“YOU CAN’T OUTRUN ALL OF US GIVE UP AMEZHUL” screamed Bratt into the dark forest. Being the leader of the A rank party Silver Wolf was not just for show. The earth literally shook under the pressure of his declaration.

“Bratt do you have to announce our presence every time?” an impatient mage enquired.

“Of course I do, it’s the warriors duty to demand a fair duel!” Bratt replied completely seriously while thumping his chest with his tree trunk like arm.

“Bratt you know he’s a demonic cultivator? Why be fair to such human scum” the third member replied.

“Kevin you are a thief so obviously you have no honour and wouldn’t understand the thoughts of a noble warrior like me” Bratt replied in a spiteful tone, although Kevin took no offense as they were friends and had this argument almost daily.

The female mage called scarlet just watched on as her two dumb men team mates fought in the middle of a mission.

“Bratt, Kevin” she shot an angered glare at the both of them. Even under the darkness of the night both looked at her and could see the fire burning in her eyes. They both gulped hard and looked back to each other “she’s scary right Bratt?” “yea sh-“ *thwack* Scarlet smacked Bratt’s bald head to make him shut up.

“We are in the middle of a mission, can you please focus?” she said with an ice cold tone.

“Yes!” they replied with comedic salutes

Amezhul on the other hand was hiding in the basement of a house in an abandoned village. Many people get kicked out of the safe cities due to crimes committed or simply not being able to pay taxes. These people would form villages outside of the city walls but they rarely last long. With the threat from magical beasts that would constantly attack, many villages could be wiped out overnight and this was one of those villages deep in the forest near the city of Arberg.

Amezhul had grown up in Arberg in a loving family and similar to Luna was considered a genius. His Dao isn’t demonic at all or at least wasn’t back then. He follows the Dao of flowers. It’s a rare Dao to be able to cultivate but it's very versatile so is highly respected. 

By the age of 230 Amezhul had already reached the Divine realm final stage. To be a half step into the Celestial realm at only 230 years old was a major achievement and his family had high hopes for him.

It was these high hopes that led him to ruin. He was stuck at the final stage of the Divine realm for a further hundred years. No matter how much meditation or diligent practice Amezhul was unable to advance any further. After finding out that his cultivation technique was incomplete and he would never be able to ascend to Celestial realm he fell into despair. His friends and family tried to cheer him up telling him that being a powerful A rank guild member and Divine realm was already impressive enough. But he felt he had let everyone down. His pride and ego didn’t allow him to give up yet. While drowning his sorrows with alcohol one night a shady looking man approached him.

If Amezhul was in his right state of mind you best believe he wouldn’t have even heard the man out. But the mixture of despair, sadness and alcohol compelled him to ignore the shadiness of the man. When the man offered him an ‘experimental’ drug that supposedly could get him past his bottle neck in cultivation and they wanted him to test it for them. He even went so far to claim there’s no side effects.

He contemplated for a while but ultimately decided to take the drug which was a purple liquid in a test tube. After consuming the purple liquid which tasted of rotten milk and burned his throat his skills started activating without his consent attacking everyone in the bar.

Black vines shot out his body and strangled the people to death or snapped their necks. Once dead, the black vines seemed to invade inside the person's body and start controlling their limbs like a puppet. A withered flower appeared on the head of the now moving corpses. These strange flower zombies let out weird cries as they ran out into the night attacking on sight.

The drug didn’t raise him to become a Celestial but it gave his body a weird strength that allowed him to resist the pressure of a Celestial realm aura. Amezhul was still conscious and aware of his actions but he felt like a spectator to his actions. His body didn’t respond anymore and only thirsted for blood.

The slaughter went on for around an hour until there were too many cultivators for Amezhul to face off against. His body sent all the zombies to block off the cultivators while he made his retreat into the woods. Amezhul has since been on the run for around a month.

The potion has since mostly lost its effects and his bloodlust is more manageable but he has already been labelled a demonic cultivator. No matter what he says to his pursuers they continue to chase him. He knows he can’t be forgiven for the slaughter he caused back in Arberg but he didn’t want to die either.

*muffed speaking* *creaking floor boards*

Amezhul held his breath. He knew he was way stronger than the people above him but didn’t want any more blood on his hands. He was through with this lifestyle of a fugitive. Unfortunately the thief of the party had detected him as a few seconds later the ceiling exploded as a fireball was shot through the floor at Amezhul and a large battle axe was also thrown at him threatening to split him in half.

Amezhul was no fool however and had become a bit desensitized to murder. Although he found senseless killing repulsive when his life is targeted or he decides the people deserve it then he becomes a true demon. Letting out a wave of killing intent that makes all three A rank cultivators freeze up for a second. A black torrent of rose petals surrounded Amezhul’s body. This weird shroud of rose petals could attack Amezhul’s enemies and also defend against magic and physical attacks.

Scarlet tried burning the vines but these weird black vines seemed to already be charred black and therefore wouldnt burn anymore. The floor cracked below the party and a huge venus fly trap like plant tried to eat them from below.  Amezhul was using this plant as a vanguard to distract them while the poison fog takes effect. 

This was his basic battle strategy with the powers he gained from consuming the potion. It turned all his spells into demonic and stronger versions. He used plants as vanguards to keep the enemies disorientated, petals are used to defend and attack people that get too close and he used flowers to release toxic poison in the air. He is personally immune to the poison. This is also why he chose to fight indoors as the poison cloud won’t be blown away by the wind.

Despite the three being A rank cultivators at the Divine realm they found themselves being pushed back easily by one man. This shows the true might of not just his enhanced abilities but also what being stuck at the final stage of the Divine realm can push a person too. He has refined his techniques to the highest level while trying to break through after all.

Kevin and Bratt died quickly, entangled in black vines, thorns piercing vital organs and white foam coming from their mouths from the intense poison. Scarlet was using her fire aura to burn the poison gas before it could enter her lungs but the fire resistant venus fly trap trying to bite her head off and the black vines coming from the floor covered with dangerous thorns threatening to pierce her skin put her in a bad position.

To be honest Amezhul could have killed her right from the start but was enjoying watching her struggle for her life. Amezhul had become a bit twisted after being hunted down like a dog for the last month. Nobody treated him like he was human and just because of one lapse in judgment his life had been ruined. He caught wind that his family had publicly disowned him for the atrocity he commited. Amezhul knew even if he managed to overcome his current condition and get rid of his demonic abilities he could never return home.

Amezhul just wanted to be treated like a human again but he knew no cultivator would accept him for who he had become and what he had done. While thinking these sad thoughts he decided to put the girl out of her misery. She is covered in deep wounds and there goes her arm… Amezhul mentally orders his vortex of petals to impale the girl. Scarlet's eyes go wide as a thousand petals impale her into the wall, finally ending her life.

“Hahahahhaha” Amezhul manically laughed at the scene. He enjoyed battle and killing these cultivators certainly made him feel superior. He walked over kicking the dead bodies over to expose their hands. He took off the spatial rings of all three cultivators and transferred the contents into his own. He now had the combined wealth of six Divine realm cultivators and twelve Sage realms.

Amezhul decided he had collected enough funds to make a new life. Exiting the building he starts to head towards the farthest city in the east, Vidford. From what he knew the strongest cultivators there were only Divine realm so he should be able to make a new life there without risking being assasinated.

Taking out a blue sword with a beautiful rose pattern Amezhul stands onto it and flies through the cold night sky towards his destination, leaving behind his life in Arberg.