Chapter 359: Hatred

Arno felt his heart, feeling its longing and call. It was his will; it was his desire.

“Let all sins be mine. My sin, my will, my creed—is Hatred!”

Arno enunciated each word clearly. Dark red aura raged, extending tentacles that grabbed the tens of thousands of Black Mud Humanoids and pulled them into his heart. The runes flickering within his heart devoured the massive number of Black Mud Humanoids, gradually manifesting.

It was pure dark red, like a long-dried scar, turning an eternal wound into power, undying and inextinguishable.

Arno’s dark red aura gently brushed past a humanoid covered in black mud, which still maintained a charging posture. It seemed ready to shout in the next second, “Holy Light! That enemy is worth fighting!”

Ace gradually lost sight of the faintly visible terrifying runes, but through this substantive aura, he already understood what those runes represented.

“So it’s you. The courage at the bottom of the heart, when flipped over, is the deepest hatred.

“But this form, this trait, is very similar to a Knight. Both originate from one’s own will, both shape a creed. There has even appeared a deep darkness opposing the Holy Light. It could be called a Dark Knight.”

Alex could no longer hold back. He realized he might have unleashed a more terrifying existence. He reached his claw toward the expanding black sphere above his head, trying hard to merge the sphere into himself.

His body twisted. This power seemed somewhat beyond his limits, and Alex struggled to support it.

Arno noticed Alex’s change. His eyes flashed with dark red light, and the speed at which he devoured the Black Mud Humanoids suddenly accelerated.

Tens of thousands of Black Mud Humanoids flooded into Arno’s body like a torrent, transforming into the power of sin and becoming the elements of the terrifying runes in Arno’s heart.

Ace frowned. He discovered that Ollie still had vitality. Although her body and soul had suffered heavy damage, there was still a chance for her to survive.

As for the only Black Mud Humanoid not devoured by Arno, it seemed to be Ancestar. He was undoubtedly dead, but his soul remained within that charging body.

“If Arno, who has changed his Knight’s Creed and left the path of virtue, is a terrifying beast, then Ollie is the beast’s chain. Once she dies, the beast will go completely out of control. The unstoppable black shadow that appeared in the first playthrough might have been formed from his hatred!

“A Dark Knight can also be used by the High Tower. We Wizards don’t need to reject sin or paths of negative emotions. The only problem is, I need to make the current Arno continue to identify with the High Tower. What method or spirit can unite sin under the High Tower as well?”

Ignoring Arno’s subjective emotions, his state was actually very good. Ace also really wanted to research what exactly was going on with Arno’s changes. As for Alex’s threat, Ace, having trump cards, wasn’t that worried.

Ace would only act when both sides were locked in an intense stalemate. But before that, he had to save Ollie’s life, whether for the sake of the High Tower itself or to keep Arno.

Ollie was a 2-Ring Wizard, one of the top researchers and combat personnel of the High Tower. Losing her would be a major blow.

Ace carefully observed Ollie’s state. It seemed that due to elementalization, her body retained some vitality. However, her soul was constantly being corroded by shadow power; she had to be saved immediately.

Alex had already merged half of the “Star of Ultimate Evil” into himself. Power surged through his body, and a third pair of wings sprouted from his back. Although somewhat blurry, he had indeed barely reached the state of a Pseudo-Rank High Demon.

Arno, having devoured thousands of shadow humanoids, completely stabilized the complex runes within his heart. Dark red aura condensed on his body, gradually forming heavy armor. He extended his hand, and a dark red knight’s longsword generated.

He raised the longsword high, his momentum like an army of thousands. Hatred, tangible as substance, shot straight into the sky. Boom!

Struck by that substantive hatred, Alex was instantly frozen, unable to move.

Bat wings sprouted from Arno’s back. He flew into the sky, stabbing fiercely at Alex with his longsword.

Bam! Alex shadowified instantly, dodging the fatal blow. Instead of retreating, he advanced, passing through Arno’s body in an instant. Turning around and de-shadowifying, he clawed straight at Arno’s head.

Relying solely on combat intuition, Arno tilted his head, easily dodging Alex’s attack. Looking back with cold eyes, he shot scorching dark red beams from his eyes, instantly burning two large holes in Alex’s chest.

Alex’s vitality was weakened. The power of hatred didn’t target the Abyss as specifically as Holy Light, but it was a terrifying power stronger than evil and independent of the Abyss.

Alex’s anger and jealousy grew stronger. He could feel that he could suppress Arno in terms of power, but Arno’s momentum was simply too sharp. Even being a life level higher, he couldn’t completely suppress him.

“Do you know why? Sins have grades too. Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust are commonly called the Seven Sins, but few people turn them into convictions, let alone solidify them into creeds!

“But hatred is different. Because of love, hate is derived. Because of courage, hatred is derived.

“I am still a Knight, just with a changed creed. Since the Virtue Holy Light couldn’t save them, let me fall into boundless darkness and use hatred to annihilate all enemies!”

Roaring, Arno attacked Alex with unparalleled momentum. His longsword broke, only to be reformed.

Shadows left scars on him one after another, but he reshaped his body with hatred. Alex tried hard to digest the remaining half of the “Star of Ultimate Evil,” but there was no time at all.

Alex continued to resist. He could already sense that Arno lacked sustained power. As long as he defended, there would be a turning point.

Sure enough, Arno began to falter. His body gradually struggled to bear the power of hatred, and more importantly, his strength was running dry.

The fierce momentum gradually declined, and the storm-like sword swings slowed down.

At this time, Ace also observed that Arno’s swordsmanship was mainly strong in momentum, not technique. His technique was rough; Arno wasn’t proficient in high-level supernatural combat skills.

He mostly utilized the indomitable momentum of hatred. That tangible hatred made the crudest swordsmanship seem ancient and wild, carrying a natural savagery.

That beast-like intuition was Arno’s strongest combat talent. Relying on this talent, Arno had narrowly foiled several of Alex’s exquisite counterattacks.

However, even the strongest momentum would fade. Hardness makes things brittle; Arno couldn’t hold on much longer.

As for Alex, Ace also understood his abilities. All his abilities were based on shadows and chaos, and the power of shadows came from death. In other words, vitality and order were the best ways to counter Alex.

Advance chapters at Nightjar Reads · nightjarreads.com