Legendary Extraction: Kingdom Builder in a Ruined World-Chapter 42: Dealing With The Arcane Threat [4.]

Elias’s eyes swept across the battlefield, his chest rising and falling as he caught his breath. Blood soaked the dirt beneath him, leaking from the corpses of the two possessed guards at his feet. As he scanned the area, his gaze landed on the last surviving possessed guard—the same one who had torn the undead dire wolf’s head clean off.

The man was limping, dragging himself slowly through the forest. His sword was gone, and his armor was dented all over, barely holding together. Blood poured from the stump where his left arm used to be, leaving a thick, red trail behind him. His face was pale, drained of life, but his eyes were still wide and bloodshot, filled with a cold and wild look.

Elias clenched his jaw. There was no sympathy in his eyes. Without hesitation, he began walking toward the injured man.

The guard turned slightly, sensing death coming for him.

He was half-delirious, his eyes glassy and fading. Still, even in that broken state there was a strange calm in his expression, his bloodshot eyes glared at Elias, burning with hate.

But Elias didn’t care.

As he reached the man, he grabbed him by the throat with his clawed gauntlet and lifted him off the ground like he weighed nothing.

For a moment, the guard dangled there, choking and gasping. Their eyes locked—one full of hate, the other empty.

Then—

CRACK.

Elias squeezed.

The neck broke with a sharp snap.

The man’s body went limp.

Elias let the corpse drop like trash, not even glancing at it again.

He turned his eyes toward Vael and the silver-haired woman.

A piercing scream rang out.

The woman, bloodied but still standing, screamed with fury. Her blue eyes burned as she watched the last of her possessed fragments die. Her face twisted with raw hatred as she stared at Elias.

But she couldn’t do anything.

Vael was already on her, his twin daggers flashing like shadows. She was forced to defend herself, dodging quickly. Her sword danced through the air, trying to block each strike, her elegant footwork starting to slip under pressure.

She was skilled—very skilled. Elias could admit that.

She moved with a sharp, calculated grace, dodging, countering, and striking when needed.

But even she knew—it wouldn’t be enough.

With the other enemies dead, Elias was now free to join the fight. She was already struggling against Vael. With Elias entering the battle, the fight would be over.

Then Elias charged.

His boots slammed against the ground as he sprinted forward, eyes locked on the silver-haired woman.

She spun around, her eyes widening as she saw him coming. She twisted her body, barely dodging his first punch. The force of it whipped through the air, ruffling her silver hair.

Elias went in for another strike, but she countered with a quick sword swing, aiming for his neck.

CLANG.

Elias raised his gauntlet just in time, blocking the blade, though the force of it numbed his arm for a moment.

The woman was strong—stronger than he expected.

But it still wouldn’t be enough.

But the silver-haired woman quickly retreated after Elias blocked her attack. Vael was already back on her, his daggers slicing in from another direction. The woman gritted her teeth and moved back fast. She was clearly on the losing side.

Elias didn’t waste time either. As soon as she started retreating, he stepped in, syncing with Vael’s rhythm. Together, they moved in and out of the fight, striking in patterns, overwhelming her with pressure.

The woman was forced into a full defensive stance. But her defense was impressive—quick reflexes, sharp instincts. Even though she was outmatched in strength, speed, and numbers, she managed to hold on through pure technique, timing, and experience.

But no matter how strong a blade is, it will eventually dull under enough pressure.

And soon—

An opening.

Vael moved in low—feinting to the left, then slashing right. The woman turned to block it.

She managed to stop the attack—but it left her midsection wide open.

Elias didn’t hesitate.

He rushed in like a storm, shoulder low, fist pulled back.

"NO!" the woman hissed, spinning to try and defend—

THUMP!

Too late.

Elias’s fist smashed into her stomach with crushing force.

Her body bent around the punch. The sound of the impact echoed loudly as she was sent flying, spinning through the air before slamming into a tree. The trunk cracked and split apart as she crashed through it, then hit the ground hard, rolling and gasping for breath.

Elias and Vael didn’t pause.

