Devouring Dragon Heir-Chapter 84: Ch Damian

Veridian walked through the dense tropical forest.

He was systematically trapping his prey, one by one, into the intricate illusions he wove.

His points on the leaderboard soared with each successful elimination.

Veridian walked in short, confident strides, his gaze constantly sweeping the environment, looking for new targets.

His grandfather, Neil Ashford, had given him only one mission for this event and that was to secure the first rank in the ranking battles, no matter the what.

Veridian was a direct grandson of Neil Ashford.

His parents had passed away early in his life because of reasons unknown to him.

This early loss had, in a twisted way, contributed to the shaping of his unique and unsettling personality.

Veridian had a unique appearance. His hair was a striking shade of purple, contrasting with his pale skin.

His face though being handsome, was often adorned with a creepy, unsettling smile.

He also bore various intricate tattoos and piercings that set him apart, giving him an eerie look.

This unusual appearance had made his childhood tough, forcing him to navigate social situations where he was frequently stared at, feared, or mocked.

He had learned early that people reacted strongly to what they did not understand.

From these experiences, Veridian had come to a grim conclusion, if the world made fun of him, if it treated him as an outcast simply for his appearance, he would also make fun of the world. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

He would use his unique nature to terrify and manipulate. Over the years, his personality had solidified around this philosophy.

The constant looks of fear and unease he saw among his peers, the way others instinctively recoiled from him, had only reinforced his belief in this path.

He found a dark satisfaction in their discomfort.

Strangely, on his sixteenth birthday, an age where most of the individuals had their awakening in this world, he had been awarded a skill Nightmare’s Eye (SS).

This skill perfectly aligned with his evolving personality.

With it, he could trap people into their worst fears, creating vivid, inescapable illusions that preyed on their deepest anxieties, rendering them completely incapable of defense.

In these illusions, people would experience what they feared the most in an endless, horrifying loop.

The only significant limitation of the skill was that it could not be used on individuals with higher mental fortitude or individuals who possessed mental skills ranked higher than SS-rank.

These individuals would, theoretically, be able to break away from the illusion.

But Veridian knew the possibility of that happening was infinitesimally small in this competition. The strongest among the students he knew about was Klaus Bennet.

He had seen Klaus’s power, his raw strength, but Veridian was quite sure that even Klaus would not have such a specialized mental skill that could protect his mind from an SS-rank illusion.

Mind skills were as rare as a drop of water in the desert, almost mythical in their scarcity among general hunters.

another name appeared on his mind. it was Arthur the new commoner affiliated to the crimson house and the new fiancé of Ellara Crimson.

Arthur had also participated in the competition, however, Veridian was equally certain that a peasant like Arthur would not possess a skill to resist his illusions.

So, he didn’t need to worry about anyone else. The path to first rank seemed wide open.

With that confident thought, he gave an eerie, unsettling smile. He walked towards his next target, a student named Damian, his movements precise and purposeful.

The first rank seemed almost in his grasp.

Damian, a clean-cut young man, was currently standing on a tree branch, looking out for directions.

His brow was furrowed in concentration as he tried to figure out where he should go next on the sprawling map.

Suddenly, the bushes below Damian’s position moved sharply, and a crisp, dry sound, like leaves rustling aggressively, occurred before Veridian appeared in front of him.

Damian immediately jumped from the tree and appeared in front of the person who had appeared.

Veridian’s purple hair and unsettling smile were the first things Damian saw.

Damian, ever polite and trying to be friendly, looked at Veridian with a wide smile. "Nice to meet you, mister"

trying to initiate a conversation. "Do you know where I can find a water source? I’ve been walking for a while?"

he asked confusing the audience and Veridian, when were they supposed to talk like friends in the middle of a fcking battle? was the thought everyone had.

"so..foolish" Veridian muttered with a sneer. He immediately opened his eye patch, which had been covering his left eye and looked directly at Damian with his Nightmare’s Eye.

The eye began to glow with purple hue making it look quite beautiful if u looked at it.

And almost immediately, Damian’s friendly smile dissolved. His expression twisted into one of sudden, anger.

