Chapter 328: Rematch Against The Heavenly Demon!
Listen While Reading: Shower of Swords
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My master, the Heavenly Demon, is a rash, barbaric monster of a man, if you could even call that crow-headed bastard a man to begin with.
Because he’s more like a demon, and even then, he might even make the Death Apostles and Archdemons feel ashamed they aren’t as merciless as he is!
Yet he’s my master, and I admire that strength. I admire his shamelessness, his ruthlessness, and his decisiveness.
Some people might believe that these traits are unsuitable for any person other than psychopaths, and in a way, I would understand that reasoning.
Yes, of course, I’ve killed and fought people like this; I’ve loathed people and beings that were like this too.
But that doesn’t mean that there are traits within them that aren’t similar to mine. Deep down, as I trained with this crow-headed man, I learned a bit more about myself.
I am… not a virtuous person, not at all.
I commit mistakes, I get frustrated, I sometimes get really angry, and I have murderous impulses.
Sometimes I want to smash the head of someone into pieces, especially when they make me angry.
I have anger issues…
However, unlike Wai Tian, my anger is self-sustained, calm, and silent. It doesn’t explode, but it emerges like calm waves that intensify over time.
Through this cultivation I’ve learned the “cunningness” and the “ruthlessness” of the Heavenly Demon, who has mastered the waves of wrath.
Frustration, wrath, depression, fears—these things that only might make someone weaker, these things that would be the weakness of most.
This is the strength of my master: he turned his weaknesses, his own terrible childhood, his own misfortune—all of these horrible things that happened to him…
He turned them into his power, an unparalleled, ruthless, and merciless power that I have now begun to learn.
And just like him, I shall use my flaws to my advantage; my uncontrollable wrath will become my power.
BAAAM!
My fear will become my strength.
CLASH!
My frustrations shall become my vitality.
RUMBLE!
And my depression, it will become my new resolve instead.
I shall embrace the darkness inside of my heart instead of trying to cut it away, and it will be assimilated.
I shall become one with my darkest form as I am one with my brightest form.
CLASH!
“Hahaha! Not bad!”
The Heavenly Demon laughed as I imbued my fists with the power of my Cursed Seals, blocking a barrage of blows he unleashed against me.
“You’re only using the Cursed Seals powers now?” he wondered. “Excellent! Anything else and you wouldn’t be able to grow, Anna!”
“I know, I would have been reprimanded if I used anything else, wouldn’t I?” I asked, as I felt the darkness of my negative emotions embrace me in a powerful demonic aura. “In our first battle, I had no such powers, so I had to rely on external strength… Skills and Equipment, I wasn’t even a martial artist by then!”
“Indeed, but you’ve changed! From that useless coward who relied only on external power, now you have internal power too!” he said. “Show me, Anna! Show me what you’ve cultivated this entire time! Face me head-on! If you intend to save this damn world… Then you’ll have to win against me now! And I… am not holding back anymore!”
FLASH!
Like a meteor made of black and purple flames, the Heavenly Demon reached me. I didn’t evade his charge but imbued my body with the powers he had imparted upon me.
I released the seals one by one!
“{First Seal Release: Hatred}!”
FLUOSH!
My body was covered by Flames of Hatred, as I felt my Attack Power and Defense Piercing abilities improve, although at the cost of my Life Force being drained away.
A fine exchange!
“COME!”
I rushed towards him, as I felt like my body was burning with the hatred I felt against all those that had wronged so many.
Even against my own master.
Although there was admiration, I also had some hatred against him; yes, I had to admit it.
I hated a part of him that did all those horrible things; I hated how he tortured so many, how he slaughtered innocents, all to grow stronger.
It’s wrong what he did!
Yet I also admire his resolve and how far he reached and how he fought to protect his world and how he is… actually a good dad.
This mixture of hatred and admiration makes me feel incredibly frustrated too.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
The moment we faced off, he immediately unleashed a barrage of jabs against my stomach and chin, aiming to incapacitate me by hitting these areas.
