Chapter 343: Varkazan, the demon general!

Yumi grabbed his arm before he could fall. "Kael—!""I'm fine," he said automatically, then almost collapsed anyway.

The saber girl stepped in, steadying him with one hand.

"You are not," she said flatly. "But you endured."

Kael looked up at the dark expanse ahead.

Levels still remained.

His lips curved into a faint, exhausted smile.

"…Good," he murmured. "We're ahead of schedule."

Yumi had barely finished checking Kael's torn sleeve when the air changed.

It was subtle at first—a pressure, like the dungeon itself drawing a long breath.

Just as Kael and the beast girl were talking quietly, a massive translucent screen tore itself open in the air before them.

It was larger than any system message they had seen so far, its borders jagged and dripping with crimson light.

[level: Demon General of War and Blood]

[Level 53: General of Carnage]

[Challenge accepted]

Kael's spine stiffened instantly. His exhaustion was momentarily forgotten, replaced by a sharp, instinctive dread.

Before anyone could speak, the ground split open at the center of the arena.

Chains—enormous, blackened chains—rose from the abyss below, rattling and grinding against the stone.

Each link was thicker than Kael's arm, etched with ancient runes glowing a dark, hungry red.

They dragged something upward, slowly, deliberately, as if savoring the moment.

A figure emerged.

It was massive.

A blood demon, its body towering over them, muscles carved like war-forged stone and soaked in a sheen of dark crimson.

Its skin looked less like flesh and more like hardened blood crystal, veins pulsing visibly beneath the surface.

Horns curved backward from its skull, jagged and asymmetrical, one chipped as if broken in an ancient battle.

The chains wrapped tightly around its torso and limbs, pinning it in place.

For a moment, the demon hung there, head bowed.

Then the chains shattered.

With a deafening crack, links exploded outward, embedding themselves into the dungeon walls.

The demon landed on the stone floor with a thunderous impact that sent shockwaves rippling through the arena. Kael staggered back, barely keeping his footing.

The demon straightened.

It had four arms.

Each arm held a different weapon, and each weapon radiated a different kind of killing intent.

One hand gripped a colossal cleaver, its edge serrated and stained black. Another held a long, cruel spear with a barbed tip that seemed to drip blood despite no wound being struck.

The third arm carried a spiked mace, heavy enough to crush armor and bone alike. The last wielded a curved blade, thin and elegant, humming softly as if eager to cut.

Its eyes opened.

They burned red.

The demon's lips curled into a grin filled with jagged teeth.

"I am Varkazan," it rumbled, its voice deep enough to vibrate Kael's chest, "General of Carnage."

Each word echoed, layered with the screams of unseen battlefields.

"Bleed for me, mortal," Varkazan continued, lifting the cleaver slightly as if testing its weight.

"Every drop is a hymn to war."

Yumi felt her throat tighten. Even in her beast form, instinct screamed at her to retreat.

The white-eyed saber stepped forward half a pace, blade lowering into a ready stance. Her expression remained calm, but Kael noticed the faint tightening of her grip.

"This one is different," she said quietly. "A true general."

Varkazan laughed, a booming, delighted sound.

"Good," the demon said, spreading its four arms wide, weapons glinting under the dungeon's red glow.

"I was bound because the weak feared my joy in battle."

Its gaze swept over them, lingering on Kael, then Yumi, then the saber girl.

"Come at me," Varkazan roared, power flaring outward like a shockwave. "All of you, at once."

The floor ignited with crimson runes, sealing the arena. The exits vanished. The air grew thick with the scent of iron and blood.

Kael tightened his grip on his sword.

"…A general, huh," Kael muttered, stepping forward despite the tremor in his legs. "Guess Level Fifty-Three doesn't believe in mercy."

Yumi bared her claws, growling low.

The saber's blade lifted, gleaming white against the blood-red light.

Varkazan leaned forward, muscles coiling.

Kael stepped forward, boots scraping against blood-veined stone.

His breathing was steady, measured, despite the fatigue screaming through his muscles.

He rolled his shoulders once, loosening tension, and raised his sword until its edge aligned with the demon general's chest.

Behind him, Yumi shifted instinctively, claws flexing. The white-eyed saber took a half-step forward as well, her blade already humming with restrained power.

Kael didn't look back.

"Stay out of this," he said.

Yumi froze. "Kael—"

"This is my fight," Kael continued, eyes locked on Varkazan. "Don't interfere."

The saber girl frowned. "Master, this enemy—"

"I know," Kael cut in. "That's why."

Yumi swallowed. Slowly, reluctantly, she stepped back.

The saber lowered her blade—but did not sheath it.

"…Understood," she said quietly.

Varkazan laughed again, delighted.

"Brave," the demon general rumbled. "Or foolish. Either way—delicious."

