Sword of Salvation-Chapter 109: - Chains of Hell (3)

Rahvada emerged from the palace’s secret chamber a day after Zalestino’s departure.

The man wore an all-black outfit, except for the white bandages wrapping his upper body up to his neck. A long-sleeved open jacket covered the bandages. He looked quite imposing and a little creepy, invoking a sense of dread to those who saw him.

The black-haired man, standing 181 cm tall, walked slowly and elegantly.

His dark eyes focused straight ahead, not glancing elsewhere. No one crossed paths with him, nor was he accompanied by anyone. Rahvada walked straight through the secret corridor, exiting the palace complex via an underground passage.

The corridor ended at a small house guarded by four elite soldiers.

The four soldiers immediately bowed their heads in respect upon seeing Rahvada. However, he ignored them and continued walking. Leaving the house, he strode through the streets, observing the people and assessing the city’s atmosphere.

’The city in’t as lively as I had imagined,’ Rahvada thought.

He had expected to see widespread panic and unrest, anticipating frequent conflicts and chaos.

However, the city appeared surprisingly controlled. Soldiers patrolled diligently, assisting citizens at various locations. Rahvada also noticed groups of soldiers distributing supplies for free. In the current situation, it looked rather peaceful.

It didn’t take long for Rahvada to investigate the situation. His lips curled into a wide grin. He almost looked inhumane. If not for the risk of being seen as insane, he would even have burst into laughter. He was genuinely amused by what he had discovered.

"I’m not surprised that Zalestino wants Mariel Allvar dead."

Rahvada had no objections to that. Initially, he only intended to test the boy’s abilities. But killing him wasn’t an issue. Romero wouldn’t mind if he accidentally killed the child. He could simply claim that Romero had overestimated Mariel’s potential. There was nothing Romero could do about it.

With that thought, Rahvada quickened his pace toward Mariel, who was escorting Zalestino’s daughter. However, feeling annoyed by the demon tailing him, he stopped in the alley between two buildings and glanced back.

"You can come out," Rahvada muttered. "If you keep following me, I might just kill you. I don’t care if Levia targets me. That demon’s time is running out anyway, so it wouldn’t matter if I start a little trouble."

Exactly two seconds after he spoke, a hooded woman appeared.

"I had suppressed my presence to the maximum level, yet you still sensed me. As expected of Rahvada Sakha, the member of World Order who possesses the Hell King Haseth spirit."

Rahvada didn’t turn around. And neither He reacted to what she had just said. He refocused on the path ahead and resumed walking. The demon followed after him, maintaining a certain distance to ensure she could avoid any sudden attack he might send her way.

"What do you want?" Rahvada asked after a while.

"Mariel Allvar sent me to deliver a message to you."

That single sentence brought Rahvada to a halt. He turned around, looking at the demon with keen interest. "I didn’t expect to hear that," he said. "Aren’t you Levia’s servant? I didn’t think a demon would serve a human."

"Lady Levia assigned me to monitor Mariel Allvar. So, I figured there was no easier way than pretending to serve him." The demon shrugged. "Mariel said, ’I’ve prepared an arena for our battle. Neither of us wants this city destroyed. So, follow Anzu and wait for me there. I will kill you and bury you in that place.’"

This time, Rahvada couldn’t hold back his laughter. He laughed so hard that tears welled in his eyes. His expression radiated pure excitement. Once his laughter subsided, he promptly asked Anzu to lead the way. The pale-skinned man followed Anzu’s swift pace with enthusiasm.

Anzu guided Rahvada northwest of the capital, leading him farther and farther away until the city was no longer visible. Rahvada estimated they had traveled over twenty kilometers. Anzu didn’t stop until several minutes later.

"Mariel wants the battle to take place here. I will notify him now, so please wait."

The demon dissolved into prana particles, but Rahvada paid no mind. His dark eyes darted around, surveying the surroundings. Three small hills encircled a barren, rocky plain. Rahvada now stood in the middle of it.

His observations ceased when a dimensional portal suddenly appeared about a dozen meters ahead. The young man emerging from the portal matched Romero’s description perfectly. Rahvada couldn’t suppress his smile. Dense black miasma seeped from his body.

