I Rise, You Fall

Damien lifted his head and saw the mocking smile on Igor's face. Anger surged in his heart and he clenched his teeth thinking about the only choice he can take.

'I guess I don't have any other choice.'

*Mrrrraaaaawr*

But suddenly a silhouette jumped towards Igor's neck as if it manifested from thin air. A white colored cat with sparkling ruby red eyes had its mouth open and sunk its tiny fangs into Igor's neck.

"Arghhhhhh!"

Igor stumbled backwards screaming in pain and shock wondering where this cat came from. He tried to frantically shake off the troublesome cat from his neck. He felt as if his blood was being sucked out at a tremendous rate, including his ethereal energy!

*Yelp*

He grabbed the cat with his free hand and flung it a few feet away. But the cat twisted its body in mid air and landed on its feet.

"Where the fuck did this ugly cat come from?" He bellowed as his face flushed with rage.

His neck was stinging from the pain and he saw two tiny holes on his skin. He was surprised to find out that 10% of his ethereal energy had suddenly depleted.

Igor wasn't even looking at Damien since he knew that Damien's death would be inevitable at his hands soon enough. His focus right now was on the strange white cat who was hissing with anger.

'Where did this strange kitty come from?' Damien was surprised to see an unusual cat with glittering ruby red eyes materialize from thin air. But when he looked closer, he saw that its face was scarred with claw marks making its face look ghastly. However, It's eyes seemed strange to Damien and even he felt that it was not some ordinary cat like the ones from his previous life.

'I have never seen such a nasty ethereal beast, where the hell did it come from?' Igor was also puzzled when he got a good look at the cat, especially one that can suck away blood and ethereal energy!

Igor had been experiencing too many inexplicable events today. First it was a mythical lightning element practitioner who killed his junior brothers and now an ethereal beast which can suck away his vital energy was being aggressive at him for no reason.

"Meeewrrrrr..."

The cat seemed to be growling and was baring its fangs at Igor.

"Even an ethereal beast like you is looking down on me? Let me see you survive a blow from my mace." Igor had a dark expression on his face as he moved towards the cat to smash it to death.

Damien with his special soul sensed that the cat was only at the sixth level of the Nascent Ethereal Realm. He knew that it wouldn't even survive a full force attack from Igor's mace.

Damien gritted his teeth as a shout echoed in his mind…

"Anti-God Art's First Stage - Undying Wrath!!"

In the depths of his ethereal core, the Origin Seed suddenly started spinning rapidly! The ethereal energy in his ethereal core started churning around his Origin Seed and a thick jet black band of Anti-Energy started wrapping around it, forming a disk around his Origin Seed.

This all happened within just an instant.

Damien felt as if a dormant demon god had awakened inside him. In a split second he felt all the ethereal energy in his ethereal core transforming into a frightening and terrifying energy of pure destruction which spread throughout his whole body from head to toe.

On the outside, the air around Damien became chaotic and the ground beneath Damien cracked as his aura instantly exploded like a raging volcano. Feeling the surge of hellish energy wreaking havoc throughout his body; he got up and instantly charged towards Igor like a lightning bolt, the wind making way for him, afraid of standing in Damien's way.

Just as Igor was about to smash the helpless looking cat, he sensed a frightening and chilling presence behind him!

He turned around to see Damien rushing at him, exuding a spine-chilling jet black aura. Igor's body entirely stiffened; his pupils contracted and violently trembled. He didn't expect Damien to even get up anytime soon but now Damien's aura had somehow overshadowed his and even suffocated him!

Igor instinctively swinged his mace towards Damien's head. He saw Damien holding out his hand trying to catch his brutish mace carrying his full blown ethereal energy.

'How stupid!' Igor inwardly sneered thinking that Damien was being dumb by trying to catch his heavy mace.

*Clunk!*

A heavy dull sound rang out as Damien caught the mace with his bare palm.

'IMPOSSIBLE!' Igor screamed inwardly as his eyes widened with shock. This time Igor didn't hold back his strength at all and instead used 100% of his ethereal strength to deal that blow since he felt uneasy seeing Damien's aura.

He could sense that Damien's ethereal aura was still at the first level of the Nascent Ethereal Realm. He was wondering where Damien was getting his demonic strength from. Igor was completely suppressed by just Damien's aura and he could hardly move.

Damien slowly tightened his grip over the mace as it started getting deformed under his strength!

He then pressed his fingers together so tight that the head of the mace was disfigured beyond recognition!

"Y-You!!..." Igor could barely blurt out any words as his eyes were froze open staring at his mangled mace. He was so shocked by the sight that his body was paralyzed by fear. Being able to crush a Nascent Ethereal Grade Mace meant that his ethereal strength was at least that of the Spirit Ethereal Realm!

Damien shifted his palm from the mace and clutched Igor's neck, lifting him up as his feet left the ground. Igor felt like the devil himself was clutching him with its claws. He could barely breathe and veins popped in his eyeballs.

"You said you wanted to see my face right before I rip out your soul right? Don't worry, I always keep my promises. You won't ever forget my face even in the afterlife." Damien said in a low grunt.

Damien undid the blur from his face and his facial features became clear. Igor had a bug eyed expression when he saw a strikingly handsome young boy who even seemed younger than him, totally different from what he had imagined in his mind.

"Ughhhh…." Suddenly Igor felt that his chest became empty as he looked at his chest with an incredulous expression. A hand had impaled his energy center which exited through his back! Igor could feel his vitality being sucked out like a vacuum and at the same time he felt like his soul was being torn apart.

Damien's hands were dripping with Igor's blood as he impaled his arm right through Igor's chest. He even started absorbing his life essence and soul essence at the same time!

Igor's eyes became grey and his body withered like a dead tree as his muscles slumped down. He had turned into an old man within a few seconds! His body wasn't looking burly anymore and was just a bag of bones.

*Thump*

Damien slowly took out his arm from his chest—"I rise, you fall." Damien snarled as he saw Igor's body slid down from his arm, slumping to the ground.