The figure that descended from the storm was an existence feared throughout the Asticl clan.
He was their second strongest pillar, a being whose authority stood only beneath that of the Sky Lord himself.
A three-cosmos grand magus, known as The Storm Lord,
With the Sky Lord confird absent, there could have been no worse presence
for Ery to encounter within Astiel territory.
The heavens responded violently to his arrival. Lightning descended like judgnt, one that carried cosmic intent so dense that a lesser grand magus would have been erased instantly,
The transford beast that was Ery bellowed as the strike slamd into him.
Part of the impact absorbed through sheer instinct, the innate devouring ability tearing at the cosmic energy and dispersing it across his body. Even so, pain lanced through him brutally. Without true comprehension of the lightning law, the power resisted control, numbing his limbs and tearing his flesh.
This was the strongest enemy Ery had ever faced.
A mid-stage three-cosmos cultivator-raised, refined, and perfected within the Nephilim system.
The beast roared, forcing the lightning outward in a violent discharge that split the storm clouds apart. The Storm Lord hovered calmly amid the chaos, chains of lightning coiling within his eyes as he studied the creature before him.
"What manner of beast is this?" he asked, his voice carrying effortlessly through the thunder.
His gaze shifted slightly.
"What is going on here?"
Ishtar stepped forward, her face drained of color but her voice sharp with grievance.
"Second Elder... this is the half-blood from the Earth faction," she said quickly. "The sa one who hard thirty years ago."
For a brief mont, surprise flickered across the Storm Lord's expression.
"So it is you," he said coldly. "You dare co here and make trouble within Astiel's domain?"
While the exchange unfolded, Ery had already begun repositioning. He maneuvered closer to the super golem. Every instinct scread at him that the situation had spiraled beyond control.
Klea's face flashed through his mind.
This was no longer a fight he could win.
Decision hardened in his eyes.
Ery issued a decisive ntal command, ordering the golem to guard him as he forcefully deactivated his transformation. His breathing steadied as he
reached inward, preparing to ignite the Khaos gate.
"He's running!" Ishtar shrieked. "Space magic!!"
The Storm Lord reacted instantly.
As if understood Ery's capabilities, he expanded his battlefield domain, drowning the entire region in a raging thunderstorm. Space itself trembled under the pressure as violent spatial tribulation spread outward, a suppression so severe that conventional teleportation would collapse before forming.
Yet Ery did not rely on conventional space magic.
The Storm Lord frowned as he sensed spatial anomalies still forming despite his domain. Snarling, he lunged forward, lightning condensing around his arm into a catastrophic strike.
The super golem intercepted him head-on.
Their collision shook the sky.
A deafening explosion of force erupted as fist t storm, raw physical power slamming into condensed lightning. Shockwaves rippled outward, flattening clouds and tearing open the air itself. For a brief mont, the golem managed to hold its ground, golden runes blazing as it absorbed the impact. Then it was driven backward through the sky.
That single mont was all Ery needed.
Using the golem's as cover, he focused inward and activated the Khaos Gate. Spatial distortions flared violently around him, Khaos energy surging as the gateway began to take shape-
And then it stopped.
The connection wavered...
Ery's eyes widened in shock.
"What... is going on?!"
Ery snapped his gaze upward-and his heart sank.
High above him, a colossal formation had already taken shape.
Runes rotated slowly through the sky, locking together into a massive sealing array. At its very center hovered Caelthar's stone pagoda, radiating authority as ancient symbols ignited along its surface. The pagoda was no longer rely an artifact-it was the core of a grand suppression formation.
So that was why Caelthar had stopped attacking.
He had been waiting.
"Demon-Sealing Pagoda..." Caelthar's voice rang out, pale but resolute.
"SEALL!!"
The sky answered.
Chains erupted from the formation, pouring downward like a rain of judgnt. Each one carried crushing suppressive force.
The battlefield turned claustrophobic as the chains converged from every
direction.
Ery, has reverted to his half transformation, half human, half beast.
The Icarus Wings ignited behind him in a blaze of power, propelling him through the sky in violent arcs, while the Fourfold Dawns spun into position, forming layered defensive fields that splintered incoming chains on contact. Space warped under the strain as he pushed everything he had into evasion. The pagoda could not completely suppress the power of Khaos. Even as the Demon-Sealing array tightened around him, faint distortions continued to ripple through space, fragnts of Khaos energy tearing against the boundaries of the seal like a beast clawing at its cage. The gate was trying to form-but it needed ti.
Unfortunately, ti was the one thing Ery no longer possessed.
