Life Hunter

"I choose to accept it" He declared as he felt a pair of omniscient eyes over him. The world around him looked like a mixture of the ocean and the s.p.a.ce. Countless stars were shining behind the walls of water.

"So, you want to do it for that man, after all" A strong and grave voice responded to him. Jorga frowned at his words. The other party seemed to have noticed his reaction and spoke again "Jorga, let me ask you something; I am not the first "World Serpent". Do you know how the first Jormungand was born?"

Jorga was speechless. He was far from expecting that kind of question "…No, I don"t know"

Jormungand laughed at his answer. His voice was clear and calm and it really felt like he was laughing full-heartedly "No wonder. I never expected you to know when I asked" As he was talking, a shadow appeared in the water and gradually covered the stars around.

"Let me tell you a story" Jormungand raised his voice "You will receive my name so you have to know it beforehand"

"First of all, the World Serpent was indeed born in this plane. And there was a reason for that" Jorga silently listened "Jormungand was not birthed by someone but created by someone"

Jorga"s eyes widened "That "someone" was called Ryugen; the first Life Hunter" When he said that, Jormungand emerged from the darkness. The head of the serpent was so large that the only thing Jorga could see clearly was the azure and green eye.

"Ryugen was one of the strongest living beings who ever existed. One day, he just picked up an innocent dying snake in his travel. From what I heard from my predecessor, Ryugen kept him at his side as his most valuable friend" Jormungand told.

"The day he died, he actually gave all of his power to him. In the end, the "World Serpent" was born there. He did not seek for power so all of what he received was converted into the ability to observe and protect. He became "Jormungand" that day and created the legend" Jormungand finished and his eyes squinted before backing away from Jorga.

He disappeared once more in the darkness and you could see his endless body moving in the water. Jorga looked around with a complex expression and waited "When the Life Hunters died against the a.s.sault of Heaven, it was during my time as the World Serpent but there are times where nothing goes your way. Even though I could see it, I was not able to intervene"

He said as he swam just above Jorga "When I saw that Life Hunter coming to you, I was shocked and ecstatic at the same time. I thought that maybe it was a sign. When I gave you my inheritance, you refused, so I was already considering leaving to find someone else. But I thought it was a shame to leave such a good inheritor so I stayed a little more" Jormungand"s voice started to fade.

"And now, you"re about to receive the t.i.tle of "World Serpent" for a Life Hunter. It brings me back to my origins" The giant G.o.d laughed "That"s indeed fulfilling" He uttered.

"It"s time for you to go. I"m sure your era will be incredible. Keep the Life Hunter as your friend and oversee the world. That"s your role. When you open your eyes again, you have to move quickly, what is situated at the bottom of Fafnir"s "Vault" is too much for Arimane"

"We can"t hurt or kill but there"s something else we can do" The serpent"s voice sounded far and his shadow was already gone "Good luck, Jormungand"

That was the last thing Jorga heard and his mind blackened.

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"[Third Destruction Art, Pars Impios]" Malum urgently chanted and the familiar white and black book opened in his hands and flipped the pages "Quick!" He shouted and the urgency could be heard in his voice. The "Lawless Tome" seemed to take more time than usual too.

The black dragon was full of blood, standing in the middle of a giant crater formed on a certain planet. The entire crater made up for at least a fourth of the surface.

Malum"s head was aching as he looked up. Earlier, when he saw a huge golden light above Fafnir, he didn"t really react strongly and just thought it was another weapon. But when the small gold portal continued to enlarge and reached an unbelievable size, he couldn"t evade as something came out of it and struck him.

Most of his bones broke in an instant and his scales cracked and allowed the blood to flow freely. He tried to use Karma to protect himself but the scythe bent and cracked and only weakened the attack by a little bit.

"What the h.e.l.l is that? It"s not even funny anymore" Malum exclaimed as he watched the gold statue in s.p.a.ce. It was another dragon.

