Chapter 600 - 48: Soul Burner

"Evil is the absence of good."

As he spoke, the giant Dragon began to move forward. Su Zhou, his fists already clenched, continued, "And the suffering you speak of is merely the absence of happiness."

"Death, even more so, is the absence of life."

"To fall and become a Demon Monster like you, one must have lacked something essential in life."

"By the same token, to feel sorrow and pain naturally means that something essential, a philosophy to live by, was missing from what should have been a happy life."

As he said this, looking at the Demon of Punishment which had also assumed a battle stance, Su Zhou’s aura surged. "To be fair, what you said makes a lot of sense. The real world isn’t a Utopia. Everyone suffers. It’s painful even when you’re just bored, chatting online, and someone starts arguing with you."

"But the difference between you and me is that you Monsters from the Spirit Summoning Association, after becoming strong, you turn around and take the last few things those suffering people have left—their very lives. It’s like deleting their accounts, leaving them with no chance at a future."

"I, on the other hand, will give them something—whether it’s hope, a better future, or even arguing back, fueling their anger and making them so mad they feel alive again. The result is the same."

’Of course, none of this has anything to do with you.’

The Demon of Punishment could no longer tolerate his steady advance. It began to attack, striding toward him. Faced with the creature, Su Zhou laughed.

Although his regeneration wasn’t complete, the White Dragon, at the peak of his power, did not evade. He too raised his fist and charged at his opponent!

Amidst a gale of explosive heat, the two giant beasts traded furious blows. The air cracked and boomed as fist met fist and fist met bone. A ceaseless, dull thud of flesh colliding rang out. Sudden flashes of Thunderbolt and crimson Demon Fire of pain served only to embellish the brutal brawl.

Amidst the swirling, violent tide of Spiritual Qi, the two giant Monsters tore at each other’s bodies. Both were masters of slaughter, knowing precisely how to inflict the greatest pain upon their enemy.

But soon, a victor emerged from the fray. It was the White Dragon, wielder of regenerative power. The Crimson Demon’s large horn had been snapped off, its tip even becoming his opponent’s weapon, stabbed into its chest, causing it to stumble and collapse to the ground.

But this did not mean the Demon of Punishment was helpless. Though it had been beaten back by the Immortal Dragon, the Silent still had a killing blow in reserve. A crimson halo began to emanate from the Demon of Punishment’s body, accompanied by an increasingly intense fluctuation of Spiritual Power.

The great Demon rose to its feet again. Within its body, the Source of countless Souls and suffering devoured by Dusk began to ’burn’. It was steadily disintegrating, a process it used to temporarily gain immense power.

The Crimson Demon took a step, sinking several meters into the ground and causing the earth to ripple like water. It then charged toward him at Supersonic speed. Watching it come, Su Zhou, whose Dragon form no longer had the strength to fight, shook his head slightly.

It wasn’t as if his True Body was all he had.

In a flash like lightning, the giant White Dragon vanished. The Demon of Punishment’s final, all-out strike, fueled by its own disintegration, hit nothing but air. Su Zhou, now back in his human form, had already raised his Blade of Annihilation once more.

’A Monster named Dusk is on a rampage.’

It is a Demon born from death, a Clan of destruction.

’There is no happiness, no salvation. Monster, all I can offer you is death.’

Su Zhou reached out, his hand resting on the hilt of the Blade of Annihilation. Having missed its final attack and sensing that things had gone wrong, the Demon of Punishment immediately stretched out its arms, shielding its master, the Silent, within them.

But now, a Soul Light could be seen flickering on the Divine Blade’s edge—

The Evil Souls of the Controller and the Reborn—two Spirit Summoning Association Leaders who had been near the Commander Tier—were being channeled. Su Zhou used his Evil-Devouring Demon Lord ability, enhanced by his own recent breakthrough to the Commander Tier, to forge them into a Soul Weapon and imbue it into the Blade of Annihilation.

Then, he ignited it with the Fire of Sin.

All the Evil Souls were gathered as the Karmic Fire blazed. A black-and-white cold flame coiled around the blade like a Dragon Serpent.

And Su Zhou, the Soul Burner, turned to face the Silent, who was also staring intently at him.

’No words were needed. Sure, everyone in this world has their own story, their own reasons for becoming villains or even Monsters, but the point of Su Zhou’s actions was never ’mutual understanding’.’

’It was to eliminate them.’

"Turn to ash."

Gale Seeds assembled into rockets, their explosive propulsion launching Su Zhou forward in a streak of light. He aimed for the Silent, now held in the great Demon’s embrace, and brought his blade down in a clean slash. The strike cleaved through the body of the Demon of Punishment, leaving a grim, lingering trail of Karmic Fire in its wake.

A tremendously powerful shockwave of wind swept out, scattering the Karmic Fire into stray sparks. As the sparks drifted down, they ignited the great Demon’s entire body once again. The Blade of Annihilation, and the black-and-white Karmic Fire it carried, sliced the Silent in two and utterly incinerated it.

Stray sparks also landed on Su Zhou, and the Fire of Sin began to burn on his body as well.

"...Aren’t you in pain?"

Even at the very end, on the verge of death, the Silent was still asking this question.

"Of course not."

The Soul Burner watched the great Demon before him being annihilated—a rare and powerful enemy on Earth—and the pure sin that was now burning fiercely.

He raised his hand, looking at the Karmic Fire burning on his own body, and the corner of his mouth lifted. "You wouldn’t understand. This is joy."

"Yes, I never understand... That’s why I am a Monster..."

Muttering this, the Silent died.

Its body, consumed by the Karmic Fire, turned into a cloud of gray dust.

And a crimson Evil Soul, the color of blood and a setting sun, appeared atop the cloud of dust.