Death

“Bzzzt—”

A strange, faint sound stripped Xia Lun of his senses. It did not pass through his eardrums; instead, it pierced directly into the depths of his soul.

It was unlike any ordinary sound. It was more like a tremor of the soul at the level of existence itself. In an instant, it robbed him of every sense—sight, hearing, touch, even his perception of the passage of time.

There was only scarlet red.

Then Xia Lun sensed a violent surge of energy, a turbulence so intense that it felt as though the very foundations of the universe had been shaken.

“Xia Lun, get out of the way.”

In a daze, Xia Lun felt as though Aina had shoved him.

What had happened?

Had the Chaos Demon God made his move?

He could sense nothing.

His consciousness struggled within the chaos. Xia Lun tried to draw upon the mana within his body, only to find that even his connection to it had become blurred and indistinct. The scarlet did not merely block his vision—it was eroding existence itself.

Xia Lun could only feel his heartbeat growing more and more violent as an ominous premonition gradually rose within him.

“Eye of Insight.”

A strand of blue light suddenly appeared in his vision, slowly dispelling the scarlet that filled it.

The scene before him gradually came into focus.

The Chaos Demon God stood beside him. Scarlet energy still flowed across his six arms, not yet fully dissipated. The space around him warped faintly, like a landscape distorted by scorching heat.

Xia Lun immediately retreated, putting distance between them.

“Aina?”

His voice echoed across the empty sea of blood, but there was no response.

Xia Lun was startled to discover that Aina had vanished.

After the scarlet flash, she had disappeared as though she had evaporated into thin air, completely gone from this sea of blood.

Where had she gone?

Xia Lun turned his gaze from side to side, searching the surroundings again and again. Rolling waves of blood, flickering points of soul-light—nothing. There was no sign of that familiar figure anywhere.

Where was she?

The Chaos Demon God stood where he was, gazing thoughtfully at his own hands.

“Just as I thought, she was still too weak… Not even a fragment was left behind.” The Chaos Demon God shook his head. “Perhaps I overestimated you. I really shouldn’t have placed such high hopes in you.”

Xia Lun stood there blankly. He heard every word the Chaos Demon God said, clear as day, yet the meaning formed by those words could not enter his mind.

“What did you say?” Xia Lun asked. His voice was so calm that even he found it strange.

“There’s only you left now. How do you intend to resist me?” The Chaos Demon God slowly turned around, his gaze falling upon Xia Lun.

“What did you do to Aina?” Xia Lun asked, frowning.

“You still don’t understand?” the Chaos Demon God said flatly. “It’s obvious. Her soul has already been erased. In the terms of this era, she is dead.”

“No… That’s impossible…” Xia Lun instinctively denied it.

“There’s nothing impossible about it. Since the Chieftain created such rules, you naturally have to abide by them.” The Chaos Demon God displayed no emotion whatsoever, as though he had merely crushed an insignificant insect.

For the moment, however, he did not hurry to attack. He simply watched the changes taking place in Xia Lun.

Something must have gone wrong.

How could Aina be dead? How could she have died so easily?

She was a powerful Demon King. She had remained calm and composed from beginning to end, which meant that everything was surely within her plans… Perhaps she still had some powerful trump card she had yet to use.

Clearly, Aina could not possibly be dead.

Besides, she had said that she would be with him forever. Xia Lun simply could not imagine Aina lying to him.

“Where did you teleport her? Beneath the sea of blood? Or somewhere else?” Xia Lun demanded of the Chaos Demon God.

“Isn’t the answer obvious? Under an attack like that, nothing could have been left behind.” The six arms behind the Chaos Demon God swung casually. Yet that seemingly careless movement triggered a chain collapse of space. The sea of blood was forced inward by an invisible force, forming a massive depression before rushing back into place the next second with a deafening roar.

The man before him had not collapsed as he had expected. He had not raged, screamed, or broken down in tears. Instead, he appeared calmer than anticipated.

At least, that was how it seemed on the surface.

“Where exactly did you hide her? Will you tell me if I defeat you?” Xia Lun stared into the Chaos Demon God’s eyes. His voice had begun to take on a dangerous quality, like a bowstring drawn to its absolute limit. It seemed that until he obtained the answer he wanted, he would never let the matter go.

Although the fact that such a powerful being had vanished without leaving behind the slightest trace had surprised the Chaos Demon God, he truly had not done anything else. Aina’s aura had indeed disappeared from this place completely.

He had not held back, so that woman should have died.

Could things really be that simple?

In truth, even the Chaos Demon God was not entirely certain.

Xia Lun charged forward, crossing his twin swords. A cross-shaped sword aura flew toward the Chaos Demon God.

The Chaos Demon God raised one hand and easily slapped the attack apart. The sword aura plunged into the sea of blood, cleaving two bottomless trenches through it, yet the Chaos Demon God did not move even an inch.

The Chaos Demon God stood motionless, seemingly still lost in thought, while the four arms behind him dealt with Xia Lun’s attacks.

Could this be that woman’s scheme? Just like the Goddess—although her strength was not particularly great, she was always able to come up with troublesome ideas for the Chieftain.

The Chaos Demon God knew that he was not particularly clever. He was much better at using overwhelming force to crush everything.

Shing—

One of his wrists was severed. The edge of the blood sword swept across the Chaos Demon God’s forehead, leaving behind a shallow wound. Yet it healed completely in the space of a breath.

This guy… Had he become stronger?

The other two arms joined the battle. Only after forcing Xia Lun back did the Chaos Demon God turn a little more of his attention toward him.

What was he doing?

Xia Lun was breathing heavily—not from exhaustion, but because the energy of the Spirit World was converging around his body at an unprecedented speed. That invisible power flowed into him not through any deliberate absorption. It was more as though the Spirit World itself were actively merging with him.

Had he gone mad? The Spirit World had been formed from the Chieftain’s soul. Did he know what would happen if he absorbed the Chieftain’s soul?

And Xia Lun seemed to be only in the early stages of the process. He might not even have realized it himself.

Interesting.

The Chaos Demon God had no intention of interrupting the process.

After all, the fate of this world had already been decided. His physical body would devour everything, and the universe would return to chaos.

“What did you… do to Aina?” Xia Lun continued to repeat the same question again and again.

“She’s dead,” the Chaos Demon God replied with a frown.

“She isn’t dead.” Xia Lun remained certain. “Where is she now?”