I have an Apocalypse City

Chapter 676: Chapter 676: Shackles Mark

With a flap of his steel wings, Song Jian rose into the air, charging towards the back of the Abyssal Demon Lord;

He wrestled the disrupted heart of the Abyssal Demon Lord from a gaping wound in the demon’s back. Whispering in the demon’s ear, Song Jian said: “I told you, I want your flesh and blood.”

“Blade of the Abyss·Saffer Lance·Kutoya·Sara…,” Song Jian murmured the true name of the Abyssal Demon Lord. The heart he held, now little more than a third of its size, reacted as if frightened, its beats wildly intense;

The Book of the Abyss emerged before Song Jian, its pages flipping as if caressed by an unseen wind. An enigmatic black aura began to waft from the book;

Hearing his true name spoken, the Abyssal Demon Lord felt uneasy. The unease was amplified by the sight of Song Jian holding his heart;

“Human, what do you think you are doing? Do you believe that heart is indispensable to me?” The Demon Lord began to panic a bit. Losing his heart would set him back an epoch of years to regain his peak state;

“Give it back to me!”

Because the Abyssal Demon Lord’s true name was so long, Song Jian rapidly recited it, but he couldn’t stop the demon from trying to snatch back his heart.

However, just as the Abyssal Demon Lord’s massive hand reached for Song Jian, an unseen transparent barrier enveloped and protected Song Jian;

The Abyssal Demon Lord, could only futilely claw at the barrier, causing ripples but not able to penetrate the defenses;

“Binding with your true name, certified by your flesh and blood, Shackles Mark, apply!” Song Jian extended the hand holding the heart towards the Abyssal Demon Lord. Suddenly, a black flame appeared out of nowhere and flew towards the demon lord;

Sizzle~

At the centre of the demon’s forehead, a black lotus bloomed, its radiant glow, stunning. The Abyssal Demon Lord let out a shrill scream, clutching his head and rolling on the ground;

Song Jian glanced at the heart in his hand, now reduced to a quarter of its size after casting the Shackles Mark, leaving a barely recognizable, bruised fleshy lump as a demon’s heart;

Nonchalantly tossing the remaining heart back to the writhing Abyssal Demon Lord, Song Jian, with an expression of disgust, wiped off the purplish-black blood on his right hand, then stared coldly at the demon Lord;

“What did you do to me? You damned human, I’ll kill you!” The Abyssal Demon Lord roared, charging at Song Jian with bared fangs and claws;

“Shackles, Pain!” Watching the monolithic Abyssal Demon Lord rushing towards him, Song Jian stood his ground and said a single word;

Suddenly, the Abyssal Demon Lord felt as if his head was splitting apart, as if someone was repeatedly striking his skull with an axe or as if a red-hot needle was being stirred inside his skull;

This pain was not physical, it originated from the depth of his soul;

The agony endured for fifteen long minutes. The Abyssal Demon Lord had lost all his strength, collapsed on the ground like a heap of mud, his body convulsed non-stop, a faint hint of blood appearing from his seven orifices;

“No, mercy, spare me, I will honour our pact, as soon as I recover a bit, I will immediately help you claim the treasure from the Qingyun Sword Sect!”

Finally, unable to endure the soul-wrenching agony, the Abyssal Demon Lord begged for mercy from Song Jian;

Song Jian smirked, with a mere thought, the Abyssal Demon Lord instantly felt relief from the pain;

“What… what did you do to me?” The Demon Lord asked weakly;

“Nothing much, just a little trick to ensure you comply with the pact!” Song Jian responded, lightly kicking the shoulder of the Abyssal Demon Lord, and said: “Stop playing dead, get up and recover your strength quickly. As long as you help me annihilate Qingyun Sword Sect, I will cancel this Shackles Mark!”

After a long while, the Abyssal Demon Lord reverted to a human form. With a conflicted expression, he struggled to his feet and looked at Song Jian: “Human, I hope you keep your word!”

“Do you think I am an Abyssal Demon?” Song Jian scoffed and turned towards the exit;

…

A month later, Qingyun Town, the closest settlement to the ruins, had been utterly destroyed. The entire town was so deserted that not a single corpse was to be found;

“This town’s humans were too weak, I couldn’t replenish enough energy from them, not even as much as the previous town,” the Abyssal Demon Lord, garbed in a black cloak, complained;

The moment Song Jian and the Abyssal Demon Lord emerged from the ruins, they promptly laid waste to the several towns within the secret realm controlled by the Red-sun Sect. The flesh and blood of every human was used to restore the power of the Abyssal Demon Lord;

At this point, the Abyssal Demon Lord’s power had finally been restored to the early stages of a second-tier combatant, his level had also soared to level fifty-one.

However, even though the demon lord’s power had surpassed Song Jian’s by far, the effect of the Shackles Mark on his soul had not weakened. This subdued the Abyssal Demon Lord’s budding aspirations;

“So I’ve heard, there are quite a few treasures in this secret realm!” Song Jian stared into the distance, rubing his chin thoughtfully.

“I can steal all the treasures for you if only you release this Shackles Mark,” the Abyssal Demon Lord said quietly.

“Never mind that, the Qingyun Sword Sect is the priority!” Song Jian hesitated for a long time, but in the end, he abandoned the tempting idea;

After all, with the power of the Abyssal Demon Lord, he could sweep across this secret realm unchallenged;

Unless there were more powerful beasts hidden in the secret realm. But if that were the case, Qingyun Sword Sect and the Red-Sun Sect would have known by now;

The effect of the Shackles Mark lasts for only three months. Restoring the power of the Abyssal Demon Lord to the early stages of a second-tier combatant already took a month. If they really explored the secret realm for treasures, time would quickly run out. So when that happens, Song Jian would no longer have the means to restrain him, causing the assessment task to be indefinitely postponed.

“What a pity that this skill can only be used once against the same individual. Otherwise, I could have him following me around all the time,” Song Jian muttered under his breath;

“Exit through this Transmission Array. Be careful, on the other side lies the backyard of Qingyun Sword Sect, home to several powerful beasts. You may not be powerful enough to face them right now, so be cautious and hide. Once you’ve regained your strength, you can then take them on,” he ordered, pointing at the Transmission Platform.

“No worry, we Abyssal Demons are the unparalleled masters of disguise,” the Abyssal Demon Lord chuckled, his body rippling like water. In a moment, he had taken on the appearance of Chang Qinghe;

He gave Song Jian a nod, then stepped onto the Transmission Platform. With a flash of white light, the Abyssal Demon Lord disappeared.

…