A large claw pierced through Adin's chest the moment he turned around, exposing his back to Clifford. The shock pressed heavily on Adin as he looked at his ripped-out heart. He breathed heavily, unable to process what had happened as his life slowly slipped away from him. Pulling his arm back, Clifford kicked Adin's lifeless body inside the room. Locking the door behind him, Clifford switched back to his human form and then proceeded to devour the corpse.
Processing the information, Clifford knew he was in deep trouble. The one he had just killed was an elder's disciple. To prevent slacking, the instructor had left a soul mark engraved on a special token held by the elder. Such artifacts allowed their users to monitor and communicate with someone as long as their soul mark was engraved on the artifact.
When the marked person dies, their soul takes a couple of hours to dissipate, resulting in the soul mark's destruction. However, in Clifford's case, it was immediate, as the devil's core devoured the soul right away. What made it worse was the fact that this disciple never left the academy, making them close to each other all of the time.
"Fuck fuck fuck," panic gripped Clifford, causing him to pace back and forth in the room, thinking about a way out of this situation. Tricking the old man using his ability wouldn't work, obviously, given that he knew his disciple was already dead.
"Why don't I take him on?" Thinking deeply, Clifford considered going against the elder right away, but the problem lay in having no clue what cultivators beyond the third stage could do. Assuming the man had completed the third stage, then he probably had a high reserve of Qi that could make the battle disadvantageous to Clifford. That's aside from the combat techniques and tricks he could pull if he were a fourth-stage cultivator.
Clifford's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden noise of the door getting kicked in, flying past him and crashing against the wall next to him. An angry hunchback with long dark hair, supporting himself with a walking stick, stared at Clifford, rage filling his eyes.
"Strange, you look familiar," the elder said, pausing for a moment and eyeing Clifford, trying to remember him. "Ah, I swear I witnessed your demise with my own eyes. But how are you still alive?"
"I hate it when one of my disciples gets killed, especially by insects far lower than them," the old man spoke, feeling the killing intent leaking from Clifford, who stood there staring at him menacingly. The elder was known for caring deeply about his disciples, to the point of treating them like his children. Such behavior had granted him the nickname Carebear by other cultivators.
Unfortunately, nothing past the first question registered in Clifford's ears because he was completely absorbed in his thoughts, thinking about the fact that this guy was somehow involved in his accident, unconsciously staring at him.
"Why?" was the only word that came out of Clifford's mouth as his anger continued to rise, thinking about the possibility that his situation was completely planned somehow.
"Why not? With such an offer, how could we resist?" the elder responded, his steps growing louder as he made his way to Clifford. "Your death was guaranteed from—" Noticing his mistake, the old man stopped talking.
"What do you mean?" The elder's words made Clifford curious. What offer, and why would someone go after his life? However, the elder's response shocked him as he realized that thick vines were growing around him, already covering the entirety of his legs and restricting his movements.
"It doesn't matter. You will die anyway." The elder's response came as his walking stick's form started changing, slowly turning into a smaller-sized sword. Raising his sword, the elder slashed Clifford's body, leaving a light cut on it, pissing him off further.
"Such a waste..." Massaging his chin, the elder admired Clifford's body, noting that it was far stronger compared to any cultivator at his current level. That wasn't the only remarkable thing; achieving such a cultivation base in under one year was admirable, tempting the elder to consider taking Clifford as a disciple. Alas, he couldn't go back on his word after accepting the offer.
Offending that person wasn't something he wanted. Even if he changed his mind, the rest of the elders wouldn't allow him since they had received equal benefits as well. Thus, he chose to kill Clifford and finish the job.
"What an annoying bear you are," Clifford muttered, transforming his right arm into a wyvern's wing before swinging it at the elder, who swiftly jumped back, dodging in time. "Why did I ask you anyway?" Clifford questioned himself as his left arm transformed into a wyvern claw. He then proceeded to remove the vines binding him.
Clifford's thoughts ran wildly. He had an ability that allowed him to see the memories of his victims. Why would he go out of his way to ask and risk the possibility that the other party would lie? He could just kill the fucker, swallow him, and be done with it, as he had always done. It's not like the man did him any favors as Kheon did. In this case, it was the opposite—if someone came after his life, shouldn't he respond equally?
Feeling enlightened, Clifford found his answer. If he was the devil, then he should act like a devil. Responding equally didn't feel right. Torturing them and making the rest of their life hell before taking it seemed like the only way he'd come out satisfied, making him determined to begin with the elder.