Chapter 381 - 379:“…Heh!”
"Dante Draven. Welcome to your reckoning."
The voice had successfully gotten our attention as we looked toward the source.
Down below, surrounded by an army of abyss walkers that had at some point filled up the whole space, were two young men.
One, a stoic youth in full-body silver armor, a massive sword strapped to his back.
The other one, a crimson-blond-haired youth. His posture radiated pure malice and hatred as he leveled a venomous gaze at us.
It was this same youth that had spoken, and the moment my eyes landed on him, they lit up.
"It’s you!" I exclaimed before I could help myself.
"Heh! So you remember me. I guess I can..."
"Those wings. I see you kept them clean for me. I’ll be sure to make your death less painful when I take them." The greed and need in my voice were thick enough for even myself to notice, but I didn’t give a fuck.
I had almost forgotten about this six-winged pigeon, but who knew the little bird would throw itself right into the lion’s maw.
"You... filthy mortal. You dare covet my wings?" He suddenly bellowed, a threatening aura escaping him.
But before he could make any moves...
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
A massive golden pillar struck with a thunderous impact.
The ground exploded as a horde of the gathered abyss walkers were instantly reduced to blood paste.
"You... filthy... mongrels..." Malachi’s low growl sounded from beside me as he slowly raised his enlarged staff back up.
WOOSH!
The dust was cleared violently as the aftermath of his attack showed itself.
"You filthy monkey!!!" The crimson-blond youth roared in pure rage. "I will have your head!!"
BANG!
His figure appeared right before Malachi, a fist aimed straight for the monkey’s head.
SWOOSH!
The air split apart as another staff was swung furiously from the youth’s side.
BANG!
A gauntleted arm blocked the attack as...
BOOM!
The blond youth’s punch finally connected.
POOF!
Only for Malachi’s figure to vanish into a cloud of smoke.
"KAEL!" A sudden shout snapped the blond youth from his stunned state as...
SWISH!!
Another massive staff sweep approached them.
"MOUNTAIN SWEEPING STAFF!!"
Malachi’s roar echoed through the entire place as the attack landed...
BANG! BANG!
Two figures were instantly blasted out of the sky like a pair of bugs.
"ARGGGHHHH!!!!" The blond youth roared in rage as a golden light covered his figure.
Bursting through the mountain of rubble he’d been buried in, a lance of light materialized in his hands as he attacked...
"Seraph Light Arts: Lance of Atonement!"
SHIING!!
Thrusting the lance forward, a giant phantom lance image followed behind as the attack made a beeline for Malachi...
"TITAN APE WORLDBREAKER!!" Following another roar from him, Malachi’s staff grew large once more as he swung it out in a full arc.
WOOOSH!!!!
A crescent wave of pure primal energy blasted out of the staff as both attacks collided midway.
CRACK!
THOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!
The earth below caved in as a monumental shockwave was blasted outward.
SHHIIING!!!
The momentum from the last attack had barely ended before a massive sword strike came tearing through the air.
"Champion Sword Arts: Heavenly Severing!" A solemn voice followed after as the attack successfully landed.
RIIP!!!
The sounds of flesh being torn apart filled the space as Malachi was split cleanly in two...
The figure of the stoic armored youth materializing behind him.
"That s—" The words had barely left his mouth before...
"Heaven Splitting Descension!!" Malachi’s voice echoed like judgment from the heavens and suddenly...
CRACK!!!
The earth split open.
A wave of primal energy bursting forth.
CRASHHH!!!
From above, the skies split as another wave of energy fell.
And right there, in the middle of the converging energies was Malachi descending with his staff clenched in both arms. His eyes bleeding a deathly fury as he locked onto the figures of the two young men.
"DIEEEEEEE!!!!!"
Both the ascending and descending energies finally converged with Malachi at the center of it all as his staff smashed right on top of the two youths that had put up their defenses, but...
CRAAACKKKK!!!
It held up as much as a wet tissue...
BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!
The land felt like it had been hit by multiple magnitude 10 earthquakes all at once.
The city for miles on end trembled violently as buildings collapsed, runes flaring and dying out instantly.
A tremendous wave of energy erupted from the center of collision, washing over the entire landscape as earth caved in, skies cracked, and the world kept shaking for dear life.
"Damn! That monkey is pretty angry, isn’t he?" I couldn’t help muttering as I saw a different side of Malachi I had only glimpsed once, during the inheritance quest.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" A miserable shriek filled the air as two figures were sent launching into the sky unceremoniously.
The crimson-blond-haired youth had his entire right side turned to mush, with his body barely recovering.
The stoic youth was better off; he had only lost an arm and leg.
