The Strongest With Nothing Left

As the nobles silently shuffled out of the throne room, their faces still pale from the king's harsh scolding, one figure remained behind. A tall, battle-worn man clad in royal military armor, his broad shoulders and scarred face a testament to his years of service.

General Venkur one of the kingdom's highest-ranking officers, and a man who once fought side by side with Li Vrak years ago. His piercing gaze watched the heavy doors close behind the nobles, and once the room was silent, he let out a low, bitter chuckle.

"Lifeless as usual…" Aldric muttered under his breath, his voice carrying a tinge of somberness. "That man hasn't changed one bit, huh?" 

The king, still seated on his throne, glanced toward Aldric. "You say that as if it surprises you."

"It doesn't," Venkur admitted, his arms crossed. "But it still stings to see him like that. Back then, he was always the first to laugh, to encourage his comrades… now he's nothing more than a shell of what he once was."

"You know why that is," the king said firmly. "You were there."

Venkur's jaw clenched. "I know. I was there when his party was massacred… I was there when he held his childhood friend in his arms as she bled out…" his voice lowered, laced with bitter regret. "And I was also there when he walked out of that dungeon alone covered in the blood of both his comrades and the monster that killed them." 

The memory burned in Venkur's mind. The once lively and fearless Li, reduced to a man whose gaze held nothing but emptiness. The very moment he lost everything, including his will to live.

"I tried to talk to him after that," Venkur admitted, his voice heavy. "But it was like speaking to a ghost. No emotions. No desire to connect. Just… hollow."

The king let out a slow, weary sigh. "And yet, despite it all… he still fights."

"Because he doesn't care if he dies," Venkur said coldly, his fists clenched. "You and I both know it, Your Majesty. He takes on the most dangerous quests, faces death without flinching because deep down, I think he hopes one day something strong enough will finally kill him."

Silence hung in the air.

"Then why does he keep surviving?" the king finally asked.

Venkur stayed silent for a moment before exhaling shakily. "…I don't know."

But deep down… he suspected there was still something or someone unknowingly tethering Li to life.

And if there wasn't… then Li Vrak would have died long ago.

As Li Vrak stepped into the eerie silence of the Black Abyss Forest, the air around him immediately grew heavy thick with malice and bloodlust. The sky was unnaturally dark, as if the very forest itself rejected the light. The stench of rotting flesh and death clung to the air like a suffocating fog.

Li's cold, lifeless gaze surveyed the surroundings. He didn't need to waste time searching he could feel it. That suffocating, overpowering bloodlust coming from deep within the forest. A presence so sinister that it could only belong to one creature.

The Archdemon.

"…Tch. How convenient," Li muttered to himself, stepping forward. His steps were silent, calculated — like a predator closing in on its prey. "I won't need to waste my time searching."

As he advanced deeper into the forest, the ominous aura only grew stronger. Birds refused to sing, animals had long since fled, and the trees themselves seemed to wither from the malice that seeped from the Archdemon's very being.

A sudden movement.

Li's sharp eyes darted to the left a lesser demon, hunched over, drooling with predatory hunger. It lunged toward Li with a guttural screech.

THUD

Before the creature could even comprehend what happened, Li's hand already gripped its throat. His expression remained indifferent as he tightened his grip bones cracking under his fingers.

"Out of my way," Li said coldly. With a casual motion, he ripped the demon's throat out, its lifeless body slumping to the ground.

No hesitation. No mercy. No reaction.

He kept walking.

More lesser demons emerged from the shadows, their glowing crimson eyes locked on Li drawn by his human presence.

"Tch…" Li didn't stop walking. "Annoying pests."

The first demon lunged from the side Li didn't even glance at it. His fist shot out, crushing its skull like brittle glass. Another came from behind Li grabbed its arm mid-swing and ripped it off before driving his knee into its jaw, shattering it instantly.

A third attempted to pounce only for Li to sidestep and slice its head off with his bare hand, sharp as a blade.

The forest ground was now littered with mutilated demon corpses. Blood soaked the earth beneath his feet.

Yet Li didn't even pause.

As Li took a deep breath, his sharp eyes locked onto the Archdemon. "Might as well end this quickly," he muttered.

And then —

FWOOOSH

In an instant, Li vanished. His body blurred from existence, and in the blink of an eye he reappeared right in front of the Archdemon, his fist already swinging toward its skull.

"Hmm?"

CLANG!

