Villain: Ultimate Mutation System in the Alternate World

'Damn it,' Jayden cursed inwardly, feeling as though his whole body was on the brink of breaking any second now.

He struggled to adjust to the powerful effects of the Lightning Rune he had just activated.

This super rare item had the ability to exponentially boost his power, but the process had to be gradual, allowing the body to adjust accordingly.

Many people who tried to absorb all the energy in one go ended up either dead, crippled, or, for some miraculous reason, incredibly strong.

But only a few managed to achieve the third outcome, and all of them were considered geniuses in their own right.

They possessed heavenly blessed physical physiques since birth.

Currently, due to the sudden surge, his overall combat ability was already on par with that of a T2-5 hunter, representing an abnormal spike in combat ability.

In fact, even if he had absorbed this rune normally, there was a very high chance that he would never reach this level at all.

So, his body was more like a car right now that was filled with a jet engine, receiving a temporary boost in exchange for breaking his engine.

He felt like a balloon filled to bursting, held back only by his continuous use of breathing techniques. If not for this, he feared he would have already burst from within.

The silver lining here was that the demon was also caught off guard by his exponential boost and was killed right on the spot.

He doubted that anyone could have survived that; it was an attack that could have one-shot a normal Peak High Demon.

And even heavily wound a Beginner Upper Demon, given the right circumstances.

***

In the distance, a large crater formed on the mountainside as a round and compact silver object crashed into it with a momentum akin to a bullet train hitting a wall at full speed.

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

The round object started breaking bit by bit, and suddenly, a silver bone hand punched through it, shattering the shell like an egg.

"What was that?" Reign grumbled .

He couldn't believe he had been sent flying for real this time.

The force of the attack exceeded his expectations, but he managed to mitigate the damage by using Bone Control to form a sturdy, round shell around his body in mid-air.

This expanded his body's surface area, allowing the wind friction to slow his descent before impact.

It was a stroke of genius, and even with lightning-fast reflexes, it wasn't a maneuver just anyone could execute.

Reign's ability to pull it off stemmed not only from his fast reaction time but also from his capacity to think faster under pressure.

With his body still in fighting condition, Reign was still capable of continuing the battle.

However, he chose to stay put first and did not engage with Jayden after discovering something odd.

Observing the hunter's current condition, Reign realized that whatever Jayden had done to boost his power had come at a high cost.

During their clash, Reign noticed Jayden's eyes almost popping out from the pressure.

"Did he take a drug?" he mused inwardly, but after recalling everything, he didn't see the hunter taking anything at all.

This was something different.

Reign could feel an entirely different type of power coursing through Jayden after coming into contact with the lightning.

He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, but instinctively, he knew it was far more powerful than any ordinary breathing technique.

***

With Jayden's body in overdrive, all his senses heightened, allowing him to see much further than usual .

'It's still alive?' he was shocked to see the demon in the distance, around 2 kilometers away, glaring and observing him

Despite his expectations of a decisive one shot blow, the demon stood tall, seemingly unaffected by the attack.

'No, that's impossible. He must be on his last legs,' he reassured himself.

Surely, a Peak high demon couldn't emerge unscathed after such an attack, right?

'I need to end this fast,' Jayden resolved himself.

There was no point in backing out now; he had already stepped on the pedal, so the only way was forward.

His legs bent as he once again channeled the excess energy into them.

Now that he was this powerful, there was no longer a need for him to go through the initial preparation for Thunder Step.

SWOOOOOOSH!

Another thunderous sound echoed , as Jayden with all his power close the distance between him and Reign.

"Death Aura," Reign unleashed his ability, causing the atmosphere around him to grow heavier.

Even Jayden felt a constriction in his power despite him being still a distance away, but it wasn't enough to hinder him in his current state.

'System, turn on the dominating aura,' Reign commanded, and the once-sealed aura, proof of his status as an Upper Demon, was finally unleashed.

When this aura worked in tandem with the Death Aura, its effects were multiplied many times over.

"This Aura! .." Jayden felt the aura entering his body, causing the already chaotic energy to spiral out of control.

As a result, his speed was halved, and his senses were muffled to the point of momentarily blacking out.

At this moment, he finally realized that he wasn't just dealing with a Peak High Demon.

When his awareness returned, Jayden found himself close to Reign, whose fist had turned black from the negative aura.

This time, Reign had decided to go with his fist, aware that swords were weaker against blunt surfaces.

'I can't stop now! I need to kill this demon no matter what!'

With no other option but to fight his way through, Jayden gritted his teeth and drew in a deep breath.

His heart rate doubled, the flow of his blood accelerated, and his lungs expanded as he breathed in the air.

Some of the veins in his body burst, but they were instantly vaporized by the sparks around him.

When the preparation was complete, he gripped his sword with all his might, channeling all his force into it and his wrist.

He was planning to execute a technique that had been impossible for him to perform before.

"Thunder Bird Breathing Technique…. Lightning Flash!" he roared, channeling all his power as he swung his sword downward .

If he was going to die anyway, then he would take this wretched demon with him .

"Let's die together, you bastard!" he roared in anger.

"Don't get too cocky," Reign sneered in contempt, as he focused all his energy into a single point: the tip of his knuckle.

But he didn't stop there.

He also incorporated the Stream Guide to make his strike even more fatal, shifting the weight in his body to the point that his fist, from its initial position, generated a sound akin to a jet engine the moment he swung it.

When his fist collided with the air molecules, a spark formed, igniting a combustion as the air turned into flames.

"ARGGGGGH!!!!" Both fighters roared in unison as they unleashed their strongest attacks.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

An explosion, far more devastating than before, thundered through the air with such force that it shook the very earth beneath their feet.

The ground quivered and trembled, sending shockwaves rippling outward in all directions.

The impact was so powerful that neither of them could figure out the outcome until the very last moment.