In the eras of the past, magic users were forged and tempered through endless wars against the Demon King's army.
After tens of thousands of years of development, the war against demons evolved into a mainstream formation where magic users served as the primary attackers, warriors protected the magic users while they cast spells, and monks provided healing and support.
The war against demons became the ultimate stage for showcasing "talent and mana," with the law of "magic reigns supreme" deeply ingrained in the minds of both humans and demons.
However, when the once-glorious Zenin family was utterly annihilated, and entire human nations were suddenly assaulted by a single terrifying beast, people finally realized that what could rewrite the heavens and earth wasn't only dazzling magic—there was also the pinnacle of warriors, the one who defied fate and wielded multiple forbidden weapons: Diego Brando.
This was the first fierce clash between pure physical prowess and transcendent magic, completely shattering humanity's preconceived notions.
Dinosaur transformation spread across Diego's entire body. With a ferocious grin, a dense legion of dinosaurs appeared around the perimeter of the Zenin estate.
Dinosaurs from all directions sealed off the Zenin family with no escape, creating the perfect environment for Diego to personally slaughter every clan member.
Then, with a flash, Diego slipped into the guest rooms of the Zenin estate one after another.
"Diego Zenin—how could it be you?! You've already been expelled from the Zenin family! Why have you come back?!"
"No—this guy's completely lost it!!"
"Stop him quick! All the sleeping clan members have already been killed by him!!"
Squelch!!!
Wherever Diego passed, Zenin clan members turned into vengeful spirits under his blade.
Diego exhaled a puff of cold air, his voice chilling to the bone: "Even when caught off guard, these lofty magic users perform just as pathetically!"
But it doesn't matter. I, Dio, will destroy everything.
1... 13... 47... 67… 69… 79... 163... 211...
Men, women, children, elders, infants, even the pets they raised...
While sleeping... while using the toilet... while coaxing children with bedtime stories... while handling family affairs... while practicing magic...
Those who bullied... those who ostracized... those who insulted... those who stood by and watched... those who looked on coldly...
Some were executed... some died in their sleep... some were killed instantly before they could even scream...
"Huff..."
Diego clutched a severed head in his palm, using it to wipe the blood from the Split Soul Katana before casually tossing it aside.
The perimeter has been completely cleared!
Next up is that man in the reflection room—the one who, back when Diego was still an infant, stood by and did nothing while he and his mother suffered: Dario Zenin.
Tap tap tap...
A sliver of light pierced the pitch-black reflection room. Covered in blood and wearing a cold, weary expression, Diego pushed open the door and, as expected, came face-to-face with his so-called biological father.
"Eh, are you the new guard? You're pretty young. Why'd you come all of a sudden? Did the family head finally decide to pardon me?"
Dario Zenin crowded close, his face plastered with a fawning smile as he endlessly flattered and curried favor with Diego.
Seeing this, Diego felt relieved. Facing this man who didn't even recognize his own flesh and blood, Diego lost all desire to converse.
Before coming, he had planned to interrogate this man, to curse him out—but now, Diego only wanted to torment him properly.
"Hey, hey, little bro—you're covered in blood! Just back from the anti-demon front lines? I've got some great stuff aaaahhhhhhh————"
The screams lasted a full five minutes.
This father who abandoned his wife and child, who didn't even recognize his own son, met his end through lingchi—death by a thousand cuts—chopped into mincemeat, bones and all, by Diego.
Perhaps he never understood why a dragon-man harbored such intense hatred toward him.
Mom, I'm sorry. I was too late.
Diego lowered his gaze. With a swing of his blade, he horizontally severed the next clan member's head, brains splattering across the entire room.
"The alarm bell?"
"What's going on? So noisy—who dares cause trouble during the Zenin clan meeting?"
"This is bad! All the clan members in the perimeter have been killed!"
Under Diego's wanton slaughter, the thick stench of blood quickly drew the attention of the Zenin family's strongest magic user group: the elite Body Retention Squad and the magic user combat unit "Hei."
But...
Squelch!!!
