Sovereign of the Karmic System

Back at the convoy, the situation had turned for the better thanks to the effort of three different fighters.

The first one was Eken, who by helping the struggling demons one by one, had managed to stop the deaths of the demons, and by extension, the increasing of the numbers of these monsters. After coming to the aid of these demons, she and the current living fighter would vanquish the monstrous beings before splitting up, and joining the fighters who were still engaging in battle.

The second individual whose actions were turning for the battle for the better, was the young demoness who was partnered with the wolf. The chemistry of these two was powerful enough to allow them to react to each other’s actions without even looking at one another.. And if their absurd connection was not enough of an advantage, the flames of which the demonic wolf was covered with, were hot enough to melt the bodies of any monster that tried to come close to it. The heat which this wolf emanated was comparable to that of a star, despite only being at the level of a noble demon.

Stars were considered odd objects by any cultivator who was able to approach one on his or her own accord. Most cultivator above the fiftieth phase would be able to unleash attacks powerful enough to destroy a small one, but the heat that they emanated was too much for them to bear. This was the reason that made this particular beast so impressive. The heat that it emanated was not brilliant by any means, but warm enough to melt the body of a noble demon.

This heat, however, did not appear to be a danger to any demon or demonic beast who wasn’t an enemy of the demonic wolf.

Finally, the fighter who was helping the most, while also going on a rampage, was Sewah.. Whom the other cultivators looked at with terror. Everyone knew what a rampaging oni demon was capable of, and this was no ordinary oni. If Sewah’s last thought had been to kill everybody on sight, and not to only kill the attackers, most of them would be dead at the moment. Especially since Sewah’s power did not appear to match the power that the oni leader was reported to have, and was much greater instead.

Only a minute had passed since his appearance, and his club was already long gone. The bodies of at least a dozen monsters lied in pieces at his feet, forming a trail that showed his path. The loud noises and power that he produced while fighting were enough to attract any flying or land monster in the surroundings.. Only to be swatted like flies, or ripped to pieces by his hands the very moment he got a hang of them.

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Meanwhile, on the edge of a volcanic cauldron, was Daniel. He was standing in front of five individuals and the dismembered corpse of a demon.

The two demons had long transformed into their original forms, which were that of a walking knight armor with black spikes on his shoulders, knees, and the back of his hands, and that of a slender being with a body more similar to that of a canine, than a humanoid cultivator.. With legs bent on the wrong direction, long and straight ears that reached for the sky in parallel, and claws so sharp to appear able to split an atom in half.

However, while scary looking, these two demons were not the ones who possessed the most horrifying appearance.

The three humans in red clothes belonged to the Parasitic faction, and just like the man who had fought against Aeron, they were elite members, and followers of the Parasite King. The only difference was that the cultivator whom Daniel had encountered years before was at the bottom of the list, while these three were amongst the strongest members of their entire faction.

Just like any other gifted member of the parasitic faction, these three individuals had been transformed in parasite lords.. A term created to refer to beings who had been turned into unique parasites by the Parasite King that were able to spawn their own armies of parasites, and use them to send armies and world into complete mayhem.

The shortest of the three humans had turned into a one hundred meters long worm with no eyes, and a round and gaping mouth covered in millions of small teeth that seemed to be present through the entirety of this worm’s intestines. His skin was lucid and covered in an odd mucous membrane, from which trillions of hair thin worms grew out of.

The woman of the group had exploded into a dense mist, and had become one with the surrounding air. However, thanks to their developed senses of sight, the rest of the fighters present were able to see that the woman had turned into an insect similar to a flea, and that she had landed on the head of the giant worm.

The third and last human member of the parasitic faction had turned into a human-sized tick with hundreds of constantly moving feet, and four pairs of wings that constantly vibrated into a deafening humming sound.

Daniel was standing quietly during the whole process of transformation, almost as if unaffected by the horrifying sight of these parasite lords assuming their true form. Then, the moment these five fighters entered their strongest forms, he said casually "Okay, here is how things will go. First of all, you will tell me the reason why the members of the parasitic factions are here.. Secondly, you will play good and follow me to the demon lord once he or she is done with his fight." His casual tone did not inspire any form of threat in the hearts of the onlookers, who looked at him as if they were looking at someone who was just trying to make conversation.

After noticing that his words had no effect, Daniel smiled grimly, and added "I know, I know. I’ve been through this plenty of times. I don’t expect you to follow my instructions unless you see blood, and that one over there was clearly not enough.." He said while pointing at the dismembered corpse of the demon he had killed a minute earlier.

"Now, who volunteers?"

Once Daniel finished speaking, the voice of a woman came from above the disgusting mouth of the massive hairy worm.. Which said "You are awfully confident.. But can you take us all at the same time?"

