Emma kept staring at Derek as his height continued to increase — slowly but surely. Not just his height, but his bones were becoming thicker, and his muscles more defined. And his internal energy? It continued like there was no end.

Peter was almost at death's door, panting heavily, his both arms and one leg totally severed. The demon fighting alongside him was also in a pathetic state. Yami walked toward them as they both lay sprawled on the ground.

Reaching there, Yami raised his hand and arced it back, the edge of his katana gleaming under the dim light of the cavern.

"Don't — stop." The demon panicked. "If you kill me you wi....." The demon began to threaten Yami. But before it could even finish...

Schlk!

Yami brought his katana down in a single, devastating arc.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened....

Then the demon's right half slid away from its left, blood erupting like a fountain.

Peter felt his soul leaving his pathetic body already.

Yami then turned toward him.

"No... No. Sir, please don't." Peter tried to drag his body to the side, crawling on the ground like a worm.

Yami said nothing and slowly walked toward him. But amidst his motion, when his leg is in mid air — about to take the next step — Yami froze.

He could feel it. A tremendous amount of energy. A pressure that was slowly rising. It was far from being a threat to him. But it wasn't something he could ignore.

And instinctively....

His head turned.

He saw Derek still lying on the platform, Emma staring at him like she had seen a ghost. But there was something different. Derek's body wasn't totally still this time. His chest.... It was moving. Slowly, steadily.... But surely.

"He's alive!?" Relief washed over him.

Leaving Peter where he was, Yami quickly walked over to Derek and crouched down to check his condition.

He didn't even need to feel for a pulse this time — the slow rise and fall of Derek's chest was proof enough.

"What a persistent bastard," Yami muttered with a faint chuckle.

But then his focus returned to the rising pressure in the air, the same one he had momentarily forgotten upon seeing Derek's body move. And the pressure wasn't all. He noticed something else, too. Something that totally took him by surprise. "What the heck! He's getting taller?" Like Emma, he noticed it too.

He had an urge to yank Derek up and quickly ask him what was going on, but he prevented himself from doing so. Now that Derek was alive, his rage calmed down a lot.

Bam! Right then, a thunderous sound echoed, and the cavern shook.

"Tch." Yami clicked his tongue in annoyance and looked left.

Leo's beast form had crashed into the wall, half its body buried in the crater.

The demon dashed toward it, ready to deliver the final blow. But right then, Emma's voice reached Yami in a tone of urgency. "Master, save that magic beast. It's actually Leo."

"What?!" Yami was taken aback by this sudden revelation, his eyes widening, but then he quickly snapped out of it and swung his katana, turning toward the demon.

A dark, shadow-like crescent arc tore through the air and slammed on the demon's hand, severing it cleanly from its body.

He had many questions, but those could wait. He stood up, shooting toward the last demon next.

The demon also reacted. It turned toward Yami and roared. "How dare you, human? Die for me." Saying that it slashed its remaining arm, its claws cutting through the air.

Yami caught the strike effortlessly, stopping the demon's attack mid-motion and then driving the hilt of his katana into the demon's stomach with brutal force.

"Blarrghhh!" The demon coughed a mouthful of blood.

Not giving it any chance to recover, Yami yanked its arm, pulling the demon off the ground, and then threw it toward a wall.

Bam! Another crater appeared just beside where Leo was buried in the wall. Spiderweb-like cracks spread across where it had hit.

"That creature over there… that's Leo?" Yami asked without turning to look at Emma. "Are you certain?"

"Yes, sir. After we were brought here…" Emma began, her voice trembling as she explained everything — how Leo had been forced to swallow that eerie-looking crimson core and transformed into a beast, while Derek was made to consume the same thing but died instead of changing like Leo.

Though her voice quivered, she told Yami everything in full detail — every horrible moment of what had happened. Now that Yami was here, her fear began to fade, replaced by a fragile but growing sense of courage.

Hearing everything, Yami's eyes narrowed. He started toward the demon and Leo — but before he could take another step, a rift suddenly materialized in front of them, its dark opening facing their direction.

From within, a blackish-blue sphere shot out, striking the demon square in the chest. In an instant, black flames erupted, consuming the creature entirely and erasing it from existence.

Yami reacted immediately, swinging his katana in a swift motion. A crescent arc of energy tore through the air toward the rift — but before it could make contact, the rift dissolved into nothingness.

But right before it vanished totally, another eerie orb of energy burst forth from the fading rift, slamming into Leo's beast form. His entire body was engulfed in the same black fire, and within moments, it disintegrated completely, leaving nothing behind but silence and smoke.

"Fuck!" Yami cursed. "What the hell was that?" He stood there unmoving for a while. Then turned toward where Peter's body lay. He then slowly walked toward Peter, his boot clicking against the floor.

With each step, Peter felt his life fading away.

He saw Yami closing the distance with an unreadable expression on his face. And once Yami reached him, his body was suddenly lifted off the ground.

Yami's hand clamped tightly around his neck. "You're going to tell me everything," Yami said coldly. "And don't you dare lie. Because if you do, even death will feel like mercy."

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