Chapter 477
The Calamity of the Flame Demon
The stranger looked up, his eyes filled with shock at the scene unfolding before him.
— Grey-black smoke billowed and surged, containing fiery hues of deep red and gold.
Not far in front of him, the Silver and Tin Hall began to crumble from its center, spewing out vast amounts of dust and smoke as the entire structure disintegrated. Even the building, reinforced by the Preserver, offered no resistance. It groaned like a monster being chewed and swallowed, collapsing with the tremor of the earth.
The peculiar monocle on the stranger’s face, akin to a microscope, automatically adjusted, granting him a new perspective.
He saw heat spreading throughout the entire building, like a root system tightly grasping a clod of soil. Not far away, a colossal humanoid figure, so searingly hot that even through multiple walls the stranger dared not look directly at it, was slowly rising. It was absorbing the entirety of the Silver and Tin Hall, growing larger with each passing moment. Its bones were earth and stone, its flesh, roaring flames. A molten giant, sculpted from melted metal and rock, continuously grew as it drew in the surrounding “materials” within the constricting blaze.
— That was the Flame Demon!
The stranger recognized both of the Star Antinomy powerhouses who had appeared in the narrative’s introduction. They were acquaintances. One was his mentor at the Spirit Tower, and the other was his senior, Lieutenant General Leo Karl, with whom he had a decent relationship. Not long ago, they had undergone the same advancement ritual together, an event that resulted in Karl losing a leg.
Although the stranger was not a Demon Scholar, his intense curiosity had led him to inquire why Lieutenant General Karl harbored “another soul” within him. General Karl had not been secretive, revealing the truth:
For Demon Scholars, after ascending to the Demon Avatar stage, a demon seed would begin to form within them. These were incredibly powerful Upper Demons, formidable allies that normal Demon Scholars could not obtain through summoning or contracts. Merely drawing power from these internal demons granted supernatural abilities comparable to a Fourth Tier’s affinity for energy.
Initially, when a Demon Avatar reached the Fourth Tier, these demons remained dormant. If they were killed at this stage, the demon within would typically only release a twisted form of power. However, upon reaching the Fifth Tier, these demons would be activated—like a chicken egg transforming from a mere yolk into a mature embryo with feathers and flesh, on the verge of hatching.
Demon Avatars had to use rituals or curses to restrain the demon’s activity within them. Otherwise, there was a risk of losing control. If they were on the verge of death, these Fifth Tier powerhouses would enter a ritual array designed to suppress the demon. This way, upon their death, when the demon broke free, it could be sealed or banished. It could even be contracted by their own students, becoming a powerful asset.
If, however, they were killed unexpectedly, the unleashed, uncontrolled demon would teach the killer a lesson. While a sealed demon harbored immense hatred for its host, it did not necessarily feel gratitude towards the enemy who freed it. These primal demons possessed all the memories, knowledge, and emotions of their host from birth to death. Rather than being mere demons, they were akin to an alternate, demonized personality born after the host underwent the Mark of Sin. Although they were technically two souls, their personalities often bore a striking resemblance.
General Karl had also told the stranger that the correct path for a Demon Scholar’s advancement was to conquer and completely absorb their inner demon personality upon reaching the Sixth Tier. When the two personalities merged, it was as if two selves overlapped, allowing for true mastery of this power, becoming a genuine “Demon Avatar.”
Clearly, this Flame Demon was the product of a “less perfect” ascension—proof of General
Yet, perhaps because of this, the stranger found himself temporarily safe. The demon had no intention of destroying Avalon. He mused that his current role as a court alchemist in Avalon ironically rendered him safer. If there was anyone the Flame Demon desired to attack most at this moment, it would have to be his mentor—Mr. Bruzvik, codenamed “Advisor,” the elderly man cloaked in black.
But in the next instant, the stranger’s expression shifted abruptly. For he heard—the sound of the Flame Demon pounding its fists against the ground.
