Profane Ascendant-Chapter 51: Clash
"A Scar Bearer!"
The man beside him scoffed instinctively.
"What nonsense are you spouting… there's no proof—"
He stopped.
And thought about it.
Yes… this possibility was real.
He was likely a Scar bearer. That would explain everything he was doing.
And that realization plunged them into despair.
There was no chance of winning a fight against a Scar bearer.
Which meant the battle was already lost.
Should they run?
But if they did, they would be hunted down one by one—making survival impossible.
Their leader, Ramon, might have already escaped the underworld by now.
And now, they were left behind to face this monster alone.
Abandoned.
---
From the other side, Miguel thought coldly,
"I need to end this quickly and catch up with Cyn. We don't know what might happen."
Miguel prepared to finish it.
He chose to target the biggest one—the slowest, with the heaviest reactions. The one who had been blocking his attacks.
He did not want to admit it, but the men before him were strong, even without anything special about them.
Miguel moved like a flash, charging straight toward the giant.
He had no intention of giving them time to reorganize.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Clashes and deflections rang out.
The massive man staggered under the relentless pressure.
Several wounds opened across his body in moments, his blood dripping into the water below.
Miguel sensed someone approaching from the side.
A massive rat was fleeing nearby.
He didn't notice it.
He launched one final strike to end the giant's life—while the others only watched, frozen, waiting for their turns.
Then—
Pain.
A suffocating pain exploded on his left side.
He had been stabbed.
He didn't know how.
With a sideways glance, he cursed inwardly,
"Damn you—where did you come from?!"
Miguel saw a dagger buried in his left side.
Clear droplets sprayed out, followed by blood.
He stared at them as if time had slowed.
Thump!
He fell to the ground, rolling, his face and half his body submerged in the blood-mixed water.
---
The four remaining men were stunned.
Their faces lit up with manic joy as they screamed hysterically,
"Lord Ramo—! You're back! You came back for us!"
Ramon sneered inwardly, irritated.
"What are these idiots thinking?"
He glanced at the subordinate who had died long ago—his body split in half, rats and rodents gnawing at the corpse.
Then his gaze returned to the man trying to stand.
The one responsible for all of this.
Ramon smiled.
"Don't try it. One drop of this poison can paralyze and sedate a massive elephant."
"Now imagine what it does to a human."
Miguel smiled weakly and stared at the man before him—who looked exactly as he imagined.
"Argh… you really look like a rat."
Boom!
Ramon kicked him violently, sending him flying into the fence.
Miguel vomited blood but forced himself back to his feet.
"I assume you got rid of Cyn too?" Miguel asked, wanting to know at least that much.
Ramon's presence without Cyn could only mean one thing.
Ramon smiled mockingly as he lifted an iron pipe.
"He wasn't a match for me."
"So you can imagine what happened to him."
"He was screaming and crying. I can give you a merciful death—if you don't struggle like he did."
Miguel smiled faintly.
"You really do look like a rat."
Ramon frowned.Did this man not understand his situation?Or did he simply know his end was near? Even if Ramon didn't kill him, the poison would—in minutes.
It was already a miracle he could move at all.Then Ramon noticed something.
Something about Miguel wasn't right.
His breathing—normal.
His lips. His chest.
Normal.
Despite the poison.
And worse—
The wound on his left side.
It had healed.
Ramon's tone shifted.
"Oh? You're not ordinary, are you?"
He turned sharply to his subordinates.
"What are you waiting for?! Kill him, you idiots!"
---
The giant was closest to Miguel—but slow,That slowness gave him one last chance.
Unlike his companion, who rushed forward recklessly, closing the distance to five meters.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three pieces.
One moment he was running.
The next—his head flew right, his upper body left, and his lower half collapsed in place.
Like bamboo cleanly cut by a samurai.
They froze.
No one dared approach.
Silence fell.
Ramon didn't understand what was happening.
He had barely escaped that mad killer chasing him—And now he was facing another of the same kind.
He knew it.
Targeting the Ravenline Guild had been a mistake,they were backed by the palace.
The same could be said for them—but only on paper.
In reality, everything depended on themselves.
---
Miguel saw the terror spreading across their faces.
He sneered.
"Rat face."
"If you're a rat… then I'm a dog."
"A fucking mad dog."
"A mad dog that smells blood."
"Fear."
"And lies."
"I know the smell of his blood—and it's not on you."
"You probably tricked him just to escape, the same way you tricked me."
"But now you've trapped yourself."
"Blocked from the front."
"And the back."
"Where's your escape?"
Ramon trembled.
His lips curled in rage.
What was he supposed to do?
Why were these useless idiots with him?
Why didn't he have real warriors to rely on?
He screamed,
"Damn you all! Attack him!He's already dead!He can't resist the poison—it's spreading through him right now!"
"Just finish him!"
At worst—Ramon could still run.
