Chapter 1225 A Knot
Chapter 1225 A Knot
Kael Firebrand coughed up blood as he tried to rise, but his arm failed him. He slammed to the ground again, worsening the gaping wound on his chest.
Arthur witnessed his destruction as he looked around, seeing that he had obliterated the plains between the hills of Yalenia. Instead, he turned them into a valley.
The Red Tower was a higher realm than their world, so much so that a single day there was an hour on earth. Using the Godslayer Art there did not harm the world as his earlier attack did – not just the world... but space itself.
A giant fissure appeared where he struck Kael and released his powers. Arthur suspected that using the negating quality of wrath decreased the effect of the Isotox, resulting in this fissure.
"I don't think a band-aid would fix this," said Arthur while scratching his head. "Lilo! Nova! Are you guys done?" he called while looking for his dragons. Sure enough, Lilo's replicas pinned down the three Lesser Dragons.
"Too easy, Master!" said Nova as if he hadn't sat on Lilo's head the entire time. "These Lesser Dragons are minions of the Red Dragon! I don't recommend killing them."
"Red Dragon?" muttered Arthur with surprise, and Kael seemed to react to that name. Arthur turned toward him, walked over, and flipped him on his back. "You know that dragon?"
"Know?" laughed Kael with blood flowing from his mouth. His red hair sprawled on the ground, mixing with his blood. "The Ruler Guardian is the God of Lesser Lives, and the Red Dragon is his dearest tamed monster."
"Is that so?" muttered Arthur with a nod before he turned toward the wound he inflicted, running down Kael from shoulder to waist. However, it was not enough to kill him. "As an Empyrean, aren't you a little weak?"
His question was genuine. Arthur expected them to put up a little fight, but he did not even block his attack. It bothered Arthur like an itch that he couldn't scratch.
However, Kael coughed up more blood, rageful veins popping on his forehead. Then, he attempted to rise and summon his mana. Arthur frowned and waved his hand, using black lightning to strike him down.
"You bastard…!" said Kael through gritted teeth as Arthur foiled his plans to use that mana. It wasn't that Arthur was scared of him, but Kael tried a vile trick.
"You wanted to instigate a beast invasion of the Yalen Kingdom," muttered Arthur with a face devoid of emotions. "Is that how you want the world to remember you?"
"Better than being remembered as a loser!" roared Kael, but he was too wounded. "Even if I die, I am better than those cowards who still retreated when you kept offending us!"
Arthur knew that he meant the other Empyreans hovering in the sky. As he raised his eyes to meet them, they began descending toward the battlefield, sensing that the battle was over.
"Don't blame us for not being reckless," said Saphir, Lord of Force, as he landed. After cupping his hands together, he stared at Arthur in a new light. "We have underestimated you."
"I'm afraid I did, too," said Arthur with a sigh, looking at them disappointedly. "I can tell that none of you desire to fight anymore."
"None of us desire to die," said Elysia from Tanera with a frown, looking at Kael, the strongest among them. "You are far weaker than us, but your powers are the bane of this world. We cannot defy it."
Arthur listened to her and realized a knot had been tied in his chest. This was too... disappointing. He came here knowing they prepared to summon a god to fight him. Even though it was reckless of him, Arthur was excited.
"The Seven Families have chased me for two years after learning of my identity as the outsider," began Arthur, and the Empyreans stiffened. "But now that you are helpless against me, I feel empty."
The empyreans stood with confusion, unable to read Arthur's mind. He sighed again and looked at the sky, then began laughing.
"I suffered from weakness all this time, but I have grown too powerful even to enjoy overcoming that weakness," Arthur said before turning toward them. "I wished for a fight, but I respect your desire for peace."
"I want to add one thing," said Marius, the Empyrean of Orlan. "Even with this power of yours, you cannot defeat Devaheim. You might defeat a single god, but numerous gods exist in that realm."
"Is that a warning, or sugarcoating your earlier condition and rebranding it as a concern?" laughed Arthur at the Empyrean, who looked like he swallowed a fly. "Rest assured, Marius Argento. This world would fall even if I did not fight against Devaheim."
"What do you mean by that?" asked the Lord of Force with confusion and apprehension.
"Janea is meeting the first Horseman of Doom, Famine," said Arthur as he gazed into the distance. "I can feel the Nameless is ready to descend into our world. But first, he will bring forth his horsemen."
The empyreans looked uneased, each worried about their kingdom. Arthur turned toward them and then toward the people of Yalenia. They were helping Lucian, who was injured by his kick.
"If you are not here to fight, then you can retreat," said Arthur to the Empyreans. "Take Kael Firebrand with you and treat him. I don't want him to die."
"You will regret that," said Kael with a bloodied grin. Arthur looked down at him and crouched with a grin, looking at the man from above.
"What can you do against me?" asked Arthur, and Kael shut his mouth. "I don't want you to die because it would hurt my next plans."
"Is that so?" grinned Kael Firebrand with an unusual glint in his eyes. "Well, then it's time to drop the act."
Arthur was confused, and Kael burst into flames. He scattered with the wind, nothing remaining from him. They were also all gone as he turned toward the rest of the Empyreans.
His eyes turned toward the sky, where the four empyreans turned into their respective forces. Kael turned into a dragon, Marius turned to elements, Saphir turned to force, and Elysia hid in the astral realm.
Arthur wondered what they were trying to do as he stood on the ground. These empyreans seemed to have lost their will to fight just moments earlier. Was it an act? But Arthur could tell that their existence did not plan on fighting him.
"Ah," uttered Arthur in realization as he grinned. "You guys still have figures backing you, huh? Figures that loath my existence."
Arthur forgot about them because he thought that they could not descend into this world. But since Lucian has defeated one of them, they must have felt threatened.
The Empyreans suddenly changed because their guardians summoned them to the astral realm, where they could grant them power or the resources to fight against Arthur.
His heart began beating in expectation. The knot in his heart was untied as he felt alive again. This feeling of danger has become his sole amusement. Arthur grinned as he looked at the sky.
"It would be too boring if it ended like that, wouldn't it?" laughed Arthur as he unleashed his lightning, summoning the dark clouds to cover the entire kingdom of Yalen. "Show me what you have, puny guardians!"
The entire world began to shake as his thunder rumbled. Arthur remembered something like this happening before against Cassius, the Sin of Pride. After being defeated by Arthur, he received one more power from Devaheim.
"Devaheim considers me worse than demons after all," remarked Arthur as he summoned his dagger, letting it cry in wrath. His kingdom of wrath appeared as well, ready for the battle.
An astra-ranker could summon an astral being, but empyreans had one more trait that made them powerful. These four became one with the universe, working together to open a gate unlike any other.
Saphir used his power to destabilize space, while Marius created the gate from his elements. Elysia connected the gate to the astral realm, and Kael was the one to open it using his abundant mana.
"As the descendant of the God of Lesser Lives," roared Kael as he used his blood as tribute. "I welcome our gods into our world again!"
Arthur did not move from his spot, staring with interest at them. He would not lose, but he wondered what the guardians told these empyreans to change their minds.
"Do these morons know... that they just wasted their only chance to survive?" Arthur muttered with a frown. It was hard to see someone throw away their lives like this.
But then, he felt it. A presence answered their calls and the gate shone bright. Something was descending from that gate, and it was a being that could threaten Arthur.
But Arthur was not afraid but instead grinned as he welcomed this fight. After all, his goal was to eradicate the entirety of Devaheim, not to mention a single god of theirs.