Death Heir’s Devouring System

Azrael had gone through an evolution before. He knew what to expect, so he naturally dispelled his attire before continuing with the process.

'I would have liked to do it alone close to a source of water, but there is not much I can do about that now.' He thought.

These were the last of his thoughts before his mind was clouded by pain. Turning to the side, his mouth opened, and the familiar black matter spewed from it. It seeped from his pores as well, releasing the impurity that had remained hidden in him during his first Rank up.

And beneath the release of impurity, he felt himself becoming stronger.

Once again Azrael was being torn apart by constant never-ending agony and euphoria.

Thankfully this time the black matter was significantly less than before; the transformation passed faster than expected.

After a few minutes he managed to regain his senses. His gaze immediately locked upon his Purity Rank.

Purity Rank: [Cleansed]

Purity Progression: [0/100]

Purity Description: [Cleansed from the imperfections every Forsaken is forced to bear. The divinity within your soul shines like a beacon, dispersing any Corruption that may stand in your way.]

Slowly his fists clenched and relaxed; vast power soared through his veins. So much so that he instantly knew that the Marked Ascension Level he was still stuck at hindered the potential power he could release in a second.

Still, the fact remained. He had done it, a feat only the most talented, luckiest, and nurtured Marked could ever hope to achieve. He had become Cleansed.

The desire to test the limits of his newly gained power appeared in his mind, but Azrael didn't act on it. He wasn't one that let impulse lead his decisions in life. Emotions were for the weak people that were slaves to their own desires.

"Now that was one nasty sight."

Victor commented, catching Azrael off guard.

"It is what it is." Azrael shrugged. "Ranking up and attaining power in general has never been a beautiful process but a grueling one."

With an arched eyebrow, Victor took another puff of the miraculous cigar.

"Well, the process might be ugly, but the end result is not." He smirked, "Now you look like one of those models that appear on TV dramas… The ones girls love to watch."

Even though Azrael didn't concern himself with mundane things like the internet or television, he had taken the precaution to learn how they worked back when he was still with the Moon Breakers. So he understood that, essentially, Victor was telling him he had become much more attractive.

Waving a hand dismissively, he shook his head. "How I look is of no concern to me. What matters is I have the power to make my goals a reality."

Victor sighed before inhaling more of the healing air. "Well, I'm the opposite. I can't wait to reach the Cleansed Purity Rank—maybe then girls will finally start to appreciate my appearance and not be intimidated by me."

Suppressing the urge to tell him that, with a height like his, most people would be intimidated regardless of his looks—aside from a few exceptions—Azrael focused on the more important matters at hand.

The sun began to dip beneath the horizon, casting one last golden hue over the Golden Lands before the shadows embraced the landscape.

They couldn't afford to fly much farther. Even with Isolde's ability to sense souls and warn them of most potential dangers, it would simply be too dark to react if something were to suddenly attack them.

"We would stop to rest." Azrael commanded. Since Isolde wasn't one to bother with stuff like leading and Victor had a rather simple mindset, the role of a leader fell upon him.

Spending numerous nights on the cursed planet, the Chosen had agreed upon the best way to sleep safely in the wilderness.

Positioned on a high tree, they aligned on the biggest branches while tying one of their limbs in case they were to fall off.

When in groups, they would normally take turns keeping watch, but since Cinder didn't need sleep and fed solely on Azrael's energy, he was assigned to watch over the trio.

Isolde didn't have trouble falling asleep. The same was true for Victor, exhaustion overcame him the moment he lay down. He went to sleep with the cigar still in his mouth since he was far from being in top shape.

Despite needing to use his Purity power to keep Cinder and the cigar active, Azrael didn't mind. Now being of the Cleansed Purity Rank, he had much more Divine energy in his body to utilize.

'We're going to get out of this hellhole soon.' That was the last thought he had before his eyelids slowly closed.

*****

With the strange blue inferno that had been raging around the lands finally over, they reached its point of origin.

Knight corpses were topped one on another. The ground around them shattered, trees fallen.

In the middle of the slain monster tide stood a corpse, once belonging to a stunningly beautiful woman.

Raven was long gone, her head lying lifeless on the ground, frozen in a shocked expression, and her beheaded body fallen into a kneeling position.

The places where her blood had fallen had caused the golden grass to grow taller and faster than normal.

"...Why did you act so high and mighty, just to have your pride finish you off?"

Thandor's knees buckled, collapsing just before her severed head. With shaking hands, he slowly picked it up.

His blue eyes looked into her lifeless ones.

In quick succession his lips parted and closed; gulping became hard. He wanted to say something but didn't have the courage to say it. He wanted to cry, to scream, to curse.

But the best he managed was to stay frozen in place. Her warmth was gone, her memories were gone, her skills, experience—everything was gone and never to be regained. Death had claimed her.

"Thandor."

After a few minutes of silence, the voice of concern Proven echoed behind him.

"The investigation is complete. It is certain that Raven fell from the hands of a human. No monster could leave wounds as precise as this. It would also explain why in some places the grass has grown abnormally fast. Probably a side effect of the item or skill they have used."

Deeply breathing, Thandor slowly put Raven's severed head back to the ground.

"Have all the Proven warebots been accounted for at the time of the incident?" He spoke with an eerie lack of emotion.

"Yes." Another answered. "All the Proven in our base and the ones outside it have alibis for the time of the dead."

That meant only one thing: Raven, the Radiant Proven who was meant to cause chaos around the world once she returned to the human realm, had been slain… by a Marked.

Just when she had been tasked with bringing Isolde to the Hollow Tree, by force if she had to. It was a necessary evil; after all, a Calamity Danger Level monster had been confirmed. They couldn't afford to stall for time.

The need to move fast had caused them to make mistakes, finding themselves in their current predicament.

Raven was dead, and they hadn't gained Isolde to guide them towards the King. Even after months spent on the cursed planet, they were unable to reach the cathedral at the center—the monsters looming around were too powerful.

"Your orders, Proven Thandor?"

The man slowly rose, looking north.

"Today we rest," he ordered. "Tomorrow, we rally the Proven and march towards the Ruined Kingdom."

The Proven hesitated. "Just the Proven? What about the Marked taking shelter in our base?"

A subtle smile curled on Thandor's face, disappearing a second later.

"Isn't it obvious?" He answered, unfazed. "We get rid of the baggage."