Book 1 Chapter 872

Chen Xia took a breath, channeling the surging aura from her entire body.

Watching Chen Xia's retreating back, Leo thought.

'She's like the sea.'

Like a vast ocean with unfathomable depths.

The water aura, which had been surging like an angry sea, converged at Chen Xia's fingertips in an instant.

Hwaak-!

Chen Xia closed the distance to Sigues with incredible speed.

"Ugh!"

Sigues groaned in annoyance and began to rattle the gems in his right hand.

Then, he soon grasped one of them in his left hand.

Woong-!

A circular barrier formed around Sigues.

Even so, Chen Xia, without hesitation, thrust out a fist imbued with water aura.

Kwaaaaaang-!

An immense shockwave filled the surroundings.

Chen Xia circulated the aura within her body.

Then, she gathered the flowing aura at her feet or fingertips, like a dam holding back water.

When the accumulated aura reached its peak, she unleashed it all at once, like bursting a dam, creating immense destructive power.

Therefore, the longer Chen Xia took to gather aura, the stronger her attacks could be.

'Celiana and Duran have greater instantaneous explosive power than Chen Xia, but…'

If given enough time, Chen Xia could unleash attacks more powerful than the two.

Of course, her sustained offense was lacking, so in terms of pure firepower, she couldn't match Celia and Duran.

'Still, when that one blow lands, it's fatal.'

That attack hit Sigues squarely.

Indeed, as a result, the barrier Sigues had erected was distorted as if it would tear.

"That's terrifying! My force field almost broke!"

Sigues was aghast.

However, the barrier did not ultimately break, and if it wasn't destroyed, it was now his turn.

Sigues's barrier, distorted by Chen Xia's attack, began to return to its original state.

At that moment, the attack Chen Xia had launched was returned to Chen Xia herself.

As the immense destructive power surged, Chen Xia's eyes widened for a moment.

Poong-!

Chen Xia's body, hit directly by the attack, was sent flying into the air.

At that moment…

Woong-!

The water aura that had been repelled wrapped around Chen Xia.

Seeing that, Sigues's eyes widened greatly.

"What is this…?"

"Water…"

Chen Xia closed her eyes and controlled the water aura that enveloped her body.

"It's a gentler power than any other element."

A faint smile spread across Chen Xia's lips.

"If a raging river is made to flow gently again, that's all there is to it."

The water aura flowing around Chen Xia joined the repelled water aura and began to flow even more violently this time.

Leo, watching the scene, widened his eyes.

'That's a completely unexpected way to use it!'

Just like Chelsi.

Chen Xia was also showing a way to use water aura that Leo hadn't imagined.

Kugagagagang-!

Like a giant tidal wave, Chen Xia's fist struck Sigues once again.

Kwaagagagagang-!

Sigues was caught in Chen Xia's attack without even being able to scream.

Kugugugugung-!

Sigues's body dug into the ground.

Physical force beyond imagination.

Swoosh-

Despite unleashing an attack close to a natural disaster, Chen Xia landed lightly on the ground.

Thump-!

At that moment, Sigues sprang out of the crater.

His tightly bound robe was in tatters, revealing his gaunt and unsightly body.

Even though he was a demon commander, there was no sense of dignity befitting his rank.

It was understandable why he had been covering his entire body.

"I,"

Sigues said, his eyes glinting with a red glow.

"was born with this unsightly appearance."

Sigues, staggering to his feet, looked at Chen Xia.

"So, I coveted everything about other beings."

"For someone like that, you seem quite frugal,"

Chen Xia tilted her head.

"I just realized. Even if I were to indulge in desire and take everything I wanted, this wretched appearance of mine wouldn't change."

Even if I changed my appearance with illusions and adorned myself with all sorts of precious things in the world.

My fundamentally wretched appearance would not change.

Demons are such beings.

Beings whose essence does not change.

Born solely to destroy the world, they need no change.

They merely destroy.

Sigues smiled.

His expression somehow resembled that of a sage who had grasped the truth of the world.

"So, I discarded it. The desire to adorn myself, and the desire as a demon to fundamentally destroy the world. Except for one desire."

"Just one?"

"Yes. Because I have realized something."

Rattle- rattle-

Sigues took out a transparent gem from the ones in his right hand.

"When drawn to deep desire, others become as wretched as I am."

Chen Xia's image appeared within Sigues's transparent gem.

"I have incited the desires of countless beings. I have ruined so many."

The one who fulfills desires.

That was why he was given the title 'King of Desire'.

"And the great god bestowed upon me the power I desired as a divine authority!"

Until now, he had brought ruin to people by fulfilling their desires.

But now, there was no need for such bothersome processes.

He called his power a meager force.

But it was an extremely potent divine authority.

Because merely by inciting desire, he could destroy minds.

