"This feeling…" Muria's crimson eyes flickered ominously, and the breath he exhaled from his mouth and nose was no longer searing flames but a deathly black mist.
He raised his hand slightly and clenched it into a fist. In an instant, his hand dissolved into black vapor. Within moments, his entire body transformed into a shapeless mass of dense black mist, with two glowing crimson eyes at its core.
"I've become a ghost fiend and inherited everything it had."
The amorphous black mist floated in the air, its crimson eyes scanning the surroundings. With Muria's transformation, the fiery domain he had constructed as a Hellspawn dissipated. Likewise, the magma giants birthed by his power collapsed into pools of cooling lava. The corpse minions that had been battling the magma giants stood frozen, looking at Muria in confusion.
They had sensed the death of their original master, but they had also witnessed the birth of a new one. This contradiction left them dazed. Having attacked this new master moments ago, they didn't know whether to swear loyalty to him or flee for their lives.
But the truth was, these corpse minions never really had a choice.
Muria floated above the remaining corpse minions, looking down at the elite survivors. These were the strongest of the ghost fiend's creations, those who had withstood every trial and obstacle. The weakest among them had been incinerated the moment Muria's fiery domain was unleashed. Others had perished in the magma or been torn apart by the magma giants. Only this small group of resilient minions remained.
"Killing them all would be such a waste," Muria muttered, examining the corpse minions. He could feel a faint connection to them and the ability to command them. However, there was still a barrier between him and full control. Removing this barrier, however, was a simple matter.
A faint, hazy black mist emanated from Muria's ghostly form, spreading downward toward the corpse minions.
These remaining undead, possessing some level of intelligence, instinctively tried to avoid the approaching mist. They sensed hostility and assumed Muria intended to harm them.
But they were creations of the ghost fiend, and in the face of Muria's overwhelming authority as a higher-tier being, they were utterly powerless. They could only freeze in place, awaiting whatever fate Muria had in store for them.
The black mist enveloped the corpse minions. Under its suffocating influence, they trembled violently. One by one, their forms grew slightly stronger, their features more defined. When the mist dissipated, the minions exchanged confused glances before looking up at Muria's ever-shifting ghostly form hovering above them. In unison, they knelt in reverence.
Seeing the thousand-plus corpse minions kneeling before him, Muria's crimson eyes gleamed. The mist around his form surged downward again, engulfing the minions entirely. Moments later, when the mist retreated, the minions had vanished.
"What an interesting ability." Muria grinned, satisfied, as he observed the changes brought about by absorbing the minions. In this world of reality, not governed by game-like mechanics, there were no panels or tooltips to explain his abilities. He had to explore them on his own.
By absorbing these minions into a special space within himself, Muria discovered several uses for them. He could summon them at any time to assist him in battle, unleashing them as a horde. Alternatively, he could use them as "batteries," drawing their energy to replenish his own reserves in dire situations.
Even with just this initial experimentation, Muria realized the ghost fiend's abilities were extraordinarily suited for prolonged engagements. With enough preparation, a ghost fiend could achieve nearly infinite stamina and power, so long as they didn't overextend.
Unfortunately for the ghost fiend Muria had just consumed, it had run into someone who completely overpowered it, leaving no chance for its survival.
"Such fascinating power. I need to experiment more to uncover its full potential," Muria mused. After devouring the ghost fiend, his body felt a strange sense of fulfillment, as if something missing had finally been restored.
"Flame and death… these two powers couldn't be more incompatible. Why, then, does this union feel so natural?" Muria wondered aloud, perplexed by the sensation in his body.
"The only explanation I can think of is that these two powers share a common origin. The ghost fiend's energy feels like an extremely diluted version of Epic power… just like the Balor's flames.
"If that's true, then those who inherit these powers must be descendants of an Epic. Which means this world… once gave rise to an Epic being, one who mastered multiple powers. If that's the case, then this world has far greater value than I initially thought."
Muria's thoughts churned as he floated above the prone form of the giant, who was still pretending to be dead. A mischievous glint appeared in Muria's crimson eyes as an idea took root. From his shapeless form, chains of black mist extended outward, snaking toward the giant.
"Kid! I might not have taught you much, but I'm still your teacher in name! And I've never mistreated you!"
In the split second before the chains reached him, the giant's eyes snapped open. With a sudden burst of energy, he vanished from his spot, reappearing several hundred meters away. He glared at Muria warily, his face tense with caution.
The giant had witnessed everything that had just transpired. The boy he thought needed protection had unleashed overwhelming power, completely devouring the ghost fiend and transforming into this monstrous form. The rapid turn of events left him utterly bewildered.
Even though the ghost fiend was gone, the giant felt no relief. Instead, dread settled in his heart as he realized he'd seen something he shouldn't have. Muria's explosive display of power wasn't a last-minute breakthrough—it was a strength he had clearly hidden until now.
And that begged a terrifying question: Why would someone this strong hide their power? The implications made the giant shiver.
"Since you've never taught me anything, then you're nothing more than a teacher in name," Muria said, his crimson eyes narrowing as his amorphous form twisted into a grotesque grin. His voice, distorted by his ghostly state, sounded sinister. "So, I'll just…"
"I swear I won't tell anyone what I've seen! Please don't kill me! At least spare me for the sake of our teacher-student bond!"
The giant interrupted, panic-stricken. His imagination ran wild, constructing an elaborate and terrifying conspiracy behind Muria's hidden power. The more he thought about it, the more certain he became that Muria was going to kill him to silence him.
"Hmm."
Muria fell silent, pondering the situation. As things stood, the giant was the sole witness to his overwhelming power. Silencing him would ensure that no one else learned of it. Right now, Muria had no intention of drawing unnecessary attention to himself.
The world, it seemed, was far more dangerous than he had initially assumed. Legendary power wasn't the pinnacle here—this world might even house Epic beings.
"If you let me live, I'll join you. I'll serve you!" the giant blurted out, his desperation growing. He refused to accept such a pitiful death and grasped at any opportunity to survive.
Muria: "?"
The offer startled Muria for a moment. Join him? What was this giant imagining? Then it clicked. Muria's earlier actions must have led the giant to assume he was orchestrating some grand plan.
"Fine," Muria said after a moment of consideration, his voice low and rumbling. If the giant wanted to join him, Muria saw no reason to refuse.
"Can you… change back?" the giant asked cautiously, finally breathing a sigh of relief when Muria agreed. His relationship with Muria had shifted—from teacher to subordinate.
"Sure."
The black mist surrounding Muria condensed and collapsed inward. In moments, his Hellspawn form reappeared—a small, composed, and unassuming child standing calmly in mid-air.
"Let's go," Muria said, landing lightly on the giant's shoulder. The wounds on the giant's body had mostly healed, leaving little evidence of his earlier injuries.
"Kid… Just how strong are you? How many times have you awakened?" the giant asked as he flew into the sky, his massive wings cutting through the air. He caught himself mid-sentence, quickly rephrasing to avoid offending Muria.
Muria glanced at him but didn't answer. Taking this as a sign of disapproval, the giant fell silent, scolding himself internally.
"I'm such an idiot. He's obviously been hiding his strength, and here I am asking about it. Am I trying to get myself killed?"
The self-reflecting giant had no way of knowing that Muria wasn't ignoring him out of annoyance—he genuinely didn't know the answer himself.
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