A shockwave erupted as the Archdemon casually raised its massive claw, blocking Li's strike. "…Impressive speed," the creature said, its voice oddly calm. "I was wondering when someone would show up."*

Li's brow twitched. "You're… oddly composed for an Archdemon."*

The creature chuckled. "And you're oddly aggressive for a human."* Without warning, the Archdemon swiped its other claw at Li's torso.

Li swiftly ducked, countering with a swift uppercut that slammed into the Archdemon's gut but to his surprise, the creature barely flinched. "Strong," the Archdemon hummed, taking a step back. "But reckless."*

"Tch…" Li's eyes narrowed. "Are you mocking me?"

"Not at all."* The Archdemon dusted itself off, unfazed. "I simply don't see the point in fighting you like some mindless beast. After all… you're not like the others who come here, are you?"

Li just went silent.

No words, no expression just pure intent to kill radiating from his entire being.

Without hesitation, he lunged forward again his fist aiming for the Archdemon's throat.

As Li attacked the Archdemon, his strikes were sharp, deadly, and relentless but the Archdemon simply kept dodging, a faint smirk playing on his face.

"What a rude human you are," the Archdemon remarked, his tone disturbingly casual. With a swift leap, he created distance between them, resting his hand on his hip. "Not even a word of greeting?" 

The Archdemon's crimson eyes gleamed with amusement as he gave a courteous bow. "Very well then, allow me to introduce myself I am Malakar, the Archdemon of Desolation."

Li didn't respond. No words, no reaction just pure, unrelenting aggression.

The moment Malakar finished his introduction, Li was already on him again, his blade swinging with lethal precision. Malakar barely managed to dodge, the wind pressure of the strike slicing through the ground behind him.

"Ah… still not one for conversation, I see," Malakar mused, sidestepping another strike. "Typical."

Li didn't care. He just kept attacking, his expression blank, but his strikes filled with intent to kill. Each attack was more ferocious than the last, causing Malakar to constantly stay on the defensive.

Malakar chuckled under his breath. "Heh… you're persistent. I'll give you that."

But Li didn't even acknowledge his words. All that mattered was killing the Archdemon. Nothing else.

As the fight raged on, Malakar, growing slightly annoyed, extended his hand. 

"Crackle… Crackle…"

A violent surge of dark lightning burst from his palm, aiming straight for Li. "Die already, human."

But then 

BZZZZZT—

Li didn't dodge. Instead, his hand shot forward, grabbing the lightning mid-air. Malakar's eyes widened in disbelief. "W-What?!"

Without hesitation, Li's hand tightened around the surging lightning, and like molding clay, he forced the chaotic energy to bend to his will. Within moments, the lightning reshaped itself into a long, crackling spear. The air around it hummed with deadly voltage.

Li didn't waste a second. With a powerful swing, he hurled the lightning spear back toward Malakar. The Archdemon barely managed to conjure a barrier in time, but the sheer force of the impact sent him skidding backward, his feet dragging deep trenches into the ground.

Smoke rose from his charred arm. "...Impossible..." Malakar muttered, glaring at Li. "You can manipulate mana… with your bare hands?"

Li remained silent, his expression cold and emotionless. He took a step forward, and the killing intent in his eyes only grew stronger.

"Heh..." Malakar chuckled, shaking off the pain. "You're starting to get interesting, human."

Malakar's smirk twisted into something darker. "Hmph… Fine then. No more games."

A sudden surge of malevolent mana erupted from his body, causing the ground beneath him to crack and tremble. His once relaxed demeanor shifted into something far more sinister his bloodlust now on full display. "I'll show you what it means to face an Archdemon, human."

Without warning, Malakar lunged forward, his speed now twice as fast as before. His clawed hand, wreathed in black flames, shot toward Li's head.

CLANG!

Li barely managed to block the blow, but the force behind it sent shockwaves through the ground, toppling nearby trees. Malakar didn't let up — his other hand immediately followed with a flaming uppercut aimed at Li's gut.

BAM!

Li blocked again, his feet dragging against the dirt from the sheer force. But Malakar was relentless. "What's wrong? I thought you wanted to kill me?!" the Archdemon roared, sending a barrage of claw strikes toward Li.

SLASH! SLASH! CLANG!

Each strike was heavy, sharp, and filled with bloodlust and Li was only barely able to match the Archdemon's increased ferocity. With one powerful sweep of his arm, Malakar conjured a massive wave of black flames, engulfing Li entirely. "Burn to ash!!"

FWOOOOSH!!

The fire roared, consuming everything in its path. The ground melted into lava, and the air itself turned blisteringly hot.

"Tch…" Malakar scoffed, brushing off his charred arm. "Pitiful. I expected more from—"

Suddenly —

A crackling spear of lightning tore through the flames, aiming directly for Malakar's head. "Wha—?!"

