Chapter 444 - 442:“Come.”
Within the outer reaches of space, a few light years away from the cerulean blue oceanic planet of Aetheris Prime, the world wavered and glitched as four beings appeared.
Their faces were expressionless, their skin a pale white that stood in jarring contrast with the darkness of space.
Their mouths were sewn shut by threads of light. Adorned in pitch-black robes with a golden chain inscribed on the chest, they stood silent within the space around them.
On the arms of each of them, a thick golden chain wrapped tightly, giving off waves of suffocating power that made even space seem to shrink away from them.
"Is this the place?" A grating voice echoed within the region as one of the beings spoke, not with his mouth, but with intent.
"Not yet. But close. Master’s tracker has placed her position within the surrounding light regions," another one responded, pulling out what looked like a miniature tower currently glowing a resplendent dark-golden light.
"How could it be possible for her to have recovered? You don’t recover from something like that unless Master or the others will it," another one asked, whether he was curious or not couldn’t be deciphered, as his voice was plain and emotionless.
"That is none of our concern. All we do is carry out the tasks assigned to us. Nothing less. Nothing more. Now, move. We do not wish to keep the Master waiting," the last one ordered as the four beings disappeared from the spot, their destination unknown...
...
...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!
The clash was still terrifying. Still apocalyptic. But it had already been going on for the past minute or two, and I could already feel it.
"Little hybrid. You’re starting to bore me." Malachi stood motionless as he leveled the panting and raging beast before him with a plain smile.
The entire surrounding region was already subdued and brought thoroughly under the command of the beast. The winds were against the monkey. The earth was against the monkey. Even my connection to the atmosphere was trying to be challenged within that sphere of influence. As hilarious as it was, I allowed the beast its fun.
"MONKEY!!! YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME??"
"You’ve been saying that for the past thirty seconds. Can’t you come up with something better?"
"INSOLENT!!!" The creature charged up another breath attack, but this time—
BANG!
A thunderous slap connected cleanly with its massive maw.
CRACK!!!
The frightening sounds of bones turning to dust echoed out as the creature’s massive frame was sent hurtling through the skies, crashing unceremoniously into the ground below, struggling to rise.
"Haaa... seems that’s all you’re worth. No matter, it’s my turn to attack now." The monkey, a bully that he clearly was, wasn’t about to allow the young man any respite.
"What was that you told the princess earlier?" He cracked his fists slowly, placing his staff behind him. "Ahh! Yes! ’I hope you can at least last a few hits!’ " Grinning savagely, his form blurred as he appeared right above the draconic hybrid, and before the beast or anyone else could react,
BOOOOOOOMMMM!!! A fist connected squarely with the spine of the creature.
CRAAAACKKKK!!!
A jarring crack resonated through the atmosphere, immediately followed by,
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
The pained shriek of the young man.
"Haa... he couldn’t even last one punch. Pathetic." Leo sighed, shaking his head.
"Worry not. There are other things to hit." I smiled as I caught the moving figures of the two elders that had arrived with the arrogant youth.
"PLEBEIAN!!!! RELEASE THE YOUNG MASTER!!!" The man among them roared as the weather distorted, a thunderous fist manifesting in the air, striking down toward the monkey.
He was a bona fide Law Manifestation powerhouse, and it seems he was one of those that had taken the laws of lightning and discharge to their maximum, as the attack tore through the world with a raging intensity, threatening to tear the monkey apart, but—
"How about, NO. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Malachi merely laughed it off as his body shone a brilliant golden sheen, and then—
BOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!! He punched. The force of the move tore the descending fist of lightning apart as it swerved midair, crashing straight toward the approaching elders.
"WHAT!?"
The two elders were shocked, yet recovered swiftly as the woman’s hands flowed like water, intercepting the oncoming attack, and then, nothing.
She dispersed the force from the punch like it was nothing.
"Ohoho!! Interesting! Very interesting!!" Malachi’s excitement was thoroughly stoked once again, so, ignoring the unmoving body of the now transformed-to-normal youth, he bounded with a single leap, appearing before the two elders, a fist tearing straight at the face of the elderly woman.
"Humph!" A cold snort rang out as the woman placed a palm before her face, the other one swiftly shooting toward the monkey’s ribs.
THUD!
The force from his punch wasn’t dispersed this time, no, it was absorbed instead, and then—
BANG!!
Redirected straight back. The monkey was forced half a step back as the force of his attack was thrown back at him.
Before he could even clear away the surprise—
CRACKLE!!!
The crackling sounds of electricity filled the air as golden lightning instantly enshrouded him, and then—
"One million volts: Discharge."
The air snapped and crackled as the dome I set up expanded, covering up the attacks.
These elders were being wanton with their moves.
That attack wasn’t something a planet of pure water should be facing.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! THAT TICKLES, YOU OLD FUCKERS!!!" Malachi’s deranged and excited laughter sounded out from the ball of electricity.
"One punch—" The crackling electricity went quiet at the sound of his voice.
"Heh! This bastard really meant it when he said ’if you can copy it, use it to your heart’s content.’ " I couldn’t help recalling the words this monkey had said to me during our first-ever sparring session, as the bastard confidently pulled out a move from my own books.
