Northern tried to distract himself from the existential dread that was the Chaos Prince, and instead focused on the marching Leviathan itself.
It had entered the snowscape and was still surging forward, intent on obliterating everything in its path. Kryos would probably easily put an end to it, and Northern wanted to watch how the Mad Origin was going to do so.
The Chaos Prince spoke with a slightly worried tone.
"Won’t you take care of that thing before it reaches my father?"
Northern frowned subtly and looked at him.
"Why? We can just leave it to disrupt the fight between him and Ul, and use that opportunity to step in. Ul is currently fighting in a body that doesn’t belong to her. I don’t intend to let that body crumble to dust."
The Chaos Prince’s eyes blazed with realization.
"Oooh, that was why you bolted like that."
He smiled pleasantly. But the smile unsettled Northern.
"You sure are a sentimental person, Northern."
Meanwhile, Northern’s frown darkened.
"Thanks, I... guess."
The Chaos Prince stared forward, a small, calm, knowing smile lingering on his face.
"But leaving the Leviathan is still a bad idea."
He looked at Northern, tilting his head slightly with that unsettling smile.
"Do you know what madness is? It’s rabid, and for my father who climbed to Origination through the tyrannical rule of madness, he knows how to wield it better than anyone. Dealing with it now is certainly better than dealing with a rabid and irrational version."
Northern frowned.
"I thought things are better dealt with when irrational than rational."
The Chaos Prince shook his head.
"Northern, you’re so inexperienced. Have you never heard the term berserker? You want a Leviathan to go berserk on you? Are you sure?"
Northern considered this for a moment and grimaced with disdain.
"Actually, let’s deal with it while it’s still sensible."
The Chaos Prince flashed his teeth and gave a thumbs up.
"You’re up, partner."
Northern glared at the Leviathan.
"Yeah..."
He belatedly turned his head.
"Wait. What?"
The Chaos Prince shrugged.
"This should be easy for you, Northern. You should be defeating Leviathans by now."
Northern clenched his teeth.
"Curse you. If you think that pathetic taunt will work on me—you’re the one who claims to be the strongest of us two. So get on with it."
The Chaos Prince shook his head ruefully.
"You see, in the past, when my deranged father hadn’t entertained the thought of devouring me, I used to feast on the meat of Leviathans. But now..."
He looked at the monster ahead with a strained smile.
"I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, Northern, but I cannot take down a Leviathan alone."
"Then you’re a coward?"
The Chaos Prince glowered at Northern.
"Northern! Such language! Despicable!"
Northern rolled his eyes.
"You really are just a coward. Why am I even wasting my time with you? You can’t defeat a Leviathan, but I expect you to take down an Origin—really, what a genius I am. Don’t give me that garbage. Devour that thing or be devoured by it. I don’t really care. Just do something about it while I back you up."
The Chaos Prince chuckled lowly, dejected as he scratched the back of his head.
"Northern, you’re so harsh... haaa..."
Northern stared at him darkly, waiting.
The Chaos Prince, after sulking under the crushing pressure of Northern’s dark glare, finally sighed.
"Alright, alright, but I’ll have to be the one backing you up."
Northern’s brows narrowed further. He wanted to speak but paused as the Chaos Prince extended his hand, and something began weaving into existence from black light.
The Chaos Prince manifested a massive bow, one that was twice his size, but he held it effortlessly. Or at least he made it appear so—Northern could see his muscles rippling with tremendous strain.
He averted his eyes for a moment and turned away.
"Put on some clothes, damn it!"
The Chaos Prince flashed a crooked grin.
"Northern, you’re sooo cheeky."
Northern’s expression turned to stone.
’What the hell is this guy?’
He focused on the bow and slowly drew its string, his muscles rippling with such power that the contours sharpened, his arms streamlined with vicious strain. It was almost as if a hand sculpted from malleable metal was drawing a string that bound two mountains across vast distances.
And yet, the Chaos Prince made it look so... effortless.
Northern almost forgot to breathe.
As the Chaos Prince drew the string, black metal spiraled into the bow’s mouth—massive like a short javelin, with a dark and lustrous body that gleamed coldly beneath the pale sky.
"Ready, partner?"
Northern exhaled and opened his hands.
"Do we have a plan?"
The Chaos Prince laughed darkly.
"Plan? Plan? Northern, those are human things. We aren’t human—we just beat it until it dies."
Northern sighed.
’That’s basically what I do every time... I’m not human?’
He shoved the thought from his mind and clenched his fist around the Illusioned Hefter.
At that moment, the Chaos Prince unleashed the arrow—or javelin.
The vicious projectile howled as it tore through the air with titanic force, spiraling and streaking across the distance, leaving Northern in awe.
’Damn.’
He inhaled sharply.
’This bastard’s got skills.’
Then he vanished into the distance.
As Northern launched forward, the lance found its target.
Northern first heard a terrible sound—like the distant rumble of a massive stone rolling across a mountain’s rough surface.
Then, as he flew closer, he watched the creature tilt to one side. Something plummeted from the sky in the distance, crashing toward the ground and sending a devastating shockwave rippling through the earth.
He consciously didn’t want to gawk at the Chaos Prince’s skills, but he couldn’t help it. Just one shot from his arrow had torn down the Skyrender’s left ridge, sending it crashing to the ground.
Northern shook his head at the devastating power. But also grinned.
Now that the Void was purged from his body, and his frame felt lighter, and he was wielding a new essence that was vast and boundless—he was incredibly eager for this opportunity to discover what he could acplish with this essence and the lightness he felt in both body and soul.
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