Chapter 1294: Hunt [1]

The Karmic Emperor's eyes were wide with pure shock.

Luckily for him, Tiamat stopped her attack to watch Damien, otherwise, he would've died right then and there.

Nevertheless, when Damien easily killed Immortal Blood Asura and wiped out all the Lords in the vicinity, he was naturally in a state of disbelief.

No matter how talented he was, he had just ascended, right? This kind of strength should've been impossible, right?

These kinds of thoughts rushed through his head and created chaotic waves that completely crushed every plan he had made since the start of this war.

So naturally, when Damien suddenly appeared next to Tiamat, those cold eyes gazing down at him like he was some lowly being, he froze up.

"Need help?" Damien said casually.

"No need. I am enough for this one," Tiamat responded in kind.

"Hmm, alright. I was going to go on an Emperor-hunting spree, but I guess you have your own grudges too. How about we split them two and two?"

"That depends on which two you want."

"My main target is really only the Saint Emperor, but if I had to choose between the others, the obvious choice would be the Soul Emperor..."

"I cannot allow that."

Damien's brow raised in surprise at her quick response.

"Is there any particular reason?"

Tiamat nodded.

"This one is too weak. I will not take the other weak one as well."

"Is that really the only reason?"

"..."

Damien shrugged.

"If you don't want to talk about it then don't. I'll take the Inhuman Emperor if that's what you want..."

"...however, the Saint Emperor is mine no matter what."

"You..."

Damien's eyes shot to the side as he glanced at Tiamat.

In that moment, she froze just like the Karmic Emperor.

Damien was strong. His gaze alone put more pressure on her than any of the Demigods she'd faced before.

Whether or not she could face him was still a question, but...

As he disappeared without leaving any room for debate, Tiamat had a thought.

'So even you can make that kind of expression...'

The Damien who marked the Saint Emperor was not the one she knew.

That was a beast. A ruthless killing machine that would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

The Saint Emperor was the longest-living being in the lower universe aside from the Ancient Sovereign. Naturally, he played a large role in Tiamat's life as well, one that absolutely made her want to tear him to pieces.

However, she understood this feeling well.

If she tried to steal his prey...

'...I may not live to see tomorrow.'

She shook her head and cleared her thoughts.

Regardless, the Soul Emperor was the main target for her revenge, and since the rest were already dead or lost in time, there was no point getting too worked up over it.

She would be satisfied as long as she saw that man suffer, so even if he died at Damien's hands, there was no difference.

Instead, she looked at it in a positive light.

A man who could be so warm that he melted her icy heart yet so ruthless he could instill fear into her, if there was any man worth dedicating her life to, it would be him.

She didn't know where he was going or what he would do, but until the time came for them to meet again, she was given free rein as long as she didn't cross his line.

Therefore...

She turned her gaze back to the Karmic Emperor, who was covertly letting out a sigh of relief now that the storm known as Damien Void had passed.

"Did you think we were finished?"

The Karmic Emperor flinched.

"..."

He opened his mouth as if he were going to speak.

And he was gone in the next second.

BOOM!

The atmosphere cried out as he shot away at his maximum speed.

'I have to escape that crazy woman, and I have to escape that nonsensical man! Dammit, why must fate toy with me like so?!'

For so many variables to appear at once, and for each and every one to be capable of toppling the entire board with their own strength, did he accumulate some sort of bad karma?!

No, he did exactly that, but he was supposed to be the one person free from its negative effects. That karma was supposed to be the source of his strength.

Good karma could be harvested from those he controlled, but it could only be used to strengthen those he controlled. Bad karma on the other hand could not only be used as an attack force, but also as a means to strengthen himself.

So why was he being struck by so many consequences at once?!

"I can hear the gears in your brain turning from over here."

He thought he was escaping, but he was wrong.

He was nowhere near escaping her grasp.

Tiamat trailed behind him at a reasonable distance and allowed him to run, not because she wanted to play with her food again, but because she needed to make distance from those Grand Heavens Boundary Demigods in order to properly fight.

"Prepare yourself. This time, I will not let you off so easily."

Tiamat didn't know the Karmic Emperor. He was a relatively new Nox Emperor, and didn't exist during her time.

However, his twisted snake-like personality and cowardice, even his Demonic Providence, reminded her of a certain disgusting individual from the past.

"You may not be him, but that is not my problem. Do not blame me for what is to come, blame him, for he is the reason you will suffer."

Tiamat finished her speech, and in the same instant, she appeared next to the Karmic Emperor.

"No..."

His words were meaningless.

Waves of horrifying black Divine Energy billowed from Tiamat's body, sinking him into the depths of darkness.

"No...no...NO...!"

From all sides, creatures of unknown origin, those he'd killed in the past, and his own inner demons surrounded him, swallowing him deeper into the abyss.

He had no power here. They tore apart his skin, ripped out his nails, gouged his eyeballs, severed his limbs, and made him experience every form of unimaginable pain in existence.

It was all an illusion.

His mind was being broken with every second, and as the effects started to manifest on his body and soul, his pain was worsened to an extreme degree.

"LET ME OUT!"

"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!"

In fact, the Karmic Emperor wasn't a man with remorse. The guilt of his actions, the morality of it all didn't affect him in the slightest if it meant his goals would be achieved.

However, Tiamat commanded death. She had power over her own personal underworld.

When she threw him into the abyss, she instilled those emotions into him. She forced his soul to experience sympathy as it recalled every instance of evil it had ever committed.

And that was enough to drive him insane.

His body twisted and crunched strangely. His bones shattered themselves as his arms snapped in the wrong direction. Blood leaked from his eyes and nose, and foam seeped from his mouth.

Tiamat smiled happily.

This was only the beginning.

Once she brought his mind back and healed it, he still had to undergo a few rounds of physical and soul torture before she let him die.

After all, she was finally getting her revenge!

She couldn't just let it end without properly enjoying it, could she?

Those were her thoughts as she watched the man deteriorate.

And far away in a completely different part of the Ancient Battlefield, a chill ran down Damien's spine.

He suddenly had a strange feeling, as if he had a ticking time bomb in his hands, just waiting to explode.

It was like the second he made a mistake, that bomb would go off and devour him whole.

But...

That must've just been his imagination...

...right?