A Peacock Husband of Five Princesses by day, a Noble Assassin by Night-Chapter 113: Kael’s demonic transformation

The weight of what she was saying wasn't lost on him. He had always been a shadow, working in the background. Now that he was stepping away, things were bound to change.

But there was nothing else he could do either.

In the end, Kael could only stay silent, not offering any comforting words to the Queen.

The Queen let out a sigh and reached into her storage ring, pulling out a pouch and handing it to Kael. "Consider this as thanks for your decade-old service to the queendom," she said, her voice steady. "One million gold coins. Use the money to become the businessman that you aspired to be. But then again, Assassin K, the shadow of the Queen, must exist for the balance of power. When I find someone who can take your mantle as Assassin K, I hope you come to my aid to train your successor. Of course, you might have lost your powers but not your knowledge of your techniques."

"Your Majesty. I'm always at your service."

Kael nodded, a faint smile tugging at his lips. He wasn't sure what the future would hold, but one thing was certain: his journey as Kael Moonstone had just begun.

And it was a path he would carve on his own terms, this time. Not out of compulsion, but out of his passion.

***

Later that day, past the midnight; freeweɓnovel.cѳm

The stars scattered across the sky shimmered faintly, their light distant but comforting.

On the balcony of the royal guest room, Kael sat slouched in a chair, a half-filled wine glass dangling from his fingers.

Nyx lay curled nearby, breathing softly in her sleep, her fur catching the moonlight with a silver sheen.

Kael stared into the endless night, lost in thought. The air was cool, brushing against his skin, giving him that sensation of chillness that he hadn't felt for years.

As his eyes fell upon the roof of the nearby building in the palace compound, Kael couldn't help but mutter. "Forget about leaping from one to another, now, I can't even climb onto the roof anymore without throwing out a muscle." A tired grin pulled at the corner of his lips.

He took another sip, letting the bitter warmth of the wine coat his tongue.

His eyes narrowed as they gazed up at the vast sky. "The sword of Zurin was still with me, but there is no use in summoning it. I don't even have the strength to lift it now."

No matter.

He'd already decided he'd eventually pass the blade down to Mia. As a legendary realm expert, she might be able to put it to some good use. As long as he teaches her the incantation he received from Zurin, she can merge the weapons and summon the Fragmented Wheel of Light.

"It's time I focus fully on the shipyard," he thought, swirling the wine lazily.

With the Queen's retirement gift—an entire million in gold—he had the means to truly build something. Maybe even run a guild on the side, too, and live a normal life.

"Normal, huh?" he exhaled, not even sure what that meant anymore. His usual normal life was different.

And it wasn't just his powers that were destroyed, his stamina was also taken hurt. He could no longer have long, intimate sessions with his wives either. Melissa would be fine, but Laura and Amanda are sexually hungry beasts, due to their dragon bloodline. Satisfying them has become another point of concern, which he might have to depend on products available in the market, from now on.

"One night… I went from this supreme realm assassin to a loser. What a turn of events… It should have been better had I… ugh…"

As he was busy self-criticizing, a sharp pain suddenly bloomed in his chest.

His hand jerked toward it instinctively—his left side—exactly where the demon heart had been planted.

"What the hell…" Kael whispered. The tremor was spreading, coiling through his veins like molten lead.

He coughed violently, crimson-black splatters hitting the balcony rail.

His vision blurred, slowly blacking out, as the pain intensified in his heart.

When Kael next opened his eyes, he wasn't on the balcony anymore. He stood amidst a desolate, otherworldly battlefield.

Ash rained from the sky like snow. The ground was torn apart, scorched with the aftermath of a cataclysmic war.

On one side, he saw towering demonic beasts charging forward-horned creatures, shadowy wraiths, charred remains of their once indomitable horde. On the other side, a formation of angelic beings, radiant and unyielding, stood tall, their glowing weapons raised to the heavens.

Above them all, the sky cracked open with divine energy as gods descended, faces masked in light, voices thunderous with ancient language Kael couldn't comprehend.

The scene shifted violently, and he blacked out again.

When Kael came to his senses and returned to reality, he wasn't on the battlefield. He wasn't on the balcony of the guest room either. Heck, he wasn't even in the palace.

