Emperor's harem: Transmigrated with SSS mana talent
Chapter 72: [Rank 2]

Chapter 72: [Rank 2]

The Divine General laughed — low and vicious.

"You mad bastard," he said.

He gripped the sword, and swung—

BOOOOOOM.

Smoke curled from the broken earth, thick and heavy, cloaking everything in silence.

Kael stumbled forward, coughing — the venom peeling away in ragged strands.

His chest heaved as the stench of scorched stone and blood filled his lungs.

Then he saw it.

A crater. Deep. Massive.

Carved from one swing.

His eyes turned sharply to Yue, still standing near the edge of the ruin.

He didn’t speak, just stared — demanding an answer.

She flinched a little under the weight of his gaze.

"What?" she said. "He was Rank 3... and that was his sword style."

Kael said nothing.

Just nodded slowly.

He felt it again — the lack inside him.

That hunger.

He needed his own style now.

His own edge.

The smoke began to clear.

And there, at the center of the crater, lay the Duke — split cleanly in half, body twitching faintly.

His lips moved... whispering something.

Kael leaned in, but couldn’t hear the words.

It didn’t matter.

He turned to the Divine General.

The man hadn’t moved, eyes still locked on the sword in his hand.

For a long beat, he just stared — silent.

Then:

"...What is this thing?" he muttered.

Kael stepped forward and took Dreamweaver back without a word, sheathing it with the weight of finality.

The General didn’t press.

They both turned, gazing at the vast crater before them — the smoke curling around its edges like ghosts retreating from judgment.

"...Think we overdid it?" the General said dryly.

"Little bit."

Kael stepped back from the shattered battlefield and found Selene resting against a crumbling pillar.

Kael moved back toward Selene.

She was sitting, leaning against a cracked pillar, catching her breath.

She looked up and smiled tiredly.

"Congratulations, Mr. Duke," she said softly.

Kael laughed—a low, relieved sound.

"I think I can finally fulfill that promise... haaa."

Surprise flickered across Selene’s face, tears welling in her eyes.

"So... you remember that?"

"Why not?" Kael smiled beneath his mask.

"But first, we need to heal. I know a church that will—"

The Divine General followed silently behind them.

Their voices faded into the stillness.

Suddenly, a sharp thought struck Kael—he was missing something vital.

"Selene," he said, voice low but urgent,

"you go ahead this way. I’m coming, just... a little behind."

Selene looked at him, surprised but trusting.

She nodded quietly.

The Divine General stepped forward, a silent guardian.

With a last glance, Selene moved off down the path, the General close behind, eyes alert.

###

No one noticed the slow, sinuous movement beneath the rubble.

Venom—scarred and battered from the day’s battles—stirred.

It crept forward, drawn by hunger and long-awaited reward.

Slithering toward the broken body of the Duke.

A faint, wet sound broke the silence as venom began to devour.

The world seemed to hold its breath.

Kael watched it all unfold — unmoved, expressionless.

No revulsion stirred within him as the venom slithered, consuming the Duke’s broken body piece by piece.

The blood and flesh disappeared beneath that endless black tide, until nothing remained but silence.

Then, without warning, the venom began to glow — faintly at first, then brighter, like a dark star igniting from within.

Kael’s eyes widened, heart skipping a beat.

A sharp chime echoed in his mind.

[Congratulations]

[Your beast has evolved to Rank 2]

Rank 2.

By devouring.

The words echoed like thunder.

Then, slowly, the venom shifted.

Its form coalesced — eyes now pure white, glowing faintly in the twilight.

A long pink tongue flicked out, wet and serpent-like.

A smile spread across its dark face — a grotesque, impossible laughter.

Kael felt it inside his mind, clearer than ever — a voice not his own, yet somehow his, laughing in shared madness.

Kael laughed too — low, dark, breathless.

Two minds, one thought.

One purpose.

Who knew what nightmare they were cooking in the silence?

The laughter faded into silence, lingering like smoke in the air.

Kael stared at his beast — no longer just a parasite, no longer a tool.

Venom had changed. Grown. And now, something inside it burned with purpose.

They stood together, predator and predator, bonded by blood, battle, and a hunger that could no longer be denied.

Kael’s expression hardened. Venom’s smile widened.

One thing was certain:

Many people were going to die to make Venom reach Rank 9.

And neither of them would lose a wink of sleep over it.

Kael slowly extended his hand.

Venom responded instantly — slithering forward, coiling around his arm like a living serpent. Its texture shimmered, both liquid and solid, alive with hidden hunger.

It curled comfortably, as if it belonged there.

"Let’s go, buddy," Kael murmured.

He cast one last look at the battlefield — the splintered trees, the blood-soaked earth, the massive crater where the Duke had fallen.

Ash hung faintly in the air.

Then he turned and began walking, each step heavier than the last.

There was so much left to do.

Submit a report to the King.

Face the people. Their praise, their questions. Their grief.

System notifications still hovered at the edge of his vision, waiting to be read.

Rewards to claim.

Titles to process.

But right now...

His shoulder throbbed.

His hand still ached from gripping Dreamweaver too long.

His legs felt like stone.

He just wanted to find somewhere quiet, somewhere still.

To breathe.

To heal.

Kael trudged toward Nyra’s church, feet heavy, mind fogged with exhaustion.

The soft murmur of voices floated out before him — sharp, raised, angry.

He blinked.

Is that... shouting?

As he stepped closer, he found the Divine General standing stiffly outside the door, arms crossed.

Kael raised an eyebrow. "What now?"

The General didn’t answer — just gave him a long, strange look.

Half pity. Half amusement. A touch of fear.

Kael frowned and stepped forward.

The moment he pushed the door open—he froze.

Inside, Selene had Nyra by the collar, pinning her against a column, fury burning in her eyes.

"How did Kael know you, bitch?" she snapped.

Nyra, teary and breathless, stammered, "

I told you! I don’t even know him that well!"

Kael’s brain screamed: Oh no. Oh no no no—

He took a cautious step back, eyes darting for an exit—

"Kael?"

Her voice cracked through the air like a whip.

He froze again.

Fuck. I’m dead.