(There is torture in this chapter. PLEASE don't force yourself to read if it makes you uncomfortable. A summary of the chapter will be given in the author's notes.)

JAY CADMIUM'S POV:

I noticed vibrant red robes approaching me rapidly. My eyes locked onto the figure, my mind instantly recognizing the individual.

Hugo Liech?

I remained calm, thinking logically before pouncing on the boy. I eyed the figures around him, realizing they were all adventurers within the A to AA-ranks. I glanced briefly at Asthia, feeling the agony she was currently enduring.

I clenched the dark handle of the crimson blade, my instincts pushing me towards two separate actions. I could either drop everything and save Asthia or murder the man who had slaughtered my allies and pained me for so many years.

I had remained passive when it came to my revenge for so long, and I could feel my sanity wasn't able to take much more waiting. The image of a crucial member flashed before me, my eyes trying to locate the S-rank.

Where was Ares?

I could feel his presence dominating the field, but he was using his overwhelming aura to mask his precise location.

An orb of fire suddenly wrenched me from my thoughts. My free arm waved upward subconsciously, summoning a wave of water to vaporize the projectile. I could see Hugo grinning as he prepared to attack me again from a distance, sending all of his companions to face me head-on.

"Very well," I said to myself, shifting the overall direction of my body to face the oncoming squad of adventurers, "I'll deal with you first."

I ignited a small flame in the palm of my hand, focusing on the living energy as I condensed it. The ember took a darker color, the strings of bind wrapping around each other as they formed a tightly-knit ball of raw power.

I willed the fire to enter my blade. The bind obeyed my command, proceeding to cover the entirety of Phoenix's blade and turning the weapon into a much darker color. The flames were almost mimicking the color of my lightning when I used Integrate, a dark violet color that resembled the pitch-black tone of the night sky coating my weapon.

The first adventurer crashed through the defensive line of monsters, beheading them with ease as he roared in anger. I remained calm, swinging my blade to meet the user's massive greatsword that was positioned to slice my head in two.I heard a low hiss as Phoenix sliced through the weapon with ease. The adventurer's expression morphed into one of horror as my blade cut right through his chest, splitting him in two with a sickening crack.

The thick blood immediately evaporated from my blade, leaving only the dark flames that yearned for more blood.

Light green slices of air formed around me as I utilized my elemental flexibility to its full potential, sending the missiles of wind flying right at more oncoming enemies. The wind shrieked from the speed, promptly falling silent as three more adventurers fell to the ground without their heads.

I kept my eyes on Hugo the entire time, his fire spells completely useless against my defensive mastery over water.

What's wrong, Hugo? I thought as he slowly began to take steps back. Where are you going?

My body suddenly burst with yellow lightning as I appeared right in front of the boy, the rest of his team falling dead one by one as their necks realized they had been severed by a blade coated in fire.

"What the-"

Hugo flinched in fear from my proximity. I could see his eyes shivering, ordering him to retreat from battle.

"Release spirit," I said neutrally, triggering the unique ability that my weapon possessed. A burst of flames shot out from the blade, sending the noble boy flying back into the ground. Everyone around us was too busy staying alive to realize that this confrontation had become a one-on-one duel, both participants ignoring the battle that was taking place around them.

"You always used to talk so much, Hugo," I echoed, approaching the boy. He stood up valiantly, drawing his sword and appearing in front of me. He slashed forward, igniting his weapon with his own flames at the last second.

BOOM

A wave of fire exploded from the contact of both weapons, the heat from the clash incinerating those without neutral bind shielding them that stood close by. Hugo's manic smile returned, his eyes lighting up once again with excitement.

"That's right, Darck! Nothing excites me more than the thought of seeing you quiver in agony! Tell me, how much longer do you think your Princess has before she dies? Or wait, maybe she's already dead!" he cried, his flames being amplified by his passionate emotions.magic

I said nothing, realizing that time was of the essence. The thought of gruesomely killing Hugo was all I had been able to think about, and it was possible that Asthia could lose her life because of my greed.The earth below Hugo began dragging him down, the boy's overjoyed expression quickly leaving. Both blades lost their firepower, the fight immediately coming to an end.

"W-What are you doing?! Fight me honorably!" he wailed, his weapon leaving his hands as he attempted in vain to push himself out of the earth.

I watched coldly, waiting until his ankles were completely submerged underground. I brought my palm forth, Hugo's eyes settling on my hand as he understood what I was about to do.

"No, no... you can't be serious!! What a disgusting way of fighting! You're supposed to be an S-rank, and this is all you can manage!?"

My fist closed suddenly, not a single word echoing forth from my mouth in response to his pitiful complaints.

CRUNCH

Both of Hugo's feet were smashed within the earth, a cry of true agony escaping the boy's mouth as he was unable to stop the stream of tears that flooded his face. I remained unfazed as he raised both his hands simultaneously in his last moments of sanity, beginning to conjure a ball of fire amidst his excruciating pain.

SHLING

"Waaaahhhh!!!!" he wailed as both his hands came flying off, my blade now on the other side of his body.

I planted the crimson weapon into the ground right in front of the boy, beginning to transfer bind through my body and into the blade as I listened to Hugo's screams.

"T-T-Torture... you monster!! Katherine wouldn't have-"

"You don't have the right to say that name," I said finally, my emotionless voice shattering the boy's final dreams of survival. I got up, keeping my eyes glued to Hugo's wet and bloody face as he continued to gasp from the pain.

"D-Daaarck!!!!" he roared one final time, using all of his rage to cry out the name of the man he had come to despise so much.

"Release Spirit."

BOOOOOOMM

The blade exploded in Hugo's face, the atrocities of the action covered by the smoke of the blast. I felt a deep fissure open up within Phoenix, the succession of two powerful spirit releases proving to be too much for the blade.

I lay my hand on the grip of the implanted sword one final time, feeling no sense of disgust or horror from my actions. The boy I had hated for so long was finally gone, and yet through all that...

War continued on.