CHAPTER 283: TYRANT

It took less than a minute for Darian to devour all the karma in the area. He laughed maniacally as he felt his power grow. Inside his body, only a dense, endless black energy flowed — straight through his soul.

Everyone was still in shock when he turned his face. A wicked grin spread across it — the kind of smile that screamed the desire to destroy and devour everything that existed.

Without hesitating, he leapt into the air and shot forward.

"You can all just die!"

The moment those words left his mouth, everyone — allies and enemies alike — trembled in fear. Darian’s aura was dark, twisted, and evil, like some demonic god straight out of the depths of hell.

Floating above them all, with a simple wave of his hand, he unleashed a black wave.

No one could react. The sky went dark, as if an eternal night had fallen over the world. All that remained was darkness — endless, suffocating darkness.

*Whooosh!*

"AAAAAAAH!!"

The scream came from Clekul and her Summoner.

But then, countless more screams of pure agony echoed from all directions.

What had hit them were black flames — burning both body and soul in a grotesque and rapid way, like melting everything in the most painful way imaginable.

In just a few seconds, those screams were replaced by a terrifying silence. They felt their bodies being sucked into a swirling vortex.

Massive bodies flew in the same direction. There, a twisted, screaming wave writhed — like a vortex with invisible blades spinning inside. As it turned, it shredded everything, blood spraying in every direction.

But... it only hit the beasts and enemies on the battlefield.

All the allies gulped hard, drenched in sweat. Darian looked possessed — but somehow, he hadn’t completely lost his mind.

The worst part was... they saw Clekul completely "melt" and vanish. There wasn’t a soul shatter, like when a Spiritual Guardian dies. Instinctively, everyone felt something horrifying.

Darian hadn’t just killed a Spiritual Guardian. He had destroyed that person’s soul completely — to the point no one knew if they’d even wake up in their real body...

As for the more than ten thousand beasts still alive... they were just burned, shredded, and vanished inside that vortex. It was a power no one had ever seen or even heard of — a weird and absolute annihilation force.

"Hahahahahah..."

In seconds, he had wiped out everything. Then, Darian started devouring the leftover karma, laughing, lost in pleasure.

His sinister aura kept growing, his killing intent rising. His eyes looked even more deranged.

Right then, the twins and Niara stood up at the same time and ran.

"Bro, wake up!" the twins shouted in unison, while the two butterflies floated toward Darian.

He stopped laughing and looked at them.

In his soul... there were no positive emotions left — not even a trace of familiarity. He looked like a completely different person, dead-set on destroying the world.

He snorted.

The two froze on the spot, feeling a crushing pressure fall on their spiritual bodies. If they even tried to get closer, their souls would be torn apart.

Then, Darian gave them a chilling smile.

The twins and the others looked on in horror. Darian reached out, grabbed a dagger, and clenched it coldly. His intent was clear... he was hungry. And since there were no enemies left nearby, he’d feed that hunger however he could.

"Dan!"

A voice suddenly echoed from behind him.

Darian turned around, surprised — but Niara had already rushed in and hugged him tightly from behind.

Instinctively, because their connection still existed, Darian couldn’t see her as an enemy — she felt like a part of himself. That’s the only reason she’d managed to get so close.

"GET OFF ME!"

He roared, and his entire body pulsed with dark power.

"No!" the twins shouted in panic.

Niara quickly activated her Green Armor, but Darian’s power surged into her body, and the scales shattered violently. Blood exploded in every direction — but... she didn’t let go.

"Dan... calm down..." she murmured, her voice shaking.

But Darian just roared louder.

"FUCK OFF! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

His dark energy erupted violently from his body. But since Niara was so close, he couldn’t use a full-blown attack — he could only let his furious energy pour out.

"I’m your partner..."

"YOU? THE BITCH WHO SUMMONED ME AND DIED LIKE A DAMN FOOL THE SECOND I ARRIVED?!"

Darian’s voice was dripping with resentment. His power hit everyone below like a brutal hammer blow.

Niara’s entire body, already soaked in blood, started to go dark and lose its glow right before everyone’s eyes. But somehow... she still didn’t let go.

"Yeah... you saved me... more than once... and you’re still doing so much for everyone..."

Her voice was full of pain. But her will and feelings hadn’t changed at all.

Meanwhile, Darian looked like he was losing his mind. Everyone’s eyes widened as they realized... it looked like he was being tortured by something from within.

"YOU’RE JUST A LEECH! ALL OF YOU ARE THE SAME, JUST SUCKING UP EVERYTHING I FIGHT FOR! GET OUT!"

All the allies heard that, and clenched their fists. They couldn’t even feel angry at his words. All they felt was deep guilt — the truth was, they had put everything on Darian’s shoulders, and he kept giving them everything without asking for anything in return.

