Chapter 405: Absolute Power
Abyss ignored Kaizer’s words entirely. Instead, it slowly raised its right hand to the side as black flames erupted around its palm. The fire did not burn with violent intensity. It flowed with eerie calmness, twisting and compressing upon itself until it forged the outline of a massive two handed longsword.
The weapon possessed no ornamentation or beauty. Its pitch black blade seemed to absorb the surrounding light while endless black flames silently crawled along its edge as though reality itself was being consumed.
"Sharing such information serves no purpose since you won’t be remembering it by the time this is over," Abyss replied in a calm, emotionless voice.
Buzz!
Kaizer’s eyes narrowed as crimson cracks rapidly spread across his body. His expression twisted from confusion into sudden realization. The countless unanswered questions that had plagued the Underworld for months suddenly aligned within his mind.
Everything made sense.
How could a mere human with barely a few months of combat experience defeat Duke Haborym?
Despite being among the weakest Dukes, Haborym remained a being capable of standing against Demigods without possessing divinity himself. His strength was recognized throughout every realm. Damian’s impossible victory had become one of the greatest mysteries discussed across the Underworld.
Now the truth stood before him.
It had never been the human. The brat lacked the bloodline, the heritage and the years of cultivation required to perform such miracles.
He had simply been riding the wave of the Abyss.
"So this is your biggest secret, Lin Qui!" Kaizer growled as hatred filled his eyes. "Once the Underworld hears of this, everyone will turn on you for certain. Even Sol will slaughter you without skipping a heartbeat!"
His furious declaration was met only by soft laughter.
The Abyss chuckled quietly. It sounded as though Kaizer had just told the greatest joke imaginable.
"This child paid a steep price for my services," Abyss answered, the corners of Damian’s lips curling into a faint smile. "I intend to deliver."
SWOOSH!
Without warning, Abyss vanished.
The air exploded as it appeared directly above Kaizer with the black longsword already descending toward his head.
Kaizer’s instincts screamed.
ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!
Crimson light erupted from his body as his humanoid form exploded outward. In an instant, the mighty Dragon Prince returned to his colossal draconic form. His enormous body expanded until it once again dominated the False World while the sheer force of his transformation generated a devastating shockwave that blasted Abyss backward across the crimson sky.
"I HAVE CHANGED MY MIND!" Kaizer roared, his voice shaking the entire False World. "I’LL CRUSH YOU, CONSUME YOUR INHERITANCE AND DECLARE MYSELF DEMON LORD! WITH YOUR INHERITANCE UNDER MY CONTROL, NO ONE CAN STOP ME! NOT EVEN SOL!"
His gigantic jaws stretched open as his neck expanded unnaturally. Deep within his throat, an endless sea of crimson dragon fire rolled violently, illuminating the inside of his body as torrents of Demonic Force surged toward his mouth.
"Hmph."
Abyss steadied itself effortlessly before looking up at the colossal dragon towering above it.
"Vanity of a pup..." it chuckled mockingly. "Amusing."
It casually extended its free hand toward the dragon. The gesture was slow and lazy like the movement of someone acknowledging an insignificant insect rather than an apex predator.
"As I inhabit this child’s body and am destined to seize control of it," Abyss said calmly, "he is your Demon Lord already. He has simply yet to sit upon the throne."
"SILENCE!"
Kaizer’s roar exploded across the False World.
"Dragon Breath!"
BRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
An incomparably massive beam of crimson dragon fire erupted from his mouth, swallowing everything in its path. The torrent surged forward like a river born from the heart of a dying star, carrying enough destructive force to erase entire kingdoms.
Abyss did not move. Its outstretched hand remained exactly where it was.
"Abyssal Fire."
Black flames erupted.
They poured forward like an endless black ocean overflowing from an invisible abyss. They carried no heat that could be sensed, yet reality visibly distorted wherever they flowed.
There was no collision. The moment the black flames touched the dragon fire, the crimson blaze simply surrendered.
Its brilliant crimson rapidly darkened.
Black spread through the beam like ink poured into clear water before racing back toward its source with terrifying speed.
Kaizer’s pupils shrank. He instinctively tried to snap his jaws shut and sever the connection but it was too late.
BRRRRR!
ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!
The black flames surged directly into his mouth before exploding throughout his entire body.
The colossal dragon convulsed violently as immense black fire engulfed him from within. His agonized roar shook the False World while countless streams of black flames burst from between his scales.
Kaizer desperately circulated his Demonic Force in an attempt to expel the foreign fire but nothing happened. His Demonic Force had descended into complete chaos.
Instead of obeying him, it fled.
Every strand instinctively recoiled from the black flames as though facing their natural predator.
"Little pup," Abyss said softly as it watched the screaming dragon struggle helplessly, "if I possessed my true strength, I would eradicate you completely. Unfortunately, I shall make do with taking those memories of yours for now."
It slowly stretched its hand toward the dragon.
"Void."
The False World suddenly became deathly silent. A single colossal crimson eye slowly opened behind the screaming dragon.
It was so unimaginably massive that Kaizer resembled nothing more than a hatchling standing before an ancient god.
The eye possessed no emotion.
As its crimson iris slowly began to glow, Kaizer’s own crimson dragon eyes gradually turned pitch black.
The dragon roared and thrashed. His gigantic body struggled with every ounce of strength he possessed.
Yet, he could not move.
Not even a single scale responded to his will. The black flames continued consuming him while the crimson eye silently watched.
The mighty Dragon Prince who had stood at the pinnacle of countless races now looked like a terrified child standing before the embodiment of oblivion itself.
"Void... Memories," Abyss hissed.
The gigantic eye pulsed once.
As though acknowledging the command and Kaizer suddenly screamed.
Thick streams of black fumes began pouring from his eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth. They carried faint images within them.
Centuries of memories were being forcibly torn from the depths of his soul.
"No... NO!" Kaizer screamed as his voice became increasingly panicked. "Stop... stop... those are mine!"
The black fumes continued pouring from every opening in his body, flowing toward the colossal eye before disappearing into its endless crimson depths.
His resistance gradually weakened and the intelligence within his eyes slowly faded. Everything that made Kaizer who he was was being stripped away piece by piece.
Abyss quietly lowered its outstretched hand before tightening its grip around the black longsword.
"Sleep well, little pup."
The sword descended and only a single black line extended from the tip of the blade, slicing silently through space itself as it traveled forward.
Everything in its path divided cleanly into two.
An instant later Kaizer’s colossal body split perfectly down the middle. The Dragon Prince never even realized he had been cut.