Chapter 288: Partial Awakening [ 11 ]
Clouds suddenly formed in the sky as dozens of golden swords descended. Up ahead, I spotted one of the Demon Emperors closest to the portal with their hand raised, their eyes glowing golden as they continued to channel their energy into the downpour of swords.
They looked pretty powerful at a glance. Only when I looked closer did I realize that this wasn’t actually some kind of Light Manipulation, but instead, one sword being duplicated thousands, if not millions, of times.
It was a very unique Gift, one that I was pretty sure I hadn’t seen much before. But of course, since this Demon Emperor didn’t completely master his Gift, the problem was clear.
I was able to spot the original sword among many. With a single thought, I shattered that sword, and just like I expected, every other sword after that ceased to exist. Not to mention, the Demon Emperor himself suddenly backed off, clutching his head.
I tried to use that moment of vulnerability to latch onto his body and destroy it. However, the other Demon Emperors were protecting him quite adamantly.
And if that wasn’t enough, Ren finally emerged and locked eyes with me. I was confused by what he was doing for a moment, until I realized that my consciousness was slowly slipping away.
I was immediately reminded of what happened with Wilhelm. The repetitive torture he had put me through... I had expected it, only to be trapped in another bout of torture.
But right as I thought I would need to use the majority of my Divine Energy to escape, Ren backed off, his eyes widening as if he had come to some realization. His gaze flashed with anger, which wasn’t directed at me, but instead at someone else.
And of course, I once again used this moment of vulnerability to try and break his Demonic Core, only for him to slip away and reappear in front of the rest of the Demon Emperors.
Every time I tried to directly mess with the portal, they would chime in and cancel my Divine Energy. Every time I messed with them, they would help each other.
I couldn’t defeat them, at least not until I grew a little stronger. But I also knew that by the time I came back to face them, they’d have enough countermeasures against me.
Glancing to the side, I spotted Morr staring at me through the shattered palace window.
How could they not have more countermeasures when they have two Divine Beasts on their side?
Rather... They have two Divine Beasts, as well as one neutral Divine Beast. In comparison, Rachel and Elise’s allegiance was unknown. For all I knew, those two were just like the other Divine Beasts.
But then again... I felt like freeing Rachel was the start of all of this. Why did Divine Beasts start appearing left and right from the moment I met her?
Tsk...
No point blaming her now.
I narrowed my eyes at the group below, and with around 25 seconds to spare, I decided at the very least to piss them off.
And of course, I did that by wrapping my Telekinesis around the entirety of Helheim, and without a moment of hesitation, I lifted the entire city as though I was lifting a simple speck of dust.
The remainder of the buildings crumbled, and as for the demons who were running toward the portal, they stumbled and began tumbling down the cracks, falling through the city and falling to the earth below.
Sadly, every single demon had wings, so only those who panicked too much and forgot that simple fact were the ones to die. As for the others, they calmly landed on the ground and began running away.
As for the demons that tried to make their way back to the portal, they were crushed by the debris of the crumbling city.
I was satisfied with the destruction... Even the loss of so many lives didn’t phase me. Why should I be phased? They were prepared to go through the portal and kill humans.
They just got what they deserved.
Once the city was raised high enough and I felt like I couldn’t raise it any further, I let go of my Telekinesis, causing the city, alongside the Demon Emperors and the portal, to freefall to the ground.
Naturally, they tried their best to protect the portal, but with the ground being so unstable, they weren’t able to. And so, in front of my eyes, the frame of the portal cracked slightly. Those cracks spread very quickly, enveloping the portal whole.
And finally, right as I blinked, the portal shattered, causing the gateway to become closed as each of the Demon Emperors stared at me in disbelief.
But by then, I had already locked onto Clementine’s presence and used my Black Lightning to teleport to her.
The moment I arrived, I spotted a wrecked carriage, followed by Clementine’s figure blurring and reappearing in front of me. She was actively fighting the Demon Emperor, with the Demon Kings only supporting.
She was at a loss, and she would be overwhelmed soon.
Yet with my appearance, that all changed, as with a single thought, I twisted the heads of nearly four Demon Kings in an instant and tossed them away like twigs. As for the Demon Emperor, he paused and smiled at me.
Then, to my surprise, his figure also blurred. Except, instead of returning, he just vanished completely. He wasn’t the only one to vanish, though, as the Demon Kings did too. The blood they spilled when I twisted their heads was gone, almost like it never existed.
My heart sank as I suddenly turned to Clementine, only to see her figure and energy fade away into nothingness. Yet despite the nothingness, a faint trace remained, which I desperately followed.
Yet all that resulted in was my return to Helheim, where I spotted a very familiar figure who looked just like me.
It was Morr, and he was staring back at me as though he had been expecting me.
"..."
I was tricked.