Another day passed slowly as Kheon continued comprehending the laws, leaving Clifford on his own. By the end of the day, she decided to check on him. To her surprise, not only had he completed the first stage, but he had also broken through to the next stage. She could faintly sense the Qi emanating from him. However, he couldn't proceed further because he didn't know what to do next.
"You should take a break for now, then we can continue later," Kheon advised, pleased by his progress. Nodding in agreement, he stood up and went outside, thinking about doing something instead of just resting. Sensing his thoughts, the core advised him to start hunting for souls to begin the third stage of the Devil's transformation.
Since all of the devil's essence was absorbed to transform his soul, the growth stage didn't commence. Thus, the core couldn't break its outer shell, preventing it from connecting to the rest of its body. Once he made up his mind, Clifford headed out hunting to refuel his body with dark force and gain more devil's essence for the transformation.
Watching him undress and then shift, Kheon smiled, witnessing his departure, knowing he was bound to come back. Flying high into the sky, Clifford triggered his Devil's Eye, allowing him to view the life force of the creatures around him, which he had learned to control after the guidance of the core.
One of the beasts caught his attention due to its yellow halo and stronger soul, indicating a higher quality of life force and a greater amount of dark force. Leaving the beast behind, Clifford looked for beasts with red halos since he didn't want to risk a fight without any reserve of dark force.
After about two hours of grinding, he devoured the beasts one by one. Their life force was transformed into a dark force that flooded Clifford's body, leaving him satisfied, while their souls shattered into soul essence which was absorbed by the core, barely starting its transformation process.
Once done, Clifford flew back to the beast surrounded by a yellow halo. This particular beast had the appearance of a large lizard adorned with black scales covering its body and two large wings extending from its back. The colossal creature walked on its large hind legs, supporting itself with its huge wings, standing at a height of six meters.
Aiming for the beast, Clifford dove, his speed accelerating as his killing intent came alive, announcing his presence. Sensing the killing intent, the beast raised its head to witness a bird dive-bombing it. The confusion painted on its face deepened as it saw the bird's form shift rapidly before fully taking human form. Moments later, the human's fist made contact with its head, sending waves of pain through it.
"FUCKING INSECT!" Pissed off, the wyvern roared in pain, sending Clifford flying with its wings. His body crashed to the ground and rolled for several more meters until he hit a tree, which finally halted his momentum.
"You can speak?" Lifting his body, Clifford stood, surprised that he could understand the beast. The enraged wyvern didn't seem to care about his astonishment. Roaring, the beast charged at him, preparing to flatten him against the ground.
Feeling the threat coming his way, Clifford clenched his fists, prepared to respond in time. Focusing all of his strength on his right hand, he waited patiently for the beast, which soon swung its massive left wing at him. Timing it perfectly, Clifford drove his right fist forward with all his might.
The impact caused a shock wave to spread through the forest, his fist successfully pushing the beast's wing back and breaking its balance. Seizing the opportunity, Clifford drove his left fist into the wyvern's body. As his punch landed, Clifford smiled proudly, watching the beast tumble backward.
"FUCKING HUMAN, I WILL FUCKING ROAST YOU ALIVE!" Rage boiled within the wyvern as it roared at him. Taking a special stance, the beast inhaled deeply, then breathed out flames from its large jaws, aiming directly at Clifford.
The wide radius of the raging flames prevented Clifford from escaping. Caught inside the fire, Clifford knelt in the center of the flames surrounding him. Seeing its victim fall, the beast increased its output, causing Clifford's skin to burn as pain flooded his senses.
A few minutes passed, and the exhausted beast stopped its fiery assault, the flames slowly dying down. Clifford wailed in pain as he waited for the fire to extinguish. Once the flames were gone, he looked at his body to find it skinned. Pain and anger intensified his rage as he witnessed his current state.
No skin covered some parts of his body, leaving the muscles exposed, while heavy burns covered the rest, giving him a horrifying appearance. The beast, absorbed in its triumph, raised its eyebrows, sensing the terrifying killing intent emanating from the human. A frown crossed its face as it noticed the human's form and size slightly change along with some of his facial features.
"I will fucking tear your limps apart, cut your tongue and grind your bones then skin you and leave you alive like a helpless insect!" Muttering quietly through his grinding teeth, Clifford began absorbing the dark force inside his body, causing him to enter the predation state.
Once ready, Clifford started walking toward the beast slowly, dealing with the pain that put him at a disadvantage. At that moment, Clifford wished he could somehow ignore the pain restraining him.