Chapter 147: Defeat the demon vessel!
Chapter 146
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Screech!
Max stabbed his fingers into the ground, bringing his body to a grinding halt. Blood dripped down from his mask as he glared into the distance, the warehouse behind him now having a gaping hole torn right through it.
Kelly, who had been observing from the bushes, was completely stunned. She was about to rush out to help him, but as if Max noticed, he raised his hand into the air, silently halting her.
Slowly rising to his feet, he twisted his wrist a little, his gaze locked ahead as he spotted the leader stepping out like he owned the entire world. Each of the man’s steps was slow, deliberate, and heavy with purpose.
Now standing about eight meters away, the leader’s sharp eyes met those of the dragon in front of him. The hundred remaining conscious men began trickling out of the warehouse, staying at the edges as they watched what was about to unfold.
"As a dragon, you feel weak. Weaker than he said you are," the man spoke, his voice calm yet carrying a venomous undertone.
"You know?" Max sighed deeply, twirling his wrist again and again while his glare remained unbroken. "You’re too slow and weak for me. You need to learn where you really stand."
"Oh really?!" The leader sneered as he vanished from sight, reappearing in front of Max in an instant. His fist shot forward at unbelievable speed, but it connected with nothing but air as a loud crack echoed out.
Max was nowhere to be seen.
"Over here."
The dragon’s voice came from behind him, and before the man could react, a palm strike slammed into his face, snapping his head backward, followed immediately by a solid punch to his abdomen that lifted him clean off his feet.
[Ruler’s Hand Activated]
The man’s body froze midair. With a smirk, Max swung his arm to the side and then downward, slamming the man straight into the ground with devastating force. The impact shook the surroundings, forming a deep crater beneath the leader’s body.
With a fierce roar, Damian darted forward and leaped high into the air. In the blink of an eye, he kicked off the air and dove back down like a comet. But the leader reacted fast, rolling over at the last second as Max crashed into the ground, the shockwave kicking up a violent cloud of dust.
Before Max could even stand upright, the leader burst through the haze, appearing beside him with blinding speed and swinging a powerful punch at the dragon. Unfortunately for him, Damian caught the punch cleanly in his palm.
A burst of wind exploded outward from the clash, blowing away the dust and revealing Max’s glowing eyes through the slit of his mask. He stood unmoving, holding the man’s fist effortlessly.
The leader growled and swung his leg forward, aiming to bury it in Max’s abdomen, but as always, the dragon was a step ahead. Pivoting sharply on one foot, Max slipped beside him and in the next heartbeat, his own foot shot out, crashing brutally into the man’s side. The leader’s body went tumbling, bouncing and scraping across the ground as the men watching gasped in disbelief.
[Fireball]
Max’s hands burst ablaze, flames licking across his forearms as he summoned every ounce of power within him. With a fierce roar, he hurled a blazing fireball straight at the leader. The man came to a grinding halt, his boots screeching against the broken floor as he crossed his arms in an X just in time to brace for impact.
Boom!
The explosion echoed like thunder, sending a wave of heat rippling through the air. For a moment, the world was swallowed in smoke and sparks. But the leader didn’t fall.
As the fiery mist cleared, Max emerged from the haze like a force of nature. His body glowed faintly beneath the mask’s slit, eyes burning bright as he cocked his arm back and slammed a heavy punch into the man’s guard.
Crack!
The sound was brutal and clear. The sheer force of the blow sent the leader flying across the field at blinding speed. He crashed into a lamp post with such impact that it bent and tore from the concrete before his body bounced and tumbled across the ground, leaving a messy trail of debris.
’Is he really what I think he is?’ Max thought, narrowing his eyes. ’He feels weaker than I expected... No— actually, stronger. Definitely stronger than the last boss I faced.’
The leader groaned and slowly got back to his feet, laughter rumbling deep from his chest. "Kek! Kek! Kek!" His hands hung limp for a second before he lifted them — the same hands Max had just shattered and everyone around gasped.
They were broken... mangled even. But in a grotesque twist, the bones began cracking back into place, the flesh twisting unnaturally as his limbs healed before their very eyes. Max’s brow twitched in disbelief.
"Usually, I don’t care much about what he says," the leader muttered, his voice low and eerie, "but right now, he’s telling me to take this seriously. Because the downfall of the last leader was that he underestimated you. He refused to let him take over."
’Huh? What is he talking about? Let who take over?’ Max’s eyes narrowed, his instincts flaring.
"But I’m not making the same mistake," the leader said, and his tone dropped an octave deeper. Instantly, his body began to tremble violently as an otherworldly energy surged through his veins.
It was like molten lava flowed beneath his skin. His flesh darkened in patches, veins glowing faintly with black and red light, pulsing with corruption. His fingernails extended into sharp claws, and his teeth lengthened into jagged fangs that glinted under the dim warehouse lights.
Then came the horns. They burst from his temples, twisting unevenly as blood streamed down his forehead. His eyes ignited — literal pits of molten crimson their whites devoured by shadows as his pupils stretched into demonic slits. His back convulsed and tore open, bony ridges forcing their way out to form something like broken, half-formed wings.
His body hardened, the human softness gone, replaced by a skin that looked charred and cracked, faint red light glowing from beneath as if fire itself was trapped within. When he spoke again, his voice echoed with two tones — human and something far darker overlapping in a guttural snarl that didn’t belong in this world.
He wasn’t human anymore. He was a nightmare ripped straight out of a child’s darkest dream.
Tring!
{Additional Quest Received}
{Host has encountered a Demonic Vessel. Eliminate the vessel by any means necessary to claim the rewards.}
{Rewards: ???}
’Question mark rewards?’ Max frowned beneath his mask. ’That only means one of two things — either the reward is massive or the battle ahead is hell.’
He barely had time to finish the thought before the creature raised its head. The demonic vessel released a bone-chilling roar, the air vibrating with raw malice. Then, with the sound of a gunshot...
Boom!
He vanished from sight, exploding forward at blistering speed, a blur of darkness and fire tearing straight toward Max.