Chapter 31: Who Is Your So-Called Son of God? |
A roaring dragon of black flames surged into the sky.
The scorching heat distorted the light passing through the air, making it impossible to see what was happening within.
Stone slabs melted. Flesh vaporized.
Every nerve ending was incinerated in an instant, leaving the Ashen Order cultists with no time to scream or wail before they turned to pale-white ash.
In the entire battlefield, only a black pillar of flame—darker than the night itself, as if it could devour the world—remained.
At the same time, within Xia Ya’s mind, countless azure text prompts rapidly scrolled past.
[Fire Source Containment: 100%]
[Skill Prototype: "Amaterasu" has been completed.]
…
[Attributes: Darkness, Curse, Fire, Psychic]
[Tier: Pseudo-Transcendent]
[Proficiency: Beginner (0/10,000)]
[Skill Description: Within the user's line of sight, unleash large-scale black flames that ignore spatial restrictions to attack opponents, causing multiple effects such as burning, curses, and spatial rifts.]
[Warning: The power of this skill directly depends on the user's mental energy expenditure. Overuse will lead to extreme mental exhaustion and severe physical strain. Use with caution.]
…
[10,000 Free EXP has been consumed. "Silver's" composite skill "Amaterasu" has advanced from "Beginner" to "Mastery."]
[30,000 Free EXP has been consumed. "Silver's" composite skill "Amaterasu" has advanced from "Mastery" to "Proficient."]
[Remaining Free EXP Pool: 60,500.]
…
[Congratulations! Due to acquiring a new skill, "Silver's" combat level has increased to Level 30.]
["Silver's" tier has advanced from Transcendent (Tier 2) to Commander (Tier 3).]
[Congratulations! Your Soul Pact level has increased. Current Soul Pact level: 30.]
[Your Third Soul Pact has been unlocked.]
…
Xia Ya felt a sharp pain in his left eye.
Reaching up to touch it, he felt a few warm drops of crimson liquid trickling from the corner.
"Tch. Even the side effects are accurate… this is ridiculous."
"Good thing it’s just temporary mental exhaustion and not permanent vision loss."
Pulling a tissue from his Spatial Pocket, he wiped his eye.
After a Beastmaster forms a Soul Pact with a Summoned Beast, they gain enhanced physical attributes from the bond.
The stronger the Soul Pact’s synchronization, the greater the enhancements the Beastmaster receives. If their compatibility is high enough, they can even directly use some of their Summoned Beast’s abilities.
This was why most Beastmasters raised their Summoned Beasts from hatchlings or juvenile stages—and why, unless a Summoned Beast died, they rarely replaced them, even if they found a stronger species.
Silver was Xia Ya’s first and primary Summoned Beast.
From Ceylon in the Northern Territories to now, they had been through everything together. Their Soul Pact compatibility had long since reached an unparalleled level.
Because of that, the moment Silver completed Amaterasu, Xia Ya immediately wanted to test its full power.
Sure, he had seen the system’s warnings, but…
He had just acquired Amaterasu—it would be a waste not to try it at full output at least once.
"Well… for something that cost me three Skill Seeds and 40,000 EXP just to level up from Beginner to Proficient… yeah, I’d say it was worth it."
"As expected, expensive things never have flaws. I’m the only flaw here."
Looking at Amaterasu’s devastating power, Xia Ya couldn’t help but let out a broke man’s sigh.
Transcendent-tier skills were normally exclusive to Monarch-tier Summoned Beasts.
Even among Monarch-tier beasts, only those with exceptional racial talents could possess them.
Yet Silver had managed to learn one while still two whole tiers below Monarch.
Although the skill still had some limitations, once Silver advanced to Monarch-tier, the "pseudo" prefix would be removed, making it a true Transcendent-tier ability.
Not only that—
Absorbing a Sixth-Tier Transcendent Material had instantly boosted Silver by two levels, putting it right at the boundary between Transcendent and Commander-tier…
Even Xia Ya himself had received enough Soul Pact feedback to break through to Third-Ring and unlock his Third Soul Pact.
"All in all, I’d say that went pretty well."
Xia Ya stretched lazily before looking up toward the sky in the distance.
"Alright… time to wrap up this farce."
…
On the distant battlefield.
The three Fourth-Ring Masters currently fighting also noticed the sudden, abnormal disturbance within Saint Roland Academy.
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
In the Ashen Order Pontiff’s hand, a small iron plate—previously glowing with dim light—was now rapidly losing its illumination.
Until—
It was completely dark.
This was a Transcendent Artifact that tracked the soul states of the arsonists sent on this mission.
The fact that every single light had gone out could mean only one thing—
The arsonists were all dead.
However—
The Pontiff had no time to care about his fallen subordinates.
He didn’t even acknowledge the dying Molten Giant beside him, nor its final, rage-filled wails.
Because—
In his mental perception—
The awe-inspiring and scorching presence of the Divine Relic bestowed by their Lord…
Was gone.
No… not gone.
Merged.
With the only human still alive in the firefield.
Beneath the Pontiff’s black robe, his expression shifted wildly—
First shock. Then rage. Then fear.
But finally—
Euphoria.
"Ah… I see now… I see now…"
"I was wondering why I sensed such a mysterious, burning soul in this place…"
"Only one born of our Lord’s bloodline—the Son of Ashes—could directly absorb a fragment of our Lord’s body."
"Only then… could he so effortlessly control the sacred black flames!"
Boom—!
The Molten Giant let out a final wail as its core crystal was shattered by Professor Kahn’s Monarch-tier Elemental Sprite.
Its life force rapidly faded.
For Rock Giant species, the core crystal was equivalent to a human’s heart and brain. Once destroyed, death was inevitable.
Yet—
The Pontiff showed no concern for its fate.
He stood atop the rapidly cooling Molten Giant’s remains, spreading his arms wide toward Professor Kahn and Colonel Zieg, his face twisted in madness.
"You’re finished! All of you are finished!"
"Quietly embrace death!"
"The Son of Ashes will descend from the heavens, carrying our Lord’s wrath and fury!"
"All heretics, all defiers of fate—"
"Will be pierced by His scorching spear, condemned to the deepest pits of hell!"
The Ashen Pontiff, drenched in blood, let out a manic laugh—
But that laugh was abruptly cut off.
Slowly, he turned his head—
Only to see a black-haired, black-eyed youth standing behind him without warning.
A blade of pure black flame, immaterial yet razor-sharp, was already buried deep in his abdomen.
In an instant, the searing fire consumed his internal organs, reducing them to ashes.
"Looks like the Blink + Amaterasu combo works pretty well. Another move to add to my arsenal."
Xia Ya let out a whistle, then kicked the Ashen Pontiff’s neck, snapping it clean.
The severed head flew high into the air.
The headless corpse tumbled from the Molten Giant’s shoulder, hitting the ground with a wet thud.
"But you know what? Screw you all—"
"Who the hell is your Son of God?"