Chapter 382: The Second Ultimate War

Warning: Intense Gore description ahead.

—

“Where should I begin, Ignis El Flamebane?” I asked, holding Ignis by the hair.

“W-why are you keeping me here?” Ignis asked, fear and horror laced in his voice.

Placing the lantern to the side, I sat in front of Ignis and said in a low voice,

“273,750 times.”

“Wh-what?” Ignis asked in confusion.

“For fifteen years, without missing a single day, Nymeria stabbed her right arm with a knife as she wished for your death. The total stab count was 273,750. Can you imagine the pain she suffered?”

“I-I do—”

“Of course you don’t,” I replied, cutting him mid-sentence.

Moving my finger around the scar on his face, I continued, “The only true pain you ever felt is from this scar my father left.”

My fingers began digging into the scar, forcing blood and pus to seep from the wound.

“But it’s still far from enough.”

“Aaghh!!!” Ignis screamed in pain as I dug my fingers in until they touched the solid resistance of his skull.

“You shouldn’t be screaming just now,” I whispered, leaning closer to his ear. “We’re only beginning here.”

“Y-you cannot do this to me,” Ignis blurted. “This wasn’t the punishment given to me by the imperial decree. My father will not let you do this.”

“Oh dear, you still haven’t grasped the gravity of your situation,” I sighed. “You are already dead to the outside world. All I had to do was grab one of your subordinates, engrave a similar mark on their face, force them to commit suicide in the most gruesome way, and boom—everyone thinks you killed yourself… including your dear father.”

Ignis’s defiance turned into hopelessness and horror. His body began shivering, sweat covering his entire body as he pleaded in heavy gasps,

“I-I’m sorry, Your Highness—”

“Don’t you dare say those words, scum!” My voice thundered through the room, lightning flickering in my furious eyes.

How dare he say those words so lightly after what he had done? My sect was in ruins, my father’s whereabouts were unknown, and my Nymeria…

I grabbed his right hand and muttered, my complexion dark as golden lightning danced around my arm,

“Was this the hand that touched Nymeria?”

Before he could reply, the lightning from my hand pierced into his palm, striking every nerve in his arm, burning his blood from within and even striking his bones deep inside.

“Aaghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!” Ignis screamed in pain, his whole body trembling uncontrollably yet unable to move due to the chains binding him.

I struck every nerve that sent signals of pain to his brain with just enough Soulforce to ensure they weren’t damaged and the pain signals would not stop.

Once I withdrew my Soulforce from his arm, my fingers moved to his face.

“Were these the eyes that stared at Nymeria with a lecherous gaze?”

He was already screaming at the top of his lungs when the thumb and index finger of both my hands dug into his sockets, pulling out his eyeballs.

Blood splattered, and another guttural scream followed.

I rose to a standing position, placing my foot between his legs as I murmured without letting an ounce of emotion show on my face,

“All because you couldn’t keep this in check.”

Crack!

The chains rattled as Ignis flailed wildly, screaming until his throat tore apart.

Unable to endure the extreme pain, Ignis’s body fell limp and his heartbeat stopped.

“Oh no, I say when we’re done,” I said, placing my hand on his chest.

Lightning from my hand sent a shock through his body, forcing his heart to beat again.

“Huff… huff…” Ignis breathed heavily as I pulled his soul back from the hands of the grim reaper.

“K-kill me… please just kill me,” Ignis begged, crimson tears along with bits of flesh flowing from his hollow eye sockets.

I didn’t stop there. Studying how Father had left his Soulforce intent on his face, I grabbed him by the head and unleashed my Divine Soulforce into his body. Unlike Father, who had only left his Soulforce intent on his face, I made sure every part of his body felt the pain of lightning at an intensity far greater than Father’s lightning.

—

Heavy footsteps echoed through the hallway as a handsome young man with short blonde hair, adorned in a tunic embroidered with gold, moved forward with hurried steps.

The knights clad in steel armor, standing on either side of the hallway at equal intervals, bowed before the man as he passed them.

Upon reaching the end of the hallway, the knights opened the large doors, allowing the blonde-haired man, Hector Solaris, to enter.

“Greetings, Father,” Hector said with a deep bow the moment he entered the room.

“You seem troubled, son,” an old but firm voice rumbled through the room.

The voice belonged to Kharos Solaris, the Emperor of the Azure Sun Empire, who was polishing his sword with a cloth.

“Father, the Hundred Sky Mountains have completely sealed themselves,” Hector said, his voice grave. “We have lost all connection with our knights stationed there.”

Kharos’s eyebrows furrowed as he asked, “Have you tried contacting Ignis or Titan?”

“Yes, I have. There was no response.”

“What is that Aurelion trying to do?” Kharos murmured inwardly.

’My son has returned!’

Suddenly, Voltrex’s announcement from two years ago surfaced in Kharos’s mind.

“Form a team of elite scouts and send them to investigate—”

While Kharos was speaking, a calm but deep voice suddenly echoed from outside.

“Hear me, Western Continent!”

Kharos instantly vanished from the castle and reappeared on the open ground outside as he heard the familiar voice.

His eyes lifted toward the sky, searching for the source of the voice.

A transparent, colossal reflection of a black-haired, golden-eyed man, even larger than the moons, was cast across the sky.

Even though his hair color was different and Kharos could not possibly detect his Soulforce signature from a mere reflection, the sharp, piercing gaze in his eyes was enough for Kharos to recognize the man.

He was the only person in Kharos’s long life whose blade had come closest to reaching his body.

Chills ran down Kharos’s spine. His eyes widened in shock and his hand trembled slightly from the terrifying gaze of that mere reflection.

The reflection, Taranis, roared again in a loud, thunderous voice.

“Hear me, people of the Western Continent.

Eighteen years ago, the Azure Sun Empire committed a crime that the heavens themselves will never forgive.

After the war with the demons, they betrayed the Thunderbanes and slaughtered them with poison.

For eighteen years, that sin has stained this world.

But today, the truth stands revealed.

The Hundred Sky Mountains will no longer remain silent.

The debt of blood will be repaid with blood.

Let it be known across every kingdom, every sect, and every city. Anyone who dares stand in our path will be shown no mercy.

A road of severed heads will be carved.

The rivers of blood will flow.

The soil of the Western Continent will be turned crimson for generations to come.

Before heaven and earth, before gods and men,

I hereby declare the beginning of the Second Ultimate War.”

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