Chapter 139: The Giant Destroyer (7) |
TL/Editor: Rungir
Schedule: none
Illustrations: none
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The Armor of Lost Souls.
It was armor made entirely of dark energy, an upgraded form of the Soul's Loss.
Normally, this technique could not be used at the level of four stars, but due to the eclipse, and the partial eclipse, the dark energy was amplified momentarily, allowing its incomplete use.
And for Zion, those few seconds were enough.
The effect of the Armor of Lost Souls negates all supernatural abilities that would harm the user within a certain range.
As a result, Zion drew his sword diagonally towards Utekan in a space where all supernatural powers vanished momentarily.
"What is this now...!"
Utekan, shocked by this unprecedented situation, quickly used chains wrapped around himself to block Zion's sword strike.
But,
"You think that will block it?"
A sly smile appeared on Zion's lips as his sword, Gigaferses, moved on its own, creating an opening.
With a loud clash, Zion's sword, Eclaxia, left a long slash on Utekan's body as it entered through the gap.
Initially, Utekan, wrapped in the giant destroyer, didn't move as he had planned.
"Argh!"
Utekan, suppressing the intense pain with a groan, stepped back to regain his stance.
However, Zion was much quicker, following him and swinging Eclaxia.
With a loud crash, the flash from Zion's sword split into dozens of paths, bearing down on Utekan.
Utekan, concentrating the light of the celestial sea in both fists, barely began to defend against Zion's sword strikes.
"We need to end this quickly."
Thinking this, Zion searched for Utekan's weak points with his keen eyes, increasing the speed of his sword strikes even more.
Utekan, whose power was limited by Gigaferses, proved to be a manageable opponent.
It was hard to believe he was the same adversary who had caused so much trouble for the hero in the Chronicles of Flosimar.
But that was...
"Only a story when the eclipse was activated."
The moment the eclipse ended, the gap between Zion and Utekan would widen immensely.
Ending the battle before that seemed like the best chance for victory.
"This damned bastard!"
Utekan, turning his humiliation and frustration into rage against Zion, stomped his foot hard.
With a loud thud, the power of the celestial sea erupted from his stance, once again pressing down everything around, slowing down Zion's movements momentarily.
Utekan didn't miss this opportunity.
With a crash!
His fist shot towards Zion like a cannonball, followed by a sonic boom and flames, starting to burn the surrounding space.
'I can't take it head-on.'
Utekan's power was like a divine ability in itself.
Even limiting it with the Giant Destroyer didn't change that fact, and it was better not to be as reckless as at the start.
In the briefest moment, before Utekan's fist could reach him, Zion thrust Eclaxia at an angle.
Utekan's fist, climbing up along Zion's sword,
With a grating sound, the friction caused the surrounding air to ignite.
Eclaxia, merely flicked away, returned to its original state and aimed directly at Utekan's heart.
Black Thunder Drill.
A higher technique created by combining black energy and thunder.
"……!"
Feeling an instinctual danger, Utekan, with a speed that didn't match his size, tilted his upper body to the side.
With a sizzling sound, Zion's sword tore through Utekan's chest as it passed.
Utekan, enduring the intense pain with clenched teeth, suddenly!
Grabbed the blade of Eclaxia with a hand condensed with the flames of the celestial sea.
Then, as Utekan's flames burned even fiercer, they started to extend towards Zion along the sword.
'I'll crush you from the inside out.'
Utekan intended to hammer his pure power directly into Zion through Eclaxia.
There was no trace of fear in Utekan's eyes that he would be overwhelmed.
The celestial sea reigns above all powers in the world.
Therefore, even though Utekan didn't know what the darkness Zion used was, it couldn't possibly surpass the celestial sea.
However, Utekan's certainty didn't last even a moment.
With a roar!
The darkness swelling from Zion's side perfectly engulfed his celestial sea.
Rather than being engulfed, it was more accurate to say it was completely erased.
And Zion's darkness spread rapidly towards Utekan.
Utekan, shocked by the situation he couldn't understand even while seeing it, quickly let go of Eclaxia and stepped back.
"How……!"
The voice that burst from Utekan's lips was full of his astonishment.
But this was to be expected.
The celestial sea was originally created by the second emperor, who couldn't master the dark energy, as a substitute.
Therefore, it couldn't exert power in front of its origin.
Utekan, unaware of this fact, had deep questions in his eyes, but there was no time to solve them.
With a loud bang!
Suddenly, Zion, cloaked in darkness like a garment, was shot towards Utekan like a cannonball.
In response, Utekan bounced back once more, creating distance, and thrust forward his right fist, which he had pulled back to its maximum.
With a whoosh!
From the tip of his fist, a wave of celestial sea energy, far larger than before, burst forth.
It split into thousands of pieces, striking the entire space around Zion.
Celestial Fragmentation Sea.
This was one of Utekan's top techniques, an advanced version of Celestial Fragmentation.
Zion, watching the approaching shards of light, had a cold determination in his eyes.
'It's impossible to deflect all of them with Eclaxia like before. In that case…'
With a whoosh!
The dark energy blade of Zion's Annihilation Sword vanished as if washed away.
Was it given up?
That was not the case, as the next moment made clear.
With a high-pitched keening sound!
A new blade began to grow from the half of the Annihilation Sword, bearing a clear and pure blue color unlike any before.
This was the power of the frost spirit taking form as the blade itself.
Because the Annihilation Sword was originally awakened with dark energy instead of mana, it accepted the power of frost without resistance.
