Chapter 228: Zero vs Wukong
Dorian didn’t reply. Instead, he remained sitting on the ground and focused his entire body on healing. He released any Abilities he had active and stopped trying to draw on various Laws.
His body immediately began to regenerate while his soul calmed down. The various injuries he’d accrued slowly began to heal as he entered a zen-like state of meditation. His focus was at such a high level due to the sheer scale of his fight with Zero that the feeling came almost naturally to him.
His soul rapidly began to rejuvenate, easing the strain he was feeling. The injuries to his body healed slower due to the high power of his physique, but they still started to heal nonetheless.
“Monkey.” Zero’s voice was a dark growl as he stared at Sun Wukong. A feeling of rage carried in his tone as he glared at the powerful warrior.
“Lion.” Sun Wukong merely nodded back politely. Behind him, the rest of the Anomalies that had all arrived waited quietly, knowing the impact
“I am not the same as I was before.” Zero raised up his right hand.
WHOOSH
The glowing white sword had been sent flying away after Sun Wukong deflected it shot through the air and landed in Zero’s hand, giving off a few sparks of red energy.
“I can see that.” The monkey raised up his own right hand slowly while storing his staff securely on his back.
Zero snorted, his eyes boring into Sun Wukong.
“This land of endless death will be your grave, monkey. For you to have come to me on this day… I should be thanking the Heavens.”
Despite his confident bluster, Zero’s entire body tensed up as he stared at Sun Wukong, as if he was prepared to flee at a moment’s notice. If Dorian had been able to look up, he would’ve been shocked.
For, it almost looked as though Zero feared Sun Wukong.
Zero held his sword up, pointing it to the roof. Almost immediately, the air around Zero began to swarm as red energy began to condense. His entire body was covered in a protective layer of Annihilation Energy, twisting and sparking ferociously. A small ball of red energy started to form roughly a meter above his sword.
“You are far too weak, child, to think of threatening me.” Sun Wukong’s voice took on a grand, royal air. All of a sudden, an overpowering Aura burst free from the monkey, one full of majestic might.
Zero flinched just the tiniest bit when he sensed this, but otherwise maintained his focus as he continued to gather energy above his head.
“Curse Magic.” Sun Wukong whispered quietly,
“Release the Seventh Seal: Herculean Strength.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his right hand hovered over the left side of his chest, right on his heart. He then stabbed down with his fingers, blue light sliding off them to form the shape of a riveting seal. This seal sank into the flesh of his chest, and seemed to react, taking on a dark glow.
Sun Wukong’s body began to gleam as his muscles bulged, his physical form transforming from that of a small, average-sized monkey to a hulking, 3 meter tall muscular ape. His skin itself stretched outward, veins popping out as every fiber of his being seemed to become energized and mighty.
“I am Sun Wukong, the Almighty Ruler of the Graal Alliance!” His voice boomed in the air, the sheer force of presence he bore visibly causing all of the other Anomalies except Mello to flinch.
Right after that, in another silent whisper, he casts another spell.
“Release the Sixth Seal: Golden Body.”
Another collection of energy swarmed from his hands towards his heart, an image of a seal forming and sinking into his chest.
Sun Wukong’s body that had bulged out with muscles began to condense, shrinking back down to around 2 meters in height. The air around him seemed to solidify, as if his body had become incredibly dense and was beginning to physically affect the world around him.
His every movement was imbued with virile energy, derived from the Law of Might, one of the strongest Laws that focused on physical power, and the Law that the Monkey King had mastered completely.
“You wish to thank the Heavens? Child, I was born from the Heavens themselves!” Another blast of Aura soared out. This time, it physically forced all of the other Anomalies to take a step back. Only Mello and Zero managed to stand their ground. Dorian was somehow able to ignore all of it due to his meditative state causing the Aura to wash over him.
“Release the Fifth Seal: Soul Acceleration.”
“Release the Fourth Seal: Latent Burn.”
Sun Wukong’s body shook, outwardly not changing much. His eyes seemed to become endless, gaining a depth that could not be matched. His physical form seemed to become even stronger and mightier, all while standing still.
As this happened, he winced, his mouth twitching. A small spurt of blood spat free from his lips but was quietly blasted into nothingness by his raw Aura.