However, I received the blows without even being bothered; the pain-dulling ability of Hatred was incredible.
“Hatred, huh?!” He smiled.
“Yes, Hatred!” I rushed towards him, moving my fists as quickly as possible.
I aimed to strike him in the neck with my hands and in the crotch with my leg, yet he moved like a damn snake, seamlessly evading my blows and then twisting my arm, spinning backwards, and suddenly appearing behind me, dragging my arm with him.
“Ugh?!”
He was aiming to break my arm, and if it weren’t for the fact that my body had grown incredibly durable and the pain-dulling of Hatred, I would be screaming in agony right now.
I can’t use Myriad Self Arts, I can’t use Heart of Hope, and even less Golden Dragon Fist.
What else am I left with but this power alone?
I need to improvise; continuously activating seals will only tire me out quickly; I must do it over time!
Then…
“RAAAH!”
I gathered the Flames of Hatred on each of my fingers and released an explosive attack, burning the crow’s face with several little explosions.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
“Hmm?!”
He was surprised as he was pushed back, forced to let go of my arm unless he wanted to risk burning his feathers.
“You…! Hah! You’re truly incredible, Anna! You managed to mold the power of a curse into a technique, didn’t you?!” He smiled with fascination. “Without a doubt! You and only you can be my disciple! Hahahah! SHOW ME MORE!”
I didn’t even have a name for that technique, but I kind of already visualized it. Five snakes made of Flames of Hatred coiling from my fingers and exploding over a target that attempted to lock my arm and break it.
By applying the powers of what I gained from Uroboros, but without any Skill, only the very “essence” of what these Skills were, I created something new.
“Sure, let me show you what I can do, master!” With a fascinated smile, I faced him, swinging my hands against him.
“{Demonic Cursed Seal Arts}: {Blazing Viper Whips of Hatred}!”
I must surpass my limits and reach new heights in everything I can possibly do!
Only then will I be able to truly rewrite the world, to truly rewrite the story, and help all those characters I love!
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
The whips reached my master, and he smiled, receiving them with his bare hands as I noticed purple ice growing on them.
He activated the {Cold Phantom of Sorrow} from the Sorrow Seal to counterattack Hatred!
“Good enough for any fool that doesn’t know our techniques, my disciple…”
FLASH!
He appeared above me within a split second.
“But not enough against your master!”
His fists suddenly absorbed his Aura as they turned into a giant hammer.
“{Demonic Cursed Seal Arts}: {Hammer of Wrath}!”
That terrifying technique again, shit!
BOOOM!
Before I could even counterattack, I was knocked down from the skies all the way down into the oceans of my master’s Inner Realm.
SPLASH!
I fell into the seas at lightning speed, feeling the immense pressure of the oceans engulf me completely.
“Uugghh!”
I quickly held my breath as I channeled my Demonic Ki, the Flames of Hatred could no longer burn as I hoped within the cold divine seas.
Yet, I knew of something colder than even the oceans!
“{Second Seal Release: Sorrow}!”
BA DUM!
I felt my heart beating faster and faster as I remembered the sorrowful moments of my life, of losing my family, of seeing the world fall into an apocalypse.
The cries of my mother, the desperate screams of my father, the endless struggles and dangers my brother had to go through.
And even before that, the lonely and lifeless life I lived before even reincarnating as Anna.
Amidst the seas, and as he rushed down to beat me even underwater, I cried.
But in this vast sea, my tears are nothing.
I activated the {Cold Phantom of Sorrow}, which enhanced my Movement Speed and Perception, while draining away the Life Force of my surroundings and slowing down foes.
And then shaped it into something else.
SPLASH!
I saw Master approaching at lightning speed, his swimming speed being surprisingly fast!
Gathering the coldness, I glanced at my master’s crimson eyes.
Until I shaped this coldness into ice, crimson ice.
Hundreds of spears made from it.
I embody the pain and suffering of those I’ve seen and helped, their blood, their screams, their hatred.
The power within my scarlet armor, which I was not wearing at the moment.
I harnessed its “essence” into this technique.
