The shield, battered by the Uglyface’s relentless pounding, shattered at last. As the shards fell to the ground, the Uglyface roared fiercely. The roar was so powerful it bellowed Val’s hair and clothes, nearly lifting him off his feet.
The horrifyingly loud sound echoed in his ears, temporarily disorienting him. Immediately, he bit his tongue fiercely, drawing out blood. The bitter and metallic taste cleared his mind. It also showed that Val was ruthless to his enemies, he could also be ruthless to himself if necessary.
As his vision cleared up, he found his life in intense danger. He saw the Uglyface raising its fists and then bringing them crashing down towards him.
Although facing death, Val only raised an eyebrow and smirked.
“It’s Wizarding Time!” he exclaimed.
What transpired next was so inexplicable that Voidslayer trembled with excitement. The Uglyface’s fists, descending with such fatal force that shockwaves were raised, seemed to freeze in place inches above Val’s head as though they were stopped by an invisible force.
‘I wasn’t mistaken,” thought the Voidslayer, ‘He became a low-level wizard from a mere acolyte in seconds. His potential is more terrifying than Assam’s. Assam had performed many miracles and survived being swallowed by the abyss, but I dare say even he can’t pull this off. Heck, it’s impossible for the Forefathers of bloodline users and the most talented wizard of his era, the King of Kings, Valerius himself!’
There never was a wizard who jumped several levels in an instant. But Val proved that he had done it by performing wizardry that can only be performed by low-level wizards and higher.
The Voidslayer was excited. Assam’s wish was fulfilled. He wanted it to end up in worthy hands, and Val was more just worthy!
‘Is this what a low-level wizard can do?’
Val was thrilled. With just a thought, he had created two giant hands using soul power. These giant hands were keeping the devil’s wrath at bay. He didn’t know he would become this powerful by advancing his wizard class by several levels.
He also realized that Oliver has gone easy on him.
‘If he was dead set on winning the battle, I would’ve dropped dead without knowing what hit me,’ he thought.
He then raised his gaze. The devil was struggling to break free and it looked more confused than ever.
Well, that’s to be expected.
Soul power was invisible. In this regard, humans and devils were the same. Unless they possessed a special ocular ability, soul power and everything made of it would always appear invisible in their eyes. The giant hands were made of soul power. Naturally, the Uglyface devil couldn’t see them, causing it to become bewildered.
What had stopped its fists?
As dumb as it was, it was impossible for it to come up with a plausible explanation.
But that didn’t stop it from moving on with its simple plan.
Kill Val at all costs!
Guhyuk!
The Uglyface roared, dispelling its hesitation and motivating itself to carry on with its plans. Waves of darkness rose from its body and flew forward like a stream of curses as it channeled the Force of Corruption into its fists. Almost immediately, their weight increased by ten times.
The pressure acting on the giant hands created through Val’s wizardry and currently clasping the devil’s fists increased by tenfold but they remained steadfast, not budging an inch.
The Uglyface devil gasped. It used its only innate skill, which it could only once every ten minutes, yet its fists remained where they were, immobilized in this air as if held by invisible giant iron clamps.
Val and Voidslayer could see the devil’s fear growing by the second, its confusion visible even in its featureless face. However, a foolish devil was a devil in the end. As prideful as it was, it refused to yield and moved on to pouring the full weight of its monstrous body behind its enchanted fists, the pressure acting on the giant hands doubling. They trembled violently as if an earthquake had hit them, but they kept the devil’s fists in check, frozen in the air above Val.
“Die! Die! Die!” The Uglyface cursed Val repeatedly. Its hatred for him seemed to emerge from every part of its soul.
Val plugged his ears with his pinkies. Damn, its voice was as unpleasant as nails scratching against a chalkboard!
“It’s speaking in our tongue,” Voidslayer conveyed its disbelief to Val through the connection they shared.
“Yeah, I noticed,” Val responded.
Although the Uglyface was repeating the same word like a broken recorder, it was nonetheless shocking to hear it speak in the predominant tongue used within the kingdom’s borders.
Val had to wonder how it learned it.
The Uglyface was born recently.
There was no doubt in this statement as there was evidence to back up this claim.
The first evidence was that the entrance to the well was tightly sealed before Val arrived here, and the second evidence was that it had never been sighted in or around the Northern Frontier before.
Devils and humans were similar in some regards.
One of them was starvation.
A devil feels starved if it doesn’t feed on humans, but the Uglyface didn’t look starved in the slightest.
Rather, it looked as full as a lion that had gobbled up a freaking elephant.
Or else, its regeneration ability wouldn’t be so broken.
‘All the evidence is pointing towards my theory being true.’
Val’s theory was related to all the basics already known about the devils, but not simple. It was groundbreaking!
It was commonly known that devils were born out of negativity, but what was rarely talked about was that they could also arise from the negative emotions of a single human.
These devils were so fundamentally different from their counterparts, it was lowkey terrifying.
