Volume One: The Devil’s Nature Never Changes, and a Dead Devil’s Heart Regrets Nothing
Ikalat stared at Lin Yuan, cold anger burning within him.
"Are you trying to start trouble, you idiot?"
In the next instant, Ikalat raised his hand.
Black chains erupted from the ground and wrapped tightly around Lin Yuan, restraining him.
Lin Yuan roared as he struggled against them.
"Move, you moron!! Behind you!!"
Ikalat’s instincts screamed at him.
Move!
He reacted immediately, darting away at terrifying speed and narrowly avoiding a strike that would have erased him.
A gigantic dagger, large enough to rival several houses, swept through the air and carved through the space in front of him as though the world itself had been wiped clean.
The dagger was black with a faint silver sheen, with heavy chains hanging from its body.
Then it was suddenly pulled backward, as though an unseen hand had recalled it.
Lin Yuan, Ikalat, and Scarlet King turned at the same time.
A colossal blue spacetime gate stood before them, as wide as the entire village.
And from within it—
eleven enormous golems emerged.
The smaller ones wore armor and carried various weapons—daggers, swords, spears, and more. Each stood nearly two hundred meters tall.
But the largest among them was twice their size.
A stone crown rested upon his head.
He carried no weapon.
Only his fists.
A mocking smile appeared on his face as he spoke in a deep, cold voice.
"Ikalat... you filthy traitor who fled from the Sect of Chaos Beings. Hehehe... What a distant and delusional dream. Stealing the sect’s treasures and selling them to its enemies?"
His smile widened.
"The punishment is execution."
Ikalat raised his hand calmly.
The chains around him twisted and reshaped themselves into razor-edged blades.
He hurled them toward one of the golems, wrapped them around its body, and pulled violently.
The massive creature was dragged across the ground before crashing into another golem.
Ikalat spoke, each word sharp with restrained anger.
"I did not steal anything. It was all slander from that whore... the daughter of the Eleventh Sect Leader."
The commander’s expression twisted with rage.
"How dare you insult the young lady?!"
He lunged toward Ikalat.
But Scarlet King appeared beside him like a ghost.
A savage punch slammed into the commander’s face.
The left side shattered like cracking stone, and the giant was sent crashing into the ground.
Scarlet King moved again.
A spear came toward him.
He snapped it in half with his elbow, then drove his fist directly into the face of the golem holding it.
Another golem rushed toward Scarlet King with a sword raised overhead.
Before it could strike—
chains wrapped around its body and locked it in place.
Ikalat.
Then—
a red beam tore straight through the golem’s head.
Lin Yuan.
Scarlet King leaped with monstrous force and crushed the golem’s body into fragments before returning to Lin Yuan and Ikalat’s side.
Then, in the blink of an eye—
the commander appeared behind all three of them.
One strike blasted them apart.
He moved again and slammed a crushing blow into Scarlet King, launching him toward the mountain.
Scarlet King spat out a mouthful of blood.
Lin Yuan crashed through the trees.
And Ikalat fell—
directly into the commander’s hand.
The giant tightened his grip around him and laughed with open contempt.
Scarlet King remained calm even as he thought:
(What a shame... Those golems were filled with primitive stones, and I failed to obtain them.)
Lin Yuan coughed violently after his brutal fall, blood splattering across the ground.
His thoughts were far less calm.
(Damn it... What is happening? I came here to investigate why the villagers disappeared, so what the hell is all this?)
Ikalat struggled within the commander’s grip.
(Five hundred years of running... only to be caught this easily.)
Bitterness filled his thoughts.
(Looks like I’ll have to accept defeat.)
Then—
Scarlet King burst out from the mountain.
He crossed the distance in an instant and drove his fist into the commander’s face with overwhelming force.
The right side of the giant’s face shattered, forcing him backward.
That single moment was enough.
Ikalat tore himself free.
Scarlet King turned toward him and Lin Yuan.
"Handle the smaller golems! I’ll deal with the commander alone!"
Lin Yuan immediately reappeared on the battlefield and fired a red beam toward one of the remaining golems.
At the same time, Ikalat seized another golem and hurled it into the one beside it.
Both were destroyed.
As for Scarlet King—
he unleashed blow after blow upon the commander.
Each strike thundered through the battlefield.
The giant was forced backward again and again, barely managing to defend himself.
Finally, the commander threw a punch meant to crush Scarlet King into the earth.
Scarlet King caught it.
With one hand.
The impact shook the ground beneath them.
Then—
the Shadow emerged behind the commander.
A heavy strike smashed into the back of his head, forcing him downward.
Scarlet King immediately launched himself high into the air.
Then he fell like a projectile.
CRACK!
His strike shattered the commander’s head.
But the giant’s arms still moved.
With terrifying speed, both hands slammed together around Scarlet King—
only for the commander’s hands themselves to shatter upon impact.
Scarlet King landed calmly.
"Shadow."
His voice was cold.
"Devour him."
The Shadow expanded.
Its darkness spread across the ruined battlefield before wrapping around the commander’s enormous body.
Then it dragged him into the World of Sealed Shadows.
Scarlet King turned back toward Lin Yuan and Ikalat.
They had already finished destroying the final golem.
The two walked toward him with satisfied expressions.
Scarlet King’s face, however, remained completely emotionless.
For several moments, nothing could be heard except the cold wind passing through the ruins.
Lin Yuan finally broke the silence.
"I think... we’ve become a pretty great team."
Ikalat dropped to the ground, exhausted and breathing heavily.
"I should thank you... hah... Without your help, I would’ve died today."
The Shadow quietly slipped back beneath Scarlet King’s feet.
Scarlet King answered in a flat voice.
"You’re welcome."
He paused.
"Now... give me all the primitive stones in your spatial ring."