"The last one."
The Split Soul Katana plunged firmly into the Brain Retention Squad captain's skull.
Yank...
This group, symbolizing the Zenin family's pinnacle combat power against demons, all fell one after another, becoming corpses under the blade.
Diego severed their heads, grabbed them by the hair, and step by step advanced toward the final survivor—the family head's residence.
"This is really unexpected... You were all so weak. If I'd known, I should've planned this sooner."
Due to the rarity of Heavenly Restriction, mana-dependent magic users couldn't detect Diego's presence at all. This allowed the purge to proceed with abnormal smoothness.
Plop...
Watching the clan members' heads slowly sink into the lake, a strange sensation welled up in Diego's heart.
Pleasure—immense pleasure. Especially the dying screams of "that man," which delighted Diego to the point he even felt an urge to jam his fingers into his own brain and twist wildly!
"I've finally found you, you heartless bastard..."
At that moment, a figure slowly approached from behind Diego—it was the strongest family head, master of the Ten Shadows Technique. Disgust flashed in his eyes as he slowly asked: "Do you even have a 'heart' left?"
"Diego Zenin."
Whoosh whoosh...
Petals drifted in the wind. Diego reached out and caught one in his grasp.
"Don't call me by that disgusting Zenin name." Diego glanced sideways at the family head, expressionless as he countered, "That thing was already erased by your own hands long ago, wasn't it, my dear family head...?"
"If you won't admit you're called Zenin, yet you've killed all my clan members, then why are you still calling me family head?!"
"You're really good at faking anger. The clan being wiped out means absolutely nothing to you—your heart doesn't even ripple. Just like how you once stood by and watched my mother's death without lifting a finger."
Diego didn't turn around, continuing calmly, though anyone could hear the fury laced in his voice: "But it doesn't matter. Soon, I, Dio, will teach you what true irreparable ruin feels like.
I'm really looking forward to seeing that calm poker face of yours finally crack."
"?"
The family head tilted his head, confusion in his eyes, and assumed a combat stance.
[Divine Dog] [Nue] [Toad] [Great Serpent] [Max Elephant] [Rabbit Escape] [Round Deer] [Piercing Ox] [Tiger Funeral]
Excluding the yet-to-be-tamed Mahoraga, the nine shikigami he had already mastered appeared before Diego one by one.
But...
The massive [Max Elephant] that descended like a small mountain was sliced in half the instant it pressed toward Diego, dissolving into mana particles and slowly dissipating.
"Diego Zenin, you damned lunatic—how dare you blame every single clan member for your mother's death?"
"What the hell are you? You filthy country bumpkin—stop preaching to me, Dio! Just because I, Dio, have no mana, all of you looked on coldly, showed no concern for my mother, and even doubled down on ostracizing her. None of you are forgivable! Every last one of you is guilty!"
The massive [Rabbit Escape] meant to interfere with Diego's movements were infected by Scary Monsters and turned into small dinosaurs—one after another betraying their master.
"A guy with no mana who can't use magic has no value. What right do you have to demand normal treatment as a worthless piece of trash?"
"Heh, so the one who established and perpetuated this sick system—what right do you have to demand that I, Dio, obediently endure it all?"
The airborne [Nue] was caught in the shockwave of battle. Diego leaped high and struck with a single flowing cloud blow, completely shattering it!
"Idiot—you museum-worthy idiot! You don't understand anything! Do you even know what you've done? In this day and age with the demon offensive so fierce, with the Zenin family—as a cornerstone of this war—wiped out, the human nations will soon fall into a passive position. If the empire falls because of this, you'll be the sinner of the entire continent! My methods are the fastest way to select talented people for the anti-demon front lines!"
"Old man, do I look like the type who'd stake my life for humanity's survival? Don't try to bind me, Dio, with that nonsense about righteousness. That letter from the treasury fell into my hands. The last major territorial loss for the empire—wasn't it because you were playing double agent?"
The black-and-white pair of [Divine Dogs] were bound by Chain of Ten Thousand Miles. Diego grinned savagely and yanked, violently tearing them to pieces.
