Chapter 243 — The Man Behind the Mask

Chapter 243: Chapter 243 — The Man Behind the Mask

Chapter 243 — The Man Behind the Mask

Grace watched Victor closely.

She wasn’t sure what he intended to do.

Even she couldn’t deny what Snake Mask had said. The last time they’d fought him, Victor would have been completely overwhelmed without her intervention. She had been forced to push herself beyond her limits just to keep him alive.

So what could Victor possibly do differently now?

"It seems I can’t hold back anymore."

Grace’s eyes narrowed.

There’s more?

She’d thought she had seen most of his secrets.

Black flames erupted around Victor’s body.

Purple flickered within the darkness as the fire wound around his arms and legs before spreading across his torso. More flames gathered across his shoulders, flowing upward until they formed something resembling a cloak, complete with a hood of flickering black fire.

Grace stared.

She had no idea what she was looking at.

She had never seen this technique.

Never read about it.

But the flames themselves weren’t what truly shocked her.

Victor’s power began to rise.

Rank Three.

Rank Four.

Rank Five.

It kept climbing.

Grace’s expression changed as his presence surged through the Spirit Gathering Realm.

Six.

Seven.

Then—

Rank Eight.

The pressure finally stabilized.

For several seconds, Grace simply stared at him.

Victor had gone from Rank Two Spirit Gathering to possessing the power of a Rank Eight.

What kind of technique does that?

Then a sword appeared in his hand.

Grace’s attention immediately shifted toward the weapon.

The black flames surrounding Victor flowed across its surface almost naturally, crawling along the blade as though the weapon welcomed them.

An alchemical sword?

It reminded her of her own.

Except the power radiating from Victor’s sword was on an entirely different level.

Grace’s gaze lingered on the blade.

With the Black Phoenix Form alone, Victor’s strength had reached Rank Eight Spirit Gathering.

But with that sword in his hands...

He could probably contend with someone at Rank Ten.

Grace looked at Victor again.

How much more is this boy hiding?

He was fourteen.

None of this made sense.

Victor was nearly as surprised as she was.

He lowered his eyes toward the flames covering his body.

The Black Phoenix Form had become stronger.

Far stronger than the last time he’d used it.

Why?

His gaze shifted toward Lyra.

Then it clicked.

Soul Power.

Lyra’s Soul Power had increased tremendously after breaking through to Beast Soldier. Through their Soul Bond, Victor’s own Soul Power had grown as well.

Apparently, that growth had strengthened the Black Phoenix Form far more than he’d expected.

Victor tightened his grip around Liam’s sword.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

Power flooded every part of his body.

His senses felt sharper. His muscles lighter. Even the sword in his hand seemed almost weightless.

For a moment, the feeling was intoxicating.

He wanted to move.

To test it.

To find out exactly how much stronger he had become.

Victor immediately crushed the impulse.

This wasn’t the time to lose himself in a fight.

His eyes settled on Snake Mask.

"I hope you’re ready."

Snake Mask wasn’t smiling anymore.

He could feel it.

The boy standing in front of him was completely different from the Victor he’d fought before.

The pressure alone told him that.

There was no point testing him.

No reason to hold anything back.

Snake Mask immediately activated his forbidden technique.

Spiritual Energy exploded from his body.

His cultivation surged.

Rank Nine.

Then Rank Ten.

The force of it rattled the nearby crates and sent dust spilling from the metal beams overhead.

The two stared at each other.

Neither moved.

Then Victor disappeared.

Rapid Flash Step.

Snake Mask’s pupils contracted.

Where—

Pain tore through his abdomen.

His body jerked.

Victor stood behind him.

Liam’s sword had already pierced clean through his body.

Snake Mask looked down.

The blackened blade protruded from his stomach.

"What—"

Blood spilled from his mouth.

For a moment, his body refused to move.

Victor pulled the sword free.

Snake Mask reacted on instinct.

