Chapter 178: Giant Ghoul

Malik woke at a time he didn’t exactly know.

The sand beneath him was gray and cold against his palms as he pushed himself upright, every muscle protesting the movement.

His memory of what had happened before unconsciousness claimed him arrived in fragments.

IT.

The mantra.

Devil’s Footsteps burning out the last of his strength as he fled.

He was alive.

That counted for something.

Malik climbed to his feet slowly, testing each limb, and made his way toward the nearest dune, his boots sinking into loose gray sand with every step.

By the time he reached the peak, his breathing had steadied enough to let him actually take in the view spread out below.

He stopped.

In the distance, smoke rose from multiple points across the horizon, thick black columns twisting upwards into a sky already stained orange with fire.

An Invader’s base burned there, under siege, soldiers swarming its walls like ants tearing apart something far larger than themselves.

It wasn’t just one base.

Multiple.

A full-scale war had erupted against the Invaders while he’d been unconscious, the entire conflict apparently kicking into motion the moment his broadcast had finished playing across Devil’s Maw.

Malik wasn’t surprised.

He’d planned exactly this.

What better blow to an Invader’s morale than watching multiple Angels, the very Order pushing them to invade in the first place, get slaughtered by a single man?

Those who hadn’t managed to flee in time were now scrambling for whatever exit remained, while those too slow found themselves facing the full, coordinated fury of Devil’s Maw’s assembled forces.

Nearly every combatant across the realm had thrown themselves into this massive push.

What should have taken years of grinding campaign work had apparently collapsed into mere days.

’Our Promise.’

Operation Our Promise, finally paying off in full.

Ding!

—

╔════════════╗

║TRAIT UNLOCKED!║

╚════════════╝

[Trait — Bearer Of Ourboros]

[Description: A title belonging to one who is most hated.]

—

Malik studied the notification for a moment, shrugged it off mentally, and called it away in favor of something that mattered more.

Ding!

—

╔═══════════════╗

║FACTION TERMINATED║

╚═══════════════╝

[You’ve discovered a Class Ten Faction x 70 — Terminated!]

[You’ve discovered a Class Nine Faction x 54 — Terminated!]

[You’ve discovered a Class Eight Faction x 31 — Terminated!]

[You’ve discovered a Class Seven Faction x 27 — Terminated!]

[You’ve discovered a Class Six Faction x 23 — Terminated!]

[You’ve discovered a Class Five Faction x 16 — Terminated!]

[You’ve discovered a Class Four Faction x 8 — Terminated!]

[You’ve discovered a Class Three Faction x 2 — Terminated!]

[Reward: 27075 Fear Points!]

—

Malik’s hands trembled slightly as he read through the list.

Yes... what should have taken years had happened in days.

He now sat on more than double the Fear Points he’d originally needed.

And apparently, the rewards weren’t finished rolling in yet.

Ding!

—

╔═══════════════╗

║YOUR FEAR SPREADS...║

╚═══════════════╝

[Order (Class One) — 23 → 51 % Increasing!]

[Phoenix Faction (Class Four) — 40 → 100 % Terminated!]

[Owls Faction (Class Five) — 55 → 100 % Terminated!]

[Red Dragon Faction (Class Five) — 51 → 100 % Terminated!]

[Kalahari Faction (Class Five) — 45 → 100 % Terminated!]

[Walkers Faction (Class Six) — 66 → 100 % Terminated!]

[Maharajah Faction (Class Seven) — 77 → 100 % Terminated!]

[Reward: 2,300 Fear Points!]

—

Still coming.

Ding!

—

{Quests}

[First Main Quest: End Corruption’s Reign — 0% Complete]

[Second Main Quest: Drive Out The Invaders — 8 → 92 % Complete]

[Sub-Quest: Annihilate Khaybar — 5 → 61 % Complete]

—

Malik’s heart pounded hard against his ribs.

Every faction across Devil’s Maw, every commander, every soldier, had moved according to his Will, executing the plan he’d set into motion long before stepping foot into the Abyss in the first place.

—

╔════════╗

║Fear System║

╚════════╝

{Class: 7 (Pure Demon)}

{Unlocking Class 7 (Great Demon): 0 / 24715}

{Fear Points: 14602 → 52713}

{Soul Glyphs: Ember’s Touch (Peak) x 0, Shifting Ground (Single) x 1, Goliath’s Fall (Peak) x 1, Scorpion’s Sting (Peak) x 1, Devil’s Footsteps (Single) x 0}

—

This was the reward.

Unfortunately, Malik didn’t have time to properly sit with it and celebrate.

Khaybar still needed to fall.

Malik floated high above the battlefield, Old Cane held loosely in his left hand, surveying the chaos spread out beneath him.

An entire army stretched across the ground below.

His army, the one he’d built, trained, and bled alongside across years of war.

Aladdin led the charge from the front lines, Sinbad soaring overhead in his true form, wind tearing through enemy ranks.

Zafar held the left flank, elements spreading wherever his Arcane magic touched.

Azeem and Kabir pushed through the center together, while Duban commanded the rear with the calm precision of a man who’d done this a hundred times before.

Each commander fought an opponent matched evenly against their strength.

At the center of it all, standing just before the gate to Khaybar itself, waited a single Angel.

—

╔════════╗

║Fear System║

╚════════╝

{Class: 7 (Pure Demon)}

{Unlocking Class 6 (Great Demon): 24715 / 24715}

{Fear Points: 52713 → 27998}

{Soul Glyphs: Ember’s Touch (Peak) x 0, Shifting Ground (Single) x 1, Goliath’s Fall (Peak) x 1, Scorpion’s Sting (Peak) x 1, Devil’s Footsteps (Single) x 0}

—

Malik’s Will burst outward, a wave of pressure rolling across the battlefield, ruining enemy soldiers caught in its path, driving them to their knees or outright collapsing their bodies under the sheer weight of it.

He’d aimed most of it directly at the Angel.

The Angel shrugged it off entirely.

Malik’s jaw tightened.

’I need more.’

—

╔════════╗

║Fear System║

╚════════╝

{Class: 6 (Great Demon)}

{Unlocking Class 5 (Balancer of Scales): 0 / 52490}

{Fear Points: 27998}

{Soul Glyphs: Ember’s Touch (Peak) x 0, Shifting Ground (Single) x 1, Goliath’s Fall (Peak) x 1, Scorpion’s Sting (Peak) x 1, Devil’s Footsteps (Single) x 0}

—

’Hm. Goliath’s Fall will do.’

The moment Malik’s new class settled into place, power pulsing outward from him in waves, the Angel below suddenly staggered.

Blood spilled from his mouth.

Black blood.

His body began twisting, shifting into something no longer entirely human, no longer entirely Angel either, some third shape straining to break free from his skin.

Malik didn’t wait around for the transformation to finish.

He closed the distance in an instant, appearing directly in front of the white-haired Angel, and swung Spine Splitter in a clean arc.

The Angel split in two.

For a moment, anyway.

Because in the very next instant, a wall of darkness surged outward, swallowing Malik whole before he could react.

Inside that darkness, waiting for him, stood a giant Ghoul.