Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest-Chapter 386: Exquisitely Bleak

Mab’s dream world quaked, and the pink sky splintered. The forests below burned until not even ashes remained. Rivers evaporated into smoke, thick and venomous enough to strangle life itself. Mountains sagged and collapsed, reduced to pools of scorched obsidian.

Amidst the desolation akin to the end of the world, frozen constructs, death energies, and dream powers entwined with the curses of a bitter fairy. "You fancy yourself wise? Absurd. You’ll pay dearly for this insult, Adam."

Yet, she trembled. A single strike from Tiamat remodeled the entire region and... She looked down, biting her lip. Her gothic dress—a torn rag barely veiling her scorched skin. The butterfly wings that made her pride—vaporised... along with half her body.

But amidst the horror and unbearable sting, questions filled her mind. How had Adam imagined Tiamat for her to be this powerful? No, that was just that—imagination. In reality?

Another shudder rocked her limbs as the hulking dragon loomed—a being more majestic than her finest choreographed dance. Its jaws snapped open, an immaculate amalgamation of chaotic energies as destructive as a supernova ready to erase her.

She must be much more powerful! But time wasn’t for consideration. Though she wouldn’t die, she didn’t want to suffer, either.

Instantly, she clapped her hands with all her strength, her authority over dreams roaring to life. Echoing her will, reality dripped, melting into pink liquids.

Yet, Tiamat remained, her purple eyes swirling in defiance. The mere flap of her wings sent Mab tumbling like a bee caught in a storm. But it was her mind that couldn’t fathom the ridiculous situation.

She had erased the dream world, returning it to a barren void as its ruler. But in the darkness, the primordial goddess blazed brighter than a sun, especially her about-to-erupt breath.

"To hell with it!" Mab hissed through her clenched jaw, doing something she had never done before.

Even as the air melted around her and a pillar of raging energy rushed at her, she closed her eyes and... woke up in the tower, escaping from her own realm.

Back in the warm room, the flickering torches cast squirming shadows on her sweaty forehead. She gasped, the phantom pain assaulting her wings for a second. But that was nothing compared to the hateful face smirking at her.

"Did I make you regret?" Adam laughed, delighted by the momentary payback. Sometimes, words were as cutting as blades, and he wouldn’t deprive himself of this rare moment. "Come on, I bet you were evenly matched. You must tell me how much damage the mighty queen of magic dealt to Tiamat!"

Mab’s face grew somber, death flashing in her eyes. But striking now would be petty. Too easy. The dream world was hers, and Adam would spend his time inside. That’s where her revenge would take place. "Do you understand the consequences of your little stunt?"

Her lips curved into the most sadistic smile to date. "Don’t worry, Adam. Your upcoming months of training will be... exquisitely bleak."

"Is it too late to apologise?" Adam’s back straightened, his lips twitching. "Not my brightest idea, I admit it."

Mab licked her lips. "Take a wild guess."

"Unfair." Adam clicked his tongue, feeling wronged.

What was she so angry about when he just gave her a taste of her own medicine? She should have warned him about the imagination thing in the first place!

’Look. Zeus tore my head off, but I’m not complaining.’ Though he wanted to say it, he knew it wouldn’t change anything. But so what? As long as she didn’t interfere with the training, he would endure.

Even if he had downplayed it, his death in the dream world fueled his desire for strength further. There won’t be an awakening in real life, nor another miraculous savior. He had to surpass Zeus—no, everyone, even Tiamat!

He nodded at Mab, a steely glint flashing in his eyes. "Training will soon become a luxury, Mab. Time is fleeting, and I still don’t know how the dream world helps to imbue wills into energy."

"Humph." Mab pursed her lips. "How do you want to imbue anything when you’re no master of your own thoughts? You summoned a replica of Zeus because you let them wander. That’s what the dream world serves for. Each lap in focus equates to a painful death."

She waved her hand, snowflakes leaving her fingers before they condensed into runes. "You already know some of them. I’ll teach you more and how to use them." Her eyes narrowed. "A student of the queen of magic can’t need casting time in any form. I’ll only accept perfection, understood?"

"Perfection?" A mocking grin split Adam’s face. "That doesn’t exist, does it?"

Mab froze before her eyes sharpened, and her laughter filled the room. "Indeed. Perfection doesn’t exist for beings of chaos. We reject static lives. We learn, we evolve, and we seek novelties. Only fools like Odin believe they have reached the pinnacle of magic—one attained using loathsome means."

She pointed at his left eye. "But irony is sweet and biting. He’ll learn it soon enough."

With the discussion over, she approached Adam, parchments and quill in hand.

"Your ability to shapeshift uses a combination. It’s no harder than grasping a new alphabet. Learn to juggle with the combinations as you wish first, then command your energy to bring out their effects without using them."

She drew runes one after another, and he nodded with each explanation.

After two hours of theories, he raised a brow. "Why don’t we do it in the dream world?"

"Because a naughty boy imagined something he shouldn’t have." She rolled her eyes. "She’ll dissipate tomorrow, so we wait."

"She’s that strong?" Adam paled. How could Tiamat survive when the world’s ruler reseted it? Was she immune to erasure?

"You have no idea." Mab shuddered, then sighed. "Focus on the runes, Adam. Phantasming about her real powers won’t get you anywhere." freewebnøvel.com

He nodded, focusing on his studies. And just like that, painful and triumphant days followed one another as he refined his mastery over energy.

Between two deaths in the dream world, he tested the basic effects he could tie to his chaos in Surtr’s training grounds. Mastery seemed far, but he pushed forward with dedication and a great dose of spite.

Even when he managed to focus, Mab mischievously imagined creatures to disturb him. Though she claimed it was her revenge, he knew it was part of the training. Control wasn’t proven in silence. It had to endure chaos.