Void shifted his attention between Griffith, who knelt within the fleshy palm, and Aether, whose presence radiated unrestrained killing intent. He quickly made his decision.
"Ubik, you will oversee the ascension. As for the rest, kill the intruder."
At his command, the Apostles roared as they revealed their true forms. Grotesque bodies twisted and expanded, filling the space with monstrous figures. So resembled dragons, others insects, while a few were nothing but masses of writhing tentacles.
The horde surged toward Aether.
The ground trembled under their advance.
Aether remained unmoved.
Most of these creatures were nothing more than B and C rank Apostles. Even the few at A rank posed no threat to him.
Ace darkened as Armant Haki coated its blade. These creatures were not worth the use of Advanced Conqueror's Haki.
Seeing that the God Hand had no intention of acting personally, Aether stepped forward to et the incoming tide.
He swung his sword once.
"Hakyoku."
The air shattered.
A massive shockwave tore through the swarm, carving a path of destruction. Blood sprayed into the air as countless Apostles were torn apart instantly. The frenzy that had driven them forward vanished in an instant.
So tried to stop.
Others tried to flee.
None succeeded.
Aether moved.
He entered the swarm like a reaper harvesting lives. Dark red sword energy surged with every swing, severing limbs, splitting bodies, and crushing anything in its path. Apostles fell in clusters, their corpses piling higher with each passing second.
[Significantly altered the fate of B and C rank figures, reward, 15,832 points.]
A massive figure suddenly blocked his path.
A Crystal Earth Dragon.
Its body shimred with unnatural hardness, far surpassing the average Apostle. Its eyes burned with fury as it roared.
"Mortal, this is not a place for your arrogance."
Before it could release its breath attack, a flash of red cut across its body.
The dragon froze.
Then it split cleanly in half.
Aether did not even glance at it as he continued forward.
The dragon's fading consciousness trembled with disbelief.
"My body… torn apart so easily… I cannot accept…"
[Significantly altered the fate of an A rank figure, reward, 500 points.]
The slaughter ended just as quickly as it began.
Mountains of corpses covered the ground. Blood pooled into streams that flowed across the battlefield.
Aether stood atop the remains, untouched, not a single drop staining his clothes.
In less than a minute, thousands of Apostles had been wiped out.
The survivors broke.
They fled in all directions, no longer daring to approach him.
Aether ignored them.
At that mont, a voice descended from above.
"Sacrifice…"
Griffith's voice echoed across the space.
Those words signaled his decision.
He had chosen power over everything else.
Dark symbols erupted from Void's hand, spreading rapidly across the battlefield. They struck the remaining humans, carving the Brand of Sacrifice into their flesh.
Those marked would be hunted endlessly by darkness.
Aether raised his hand casually, deflecting the incoming mark. Without pause, he retaliated with another Hakyoku.
The shockwave surged upward, aid directly at Void.
Before it could connect, a spatial distortion appeared and redirected the attack elsewhere.
Aether narrowed his eyes.
Void's attention was now fully fixed on him.
The death of thousands of Apostles had forced the God Hand to take him seriously.
Void spoke again.
"Slan. Conrad. Eliminate him."
"Understood."
Conrad moved first.
His massive body surged forward, releasing a deadly plague that spread through the air. From the ground, countless rats burst forth, swarming toward Aether.
"Hakyoku."
Another shockwave erupted.
It tore through the rats and slamd directly into Conrad, blasting a massive hole through his body.
Yet there was no satisfaction.
Conrad's form dissolved into a swarm of rats before reforming, his body restoring itself almost instantly.
"So they really are that difficult to kill."
Before Aether could press forward, a massive shadow descended.
Slan attacked from above.
Her enormous black wings swept down, aiming to crush him.
"Sea Sever."
Aether's blade flashed.
The wings were cut apart instantly, severed cleanly. Slan scread as a deep gash opened across her chest when Aether followed up with another strike.
Just as he moved to continue, his instincts flared.
He leaped back.
The space he had just occupied collapsed inward, devouring everything within it.
Void's power.
Aether did not hesitate. He shifted his focus back to Conrad, who continued spreading plague across the battlefield.
"God's Evasion."
A dark red slash descended, splitting Conrad's massive body apart once more. Blood flooded the ground.
And yet, he regenerated again.
More troubleso than any elental ability.
Aether exhaled lightly, then moved again.
He dodged successive spatial distortions while charging straight toward Conrad.
Conrad let out a mocking laugh.
"You cannot kill . A mortal dares to oppose a god, how laughable."
Aether stopped directly before him.
He looked up, smiling faintly.
"Is that what you think? You were nothing but worms once."
"Chain of Heaven."
Two golden chains erupted from the surrounding space, each tipped with sharp spearheads. They shot forward instantly, binding Conrad's massive body.
The effect was imdiate.
His form weakened.
The plague surrounding him faltered.
Conrad struggled violently, but the chains held firm.
As a being close to a false god, filled with twisted divinity, he was the perfect target.
The Chain of Heaven was his natural enemy.
The other mbers of the God Hand froze.
For the first ti, they felt genuine danger from Aether.
Void's expression shifted slightly.
Too late.
Aether's blade fell again.
This ti, Conrad's body split apart, and no regeneration followed.
The chains suppressed his power completely.
The plague-spreader was erased.
[Significantly altered the fate of SS rank Conrad, reward, 50,000 points.]
[Completed hidden achievent, Evil God Hunter, reward, 100,000 experience.]
[The world grants you a wisp of Divinity for eliminating an Evil God.]
Aether lowered his blade slightly.
◇ I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews
(Leave a review/comnt)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100
Power Stones.
◇ Read 80 | 100 chapters ahead on [email protected]/_Zeph
User Comments
0 comments from readers