CHAPTER 401: A CURSE

Seeing Daniel draw his sword, the bishop’s face twisted into something ugly and dark.

"You’ll regret the decision you made, kid," he growled, then gave the order to another man at his side as well as the Lionheart commander who was his subordinate to attack Daniel.

Both Tormyn and Frederick were relieved by the choice Daniel made. However, the latter, worried that Daniel might be in danger, was ready to act quickly.

Yet, against all expectations, Daniel only growled as the aura of death covered his blade, and with ease, he killed both of those who rushed at him.

"That’s all?" he growled, and then beneath his feet a river of blood formed. Without wasting a moment, dozens of Fallen were summoned.

"Go after all the Corruption Worshipers and kill them. If you face someone stronger than you, report to me," Daniel ordered, and they all vanished from the place.

"What the hell were those things? Who are you?" the bishop asked, fear creeping into his voice as he saw how easily Daniel had slain his two subordinates.

The situation was the same for Tormyn—he never thought this bastard could kill two rank A’s so effortlessly.

And more importantly, what were those beings he had just summoned? Among them, there were many rank A’s. It was no different from a fully armed, powerful army.

"Scared?" Daniel laughed and charged at the bishop. He had already assessed the man’s strength—it was only at the peak of rank A.

Seeing Daniel rush at him, the bishop didn’t hesitate. He stretched out his hand, and a black spear formed, seemingly made of corrupted energy.

Their weapons clashed in the air, and the bishop was pushed back several steps. Neither side was injured, but even from that single exchange, the difference in power was obvious.

"With such weak power, you expected me to work under you?" Daniel said lazily.

"Shut up! I’ll make sure you don’t leave here alive," the bishop said coldly, as a dark light covered his body, and this time he attacked.

But Daniel didn’t take him seriously. Another peak rank A was no opponent he needed to care about. In fact, he didn’t even know what his current limit was anymore.

Contrary to appearances, he had gained a lot from fighting the heroes. He learned his weaknesses and developed different tactics for attacking.

Without hesitation, he activated [Slash of Destruction]. His sword glowed with the light of annihilation and clashed against the bishop’s spear.

A burst of explosive sparks erupted, but Daniel didn’t back off. Without pause, he activated [Aspect of the Law of the Moon], briefly shortening time by a few milliseconds and closing the distance instantly, appearing right in front of the bishop.

The bishop had not expected such a move. He didn’t even have the chance to defend himself before Daniel’s sword pierced into his chest.

To be sure, Daniel used [Shadow Weapons], forming deadly blades out of the surrounding shadows, and they all stabbed into the bishop’s body.

Blood burst from him as he collapsed to the ground, coughing and vomiting, glaring at Daniel with murderous, hate-filled eyes.

"The Corruption Worshipers will never let you go," he said with killing intent, before muttering a strange incantation under his breath.

Suddenly, all the blood that had spilled from his body formed into a mark—the mark of the Corruption Worshipers. It shot at Daniel, and before he could react, it attached itself to his body.

Strange words appeared on his hand, words he couldn’t understand.

"Even if you run until the end of time and space, the Corruption Worshipers will hunt you down," the bishop said, and then suddenly self-detonated.

A massive wave of destruction spread out, but Daniel waved his hand, and the power of death completely erased the explosion.

"Interesting. So it looks like it’s my destiny to slaughter all the Corruption Worshipers," Daniel laughed as he looked at the words on his hand before they disappeared into invisibility.

It wasn’t hard to guess what this was. Most likely, some kind of marking—he had been branded as an enemy of the Corruption Worshiper

Yet he didn’t care in the slightest. Instead, he turned toward Tormyn, who was frozen in fear, and Ilaris.

Ignoring Tormyn, he went to Ilaris, quickly undoing her chains. As soon as she was freed, she threw herself into his arms.

"I was so scared! It was horrible," tears streamed from her eyes. Even though they hadn’t harmed her during those two days, they had constantly tormented her mentally.

Daniel sighed, saying nothing, and gently stroked her head. Once she calmed down, he wiped her tears and turned to Tormyn.

"I made a mistake! Please forgive me! I didn’t know who you really were! Believe me, they forced me!" Tormyn dropped to his knees, begging desperately.

"Begging isn’t going to change anything," Daniel said lazily.

"You—! If you kill me, my father will never let this go! He’ll definitely take revenge on you!"

This time Daniel fell silent, reminded of the past. Something similar had happened to him before, and the result had been disastrous.

Should he let him go this time? Of course not. But there was no need to kill him just yet. All those questions he had asked earlier weren’t for nothing—he wanted proof of Tormyn’s betrayal. And thankfully, he had gotten it.

With those records, the Lionheart family themselves would pass judgment, punishment as severe as execution. Without delay, he knocked Tormyn unconscious and then glanced at the corpses lying around.

He wanted to test the devouring aspect of his physique. But to do that, these two had to leave first. He had no plans to reveal something so terrifying and sinister to others just yet.

"You two return to the ship. I’ll check the state of the rest of the mountain, and then I’ll come," he said.

Frederick first wanted to refuse, but after remembering Daniel’s power, he gave up and nodded. Ilaris didn’t want to leave Daniel’s side, but there was no choice, so she also agreed.

It didn’t take long for the two of them to leave the mountain and return to the ship, carrying the unconscious Tormyn with them.

Once Daniel was sure they were gone, he smiled and turned his gaze back to the corpses.

Now it was time to devour them.