NOVEL WEB Chapter 718: First Major Death (1)
Suddenly, the air stiffened, and those present found it difficult to breathe properly.
The portal widened, black lightning arcing across the sky. The battlefield froze as if the world itself had stopped moving.
Everyone there had their eyes fixed on the portal that was slowly emerging.
From the ruined castle, Nox also glanced in that direction, and his eyes couldn't help but flash as he saw the familiar gate.
Growl! Growl! The demons growled excitedly. All of them were very familiar with this person and knew he was not only demon royalty but also one of the strongest demons in existence.
Just when they thought they would all be slaughtered, this person showed up—why wouldn't they be excited?
Nathan frowned tightly. From their reaction, he could tell that whoever was on the other side of that portal was the same person Eve had warned them about.
"Do you recognize that?" Nathan asked Adrian beside him.
"It's the first time I'm seeing it as well." Adrian narrowed his eyes, then added with a dark look on his face, "but why do I feel so uncomfortable?"
"You're not the only one," Jack murmured, a look of confusion and fear shining in his eyes. 'This person reminds me so much of him.'
At that moment, from within, a man stepped out slowly. There was a smile on his face, though nothing was funny, and his crimson hair fell lazily across his forehead.
He was handsome—by far the most handsome being most of them had ever seen. However, it was the kind of handsome that wasn't appealing; rather, it was unsettling.
Just looking at him, one could tell his entire existence was wrong—that he should never have existed in the first place.
"This isn't normal… he's beyond even Expert rank…" one of the soldiers cried out in dread, feeling their legs turn wobbly.
Suddenly, murmurs broke out across the battlefield.
"What… what kind of presence is this…?"
"I can't breathe properly… it's like my lungs are being crushed."
"This pressure—just from him walking out?!" a mage shouted in disbelief.
The weaker Awakened collapsed to their knees, unable to breathe under the weight.
Noir's gaze swept across the battlefield once before landing on the half-destroyed castle. His lips curled up even further.
"So this is what I missed," he said, his voice strangely pleasant to the ears.
His eyes fell directly on Hendrix—kneeling at Nox's feet like a broken dog—and there was a brief gleam of anger so quick that no one noticed.
Nox slowly stepped out from the rubble, leaping up and standing on a large chunk of rock. His hand rested casually on his sword as he met Noir's gaze with indifferent eyes.
"Hahaha!" Noir suddenly laughed, the sound shaking the ground. "What did you do to him?"
"You came back earlier than expected," Nox replied flatly instead of answering.
"Answer me," Noir demanded, his eyes flashing. "What did you do to him?"
"I made him useful." Nox's tone was ice. "Something you clearly failed to do."
Hendrix's head twitched, as if wanting to resist, but the taming mark glowed faintly across his skin, forcing him into submission.
Seeing that one of their kind had become nothing more than a dog before humans, the demons hissed in anger. But none dared move—they simply waited.
"Bastard, so you did the same thing to him as well!" Number Two exclaimed, shocked and scared at the same time.
What kind of overwhelming power was this? Cold shivers ran down his spine. He had already realized that Nox's strange class didn't just let him tame beasts after he tamed his daughter. But now, seeing it happen to someone as powerful as Hendrix… he was genuinely frightened.
What if the same thing happened to him? No one was truly safe from this kid! He shouldn't exist!
'If only we had learned about this sinner earlier, we would have hunted him down… someone with such power shouldn't be allowed to exist!'
"So it's you. Well, I've got a lot of time in my hands." Noir cracked his neck, then asked with a serious expression on his face, "Are you the strongest person in the Vermilion Kingdom?"
Nox didn't hesitate. "Yes, I am. Do you have a problem with that?" His grip on the sword tightened.
Noir simply nodded. "Very well then, I'll reduce my strength to your level and see how you'll fare!"
BOOOOM!
The ground cracked apart as Noir vanished. In the next instant, he appeared before Nox, his fist crashing down with world-shaking force.
CRASH!
The entire front of the already-ruined castle exploded outward. Dust, stone, and flames shot into the air. Soldiers screamed as shockwaves blasted them dozens of meters back.
Nox was already moving. Glacier's End intercepted the blow, sparks exploding in the storm.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Every clash of their weapons sounded like thunder. The rubble beneath their feet shattered into powder.
"This pressure…" the soldiers gasped, struggling to even remain standing.
"Are you sure you don't want to go all out?" Nox's tone was calm, though his grip on Glacier's End tightened slightly.
"All out? Against you? That would be boring. I prefer to savor this moment before snuffing the life out of you… hahahahaha!" Noir's grin widened.
BANG!
The next punch came even faster, making the air ripple before it exploded as if a cannon had been fired. Nox tilted his blade just in time, the fist smashing against it with a loud crack. The air itself shook—soldiers flew like broken dolls, blood spilling from their mouths just from the pressure.
"Monster…" someone muttered, their voice trembling.
BOOM! BOOM!
Every clash was like thunder. The ground split apart, craters forming as if the battlefield itself was collapsing under their feet.
After clashing for a while, Noir distanced himself and looked at Nox with an impressed expression.
'He's stronger—far stronger than I thought!' he thought inwardly, and with the ever-present wide grin on his face, he smiled.
"Shall we take this a step further then?" he said, and with a cold smile, he pointed his fingers at a random location.
Nox's blood ran cold when he saw this. His eyes widened, and his expression changed instantly.
But even before he could move to that spot, Noir's fingers lit up.