Chapter 275 Chapter274-Ghana's Greed
The very moment the Shadowflame Seed appeared, it felt as if the temperature in the entire space had risen significantly.
The dark fire seed, about the size of a fist and cradled in John's palm, seemed to harbor no temperature at a glance.
Yet, upon closer inspection, one would notice the surrounding air crackling from being scorched.
That small pocket of space was even warping due to the burning.
The Soul-Devouring Devil Ghana spoke with a voice cold to the bone, its eyes flickering uncertainly.
In truth, from the time John and the other team members entered the Soulstone Temple, Ghana had been aware of their presence.
Ever since Ghana descended into this sealed space, no other beings had come here.
The sudden intrusion of several humans clearly showed their intent, which was self-evident.
That's why Ghana had sent the Abyssal Malevolence and the Soul-Devouring Serpent to probe them.
Like the previous Desire Devil Mammon, Ghana was exiled from the abyss to the Godslayer Continent, arriving here severely wounded.
Although Ghana had managed to devour the souls of all humans in several nearby villages through deceit and corruption during this time, its injuries still had not fully healed.
Left with no other options, Ghana had no choice but to kill all the abyssal creatures that had accompanied it, extracting their souls to mend its wounds.
When John and the team entered the Soulstone Temple, Ghana was in a deep sleep, healing its injuries, leaving only its most loyal Abyssal Malevolence and Soul-Devouring Serpent to guard its safety.
During the previous two battles, Ghana hadn't paid much attention, naturally overlooking the traces of John taking action.
Otherwise, it would have begun suspecting John's identity much earlier...
"The Shadowflame, a power that only the abyssal demon race can master? Isn't that a bit too far-fetched? If only demons can control this thing, then what is this that I have in my hand?"
Tilting his head, John asked in a teasing tone.
Ghana fell silent, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, unyieldingly fixed on John.
"Although I do not know how you managed to obtain this Shadowflame Seed, to want to release the Shadowflame in the presence of a true demon, I must say you are utterly delusional..."
With a sudden cold chuckle, the Soul-Devouring Devil Ghana unfurled the four massive flesh wings on his back.
Flapping them, the wing spurs emanated the utmost malevolent dark divine power.
He abruptly stretched out a hand, directing it towards the Shadowflame Seed in John's hand.
A grandiose surge of divine power erupted directly, sweeping across the entire space.
Simultaneously, the Shadowflame Seed in John's hand started to tremble, seemingly on the verge of breaking free from John's control.
A smirk of triumph flashed across Ghana's face, preparing to wrest control over the Shadowflame Seed from John with his potent divine power.
[System Prompt: Your Shadowflame Seed is being eroded by an unknown force...]
[System Prompt: Your Shadowflame Seed is being eroded by an unknown force...]
…
Urgent system alerts resonated beside John's ear.
Yet, he remained utterly composed, a faint smile lingering on his face, as if everything was under control.
The Soul-Devouring Devil Ghana continuously amplified his divine power output; however, his smile grew increasingly strained.
He realized that no matter how he tried, even if he concentrated all his divine power, he couldn't shake the Shadowflame Seed in John's hand.
How could this be possible?
Disbelief gradually adorned Ghana's face.
It must be known that as one of the 72 abyssal devils, the Soul-Devouring Devil, who governed the mandate of the soul, was amongst the foremost entities in the abyss in terms of soul and mental power.
The soul ORDER was the foundational ORDER of his devil status.
How could he, at this moment, fail to accomplish such a simple authority seizure with his divine power?
The so-called divine power was essentially the mental force exclusive to deities.
And the strength of this mental force originated from the strength of the soul.
Up until now, Ghana had not encountered a being with a soul more resilient than his.
He refused to believe that the human before him, insignificant as an ant, possessed a soul mightier than his.
After considering all angles, Ghana could only come up with one explanation.
That was, this individual had already gained complete mastery over the Shadowflame Seed in his hand.
In other words, he was not leveraging the power of the Shadowflame Seed, but had directly transformed the Shadowflame Seed into his own equipment item.
John held the Shadowflame Seed steady in his hand, unyielding as a mountain, a faint smile gracing his face.
"How come? Do you think just because this thing originates from the abyss, it will heed the whims of demons like you at any given time? If I remember correctly, there aren't many of these Shadowflame Seeds even in the inner layers of your abyss. Your rank isn't high; I'm afraid you didn't even have the qualifications to touch a Shadowflame Seed in the past, did you?"
