Chapter 384 - 382:And the battles begin.
WAP!
Space folded and snapped back into place as Salazar and the others appeared above the abyssal chasms, with a very silent Kolen’kul in tow.
The man remained silent, leveling an unimpressed stare at the group.
"So... Lord Kolen’kul, mind staying with us for a few minutes? Just enough time for that bastard to get done with whatever he has planned." Salazar spoke up, his voice bright yet still very cautious.
Kolen’kul remained silent, his expression not shifting even once.
"Haa... so, does he speak? Or did that Celestial break his spirit that badly?" Leo asked from the side.
His words finally earned a reaction from the silent Abyss Walker.
He glanced at Leo, and the world twisted around him.
"Shit!!" His wings spread wide as a golden aura exploded out of him...
BANG!!!
A figure was blasted backward as Leo’s body was sent flying, a trail of blood following his airborne form.
Salazar, Aegon, and Baron all turned grim at the display.
"Salazar Aethern. What is the meaning of this?" The man finally spoke, addressing Salazar directly.
"Lord Kolen’kul. Like I said, we just need you to stay put for a few minutes. We don’t wish to fight."
"You took me all the way out here. From my city. Admittedly, I allowed it. But to have the audacity to say you do not wish to fight..." Kolen’kul replied, his voice even, "...do you think your identity as the Child of Ethos is enough to make me spare your life?"
"Hah!" Salazar laughed. "That old man of mine has not left seclusion for the last hundred Abyss cycles. I assure you, I place no faith in him intervening."
"So you do all this on the foolish assumption that you stand a chance against me?" Kolen’kul asked once more. His voice hadn’t wavered, but anyone could feel the seething wrath within it.
"I was tasked with keeping you here for a while. I am only doing my friend a favor. You can think of it however you like." Salazar shrugged, his body tensing.
Kolen’kul looked around. His gaze scanned the group one by one.
Salazar. Aegon. Baron. Paku. Malachi. And the still-silent Sulvan. Leo hadn’t returned yet.
"I see." Nodding his head, Kolen’kul’s entire demeanor suddenly shifted.
"I had thought you a smart man for a Chronari. But not only did you not take the chance I gave you to run, you have so foolishly decided to challenge me instead." A heavy aura slowly began leaking out of him.
"It just so happens..."
BOOM!!!
A wave of crimson exploded into the sky, the atmosphere twisting and churning as a sickening wave of entropy saturated the entire place.
The chasms below began trembling as the man let out his aura unabated.
"...that I needed someone to let out my rage upon."
CRACCCKKKK!!!!!
A deadening crack thundered through the air as Kolen’kul’s aura threatened to snap the atmosphere itself.
But before it could get any worse...
BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!
An even more horrifying wave of entropy crashed into it.
RUUUUMBLE!!!!
The entire region rumbled as not just one, but multiple chasms shook, rubble collapsing into the bottomless pits below.
"Hmmm?" Kolen’kul’s brows rose in surprise as he felt his dominion over the environment being challenged.
He turned his attention toward the source as...
Step. Step. Step.
The sounds of soft footsteps resounded even through the aura clash happening around them.
"Master has made his orders clear." Sulvan’s voice was low. "Keep you busy."
There was no tone of the usually subservient man.
"That was the directive." His hooded robe appeared over his form as the entropy in the region began gathering around him.
The world fell into a visible state of disorder as not just the environment, but the very laws themselves began moving erratically.
"You... what are you?" Kolen’kul’s voice held a hint of surprise as he addressed Sulvan.
"I am Sulvan Entros." Coming to a stop, Sulvan’s eyes locked into a deadly staredown with Kolen’kul. "First Apostle of the Son of Devouring Chaos."
His hooded robe blazed to life in a crimson burning flame, the eyes within igniting as well.
"I am the Apostle of Disorder."
Then slowly, the stalemate began tilting as Sulvan began overpowering Kolen’kul.
"As ordained by the Son himself. You. Shall. Stay."
BOOM!!!
Kolen’kul’s figure was forced a few steps backward as the stalemate shattered, Sulvan’s aura successfully overpowering him.
"Impossible!!" The man couldn’t believe it.
He had actually lost. In a clash of auras. In a battle of dominion over the absolute rule of the laws within the region.
He, Kolen’kul the Unkillable, had lost?
His eyes bled a violent rage as his aura threatened to explode once more, but...
"Oi..." A quiet voice suddenly stopped him cold.
Aegon and Baron recoiled the moment they heard that cold voice.
"You did a pretty terrible number on me, you bastard." Leo’s voice echoed through the entire region as the crimson of the atmosphere slowly gave way to a despairing grey. "You’re going to pay for that."
His voice wasn’t loud, yet all who heard it felt a creeping hand grip their very souls, threatening to plunge them into absolute despair.
Leo appeared within the sky, but his look had undergone a drastic change.
Gone was the usual golden griffon. In its place was a creature of pure sorrow, hopelessness, and despair...
His eyes had gone a deathly grey. His wings had shed their feathers, becoming bony protrusions that leaked a foul miasma into the very air. A grey halo materialized above his head as it spun in slow, broken circles.
The entire region became divided.
One side had the crimson wave of entropy burning in absolute madness. The other was a deathly silent grey that threatened to pull one’s soul in if they stayed too long.
Both Leo and Sulvan leveled expressionless stares at Kolen’kul as the atmosphere grew thicker.
"Haa... what a drag." Salazar’s tired voice broke the sudden staredown. "And I was hoping we could resolve this without getting into a violent confrontation. I guess I should’ve expected this from people related to that bastard."
Despite his words, a battle-crazed smile had already appeared on his face.
Malachi, Paku, Aegon, and Baron seemed to feel the oncoming clash as they slowly distanced themselves.
Reluctant as he was, Malachi knew this bout was already not something he could handle...
"Not yet..." He gritted his teeth hard enough to crack as he and the others finally distanced themselves to someplace they considered far enough.
But...
"I... Am Invincible."
HONG!!
The moment Salazar’s words left his mouth, that distance suddenly felt too close.
"I... Am Immeasurable."
The already unstable region began visibly collapsing from the sheer amount of pressure being exerted upon it.
"I... Am Finality!"
BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!
His aura exploded before contracting back just as fast.
"Hoo... sorry about that last bit, I had to change a few words due to some annoying issues." He smiled as he looked toward Kolen’kul.
A four-way standoff began in the skies of the abyssal chasms. The very region quaked at the sheer amount of power being released into the atmosphere.
"You foolish outsiders think you can contend with me?" Kolen’kul’s seething voice echoed through the carnage. "Then let me show you how futile your actions today have been."
The atmosphere drew tight. And then...
BOOOOOM!!!
They moved. Four figures tearing through the sky.
And the moment they collided...
CRAAACK!!!!!
The world felt it.
"I SHALL PAINT THE SKIES OF THE ABYSS WITH YOUR AUDACIOUS BLOOD, OUTSIDERS!"
The battle... had finally begun.
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A/N: Yes... all that just to hang you guys on another cliff. Fight me. I’m kidding. No I’m not. Hahahahahaha...
A/N: and no, sulvan knows what he’s talking about. It’ll be made clear later how he knows Dante’s identity as the son of chaos and who gave him the distinction "Apostle of Disorder."
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Thanks for reading...