If a person were suffering from depression, a devil embryo could form in their mind. This devil would continuously whisper in their ear, urging them to end their own life, as only then would they be relieved of their pain that no one can understand. If they fell for this temptation, the devil embryo would be immediately strengthened by the surge of despair and death.
Similarly, if a human was teetering on the brink of despair, a devil could form and try to push them over the edge. If it succeeded, it would taste the satisfaction of driving someone to death and become stronger.
Val’s theory about these devils was that they follow the same pattern as their cause of birth for future killings, meaning a Devil born out of despair would keep on finding similar victims as their source and first kill. Basically, they would for people who had fallen into the cycle of despair and torment them to the brink of despair. Once they’ve succeeded, they would kill them. And for some reason, this act would strengthen them.
Val’s theory also mentioned that the initial strength, intelligence, memories, and wisdom of such devils become equal to their source only after they’ve killed them. This was a common trait for all devils born from the negative emotions of a single human.
On the other hand, devils born from a mass of negativity with countless sources would exhibit random levels of strength, intelligence, and wisdom. Some might be born more intelligent than an average human and others might be as dumb as a rock.
But one thing was consistent: the denser, viler, and greater the volume of negativity they were born from, the greater their potential.
This was the essence of Val’s theory.
And the dumb-witted Uglyface devil, who had only been roaring so far suddenly speaking a word in the common tongue as if it was enlightened by a immortal backed it up.
‘My theory helped me get full points in my practicals so it was never considered bogus to begin with, but with this, it has been validated.’
Val didn’t feel good. His theory being true only made him feel tense.
After all, the Uglyface devil he was fighting against was beginning to realize its true potential!
It was likely inheriting the memories of its victims from the Charnel rite. 𝑶𝓋𝓵xt.𝑐𝑜𝚖
If its potential was realized, it would gain the memories of all the victims and become wiser than all the victims. Its fortitude would strengthen and its intelligence would also increase to new heights.
If its intelligence were to reach a level rivaling Val’s or even more, what was stopping it from splitting itself again and again and letting each part regenerate into a new Uglyface?
If left unchecked, it could multiply exponentially, creating an army of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Uglyfaces. The entire lower city would face the threat of annihilation.
The thought of this possibility sent a throbbing sensation down Val’s spine. His sixth sense was telling him he had to make sure that future doesn’t become true.
A sharp glint flashed in Val’s eyes as he looked at the furious Uglyface, ‘I need to kill it fast.’
The Uglyface looked disgruntled, its monstrous face contorted in frustration. Not only was it unable to harm Val, but it was also unable to free itself from the invisible force that held it. It pulled back with all its strength but even then the hands remained stuck there.
It panicked and resorted to bombarding Val with its force of corruption. A dark wind, infused with a menacing power, rose from its body and came crashing toward Val.
Val jumped back, dodging it.
The Uglyface manipulated its force of corruption using hand movement, redirecting it towards Val. Suddenly, the black wind changed course and flew towards Val.
Tch!
Val clicked his tongue and moved his hands in a circle, releasing a torrent of blood that met the black wind in mid-air, deflecting it.
“You’ve had your turn. Now… it’s mine turn to be on the offensive!” Val said, “Time to show you what a true wizard can do!”
Val’s wizardry came into play almost immediately. Immediately, a massive amount of soul power surged out of his body. Invisible to the naked eye but tangible in its effect, it crashed into the unsuspecting Uglyface with such force that it was blown away.
It was an unbelievable sight as a beast the size of a small house was lifted off its feet and tossed away like a ragdoll, manhandled in the purest meaning of the word.
Val had been holding back as he was mindful of the side effects of reckless wizardry. But after the Uglyface showed it had the potential of becoming smarter over time, he decided to stop holding back and end it as fast as he can. The situation demanded it. He couldn’t give it any more time to grow. If it grew smart enough to realize how special it was, even ten of him wouldn’t be enough to take it down.
“Freeze!”
Saying so, Val pointed at it and called upon the power of wizardry once again. Hundreds of chains emerged from his body and expanded. They coiled around the Uglyface Devil, suspending it upside down in thin air.
The Uglyface felt as if thousands of chains had wrapped around its segmented body, keeping it bound. It thrashed around to break free from the invisible chains.
But its resistance was met with futility.
Moreover, the chains tightened around it even more, so much that the devil could not even budge.
Because of the chain constricting its movement, it felt sensations that were foreign to it since its birth. It felt fearful and drenched in despair!
“Master, finish it before it becomes more troublesome,” Voidslayer said.
Val nodded, extending his hand towards the Uglyface. In the next moment, a significant yet invisible change took place.
Countless swords appeared, flying in mid-air all around the Uglyface.
This was the full power of a low-level wizard!
“This is it for you!” Val said as he closed his hand.
Immediately, the countless swords flew toward the immobilized Uglyface, stabbing every inch of its body. These swords, made of soul power, had the ability to damage the soul.
Given that its soul was spread throughout its body, being stabbed by these special swords in every inch of its body extinguished its life!