Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Never Changes
Arc: The Great Guerrilla War
The guards moved.
They surrounded Ikalath from every direction.
One of them shouted:
"Surrender, traitor!"
Another raised his staff.
From it burst shining restraints—
heavenly energy.
He roared:
"Kneel!!"
In the very next moment—
Ikalath's body was crushed from the inside.
As if something…
were burning his bones.
As if his very existence…
were being rejected.
He fell to his knees.
The ground cracked beneath him.
"Damn…"
He tried to rise—
but his body… would not respond.
One of the guards stepped closer.
"It's over."
He reached out to bind him—
and suddenly—
✦
Ikalath moved.
Slowly…
then—
with terrifying speed.
His weapon pierced through the guard's chest.
Silence.
Then—
a kick.
The air exploded.
The guard's body was hurled away—
through one building…
then the second…
then the third…
until the fifth shattered.
Ikalath stood with difficulty.
Blood ran from his mouth.
His body trembled.
But he smiled.
"I'm… not finished yet."
[Outside Ikalath's consciousness]
Ikalath lay asleep.
Breathing deeply.
His body had begun to heal.
And his ruined chest was slowly being rebuilt.
Scarlet King thought:
(When he sees the reason his life was destroyed…)
(He won't need guidance.)
(Revenge…)
(is the strongest chain.)
(And a chained beast…)
(is the perfect tool.)
Suddenly—
the elder moved.
He approached Scarlet King.
Placed a hand on his shoulder and asked curiously:
"What was that pill?
And where did you get it?"
Scarlet King looked at him.
Then slowly pushed his hand away.
"I got it while we were inside the Cosmic Cave."
Then he said coldly:
"And Elder…"
He released a faint aura.
Cold…
but enough.
"Don't touch me."
"That is not a good idea."
"If you want to stay with your daughter a little longer…
don't ever think of touching me again."
He thought calmly:
(I don't want anyone touching me…)
(My energy is unique…)
(It might reveal my true identity.)
Suddenly—
Meng Ling's body moved.
He shouted at the top of his lungs:
"I haven't lost yet!!"
He charged forward.
The ground shattered beneath his feet.
He raised his fist.
And rushed straight at Scarlet King, screaming:
"Because of you… my family will die!!"
Suddenly—
Scarlet King raised his hand.
And pointed a finger at him.
A dark aura emerged…
something utterly terrifying.
Lin Yuan and the elder both felt a slight tremor in their power.
And a compulsive urge to kneel.
Scarlet King spoke in a low voice:
"You there…
then kneel."
In an instant—
Meng Ling's body bent.
Violently.
His head slammed into the ground.
The earth shattered beneath him.
He felt something strange.
A sensation…
commanding him not to resist.
Not to object.
Not to say no.
He did not think of resisting.
He did not even try.
As if the very idea of refusal…
had vanished from his existence.
Scarlet King smiled.
While everyone stared in shock.
The elder moved.
He pulled out restraints made of energy.
And bound the wrists of the kneeling Meng Ling, who remained bent in reverent submission.
The elder thought, beginning to sweat from the oppressive feeling he sensed from Scarlet King:
(Just one word… and a faint aura…)
(made Meng Ling kneel like a little dog…)
(This… is terrifying.)
Silence spread.
Everyone was afraid.
Scarlet King concealed his aura.
Then looked toward the trembling Ikalath.
Lin Yuan asked in a stunned voice:
"How…
how can one word make him kneel?"
Scarlet King replied coldly:
"That is none of your concern."
He thought inwardly:
(Even though he knows I am the Devil of Rebirth…)
(still…)
(he must never learn the secrets of my power.)
How could one word…
crush a person's will?
Make him kneel…
when his life was on the line?
The answer—
lay within Scarlet King's mind:
(A part of my dark power has returned…)
(but… it is still incomplete.)
(Two pieces… are not enough.)
He muttered softly:
"My level of power…
is above my cultivation level."
He moved slowly.
Stood.
Then walked toward Meng Ling.
He knelt beside Meng Ling's ear.
And whispered with a demonic smile—
one that filled Meng Ling with terror:
"Confess."
"I know someone sent you."
"Confess…
to preserve your life…
and the lives of those you love."
Meng Ling trembled in fear.
Scarlet King said calmly:
"Ghairamengi Domination."
Suddenly—
Meng Ling began to speak…
against his own will.
"Long Wei… was the one who sent me…"
"To stop the faction from developing…"
"And to force Lin Yuan to step down from the leader's position after his defeat…"
"And if I failed…
he would kill me…
and kill my wife and son."
Silence.
Scarlet King stepped closer.
And in an instant—
cut the restraints.
He stood and said calmly:
"Don't worry."
"We will help you."
But at that very moment—
Scarlet King's shadow distorted.
The shadow detached from his body.
It moved swiftly through the other shadows.
And disappeared beyond the arena.
Scarlet King smiled inwardly.
The smile of a devil.
(We will make Meng Ling… like Ikalath.)
(Weak…)
(Broken…)
(Consumed by revenge.)
(And that means…)
(a new tool. A useful one.)