In that moment, the earth shook violently. Buildings swayed, shattered, and collapsed. The panicked shouts of knights suddenly echoed within the structure. The amazing monocle worn by the alchemist contracted and expanded repeatedly, refocusing to lock onto one soul after another consumed by the flames. Through his peculiar eyes, which could render anything non-supernatural transparent, he easily saw the flames spreading from the giant’s fists, like a plant’s roots, or like serpents or centipedes. They burrowed into the walls and the earth. As the building shook and broke apart, they burst forth from the cracks, attacking the knights.
No, their targets were not just knights! Even the ordinary people, the servants working in the royal palace, were engulfed by the fiery serpents, their screams piercing the air. Even the Fourth Tier Arbiters possessed almost no resistance. Their defensive spells were easily breached, and their blessed metal armor melted like paper.
…What was happening?!
The stranger shivered in fear. Fortunately, not long after he landed, he had packed his belongings in preparation for a hasty escape, storing his spellcasting materials and potions in a brown leather satchel. He grabbed the satchel and ran. Just as he reached the entrance, a knight rushed towards him.
“Master Nobel, please leave quickly!” he exclaimed nervously, raising his sword towards a slender fire serpent emerging from the corner of the wall. “I will cover your retreat—”
“Don’t cover anything!”
The stranger grabbed the knight’s shoulder, shouting almost in a scream, “Just… run! Run with me!”
The knight belatedly lowered his sword, preparing to flee. A fire serpent, coiled in the corner, sprang out with stored momentum, rushing towards them. Like arrows of flame, like hunting hounds. The sword the knight instinctively raised was easily burned through, a widening hole appearing as if the metal was being scorched from the center, like burning paper. He instinctively turned his head, saving his life—the fire serpent shot into the ceiling, causing molten steel to drip down. The mere passing heat of that instant made his helmet scorching hot, eliciting a scream from him—his left cheek felt as if it were seared on a hot iron, sizzling and cracking. The stranger even caught a faint aroma of roasted meat.
However, the knight’s vitality and perseverance were extraordinary. Not killed instantly, he managed to catch his breath and recover. Seeing “Master Nobel” making a slow, jogging escape, he couldn’t stand it. He charged forward and scooped the stranger up. The stranger immediately felt his armor growing scalding hot—as if it had been baked under the summer sun for hours. Even with the robe providing insulation, he couldn_t help but cry out, crying from the heat. Despite this, he held onto his satchel tightly.
The two of them fled towards the exit of the Silver and Tin Hall, their screams of pain overlapping. They clearly saw—a knight in their path who, in an attempt to slash a fire serpent attacking him, was instead impaled through the chest by the serpent. Flames erupted from the gaps in his armor, and his scream lasted only a moment before disappearing completely. He soon ceased struggling, falling silent. The flames spewing from his armor gaps grew calmer and more steady. His metal armor began to melt—using “Nobel’s” monocle, the stranger clearly saw the man’s soul being forged into a new form by the flames. It was as if the soul was parasitized by the fire serpent, or as if steel had been melted and mixed with bone dust. The original traces were still visible, but it was clearly no longer the same person.
Burning knights, burning servants, burning skeletons—more and more figures gathered. Their clothing and weapons were engulfed in flames, yet they retained their original forms without being consumed. Their flames were golden-red, and in their hands, they wielded weapons formed from condensed purplish-black flames. Where their eyes should have been, two beams of burning purplish-black fire burned. As they continued to burn, the human parts of their bodies visibly diminished. First skin and hair, then flesh and blood. Even a skeleton continued to burn, transforming into ever stronger flames. Eventually, only a vague humanoid silhouette remained, dissolving into pure elemental energy.
Meanwhile, the Flame Demon in the center of the Silver and Tin Hall had shrunk to about half its original size. It remained in its two-fisted, ground-punching pose, and the entire Silver and Tin Hall, engulfed in its flames, began to burn fiercely.
A “Flame Demon Legion” had thus been created from nothing!
