Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Never Changes
Arc: The Great Guerrilla War
Blood poured from his chest…
from his nose…
from his eyes…
and from his mouth…
Ikalath—
was drowning in blood.
Blood gushed from his chest in thick streams…
These were not mere wounds…
but collapse.
The blood mixed with his broken breaths.
His vision blurred.
The world began drifting away from him.
"Am I…
going to die?…"
His hand trembled as he tried to push away
the fist embedded in his chest.
"Impossible…"
"I haven't taken my revenge yet…"
Suddenly—
sound vanished.
And the air vanished with it.
Scarlet King appeared.
Like a flash.
Like a tear in reality itself.
And in the very next moment—
his foot slammed into Meng Ling's face.
The impact exploded across the arena.
Meng Ling's body was hurled through the air
and crashed violently into the wall of the stands.
Meng Ling lifted his head from where he knelt on the ground.
He glared at Scarlet King with burning fury.
Then screamed:
"You bastard!
I'll tear you to pieces!!"
He moved at once,
appearing directly in front of Scarlet King.
But Scarlet King stood as steady as a mountain.
He did not move.
A faint, mocking smile touched his lips.
He raised his fist—
and blocked Meng Ling's strike with difficulty—
because…
mist appeared around Scarlet King.
The mist swelled.
Expanded.
Then—
it transformed into Titan King.
A tyrannical being…
five kilometers tall.
An expression appeared on his screen:
(￣ー￣)
The expression vanished.
Red beams burst from his screen.
Meng Ling's body began breaking apart from the inside.
Blood erupted from every part of him—
like a fountain.
The beam stopped.
One kick from Titan King—
crushed the air before it.
Meng Ling's body shot forward like a cannon shell,
straight toward the elder.
Elder Zhao Tian Yi suddenly appeared above him.
A vast white aura exploded from his body.
Then—
with a single downward strike,
he smashed Meng Ling's head into the ground.
The elder began striking him again and again.
Once…
Twice…
Three times…
The earth shattered beneath them.
Blood splashed across the elder's face.
A cold face…
filled with anger.
Meng Ling's consciousness began to fade.
His vision dimmed more and more.
But he clenched his teeth.
(No…!)
(I won't black out…)
(I can't lose…)
(My wife…)
(My child…)
(I… I'm sorry…)
One final blow—
sent Meng Ling crashing to the ground.
Unconscious.
Motionless.
In his last moments…
he saw…
his son playing in a garden.
A quiet white place.
Their simple wooden house.
His wife sitting on a swing,
gently stroking the fur of a small cat.
She turned toward him…
and looked at him with tenderness.
"My husband…
there's no need to push yourself any further…
just let go."
Then—
everything changed.
His wife became a headless corpse.
His son—
hung upon a wall.
His body split cleanly in half.
Something inside Meng Ling broke.
And his consciousness went out completely.
Elder Zhao Tian Yi turned toward Ikalath.
He saw that Scarlet King had already returned to his normal form—
and was healing Ikalath.
The blackness covering Ikalath's body began to recede.
The moving red tattoos slowly faded away.
On the other side—
Lin Yuan's tears poured like a waterfall.
He rushed over
and grabbed Ikalath's arm.
Ikalath spoke in a weak voice…
with the aura of death surrounding him:
"Please… Scarlet King…
avenge me against the creatures of chaos…
that is… my only wish…"
Scarlet King replied coldly
as he placed a healing pill into Ikalath's mouth:
"Shut up."
"You're not dying yet."
"You're still useful."
"And take revenge on the creatures of chaos yourself."
"I don't have time for extra problems."
"It's enough that there's already a bounty on my head
from the Twenty-Two Great Concepts."
Lin Yuan asked in a hoarse voice, choked with tears:
"Will he… die?"
Scarlet King looked around him.
He noticed the greed and hunger in the eyes of the spectators.
Then he said calmly:
"As long as he remains useful…
I'll save him by any means."
He leaned closer to Ikalath
and whispered in his ear:
"The age of tyrants has ended…
and the age of the persevering has begun."
"Every dominating power begins with perseverance…
and every great perseverance ends in domination."
"Whether driven by mercy…
or hatred…
or revenge…
or love…
or desire…"
"They all… begin from the same point."
Then he whispered more softly:
"So… persevere, Ikalath."
"Persevere to live…"
"Persevere to take revenge."
Ikalath spoke in a weak voice:
"…I will persevere for revenge."
He began losing consciousness…
but suddenly—
black energy flowed out from Scarlet King's hand.
It attached itself to Ikalath's face.
His eyes closed.
Scarlet King said calmly:
"I'll show you something…
something that will make you persevere."
Then—
the arena vanished.
Ikalath found himself walking through the auxiliary sect of the Chaos Beings in the Ninth Dimension.
A vast marketplace.
Filled with black beings that resembled him.
But—
they had multiple eyes on their chests.
Some wore crowns
floating above their heads,
set with different jewels.
Ikalath thought:
(Those are the ones with pure chaotic blood…)
(Stronger than ordinary chaos beings…)
Suddenly—
a crashing impact rang out.
A direct strike smashed into his face.
His jaw shattered.
His body flew across the market—
then slammed into the sect wall.
A large section of the wall collapsed.
Thick dust filled the air.
Ikalath climbed out of the rubble.
He had only minor injuries.
A few shallow scratches.
He roared in fury:
"Who dares strike me?!"
Four guards appeared.
They wore golden armor.
Their skin was black.
And red tattoos moved over them like living flames.
They shouted angrily:
"You're the one who harassed the Eleventh Elder's daughter while she was bathing!"
"You're the one cooperating with the Devil of Rebirth!"
"And sending the sect's resources to him!"
Ikalath froze in shock.
Then shouted:
"What!?
I did none of that!"
He thought, tension rising within him:
(Wait…)
(Are these… memories from before I fled the sect?)