Death... and me

'Yo-you can't! If you really follow the demon beasts, what will happen to our Soul Rulers organization?! Are you dooming our Zasfins forever just for this?' Fikin thought that what could happen to his organization was a worse fate than what could happen to him.

Duran shook his head as he replied, "Don't worry. From the very start, the demon beasts didn't have the intention of controlling the entire planet. Didn't you see how much behind we were in terms of combat ability compared to them? The only reason those below the Elemental Transformation Realm could put up a fight was because of their Soul Marks."

Duran then snorted as he continued, "Can you imagine what would happen if we didn't have those Soul Marks? It's really a pity. In the past, our Zasfin Race didn't need Soul Marks to fight against the Demon Beasts. Just our natural Soul Power was more than enough. We have grown weak after the planet was reigned over by us. The lack of enemies contributed to that."

"The demon beasts, on the other hand, could see this fact clearly. They know very well that they are stronger and aren't idiotic enough to get rid of our Zasfin Race. If they do, they will be the ones dooming themselves." Duran then smiled once again after that. "That being said, the plan was very simple. Help our Hafel Clan become the organization's next leader through war merits, and so they did."

Suddenly, Duran increased the strength he was using in his hand, choking Fikin. "However, for that to happen, there was one last obstacle, you! To be honest, I wasn't sure if the demon beasts would succeed. However, I was the only one who knew about the Teleportation Bead other than you. That being said, I just had to wait. I knew it was impossible for you to die as long as you had the Teleportation Bead. But then again, I was sure you wouldn't use it unless you reached an extremely unfavorable situation. I was just afraid that the demon beasts wouldn't be able to force you to use it, which obviously didn't happen. Hahaha!"

Fikin couldn't help but say in a panic, 'You're committing a grave mistake! I'm the head of the Soul Rulers organization! If I die, the organization will definitely crumble! Your clan will crumble with it as well!'

Duran shrugged his shoulders as he replied, "Well, if that happens, that just means our Hafel Clan wasn't destined to become its leader." Duran's eyes then turned ice cold after that. "Well then. We've talked a lot, but I know you're using every second to try and recover your energy, even if just a bit. I'm not in the mood to risk letting you escape, so I'll see you in the next life."

'Wait!'

Unfortunately, Duran didn't hear it as his Spiritual Energy enveloped Fikin. Soon after, Fire Element gathered and started to burn the man alive. Duran didn't have Fire Affinity, but it wasn't anything hard to control at his level. Fikin tried to scream in pain, but Duran's hands on his neck didn't allow even that. Eventually, the screams stopped as the charred body became motionless, leaving only spatial equipment behind that Duran caught with his hand. Everything that Fikin considered important was inside that thing.

Duran then looked at the charred body and snorted as he coldly said, "Where do you think you're going?"

Suddenly, Duran made a grabbing motion in a certain direction of the room. As if a formless force was applied, something was dragged into his head. It looked like a small blue fire, quite hard to see. However, if one looked closely, one would see the resemblance of Fikin's face inside it. That...was Fikin's soul. "Truly impressive. The senior from the Realm of Gods really had amazing techniques. You are even able to separate your soul from your body. Oh well. I'll take my sweet time looking into your secrets in the Spatial Ring."

One must remember that Xiria was able to acquire a Spatial Bracelet in the past, so there was nothing weird with an Ancestor of the Zasfin Race to have one Spatial Ring, which was obviously much better than Xiria's bracelet.

Fire once again enveloped Fikin's soul as his expression contorted once more. The pain inflicted on his soul was even worse than the one in his body. Eventually, the soul disappeared as well. This time, Fikin was dead for sure.

Duran then looked up as he let out a long sigh. He had finally achieved his objective, so now, he felt somewhat empty. 'It's finally over. I wonder what I'll do from now on.' It was then that he remembered one of the terms when he negotiated with Rean. 'Hmm...that boy said that they could also allow me to use the path to the Realm of Gods. It's just that they weren't sure if they could open it or not. But then again, that was a path used by the demon beasts, so I might fall into severe danger if I pass through it...'

Suddenly, Duran began to laugh out loud as he thought out loud, "Hahaha! Why should I care? Just the fact that I'll be joining those Stage Nine Demon Beasts in this endeavor is already a near-death sentence. If they turn at me together, I'm probably done for. Well, I have nothing else to lose anymore, so I guess I'll give it a shot. Besides...demon beasts are a lot better at keeping their words than our Zasfin Race."

Duran then looked at the ruins where everything had happened one last time. He already returned there to check in the past, but Fikin had cleaned it completely, so there wasn't even a single Spirit Stone left. "Then again, I wonder just who that senior was?" Duran murmured as he took a badge from his own Spatial Ring. This was the only clue he had about the deceased guy.

Duran then shook his head before putting those thoughts behind. Perhaps, he would be able to find the guy in the Realm of Gods. After that, he took flight and disappeared into the distance. As for the ruins, no one knew when someone would come to check them again. Even if someone did, there wouldn't be anything left anyway.