"One million punches."
The world stilled for a heartbeat, and then—
BO..BOO..BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!
The explosion didn’t go off like multiple attacks had been thrown. No. It went off like one million nukes had been compressed into one and then detonated at once.
The dome I set up shook violently for the first time since this battle began.
"Hmmm?" This thing was more powerful than the runic barrier Salazar had claimed could withstand the explosions of multiple stars back in the abyss by at least a few hundred times, yet the monkey’s attack had shaken it.
"This bastard got quite the upgrade, huh?" I knew the changes had made them powerful, but it wasn’t until now that I was seeing the fruits of that change.
The carnage slowly faded after a few minutes, and then the aftermath revealed itself.
The elderly duo were nowhere to be seen.
The world within the barrier had forgotten how to be a world. The barrier keeping out the planet’s water from the bottom had been thoroughly erased, the entire place flooded by cerulean blue acidic water, filling up the bottomless chasms dominating the region within the barrier.
And right there, at the epicenter of it all, Malachi stood with casual ease, a satisfied smile on his face.
He had just casually erased two people that should’ve been on the same level as the Veyr Emperor Kolen’kul, and he hadn’t even been fighting seriously.
"Damn.." Even I couldn’t help being impressed by the change, but—
"Good." It was better this way. At least now, I wouldn’t have to climb to the peak of existence and beyond alone. I couldn’t help smiling as the thought crossed my mind, but then—
"Hmm?" My head snapped upward.
"Dante.." Leo’s voice reached me soon after.
"I know," I replied before he could say more.
ZING!
The monkey appeared right beside me, face serious.
"Say the word." His voice was hard, yet excited.
I could only shake my head at his antics as I brought the excited little guy down from my head. "Little man, why don’t you go play with your Big Sister Terra?"
"Ehh? Is Big Brother going somewhere?"
"Yes. But I’ll be right back, so just be good, okay?"
"Mmhmm. Lucien will be good."
I smiled, ruffling the little guy’s head as I sent him to Terra’s domain.
"Alright fellas, let’s go greet our guests," I said out loud as my body vanished from the spot.
....
....
"It is close." The plain voice echoed through the region as the four pale beings with chains wrapped around their arms appeared within the orbital region of a blue oceanic planet.
"The tracker says she’s within that middling planet. What are the directives?" one of them asked.
"We only need her, everything else is inconsequential," the third one replied.
"Affirmative. Commencing extinction protocol!" The last one pointed a finger at the blue planet, a horrifying amount of power gathering at the tip, but before he could let loose—
"Ahh.. can’t have you blowing up my current resting place now, can we?" A calm voice sounded out as the energy gathering around the being’s finger was swiftly snuffed out.
"Hmmm?" The four beings’ attention was swiftly drawn to the five men that had appeared before them.
"So, what exactly do we have here?"
....
I couldn’t help raising a curious brow as I looked at the identical beings before me. Everything about them was impossible to tell apart save for the fact that they were numbered 1 through 4 on their foreheads.
But before I could follow up with my question, I felt it. A sharp feeling of terror and fear. Its source—
"Sana! What happened?" Sana’s very being had trembled. And it had only happened after—
"Who are they? Why are you afraid?"
"They... They’re... they’re..." She couldn’t even get her words out as her voice began shaking.
"Sana. Calm down. Talk to us. Who are they?" Even Shaia had to try to calm the escalating worry of the tower spirit.
"Refugee. Speak up. Who are these beings? What’s wrong with you? Breathe.. damn it!" Terra, calm as she was, had begun worrying as Sana seemed incapable of pulling herself together.
My face went cold instantly, yet before I could force an answer from the throats of the bastards that dared make my tower spirit be afraid—
"You... she’s with you." The one labeled 1 addressed me.
"Who are you?" My voice had lost all casualness, turning hard and cold.
The others around me reacted instantly as their auras locked down the region, Shulvan’s hand already being placed on the hilt of his sword.
"The Master’s Dungeon of Eternal Grievance, you dare take possession of it?" The one labeled 2 continued.
Their words made my heart turn cold in fury.
So that’s why. That’s what made my Sana this terrified.
"You.. you’re with Penance," I growled slowly, the words tearing free from my throat in suppressed rage.
"You will speak of Master’s name with respect," the one labeled 3 retorted.
My rage spiked, my killing intent bleeding out into space. My mouth opened as I was about to reply, but then—
"HMMM... so it is true." A horrifying presence fell upon the entire place.
One so heavy that even I was frozen in place.
"So the spawn of Devouring has truly awakened. It seems luck has truly sided with my master," the voice echoed deep within the souls of everyone present, as it continued, uncaring of anyone’s opinions:
"Well then, little one. I believe we have some talking to do, so, come.." Following those words, the space above us split as two swirls of horrifying yellow bled into the region around us.
My head unconsciously raised up high as my eyes landed on the swirling mass of horror, and the moment they did...
BLANK!
I was gone. The last thing I remembered being the terrified scream of Shaia as she called out in desperation:
"DANTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! "
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A/N: Aha... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!! Oh this is golden. The perfect cliff. I love it... anyways,
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Thanks for reading...