Novel's Extra: I Awakened The Strongest Physique From The Start

Keryu's system allowed him to have two lives, which was its best function.

Of course, some preparations were needed to get a second life since a body that had died couldn't be revived. It was against the laws set by the world.

Soul transfer, however, was possible.

That was what Keryu's system did.

All he needed to do was prepare a body in perfect condition and keep it breathing even if it had no soul.

It would've been impossible, but with the knowledge Keryu had of the future, he knew of a liquid that could keep the body breathing by sending oxygen through its skin.

It was something someone had developed later, but Keryu had stolen the recipe for himself.

However, did Alex not know about it?

Of course, he did.

The only reason he let Keryu be killed by the Wandering Emperor was because he knew that Keryu would do this soul transfer.

He never needed Keryu's bloodline, as it was weak right now, and nurturing it would take some time. What he wanted was Keryu's memories—something contained in his soul.

By letting Keryu get killed by the Wandering Emperor while giving Ben and Alan a chance, Alex fulfills his promise to them both.

The chances of Keryu escaping, however, were always there.

Sometimes, people make wrong decisions, and maybe this was one of Alex's those decisions.

After all, Natasha had reached the portal leading out of the city.

That was until her eyes fell on someone. She heard something Keryu couldn't, and she froze.

Without thinking of anything, she rushed away, moving in a different direction.

..................................

For Keryu, however, everything was different.

The world felt like it was made of mist and shadows.

Keryu's body ached with a thousand agonies, his limbs trembling with every twitch, every breath a war of will.

The body his soul had taken over was not his, so it was only natural that it would resist.

That resistance, however, was what made Keryu this miserable.

It would take at least a few days for him to completely take over this body, especially when the body was prepared by him instead of the system.

The only thing active in his body was his mind—painfully sharp and aware.

He lay limp in Natasha's arms, his face buried into her collarbone as she sprinted through the twisted back alleys of the Third Peak.

He could hear her heartbeats; they were thunderous. It was clear that she was doing her best.

He could tell that she was focused—too focused.

His mind was spinning with calculations, fears, and possibilities.

He knew Alex wouldn't let him go—not like this.

Not with Natasha.

The man was too precise and cruel to let go of his enemies. He understood that much about Alex by now.

Alex was somewhat like him in this case.

Even Keryu hated leaving loose ends.

'Knowing him, he would've had people tailing us the moment she left…'

This was something that Alex had said himself.

"Natasha," Keryu whispered weakly, his voice like sandpaper scraping against dry stone. "Change your path again. I... I don't think we're safe."

He didn't need to see her face to know she heard him. Her arms tightened slightly around him.

Then, wordlessly, she veered left—through a narrow alley where even moonlight dared not enter.

Keryu let out a slow, ragged breath. 'Good... good girl. She understands.'

But even then, a thousand doubts swirled within him.

It had been a while, but Keryu didn't feel Natasha stopping anywhere.

It was clear that no one had yet tried to stop her.

'Alex is too clever for this to go smoothly...'

'What if this is exactly what he wants? What if he's leading us? Herding us to a specific location?'

When he thought of that, his expression became cold yet determined.

"Natasha," he mumbled again, his voice softer, almost feverish. "If… If something happens, throw me somewhere our enemies would never be able to find. I don't want even my corpse to be found. Promise me…"

Her grip on him shifted slightly. He couldn't see her expression, but something about the following silence unsettled him.

"Promise me…" He said again, a little more desperate.

Still no response.

A sudden gust of wind struck them as she took a sharp turn—and then, abruptly, she stopped.

The sudden stillness jolted him more than any motion. His heart leaped.

"Did… did we reach the portal?" He asked, his voice almost a whisper. "Or is there a problem?"

Silence.

Keryu's brows furrowed.

"…Natasha?"

Still nothing. Not a word. Not a breath.

A tremor crawled up his spine.

"Is someone there? Did they get ahead of us?" He asked, trying to raise his head, but his body betrayed him—too weak, too fragile. "Are we surrounded…?"

That was the only thing he could think of.

The reason Natasha wasn't saying anything could be because she was thinking of a way to get out of the situation.

