"Your father? Even if your father is a late-stage 4th class, do you think he can match me?" Damien taunted openly.
And Reavus reacted just as a dumb dog would.
"Hah? Late-stage 4th class? Don't joke with me! My father is an extreme peak master, and my grandfather is the Immortal Blood Asura himself! Damien Void, if you let me go now, I will forgive your sins and you won't be targeted by the Bloodlock Clan anymore! I can swear a Mana Oath by it!"
Reavus' words were both mocking and sincere at the same time. Threatening Damien with his family's power before offering a Mana Oath for trust was exactly the carrot-and-stick method that leaders tended to use on their lackeys.
However, Damien was no lackey.
He seemed to have forgotten something after getting caught up in the moment.
'I can just devour him and find out everything I need from his memories.'
Damien grinned.
"Reavus, my friend. It seems you don't have any use after all. However, your father and grandfather, now those are stepping stones to look forward to!"
Reavus' eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare…!"
"Oh, I absolutely would."
Damien's grin turned savage.
In truth, Reavus' efforts to sabotage him were all in vain and never actually succeeded in inhibiting him.
Reavus himself was trash, only able to bully the weak.
Damien truly could leave Reavus alive and allow him to return to the Bloodlock Clan. This way, he'd be subjected to an endless stream of assassins and other experts before the actual high-ranking figures of the clan moved.
This, of course, would provide Damien with apt material for growth and combat practice, but it was unneeded at the moment.
The Nox were far better punching bags.
On the other hand, if Damien killed Reavus here…
'Won't the big boss come from the start?'
If so, he had to make a scene.
'I heard that these big clans have various methods to find out who killed their disciples. The Demigod-level influences can create soul lamps since a Demigod has control over that esoteric concept, but I heard they have a few more surefire methods…'
Among them, runes and restrictions that could transmit the last scenes before one's death to another party.
'If Reavus has one of those, then don't I have to leave a convincing enough show for his father to come to me personally?'
Damien cracked his knuckles with anticipation.
It had been a long time since he was able to torture someone.
Reavus Bloodlock…
The young "genius" could only lament his fate making an enemy of someone like Damien.
***
The cycle of night and day in the Celestial Realm was completely disproportionate to the Real Plane. The nights were far, far longer, almost endless.
A certain soul felt this eternity far more than his peers.
His screams resounded through a lonely mountain valley. They were visceral screams, almost as gruesome as the squelching sound of his body being slowly picked apart.
'I didn't know vultures existed in this realm.' Damien thought curiously as he watched the proceedings.
[Heal]
A white light streamed from his finger and entered Reavus' body, healing a portion of his injuries.
'This should be the last bit. I don't know how much the Bloodlock Clan will be able to see once the feed gets transmitted back. I should keep it suffice.'
As night turned to day, Damien realized he'd already tortured Reavus Bloodlock for over 40 hours. The man's spirit was long broken, and his consciousness was barely being maintained by Damien's healing.
'It's quite the poor sight. I almost feel bad for him.'
Damien shrugged and walked over to Reavus' body, shooing away the vulture beasts as he did so.
"You look terrible."
"Ugghk…iusuug…"
Damien snorted, trying to hold back his laughter.
Well, it was his fault for expecting cohesive words from a blob of meat that didn't even have a proper mouth anymore.
"Hmm, I wanted to put the finishing touches on this masterpiece of mine, but I think this is enough."
"Well, then…this is our goodbye, young master."
Damien smiled warmly and slashed his hand out, severing Reavus' last string of life force and sending him into the cycle of reincarnation.
"Hey, hey! To whoever is watching this, my name is Damien, and…well, what else can I say? I'm a bit camera-shy. Umm…it looks like we'll be seeing each other often after this, so I just wanted to say I look forward to our first meeting! Ta-ta now!"
Damien flashed a toothy grin at the transmission signal that formlessly exited Reavus' body.
And in the next instant, he watched that formless transmission signal fizzle as it tried to exit the Celestial Realm's barrier.
