CHAPTER 326: STARVING BEAST

"Bastard!"

The leader of the Primal Beasts roared furiously. But beyond boiling with rage and screaming, he couldn’t do a thing. All he could do was watch the blazing mass of fire runes explode and swallow his whole city.

Darian had unleashed every last fire rune all at once. The overwhelming flames devoured everything, charring the weaker beasts to ash. In an instant, a nauseating stench of burnt flesh filled the air.

The blast was so intense that Tir’s earthen barrier crumbled apart. Nothing happened inside, but it revealed the apocalyptic scene outside to the three youths.

The beast leader, however, was insanely resilient. He endured the strike, even with his body scorched from head to toe. The wounds, though, were only superficial—his race had monstrous resistance.

At that moment, Darian appeared among the few survivors like a ghost, daggers in hand.

"NO!"

In an instant, he slaughtered every remaining powerhouse. Even though they’d somehow survived the blast, their injuries were too severe—they couldn’t resist.

In horror, they realized they couldn’t move, couldn’t retreat, as his daggers pierced straight through their bodies.

"You bastard, do you even know what you’ve done?!" the beast leader roared, aiming a bluish bow at Darian, his face twisted in fury.

Right then, Darian felt the life of a poor Heavenly Elemental Spirit trapped inside that bow. That only fueled his rage even more.

He didn’t answer. His focus locked onto that beast... his mind drifting, as if he was a step away from being consumed again by the Heart Demon.

"Die!" the beast roared, summoning a white bone arrow on the bowstring.

As the arrow was nocked, the entire city was covered in a blue glow, and the temperature plummeted. It was like everything was freezing over. A terrifying water-elemental power burst out.

In response, Darian activated nearly all the power of his ring, flooding his daggers with maximum force.

*BOOM!*

In a flash, both moved at once. They were as fast as lightning: Darian hurled a dagger, while the arrow shot forth.

The collision unleashed an elemental shockwave so intense it blasted debris across the entire city.

The three youths watched from afar... and from the dust and raging winds, a figure slowly emerged.

Darian stood tall atop the rubble of a ruined building, like an invincible war god, glaring down arrogantly at the beast leader.

"Die, you filthy hybrid!" the beast roared. An explosive sound ripped from his back, and a pair of massive blood-red wings erupted. He was sacrificing his bloodline for power.

Darian smirked coldly and waved his hand. In that instant, a flash of light cut through, abruptly halting the beast’s rising power.

Suddenly, the beast went rigid, staring at Darian in horror.

Then, a line of blood split open across his forehead, running down his nose, jaw, throat, chest, and abdomen.

Darian exhaled and waved again. A third dagger appeared, returning to him before floating at his side.

"N-No..." the beast stammered, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

And then his body split clean in two and collapsed to the ground.

The three youths who had watched everything stood slack-jawed, their eyes brimming with awe.

Darian looked around coldly.

There was nothing but destruction, blood, and the Yin of death everywhere. He had burned through everything he’d stockpiled, but he had annihilated an army of thousands. And still, the hatred in his chest wasn’t eased.

He drew a deep breath, and suddenly recalled a passage from that book. Meru’s mother had once described what she learned from her husband’s life in simple words:

Each person carries two tigers inside: one evil, the other good. With every choice, with every action, we feed one of them.

There’s no balance. Feeding one makes the other wither, until it disappears into darkness. It’s a constant struggle. To fuel hatred with a bloodbath, no matter the reason, never brings peace.

Darian felt the truth of those words burn in his heart. The adrenaline of battle had faded into emptiness... but along with it came something dangerous. The thirst for killing didn’t fade—instead, it grew, like a starving beast.

With a sigh, he understood. He needed to put in more effort to bring good to the world and feed the right tiger, instead of just killing and burning.

Turning around, he walked slowly. Among the beast’s remains, he picked up the bluish bow and stored it away. Then, he headed off in another direction.

Soon, he reached an open hole in the middle of the ruins, and the eyes of the three young ones inside locked onto him.

"Big brother..." Eleri muttered, clenching her fists.

The three of them were stunned, their minds full of questions. Was Darian really that powerful? He barely reached level one... so, did he come from the last phase of the Trial? Why would he choose to stand with mediocre people like them?

Darian jumped down and landed near them, already back in his usual appearance.

Facing them and seeing the troubled look in their eyes, Darian spoke: "What’s wrong? We came here to free everyone of your race, is there a problem?"

"N-No!" Eleri quickly replied, a bit awkward.

Awel couldn’t think or say anything, keeping a blank expression.

It was Tir who moved, bowing slightly: "Thank you, brother Darian..."

"Stop that. I never said I was weak. I just let you handle the fighting, because I knew you could do it." He answered softly. "You don’t need to treat me any different, or anything like that. I’m still the same, and nothing’s going to change."

Hearing that, the three of them trembled.

"We’re taking everyone. We still have things to settle, then we’ll rest in peace."

Darian said, turning to the walls where the Heavenly Elemental Spirit were sealed. He waved, activating his ring, and all the black runes binding them shattered at once.

Thousands of tiny colorful runes floated free... but they were too pale and fragile, without even enough strength to use metamorphosis.

"We’ve already talked with everyone. They agreed to go with brother Darian, and they all promised they won’t become a burden." Tir’s voice echoed, and the runes vibrated in sync.

At that moment, Awel ran to a corner and grabbed five weapons stuck there: a long spear, a bow, two sabers, and a sword. All had been made with a Heavenly Elemental Spirit, but they were so weak they were considered failures. They were likely left there only for study.

Darian waved and took the weapons. During the fight, only the beast leader had one of these bows. If the other beasts had them, they would’ve used them. So, during all this time, they had only managed to create one such weapon, which they considered perfect.

Thousands of colorful runes floated around Darian, like he was a massive sun pulling them close. He waved, using what little power was left in his ring, connecting with all of them. The blessing of Heaven’s Will was incredible — with just the faintest trace, it was enough.

"Found it!" Eleri said excitedly, appearing from a nearby spot. She then ran to Darian, holding a scroll sealed by very powerful black runes.

Darian grabbed it and opened it easily. Inside, there were several rolled-up scrolls, with a long and detailed description of the technique used to create the weapons. He waved and stored them away.

"Let’s gather a few things, then head back. We still have some scores to settle."

With everything wrapped up, he spoke, and the three nodded in response.