## Chapter 17: Blood Price and Broken Masks
The **Blood War Chain** retracted from the skewered goblin with a sickening, wet *schlick*, dissolving back into Kelvin's wrist like ink sinking into water. The creature's body slumped to the linoleum floor with a dull thud, its malevolent light extinguished. Silence, thick and shocked, hung heavy in the lecture hall for a split second, broken only by ragged breathing and the distant shrieks from other parts of the building.
Then, a cold, familiar blue glow materialized in Kelvin's vision, overlaying the chaotic scene:
**<< TARGET ELIMINATED >>**
* **Target:** Lesser Goblin Scout (D-Rank Minion)
* **EXP Gained:** +80
* **Loot:** Crude Stone Knife (Common) - Auto-stored in Inventory
---
Eighty EXP. A drop in the bucket compared to his daily quests, but tangible proof. He'd killed. The **System** acknowledged it dispassionately. A D-rank monster, but a monster nonetheless. The chains hummed with dark satisfaction beneath his skin, a counterpoint to the cold dread that washed over him at the notification. This was real. This was deadly.
The remaining seven goblins hissed, their beady eyes shifting from the dead scout to Kelvin, the unexpected threat. Their initial confusion curdled into feral rage. They fanned out, crude weapons raised, low growls rumbling in their throats. Elara remained frozen on the floor behind him, her tear-streaked face a mask of horror and disbelief. Her desperate plea – *"Save yourself!"* – echoed in his mind, a knife twist of love and fear.
He couldn't. Not while she was here. Not while these things breathed.
**<< MP: 24/180 >>** The number pulsed like a warning light. Manifesting both chains now was suicidal. He had to be precise, efficient. **Combat Acumen** snapped into focus, analyzing the pack: three clustered near the torn vent entrance, two skittering along the side wall towards a group of cowering students, and two larger, scarred brutes advancing directly towards him, one wielding a bent pipe, the other a chunk of concrete.
"Stay down, Elara!" Kelvin barked, his voice rough and unfamiliar even to his own ears. He didn't wait. He moved.
Focusing his dwindling MP, he manifested a single chain on his right wrist. The liquid shadow and crimson energy snapped into existence with a hungry hum. **<< MP: 19/180 >>**. He didn't lash out wildly. He *whipped* the chain low and fast, like a viper striking at ankles. It cracked against the legs of the two goblins advancing on the cowering students. Bone crunched audibly. The creatures shrieked, tumbling forward in a tangle of limbs.
*Distraction created.*
He pivoted, ignoring the fallen pair for now. The two brutes were closing in, fast. The one with the pipe lunged, swinging the crude weapon in a vicious overhead arc. Kelvin ducked under it, the wind of the swing ruffling his hair. **Chain Mastery** guided his movements, making him faster, more fluid than his raw stats should allow. He used the momentum of the dodge to coil the chain around his forearm like a shield.
*CLANG!*
The second brute's concrete chunk slammed into the coiled chain. The impact jarred Kelvin's arm to the shoulder, sending spikes of pain through his already strained muscles, but the chain held, absorbing the blow. The brute snarled in surprise.
Before it could recover, Kelvin uncoiled the chain explosively. It shot forward, not to impale, but to *entangle*. The barbed links wrapped around the goblin's thick neck and upper arm. Kelvin poured his remaining strength and will into a savage *yank*. **<< MP: 14/180 >>**. The brute stumbled off balance, crashing into its pipe-wielding companion. They went down in a heap of snarls and flailing limbs.
A high-pitched shriek came from behind. Kelvin spun. One of the goblins he'd tripped had scrambled up and was lunging, not at him, but at Elara, who was still trying to push herself away from the floor! The creature's jagged stone knife gleamed wickedly.
Pure terror, colder than the **System's** logic, lanced through Kelvin. Time seemed to slow. He saw the trajectory, the distance. He wouldn't make it with the chain. His body moved on pure, desperate instinct.
He *threw* himself forward, diving between the goblin and his sister. He hit the floor hard, sliding, but his outstretched hand caught the goblin's ankle just as it leapt. He wrenched sideways with all his might. The goblin's lunge turned into a clumsy stumble. Its knife scraped harmlessly across the linoleum where Elara's leg had been a split second before.
Elara screamed, scrambling backwards on her hands and knees, eyes wide with terror – not just for herself, but for Kelvin sprawled defenselessly on the floor before the creature.
The goblin hissed, turning its fury on Kelvin. It raised the knife for a downward stab.
Kelvin reacted. He didn't have time to manifest the chain. He rolled onto his back, kicking out wildly with both legs. His boot connected hard with the goblin's knee. Something cracked. The creature shrieked, staggering back.
It was the opening he needed. Fueled by adrenaline and the **Bloodlust** surging in response to Elara's peril, Kelvin surged up. He didn't manifest the chain. He *punched*.
His fist, enhanced by **Level 7 STR** and the sheer, desperate need to protect, slammed into the goblin's throat with brutal force. Cartilage crunched. The creature's shriek cut off into a wet gurgle. It dropped the knife, clawing at its ruined neck, eyes bulging. Kelvin didn't stop. He grabbed the fallen stone knife – cold, rough, heavy in his hand – and drove it upwards into the goblin's chest with a grunt of effort. Once. Twice.
**<< TARGET ELIMINATED >>**
* **Target:** Lesser Goblin Warrior (D-Rank Minion)
* **EXP Gained:** +100
* **Loot:** None
---
He shoved the dying creature off him, breathing raggedly, the crude knife slick with dark blood. He looked up. The two brutes were untangling themselves. The two he'd tripped were getting up, limping but furious. The three near the vent were advancing cautiously now, seeing their packmates fall.
**<< MP: 14/180 >>** No chains. No energy. Just him, a stolen stone knife, and a room full of terrified students watching the brother they knew as broken fight like a cornered demon.
He pushed himself to his feet, placing himself squarely between the remaining goblins and Elara. He raised the bloody knife, his stance wide, his eyes burning with a terrifying, protective fury. The **Blood War Chains** pulsed beneath his skin, a silent, hungry promise held barely in check by his dwindling willpower and the desperate need to conserve the last dregs of MP.
"Come on then," he growled, the sound low and feral, echoing in the stunned silence of the lecture hall. The Forsaken Architect, weapon in hand, covered in grime and blood, stood ready to pay the blood price for his sister's safety. The mask of the invalid was gone, shattered on the linoleum floor alongside the goblin corpses. All that remained was the grim reality of the chains, the system, and the desperate fight for survival.