The Transmigrated Author

As the door behind Rel creaked, he turned to see the character he'd been waiting for emerge.

Jan Ates...

Dressed in a white, long-sleeved, buttoned-out shirt and black pants, he bore the marks of battle, with rips and scratches all over his body.

But that wasn't what held Rel's attention.

From Jan's point of view, a murder occurred during his fight against the Sunlit King.

The murderer was a man dressed in all black, a cloak concealing his weapons and a full black mask hiding every feature except his eyes.

Jan was stunned. The screams he'd heard weren't a hallucination.

The body of what he assumed was a girl was reduced to a skeleton, and he couldn't quite make out the other figure, but he assumed it was her partner or guardian.

"How...cruel..." Jan gritted his teeth, the scene before him fueling his anger. "Why did you... do this?"

Jan's face darkened, his expression hardening.

SHING!

"I'll bring those poor souls to justice."

"...!"

STEP!

With a single step, the atmosphere shifted, and the pressure emanating from Jan fell upon Rel's shoulders. Massive winds blasted through the room, and a golden aura surrounded Jan.

CRACK...CRACK...CRACK...

As Jan released his aura, lightning crackled through the room, his blue eyes gleaming menacingly towards the stranger.

...

Rel faltered for a moment, realizing he was experiencing Jan's first true use of Dominance. Thankfully, due to his system, Rel was able to withstand it.

Rel's body slumped momentarily but quickly recovered.

"Listen, I think you've got it mixed up," Rel said, but realized he was too late as Jan had already drawn his blade.

"I'm not going to listen to the words of a murderer," Jan said calmly, continuing his advance towards Rel.

Is there really no getting through to him? Rel thought. I could have sworn he would never act like this, but then again, he's never been pushed to the point where he'd kill without hesitation. It's ironic coming from me, but I'll try to de-escalate the situation without fighting.

"Please, just listen to me—"

[The following skill: Sensory Aura Has Activated...]

Suddenly, Rel's hairs stood on end... he sensed an attack coming his way.

He's going to attack me?!?

SLASH!

Jan's sword cut through the space where Rel's chest had been a moment before.

Luckily, Rel managed to avoid the attack with a quick sidestep.

"Why would I listen to a murderer?" Jan's voice deepened and his face frowned.

"You have no right."

Jan followed up with a swift back kick, his foot imbued with aura.

BANG!!!

Rel blocked it with both arms, without using his own aura.

"Look, those were blood mimics—"

"Shut up," Jan interrupted, ignoring Rel's pleas and attempting another horizontal slash.

SHING!

The blade grazed Rel's mask as he bent backward to avoid the attack.

JESUS! Is this guy insane?! Who the hell made this guy?

WHOOOSH

Jan's blade whistled through the air, narrowly missing between Rel's eyes.

"SHIT!" Rel wheezed, ducking the attack.

He couldn't bring himself to attack Jan. Harming the protagonist of his own novel felt like a narrative violation, a potential story-shattering mistake.

"Why aren't you fighting back, murderer?"

"Because this is all a big misunderstanding—"

SHING!

Another slash grazed Rel's hip. A stinging pain flared, a blunt reminder of the danger he was in.

Enough was enough.

Rel jumped backward, creating distance between him and Jan. As he felt something dripping down his hip, he saw a clean line of blood staining his trousers.

"Stop!" Rel shouted, his voice ragged. "Are you trying to kill me?"

Jan's eyes, burning with an unyielding fury, never left Rel's. "A murderer deserves no less."

This guy is in a rage. What choice do I have if he won't listen?

I can't beat him in a fair fight, so I need to play dirty.

Rel's frustration boiled over. If Jan wouldn't listen to reason, maybe a taste of his own medicine would knock some sense into him.

"Fine," Rel said, his voice hardening with newfound resolve. "Don't blame me for not holding back..."

He extended his hand, and Axel materialized in his grasp.

A blade with a golden grip and a silver steel blade.

Jan's eyes widened in surprise at the otherworldly occurrence. He assumed it must be an artifact.

But what concerned him most was that this person was a swordsman.

Usually, Jan could gauge someone's skill with a sword just by looking at them.

But this person before him made him doubt his intuition.

His body language, posture, and the way he held the sword were unsettling.

Even though Jan didn't know what kind of swordsman Rel was, he would soon find out in their first true clash.

BANG!

Rel met Jan's attack head-on. Jan swung his sword downwards, and Rel countered, swinging his blade before Jan's strike could reach its full power.

SHING!

As the two blades locked, Jan held his ground, trying to gauge whether this person had any tricks up their sleeve.

A swordsman would typically only be adept in swordsmanship, and Jan was confident that a true swordsman wouldn't be able to break his guard.

Jan's strength was unmatched for someone his age. When serious, he could overpower any opponent, regardless of the situation.

But Rel struggled to even push him back.

Then, Rel released Jan's blade, imbued aura into his right foot, twisted his body, and swiftly landed a clean kick to Jan's stomach.

BLEH!

Jan coughed up a mouthful of blood, clutching his stomach in pain from the impact of Rel's attack.

Jan stumbled back a few meters from the kick, keeping his eyes locked on his opponent.

"I was planning on talking things out," Rel said firmly. "But I'm not going to let you hurt me, lil bro."

Jan's eyes narrowed in disgust. "Lil bro?"

He gripped his stomach tighter, and a sudden burst of mana flowed from his fingertips, healing the injury from the kick.

"I'm not your little bro, you damned monster!" Jan's blade flared with aura, the steel turning obsidian black, its edges reinforced with a golden glow.

DASH!

He lunged forward with incredible speed, reaching Rel in a millisecond.

"Light—"

Jan's blade shimmered with a golden light, but then...

"Feint," Jan uttered, imbuing his left hand with aura and throwing a punch directly at Rel's face.

BANG!

Rel anticipated the strike and blocked it with both arms.

Despite his efforts to minimize the impact, Jan's immense strength sent him flying through the corridor.

"Shit..." Rel muttered.

BLINK!

As Rel flew through the air, he saw a flash of gold and knew Jan was going for a follow-up combo.

[Special Ability: Deadeye Has Been Activated!]

Rel tracked Jan's movements with absolute precision, analyzing the colour of his blade to predict his next attack.

If the blade was imbued with a golden aura on the outer layer, he was going for a projectile slash.

If he planned on using a light attack, he'd cover it up with an aura-imbued decoy, using a body part to create a diversion.

Rel knew these were only possibilities based on his knowledge.

And, of course...

Jan went with an aura and light-imbued combination slash.

"LIGHT CLEAVE!"

As Jan swung his blade, a massive wave of aura and light synergized, ripping a powerful beam through the air.

Rel could only watch the attack, sighing.

"Should've known..."

BANG!

The corridor erupted, and Jan stopped in his tracks as a cloud of dust rose from the impact of his attack.

________

To Be Continued...

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