Zero’s ball of energy had swollen to be a full 3 meters in width by this point. Once it reached that level, Zero’s sword shifted slightly.
Abruptly, that energy siphoned off from the ball above and rapidly began to become absorbed by Zero’s sword. Red veins popped out in Zero’s body as this went on, causing his eyes to glow brightly.
“This is my ultimate technique, monkey. I didn’t intend to use this on you, but instead on HIM. But I suppose you can help me test it out.”
As Zero spoke, his voice became infused with the essence of the Law of Annihilation. Everything about him, in fact, had become infused with the Law. His sword seemed to be made of red, Annihilation Flames while the red energy that had encompassed him was now glued to his body like a set of translucent scales.
Zero looked like an epic God from legend, his appearance giving off a feeling of overwhelming power.
“Before I had my Annihilation Mode, you might’ve had a chance.” Zero slowly took a step forward.
That single step, not an attack nor a punch or a stomp, just a light step, caused a sonic shockwave to spread out. The Grakons in the background had long since been flung back hundreds of meters, as had most of the loose rubble. The rocky floor beneath shattered once more, forming a massive crater of jagged stone.
Much of this stone was obliterated as soon as it cut upwards. The pieces that weren’t were sent flying off in the distance, infused with Annihilation Energy and destroying anything in their path.
“But now?” Zero shook his head, confidence filling his voice.
“Even Father himself could not stand against me.”
Sun Wukong looked at Zero’s fearsome appearance and then slowly shook his head.
“If you cannot even defeat me, you will stand no chance against that man. And I am no ally of his.” Sun Wukong simply shrugged.
He raised his right hand and then placed it on his chest, right in front of his heart.
“Prove to me your power, lion.”
“Release the Third Seal: Nature Encompass.”
Sun Wukong’s Aura changed.
Well, rather than changed, it was more correct to say…
It exploded into light.
Dorian’s meditation had just reached a point where he could now open his eyes. His body was rapidly regenerating, as was his soul. He was still heavily injured, but if it came down to it, he could once more fight.
The moment he opened his eyes was the moment Sun Wukong activated his Third and Second Seal.
Everything in Dorian’s vision suddenly became three shades lighter.
Sun Wukong was a warrior, right down to his core. Ever since he was born with his magical, future-seeing eyes, Sun Wukong had focused on growing stronger so he could handle any enemy that came his way. With his almost all-seeing powers, life was easy for him.
One day, however, he met an enemy that he could not defeat. An enemy that was so much more powerful than he was, that even if every single attack he made was perfect, every single strike he launched was immaculate…
He would still lose.
And that enemy was a woman named Ausra. Or, rather, a Dragon. A Wise Jade Dragon.
Ausra was a genius in her own right, possessing a wise mind and incredible martial prowess, as well as the body of a monstrously powerful Dragon. She had been intrigued by Sun Wukong’s mystical eyes and opted to befriend him, intent on learning more.
She had had dreams of compiling a list of all living creatures and their characteristics, and she had never heard of a monkey quite like Sun Wukong.
Sun Wukong was fine with it. After all, what he sought was the power to live without worry, and Ausra seemed to have that.
Like that, Sun Wukong joined her as she traveled through the 30,000 Worlds.
They dueled each other 100 times during their first year traveling.
Ausra won all 100 duels.
Sun Wukong learned a lot from her. He learned that he had been a Master Class expert when he met her, while Ausra was King Class. The discrepancy in power between them was gargantuan at the time.
He also learned that all the martial techniques she used were not actually her own.
Those moves had been taught to her by a young genius she’d met not too long ago, a man by the name Yukeli Shorn. A warrior that, according to Ausra, was obsessed with the ongoing wars with the Demon race that were currently sweeping the 30,000 Worlds.
Before their meeting, Sun Wukong had lived his life in a small mountain range in a small Lesser World that few people cared about. After a year traveling with Ausra, his mind had greatly expanded.
There were countless millions of races, incredible Dragons that possessed fearsome power and ferocious Demons that could obliterate a country with a wave of the hand. Sun Wukong truly understood how weak he was, despite his miraculous eyes, and set about on a promise to fix all of that.
