The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

102 The Red King (II)

“Boom!” A small blast echoed through the forest as the Atrox’s punch connected against something. However, to his shock, his fist landed on the ground, and the man and woman vanished from his sight.

‘What!? Where did he go!?’ The Atrox was shocked by the man’s sudden disappearance and began looking through the surroundings frantically.

He found the human forty meters to his left and saw how this one left the woman’s corpse on the ground before turning toward him.

The Atrox Wave Champion had faced all types of monsters and been in the presence of incredible powerhouses across his life, but he could swear that he had never felt such a monstrous aura as the one in those red eyes.

They did not belong to someone good or evil. Terms like those were too narrow to describe their might. It was like a force of nature that destroyed everything in its path with no emotion whatsoever.

“Who... are you?” For the first time since the battle started, the Atrox Wave Champion asked a question, and it was meant to figure out the identity of the man he had been fighting the last thirty minutes. The aura and ego he felt in those red eyes did not belong to the young man full of heroism that entered the battlefield to save his friends.

Cain did not answer the question and instead focused on his left arm. Everything beneath the shoulder was gone, and there was a massive hemorrhage. If he did not treat it soon, the blood loss would weaken him more and more until he passed out.

Falling unconscious with a bleeding wound in a place like this would mean certain death, but Cain’s eyes showed not even the slightest sign of worry.

He simply slapped his left shoulder with his right palm, and something amazing happened. The muscles on the left shoulder contracted, sealing the wound and stopping the bleeding!

.....

“IMPOSSIBLE!” The Atrox Wave Champion shouted in disbelief as he saw Cain’s muscles acting like they had a life of their own.

Although an Early Wave Champion was strong, it was far from enough to form part of an incursion into an enemy continent led by a God. The Atrox managed to secure that position due to his background, and the sole purpose of his journey to the Gaia Continent was to push the electromagnetic force field that was his willpower to the Late Wave Champion level.

His greatest goal was to enter the First Realm of the Ego Eternal Path of Power, which is why he felt so much envy when he saw that a mere Level 2 Wave Warrior like Cain had already reached that level.

Due to his family heritage, the Atrox Wave Champion had a great knowledge of the First Realm of the Ego Eternal Path of Power and knew it also went by the name of Mind Over Body.

The First Realm granted incredible control over your emotions and granular domain over your Wave, but that was just the beginning. Once you gain true mastery over that realm, you can attain supernatural control over your body to the point that you can command every organ with your mind.

The Atrox Wave Champion could accept that Cain had reached the First Realm so young since he knew there were divine geniuses born with their Ego Eternal Matrix activated since their birth. However, to command your body the way Cain did should be impossible for someone that just entered Mind Over Body.

Cain couldn’t care less about the Atrox’s state of mind and looked at the surroundings with curiosity. He took everything in, and flashes of understanding appeared from time to time. After a moment, he focused on the Atrox, making this one tremble.

“Who are you?” It was the same question as before, but this time the one doing it was the human.

They were just words, but the Atrox’s eyes widened as he felt an invisible force crawl into his mind. Before he knew what was happening, his eyes lost focus.

“My name is Sonar Karius, second son of Marquess Silor Karius.” After speaking those words, Sonar’s eyes regained focus, and a sense of utter shock assaulted his soul. He did not understand what happened, but his mind was overwhelmed by the desire to answer that man’s question.

Cain focused on the Atrox Wave Champion again, making dread appear in the face of this one.

“Why are we fighting?”

If before the Atrox Wave Champion was suspicious, now he was sure that the person in front of him was not the young man from before. They might share the same body, but that was where their similarities ended.

Unfortunately for Sonar, he did not have time to hypothesize what was happening, as his eyes lost focus again as he answered.

“I came as part of an incursion into this continent. A fight left me badly wounded, which forced me to search for a place to hide and heal. My goal was to rest in the cavern beneath the toxic lake until I regained enough strength to escape, but two humans were already in it. I was about to kill that woman when you showed up and interfered.”

Cain stared at the woman on the floor and the unconscious man a few hundred meters away from his location. There were no emotions in his eyes, and he looked at them like they were complete strangers.

No, it was even worse. You would show some sympathy or at least interest for a wounded stranger from your race, but in Cain’s eyes was complete apathy.

“Who is the ruler of this world?”

Sonar attempted to fight the compulsion, but it was futile, and in the end, he answered the question.

“There is no one absolute ruler. The only one that came close enough to that level was Adam, the Emperor of Humankind.” As soon as Sonar’s eyes regained their focus, an immense sense of shame and rage appeared in them. Those were his honest thoughts, but he could not believe he had just praised the Emperor of Humankind out loud.

“Adam.” A sharp light appeared in Cain’s eyes as he pronounced that name. It was impossible to say what thoughts emerged in his mind, but it was clear that the Emperor of Humankind caused an impression.

Cain focused on the Atrox again. This time, he spoke with a tone of voice with much greater power.

“Kill yourself.”

The Atrox’s eyes widened with sheer terror as he heard those words, and he felt the intent reach the deepest parts of his mind, trying to overwhelm his survival instincts.

Sonar’s right hand moved on its own, flashing toward his neck and almost piercing it, but he managed to use his left hand to stop it.

“AHHHH!” The Atrox roared with rage and hatred, using everything he had to fight back against the idea planted in his mind that made him want to commit suicide. It took every iota of his willpower, but Sonar overcame the impulse and regained control over his body.

Sonar’s face was pale, and it was clear he was exhausted, but his eyes also showed immense resentment. Dying in battle was the most honorable ending for a member of the Atrox Immortus Race, but killing yourself was the most dishonorable of all.

Forcing him to end his own life showed just how little Cain thought of the Atrox Wave Champion.

Even now that Sonar managed to resist it, Cain’s expression did not change. His eyes were utterly emotionless, as if the Atrox could do nothing that affected his mind.

Cain saw the Atrox’s burning desire to fight and that this one was ready to die. He simply took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Sonar saw that and knew this was the perfect chance to strike, but he did not move. Fear had already overwhelmed his heart despite overcoming the impulse to kill himself, and he did not dare launch the first punch.

The state of the Atrox Wave Champion’s mind was similar to that of a mortal that did not dare to fight back when threatened with a knife or gun, as the fear of retaliation and death was too great.

“THUMP!”

Sonar could not believe what he had just heard. Cain was more than forty meters away from him, but he listened to this one’s heartbeat!

“THUMP!”

“THUMP!”

Cain’s heartbeat grew faster and more powerful as his blood vessels became noticeably visible, and his skin turned red.

There was no Astral Wave coming from Cain’s body, but Sonar could feel how the strength of this one kept growing stronger and stronger.

The Aether World’s races assimilated so much with the Wave that they depended on it for all their skills and techniques. A fighting style that did not rely on Astral Wave or Essence Wave was preposterous.

Yet Cain was about to use one of them to fight against an Atrox Wave Champion.

Although by this point, calling the young man Cain was inaccurate, as he was the Red King!