A smile formed on Daniel’s face, who then turned to look at the flea, and said "Sorry, this is the part where you buy time while I breathe your parasites in?" He then asked.

The woman was taken aback, but before she could respond, the beast-like demon had dashed in front of him with lightning fast speed, and slashed his body with all eight of his fingers.

Daniel easily avoided the attack, but did not react.. as the attack’s main objective was to distract him from what was coming from underneath him. Billions of hair thin worms which crunched past his clothes, and drilled through his legs with their razor sharp teeth.

While not worried, Daniel was slightly surprised by both of the parasites created by the worm, and the flea. Both of which were able to either devour his flesh, or were able to pass by immortal essence as if it had nothing to do with them.

After getting halfway into Daniel’s legs, the worms began to spit some sort of acidic substance that liquefied Daniel’s muscle fibers, so that they could consume him faster from within. The pain was excruciating, but nothing that Daniel’s wasn’t able to withstand.

At the same time, in the air that Daniel was currently breathing, trillions of small fleas were flying right into his lungs, and latching on his blood cells in order to be driven through his entire body. Once in a free area, they began to devour every bit of immortal essence that kept Daniel’s cells so tightly packed together.

What was most surprising about these microscopic mites, was the fact that their bodies were able to separate the immortal essence they devoured, from its owner. They would then turn it into ownerless power, and leave the victim’s body to deliver it back to their queen.. Leaving their place to another flea. Their behaviour was similar to that of ants, who would look for sources of food, and slowly bring it back to their queen.

The worms that had drilled on Daniel’s leg, on the other hand, were connected to the massive worm, and had reached him by digging underground, and stretching all the way to his position. The liquefied flesh of which they were feasting on then went through their long body, and became susainment for the larger worm.

"You are powerful, there is no doubt about that." said a voice that came from in between the large maws of the tick. "But you should have paid more attention to your surroundings." He then added while moving his thousands of feet in order to slowly approach Daniel’s position.

Once a in front of him, the back of the tick-like parasite lord swell to hundreds of times the size it was before. He then lifted his entire body, showing the disgusting mouth that was hidden by the hundreds of tiny feet that moved in and out of its mouth. He was getting ready to grab Daniel, and tear him into pieces.

Despite the situation, Daniel looked at this monster with disappointment, and after shaking his head, he said "The idiots are always the ones who die first."

Daniel’s words triggered a visceral reaction on the parasite lord, who immediately attempted to devour him whole. At the same time, behind him, the other two parasite lords were looking at Daniel in shock.

"GET BACK BROTHER!! NO!" Shouted the flea queen, who had felt her trillions of microscopic fleas be filled with immortal essence with a speed beyond what was humanly possible, and explode due to the excess of power.

The massive worm, on the other hand, had felt a powerful healing essence restore Daniel’s liquefied flesh before his extensions would even be able to swallow it.

Unfortunately, it was already too late. Daniel had reached outwards with his hand, and placed it on the forehead of the massive thick.. After no longer than a second, the body of the tick began to cave in, and collapse.

A black hole had formed inside his body, but while he would have probably been able to escape this sort of attack, before he could even react, his consciousness was drawn into the darkness along with fatty flesh.

Daniel only stopped when what was left of the massive tick was nothing but a compressed ball of mush.

"Who the hell are you?!" asked the large worm in shock.

"A question?" Asked Daniel with curiosity. He then shook his head once again, and added "I see that killing two of you was not enough.. Fine. Why are you here?"

The beast-like demon, enraged by Daniel’s behaviour, dashed with all the power he could muster, but when he arrived in front of him, and attempted to slash through Daniel’s body and turn him into a pieces, he quickly found out that his arm was missing. Then, when his eyes turned to look back at Daniel, he found himself able to see his headless body stand in front of Daniel from high up in the sky.. Before the light went out on him.

As soon as the demon’s body fell on the ground, uncovering Daniel’s bloody face, Daniel stepped past the corpse of the demon, ripping the worms out of his skin and erasing the simple mental processes of the microscopic fleas, and said "Why are you here?.." This time, his tone was cold enough to form a fearful reactions in the weaker minds of the three survivors.

The massive worm immediately understood that the three of them had no possibility of fighting back.. So he said with a trembling voice "We don’t have anything ag-"

Before he could finish, however, Daniel waved his hand in front of him, causing for his massive body to be twisted in a hundred different directions, and turn into a pieces of fat and white blood. "Why are you here?" He asked once again.

The armored demon, and the woman in flea-shape, who were still unscathed, were now utterly terrified. The wrong word.. Regardless of whether they meant to respond truthfully or not, was enough for this lone human to claim their lives. Every breath, every blink of an eye.. Every drop of sweat.. The two were too scared to do anything at all.

In front of them, was death.