Void Evolution System

Naturally, his first instinct wasn't to steal himself and fight so he could escape or defeat August. His first instinct was to use any means possible to get the other genius away from him.

"Come out!"

He screamed in a panic as he backed away.

August was already turning to look at him again. He was purposefully moving slowly so that Wilhelm could observe the intent behind his every action. Perhaps it was a way to taunt or torture him, but it actually worked in Wilhelm's favor.

He discovered that August was still alive through a certain source in another Holy Clan. The information was planted for an unknown reason, but once Wilhelm confirmed it with his own people, he immediately made a plan.

Rather than telling his elders so they could send someone who was overqualified to kill August, he wanted to do it himself and earn the glory.

As such, he gathered many people under his command and made the expedition himself under the pretext of fighting for the crown.

His plans never went awry, so he wasn't worried. Still, he had to watch out for even the slightest possibility that he would die.

He brought insurance. He would not die as long as a Holy Dragon didn't appear, and considering how they felt about August, why would they help him?

It was a simple method. It was the same method that everyone in his clan loved so much.

When Wilhelm screamed, a shadow came out of the wall and manifested into the form of a person. That person's eyes were hollow, but he had an air around him that only the highest authorities in a Holy Clan could possess.

That person was not a living being anymore. At most, he was a puppet. However, he was not a puppet that Wilhelm could create or control. Instead, it belonged to his father and contained a trace of his will.

Its only job was to protect him against any and all enemies. In this case, August was the person standing on the other side.

Wilhelm was already preparing to gloat when the puppet appeared, but he was not given the chance.

After all, August prepared insurance too, didn't he?

He specifically added a thirteenth person to their group with the sole purpose of preparing for the worst.

Unfortunately, that person only agreed to help if he was in danger of dying.

August made the assumption back then that he would be fighting alongside his people, so he figured that the enemies they faced would be taken care of in the same breath as his.

That, obviously, did not happen.

Still, it was enough that he was moving now.

OOOOOOOOOOH!

A huge sound filled the area. It did not come from nearby. From its echo, one could deduce that it was created in the underwater ravine beyond the cave system, but how did it still contain so much power when it arrived this far into the earth?

That bellow froze everyone in the cavern at the same time. Wilhelm's dark helper turned to face it, and, ignoring August, it chased the source.

After all, it was merely a puppet. It determined that there was a greater threat to Wilhelm's life outside, so it left.

Wilhelm himself, on the other hand, was left in August's hands.

"What did you do?!" he screamed.

"I brought a friend to talk to yours."

That was the extent of the explanation August was willing to give.

In the next moment, he was already in front of Wilhelm with his fist extended.

BOOOOOM!

WIlhelm's strength had never been properly defined. Though dragons had access to the system, they didn't really use it the same way that humans did. After all, not many dragons focused on creating their own skills. They also measured strength differently. They used the same markers, but levels were meaningless in their eyes.

To put it simply, Wilhelm's strength was above Eris' enough to make her wary but not enough for him to defeat her without a prolonged battle.

If one looked at his level, he would be somewhere around level 375.

Then, what about August now that he had left the hidden realm?

He could definitely defeat Eris in some minutes at most, and if his level had to be estimated…

…then he would already be at level 399, just on the cusp of the 9 revolutions. With his ability to fight above his class, he could display power beyond that number.

What was taking place now was less of a battle and more of a beatdown. Wilhelm, who was once an enemy August could only strive to defeat, was just a doll for him to abuse now.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Though he could have ended it faster by using his abilities, August only expressed physical strength against his enemy. He used extreme speed to take away Wilhelm's chance to counterattack and extreme power to cause as much pain as possible.

Wilhelm couldn't feel anything but pain. His vision was blurry. The cave swayed from side to side as his head was snapped left and right by August's fists. His elevation changed occasionally, but he hardly realized as his vision blurred further when his skull slammed against the roof of the cave.

He couldn't make a sound other than the guttural and unreplicable sound his throat made as he was flung around.

Wilhelm's body was covered in blood. At this point, it was hard for him to even register pain anymore, but August didn't care in the slightest.

BOOOOOM!

With a powerful kick, August pushed Wilhelm out of the cavern and into the system of tunnels that led there.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Every time he landed, August appeared to kick him again, breaking his ribs and causing heaps of internal bleeding.

However, August did not want Wilhelm to die yet.

Even from a glance, he saw how bad his friends' injuries were. They had suffered so much because of him. August needed to make him suffer just as much.

BOOOOM!

One more powerful kick threw the now limp body of Wilhelm Liqua out of the cave system entirely and into the underwater ravine.

Well, it wasn't a ravine anymore. The entire structure had been destroyed. The remains of the ravine were now just a deeper part of the ocean.

That was why, when Wilhelm's body entered it, he immediately started healing.

August specifically used the sea's power to bring him back to full health.

A physical beating was only step one.

In his state of absolute rage, all of August's mental faculties were focused only on finding ways to make Wilhelm suffer for as long as possible.

He who was always praised for his mind had a moral code that led him to always prioritize the safety of his allies over the damage he could do to his enemies.

However, in this moment, he had lost all that qualified him to be a hero.

August Void had become a spirit of vengeance.

And…

If he kept down this path, then it was unknown whether he could find a way back to the light.

The four observers who followed the battle with their eyes and awareness were stunned.

They had never seen August act without bounds before. They never imagined that a boy so young could carry within him a monster capable of inflicting such damage.

In the end, he was still a practitioner.

There wasn't a single practitioner in this world who could really live only for others, forsaking killing and pursuing reform.

No matter how much August wanted it to be otherwise, he would always be someone carrying darkness within him. That kind of person could never become a light for others.

That was what they thought.

But…were they correct?

It still remained to be seen.

After all, though he looked like he didn't have an ounce of reasoning left in his body, that was not true.

August was very aware of what he was doing.

And, even in this moment, he had a plan to save everyone.