Book 1 Chapter 814
814.
Goooo! Fwoooooosh-!
Erebus unleashed black flame sword energy.
"Hooob!"
Valhar, letting out a shout of exertion, split his double-bladed battle-axe in half.
Clang!
As Valhar, holding the battle-axe separated into single-bladed axes in each hand, spun the axes, a storm began to rage.
Kwaaaaaaak-!
Valhar, with flashing eyes, charged straight ahead and pulverized the black flame sword energy.
"Karr!"
As Valhar pierced through the black flames to create a path, Karr followed close behind.
Woooong-!
Karr leaped, scattering the golden aura imbued in his sword.
"Haaaaaaah-!"
Letting out a roar close to a mighty shout of exertion, Karr plunged towards Erebus like a comet.
Super-senses transmit countless pieces of information to Karr's brain.
Sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste.
Through his maximized senses, Erebus's attack path began to be drawn in his mind, and soon the transcendent senses reached a single realm.
The realm of sixth sense.
Flash-!
A light emanated from Karr's eyes.
A 'prediction' akin to precognition began to occur.
'I see it.'
Erebus's thoughts.
Where he would attack.
Karr, who was about to swing his sword to avoid Erebus's attack, suddenly trembled.
Paaat-! Kwalk-!
As Karr hastily pushed off the ground and retreated, a black sword energy, like a guillotine, fell from the sky onto that very spot.
"Indeed."
Erebus's bland gaze landed on Karr.
"Super-senses?"
Erebus's senses instantly outpaced Karr's super-senses.
Karr had experienced this phenomenon during a sparring match with Leo.
A fight between wielders of the same super-senses.
A battle of wits in an unseen realm.
Watching Karr muttering with a serious face, Erebus replied.
"I merely utilized one of my powers in the manner of the surviving hero."
As Erebus, speaking indifferently, raised his palm from bottom to top.
Kwoogagagagagang-!
Black flames surged, piercing through the ground.
Fwoooooosh! Goooooooo!
The black flames soon swept over the great heroes like a giant tidal wave.
Rune, seeing this, unleashed his magic.
Kkakkkakakakakakang-!
A wall of ice, imbued with terrifying cold, tried to block the tidal wave of flames.
At that moment.
Goooooo-!
The black flames, which had been spreading widely and covering everything, began to converge into one spot.
Simultaneously, it rotated like a whirlwind and pierced a single point in the ice wall.
Thud-!
Rune, seeing this, immediately slammed his staff onto the ground.
Kigigigigiging-!
Then, a magic circle was generated, and hundreds of magical chains embroidered with threads of magic power poured out.
Rune tried to bind the concentrated flames of disaster with the magical chains.
But at that moment.
Hwaak-!
The flames of disaster, which had converged into one spot, split into multiple strands and scattered.
Kwagagagagak-!
Rune's face contorted mercilessly as he failed to capture all the flames of disaster with the magical chains.
"This is insane…"
A strand of the flames of disaster flew towards Rune.
Flash-! Booaaaaak-!
At that moment, Leo appeared in front of Rune and cut down the black flames with his sword.
"Awesome! Leo! I'll kiss you later!"
Leo, letting out a hollow laugh, unleashed his magic.
Woooong-!
Magic power imbued Leo's sword.
"Innocent."
As he quietly spoke the name of the magic, the sword began to glow pure white.
Kwalk-!
As Leo plunged his sword into one of the black flame strands wriggling like a living thing, the pure white light lingering on the sword flowed into the black flame as if being sucked in.
A moment later.
Pububububububung-!
Explosions began to occur within the black flames.
The explosions burst forth in a chain reaction, rushing towards Erebus.
The moment Erebus, seeing this, tried to sever the black flames.
"Oh no you don't!"
Koogung!
Rune crushed Erebus's body using gravity magic.
Koong-!
As the surrounding gravity intensified for a moment, Erebus fell to his knees.
Pububung! Kwagagak-!
Innocent, which had been causing explosions along the black flames, soon flowed into Erebus's body and caused an explosion.
Erebus's body swelled as if it would burst.
Jooreureuk-
Blood flowed from Erebus's mouth, nose, eyes, and ears.
"Ugh! Kyle, it's your appearance, so it's not very pleasant to see."
Rune muttered as if disgusted.
But Leo, unconcerned, looked up at the sky and shouted.
"Rea!"
With that call, Rea, who had been gathering magic power high in the sky, opened her eyes.
Soon, an arrow of light was created in Rea's hand, extended towards the sky.
As she drew the arrow back as if stringing a bow, a bow made of light appeared in Rea's hand.
Light magic that repels evil and impure forces.
Rea unleashed her unique magic.
"Retribution."
The arrow of light flew towards Erebus at tremendous speed.
Woooong-! Flash! Kwagagagagakang!
As the arrow of light struck Erebus, a massive explosion erupted, and a mushroom cloud billowed up.
Karr and Valhar lowered their stances to avoid being flung away by the aftermath of the explosion.
Leo pulled Rune into his embrace and bent his body, shielding him.
