Chapter 1053: Leveling Up!
"Roooaaar!" Zoltan bellowed, his monstrous frame lunging forward. His corrupted claws swung with such force that the air itself tore apart, the pressure striking directly toward Varian and Bellion.
Bellion stumbled backward, his face pale, his lips trembling as he turned to Varian. He had always been cold, always calculating, but even he could not mask the pity he felt in this moment. Looking at Zoltan’s twisted body and mindless eyes, Bellion’s chest clenched. "Varian," he said quietly, his voice weighted with sorrow, "free him of this sin."
As the words left Bellion’s mouth, he raised his hands and summoned waves of dark energy. The power wrapped around Zoltan like a cage, bars of black light constricting the monster in place. Zoltan thrashed violently, slamming his claws and spine-covered body against the bars, shrieking with an animal’s madness. The corruption only raged more violently at being restrained, black fire bursting out from the cracks in his skin.
Varian’s hands shook. He gritted his teeth until they bled. This was his student, his pride, the one he had believed would carry the demon race into a new age. And now he was nothing more than a husk. Varian knew the truth—if Zoltan was brought back to the demon race in this state, he would bring chaos far greater than any shame his death would cause.
His throat tightened. His voice came out hoarse, almost breaking. "Forgive me."
Demonic energy surged from his body, spiraling upward before condensing into a colossal hammer of pitch-black light. The weapon pulsed with destruction, its weight alone cracking the stone beneath his feet. Varian lifted it high into the air, every muscle in his frame trembling with fury and grief.
Bellion released the cage.
Zoltan lunged forward, his corrupted body free once again. His roar split the sky. But before his claws could strike, the hammer fell.
The impact was cataclysmic. The monstrous body of Zoltan shattered under the strike, bones crunching, flesh bursting apart into a grotesque spray. In one decisive blow, the proud genius of the demon race was reduced to a broken mass of blood and flesh. His roar ended in silence.
For a single moment, the arena went still.
Then a laugh broke the silence. "Hahaha... thank you, Varian, for doing this." Max’s voice carried across the arena, cold and mocking. His white hair shone under the crimson light as his eyes locked on the remains of Zoltan.
Before anyone could react, black flames erupted from Max’s body, surging like a tidal wave toward the broken corpse. They blazed hungrily over the remains, burning hotter than any mortal fire. The flames wrapped around the meat paste of what once was Zoltan, devouring it whole.
The speed was terrifying. The flames did not linger, they consumed. Zoltan’s remains vanished within seconds, leaving behind no ash, no bones, nothing at all. Not even the faintest trace of his existence remained.
The demons froze in shock, their expressions twisted in horror. Their strongest genius, not only killed but erased from existence before their very eyes. The humans were equally stunned, their hearts thundering as they realized what Max had done. The flames were not ordinary. They were absolute, leaving no room for resistance, no room for salvation.
Max stood in the center of the silence, his expression calm, his eyes sharp. His laugh still echoed faintly as the last sparks of black flame faded away, leaving only emptiness where Zoltan’s body had once been.
[Congratulations to Max Voidwalker for leveling to 2nd level of Legend Rank.]
[Congratulations to Max Voidwalker for leveling to 3rd level of Legend Rank.]
[Congratulations to Max Voidwalker for leveling to 4th level of Legend Rank.]
[Congratulations to Max Voidwalker for leveling to 5th level of Legend Rank.]
[Congratulations to Max Voidwalker for leveling to 6th level of Legend Rank.]
The black flames faded, leaving behind nothing of Zoltan. No flesh, no bone, not even ash. For a moment the arena was deathly silent, then Max’s aura surged with a violent eruption. His white hair flowed as if caught in an invisible storm, his body trembling with raw power.
The surge was impossible to miss. Everyone present, human and demon alike, felt the violent fluctuation in his energy. It did not stop after a single wave but built higher and higher. The aura of a Legend Rank expert at the first level quickly swelled to the second, then the third. Before the demons could process what was happening, it reached the fourth and then the fifth. By the time the pressure stabilized, Max stood at the sixth level of the Legend Rank.
Gasps spread through the human ranks. Even the leaders who thought they had seen everything could not believe their senses. He had devoured Zoltan, a genius of the demon race who had already stepped into the Divine Rank, and instead of being crushed under the weight of such a body, he grew stronger. Forget humans, even demons had never witnessed such grotesque progression.
The demons’ eyes burned with hatred. Varian’s jaw clenched so hard blood seeped between his teeth. Bellion’s hands shook with rage, and the other demon lords glared with killing intent sharp enough to split stone. To them, this was not just a loss, it was humiliation. Their greatest genius was not only defeated but used as fuel for the growth of the human who stood before them.
The humans, on the other hand, trembled with exhilaration. For the first time since the demons had resurfaced, they felt true hope. Their strongest genius had taken a step that no one thought possible, and he had done it before their very eyes. The pride in their chests burned so bright it almost drowned their fear.
Max, however, only exhaled softly, his expression indifferent. "Only five levels from devouring a Divine Rank expert?" he muttered to himself, shaking his head slightly. His tone carried a trace of dissatisfaction. "My appetite is growing faster than I thought."
If those around him had heard his words clearly, both human and demon, they would have vomited blood in fury. What he had just accomplished was beyond monstrous, yet he treated it as though it was nothing more than a disappointing meal.
"You! You are a monster!" Varian roared. His fury erupted like a tidal wave, his body shaking with killing intent. "How dare you devour Zoltan’s body and use it to increase your strength?!" The ground cracked beneath his feet as he shot forward, his colossal figure hurtling toward Max like a meteor.
Max did not flinch. His eyes stayed calm, but before Varian’s fist could reach him, a fiery light flashed.
Aden appeared in front of Max, his long red hair burning with phoenix fire. He met Varian’s strike head-on, their fists colliding with a thunderous impact.
The sound was deafening. The shockwave tore through the arena, breaking it into countless fragments. Runes etched into the walls and floor shattered under the force, disintegrating into thin air. The barrier that once contained the battle flickered and then crumbled, unable to endure the overwhelming clash.
The ground itself gave way, collapsing into a crater as dust and stone exploded outward.
Max stood firm, untouched, only because Lady Divine had raised her hand in time. A shield of layered runes shimmered faintly around him, absorbing the devastating force that would have otherwise hurled him across the battlefield. Her expression was calm but her heart pounded. She had known this confrontation was inevitable, but even she was shocked by the sheer destructive power when two leaders clashed.
Max’s gaze never wavered. He looked at Varian through the chaos, his expression sharp as a blade. "You will follow soon," he said softly, so low that only Lady Divine beside him heard.