Side Grade Villain

"Who the fuck are you?" The young man released his kill intents as he stared at Bruce.

"I don't need to give my name to the dead"

"Don't bother giving me your name either" Bruce smirked.

"You…" The young man's eyes turned red.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ariel pinched Bruce's ear before he could cause any more trouble.

She couldn't believe that Bruce was the same person who managed to injure her. She almost regretted bringing him into the team.

"I'm trying to defend your honor" Bruce cried out.

"Do I look like I need someone like you to defend my honor?" Ariel angrily said while yanking Bruce's ear.

Meanwhile, the other people looked at the situation weirdly. A Mid Stage Divine King dared to anger a Late Stage Divine Emperor. They couldn't find anyone who was seeking death more than Bruce even if they dug through every corner of the Nether Realm.

"ENOUGH!" The young man yelled.

"You dogs from the Eastern Faction may leave this place with your life intact"

"However, I want that dumbass in exchange for your lives" The young man pointed at Bruce.

Ariel stopped yanking Bruce's ears and contemplated on what she should do next. The other three team members also turned serious.

Before anyone could say anything, Bruce swiftly landed in front of the young man and delivered a slap across his face.

SMACK

"Why is everything about you reek side grade villain?" Bruce shook his head.

The young man could not comprehend what just happened as he got up from the ground. He felt a burning sensation across his face and looked up to the sky only to find a hateful expression on Bruce's face.

"First, you blocked our way and tried to bully my future wife"

"Then you say you want me in exchange for my team"

"I really hope you have something else better than this" Bruce sighed as if he wanted more challenge from the young man.

'Impossible, how did he get that much stronger since the last time we fought' Ariel couldn't believe that Bruce managed to move that fast. Furthermore, she saw some runes embedded on his gauntlet before he threw the slap. It was unheard of for a Divine King to create runes out of thin air.

The runes that Bruce created were not weak either as they were powerful enough to injure a Late Stage Divine Emperor. In the meantime, Bruce's other teammates looked at him entirely differently because he was able to injure a powerful Divine Emperor.

'That guy is a monstrous genius' They all thought.

"KILL THEM ALL" The young man no longer cared about anything. He just wanted everyone from the Eastern Faction to die.

People from the Southern Faction snapped out of momentary shock after witnessing what just happened. They got out their weapons and charged directly at the team.

"Bring it, assholes!" Bruce smiled. There was no better feeling in the world to him than destroying those who have higher cultivation than him.

His mood had gotten quite low after losing to Ariel. However, after the lesson from The Monarch, he was able to increase his battle prowess even further by embedding runes on his body.

"Bruce, get back here!" Ariel ordered.

Bruce turned around to see an angry Ariel, so he obediently came to her side.

"What is it, future wife?" Bruce asked.

"Call me that again and I'll cut you to pieces!" Ariel threatened.

"Fine, I'll do as you say for now. What's the game plan here?"

"Stay behind Number 2 and wait for me to split them up" Ariel replied.

Everyone on the team got behind the horned lady as she summoned a massive devil energy barrier capable of protecting the group from outside attacks. Number 1 and 3 also created a barrier to block incoming soul attacks.

"Tsk, we can't go inside that barrier" The young man stopped his team from progressing further.

"Attack the barriers from the outside, they won't be able to keep it up forever" The young man ordered and everyone from his team began to launch attacks on the barrier.

Number 2 tightened the barrier as the attacks were imminent.

"I can't hold onto this barrier for much longer" Number 2 panted heavily.

"Just keep the barrier up for a few more minutes" Ariel's wings spread wide, and she flew up to the top of the barrier.

Ariel put her hand forward and summoned her domain.

"Zephyrus, lend me your strengths"

A massive amount of wind flew toward the Southern Faction team. Some Divine Emperors got pushed away from their positions.

"You bitch, you think you can beat us with just your domain?" The young man angrily stared at Ariel. Looking at her beautiful curves and flawless face, he licked his lips.

"I'll make sure to enjoy you slowly after this"

"Burn everything for me!" He yelled as he summoned his domain.

A raging fire appeared in the sky clashing against the wind created by Ariel.

"It's impossible for a domain of an Early Stage Divine Emperor to defeat that of a Late Stage Divine Emperor"

"Give up now and I'll spare you" The young man lecherously smiled.

"Silence, insect" Ariel didn't even glance at the young man and flapped her wings.

The wind turned more ferocious and pushed away the raging fire created by the young man. Everyone from the Southern Faction trembled as they got flown away.

Ariel then swung her swords gracefully and sent powerful sword waves to the enemies.

The Low Stage Divine Emperors all got cut in half by her swords while the Mid Stage Divine Emperors and Late Stage Divine Emperor struggled to fend off her attacks.

"Use everything you have and attack that barrier" The young man roared.

The situation was not good for the Southern Faction because they were outmatched by Ariel's domain and her sword attacks. At this rate, they would lose the battle and be forced to retreat. Other members from the Southern Faction summoned their domains, but it was useless in front of Ariel's domain.

Everyone on the Southern Faction used everything they had to stand their ground and send attacks to the barrier. Unluckily for them, since the barrier was no longer consistently bombarded by attacks, Number 2 could maintain it for much longer.

As the young man tried to figure out a way to defeat Ariel, a bright star arrived right in front of his face.

"Hey side grade villain, remember me?" Bruce smirked.

The leader tried to slash Bruce in half, but he found his body to be surrounded by runes which slowed down his movement.

"Stars Annihilation"

An image of a dragon appeared behind Bruce as he smashed his fist toward the side-grade villain.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Everyone looked in shock at the situation because the leader of the Southern Faction team was down on the ground.

Bruce picked up the side-grade villain's body and threw him in the air. He then landed a combo attack that targeted the villain's vital points. The sounds of explosions continuously rang in everyone's ears as Bruce brutally pummeled the leader of the other side.

The leader no longer had the strength to do anything. In his last moment, he saw a pair of eyes shined like the stars staring at him like a demon.

"See, I told you that you would be dead"

Bruce landed his last hit on the leader's heart and killed him. He took his storage ring and all of his other possessions.

Looking at the death energy escaping from the leader's body, Bruce licked his lips and grabbed it before it could disappear. Bruce then headed back to his team with everyone's eyes on him.

"What do you want to do now boss?" Bruce looked to Ariel.

Ariel was at a loss for words after witnessing what just happened. A Mid Stage Divine King killed a Late Stage Divine Emperor in cold blood. Even though her domain and attacks helped Bruce in some ways, it still didn't make sense for such an absurdity to happen.

"Everyone, head to the corpse of the thunder-winged tiger" Ariel said lightly.