Bloodbound Oath: Between Realms
Chapter 46: As Planned

Chapter 46: As Planned

The skeletal figure pulled its sword from the soldier’s back and pushed him to the ground, then clicked its teeth together with clear malice.

When Darnell surprised everyone with his deadly sneak attack, Sollivan took advantage of the chaos to reassemble the skeletal body and ambush the nearest soldier. Fortunately, he faced no problems—no one noticed him because they were all completely focused on Darnell, fearing his strength while forgetting about the "weak" skeleton.

Sven’s eyebrows furrowed, and his hand trembled with fear. He could no longer maintain his composure. He looked around anxiously, his mind racing for a useful idea. His overconfidence and arrogance were fading, leaving only doubt and dread. Given the current situation, he was no longer certain of victory.

Hurriedly, he signaled to his remaining soldiers and ordered with forced sternness, trying to hide his panic "Gather up"

All the soldiers surrounded him, including the two guarding the lighting control lever. They formed a defensive circle, protecting each other’s backs. Involuntarily, they all glanced toward the gate, shooting Sven looks of displeasure.

Sollivan quietly observed them through Noctis’ eyes, noting every shift in their expressions. He realized fear had taken hold of their hearts—yet they remained hesitant, unwilling to flee.

"Tsk" Sollivan frowned in irritation and cursed inwardly ’Why won’t they run’ He had reached his limit long ago, and his nerves were boiling with anger. He feared he might start making fatal mistakes if he didn’t end this quickly.

He calmed himself and quietly gave Noctis new orders before severing their connection. Opening his eyes, he turned to Devlin, who was curled up beside him, and whispered softly while pulling matches from his pocket

"Devlin, get up. I need your help"

Devlin lifted his head and stared at his master’s eyes—and the small, unusual smile on his face. He didn’t understand. He didn’t know what his master wanted from him after all this. In truth, he no longer cared to understand. All he truly wanted was to go home. Slowly, he stood up, his body heavy with bruises, and blankly stared at the matches—his expression unreadable, contrary to his usual self.

Sollivan didn’t miss the changes in him. He noticed Devlin’s difference but didn’t offer any words of comfort—not because his heart was cold, but because he felt guilty and decided now wasn’t the time for such talks.

With a heavy heart, he sighed and said "Carry the barrel and throw it toward the gate when I tell you"

Devlin arched his eyebrows but didn’t question it. He lifted the heavy barrel effortlessly—its weight posed no problem for him. Having reached the mid-fifth level of body strengthening, he could easily lift twice this weight.

He moved to the edge of the large crates, peeking out to spy on Darnell and the others. But his body froze when he saw the black skeleton. His hands trembled, nearly dropping the barrel—until a faint whisper beside his ear calmed him slightly

"Don’t be afraid. He’s not evil"

Devlin was still a child, and mysterious things terrified him far more than they did adults, who could at least somewhat control their nerves. Despite Sollivan’s reassuring words, his body refused to relax. He remained tense, avoiding looking at the skeleton while desperately trying to maintain some composure—even as his heart pounded wildly.

"Huff" He took a deep breath and adjusted his stance, then noticed Sollivan beside him directing an unlit match toward the fuse with closed eyes.

...

While fear consumed Sven’s group, Darnell remained calmer. He exhaled sharply, gasping from physical exhaustion and having depleted most of his Auraxis energy reserves. He barely had enough strength left to stand tall. His eyes darted rapidly as he scanned his surroundings, carefully considering his next move

’I can’t launch another powerful attack. Fighting them all at once would be suicidal—not to mention that strange skeleton’

Suddenly, his mind cleared. After a brief moment of stunned silence, his brow furrowed in displeasure

’Why am I even still fighting? That cripple means nothing to me. If he dies, I’ll just be rid of a lunatic threatening my safety’

He glanced at the gate but hesitated, sighing anxiously

’But I don’t know if he has hidden backers. If I leave, his allies might hunt me down or report my identity to the court. I can’t return to that hell again’

’No—there are other options. If things get worse, I’ll escape east to the mainland. Or even join the Sea Claw Pirates and sail to the distant Meravyn Empire’

Resolving himself, he finally decided to flee. He looked toward the gate, then turned to glare at Sollivan’s hiding spot before cursing furiously

"Damn this" He pointed at Sven and his men "Damn all of you—and damn you, cripple! I’m leaving. If any of you dare stop me, I’ll kill you"

Every word came from the depths of his heart. He was furious at being dragged into this chaos for no reason.

As he shouted his intentions, the skeleton coldly stared at him—and without delay, Sollivan ordered Noctis to rush toward the gate and block anyone trying to escape. Then he severed their connection and lit the thunderpowder barrel’s fuse.

Devlin, who hadn’t expected this, panicked. His body tensed further. He wanted to throw the barrel immediately, terrified it might explode on them—but he couldn’t, as he hadn’t received the order yet.

Sollivan closed his eyes, transferring his senses back to Noctis, while coldly telling Devlin

’When I say throw it, do it without hesitation’

Devlin nodded nervously.

The skeleton sprinted toward the gate. Along the way, it passed Sven’s group—but they didn’t attack, and it avoided them swiftly. It stopped before the gate, staring coldly at everyone, then raised its hand toward Darnell and extended its middle finger, clicking its teeth as if laughing.