Brrrrr!
A vibration echoed.
Ramon felt something approaching from behind.
He knew.
"That madman is coming."
"Damn these beasts!"
"A dog that smells blood and lies…"
"And another pig that can track every corridor I pass through!"
"What the hell is happening?!"
---
Miguel smiled.
Swish!
In a flash, he reached Ramon.
Ramon was distracted—lost in his thoughts.
Miguel swung his hands.
Something like a sword appeared.
At the last instant, Ramon reacted.
Slash! Clang!
Ramon blocked the strike with his dagger.
"Damn it—where does this strength come from?!"
He twisted his body.
Miguel retreated, but Ramon was faster,He slashed with the dagger—almost landed it.But the blade was too short.
"Damn! I almost got him!What are you all doing?! Watching?!,Move! Kill him!"
The remaining three rushed in.
In their shock, Ramon suddenly felt three cutting waves strike him.He jumped back—but not fast enough.
His legs were slashed.
"Argh! Damn it!"
"Fine."
"You're the one who started playing like this."
Ramon's rat-like eyes glowed faintly.
Miguel watched as Ramon's body began to swell,Something was emerging,His claws grew longer.His clothes stretched, nearly tearing.The air pressure shifted.
His subordinates stared in disbelief.
They had never seen him like this.
He looked monstrous.
A triangular face.
Those teeth.
A giant rat.
Slash!
With a single swing, Ramon severed the neck of a nearby subordinate.
The man's eyes bulged.
Blood sprayed like a fountain.
A choking gurgle escaped as his esophagus spilled out.
Ramon snarled,
"Useless trash."
He turned to Miguel with a twisted grin.
His face was hideous—so hideous it screamed.The iron floor warped beneath his step.
Momentum.
Power.
Swish!
In a single second, he closed the distance.He was right in front of Miguel.
Drool dripped from his mouth,Like he was staring at a feast.
"I'll eat you alive."
Miguel struck first.
Ramon followed with claws now like talons.
Despite Miguel's speed, Ramon overpowered him in the exchange.
Cling! Scrape! Slam!
Miguel was pushed back.
"What are his claws made of…?"
Ramon suddenly stopped.
Miguel felt it.
Something bad.
Ramon bent his legs, using the iron floor as a launch point.
SWIIIIISH!
He shot forward like a bullet.
Miguel couldn't react.
Despite his speed, Ramon was like a cannonball,His claws tore through Miguel's chest and flung him into the air.
Ramon smashed into the fence, unable to control the force of his charge.
Everything had depended on surprise.
And precision.
Ramon turned confidently toward Miguel, who slammed into the ground.
Splash!
Five massive gashes tore across Miguel's chest, blood soaking his clothes like a branded mark.
"I call that move—Claw Projectile."
"Everyone who's seen it before you is already in their grave."
"You have no chance against me."
"My Scar—the Four Marks—grants me unmatched power and endurance,you can't even scratch me with those swings.And more than that—I can turn my entire body into a weapon."
"I'm a metamorphosis-type. My Scar's energy allows me to—"
He stopped.
A whisper came from Miguel's body, which was still moving.
"…rat."
Ramon frowned.
"Huh? What did you say?"
Miguel gathered his breath and spoke louder,
"Rat."
"Your Scar is ugly."
"And you're uglier than it."
"Now I understand why the Church, the Temple, and Halo Users want Scar bearers exterminated…"
"Hahaha—agh!"
Ramon felt insulted—but only smiled.
He understood.
This was just venting.
The final step before death.
"So," Ramon said calmly,
"Are those your last words?"
---
Miguel vomited blood,the poison was weakening him,the blow from Ramon had left him in terrible shape.
But he was nowhere near defeat.
No.
He was closer to victory.
With a weak yet confident smile, Miguel lifted his gaze.His eyes didn't glow—yet the pressure they exerted made Ramon uneasy.
Miguel touched the wound on his chest and smiled bloodily,his mind raced—regrets, and things he never regretted.
And he wanted to make this clear.
Not to Ramon.
To someone else.
"I used to be a dog… khh— a dog for the Church… for their own purposes."
He coughed, blood trickling from his lips.
"And I regret that… I really do."
His breath trembled, but his eyes were cold.
"But I never showed my ugliness when I was their dog. Not once."
A weak laugh escaped him.
"But now… hahh… I understand."
"I understand that regret."
"Because I was a dog for others my whole life—just to hide the ugliness inside me."
Blood dripped in the silence.
"But one thing…" his voice darkened,
"…I'll never regret."
"Being an ugly dog for myself."
"Just once."
He exhaled sharply.
"That shows how sincere I am with myself."
"How honest I am with my own feelings."
He raised his head, eyes burning.
"In terms of ugliness…"
"I'm far uglier than you'll ever be, Ramon."
A slow grin spread across his battered face.
"This…"
"This is my own scar."