The sky had turned into a battlefield of annihilation. Cosmic forces collided
relentlessly.
With one of the Chromatic Rings already destroyed, the remaining three could no longer resonate properly. Their power dropped sharply, unable to display
even half of their original strength.
Cracks spread across their surfaces.
One by one, they began to fail.
The Fourfold Dawns fared no better. Its layered defensive light flickered erratically, rotations slowing as internal arrays destabilized. Each incoming strike forced Ery to expend far more energy than before, and the shield that had once deflected grand magus attacks now struggled simply to remain intact.
The super golem, too, was reaching its limit.
Under the relentless bombardnt, Once-brilliant golden runes flickered and dimd, their light sputtering as fractures spread across its armored fra.
A sharp warning rang through Ery's consciousness.
[Warning: Internal damage detected. Energy overflow unstable. Remaining
capacity: 15%]
The ssage was unmistakable.
Without sufficient ti to recharge-or a chance to withdraw from the
battlefield for self repair-it would soon collapse entirely, either shutting down or tearing itself apart from the inside.
Realizing that it could no longer protect him-and that keeping it exposed would only result in its destruction-Ery pulled the golem back into his domain, severing its presence from the battlefield to preserve what little power
it had left.
Now, he was alone.
He didn't need victory.
He needed only one or two more minute.
That single sliver of ti stood between escape and annihilation.
Ery twisted through the air in a brutal dance of survival, forced to weave
between Caelthar's suppressing chains and the Storm Lord's paralyzing lightning spears. Every movent tore at his body as he pushed himself past safe limits, pouring everything he had into motion-Excalibur flashing in desperate arcs, Elysian roots erupting to deflect and entangle, even fragnts of his unstable temporal spells tearing seconds apart just to buy him space. The sky above had beco a battlefield of pure cosmic violence.
And then-
A chill crept up his spine.
From behind.
Too late.
A blade of crystalline blue light pierced through the chaos without warning. Caelthar's treasured sword-Blue Quartz-soared silently through space, wrapped so perfectly in spirit power that it bypassed every layer of Ery's
defenses. Splllaattt-
The sword punched cleanly through Ery's back.
Blood sprayed into the air as freezing energy detonated inside his body, locking
his muscles in place as numbing cold flooded his veins. His vision blurred, his flight faltered, and in that fatal instant, the pagoda's chains surged forward like
starving serpents.
They wrapped around his arms.
His legs.
His torso.
Layer upon layer of sealing force slamd shut.
Ery was immobilized.
Completely restrained.
Caelthar staggered back, pale and breathing heavily, every ounce of strength
drained from him. Above them, the Storm Lord hovered calmly, lightning
coiling around his raised palm as he prepared the finishing strike.
"This is your end," the elder said coldly.
But before the thunder could fall, a sharp voice cut through the storm.
"Grand Elder-wait."
Ishtar stepped forward, her eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction. "The First Elder wanted him alive. We've already captured him," she said
smoothly. "Please... leave him to ."
The Storm Lord studied her for a long mont before nodding once.
"Just make sure he doesn't ruin the prince's special day."
Ishtar bowed eagerly. "Of course. In fact-this will make a wonderful gift for
him."
With that, the Storm Lord turned away, offering brief apologies to the Malachir representatives before soaring back toward the celebration, the thunderstorm dissipating as he departed.
Below, Ery struggled violently, Khaos energy surging uselessly against the Demon Sealing Pagoda.
Ishtar approached him slowly, savoring every step.
"Give it up," she said softly. "Unless you're a Supre Being, you won't break
the seal."
Ery lifted his head despite the restraints, his eyes burning with murderous
intent.
"Tell ," he growled. "Where... Where is Klea... What did you do to her?"
Ishtar laughed, light and delighted.
"Hahaha... you don't even know what kind of event we're celebrating, do you?"
She leaned closer, whispering, "It's a very happy day-for her."
Before he could react, Caelthar activated the artifact.
The pagoda expanded, swallowing Ery whole as ancient runes sealed shut
around him, plunging him into darkness.
Ishtar's voice echoed faintly as the world disappeared.
"Don't worry," she uttered sweetly. "You're invited too."
####
Sotis later - On the Other Side of the Planet Under brilliant lights and roaring applause, the Astiel prince stepped onto a
grand balcony, his presence drawing cheers from countless voices.
He smiled and extended a hand.
A woman with dark hair stepped forward, her expression calm, distant-
unreadable.
"This," the prince announced proudly, "is Lady Kleaopatra."
He turned toward the crowd, his voice filled with triumph. "My bride."
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