SOUL FORGE CHRONICLES
Chapter 13 — The Legendary Bloodline
Cavan Redstone had become a knight at the age of fourteen — an achievement considered extraordinary even by the lofty standards of the Norrath Empire. Countless young men idolized him, and countless girls were infatuated with him. His name was spoken with admiration in every corner of the empire.
But aside from his rivals, no one knew that this promising genius knight was, in truth, a madman.
Cavan loved fighting. Loved killing. The sensation of a blade slicing through skin and muscle filled him with a thrill unlike anything else, and the stronger his opponent, the more intense his pleasure.
When Cavan was selected to become a sorcery student, even the King of the Norrath Empire personally pleaded with the sorcerer to spare this genius knight.
But it was Cavan himself who refused.
To him, the power of sorcery was utterly fascinating. The sensation of killing a sorcerer with nothing but a sword would surely send him straight to paradise.
And so Cavan entered the entrance examination with burning enthusiasm. Strong opponents and legitimate killing — this was his personal paradise.
Until a blinding flash of fire appeared before him.
A red-orange meteor shot from Aldric's hand, flying directly toward him.
Cavan felt a fear he had never experienced before — a fear even greater than anything he had felt when facing the most dangerous magical creatures.
He had no time to think. On pure instinct, he tried to dodge — but just as he passed the fireball, it exploded.
BOOM!
The massive wall of flame turned Cavan's clothing to ash in an instant. His armor — which was supposed to protect him — transformed into scorching red-hot iron, leaving burn marks seared across his entire body.
The devastating blast wave struck him without mercy. Before he could react, his body was hurled like a cannonball, his greatsword torn violently from his grip and lost somewhere in the darkness of the forest.
On the other side of the explosion, Aldric watched it all calmly from behind a transparent barrier he had erected just moments before releasing the attack.
Zero-Ring Spell: Force Shield.
"Hah... and that was only a Minor Fireball?" Aldric stared at the crater that had formed beside Cavan's last position — three meters wide and half a meter deep. A flicker of genuine amazement crossed his mind.
The power of that spell was nearly equivalent to a direct cannonball shot.
"If someone took a direct hit from that, they should be dead by now."
But then a thunderous roar erupted from deep within the forest.
"You bastard! I'll cut you into a thousand pieces!"
A charred, blackened figure emerged from between the trees — Cavan, who had been sent flying moments ago, was back on his feet. His armor was destroyed, his body scorched, but his eyes burned with a fierce, manic light.
He had survived a direct Minor Fireball blast.
Aldric immediately fired two Mana Bolts to slow Cavan's advance. Cavan dodged them with ease as he continued moving forward — then came to a sudden, deliberate stop.
Aldric moved to release a Frost Spike — but before he could complete the motion, Cavan's transformation stopped him cold.
White vapor billowed heavily from Cavan's mouth and nostrils. Golden fur began to grow from his scorched skin, slowly spreading to cover his entire body. His frame seemed to expand as the fur lengthened — his muscles swelling visibly, his posture becoming more powerful and imposing with every passing second.
"A beast transformation?"
Seeing this, Aldric immediately recalled the legend of the legendary knights that Kevan had mentioned on the airship. Descendants who carried divine blood. Bloodlines that granted abilities beyond the reach of ordinary humans.
Could this madman actually be one of them?
Aldric raised his hand, intending to finish Cavan off with a Frost Spike before the transformation completed. But Cavan deflected the spike's trajectory with nothing more than a casual wave of his hand, as though swatting away an insect.
"This is going to be a problem. One shot isn't enough."
Aldric quietly tightened his grip on his magic dagger. From the look of things, this madman was a dangerous close-range fighter even without his transformation — and whatever was happening to him now was only making it worse.
"You are the first person who has ever forced me to use my legendary bloodline!"
Cavan stretched his body with visible satisfaction. Chunks of scorched skin peeled away, replaced by fresh skin sprouting golden fur under the influence of his awakened bloodline.
Aldric discreetly checked the Fireball staff in his hand.
Two minutes remaining on the recharge.
This was going to be a problem.
"Legendary bloodline? So you really are a descendant of one of the legendary knights?"
Aldric drew him into conversation, deliberately stalling for time. Once the Fireball was fully recharged, even someone with a legendary bloodline would end up as smoldering debris.
Aldric wasn't fooled by Cavan's increasingly imposing appearance. After taking a near-point-blank Fireball explosion — equivalent to a direct cannonball blast — his internal organs had to have suffered serious damage. Internal injuries were far more dangerous and difficult to heal than external wounds. One more Fireball would end this for certain.
But Cavan had no intention of giving him the time to wait.
After awakening his legendary bloodline, Cavan felt a powerful surge of strength flooding through every inch of his body. Even though he knew this transformation was worsening his internal injuries, he had no choice. He needed to end this now, before that staff finished recharging.
CRACK!
Cavan surged forward at a speed that was nearly impossible to track with the naked eye. In an instant he was standing directly in front of Aldric.
"Die!"
His fist swung with tremendous force — even the shockwave from the punch alone sent Aldric's hair flying backward.
But with a soft rippling sound, the air in front of Aldric shimmered like the surface of disturbed water.
Cavan's fist stopped dead right in front of Aldric's face, unable to advance even a centimeter further.
"Force Shield, you madman."
Aldric smirked. His dagger carved a sharp arc through the air, aimed directly at Cavan's vital point.
Seeing his attack stopped, Cavan immediately stepped back and used his armguard to deflect the dagger. The two weapons collided with an ear-splitting clang, and when they separated, only a shallow mark remained on Cavan's armguard.
"What a remarkable dagger."
"What a remarkable armguard," Aldric noted silently.
Cavan retrieved his greatsword from the ground. Despite having been washed in Fireball flames, its blade remained perfectly straight and polished — clearly an exceptional weapon. Possibly a relic inherited directly from a legendary knight.
With the greatsword back in hand, Cavan's aura surged dramatically. His golden hair billowed without any wind, and the golden fur covering his body seemed to shimmer in the pale moonlight.
"I've decided to take your head and make it my finest trophy."
Cavan declared with arrogance, then unleashed a relentless string of attacks.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Aldric struggled to block each blow. Although the Storm Eagle Sword Technique gave him skills far beyond what his physical frame would normally allow, the raw difference in strength remained a genuine and growing obstacle.
Aldric was forced back step by step.
"Hahahaha! Where is your precious sorcery now?!"
Cavan laughed loudly, his momentum building with every exchange. In one unguarded moment, Cavan's greatsword broke through Aldric's Force Shield and left a finger-deep gash across his chest.
"Hiss!"
The sharp pain made Aldric gasp briefly. But under the flood of adrenaline rushing through him, his mind only grew clearer.
Ten more seconds.
I need to create distance.
Aldric unleashed a rapid barrage of Mana Bolts and Frost Spikes simultaneously — a sudden combination that forced Cavan to halt his assault and dodge frantically, giving Aldric the opening he needed to leap backward and put space between them.
"No!"
Cavan recognized the danger the instant he saw Aldric pulling back. The memory of the Fireball dominated his mind, and he instinctively turned to flee.
But the spell was faster than his legs.
Aldric swung the staff, and a red-orange meteor shot from its tip once more — striking Cavan like a falling star crashing to earth.
BOOM!
With a thunderous explosion that shook the surrounding trees, the genius knight of the Norrath Empire crumpled to the forest floor among the ancient roots and fallen leaves.
He did not move again.
— End of Chapter 13 —