He twisted and swung the butt of his spear backward.

Victor raised an arm.

BANG!

The strike landed hard enough to send him stumbling several steps away.

Snake Mask immediately created distance.

His free hand pressed against the hole in his abdomen.

Warm blood poured between his fingers.

But the wound barely held his attention.

His eyes remained fixed on Victor.

On the flames.

The cloak.

The sword.

Victor had become faster.

Far faster than he had expected.

But there was something else.

Something about that form—

Snake Mask’s eyes narrowed.

He knew it.

Not because he had ever seen it himself.

Because he’d heard of it.

Old records.

Stories preserved by the organization.

There had once been a clan whose members transformed themselves in battle, wrapping their bodies in black fire and gaining terrifying amounts of strength.

A clan infamous for producing warriors who became increasingly dangerous the longer a battle continued.

Snake Mask’s breathing slowed.

No.

That clan was gone.

They had been gone for thousands of years.

The Black Phoenix Clan.

The Evil God Organization had made certain of it.

There shouldn’t have been anyone left to inherit their power.

Yet Victor stood in front of him covered in black flame.

Snake Mask searched for another explanation.

A similar technique.

A coincidence.

Something Victor had found in the Sanctuary.

But the longer he looked, the less he believed it.

The flames.

The transformation.

The absurd increase in battle power.

His eyes widened.

Black Phoenix.

The implications struck him all at once.

Victor wasn’t merely connected to the Sanctuary.

He had somehow inherited the power of the Black Phoenix Clan.

Snake Mask’s thoughts changed immediately.

He needed to leave.

Now.

The organization needed to know.

Whatever Victor truly was, he couldn’t be allowed to continue growing unchecked.

But Snake Mask understood something else.

He couldn’t kill him.

Not anymore.

The first exchange had made that painfully clear.

Snake Mask straightened and forced his injured hand away from his abdomen.

Blood continued dripping onto the floor.

Victor watched him.

Then smiled.

"I already know what you’re thinking."

Snake Mask’s eyes narrowed.

"You recognize this form."

Victor raised Liam’s sword.

"And now you’re probably thinking about how you’re going to get out of here so you can tell someone."

Snake Mask said nothing.

He didn’t need to.

Victor’s smile disappeared.

"But I can promise you one thing."

Black flames rolled across his shoulders.

"Even if you hadn’t recognized my form, you still wouldn’t be leaving."

Victor’s eyes hardened.

"You hurt Lyra."

His grip tightened around the sword.

"And you’re about to find out why that was a bad idea."

Flash Step.

Victor vanished.

Snake Mask immediately raised his spear.

Left?

Nothing.

Behind—

Victor appeared directly in front of him.

The sword was already moving.

Snake Mask’s eyes widened.

He threw himself backward as the blade swept toward his neck.

Too slow.

He desperately brought the spear up.

CLANG!

The impact traveled through both arms.

Snake Mask grunted.

His knees bent beneath the force.

For half a second, he held.

Then—

Crack!

The bladed tip of the spear shattered.

Fragments of metal spun through the air.

Snake Mask stared at the broken weapon.

Victor didn’t give him time to process it.

He stepped inside the ruined spear’s reach.

Monkey Fist.

Snake Mask saw the fist coming.

He tried to move.

Too late.

CRACK!

Victor’s fist slammed directly into his face.

The mask fractured.

Snake Mask’s head snapped backward as he stumbled across the room.

A piece of the mask struck the floor.

Then another.

Victor stepped forward—

And stopped.

Red hair fell around the man’s face.

Blood poured from his nose, running across his mouth and chin as he coughed violently.

Victor knew that face.

For a moment, the battle disappeared.

The questions.

The torture.

The Evil God Organization.

All of it.

Victor simply stared.

Daniel Graveborn slowly raised his head.

Their eyes met.

Daniel studied Victor’s expression.

Then he wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I guess the jig is up."