Beyond the Apocalypse
Chapter 627: Bring down a Legend

Chapter 627: Bring down a Legend

The Depravita of Envy opened his eyes a moment later, a broad grin spreading across his face as he surveyed his own body.

"Hahaha, astounding!" Fafnir exclaimed, letting out a burst of triumphant laughter. The abilities he had absorbed from the Legendary Angel were truly remarkable, far exceeding what he had gained from the Sage Vorometallicae’s Ice Power.

Jormungandr and Ouroboros exchanged smiles as they witnessed the light-fire dragon’s excitement. Although neither of them knew precisely what abilities Fafnir had awakened, they could sense the extraordinary potential of the liquid light now coursing through his body.

Its energy felt potent and stable—undoubtedly a substantial addition to Fafnir’s overall combat strength. Still, neither Jormungandr nor Ouroboros made a fuss. Their attention quickly shifted to Vlad, who was in the midst of his delicate work.

The Depravita of Wrath stood over the body of the Legendary Demon. Drops of sweat trickled down his temples, and his eyes were bloodshot with strain. He was meticulously inscribing a runic formation across the demon’s skin.

Each line had to be flawless. Finally, just as Vlad’s trembling hand threatened to fail him from overexertion, he engraved the last symbol. His body nearly collapsed from the effort, yet he steadied himself, exhaled shakily, and sat on the ground to regain strength. Glancing up, he nodded at Jormungandr.

The small yellow cat understood immediately. Without delay, Jormungandr hopped onto the demon’s chest and placed a tiny paw over the core of the Demon Soul Extraction Runic Formation, set squarely above the heart.

A surge of energy passed from Jormungandr into the runic lines, causing them to glow fiercely. The lines pulsed, forcibly drawing out the remaining life force and energy in the demon’s body. Within seconds, the demon’s limbs began withering, the tissue contracting and blackening as vitality and essence were siphoned.

Suddenly, the demon’s vacant eyes flared with unexpected life, bright with shock and pain.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" the Legendary Demon howled, his agonized scream echoing through the underground laboratory.

The flood of agony jolted his mind from its comatose haze, leaving him reeling in confusion. Nevertheless, instinct took over. He tried to rise, claws scraping at the stone floor in a desperate attempt to break free. Before he could fully lift his torso, however, the Depravitas reacted with lethal efficiency.

A massive, draconic claw slammed his head back down onto the ground, pinning him in place. White-furred arms seized his right arm and leg while a young man grabbed hold of his left limbs, inhibiting all possible movement.

The Sky Seed Depravitas were somewhat astonished to see the demon awaken; after centuries of energy depletion, they had assumed him well beyond any conscious state. Evidently, logic and expectations could be easily defied when it came to Legendary beings.

Still, they had no intention of allowing him a chance to resist. The demon’s screams rose in intensity as the extraction continued, his body convulsing with renewed vigor. Yet the Depravitas of Envy, Greed, and Wrath channeled every ounce of their combined strength to keep him pinned.

Liquid light surged from Fafnir’s form, manifesting as radiant chains that snaked around the demon’s shoulders, elbows, and knees, restricting him further.

The shimmering glow in those chains immediately told Vlad and Ouroboros that Fafnir’s newly gained angelic ability was potent enough to restrain even a Peak Sage lifeform. It was truly amazing, but they did not lose focus and kept restraining the limbs of the Legendary Demon with all their strength.

Jormungandr, meanwhile, clenched his teeth, pushing energy into the Demon Soul Extraction Runic Formation as quickly as he could. All depended on completing the extraction before the demon’s thrashing threatened to disrupt the delicate process.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" The demon roared and thrashed, but with the three Depravitas restraining him and the unstoppable runic extraction devouring his essence, his final resistance soon became futile.

Eventually, his bellowing diminished to a hoarse gasp, and his once formidable strength evaporated altogether. In mere moments, his vitality, energy, and every last remnant of his soul converged at the heart of the formation. The Legendary Demon’s once-massive physique was left desiccated and frail, threatening to crumble into dust at any moment.

Breathing heavily, the four Sky Seed Depravitas allowed themselves a small pause, their muscles burning from the exertion and their hearts still pounding from the intensity of the struggle.

"I guess we’ve managed to bring down a Legend," Vlad said, chuckling darkly at the irony. Despite the demon’s severely weakened condition, none of them doubted that in a one-on-one battle, the creature would have easily overpowered any of them and killed them.

After catching his breath for a few minutes, Vlad rose and moved toward the formation’s core. A swirling dark orb hovered just above the demon’s chest. The rest of the corpse was little more than a withered husk, disturbingly reminiscent of ancient dried parchment.

Vlad inhaled deeply, then commanded his A.I. Chip. "Analyze the soul’s integrity."

When sealing a soul for the Demon Soul Hunter Strength System, the soul’s integrity was paramount. If the integrity had fallen beneath seventy percent, the soul would be far too unstable to be placed within a Demon Soul Cage, meaning that all their effort would have gone to waste.

The A.I. Chip’s robotic voice replied swiftly, echoing in Vlad’s mind.

[Beep! Soul Integrity: 85.2%.]

A broad smile overtook Vlad’s features. An integrity rating above eighty-five percent meant minimal damage to the demon soul, which would grant him exceptional enhancements once placed and stabilized within his own heart.

"I can’t take all the credit here," Vlad remarked, wiping sweat from his brow. "The demon’s soul was powerful enough that even after extreme depletion, it managed to maintain its structure. That made the extraction process a lot smoother than it could have been."

The other Depravitas nodded, exchanging looks of relief and renewed respect for the incredible resilience of Legendary beings. Their success offered a grim reminder: for all the demon’s original might, centuries of torment in the Dino People’s machinery had eroded him beyond the point of self-defense—until now, with this final extraction sealing his fate.