The meal was short. It took less than a minute for the carcass of the house-sized beast to vanish into Dong Zhuo's unnaturally bloated stomach.
"Crunch! Crack! Gulp."
Dong Zhuo devoured everything without leaving a trace—not just the flesh, but the spine harder than steel, the leathery hide, and even the venomous, razor-sharp claws. The remains of the beast, which had been piled like a mountain moments ago, were nowhere to be found. Only a pool of purple blood remained on the cold floor, gathered like a stagnant lake.
Yet, despite devouring that immense mass, the thunderous rumbling deep within Dong Zhuo's abdomen showed no sign of stopping.
Rumble, rumble...
It was not the sound of digestion. The black hole created by the
"Huff... Huff..."
Dong Zhuo stopped, his long, serpent-like tongue licking the purple blood from the corners of his mouth. Then, very slowly, his gaze shifted with a grotesque sound, like rusted machinery creaking into motion.
Creak.
Dong Zhuo's glazed pupils fixed onto Lu Bu. At that moment, the world twisted geometrically within Dong Zhuo's ruined vision. In his eyes, Lu Bu was no longer the "adoptive son" who had roamed the battlefields for him, nor the "vanguard commander" who had brought the Iron-Black Fortress to its knees.
In this grey, lifeless ruin, he was the only thing shining brilliantly—a "golden lump of magical meat." The condensed life force and mana radiating from Lu Bu, who had reached the realm of the War God, gave off a premium scent that couldn't even be compared to the foul-smelling beast he had just consumed.
Sniff, sniff...
Dong Zhuo's nostrils flared unnaturally as he indulged in Lu Bu's scent. His brain, paralyzed of all reason, repeated only one command.
'Eat that. I must chew and swallow that golden heart to stop this hellish hunger.'
"Not enough... It tastes good, but... it's nowhere near enough..."
Dong Zhuo muttered in a dazed voice, drool streaming down to his chin. Not a single shred of paternal love or the dignity of a commander remained in his voice.
"But my son... sniff, sniff. You smell much more delicious than that trash I just ate. If I tear your flesh apart and put you in my belly, then... perhaps then I can finally be satisfied."
It was the moment of an ultimate betrayal of nature—the moment a father designated his son as an object of his appetite. Yet, Lu Bu did not even blink. Rather, as if he had expected this, his eyes grew colder than the ice of a perennial snow mountain. He quietly stroked the Red Hare's mane and steeled his heart.
"Come... Come here! My beloved son!"
BOOM—!
As soon as he finished speaking, Dong Zhuo's right arm lashed out like a whip. It was an explosive acceleration unimaginable for his bloated frame. It was not a warrior's technique. It was a blatant, hideous attempt at "predation"—reaching out with a hand the size of a cauldron lid to grab both Lu Bu and the Red Hare in one go and shove them into his maw.
But Lu Bu was already reading even the slightest twitch of Dong Zhuo's muscles.
Flash!
With a light flick of the reins, the Red Hare became a streak of crimson lightning and soared vertically into the air. It was by a hair's breadth. The moment Dong Zhuo's massive hand snapped shut, it caught only the cold air and dust instead of Lu Bu's body.
Crash!
The shockwave from the empty fist striking the ground shook the pillars of the underground vault. Lu Bu landed gracefully on a high rock outcropping, well beyond Dong Zhuo's reach, and looked down. The last sliver of lingering hope—that perhaps his father might return to his senses—was completely severed by that single, greedy swipe.
'It's certain now.'
Lu Bu adjusted his grip on the Sky-Piercer Halberd, swallowing a bitter monologue.
'You are no longer my father. You are merely a vile cancer gnawing away at the Demon Realm, a beast that even covets his own child.'
*
"Uaaargh! Stay there! Don't run! You're mine! My meat!"
Dong Zhuo, having missed his "meal," flew into a fit of rage, screaming and thrashing. He flailed his arms toward Lu Bu, who was suspended in the air, spraying spit as he yelled. It was a sight too wretched and revolting to be called the end of a hero.
The moment he heard that hideous scream, the last shackle weighing down Lu Bu's soul snapped. It was his loyalty to the foster father who had taken him in, and the minimum pride he had maintained as a warrior. Now that the other had defined him as "prey" rather than a son, any further duty was a luxury.
'Since you tried to eat me first...'
