The old man watched Max leave, his weathered eyes tracking the young man's retreating figure until it was swallowed by the horizon. As the sun dipped low, casting long, melancholic shadows, his demeanor began to shift. The tiredness on his face melted away, replaced by an unsettlingly calm and calculating expression.
With a sly grin curling at the corners of his lips, the old man's form shimmered and contorted, revealing a dark and imposing figure. His eyes glowed with an ominous red light as his features became sharper, more menacing. His robe transformed into a tattered, shadowy cloak that seemed to absorb the light around him, and twisted horns emerged from his forehead. He was no longer the wise old man but a satanic entity, a dark lord of the underworld, reveling in his newfound power.
"Hah... Young men are so easy to deceive," he rumbled, his voice now a deep, resonant growl that echoed with malevolent amusement. "They think they're so clever, but they're mere pawns in a game far beyond their understanding."
He looked up at the twilight sky with a twisted smile, his eyes gleaming with a sinister light. "It's been eons since I've had this much fun... Even after all this time, it never gets old."
From beneath him, a muffled voice emerged, breaking the silence with an urgent tone. "Ah... Grandpa, help me out first. Max buried me quite deep here…"
The dark figure's smile widened as he knelt down, tracing a series of intricate, infernal symbols on the ground. The symbols burned with an eerie, fiery glow as the earth trembled beneath him. With a swift motion, he broke the seal, and the ground parted to reveal the girl.
She emerged from the earth, not as the girl she once was, but as a seductive and dangerous succubus. Her eyes burned with a fiery allure, and her form was now adorned with dark, ethereal wings and a devilish elegance. She stretched and dusted herself off with a sultry grin.
The succubus gazed at the dark lord with a mix of admiration and mockery. "Max, we will meet again. I don't know if you're an enemy or a friend, but you're definitely a fool—strong as an ox, but with the brain of a mouse. Maybe we'll see each other again in hell or heaven."
As Max traveled through the vastness of space, consumed by thoughts of vengeance, he was unaware of the demonic transformation unfolding behind him. The succubus and the dark lord watched with wicked amusement, their forms a twisted reflection of their former selves.. Unbeknownst to him, he had wandered far off course, deeper into the galaxy than he ever intended.
As Max continued, he eventually stumbled upon a notorious band of space pirates. Their ragged fleet of ships, patched together from scavenged parts, hovered menacingly in the void, blocking his path. The pirates, renowned for their ruthlessness, were eager to claim another victim.
The pirate captain, a burly figure with a cybernetic eye that flickered ominously, smirked as he saw Max approach. "Well, well, what do we have here? A lone traveler, all lost and alone. Easy pickings, boys!" he jeered, his voice crackling over the comms.
Max, however, didn't flinch. Instead, he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, his face completely calm. The pirates exchanged amused glances, their confidence swelling. They'd seen this reaction before—another weakling who knew he was outmatched.
"Look at him, shaking in his boots!" one of the pirates cackled, slapping his knee.
But as they moved in closer, something unexpected happened.
As the pirates jeered and taunted, the dark lord and the succubus observed from the shadows, their eyes glowing with anticipation. The succubus's lips curled into a predatory smile as she watched the scene unfold, savoring the chaos that Max had unleashed.
Max's lips curled into a slight, almost imperceptible smile. With a casual flick of his wrist, a wave of energy shot out from him. The nearest planet in the system, once a vibrant sphere teeming with life, disintegrated into a cloud of dust.
The pirates' laughter died instantly, replaced by a stunned silence. Their eyes widened in horror as the remnants of the planet scattered across space like ashes in the wind. The captain's cybernetic eye began to spark uncontrollably as he struggled to process what had just happened.
When Max obliterated the planet, the succubus's laughter was a haunting melody that filled the void, while the dark lord's presence exuded a palpable, malevolent satisfaction. The pirates' terror was a delicious spectacle for the two devils.
"Which way to the Yun family?" Max asked, his voice as cold and unfeeling as the vacuum of space.
The pirates, who had moments ago been filled with bravado, were now a quivering mass of fear. The captain, his earlier smugness utterly gone, stammered, "T-Take a left at the Horsehead Nebula… th-then straight on until you hit the Whirlpool Galaxy… y-you can't miss it…"
Max nodded, satisfied with the directions, but as the pirates continued to babble in terror, they noticed something bizarre. Max's form began to flicker like a glitching hologram.
"Uh… is he supposed to do that?" one of the pirates whispered, his voice shaking.
"Maybe he's a ghost!" another pirate blurted out, his face pale.
"Ghosts don't blow up planets, idiot!" the captain snapped, though his own fear was evident.
Before anyone could come to a coherent conclusion, Max's form shimmered and then—poof—he was gone. Vanished without a trace, leaving only the cold, empty silence of space behind.
For a long moment, the pirates stood frozen, unsure if they had truly witnessed what they thought they had. Then, as if on cue, they all turned to the captain, waiting for orders.
The captain, still processing the surreal encounter, muttered under his breath, "Forget the Yun family—let's get as far away from here as possible!"
"Good plan, Cap'n!" the crew chorused, eager to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the terrifying man who had just disappeared from existence.
As the pirate fleet sped away at top speed, the captain couldn't help but wonder aloud, "Just who the hell was that guy?"
One of the younger pirates, still shaking, replied, "Dunno, Cap'n… but remind me to never mess with a guy who can flick away a planet like it's a speck of dirt."
The captain nodded, his cybernetic eye still glitching. "Yeah… definitely not worth the trouble."
As Max's form began to flicker and vanish, the succubus's eyes narrowed with interest, her desire for a future encounter with the fallen hero palpable. The dark lord, on the other hand, reveled in the despair and fear that Max had instilled, his laughter a deep, resonant echo that reverberated through the cold expanse of space.
With the pirates fleeing in terror, the succubus and the dark lord shared a moment of dark camaraderie, their twisted forms a stark reminder of the infernal power they now wielded. The dark lord's voice, a deep, resonant growl, broke the silence. "So, our little plaything has moved on. Let's see how the universe responds to the curse we've laid upon him."
The succubus's eyes sparkled with dark amusement. "Indeed. And when he returns, we'll be waiting. The dance of fate has only just begun."