Duality of Shadows-Chapter 972: Just Wait

Meru watched the fierce demons and noticed some differences compared to the ones she knew. Even without cultivation, their bodies bore glowing runes capable of unleashing unique powers. They weren’t limited to just the basic laws of this universe.

While beasts relied mostly on their powerful bodies to fight, demons carried unique and abnormal power within their bloodlines. On the other hand, humanoid races in this universe occupied the lowest rung, as they were born with almost nothing and had to rely solely on laws to grow stronger.

’This clan we are heading to is the only one among the seven major ones that is controlled by humanoid races. Since humanoids are born weaker and can’t compare to demons or beasts without cultivation, they dedicated themselves to trade and production. But that alone wasn’t enough for them.’ Alm’s voice echoed in Meru’s mind.

’Sure, they could accumulate enough resources to be feared, so the other races wouldn’t easily kill them. But to just be laborers for the powerful races? No way. They chose to become schemers, doing shady things to rise above.’

Black arrows whistled through the air, merging together as they flew toward the ship. Their power was formidable. Meanwhile, the runes on the demons’ bodies glowed, making the surrounding space tremble with their distinct power.

Inside the ship, everyone hid in fear. Only the whale remained standing, with Meru on his shoulder, calmly observing the demons ahead.

As the demons approached, they released black mists while attacking the ship. Their gazes were cold and emotionless, like sharks scenting blood.

Many demons also devoured other races, not for their flesh, but for the three energies of life. In this universe without Qi, those energies were incredibly valuable… not just to the demons, of course.

On the flip side, demons’ cores were treasures for other races, useful for crafting pills and powerful inscriptions. Without Qi to cultivate, everyone was devouring each other for benefits. The stronger the consumed being, the greater the gain.

*BOOM!*

Countless runes lit up on the ship, shining as brightly as the sun. In that instant, everyone panicked as the light revealed an endless number of demons surrounding the ship. Their numbers seemed infinite as they roared and attacked relentlessly.

"Arrogant demons, how dare you block my clan’s ship?! You’ll be slaughtered!" a cold female voice shouted.

The ship trembled, and countless beams of light shot out like flying swords, piercing the demons. Then, brown runes appeared on their bodies, as if they were covered in dust. Once pierced, the demons were quickly exterminated.

"Earth laws to seal their bloodlines like poison. They’re really experienced against these enemies," Meru murmured, understanding.

The ship’s inscriptions harnessed the power of lightning and wind laws to move swiftly, invading the demons’ bodies. It was a simple but effective strategy. The earth laws, once inside the demons, disrupted the demonic Yin in their bloodlines, acting like a deadly poison. No wonder Behemoth blood was so toxic.

Soon after, the cores of the dead demons were drawn out by some kind of power, leaving their bodies and landing inside the ship.

The ship’s inscriptions were actually designed for hunting. Beyond charging fees to transport people, the clan took the opportunity to hunt demons, generating extra profits.

’That must be the excuse the other clans hear for their enormous profits. Pretty convenient,’ Alm commented to Meru.

Although numerous, there weren’t any truly powerful demons. The strongest among them were just mid-level Kings, incapable of threatening the ship.

Noticing how calm the clan members remained despite the relentless attack, the passengers gradually relaxed. Some even stepped forward to watch the demons.

The deck was now packed with people. After all, most of them were young and inexperienced, and witnessing the vast and terrifying power of the demons was a memorable experience.

Since no truly powerful demon appeared, Meru began to feel bored. Seeing this, the whale stepped back to rest.

They thought about calling the siblings to keep an eye on them, but upon reflection, they knew they couldn’t look after them forever. They also needed to learn to strengthen themselves and fend for themselves.

For three days, the flying ship kept moving forward, hunting demons as it went. The slaughter was entirely carried out by the ship’s inscriptions. Despite the cost in crystals, the profits were immense. As skilled merchants, the clan members knew how to turn those profits into even more resources.

On the fourth day, Meru noticed that Zian seemed restless.

"What’s wrong, sister?" she asked gently.

"Nothing. I just feel a bit lost. These demons are already so terrifying. When we reach the clan, the competition will probably be even fiercer than before," Zian replied with a faint smile, her expression complicated.