Considering that desire is an intrinsic human need.

Without strong mental fortitude, resisting that power was almost impossible.

"Your power may have grown, but you are still just a young human girl! It didn't work well on the King of the World… but you won't be any different!"

To incite the opponent's desire, one must observe the opponent.

Therefore, Sigues knew very well that humans… especially young humans, were vulnerable to desire.

And how fatal his divine authority was to them.

Sigues shouted.

"Show me what your desire is!"

"…"

Chen Xia was captured by Sigues's divine authority.

A situation where she could become incapacitated if things went wrong.

But Leo remained unfazed.

"You're not tense at all, King of the World."

"I believe in our little one."

Leo chuckled.

"By the way, what do you mean it didn't work on you? It's quite bothersome."

"Normally, your existence would have been erased within this illusion. Because you couldn't control the desire to endlessly gaze into the past."

"So, in such situations, you can even erase existence itself? That's quite a bothersome ability."

"It's more than bothersome, it's dangerous, Leo-dono."

Chen Xia let out a deep sigh.

"Leo-dono, sometimes you have too little sense of crisis."

"The worst-case scenario hasn't happened, so it means it can be dealt with."

Leo said calmly.

Sigues's eyes widened.

"…How can you resist my divine authority?"

Although it was the first time he had received this divine authority, he knew how powerful it was.

It was not a divine authority that a young human's mental strength could resist.

"Hmm…"

Chen Xia thought for a moment and then smiled.

"Isn't it because my desire has already been fulfilled?"

"What?"

Sigues's face turned bewildered.

"Don't you have anything you want? Like an object! Or a person! Surely there's something you want to be happy?!"

"Yes."

"I wanted to become a hero. A hero I could never have become otherwise."

That was Chen Xia's strongest desire.

But she knew.

She could never become a hero.

"But there was someone who acknowledged my impure dream."

Chen Xia closed her eyes, placed a hand on her chest, and smiled gently as she recalled that person.

"Someone who pulled me out of the darkness… No. Someone who taught me how to shine even in the darkness."

Chen Xia's eyes opened.

"And that person became my benefactor and my everything."

Looking at Sigues, Chen Xia said with force.

"Being by that person's side is my greatest happiness."

Her desire is fulfilled.

That is why she is not greatly affected by Sigues's divine authority.

"You're insane…"

Sigues muttered with an incredulous expression.

"You're crazy. How can you dedicate your entire being to one person?"

"It's my choice."

Chen Xia stuck out her tongue and clenched her fist.

"Well then, I will thoroughly destroy you so that you can no longer harm Leo-dono."

Chen Xia's expression disappeared from her face.

"Right now, I am consumed by a strong desire. To kill you, who threatens my precious person, in the most agonizing way possible."

Sigues shook his head at Chen Xia's words.

"It seems we are not a good match."

With that, Sigues rattled the gems in his hand and unleashed a spell.

Flash-!

Watching Sigues quickly escape, Leo clicked his tongue.

"This is why scheming types are so troublesome."

He had fought assuming an escape from the start.

That also meant he had reserves of strength.

'That Torture Commander fellow, and… this guy too…'

Leo's eyes narrowed.

'They are indeed insane.'

That was an ominous sign.

The commanders Leo knew were fundamentally insane, driven by madness.

That was something that couldn't be found in the commanders born after the Age of Calamity.

'More and more are being born who approach the commanders of that era.'

The Torture Commander and the King of Desire are still amateurs.

But if they gained experience, it was impossible to know what kind of monsters they would turn into.

Sssak- sssak-

Chen Xia approached Leo and looked down at him intently.

"Good work. Amazing…"

Swish-

Before Leo could even finish his sentence, Chen Xia reached under Leo's armpits and lifted him up.

"Why?"

Seeing Leo ask with a blank expression, Chen Xia hugged him tightly.

Then, burying her face in Leo's neck, she inhaled.

"Do you know you're being incredibly perverted right now?"

"I know. If Leo-dono were just a little bit bigger…"

Chen Xia nibbled lightly on Leo's neck and giggled.

"I would have definitely eaten you up."

"Do you think I would have let you do that so easily?"

"Are you saying that it would have been the other way around, with me being eaten?"

"Stop talking nonsense and put me down."

At those words, Chen Xia reluctantly put Leo down, licking her lips as if disappointed.

"Didn't you say his divine authority didn't work?"

"It didn't not work. That's why I'm acting so impulsively."

Saying so, Chen Xia crouched beside Leo.

As Leo subtly created distance, Chen Xia moved closer and said.

"Leo-dono."

"What."

"Karl and Eliza have a whopping seven children in this era."

Saying so, Chen Xia looked towards Leo and met his eyes.

"And why is that?"

"Just because."

Seeing Chen Xia smile innocently, Leo let out a hollow laugh.