The Low-key Evil Wizard BOSS-Chapter 70 - 8: The First [Evil God’s Remains]

Following the trail of Rat King Bucky’s blood.

The two of them forged ahead.

Isaac stared at the bloodstains and the darkness ahead, a hint of anxiety on his face.

He was desperate to catch up to the Rat King.

Zorn, however, followed steadily behind, his peripheral vision sweeping across the darkness.

’The impatient hunter only sees his wounded prey, never realizing that he himself has been targeted by other hunters.’

During the fight between Zorn and Rat King Bucky,

what appeared to be a low-level, unsophisticated brawl was, in fact, a masterclass of high-level technique.

Using the Black Mist, Zorn had sensed at least five Transcendents secretly watching the battle from different directions.

And their Sequence Levels were not low.

The sight of Zorn challenging Rat King Bucky one-on-one with his bare fists, beating the Rat King so badly it couldn’t even fight back, had successfully intimidated the figures lurking in the depths of the darkness.

These Transcendents, themselves quite powerful, could naturally see the true caliber of Zorn’s feat in taking down Rat King Bucky with just his fists.

This Fighting Master was not someone they could afford to provoke.

A Fighting Master who could take on the Rat King single-handedly wouldn’t just be able to smash their heads in; he could twist their heads off and kick them around like balls.

So... they behaved themselves.

As he continued tracking his prey through the sewers of the Border Region,

Zorn opened his system panel to check the results of the past five hours of combat.

[Star Trace Fighter] (30th Anniversary Exclusive Commemorative Edition) (Not Tradable)

Level: 3 (14%)

[Talent]

Gangyi Iron Bone (SS-Level): You possess a will and body of steel.

[Skills]

Basic Skull-Splitting Fist: Level 1 (65%)

Vigorous Qi Mastery (Passive): Level 0 (54%)

Thousand Streams·Gale Step: Level 0 (24%)

...

His Sequence Experience had increased by about 5%.

Skull-Splitting Fist had increased by 55%.

Vigorous Qi Mastery had increased by 25%.

Thousand Streams·Gale Step had increased by 22%.

The rate of improvement in every aspect was astonishing.

’Bucky isn’t dead yet. Once he dies, I’ll gain another portion of Fighting Essence, which should raise my level by a few more percentage points.’

After passing through an area covered in Blue Glow Moss,

in a relatively empty subterranean chamber,

the two of them caught up to Bucky.

The rock wall where Bucky had collapsed featured a massive black Stone Gate, over ten meters in diameter.

It was the Sealing Gate of the Double-Ringeded Snake.

The Border Region had exposed something that should have remained hidden.

Zorn’s gaze swept across the wide space.

He casually picked up a well-sized stone.

A faint amount of Star Trace Gang Qi was infused into it.

BUZZ!

Zorn hurled it forcefully at a half-meter-high collapsed stone pillar.

BANG! With an explosive sound, a figure stumbled out with a grunt.

The figure had a cold expression. After a roll, he pushed himself up with one hand and quickly rose to his feet.

His body flickered like an afterimage, charging swiftly toward the two of them.

"Kill him!"

Zorn said coldly.

Isaac froze, his reaction a half-second too slow.

But Zorn had no intention of leaving the hidden foe any chance of survival.

[Evil Spirit Authority]

It formed into an invisible Spiritual Steel Needle and stabbed down violently.

"AWOO~~"

A strange, wretched scream escaped the man’s mouth.

At the same time, strange black fur rapidly sprouted on his body and fleshy wings emerged from his back. His eyes glowed blood-red, and his speed suddenly surged.

He pounced toward the two of them at an even faster speed.

"It’s one of those animals from the Evil God Organization, Primordial Beast."

Zorn sneered, clenched his fists, and charged forward, clashing with the creature who possessed the Bat Beastification ability.

Although his opponent was extremely fast, Zorn was not slow either.

And Zorn’s attacks were clearly more experienced.

After a brief exchange, Zorn had the "Beastial Bat-man" in constant retreat.

After his initial panic, the inexperienced Isaac finally showed his proper training.

He quickly calmed himself and immediately used one of his powerful abilities.

[Heart-Hunting Strike]

As the illusory and hazy special attack landed,

the Beastial Bat-man, who was fighting Zorn, had his expression change drastically.

His movements became slow and stiff.

Zorn seized the opportunity, landing two heavy punches on its head.

"Skull Splitter." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

His hands were like pincers, suddenly clamping onto the opponent’s head as his Star Trace Gang Qi erupted violently.

"No..."

The Level 3 Beastial Bat-man let out a miserable wail, his face filled with terror.

He wanted to regret his actions, but it was too late.

SQUELCH~~ RIP~~

Zorn forcibly tore off the already bat-like head.

Along with a gush of spurting blood,

the headless body twitched for a moment before crashing heavily to the ground with a THUD.

Zorn wiped the blood from his hands on the fur of the severed head and casually tossed it aside.

"A little bat who just reached Level 3 dares to go head-to-head with a Fighting Master? Who gave you the guts?"

With a set of three skills for attack, defense, and speed, and his Gang Qi starting to take shape,

the Level 3, Level 4, and Level 5 stage was when a Fighting Master was at their strongest.

Although he didn’t have any active Defense Skills, the Talent of a Star Trace Fighter could be considered a powerful passive one.