He was… standing on the rooftop of a tower.

His body pulsed, swirled with energy—an all too familiar but overwhelmingly changed force. The primordial dark attribute surged wildly around him. But it wasn't alone.

Mixed within it was scarlet demonic energy—rich, chaotic, and hungry.

He looked down at himself, his breath caught in his throat. His skin glowed faintly under the moonlight, veins visible and shimmering with black and red hues. And atop his head—horns.

Two sharp, curved horns had emerged, faintly steaming with energy.

"What… is this?" he murmured. "Just now, I was on the bal…"

He focused for a moment, trying to steady his rapidly accelerating heartbeat.

In an instant, his surroundings blurred, and he teleported.

He was now back on the balcony where he had been earlier. No chanting. No effort. No summoning circles. Just a thought in his head.

Kael stood there, breathless. The wine glass he'd left earlier still sat by the chair.

"This..." he whispered again, eyes wide. "What the hell is going on?"

**

After a couple of moments;

Kael stood in the empty, remote corner of the city, the cool night air brushing against his skin as he gathered his thoughts. He had to understand this new change—this transformation that Cleo first warned him about, but he wasn't in the right mind to pay attention to it.

With a deep breath, Kael concentrated, and in the blink of an eye, he teleported away once again.

He now stood in a desolate stretch of land outside the city—a perfect place to test his new abilities without fear of discovery.

His fingers twitched as his mind worked quickly, and he summoned the Sword of Zurin.

The celestial weapon appeared in his hand, and he grabbed it. "Woah…" Kael couldn't help but exclaim in delight, feeling that it was lighter than it had ever been before. Too light as a feather.

It wasn't the lightness that one would feel by the connection. It was the lightness that one would feel by having overpowered physical strength. That was what Kael was expressing right now.

He dismissed the sword for the moment, placing it back in his mindscape.

Then, his hands reached for his daggers. They were scratched and scarred, remnants of their recent battle, when he had tried to destroy the cocoon in his last desperate bid for control. They would need a bit of repair. Still, they felt solid in his hands, and that familiar feeling just couldn't help but bring a smile to his face.

Shutting his eyes, Kael felt something stir within him—a strange, gnawing sensation.

Instinctively, he began to move in fluid circles, testing the limits of his new body, adjusting to the way it now responded to his commands.

In an instant, his focus sharpened.

Without any struggle, he created twenty shadow clones, twice of what he could have done before, each perfectly mimicking his movements.

Kael smirked at the sight. "Damn. This power… No wonder the Monarch of Darkness wants this. The demon's heart is indeed filled with power. Well, let's test some more techniques."

Then, without hesitation, he charged forward. In one fluid motion, he swung his dagger at the boulder in front of him—an enormous chunk of rock, ten meters tall and three meters wide.

The boulder was sliced into two halves with a swing of his wrist.

Gripping their handles tightly, Kael went on striking them with dual daggers in rapid pace, like a storm, sharp, decisive, and filled with a deadly grace.

The attack cut the boulder into thousands of pieces in a matter of five seconds. The sound of the rock splitting echoed into the night.

Kael stood still for a moment, watching the scattered debris as the adrenaline coursed through him. His fists clenched tightly as he stared down at his hands.

He still couldn't feel any mana in his body. His core was destroyed.

But he could feel his primordial dark energy and, additionally, the demonic energy running through his body, just as seamless as blood.

He hadn't expected this—didn't even know if it was possible.

But now, he could feel it in his bones: his attacks, his strength—they rivaled that of a power stronger than a Supreme Being, although he still couldn't find himself facing a demigod. He is somewhere between a Supreme Being and a demigod, one should say the informal term: A Pseudo-Demigod.

"Indeed, this was a blessing in misfortune." Kael couldn't help but grin in excitement, but then his eyes spotted his reflection in a nearby puddle of water.

Kael went to the puddle and looked at his reflection. Whether it is his horns, the scales on his face, or the scarlet eyes with vertical slit pupils, his whole appearance was quite demonic and beastly. "Ugh… there is indeed a downside to this. Even my own wives will attack me if they see me like this. I guess I had to live with secrets, after all."