Chapter 626: A Demonic Being
Everyone outside the citadel froze when they saw a blur burst through its upper wall like a meteor tearing through stone. A sonic boom cracked through the sky as the figure shot across the air, trailing a streak of broken clouds behind it.
Gasps echoed across the floating platforms surrounding the citadel, and all eyes instinctively turned upward. It wasnât until the figure abruptly halted midairâhis robes flapping violently against the wind, his silver-white hair streaming behind himâthat they realized who it was.
âMax!â someone shouted, voice laced with disbelief.
Shock rippled through the experts from the Lower Domain. The strongest among themâleaders, veterans, kingsâall stared up with pale expressions. The same Max who had crushed Drevon in a single blow, the one who had ascended from Seeker Rank to Expert Rank in a day, was just blasted out of the citadel like a broken arrow.
They couldnât fathom it. If he was thrown out, what in the world had done it?
âWhat?!â Elias muttered, mouth dry. His eyes twitched as he stared at Max, whose chest now bore the faint trace of a bruise. It was hard to believe, but he had seen Maxâs strength up close. He knew that not even ten of himself would be enough to make him flinch, let alone send him flying like that.
Ariaâs brows drew together, a rare seriousness overtaking her usually calm face. Sheâd seen many things in the Middle Domain, fought many horrors, but this⊠this was something different. Something darker. âThat isnât normal,â she whispered sensing a very dark aura coming from the citadel.
Before anyone could ask more, it came.
A suffocating weight fell from the skies like an invisible tidal wave. Especially on the leaders of the Lower Domain. It pressed down on their chests, their bones, even their thoughts. The weaker ones directly collapsed to one knee, some coughing out blood, while even the strongest among them clenched their fists to remain steady in the air.
Fear crept into their eyesânot the kind born from imagination, but primal fear, the kind written into their very bloodline.
And then they saw it.
A figure emerged from the gaping hole Max had been thrown through. Humanoid in shape, but thatâs where the familiarity ended. Its body was pitch-black, darker than shadow, as if it absorbed light itself.
Two spiraling horns rose from its skull, and crimson lines etched its body in grotesque, pulsating patterns. Its glowing red eyes locked onto Max like a predator recognizing the only threat in its path.
Eliasâs lips trembled. âWhat⊠what the hell is that?â
Even Aria, who had seen the remnants of Devil God Nation and all its horrors, found herself speechless. She didnât recognize this thing. She didnât sense any mana, divine energy, or lawâit radiated something different. Something far more terrifying.
Only Max, floating in silence above them all, stared at the creature with grim certainty in his eyes. He knew what it was.
âHow did it awaken?â Maxâs thoughts raced in chaos, a flurry of disbelief gripping his mind. He was sureâabsolutely sureâthat he had destroyed the drop of blood. The very thing that the diary mentioned was necessary to awaken the demonic being. So how? How the hell was that thing now floating in the air, its red eyes locked onto him like a beast recognizing its prey?
The question echoed again and again in his head, but not a single answer followed.
However, what shocked him even more was that the moment he was face to face with the demonic being, he could barely control his infernal energy. Worse, he felt like he would transform on his own if he didnât control the raging infernal energy in his body.
âDamn, why is it reacting so bad?â Maxâs expression turned dark.
Then suddenlyâalarm. His Three Dimensional Body flared with warning. A presence moving towards him with rapid space.
Maxâs instincts roared louder than his thoughts. âNo!â he growled and instantly activated his Dragon Scales Transformation. Black glowing scales erupted across his forearms and hands like molten armor, hard as divine metal and thrumming with violent force.
He had no time to spare. In the very next heartbeat, the monstrous figure appeared before him in a blur of shadow and red light, and Max raised his arms into a cross-guard.
Bang!
The impact was like a meteor slamming into a fortress. Air cracked around them like thunder, and Maxâs body was hurled backward once againâthis time cutting a line across the sky like a black comet. Clouds scattered in his wake as his figure spun through the air, but thanks to the dense, reinforced dragon scales enveloping his arms, he wasnât injured. Not even a scratch.
He halted himself midair, breathing steadily, his gaze burning with suspicion. âThis isnât right,â Max thought, eyes narrowing as he looked back at the demonic being. âThe diary said⊠If awakened it by a drop of the Devil God Bloodline, it shouldâve had the strength of a peak Divine Rank. But this thing⊠this strength⊠itâs strong, yes, but nowhere near Divine Peak.â
His mind worked quickly, sharper than blades. If the drop of blood was not what awakened it⊠then something else must have interfered. And maybe that something had altered the resultâcause its strength to dip as low as level 1 of Champion Rank.
âAlright, whatever the case⊠I have a shot against this thing.â Maxâs eyes gleamed with resolve as he activated the full power of his 600 Draconic Essences. A golden blaze surged through his body like an unstoppable tide, transforming the black glowing scales over his arms and torso to turn golden, pulsing with draconic energy.
In that moment, the pressure from his body skyrocketedâthe air around him twisted, trembling beneath the raw physical power now coursing through him. Every cell in his being felt alive, burning, howling to be unleashed.
But the demonic being didnât pause. With a silent flicker of motion, it lunged again, faster than sound. Yet Maxâs Three Dimensional Body flared in response, sensing the intent before it even fully moved. In a blur of motion, Max met its attack head-onâhis golden-scaled arm lashing out with all the might of a rampaging dragon.
Boom!
The two fists collided in midairâone golden, one blackâand the shockwave that followed was like a divine calamity unleashed. Light exploded outward in a blinding flash, and the sheer force of the impact sent a massive pressure ripple through the sky.
Wind howled as the surrounding air detonated, and all those watchingâtens of figures from the Lower Domain and beyondâwere violently flung back like scattered leaves in a hurricane. Only the experts at Master Rank barely managed to hold their ground in the sky, straining against the invisible wall of force.
But Max and the demonic being didnât stop. They were already tearing through the air, locked in a brutal dance of pure, unrelenting close combat.
Max spun midair, dodging a sharp elbow swipe and countering with a knee attack. The demon twisted unnaturally, its pitch-black body coiling like a serpent as it retaliated with a savage backhand.
Max blocked with his forearm, then ducked low and launched a powerful uppercut that cracked against the creatureâs jaw, sending sparks flying.
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!