I've recently realized that most people seem to not know who this DC villain actually is, so I decided to just say 'screw it' and do a poll. It's a spoiler, but what happens next in the story doesn't really rely on the information being concealed anyway, so here we go.
2023-01-25 19:58:50 +0000 UTC View Post------------------------------------------
“No!”
Xuanyin’s response was a resounding denial. Unfortunately, it was somewhat undercut by her furious blush. She seemed to realize this because she quickly stuffed her face into her hands before turning her head away.
Chunma’s eyebrows shot towards the ceiling.
‘This chick… is a closet lesbian!’
Well, that was probably not entirely the case. She wasn’t indifferent to the charms of men, given h...
2023-01-25 16:58:58 +0000 UTC View Post----------------------------------------------------
There was a moment of silence as the witch processed his question. It seemed she thought his words up until now were nonsense, not meant to be taken seriously. After all, who would chat up an intruder with questionable intentions? More likely, he was trying to misdirect her or stall for time, yet she couldn’t help but reconsider.
“…you wish to parley with me?”
There was a note of suspicion in her tone.
Arthur...
2023-01-24 16:31:29 +0000 UTC View Post--------------------------------------------
As time went on, Chunma started to feel the plum wine’s effects. It was surprising because he hadn’t drunk much of it, a cup and a half at most. The porcelain in question wasn’t big either, having only a slightly larger volume than a shot glass.
‘What the hell? My human self wasn’t this much of a lightweight.’
He entertained the idea of demons being weak to alcohol, but it sounded ridiculous. More likely, the ...
2023-01-22 19:20:57 +0000 UTC View Post-------------------------------------------
In an instant, Arthur found himself standing inside someone’s house. The interior was vintage, decorated and furnished in the style of the nineteenth century. For a brief moment, he thought he’d been transported back to the Grimm estate, but it soon became clear that wasn’t the case. The place was much too colorful and brightly lit.
“Ah, home sweet home. It’s a shame I can’t stay, but I’ll get you settled before I lea...
2023-01-21 16:53:04 +0000 UTC View Post--------------------------------------------
By using his identity as the young master of the Jong clan, Chunma was easily able to secure a private booth. An attractive young woman, wearing tastefully-applied makeup, guided him and Xuanyin to their seats. However, the youth barely paid her any attention. As the saying went, ‘a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush’.
Before the start of the auction, he asked the attendant to bring them something to drink, preferably a...
2023-01-20 16:33:05 +0000 UTC View Post--------------------------------------------
After an indeterminate time, the outflow of ultraviolet energy, surging into the black coffin, came to a halt. The thrumming vibrations, like the hum of a giant machine, gradually dissipated and soon the room in the center of the pyramid became deathly silent. The atmosphere was tense and oppressive, as if the weight of eons past were about come crashing down.
Suddenly, there was a hissing sound as the coffin lid was unsealed by some in...
2023-01-19 18:07:51 +0000 UTC View Post--------------------------------------------
Two youths, a boy and a girl around the same age, were seated inside a decorated, moving carriage. Their dispositions were noble and their appearances excellent, evidence of their extraordinary backgrounds. They had left Mount Hua behind, heading toward the center of Plum Blossom city, where The Fluttering Petals Pavilion sat.
The boy was Jong Chunma and the girl, Mu Xuanyin.
The Jong clan scion was silently staring at his prospec...
2023-01-18 21:39:59 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like a torch burning in the darkness, the golden, glowing figure of Dr. Fate could be seen, hovering in front of the sealed, hexagonal portal. The entity had drawn and redrawn countless golden runes across its surface, attempting to open the door, but its attempts were all in vain.
‘I don’t get it. Weren’t you the one who sealed this thing? How come you can’t reopen it?’ 2023-01-17 17:13:10 +0000 UTC View Post
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Chun Ma was walking in the Jong clan’s garden with Xuanyin next to him. Predictably, the atmosphere was uncomfortable. The two of them barely spoke five words since leaving the dining room.
