Kael Lanpar's POV
My stance was steady, my gaze unwavering. I had made a decision—one that might cost me dearly in the future—but there was no turning back anymore.
I was abusing the childish limits of this body. I wanted to fight like an adult, yet my trembling legs and racing heart mercilessly reminded me that I couldn't.
I tightened my grip on the daggers in both hands, feeling the blood surge faster through my veins.
"So… what's the plan?"
The words came out hollow. I couldn't even bring myself to look away from the monster standing before us.
Silence followed. Alfin didn't answer, but his ragged breathing told me everything I needed to know.
I sharpened my senses with mana, and the world opened itself in a way it never had before.
My focus was so absolute that even from a distance, I could see the drops of blood falling from Aiza's torso, one after another, marking the passage of something that was running out.
"Don't stop attacking."
Alfin's voice barely reached my ears, spoken the instant his lips moved.
His body tensed, and an ethereal wind—unlike anything I had ever seen—began to coil around his leg.
Then, in a burst of speed, he launched himself toward the others, ending up face to face with the corrupted elf.
Without giving me time to react, he kicked through the air. The impact sent the elf flying into a stone wall, where he crashed violently and vanished beneath falling rubble for several seconds.
Following Alfin's example, I steadied my breathing for a brief moment and activated Gale Step.
In the blink of an eye, I was beside the group, leaving a cloud of dust suspended in the air behind me.
"Stay alert. This bastard won't die easily."
The moment Aiza finished speaking, the rubble burying the corrupted elf began to shake violently, before being blasted outward in all directions.
I didn't have time to manipulate the surrounding mana to form a defense. I crossed my arms in front of my face just as a rock came flying straight toward me.
I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by the bitter helplessness of being unable to do anything, and waited for the impact.
It never came.
I slowly opened my eyes and found Alfin standing in front of me. His hand was still extended, wrapped in particles of wind that intertwined into an invisible blade.
I lowered my gaze and saw the rock that had nearly killed me moments ago, now split cleanly in two.
"Looks like I'm still your caretaker."
Alfin rested a hand on my head and ruffled my hair affectionately. Then, in a sudden motion, he shoved me backward with force.
As I fell onto my back, I saw the corrupted elf lunge at him. The blow was brutal—a punch that slammed Alfin into a nearby rock, tearing a muffled groan from him as pain shot through his spine and blood spilled free.
Consumed by rage, I acted without thinking and charged straight at the elf. Deep within me, I felt the moon of my corrupted awakening begin to spill even more blood.
I knew madness was devouring me. Vastiar's desperate screams inside my mind only confirmed it.
"Kid, get a grip… or you'll kill us both."
My vision began to blur. In that instant, the only thing that filled my thoughts was what had happened to my grandmother. After turning it over in my mind for so long, I finally understood.
Now I knew why my mother had chosen to end her own mother's life.
Being consumed by a corrupted awakening didn't just mean losing control. It meant becoming an empty shell: the negative emotions of the blood moon devoured the soul, leaving behind nothing but a body that no longer remembered who it once was.
But my case was different.
No amount of time spent training with Dirion had been in vain. Both my mind and my soul were prepared to face a situation like this.
I fully absorbed Crimson Shadow's mana, drawing that power inward, guiding it to the place where my blood moon resided.
I couldn't see what was happening inside me at that moment. And yet, somehow, I knew the process had begun—the corrupted awakening was being restrained by a suppression seal.
"Kid, the chains have a firm grip on the moon now," Vastiar's voice echoed. "You're clear to act."
Seeing that everything was in place, I didn't waste another second and attacked.
One of the fundamental differences between corrupted mages and those who attained their power through enlightenment was offensive capability.
The ability to act like a starving predator belongs only to those who have crossed a certain threshold of pain in their lives—those who have nothing left to lose and fight driven solely by the instinct to survive.
For the first time, I saw something resembling fear in the eyes of that corrupted elf.
Even Brokers bleed.
Taking advantage of the fact that he was still stunned by the impact, I used the agility granted by this state to slip behind him. I extended my palm forward, absorbing the surrounding mana particles in a single, fluid motion.
I didn't hesitate.
Flames ignited in my hand, and in a blast of pure power, I unleashed them upon him. The force of the attack was so overwhelming that the shockwave hurled me backward.
When it was over, all that remained was a thick cloud of smoke hanging in the air.
I couldn't feel his presence.
I thought I had killed him.
Before I could release the breath I'd been holding, I heard a scream behind me. When I turned my head, I saw Aiza running toward me, her face twisted with panic.
And then I understood.
"Kael, get out of there—now!"
I reacted too late.
My body was violently dragged across the rocky ground, straight toward the cloud of smoke still smoldering with embers and latent flames.
I didn't have full control over my body. It was as if an invisible hand crushed each of my limbs, leaving me completely unable to move.
"How interesting… after all these years, to see a Lanpar."
The voice emerged from within the curtain of smoke. I couldn't see the speaker's face, but I knew exactly who it was.
For a brief moment, the dragging stopped, and a deathly silence swallowed the surroundings. My senses failed to register anything, as if the world itself had been abruptly switched off.
The strain of trying to contain the corrupted awakening was beginning to take its toll. One by one, my perceptions dulled.
Before I could even think of how to escape that invisible grip, my body was lifted into the air—upright, suspended against my will. A shockwave of power exploded around us, tearing through the smoke and clearing the scene.