"Seems like my friend here is in the mood to play..." Damian muttered, his voice trailing off, his eyes showing a glint.

Veridian watched Damian’s sad expression, his unsettling smile widened.

He expected to see Damian cower, to scream and to fall into a panicked state, just like all his previous victims.

He was ready for the cries of terror on which he wanted to relish upon.

Veridian saw Damian sighing in a disappointed manner and then..

*Silence*

"Huh??" Veridian looked on, utterly astonished. The landscape around him, the virtual forest, suddenly shifted. The trees warped, the ground rippled.

Damian, his supposed victim simply disappeared from his sight as if he had vanished out of thin air.

Veridian noticed that this strange clearing of the forest he was now standing in was the exact spot where he had landed earlier at the start of the battle royale. It was his own spawn point.

A bad premonition occurred in his mind.

This ominous feeling was confirmed just moments later by the sudden appearance of a VR broadcast screen, shimmering directly in front of his vision.

The screen displayed his current score balance zero points. Below that, it listed the participant he had lost to, under which the name "Damian" appeared.

"Monster" a voice escaped Veridian’s mouth in a tone of disbelief.

He digested the horrifying fact that he had been killed without even realizing it, without even feeling an attack, without the slightest warning.

His own skill, designed to trap others in illusions, had somehow been turned useless.

his face right now burned with humiliation as he remembered that the whole world watched the broadcast and suddenly going from top of the list to the bottom was a shame.

--------------------

In another corner of the vast map, Arthur moved through the dense tropical forest.

He was searching for Ellara. He planned to regroup with her and proceed with the competition.

His gaurd was up while moving through the forest.

Suddenly, he felt a strong presence that was too close.

Without hesitation, he immediately leaped from his current position, launching himself forward in a burst of speed.

suddenly the place where he stood moments before was absolutely destroyed.

The ground ruptured, trees splintered, and a deep crater formed. A colossal, ape-like monster appeared thumping its chest.

Just from its sheer size and aura one could clearly see that it was a monster above A-rank.

Its fur was a mix of orange and dark.

Arthur immediately clutched his silver sword, its blade shone faintly.

Thunder crackled around his legs, small sparks of blue electricity dancing around his feet. He lunged at the ape without a moment’s delay, not giving it a chance to fix its footing or prepare a full defense. His attack was swift and direct.

The ape monster retaliated. It swung a massive fist, an attack so strong that it moved through the air with a force like a sonic boom.

The very atmosphere around its fist seemed to distort from the sheer power.

As Arthur blocked the attack with his silver sword, a wave of immense energy spread in the vicinity, pushing outwards from the point of impact.

The ground around them tore, and a significant part of the landscape, including several large trees, was utterly destroyed. Dust and debris filled the air.

Arthur still stood his ground. He blocked this incredibly powerful attack with ease. His stance remained firm, his sword held steady, showing no signs of being overwhelmed.

The raw power of his thunder element, channeled through his sword, had met the ape’s brute force, and Arthur had remained unmoving.

The crowd outside, watching the live broadcast, cheered loudly. Their attention, along with the live camera footage, immediately shifted to Arthur.

"Woah, ladies and gentlemen!" the commentator, Leonard, shouted in excitement, his voice amplified across the arena and through the global broadcast. "Arthur has completely blocked the attack of an S-rank monster! This is unprecedented! He didn’t even flinch!"

The news was incredibly significant. The world had not seen someone named Arthur earlier.

He was a commoner, not from a Legacy Family, and yet he was now able to match S-rank monsters in sheer power and prowess.

This was a story a typical ’people’s hero’ plot that captivated the masses.

The crowd cheered, their voices unified and strong, feeling a profound sense of pride. They cheered for him, for the unexpected hero.

As they watched Arthur fight, the crowd slowly began to develop a feeling of reverence, a sense of hope that emanated from Arthur’s display of raw, undeniable talent.

every one had one thought in mind that he was not born into power, he earned it.

This was the presence of the Heavenly Son, the Heaven’s Chosen One.