Chapter 221: Wilder Grin
Daniel didn’t pull his dagger back immediately. The tension from the impact still lingered between the locked blades as sparks faded into the air, but his eyes shifted for just a brief moment toward George.
George turned slightly at the same time. Their gazes meet in the middle of the chaos and despite everything pressing down on them both, a grin slowly formed across their faces.
It wasn’t forced or uncertain. It came naturally, the kind of grin that only appeared when both of them understood exactly what kind of situation they had just stepped into.
They didn’t need words to confirm it.
Peter saw that exchange clearly, and his expression hardened further as the situation settled in his mind.
The clean execution he had expected was already gone, replaced by far more troublesome battles. This fight would not end quickly and it would not be simple.
He clicked his tongue softly before shifting his stance, his voice cutting through the tension as he gave his command.
"Varyn, stay with me," Peter said, his eyes still locked forward. "The rest of you spread out. Eliminate the others. Don’t let them regroup."
The man with the dagger who had just attacked George, Varyn, stepped slightly forward without hesitation.His posture lowering as he prepared to continue the fight.
Behind them, the other seven didn’t question the order. Their gazes flicked briefly toward George and Daniel one last time before they broke formation instantly and moved.
Their bodies scattered into different directions with speed and intent, each one heading toward a different target across the battlefield to carry out their roles.
The pressure split.
What remained here was no longer nine against one.
It became two against two.
Daniel finally pulled his dagger back as he stepped fully beside George. His stance relaxed before tightening again.
He let out a breath, then spoke while keeping his eyes on Peter and Varyn. "Looks like this fight just got serious."
George rolled his shoulders slightly as he adjusted his grip on the hammer, his grin still lingering even as his eyes sharpened.
"Yeah. The sky’s turning red, the air’s getting hotter, and there’s that insane aura coming from the center." He exhaled through his nose, his tone steady but heavy. "This isn’t going to be simple."
Daniel smirked faintly. "Then we just plow through it."
George let out a low chuckle. "Damn right."
The brief moment ended.
Both of them moved at the same time, their bodies lowering into combat stance as their attention fully locked onto the two figures in front of them.
Across the short distance, Peter raised his sword slightly while Varyn adjusted his grip on the dagger, both of them also already prepared.
No one spoke anymore. All four of them understood exactly what came next.
Killing intent filled the space between them as the air felt compressed.
Then they moved.
Their bodies burst forward at the same instant, weapons cutting through the air as the next clash began.
—
At the center of the battlefield, the scale of destruction had already grown far beyond what it had been moments ago.
Michael and Red continued their relentless exchange without pause. Their movements blurred as they attacked again and again in rapid succession. Those strikes collided with explosive force that sent waves of fire and crimson mist energy tearing through the surroundings.
The ground continued to crack and collapse beneath them while the air warped violently under the pressure.
Dark flames roared outward from Michael’s spear while Red’s blood-like aura surged to meet it, the two forces grinding against each other in a continuous storm that devoured everything nearby.
Neither of them slowed. Neither of them held back.
Then, in the middle of that violent exchange, something happened.
Michael’s expression twisted into a more terrifying snarl as he forced more power into his body.
The dark flames around his spear surged thicker and heavier, compressing tightly as if gathering everything into a single point.
Then he drove it forward.
His spear pierced through the clash and slammed directly into Red’s chest.
The impact exploded again as the force drove Red’s body down into the ground with overwhelming power.
The surface beneath him shattered instantly, cracks spreading as his body was pinned deep into the broken concrete.
Flames erupted around the point of impact Dark fire consumed the area immediately as the hot shockwave rippled across the battlefield.
Michael stood above him, his spear embedded firmly into Red’s chest as the heat surged violently around them.
But Red didn’t show fear.
Even with the spear buried deep into his chest and his body pinned against the shattered ground, his lips slowly stretched into a grin that looked even more unnatural than before.
It widened little by little as if the pain tearing through him only fed something inside him. His eyes snapped open fully, far too wide, the pupils trembling slightly while blood poured from the corner of his mouth and ran down his chin in thick streams.
The heat around them continued to rise, but that expression didn’t change.
"This is getting even more interesting..." Red said, his voice rough and broken as blood bubbled up with every word. The damage to his body distorted the sound, yet the excitement in his tone remained clear. His chest twitched slightly against the embedded spear as he forced himself to keep speaking. "I wonder... what kind of being is inside you right now..."
Michael didn’t respond. He didn’t even hear it.
The words reached him, but they didn’t register as anything meaningful. Right now, there was nothing left in his mind that could process them. No thought or hesitation. No restraint.
Only rage remained.
It burned through him completely, devouring everything else until nothing of his former self stayed on the surface.
The power inside him fed on that rage and grew heavier, darker, and more unstable with every passing second. And he had already surrendered to it without resistance.
Red suddenly coughed violently.
A thick mouthful of blood spilled out as his body jerked under the force, the liquid splattering across his chest and the ground beneath him.
The sound came out wet and strained, filled with raw pain that his body could no longer suppress.
Then it escalated.
A sharp, broken wail tore out of his throat.
The scream echoed across the battlefield in loud and jagged sounds as it carried far beyond their immediate surroundings.
It cut through the noise of battle, the explosions and the clash of weapons, reaching ears far away as a clear sign that something happened at the center.
It was pain. Real pain. Michael saw it. His expression changed.
The snarl on his face slowly twisted until it formed something else entirely. A grin began to appear, spreading across his face in a way that mirrored the madness in Red’s own expression.
But his grin was colder and wilder.
He tightened his grip on the spear as the dark flames surged again, reacting to that moment.
Seeing Red suffer only pushed him further.
—