Keryu thought of many scenarios, but without looking at the situation, he couldn't be sure.

No one could tell how much he wanted to see, other than him.

The pause was deafening. But suddenly...

A voice, low and amused, slid through the cold night air like a dagger sheathed in silk.

"Now that's a good question."

Keryu froze.

That voice—that fucking voice—shouldn't have been here.

Surrounding him, there was only darkness, but he could see—he could feel—a pair of cold blue eyes staring at him.

He tried his best to open his eyes, and with so much effort, he did, only to see darkness, as his eyes still weren't functioning.

His throat clenched as the name caught in it like a curse.

"...Alex...?"

"Oh, you sound so surprised," Alex said, stepping into view.

The moonlight, silver and cruel, outlined his figure.

He stood calmly near a small clearing; the house Keryu had stored the body in was a few meters away from him. His hands were in his coat pockets, and his eyes—those calm, calculating eyes—were focused only on Keryu.

Natasha, carefully letting Keryu on the ground, moved away from him, not even glancing at him.

It was clear—she wasn't led here.

She had brought him.

Keryu's heart cracked.

"N-Natasha…?" He croaked. "What… what is this?"

She didn't speak. She couldn't look at him. She had already moved beside Alex, not moving an inch. She was frozen—like a statue sculpted from guilt.

Keryu tried to twist on the ground, ignoring the pain ripping through his nerves. "You… you betrayed me?"

Still, no answer.

Only Alex's voice responded—soft and mocking.

"Betrayed? That's a harsh word. She didn't have a choice."

He stepped forward, boots crunching on gravel and dirt.

"The poor girl probably doesn't even know why she's doing this."

Keryu couldn't understand anything. His mind got cloudy as the only thing he understood was that the one he trusted the most had brought him to his enemy.

"What? You can't believe it?" Alex asked, staring down at Keryu. "She was once trying to spy on me, you see."

Turning to look at Natasha, who stood staring blankly at the ground, he added,. "She probably wanted to be of more help to you, not knowing that she had walked into the lion's den."

"W-What did you do... to her?" Keryu, angry but in pain, asked, his teeth gritting and his fists clenching inadvertently.

"Oh, nothing special," moving closer to Natasha, Alex threw an arm on her shoulder and smiled. "I just turned her into my little slave."

Yes, Alex had turned her into a slave using his slave seal. It had been a while since then, and until now, he never revealed this to anyone, not even Zahara or Mira.

Only Sophie and he knew about it.

For a while, Keryu didn't say anything before he shook his head weakly, disbelief curdling into rage. "Lies… all of it… you can't…"

Alex tilted his head. "I can't? Or you don't believe me because your system never warned you about anything?"

As soon as the system was mentioned, Keryu's limbs went cold. 'H-He knows about my system?!'

Alex, staring at Keryu's expression, smirked.

He could read the guy like an open book.

"She was my sleeper agent. Only one word could make her remember that she is my slave." Alex completed his sentence, and Keryu, hearing that, went limp.

Everything fits in place now.

The reason why his system, which informs him if any of his women harbor ill intentions toward him, couldn't detect anything from Natasha was because she never really knew that she was a slave.

Alex had probably ordered her to forget it.

Now, when the slave seal was activated, the system was on a cooldown, so it made perfect sense.

'I feel like he knew everything...' Keryu thought, his mind reeling.

He was still trying to think of a way out of this.

It was just how he was. No matter what kind of situation it was, he would believe that he could survive.

Alex, shaking his head, leaned closer, meeting Keryu's eyes. "Do you still think you can escape?"

His finger poked Keryu's head, sending a searing pain through the boy's head, almost making him scream. "With a body like this?"

Realization hit Keryu, and for the first time, he felt like he might die.

He didn't want to, but the feeling grew stronger as time passed.

The prince of the demon realm tried to call out to Natasha telepathically, clinging to the slightest hope that she was still in there, only to get nothing.

Alex's slave seal was unlike any slave seals he had seen or heard about. It was absolute. Keryu, however, didn't know that.

He tried to find something or someone that could help him get out of this situation.

After all, he didn't want to die...