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"Bastard! Kill them!"
"Rip those two humans apart! Eat their flesh!"
The sudden, devastating strike didn't scare the remaining ghouls off. If anything, it awakened the bloodthirst buried deep in their bones.
Amid waves of nauseating howls, more than a dozen ghouls unleashed their predatory limbs. Some were hard as metal armor, others lashed out like razor-sharp whips.
Like a pack of rabid beasts, they charged over broken concrete and bloodstains, rushing at Lucian and Himan from all directions.
"A bunch of suicidal pests."
Himan let out a soft, sultry laugh. A violet gleam flickered in her fox-like eyes, excitement dancing within.
She was just about to send her dark-purple vines surging forward to devour these "appetizers," when Lucian raised a hand to stop her.
"Himan, step back. I'll handle these small fries."
A spark of anticipation flashed in his deep eyes.
He had just fused with the golden legendary Dragon Talisman and was itching to test its real combat power. These ghouls, with their ridiculous regeneration, were perfect practice targets.
Faced with the incoming tide, Lucian didn't move an inch.
He simply raised his right hand, palm facing forward.
"Buzz—"
A crimson dragon sigil flickered briefly in his palm.
The next second—
A terrifying, suffocating heat exploded outward with Lucian at its center. The air warped violently, and even the steel and concrete underfoot began cracking from the strain.
"BOOM!!!"
A deafening blast erupted as a massive pillar of crimson fire burst from his palm!
This wasn't ordinary flame. It was explosive fire infused with the very essence of the Fire Demon.
The blazing column roared forward like an enraged dragon, sweeping everything in its path. Every ghoul within the fan-shaped blast zone was instantly swallowed.
Their supposedly indestructible natural weapons lasted less than a tenth of a second before being vaporized like paper.
"AAAAAH—!"
The screams lasted only a heartbeat before cutting off.
More than a dozen low-level ghouls were wiped out completely, reduced to charred ash without even the chance to struggle.
The residual heat didn't stop there. It blasted a massive hole through the factory's load-bearing wall, letting the night wind rush in and scatter dust everywhere.
"Damn… that's some power."
Lucian glanced at his slightly heated palm, raising a satisfied eyebrow.
He hadn't even used a tenth of the talisman's strength. Just a trace of its fire essence had caused this level of destruction.
As he marveled at it, heavy footsteps echoed from the depths of the factory.
Step. Step. Step.
A tall figure wearing a mask painted with a gaping maw slowly rose from atop a pile of abandoned crates.
Aogiri Tree executive. SS-rank ghoul—Noro.
Hidden behind the mask, his gaze locked onto Lucian. Four massive, dark-red flesh-appendages writhed behind him, each ending in a monstrous, tooth-lined maw. They twisted through the air like giant serpents, radiating a sickening stench of blood.
Usually silent, Noro let out a hoarse, grating voice, like sandpaper scraping together.
"You… what are you?"
His words came in broken bursts. "That power… not a quinque… Who… are you?!"
"The dead don't need answers." Lucian glanced at him coldly.
"Master, this big guy is so ugly!"
Himan could barely hold herself back anymore.
Her eyes gleamed with greed as she stared at Noro's massive, life-filled hunting organs. Her pink tongue flicked eagerly.
"Please, Master, let me tear him apart! I promise I'll eat every last bit of him!"
"Relax." Lucian stopped her again. "It's rare to find something this tough. Let me test the Dragon Talisman a bit more. Stay back and make sure he doesn't escape."
Though she pouted slightly, Himan obediently stepped aside, summoning dark-purple vines to seal off every exit.
"Arrogant human… DIE!!!"
Noro was completely enraged by Lucian's casual attitude, as if he were nothing more than a test subject.
With a savage roar, his four monstrous striking limbs snapped taut, then shot forward like heavy artillery shells, tearing through the air from four deadly angles.
Enough force to shred an armored vehicle in an instant.
Lucian remained calm.
He slowly raised his hand and spread his fingers.
"Dragon Talisman: Explosion."
BOOM!!!
A crimson light ten times brighter than before lit up the entire night sky.
This time, Lucian increased the output slightly.
Instead of spreading out, the flames compressed into a dense, blazing sphere—a miniature sun—slamming straight into Noro's attack.
The explosion shook the entire factory.
The shockwave and heat blasted the metal roof clean off. The fireball collided with the coiled appendages and triggered a chain detonation.
"ROOOAAARGH!!!"
Noro's scream tore through the air.
His four massive predatory stalks—something even elite investigators struggled to deal with—melted instantly under the explosive fire, like plastic tossed into a furnace.
The aftermath didn't stop there.
The blast slammed into Noro's body, tearing him apart.
Even with his near-immortal regenerative ability, the pure, searing flame—naturally suppressing everything dark and twisted—charred his flesh on a massive scale.
In a single strike, half his body was blown away.
He flew like a broken kite, crashing deep into the factory ruins and carving out a massive crater.
"Cough… hack…"
In the rubble, Noro's mutilated body twitched.
His abnormal regenerative cells went into overdrive, trying to rebuild what had been lost. But the demonic fire clinging to his wounds burned relentlessly, suppressing his recovery.
"Tch… guess I overdid it."
Lucian glanced at the half-destroyed Noro, then at the crumbling factory around them.
The Dragon Talisman was just too ridiculous.
If he pushed a bit harder, the entire area within two kilometers might feel like it had been hit by an earthquake.
"Alright, that's enough testing."
He dusted himself off and walked calmly to the edge of the crater, looking down at Noro.
"Your regeneration's not bad. You're a decent punching bag."
"Now, I ask, you answer. A group like yours doesn't just wander aimlessly. Where is Aogiri Tree's main base in this area?"
"Heh… hahahaha…"
Despite being on his last breath, Noro let out a chilling, distorted laugh.
With his one remaining eye, he stared at Lucian.
"Human… you're strong… but you don't understand… how small you are…"
"…Where we hide… there exists something… something your kind should never… ever provoke…"
"Something I shouldn't provoke?"
Lucian smirked.
As the group leader of a multiverse chat with power that defied logic, there wasn't much in this world he couldn't offend.
"If you love your secrets that much, take them to hell with you."
He waved a hand dismissively and turned to Himan.
"Your turn. Pull the memories out of him."
"At once, my most powerful Master~"
Himan's laughter was filled with delight.
In the next instant, more than a dozen thick, dark-purple vines surged forward like dragons, wrapping Noro completely.
"No—!!!"
His scream was cut short as the vines' devouring ability activated at full power.
Even an SS-rank ghoul couldn't resist this absolute consumption.
Flesh, bone, energy… even his memories and soul were devoured completely.
Seconds later, the crater was empty.
Himan let out a satisfied burp. Her already alluring figure seemed even more captivating after absorbing such a massive amount of energy.
She closed her violet eyes, carefully sorting through the memory fragments she had extracted.
After a moment, she opened them again—surprise flickering across her face.
"Master, I've gone through all his memories," she said, walking over, her tone tinged with disbelief.
"Where?"
"According to him… Aogiri Tree's real base in this area isn't outside."
She swallowed, expression complicated.
"It's hidden in a sealed underground space."
"And that location…"
She looked straight at Lucian, speaking slowly.
"…is directly beneath the school you just started teaching at today—Sobu High."
"....."