Chapter 224: Choices of Possibility (5)
The ground, already churned multiple times, is overturned once more.
A carpet bombing not of dots or lines, but of entire surfaces.
Like a swarm of salmon fighting upstream, hundreds of spears and swords arc fiercely through the air, crashing down to earth.
Thud— Swoosh!
Shields restrict movement, while long swords aim for vital points.
Swish! Clang…!
As spears strike from blind spots, sharp daggers swiftly scrape at joints.
Ordinarily, piercing the rune armor of the Twilight Knights with mere spears and swords would be impossible.
Yet, the ancient skills passed down from the Sandstorm Dynasty are nothing short of mystical.
The hundreds of weapons move not just by Dalen’s will, but faintly imbue his magical energy in a primitive form of swordsmanship.
Crack!
The runes on the armor begin to lose their glow. The large gem embedded in the chestplate flickers rapidly, losing its power.
The self-repair function granted by rune magic starts to mend the armor, but it can’t keep up with the rate of destruction.
As the armor becomes increasingly tattered in real-time, Bukvan’s face turns pale. He cries out.
“O Powel! Grant your servant the strength to overcome this trial!”
Aaaah—!
From the eastern horizon, waves of light pour forth like a tide.
The sky and earth, tinged crimson by the intense dawn light, seem to warp.
Bukvan, clad in half-tattered armor, is being suffused with divine power of a similar hue to the sunlight.
Just as Sissela once descended upon the bishop of the Pantheon, the god of light, Powel, is pouring his power directly into Bukvan.
“I offer my soul and body! Look upon this battlefield—!”
His desperate plea to the gods turns into a scream, and flames erupt from within his throat, consuming even his cries.
From his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes.
Flames burst forth from every orifice of his face, eventually setting his entire head ablaze.
Soon, Bukvan’s entire body is engulfed in fire. Watching this, Dalen’s ally speaks quietly.
[Dalen, I sense more than one presence within him. It seems the Pantheon is fully committed.]
‘Indeed.’
The Twilight Knights are one of the empire’s greatest forces.
For a descent powerful enough to incinerate a transcendent knight commander of the fifth rank, it couldn’t be the work of a single deity.
The sight of both the god of light, Powel, and the god of fire, Nara, pouring their power into Bukvan simultaneously.
It meant the Pantheon’s gods had decided to end Dalen here and now.
Given their backing, it wasn’t surprising.
[Hoo…]
The silent, desperate scream ends, and Bukvan’s labored breathing echoes faintly across the battlefield.
His melted vocal cords replaced by a transmitted voice.
Dalen turns his head eastward. The dawn sun is just rising above the horizon.
And then.
“Domain Full Release: The Glorious Twilight of a Dying Flame”
The rising sun reverses its course.
[…The moment a mortal draws closest to the great beings illuminating the heavens is at twilight, as the day ends.]
Bukvan’s transmitted voice resonates deeply.
With his voice, the sun begins to set.
Considering it’s early morning, this should never happen.
Yet the sun, burning a fiery red, retraces its path, sinking back to the edge of the horizon.
[The cries of pain offered on this land are all sacrifices for the glory of the gods and the empire’s prosperity.]
His melted lips move slightly.
At that moment, an intense holy light, incomparable to before, radiates from the sun.
Zzzzzzzzz—
Everywhere the sunlight touches, small flames begin to sprout, quickly consuming people and objects in a red inferno.
[To all who perished under the twilight, may you find solace.]
Whoosh…!
Within a radius of hundreds of meters, the charred corpses crumble completely, and their tormented souls begin to seep out.
“Crimson Giant Spirit”
Like a whirlwind drawing in everything around it, the vengeful spirits covering the area are swiftly sucked beneath Bukvan’s feet.
Soon, a pale red giant form bursts from the ground.
The house-sized giant swings its four pairs of arms, sending waves of heat in all directions.
Boom, boom, boom…!!
The heat surges like a thick wave with each gesture, turning even stone and earth into a literal sea of fire.
“Aaah! It’s hot! So hot…!”
“My gear’s on fire… No, my body’s on fire too!”
“It’s the sunlight! Avoid the sun!”
A crimson curtain of flames that spares neither friend nor foe,
The red giant has created a literal hell of fire.
The flames rising from the heart of the imperial army’s camp consume siege equipment and soldiers, collapsing the entire army.
Even after devouring everything within hundreds of meters, the fire demon spreads further, as if unsatisfied, engulfing the imperial forces.
Oooooo…
The groans of the vengeful spirits echo endlessly over the molten earth, and as more souls are absorbed, the red giant’s form grows larger.
What initially seemed about ten meters tall soon grows to match the height of the bronze walls of the labyrinth city.
“Ice Crystal”
“Bloom”
Dalen conjures an ice flower in his hand to shield against the sunlight and heat, clicking his tongue briefly.
’…There’s no turning back now.’
Even with his own power alone, Bukvan’s might had already reached the edge of the fifth rank.
If there was even a slim chance of him becoming an ally, the plan was to subdue and recruit him rather than kill him.
Having turned enemies into allies a few times before, Dalen was confident he could persuade him if he could just incapacitate him.
‘But with the gods descended, it’s a different story.’
Bukvan’s successful full release of his domain was due to the barrier being broken by the descent of two gods.
This is entirely different from merely believing in or serving the Pantheon as a priest.
A descent involves sharing consciousness with the target.
