Bloodline Evolution: I Can Choose Opposing Paths-Chapter 90: Self-Destruction

"Head Guard Han," Aren muttered as he looked down at his shoulder toward the wound.

Black veins had started spreading out from it, the whole area turning a sickly green.

Shit...he had the Poison Element.

"I knew something was up with you from the start," Han said casually. "But no matter, a student will never be able to beat me."

The guard noticed the subtle shift in Aren’s expression and chuckled loudly.

"Oh? You felt it already?"

"In that case," he said as he raised his hands, black fog condensing on his palms. "Have some more."

Instantly, Aren’s body felt weak as he fell to one knee. It felt hard to even breathe properly and his limbs felt like he’d just ran a marathon.

"And the Curse Element too?" Aren yelled. "Are you really that shameless!?"

But deep down, Aren knew he was in a predicament. He couldn’t blame someone else’s choice of elements.

Han chuckled as he watched Aren struggle to steady himself.

"Shameless?" he repeated. "Kid, only the winners get to decide the course of history."

The black fog thickened around his palms before slowly spreading across the floor like creeping mist.

"But such nuance is wasted on someone like you."

Aren gritted his teeth as he forced himself back to one knee. The curse disrupted his ether circulation while the poison burned through his muscles. Together, they felt like iron weights dragging down every movement.

However, Aren knew what a dirty fighter’s weakness was...because he was one before. Once they think they’ve won—that’s when they’re the weakest.

Head Guard Han strolled up to Aren slowly and calmly, even humming a little tune underneath his breath.

"So..." he said as he delivered a sharp kick toward Aren’s chest.

"Ggghhh—!"

Aren just managed to raise his arms in defense, but fell over from the force.

"Who sent you?" the man continued. "Was it the government? Military? Or some company trying to copy us?"

"Take a guess, dipshit," Aren replied through gritted teeth.

That earned him another click.

"Blerghh!" Aren coughed as blood spilled on the backstage floor. Han watched him calmly, tilting his head slightly.

"You’ve got some guts," the man said. "Most kids would’ve passed out already."

Aren wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and forced out a shaky breath.

"You know," Han said casually, "if you’d just walked away tonight, none of this would’ve happened."

Aren laughed weakly.

"Yeah," he muttered. "And miss ruining your little demonic cultivation scheme?"

Han’s expression twitched slightly. "How do you know that?"

So that confirms my suspicion.

"Oh well," Han said lightly. "It doesn’t really matter."

"I’ll just silence you here, and nobody would know anyway," he said with a small grin as he pulled out a small dagger from his back pocket.

"Goodbye, kid."

The head guard raised the dagger high before plunging it downward—straight for Aren’s throat.

But that was when Aren moved. From this distance, he knew a certain Art would never be able to miss.

"Dragon’s Claw!"

Aren swiped his hand as water condensed into three arcs of pressurized water. Han’s eyes widened as they collided point-blank right into his chest, leaving three large gashes and sending him flying into the back wall.

THUD!

Han slammed into the wall before collapsing to the ground. Aren stood up slowly, the curse letting up as Han lost concentration.

Tch...not enough to knock him out.

The head guard slowly got back up, laughing loudly the entire way up. "HAHAHAHA!"

"You’re stronger than I expected!"

"I’ll get serious now!"

Han straightened as black fog began to spread across the floor again. But Aren didn’t give him the chance to set up.

Immediately, lightning surged to his legs as he dashed forward. The guard’s eyes widened as Aren closed the gap too quickly.

Han barely managed to block with his dagger. But using the sheer size advantage, Aren easily overpowered and knocked the dagger out of his hand.

The man tried to retaliate with a straight jab toward his face, but Aren was no longer there. With another step, he ducked down low and appeared behind the guard’s back, blades raised in an X-shape.

Both attacks descended immediately, meeting their target as the sword left two more gashes on Han’s back.

"Ggghhh—!" the man coughed up blood of his own.

"CLOUD OF SPORES!"

Instantly, green enveloped the whole area. Lightning powered his legs once more as Aren quickly got out of the effective area.

They both stared at each other, breathing heavily...but the outcome of this battle was clear. Han was practically standing on pure will alone, blood spilling out from him like a fountain.

Aren lowered his stance slightly, blades still raised.

"...It’s over," he said.

Han didn’t respond immediately. For a moment, something like disbelief crossed his face.

"...Damn it," he muttered.

Aren stepped forward cautiously. "Now tell me everything, and I’ll give you a swift death."

That was when Han suddenly laughed. "You think...a kid can give me orders?"

But suddenly, his expression turned. His face morphed instantly as something akin to fear took over and his laugh had become hysterical.

"No, no! I can’t come back like this...!"

"He’ll burn me alive! Skin me! Feed me to IT!"

He? It? Who the hell is this guy talking about?

Before Aren could press further—

Han’s hand suddenly slammed against the collector behind him.

"At least if I do this...my family gets to live!"

SHIT! THE REGULATOR!

Aren tried to dash forward, but it was too late. Han had slammed his entire body into the machine.

For a split second, nothing happened...until—

The blue core inside the cylindrical chamber flared violently as poison and curse ether surged through the delicate circuits. The hum of the machine turned into a loud metallic noise as it spiraled out of control.

CRACK!

One of the ether cells burst apart, and then another. The entire frame began to shake.

"Han, you idiot—!" Aren started.

The man didn’t even respond.

He was laughing. A hysterical, broken sound as the blue light inside the core grew brighter and brighter.

BOOOOM!

A sphere of compressed ether formed around Han’s body, pulling everything toward it with terrifying force.

Aren barely managed to throw himself behind one of the reinforced equipment racks as the blast tore through the room. Metal panels ripped free from the walls as cables snapped like threads.

Blue light flooded the entire backstage area.

...

Aren groaned as he pushed himself up from the floor.

"...Tch."

He stepped cautiously toward where the machine had been. The entire collector was gone.

Only twisted metal and melted parts remained scattered across the concrete.

And Han—

Was gone too. Not even a body remained. Aren stared at the wreckage for a moment.

But he couldn’t afford to linger, because above them right now...

A scream had torn across the amphitheatre.