Blade of the Goddess
Chapter 59 - Searching his soul

Chapter 59: Chapter 59 - Searching his soul

Buck jumped back, putting distance between himself and Zion.

He stared at Zion, holding his sword in front of him with a confused expression. ’What the hell? I put all my power into that attack, and he just grabbed my sword like it was nothing! That’s Zion Zagan, right? He shouldn’t be this strong.’

"Answer the question," Zion demanded

"I have no idea what you’re talking about, kid! You came here, killed my men, killed my young master, and now you are claiming that I kidnapped some girl I don’t even know?! Have you lost your mind?!"

"Perhaps." Zion shrugged. "Or maybe you lost your mind the moment you started putting your hands on what’s mine." He closed the distance to Buck in a single step. The sheer force of his movement cracked the air with a sonic boom, and he had only walked.

’When did he—’ Buck didn’t even register the pain until he was already peeling himself off a tree trunk. His body throbbed with shock, a sharp ache blooming in his gut.

’What... just happened?’ The question echoed in his mind as he staggered upright, hand instinctively clutching his stomach. ’Did he hit me? When? How?’

"Get up," Zion ordered, standing above him with a dominating gaze.

"BASTARD!" Buck swung his arm around, attempting to cut off Zion’s head in one go. However, not only was his sword stopped by some invisible barrier around Zion, but the blade shattered, and the shockwave broke his arm.

"Arghhh! God dammit! I’ll fucking kill you, you insufferable brat-AGRHHHHH!!!!"

Zion backhanded Buck and watched as his body bounced on the ground, colliding with the already broken carriage once more. "That’s not the answer I’m looking for."

Buck stumbled, losing his balance as he stood up. He felt a throbbing pain in his head that made it difficult for him to even think straight, but he slowly regained his composure.

"Listen here, you spoiled brat! Do you think you’ll get away with everything you’ve done here? Do you think I’ll let this slide? Do you think Lord Larson will let this slide?!"

"I thought that if I showed you the strength difference between us, you’d lose your will to fight and cooperate with me. I now see that I was wrong. I apologize for wasting both of our time."

"What are you—" A hand clamped over Buck’s face before he could finish. In the next instant, he was slammed into the ground with bone-jarring force.

Zion yanked him up by the throat and drove a fist straight into his nose, shattering it instantly. Buck’s body flew through the air, blood trailing behind him.

Without hesitation, Zion launched himself upward, rocketing past him. In a blur, he appeared above Buck and brought both fists down in a brutal double-hammer strike. The impact slammed Buck into the ground, carving a crater where he landed.

"ARGHHHH! YOU THINK THIS WILL STOP ME!"

That was something Buck really shouldn’t have said. As he stood back up, the sky began to shimmer, sparkling with light. Above him, over a hundred thousand light spears had formed, each one humming with deadly energy, all aimed right at him and ready to rain down.

"Don’t worry, I’ll make sure not to kill you." With the flick of a finger, the light spears rained down on Buck

"SH-SHIT!"

The entire area was engulfed in a storm of light spears and dust as they slammed into the ground. The hiss of the spears slicing past Zion, followed by the deafening booms on impact, drowned out Buck’s screams of pain and anguish.

Zion had never taken pleasure in another’s pain—until now. But at this moment, he reveled in it, the satisfaction creeping through him like a chill.

"Ughhh... p-please... no more," Buck gasped, his voice barely a whisper, broken and frail. Light spears impaled his arms, legs, and back, pinning him to the ground.

"Answer the question," Zion demanded once more.

’How in the hell did this bastard get information about me?! Is there a traitor among us? Or maybe there was a leak?’ He truly didn’t know, but he knew it was best to feign ignorance just to make it out of here alive.

"I-I truly don’t k-know what you’re talking about."

"Come out." At his demand, Zion’s stealth force shimmered into light.

Buck’s eyes widened with surprise. He had fought those guys before, barely managing to get away from them only thanks to mana beasts, monsters, and his fellow demonic humans.

’But why are they here? How are they here? Why are they working for him?’ Then it clicked. "T-They work for you?! You knew all along!"

"Answer. The. Question!" For the first time since he became a Master Stage Cultivator and created 11 extra cores, Zion used his full power.

Buck could feel his body being crushed under the sheer force of Zion’s energy. He couldn’t understand how he was so powerful or what he did to become that strong within two weeks, but there was one thing he did know: if he didn’t use his demonic energy, he would die.

"FUCKING BASTARD!" Black energy oozed around Buck, completely engulfing him and healing his wounds. His eyes turned purple, and his muscles grew.

He charged at Zion with his new strength, expecting to put him down for good, but to his horror, it only took a finger to block his most powerful punch.

"You should have answered the question." Shaking his head, Zion slashed Buck’s chest, leaving him on the verge of death.

"I didn’t want to use this since it didn’t work last time, but whatever, it’s not like he’ll answer me anyway." Like what he did to Carl the treasure hunter, Zion used the soul rune to peek into Buck’s soul and watch his memories.

As the rune touched his forehead, Zion encountered a strange resistance, an invisible force blocking access to Buck’s memories. He could feel it, pulsing with an unknown energy. He knew, with a chilling certainty, that pushing any further would trigger a self-destruct mechanism, obliterating Buck in the process.

"Heh, like hell that would stop me." Zion pressed on, imposing his will onto Buck’s mind with a domineering force. The energy fought back, but Zion wasn’t one to give up.

"Arghhhhh!!!!!! ARHGHHHHH!!!!"

While Buck’s mind was being fried, Zion continued to slowly chip away at the unknown energy until finally, he managed to overpower it, completely eradicating it from Buck’s mind, and was now able to read his memories.

"FUCK!" Zion slammed Buck to the ground, not caring about the fact that he was now in a vegetative state.

"What’s the matter, master?"

"He’s only a middleman. He doesn’t have the vital information I need. Fucking useless bastard!" With one powerful stomp, he crushed Buck’s head like a watermelon.

"There was one good thing I got from him, though." Zion smiled, looking at Curtis’s corpse. "Flint Larson is a demon sympathizer, huh? Guess I’ll pay him a visit."