almost spent. His breath came in short, ragged bursts, and his legs trembled with fatigue.

“Just rest a moment…”

“I wonder what happened to the captain and the others?”

A shadow passed over Kerbei’s face. The strength of the uncanny man was too overwhelming—who knew how many of the Star Condensation Squad would manage to escape?

“As long as I live, as long as I survive, I will kill you!”

The image of that eerily handsome face surfaced in his mind. Kerbei slammed his fist against the wall with a sudden fury.

The old, unmaintained wall instantly gave way, a fist-sized hole appearing beneath his knuckles. Kerbei understood immediately. The uncanny man hadn’t pursued him because he wanted to let him go—there was only one reason: he had gone to kill the others.

“I have to get back to Base City as quickly as possible! I must deliver the news of the god-kin here.”

A glint flashed in Kerbei’s eyes. He stamped the ground, unleashing all his remaining strength, and dashed away.

“Heh, little one, you’re too slow.”

Just as Kerbei leapt out from the abandoned building, a chilling voice rang out.

The uncanny man appeared, his beautiful face wearing a mocking, cat-and-mouse smile.

Though the god-kin looked almost identical to humans, their physical strength, senses, and more were far superior. The uncanny man had tracked Kerbei using his extraordinary sense of smell.

“I have good news for you. That group is dead. You’re the only one still alive. Heh heh, how does it feel? Exciting, isn’t it, to be the sole survivor?”

The man’s gentle smile only made his words more terrifying.

“Oh, and there was a short fellow who was quite amusing. He wanted you to avenge your Star Condensation Squad. Can you guess how I answered him?”

The uncanny man’s smile grew even broader as Kerbei’s face twisted with rage.

“I told him you would definitely die today! Heh heh, do you believe me?”

Staring at that mad, deranged smile, Kerbei’s fists clenched tight, veins bulging on his forehead.

“I do not!”

His teeth ground together audibly. Suddenly, a throwing knife flashed into his palm, and with a determined press, he slashed a deep, bone-revealing cut in his palm—not a shallow graze as before.

The pain of learning that every member of the Star Condensation Squad was dead was sharp and bitter. Since Big Beard’s passing, Kerbei had no friends, and now, just as he found a group who treated him as a brother, they were all gone in the blink of an eye.

He hated—hated his own weakness!

He fixed the uncanny man with a cold, murderous glare, but his mind remained clear. He knew that head-on, he couldn’t defeat the uncanny man even if he had a hundred of himself. Not even the Little Li Flying Dagger could turn the tide without inner strength to power it. The secret of his flying dagger was exposed, and a revealed trump card is no longer an advantage. Now, his only hope lay in the plain saber.

Once stained with blood, the plain saber became unimaginably sharp.

He would distract the uncanny man with the flying dagger, then unleash Thunder Slash in a flash—perhaps there was a sliver of hope.

“Try my flying dagger, beast!”

With a roar, Kerbei lunged forward, feet pounding the earth, the dagger in his palm flickering out. As the blade flew, his body surged toward the uncanny man.

A cold gleam flashed—the dagger shot straight for the uncanny man’s eye.

“A child’s toy.”

The man’s lip curled in scorn. His fist clenched, slicing the air, the sound sharp and explosive.

Kerbei’s flying dagger collided with the uncanny man’s fist.

A sharp crack—the supposedly invincible blade shattered, while the uncanny man’s fist remained completely unscathed. As a zombie of a higher order than even the purple-haired walkers, his body was harder than metal.

Kerbei ignored the ruined dagger. Without changing expression, he gripped the blood-slick wooden hilt and leapt.

“Thunder Slash!”

With a low growl, he channeled all his remaining strength into this one blow.

The saber’s edge shimmered with a hidden silver light as it slashed toward the uncanny man.

The man’s contempt deepened. He had absolute confidence in his own defense. He extended one finger toward the lightning-fast blade.

A wet slicing sound.

The instant saber met finger, the uncanny man’s expression changed. He lashed out with his foot, kicking Kerbei hard in the chest—Kerbei’s breastbone shattered from the blow.

The uncanny man stared at his hand, now missing half his index finger, his beautiful face painted with disbelief.

“What a terrifying blade!”

His blood-red eyes gleamed with feverish excitement as he gazed at the crumpled Kerbei, whose hand still clenched the saber.

“Hahaha! An unexpected windfall!”

Completely ignoring his severed finger, the uncanny man’s eyes glowed with greed, fixed on the saber in Kerbei’s hand.

“That blade is wasted in your hands.”

Kerbei’s vision blurred. With the last of his strength, he glanced up at the insane, laughing face, a bitter, helpless smile on his lips.

The gap in strength was too vast. Even with the terrifyingly sharp saber, he was powerless before the uncanny man.

“For the sake of this fine gift, I’ll leave you a whole corpse.”

The uncanny man crouched down, reaching for the saber gripped tightly in Kerbei’s hand.

Suddenly, a cold wind swept through, and the air temperature dropped. A frost-covered leaf drifted slowly to the ground.

As it landed, a graceful figure appeared not far away.

She wore a fitted black battle suit that accentuated every curve, her long violet hair fluttering in the wind. In her pale, slender hand, a sword as thin as a cicada’s wing hummed with a faint vibration.

The sudden chill made the uncanny man look up sharply, his red eyes glinting coldly as he fixed his gaze on the newcomer.

“Leave now, and I’ll pretend I didn’t see you.”

A grave look flashed in the uncanny man’s eyes as he spoke coldly.

“But you have seen me, haven’t you?”

The woman’s eyes glimmered, her violet hair flowing as if alive.

Her clear voice reached Kerbei’s ears. It sounded familiar. He forced his eyes open, and when he saw who it was, his heart jolted.

“It’s her…”