Having accepted two gods, he would naturally be aware of the presence lurking behind the Pantheon.
‘Knowing all that… he still chose not to turn back.’
Contrary to public belief, the Pantheon’s goal is not the survival or salvation of humanity.
They are beings intent on destroying not just the labyrinth city but the entire continent, no different from other demons.
As long as Bukvan aligns with that will, he is a clear enemy.
And there was only one choice to make against such a foe.
“White Root”
The ice flower extends hundreds of roots. Creating a makeshift ground to stand on, Dalen readies his sword.
A quick check reveals minimal damage to the city. The transcendent beings, including the precursors, are countering the Pantheon’s power.
‘I can trust them to handle the rear.’
“Domain Release: The Closed Sky of the Snowy Mountain”
As a dark red shadow falls over the previously clear sky, a colorless wave spreads from beneath Dalen’s feet.
“Step”
A step onto the ground made of ice roots.
Boom—!
And with his form blurring, the icy root ground explodes.
“Thunder Branch”
“Erase Field”
In his left hand, a branch of blue lightning crackles, while the holy sword in his right hand holds a noise that erases even sword energy, both swinging simultaneously.
“Domain Release: The Ashen Sky of the End”
At the moment of impact, the gray shadow paints the sky in ashen hues.
“Return to the Underworld”
“Ninefold Step Scatter”
Eight shadows emerge from the subspace, thrusting relic weapons at the red giant from all sides.
Oooooo…!
The giant’s spirit lets out a roar, extending its four pairs of arms, but Dalen doesn’t bother to respond directly.
“Lux.”
The eight shadows, except for him, simultaneously release their weapons and retreat. The moment the red giant touches the ownerless weapons, the power within the relics explodes.
Boom, boom, boom—!
A wave of magic erupts in rapid succession at close range.
Once again, Dalen’s form blurs, cutting through the explosion to reach Bukvan’s face.
[Heretic…!]
Whoosh!
A gap approaching zero. The sword tip slips into the breath of conversation.
Swords clash dozens of times in an instant, divine power and spells spewing their brilliance, painting the dust storm in colors.
Weapons, limbs, divine magic, and spells intertwine, tearing at each other, pouring magic into the air without reserve.
“Wind Shadow Barrier”
Concealing himself within the curtain of wind, he creates an opening.
“Radiant Light of the Tathagata”
Sunlight races along the horizon, dispelling shadows and piercing through the curtain.
“Thief of a Hundred Suns”
As the light from the knight commander’s sword splits into a hundred rays, encircling and tightening the noose.
“Art of War Armor: White Wind Armor”
A whirlwind enveloped his entire body, splitting into hundreds of streams, bending and reflecting light to carve a path through.
“Whew…”
A strange exhilaration, as if his mind was on fire. His lips curled into a smile without him realizing it.
His sword strike shattered the speed of sound, creating a sonic boom, and with each step, a peculiar friction sound emanated as the space beneath his feet warped.
Battles between transcendents aren’t simply determined by rank or numbers.
In a fight where foresight and the ability to project possibilities at the right moment are key, the sheer number of possibilities one can wield is as crucial as accumulated skill and innate intuition.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
To expose the opponent’s weaknesses, the pace of attack and defense became increasingly erratic and swift.
As they repeatedly switched positions, the two figures intertwined in a zigzag dance.
“Domain Resonance”
“The Sky of the Sealed Snow Mountain”
“The Ashen Sky of the End”
The two skies roared in unison.
“Dual Heavens”
Crimson storm clouds and an ashen sky resonated, isolating the entire space.
“Thunderous Overflow: Resonance”
The sunlight pouring from the east was captured and contained, as dozens of blue lightning bolts pierced through the storm clouds, striking the ground with force.
“Divine Thunder Tree”
━━━━━━━!
A massive tree formed from the convergence of countless lightning bolts pierced the giant’s crown, taking root within.
The enormous form, larger than any fortress, shattered from within, as the roots of electricity spread in all directions.
Ugh…
The giant crumbled, and the sunlight that had illuminated the battlefield waned.
Bukvan’s body lay at the end of the lightning’s roots.
[How… how could this…]
“How, you ask?”
Bukvan couldn’t withstand the lightning, and half of his body was charred black.
His body, burnt to a crisp like a scorched branch.
If he hadn’t borrowed the power of two deities to surpass his limits, he wouldn’t have survived with half his body crumbled.
[Ugh…]
His lips twitched in agony. Without hesitation, Dalen raised his holy sword and severed his neck.
The fight ended more anticlimactically than expected.
Even though Bukvan had reached the sixth rank and fully opened his domain, he couldn’t adapt to the surge of power.
Nevertheless, defeating a sixth-rank transcendent alone was a significant achievement.
The Earth Dragon had a perfect advantage in terms of compatibility, and Sissela’s avatar merely stalled for time while the Seer finished the job.
When fighting Suum’s avatar, Charina had sacrificed herself to wound him, and only by receiving unknown power from the High Orc’s ancestor could victory be secured.
However, to face the evil gods who had ascended to complete divinity, one must at least be capable of easily defeating a demigod.
“Just a few more steps to go.”
Caw—
As he thought this, a crow’s cry suddenly tickled his ear.
Dalen let out a short sigh and turned to his side.
Amidst the scattering black feathers, Sienna was gazing at Bukvan’s corpse with a complicated expression.