"You must be Rahvada Sakha," Mariel said. "I haven’t heard much about you."

Rahvada grinned widely, then sneered. "Romero said you have the potential to defeat him," he said eagerly. "At first, I planned to test you—to see if you were worthy of being a candidate. But Zalestino wants you dead, so I have to change my plans. You’ll be my corpse puppet after this."

Mariel’s calm expression didn’t waver. However, his body became enveloped in wind armor. Initially wild like lightning, the armor suddenly stabilized, resembling a barrier. Two ultra-dense wind swords materialized in his hands.

"Not one for small talk, huh? No problem."

Scarlet chains with razor-sharp blades began emerging around Rahvada—dozens of them, all coated in a thick layer of dark miasma.

"I’ll wipe that expression off your face, and then we can have a little chat."

As Mariel lunged forward, Rahvada launched his infernal chains to intercept the young warrior.

"He’s fast and agile," Rahvada mused as he watched Mariel skillfully evade most of the chains—twisting and weaving through them with remarkable dexterity. "Unless I use unification mode, I won’t be able to match his speed."

Rahvada immediately increased the number of chains fivefold. What was once thirty-three became 165. Twenty chains formed a protective barrier around him, while the rest were used for offense—stretching out from spatial distortions surrounding Rahvada.

The sheer number of chains made evasion difficult. Mariel had no space to close the distance. Every time he advanced a step, the chains forced him to retreat or sidestep.

Mariel’s eyes widened when his wind swords melted like liquefied metal upon contact with the chains.

"My chains aren’t ordinary," Rahvada declared loudly. "They absorb prana and extract souls. The black miasma corrodes anything it touches. Hahahaha...."

Romero hadn’t provided any details about Mariel’s abilities. But Rahvada didn’t feel the need for that information. Fighting without prior knowledge of an opponent’s power was more thrilling, more exhilarating, and more stimulating. He wouldn’t be this excited if he already knew about Mariel’s strength. For that, he had to thank Romero.

Mariel hurled his wind swords toward Rahvada’s head. But that didn’t stop his laughter. Two of his chains intercepted the swords, absorbing them and thickening the surrounding miasma.

Rahvada’s laughter only ceased when Mariel’s newly formed wind swords perfectly blocked his chains. He didn’t understand what had happened. And his confusion deepened as Mariel advanced without dodging. The young warrior parried the chains coming from the front with his swords but ignored the others.

"...How is that possible?"

Rahvada was utterly baffled. No barrier had ever withstood his infernal chains. He had confirmed this after facing numerous barrier users. Let alone barriers—his chains could absorb the energy of holy weapons. Beyond that, the black miasma corroded anything it touched. His spirit’s power was just great.

However, what happened was the complete opposite of what Rahvada had always believed. Not only were his chains unable to absorb the prana forming the barrier, but his miasma also failed to erode the young man’s barrier.

"How is this possible?!" Rahvada asked, his voice rising. "Why aren’t my miasma and chains working?!"

"Your miasma is working," Mariel replied as he continued to close the distance—Rahvada had already focused all his chains on attacking. "It just takes too long to erode. I can renew my barrier every second. And as for your chains... how can they absorb prana from something that doesn’t contain any?"

Mariel’s answer shocked Rahvada. But he had no time to dwell on it, as something far more astonishing had just happened. He suddenly found himself standing where Mariel had been moments ago. And if it weren’t for the fact that his own chains couldn’t harm him, Rahvada had no doubt that he would already be dead.

"So, I can’t use your chains against you, huh? This will be troublesome, but not surprising."

Rahvada was still reeling from the series of shocks he had just experienced. However, moments later, he started laughing again. His excitement grew even stronger, and as his laughter faded, his lips curled into a wide grin.

"Now I understand why Romero wants to recruit you."

The moment he said that, Rahvada clenched both his fists and unleashed an immense amount of prana. In an instant, small black distortions filled the air—from them, countless chains shot out in the blink of an eye. Some of these chains were several times larger than the others, their surrounding miasma even thicker.

"Show me your full power, Mariel Allvar!"

In sync with Rahvada’s shout, all the chains surged toward Mariel mercilessly.