THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 793 Pureflame (1)

The Southern Nightmare Continent…

A barren wasteland... formerly overflowing with Nightmare creatures.

Those beasts were entirely hauled off by the Ultras, used ruthlessly in the War of Darkness against the Empire.

Now, the area lay completely desolate.

But that wasn't wholly accurate.

Lately... a formidable visitor had arrived on this forsaken ground.

After clashing with Nito, Snow Lionheart had plummeted onto this continent. Though defeated in that fight, he seized the missing half of his Light Soul, perfecting it at last.

Snow chose not to rush back to the Shadow Sect.

His plan was to achieve a breakthrough first.

Yet—before he could begin—

Snow was shocked to spot familiar figures here, in the southern continent.

A monster with endless arms and bizarrely elongated black hair slithered through thick fog.

One of the Nightmare Lords.

The Cosmos—the very entity Snow had escaped from ages ago.

Next to him loomed the Hollow, Ludwig, who had also slipped away during the war.

Seeing the transformed Snow Lionheart...

Triggered his wild, hysterical laughter.

"I don't know how to describe this—

is it your terrible luck… or my incredible fortune…

that the one you run into… is me?"

Snow's grin stretched wider as Ludwig and The Cosmos charged at him.

One ranked SS+, the other SS.

Their attacks looked agonizingly sluggish to Snow now.

He marveled at how he had ever battled foes like these before.

"Perfect timing… I was just thinking of testing the power of my Light Soul anyway."

Snow unsheathed his sword.

A brilliant glow erupted along the blade, resembling a shooting star.

With one swift slash—

Snow released a devastating wave of light that engulfed his foes entirely…

And kept surging outward, consuming a huge swath of the southern continent.

The brilliance persisted for minutes,

Before gradually waning and vanishing—

Allowing the continent to sink back into its usual gloom.

All seemed normal once more.

All... save for Snow's adversaries.

Not a shred of them lingered.

They were utterly obliterated, incinerated by the overwhelming, terrifying might they faced.

"That's… a bit disappointing," Snow murmured.

"If you died that quickly, I won't be able to gauge exactly how much my power has increased…"

He heaved a deep sigh.

"Whatever. Now that the unwanted guests are gone…

this place is ready."

Snow's fight with the Hollow and the Nightmare Lord happened right as Frey and his group fled the showdown between Thanatos and Amon.

Put simply—

Snow had ample time ahead.

And he aimed to make full use of it.

"It's time…

to return to the stage of SSS."

Without hesitation, Snow started readying himself for the breakthrough.

This posed no real challenge for him.

Having reclaimed his true form as a Pure Vessel, it felt less like a breakthrough... and more like reclaiming his past pinnacle.

Snow methodically amassed a vast reservoir of aura, blending it seamlessly with his Light Soul's might.

After purifying the surroundings to block any disruptions—

He enclosed himself inside and initiated the breakthrough.

It wrapped up in mere seconds.

His form dissolved entirely, devoured by a gigantic glow akin to a roaring sun.

In contrast to Frey... whose breakthrough manifested as a enormous dark cocoon of shadow...

Snow's energy exploded like a star lighting up the whole realm.

Given the immense aura and strength he had gathered,

Snow clearly sought a flawless breakthrough... one delivering a massive surge in power.

He could have pulled this off earlier with just half his Light Soul.

Yet he had held off until it was whole,

To draw out the utmost potential...

Guaranteeing a swift, seamless climb within SSS ranks.

Thus…

Snow stood poised to enter the SSS realm...

Even ahead of Frey.

Eyes shut, the Empire's Hero cut off all worldly ties…

Awaiting his transformation.

…

…

…

Over the Demonic Sea dividing the continents—

The heavens hung serene briefly.

Then chaos erupted as a colossal beast ripped through the clouds,

Unleashing furious gales with each wing flap.

A azure dragon.

Its scales gleamed like flawless crystals, brimming with staggering aura.

It soared at breakneck velocity...

Hunting for a specific target.

This beast was none other than the Ninth Seat of the Upper Demons...

Nito.

Nito peered down at the waves below, then skyward.

"What a strange planet…" he rumbled in a voice matching his colossal shape.

"Though it is nothing more than a small, insignificant world—

it surpasses many regions of the cosmos in sheer peculiarity."

Nito's remark stemmed from his short but intense time on Earth...

Where he encountered way too many legendary figures.

The Shadow Sect.

The descendant of the Lord of Light.

And Death himself—Thanatos.

Figures that had no place in such a backwater.

"And then there's that damned thing…

watching silently from above."

Nito tilted his head upward—

Toward the massive ravens circling high overhead, steering clear of all contact.

The Devourer of Chaos.

Nito recognized this entity all too well.

"One of the Great Ones…"

An enigmatic Great One—

Emerging solely amid disasters.

Its beginnings shrouded in mystery.

No one knew its source.

Yet...

It never assaulted anyone.

Nor could it be assailed.

Nito paused mid-flight momentarily,

Then pivoted slowly toward one of the ravens embodying the Devourer of Chaos…

Parting his jaws, Nito gathered a huge torrent of furious blue fire, firing it as a massive bolt that shredded the air.

The azure inferno surged on until it neared the Devourer of Chaos, detonating right in front.

A tremendous explosion... like a dazzling fireworks spectacle.

Nito glided downward, eyes fixed on the outcome—

Only for the Devourer of Chaos to reappear unscathed, as if untouched.

It ignored Nito entirely.

The Ninth Seat of the Upper Demons stayed quiet initially, studying the odd Great One for long moments.

"…My attack didn't even reach it?"

Nito had witnessed it plainly.

His flames halted just short, never grazing the Devourer of Chaos.

Some unseen barrier had deflected the assault, blocking further progress.

Though puzzled, his gut warned fiercely about this freakish being.

Post the Helmond-shaking battle, the Great Ones had turned into outright foes of the demons.

Logically, Nito ought to have engaged the Devourer of Chaos.

But the blue dragon wheeled around and departed, abandoning the peculiar Great One.

"There's no point in entering a battle I can't be certain of winning…

Besides, that cursed thing isn't my target today."

Nito surged ahead, velocity skyrocketing—

Directly toward the southern continent.

"The First Scion of the Lord of Light…

That bastard dared to deceive me."

Fury twisted Nito's features as he remembered discovering his Light Soul gone entirely.

Snow Lionheart had somehow wrenched it away... so flawlessly that Nito took ages to realize it was missing.

"This is unforgivable.

An insult like this will not go unanswered."