The whale continued sucking all the black mist rapidly, and in a few seconds, it was all gone. Soon, the origin of the screams in extreme pain and agony was revealed. All twelve elders were lying, completely cursed by a power far beyond what they could bear, in indescribable torture.
At that moment, a sinister laugh reverberated throughout the place; it was old Dyen, who remained firm thanks to his self-created technique, even though he had been cursed like all the others.
"Hahahaha... that bitch you liked the most? Yes, as you escaped, someone had to pay the cost. It was satisfying to see the desperation on her face. I slowly sucked everything from her in the most painful way I could. The slave rune didn’t allow her to disobey or escape, but her screams and cries were incredible. Too bad it didn’t last long ahahahahhaha."
With each word, black blood flowed from Dyen’s mouth, nose, and eyes. But he didn’t seem to care, or maybe he couldn’t feel pain; one couldn’t be sure. His self-created technique, which used life energy, could keep him firm even in such a bad state.
Langrum and Ruri immediately understood the situation, shocked. Almin and the whale’s conversation in the cavern was something private between them; but several hints from Almin’s past were raised during that time. Soon, the two knew that he had someone he cared deeply about, and that person was probably responsible for him losing a significant part of his lifespan to this wicked elder. (Chapter 114)
"Why!? She had nothing to do with this..." Almin murmured in despair and pain that seemed much greater than that of the fallen elders.
"YOU WON’T GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE!!" He then shouted with all his might, his tears refusing to stop. Immediately, his whole body began to tremble, extracting every drop of power he could; he didn’t care anymore, not even about his own life.
At that moment, Almin’s mind and soul seemed to be breaking apart in indescribable pain. But when he had nothing left to lose, that’s when his will solidified to the limit. An endless void sprouted within him, and nothing else existed... only the will to fight to the last breath...
There was no more a coward, and for a moment, there was nothing but the old man who should brutally die in front of him.
A curse was something created with the hatred of the dead for the living. A mentally weak person would be the most affected and would die quickly, usually by suicide, as they couldn’t handle the endless pain. This curse from a devil could slowly corrode the soul over time. If Alm and Bruno were cursed, it would never kill them, but it would be troublesome and decrease their combat power for a while.
The tactic created by Alm and Bruno was simple. All the curse was kept within Almin, and just before they left, everything was condensed into his core of flames. This clearly increased the pain that Almin felt but prevented others from easily noticing it in his body.
When he activated everything, it was like a diabolic bomb, seeking anything alive to feed on. Then, all that curse was evenly divided among the thirteen elders and Almin. Of course, with the decrease in the curse level and the whale having the bloodline fragment belonging to the curse creator, they were confident in purifying everything in Almin’s body later.
But in that second, the black curse lines all over Almin’s body faded as if they had never existed.
The whale listened in silence and observed the Yang energy from Lyra circulating around the old man with regret. Soon, it muttered emotionlessly to Almin. "Being weak is a sin you should have understood a long time ago."
A slight tremor came from Almin after those words hit him. Immediately, memories of his past life surfaced, along with a figure he wished never to remember. He had been weak and defenseless before and died because of it. Now, he had another chance... and followed a path prioritizing his safety... he truly never sought to own his own life... and the result was clear.
"Did you really think keeping her around as a fragile slave with no free will or defenses was a solution? How ridiculous... the blame for all of this wasn’t hers but yours." These were ruthless words like a spear piercing Almin’s heart, and they came from Bruno, not Alm, as one would expect.
Almin then closed his eyes with a twisted face, and the old man simply observed, relishing that expression. But in a second, Almin opened his eyes, and in them, everyone could feel an unstoppable will that seemed to come from the depths of his soul.
Suddenly, the air became hot, to the point where it was difficult to breathe. In that second, old Dyen stopped laughing and looked astonished at Almin. He was covered by dense and pure fire laws, but something even more frightening seemed to permeate those laws, giving him a bad and sinister feeling.
Soon, the old man’s entire body seemed to resonate, indicating the origin of it: it was the demonic curse!
Almin didn’t have any more Yang energy in his core because he stored all the curse there. Still, he had an affinity for fire, so he could create as much as he wanted using his QI as fuel. However, the three in the group who were watching him knew that that intensity was beyond Almin’s capabilities. The fuel used was much purer and more powerful; it was the remainder of his own life being burned.
’This idiot,’ Alm mentally murmured, clearly feeling another difference in that flame. ’Look at him. The curse, after being released, should have split between him and the thirteen elders. He should still have the curse inside his body. But can he feel it?’
