The Villain's Apocalypse-Chapter 41: Return

Chapter 41: Return

The Crimson Abyssal Drake hovered above, its serpentine pupils contracting sharply as it sensed a peculiar shift in the mana surrounding him. The pure mana circling through nature was unknowingly being absorbed into a certain someone’s body, fueling his awakening.

The Drake locked its gaze on Cassian’s body, its instinct screaming danger as it sensed the ethereal energy nourishing the body to perfection. It didn’t hesitate any longer and unveiled its full-blown aura, the aura of a titan, a monster of its own kind.

With a deafening roar, it spread its wings and lunged forward, pacing toward Cassian with breathtaking speed. The Drake’s abyssal black claws glowed menacingly with an ominous light like an executioner’s blade, craving for blood.

Yet Cassian remained still, utterly detached from the chaos around him. His mind drifted into the vast expanse of enlightenment, where the boundaries of self and soul blurred into the infinite.

The shackles of reincarnation—the unseen karmic chains that had bound him for lifetimes—fractured and crumbled away, dissolving into his consciousness. And with their collapse came understanding.

"This life was never mine to enjoy... It was a sentence, a trial to wash away the sins I carried. I was never blessed—only condemned, a prisoner of my own narrow-minded desires."

His awareness expanded, touching the delicate threads of fate that wove together life, death, and rebirth. He glimpsed the cycle in its purest form—a seamless dance of endings and beginnings, where death was not an abyss, but a threshold to renewal.

How ironic, he mused bitterly, that a sinner like me was granted another chance at life... when she was not.

His consciousness expanded rapidly with each passing second, fueled by the continuous accumulation of profound laws and their meanings.

Time seemed to have lost its meaning inside this vast space as Cassian’s consciousness continued delving deeper into the mysteries surrounding the laws–a power beyond mortal’s comprehension.

’Life is but a grand stage and I’m merely playing as one character among millions of others, looking for my purpose. I always thought my purpose was to escape from death but, how wrong I was...’ his mind recalled the time he experienced death in his previous life. It was cold, extremely cold, devoid of any light, and warmth, just suffering.

’Death is inevitable.’

tick

A low hum resonated within the depth of his consciousness, affecting everything inside. The expansion stopped abruptly and the vast sea of consciousness underwent a new transformation, shrinking down at an unfathomable speed.

It reached a point of singularity and with a fresh wave of clarity, Cassian’s mind experienced a massive shock.

The expansion and compression of a mortal’s consciousness was immensely strenuous to their soul and it always led to their death, however, Cassian became the sole anomaly defying these very laws of nature.

’The mind’s eye.’ He instantly felt a new source of perception, linked with his consciousness. His senses spread far and wide, relaying every bit of information inside his mind.

’Oh no!’ He immediately sensed the drake’s claws looming over his defenseless body, an inch away from granting him the true death right after his enlightenment.

siing–!

A sharp, piercing aura rumbled forth from the depth of the forest, enshrouding everything within its path with utter darkness. The aura felt incredibly familiar to Cassian but for the Drake, it resembled the sword it once felt, during its early childhood.

The aura condensed into a massive sword and pierced through the sky, reaching the drake before it could reach Cassian’s neck.

With a heavy swing, it separated the claw from its body and dispersed afterward, dissolving into thin air.

thud–!

The menacing claw landed on the ground, inches away from Cassian’s body. He blinked twice, processing what just happened.

’Hmm? Leon, what? You finished the task! That means..." His eyes landed on a massive tree, a bit far away from the ongoing battlefield.

Atop the tree were two figures, gazing at him silently with those abyssal black eyes. One was Leon, wiping beads of sweat dripping from his forehead and the other one was a dark-skinned individual with long black hair and black eyes, holding a slick dark katana nonchalantly in his right hand.

Leon, matching his gaze nodded his head and turned toward the man beside him, his eyes shimmering with respect and admiration.

"Zayn," Cassian muttered, recalling his meeting with him. The loyal shadow of Alexander von Luminaire, the current Emperor of the Luminaire Empire. He was the top powerhouse of the Empire, ranked only beneath the Emperor himself.

phew~

"At last, he managed to summon Zayn in time." a small smile graced his face as he turned toward the Crimson Abyssal Drake, who was hastily escaping away within the depths of the mountain range.

"Why does he look so scared?" He felt puzzled by the drake’s urgency. ’Had he perhaps met with Zayn before?’

"Greetings, your Highness." Zayn bowed slightly and greeted him, his tone low and respectful.

"Thank you, Zayn for saving my life."

"I was just following my duty, your highness."

"Mmm, still I owe you my life." he rubbed his chin with a thoughtful look over his face.

"I believe we should depart now, Time is limited," Zayn replied, swiftly sheathing his sword on his waist.

"Ah, Let’s go." He ordered Leon to return back and started his descent down the mountain.

"You got any fast way to help me get down from here before the time is up?" He inquired, recalling the time duration for [Shadow Summon].

The summoning skill didn’t have any duration and depended heavily on the user’s mana. If Leon had an unlimited source of mana, then he could sustain the summon easily, without any worry. "Sadly, his mana is quite limited since he too is a star-rank individual like me."

Zayn pondered briefly before responding, " I could launch you down using my sword as a platform."

Cassian hesitated after hearing his idea. It could theoretically work as he just had to attach himself to the sword and hold tightly, the rest depended on Zayn’s strength but there were unknown variables like a potential ambush or surprise elements during his descent.

"Fuck it–!" he couldn’t care less about the unknowns as he was sure that he would die once Zayn was gone. ’That drake is probably lurking somewhere, waiting for a chance for revenge.’

Intelligent beasts were the toughest to deal with since they took revenge very seriously.

"Let’s do it."

Zayn swiftly condensed a massive mana-ridden sword and lowered it down, holding it beneath Cassian’s feet.

He stepped on it and latched his feet on its surface by circulating his mana around his feet. After finishing the preparation, he gave a quick nod to Zayn and nervously held onto the sword’s surface.

"Brace yourself, Your Highness. It’s going to be fast." He gave one last piece of advice and lifted the sword gently in mid-air. Aiming in the direction of the Royal Capital, he launched the sword across the sky.

swish–!

With a deafening sound, the sword tore through the wind, pacing toward the destination with immense speed.

"Have a safe flight, your highness." Zayn’s body grew illusory and vanished from the mountain’s top.