"You... filthy... mongrels..." Malachi’s low growl echoed through the devastation as the dust was violently cleared up once more.
The moment his figure appeared again,"Oh... you guys are so fucked," I couldn’t help muttering with a grin on my face.
He had transformed into that Ozaru-like form from before.
Only this time, his entire fur was a blinding gold, standing at a whopping 100 feet, the golden band glistening like a jewel on his head.
He hadn’t looked more badass in ages.
And with the way he had swung that staff so casually, resting it on his shoulder, paired with the crimson-red eyes bleeding killing intent?
"Yeah. You guys are definitely fucked." I was ready for a proper ass-whooping.
"Filthy monkey!!!! You dare come after this young lord’s life!!!" The crimson-blond-haired youth still didn’t seem to be understanding of his situation as he roared at Malachi in rage.
"Kael! Enough! Get serious or we die!" The stoic youth, thankfully, spared everyone the tantrums of a clueless child.
"I will turn you into a fur coat..." the blond youth growled as his wings spread out. A golden light engulfed his figure as a massive avatar appeared behind him...
"Seraph’s Light Arts: Avatar of Heaven."
His solemn voice was quickly followed by...
"Champion Arts: Rise of the King." The stoic armored youth was bathed in a silver-white glow.
Another majestic, sword-wielding avatar materialized behind him.
Standing at well over 300 feet, the two avatars dwarfed Malachi in everything but sheer aura.
I watched on, my excitement rising.
Interfere? And take this glorious battle away from Malachi? I would never betray him like that.
As for the wings? I could always take them from the cold, lifeless corpse of the celestial youth.
"Heh!" It seemed like reality had been waiting for me to complete my thoughts, as the moment I was done...
BOOOOOM!!
They moved.
Not like living entities. Like gods ready for a clash of titans.
CRAAAACKKKK!!!!! The earth split apart the moment they collided.
WENG!!
Energy blasted off in waves as they clashed over and over again.
The city behind us began collapsing even further.
The sky wept crimson entropy as their clash became airborne.
Gold. Silver. And crimson-gold. The skies lit up in multiple colors as...
BOOM!
BOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOM!!
Explosions thundered nonstop, followed by the occasional...
"YOU FILTHY MONGRELS... ROOOOOARRRRR!!!!!!" Malachi’s raging voice.
CRAAACKKKK!!!!!!
Another terrifying collision later and a massive fissure appeared on the body of the golden spear-wielding avatar of the celestial.
ROOOOARRRRRR!!!!!
Malachi’s roar was followed by the silhouette of a massive staff covering the heavens...
"WORLD PILLAR ANNIHILATION!!"
The staff descended like the heavens themselves were collapsing on earth.
"CHAMPION’S RISING BLADE..." The avatar of the stoic youth shone with a resplendent silver-white glow as it grew to an incredible size, an upward cut aimed straight for the descending staff...
"SERAPH’S LIGHT ARTS: HEAVEN PIERCER!!!" The cracked avatar of the blond youth thrust upward in fury, his eyes radiating a pure, unbridled killing intent.
"""DIEEEEEE"""
All three shouted in tandem as the attacks finally met...
CRACK!
The counter-strikes of the two youths were smashed to pieces the moment they came in contact with the descending staff, and then...
CRASSSSHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
The staff landed with catastrophic impact.
The already ruined earth caved into a bottomless cavern as the image of a ginormous, heaven-covering staff imprinted itself into the very abyss before...
BAMF!
Vanishing completely.
"Haa... Haa... Haa..." Malachi appeared beside me, breathing heavily.
I didn’t bother turning toward him. My gaze locked onto the bottomless pit below.
"Something is wrong." Before my words could even reach Malachi...
SWOOSH...
A wing had already torn its way toward his head, aiming to give the monkey a much-needed haircut, but...
BANG!
I swatted it away without looking back.
"To even think of sneaking up on someone with me here, you must be thinking too much of yourself." My words were directed at the pit below, as soon enough...
WOOOSH! WOOOSH!!
Two figures burst out of the pit.
"What?" Malachi’s eyes shrank in disbelief.
"Heh! Puny monkey, did you think your little tricks could really put us down completely?" The crimson-blond youth spoke up.
Their forms had changed.
A golden halo of light had appeared behind the two.
Their auras had changed significantly.
I could feel it. The energy coursing through their veins, it wasn’t mana anymore.
"Alright, it’s time to clean up the mess." With that thought, they moved. Their target...
"... Heh!"
************
A/N: Targetting Dante right after a power up? Don’t know if I should call them brave or just dumb. Anyway..
*************
Thanks for reading..