Lu Bu looked down at the monster on the ground with eyes as cold as death.
'This is no longer a betrayal of kin. This is a hunt.'
Once his mind was made up, his chaotic energy became as clear as a mirror's surface. Lu Bu slowly and solemnly raised the Sky-Piercer Halberd high toward the heavens.
Whirrr—!
The atmosphere screamed under the immense pressure. Responding to the true awakening of the War God, dark clouds swirled and gathered over the Iron-Black Fortress. Dark-red lightning began to swirl and condense at the tip of the halberd's massive blade.
Crackle!
As if he had become the eye of a storm, a massive amount of mana spiraled around Lu Bu. Even Dong Zhuo paused for a moment, feeling an instinctive fear of death.
"Ugh...? Uaaah...?"
Dong Zhuo tried to shrink back, but he was already within the War God's reach. Lu Bu, holding the reins of the Red Hare, offered his final farewell. His voice was perfectly polite, yet the intent behind it was as sharp as the autumn frost.
"In the end... you have truly become a beast. I shall take your defiled name with me."
The Red Hare reared its front legs and let out a piercing neigh. The crimson lightning that had condensed at the tip of the halberd exploded outward.
"Farewell, Father. No... monster."
CRASH—!
The Red Hare kicked off the air and plunged like a meteor. A crimson streak—where knight, horse, and halberd became one—pierced directly through the crown of Dong Zhuo's head. Dong Zhuo screamed and crossed his arms to block, but it was nothing more than a foolish struggle, like trying to catch a falling mountain range with bare hands.
Crunch—!
There was no need for tricks or deception. It was a single strike perfected only by overwhelming power and the speed that severs the world. The moment the blade of the Sky-Piercer Halberd touched him, Dong Zhuo's arms were sliced away like tofu. Then, with a thunderous roar, the crimson flash pierced through his forehead and passed through his entire body.
A massive red line was drawn across the world.
Thump—
A moment of silence, as if time had stopped. Lu Bu, having landed on the ground, slowly stood up. Behind his back, a thin red line appeared on the mountain of flesh that had towered toward the sky. A single trajectory that ran perfectly from the crown of the head through the brow, chest, and below the navel.
Rumble, rumble... BOOM!
With a vibration that shook the earth, Dong Zhuo's 20-meter frame split cleanly into left and right. Between the collapsing mounds of flesh, the foul mana and the vengeful spirits that Dong Zhuo had greedily swallowed erupted outward like black smoke. It was the hollow yet majestic end of a Demon King who had once dominated an era.
*
Dong Zhuo's death was not a simple conclusion. The massive storm of mana released by his collapse struck the "Heart of Chaos"—an unstable dimensional rift nearby.
BOOM—!
With a roar that sounded like the sky was being torn apart, the rift buckled violently. And through that gap, two intense streaks of light shot out like comets toward the corners of the Demon Realm.
One was a sharp, blue flash falling toward the permafrost of the north. The other was a heavy, ferocious black flash falling toward the active volcanic region of the south. Lu Bu instinctively knew. These stars were not mere natural phenomena. They were the signals that "True Powers," who would either stand as his equals or aim for his head, had descended upon the Demon Realm.
Clatter.
At that moment, something rolled to Lu Bu's feet. A stone emitting a sinister red light even in the blood-soaked mud. It was the culprit that had turned his father into a monster and ultimately brought him to ruin: the
The gem, having lost its owner, flickered enticingly, but Lu Bu did not even spare it a glance. The pride of the War God would not allow him to claim a victory by leaning on such a tainted power. He simply let the Red Hare trample over the gem as they passed. With a crunch, the fragment was buried deep into the mud.
Lu Bu's eyes only followed the two fading meteors in the distance. The bitterness of slaying his foster father vanished without a trace, and in its place, the hot fighting spirit of a warrior began to boil once more.
"Heh."
A thick smirk spread across Lu Bu's lips. He was no longer under anyone's shadow, nor was he anyone's son. Now, only the path of supremacy, which he had to prove with his own strength, lay before him. He gripped the reins tightly.
"Finally... the real hunt is about to begin. Let's go, Red Hare."
Neigh—!
The Red Hare let out a vigorous neigh and stepped out toward the wilderness. Galloping toward the horizon where the two stars had fallen, Lu Bu's crimson cloak fluttered in the demonic wind like a banner announcing the dawn of a new era.