"My sons, I swear to avenge you at all cost with my own hands." The man swore to the heavens as he buried his sons carefully with a shovel he made out of spirit energy.
"Sect master, where did you go just now?" Cidd asked upon seeing that Ace had returned with Charlotte.
"I just branched out from the sect for a moment to deal with a few bandits that were intending to attack us." Ace answered calmly as he looked up to the sky.
"We should hurry, it's going to rain soon and the demon beasts are definitely going to seize this chance to launch an unexpected attack." Ace told Cidd before heading back towards the front of the group.
Cidd looked up, only to realise that the fluffy marshmallows were replaced by ominous clouds that were dense and heavy. It's not that he didn't realise, but because it was just way too sudden.
Have things already come to this stage? Lucifer, are you still unable to forgive them for making that decision? Jay sighed to himself as determination flashed in his eyes. If I have to, I'll end all of this myself even if it means that one of us must perish.
"Young lady, there are some dead bodies ahead of us, should we change the route to be taken." The servant who was riding the horse carriage came to a slow halt and asked upon seeing the graves that had just been done.
"It's fine, just make sure not to touch them." The young lady instructed without the slightest trace of emotion in her voice as she remained seated in her carriage.
"Yes, young lady." The servant replied respectfully before continuing their journey towards the Valor kingdom as the guards who were at least of the Great Martial Master realm followed closely behind.
It seems like this group of people who were behind me had nothing to do with this, if this is the case, then the person who killed my sons has already left here.
"Damn it! Don't allow me to find out who you are or I'll make sure that you never live to see a second day!" The man cursed in anger after the young lady and her group left the area.
Across the entire Zyroth continent, it was chaos. Even before the war started, the humans cultivators were already facing internal strife.
By the time it was evening, Ace and his sect finally arrived at the Valor kingdom and entered after their invitation letter was approved by the guard.
"Sect master, can we find somewhere to rest?" The moment they arrived at the kingdom, Clarissa asked while arching backwards as the male disciples once again tried to avert their gaze while the female disciples stared at her in jealousy before looking down.
"Beep!"
"Beep!"
"Beep!"
"All cultivators in the Valor kingdom, please get ready to defend the kingdom against external threats. Our scouts have brought back information that the demon beasts have already dispatched their first wave of demons onto our land!"
"I repeat! All cultivators in the Valor kingdom, please get ready to defend the kingdom against external threats. Our scouts have brought back information that the demon beasts have already dispatched their first wave of demons onto our land!"
Wrinkling his eyebrows, Ace told everyone from his sect, "All disciples are to follow their respective leaders, we'll gather again at the meeting point when the time comes."
"Yes, sect master!"
As the disciples left with both fear and determination on their faces, Ace stayed behind and watched them leave, just like how a father would watch his son abandon everything to chase his dreams.
"Jay, if possible, please intervene when needed in order to keep my disciples alive." Ace begged with his eyes closed, the sorrow was getting to him as he rested on Charlotte's shoulder, allowing her to be the one to take care of him for once.
"I understand." Jay wanted to reject Ace's request, but when he saw the sorrow from the deepest part of Ace's soul, he couldn't muster the courage to reject such a sect master. In this chaotic world, maybe he's the only person who can still care for those around him.
*Boom*
Streaks of thunder deafened everyone's years as the merciless blades of rain fell onto the human cultivators that were nothing but ants in the eyes of those above them.
The same scene was going on everywhere as all the forces that are already here prepared to join in the battle as more and more cultivators flooded into the kingdom to assist the human cultivators in this war.
"Lucifer, just how far do you intend to bring this?" Jay questioned the man draped in a black robe standing before him after leaving behind a clone of himself to defend the disciples.
"The chosen one of the Zephyrus, I appreciate you for supporting me that day, but this is something I have to do in order to take revenge against those that deserve it. I treated them as my brothers and sisters, I did everything I could to help them , I did everything I could to care for them, I did everything I could to maintain their reputation and mine. Yet, they turned their back against me!" Lucifer rebutted in anger as black lightning gathered in his palm.
*Vzzt Vzzt*
The lightning numbed the nearby air, forming itself into a gigantic violet sword that was coiled around by bolts of menacing lightning.
"Lucifer, stop going down the wrong path! If we get into a fight right here right now, we'll just destroy the balance of this entire realm. You should know that better than me!" Jay warned in anger but still withdrew his sword, wings of lightning forming behind his back while his entire body was coated in bolts of lightning as well and a robe of wind.
"It's too late for you to do anything." Lucifer sneered coldly as he slashed towards Jay while containing his strength just so that this cultivation realm wouldn't be destroyed until his plans were in place.
"Lucifer, have you ever thought about the mistakes that you've committed?" Jay questioned once again as he formed a wind shield that deflected the attack easily while expending even more Saint energy to devour the explosion that would have been caused.
"I don't see the need to because the past is destined to be buried, all I desire right now is to create a world that trembles in fear under my control so that they'll regret treating me as nothing but a tool."
"What makes you so sure that they think that way?"
*Lucifer's story*
In this world, there are seven people who have stepped into the eighth stage of the Great Saint realm and they were known as the seven rulers.
Lucifer was the youngest among the seven rulers, but one day, he decided to intervene when he saw another of the Great Saints from the demon beast race trying to rape a human female.
Out of fury, he killed him without any hesitation which brought about the greatest commotion in the Divine realm in the past hundred years.
The demon beasts in the end were still stronger than the humans. The demon beasts were being ruled by nine eighth grade demon beasts and to make things worse, the only ninth grade Great Saint of their species was stronger than the only ninth grade Great Saint of the humans.
Lucifer had expected the other six rulers to assist him and put up a stand against the demon beasts, he wanted a declaration of war or more innocent humans will fall prey to those lustful demon beasts that should be condemned to death.
Yet, their words cut deep into his heart.
"You're such a disappointment."
"All you ever do is cause trouble for us."
"You should just be handed over to the demon beasts."
"Can you do something else besides causing unnecessary trouble for us at this critical juncture?"
Humanity had given up on him and just like this, the demon beasts and the humans sealed him in this diverged cultivation realm, it was the last stand that the human cultivators did for him, expecting him to feel grateful.
Yet Lucifer wasn't a fool, he knew that humanity was just trying to defend its pride. The humans were corrupted and since they would end up leading to their own demise, he accepted the offer of the only ninth grade Great Saint demon beast.
It wasn't him helping the demon beast, but just hatred that had driven him to the extreme. He wanted to seek vengeance against the humans and that was exactly what he's doing.
"Jay, I have to execute this. You can get in my way, but I promise not to harm you and that young boy and his disciples, how about it?"
"Lucifer! Just because those humans gave up on you doesn't mean that everyone is the same. Don't you know me better than anyone else, as the only person who knows why I blindfolded my own eyes, shouldn't you at least consider why I revealed my eyes to this once grey world?" Jay kept his strong stance and questioned, his eyes sending arrows of plea.
"Isn't it because of that youth you set your sights on? Are you trying to get me to serve him?" Lucifer mocked in laughter, his body shaking back and forth as tears gushed out of his eyes.
"I was once as hopeful as him, but this bleak world and corrupted humanity made me understand, the only destiny I have is to destroy this corrupted world myself and shape one in which fairness is above all!"
*Muffled screaming*