NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1283: Unexpected Revelations!!
"No," the four demon kings answered together in calm, steady tones that resonated like ancient bells. "That single drop of blood did not fall into the hands of the divine beasts." The first demon king stepped forward before continuing, "It fell upon a golden crown, dyeing it crimson. We were extremely unfortunate, because that golden crown belonged to the crownbearer of this world."
"What?" Max's eyes widened. His entire mind froze for a moment as the revelation hit him like a physical blow. He had expected many possibilities, but never something like this. The crown worn by the crownbearer had been touched by the essence blood of a true devil.
The implications were horrifying. He had been prepared for stories involving divine beasts and ancient battles, but this detail carried consequences far beyond anything he had anticipated.
Balthazar's lips curled into a smug sneer as he watched the shock spread across Max's face. "Are you surprised, Max?" he taunted. "You should be. How else did you think the crownbearer of your world turned into such a vile being? Something must have twisted him into the creature you know now." He spread his arms dramatically, clearly enjoying the effect his words were having on Max.
"True Origin Devil Blood…" Max said slowly. The words came out through clenched teeth. His pupils trembled as the truth settled in. Everything lined up too perfectly. The corruption, the sudden fall of Mark, the drastic shift from pure-hearted protector to monstrous enemy. There could be no other explanation.
"Bingo!" Balthazar burst into a triumphant laugh. His deep voice echoed across the battlefield. "True Origin Devil Blood is not ordinary devil blood. It is the essence blood of a true devil, a being far beyond your mortal understanding. Even masters of the Divine Realm would succumb to its corruption. Imagine what it must have done to the poor crownbearer of this world. He was once the most noble being among humans, someone destined to protect this realm from all forms of evil, yet that single drop twisted him into the greatest evil your world has ever produced."
Max felt his chest tighten. His breath grew heavy as the revelations continued to crush any remaining assumptions he had held.
The history of this world had never been simple, but this truth pushed it into realms he had never imagined. The four divine beasts, the four demon kings, the True Origin Devil Blood, the fall of the Ascension Tunnel, and the corruption of Mark—all of them were connected, woven together by a chain of events that began long before Max was ever born.
"Poor crownbearer," the first demon king said with a voice that carried neither mockery nor sympathy, only the weight of an ancient truth. "He came as fast as he could to protect this world from the eight foreign threats that descended into it. We four demon kings arrived seeking the True Origin Devil Blood, and the four divine beasts descended with their own motives. As the protector of this realm, the crownbearer confronted all of us. For a time, he fulfilled his duty well. He held us at bay, prevented large-scale destruction, and safeguarded the mortals that depended on him."
The demon king paused, then continued with a slower tone that carried the enormity of the moment he described. "But when our forces finally managed to approach the True Origin Devil Blood and were about to seize it, the four divine beasts interfered. They conspired together and threw the drop of blood into the crown of the crownbearer, thinking that only he could resist its influence. They believed he would purify it or destroy it. Instead, it corrupted him beyond salvation."
His gaze grew darker as he added, "We attempted to extract the blood from the crown after witnessing the sudden shift in his aura, but it was already too late. The crown was corrupted. The blood fused with the very essence of the crownbearer, twisting every part of him until he became something entirely different. His fall had begun the instant that drop touched his crown."
Max felt the weight of those words sink deeply into him. Mark had only been fulfilling his duty, racing to protect a world entrusted to him, yet the very act of protection had turned into the moment his life collapsed.
He had become the vessel for a power that no living being should ever touch. Max's heart tightened in an unexpected pang of pity. The man he once considered the greatest threat had once been the greatest protector.
The second demon king stepped forward, his expression grim. "It did not take long for the corruption to consume him completely. The crownbearer transformed into an uncontrollable force of destruction. He wandered across your world, killing without reason or restraint. He tore through human settlements, erased entire clans, and extinguished countless lives. The mortals he was sworn to protect became nothing more than fragile prey in his eyes. For many years, no one was able to stop him. His power rivaled the divine beasts themselves, and the corruption amplified his might further."
The demon king's voice lowered, as though remembering scenes no creature should witness. "The four divine beasts soon realized the horror they had created. They understood that by their actions, they had doomed the crownbearer and condemned your world to suffering. Wracked by guilt, they decided to leave behind their bloodlines before withdrawing. They scattered their powers among chosen mortals, hoping that someone born in future generations, carrying those divine traces, would one day become strong enough to defeat the corrupted crownbearer."
Max finally understood the entire chain of tragedy. His frown deepened as the pieces assembled in his mind. Everything that happened to this world, the rise of powerful Ascendants, the strange shifts in energy, the emergence of the Four God Nation, the terrifying tales of the crownbearer's madness, demons and divine beasts—every event had been triggered by a single drop of True Origin Devil Blood.
One drop was enough to drag eight enormous powers into the mortal realm, destroy the stability of entire worlds, corrupt the purest defender this world had, and reshape the future of humanity.
As Max processed it all, a profound silence formed around him. The world's history was not simply tragic. It was catastrophic. A tragedy so immense that no mortal record could ever do it justice. He finally understood why the past felt so heavy, why Mark had become what he had, and why this world's fate had always been tied to forces far beyond mortal comprehension.