Chapter 77: 77. Skinning a lizard alive – 3

William suddenly turned his head toward the gathered crowd.

The movement was sharp and abrupt, as if something inside him had snapped into focus. His blood-soaked hair clung to his face, strands sticking to his cheek and forehead as sunlight reflected off the wet crimson.

The clearing, which moments ago had been filled with chaos and battle cries, fell into an uneasy silence as his gaze swept across the onlookers.

Katherine stood frozen among them.

Her eyes were wide like the rest, her breathing shallow, and her mind was struggling to process what she had just witnessed.

She had seen violence before. She had spilled blood herself without hesitation.

Yet the sight of William standing there, drenched in blood that was his own, radiating an intensity that felt barely contained, made her shudder.

When his eyes finally landed on her, the air between them seemed to tighten.

She snapped out of her stupor as a voice transmission sounded directly inside her mind.

“Need your dagger.”

William gave no explanation for his demand, yet Katherine did not hesitate.

Her hand moved almost on instinct as she reached into her spatial ring. The dagger appeared in her grip, its surface gleaming faintly.

The weapon was forged from mythril. Unlike the onlookers, Katherine knew its properties well. The more mana was poured into it, the sharper it became.

A wisp of shadow manifested in front of her palm.

It was thin, fluid, and alive, stretching outward like smoke.

Katherine placed the dagger into it without breaking eye contact with William. The shadow closed around the weapon and vanished instantly, streaking across the clearing at terrifying speed.

In less than a heartbeat, it reappeared beside William.

The dagger settled neatly into his hand.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Confusion spread as many struggled to understand why William had chosen Katherine’s weapon specifically.

Vorin, pinned helplessly against the massive tree stump, felt his vision blur.

For the first time since descending into the domain, panic clawed its way into his chest. His body was immobilized,

A foreign energy had locked around his core; he felt instinctively that the force would shatter his core if he moved even an inch.

His demonic core throbbed violently, aware of the foreign presence coiled beside it.

He blinked once, trying to regain clarity in his vision.

When his eyes opened again, William was standing directly in front of him.

The human’s face was twisted into a smile that made Vorin’s stomach churn. It was not triumphant, nor was it cruel in the way demons were cruel. It was something far worse. It was personal.

Vorin’s gaze dropped to William’s chest.

The cavity he had torn open with his claws earlier was gone.

Gone completely!!!!.

The Flesh had healed back together without even leaving any scars. Bones had reformed. Blood loss meant nothing for this human.

Vorin’s breath hitched as he realized the absurdity of his existence.

This human was not slowing down at all. He was not feeling tired at all.

The sun blazed overhead, shining directly behind William’s blood-soaked face, bathing it in harsh light.

William stepped closer.

“Bastard,” he growled, “you should have never come here.”

He was no longer looking at Vorin.

Not truly.

In William’s eyes, the demon before him had become something else entirely. The clearing, the academy, the spectators—all of it had long ago faded.

What stood in front of him was the same creature from his past life. The same kind of demon that had laughed while placing his brother’s beating heart into his hands.

“NOOO!!!” A shrill, agonized scream tore from Vorin’s throat.

William moved.

His foot slammed down onto Vorin’s shoulder, pinning him with crushing force. The mythril dagger flashed as William’s left hand wrenched one of Vorin’s massive arms outward, stretching the joint to its limit. His right hand came down without hesitation.

The blade moved to and fro, and William cut through the joint.

Blood erupted outward, splattering across the ground, the tree, and William himself.

After countless screams, the arm tore free and fell heavily to the earth with a sickening thud.

Vorin screamed again, his voice cracking from the sheer intensity of pain.

One arm had already been severed earlier. Now the other followed.

William did not stop.

The image of his brother’s heart burned in his mind, vivid and relentless.

No matter how hard he tried to suppress it, the memory refused to fade. His thoughts drowned beneath a tide of bloodlust and grief.

[Host…]The system hesitated, then fell silent, unable to find words.

The dagger moved again.

William began slicing through Vorin’s scales with methodical precision. The blade bit deep, cutting each scale halfway through before William tore the rest free with his bare hands. Flesh ripped. Blood poured. Vorin’s body convulsed violently, yet William’s legs held him pinned in place.

The participants watching recoiled in horror.

Some turned away. Others stood frozen, unable to look away from the brutal spectacle unfolding before them.

When the scales were cleared from Vorin’s chest, William raised the dagger and drove it down again and again.

Each strike was harder than the last.

Vorin was already teetering on the edge of death, his consciousness flickering, but William did not see it. He could not see it. He could only see the demon who had taken everything from him.

“Stop… please… stop…” Vorin begged, his voice breaking.

The pain was unbearable even for him.

William did not respond.

The dagger struck until Vorin’s chest caved inward.

William planted the blade into the tree stump and plunged his bare hands into the ruined cavity. Blood coated his arms as he tore deeper, fingers searching desperately.

Minutes passed.

Finally, his hands closed around something solid.

William ripped Vorin’s heart free.

It was massive, red, and pulsing weakly. It gave a few final beats before falling still in his hands.

William stared at it.

He held it with both hands, lifting it toward the sky. His body trembled, not with triumph, but with terror. His breathing grew uneven as his vision blurred.

He did not see Vorin’s heart.

He saw his brother’s.

Blinding flashes tore through his mind.

The heart slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground.

The sun shone directly into his eyes.

His pupils dilated, and his legs gave out.

William collapsed on the ground.

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[A/N: Read the auxiliary Chapter about elements if you haven’t.]

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