Chapter One Hundred and Two: The Power of Devouring

“Demon! It’s a demon!” Redheart was still screaming herself hoarse.

Bai Shengye knew she was seeing an illusion.

“Blackfeather!”

He shouted Blackfeather’s name, trying to make him stop, but he could not hear him.

Little by little, as Blackfeather’s power grew, his form began to change again. Behind him, a gigantic demonic figure suddenly emerged, one that could rival the one-eyed troll.

Though the lower half of the demon was faint and dreamlike, its outline could still be made out: a tiger-like back and a human torso, fangs and claws, horns upon its head, and eyes that blazed red. Its two enormous hands braced themselves upon the edge of the ice, its jaw reaching toward Blackfeather as foul vapor streamed from its mouth.

Bai Shengye was startled. “Transfiguration...”

This was a transformation only high-level mages could achieve, such as the ice dragon form he himself had used. And every transformed shape was tied to one’s bloodline.

“Blackfeather’s transformation is actually a demon...”

“D-de... demon...!” Redheart cried out again, flinging away her sword and rolling on the ground.

“Hey! Pull yourself together. That’s only an illusion, not a real demon!” Bai Shengye shouted.

“Aah! A demon—how could it be? How could a demon appear on this continent?”

Her eyes were full of terror. It was said that under such a spell, the strength of one’s will determined how terrifying the visions would be. Bai Shengye did not know what she was seeing at this moment.

Within the void, the confrontation between Blackfeather and the fiend continued. With the demon’s appearance, the fiend’s aura suddenly began to waver; the pupil in its single eye even drifted toward the edge, as though trying to avoid Blackfeather’s gaze.

“Trying to flee?”

In the dark expanse, the other Blackfeather advanced step by step toward the fiend, drawing nearer and nearer to the surface of its amber eye. Then, all at once, he raised his right hand.

At that very instant, the one-eyed troll on the sea suddenly went berserk. It slammed shut its single eye and frantically lashed its eight tentacles, throwing itself at Blackfeather in a desperate death throe.

Though the Blackfeather suspended in the air was still half-lost to consciousness, the demon behind him raised its right hand as well. From its throat came a low, rumbling voice:

“Demonic power!”

A ball of black light gathered in the demon’s hand and hurled itself toward the eight tentacles the troll had driven down with all its might.

Black magic flashed. With a thunderous roar, a thousand waves of wind and spray erupted across the sea. All eight of the one-eyed troll’s tentacles were severed at once, and the ice beneath it shattered as well.

Fortunately, by now Bai Shengye’s body had already adjusted to the effects of fear power. He quickly lifted Redheart in his arms, froze the surging waves at his feet, and ran toward the distance, with towering breakers racing close behind.

Black light burst forth, illuminating even the night sky. The magic force continued to slam into the one-eyed troll’s head, and the tremendous impact shattered the air with explosive force. The troll’s skull split apart as well, spraying thick black ichor. The demon’s claw seized its head and forced it beneath the water, where once more the waves rose from the depths.

The ice beneath Bai Shengye was shattered yet again. He leapt with difficulty, casting freeze spells, darting left and right, searching for footing.

Within the Ice Fortress, Ling Xiaolei, Lingmeng, and the others all saw the strange scene of black light flashing at the horizon. They stared tensely. Then they saw Bai Shengye running toward them, the ice behind him bursting and breaking apart as the roiling sea surged after him.

After smashing the troll into the sea, the demon claw quickly hauled it up again. This time the one-eyed troll’s head had already shriveled, yet it was rapidly regenerating and recovering.

“Devouring power...”

Blackfeather also awoke from his dazed slumber. The head that had been tilted slightly backward while he hovered in the air snapped forward, and two beams of red light shot from his eyes. His awareness cleared in an instant.

Facing the one-eyed troll, a demonic grin spread across his lips. He extended his right hand, and in the center of his palm a pitch-black abyss formed.

“Black hole — devour!”

At once, sky and sea changed color. The one-eyed troll was tightly seized by the demon behind him and could not move. The severed tentacles, regenerating as they were, still streamed with blood.

The black hole grew larger and larger, gradually enveloping the troll’s immense body. The surrounding air and seawater were all drawn inward, and in the blink of an eye a colossal whirlpool formed between sea and sky.

The one-eyed troll’s body twisted and shrank. Its eight tentacles ceased regenerating, limp as withered vines. The dark power stripped from it poured endlessly into Blackfeather’s palm, while the pitch-black wings behind him spread wider to either side, growing larger and larger.

Once the troll’s power had been fully absorbed, the black hole gradually shrank and vanished. The demon behind Blackfeather dissolved into black smoke, and his wings had already grown to twice their original size.

Soon after, Blackfeather slowly descended to the ground, his internal organs aching from the strain of overusing his power. His body was utterly exhausted.

Yet the force he had absorbed from the ancient fiend had raised his magical rank another step, bringing him to the threshold of the late stage of the intermediate mage realm.

Ling Xiaolei, Lingmeng, and the others followed Bai Shengye as they ran over and steadied themselves on the ice behind him. The sky had already begun to brighten. Ahead, the surging sea had calmed once more, and drifting mist lay low over the water.

Redheart also recovered from the terror of the illusion. She planted the point of her sword into the ice and braced herself with both hands upon it. Dawn rose slowly from the horizon, scattering light over the glistening ice, while the sea wind lifted her fiery red hair.

Having witnessed the demon’s appearance, the formation and disappearance of the black hole, she could not calm the turmoil in her heart, though her expression had regained its stern resolve.

Fortunately, Lingmeng knew nothing of what had happened. She asked, “You killed that fiend? How did you manage it?”

Blackfeather had already withdrawn his wings and turned around. In the face of Lingmeng’s questioning, he also felt ashamed. After all, along the journey they had encountered so many wounded people infected by dark aura, and she must surely hate dark power. So he could only conceal the truth.

“Thanks to Captain Redheart. She slew the fiend.”

The girls all looked toward Redheart, their hearts full of gratitude.

“Captain Redheart, you’re amazing. Thank you!”

Redheart said coldly, “For now, let’s leave this sea at once. Only, I don’t know how we’re going to solve the problem of the ship.”

The small boat they had ridden before had already been destroyed.

“We’re not far from the southern continent. I do have a way.”

Bai Shengye walked to the edge of the ice and extended both hands over the sea. Snow and frost billowed from his sleeves, slowly taking shape into a small, crystal-clear boat.

“Wow!”

The girls were all drawn toward the ice boat.

Redheart sheathed her sword in the scabbard on her back. Her agile figure moved toward Blackfeather as she said solemnly, “If not for you, we might all have lost our lives here. In the name of a warrior, I swear I will not speak of what I saw today.”

“Thank you, Captain Redheart...”

Blackfeather felt a surge of emotion in his heart.