The spear detonated on impact, sending Malakar flying back several meters. Smoke and flames clouded the air, but the moment it cleared —

Li emerged, his clothes slightly burned, his eyes colder than ever. His hand was still crackling with raw mana. "…Shut up and fight."

"Kuhahahaha!!" Malakar laughed like a maniac, his wounds already regenerating. "Good… GOOD! You're just the type of human I love crushing!!"

The Archdemon vanished — then reappeared behind Li, claws raised. "DIE!!"

Li spun just in time, intercepting the strike. Sparks flew from the clash, and Malakar leaned in with a wicked grin. "You won't last long at this rate, human. You'll die."

Li's voice, cold and devoid of fear, answered. "Then keep trying."

And so — the real battle began.

Li's patience finally snapped. "Tch… enough of this."

In one swift motion, he reached behind his back grasping the hilt of his katana. The air around him shifted, colder, deadlier. With a sharp shiiing the katana slid out of its scabbard, its blade gleaming ominously in the dim forest light.

Malakar's grin faltered for a split second. "Oh? You were holding back all this time?"

"Shut up." Li's voice was colder than ice. His eyes now gleamed with unrestrained killing intent.

The moment his grip tightened Li vanished from sight.

"What the—?" Malakar barely had time to react as a sudden slash came from his right side. He jerked his body back, narrowly avoiding the blade that came inches from severing his head. But before he could retaliate 

A deep cut appeared on Malakar's side, dark crimson blood splattering the ground. "GAAAHH!!" The Archdemon roared in pain. "You little—!!"

Another slash. This time from above. Malakar threw his arm up to block — but too late. Li's blade bit deep into his shoulder, nearly severing his arm entirely.

Li's speed was inhuman. Every movement was sharp, precise, and merciless. His body became a blur as he relentlessly assaulted Malakar, his katana dancing like a death god's scythe.

"W-Wait—!" Malakar growled, panic beginning to set in. "You—!! H-Human—!!"

Li didn't stop. He refused to stop. His blade carved into Malakar's flesh again and again — each cut deeper than the last. Blood painted the ground in rivers as the Archdemon's once-arrogant composure shattered into pure desperation.

"S-STOP!!"

"Why?" Li's cold voice rang out a voice devoid of sympathy. "You're the one who told me to fight, weren't you?"

Malakar's eyes widened. "Y-You… monster…"

"Monster?" Li's expression didn't change. "Funny… I was thinking the same thing about you."

Li's katana finally cleaved through one of Malakar's horns, causing the Archdemon to let out an ear-splitting, agonized scream. "GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

"ENOUGH!!" Malakar finally roared, his body exploding with a burst of chaotic mana — forcefully pushing Li back. Blood oozed from his numerous wounds, his breath ragged. "I-If you keep this up… you'll kill me!!"

"That was the plan." Li's voice was as cold as death. Without hesitation, he dashed toward Malakar once more, blade ready to claim the Archdemon's head.

"DAMN YOU, HUMAN!!" Malakar's panic turned into raw desperation as he threw a massive wave of dark energy toward Li. "DIEEEE!!"

But the moment the energy approached —

Li sliced clean through it — like cutting air itself. "Pathetic."

"Y-YOU—!!"

Another deep gash across Malakar's chest. Blood splattered in all directions as the Archdemon stumbled, barely able to keep his footing. "S-STOP!! PLEASE!!" But Li's dead eyes showed no mercy. "Begging now?"

"I-I CAN HELP YOU!!" Malakar suddenly screamed in pure desperation. "I-I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE!! I KNOW THE HOLE IN YOUR HEART—!!"

Li's katana pierced clean through Malakar's chest — silencing him instantly. The Archdemon's eyes widened in disbelief, blood pouring from his mouth. "W…Wha…"

"Talk too much." Li twisted the blade. "Die quietly."

Malakar's body went limp — his final scream caught in his throat. And in the next moment, his body disintegrated into black ash, leaving nothing behind but silence.

Li stood there, blood dripping from his blade. His heart, once pounding, now felt as cold as ever. "…Another one."

But as he turned to leave —

"Heh… hehehe…" Li's eyes snapped wide.

The ashes where Malakar once stood began to move. "D-Did you really… think it would be that easy…?" Li quickly raised his katana, preparing for another attack —

But before he could react —

A massive surge of pure demonic energy exploded, engulfing the entire forest in pure darkness. And within that darkness a voice, now far more monstrous and malicious, echoed:

"You… should've finished me… faster…"