The embers of the crashed train flickered in the darkness; its twisted steel structure resembling the withered ribs of a colossal beast.
Azhan leaned on his large machete and made a teeth-grinding scraping sound with each step he took. Behind him, Marlene lay unconscious in the relatively safe shadow of a stone pillar. A faint golden spiritual energy seeped from the wound on her forehead, glaringly obvious in the darkness, and somewhat alluring.
'Can you smell it? That pure, virginal fragrance of spiritual energy...'
At the edge of the darkness, countless pairs of scarlet compound eyes lit up one after another — the elite assassination squad of the Truth Cult, the 'Blackjaw Corpse Witches'. Unlike the 'minor fodder' outside, they were biological weapons created specifically to devour psionicists, each with a combat power consistently above 8,000.
[System Monitoring: Multiple High-Energy Reactions Detected]
[Quantity: 48]
[Overall Combat Strength Assessment: Extremely Dangerous]
'Uncle... run...' Marlene murmured weakly in her sleep.
Ah Zhan stopped and slowly raised his head. His eyes, which were once deep, were now completely filled with a sickly dark red.
'Run?' Ah Zhan chuckled softly; a laugh devoid of warmth and instead carrying a chilling ferocity that could instantly cool the air. 'She called me "Uncle". It's a terrible nickname, but I quite like it.'
He ripped off the tattered black bandage from his right arm. As it slipped off, the black demonic patterns that resembled venomous snakes began to twist and grow wildly, piercing the skin and transforming into tiny black tentacles that thrashed wildly through the air.
[Warning! Warning! Warning! Host's life force is being forcibly converted! Forbidden Secret Technique: Life-Eating Curse – First Layer of Stripping – Activated!' Ah Zhan's body emitted a series of cracking sounds and a gigantic, dark phantom with a thousand eyes appeared vaguely in the void behind him.
[Combat Power Index: Jumping in real time (due to overload, the detector is rapidly increasing from 0): 0... 5,000... 12,000... 18,000... 20,000!]
'What... what kind of monster is that?' A black-jawed zombie with a weak sense of consciousness let out a terrified scream.
Ah Zhan vanished — physically vanished. Before the black-jawed zombie could even close its compound eyes, Ah Zhan appeared before it. His right hand, covered in demonic runes, pressed directly onto its face. 'First one.'
'Crack!' There were no special effects, just the crushing force of absolute power. The zombie's head, which had a combat power of 8000, was crushed like a rotten tomato.
What spurted out wasn't blood, but the life essence that had been instantly drained.
The remaining zombies launched a frenzied, suicidal charge in an attempt to overwhelm the Black Asura with sheer numbers. A-Zhan swung his sword with one hand — the 'Soul-Slaying Greatsword' had transformed into a ten-metre-long black scythe. "Ultimate Technique: 'Life-Devouring - Netherworld Reincarnation'!"
A jet-black arc flashed and the twelve zombies at the forefront were cleanly sliced in two before they could scream. No blood flowed from the wounds, as all their life energy had been forcibly stolen by the 'Life-Devouring Curse' within A-Zhan.
Standing in the centre of the bloodbath, A-Zhan allowed the black demonic energy to corrode his skin. He felt no pain, only an extreme urge to destroy everything. His combat power index remained stable at 20,000, and his dark red aura caused the entire underground space to tremble. 'More... more...' A-Zhan's voice had become an utterly inhuman deep bass. He turned his head to look at the trembling shadows deep within the ruins, a cruel smile curving his lips.
With each step he took towards the zombies, his combat power fluctuated erratically, even showing signs of breaking through 25,000.
'Uncle... no...' Just as A-Zhan was about to be completely consumed by the slaughter, he heard Marlene's weak, tearful voice behind him.
A-Zhan's steps stopped abruptly. His demonic right hand began to tremble violently, its black tentacles desperately trying to pierce his bone marrow. But he gritted his teeth and used the last vestiges of his sanity to suppress his rampaging power.
'That damned cop Zack... the order he bought with his life... I can't become trash here.' Within thirty seconds, all forty-eight elite zombies had been wiped out, leaving only their shriveled remains scattered across the ground.
A-Zhan knelt on the ground, panting heavily. The black demonic runes slowly shrank back into his body under the suppression of spiritual power, though extremely unwilling.
Trembling, he picked up the tattered bandages and rewrapped them around his right hand, layer by layer, until the nauseating demonic energy was completely sealed away.
[Combat Power Index Calculation: 20,000 → 0.00]
'What a heavy secret,' A-Zhan chuckled bitterly, turning back to look at the girl struggling to crawl towards him.
