Corrupt Creations

Even the impact and destruction caused by those dark meteorites earlier, paled in comparison to this massive shockwave. Unfortunately, for the citizens living in some villages located at the surroundings of that valley, after the initial loud explosion, they didn't even have time to run, before that shockwave reached them. 

Like a massive tsunami had abruptly downed upon them, those villages were completely wiped out, turning their villages into an apocalyptic scenario, as the storm passed by and razed everything. 

The StormWind Valley was already badly damaged from the loss of a lot of manpower, after the beast tide attack, they had suffered a week or so ago. But now, all of a sudden, dozens of some small villages located in between that nation and the Lion's Pride Golden Palace were thoroughly wiped out, yet again damaging their foundation. 

After this blow, their unshakable rank as the number one nation, may even be taken away from them. 

The sky had turned into a battlefield of two very aggressive energies. Crimson corruption kept annihilating those demonic hands, not letting they come closer to Seth, while those dark elemental demonic limbs were wildly dancing, trying to rip open a space in the middle of that tyrannical storm in order to descend to the ground and reach their target. 

Dark and red filled the whole horizon, creating myriads of dark storms that were slowly becoming fewer and fewer, till only a dozen or so of those dark elemental storms remained. 

When the last collision between those two aggressive energies finally ended, there wasn't a valley anymore. That place was now just another barren land, like the Desolate Scorching Wastelands. The soil was broken and deformed, while the air was very heavy and full of impurities. 

Impressively, neither Velgor nor Seth had suffered a single bit of damage during all that time. But their Mana had been totally depleted, to the point Seth wasn't even able to lift his greatsword properly now and Velgor was not able to support keeping his body hovering in the air anymore, being forced to come down. 

When he stepped back on the ground, he was less than twenty meters apart from Seth, yet none of them moved. They just kept looking at each other. 

Only after the whole environment had gone silent, that one of them decided to act. 

Impressively, the first one to move was actually Velgor. He came running towards Seth, like an insane old man. His state of mind had suffered so many variations today, that he was practically acting like a madman. But that was expected of someone that had lost his long-term goals and expectations in life. 

Out of nowhere, black shadows enveloped his entire body, giving him the necessary energy to deal a finishing blow to his mortal enemy. Those shadows were not being powered by any Mana, but by his will of causing death and destruction. 

Seth noticed that Velgor had sacrificed his vitality and blood essence to draw more power out, but he couldn't do the same. He still had a journey to pave and sacrificing vitality or blood essence would cause him to prematurely die. Death was something he wouldn't admit, be it in the situation he was facing now, or in any other types of abnormal situations. 

Seth had no strength left to lift that heavy weapon anymore, so he decided to recall it back to the internal space. Now, it was going to be only him and Velgor, facing each other like two normal practitioners. But it was at those moments, that battles were more prone to be decided. 

But just as he decided to move forward, only counting with his absurd physical strength to win that final round, Seth's blood started to pulse with corruption and his power exploded outwards. His greatsword reappeared right in front of him and he felt the power to lift it, running in his bloodstream. 

He extended both of his hands and grabbed it, swiftly pointing that heavy blade towards Velgor. 

BANG! 

A crimson light and an obscure darkness collided, creating a spherical energy bubble. But this time, the balance between them was impressively, easily broken. 

Seth's greatsword completely destroyed Velgor's remaining arm, penetrating his body right after. The crimson blade of that heavy weapon pierced the Demon Emperor's body, ripping a huge hole right in the middle of his chest and leaving at the other side. 

Pah! 

Velgor immediately spat a mouthful of dark blood, not believing the scene that had just happened. Suddenly, that greatsword shone bright and corruption started to spread to his cells. His muddy eyes watched as that crimson energy easily defeated his dark elemental aura and invaded his body. 

He knew very well what happened to each one of those individuals he used as guinea pigs, when infected with that reddish energy and now that his energy was starting to leave his body, his fate would be the same. 

There was a huge crimson blade penetrating his chest, from where he wasn't even able to feel pain anymore, but he could feel that crimson energy invading his system. Velgor slowly closed his eyes, trying to embrace death, but somehow his mind wasn't able to accept it. 

Right after Seth dealt the finishing blow, his powers started to fade away as well. He was already past the limit he could handle and his body tried to save his energy for his recovery. Those crimson lines covering his skin started to recede and his aura diminished too. But it was an error from his part. 

  Velgor couldn't accept his defeat. No... Actually, he couldn't accept that Seth would keep on living and even though most of his aura and Mana had already dissipated, with the remaining energy he still possessed, he activated one last desperate skill. 

Velgor's lips curved upwards and he suddenly said his last two words, expecting those were going to be the last two words Seth would hear as well. 

"Dark... Sacrifice..." 

Suddenly, from inside his energy veins, his blood color changed to black, consecutively turning into darkness. Every single cell that constituted his being, started to transform, bringing forth its hidden potential in the form of a cluster of darkness. 

Seth quickly realized something was off, but before he could even do anything, a black cloud enveloped his body and everything else around them. 

Boom! 

A dark storm took over that area, damaging everything still present there. 

Seth's body was sent flying through the air, as if he was a broken arrow. However, before he hit the ground, a green light flashed past his body and a woman wearing a golden and green dress appeared. She held Seth's body into her arms, swiftly dissipating the lingering power that was trying to damage him. 

Seth was just able to partially see her silhouette, before he completely lost his consciousness. The dark storm generated by Velgor was completely suppressed and at the same time, a Mana Sovereign energy, started to infused inside Seth's body, stimulating his Evergreen Essence. 

Seth had so many injuries externally and internally, that it would take a lot of time before he could properly heal and wake up once again. However, at least his life wouldn't be in grave danger while being treated by a powerhouse of that level. 

He was lucky two times in a row, since not only his strong and sturdy body was able to handle Velgor's last suicidal attack, but there was a Mana Sovereign Realm cultivator to help him on his recovering. 

It turns out that after the Elf Queen had defeated Qiao Xuan, she did everything she could to recover a bit of her powers and headed towards where Seth's energy signature was coming from. She knew how important this battle was for him and with the current quantity of Mana she was able to gather, there wasn't a way for her to actively help him. However, she was hidden in a faraway place, waiting for the perfect time to act. And that time was at that final moment. 

Arwen used her energy scan to search traces of the Demon Emperor, finally relaxing after she confirmed that he was really dead. After that man's lifeline was extinguished, there wouldn't be a way for him to leave out of this situation alive. His body was thoroughly used in order to execute that last skill of his and nothing of him remained behind. 

After making sure of everything, Arwen carried Seth away, moving back to the Elven Kingdom. What he needed now, was a place that he could peacefully rest to recover to top condition, and the Ereinrith City would be that location. There, Arwen could be sure that there would be multiple layers of protection, till something or someone that wanted to cause him evil, could approach and hurt him. 

As Arwen and Seth's figure vanished, the only thing left behind in that area was that post-apocalyptic environment.. That night, one of the three Higher Grounds and the strongest clan in the whole Demon Territory, were both completely destroyed.