Chapter 418 — You Can Do It This Time Too
6 min read ·
Jonathan stumbled backward, his demonic form bleeding from the stump.
"IMPOSSIBLE! WHAT KIND OF POWER–"
Damian didn’t respond and didn’t speak, just advanced with his broken blade leading.
Jonathan’s other hand came up, claws extended and they blurred.
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG
Weapons meeting so fast they became invisible, each exchange happening in fractions of seconds, tens of strikes per heartbeat.
Damian’s broken blade moved like lightning, driven by burning blood and desperate need.
"DIE!"
His voice roared across the battlefield.
CLANG CLANG CLANG
"DIE! DIE! DIE!"
Each shout accompanied a strike, Abyssal Slaughter activating with every blow, conviction burning through each attack.
Jonathan’s claws met the blade, blocked, parried and countered–
But he was being overwhelmed.
CLANG CLANG CLANG
’This can’t be happening!’
Jonathan’s thoughts came frantic.
’I’m in full demonic transformation! How is he–’
CLANG CLANG CLANG
’Still not enough...’
Damian’s thoughts raced even as his blade moved faster.
’I’m burning through everything to match him... And even then... it’s not quite enough to guarantee the kill...’
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG
They moved so fast the watching Mafia members couldn’t track individual strikes, saw only blurs and heard only the endless ringing of metal on claw.
But it was clear that Damian was pushing him back, step by step, meter by meter.
The translucent crimson marks on Damian’s skin pulsed brighter with each exchange, his flowing crimson hair whipping across his face.
From somewhere behind them, Old Man Mike’s voice cut across the chaos.
"DAMIAN!"
The weathered fighter was still on his knees, blood seeping from wounds, but his voice came out strong and clear.
"EVEN BEFORE THE DAY I KNELT BEFORE YOU... WHEN NOBODY EVEN KNEW YOUR NAME... I BELIEVED IN YOU!"
CLANG CLANG CLANG
Damian’s strikes didn’t slow or stop, the broken blade finding gaps in Jonathan’s guard.
"WHEN YOU WERE FIGHTING THOSE DEMONS WHO ATTACKED YOU ON THE TRAIN... WHEN EVERYONE SAID YOU WOULD DIE... I BELIEVED YOU WOULD WIN!"
’Mike...’
The thought cut through Damian’s focused attacks.
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG
"WHEN YOU ENTERED THE GIANT PORTAL... WHEN THEY SAID NO FIRST-YEAR WOULD SURVIVE... I BELIEVED YOU WOULD COME BACK!"
’He’s believed in me... Since the very beginning...’
CLANG CLANG CLANG
"WHEN YOU ENTERED THAT CREATURE PORTAL... I STILL BELIEVED IN YOU!"
Mike’s voice rose, carrying across the entire battlefield.
"TIME AND TIME AGAIN, YOU’VE PROVEN YOURSELF! YOU’VE CREATED MIRACLES WHEN NONE SHOULD EXIST!"
The other Mafia members picked up the cry, voices overlapping.
"WE BELIEVE!"
"YOU CAN DO IT!"
"FINISH HIM, BOSS!"
’Everyone... They’re all believing in me...’
Damian’s eyes blazed brighter as the realization started to dawn.
’Wait... Abyssal Slaughter works on belief... On the absolute conviction that the strike will kill...’
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG
The Slaughter Intent around the broken blade flared brighter, responding to something beyond just his own conviction.
’But I always thought... It had to be MY belief... My conviction alone...’
The voices kept coming, dozens of them, all shouting their faith in him.
’But what if... What if that’s not the complete truth?’
His thoughts raced as his blade moved faster.
’What if Abyssal Slaughter isn’t just about me believing I can kill...’
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG
"EVERYONE HERE BELIEVES IN YOU, DAMIAN!"
’What if it’s about everyone believing... That I can kill... That I will kill...’
The Slaughter Intent around his broken blade began to change, the crimson growing deeper and richer.
’When others believe in you with absolute conviction... When their faith in your victory is undeniable... When dozens of people are certain you will succeed...’
Mike’s final shout carried absolute conviction.
"YOU CAN DO IT THIS TIME TOO! I BELIEVE IN YOU!"
’Maybe that’s when the art is truly complete...’
The realization crystallized completely.
’This is what Abyssal Slaughter was always meant to be... Not just my belief! But the unwavering faith of everyone who follows me! Everyone who stakes their lives on my victory!’
BOOM
Power exploded through Damian’s broken blade, the Slaughter Intent transforming into something transcendent.
His peripheral vision flashed with text:
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Abyssal Slaughter: Major Success → Perfection
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
’All I need... is ONE STRIKE...’
Absolute certainty flooded through him, powered not just by his conviction but by the unwavering belief of everyone watching.
Damian’s broken blade came around in a strike that left a trail of crimson fire in the air, the perfected Abyssal Slaughter burning brighter than the sun.
Jonathan brought his remaining clawed hand up to block.
They passed each other.
WHOOSH
And silence fell across the battlefield.
Damian stood twenty meters past Jonathan, his broken blade extended in the follow-through position, his flowing crimson hair settling around his marked face.
Jonathan stood frozen in his defensive stance, his clawed hand still raised.
For three heartbeats, nothing moved.
Then Jonathan’s voice came out, barely a whisper.
"I see you now... Mother... finally... not burning anymore..."
And his head slid off his shoulders, separated so cleanly there was no blood at first.
The head hit the pavement with a wet thud, rolled twice and came to rest with golden eyes staring at nothing.
The body stood for one more second.
Thud
Then collapsed, the demonic form flickering, fading, dissolving back into human as it fell.
Jonathan Thorne lay dead on blood-soaked pavement, his expression showing relief.
Damian stood over him, breathing hard, his broken axe blade still held in a trembling hand.
His hair was turning back to normal and the translucent crimson marks on his skin were fading, the Blood Sovereign state ending as his intent to protect achieved its goal.
He dropped the broken blade, legs giving out and sat down hard beside Jonathan’s body.
’It’s... over...’
The thought came distant and exhausted.
’I won... They’re safe...’
He looked down at his chest, felt for the power that had saved him.
The heart was sealed again, locked away as securely as before.
’Did it unlock because of my intention to protect...? Or was it because my life was in danger...?’
He couldn’t tell, the memory of the unsealing already fading like a half-remembered dream.
’Will figure it out later...’
His eyes closed, exhaustion overwhelming everything.
Around him, the Mafia members started cheering, their voices overlapping in celebration.
"HE DID IT!"
"BOSS WON!"
"THE DEMON IS DEAD!"
But Damian didn’t hear them as he sat there beside Jonathan’s cooling body.
Then–
A shadow fell across him.
His eyes snapped open and looked up.
And the 4th Shadow King hung in the air above him, his grotesque demonic form positioned for a killing strike, clawed hands raised and glowing with power.
His doubled voice carried across the sudden silence.
"Did you really think it was over, boy?"
Damian was too exhausted to move, too broken to dodge and too spent to do anything but watch death descending from above.
The 4th Shadow King’s claws came down, aiming for Damian’s exposed throat.