Damien rubbed his nose awkwardly. "Looks like it'll have trouble reaching the Bloodlock Clan until the Celestial Realm reopens. What a shame, after all that effort I put into my acting…"
He let out an exaggerated sigh of melancholy, but inwardly, he was widely grinning.
'Good! This means I have 3 months to get the fuck out of here before the Bloodlock Clan catches up! Hahahaha!'
His overall plan was a little on the crazy side.
He couldn't face an extreme peak 4th class with his current strength, yet he went and provoked one anyway.
He was hoping he'd get to have a few experiences at war before the Bloodlock Clan's people found him. At that point, he'd be ready to take whatever came to him.
A three-month respite was actually a heavenly-blessed opportunity for Damien.
'I can accomplish the final task I wanted to take care of before leaving the academy and then leave. By the time the Bloodlock Clan arrives here, I'll be long gone. Let's see how they find me after that.'
The smile on Damien's face had gone through a myriad of changes since the beginning of this interaction, and now that it was ending, that same smile looked particularly mischievous.
He soon vanished into the void, leaving behind a mountain valley filled with corpses.
However, strangely enough…
The most important of them was missing entirely.
***
3 months passed rapidly, especially for those in the Celestial Realm. Despite participating in countless perilous adventures in this time frame, those who'd experienced the realm's mystical properties and endless rewards were naturally enamored by it.
Unfortunately, staying past one's welcome was impossible. The Celestial Realm's opening was random, and it had only opened 3 times in the past 100,000 years. Getting trapped inside was a death sentence no matter how one looked at it!
Disciples poured out of the secret realm entrance in droves. Their disciple badges flashed with various colors that showcased their progress and the results of their examination.
But unlike a usual progress examination, nobody was focused on their results when they exited.
After all, an utterly inconceivable rumor had been spreading recently.
It was a rumor about a mysterious genius who made his advent in the Celestial Realm.
It was said that he could leap millions of kilometers in a single bound, summon the winds and rain with a thought, and even wholly erase his enemies from existence.
It was a terrifying rumor, but a rumor that had no validity behind it…
…at least, at the beginning,
A second round of rumors began circulating afterwards.
That same genius, the terrifying entity that most had chalked up to fiction, was a true monster. After all, that person's existence was confirmed.
Every Emperor and Paragon of Hidden Death Valley had been defeated.
It didn't matter their level or elemental comprehension, as long as they were below the extreme peak of 4th class, they were suppressed without exception.
The mysterious genius who achieved this feat vanished after completing his round of challenges.
There was no name for him on Heaven's List. His identity became an utmost mystery of Hidden Death Valley.
However, these geniuses refused to forget his feats.
The number one spot on Heaven's List was filled by a new name, a name fit for someone who could dominate the rankings of Heaven in a single string of challenges.
[1. Heavenly King]
Atticus looked at the ranking wryly.
He cracked his shoulder and winced in pain. It was an old injury at this point, but it still hurt like hell.
'Dammit…you didn't have to be so heavy-handed, did you?'
He knew from the start that that man would become something great.
But to think it happened so soon…
'Heavenly King is truly an apt title for a genius like him.'
Atticus smiled lightly.
The Heavenly King or the Saint King…
Just which one would win in the end?
'I have to get stronger.'
Atticus wanted to be there for that moment, and he was unresigned to being a mere spectator.
'When we meet again, I won't let you thrash me like that. Never again.'
Atticus eyes hardened.
That guy disappeared after causing such a scene, likely headed somewhere he could become an even greater monster.
In that case, Atticus would become a monster too.
He was absolutely determined to do so.
He was one of many affected by the sudden appearance of such a heaven-defying genius, though his case was far more severe since he knew the man personally.
From the weakest disciples to those Emperors and Paragons who'd faced humiliation under the purple-eyed demon's hand, all geniuses of Hidden Death Valley were spurred into action.
The Director watched this change take place from above.
He smiled to himself.
'I've helped you as much as I can. Your identity is now only known in this academy as the Heavenly King. "Damien Void" never returned from Calypto, so go. Run wild as you please and become the Ruler of Heaven that you were meant to be…'
'…Successor of Void Palace.'
