The Innkeeper

"Don't give me that look, I didn't want this. I just wanted to chat," said Lex as he held out his index finger. Right before he started to draw an array, however, he paused, withdrew the index finger, stuck out his middle finger and started to draw.

A stream of blood started to flow from Lex's nose but he ignored it, and instead continued to talk to the Kraven.

"I doubt you've had a change of heart though, right?"

The Kraven said nothing as it tried to move its body. Physically, he was still in peak condition, but his soul was just in too much pain. All the rage in the world couldn't keep it from losing its control. What's worse, though, was that the pain was slowly getting stronger. His soul was like dry wood, and a flame had started to spread from one corner. No amount of pride could douse such a flame.

"I had so many questions. Where did the Kraven come from? Were they always indigenous to this realm, did they come from somewhere else, or were they just a new species that was somehow born?"

The Kraven was growling as it struggled to gain control even through the pain. The ground gently trembled under the terrifying gurgle but Lex paid it no mind. First of all, if he did something, he would have to give up on his array. Secondly, he had read enough about soul damage to know how debilitating it was. Not everyone could brush it off the way he could.

"Once I had a random thought. What if the Kraven were actually looking for something? Like a treasure or something, right? But since they didn't know what they were looking for, they just fought all the races for their land till they found it. But I have nothing to base that thought on, so I scrapped it. I do have one, slightly more specific question though - maybe you could help me out. How did you get in here?"

Lex paused to look at the Kraven, but it was still growling, so he continued to talk. Honestly, his talking was more to just distract himself from the pain he was feeling - he did not expect the Kraven to give him any answers.

"Like, I'm sure that this realm was searched at least briefly before students were let in. How could a Kraven escape the academy's notice? Did you come in after us? Or have you been here for a long time?"

The Kraven, while still disoriented, managed to move its arm and pressed it against the ground. It was trying to pick itself up.

"What were you doing with that fire, anyway? Were you trying to capture the realm? Wait, was the reason these mountains were empty because of your coercion? If that's the case, you must have been here for a while. Did the Crystal race abandon this realm because of Kravens?"

The answer to his questions didn't matter, for he finally finished his array. It was a very simple, very focused array that served only one purpose - one that Lex would not enjoy.

A bright yellow flame formed midair, where Lex finished the array, and slowly moved towards Lex's bare chest.

The black slime covering his wounds sizzled as the flames approached and soon started boiling. Lex clenched his teeth and groaned as he allowed the flame to burn away the slime and cauterize his wounds. Somehow, he managed not to yell.

But once the array faded, Lex did not feel any better. There was poison in his system and Evisceration had caused him internal injuries. He could not even focus on whether his scars would look cool over his abs as he turned to look towards Cwenhild and the rest. Their fight was almost over, with only a few assailants left. Had he managed to defeat the Kraven before they finished their fight? It seemed so.

It would be smart to use this time to crush the Kraven's core, but he was not strong enough, and a sufficient array would take too much time. He turned his attention towards the blue flame. So long as he put that out, he would be able to absorb some energy. But he didn't know if putting out the flame would somehow affect Cwenhild taking the realm, so he did the most anticlimactic thing ever. He just waited for them to finish.

The Kraven was grunting and even yelling as it continued to lift its body, but kept on stumbling. Lex would be highly impressed if it could do anything in this state. The pain from its soul aside, the soul is literally what gave it life. With a damaged soul, its ability to continue to even stay alive was highly compromised, let alone anything else. If anything, its state was a testament to how superior Kraven actually were, for a lesser beings' soul would have already collapsed after taking such a hit.

About a minute later, the group finished their fight. Not taking any time to relax, they quickly turned to give Lex aid, and froze. The Kraven lay there, collapsed on the ground, grunting like its mind had been fractured, while Lex stood casually beside it.

The slight sweat that covered his body did not make him look exhausted, but rather was a testament to how little he had exerted himself. The char from the flame that burned his chest covered his body, hiding how pale he really was, and instead made him look like a man who had walked out of hell fire. Neither his shield nor his sword were anywhere in sight, but the way the Kraven kept wailing gave the impression that he had used his bare hands to bring the creature to its current state.

Even more impressive was the fact that none of the spiritual attacks in the Kraven's voice did anything to Lex as he just stood there casually next to it. Cwenhild had studied in great detail all the rumors about Lex, and came to the conclusion that while true, they had been somewhat embellished. Now though, she could not help but believe. In fact, at this moment, he even seemed somewhat greater than his rumors.

Ness was gravely injured. In fact, she had to sit still and let Silvia heal her, or there was a strong chance she would go into shock. But as she stared at the man standing beside humanity's greatest foe, she had to remind herself not to move for she found herself filled with lust. To be more specific, she was filled with lust for battle! Lex had been hiding his capabilities and her heart was filled with the greatest desire to find out to what degree.

Bearin was pale, and not just because of his blood loss. He disliked and picked on Lex to show his superiority, so as to let Lex know his place in the competition from Cwenhild. But all he was good for was defending and running away, so never felt seriously threatened. But now he felt threatened.

"What are you waiting for?" Lex asked, waking everyone up from their reverie. "Kill the Kraven and take the realm. It's best not to let these things wait, lest something unexpected happens."

As if listening to Lex, Cwenhild dashed to him and pierced the Kraven through its back towards its core. Her glaive, like always, cut smoothly through all opposition and abruptly ended the creature's life. There was a sense of disbelief that filled the air as the creature fell limp onto the ground, no longer grunting or moving.

That was… it? But apparently, it seemed so. Cwenhild paused to look at the Kraven's body, but could not find a single external wound. She looked towards Lex and saw tired eyes and a nosebleed, nothing else. It seemed… she had still underestimated Lex.

She wanted to talk to him but his words were right. It was best to finish things quickly lest anything else unexpected happened.

Lex saw her turn towards the blue flame and excitement surged within him. He wondered how much energy he would get.

Then, a familiar sense of danger filled his body. Before he could react in any way, though, at a speed incomprehensible to him, a figure appeared in front of him and placed a single finger on his forehead.

Lex felt the cold finger press against him, unable to tell if the sensation was actual temperature or his instincts warning him about death. Yet nothing else happened. The world seemed to have frozen and his body alongside it, with only his thoughts remaining unfrozen.

He focused towards the figure and realized two things. First, this was the same figure he had seen earlier, back in the first ruins. Second, standing in front of him was a member of the Crystal race, and he was far stronger than anything Lex could go up against.

"Do not be alarmed, young human," spoke a warm voice inside his head. "I only came to talk to you. I found your fight quite interesting. But more importantly, I was fascinated by the questions you asked."