The Devourer stood atop a building, gazing at the sea of fire below, listening to the screams. To him, the world was beautiful.
"Gusion, just how much stronger can you make me?"
He stuck out his long tongue, licking his cheek with a greedy look.
He watched the figure striding through the flames, feeling this was his perfect creation—the Shen Wulong in Shen Luohan was his ideal type.
He was no longer the emotionless automaton of before. Instead, his evil and desire were magnified, making him both more human and even more powerful.
He fulfilled Shen Luohan's wish, merging three personalities—Shen Wulong was reborn.
Now, Shen Wulong had the dragon's coldness, the tiger's destructive urge, and Shen Luohan's mind—making him the ultimate being.
Because Shen Wulong had over 5,000 years of memories, Luohan's memories became mere grit during fusion—he was absorbed, but some of his personality traits remained.
Now, Shen Wulong could grow angry over the death of his friend Xia Yan; he could kill for destruction's sake; and, thanks to Luohan's mind, he was more cunning and evil—not so dull anymore.
The original Shen Wulong was strong but too dull. You could trick him if you schemed enough. Now, with Luohan's mind, Shen Wulong was nearly invincible.
Luohan was cautious. Driven by revenge, he had to face Gusion, but he took precautions.
As the world's biggest underground arms dealer, he had enough military might to conquer a small country. If the fight went badly, he'd have submarines off the coast launch missiles, wiping out the Kure compound.
He'd also arranged for several attack helicopters to extract him at any time.
"So cautious, just to kill Gusion. I wish you'd be more decisive," the Devourer muttered, watching Shen Wulong below. Still, he admired that caution; no matter how strong you are, without brains you'll eventually fail. Shen Wulong's stability gave him confidence.
By his usual style, he shouldn't have come today—but he wanted Gusion's fresh corpse for the greatest power boost.
If he could absorb an Adjudicator as strong as Gusion immediately, he might gain 5 or even 10 attribute points!
He discovered by accident that an Adjudicator's free attribute points, after being strengthened, aren't fully absorbed right away. He can extract and absorb them during the fusion period.
Perhaps Endspace recycles the resources from a dead Adjudicator's corpse. When he tried this, he was warned for violating the rules.
Who cares about your rules? Is there a faster way to get stronger?
He planned to keep absorbing, becoming the strongest, trampling all who came after him.
Boom—!
With an explosion, Shen Wulong emerged from the flames. No one could see what he did at the instant of the grenade blast, but he came out unscathed.
The Kure clan evacuated civilians and tried to slow Shen Wulong with every weapon—hot, cold, whatever—but nothing worked.
"Damn it! You're here for Mr. Gusion! Why harm innocents?" a Kure patrolman shouted. Many civilians had already been caught in the chaos.
"The Kure clan helped kill Xia Yan, and you sheltered the accomplices. To me, there are no innocents here," Shen Wulong said, standing atop a car with an unsettling smile. "Today, I'm here to finish what I started 1,300 years ago. Only the loyalist Westward Faction should remain."
He backhanded Raian, who'd rushed him in Removal mode, sending him flying. "What an amazing power. Why was I ever bored or lonely before?"
"Because invincibility is boring in itself," came a voice.
Shen Wulong turned to the source—a handsome man in a black coat with a long sword at his waist, striding through the ruins and flames to the center of the street.
Gusion patted the patrolman's shoulder. "Clear this street of people. Leave him to me."
He looked at Shen Wulong with a grim expression. "You really surprised me. I didn't expect you to start a massacre in the street."
Shen Wulong's evil grin twisted into anger as he met Gusion's gaze. "It was you who killed my friend, wasn't it?"
"So you care about your friends..." Gusion nodded. "But have you thought that your friend hurt many people? He deserved to die."
The Worm is a global terrorist organization. Even if Xia Yan seemed like a helpless babysitter, he was still the head of the world's most brutal terror group.
Who knows how many children were kidnapped for experiments, how many families destroyed?
Gusion had no hesitation killing Xia Yan.
"What does that have to do with me? I only care about my friends. The rest doesn't matter," Shen Wulong replied calmly.
Gusion sighed. He could tell Shen Wulong meant it. After living so long, he'd lost all human empathy.
Shen Wulong cared for nothing but his friends—his world was void.
"What a pity..." Gusion said. "A pitiful weakling."
Shen Wulong, about to strike, froze. Never in his ten thousand years had anyone called him weak.
"Weak? You're calling me weak?"
For the first time, curiosity outweighed anger or revenge.
Gusion rested his hand on his sword, locking eyes with Shen Wulong. "You claim not to have a superhuman body, yet you do. Your physique is like an immortal, far beyond normal men. Your skills are extraordinary—you call them logic. No one has ever beaten you..."
He paused. Shen Wulong asked, "So why do you say I'm weak?"
"Because you lack conviction. Your so-called logic is just brute force, not the pinnacle of martial arts," Gusion said. "Your heart is empty. No matter how strong your body, it can't hide your weakness."
"Trying to confuse me with words? No matter how eloquent you are, you won't weaken me, nor will you grow stronger," Shen Wulong sneered—Luohan's personality showing through.
Gusion shook his head. "Words won't make me stronger—but the heart will. And you have none."
As he spoke, he slowly drew his sword, Mazuko. The blade revealed a hollow blood groove. Purple-black chains wrapped up his arm like vines.
As dark mist swirled, Gusion's aura rippled outward, even making the flames flicker.
He met Shen Wulong's gaze with pity and disappointment. "You're no immortal—just a pitiful man without a heart. Let me sever it for you..."
As his words and the sword's whistle echoed, the flames bowed. A purple-black arc sliced through the dusk.
Golden hair fluttered like snow. Gusion spun midair like falling snow, landing as his voice finally echoed down the street:
"...Your long and empty life."