The face of the Soul-Devouring Devil Ghana alternated between a pale and flushed complexion, anger flooding his chest.
Being mocked so bluntly by a human inflicted upon Ghana an incomparable humiliation.
However, he quickly suppressed the rage bubbling in his heart.
Continuing to gaze at the Shadowflame Seed in John's hand, Ghana coldly articulated, "Human, you seem to know much about our abyss, even though I'm not certain of your exact identity, it doesn't matter to me. Once I extract your soul, all the answers to these questions will naturally be known to me..."
John smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying.
Ghana continued, "But what you said earlier has indeed reminded me of something. Even within the inner layers of the abyss, there are but a few Shadowflame Seeds, so where did this object in your hand come from?"
Suddenly lifting his head, a maximum intensity of icy light flickered simultaneously in his crimson pupils and vertical slit irises as he spoke, "I think I have a rough guess of how you acquired this Shadowflame Seed... Some years ago, a reckless lord in the abyss audaciously stole a Shadowflame Seed and then disappeared without a trace... If I remember correctly, that fellow was named Yggdrasil..."
John gave a slight smile, responding candidly, "Congratulations, your guess is absolutely correct. I obtained this Shadowflame Seed from that gigantic serpent."
Ghana twitched the corners of his mouth, his already grotesque face appearing even uglier because of this expression.
"That arrogant and foolish being, due to a moment of greed, stole the Shadowflame Seed, thinking he could lie low in the Godslayer Continent. Little did he expect to end up preparing a bridal outfit for you..."
"Given your power, Yggdrasil is probably more dead than alive now, isn't he?"
John gazed at Ghana with a smile, not directly answering the question. Yet his silence conveyed all the answers needed.
Suddenly, Ghana threw his head back and laughed wildly, his eyes filled with greed as he said, "It's useless, human, the Shadowflame Seed in your hand is far from enough to challenge a great Devil..."
"I didn't expect to encounter a Shadowflame Seed here. It seems that coming to the Godslayer Continent wasn't in vain; once I kill you, the Shadowflame Seed will be mine..."
For any demon, controlling the Shadowflame was an enormous honor.
It was a primordial flame exclusive to the inner layers of the abyss, embodying a profound dark power.
Moreover, it resonated perfectly with the divine power Ghana harbored.
Acquiring the Shadowflame Seed would allow him to rapidly dispel the divine powers of other devils lingering in his injuries.
It could even grant him a tremendous surge in strength in a short span of time.
After all, within the abyss, only a few top-ranking Devils had the privilege to wield the Shadowflame.
If he could control it too, what would there be to fear even when facing those who had injured him?
Thinking of this, Ghana's heart involuntarily heated up.
John noticed the greed in the eyes of the Soul-Devouring Devil Ghana instantly but remained unconcerned, even finding it somewhat amusing.
Remembering his encounter with the Desire Devil Mammon in the Thousand Streams Cave, John couldn't help but sigh internally.
It turned out there was a vast disparity among Devils.
Mammon's demeanor was far more ferocious than Ghana's, and his temperament was many times more cautious.
At least during his battle with Mammon, he hadn't noticed any excessive display of emotion...
"How so? You want to snatch this Shadowflame Seed from my hands?" John asked with a light laugh, his tone dripping with mockery.
"Mammon... ah, that would be your thirty-third older brother, he wasn't nearly as greedy as you are now."
Ghana snorted coldly, his grotesque demonic face showing extreme displeasure.
"Don't compare me to that waste. During that battle in the abyss, if it weren't for his hesitations, unwilling to strike his own brethren, Asmod and I wouldn't have been so easily defeated, banished to this damned place..."
Ghana suddenly halted mid-sentence, his face then contorting with extreme anger, "Damn it, how dare you trick me into talking!"
John shrugged indifferently, his smile warm and pleasant.
"I didn't say anything, you voluntarily confessed... However, it is surprising to hear that even the Anger Devil Asmod has descended here. Could you perhaps also tell me where Asmod has descended to?"
Ghana roared furiously, "You sly human, don't dream of extracting any more information from me, die!"
With a fierce wave of his hand, the extremely wicked and distorted dark divine power erupted once more, the hovering Darkblade darted like lightning, aiming straight for John's forehead!
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on fre(e)webnov(l).com