815 It sounds horrible
Beads of sweat trickled down Ceano's forehead as he lowered his head and began to recount everything currently happening in the universe—how their forces were attacking all the planets and conquering them in a relentless search for the Celestial spirits. Their master had never shown much concern for the universe's affairs; his sole focus had always been on finding the Celestial spirits. But now that he had asked, they could only tell him everything truthfully.
When he finished, Azazeal remained silent for a moment before shaking his head.
"Instead of engaging in futile actions, why don't you all simply search for the Celestial spirits? I am sure it would save a great deal of time. In the end..."
He paused, the corners of his lips curling upward into a dark, empty smile.
"Everyone is going to die anyway."
These few words sent chills down the spines of the shadow generals. Noticing their pale faces, Azazeal chuckled, the sound so devoid of emotion that it felt arid.
"Why are you all trembling? Just ascend to the Celestial realm when I open it."
The trio nodded their heads hastily upon hearing his words.
Among the three, Enthrall didn't have much information about the Celestial realm, so he could only glance at Ceano and Damien.
He knew they were tasked with finding the Celestial spirits and opening the Realm of the Dead when Azazeal had vanished in the past after sealing the second realm, and that the Celestial spirits could be used to open the Celestial realm. After all, he also desired to ascend to that realm, as it was said that the air in the Celestial realm was infused with the true power of nature and could help one become stronger.
However, he had little idea about how Azazeal intended to accomplish this or what the man's true motives were. He only knew that they needed to find the Celestial spirits and inform their master.
Noticing his questioning gaze, Ceano quickly communicated in his mind.
'Lower your gaze. We will talk later!'
Among all the shadow generals, Enthrall was the only one with a weird nature. This man wouldn't hesitate for even a second to abandon them if he believed his involvement might bring him harm. However, in the presence of Azazeal, they were insignificant. If Enthrall unleashed his venomous and nonsensical chatter here, he would die and get them killed as well!
Ceano and Damien had witnessed the true power of the dark flower on their bodies; it granted them immense strength, but it came at a price. Just as the shadow generals could eliminate other individuals with dark flowers on their bodies with a mere flick of their fingers, it could also kill them in an instant if their master so desired!
Enthrall lowered his gaze. He was just as scared as they were in the presence of this powerful figure, their master. Still, he wanted to know everything to ensure he understood what he was signing up for! He didn't want to end up dying without an intact corpse! To make matters worse, there wasn't even a second chance if he died since they were the ones who destroyed the Realm of the Dead!
'The thing I don't get is why the hell master didn't kill that Kyle guy on time if he already knew about that bastard! At least he's dead now since he tried to play the role of hero in the Forsaken Land. One less problem.'
It seems the shadow generals have yet to discover that the powerful man who has been recently reported to be killing many of their people in a short time is not just some random bronze-skinned man who appeared out of nowhere, but none other than Kyle.
Azazeal's eyes flickered with amusement as he read all their thoughts. The shadow generals only knew he had the ability to kill them, but they did not realize that the moment they willingly engraved that flower on their bodies, they became nothing more than mere puppets, about whom he could learn everything with just a single thought. Moreover, as the owner of the dark flower, he could kill all those who bore the flower on their bodies with a mere thought.
"It sounds horrible."
He whispered with feigned sadness, successfully capturing the trio's attention. With a flick of his wrist, black, purple, and red particles surged out of his body.
The five-petaled dark flowers on Ceano, Damien, and Enthrall's bodies glowed ominously and hungrily devoured those particles as they seeped into their bodies. The three felt their power surging, and their eyes trembled with greed for more.
Azazeal stood before them, watching everything silently, but suddenly his eyes glowed, and he snapped his gaze behind him as if looking to a distant place. A rare sarcastic laugh erupted from his lips.
"I knew you wouldn't disappoint me. What I cannot find, you can for me, right? Isn't that the reason I didn't kill you, even though I can now since your essence has merged with you and it can no longer interfere to save you?"
The space before him tore open under his gaze, and he stepped in. The rift he created shattered into particles behind him.
The three shadow generals were too consumed by the formidable power they were gaining to be concerned about his disappearance.
Enthrall let out a laugh as the dark flower on his body glowed, and another petal lit up among the previous five. His sapphire eyes sparkled with a deep dark hue.
"Finally! I am at the peak of supreme rank, standing at that renowned boundary; I just need to cross! Then I will be a Celestial!"
Damien scoffed disdainfully at him as he gently caressed the dark flower on his body, which now had six dark petals.
"It's not that simple. Ceano and I reached that boundary, but what happened then? We weren't able to cross. We failed."
He stood up and straightened his clothes, ready to shed blood to test his strength.
"Attaining true Celestial rank isn't a game. We need something more, something powerful to surpass that boundary."
In the dark, eerie space, only Ceano remained silent with his head bowed.