Zion, without hesitation, swung Eclaxia vertically downwards, emitting streaks of cold.
With a crackling sound!
The swinging sword's trajectory froze the air, creating a giant column of ice.
Then, as if splitting into thousands of pieces, with a loud crash!
It exploded in all directions, shooting down the approaching shards of light without missing a single one.
What level of combat intuition is needed to track thousands of moving targets and intercept each one?
Utekan, unknowingly opening his mouth in awe, saw Zion's figure rapidly enlarge in his eyes.
Double-layered Absolute Cold.
And the ensuing sword strike was faster than lightning.
With a thunderous explosion!
As if dozens of bombs detonated simultaneously, Utekan's form was blasted backward with a loud noise.
"Lord Utekan!"
Bayarma, the chieftain with the red horns, urgently shouted and moved with the top warriors to support Utekan.
It was unbelievable, but their lord was being pushed back by Prince Zion.
It seemed like Utekan might truly lose his life if things continued this way, and their defeat was imminent.
'The lord dislikes interference in battles, but there's no choice.'
However, Bayarma couldn't reach his goal.
"You cannot pass any further."
"Where do you think you're going, Bayarma?"
Suddenly, Lucas's Twilight Sword Corps and Batar's personal guards blocked his way.
"Are you saying you want to fight to the end, Batar!"
"The outcome was decided the moment you betrayed the honor and pride of the giants."
Batar responded emotionlessly to Bayarma's shout.
"Break through as fast as we can and get to Lord Utekan!"
After glaring at Batar for a moment, Bayarma charged forward with the warriors behind him.
"First, you should worry about whether your heads will remain attached."
A cold voice from Lucas started the clash, and during this,
'What in the world is that darkness...!'
Utekan was being relentlessly pushed back by Zion, gradually losing the upper hand.
Chains of dark blue light that constricted and limited his power.
Although this was quite troublesome, the most difficult thing to deal with was the power Zion was using itself.
Despite constantly clashing, its true nature remained elusive.
All of Utekan's power vanished without a trace upon touching this darkness, and the same happened to the celestial sea.
As if it had never existed in the first place.
'The celestial sea is supposed to be the strongest force in the world, aside from the "Demon King's Power". How can it be defeated...!'
Utekan's eyes widened as he realized something.
There was one.
Just one power that reigned above the celestial sea.
It was supposed to be impossible for it to persist through generations, so the likelihood of its existence in this era was nil. Therefore, he had never considered "that existence's" power.
'Could it be...'
Perhaps.
Just maybe.
What they knew was wrong and "that power" had somehow been passed down through hundreds of years to the present generation in a way no one could have known?
It was an incredibly hard to believe, indeed a theory that shattered all previous understanding, but it was the only explanation that made sense of the current situation.
Not just now, but it also explained everything that had happened so far.
The strange reaction of the Imperial Sword to Zion's touch at the funeral.
The fact that beings like Hanosral and other demonic entities were defeated too easily.
And how the celestial sea seemed to falter unbelievably.
'Each one sounds unbelievable, but.'
If Zion Agnes's darkness was "that being's" power, then everything was possible.
Eternal Emperor Aurellion Khan Agnes.
A transcendent being who held the world in his hands and became a legend himself.
And...
'The only being who not only repelled the invasion but also pushed the demonic forces to the brink of extinction.'
Of course, the latter was completely unknown to the world.
It was a secret history, passed down only to a very few within the demonic realms.
In the secret history, there was a detailed description of the Eternal Emperor, which allowed Utekan to be more certain when he looked at Zion.
'He was always with darkness.'
This sentence, the first in the description of the Eternal Emperor, best represents his identity.
Why hadn't it been recognized until now?
Despite such a profound presence.
The eerily powerful abilities that negated everything in the world and those ominous eyes that made one shrink back at mere glance.
Every description in the secret history pointed directly at Zion Agnes in front of him.
"It was you... You are the descendant of eternity."
Utekan murmured as he stared blankly at Zion, as if in a daze.
Soon, an unparalleled killing intent, along with an endless fear, began to form in Utekan's eyes, unlike anything before.
"Damn Agnes blood."
The person before him carried the power of the one who made them curse the Agnes bloodline.
He must be killed.
He must be killed right here, no matter what.
A foe against the monsters infiltrating the empire?
The biggest threat that could ruin the demonic realms' grand plans?
It was no longer about those reasons.
The descendant of the Eternal Emperor.
That alone was enough reason for Utekan, no, for the entire demonic realm to throw everything aside and kill.
With a loud laugh!
A power of a completely different nature burst forth from Utekan, who had created some distance.
A repulsive force that induced nausea just by being witnessed, yet also a lethal energy that destroyed everything around.
Demonic energy.
It was demonic energy.
Many eyes were still watching, and that's why he hadn't used it until now, but Utekan no longer had the luxury to care about such things.
With a roar!
The celestial sea that had been burning around Utekan's body mixed with the erupted demonic energy, starting to emit a dark red glow.
The power felt from it was incomparable to anything before.
The Giant Destroyer that enveloped him trembled as if it would break, and the perfectly invaded atmosphere around also quivered as if it would shatter, screaming.
"I will kill you here, our eternal nightmare."
With these words, Utekan, no, the demon spirit Tarahal, ignited the flames of the dark red celestial sea throughout his body and declared towards Zion.
And at that moment,
"It's nice of you to reveal yourself like this."
Zion's eyes curled up as he faced him, and then, creak!
The sound of a rusty door opening echoed once again.