The God of Jesters
Chapter 461 - 7.19.1 Time to make up my mind.

Chapter 461: 7.19.1 Time to make up my mind.

(A small edit, Farhad’s flames are dark, I forgot to write them as red, which is the color of Dusk Knights.)

"Is that the reason?"

’Yes... that is the reason. In case Grand Knight Vance loses this battle, I want you to collapse the whole underground passageway... it doesn’t matter if we can kill it, what we need to make sure is that it does crawl out to the surface on our end."

It took a mere ten seconds since Farhad was decapitated, but in that one minute’s time, the whole cavern had lit up in white flames, purifying all that was corrupted, and burning the flesh of the ghouls non-stop.

As for the beast this flame was fighting against, its flesh rends under the flames of Radiance, and its cries of pain would shake the heavens, but even with such pain, it never stopped attacking its enemy who appeared desperate at this point.

It was a humanoid beast with the head of a hairless monkey, appearing odd and forming nonsensical sentences from time to time. But it didn’t mean the beast was a fool, for Vance could feel its wrath. "Stop!!" It cried while beating Vance on his sword again and again, completely pushing him into the ground.

A ground that melted after the flames over Vance’s body flared up, pushing the beast back for a bit, earning Vance enough time to dash and stab at the head of the beast.

But it’s nothing he could do that would actually affect this monstrosity, as the beast easily held the burning blade with its mouth, crunching on the sword and chipping part of it.

"This monster!"

This was the first time Vance was fighting something at grade four, and it was also the first time he understood the destructive nature of his own power.

’The whole cave is collapsing.’ Although he had tried to keep the damage to the minimum in order to acquire Farhad’s body, things did not always go as one expected, and the opponent was not easy picking either.

’Hah, I can’t even find his body.’ the black flames of Farhad were virtually invisible in a place devoid of light along with the chaos caused by the fight that had rendered it so that Vance couldn’t find Farhad’s body so easily.

And it’s only been half a minute since the appearance of this beast.

’End it.’ And when things have already gotten so low, there is no more reason to hold back.

"Armor of Giants!" Vance spoke, causing his body to float above the air as a giant Armor set encased his body, turning him into a Giant Knight in Armor of Light.

This was his Icon, the unique ability that everyone can acquire once they reach the level of Grandmaster, and it doesn’t matter if they walk the path of self-cultivation or not. None of the Icon of a Grandmaster is ever the same.

And even if they do look the same, there will always be slight noticeable differences when they are put next to each other.

As for Vance, his Gigantic Armor had a uniqueness of its own. "You will die!" The sword floated in the air, while his handle lengthened on its own, taking the form of a Glaive, while the light from Vance’s body caused the whole environment to melt under the extreme heat, burning the flesh of the humanoid ghoul which cried in pain while backing up.

"This is your end."

The battle took a total of one minute from start to finish.

And in this battle, the body of Farhad disappeared, just as he wanted.

******

"What happened?" Even when the battle came to an end, the tremors never stopped due to the aftershocks.

But Farhad had no mind to care about that, he just dragged his head, which slowly merged back into his body, and he dug a new tunnel towards the surface.

"Someone decapitated me... but I seemed to have gotten stronger... much stronger than I can ever hope to be." Who was fighting who, why were they fighting, and what he was doing so below the ground, none of that mattered to the current Farhad, as he had no memory of it anymore.

Even if a day of memory was destroyed by his last death, he still understood what he had to do the moment he got the chance to escape and escape he did.

’Well whatever happened, it was good.’ Although a bit disturbed over his death, he put it past it without worry.

As knowing himself, he already had in mind what might have transpired, including the part where he might have partially succeeded.

No, it was more than a simple success. ’I can feel reaching the ranks of Master.’ Although the level of Master was illusory to him, a rank that meant nothing considering he was someone not following any traditional pathways of transcendence.

He still felt that he was at the summit and close to ascending to a new level of evolution.

That’s how full he felt.

This can be further seen from how he was digging through the dirt.

Currently, in the shape of a bullet made out of tentacles, there were countless small limbs of his that dug through the dirt without stopping, making him appear as a mutant abomination. Their appearance is far different from the old ghoul he had killed before.

’Such strength, I can easily rival the old Remira if I want.’ At the peak of Adept, that’s how Farhad felt.

He could feel himself getting stronger, he could feel himself reaching a level unheard of before. And the transformations were still going on inside his body.

’This is addictive... just what has that man turned me into.’ Farhad felt more conflicted as time went by.

At this point, he had already come to terms with one fact.

He was not weak.

No, he was more of a monster than anyone could ever imagine. A monster if given time could bring about the end of the world.

’If I could find more nests like this, I can keep getting stronger.’ The idea of it scared Farhad. He had wondered what would happen if he reached the peak of his potential. Was there something hidden inside his body that could give Jester total control of his body?

Was he really a pawn of his game?

Or did Jester really give him this body out of goodwill?

’I can’t even be sure if these feelings are mine alone... this is so frustrating.’ Self-doubt along with loathing has filled Farhad’s mind whenever he starts to see Jester in a good light.

He loved his father, as well as hated him. Just like how he felt the same for Jester.

How he used to feel for his sister in the past.

’I... no, strength is important in this world... with how things are going and the weaker I am, the more of a pawn I will be to others.’ Farhad recalled the current state of things.

He was respected and loved in the monastery of the Church of Red Sun, but that was only due to the flames he possessed and the hopes of the dying members of the church who treated him as kindling for the flames of Samadhi.

Meaning, they only treated him as a tool and nothing else.

For the Cynark Military, they treated him more like a political asset, and with how things were going, he might turn into a military asset used in war if he didn’t acquire enough strength to have a say for himself.

But in the long run, none of those two mattered in his mind too much, as not too long ago, Farhad had long wished to give his life and return the flames to the Radiant Order.

That was his original wish and what he wanted in return for Remira’s help.

Which she provided as he asked, so wasn’t it time to return this gift?

’I was foolish then.’ But with time, he understood more things, he understood that in ignorance and hopelessness, he might have made a mistake.

’It was a misconception, Jester is not truly a villain.’ The mistakes he made in his youth as he came to terms with his existence were biting him back. He understood that running is never an option.

A fact that he learned a bit too late.

’It’s a gift he gave me... it’s probably for a reason.’ But it doesn’t mean he would remain passive and turn into the pawn of everyone around him. ’I am going to hold power, I am going to make them do as I want when I want.’

He made up his mind after his little escape.

This is the last time he will remain passive.

’I will devour all the nest, I will attain a greater power... only then can I make sure that none of the past tragedies repeat in this world.’

He made a promise to himself this day, a promise after countless torturous experiences.

"But first, I have to meet with this shape-shifter."