Bruno suddenly focused on Almin, and his expression changed. ’He... mastered the curse! And he even incorporated it into his flames, a coward like him... who would have thought this situation could trigger that. But now it’s too late, unfortunately.’
Langrum was astonished, watching Almin unleash a terrifying power. Ruri immediately grabbed the whale’s neck, speaking with teary eyes. "Master... he’s going to die! You have to save him!"
The whale sighed. "He made the wrong choices; the heavens don’t forgive those who don’t learn from their mistakes. He had several chances and still chose the easiest path; now the consequences are knocking on his door."
"Unfortunately, I can’t stop him from dying if he wants to. His life is his own, and seeking revenge is also a choice. Although killing oneself is as dumb as everything he has done so far."
At that moment, a pillar of flames rose to the sky, with Almin’s spear pointed firmly at old Dyen. Almin spared nothing, and he knew the old man was standing firm only because his life force was being burned. Dyen couldn’t use Almin’s cursed QI and relied solely on his physical body. If Almin attacked at full force and penetrated Dyen’s defenses, he had a real chance of killing him. The cultivation difference at this moment didn’t matter much.
Ruri clenched her fists tightly, unbelieving, and an intense pain struck her mind. Then she murmured to the whale, "Lyra... did he really love her that much? Is dying really worth it? There must be some way..."
Ruri had never seen so much pain in someone’s eyes before. Tears of sorrow stained her small face, and she quickly understood—Almin was experiencing despair and helplessness similar to what she felt in the past within the Divinestone clan.
"All her life force was forcibly taken away; if someone could still live in that way, no one would die of old age." The whale spoke, trying to make Ruri accept the reality. It was at that moment that Alm observed something.
’The life force around this old man is still very dense. It’s not common to create techniques with life force because this energy cannot be stored for long; it naturally disperses in a few hours. Now, looking at the old man, it seems he took everything very recently.’
Bruno’s mind then clicked in understanding. ’Lyra was young, so her soul must be able to sustain the body for some time... perhaps a few hours. There is a chance she hasn’t completely died yet!’
’It must be the case, but it doesn’t change anything. We can seal her soul completely with Ruri’s help. But even if we prevented her from fully dying, we can’t fix this. Think about our own example. Even in our prime, we couldn’t bring our wife back to life, so what’s the point in doing that?’ Alm responded without much emotion.
Bruno heard that and agreed; it was indeed impossible to revive her. Even in the divine realm, there are methods to put her soul into a new body, but since she was a nearly cultivation-less mortal, her soul wouldn’t have the capacity to retain her memories. She would simply reincarnate and be a completely different person than before.
So Bruno looked at Almin and noticed that all the cultivators in the city were watching from a distance with frightened eyes. The stones on the ground several meters away were already like molten magma, and a pillar of flames in a dark and diabolic red made everyone feel their souls tremble. The most impressive thing was that this firepower came from a cowardly and weak young disciple.
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Old Dyen could only run with his own legs and body, but his honor didn’t allow that at first. But now, after Almin burned his life force, this old man felt death looming over his head, and his face twisted; now he was gripping his spear and seeking a way to escape. If he simply ran, this power would hit his back, and he would die easily.
Bruno then sighed. ’Look at him now. When he’s fully motivated and confident, nothing seems impossible for him. He even mastered the curse from an ancestral demon. After we collected the soul fragment and destroyed the seal, the intensity of the curse decreased. But none of the elders around, much more powerful and experienced, managed to keep the curse under control like Almin just did.’
Alm nodded; he didn’t want to admit it, but this younger brother of his resembled them a lot in the past. In the previous universe, they came from the lowest place and yet did the impossible several times, surviving and becoming the most powerful being that ever existed in that place.
Bruno then made up his mind. ’Whether he can perform a miracle or not, it only depends on him. We can only give the opportunity to our little brother.’
The whale then spoke firmly. "Don’t be so impulsive, idiot. Lyra hasn’t completely died yet."
Those words were like thunder in Almin’s ears, and his spear seemed to loosen its grip. Then he turned completely to the whale, looking frightened.
The whale gave a strange smile and spoke calmly. "I can keep her only in a state not completely dead. And in the future, you can seek a method to fully recover her."
Ruri, Langrum, and Almin had no doubt about the words coming from this round leader. If he said he could, he certainly could. Soon, Almin’s eyes seemed to light up with a new glow, but then the whale added.
"But I’ll only do it if you prove yourself a real man. Avenge your woman, but don’t die for it. She doesn’t deserve to continue living, feeling the same pain you’re feeling now, does she?"