"You don’t have to be so pessimistic. Dad always says there are good people and bad people. What matters is knowing how to tell them apart. When we get there, my dad will support you; just be honest and don’t disappoint him," Meru said with a smile.

As the little girl spoke, Alm and Bruno noticed something in Zian’s fluctuations. Both sighed mentally in sync but chose to remain silent. The world was too harsh and complicated to fully explain in words to their daughter. This was a good chance for Meru to learn by seeing things for herself.

Zian quickly thanked her. Then they went back to talking, pretending everything was fine.

Two days later, the space around them completely darkened. A huge, sinister distortion slowly swallowed the ship, blocking even the light from the stars.

Suddenly, everyone felt an intense sense of danger and rushed out to the deck of the ship. When they emerged, they were faced with a terrifying sight: in the distance, a gigantic whirlpool looked like an open mouth ready to devour the world. Compared to it, the massive ship seemed tiny, like a grain of sand.

Upon seeing the whirlpool, Zian and the others were gripped by a chill. A powerful sense of threat settled in the hearts of the weaker ones.

At the same moment, Meru noticed something strange and turned to Zian. That’s when she saw a subtle change in her eyes, which had turned slightly purple, as well as in Rian’s.

Suddenly, a force distorted the space around the whale, catching him off guard. Without warning, the runes on the ship from the middle and lower levels lit up, and abruptly, the whale and everyone else were transported out of the vessel. To make matters worse, they were thrown directly toward the heart of the whirlpool!

As they were rapidly being pulled away by a powerful force, Meru clung to the whale and looked back at the ship. Then she saw Zian and Rian next to the woman leading everything. The woman had a mocking smile on her face.

Meru shuddered, feeling a sharp pain in her chest. Her first reaction was to think the obvious: they had been betrayed. However, something didn’t fit. The shock on the faces of the two showed that they, too, didn’t understand what was going on.

*BOOM!*

The whirlpool emanated an overwhelming destructive force. Anything sucked in would be immediately crushed. The whale, however, remained unfazed in the face of the danger, as this didn’t pose a direct threat to him. The main problem was something else.

They hadn’t felt any fluctuation when they were expelled from the ship. They had also noticed the change in the siblings’ eyes, but before they could react, this strange law manifested and threw them out.

The others who had been tossed into the whirlpool, terrified, couldn’t even scream, paralyzed by the invisible force that also tore their bodies apart. One by one, they were silently sucked in, as if an invisible mouth was devouring them.

All those who had been thrown were from the lower and middle regions of the ship. Meru, with tears in her eyes, watched helplessly as all the people she had spent nearly a month with were brutally killed.

The whale stopped at a point before the whirlpool, resisting its pulling force without moving. Meru, clinging to him, was safe thanks to the tattoos she had activated. Alm and Bruno, on the other hand, recognized the same peculiar law emanating from inside it.

When they activated their tattoos, they noticed a subtle resistance to that force. It was something they could absorb and dominate, but it would take precious seconds—too much time to save the other victims. Unfortunately, they were powerless, for this law was unknown and had caught them off guard.

"What are you doing?! You promised that if I gave you the treasure, you would let us go! How can you lie and deceive like this?!" Zian’s voice echoed, filled with indignation.

Meru turned her gaze back to the ship, listening to every word. The woman mocked her, striking the back of Zian’s head, knocking her unconscious instantly. Seeing this, Rian screamed and ran to help his sister, only to be kicked away and knocked out as well.

"No…" Meru swallowed her tears, furious.

Alm and Bruno quickly understood the situation. Despite having promised to protect them, Zian, out of fear, had handed over her treasure to that woman in the hope of ensuring their safety. But she had been deceived.

’She acted out of fear. That man is causing us trouble again, just because the siblings were his targets. To avoid future retaliation against us, Zian chose to sacrifice her treasure. She gave it to the woman, asking her and everyone else to forget about us and not attack us later. In the end, she was just too naive,’ Alm calmly explained.

Meru nodded, tears streaming down her face. It wasn’t a betrayal. Zian had done what she could to help them, but life was cruel to the weak. The powerful didn’t hesitate to take what they wanted, without caring about anything. After all, the dead don’t talk.

