Chapter Thirty-Four: "Enhancement"
Volume One: "The Nature of the Devil Does Not Change"
Arc: "The Devil Finally Leaves Earth"
Titan King crushed the leader wolf in his hand, grinding it into minced flesh. Blood sprayed everywhere—across the rotten wood, the ground, and Titan King's own hand. Then Titan King turned. The jetpack parts on his back split apart and unfolded, and he shot forward at a terrifying speed, nearing one million kilometers per hour.
Inside Scarlet King, another conversation was taking place—between White Darkness and Black Darkness.
Black Darkness spoke first, with ancient boredom:
"Do you think he'll succeed this time and obtain Eternal Rest? Or will he fail like all the other attempts?"
White Darkness replied, gazing into the black void with icy calm:
"No one knows. But his perseverance is absurd. Across an uncountable number of lives, he has never stopped searching for this goal even once. That's why one of his titles is: the Demonic Pursuer of the Boundless Goal."
Suddenly, Black Darkness noticed cracks spreading through the void and murmured in a low voice:
"What the hell is that?"
The void exploded and shattered into fragments, and an overwhelmingly powerful purple aura burst out. Black Darkness and White Darkness began falling into the broken void and the violet nonexistence. The Ghairamengi fragment resonated within the Mind of Darkness, making the World of Consciousness tremble like glass.
White Darkness gave a faint laugh:
"Hah… it's a fragment of Ghairamengi Darkness. And because a fragment of the Mind of Darkness is present, this strengthens Scarlet King—multiplying all his abilities and current power many times over. And when he merges with the Mind of Darkness, his refinement level will leap forward dramatically."
White Darkness and Black Darkness kept falling through the endless, shattered void. The crushing purple aura flooded everything, and the scent of violet orchid grass spread through the space.
Outside, Titan King reached the tunnel's exit. The moment he burst out, he slammed into a mountain and shattered it—yet continued without any effect, flying straight toward the Ghairamengi Mind of Darkness.
---
[In the grassy region]
A sixth-rank Lightning Wolf released a massive surge of power that forced everyone to their knees. Their wounds worsened, and the air filled with screams as painful lightning tore through the area.
The wolf approached Ikalat and spoke calmly in a distorted voice:
"A delicious meal… one that will make me stronger."
Ikalat laughed loudly and mockingly, his black body—covered in red tattoos—bleeding:
"Hah. If the Cosmic Cave weren't restricting my speed, I'd have escaped already."
Ikalat spat toward the wolf and laughed again, while the wolf moved in fury to devour him.
But the wolf turned when it felt a crushing dark aura approaching. When it looked up, it saw Titan King descending—about the wolf's size, or slightly larger.
An expression appeared on Titan King's screen:
"( ｀ー´)"
The wolf snarled, furious:
"Hah? A mere giant won't stop me from eating my prey!"
The wolf rushed at Titan King at high speed. Titan King drew the hand cannon and began firing, but the wolf dodged with ease. Titan King thought to itself:
(The beast has gained consciousness. That's a stage only third-rank beasts reach… but it gained awareness while at the sixth rank because of the Mind of Darkness.)
Titan King took flight with the jetpack as the wolf sprinted, leapt upward, and surged straight at it. Titan King drew its black sword, and the hooks on its back moved to strike.
The wolf bit Titan King's shoulder, but Titan King retaliated with the purple hooks from its back and struck with the energy cannon in its right hand, forcing the wolf back and scratching its eye.
The wolf responded by opening its mouth. A black sphere of energy began forming—enormous, like a small night-sun—then it fired it at Titan King.
That sphere could have killed Titan King in its normal state. But Titan King had been enhanced—so a black energy shield appeared instantly and barely blocked the blast.
When the sphere exploded, everyone was thrown far away. Nearby mountains were destroyed, small hills were flattened, and the detonation point became a gigantic crater.
Titan King emerged with moderate-to-light injuries. Then the System appeared before Lin Yuan and Ikalat.
System:
Master Vitality: 69%
Win Rate: 52% / 48%
Enemy Power: Qi Condensation (mid–low)
Enemy Classification: Element Beast — Rank 5 (it was hiding its level)
Note: Enhancement from the "Mind of Darkness" raised the Master's performance ×5
"The Master requests that allies retreat far away and recover."
Lin Yuan and Ikalat moved to leave, but before Lin Yuan took off, Ikalat whispered:
"Let's carry a few disciples with us. That'll earn us goodwill with their masters—maybe it'll even help us enter their sects."
Lin Yuan replied excitedly despite his severe injuries:
"You're really smart, Ikalat! Come on—I'll carry two, you carry two."
Each of them lifted two disciples—four in total—and they flew far from the battlefield.
But the System appeared again at the spot where Lin Yuan, Ikalat, and the four disciples had departed. The screen displayed:
System:
The Great Concepts' detection rate of the Master: 25%
Master's danger level has risen to: 87%
"The Master is in danger."
"Danger level has exceeded 80%."
"Activating Grand Protection Protocol Against Catastrophes."
"Power Stones + rating, please"