Chapter 4

It was not the time for celebration as loud footsteps echoed, coming closer to them. As it got nearer, a menacing pressure filled the air, one that sent shivers down their spines.

They knew it was not over. But what could they do now? Their strength was fading fast.

The footsteps came even closer until they could finally see it.

‘No... he did it. The bastard actually went and did it.’ Gray’s mind screamed in anger and sadness. His fist clenched tightly.

What they were looking at now was a creature born from a Daegi, human and beast. It was hideous, but the pressure from its mere presence made their backs wet with fear.

They knew they had to take it down somehow.

“Let’s do this, just like old times,” Gray said with a bitter smile as he held the hand of his wife and pulled her up. She smiled back, and her eyes turned white, veins reaching out and bulging from her face. She looked at the monster with deep hatred.

Gray dropped his sword and coated his hand with a red and white flame. He had to go all out if they wanted to defeat this thing.

He flew forward at an inhuman speed, and the fire around his hand transformed into a long sword. He made a slash, one empowered with both speed and strength. The air boomed around him, and a small rift appeared.

The Void Slash landed on the monster and dissipated into thin air. The only thing visible on its body was a faint white scratch, and that was if someone looked closely.

Seeing this, Gray froze in shock.

The monster, unbothered, waved its hand once. That simple motion sent Gray flying into the air at a frightening speed. He crashed into the ground, creating a massive crater.

Half of his robe was burnt. He tried to stand up but fell immediately, coughing out a large amount of blood. That strike had damaged his inner organs.

Ria appeared beside him at once, laying her hands on him and channelling her power into his body as she tried to heal him quickly. The veins on her head grew larger; she knew she was giving him part of her life source.

Gray began to feel better, but when he realised what Ria was doing, he held her hands and told her to stop, to save her strength for the fight.

The monster watched them from the house, then took a single step forward—and in an instant, it was standing in front of them.

It drew its hand back, which morphed into a long blade. With a single swipe, it made a clean slash.

That slash was too fast for them to react. Seeing this, Ria stood in front of her husband. The blade went through her. She smiled painfully as her legs gave way and she collapsed into Gray’s arms.

Gray knelt and looked at her. Nothing came out of his mouth. Then he looked to the sky and screamed in pain. The earth cracked beneath him, and lava began to burst from underneath.

He felt a new energy flowing into his body and looked down at Ria’s body slowly crumbling to dust. She was giving him her last strength.

The fire around his hand raged wildly, turning black. He glared at the monster with fury as his eyes turned black.

He would kill this thing if it was the last thing he did.

He charged forward at the speed of light, hitting the monster from different angles with his Phantom Strike. Each hit was stronger and faster. He kept striking relentlessly, the lava around him climbing up his body into his arms.

He transformed his hand into a giant one made of lava and slammed the creature to the ground.

The creature held its arms up, trying to resist, but its legs were forced deeper into the ground. Black blood pooled beneath it as it struggled. Its wounds were healing slower than before.

The black blood began to flow toward Gray, merging with the lava hand. His face twisted in pain—the energy was too much even for him. Blood dripped from his eyes, nose, and mouth as his own blood mixed with the black lava.

‘If this is how I will die, so be it. As long as I take you to hell with me,’ Gray thought, clenching his teeth in agony.

The creature howled as it suddenly grew weaker. The giant lava hand pushed harder.

Gray raised it and slammed again, harder and faster. The creature was crushed deeper into the ground.

He slammed again, again, again, again, and again.

He kept slamming until nothing could be felt from the other side, yet he still continued.

Finally, the lava hand evaporated. Gray fell to the ground, his spirit and mind completely spent. He smiled faintly, knowing he had avenged his wife.

‘If only I could see Roshan now,’ he thought.

Roshan came running to his father immediately and held his hands, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably.

“Father, Father, please don’t leave me here alone. I don’t want to be on my own. Please, Father,” Roshan cried as he hugged him.

Gray thought he was already dead when he heard his son’s voice. He opened his eyes weakly to see someone holding him tightly.

“Roshan…” he whispered.

“Roshan… don’t hold me like that. Do you want me to die faster?” He tried to lift his hand to ruffle his hair like he always did, but he could not even move.

“Fa… father, I’m sorry. I should have come earlier,” Roshan stammered as he tried to wipe his tears, but they kept flowing.

“You should have come and do what? Get yourself killed?” Gray said gently, admiring the boy’s courage.

“Even I couldn’t kill it faster. If not, your mother would still be alive.” He coughed out blood and smiled painfully.

Roshan could only listen, his chest heavy with grief. He did not want to stress his father further.

“Get strong, Roshan. Stronger than your brother, your mother, stronger than me. Even stronger than the world leaders. You need to get strong if you want to live. And if you don’t get strong and die miserably... coughs I... I will be waiting for you to give you a long beating,” his father said with a faint smile, trying to lift his hand to ruffle his hair again.

Roshan knew what his father was thinking when he saw his hand twitch. He lifted his father’s hand, placed it on his head, and guided it to ruffle his hair.

Seeing this, his father grinned, blood flowing from his mouth.

“I love you, son. Get stronger.”

Roshan waited for his father to speak again, but when he looked at the lifeless eyes, he knew he was gone.

The body turned to dust in his hands.

“ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!” He screamed in pain.

He was alone for the first time in his life.