HPDBC Chapter 83 The Rise of the Beast
Chapter 83 The Rise of the Beast
The leader of the Black Eagle Guard, the Fiery Blade clan's private military force, was stabbed to death by a servant he had married within the clan.
The head of Golden Hall, who managed the clan's wealth, was beheaded by his own son.
And the gatekeeper, tasked with guarding the clan's nameplate?
His heart was ripped out by his daughter's hands.
When had it started?
How had so many members of the Eastern Mountain Fiery Blade clan fallen to the Demonic Sect?
How long had even the Fiery Blade clan's bloodline been ensnared by their temptations?
Regis, the leader of the Eastern Mountain Fiery Blade clan, could not find an answer.
Ten years ago, he had slain countless remnants of the Demonic Sect with a single spear in Eastern Mountain, earning the nickname Black Sun Spear.
He had believed, without question, that his clan was free of the Demonic Sect's influence.
But he had been wrong.
The deeper he crushed the insects, the further they burrowed.
If such persistence could be expected of mere pests, then what of a sect that had once upended the world with their fanatical zeal?
As he stood lost in thought, someone burst through the door to the inner chambers.
It was his eldest daughter—traitor to the clan, servant of the Demonic Sect, and the murderer of her own mother—Vanessa.
"So here you are, Father. And my dear brother and little Clara are here too?"
Her laughter was manic, stretching her mouth far wider than seemed natural.
A chill ran down Regis's spine.
He had heard stories of the Heavenly Demon, tales he once dismissed as rumors or exaggerations.
But there were things he had seen as a boy that made him doubt.
At fifty-two years old, he had grown up witnessing the scars left by the Demonic Sect's reign.
The Demonic Sect had been crushed fifty years ago—when he was just two years old.
But he had seen the aftermath:
Warriors who lost their minds battling the sect, wasting away until they died of starvation.
Martial artists, betrayed by their own kin corrupted by Demonic energy, slain without a chance to draw their swords.
But never had he imagined that such tragedy would befall his own family.
"Vanessa, it's not too late. You can still turn back," Regis pleaded.
"That's the problem with you, Father. Always so naive," she sneered, her voice dripping with mockery.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
At twenty-seven years old, Vanessa stood tall, with a strong and well-built frame.
She was already at the peak of her realm, one step from surpassing Supreme Martial Mastery.
If the clan's leadership had not been restricted to males, she might have become the next leader.
Instead, the title of Young Lord had gone to her brother, who had reached mid-stage Supreme Martial Mastery by the age of thirty.
Was it jealousy that drove her? Or was it something else entirely?
The leader sifted through his memories, searching for answers.
"You act like what I did to Mother can be undone," she spat.
Her eyes glinted with madness and murderous intent.
Suddenly, she unleashed a move from the Fiery Blade clan Spear Arts, the very techniques he had taught her.
It was the First Strike: Shattering Spear Strike.
A thrust designed to break through a mass of enemies in a single motion.
"Everyone, get behind me!" roared Regis, steeling himself.
The girl before him was no longer his daughter.
She was no longer his daughter!
With a bellow, he unleashed the same technique:
Shattering Spear Strike.
The two spear tips collided.
The result was inevitable.
Was it because the beast was stronger than him?
No.
It was the horror of seeing something so grotesque for the first time—a creature that moved like a four-legged animal, its limbs twisted unnaturally, its blackened skin gleaming in the firelight.
And worst of all, it bore the face of his daughter.
"So, you've become a beast..." Vera muttered under her breath.
She swung her Falling Blossom Sword, slicing through the heat and flames.
As the blade shimmered, light began to ripple along its edge like a mirage, forming pure Sword energy.
Swoosh!
The blade, infused with Sword energy, tore through the air.
The beast—once Vanessa—sensed the danger and leapt away instinctively.
But Vera, her movements precise and calculated, followed in pursuit, stepping effortlessly with the Hidden Fragrance Step technique.
Though incomplete, her Sword energy was superior to ordinary blade light.
With such a weapon, she could cut through Darksteel, Blacksteel, or even Coldsteel.
Her blade caught the beast's ankle.
Slice.
The sickening sound of flesh tearing echoed as the beast rolled across the burning floor.
"Kyahhhhhh!!! Kraaahhh!!!"
Its roar, infused with sinister Demonic energy, was deafening—a sound designed to shatter the mind.
But Vera, shielded by the Black dragon of her Soul Harmony Realm Arts, was unaffected.
Slice.
Her sword, still glowing with Sword energy, severed the beast's throat, silencing its screams.
The beast's severed ankle was already regenerating, its flesh bubbling and writhing to form a new foot.
"It's true... creatures corrupted by Demonic energy don't die easily," Vera murmured, watching the grotesque display.
But the loss of mobility had already sealed its fate.
With her sword blazing with Sword energy, she decapitated the beast.
The severed head rolled across the floor, but before it could come to a stop, something unthinkable happened.
The beast grabbed its own head and reattached it to its neck.
"...What?"
Even Vera, who had seen her share of horrors, was stunned.
In that brief moment of hesitation, the beast, now fully regenerated, lunged at her.
The Finishing Blow
"Duck!"
The shout came from Regis, snapping her back to focus.
She immediately lowered her body.
Whoosh!
A powerful spear strike roared over her head, the sheer force of it displacing the air around her.
The spear pierced through the beast's chest and embedded itself into the wall.
The beast, now pinned, flailed in agony.
Black blood dripped down the wall, mixing with the flames consuming the room.
"Keghh... Kraaahhh...!"
The wall, already burning from the Demonic energy, consumed the beast.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air, a stench that struck Vera like a dagger to the mind.
It was a scent she had smelled before.
A memory that she could never forget—a scent that had lingered over the ruins of Bloomspire Sect, where her life had been torn apart.
"...It's a disgusting smell," she muttered, her voice cold and detached.
She swung her sword once more, breaking through the opposite wall to create an escape route.