‘Marrying her isn’t such a bad idea, now that I think about it. A pretty wife is always nice, but more importantly, if Fang Yuan is cut from the standard protagonist cloth, he likely has some...
2023-01-15 13:36:22 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
‘What is this thing?’
Kent Nelson’s internal voice was quiet and fearful. The colossal rhomboid shape, like a massive, black diamond, completely exceeded his understanding.
As he observed the strange, glowing letters, flowing across the obsidian surface, he was suddenly struck by a revelation.
‘Where you responsible for this, Nabu?’
He couldn...
2023-01-14 20:53:01 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chunma sat at the dinner table, slowly chewing a mouthful of tasteless food. The dish was sweet-and-sour-pork, one of his favorites in his past life, but now it was about as appetizing as cardboard.
‘I can eat normal food, but it’s not nutritious to me at all.’
The reason he was even bothering with it was because he and his parents were entertaining the Mu family. The...
2023-01-12 16:14:58 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chun Ma didn’t immediately return to the Jong pavilion. Instead, he wandered around the Mount Hua Sect, feeling inexplicably listless and disappointed. Xuanyin’s reputation was so great that he’d inevitably developed some expectations. However, after sparring with her, he instinctively understood she would never be his match. An antelope would never best a lion, no matter how hard it trai...
2023-01-10 13:46:38 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As they were fighting, Chun Ma noticed a handful of individuals approaching the courtyard.
‘I wasn’t planning on meeting all my in-laws tonight, but with how loud we’re being, I guess it’s inevitable.’
He had to admit that Xuanyin was truly skilled. Her temperament was excellent, as well.
She was used to her status as an untouchable prodigy – to have her w...
2023-01-07 16:05:53 +0000 UTC View Post
AN: I casually did the rest of this one, since I exceeded the word count for chapter 2.
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After Chun Ma stopped by his parents’ bedroom to check up on and reassure his mother, he returned to his own chambers. He preferred to cultivate, but she demanded he rest. The youth agreed, since he didn’t want to upset her further.
‘I practically slept the entire day, so I’m...
2023-01-01 13:22:33 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When Chun Ma returned to tranquility, he got out of bed and headed to Hyun Jong’s office.
‘He wants to know what went wrong.’
The young scion was sure of his guess. His father was the main reason why his true nature remained concealed. More than anyone else, Hyun Jong needed to know if there were any changes in his condition.
‘The problem is, I don’t kno...
2022-12-31 18:47:30 +0000 UTC View PostAN: So I wrote up most of this thing a long time ago. Given that I don't really have much time to write at the moment because of family staying over until new year, I thought I'd use my spare time to put the finishing touches on this story and publish it. When everybody is gone and I have some peace and quiet, Diabolical will continue. Until then (the 3rd of Jan), it's just too difficult to write up whole chapters with all the hustle-and-bustle around me.
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2022-12-31 11:52:27 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A black shadow shot out of the pillar of red-hot slag. Despite the fact that it’d sustained a head-on attack of overwhelming magnitude, it was nearly unscathed. The only sign of damage could be seen near the smoldering corner of its long, black cloak.
However, it wouldn’t be allowed to come and go as it pleased.
In proverbial eye of the storm, a golden figure hovered. No living ...
2022-12-24 21:41:49 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A lone figure was floating down a strange hallway. It was like an enormous funhouse mirror, with silver walls, floor and ceiling, made out of a quicksilver-like material. On the many surfaces, the individual’s appearance was reflected. By all accounts, he appeared human. It was only his feet, hovering five inches above the floor, and his gold, glowing eyes that elucidated his abnormal identit...
2022-12-23 15:17:30 +0000 UTC View PostI've been getting a lot of comments across multiple different platforms about it being to slow, not enough information, too mysterious etc.
FF.net, royal road and webnovel's reader data does seem to support this. The readership dropped very heavily after ch5, which is when stuff started getting really weird.
