From Rags to God of War

His Weakness

Nicholas walked closer to the prostrate King of Death. His eyes were sharp, devoid of mercy. He knew this man was a direct threat to Isabella and her family.

"Who sent you?" Nicholas asked again.

The King of Death looked up, his face covered in blood. He raised a trembling hand, pointing at Nicholas with his index finger. A final gesture of threat, or perhaps an indication that Nicholas would face greater consequences. However, before he could say anything, a final gasp escaped his throat. His body convulsed for a moment, then went still. The King of Death was dead.

The King of Death's men, who had been hiding in the darkness, witnessed the scene. Fear crept into their minds. Their leader, a legendary assassin who had never lost, was killed by an unarmed man. They no longer cared about loyalty. One by one, they fled, disappearing into the night. Nicholas did not pursue them.

---

News of the King of Death's demise spread quickly. Rumors of the fierce duel spread from one corner of the underworld to another, like wildfire. Nicholas Krause's name was whispered.

In a secluded, perpetually snow-capped mountain range, far from the city's hustle, an ancient residence stood firm. Inside, Seraphina, the King of Death's younger sister, had her eyes closed, trying to calm her mind. However, the whispers carried by the wind about her brother Don's death could not be ignored. A sharp pain tore through her chest. Don was the only family she had who possessed a fighter's spirit like her own.

Seraphina immediately stood up, her face hard with anger and grief. She knew only one person could help her get revenge: her father.

She walked quickly towards her father's meditation room. The room was dimly lit, illuminated only by a few flickering candles. In the center of the room, Lord Gideon Steele, her father, sat cross-legged on a silk cushion, his eyes closed, his body still.

Seraphina didn't care about the silence and sanctity of the place. She slammed the room door shut, the loud thud startling the air.

"Father!" Seraphina exclaimed, her voice hoarse with suppressed tears. "Father, I come bearing terrible news!"

Lord Gideon slowly opened his eyes.

"I am meditating. You know I don't like to be disturbed."

"But this is important, Father!" Seraphina took a few steps forward. "Don is gone!"

Lord Gideon ignored Seraphina.

"He was killed, Father! Killed in his own base!" Seraphina grew emotional. "He was killed by Nicholas Krause, a God of War!"

Lord Gideon mumbled. "Killed? Don was the King of Death. The best swordsman in the underworld. He shouldn't die so easily."

"But he lost!" Seraphina emphasized.

Lord Gideon sighed. "Leave this place."

"No! I won't leave!" Seraphina shouted. "I must avenge Don's death! I must kill Nicholas Krause!"

"Avenge?" Lord Gideon looked at his daughter with a cold gaze. "If Don, with all his skill, with his legendary sword, could not defeat Nicholas Krause, what can you do, Seraphina? What do you possess that Don did not? Only blind thirst for revenge. Leave this place! This is not your concern."

"Father, please!" Seraphina looked at Lord Gideon, pleading. "Give me a chance! I will prove that I can defeat Nicholas Krause!"

Lord Gideon sighed, his gaze unchanged. "Seraphina, you are merely a woman. You do not possess the legacy of strength that Don had. That power flows in the blood of the men in our family."

"I will lose if I fight alone!" Seraphina admitted, her voice rising an octave. "But, Father, if I bring our army, we will win! With a loyal army, Nicholas Krause won't be able to stop me!"

Lord Gideon shook his head. "No. I will not allow my army to be led by a woman without power, Seraphina. That is an insult to our family's great name."

"I can have power like Don!" Seraphina countered, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "If only Father would give it to me! I know how to awaken it!"

"That power is for men," Lord Gideon replied. "Tradition cannot be changed simply because of a fleeting emotion."

"This isn't a fleeting emotion, Father! This is revenge!" Seraphina cried. "Nicholas Krause killed Don! My only brother! Don't you feel anything?! Don't you care about your son's death?!"

"I will avenge my son's death myself," Lord Gideon stated.

Seraphina let out an angry sigh. "You're always like this, Father! Cold and uncaring! I'll never understand your way of thinking!"

"Enough," Lord Gideon said. An invisible energy suddenly radiated from his body. That energy pushed Seraphina with great force.

"F-Father!" Seraphina was startled. Her body flew backward, slamming hard against the closed wooden door. Her back ached.

"Get out of my sight!" Lord Gideon commanded, his voice echoing in the room. "I'm done speaking with you."

Seraphina looked at her father once more, her eyes filled with hatred and a sense of betrayal. Without another word, she painfully rose, opened the door, and left her father's meditation chamber. She would not let Don's death go unavenged. She would get her revenge, in her own way.

She left the snowy mountains, abandoning the ancient Steele family residence. She would hunt. She would make Nicholas pay for all his actions.

Days later, Seraphina arrived in the city. With a new identity and perfect disguise, she began to observe Nicholas. She saw Nicholas. The man appeared ordinary; there was nothing special about him. How could such a person defeat the King of Death?

Seraphina continued to watch and gather data on Nicholas. How painful it was, seeing the person who had killed her brother living freely, happily.

The hatred in Seraphina's heart burned even brighter. Don's death would not be in vain.

"You think you can live in peace after killing my brother?" Seraphina muttered, hidden in a cafe, watching Nicholas from afar. "I won't let that happen."

She spent her days and nights studying Nicholas's every habit. His walking patterns, the routes he frequently took, the people he met, even his facial expressions. She was a hunter, and Nicholas was her target.

"You are a very powerful person," Seraphina noted silently, observing Nicholas closely as he practiced martial arts alone in a hidden park. "Your movements are so precise, fast, and deadly."

She knew Don lost not because of weakness, but because of Nicholas's extraordinary strength. Nicholas was indeed no ordinary man. But everyone has weaknesses. Nicholas must have one too.

"I will strike you, Nicholas Krause," Seraphina whispered to Nicholas's passing shadow. "I will strike you when you show your weakest point. I will make you feel what Don felt."

Seraphina thought about this plan. Nicholas indeed seemed strong and without weakness. However, there was Isabella, who would become his weakness. Seraphina would destroy him slowly.