Bloody Odyssey

Chapter 68: Broken Angel

"What the hell is this place? What the hell is going on?"

Ryker's voice cracked with raw panic. "Stop it—don't go any closer!"

He threw his arms wide like a madman, surging forward faster than before, desperate to close the gap.

Kakarai stepped calmly onto the skin-peelers. They arranged themselves beneath him like grotesque stairs, parting and reforming into an altar of twisted bodies. Gali stayed kneeling, helpless. The peelers sank their claws deep into her legs, pinning her bones in place so she couldn't even twitch.

The pain was unbearable. Her wings—once radiant—were gone. She was an angel truly fallen from grace, but not by choice. Not by sin.

Kakarai's footsteps echoed loud and deliberate. He grabbed her head roughly, contempt burning in his eyes.

"Vos," he said, placing a hand over his chest like he was swearing an oath. "I promise you… you will die."

"After all those years of torment, my master finally cracked your immortality."

Her eyes flickered—just a tiny spark of light at his words.

He tilted her chin up with cold fingers. "You really want death, don't you?"

In the distance, Ryker fought harder, pain twisting his heart. "We should've left that child alone… we should've never crossed paths with that man." Regret choked him.

Kakarai's voice rolled out deep and strangely calm. "What a beautiful day. The stars are falling… painting the earth in their light."

Gali stretched her trembling hands forward again, staring up at the endless ceiling of the Backrooms. Stars shimmered in her golden eyes—fading, but real.

"This is hell," she whispered. Her last words.

"STOP IT!" Ryker roared.

Kakarai grinned wide—teeth to teeth. His hand morphed instantly into a grotesque sword form. One brutal stab through her throat. Her head severed clean.

A dying star's cry erupted from the wound—sorrowful, endless. Her body turned gray and crumpled lifeless to the floor.

"You… you killed her."

Ryker stared at his open palm. A soft white halo bloomed above his head.

Sadness deeper than any mortal could feel flooded him. It's been ages since one of our kind died at the hands of something mortal.

"He breaks us by insulting our pride… and still won't show his face."

"I won't take this. I won't accept any of it."

The walls around him cracked like glass. The Backrooms peeled open, exposing endless void. Ryker vanished—only a fading afterimage left behind.

His golden wings bleached pure white. He tore through the Backrooms walls like they were paper, casual destruction trailing in his wake.

He accelerated—insane speed. Blitz King flared again. He smashed through the invisible barrier blocking the entrance.

Kakarai didn't flinch as Ryker hurtled straight toward him.

"Level 2 trash?" Kakarai's veins bulged across his face, rage barely contained.

Then he caught it—the scent of anomalies clinging to the man who'd just murdered Gali.

In that exact moment, Dax appeared. Face cold as ice.

"You!" Ryker snarled, rage redirecting in an instant. He forgot Kakarai.

"Blitz King!"

Thousands of deadly punches rained toward Dax in a heartbeat.

Dax raised one hand. Telekinesis flared—shattering glass echoed through the void.

"Hm?"

Dax switched to Cil. Each block rang heavy, devastating.

"Killer Series: 3rd Form—Blood Rush."

Dax's skin flushed crimson. He moved—insane speed, cutting arcs everywhere.

(The Killer Series had ten forms, each carrying its own twisted nature.

1st: Killer Seed—the acceptance deep in your heart that you're a murderer. The first step.

2nd: Blood Flow—mimicking the enemy's blood flow until you become the blood itself.

3rd: Blood Rush—blood surging like a raging current.)

Dax danced through the clashes with terrifying ease. He took a few steps back. Suddenly Kakarai was split in half—clean cut through the middle.

His upper body hit the cold floor with a wet slap.

"Heh…"

Kakarai dragged himself forward with his one remaining arm. No fear in his eyes—just manic laughter as flesh knit back together. He regenerated mid-fight, feeding off the chaos.

He leaped onto floating rubble. Legs regrew—bone first, then muscle, then skin. He sprinted again, faster.

"Vos! Blood Lance!"

He stabbed his own arm into his chest—right through his heart. "I don't believe this won't touch you."

He pulled out a blood-soaked thumb. Crimson liquid—straight from his heart—dripped and swirled.

"I was weak before. Limited. My understanding was shallow. I perfected my skills in madness… but it still wasn't enough."

"Finding myself in this space broke my concept of reality. The emptiness inside me got filled by this liminal hell. In this place of insanity… I finally started feeling sane."

"This is heaven."

A beautiful crimson spear materialized over his palm—exaggerated, deadly, perfect in its menace.

"Heh."

Ryker sensed the attack's power even from far away. The rat isn't dead.

Kakarai drew a dangerous arc—breaking Ryker's next strike mid-motion.

In that opening, Kakarai lunged.

"Rank 2 trash!"

Ryker fired a powerful light orb straight at Kakarai's heart—obliterating it in less than a blink.

But the spear didn't stop. Ryker blocked with his wings. The crimson tip sank deep—uninterrupted.

Boom!

His left wing exploded—completely destroyed. Pain lanced through him. He gritted his teeth. "That bastard…"

Kakarai was already pulling himself toward a distant hallway.

"Argh… I'll kill him."

Ryker shattered into countless light particles. Most swarmed Dax—burning him alive. One single particle peeled away, chasing Kakarai.

Dax stayed calm even as heavenly fire ate at his skin. Black bones began showing through charred flesh.

"They're almost as strong as the originals… this magic is wonderful." His voice stayed even. "But today, wonder won't blind me."

"Do you know how long your sister was trapped here?" Dax asked, almost smiling. "It's strange… even divine sibling bonds twist in this place. Time itself is warped."

"You crippled my father… so I killed your sister."

"During my research, I kept asking myself: how do you kill something eternal? I wondered."

"In my past life, everything alive had an end—even species that could last forever… unless something killed them."

"But your kind was the first exception. She kept reanimating—even without this liminal space helping her."

Dax's tone turned cold, analytical. "She kept coming back."

The particle chasing Kakarai suddenly halted—then reversed, drifting back to the main swarm.

Dax stood in total control.