Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Never Changes
Arc: The Great Guerrilla War
From the ruins of the mist, Man Hu appeared, gripping the sword with both hands. His hands had been badly wounded by the powerful blow, yet that mad smile still remained on his face as he roared:
"Is this all your strength?!"
Scarlet King moved at extreme speed and struck him with a brutal punch, powerful enough to break Man Hu's teeth and shatter part of his jaw. A heavy cracking sound rang out.
Scarlet King grabbed Man Hu's head with the hand not covered in mist, while above them, Titan King's hand pushed the sword down even further.
Scarlet King began firing lasers from his eyes directly into Man Hu's eyes with full force.
But suddenly…
Man Hu's dark skin turned red. Two additional arms emerged from his back, his muscles swelled, and his body grew taller.
Scarlet King's voice rose with cold shock:
"The Zombie Body Physique?!"
The two additional arms suddenly moved.
One grabbed Scarlet King's arm.
The other…
pierced through Scarlet King's chest with crushing force and burst out the other side, carrying pieces of his lung with it. Even his heart was torn from its place and caught between Man Hu's fingers, surrounded by so much blood that his red hand became a hot, dark crimson.
Scarlet King's body froze for a moment.
Then it trembled violently, and he spat a large amount of blood into Man Hu's face.
But Man Hu did not stop.
He grabbed Scarlet King's arm and pulled with such force that he ripped it from its socket. Blood from the severed limb sprayed everywhere.
Then Man Hu held Scarlet King's arm, opened his mouth full of sharp, pointed teeth, and devoured it.
"Hmm… your arm is delicious!"
Scarlet King moved his left arm with difficulty and pulled it out of the mist. Titan King's arm also withdrew and disappeared.
Scarlet King pushed himself away with his legs, pulling Man Hu's hand out of his chest, then retreated forcefully—
but left his lung and heart in Man Hu's hands.
Man Hu crushed Scarlet King's heart with brutal force.
But…
Scarlet King did not die.
He thought:
(To kill me, one must crush my heart and my brain together… and even then, perhaps I would die.)
Scarlet King smiled.
Suddenly, his body began regenerating.
His red heart returned and beat powerfully. His lungs formed again, expanding and contracting. Flesh and blood restored themselves. The huge hole in his chest closed within a few seconds, and from the place where his arm had been severed, a new arm emerged.
But it was not covered by the black clothes that had been there before.
It was pure white.
Whiter than snow.
Man Hu was shocked.
"Oh… you have a powerful regeneration ability."
Scarlet King did not answer. He only thought:
(The first evolution of the Zombie Body Physique multiplies physical and destructive power by ten. That makes him overwhelmingly stronger than me.)
Scarlet King did not wait for death and rebirth.
Mist immediately appeared around him and expanded greatly, reaching nearly six kilometers. Titan King emerged from the mist and charged toward Man Hu with terrifying speed and power.
Man Hu also rushed toward him.
Both raised their fists.
Both threw a punch.
And when their fists collided—
a wave of energy erupted, strong enough to be felt billions of kilometers away. It erased a vast part of the forest and the surrounding area, forming a giant crater at the point of impact, as if a hydrogen bomb had struck the land.
Man Hu emerged from the ruins of earth, his arm completely torn apart, but with no other injuries besides a few scratches.
Meanwhile, Titan King appeared flying through the air, his metallic hand completely shattered.
Titan King thought:
(Damn it… my hand is made of metal, not flesh and skin that can regenerate. I have to let the transformation recover on its own, and that will take time.)
Titan King activated the jetpack and flew away, escaping.
Man Hu's torn arm regenerated, and he shouted:
"Where are you running, coward?!"
He jumped with such force that the shattered ground beneath him broke even further. He leapt again and again, crushing the earth under his feet as he chased Titan King.
Man Hu pursued Scarlet King, who was heading toward the location of the Cosmic Cave.
[After hours of flight]
On one of the shattered landmasses left from the former planet, there were two women.
The first woman had long black hair, black iron horns standing above her ears, and eyes that glowed like flames. A cold, mocking smile rested on her face. She wore a black shirt that exposed her stomach, with sleeves reaching below her elbows, and extremely short shorts that barely covered her waist and what lay beneath it, exposing her thighs. Her boots were large and long, reaching just below her knees.
Behind her waist was a cracked black crystal tail, marked by traces of violet energy. On her thigh was a mark that looked like an error in the system of existence. She wore black gloves over her fists and was holding a smaller woman with cat ears, a blue robe merged with an open hood that revealed those ears, and short silver hair.
The first woman was holding the smaller one by the neck and squeezing hard, her smile still present. She began applying more pressure, aiming to break her neck.
Suddenly, reality cracked.
The second woman was pulled outside the range of reality and illusion, then swallowed.
The first woman lowered her fist and said:
"Hah… a child trying to face me, the Saintess of Darkness? Hahaha, what a joke."
The Saintess of Darkness moved her head, revealing her stunningly beautiful features. There were two lines on the sides of her cheeks, sharp teeth, a white face, and pale skin.
She looked ahead and saw the giant Titan King clutching his arm while fleeing from Man Hu, who was flying after him and shouting:
"Stop, coward!! We have been flying for hours! Are you not tired?!"
Titan King ignored him and continued flying.
The Saintess of Darkness looked on with curiosity, placing a hand on her lips.
"Oh… interesting. Someone with the Zombie Body Physique?"
Mist appeared around Titan King.
Then he vanished.
Man Hu stopped flying and looked around in shock, until he noticed the Saintess of Darkness.
But he ignored her and continued searching for Scarlet King.
Inside one of the floating fragments drifting in the infinite starry void, Scarlet King fell after returning to his human form, landing in front of the spiritual image of the Wood Lotus Monk Emperor.
The monk began speaking:
"To obtain my inheritance, you must—"
Scarlet King interrupted him, shouting:
"There is no time for this, you stupid monk. Give me the Emperor's Dominion Technique now so I can carry out what you want."
The Wood Monk replied mockingly:
"You have not completed your task yet, so why should I give you the technique?"
Scarlet King answered:
"I am currently being hunted by a powerful opponent. If I die, no one will be able to fulfill your wish."
The monk laughed and replied:
"Even if you die, that person will be more suitable to complete the mission as long as he is stronger than you!"
Scarlet King looked at him with mockery and spoke calmly:
"Oh, very well. But I will destroy this spiritual copy before I die, so no one will be able to fulfill your wish of annihilating the Four Great Sects."
"And even if I cannot destroy the spiritual copy, this island is isolated by the formation in the region beyond the void—specifically inside nothingness. So who will find it?"
The monk fell silent. His expression changed into cold shock, then he sighed.
"Fine… I will hand it to you. But if you want the rest of my inheritance and techniques, you must fulfill my wish."
Scarlet King stepped forward, while the monk placed two fingers against his forehead and began transferring the inheritance of the technique to him.
Scarlet King felt the effect of the technique immediately, as if he could control everything.
But he thought:
(Unfortunately, because of my low cultivation level, the technique has been reduced from Emperor's Dominion to Hegemon's Touch.)
He looked outside and noticed that Man Hu was still searching for him.
But his shock became greater when he saw the Saintess of Darkness present.
(The Saintess of Darkness? One of the Twenty-Two Saintesses of Existence? What is she doing here? No matter. Let us deal with Man Hu first.)
Scarlet King raised his hand and said:
"Hegemon's Touch."
Four floating fragments in the void moved at once, shooting forward at extreme speed.
Then they crashed into Man Hu with terrifying force, crushing him between the four fragments.