I swallowed hard as I saw the corrupted elf step toward me.
He showed no emotion at all.
And that was what truly terrified me.
"Why was I condemned…? I did nothing."
His words carried no hatred, only a sickening melancholy. In that moment, I understood—it wasn't just a corrupted elf standing before me. He was fully conscious, trapped inside his own madness.
I didn't understand what he meant by being condemned. Much less how he knew I was a Lanpar.
I watched him raise a finger and press it—almost gently—against my chest.
The next instant, searing agony tore straight through me.
My body erupted with countless fine, invisible cuts opening everywhere at once. Blood ran down my trembling skin, and even in that state, I managed to open my eyes just enough to see a single tear slide down his cheek.
"You were the reason my squad ended up wounded," I said, "and yet you still dared to attack my favorite cousin."
I gathered what little strength I had left to speak. I didn't even know why I did it. Maybe it was a futile attempt to prove I wasn't weak. Deep down, I knew it wouldn't work.
He didn't respond.
The elf swung his arm violently to the side, and my body was sent flying, slamming into a rock. The impact against my head was sharp—brutal.
The pain was absolute.
My vision blurred, and for a few eternal seconds, the only thing I could hear were Aiza's screams of rage.
Then, darkness.
My consciousness drifted aimlessly, but something was different. I hadn't entered my mental space, as usually happened when I lost consciousness.
I was in a place of complete darkness, where not even sound existed.
Until a faint tremor shook the void.
The surroundings quaked violently, and little by little, a dim light began to open, growing in intensity.
Before I could fully grasp what was happening, I jolted awake, once again pierced by the sharp pain from the blow to my head.
The dizziness hit immediately. I nearly fell backward if not for Emira catching me in her arms and helping me lean against the stone wall behind us.
"Kael, you're bleeding heavily from the head. We need to get you treated—now."
The panic in her voice was unmistakable. I knew my condition was far from ideal, but the situation had already gone beyond concerns like that.
"We can't leave and abandon them here… alone against that monster," I replied between ragged breaths.
Through my blurred vision, I could make out Aiza, Soka, and Zeitra suffering the same cuts I had endured earlier—wounds opening without any visible contact.
It took me a moment to understand what was happening.
Around the manic elf spun an invisible dome of wind, a barrier in constant, violent motion. They couldn't get close to him; he was completely protected.
For a moment, a crushing thought slipped into my mind: maybe this was the end for us.
"How did you end up injured… without a single visible scratch on your body?" I asked weakly, almost without the will to speak.
Emira remained silent for several seconds before finally giving in.
"It's hard to explain," she said. "The way I fought that elf was more mental than physical."
I lifted my head, curiosity—and a flicker of hope—stirring within me.
"Does it have something to do with the insignia?" I asked more firmly this time. "Like your siblings, you have one too, don't you?"
She let out a bitter smile as she shifted to rest more comfortably against the rock.
"That still doesn't explain why you were lying in a pool of blood," I pressed. "It doesn't make sense."
"The wounds I received were internal," she replied. "By fighting on a plane that isn't physical, I ended up suffering damage that doesn't manifest on the body… but causes exactly the same effect as if it did."
It took my mind a few seconds to process all that information.
And then I understood.
We still had a chance.
With effort, I pushed myself to my feet and extended a hand to Emira to help her stand. We had no other options left.
"Emira… can you bring other people into a mental battle?" I asked, desperation tightly contained.
She nodded slowly, fully aware of what I was about to attempt.
"I absolutely refuse to take you into that madman's mind. You could end up dead."
Her words burst out like a desperate plea. I understood perfectly what awaited me if I went in there… but I needed to confirm a theory.
"We're practically dead already if we do nothing."
I placed my hands on her shoulders before continuing.
"All I'm asking for is a chance to play Russian roulette."
"Russian roulette?" For a moment, she looked confused, frowning with an expression that, despite everything, drew a faint smile from me. "What is that?"
I pulled my hands away and sat back down on the rocky ground, crossing my legs into a lotus position as I waited for her decision.
"There's no time to explain," I said, trying to focus. "Besides, it doesn't matter.
If you're going to do it, do it now… just like when you entered my mind the first time."
I closed my eyes. I didn't know what she had decided.
Until I felt her breath beside my ear.
"Please don't die," she whispered.
Even in the darkness, a faint tingling began to spread through my entire body. The world grew silent, muted, and an overwhelming calm wrapped around me completely.
So this is what it feels like to travel into another person's mind… I thought.
Suddenly, the darkness faded.
A dim light illuminated the space, revealing the elf's figure, looking around in confusion, unable to understand what was happening.
Before attacking him, I lowered my gaze to my hands.
That's when my suspicions were confirmed.
Long fingers.
Hardened knuckles.
I was in Matías's body.
My theory was correct: it didn't matter where I was. Every time I slipped into unconsciousness, I appeared in this body… and with it, the divine power of the Calur.
"Who are you?" the elf asked, confusion and horror mingling across his face.
I didn't answer.
I took a step forward and clenched my fists tightly.
"I'm the one who's going to kill you."
I felt a deep disgust toward myself for resorting to the power of the person I had come to hate the most. Yet in that moment, there was no alternative left: I had to accept it, even if it tore me apart inside.
After all, I was nothing more than a shard of glass, torn from a shattered mirror.