They all call me Great Master

In the midst of a giant roar, waves of flame rolled up in all directions, and the violent shockwave, carrying iron nails rusted and soaked with manure, struck the surroundings like arrows fired from a strong bow.

Whiz, whiz, whiz!

Thud, thud, thud!

More than forty monsters fell to the ground like wheat harvested by a scythe, one swath after another.

William himself, in the explosion, lost both legs and an eye.

The only remaining eye stared at the crow that seemed to merge with the night sky, filled with hatred and resentment, and his roaring voice echoed in the collapsing great hall of Yumir Manor.

"Ahhh!

I'll kill you!

I'll kill you!"

With every roar, William took a step forward, and with each step, the blood and flesh of the monsters on the ground merged into his body. When the roaring stopped, William had once again become a figure with six legs and a face full of pustules, and he even leapt into the air.

His speed was fast, but Fujin was faster, climbing rapidly to widen the distance between them.

However, a sneer emerged in William's eyes.

Whiz, whiz, whiz!

One after another, flesh buds sprouted from William's pustule-ridden face, swelling with the wind like squeezed whiteheads, forming white tentacles that reached for Fujin.

In an instant, it enveloped Fujin like a net.

William's eyes already showed intense cruelty.

He wanted to tear this crow to shreds!

No!

Better to grind it to dust!

Bit by bit, to crush every muscle, bone, and organ, then swallow it all in one gulp.

Otherwise, how could he quench his deep-seated hatred?

The minions he just lost were the result of over a decade of accumulation, all destroyed by a chest of explosives and iron nails.

Even he nearly got injured.

The angrier William became, the more inhuman howls came from his mouth.

This sound, no longer human, had become beastly.

But a faint voice pierced through his howling—

"Sectumsempra!"

In that indifferent voice, a sharpness crossed William's neck.

Splash!

Thick, dark fresh blood sprayed out, and William's severed head saw a figure approaching him through the air.

The figure was unhurried, moving with the ease of a night breeze over a field, his expression indifferent, his black eyes carrying a hint of compassion.

That face!

Those eyes!

Especially that aura!

Familiar! All too familiar!

"Kledos!"

William's head roared the name of the man who had deceived him.

Although the man before him was not that man, he must be related to him.

"My grandfather once told me he gave a man a chance to start anew—because that man had exceptional Talent and a stubborn streak of kindness in his heart...

But I think he would be disappointed by what he sees now?"

Arthur, performing the secret technique "Silent Successive Steps" on the "Hand of Void" to execute a levitating traversal, spoke slowly in a detached tone.

"Bluff" flickered wildly, and the resignation and regret that suffused his words stunned the head of William as it fell to the ground.

Immediately, William roared again.

"Your grandfather was nothing but a..."

His words abruptly ceased as the invisible and silent "Tyr's Caress," wielded with a wave of the "Hand of Void," achieved the true meaning of 'Sectumsempra.'

It easily swept past the head, and William's head was split in two from the brow.

But William did not die.

Under Arthur's gaze, the severed head and body fused back together again.

Though the process was swift, Arthur did not intervene, his face showing even more compassion, causing the recovering William to grow uncertain.

Could it be that I was wrong back then?

Did he deceive me to give me a chance?

If not, he could have continued to attack, so why did he stop?

Could it be that he can't attack while in the air?

Impossible!

The unheard-of secret technique 'Sectumsempra' left him utterly defenseless.

So...

Is he admonishing me?

Watching Arthur descend from the sky, bathed in the night breeze, godlike, William retreated again and again, his eyes filled with pus and doubt.

However, this did not prevent William from running towards the giant banyan tree.

This banyan tree was his trump card!

It was his real ace in the hole!

As William ran, he looked back.

Arthur stood there watching him, motionless, and the pity in his eyes deepened.

Could I really be mistaken?

Suddenly, such a thought appeared in the depths of William's heart.

Originally, he had reluctantly boarded the pirate ship due to the aftermath of the "Seven Years' War," a mere innkeeper's son with an untarnished reputation, whose biggest dream was to own his restaurant in a major city. But why had he become what he was later on?

William could no longer remember.

The dual backlash from arcane rituals and secret techniques had long since twisted and scattered his consciousness.

Such memories were immediately diluted by his brutal impulses!

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

William roared as he charged into the tree hollow beneath the banyan tree—a hollow only he could open.

The next moment—

Thunderous booms!

The earth shook and the mountains trembled!
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The banyan tree, fifty meters tall, rose from the ground, its canopy swinging as leaves and branches flew off, transforming into huge arms. A face that bore a striking resemblance to William appeared on the trunk.

"Awoo!"

Neither human nor beast, that unique howl echoed as the treant William swung an arm as thick as a carriage towards Arthur.

Even before the massive arm truly fell, the wind it kicked up billowed Arthur's coat and hair.

The double-breasted black coat rustled loudly.

Yet beneath strands of hair, his eyes were undisturbed and calm.

Only the right hand of the young "Spirit Medium" was painting in the air, his mouth lightly chanting—

"Towers of endless night crisscross, flesh and bones curl backward in defiance, radiant glory reigns over the earth, cease steps with faded colors, ashes burn and sear!!"

The rhythmic chant ignited a spark.

A blaze arrow shot out from the young "Spirit Medium's" fingertips.

The gigantic banyan treant, sensing the meager power above, let out a scoff unique to itself, even though the rationality of its human past warned it that something was amiss.

But the treant in front of him paid it no heed.

Its massive body brought terrifying strength.

Such power once again inflated William's distorted pride.

He had successfully transformed from him into it.

"Awoo!"

Another howl, it swung down harder, but the flame arrow touched its body first; as expected, not even scratching it.

However, the splattering sparks ignited...

Oil!

And explosives!

The next moment—

Boom!

The huge banyan tree was instantly engulfed in flames, followed by a series of explosions.

The fireworks-like reflection was mirrored in the calm, black eyes, casting a shining brilliance in them.

The great tree fell.

Collapsing faster than it had risen.

Countless burning branches and leaves brushed past the young "Spirit Medium" as he stepped by.

A distance away, Simon, Hunter, Newt, and Westbron watched the scene in stunned silence.

They etched this moment deep into their hearts, never to forget how a young "Spirit Medium" with a gesture extinguished a mountainous beast.

But where they could not see, an invisible hand had already picked up an iron box.

All they saw was the young "Spirit Medium" walking up to the core of the treant, where the scorched figure of William lay, pausing in place for a good three to four seconds before he sighed and asked—

"Do you still remember your original dream?"

The struggling William froze.

A dream?

My original dream?

My original dream was to own my restaurant in a big city!

But, why did it turn out like this?

What have I done?

The collision between his twisted, scattered will and his original memories had only one outcome...

Collapse!

A double collapse of soul and body.

In his final moments, William trembled as he asked.

"Master, do you think there's still a chance for me?"