Way of the Knights

Chapter 888: Consecutive Breakthroughs

Laughing Dragon’s breakthrough served as a fuse that triggered the consecutive breakthroughs of the rest.

A month after his Breakthrough, Anne began hers.

Compared to Laughing Dragon, her breakthrough was more tame. She released strong fluctuations as well and also released a resplendent verdant light. Her aura resembled that of an Ancient Being, it was filled with kindness and matchless when it comes to the sheer vitality it carried.

Anne was favored by Nature so much that the vitality she possesses even exceeded that of Gaia – who’s a Heavenly Elk, a creature beloved by nature itself.

A rainbow colored light shone from her core, from where she sat, a thick flora spawned and thrived.

This is the effect of her Divinity, the Divinity of Nature. And just like Laughing Dragon, she too spend sometime consolidating her strength before waking up and was sent away by Raven after that.

Next was Ellen.

Hers was the most violent so far. Her breakthrough resembled a volcano eruption which nearly shook the Throne Room if it weren’t for Raven holding it in place.

The blasting heat that oozes out of her body even seeped out from the seal which was an impressive feat knowing how thorough Raven is when it comes to his formations.

Also, Ellen fully assimilated with her Bloodline – the Ancient Phoenix.

This bloodline was earned by her during her adventures. She was recognized to be a perfect vessel for it so her resonance with the bloodline was impeccable.

This allowed her to assimilate and convert her blood to that of a true Phoenix, granting him more power and the aura of a True God Beast. Now that she has broken through the Divine Knight Stage, she condensed a Divinity that represents her new form.

She is now a Divine Phoenix. Ellen is now considered as a True God Beast. Undying and Eternal. Her power will just increase even further at this point.

Paul’s breakthrough started at the same time as Ellen. Raven found this amusing since it looked like Paul was waiting for Ellen’s breakthrough before starting his.

Similar to Ellen, Paul is also an inheritor of a God Beast bloodline. Before this, Paul’s bloodline was that of a Snake-tailed Black Tortoise and Ellen’s were that of a Vermillion Bird. Two of which were part of the Divine Beast lineage but during their adventures, they encountered God Beast Bloodlines which they switched to.

Ellen took the Phoenix Bloodline and Paul took the Eternal Tortoise.

The Eternal Tortoise was a God Beast that is said to have existed since the dawn of time itself. It is a kind and peaceful beast that mostly spends its time slumbering through eons.

It tends to be a pacifist despite possessing the God Beast Bloodline. It tends to run away if confronted by a strong enemy. That being said, don’t let this faux-cowardice fool you. The Eternal Tortoise is a God Beast through and through. It will fight back when cornered. There’s no limit to the damage it can cause if thoroughly provoked.

Also, fun fact. Dragons used to be a part of its diet, unfortunately their kind was pushed to brink of extinction. Do whatever you want with that information.

Similar to the Phoenix, the Eternal Tortoise is also undying, it even has ‘Eternal’ attached to its name so time couldn’t constrict it. The most impressive thing about this god beast is its survivability and adaptability.

There are only a few Eternal Tortoise that existed since the Dawn of Time but all of them are most likely still alive. There are none here since they probably migrated somewhere else being driven away by ignorant humans of the past. Still, those things were said to have the ability to come and go through a black hole and remained unscathed.

Paul assumed this kind of Divinity as well.

Just like Ellen, Paul also resonated strongly with this bloodline, allowing him painless assimilation with it and managing to refine its purity to the point where he was able to assume its form.

It was weird for Raven actually. He’s having some troubles stretching the formation to fit these two within. Earlier, it was Laughing Dragon who reverted to his true form. Now he has a Phoenix and massive Turtle to look after to.

Considering the fact that Paul’s Eternal Tortoise form is much, much bigger than this? The Phoenix is big but compared to the size of an actual Eternal Tortoise, the Phoenix will resemble a bird perched at the back of old turtle.

