Chapter 1342 Weakest Rune
Chapter 1342 Weakest Rune
Arthur was never a fan of unnecessary cruelty. Even when fighting enemies or people he loathed, he would never inflict more pain than he believed the other person deserved. He liked to call it justice, but he wasn't delusional. Justice was what the victor decided. If the vampires here defeated him, they would be justice. He would be the intruder who attempted to exterminate their race. And the act of defeating him would be glorious, fulfilling, and, as they would believe, an act of justice. The bodies slammed to the ground, their insides emerging into the world in an unsightly fashion. Arthur remained in his spot, having executed at least a hundred vampires in a single strike. Vengeance was not without cost, either. The ability to choose several targets to suffer his wrath came at the dear cost of his sanity. "You are… it must be you… there is no other person that fits the description," the vampire leading the feast staggered backward, staring at him with dread and hatred. "Arthur Netherborne!" "I dare you to say my name again," Arthur stared at him with eyes on the brink of insanity. A primal force suffocated the vampires and humans alike as they gazed at the small frame of a man casting the giant shadow of a beast. And no one was able to say his name again. The vampires stood frozen with fear. Their plans had gone astray the moment this man infiltrated their base. It was too soon for them to face this monster. And to do it alone… would be an act of suicide. "I know that you can see me through your minions, Kar!" the man shouted in the courtroom, his deep voice making the vampires retreat in fear. "Can you save them before I exterminate them from existence?" The vampires knew that his threats were no mere threats, but promises. Kar could indeed see what was happening through the bond he shared with the vampires. "Our lives are a meager price to pay!" shouted the vampire on the stage, his grin stretching to his ears. "If we can stop the King of Wrath using these lives of ours, to stall him for just a bit of time, it would be more than enough!" The vampires snapped out of their fear. Their absolute devotion to Kar, the Lord of Vampires and Sin of Gluttony, made them more than happy to throw away their lives. And they knew that sacrificing their lives to stop the man before them would be a bargain. "Villains and heroes," muttered Arthur in a whisper, as if speaking to himself. He was no longer looking at the vampires but at a place that others could not see— a future that others could not envision. "Gods and mortals. Angels and demons. Good and evil. All of that can go to hell." Arthur unsummoned Nightmare as the vampires flinched. Instead of meeting the King of Wrath himself, they witnessed something else open its eyes at them. It was neither wrath nor creation. A crushing spiritual pressure leaked out from Arthur and refused to cease. "What is—" began the vampire, looking at his minions. "Attack him now! Kill him!" The vampires snapped out of their confusion. The spiritual energy kept overflowing from Arthur without pause. Gravity itself began to shatter the palace and its pillars. Even as they used their blood arts, the vampires found it hard to move or breathe. But they attacked at the same time, hoping to land a single hit on the anomaly before them. Arthur raised a hand while surrounded by almost a thousand vampires. A small rune appeared in his hand before the spiritual energy rushed into it. The rune began glowing as it became a vortex of spiritual energy, brimming with infinite power. Arthur stared down at the rune as the scars on his eyes began glowing, resealing his sight. "I refuse," muttered Arthur, and the scars stopped. "I have paid the price of merging the two worlds. The legacy will be fueled with this infinite energy. You know its source, right?" No one could understand who Arthur was talking to, or what he meant by those words. But in the next instant, the rune began to morph. Its ancient characters began changing before their eyes, turning into a golden rune of creation. Arthur smiled and uttered the rune's name. [Spark] The rune burst into flames that engulfed the entire courtroom. The entire palace shattered and exploded as a result of the instantaneous inferno that appeared. The vampires turned to ashes, while a barrier appeared around the humans to protect them. The entire courtroom turned to cinders. The flames disappeared in the next instant, leaving nothing but a desolate scene of destruction. The walls had disappeared, revealing an ashen sky. What remained of the courtroom was the stage and a single vampire. Arthur stepped over the ashes as the rune disappeared into nothingness. He walked toward the vampire, shivering on the ground, looking at him as if he were the devil. "No… don't come closer… I'm sorry! Leave me alone!" the vampire cried and begged, but he could not run. He knew better than to run from the man in front of him. Arthur stopped a few feet away from the vampire. He was not smiling, nor was he proud of the massacre he had committed. His face was expressionless as he looked down at the vampire. "That was the weakest rune I could write," muttered Arthur as he looked down at the vampire. "There will be no war between vampires and humans. The seven sins will die by my hand. That will be the end." The vampire was still shivering, and the same was true for the humans on the stage. Most of them were kneeling on the ground, fearing that they would anger Arthur in some way. Instead of addressing them, Arthur used another rune to teleport them away. Then, he turned back to the vampire, who flinched. He crouched on the ground and stared the fear-struck creature in the eyes. "You are not worthy of mercy. I can hear the voices demanding that I kill you too." Arthur paused. "But I wanted Kar to witness his vampires' death. I want him to understand that this is no longer a fight between us. It will be a one-sided massacre. His plan to use Kera against me will not yield any results… except his death." Arthur rose and summoned Nightmare. It unleashed a cry that made the vampire almost lose his mind. As he raised the blade high, the vampire cried tears of blood. "You can use Devaheim and summon the gods to Earth. The entire universe could stand against me, and I would not lose. That is a promise, Kar. Remember it well." Nightmare flashed, and the vampire lost his head. It began to turn to ashes before Arthur, and he turned to look at the destruction he had wrought. His earlier words were not a threat, but the truth. Arthur could no longer lose. He could no longer afford to lose anything. The world could stand alongside him or against him, but it would be the same. He would keep marching forward until he reached the future he had envisioned. Devaheim stood in the center of the universe, and the climb to reach it would be long. But once he defeats the kingdom of gods, he could rewrite everything.