The Glorious Evolution

Chapter 354: The Hanged Man.

The Ruiner went still for a moment, but the ground under him began to shake nonstop... the viewers fell silent, having a bad feeling as they gazed at the Ruiner’s red oppressive spiritual aura suddenly doubled and even tripled in pressure!

The Ruiner dropped his head, letting his hair shadow his eyes... then his entire body began to expand. His muscles grew thicker while his new shirt rippled apart at the shoulders first, and then across the chest, falling in stripes at his feet.

His fingers twitched as his nails grew into long, sharp black claws... each claw clicked as it fully extended. His hair turned a deep, burning red while flying wildly around him from the immense pressure he was releasing nonstop.

As his horns curled up to pierce his skull and blood ran down his temples in two dark trails, the Ruiner neither reacted nor blinked.

He just lifted his head and gazed at the Dealer with pure glowing red eyes... no pupils, no whites... just Wrath.

The playful Dealer stiffened instantly. ’Angrath Incarnate Form... how badly does he need to win to break all of his seals?’

The Dealer realized that his situation had gone from favorable to cursed... but he didn’t allow the dread of going against an unleashed Angrath get the best of him.

He swiftly hurled the Magician arcs to get rid of them and give him a chance to pull new cards... he had a feeling that his arcs and other cards weren’t going to work anymore. What he needed was the Death card, and he must seek it as fast as possible!

As expected... as the arcs flew rapidly in the Ruiner’s direction... he merely extended his palm to the side and waved them off.

Ka-Booom!!

The wind and the arcs were slapped into erasure... the immense oppressive red aura absolutely obliterated them!

As for the ones making it across? They landed on the Ruiner’s muscular red body, but they didn’t do anything but scratch his skin... it was healed in less than a blink.

Seeing this, the watchers sucked a cold breath... they realized that the Dealer was no longer in battle against someone on equal grounds.

The Ruiner’s physical strength was now borderline a Tier 7 powerhouse! Although it was temporary and the Ruiner had lost most of his intellectual and emotional control, in such a closed-off environment, it was the same as being locked with a monster.

The Dealer swiftly retreated while splitting the clones to run in different directions to buy him some time.

The instant the Ruiner saw some movement in his scarlet field of vision... his hunting instincts were awakened.

He roared into the sky while beating off his enlarged chest... then, he jumped once. The Ruiner appeared hundreds of meters in the air, following straight towards one of the Dealer’s clones.

"DIE!!"

He shouted furiously as he smashed his red, misty fist on the Dealer’s clone back... the clone was blown off into particles in an instant, causing the fist to continue its descent to the floor.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The floor imploded into a massive dusty cloud, releasing an intense shockwave that smashed all the Dealers in the back, sending them flying away!

Still, in midair, all the Dealers were pulling cards from their decks to save the situation... they knew all they needed was one Death card, regardless of who pulled it.

Unfortunately... there were seventy-eight cards in Tarot decks... all of them were holding separate decks, not a unified one. Hence, the odds remained one in seventy-eight.

As expected, the Dealer might seem fortunate... but, when it came to his battle arts, fate favored him only slightly.

He pulled a minor Arcana card while his clones pulled a Major Arcana and a minor one... the Dealer swiftly made his clone use the Emperor card he pulled.

In an instant, his clone was dressed in the Emperor’s red robe while surrounded by a golden halo... he stopped running away and stood to face the Ruiner.

’The Emperor card gives emperor-like authority and protection... none shall touch the emperor or look wrong in his direction without suffering the consequences.’

The Dealer murmured inwardly as he watched the Ruiner charging in his clone’s direction, the golden light attracting him instantly.

Unfortunately... the effect he waited for was nowhere to be found.

The Ruiner was slowed a little but stopped at nothing... he burst through the golden oppressive authority forcefully, his murderous eyes always affixed on the Dealer’s clone.

The Ruiner could feel his body getting pressured to fall on his knees before the emperor’s authority, but instead of making it happen, it only made him madder... The angrier the Angrath, the stronger and more oppressive they got.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the Ruiner appeared in front of the shimmering Dealer’s clone... he gripped his head with his massive clawed hand and lifted him to match his face.

Their eyes were so close to each other and yet... the prowess of the card failed to deliver its promise. The Ruiner tightened his grip, and the Dealer’s head was blown off into light particles, leaving only one clone.

The Dealer and his clone were currently in two opposite locations, gazing at such a dreadful scene.

’I only have one more shot... If I don’t pull the Death card, I am finished.’ The Dealer frowned as he reached into the deck, pulling another card after he used the minor Arcana to help his clone... unfortunately, even with their help, he was still erased.

The moment the Dealer glanced at the card, he showed a helpless smile.

The Hanged Man card.

’You again... It seems my intuition was right.’ The Dealer shook his head as he remembered the final card in his last divination.

It was the Hanged Man... before it showed, he thought that Levi was going to lose against Drayven, and they wouldn’t meet in the last battle... but after it showed, he knew that it represented reversal.

This left him to realize that maybe... the divination’s prediction was reversed to him... it predicted his defeat and him being the reason for not meeting up with Levi again, not the other way around.

He didn’t believe it at first... but now?

"Fate is truly a double-edged sword... unless I wield its aspect and laws, I shall be forever a slave to it like everyone else..."

The Dealer chuckled in self-derision as he watched the Ruiner rushing in his direction like an unstoppable train; each step left a deep crater on the ground. As for his remaining clone? It was already dealt with as it had pulled a minor Arcana, leaving him in a helpless situation.

’Celestial... consider this a favor. I’m making sure we meet again... you can’t escape it.’

The Dealer smiled as he threw the activated Hanged Man card into the sky and turned his back on the Ruiner... then, he used the resignation token to save himself, not daring to spend a single second more trapped with a raging Angrath.

Whoosh!!

The instant his form broke down, the Ruiner’s swift fist smashed against the spatial particles left behind.

The Ruiner kept turning his head, looking around him, desiring to find anything in movement... when he saw that the combat room was silent and stale, his rage wasn’t appeased as many had anticipated.

Instead, his rage increased even more as he started pounding the ground with his fists over and over again while roaring at the heavens!

Then, he disappeared from his spot and appeared in a different area, smashing it clean as well... he kept jumping all over the place, leaving no spot untouched or undamaged.

-Well damn... I thought Angrath Incarnate forms go dormant until the seals reapply or a new target presents itself?-

-You’re right... That’s usually the case... something must have happened to the Ruiner.-

-Where is the Gamemaster when you need it?! Give this side some love!-

The viewers had no idea what was going on with the Ruiner... they knew he was guided by wrath in this form, but it didn’t turn him into an idiotic smashing machine. His anger was wielded as a weapon against anyone in sight and eased off when he was alone.

The Ruiner eased off nothing... he kept going nonstop until the entire combat room was destroyed, leaving him huffing and puffing in the center.

Back to the present... This scene was displayed across all streaming services... the Ruiner was leaning inside a crater behind a cloud of dust, his chest was the only thing moving.

After the watchers saw the highlights and glimpses of the Ruiner losing his mind, Gamemaster Gamble knew that something wasn’t right.

He used his omnipotence to view the tapes another time, and that’s when he spotted the last used card by the Dealer... The Hanged Man.