"So what? This way, whether humans or demons win, the Zenin family will still prosper! Stop this—you haven't noticed? We're the same kind of person. As the last of our kin, we shouldn't kill each other. Those worthless ones are dead—let them be. If the two of us cooperate, seizing the final victory in the human-demon war would be child's play!"
"What same kind... Don't you dare compare yourself to me, Dio. From beginning to end, I, Dio, have known I'm a villain and clearly understood I could never enter heaven. But you're different!"
『That man』 was a complete scumbag, so I subjected him to lingchi—enough to atone for his crimes.
But compared to him, this old bastard is different. He is the architect and perpetuator of the Zenin family's unjust social rules. His sins can never be repaid!
He doesn't even realize his own sins—that's what makes him truly irredeemable!
Facing this completely irrational madman, Diego lost all desire to continue the exchange.
Diego blocked the [Piercing Ox] charging straight at him, yanked the [Great Serpent] attempting a sneak attack from underground, then slammed both together with full force—their bodies exploding on impact.
"What?!"
Six of the nine shikigami destroyed, seeing the dire situation, the family head recalled the final offensive shikigami [Tiger Funeral] to his side. With the healing [Round Deer], he dove into the protective [Toad]'s mouth and began retreating in an attempt to escape.
This is bad—really bad!
In just two years, this mana-less brat has grown to this level?!
Isn't Heavenly Restriction supposed to be a dual handicap of body and magic?
Why is he different from past Heavenly Restriction cases? Is it just because he's an extreme case with absolutely zero mana?
I can't take this brat's life today. I need to hurry back to the basement, take my wife and child, and escape first...
After running frantically for some distance, the family head suddenly realized something.
Since this brat possesses transcendent physical ability, catching up to me would be effortless—especially with all those [Rabbit Escape] dinosaurs restricting my movements...
The expected chase never came. Instinctively, the family head sensed something.
He crawled out from the [Toad]'s mouth, halted his escape, and slowly turned back, staring blankly at the enemy behind him.
He saw Diego standing in place, head slightly tilted, gazing at the bright moon in the sky—still showing no sign of pursuit.
Why... isn't he coming after me?
I don't even see a single dinosaur-transformed [Rabbit Escape]...
"Why'd you stop? Keep running." Sensing the family head halt, Diego shifted his gaze back, sighing with faint amusement. "How boring. Looks like you're not that stupid after all. I was hoping you'd come running back~"
"You..."
"Roar—!!!"
Diego's dinosaur-transformed body shuddered violently, feigning an intent to charge.
The family head instinctively stepped back two paces.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Seeing the reaction, Diego clutched his stomach and burst into laughter—endless, tears welling at the corners of his eyes.
The laughter echoed through the night sky for a full half-minute before Diego finally wiped away the tears in satisfaction. He composed himself, peeled off the bandage at the corner of his mouth, revealing the scar beneath.
Then, with a smile, he asked a question: "Family head, do you know where I came from?"
"What are you talking about..."
"Guess you really don't know."
Diego sighed, cracked his neck with a series of pops, then tilted his head and yanked a comatose child from Ugly Treasure's mouth, pinching the boy's head and hoisting him into the air with one hand.
"This is your favorite youngest son, right? I heard he emitted a huge amount of mana at birth. According to your theory, your child is now worthless too, huh? After all, he hasn't learned any magic yet."
Rustle rustle...
Another rummage. Diego pulled out a long strand of hair and a bloodstained broken staff from Ugly Treasure, grinning to reveal sharp white dinosaur fangs.
"Your eldest son had really good character. The moment he saw me coming, he shielded the woman and your youngest behind him, shouting something like: 'Run! I'll hold him off! Don't worry—Father will come and kill him. I can hold out just a little longer. I'm fine.'
"Oh right, almost forgot—that woman with no blood relation to the Zenin family kept calling your name. Gotta say, she was a truly great mother. She clung desperately to your youngest son. When escape was impossible, she dropped to her knees and begged: 'Please, don't hurt my child. Even if it means I have to die...'"
