"Not a true Devil, but a near identical replica created by the trial's formation," the Grandmaster corrected. "To this boy though, it might as well be a real Devil. Now that the boy has been locked onto by the Devil, his fate is sealed."
"Why isn't he trying to escape?" a confused guildmember asked those near him.
"Maybe he's frozen with fear?" another guildmember replied.
"That's obviously the case. Any sane person would have fled by now. Since he's frozen in fear, against a Devil, he's as good as dead."
"A shame," another said, shaking their head. "I wanted to learn a bit more about this mysterious trial, but it seems the experience ends here."
The Grandmaster listened to the others talk, then sighed.
"Perhaps he can still survive, although the chance is beyond slim. He will need to flee immediately, and hope he travels in the right direction. If he can find the trial's exit through luck before the Devil reaches him, perhaps he can…"
The Grandmaster instantly fell silent, eyes going wide with utter shock. The same reaction was on the face of every other person in the room, as they watched John do the most unexpected thing imaginable.
…
'A Devil,' John finally realized, recalling the descriptions he had been given about the Devil race by Luri and Suri.
John's blood rushed instinctively, preparing for the battle to come. Ever since he heard of the Devil race, he had wanted to fight against one of them. Just before he started to move, he paused, a surprised frown forming on his face.
"Early World Expansion Realm!"
The Devil was in the Early World Expansion Realm, far stronger than the targets he had to assassinate in the previous trials. Its cultivation was so high that it shocked even John.
'A full major realm above my cultivation? This Heaven's Shadow trial is insane? How was anyone supposed to pass this trial?'
To anyone but John, they would instantly realize upon seeing the cultivation level of the Devil that this was not a combat trial. It was utterly impossible to jump four minor realms in battle, and so the only logical conclusion was that 'survive' meant to flee the Devil, and find some sort of escape. There was not a single person in the history of this world that would have assumed anything else.
However, when it came to logic, John's very existence defied all logic itself. Where everyone else thought flee upon seeing the Devil, there was only one thought that entered John's mind. The Devil took in a deep breath, and then its gaze snapped directly towards the bush John was hiding behind.
Realizing he had been noticed, the word dominating John's mind boomed like a drum, filling him with resolved purpose. His blood and Qi surged through his body, filling him with incredible power. John opened his mouth, no longer hiding his presence, and roared with determined fury.
"KILL!"
Boom!
John's aura exploded outwards as he instantly unleashed his Dragon-God Shift. Draconic scales appeared on his cheeks, chest and arms as a draconic roar filled the dark forest, like an ancient slumber dragon had been stirred awake. His black robe was instantly replaced by the draconic armor Laia had gifted him, matching the scales on his body, making him look like a dragon-god in human form.
His eyes shifted into a golden color, blazing like golden stars. A pitch-black scythe appeared in his hands, the weight of the scythe causing his feet to crack the sturdy ground below him.
The Devil let out a loud roar, sounding like a mix between a beast's roar and a bird's screech. Its powerful aura erupted out instantly, drowning the dark forest in a murderous, blood lusted aura. It shot over towards John with incredible speed, appearing before him in an instant.
Razor sharp claws sliced out towards John, intending to end his life in a single attack.
Boom!
Lightning exploded from John's outstretched hand, slamming into the Devil's chest just before it reached him. A screech of surprise and pain boomed from the Devil's mouth as it shot backwards through the forest, crashing through trees, snapping them like they were twigs. It slammed into the ground and carved a deep trench into the earth, stopping only a mile away.
Roar!
The Devil roared furiously, and shot out of the trench it had made. It sped into the sky and spotted John, speeding towards him once more. A long, black saber appeared in its hand, which slashed outwards towards John, unleashing a terrifyingly powerful black and red saber image.
The saber image surged with the power of several Dao's, and seemed like it was capable of cleaving apart anything that stood in its way. A smirk appeared on John's face as he watched the saber image approach, his scythe slashing outwards a moment later to meet the attack.
Boom!
Saber image and scythe met, filling the dark forest with a calamitous explosion of power. John shot out of the explosion towards the Devil in the sky, scythe no longer in hand. It's tremendous weight was a burden for him unless he used his full power, and with all those people watching, he was unwilling to utilize his Asura Transformation unless absolutely forced to do so.
As he sped towards the Devil, his eyes widened momentarily as he saw the creature put its saber away, returning to use only its physical body.
"Matching what I use, huh?" John said, realizing what was going on. For whatever reason, the Devil only used a weapon if he held one in his hand. With that realization, the blood-lusted smile on John's face widened with anticipation.
"It's been some time since my last battle with a demon," John said, "So make sure to give me a good battle tonight! I need to let off some steam after all."
He arrived before the Devil a moment later, fist punching out to meet the devils sharp claw swipes. Space rippled where claw and fist moved, the two colliding a moment later.
Boom!
The dark forest exploded beneath them from the physical power of the collision, blasting trees, boulders, and hills away with the shockwave created. Both John and the creature were knocked backwards through the sky, although it was obvious John had lost out in the exchange, flying farther backwards than the Devil.
He paused and inspected his fist, the skin on it torn, revealing muscle and bone beneath. The torn skin started to heal at a visible rate, mending the wound in less than a second. A satisfied smile appeared on John's face as he returned his gaze to the approaching Devil.
"Unlocking the Limiter of Life was truly a blessing," he said, smiling. "Now I can fight like this, pushing my body to the absolute limits, for far longer than I could have before. Time to see what this improved body of mine is truly capable of!"
His fist shot outwards once more, meeting the Devil's claw that had just arrived.
Boom!