Enemies that Casters dared not fight in close combat were easily handled by a Fighting Master.

As Isaac watched Zorn kill the Level 3 Sequencer with such ease,

his heart trembled slightly.

Before, when Mr. Zorn was fighting the terrifying Rat King,

the power gap was so immense that he couldn’t truly grasp Mr. Zorn’s strength and terror.

But now, facing that Level 3 "Beastial Bat-man," he felt it firsthand.

It was a formidable opponent that he and his teacher might not have been able to kill even if they teamed up.

When that creature charged at him, he had felt danger and pressure.

Yet Mr. Zorn had twisted its head off after just one brilliant round of combat, tossing it aside like trash.

An enemy that he considered a pressure-filled threat,

was nothing to Zorn, crushed with ease.

This... was the difference in power!

After finishing off the hidden enemy, Zorn turned to Isaac and stated in a deep, heavy voice,

"Isaac, as a Hunter, don’t let the prey blind you. You need to keep some of your attention on what’s behind you, on your surroundings."

"I know you’re anxious, but it’s at times like these that you must remain calm and rational."

"In a hunt, once you lose your Hunter’s keen senses, how is that any different from throwing your life away?"

"If that happens, not only will you fail to save your teacher, but you’ll end up losing your own life as well."

Guilt appeared on Isaac’s slowly reddening face. He stood there awkwardly, like a student who had made a mistake.

After a long moment, he looked at Zorn with a glimmer of understanding.

"Mr. Zorn, your lesson... I... I’ll remember it. I won’t make the same mistake again."

"Good."

Zorn nodded slightly.

’It’s nothing for a young man to make a few mistakes. It’s a necessary part of growing up.’

’And this was exactly why I brought him along on this hunt!’

Zorn turned and looked back at the dark passage behind them.

"If you’re not afraid to die, come on out! Let’s see if I can twist all of your heads off!"

Zorn’s voice pierced the darkness, making the light from the Blue Glow Moss tremble slightly.

From the silent depths of the darkness, no one dared to respond.

Withdrawing his gaze, Zorn walked over to Rat King Bucky, who lay before the towering wall.

Having dragged his exhausted body here to await his death, Bucky lay quietly.

Blood flowed out in a gurgle, pooling beside him into a crimson stream.

A faint silver radiance could be seen shimmering within it.

At this moment, the pupils of Bucky, who was still part of the Rat King’s back, lost their blood-red color, returning to their original brown.

This terminal lucidity before death allowed him to regain his former sanity.

He looked at Zorn and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"I think... I remember who you are now."

"We’ve... fought before, haven’t we?"

Zorn, opening a black monster-hide suitcase to the side, nodded slightly as he began to take things out.

A small crucible, black flint for starting a fire, some glassware, and an iron pot.

’The Rat King is a treasure trove. Can’t let it go to waste.’

"Yes, we’ve met before."

Bucky lifted his head and looked at the round, black Sealing Gate.

"Heh... I inherited that powerful Sequence."

"The power it contained both terrified and fanaticized me."

"I thought I could master that terrifying power."

"But the Sequence was more horrifying than I imagined. I couldn’t control myself. I did so many terrible things... I... I really deserve to die!"

"Looking back on it now... it was a complete nightmare."

"Now... I’m finally free!"

As he spoke, Bucky struggled to pull his body out from the Rat King’s back.

SQUELCH... SQUELCH...

The pain of tearing flesh sent his body into convulsions.

But he no longer cared.

Tumbling off the Rat King’s back, Bucky looked at the Rat Catcher, Isaac, not far away.

"Young Rat Catcher, give me a quick death!"

However, Isaac just watched him warily, not daring to get close.

"Bucky..."

"Even now, are you still trying for a final, desperate attack?"

Zorn’s voice slowly rang out.

"You can’t handle how deep those waters of flesh and bone run."

Bucky’s body trembled slightly. His ploy had been easily seen through by the very man who was sending him to his grave.

He let out a long breath and fell back heavily.

"Facing a monster like you... I have no complaints about dying!"

With that, he went silent.

Zorn walked forward, his pupils constricting slightly.

’The first remnant of Egunus’s flesh is finally here!’

[Life Absorption] activated.

GURGLE GURGLE GURGLE...

The remnant of Egunus’s flesh was rapidly absorbed by Zorn.

He swiftly digested the flesh.

The strength of his [Evil Spirit Wizard] Sequence rose rapidly.

The most significant improvements were undoubtedly to his [Defense] and [Life Tenacity].

Within the Evil Spirit Sequence, killing and absorbing the fleshly remains of others could strengthen one’s own Sequence.

If Evil Spirit Knight Bucky had absorbed enough of Egunus’s flesh,

he could have even grown to the Sequence strength of a "World-level" major boss like Zorn.

This was precisely why every Evil Spirit born from the flesh of Egunus was desperate to devour other Evil Spirits, using their flesh as nutrients to grow stronger.

Even a top-tier Sequencer like Zorn was no exception.

If Zorn didn’t strive, he too would eventually be "collected" by other collectors!

Fortunately, Zorn already had a certain advantage.

As a World-level major boss himself, after absorbing more of Egunus’s flesh and bone,

he could awaken his [Divinity], become the Dominator of the source, and even—become the Evil God who enslaves the entire World!