A moment later, as soon as the aftermath of the explosion cleared, Rune, who had been protected in Leo's arms, opened his eyes wide.
"Requiem!"
-!
A blinding flash, silent even of an explosion, swept through.
Leo, who had blocked his vision with his arm, slowly lowered his hand.
And he clicked his tongue in amazement at the sight unfolding before his eyes.
Although the power of Retribution used by Rea also surpassed imagination.
As expected, Rune's Requiem had a different scale of power entirely.
'He must have reduced the range to minimize collateral damage.'
The spirits were fleeing in terror.
Thump- Thump-
But even amidst such an explosion, Erebus, in Kyle's form, was calmly walking out.
Rune, seeing that sight, spoke with an expression of disgust.
"Wow, that ignorant brute strength is still the same."
"It's not just brute strength."
Rea landed next to Leo.
Rune, who had been in Leo's embrace, opened his eyes wide.
"Then what is it?"
"He's responding to our attacks."
He was different from Erebus 5000 years ago.
5000 years ago, Erebus purely blocked the great heroes' attacks with overwhelming power.
But unlike 5000 years ago when he simply crushed them with power, now he was predicting and preparing for each great hero's attack methods and launching his own attacks.
'If we had been the same as 5000 years ago… we would have been defeated.'
Rea narrowed her eyes.
'Imitating Kyle's appearance wasn't just for amusement or whim.'
"Indeed… you are the great heroes."
Erebus, standing before the five people, narrowed his eyes.
"To be progressing even at this very moment."
Rea clicked her tongue, watching Erebus reveal his wariness.
"5000 years ago, even though my victory was certain, I was defeated by you."
Erebus looked down at his hand.
"In the final battle, I never underestimated you."
Erebus, raising his head, looked at each great hero one by one.
"But there was something I overlooked. It was the potential of the inhabitants of the lower realm."
"Potential…?"
"Yes. The moment the world was born. From the beginning of time, I wondered. Why do the inhabitants of the lower realm exist? Why do your utterly useless species live meaningless lives? To me, the inhabitants of the lower realm were like gnats. Useless, and simply hateful bugs that needed to be killed."
Erebus looked at Leo.
"5000 years ago, the surviving hero. Until just before my defeat by you, the inhabitants of the lower realm were such beings to me."
"So you changed after I broke you into six pieces?"
"Yes."
"Well, that's petty for someone who supposedly swallowed all evil gods. Do you hate us that much?"
"Yes. I hate you. And on the other hand, I'm grateful."
"What?"
"I both love and hate you. Surviving hero, no. Hero of Beginnings."
As Erebus's title changed, Leo's eyes twitched.
Erebus's gray eyes looked directly at the great heroes.
"You are indeed the culmination of the potential of the lower realm's inhabitants. The moment I was defeated, I realized why I had hated the lower realm's inhabitants so irrationally. It was self-loathing."
"What kind of crazy talk is that? Has he gone mad from being shattered for 5000 years?"
Rune spun his finger around his head.
"The inhabitants of the lower realm and I are fundamentally the same."
"…What is your reason for thinking that?"
Rea asked with a firm voice.
"You live finite lives. Even the time allowed is pitifully short. Yet, you live your lives to the fullest."
"……"
"Yes. You are rushing towards destruction with all your might. Just like me. Even I, an immortal being, will end in destruction. In the end, I too am a finite being."
A being whose sole purpose is to burn the world and turn it to ashes.
One who, at the end of existence, faces only destruction.
That was Erebus, the Flame of Destruction.
"As I came to understand you in that way, while I hated you, I also grew fond of you."
Erebus spread his arms wide.
"After growing fond, I came to revere you. I came to revere your infinite potential. That is why I took on this form. You are my new beginning! I thank you! Great heroes! Thanks to you, I can see potential."
"…What do you intend to do with seeing potential, you who rush towards destruction?"
Rea said coldly.
No matter how much he claimed to have changed, his essence remained unaltered.
Rea knew well.
That the abomination before her was ultimately a monster that would only be satisfied by devouring everything, burning it, and disappearing.
"I have a dream."
Erebus smiled, filled with ecstasy.
"To burn all worlds existing in parallel universes. That is the potential I found, and my dream!"
"Crazy… What a disgustingly gruesome dream."
Rune spat out a curse.
At that moment.
Leo's eyes twitched.
"You… you swallowed Nyx?"
At Leo's words, Erebus grinned.
Gooooooo-!
Flames rising from Erebus's body shot up into the sky.
Along with that, the night sky began to be dyed a dark reddish-black.
At a phenomenon akin to the Age of Calamity, the great heroes' faces hardened.
Simultaneously, the Tartarus Legion began to appear in the sky.
"I will return."
Erebus, grinning, vanished.
Leo, seeing this, cursed.
"Damn it! Everyone run!"
At that command, the great heroes immediately began to run.
"Why?! What's happening?"
Rune followed behind Leo, asking urgently.
Rea, who was following Leo, suddenly trembled.
"Surely not…?"
"That's right, that bastard!"
Killing intent imbued Leo's eyes.
"He's planning to cross into my worldline!"