Listening to Diego's words, the family head's expression grew uglier and uglier. He clenched his teeth and growled: "What did you do to my wife and children?"
"Don't misunderstand. Such a great mother—how could I possibly kill her? I honored her request and didn't finish off your dying eldest son..."
Facing the family head's furious questioning, Diego lowered his eyelids, adding maliciously: "So I just stabbed dinosaur claws into her neck and fully dinosaurized her. She seemed hungry—the moment before she was begging for mercy, the next she was drawn by the smell of blood and pounced on your eldest son..."
"I'm forgetful. Only after she'd eaten most of him did I suddenly remember her request, so I hurriedly undid the dinosaurization. The instant she reverted, she went mad and smashed her head against the wall until she died."
"Sorry about that—this worthless guy only managed to salvage this strand of hair and that staff..."
Why...
Why did things turn out like this?
Emotions surging wildly, the family head clutched his head and let out a heart-wrenching wail.
"Aaaaaahhhhh————!!!"
Diego simply watched quietly. Soon after, a scarlet glint flashed in his eyes. He gradually increased the pressure in his grip until the youngest son began writhing violently in agony.
"Stop... stop it!"
Hearing his once-beloved youngest son's screams, the family head snapped back to reality. Like a madman, he stretched out his hand and charged toward Diego with hoarse, desperate cries.
"Don't do this! Didn't you hear me?! Stop it!!!"
"I won't let you squeeze any harder!!!"
"Do you think... do you think I wanted to become family head for fun? Why do you think I went so far as to play double agent to make the Zenin family prosper? Everything I did was so my family could live happily...
"He's still just a child! He did nothing wrong! Diego... let him go... let him go now! Your mother died because I allowed it—you should be taking revenge on me!!!"
The family head's final roar dissolved into sobs.
However...
Just as the family head was mere meters from his youngest son...
"What right do I have to grant your request? Don't forget—when I knelt at your door begging for medicine for my mother's illness, what was your reaction?!"
Bam!!
Watching the scene of the head exploding like a watermelon, the light completely vanished from the family head's eyes.
Finally, the family head lost all reason. His face twisted grotesquely as he clutched his head and screamed continuously. Soon he clasped his hands together and poured every ounce of strength into shouting:
"Burū yurayura!"
(The incantation to initiate the taming ritual for Mahoraga)
For generations, Ten Shadows Technique users would instinctively receive the spell to summon [Divine Dog] in their minds upon beginning training.
But to obtain the spells for summoning other shikigami, they had to personally tame them using their own and [Divine Dog]'s power.
This would increase the shikigami available to them, allowing them to command those to tame others, eventually bringing all ten under their control.
But no one had ever truly tamed all ten shikigami.
The reason was the Zenin family's ultimate trump card in the Ten Shadows Technique: [Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga]—far too powerful. This strongest shikigami, with four wings on its face and wielding the anti-evil sword, had the heavenly adaptation ability in the formation atop its head.
Moreover, it possessed extremely strong regeneration and learning capabilities. Once it adapted to a magic, that same magic would rarely affect it again.
Past Ten Shadows users treated it as a last-resort mutual destruction technique. Though they couldn't directly command Mahoraga's actions, pulling an enemy into the taming ritual alongside themselves made both targets of the terrifying shikigami's slaughter—allowing them to drag the enemy down to hell together.
On the battlefield against demons, this move had repeatedly been used to pull powerful great demons into the ritual and eliminate otherwise unbeatable foes, greatly slowing the demon invasion.
Now, after personally witnessing his youngest son's death, this strongest family head in Zenin history had completely lost his will to live. His only remaining thought was to make Diego die.
Bam!
A massive white cicada cocoon appeared behind the family head. The white ribbons binding the terrifying existence within were slowly vanishing.
The horrifying pressure emanating from it forced Diego to straighten his expression.
Diego's eyes turned ruthless. He fully transformed into a dragon, charging with his even larger body and swallowing the white cocoon in one gulp, letting out a furious roar!
