Published at 20th of April 2026 6:42 am

Chapter 1684 Consequences

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Adam's ears rang, and he felt a wave of disorientation assault his mind.

He couldn't even see the monster's previous attack. The moment he had covered his body in mana, he was struck down by the abomination.

It felt as if an entire mountain had been brought down on him.

Blood spilled from the corner of his lips as his vision slowly focused. He found himself at the bottom of a giant crater. Pain shot through his ribs, causing him to grimace.

Thankfully, they weren't fractured. Adam's recent transformation had made his body extremely sturdy for someone of his rank. Yet the fact that the monster could injure him so deeply spoke volumes about its strength.

But it wasn't the pain or the monster's power that concerned Adam. No, it was the dozens of souls that were being absorbed into the Lotus' mysterious space. "Fuck!" he cursed through gritted teeth, his heart churning with dark emotions.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and he quickly pushed his hands to the ground and somersaulted back.

With another thunderous explosion that destroyed the ground and expanded the crater several -fold, the monster finally made itself visible.

Adam got to his feet, a furious look on his face. He wiped the blood from his lips and finally cast his cold gaze toward the enemy. A moment later, his eyes slightly widened.

The abomination's coppery skin had turned a dark shade of crimson. Its nails had turned long, sharp, and black. A mane of white hair had suddenly sprouted from its four heads. Its height had increased by another meter, and its muscles had grown considerably.

Its eyes were bloodshot, almost black, and filled with madness as they locked onto the tiny figure of the Dark King. Then, its stomach slit open, and a giant gaping maw filled with razor-sharp black teeth grinned at him.

Roar!!

The sheer shockwaves from the monster's screams caused Adam to be stunned and take half a step back.

"What the-"

That was all the time he had before the monster suddenly appeared before him. It leaned forward, coiled its four arms, and struck with all its might. Adam's eyes narrowed, his senses working on overdrive as the world around him slowed down.

He saw the crimson fists enlarge in his vision. Just when they were about to strike him, he jumped. He twisted his body at an unnatural angle in midair, all the while weaving hand seals at a rapid pace. Finally, he twisted his body just enough to face the monster.

And then, he swiped his hand.

Rank 4 Spell: Blades of Emanation!

But his expectations were brutally shattered. Forget cleaving the creature's body, the invisible wind blade barely left a thin, bloody line on its flesh.

It just keeps getting worse, Adam thought to himself as the monster rushed toward him and viciously struck before he could properly defend.

The Dark King was hurled into the distance, breaking through who knows how many buildings and carving a large, gaping fissure on the ground.

"Ugh..." He groaned as he quickly tried to get to his feet. He knew the undead bastard was coming for him.

But suddenly, he froze.

He turned his head to the side, and what he saw caused his eyes to tremble. In the corner of the room of the broken house, he saw a little girl clutching at her soft toy and wailing.

Adam felt as if his heart was tightly gripped by a terrifying claw.

"NO-"

He screamed in shock, but the words got caught in his throat. The monster was already upon him... upon them.

In that split moment, his instincts took over, and instead of choosing self-preservation, he dove toward the little girl and covered her tiny figure with his own body.

The monster's fists came hammering down, filled with rage, madness, and indescribable strength.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Adam violently coughed mouthfuls of blood as the monster kept pummeling him. However, he gritted his teeth and ensured the child below him didn't get affected. He even protected her with his mana, shielding her from the shockwaves of the attacks.

The little girl stopped crying, confused as to what was happening. She looked around and saw dust, debris, and a dimly lit space. Then she raised her head and yelped in panic when she saw a young man with a pale and bloody face, forcing a smile at her.

And beyond that... she could barely glimpse something big and terrifying. However, the unknown man covered most of her vision. Her lips quivered, and panic took hold. She began to cry louder, tightly holding on to her soft toy. "...It's okay," Adam whispered in a gentle voice. The fists kept coming down at him, bruising his spine and back. But he held on.

"It's okay," he repeated. "I-It's all right."

The girl stopped crying for a moment. But when she saw Adam's expression, hideous and dripping with blood, she began wailing again, oblivious to what he was going through to keep her unharmed.

The monster kept on striking him, and he continued to shield the tiny life

before her.

He felt his internal organs in turmoil. The breath was constantly being knocked out of him. Blood spilled from his facial orifices, dropping to the cracked floor and frightening the little girl even more.

It would have been easy to ignore the life of this girl and continue to fight the monster without regard for the innocent people around him.

It would have been so easy for him if he had gone all-out without bothering about collateral damage.

But would he be able to live with those consequences?

He would become no different from the very people he was fighting.

Adam's vision turned blurry. He had taken several blows to the back of his head, and it took all of his strength to cling to that single thread of

consciousness that kept him awake.

The girl's wails echoed in his ears, preventing him from passing out. He couldn't

give up. Not now.

He shifted his weight to his knees, finding a better position to weave hand seals. And he managed to do that, albeit at a great personal cost.

Under the frightened gaze of the little girl, the ground around her rose and

slowly started to form a solid sphere around her. She tried to get out, but Adam

pushed her back in.

He simply shook his head, unable to mutter any words. The girl froze, a semblance of understanding flickering in her tear-filled eyes. And so, she crouched inside the sphere, hugging her soft toy as she gazed at Adam's blood-soaked face.

As the sphere finally closed around her, Adam offered her a faint, reassuring smile. He silently mouthed the words: "It's okay."

The following moment, the earthen sphere was hurled away into the distance.

Adam's knees finally buckled, and he was slammed into the ground.

And the monster's fists kept raining down...

Share