But this one was not only golden, but it was also literally gold. It was a moving sculpture. the size was completely crazy too. Counting the wings, he was more than five thousand miles large. It was coming down on Malum while Fafnir was on his back "That thing could bite an entire planet or maybe swallow it whole…" The injured dragon muttered.

Malum glanced at his shoulder "Do you think you can make it?" He asked to Karma who was kneeling there. Her fiery hair and robe were fluttering in the wind. Her face was extremely pale as she was holding her chest with one hand. She also had a trace of blood down her lips.

She shook her head weakly "I can"t. Arima set my original form to be human when he was giving me sentience. This way, I could survive even if my weapon form was destroyed. If I try to turn back now, my resistance will be very weak" She explained and Malum nodded.

"{Come back then. Don"t take risks}" Night called her and she complied grimly. She immediately went back inside Arima"s sleeping soul.

"Don"t mind. You already saved me. If it wasn"t for your defense, I would"ve been knocked out or killed on the spot" Malum rea.s.sured Karma and Layla teleported next to Malum just after.

"I"m here to help" She declared and went toward the huge white and black book. She extended her hand toward it and added her own mana and theory.

"You should rest" Malum said and Layla glared at him.

"I"ve recovered enough" She retorted.

Malum snickered and at the same time, the Lawless Tome stopped flipping and words started to appear on the pages that he chose. Usually, the words would only fill one of the two pages but this time, the two pages were covered with characters and runes and the book even flipped to another page to finish.

When he finished, the Lawless Tome himself wrote a warning for the caster Warning: Mana requirements; Very High//

Malum furrowed when he saw that and glanced at Layla for a second. He looked back at the book and his eyes glowed. New words, in red color, appeared on the page: I will be the only one giving mana//

Those were Malum"s words. Layla"s eyes widened "You didn"t need to do that" She said.

"Yeah but I still did it. Arima will be even angrier if he comes to know I put you in danger again" Malum answered without leaving his eyes from the book.

The Lawless tome wrote something else just a few seconds after; Accepted; Malum –Reigen- will be set as the sole giver//

The Tome had gained even more intelligence since he was created. In fact, each time someone uses the Third Art, the Tome will get smarter. Maybe one day he"ll reach the level where he can even talk with the caster. For now, he could only receive simple instructions like that.

The magic will be activated. Considering the threat of the target; the incantation will be read by the caster//

Another message was written and the pages flipped again and wrote the incantation, the first line which appeared was this: Babel Gate//

Malum laughed and started to chant what was written in the book. For once, it wasn"t in Latin like all of Arima"s magic "[Ancient and Domineering City]"

"[Governed by luck and fate]"

"[Your peerless wealth made Heaven tremble]"

"[Your ambition made you fall]"

"[But your name resounds loud for everyone]"

"[Babylon never falls]"

Malum smirked as he stared at the gold dragon"s mouth which was about to bite the entire planet. His mana was leaving his body very quickly as a gate made of crystal appeared behind him. The gate was extremely beautiful and decorated orderly with precious stones like diamonds and rubies.

The doors opened and revealed a silver vortex of light. Golden chains emerged from the vortex and flew at light speed toward the sky. There were at least a hundred of them and they all reached the gold dragon and coiled around it.

The dragon immediately stopped moving as if it was stopped in time. The chains coming from the gate tightened and fissured the gold. Fafnir"s eyes narrowed and he roared in anger before jumping from the dragon"s back.

The crystal gate made a strange sound and the chains immediately began to return. They pulled the gold dragon with them and the latter couldn"t resist as it shrank and was sucked inside the gate"s vortex before anyone could say anything.

After that, the doors closed and both the gate and the Lawless Tome were dispelled. Everything regained its calm suddenly and Malum abruptly collapsed on his knee and panted "…The Berserker"s Path is over" He muttered "I"ll leave the place for Arima" He said and raised his head "This is not the end apparently" He added weakly and closed his eyes.

When the dragon opened his eyes again, his expression changed instantly. He grunted and fell on both of his knees "…What the f.u.c.k did you do, Malum?" Arima"s eyes twitched.