Chapter 544: A Predator’s Smile (4)
Fueled by the power now healing his body, he lunged at Smogh, unleashing the War King’s Form.
Holy power... and newfound demonic might.
Inside Snow’s body, the two clashed violently—sending waves of agonizing pain through him.
But Snow Lionheart didn’t care about pain anymore. After all his wandering... he had finally broken the shackles, even if only a little.
He could keep moving forward.
"I can become stronger than I am now!"
He had found the way.
"This is what you meant... isn’t it, Frey!"
Snow roared madly as he clashed with Smogh.
The latter unleashed his power, coating his body in the same iron-like material of extreme hardness.
"I won’t let this happen again."
Smogh launched dozens of cannon-like punches, each one met by Snow’s blade.
The War King’s Stance had already pushed Snow’s body to its very limits, but this time, he chose to wield the element of darkness—
an element he had rarely used in battle.
"We’ll see about that."
Smogh had turned his body into a walking tank; there was no chance for Snow to repeat what he had done before.
But this battle was already nothing like their previous clash.
As if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time, Snow’s body began to absorb the demonic power at an alarmingly dangerous rate—
and the strength he gained was far from insignificant.
Humans contracted to the Ultras grew stronger by consuming demonic blood, and as a result, many powerful beings had emerged—lords and Hollows alike.
They were the rare humans whose bodies could withstand such blood.
And now, the most gifted human in recorded history spread his arms, accepting and embracing that blood in full.
The result... was truly horrifying.
SLAASH!!!
Vermithor , now wreathed in a suffocating mass of dark aura, had become the very embodiment of a Reaper.
Smogh didn’t even realize how it happened—
his titanic fists, his armored body...
Every inch of him had been carved with hundreds of cuts from Snow’s blade.
"What’s wrong? Didn’t you say this wouldn’t happen again?!"
SLAASH!!
In a blur of speed and unimaginable force—
Snow severed Smogh’s right arm with a single swing.
Void Step.
Using his technique, Snow vanished from before Smogh and reappeared some distance away, gripping the severed arm in his own hands.
"Thanks for the free meat."
Without hesitation, Snow began devouring the arm like a wild beast—nothing human in his movements.
Smogh, watching the scene, felt a sickening realization claw at him.
"I... me, of all people... being eaten?!"
That truth alone was enough to make the Hollow snap.
He no longer cared.
Smogh unleashed his full strength, intent on killing his opponent outright.
"To hell with the ritual... I’ll kill you and eat you right here, right now!"
From his massive frame, torrents of black matter poured forth, swelling his body at a monstrous pace.
From the stump of his severed arm, a new limb sprouted; his body swelled into a giant so large his shadow completely engulfed Snow.
Around him, dozens of black iron spikes erupted through the air, tearing through the void toward Snow.
But Snow had already finished eating the arm.
In the next heartbeat, he was gone, dodging the spikes that ripped the earth apart where he’d been standing.
Surging forward, trails of black aura streaked behind him—
Snow Lionheart circled Smogh’s massive form, unleashing dozens of colossal slashes that tore into him.
"What now? Did you give me even more meat to work with? I appreciate it!" Snow mocked, only to be met with a rocket-like punch that sent him flying hundreds of meters.
Smogh leapt after him instantly, blotting out the ground below with his shadow.
"Massacre Dive!"
From above, hundreds of shadowy, berserk fists rained down like meteors, each packed with overwhelming power.
The assault resembled a meteor shower consuming the earth.
But Snow tore through the void itself, cutting down every incoming fist until his blade finally reached Smogh’s massive body.
He carved through the hardened flesh with terrifying ease, leaving a bloody trail along Smogh’s frame before appearing high above him in the sky.
Terrified by his opponent’s strength, Smogh let out a beastly roar, unleashing all his aura into a roaring, sky-devouring beam of darkness.
"DIE!!!"
The raging beam slammed into Snow head-on, engulfing him completely—
Snow Lionheart, gripping his sword aimed at Smogh’s neck, smiled wide.
He didn’t care that his skin and flesh were evaporating under the attack, exposing bone in multiple places.
Pouring all his power into his blade, Snow unleashed a force so great it split Smogh’s beam into four directions.
"One-Sword Style: Supreme Skill."
Drunk on his newfound strength, Snow finally released the strike he’d been unable to before—
"Infernal Ascension."
The heavens themselves ignited in blinding white light, coiling around a titanic shadow.
Channeling it all into his blade, Snow descended like a falling star, cleaving through Smogh’s beam with effortless finality.
The Hollow screamed with all his might, desperate to repel his foe—
but Snow crashed into him, driving Vermithor deep into his flesh.
The impact hurled both of them downward at tremendous speed, their clash shaking the skies as they smashed into the ground.
The explosion overturned the land itself, swallowing them in a chasm of dust and ruin.
On that cursed day, the Ultras’ continent suffered yet another quake as the war reached its blood-drenched peak.
Through the haze and devastation, one sword gleamed from afar—Vermithor, buried deep in the Hollow Smogh’s neck.
The Hollow lay broken, unable to move, unable even to try removing the blade that pinned him.
Through Vermithor’s power, he was completely bound.
Then, from behind, came the sound of footsteps...
Snow had fallen nearby as well, his body battered to the brink—
but he could still move.
And he was walking toward his opponent.
No.
Toward his prey.
Snow’s eyes, the way he looked at him...
Smogh knew it well—
They were the eyes of a predator set on devouring its catch.
"No! Don’t come!"
Smogh screamed, struggling to move—
but it was useless.
Vermithor’s weight kept him crushed to the ground.
"You wanted to eat me, didn’t you?" Snow said, gripping Smogh’s face and slamming it into the dirt.
"You wanted to consume me—so why show me that face now, when I’m about to do the same to you?"
"No... NO!!" Smogh cried, thrashing uselessly.
"Lady Yosefka! Please! Give me strength!!"
He sobbed without pause, but no one answered his call.
"It’s no use. There’s no one here but us," Snow replied with a chilling smile.
"All this time... I’ve lost, and lost, and lost again...
"But today I’ve won. And from this day on..."
"I will win, and win, and win again. I will never lose again. So bear witness to my words... Smogh."
Those were the last words the Hollow ever heard—
before Snow Lionheart devoured him whole.