In this eternal night in Bangkok, he had not only had to fight the Black Dragon King, but also his own inner demons.
Due to A-Zhan's recent rampage, the air in the underground station hall had become thin and a pungent sulphuric odour lingered. The 'Black-jawed Witch Corpses', drained of their life essence, were as withered as dry twigs and ready to crumble into dust at the slightest breeze.
A-Zhan, enduring the excruciating pain of the backlash from the 'Life-Eating Curse', rummaged through the pile of rubble. Suddenly, a strange purple light caught his attention.
Embedded in the weathered throat of the leading witch corpse was a bio-chip engraved with black dragon patterns.
"Uncle, look! It's moving!' Marlene, propping herself up as she stood, pointed to the chip.
The patterns on its surface seemed to flow with life. As soon as A-Zhan touched it, a cold beam of particle light shot into the air and a massive holographic image was projected into the chilling underground ruins. The Black Dragon King sat enthroned on a throne strewn with bones. He wasn't wearing the golden mask, and the demonic markings on his face spread like vines, exuding a morbid and insane elegance.
'Ah Zhan, by the time you see this image, you should already have experienced the 'Life-Eating Curse', right?' The Black Dragon King's voice carried a triumphant laugh.
'Damn it...' Ah Zhan's knuckles turned white as he gripped the knife.
'Don't look at me like that, my dear "Experiment No. 0".' The Black Dragon King in the image stood up and slowly walked towards the screen, as if scrutinising Ah Zhan's soul across time and space. 'Twenty years ago, the explosion at the Bangkok laboratory wasn't an accident, but rather a means to create you. The 'Life-Eating Curse' within you is a curse I created using the life force of three thousand superhumans. Every time you use your power, you take a step closer to becoming that 'ultimate monster'."
He turned to look at a corner of the screen where a countdown from the top of the Bangkok Tower was displayed. 02:00:00.
"Two hours later, 'Project Sky Curtain' will be complete. At that time, all living beings in Bangkok will become nourishment for your 'Life-Eating Curse', and you will become the one true god of this world. I, your creator, will share that eternity with you." The video wasn't over yet. The scene shifted to a dusty incubator. A yellowed label affixed to the box read: [Name: Zhan; Father: Black Dragon (Chen Wu)].
"Clang!" Zhan's large cleaver hit the ground with a clang, echoing with despair.
"Uncle… you mean he's yours…?" Marlene covered her mouth, staring at the label in disbelief.
"I see..." Zhan closed his eyes and laughed self-deprecatingly. A purplish-red tinge appeared at the corner of his eye, the result of demonic energy seeping into his brain. 'No wonder my blood could suppress those witch corpses. No wonder this "Life-Eating Curse" resonates so perfectly with my soul. I wasn't an abandoned child, but a 'backup body' that he had created himself in his pursuit of immortality.'
In this Bangkok chess game, he thought he was rebelling, but every move was within the Black Dragon King's calculations. His anger, berserk state and determination to protect Marlene were all nutrients that ripened the 'Life-Eating Curse'.
The holographic image vanished completely, leaving only the collapsed reactor emitting a faint blue glow as darkness once again enveloped the underground station.
'Uncle...' Marlene tugged at Azhan's sleeve fearfully. 'Should we escape? Leave Bangkok and go somewhere deserted. We can find a way to break this curse.'
Azhan didn't move; he simply stood quietly, letting the black, demonic energy coil between his fingers.
"There's no escape." He slowly picked up the large machete from the ground. The confusion in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a resolute determination to fight to the death.
"If I am a weapon created for destruction, then I will destroy the person who gave me life before I destroy this city."
He looked at Marlene and reached out to gently ruffle her hair for the first time. 'The road ahead might not offer "buy one get one half price" deals anymore. Are you scared?"
"No!" Marlene sniffed hard, her eyes defiant. 'Uncle, my guzheng still holds the final part of the demon-slaying melody. Even if it's a god, I'll shatter its eardrums!"
[Death Countdown: 01:50:00]
Azhan carried Marlene on his back as he stepped over the shattered chip debris towards the ventilation shaft leading to the Bangkok Tower.
His steps were unusually steady. Although his combat power index still showed [0], the phantom behind him, formed by the blackened aura, was becoming increasingly clear, like a god of slaughter walking among mortals.
"Black Dragon King... old man," Azhan murmured, biting the black bandage on his right hand tightly to seal it completely. 'In this "father-son game", I'll risk my life and play along to the very end.'
