Chapter 1014: What Should''ve Been Done


    ?


    "...[Essence of Immortality]."


    "[Repentance]."


    With zarek having rued a massive number of injuries all over his body, Vaughn decided to end their fight once and for all as he hastily did a quick sword dance.


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Infusing his Divine-level energy into his swords, a myriad number of des soon manifested in the air the moment Vaughn swung both swords down, all of them piercing through zarek''s body as if it were tofu.


    Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!


    Though each de pinned him to the ground, zarek merely let out a grunt in response, his eyes still brimming with anger as he looked at the man that brought him to this state in the first ce.


    On the other hand, Vaughn recalled his Celestial Realm back before sheathing both of his swords.


    Letting out a sigh after that, the man looked at zarek with disappointment. "Why did you do that? Why did you nt your mark on someone who didn''t even want it in the first ce?"


    In response to the question, zarek remained silent, continuing to stare at the man before him with anger in his eyes.


    Then again, if one were topare the anger that appeared in his eyes before, the werebeast''s current anger was more subdued.


    After all, the man that stood before him remained unscathed all throughout the fight, instilling a sense of fear that diminished part of the werebeast''s anger.


    As if he had noticed that fear, Vaughn decided not to ask any further, knowing that he had made zarek learn his lesson.


    Turning around to head back to where Valyr was, Vaughn left zarek a few parting words. "Never do that again."


    With that, the werebeast was soon left alone in his private subspace once more, still pinned to the ground as a result of Vaughn''s skill.


    "Naive," murmured zarek to himself as he confirmed that both Valyr and Vaughn had left his subspace for good. "Do you really think I''ll follow your words just because you told me to?"


    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!


    Circting the Divine-level energy coursing through his body, zarek soon began to dismantle the des pinning him to the ground one by one, gradually freeing himself from the floor.


    By the time he had fully freed himself, zarek made his way back to where he once sat, allowing his monstrous levels of regeneration to heal all of the wounds that Vaughn had inflicted on him.


    Making use of his Divine-level energy to slightly speed up the process, zarek let out a slight cackle as he murmured to himself, "You''ll rue the day you gave me that vial, Vaughn."


    "With that runt''s body and the vial you gave me in my hands, the next time we meet, you''ll be looking up at me as an Ancestral Deity."


    Letting out a cackle in response to the thoughts lingering in his mind, zarek took in a deep breath as he began to release a bit of his energy into his surroundings.


    Recalling the improved curse he''d put on Valyr, the werebeast briefly felt a hint of pity for the young man before discarding such emotions, making a few gestures in the air as he activated the mark''s tracking feature.


    "As long as I keep an eye on that runt, he''ll eventually be mine," said zarek to himself, grinning as he allowed his imaginations to go wild.


    Though, just as he was thinking about aiming for the realm of power beyond that of Ancestral Deity, the heavens seemingly gave him a reality check as he received no response from the mark whatsoever.


    "Hmm?" Slightly frowning, zarek tried to activate the mark''s tracking feature once more, only to end up empty-handed once again.


    Activating the feature a few more times, the frown on zarek''s face grew deeper, eventually turning into full-blown anger as a certain being came to mind.


    "Damn you, Vaughn!"


    ...


    "Haah."


    Letting out a low sigh as he finished reading through the notifications he''d received due to his actions, Valyr remained outside the Alltide''s private subspace as a look of disappointment adorned his face.


    Though he had gained quite a few things from the system due to his decision of resisting against the formation of the Alltide''s mark, it could be said that he had ultimately lost more than gained more.


    "If only I were stronger," muttered the young man to himself, btedly realizing that the reason why he''d gotten into all this mess was partly due to the fact that he wascking in


    strength.


    Sure, he may have the ability to fight against Myth-level beings while still remaining at the peak of Rank 3, but what would that amount to against a being that exceeded the Myth level?


    What if the situation he''d just been in were to happen again?


    Though he could ask for Vaughn''s help a couple more times, it''s not like the man is obligated to respond to his pleas after that, no?


    "Haah." As the thought ofcking strength pervaded the young man''s mind, Valyr soon began to think about the multiple things he could''ve done to improve his strength even further, but skipped or forgotten due to various reasons.


    However, all those thoughts were pushed to the side as a familiar voice reminded him of the most crucial thing he could''ve done to improve his strength.


    "Why don''t you ascend to a higher ss rank?" Having taken care of zarek, it went without saying that Vaughn returned to where Valyr was, dispelling the barriers around the young man after making sure it was safe.


    "Well..." Though Valyr instinctively felt like there was a reason why he should stay at this current rank, after mulling over it for a bit, the young man soon began to realize that there was no reason for him to stay at his rank in the first ce.


    Nevertheless, the young man did not want to say that outright, soon making up an excuse that sounded believable enough. "Didn''t you tell me the Records are the most effective while one


    is still a mortal?"


    "Pretty sure I told you they''re most effective when one is still below the Divine level," rified Vaughn, immediately seeing through the young man''s excuse. "Sure, you could try to push the Records as far as you can while you''re still a mortal..."


    "But is there really a reason to?"


    "You''re way stronger than your ss rank shows, Valyr." Vaughn looked at Valyr in the eyes. "I may not know how strong you are right now when you go all-out, but the fact that you


    easily dealt with Rank 5 beings in the inheritance is no small feat."


    "I have a feeling you still have a few things here and there you could do to improve your strength a bit further," continued the man. "But as it stands, you''re just limiting yourself if you continue to remain at your current ss rank."


    "Isn''t strength what''s most needed right now in the war? Wouldn''t increasing your ss rank be the easiest way to do that?"


    "..." Hearing Vaughn''s exnation, Valyr merely remained silent, the various thoughts in his mind running rampant as the man''s words served as a long-needed wake-up call to him. Seeing the young man remain silent, Vaughn inwardly let out a sigh as he had an idea of what was going on in his mind. ''At times like these, I notice that you put the cart before the horse


    sometimes.''


    Wanting to give Valyr the time to figure it out on his own, Vaughn soon conjured a rift before


    them.


    "Let''s head back."