"I don't know what the hell you're summoning, but I'm definitely not letting you finish it!"
"You think I, Dio, am some idiot who'd let you complete your trump card?! Perfect timing—I'm starving right now!!"
Mahoraga was nurtured within Diego's body. In an instant, Diego lost all consciousness.
Mahoraga's terrifying killing intent overtook Diego's body. The Tyrannosaurus form Diego had become gradually shrank until it fully reverted to Mahoraga's original size.
This alternate version of Mahoraga—with dinosaur skin, sharp fangs, golden hair, and "Dio" written all over its body—locked eyes and advanced toward the only remaining Zenin family head in the ritual.
Bam!
With a casual wave of its massive hand, the family head was sent flying, smashing through several walls before collapsing in critical condition, entering a state of apparent death. Once the taming ritual ended, his life would enter a countdown.
Next, all that remained was to kill Diego—and the ritual would conclude...
Mahoraga began searching the Zenin estate for Diego's whereabouts.
Nothing!
Not a single trace!
How did you trigger a two-person taming ritual alone?
"..."
Mahoraga horrifyingly realized that Diego Brando—the one supposed to have been pulled into the ritual alongside the family head—was nowhere to be found on the scene.
Bam!
Bam!!
Bam!!!
Mahoraga could only unleash indiscriminate destruction, tearing apart everything around it. The vast Zenin estate soon fell into ruins.
Crack crack crack...
The formation atop Mahoraga's head began to rotate—indicating that its passive adaptation to all things was uncontrollably adapting to the negative state of "being inside Diego."
...
[Dio, time to get up for breakfast. I made your favorite millet porridge today!]
"Just a little longer... Mom, I'll come see you soon..."
[No more sleeping in. It's time to get up now.]
After who knows how long, a gentle voice sounded in Diego's ear. His eyelashes fluttered, consciousness gradually reclaiming his body. When he awoke, his form had returned to human.
Diego clenched his fist first, inspecting his body up and down. For some reason, all his previous injuries had mysteriously healed, and his physical condition was unexpectedly excellent.
Then he carefully scanned the surroundings. The family head lay at his feet, life hanging by a thread. The expected imperial guards from the capital had still not arrived.
Diego looked up again to check the moon's position.
"About half an hour passed..."
"What the hell happened? Wait... at this point, shouldn't I be completely out of energy, on the verge of starving to death?"
"What's going on? My stomach... isn't hungry?!"
It was on this very night—while evading pursuit and examining the treasury's spoils—that Diego saw the Zenin family's records on Mahoraga and understood that his fatal weakness of excessive energy consumption had been completely adapted to by Mahoraga.
Afterward, due to prolonged exposure to abundant energy, his Heavenly Restriction physique grew at explosive speed. In just a few months, his body rapidly developed to an adult level.
"Ah..."
While Diego was lost in thought, a faint gasp came from the family head at his feet. Unable to end the taming ritual, he was trapped in a state worse than death—unable to live or die.
"Great—you're still alive!" Diego's face lit up with delight as he grinned mockingly. "If you'd died, I'd have been in trouble."
"After all, you still owe me one terrified expression..."
Rip...
Diego first dinosaurized the family head to briefly restore his consciousness, then pried open his eyelids and stared straight into his eyes.
"Why are you still alive?! Mahoraga should have—"
Squelch!
The Inverted Spear of Heaven severed the family head's head.
"Mm~ Perfect terrified expression! Museum-worthy standard material!" Diego examined it for a moment, nodded in satisfaction, then spat on the head. "Peh! Is that all the Ten Shadows Technique amounts to? You're truly a bona fide scumbag..."
Afterward, Diego set the place ablaze, took everything from the Zenin family, and fled toward the southern continent...
(On the same day, all Zenin bloodline members who had yet to return to the main house and were scattered outside subsequently died under mysterious circumstances. No mana was detected at any crime scene. After imperial investigation, Diego Brando was officially confirmed as the true culprit.)