"You will pay for this!" Meru roared, overwhelmed with fury.

"Impressive," murmured the woman upon seeing the whale still resisting the whirlpool. She assumed he was struggling with all his might and would soon succumb. "Not even the sect leader would face the Devil’s Mouth directly, but you still resist. However, you shouldn’t have provoked us. Die in peace. In the next life, know how to choose your enemies!"

"Hahaha…" In response, the whale just laughed.

Hearing the laughter, the woman immediately felt an instinctive fear, as if death was lurking nearby. She quickly gave the order, and the ship glowed brightly, shooting a massive ray of light toward them. The tremendous force made the space around them tremble.

*BOOM!*

Without concern, the whale remained motionless. Meru waved her tattoos, easily dissipating the attack. The woman, seeing this, widened her eyes, incredulous.

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

New attacks were ordered continuously. A spatial distortion appeared between the ship and them, hiding the true events from view.

At that moment, Zian opened her eyes and, observing the explosions and the distortion in space, even without seeing, instinctively felt that they were the target. The woman wouldn’t let them leave alive. Clenching her fists, she murmured, her voice filled with guilt:

"Forgive me, I’ve disappointed you. If there’s another life, we promise to repay your favor. They took the invaluable treasure from my clan, but they don’t know how to activate it, so it’s useless to them. They will never have it…"

Zian twisted in pain and held her younger brother tightly. The woman and the others didn’t pay them any attention. After all, what could two insects like them do?

But suddenly, scarlet flames surrounded Zian and her brother’s bodies, and her expression became resolute.

"No!" Meru, even from a distance, heard the words and sensed what was about to happen, then let out a panicked scream.

"Stop!" The woman noticed too late. Shouting, she reached out toward them, but it was useless. In an instant, their bodies turned to dust.

It all happened very quickly, not even lasting two seconds. They used some kind of secret technique to burn their lives completely. The woman squinted as she realized what had happened. She knew the treasure was sealed and had kept the siblings alive only to use them to unlock it.

Growling in frustration, she took a ring off her finger. Immediately, the same purple light from the strange law appeared. Then, two souls emerged from the ashes and, with the help of the law, were swallowed by the ring.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

Meru felt it all from a distance and swallowed hard. For a moment, a hint of happiness pierced through her sadness, followed by a cold gleam that lit up her eyes.

Zian was incredibly pure. Perhaps, if it was just her own life at risk, she wouldn’t have cared so much. But the idea that those two could be killed because of her was something she couldn’t bear. That’s why Zian gave in and handed over the treasure. Insignificant in the eyes of the world, she believed that someone as grand as that woman would honor her word. However, as soon as she handed over the treasure, the true face of that powerful woman was revealed: her promises were nothing but lies.

’Humans...’ Alm began to explain softly to Meru. ’Demons and beasts can be brutal, but when they form bonds, they fight and die for each other. Humans, on the other hand, fake unity, create clans, sects, countries... not to strengthen themselves, but to have people to use. Caring for someone weak? To them, it’s just another piece on the board.’

’Don’t cry,’ Bruno intervened, trying to comfort her. ’The world isn’t that cruel. Remember our home. There, everyone lives united and happy, right? There, all races exist, but most have the right mindset. That’s because we select those who’ve lived long lives, made mistakes in previous ones, paid for them, and now are starting over without much karma. These people you see here, doing these unforgivable things, are just in the middle of that process. One day, they’ll learn. But, of course, that day isn’t today, and we won’t let this slide.’

Meru nodded. Her eyes, once cold, now shone with the same determination and joy as before.

When the ship finally stopped firing, the woman looked ahead and saw that the whale had been sucked into the whirlpool.

She snorted coldly and started giving orders. She hadn’t expected the siblings to have a trump card like that. Now that they were dead, the invaluable treasure couldn’t be easily activated. To manipulate their souls and get what she wanted, she would have to expend a lot of resources.

The ship slowly started to depart, disappearing into the distance. As for the giant whirlpool, it continued spinning relentlessly, just as it always had.

...

"Just wait..." Meru murmured, her voice filled with determination. But everyone on the ship was already too far away to hear.