Abandoning his last hesitation, Darnell roared

"I don’t care what you are, but you’re starting to piss me off"

In the blink of an eye, he charged toward the gate. When barely two meters separated them, the skeleton swung its sword—but Darnell effortlessly deflected it with his spear, redirecting the blade into the ground. Then, with icy precision, he severed the skeleton’s other arm at the shoulder, sending it flying aside.

He smirked at the skeleton, his smile full of venom, ready to end this.

At the same time, Sven used a voice-transmission technique to order his men

’Let’s finish them now while they’re distracted’

They all attacked as one, leaving behind only the armless soldier, who stumbled in hesitation.

Darnell noticed and burned with rage. Gathering his remaining strength, he prepared to smash the skeleton’s skull and escape—but suddenly, he sensed extreme danger.

The black skeleton’s chest morphed into a viscous substance, forming a massive needle that shot toward him. It moved insanely fast, but he reacted just in time—instinctively leaping back. Then he remembered he had exposed his back to Sven and his men.

"Damn it"

He tried adjusting his retreat, twisting mid-air like an agile cat to face his enemies. He swung his spear before landing—but it was futile. Alone and exhausted against multiple opponents, two soldiers blocked his spear and shoved him back, breaking his momentum and leaving him open.

Sven immediately stabbed him in the stomach—but Darnell refused to be easy prey. The moment he realized he was cornered, he channeled all his remaining energy into his spear, saturating it to the limit.

Just as Sven’s sword pierced his armor and flesh, Darnell shoved the spear shaft between them, raising his arms to shield his face—

BOOM

Everything happened in an instant. Before the sword could plunge deeper, the spear exploded with terrifying force.

Hundreds of wooden and metal shrapnel pieces tore through the bodies of everyone nearby. One unlucky soldier, whose face was close to the spearhead, had his features mangled and eyes destroyed by the metal fragments. Sven and the others were slightly luckier, suffering only superficial wounds as shards embedded in their skin and muscles.

The blast’s shockwave threw everyone back, creating a small gap between them. Darnell landed on his back, blood gushing from his arms—which had protected his face. Fortunately, his injuries weren’t severe, and the stomach wound was shallow.

He quickly stood up, happily eyeing the gate. His suicidal move had been solely to create an escape opportunity. Now, while Sven and his men were stunned, he turned toward the skeleton—the final obstacle.

But his eyes widened when he didn’t see it in position.

’What’

His path was clear, the gate before him—yet he felt no relief. His senses screamed of danger. Before he could react, he saw a massive barrel falling between him and Sven’s group.

He had no time to flee or defend himself. All he could do was turn and look toward Sollivan’s hiding spot—where he saw Devlin standing exposed in a strange stance while Sollivan partially revealed himself, shooting him a vicious glare.

Darnell’s final thoughts, transmitted through voice projection, burned with rage

’Damn you, cripple’

BOOOM!!!

The thunderpowder barrel detonated with catastrophic force, incinerating and obliterating everything nearby. Darnell was burned and thrown back, his body slamming into the stone gate. The soldiers were charred—some even blown apart from the blast’s proximity. The floor shattered, gold coins and treasures scattering amid rocks and dust. Even the ceiling’s lighting formation was damaged, flickering erratically as large sections of the treasury plunged into darkness.

...

"Damn you, cripple"

These were the last words that reached Sollivan’s mind from Darnell before the explosion. Quickly, he and Devlin hid behind the numerous crates, which shook violently from the blast, some toppling over. They covered their ears and heads—and though they were far from the epicenter, debris still reached them, stopped only by the treasure-filled crates.

After a few minutes, the chaos settled.

Sollivan lifted his head like a cautious ostrich, peering around suspiciously. Beside him, Devlin lay on the ground, eyes and ears tightly shut, too afraid to look up.

Guiding his wheelchair, Sollivan touched Devlin’s shoulder—making him open his eyes in surprise and glance around fearfully. But the moment he saw his master’s face, his expression calmed.

With a gentle smile, Sollivan said "You did well"

Devlin stood up, brushing dust off his body and hair. His trembling lips parted—but no coherent words came out.

"Don’t worry. It’s over" Sollivan dusted off his own hair, then looked toward the explosion’s center. Unlike last time, he heard no screams—likely because everyone had been too close to the blast. Even a late-stage Path-Opening Arcane Master wouldn’t have survived that, let alone exhausted fighters with depleted Auraxis reserves.

Creak

Hesitantly, Sollivan pushed his wheelchair forward, with Devlin following fearfully.

They emerged from behind the crates, gazing at the slowly clearing dust cloud ahead.

Sollivan smiled, his body trembling with exhilaration. He turned to look at the massive treasury filled with treasures, resisting the urge to scream. Inside, he laughed madly

’I succeeded I succeeded I succeeded’

The entire time—since deciding to risk everything for this loot—he had feared death. When he first saw the mayor’s son and his men, he had deeply regretted his recklessness. But now, he sighed in relief, releasing all his fears, leaving only overwhelming joy.

"Master Sollivan" Devlin’s trembling, fearful voice snapped him out of his daze.

"What" He turned—then froze when he saw Devlin pointing a shaking hand toward the dust cloud. His heart pounded in dread as he slowly looked back at the explosion site.

There, standing amidst the settling dust with a hunched back, was the one sight he never wanted to see—a survivor.

As if sensing them, the figure slowly turned its head in their direction. Though they couldn’t see its expression, the intense killing intent radiating from it made their bodies tremble violently.