Book 3: Chapter 11 (6/11)

Arthur breathed out heavily to calm himself down after knowing the sickening plans Kain had of torturing Noe Clerico. Five seconds later, Arthur humbly said, “You haven't called me by my full name in a very long time, Kain.”

Kain smiled, thinking Arthur's mind was induced by his suggestion. Kain said, “Because I am looking at you as equal. Ever since the very first day that we met, I have never thought you can be strong enough to be a threat to my life. But your Creation Magic proves that you can be as strong as me. So Arthur, what do you say? Will you work with me in obtaining Noe Clerico's secrets of [Unlimited Life] and [Substitution] spells?”

“You are a Blood Mage, Kain. I swore to serve the Mages Council-”

Kain fiercely interrupted Arthur, “F*ck the Mages Council! You have sworn to serve Noe Clerico, not the Mages Council. Let me disclose to you a little secret. While it was true that Gwenn Bigham is the current Holy Mage of the Mages Council, she is nothing but a beautiful pet of Noe Clerico because he was the actual person who has been controlling everything. The almighty Noe Clerico was killed. The Mages Council is going to be doomed sooner or later. Arthur Castillon, why are you being stubborn about this?"

"Kain, my consciousness screaming inside my head saying that I can't betray the Mages Council. You were born to serve the Blood Mages Guild. I was born to serve the Mages Council. Our destiny was set and I can't betray them."

"You and I are powerful enough to rule the entire lower realms of all universes. From the Heaven Realm to the Hell Realm, no one can stop us if we team-up. Even if the Devil Overlord Anwyn Richir teamed up with Saint Archangel Michael, we have nothing to be fearful of. Alright, how about this? After you and I learn the secret of [Unlimited Life] and [Substitution] spells, I will allow you to lead the Mages Council to a different realm or even a different universe if needed. You can even bring Noe Clerico with you.”

“Kain, why can’t you lead the Blood Mages Guild and the Rogue Mages to another realm or another universe? Why does it have to be the Mages Council that has to move?”

“Because I want to legalize Blood Magic in Toria Continents. I want all the children who are going to be born with a Twin Soul won’t have to be executed. My parents gave birth to me and sacrificed their lives to save mine. I have promised myself that one day I will destroy the Mages Council and make sure no Twin Soul children are going to have to go through what I have gone through.”

Arthur sighed lightly out of frustration and said, “Kain, you are in no condition to negotiate with me. If you are willing to give me Lord Clerico’s finger then lead your Blood Mages to another planet, I can ensure your safety and other Blood Mages’ safety for a while. But I guess you won’t agree to that, will you?”

“Arthur Castillon, are you certainly sure that you want to have a battle to the death with me? I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

“Same goes for me. I won’t hesitate. Now, shall we continue the battle?”

“Damn it, weakling!”

Kain charged towards Arthur and activated the [Sun Flash] ability to temporarily decrease Arthur’s [Darkness Flood], then repeatedly struck his Ice Spear toward him. Arthur used his sword to parry and shield to block all of Kain’s attacks. As soon as the effect of Kain’s [Sun Flash] ability weakened, Arthur activated the [Living Shadows] ability. Seeing Kain start walking backward while using his Ice Spear to block the attacks of [Living Shadows], Arthur activates [Syphon Strike] ability by slashing his sword in mid-air. A black hole opened and strongly started siphoning Kain toward it. Instead of using [Sun Flash] ability to get out of trouble, Kain decided to sprint toward Arthur then powerfully swung his Ice Spear onto Arthur's head. Because of being siphoned by Arthur’s [Syphon Strike], Kain’s speed was much faster than what Arthur had anticipated. However, Arthur’s reflex was very quick, so he raised his shield on time to block Kain’s spear swing. Even if Kain's spear swing successfully landed on Arthur's head, Arthur's Soul-bound armor including a helmet would have easily protected Arthur from any major injury. It would take at least ten of Kain's powerful spear attacks to even damage Arthur's Soul-bound armor.

Kain wasn’t backing down despite the [Living Shadows] having successfully surrounded and attacked him from behind. Kain used his legs to block the [Living Shadows] attacks while attacking Arthur using his Ice Spear to repeatedly strike, swing, and slam. Kain then activated another [Sun Flash] ability to weaken Arthur’s [Darkness Flood] which also weakened Arthur’s [Living Shadows]. Kain’s attack speed increased faster and faster which surprised Arthur because he didn’t expect Kain to be capable of reaching such speed. Kain's attack speed has exceeded what Arthur's attack speed could reach which forced Arthur to focus more on defending. Arthur decided to use [Black Wall] ability by slamming his shield on the ground. The shield quickly released a black aura, surrounded Arthur, and automatically blocked all of Kain’s attacks while Arthur was just standing still to activate another [Living Shadows] ability when needed. While the [Black Wall] ability helped Arthur in defending much better, it also prevented him from attacking, which was why he had to rely on [Living Shadows] ability as an offense.

Arthur said, “My abilities can be used for both offense and defense tactics. Without using magic, there is a clear incoming result that I will be the victor. Kain, this will be the last chance I’m going to give you. Surrender to me by giving Lord Clerico’s finger peacefully or die acting like a stubborn fool.”

Kain repeatedly struck, swung, and slammed his Ice Spear attempting to break through Arthur’s [Black Wall] while having both of his legs busy blocking attacks from plenty of [Living Shadows]. Kain angrily stated, “You are the one acting like a stubborn fool!”

Roughly seventy minutes later. The heavily injured and extremely exhausted Kain Bersk was trying to stand straight while using his Ice Spear for balance. Arthur’s stamina pool has reached depletion therefore he couldn’t use any more of Dark Knight’s abilities. Even so, Kain was nowhere near the physical state to continue fighting with Arthur. The physical strength battle between Kain Bersk and Arthur Castillon was about to be over with the result that Arthur clearly overpowered Kain.

Arthur put his shield away by unlocking his Magical Storage Ring, then chanted the secret code for his Soul-bound Black Shield to automatically fly back inside the Storage Ring. Using both hands to hold the Black Sword, Arthur charged toward Kain to strike him in the heart. Kain was extremely exhausted and could barely raise his Ice Spear up. Still, Kain didn’t want to just stand still allowing Arthur to kill him that easily. Holding his Ice Spear using both hands, Kain also charged toward Arthur and struck it toward him. Arthur’s sword and Kain’s spear strongly collided. After they sprinted past each other, Arthur Soul-bound Black Armor and Soul-bound Black Sword were broken. Kain’s Ice Spear was also broken to pieces as Kain’s heart was critically damaged by having a big hole in it. Arthur once again unlocked his Storage Ring then chanted the secret codes for all broken pieces of his Soul-bound Armor and Soul-bound Sword to automatically fly inside the Storage Ring. Arthur took out a short sword crafted using regular silver and attempted to use it to give Kain the final blow to kill him.

Author’s Note: Dear fans who have been supporting the Twin Soul novel. I wanted to thank you for taking the time to read my novel even though it has bad grammar. If you have been purchasing a privileged plan for the Twin Soul novel, please stop starting July 2021 because it wouldn’t be fair for you since I can’t release new chapters regularly anymore due to my busy work schedule. Because this novel was published by EMP-Publisher, I have no control over the privilege plans or cancel it. Once again, thank you for supporting the Twin Soul novel.

Zskyph 6/29/2021.