Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Does Not Change, and the Heart of the Dead Devil Regrets Nothing
Lin Yuan's eyes tracked Scarlet King's every shift. He looked past him at the village—ruin, blood, skulls—and his voice came out rough with rage:
"Why did you do this? Tell me—why did you slaughter all the villagers?! Speak!"
Scarlet King gave a cold, mocking chuckle, waving a hand like he was brushing away an insect.
"Ha… I did it for one reason: to increase my power. And now, there's an extra person who'll increase it even more."
Lin Yuan's brow tightened. He didn't understand—until he felt it. Killing intent, sharp and direct.
He raised his guard, voice hard and serious:
"What do you mean—"
He didn't finish.
Scarlet King's fist was suddenly right in front of his face.
The impact blasted Lin Yuan backward nearly fifty meters, dust and debris ripping up in his wake. When the dust cleared, it was obvious—Lin Yuan had blocked with his forearm, but the sleeve of his yellow robe was torn open by sheer force. A faint red mark spread across his arm.
Still, Lin Yuan laughed lightly.
"Is that all?"
In the next instant, he vanished—moving faster than Scarlet King's eyes could properly follow.
A strike snapped into Scarlet King's jaw.
Scarlet King flew.
He was hurled upward—five hundred meters in seconds—his body whipping through the air like a thrown spear.
Lin Yuan leapt after him. The ground under his feet shattered from the force, cracks spidering outward. He caught up midair and drove a brutal blow into Scarlet King's back.
Scarlet King fell like a meteor.
Lin Yuan hovered in the sky, calm and steady, while below him the village kept crumbling under the shock of the collision.
(That hit was heavy… His strength is at least enough to level large buildings.)
Lin Yuan's gaze dropped—bones, corpses, skulls scattered like broken tools. A chill crawled through him.
(Did he really… eat people alive?)
Before he could think further, Scarlet King launched upward from the ground in a violent leap—closing the distance instantly—and smashed his fist into Lin Yuan's cheek.
Lin Yuan shot through the air.
But before his body could stabilize, something struck from behind.
A shadow burst out from the darkness behind Lin Yuan's back—white eyes stretched wide, a demonic, clown-like grin splitting its face. In its hands, a gigantic hammer of blackness formed.
BOOM.
The hammer crashed down.
Lin Yuan was driven into a nearby house so hard the roof caved in on him.
…And when he slammed through the wreckage—
Scarlet King was already there.
Blood filled Scarlet King's mouth from Lin Yuan's earlier hit, yet he wore a mocking smile as if the pain were a joke. He drove a punch into Lin Yuan's stomach with savage precision.
Lin Yuan flew again—tearing through ten house walls—then smashed into the ground in an explosion of dust, rock, and blood.
A beam of energy erupted from the crater where Lin Yuan landed—red and violent—shooting straight at Scarlet King.
Scarlet King twisted aside at the last moment.
The beam missed and cleaved the mountain behind like paper, splitting its peak into two halves.
Lin Yuan rose from the ruined house, robe shredded, scratches carved across his body. His eyes burned—not with fear, but with excitement. He shouted so Scarlet King could hear him clearly:
"Hahaha! I'll admit it—no one has even scratched me since I was born. But fighting someone who can actually match my strength… is fun. Let's continue, Scarlet King!"
He charged.
Scarlet King met him inside the wreckage.
Their fists collided—
A shockwave exploded outward and erased the remaining houses around them. Scarlet King's bamboo hat was blasted off and spun away into the night, while both their clothes tore further under the pressure.
They traded blows like thunder.
Lin Yuan slammed a punch into Scarlet King's waist.
Scarlet King answered with a punch under Lin Yuan's jaw.
Lin Yuan struck Scarlet King's cheek.
Scarlet King drove a vicious blow beneath Lin Yuan's belt—
Lin Yuan's face twisted from sudden, intense pain.
Scarlet King didn't stop.
He hit the same place again—then again.
Lin Yuan shot backward through the air, retreating from the pain, then roared in pure anger:
"Damn you, bastard! Where's the fair fight?! At this rate I'll end up castrated because of you!"
Before Scarlet King could answer, a huge impact thundered nearby.
The shadow—Scarlet King's shadow—had been slammed into another wall with overwhelming force. Its body shattered like glass.
But it didn't die. It dissolved into darkness and slipped back beneath Scarlet King's feet.
From the place the shadow had been thrown, someone stepped forward.
A figure of medium height—its entire body black as void. Eyes were embedded in its chest. Its mouth was a demonic smile packed with sharp teeth. Its face had no eyes… no nose. Strange red markings crawled across its body, shifting like living tattoos.
Scarlet King's eyes widened.
"A… Creature of Chaos?!"
The creature turned toward him, voice rough and blunt:
"Hm. Strange that someone here knows my kind—especially since we live from the Seventh Dimension to the Eleventh. But good. I came to talk, not fight. My name is Ikalat."
But Lin Yuan didn't listen.
A red beam fired instantly toward Ikalat—
Ikalat dodged effortlessly.
End of the chapter.