I assume you guys like it since you're here, but I want to ask anyways. Were pretty close to tying up arc 1 (the newest chapters, that is), so after I finish that, I want to k...
2022-12-22 08:23:05 +0000 UTC View PostAN: 35k words and 14 chapters in, we finally have our first (brief) fight scene.
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Within seconds, the strange color faded until Arthur’s eyes regained their light-brown hue. The boy in question was laying perfectly still, like a mummy in its crypt. His body felt extremely unfamiliar to him, to the extent that it was worse than when he’d been reborn as a baby, ten years ago. He...
2022-12-21 19:01:58 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the darkness, there was a sudden sound. It was the noise made by a key, scraping against a lock. Kent listened with mixed emotions as the mechanism shifted and the doorhandle was turned. ‘The moment of truth has arrived.’ He thought apprehensively.
The old hinges creaked, a telltale sign that these chambers were seldom used. The threshold opened and a thin orange light sho...
2022-12-19 15:58:34 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arthur’s eyes were still blurry, but after blinking a few times, he got rid of the worst of it.
He gave the space a quick once-over. It was a bedchamber, princely beyond imagining, but that was a running theme at this point. There was soft gold and red velvet, white ivory and dark ebony. If it’d belonged to the queen herself, he’d not have been surprised.
The old woman regarde...
2022-12-16 23:56:26 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arthur found himself standing in the hallway, feeling distressed. “I don’t think this is a good idea, Mr. Nelson.” He said, barely managing to stop his voice from trembling. He surreptitiously glanced around, trying to see if there was anyone or anything nearby --- there wasn’t. It was a small relief that he didn’t see any mirrors, because he was sure they were purposed for s...
2022-12-14 19:06:36 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Their breakfast had concluded, and Arthur was now on his way to meet his tutor. ‘I wonder what they’re going to teach me…?’ He thought. He was sure the lessons weren’t going to provide him with valuable information --- that would be counterproductive.
He’d realized how much his ignorance was hampering him, and had drawn a conclusion --- the mansion’s inhabitants wer...
2022-12-11 22:01:23 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arthur carefully approached the corner. As he drew closer, the light, cast by his lantern, illuminated the floor. The dark, rust-colored carpet reached its end, giving way to a lacquered wooden surface. It had an interesting look --- there weren’t any identifiable boards or planks; it was all one solid thing, like it had been cut from the world’s thickest tree.
It was so perfect...
2022-12-10 21:58:01 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After their dinner had concluded, the mother and son made small-talk, while Ms. Squint loomed over them like a demonic statue. Arthur pointedly avoided talking about anything related to the supernatural --- he didn’t know how the maid would react, and there wasn’t anything Jane could do about it anyway. He did wonder how Jane had been living in this place for the first sixteen year...
2022-12-06 18:48:06 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As he was opening them, Arthur gazed through the gap between the doors. The sight was enough to strike him dumb --- the first thing he noticed was the sheer size of the room; it was beyond big. He wanted to compare it to a throne room, but that simply wouldn’t have been adequate. No, it was more like the inside of a cathedral.
There were a few other ‘oddities’ --- he notice...
2022-12-04 19:24:10 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was a sound, somewhere on the edge of his hearing, that roused him. Arthur came to blearily, unaware of his situation. When he opened his eyes, he was disoriented. His surroundings were pitch black --- the only thing he could see was a thin, glimmering film, reflecting a hint of light. ‘I’m drifting on the surface of a lake...?’ He thought. His brain was sluggishly trying to p...
2022-12-01 17:23:42 +0000 UTC View Post---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
His reasoning was elementary --- the manor was too large, and too mysterious. Its network of passageways was labyrinthine; the thought of mislaying himself in these blackened, sinister hallways made his brain tremble in his skull. Even now, he could feel it --- a frozen fog of peril hung in the air, and countless thin, sharp shards were perpetually scraping across his skin, like ghostly fingert...
2022-11-28 21:56:30 +0000 UTC View Post