Deep beneath the streets of Bangkok lies an area known as 'Cerberus', thick with the stench of cheap engine oil and illegal drugs.
Azhan pushed open a rusty iron door bearing a 'Veterinary Station' sign, carrying Marlene. The operating room lamps inside were blindingly bright.
'Old man, I'm not dead yet. You can put that coffin away now,' said Azhan, his voice hoarse as sandpaper scraping the floor, as he shoved Marlene onto the operating table.
A bald man with a half-smoked cigar dangling from his lips and wearing a blood-stained apron emerged from the shadows. He was Cyber, Bangkok's most notorious "mad doctor" on the black market. He pushed up his prosthetic eye, which was made up of five zoom lenses, and let out a piercing laugh.
"Tsk, tsk. Isn't this 'Zero'? The Life-Devouring Curse is burning your spine, yet you still managed to walk in?" Cyber leaned closer to Zhan, his mechanical eye spinning rapidly. 'Your body is like a cardboard box filled with high explosives. Use that power again and 'bang' — you'll be nothing but dust. I want you to completely lock my right arm." Zhan looked down at his right hand, where demonic runes were trying to pierce his skin like hundreds of wriggling worms.
"Lock it off? That's not just a spell." A glint of madness flashed in Cyber's eyes. 'If you want to avoid exploding in a berserk state, the only option is "living hardening". I'll nail a suppressor made of deep-sea gold directly into your humerus, then use a liquid nitrogen circulation system to cool your blood vessels."
"Do it." Zhan lay on another cold operating table, biting down on a piece of rubber.
"Uncle! No!" Marlene had just woken up when she saw the high-speed spinning drill in Cyber's hand. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes. "You'll be in excruciating pain!"
'There's no time, Marlene.' Zhan turned his head and gave her a smile that looked more like a grimace. 'If I don't modify it, I won't even be able to reach the top of the tower.' Cyber didn't use anaesthetic. For someone like Zhan, anaesthetic would only accelerate the backlash of demonic energy. The drill tore through flesh, the ear-piercing metallic scraping echoing through the clinic. Zhan's veins bulged and he broke out in a cold sweat, instantly soaking the sheets, but he didn't utter a single scream.
While stitching up Zhan's wounds, Cyber tossed the 'Soul-Slaying Greatsword' into the high-frequency furnace. 'This sword is too shabby. I'll add some ingredients.' He tossed a piece of 'meteorite core', shimmering with a ghostly blue light, into the furnace — a forbidden material stolen from the Truth Cult's experimental site.
As the final screw of the suppressor was driven into Zhan's marrow, his entire right arm began to radiate a dark, metallic silver sheen and a dense layer of nano-scale patterns covered his skin.
[System Monitoring: Armament Upgrade Complete! Right Arm Addition: Heavy Gold Soul Lock (Fivefold Seal)! Weapon Reforging: Demon-Slaying Black Star Greatsword (form switch: greatsword/giant scythe)! Current status: Stable Darkening (Combat Power Index: 0, but Burst Limit Exceeded 30,000).
When A-Zhan stood up again, his entire demeanour had changed. His right arm was encased in custom-made black armour with a "pressure relief valve", specially designed for him by Cyber. Whenever the power of the Life-Eating Curse overflows, dark purple steam sprays from the armour's vents, accompanied by a beast-like roar.
'This sword can now cut through light.' Cyber handed the reforged black sword to A-Zhan. The blade was thicker and heavier, with dark red patterns pulsating along its spine as if it had a heartbeat of its own.
'Old man, send the bill to the Black Dragon King.' A-Zhan swung the sword with one hand, easily cleaving the air with a crack.
'Hey, if you come back alive, I'll burn that bill for my ancestors.' Cyber exhaled a smoke ring, a hint of melancholy in his eyes.
Outside the clinic, the purple beam of light emanating from the Bangkok Tower began to spread outwards — the 'All Things Demonization Array' had entered its final countdown. The screams in the street gradually faded, replaced by the synchronised roars of thousands of witch corpses.
A-Zhan carried Marlene, who had also received treatment and was now holding a guzheng, on his back. He could feel the cold, heavy touch of power on his right arm — it was both a gift and a shackle.
'Uncle, you look a little too handsome right now,' Marlene whispered in his ear.
"Being handsome comes at a price." A-Zhan gazed at the towering Bangkok Tower, a plume of scorching steam rising from the armour on his right arm.
'The price is... that old man's life.'
[Battle Power Countdown: 01:10:00]
[Target: Top of Bangkok Tower]
[Obstacle: Black Dragon King and the god behind him]