Jinn BLADE
Chapter 80 | Veiled in Black

Chapter 80: Chapter 80 | Veiled in Black

"Mhm..." a hum slipped from Verkaryon’s mouth, quiet yet deliberate, as his sharp eyes watched Ophelia and the others.

Their eidra glistened with raw potential, wrapping their bodies with power as they remained focused, each one lost in their inner training within their minds.

He leaned forward slightly, posture still refined, his hands clasped neatly behind his back.

"Eidra..." Verkaryon began, his voice smooth and calm, but filled with weight, "is something that is present in everything."

His words cut through the quiet concentration, causing a few heads from the onlookers to tilt, eyes shifting slightly as his voice caught their attention.

Verkaryon started to walk slowly, circling them like a shadow, each step silent on the ground.

"It is the food of life..." he continued, his gaze trailing across the area where the children sat.

"The food of the universe... the food of the void..."

His words seemed to drift between the line of sense and madness.

His voice was steady, but his eyes glinted with something hidden—something strange.

He looked distantly for a moment, almost as if he could see beyond what the others could.

Then, his eyes returned to the group.

Sharper. Focused.

"And for that same very reason," he said, "is why corrupted beasts tend to hunt eidra-dense individuals."

His tone darkened with those words.

"To kill. To eat. To absorb their eidra. And to stand atop the food chain."

A few of the onlookers flinched at his words.

The idea that they could be hunted for their very essence—like prey, wasn’t exactly a comforting one.

They are after all, people that wanted to survive and breath—and perhaps, attain freedom if they could complete all the trials.

Verkaryon then tilted his head upward, looking to the sky as if expecting something to arrive.

His eyes narrowed.

"Just like him..." he muttered—his tone revering as if whatever he mentioned was someone he had deep love for.

Verhedyn opened one eye, his focus broken. "Would this guy shut up already...?"

"Just ignore him," Orin said under her breath, frowning at the disturbance.

"I think he’s been hit in the head one too many times."

Verkaryon didn’t notice—or maybe he didn’t care at the words thrown at him.

He raised his voice once more, almost as if he was preaching.

"Eidra is power. Eidra is life itself. It is everything!"

His eyes widened.

A smile formed on his lips—oddly wide, unnaturally even.

It stretched further than it should, almost reaching both ends of his face.

"Remember this, children," he said, the smile still on his face.

"When the time comes, only eidra will save you."

"We know that already," Ophelia said firmly, opening her eyes.

Her gaze locked on him—cold, glowing subtly with her eidra.

She stared deeply at Verkaryon, and her eyes narrowed sharply.

"Who are you to lecture us about survival—you corrupted beast?"

The words pierced the air like a dagger.

"What...?" Vox blinked, surprised, sitting upright as he turned toward her.

Verhedyn and Orin stared in shock, both frozen at what they just heard.

But Verkaryon didn’t react.

He simply stood there.

Watching.

Silent.

Until slowly...

very slowly...

a creaking smile broke across his face, growing wider and wider until it looked almost like a beast was trying to escape his face.

His eyes lit with an eerie glow as he stepped closer, like something behind them had finally been allowed to surface.

"And here I thought it would take time for you to notice..." he said softly, his voice now laced with something else.

Not madness.

Not anger.

Revealing.

"Oh, child of Seraphim..."

"W-What is he talking about?" an onlooker asked, backing up slightly in panic.

"Look at his mouth... it looks weird!" someone shouted.

"G-Grab your weapons! I think its a beast disguising as a mortal!"

Gasps echoed across the training ground as panic ensued.

But before anyone could move, Verkaryon raised his arm.

*Flick!

And with a single flick, a black mist erupted from his body—thick, heavy, and suffocating.

It spilled out in all directions, blanketing the area area in darkness.

No, not just where Ophelia and the others were.

The entire camp.

"What the hell is happening!?" Verhedyn yelled, spinning around, hands out extended as he tried to feel his way through the void.

He couldn’t see anything—just shadows and swirling blackness.

"I knew that bastard had a bad vibe on him!" Orin shouted, readying herself as violet eidra began to whirr upon her hand.

"Where the hell is he?!"

A sudden glow shone through the dark.

A gentle, golden light pushing through the void like a beacon.

"Over here!" Ophelia called out, her voice cutting through the chaos.

Her eidra pulsed around her, casting light in all directions.

The darkness shied away from her, parting slightly as she moved forward.

One by one, the others moved toward her—even the distraught onlookers, letting her light guide them through the suffocating dark.

The mist trembled as Ophelia’s power grew brighter, cutting a path through it.

Their feet found solid ground, and the shadows began to pull away.

Then, without warning, the mist vanished completely.

And what they saw next struck fear into their hearts.

The sky was gone.

Replaced by a dome of darkness that wrapped the entire world in black.

Hanging high above was a single red eye—massive, twitching, and surrounded by tendrils that writhed like living things.

It stared down at them.

Watching.

The morning sun was gone.

The warmth of day had been stolen.

This was something else entirely.

And then, they saw it.

A figure standing high in the air, framed against the darkness.

It had four wings—long, thin, and writhing like serpents.

Four horns grew from its head, spiraled and uneven.

And the smile...

That same unnatural smile—wide and sickeningly familiar—stretched across the figure’s face.

Verkaryon.

Or what he was supposed to be.

It opened its mouth and spoke.

"I now deem everything on this planet... an offering," it said.

Its voice was layered—like multiple voices speaking at once.

"For Lord Malgareth... the true king."