"Dan... I’m not leaving. I’ll never walk away. If you want me gone, you’re gonna have to kill me. And even then... you’ll have to run from me forever, ’cause I swear I’ll come back and find you."

She whispered, in pain, but... through the bond they shared, every word hit straight into his soul. There was no anger or resentment — just fierce, warm emotion.

Darian felt it like water trying to put out a raging fire inside him. Niara was the only one who could do that. But the pain inside him was unbearable.

The twins and everyone else trembled. Within seconds, Niara’s body had turned almost completely dry and dim. She closed her eyes... nearly out of strength, like the flicker of a candle about to go out.

"No..." Lucy and the others were on the verge of tears.

Until...

"Dan... I..."

Sensing the end, she tried to whisper how she felt, but... her body just didn’t have the strength anymore.

Even so, her feelings flowed clearly into him. She didn’t need words.

"!"

Everyone saw something shift in Darian’s eyes. His pupils widened, like he’d just woken up from a nightmare.

Suddenly, all the dark energy vanished. He felt Niara slipping away and instantly caught her, turning her in his arms in a panic.

She trembled and slowly opened her eyes. Darian was stunned and—

"What?!"

He blurted out, panicked. His white power... no, his ring with the white power... there was nothing left of it in his soul!

Darian looked at the twins with pure desperation.

He rushed over with Niara in his arms and landed in front of them. The twins instantly pushed their white energy to the max. But... their expressions were tight with pain.

Their healing couldn’t compare to Darian’s. Niara was out of life force, her body and soul nearly fully corrupted. It would take a long time just to cleanse the corruption — and she’d be dead long before that...

Veyle ran over and pulled out two pills. One was high-grade, made from crystals, capable of purging corruption. She’d kept it in reserve — it hadn’t been needed for this fight.

The other was made with the Celestial Blood Fruit — the one Darian had found in this world. He’d given it to her, unsure if it was even useful for anyone besides the beasts.

For the beasts, the fruit gave huge life force and a big boost in bloodline, making them way stronger. But for the Mannaz — or if it ever made it to Earth — maybe it would just slightly extend a human’s life... it felt like a waste.

But Veyle was talented. After finishing all her crystal-based pills, she’d experimented with a single pill using the fruit. She’d managed to make one, though it was far from perfect.

Darian quickly put both pills into Niara’s mouth.

Minutes passed... and her life was still hanging by a thread. But slowly, it started to stabilize.

The twins’ healing, boosted by the pills, was a combo that, while not as strong as Darian’s, was working. Slower, but still effective — as long as they had time.

The three of them took deep breaths of relief. Darian looked at them, and his mind slowly replayed everything... the words, the events...

"Hehe..."

A soft laugh echoed. Darian turned and saw Niara opening her eyes again, her expression slowly regaining life.

"They know, Dan..." Niara whispered gently, sensing what he was feeling now.

All the allies were watching anxiously from a distance. But after Niara’s words, they looked at Darian and imagined what was going through his head.

At that moment, Veyle sighed and said:

"We really are leeches... we know that. We’re weak on our own, but with your help, together, we manage to do what you do solo."

Lucius added, "Bro’s just one guy. Having extra hands helps. We’ll do our best not to lag too far behind."

"I was useless. If I’d managed to read those Risen’s memories, I would’ve known about that secret weapon... and none of this would’ve happened..." Lucy muttered, bitterly.

Quickly, the others gathered around. They all started saying similar things, apologizing for not doing more...

Darian cut them off fast: "No. That was on me. As for earlier... I’m sorry. Those words came from a deep fear — and my own lack of trust."

He looked at them seriously:

"Honestly, everything I’ve got so far was thanks to help. Even my powers came from my master. So, acting like I’m the badass who did it all alone would be pretty damn stupid... That’s why sometimes I feel like a fraud — and like, any second now, I could screw up and end up killing you all with one dumb decision. I always think maybe it’d be better if you all stayed far away... that’s why I said that stuff."

Everyone looked at him, unsure what to say. But... a warm feeling spread through all of them.

Despite everything, Darian was just like any of them: flawed, and scared sometimes. They knew he’d gotten help — everyone did, at some point. But everything he achieved after that? That was all him.

"It’s okay, Dan... we trust you."

Niara whispered, and everyone else echoed the same sentiment in unison.

Darian let out a long breath. Alone, he could get stronger, way faster... but he’d never save two universes with power alone. He needed influence, unity — otherwise, he’d just be a tyrant forcing people to do things.

Then, he looked down at Niara seriously.

She was slowly recovering... and the memory of her trying to say something to him — combined with the powerful emotions she’d shared — returned to his mind.

The look in his eyes changed as he stared at her. Niara noticed, and her heart raced. For the first time, he understood that she didn’t see him the way he thought...

...and that left him more confused than ever.