It was too late.
He was surrounded. He looked around—they were everywhere. They blocked him from every direction.
Their eyes glowed red in the dark.
They moved closer—slow and steady from every direction.
Their low growls echoed in the air, crawling under his skin and sending a chill down his back.
Crack.
Then another sharp crack came out of the dark.
Even though it was dark, he could see the outline of their bodies changing, adjusting their structure. The noise was sickening, like branches snapping. It was coming from all directions.
Their red eyes slowly rose upward, higher and higher, as if they were standing on two legs.
The air grew colder. Heavier.
Their growls were different now. They didn't sound like beasts anymore. The sounds they were making now were much closer to metal scraping against a chalkboard—a grating noise that could pierce straight through his eardrums with ease.
They rose tall enough that it felt like they were leaning in, their eyes locked onto him, like he was nothing but prey that had been caught.
He felt small, weak, scared.
His hands, legs—his body—started trembling. He lifted up his hand, seeing himself shake uncontrollably.
"Am I scared?" A dry chuckle escaped his lips as he questioned himself.
"Me, scared?" he paused, then roared, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M SCARED?! I—WHO BROUGHT FEAR TO ALL MY ENEMIES—AFRAID OF SOME MONSTERS?!"
"Damn you, move," he gritted through his teeth.
He forced his leg to move. He stomped forward, looking up, staring them directly in the eyes. Every step he took, the monsters took one back.
"How dare you look down on me," each word grinding against his teeth.
He clutched his jaw so tight it felt like his teeth were about to crack.
"My name brought fear to the nations."
He raised his sword and opened his mouth. With everything he had, he screamed:
"Excalibur!"
A burst of light exploded out of him, consuming the darkness around him like a wildfire.
With that, the monsters finally became visible—they were humanoid, like animals. Their skin looked inside out, blood dripping down their bodies like it was normal. The air was thick and filled with the smell of iron.
Their faces were a disfigured mixture between human and beast, two horns sticking out from their foreheads.
Their arms were too long. It looked wrong. Twisted in on themselves like coils of bone and muscle—
ending in jagged points that shimmered under the light.
He gripped the sword with both hands tightly.
He didn't wait.
Didn't give them the chance.
One step—then he lunged.
The blade came down hard, before any of them could even react, and tore through it.
The monster split apart at the middle, its body collapsing in two. A faint shimmer of golden light floated from the corpse and flew into him.
He didn't wait. He swung at the one next to it—a vertical strike. Another head flew off its shoulders, spinning through the air.
Another soul fragment dissolved into his chest.
He kept going, striking down anything that came into his range.
Each kill brought a flicker of light flowing into him.
They kept on coming, their sharp spears clawing through his body, slicing through clothes and skin.
Pain shot through his body. But he gritted his teeth and continued cutting them down with enough force to split them in half.
The fragments kept coming. One after another.
Even when his body screamed every time he swung, begging him to stop, he didn't stop. It just made him grip Excalibur tighter. But he was almost at his limit. His lungs burned with every breath. His sword was the only thing keeping him from collapsing onto the ground.
The battlefield glowed with soul fragments.
"I can't… I don't want to…" His voice cracked. "I don't want to die."
He slammed his sword onto the ground.
"I refuse to die such a pitiful death!"
"Domain of the King."
His voice tore through the night.
The environment started to change—the ground, the sky, the trees—all radiating with golden yellow light.
Swords rose from the earth, sticking out like a graveyard of forgotten warriors.
He shot toward them, hands empty. When he swung, a sword appeared in his hand, materializing with a soft hum.
The blade cut through a monster cleanly before shattering into dust.
He didn't stop. He swung again with his left hand—another sword formed. Another monster fell. Another flicker of light sank into him.
One spear pierced through his thigh, the tip stuck in his flesh.
He didn't even flinch.
With a sharp swing, he cut the shaft off, leaving the broken spearhead still in his leg—and kept moving.
Another tore through his shoulder, making his whole arm scream. He did the same thing.
Still, he didn't stop.
His movements were reckless now, driven by instinct alone. His eyes were blank. His vision was going blurry. He didn't know what was happening anymore. Couldn't think. Couldn't focus.
His mind was going blank.
Like he had no control over his body anymore.
His body solely moving in instinct.
He didn't fight it. He let it happen.
Then—one of them slashed him from the back. His instincts kicked in.
He twisted his body, swinging his sword, cutting it in half.
And again.
And again.
His body drenched in blood, dripping from his face, mouth, his hands. Every step he took, he left behind his footprint on the ground.
He didn't stop.
He couldn't stop.
Because he knew—
The moment he stopped swinging…
He wouldn't be able to move again.
He kept cutting through them. Faster, harder.
Limbs.
Heads.
Torsos.
The sword tearing through flesh and bone like paper.
The fragments kept coming to him.
Even after his Domain timed out, the golden light fading…
Even when all the swords were gone, and his hands empty, he kept swinging, kept fighting, kept dragging himself forward.
Until—
[Soul Core Fragments Collected: 50/50]
[Evolution Available.]
Excalibur returned to his hand and started to change. Yellow light flowed through his body like veins. He had no idea what was happening.
But the light… it was warm.
Soothing.
And then—he was glowing.
Gold light poured from his skin, his eyes blazing upward like twin beams of golden light.
Once the light disappeared, he fell to his knees, then face-first onto the ground and passed out. Everything went blank, and the system notification popped up.
[System Notification]
Weapon Evolution Complete: Excalibur
Current Rank: D
Mana Output: D
Combat Rank: D
Overload Scaling: Active
Domain Duration: Extended by 30 seconds
Power increases as Excalibur evolves.
Skill: Domain of the King
Create a battlefield shaped by him—filled with replica swords.
Sylas can summon and wield any sword he has seen or touched.
Each replica can only be used once—after a single attack, it shatters.
Enemy buffs are suppressed inside the domain.
Duration: 90 seconds (Upgraded)
Scales with Excalibur's Rank.
Passive Skill: Absolute Sword Sense
Capable of drawing out 200%+ of any weapon's potential.
New Passive Unlocked: King's Blessing
For 60 seconds, Sylas can temporarily raise the combat rank and stats of any loyal subject by one tier.
Loyalty is required.
If loyalty is broken, the subject is immediately stripped of all blessings and paralyzed for 60 seconds as punishment.
Next Evolution Target: C-Rank
Requirement: 100 Soul Core Fragments.