Varkazan vanished from where he stood, the stone beneath his feet shattering as four weapons moved at once.

Kael's instincts screamed before his eyes could even follow.

He moved.

Sideways—twisting, sliding, barely escaping as the cleaver crashed down where his head had been a heartbeat earlier.

(how can this giant demon move at this speed?) Kael thought.

The impact split the dungeon floor, blood-red cracks spiderwebbing outward.

The spear followed immediately, thrusting with terrifying speed.

Kael ducked, the barbed tip grazing his hair, slicing a strand clean off. He felt the wind of it pass his skull.

Then the mace came from above.

Kael rolled, the spiked head smashing into the ground with a concussive blast that sent him skidding across the stone.

He pushed up instantly, sword already rising.

CLANG—

The curved blade met his steel, sparks bursting between them.

For the first time, Kael felt it.

The strength.

Varkazan wasn't just strong.

He was monstrously precise.

Each arm moved independently, yet perfectly synchronized.

There was no wasted motion.

The demon general's eyes burned brighter.

"Good," Varkazan snarled. "Dodge. Run. Dance."

His aura expanded violently.

Blood-red light poured across the battlefield like a tide.

[Skill Activated: Blood Dominion]

The runes beneath them flared.

Kael felt it instantly—a pressure, a pull. The scent of iron thickened, clawing at his senses.

"Blood Dominion."

Every wound within the battlefield strengthens him.

"…So that's how it is," Kael muttered.

Varkazan lunged again.

This time, Kael didn't retreat.

He stepped in.

The cleaver swung horizontally—Kael ducked under it, pivoted on his heel, and slashed upward.

His blade cut across Varkazan's side, carving a shallow line through blood-crystal flesh.

Dark blood spilled.

Varkazan's grin widened.

"Oh?" the demon purred. "You bleed me?"

The wound sealed almost instantly.

And the demon's presence—

It grew heavier and stronger.

Kael felt it like a weight settling on his chest.

"Damn it," Kael thought. "So even hurting him feeds him."

The spear thrust again—faster this time.

Kael twisted, parried with the flat of his blade, sparks screaming as the impact numbed his arm.

He used the recoil to leap backward, narrowly avoiding the mace that smashed down where his legs had been.

The curved blade followed, slashing toward his neck.

Kael bent backward unnaturally, the blade passing inches from his throat, its edge slicing air with a shriek.

He rolled to his feet, breathing hard.

Varkazan straightened slowly.

"Do you feel it?" the demon asked, voice low and thrilled. "Every second. Every heartbeat."

[Skill Activated: Carnage March]

Varkazan's muscles bulged, veins glowing brighter as his presence surged.

The chains embedded in the walls rattled violently, responding to his power.

"The longer this fight lasts," Varkazan continued, "the stronger I become."

Kael's jaw tightened.

(…So I can't let it drag on,) he thought.

Varkazan charged.

The dungeon shook with each step, speed and power increasing with terrifying momentum.

Kael ran toward him, not away, angling to the side at the last moment.

The cleaver came down.

Kael slid beneath it, sparks tearing from stone as the blade scraped the floor. He thrust upward toward Varkazan's throat—

The demon twisted impossibly, the curved blade intercepting Kael's sword mid-thrust.

CLANG—

The spear stabbed down.

Kael twisted his torso, the barbed tip punching through his shoulder guard, slicing flesh.

The dungeon pulsed again.

Varkazan roared in pleasure.

"Yes! Bleed!"

Kael hissed but didn't slow.

He grabbed the spear shaft with his free hand, ignoring the blood running down his arm, and yanked himself forward, driving his knee into Varkazan's chest.

The impact staggered the demon, just barely.

Kael followed with a brutal headbutt.

CRACK.

Varkazan reeled back a step, surprised laughter bursting from his throat.

The mace swung.

Kael leapt back, barely avoiding it as it smashed into the ground, shockwaves ripping outward.

He landed, skidded, and raised his sword again.

His shoulder burned.

His breathing grew heavier.

But his eyes—

They were calm and analyzing.

Varkazan was faster now.

Stronger.

But still predictable.

Four arms.

Four weapons.

A rhythm.

A pattern.

Kael dodged again and again—rolling, sliding, twisting through attacks that would have crushed any other fighter.

The spear grazed him. The cleaver nicked his side. The mace clipped his ribs.

Each wound fed the demon.

Each second empowered Carnage March.

Yumi clenched her fists from the sidelines, trembling. "Kael… stop… you can't keep this up…"

The saber girl's blade vibrated, begging to be unleashed.

But Kael didn't look back.

He stepped into another exchange, sword clashing against blade, sparks raining like stars.

His movements grew sharper.

"How can this giant demon be this speed?" the beast girl talked.