They rushed in to finish the job—

"WAIT!" the woman yelled, coughing. "Please! Stop—just listen!"

Elias stopped, standing only a few feet away from her.

Vael also paused, though his daggers stayed raised.

"Why should I?" Elias asked coldly. "You attacked us first. You killed my undead. Why should I let you live?"

The woman stayed silent, breathing heavily as blood dripped from her lip.

Then she spoke.

"...Because I have a secret to tell."

A sly grin spread across her face.

Before either Elias or Vael could react—

WHOOSH!

A blast of pale blue energy burst out from the center of her forehead, rising like smoke.

An ethereal figure vaguely humanoid shot out of her head, riding a trail of misty light. It pulsed with alien energy.

It was the true form of the arcane being.

It let out a high-pitched, unnatural shriek and rushed straight for Elias, aiming directly at his head to take control of him.

But Elias didn’t flinch.

He just grinned.

"I was waiting for that."

The arcane being reached Elias’s forehead and vanished inside him like smoke.

A fatal mistake.

---

Inside Elias’s consciousness.

The arcane entity slipped into his mind like mist, entering a vast space that seemed to stretch forever.

It floated in the air, surrounded by swirling energy from Elias’s mind.

The being looked around and sneered. "Hah... what a naive boy," it said. "He actually stopped and gave me the perfect opening. Fool."

But before its words even finished echoing, something changed.

A heavy pressure suddenly dropped from every direction. It pressed on the arcane being like a mountain crushing its body.

The arcane being’s eyes widened. "W-What...?"

It turned—and saw them.

Two objects floated silently in the space—motionless, yet filled with terrifying power.

The first was a divine golden box, covered in glowing runes. The weight of its presence alone made the being feel pressured.

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

The real pressure didn’t come from the golden box.

It came from the second object.

A pitch-black orb floated not far from the box, surrounded by a swirling mass of darkness that devoured all light around it. It didn’t just sit there—it radiated a chaotic, crushing aura that made even the golden box feel weak.

The arcane being froze. The pressure coming from the orb made every instinct in its body scream in alarm. Danger. Death. Something worse than anything it had ever encountered.

"No... no, no, no..."

It turned to escape.

But it was too late.

The space around it began to shake, and a voice thundered across the void.

"You dare."

The voice was ancient, deep, and full of fury. The sound carried power, shaking the entire space as if the voice controlled everything here.

The arcane being panicked, trying to move.

But it couldn’t.

It was stuck. Trapped. As if the very space had locked it in place.

"LET ME GO!" it screamed. "I didn’t know! I didn’t—!"

Its voice cut off.

A beam of golden light erupted from the dark orb, tearing across the space like a sword of judgment.

"NO—NOOO!"

The light slammed into the arcane being with devastating force.

SLAM!

It was torn from Elias’s mind like a parasite being ripped from living flesh.

---

Back in Reality—

FWHOOM!

The arcane being exploded out of Elias’s head in a flash of light and smoke, shooting back into the silver-haired woman’s skull.

Her body jerked hard, limbs twitching uncontrollably.

Her eyes flew open—wide, glowing, full of panic.

She gasped, chest rising and falling rapidly, her face a mix of horror and confusion.

Elias stood in front of her, calm, smiling like a predator eyeing a cornered prey.

Meanwhile, inside the woman’s consciousness—now taken over by the arcane being—it was stunned.

"What... what was that?" it muttered in confusion. "What are you? What kind of divine treasure was that?"

It looked around, trying to regain its senses inside its old vessel’s mind.

Then suddenly—

Its form froze.

"...What...?"

Golden runes began crawling across its glowing body like living tattoos. They burned into its form like hot irons, branding every part of it.

"No—NO!"

Panic filled the arcane being. These runes... they felt familiar.

Just like the slave imprint Kael used when he enslaved it before.

But this one was different. Scarier. Stronger. And it carried a deeper weight.

---

Back in reality, the woman’s eyes widened in fear.

She looked at Elias, voice trembling.

"You... what did you do to me!?"

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