"Do I look old?"
Aron touched his face. Only then did he realize that the indiscriminate slaughter had left bloodstains all over him. He looked like a demon, unable to recognize his own face anymore.
Alright. Because of your beauty, you are forgiven.
With a light wave of his hand, Aron summoned hellfire and burned the blood off his face. Only then did he direct his gaze toward Baron Strucker.
"Now I'll give you a chance. The ritual is ready. Go, summon the Shadow Demon and explain the situation to him. How much power you draw from it, that's up to you."
He ordered the shadow soldiers to withdraw and make space. Baron Strucker stared at him in confusion.
"You want me to summon the Lord of Shadows? To gather strength and try to fight you?"
Aron simply nodded.
"Go ahead. Whether you live to see tomorrow's sunrise depends on what you get out of it. If you can obtain enough power to kill me... be my guest."
He crossed his arms and calmly stepped aside.
The stage was set. Your move.
Baron Strucker took a deep breath and stepped into the room. The door closed. Soon, energy fluctuations could be felt from within.
Aron leaned against the wall. A faint, malicious smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
"Old acquaintance..."
---
"Great Lord of Shadows..." Strucker fell to his knees. He looked at the silhouette before him like a drowning man grabbing the last straw.
"We've found the man you want dead! But... the power you gave him... it's too much!"
"We've suffered massive losses. We can't defeat him with what you gave us!"
---
On the other side of the door, Aron listened to everything and tried to hold back his laughter.
"You're good, Baron. You lick better than I do..."
---
"Lord of Shadows, please... just give me more power than his. It doesn't have to be much, just a little more! I swear on my soul I'll kill him!"
The Baron slammed his forehead against the floor.
The shadow before him, a demon summoned countless times, already looked fed up. He had given his power to so many, yet none had succeeded.
"Trash! Even protozoa are more useful than you!"
Still, to avoid another "power scam," he agreed.
But this time, he took a portion of Strucker's soul in advance, as insurance.
"Hahahahahaha..."
"Is this the power that surpasses his!?"
"Of course..."
"Of course I can't defeat it, hahahaha!!"
When Baron Strucker's hysterical laughter erupted from the sacrificial room, Aron knew, it had worked.
It really had.
Just a moment later, Aron felt a dark energy rising from within, one that could rival… even surpass his own.
"Finally… that old miser has been generous for once."
Aron watched the door to the sacrificial room with a light smile.
Baron Strucker, now cloaked in darkness, soon emerged.
The power he carried was staggering. He felt like the sole master of heaven and earth.
As if he had become a god.
"Hm~"
"Aron, is it?"
"You could've killed me right away, but you made a serious mistake."
Strucker's gaze was no longer filled with fear. Now it was brimming with confidence.
"Really?"
Aron wasted no time on discussion. He had already gotten what he wanted.
It was time to reap the harvest.
And he attacked immediately.
"You think I'm the same as before!?"
Seeing Aron dare to strike first, Strucker growled. The shadows around them began to spiral out of control.
Aron wasn't surprised.
The power within Strucker, though chaotic and filthy, was massive.
Even slightly greater than his own.
"Hahaha, is this how you slaughtered my men?"
"Of course."
Strucker laughed wildly, looking around at shadow soldiers equal in number to Aron's.
But as soon as he tried to strike from the darkness…
Aron slapped him so hard he lost balance.
"You really think you're the only one using Shadows?"
"???"
The slap bewildered Strucker.
He was still high on his newly gained power. This hit him like a splash of ice-cold water to the face.
"You!"
He didn't even finish the sentence before Aron was already upon him again.
Strucker tried to defend himself, but he hadn't yet adjusted to the new power.
Even if he had, at best, he could've fought on par with Aron.
But Aron was merciless.
"Even a regular hammer could kill you."
Barehanded, Aron kept closing in on Strucker, giving him no room to maneuver.
Whenever Strucker tried to summon shadow soldiers for help, Aron would counter with his own shadow energy and disrupt the summoning.
The truth is neither you nor I use it properly. But at least I know when and how.
"No!"
"Impossible!"
"I have the Lord of Shadows' power! I'm invincible!"
When he realized he was losing, the Baron's psyche shattered.
He could accept death… as long as he hadn't been given false hope.
The hope Aron had just provided him.
Now, as even that hope crumbled, he began to babble.
Aron didn't hesitate.
If you're sick, I'll strike where it hurts.
He vanished from sight and appeared behind him like a ghost.
"Dizziness? A completely normal reaction."
Crack!
He broke his neck, nearly tearing his head off.
BOOOOM!
With the Baron's death, a massive wave of ink-black energy burst forth like a waterfall.
Aron raised his hand, touched it…
And allowed it to enter his body.
[Ding!]
[Unnatural energy detected]
[Exorcism system has automatically performed purification]
"Thank you for your generosity."
The shadow power within his body had now more than doubled.
Aron smiled faintly as he watched Strucker's lifeless body.
Then he ordered his shadow soldier:
"Chop him into pieces. Not a trace of fat must remain."