CHAPTER 372: CHAPTER 372: THANK YOU...

"Hahaha. Now witness my true power! Burn!" CK called out loudly as he sent a torrent of black flames toward Klaus.

The flames surrounded Klaus, so there was no way he could escape.

The duo were fighting in the sky at that point, so even escaping into the ground wasn’t an option as flames were coming from there too.

Soon, Klaus was completely enveloped by the pitch-black, corrosive flames.

A sizzling sound was soon heard. It was quite shocking when one knew that there was a person who was likely getting burnt alive at the centre of the flames.

However, the sound was practically music in CK’s ears. He always liked it when he heard his opponents getting burned to death as they screamed in their most horrified voices... Wait...

"What isn’t he screaming?" CK asked himself out loud.

A possible answer for why there were no screams was that Klaus had been burned up completely in an instant before he could scream.

However, if that was the case, then there wouldn’t be the sizzling sound which was still ongoing.

For that reason, CK was greatly confused. He had never actually used the black flames at such a large scale. But he was more than certain that they were way stronger than his normal flames. Which meant that they should have made quick work of the job that his normal flames could slowly accomplish. And yet...

Well, whatever was going on gave him a bad feeling. He started contemplating his next move. Whether to retreat or add more power...

However before he could come to a conclusion, something happened...

"So you finally noticed it... Well, it’s too late. Now it’s time for me to show you my power. Truly, thank you for using the corrupt flames..." Klaus’s voice which was completely absent of any pain was heard clearly from inside the flames.

Then in front of the astonished CK, the flames slowly parted. And a completely unharmed Klaus was reviewed.

Well, he was harmed, but the harm was from the previous clashes. His state hadn’t been changed by the flames at all. He didn’t seem to even feel their terrifying heat.

And upon looking closer, CK noticed that the flames weren’t actually touching Klaus’s skin. They were close but not quite there. It was almost like there was an infinite space in that little space the flames couldn’t overcome. Or they were scared to touch him.

Before CK could say something, Klaus’s closed eyes began twitching. And then they slowly opened.

It was only then that CK noticed that Klaus’s eyes had been closed all this time.

Which meant that he wasn’t able to finish off a weaker opponent who didn’t even have his eyes open.

Sure, mana sense was as good, if not better than eye vision in a close enough distance, but that didn’t change the fact that Klaus’s eyes were closed. This was very humiliating to CK.

His anger and hate towards Klaus increased as he couldn’t even remember how many times the bastard had embarrassed him in less than two hours.

But it wasn’t the time to be angry... He couldn’t be angry even if he wanted to. Because the next moment, Klaus’s eyes completely opened...

CK looked directly into them... Surprise and awe appeared in his eyes and then...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A horrifying aura exploded out of Klaus’s body. It completely erased the pitch black flames around him.

However, it wasn’t just an aura which appeared. It was also accompanied by a force so strong that CK was slammed into the ground before he could react.

He tried to lift his head in defiance, but he couldn’t even move an inch. He tried to deploy his mana/domain armour but it was instantly broken as soon as it formed.

He tried to deploy his domain, but it was also destroyed when it formed.

He tried to surround himself with the black flames, but they were even worse. They didn’t even form. It was almost like they were afraid of Klaus.

It was at that moment that CK regretted his life choices. He thought that he should have taken care of Klaus at the very beginning without acting arrogantly. Or he should have taken care of him with his normal power no matter how long it took.

After all, from Klaus’s words, it was clear that he was only able to display his current power which was infinitely close to R5 because CK used the black flames he got from the Monarch.

As for how the two things were related, he had no idea. But he was more than certain that he was screwed and his life was likely about to end.

And that thought terrified him. A strong unwillingness appeared inside his body. However, it was also accompanied by a strong sense of powerlessness since there was nothing he could do.

He has literally tried to pull out everything in his arsenal but nothing worked. Hell, it was literally his trump card which got him into the horrible situation.

"Look at me one last time before I send you on your way..." Klaus’s calm voice was heard again.

After which, CK was able to move his head again. However, he didn’t look up.

He would rather die than listen to what the bastard told him to do.

"Sigh..." Klaus sighed then...

CRUNCH!

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" CK screamed loudly in pain.

He then looked up in intense hatred.

Which was only natural... After all, Klaus just crushed both of his legs into meat paste with his power.

However, the hatred was completely wiped away when he looked into Klaus’s eyes again.

That wasn’t just because the eyes looked weird, but they also held a suppressive force in them which made him feel inferior and unable to feel angry toward Klaus. It sounded crazy, but that’s exactly what was going on...

Speaking of Klaus’s eyes, they were not normal human eyes anymore. The shape was still the same. However, instead of a black at the centre and white on the outside like before the apocalypse... One eye was black on the outside and had the white part of the Yin and Yan symbol with the little black centre.

The other one was the opposite, it was white with the black half of the Yin and Yan simple at the centre.

Honestly, just from the eyes alone CK felt like Klaus was no longer just a mere human Evolver. He was something more, something stronger... Something he couldn’t mess with or hope to defeat.

Only if he knew that Klaus was hiding something that big at the start. He would have retreated and called for some backup.

He regretted being blind when he noticed how nonchalant Klaus was from the start.

Unfortunately for him, it was already too late...

"Yes, that’s it... That’s the regret I wanted to see. Now that I’m satisfied. Goodbye... Hopefully, you make better life choices in your next life" Klaus spoke with a neutral expression on his face. It was almost like his emotions had been suppressed by his new power...

And then...

CRUNCH!

CK’s whole body was completely crushed leaving nothing but meat paste and cloth behind.

Fortunately, it was only the neutral Klaus who was present to see this otherwise if the others were also there, a few people would have definitely vomited.

Some would have fainted and likely most of them would forever be terrified of Klaus even if they knew he would never harm them. After all, the way he killed CK was just too brutal!

"Hmm. It seems my brother didn’t let me down after all. Let me go and... Oh?" Klaus spoke calmly and was about to go assist his team when he noticed something.

CK’s meat paste was actually melting into a pitch black substance. And energy tentacles began extending from it into the distance.

They were all heading for the Tactoa members who were chasing after his team...

He considered letting the tentacles make contact and see what happens but...

BANG!

He created an invisible barrier around the tentacles which they crushed into.

Then he held out an open hand which he began to close slowly.

The space around the tentacles began decreasing with his hand movement until the now completely black paste was just occupying space only big enough for a soccer ball.

However, something interesting happened. The paste actually changed states and took on a solid form... The new form looked awfully a lot like a large beast core.

However, it would have to be a completely corrupted core since the energy was completely different. Unlike the serene and pure cores, even if they contained dark element mana.. this core-like orb gave off a sinister aura.

It reminded him of the story his brother told him about a slime which was made from Tactoa gun energy that his sister and brother encountered... Just that this seemed like an advanced version of that.

"So this is what Tactoa is d..." Klaus was making a comment when a black shadow appeared in front of him then disappeared before he could clearly see what it was.

He looked down at his hand in which he was holding the black orb before and it was gone...

The shadow has literally appeared in front of him and stolen something he was surrounding with his power and left.

A cold chill went down his spine as he tried to figure out what had just happened....