Inside the Trial Tower, the slaughter continued. In the misty combat zone from the previous chapter, Rin's inner struggle, spurred by Ye Xue's warning, had reached its peak. He knew that in Shadow Academy, any hesitation was fatal. Ye Xue's words, "If you still cling to kindness, you will die sooner or later," echoed like a curse in his ears, pushing him to the brink.
Rin walked alone through the mist, each step heavy with resolve. He no longer averted his gaze from the desperate cries for mercy, no longer focused on the pleading eyes. He forced himself into numbness, forced himself back to the coldness of the "Blade of Demise." He knew that to survive, to unravel the mysteries, he had to excise the "kindness" that had arisen from his rebirth, otherwise, he would never walk out of this tower forged from blood and flesh.
Soon, he found himself embroiled in a brutal melee.
In a narrow passage, five or six cadets and targets were entangled in a deadly dance of blades. Blood flew, and the air was thick with the stench of gore and death. Rin's physical prowess and basic combat skills allowed him to maneuver, but facing numerical disadvantage and the vicious attacks of his opponents, he quickly felt the threat of death loom.
A tall cadet swung a heavy cleaver with savage force at Rin. Rin barely managed to dodge sideways, the blade whistling past his ear, sending a gust of wind. Another opponent seized the opportunity, lunging from the side, a poisoned dagger aimed directly at Rin's waist.
Rin had nowhere to go. Sharp pain flared from his waist, the poison rapidly spreading. Half of his body instantly numbed, and his movements slowed. The shadow of death enveloped him once more, more real than ever.
"No… I can't die here!"
A fierce will to survive, fueled by a desperate yearning for the truth, ignited something deep within Rin's body, breaking through a previous constraint. He felt an unprecedented surge of power, like a volcanic eruption, rushing from his spine directly to his brain.
"Shunpo!"
An ancient and mysterious word, like "Shadow Strike," instantly appeared in his mind.
The next moment, Rin's body blurred. He vanished. Not simply moved, but as if teleporting, he disappeared from his spot and reappeared behind the tall cadet. His speed was so blindingly fast that no one present could react; he seemed to have broken the shackles of space itself.
The tall cadet only felt a chill at his back. Before he could even turn, Rin's short dagger, like a venomous snake, had already pierced his back. The dagger twisted, precisely destroying the heart.
"Ugh…" The tall cadet's body stiffened, his eyes filled with unbelievable terror, blood oozing from his mouth. He collapsed heavily to the ground.
Rin did not pause. His eyes became cold and sharp, exuding an extreme killing intent. He was no longer the conflicted boy; he had reverted to the most ruthless state of the "Blade of Demise."
He unleashed "Shunpo," transforming into afterimages, weaving through the chaotic battlefield. Every time his figure appeared, an enemy fell. His method of attack became almost cruel: he no longer sought efficient, instant kills, but rather displayed a coldness born of catharsis. He would deliberately avoid vital points, first crippling the enemies' limbs, leaving them to struggle in pain and despair before finally delivering the fatal blow.
Blood splattered, screams echoed. Not a drop of blood touched Rin; his movements were elegant and efficient, like a grim reaper harvesting lives. He systematically slaughtered all surrounding enemies—be they other cadets or trial targets—in a chilling manner.
When he finally stood still, the chaotic zone was left with only him, surrounded by fallen bodies, the stench of blood nauseatingly thick in the air. Rin's eyes had become like Arctic glaciers, devoid of warmth, devoid of ripples. The "kindness" in his heart seemed to have been utterly crushed and dissipated by this brutal slaughter.
In another area not far away, Ye Xue was carefully searching for targets. Her movements were light, like a spirit of the night; every breath, every movement, blended into her surroundings. She was extremely sensitive to killing intent, an instinct that made her thrive in the Trial Tower.
Suddenly, a powerful and extreme killing intent emanated from ahead. That aura was so pure, so cold, that it sent a shiver down her spine. She had felt this kind of killing intent once before, in a distant memory fragment—it was the aura of the "Blade of Demise."
She immediately suppressed her presence and moved stealthily like a shadow. As she penetrated layers of mist and debris, the scene before her made her pupils contract.
It was Rin.
He stood in a pool of blood, a suffocating aura of gore emanating from him. His eyes were utterly cold, devoid of any emotion, like a statue. And the bodies around him, some killed instantly, others twisted and dismembered, clearly suffered from a form of torturous slaughter.
Ye Xue's heart pounded. She had seen killers, seen cruelty. But Rin's method of killing, the ruthlessness that went beyond mere efficiency, evoked an unnamed emotion within her. She had once thought herself the coldest, but Rin's current state made her tremble slightly.
"He… he's not like how he was when I first met him." Ye Xue's mind involuntarily recalled Rin's hesitation yesterday when facing the begging man. At that time, though his eyes were deep, they held a trace of hesitation she didn't understand. But now, that hesitation was completely gone, replaced by extreme bloodlust and coldness.
She thought of the dagger by her side, and the subconscious question: "Did I kill him once?" She felt her body tremble inexplicably in response to the aura Rin now exuded.
Ye Xue's eyes became complex. What secrets did this boy named Rin hide? What kind of existence had he been? His transformation was so drastic, as if he had undergone a complete metamorphosis in an instant.
She withdrew her gaze, remaining hidden in the shadows, not revealing herself. She knew that Rin, in this moment, was too dangerous, too alien. But at the same time, her curiosity about Rin reached its peak. This boy, who shared a strange synergy with her, and who made her feel an inexplicable familiarity and fear, became the most compelling presence for her in this Trial Tower.
Rin was unaware of Ye Xue's presence; he merely mechanically sheathed his dagger. He felt a profound exhaustion surging from deep within his body, but his mind was exceptionally clear, albeit with a sense of desolation and indifference that didn't belong to his age.
He had become the "Blade of Demise" once more. Only this time, he carried fragmented memories, a yearning for truth, and a tangled destiny with the silver-haired girl and Ye Xue.
The cruel laws of the Trial Tower had forced him to don the mask of cold-bloodedness again. But what kind of soul lay beneath this mask, no one knew. He knew this was just the beginning.