Chapter 992

"....?!"

Devan did not look like something the world had naturally forged.

He rose like a living monument, his height rivaling that of towering trees, his head brushing the unseen limits of what any man should ever become.

Standing before him felt like standing at the base of something ancient and immovable—his sheer size alone was enough to crush courage before a single word was spoken.

His frame was massive.

Not just large, but overwhelmingly dense, packed with raw, suffocating power.

Every inch of him was built like forged iron—thick arms that hung like pillars, a chest broad enough to feel like a fortress wall, and shoulders that carried the weight of something far beyond human existence.

He did not simply stand... he loomed.

And then there was his skin.

Crimson.

Not bright or vibrant, but deep—like dried blood layered over something far darker beneath.

It stretched tightly over his colossal form, faint lines and ridges running across it like hardened veins, as if his entire body pulsed with restrained violence.

His eyes burned in contrast.

Obsidian black, yet glowing faintly from within, like voids swallowing light instead of reflecting it.

To look into them was to feel a strange pull, as though they carried depth far beyond sight—cold, endless, and utterly devoid of mercy.

When he shifted, the ground answered.

Each step was slow, heavy, and deliberate.

His feet alone were monstrous, easily capable of crushing a man into nothing more than broken matter beneath a single careless motion.

The earth groaned under his weight, small fractures forming with every step he took.

Yet, despite his overwhelming size... there was control.

A terrifying level of control.

He did not move wildly. He did not lash out without purpose.

Everything about him was measured and restrained, as though he was constantly holding back something far worse than what already stood before you.

Each step he took rattled the very earth beneath him, as if the soil itself were afraid of his march.

This was now what he had become.

Alba gulped audibly, her neck aching the more she strained to look upward at the man’s monstrous form and height.

"Now I know where the name of the clan comes from."

The leader of the Behemoth Clan, despite his gargantuan size and beastly presence, still looked sane as he glanced downward at the Supreme Magus.

With the sudden disparity in size, it was like an adult staring down at a toddler, or an elephant looking down at a tiny ant.

That was how it appeared as Devan smirked at the warrior mage, whose face was now slightly dampened with sweat.

The aura Devan exuded was deadly.

The mage could feel the killing intent saturating the air, yet he wasn’t afraid.

His heart was pounding loudly against his ribs, however, it wasn’t out of fear.

He remained calm inwardly as he gazed at the man’s strange transformation.

A thought crossed his mind, causing his eyes to gleam dangerously.

Glancing at his hands, Grey squeezed them into fists and released them a few times.

’It’s not enough. I will need more. Luckily, I have just been served on a golden platter... no, a crimson platter,’ he beamed, his eyes twinkling while looking up at Deven.

"What’s so funny, kid? Do you know the mountain of trouble you are in?"

The corner of Grey’s lips twitched slightly.

"Oh, I sure do," he replied while Clara vanished from his grip. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Shifting into a combat stance, he glanced briefly at the frozen lightning pillar still hanging in the sky.

Then, with a sigh, he looked back at Devan before scanning the battlefield at those still standing upon it.

"Dawn Forces! RETREAT NOW! THIS IS AN ORDER!"

His voice boomed across the battlefield, shaking the very bones of every individual on the terrain.

Mada frowned and stepped forward with a determined look on his face. "And why should we?"

Grey stared at the leader of the Waterfall Clan with a stoic expression.

"Because this is not a battle for pests. No offense, but this is a clash for titans. And I don’t want anybody getting in between us. So LEAVE!"

Devan chuckled menacingly, his amusement obvious.

His voice was so loud and booming that it sounded all shades of wrong, echoing like thunder across the plains.

"Well, what sort of a leader will I be too if I let my men die on this field?"

Lifting his massive hand, he just waved a single finger at his soldiers. "Leave."

The Dawn forces and the Behemoth Clan stared at one another in hesitant silence.

Rivock sighed and then turned away from the battlefield first.

"He is right, Mada; don’t be stubborn. When giants fight, the grasses suffer. They have been nice enough to not go all out in the beginning so we wouldn’t get affected. Now, they are throwing all caution to the wind."

Seeing as he was departing, everyone finally gathered the courage and began moving away.

Thalos looked at the Primordial-ranked beast for a second before staring at Grey.

He shook his head and stabbed his sword into the earth firmly.

"You all can leave. I pledged my loyalty to Grey, and I will help him complete one last task."

Noir sneered at the gargoyle. "I have been with him the longest, and you want to outshine me by making me seem disloyal? Hell no. You all can leave!"

Ortiz turned to look at Gunther and then swirled Ki around his feet.

"This isn’t over. I will be back to settle the scores with you and the Dawn faction."

"Hey! Where do you think you are going?!"

Gunther shouted as he lunged forward.

But before he could reach the vice leader, Ortiz spun around and bolted away with tremendous velocity, leaving Gunther in the dust.

"Come on! Let’s move away now!" Sera shouted at the Dawn forces, and they all began retreating from the battlefield with all the speed they could muster.

Ortiz reached his clan in a minute.

"Move away now!" he shouted at them, and they all retreated from the main battlefield.

"....."

Minutes passed like a blur, with the Dawn forces now safely within the walls of their faction.

The main frontline fighters and Grey’s allies joined Fenrir, Leo, and Lilly on the wall so they could watch the battle unfold calmly.

The wall was positioned sixty meters away from the epicenter.

The Behemoth Clan didn’t retreat back to their home territory.

They were certain they would be the ones to win this war; hence, they wouldn’t leave without their leader.

Because of this, they positioned themselves sixty meters away from the primary battlefield.

This left only Thalos and Noir in close proximity to the impending clash.

Han and Dan remained directly above the battlefield in the sky, still hidden behind thick white clouds.

"..."

Turning to look at Devan coldly, a brilliant white light began surrounding the Supreme Magus.

Within moments, an armor of lightning, a pair of lightning boots, a pair of lightning gauntlets, and a crown of five spires made from pure electricity manifested on Grey’s body.

His eyes crackled with deep lethality.

"Since you want to go all out, I will be taking this seriously."

Lifting his hand toward the sky, the frozen pillar surged back to life as Grey’s eyes glowed with blue sparks.

"Feel my WRATH!"

Swinging his hand downward, an earth-shattering bang echoed across the entire field as the enormous pillar surged toward Devan with lethal force and blinding speed.