“{Demonic Cursed Seal Arts}: {Blood Frost Spears of Sorrowful Pain}”
And released it against my foe, my master.
“That’s…!”
He muttered in the middle of the ocean, as countless spears reached him at the same time as I swam upwards, emerging out of the sea and reaching the skies.
I saw as hundreds of these spears reached his body and erupted, covering him in endless crimson ice, the frozen blood of those the unfortunate ones.
SPLASH!
Until eventually, my master appeared from the seas, encapsulated in a coffin made of blood ice.
“Oh? Is that it?”
I sighed, feeling disappointed.
Crack, crack…!
“Hm?”
CRASH!
“Heh…”
Of course that wasn’t going to be it!
“I have never seen such a form of ice before!” he smiled. “You embodied the suffering and hatred of not only you, but of many, countless lives! How did you do that? Hahahaha!”
“I borrowed upon the technique of someone else, a being of unfathomable power that embodies suffering all across the cosmos,” I said. “I didn’t even need her armor anymore; I had experienced what she is dozens of times, enough for this suffering to be imprinted upon me.”
“GOOD!”
Suddenly, he erupted like a volcano, as his entire body released explosive meteors made of black and crimson crystals.
I quickly had to either evade or intercept them, and I knew exactly what he was using now!
But don’t think I can’t do it either!
“{Third Seal Release: Frenzy}!”
I felt an immense power surge from my body as I felt my mind being rapidly consumed by the Frenzy of Madness. It was an exhilarating yet destructive feeling.
But I held it back, containing it, then pushing it out.
No, wait.
This power he’s using, it’s a combination of two Seals!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
As I kicked and punched the meteors while making my way to him, I started to doubt myself.
Can I do it?
Can I really go that far already?
…
No, why am I even asking myself this?!
“{Fifth Seal Release: Frustration}!”
FLASH!
Four Seals blazed within my body as my skin was covered in their Demonic Ki Runic Tattoos, I was overflowing with two Seal Powers at the same time now.
I felt my power erupting from me like a volcano; the longer this lasted, the more I felt like I was becoming a beast.
“RAAAAHHH!”
With a furious roar, I punched my master, as he clashed against me, roaring like a beast as well; his sharp claws hurt like hell, but I drained his life with Sorrow to heal myself a little.
All while I tried to punch his beak off with all I had!
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Come on, almost there…
The enlightenment, I need it!
Combine it… transform it!
Frenzy… and Frustration!
The explosiveness born from someone who cannot hold back their frustration anymore.
The insanity of going berserk, of letting out all humanity and becoming the beast we all are.
To embrace your inner monster.
“Hahaha! You’re too slow, Anna! Don’t overthink things… DO THEM!”
Master hit my face, punching me two times. I saw one of my teeth fly off as I felt even more furious.
“That was my fucking teeth, you asshole! RAAAAHHH!”
With all I had, I concentrated, combined, transformed, and released it.
Until my body erupted like a volcano, and what erupted from my body wasn’t just flames but projectiles I shaped through Frenzy.
The trick was there all along, because I also added Hatred and Sorrow.
Yeah, inhibitions? Wanting to save energy?
It doesn’t matter!
None of that matters other than beating my opponent down!
This Hatred, Sorrow, Frenzy, and Frustration was combined.
And each one fit with the “essence” of Purgatory itself, and of those demons.
Each one of them…
“W-WHAT?!”
The Heavenly Demon stuttered as he gasped, screaming in disbelief.
As my Aura erupted like a volcano, endless demonic flames washed everything away, the skies turned red, and the oceans started evaporating.
But above all, instead of the meteors of crystallized demonic Ki he created.
I made demons out of my own negative emotions.
Each one taking the form of those Death Apostles.
And each one attacking him at once!
“{Demonic Cursed Seal Arts}: {Demonic Volcanic Eruption of Purgatory}!”
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
My Inner Demons ganged up on the Heavenly Demon like there was not tomorrow.
“Hahah… HAHAHAHA! This is ridiculous!”
And my insane master could not help but laugh like a madman.
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