He really should expanded this space more.

Thankfully, their breakthroughs happened at the same time. And now that he had seen it, Raven was now certain that Paul was indeed waiting for his wife’s breakthrough.

The two of them formed a strange connection, a resonance, at the start of their breakthrough which persisted until the end of it. If Raven would venture a guess, this probably bonded them even deeper than before and probably also shared their essences together.

Now, Paul is also a Divine Knight. One that condensed the Divinity of Eternal Tortoise.

Once their breakthrough subsided and they were done consolidating their strength, Raven also sent them away. For a short time after they left, peace returned to the Throne Room, but its bound to be cut short because Mark was about to make his own breakthrough.

If Ellen’s breakthrough was the most violent and Anne’s was the most calm, Mark’s breakthrough was domineering and extremely threatening.

Crimson fog seeped out of his skin, dyeing the formation with its color. Similar to Ellen’s heat, the threating aura also seeped out of the formation, even Raven found himself turning serious because of this.

Still, this threatening aura has a will, Mark’s Will. Raven could feel that this aura won’t really harm him or anyone without Mark’s consent so he’s relaxed. This just has something to do with what Mark’s Divinity is.

As Mark’s breakthrough happened. Raven paid close attention to it. After a fee discerning gazes, Raven couldn’t help but sigh when he realized what’s going on.

Mark had chosen to condense the Divinity of Crimson Death.

The Crimson Death is probably the strongest facet of Death for it not only imposes the ‘Concept of Death’ to whoever or whatever Mark targeted, it also is unforgiving. The Crimson Death annihilates someone thoroughly, down to the last wisp of their soul and thoughts.

It is cruel, sometimes seen as vile and corrupt but extremely effective at what it does. Still, this poses problem.

Not for Raven, no.

But for Anne, who carries the Divinity that stands at direct opposition of the Crimson Death.

Mark probably planned this all along. Raven refused to believe that Mark doesn’t know what he’s doing, after all Mark’s sharper than Paul.

Raven wanted to hit Mark for doing this. He could’ve said something but he didn’t. In the end, the madman did it and it’s too late for Raven to do anything.

Although Mark and Anne would remain married and could still be together, he essentially sacrificed any further chances of Anne getting pregnant with another child of theirs.

They won’t be able to have kids anymore. No, Mark condensing the Crimson Death as his Divinity doesn’t make him impotent. It’s just that his and Anne’s Divinity will clash with their union.

Sure they can still sleep together but only if they seal their Divinities within themselves. Otherwise, they won’t even be able to get close to each other without feeling repulsed due to the opposition of their Divinities.

Knowing these two, Raven wouldn’t be too surprised if they said that they knew what they were doing. They probably didn’t mention anything because they don’t want him to feel guilty.

Raven somehow understands why Mark did this. Mark’s aware that the upcoming war will be devastating and since he’s as stubborn as a bull, he probably thought that, just like what Raven did so far, he should also sacrifice something in order to contribute with the safety of their home.

The Crimson Death is a double-edged sword.

The power of ignore the Law of Causality and directly impose the ‘Concept of Death’ to a target will certainly be useful in the upcoming war. Mark was geared to kill and now that he has come this far, Raven couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to stop him.

He was ready to reap the lives of the invaders. And frankly, Raven was thankful for his dedication to their cause.

Raven won’t lie, Mark just increased their chances higher by doing this. If even him felt threatened by the power Mark held, surely the Abyssals will to as well.

“Does it really have to be this way?”

Is what Raven asked upon Mark’s emergence from his long seclusion.

As a reply, Mark shrugged and told him:

“Maybe, maybe not. Its no longer important though.” Mark looked at his hands which were covered with a thin veil of crimson fog. “What’s done is done. No turning back from here.”

Raven sighed and shook his head:

“Seal it away for now. Don’t scare the kids and your wife on your way out.”

Mark chuckled and said: “Roger that, Boss.”