Chapter 721: Mocking the Abyss ( 721 )

Javier spoke softly, his voice calm and unshaken.

"Hey... aren’t you here for a mission? To kill me?" he asked, eyes locked onto the man.

"Then don’t waste time."

He took a step forward.

"How about showing that full power of yours?"

Javier tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "Don’t worry about your modified soldiers. You should worry about yourself."

That steady tone—the calm stance—the chilling confidence.

It made the general’s throat tighten.

He gritted his teeth, then forced a smirk. "Fine. You want to see real power?"

He reached into his armored belt and pulled out a glowing black orb, veins of red mana pulsing inside, like a heartbeat. The thing radiated dense, cursed energy.

"You’re not the only one with tricks, brat," he growled.

Without hesitation, he crushed the orb with his hand and swallowed it whole.

The reaction was immediate.

His body convulsed. His mouth split open in a scream, not of pain, but of violent transformation.

A shockwave of dark energy erupted from his chest. Black mist spiraled outward as his muscles swelled grotesquely, shredding parts of his armor. Veins surfaced like chains under his skin, glowing with a deep red light that pulsed like magma.

His eyes flared open, pure crimson.

His arms doubled in size. Fingers twisted into claws.

His back arched violently, and spikes shattered through his spine.

Javier didn’t move. He simply watched.

"This... this is the real power, boy!!" the general howled, drool mixing with blood as it trailed down his jaw. "A power no one could ever reach with mere training or talent!!"

He laughed wildly, mad and unrestrained.

"A power... that devours reason, and transcends mortality!!"

Then his hand slammed into the ground.

The earth cracked beneath his fingers as he snarled.

The wind surged. Black miasma engulfed the entire area.

"Do you think your mere puppet can handle me?!" the general roared, his voice cracking with madness and raw power. His body was now fully transformed, larger and more monstrous veins glowing with dark mana.

He laughed wildly.

"With THIS power, I could easily crush Gilmon! Hesbeirn! Alf! Even Erinnette!!"

The general’s chest heaved as he bared his teeth in a feral grin, feeling the rush of overwhelming strength coursing through him. His body rippled with dark force, and the air crackled around him with the raw, destructive energy of his transformation.

Javier raised his hand, calmly signaling all of his Shironii to stop their movements.

With a single, deliberate step forward, Javier spoke.

"Hmmm..." he muttered, the faintest hint of a sigh escaping him. "In terms of raw power, yes... you might surpass some."

He took another slow step closer to the general, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Yes... just about Marita’s level. No more."

The general’s smug grin faltered, confusion flickering in his red eyes.

"And you think your current power can take down Hesbeirn? Erinnette?" Javier continued, his voice unwavering, each word sharp and clear. "Or maybe Alf?"

He shook his head slowly, almost pitying.

"Don’t joke with me, old man."

Rage simmered in the general’s veins, swirling like a storm in his chest. But still, he stood frozen, unable to respond to Javier’s overwhelming calmness.

Javier’s eyes locked onto him with an eerie composure.

"You’re nothing but a small fry," he said coldly, his words like a dagger of ice.

He sheathed his weapon back into his magic storage without even glancing at it.

"For your level," Javier said, his voice smooth and unwavering, "weapons aren’t needed."

The general bristled with rage. His enhanced body vibrated with dark energy, ready to strike at any moment.

Javier took another slow step forward, his knuckles cracking as he closed the distance.

"Fists are enough," he said, voice dripping with calm confidence yet underlined with deadly finality.

Javier lunged.

The general roared and swung his massive sword in a wide arc, black mana howling along its edge. The blade’s surface twisted, an eyeball opened on it, blood-red and pulsing. It tracked Javier with eerie sentience.

"DIE, YOU BRAT!!" the general bellowed.

But Javier was already gone from its path.

A simple sidestep.

Then a fluid duck.

And a calm leap backward, all with the grace of someone not even trying.

He landed silently, arms still behind his back, his expression unfazed.

"For your current power... magic isn’t even necessary," Javier said flatly. "Just a little mana to smooth my movements."

He glanced casually at the incoming blade, then stepped inside the swing.

The general snarled, swinging again, this time faster, pouring rage and mana into his strike.

His blade met empty air.

"Guh!! HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME!!" he screamed.

"I am the second-in-command! The second strongest in the empire! The rightful aide of King Edmund!!"

He screamed and unleashed a blast of dark energy from his free hand.

A condensed sphere of black magic heading straight toward Javier’s chest.

Javier slapped it aside.

With his backhand.

The force of the deflection sent the attack flying into the forest, where it detonated with a thunderous explosion, uprooting trees and scorching the earth.

Liana and Gloria immediately stepped forward, hands raised, each casting a swift barrier to shield the shockwave from reaching them.

Javier didn’t even glance at the explosion.

He was focused on the general.

"In terms of raw power... mm~" Javier tilted his head. "I’ll admit. It’s good for entertainment."

The general was trembling with fury.

But Javier’s voice cut through again, still calm.

"But unfortunately..." he continued, taking a slow step forward, letting his mana gather faintly around his feet.

"You have no idea how to use it."

The general’s eyes widened.

Javier’s tone turned colder.

"Let me teach you something, arrogant bastard."

He stepped closer, the ground cracked slightly under his foot.

"That kind of borrowed power... that twisted, artificial boost..."

He stopped just within striking range.

"...is just trash."

And he raised his fist.

Javier’s fist slammed straight into the general’s jaw. The force sent the armored man stumbling back, armor screeching as boots carved deep trails into the dirt. He grunted but didn’t fall.

He roared and swung his massive sword in retaliation, a wide arc laced with pulsing black energy.

Javier’s hand shot up casually.

He deflected the blade cleanly with one forearm.

His eyes shifted to the man’s sword.

The twisted, obsidian blade squirmed, and the grotesque, blood-red eye embedded in its center blinked, oozing a dark fluid as it focused on him.

"Ugh..." Javier muttered, his face contorting in mild disgust. "Seriously?"

He took a step back, lowering his hand but still watching the eye with visible distaste.

"Why is it that every single ’darkness’ user always ends up summoning something creepy and moist?"

He gestured lazily at the eye.

"Can’t you people ever make something cool? No elegance, no subtlety, just gross, wriggly... eye-thingies."

( End Of Chapter )