Chapter 246: A Rematch
Daniel looked at the creature that had once been his Fallen. It no longer resembled what it used to be.
Its body was still black with purple veins, but those butterfly wings... and that insectoid, bee-like head... It had clearly turned into a Corruption Beast.
From its voice, it wasn’t hard to tell this was none other than Pride—one of the two Fallen Daniel had left behind to protect his family.
Azrak and Pride. And the one standing in front of him now had to be Pride.
’Then where’s Azrak? Could it be that he hasn’t fully transformed yet?’ Daniel thought, but he didn’t lower his guard.
It was possible Azrak had also turned and was just waiting for the right moment to ambush him.
"I thought you were dead, but turning into a Corruption Beast isn’t bad either. This way, I can turn you back into a Fallen," Daniel smirked.
There were plenty of corpses here that met the requirements to become a Fallen.
And now that he knew Pride had become a Corruption Beast, he was a little relieved—this meant he could reclaim him.
But more importantly—how had they even turned into Corruption Beasts in the first place? How had the master-servant bond been broken without him noticing? Why hadn’t the Mother System issued any notification?
Was something like this even possible? He couldn’t understand what had happened to his Fallen.
"You talk too much, human invader. You have entered our sacred nest and must be punished." A spear suddenly appeared in Pride’s hand.
It was a spear formed from corruption aura and radiated an ominous energy.
’A spear, huh? He’s skilled in both sword and spear... but he usually fights with a spear.’
"Let’s see how much stronger you’ve become."
Pride glared at Daniel with red, furious eyes. "Die, filthy human!"
His voice echoed like a howl from the depths of hell. He spun the spear and charged at Daniel with [Piercing Spear of Corruption].
The skill enhanced his spear with corruption energy, allowing it to easily pierce through armor and flesh.
Daniel dodged with a quick movement, powered up The Heavens Honor with death energy, and smirked.
"Really, Pride? That’s the best you’ve got? I thought my subordinates were better than this." He wasn’t mocking him just for fun.
He wanted to see whether insults and mockery could affect the minds of intelligent Corruption Beasts—whether it would make them more bloodthirsty or emotionally unstable, or if they still maintained their mental discipline.
Pride growled, rage flaring in his eyes. He released a wave of corruption—a sticky black wave that surged toward Daniel.
"Looks like they do get angry." Daniel leapt into the air to dodge and slashed at Pride’s fragile wings with The Heavens Honor.
His blade tore through Pride’s left wing, green sticky blood sprayed out, and Pride screamed as he was thrown backward.
"All that rage... Is it ’cause you can’t look at yourself in the mirror anymore?" Daniel laughed.
Jokes aside, Pride’s face really was awful now. The majesty he once had was gone, replaced with an ugly and monstrous appearance.
Daniel hoped that once he turned him back, Pride’s old face would return.
He infused his sword with Eternity energy again and struck. The blade hit Pride’s chest, tearing through black scales and leaving a deep wound.
Pride screamed, but Daniel calmly said, "Come on, try a little harder. All you’re doing is wasting your own energy."
Pride used [Dance of Corrupted Shadows] and vanished into the darkness of the cave, attacking Daniel from behind.
That skill let him merge with corruption and become invisible.
’So he really has gained new skills,’ Daniel’s eyes glinted. If that was true, didn’t it mean he could gain new skills from him too?
The spear grazed Daniel’s shoulder, opening a shallow wound. Red blood dripped down, the pain was sharp like a needle—but Daniel didn’t even flinch.
He turned and engulfed The Heavens Honor in flames. The red and black fire burned through Pride’s other wing, and he crashed to the ground with a scream.
"You thought cheap tricks like that would work on me?!" Daniel shouted with a mocking laugh.
Just as Daniel was preparing to deliver the final blow to Pride, the ground beneath him rumbled. Suddenly, from the shadows, a giant Corruption Beast emerged. Its massive, scaled body, insectoid head, and glowing lava-like eyes appeared.
In its hand was a massive sword made of solid corruption.
"Azrak? Just as I thought." Daniel was stunned for a second, but quickly regained focus.
Azrak charged at Daniel with [Titan’s Corrupted Rush]. His enormous sword cracked the ground, releasing a wave of corruption toward Daniel.
Daniel leapt into the air to dodge, but the wave struck his leg, opening a deep wound.
Blood poured from his shin, pain like a blade twisted in his body—but he laughed. "Azrak, looks like all becoming a Corruption Beast did was make you bigger!"
Daniel remembered their first battle. Back then, he’d been inches from death—nothing but a toy Azrak could crush however he liked.
But now? In less than two months, everything had flipped.
Azrak roared, his eyes blazing with rage, and attacked with [Crushing Blow of Corruption].
Daniel quickly spun his sword to block. His blade clashed with Azrak’s scales, shattering several.
Green blood splattered, and Azrak let out a furious roar. The waves of corruption shook Daniel’s mind for a moment, but he focused and infused death energy into his sword, then attacked Azrak’s fragile wings.
His wings tore apart, and he crashed to the ground screaming.
Pride returned to the fight, using [Black Howl] to disorient Daniel—but he quickly rushed toward him.
The Heavens Honor ignited with flame and stabbed into Pride’s chest. His scales tore, green blood sprayed, and he collapsed, his body disintegrating in a haze of corruption.
But he wasn’t dead yet. Daniel had to shove his hand into Pride’s torso, pull out the throbbing core, and crush it.
Then he turned to the next target.
Azrak created a shield of corruption scales around himself and charged at Daniel with his massive sword.
Daniel laughed. "Oh, you think your fancy shield’s gonna help? Let me show you how we squash bugs!" He empowered his sword with Eternity energy, as if time had frozen inside the blade.
With one quick strike, he shattered the scale shield and drove his blade into Azrak’s shoulder. Green-black blood exploded, and Azrak was hurled back with a roar of pain.
Without hesitation, Daniel attacked his fragile wings, tearing them apart. Then, with a final blow, he drove the blade into Azrak’s heart. The giant body collapsed.
Again, he shoved his hand into the chest and pulled out the core—then crushed it.
The corruption auras of both vanished. Pride and Azrak were dead.
"They got stronger than I expected." Daniel stood, wiping the sweat from his face.
Then he approached their corpses. Now that they were dead, it was time to use the Forgotten Eyes.
The Forgotten Eyes didn’t just let him summon the souls of the dead for a few seconds—they also let him see their memories.
He didn’t want to ask what had happened. For that turning them back into Fallen was enough. He wanted to "see" what had happened to his family.