CHAPTER 12

“…Are you talking to me?”

“Yes. You. Are you saying the First Poison King was reborn as a kid like you? Are you going crazy in your old age?”

“That’s enough. You rude descendant.”

The boy frowned.

“Don’t speak like that. The Vice Leader saved my life. I won’t forgive anyone who insults him.”

“And if you don’t forgive me? Are you going to pretend to be the First Poison King in front of me?”

“If you want me to.”

A clear light flickered in the boy’s eyes. Galbray suddenly felt his whole body freeze.

“Is there poison in your eyes? Don’t tell me… is that the Poison Eye?”

The boy didn’t answer.

The First Poison King, Kainens.

Now a legend, the founder of the poison arts had some well-known traits.

Pure white hair, a massive body, and crystal-clear nails.

The Poison Eye was one of those traits.

By strengthening your eyes with poison, you could gain super sharp vision and fast reactions.

But the side effect was going blind. That’s why no poison user ever dared to touch their eyes.

“No one ever reached the level of Poison Eye. Since the First Poison King… Hah.”

Galbray clicked his tongue, then asked the old man behind the boy,

“Ziggurat, did you really do it? Did you really mess with the ley lines and extract Life-and-Death Poison?”

“Yes.”

“And you actually put that poison inside this kid?”

“I didn’t just put it in.”

The old man sighed and looked at the boy’s back.

“They’ve become one. You see it but still don’t believe? This boy is him. The one and only true Poison King. Now show respect, Ninth Poison King, Galbray.”

“…That’s not possible.”

Galbray stood up, shaking his head.

“The past is the past. The real one? I’m the real one. I’m the only official and proper Poison King, recognized by all the elders.”

“Recognized by elders, huh…”

The boy laughed and jumped into the conversation.

“That’s funny. Do you need approval to become Poison King now?”

“You brat…”

“Poison King’s reputation has dropped. Approval? That’s weak. A real Poison King only needs strength.”

“Shut up! What do you know?!”

Kainens’s face twisted like a demon’s. The boy let out a sigh and shook his head.

“I made the rules. Who else would know them, if not me?”

“What? Don’t bluff. You’re just a brat lucky enough to inherit Kainens’s power…”

“It’s good to be young.”

“What?”

Suddenly, a clear mist came from the boy’s body.

“Ugh…”

“Agh…”

“Finally…”

It was deadly poison.

The test subjects covered by the mist didn’t last even a few seconds. Even the wooden ceiling crumbled into dust from the poison.

Poison Mist.

One of the highest levels of poison skills—releasing poison as mist to control an area.

“This brat…”

The move was so natural, Galbray reacted too late. He also released his purple poison mist.

But it was too late.

His purple mist couldn’t spread far. The clear mist overwhelmed it.

“They said Life-and-Death Poison has no color or smell… It’s true.”

Galbray pushed himself to hold out, using poison deep from his lungs.

“Not just anyone can use Poison Mist. Are you really the First Poison King?”

“Yes. I am Kainens.”

“…Why come back now? You’re not here to destroy the Poison King family, are you? Didn’t you want to poison the ley lines?”

“I didn’t return because I wanted to.”

The boy looked back at the old man and smiled.

“Now that I’m here, I see a lot has changed. You’re no different from the Sword King clan now. That’s why I’m going to bring things back to how they were.”

“Ha!”

Galbray scoffed.

“You sound just like that old man. Did he brainwash you or something? It’s been 250 years! Isn’t it normal for things to change? The world is more complicated now…”

“You talk too much.”

The boy uncrossed his arms and gathered the clear mist in his fist.

“No more talking. Let strength decide. Ninth Poison King Galbray, I, Kainens, the First Poison King, challenge you for the Poison King title.”

“A duel? Hah…”

Galbray laughed and picked up his iron mace.

“A duel? That’s such an old custom.”

“The Poison King title is passed down through duels. That’s the rule I made.”

“That custom died over 100 years ago. No one duels anymore. It’s already annoying to keep the elders happy, and now some ancient ghost appears? And where did you people even come from? There are hundreds guarding the way!”

“I climbed the cliff.”

“What?”

“The weather was nice today. So I climbed up. The old path was still there.”

Then the boy jumped.

He dashed like lightning, flew through his Life-and-Death Poison zone, passed Galbray’s poison zone, and threw a punch.

“Whoa!”

The move was amazing.

But Galbray was still a Poison King. He swung his iron mace to block the punch.

Boom!

A thunder-like noise exploded.

Poison energy burst out like fireworks.

“Oh.”

The boy was pushed back.

He looked surprised, impressed that he lost the exchange. Galbray kept spinning his mace and attacking.

It looked random, but it wasn’t. Each swing hid tricks that could kill in one blow.

‘All planned moves…’

The boy sighed inside.

It felt like Sword King-style fighting. What had happened to the Poison King family over the past centuries?

Dodging wasn’t hard.

But that was part of Galbray’s plan.

The mace hit the floor and broke it. Debris flew up, covered in purple poison, shooting toward the boy.

‘Not bad…’

This kind of move didn’t exist 250 years ago. The boy spun and spread his poison to deflect the debris, then aimed a sharp poison shot back.

“Old-fashioned poison arrow? Really?”

Galbray blocked with his spinning mace. The poison arrow vanished into mist.

“No one uses that outdated move anymore!”

But the arrow was just a distraction.

The boy had blended into his mist and slid across the ground to appear behind Galbray.

‘Let’s see if he can stop this.’

Life-and-Death Step.

A top-level technique that only someone who can merge with Life-and-Death Poison can use.

No one could figure it out 250 years ago—not even the Sword King.

But Galbray quickly turned around.

“You!”

He dodged the punch and countered with his mace.

It was precise.

But the boy dodged again, retreating using the reverse flow of his poison mist.

Still, it wasn’t enough.

He avoided the mace, but got hit by a chunk flying from behind and crashed far back.

The throne shook.

Cracks formed in the walls, and dust fell from the ceiling. The boy coughed up blood.

“Cough…”

It was unexpected. He wiped the blood and stood.

“So it wasn’t just a mace. The poison is stored inside. A new invention?”

“New? This has been around for over 100 years. Even town guards use this stuff. Didn’t Ziggurat tell you?”

“A true Poison King doesn’t rely on weapons. That’s what weak Sword King people do.”

“So you came back and still only use poison and fists? Tsk tsk…”

Galbray clicked his tongue.

“Outdated. Your way of fighting is too old. What was that about the Sword King clan? If they were so weak, why didn’t you destroy them 250 years ago?”

“…”

“We evolved. While you were sleeping in the ley lines. To beat your enemy, you have to understand them.”

“You used your enemy’s methods to fight back…”

The boy fixed his broken finger and nodded.

“Sounds convincing. So honor means nothing to you?”

“Can you eat honor?”

“…”

“Honor? It’s nice. Then why didn’t you do better when you were alive? If you had, I wouldn’t have to fix things now.”

“…You’re right.”

The boy sighed and nodded.

“That hurts to hear. But you’re not wrong. I have no choice but to accept it.”

“Now you accept it? Hah!”