The blade of black mana came crashing down toward his chest, carrying enough force to easily split him in half.

Hajin didn’t have time to dodge or stand up, but his reflexes took over before his mind could even process the full scope of the danger. He flicked his right wrist violently, the links of the chain instantly unspooling from his arm and shooting upward.

It wrapped tightly around Maren’s wrist a split second before the blade could connect.

The sudden halt completely arrested Maren’s downward momentum, leaving the jagged edge of the demonic weapon hovering just inches above Hajin’s heart.

"What?" Maren gasped, his distorted voice cracking with pure confusion.

Hajin didn’t answer, gripping the chain tightly and pouring his mana straight into the links. He planted his boots into the dirt, using Maren’s own forward momentum against him as he hauled his arm sideways with everything he had.

The pull launched Maren off his feet, ripping him away from Hajin and throwing him helplessly into the air.

He didn’t give him a chance to recover or vanish again. While Maren was still spinning mid-air, Hajin snapped his wrist again, the chain extending further and whipping around Maren’s ankles to secure his legs.

"Get back down here," he said, his eyes narrowing.

He hauled both arms downward in one violent motion, slamming Maren straight down into the ground. The impact created a massive crater, throwing up dirt and splintered roots while a sick crunch rang through the trees.

Maren shrieked, the dark mist leaking from his body flaring erratically as he struggled against the links digging into his skin.

He tried to pull his arm free, his sheer physical strength almost enough to drag Hajin forward, but Hajin immediately activated his skill.

[Divine Bind]

The chain suddenly hummed with a deep, vibrating power. The links clamped down like a vice, the physical weight of the weapon multiplying exponentially the second the skill took effect.

Maren’s struggles stopped instantly, his body violently pinned to the ground under the crushing, impossible weight of the chain. He couldn’t lift his arm or even shift his legs, and the demonic blade he was holding shattered into useless black mist under the pressure.

’This skill is honestly ridiculous,’ Hajin thought, standing up slowly and brushing the dirt off his clothes while he kept a firm grip on his end of the chain. ’It literally just turned off his ability to move.’

He took a step forward, preparing to deliver the final blow to Maren’s head, but he suddenly stopped when the system screen popped up.

[ Passive Function Activated ]

[ Chains of the Goddess are detecting dense corrupted essence. ]

[ Beginning absorption process... ]

He blinked, looking down at his hand in surprise.

The golden links of the chain were glowing brighter than usual, and he could literally see the thick black mist leaking off Maren’s body being sucked directly into the chain.

The dark energy spiraled around the chain, filtering into the rusted, damaged parts of the weapon and slowly being purged into pure light.

[ Repair Status: 99% Damaged ➔ 98% Damaged ]

[ The weapon is feeding on the corrupted host. ]

[ Maintain the Divine Bind to continue absorption. ]

’It’s actually eating his demonic mana?’ He thought, staring at the notification panel while a genuine smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. ’I didn’t know you could do that.’

Maren let out a terrified, guttural scream, his solid black eyes widening as the corrupted power keeping him alive started being violently ripped out of his body.

"No!" Maren screamed, thrashing uselessly under the crushing weight. "Give it back! She gave that to me!"

Far above the forest, sitting casually on the edge of the capital’s towering boundary wall, two figures looked down at the crater in the distance.

The girl sat with her legs kicking back and forth over the massive drop, resting her chin in her hands. She wore a bright red dress that stood out sharply against the night sky, her completely black eyes locked onto the distant golden light of Hajin’s chain.

"Well, this is incredibly disappointing," she sighed, her voice light and casual. "He didn’t even last five minutes before getting pinned to the ground. Humans really are useless."

The man standing beside her crossed his arms. He wore a sharp black suit, his expression completely blank as he tracked the mana signatures.

"you chose a weak vessel," he stated bluntly. "but that boy... he is stronger than our reports indicated."

"his mana density is abnormal," he continued, watching the golden glow pulse in the forest.

"Of course it is," she smiled, her sharp teeth flashing in the moonlight. "I told you he was interesting, but don’t worry, the mission will succeed."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small black crystal.

"I already knew Maren was trash," she said, twirling the crystal lazily between her fingers. "That’s why the essence I gave him wasn’t meant to boost his stats. It was just meant to incubate."

She crushed the crystal in her hand, "and it looks like incubation time is over."

Back in the forest, Hajin took another step toward Maren, but the system panel violently flashed bright red, completely blocking his vision.

[ WARNING! ]

[ Demonic Core Detonation Detected. ]

[ Host body is experiencing catastrophic failure. ]

He stopped, his eyes widening as he looked down at Maren noticing that he has stopped screaming. His body wasn’t just leaking mist anymore, it was physically swelling, his skin tearing open to reveal violently glowing purple flesh underneath.

The chain around his body started to shake, the immense weight struggling to hold down the rapidly expanding mass.

[ WARNING! ]

[ Entity Mutating... ]

[ Recommended Action: Evacuate immediately. ]

Maren’s body continued to swell, the purple flesh underneath his skin bulging as his limbs twisted out of proportion.

The chain was still anchored to the ground, but the links groaned under the immense pressure of his expanding form.

’He’s going to break it,’ he thought, quickly tightening his grip on his end of the chain. ’I need to finish this before he finishes mutating.’

He pulled the chain tight and launched himself forward, coating his right fist in a thick layer of dense mana. He didn’t aim for Maren’s heavily armored chest, instead driving his fist straight down toward his exposed neck.

But right before the hit connected, a massive hand shot out and caught his fist mid-air.

The impact sent a violent shockwave through the forest, shaking the leaves off the surrounding trees while Hajin’s momentum came to a dead stop.

He stared down at the hand holding his fist, his eyes widening slightly. It was easily twice the size of a normal human hand, covered in jagged purple scales and dripping with dark, corrosive mist.

"You are annoying," Maren said, his voice completely different now, sounding like a dozen overlapping voices speaking at once.

Maren didn’t even try to stand up, he simply swung his free arm, backhanding Hajin with terrifying speed.

Hajin brought his left arm up to block, but the sheer physical force of the blow lifted him clean off his feet and sent him crashing backward.

He slammed into the same boulder he had broken earlier, the stone completely crumbling under the impact while he coughed up another mouthful of blood.

’Okay, his stats just jumped way past mine,’ he thought, pushing himself out of the rubble while his left arm throbbed with a burning pain.

He looked up just in time to see his chain finally snap.

The Divine Bind shattered into particles of light, the weapon returning to his inventory automatically while the mutated overlord pulled itself up to its full height. It stood easily nine feet tall, its body a twisted mass of purple scales, hardened black armor, and violently shifting demonic mist.

[ WARNING! ]

[ Anomaly Class: Overlord (Mutated) ]

[ Shard Equivalence: 5+ Shards ]

[ Recommended Action: Flee. ]

He stared at the red system warning, feeling a cold drop of sweat slide down his neck.

"Flee?" he muttered, wiping the blood off his chin with the back of his hand, "we are just getting started though."