Beyond the Apocalypse
Chapter 630: Decimus’ death

Chapter 630: Decimus’ death

Without wasting a second, the Sky Seed Depravitas swiftly retreated, leaving hundreds of metallic spheres across the entire mansion behind. Their movements were coordinated, precise, and completely silent. Quickly making their way back to the underground laboratory, they utilized the crystal once more, activating the hidden mechanism. The secret passage opened silently, revealing the dimly lit path leading back to the inner ring of the city.

It did not take long to reach the hidden coliseum beneath the Hunter’s Guild. As they appeared within the underground arena, Vlad’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

A flash of light, sharper and colder than the keenest blade, crossed the Depravita of Wrath’s eyes for an instant before he swiftly concealed it. His body moved silently, positioning himself right behind the massive form of the light-fire dragon, vanishing from sight.

"BOOOOOOOMMMMM!"

In the next instant, a tremendous explosion thundered throughout the colossal underground chamber. Its source was a distant corner, hundreds of meters from the current position of the Sky Seed Depravitas. Immediately, Jormungandr, Fafnir, and Ouroboros widened their eyes in astonishment as two figures emerged from the resulting flames and smoke.

One was Vlad, who had been standing beside them just moments before; the other was none other than Decimus Zanis.

The scion of the Zanis Family had somehow managed to infiltrate the coliseum, lurking undetected in the shadows.

Decimus’s powerful cloaking abilities were extraordinarily advanced—so refined that they could deceive the keen senses of even the Depravitas themselves and bypass the advanced detection capabilities of their A.I. chips. His strategy had clearly been to wait patiently, hidden from view, and strike them down when they least expected it.

Unfortunately for Decimus, he underestimated Vlad’s attunement to the Law of Space. Vlad’s demon soul allowed him to detect even the slightest fluctuations in spatial dimensions, making the identification of concealed shadow pocket dimensions an easy task. As soon as Decimus had begun preparing his attack, Vlad had already sensed his presence, anticipated his movements, and acted preemptively.

"Fafnir, you’re with me! Jormungandr and Ouroboros seal off the exits. Do not allow him to escape!" Vlad’s voice resonated directly into the minds of his allies through the A.I. Chips. Instantaneously, the Sky Seed Depravitas surged with energy, moving with incredible precision and power.

Vlad himself did not remain idle. His crystalline body blurred momentarily, vanishing only to reappear behind Decimus, his sword swiftly cutting through the air with lethal intent.

Decimus reacted instantly, shocked by Vlad’s incredible speed and spatial manipulation skills. However, he was no novice warrior. Immediately, his shadow-like form twisted around to intercept Vlad’s incoming strike, parrying the blow with his dagger, which resulted in a violent burst of energy rippling outward through the chamber.

Although Decimus’s new weapon was nowhere near as powerful or majestic as his former legendary dagger, it remained sturdy enough to block Vlad’s deadly sword.

Just as he was about to counterattack, Decimus’s eyes widened with horror as an intense beam of fiery light barreled toward him from his flank. Momentarily distracted, he realized the attack came from Fafnir, the light-fire dragon who had quickly formed a cannon-like structure entirely from solidified light.

Taking advantage of Decimus’s lapse in attention, Vlad delivered a brutal kick directly into the man’s abdomen, forcing the air violently out of his lungs. Immediately afterward, Vlad vanished once more, slipping through a small spatial crack and leaving Decimus alone to bear the brunt of Fafnir’s devastating cannon blast.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!"

The colossal explosion was powerful enough to shake the arena, yet remarkably, the underground coliseum endured the attack with minimal structural damage. It had been specifically constructed for clandestine and illegal battles, reinforced to withstand tremendous destructive power.

As smoke and light dissipated, Decimus stumbled forward, emerging severely burned and injured across the entire right side of his body.

But Decimus had no chance to recover or reassess his situation. Immediately, Fafnir was upon him again, his right arm encased in a formidable gauntlet forged of solidified, explosive light energy.

An overwhelming sense of mortal danger flooded Decimus’s senses. He was about to counter when Vlad appeared suddenly behind him, restraining him tightly in an unyielding embrace, preventing him from using his dagger or employing any defensive techniques.

"Kill him!" Vlad shouted fiercely, his expression filled with ruthless satisfaction.

Responding immediately, Fafnir unleashed the explosive might of the condensed light on his arm, further amplifying the blow by merging it with his Depravita Aura. His arm surged forward with unstoppable momentum, striking Decimus directly at point-blank range.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM"

The explosion this time was unprecedented, brutally powerful enough to shatter portions of the reinforced platform beneath their feet. The entire coliseum floor became engulfed in searing waves of burning, destructive light, sending Decimus and Vlad careening into opposite walls with catastrophic force.

Both combatants bounced off the surfaces and fell to the ground heavily, Vlad feeling an intense, burning ache permeating his bones and muscles due to the ferocity of the impact. Yet, compared to Decimus, his injuries were minor.

Decimus lay on the ground, struggling to breathe. His chest had been severely damaged; his rib cage had shattered, and several of his vital organs were ravaged.

Slowly rising to his feet, Vlad shook off the pain and approached the fallen scion with deliberate, measured steps. In his gaze, there was nothing but chilling coldness.

Decimus, overwhelmed with an unprecedented horror, struggled desperately to speak, trying to form a last desperate plea.

"If... if you kill me—" he gasped weakly, barely managing to force out his words.

But Vlad didn’t allow him to finish his threat. With clinical precision, Vlad swiftly slashed his sword across Decimus’s throat—not deep enough to kill him instantly but effectively silencing him, making further speech impossible.

"I care nothing for threats," Vlad uttered coldly, turning away from the dying man with disdain. "Besides, I won’t be the one to kill you."

Confusion flickered briefly in Decimus’s eyes, soon replaced by overwhelming fear as understanding dawned upon him. His fate became undeniably clear as a massive white werewolf suddenly loomed over him.

The Depravita of Greed’s monstrous paws seized Decimus’s wounded and helpless body, lifting him effortlessly from the ground. Despair filled Decimus’s expression as the werewolf opened its colossal maw wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.

Without mercy, hesitation, or remorse, the Depravita swiftly swallowed Decimus whole.