He pledged his formal discipleship to become Ausra’s student.
And Ausra had accepted. Even now, Sun Wukong never understood why such a kind, wise, and graceful lady would care about someone like him. He knew his eyes were special, but that still couldn’t account for everything.
From there on, Sun Wukong had rapidly grown stronger. As he grew, he found that he was limited by something.
His body.
While his eyes were truly Divine, his body was naught but a regular, simple monkey. In fact, as he later found out, his body was actually even weaker than a regular monkey. His Divine eyes had badly damaged his future potential, making every increase in strength difficult. They were half a blessing, but also half a curse.
He never found out why his eyes were this way. Ausra had thought it was a random stroke of heavenly luck, a twist of Fate that couldn’t be accounted for or predicted.
The strain his body suffered from when he pulled upon his eyes was rather extreme, especially as his power grew. His eyes required a huge amount of energy, energy that other warriors or creatures would use to power their physique.
He realized, over time, that he needed a way to increase the power of his body if he ever wanted to be able to fight at a high level. Even with his ‘Eyes of God’ that could see through Fate, if he wasn’t physically strong enough, losing a fight would remain a possibility. Ausra had hammered that lesson into him time and time again.
So he took up two practices. He studied the Law of Might, using that Law to help him break past barrier after barrier.
And he studied a vein of highly abstruse Curse Magic. Specifically, the ‘Inner Seals’ of Curse Magic.
Throughout his lifetime, Sun Wukong had created 7 Inner Seals. Each one possessed mystical powers that were formed through mystical rituals and raw effort. Each Seal had absorbed a sizable portion of his life energy, his cultivation, and his own soul itself to form.
The smaller the number of the Seal, the more power and life he had imbued into it.
Activating any of his Seals was extremely trying on his body, but by doing so, not only could he vastly increase his prowess, but he could also gain additional Abilities or powers.
The Aura Sun Wukong gave off thanks to his Third Seal was one that emanated beautiful light. Everything within range of that light was now an area under Sun Wukong’s partial control. He could manipulate pressure, twist the air, or rupture the earth with his will alone. This Seal was one that drew upon the fabric of reality itself, granting him incredible power for a brief time.
It was only possible for him to use this one because all of his previous Seals had enhanced his body to an ungodly degree, changing his physique from that of a regular, weak monkey to a legendary creature that could handle such a strain.
Zero’s body shot forward like an infinitely powerful meteor as he charged at Sun Wukong. The brutal, red energy that Zero exuded clashed with Sun Wukong’s godly Aura, causing multiple shockwaves to shake out.
The ground beneath Zero had long since been obliterated. The center of this once-majestic city was now a ruined war zone, full of huge craters and jagged chunks of rock.
Sun Wukong watched as Zero drew close. Behind Sun Wukong, the various other Anomalies were barely able to react to the ongoing fight, even Dorian. Everything was happening at a level that only the Angelic Class experts seemed able to react to. They were only unharmed still right now because Sun Wukong’s Aura was shielding them.
The air itself seemed to be slowing Zero down. The powerful Anomaly was flying through the air, but at a speed that was at least a third what he seemed to be expecting. Despite that, a vicious smile appeared on his face as continued to fight his way forward, throwing off Sun Wukong’s Aura.
Sun Wukong frowned slightly.
“Thundering Winds: Flush Gale.”
Sun Wukong vanished.
An instant later, he reappeared right next to Zero. By the time Zero realized the monkey was right next to him, Sun Wukong was already attacking.
“Rumbling Earth: Boulder Breaker.”
A massive explosion blasted out as Sun Wukong punched Zero right in the chest. This punch created an image of a boulder shattering under an incredible amount of force. A punch that Dorian himself had used before.
This explosion tried to sweep out and envelop everyone within hundreds of meters. However, as the explosive force tried to escape, it instead rebounded on the glowing light of Sun Wukong’s Aura. As a result, it blasted back inwards and slammed into Zero’s form, repeatedly, more than a dozen times.
The subsequent impacts carried enough force to obliterate a mountain.
The power of the attack forced its way through Zero’s protective Annihilation barrier, smashing into his chest and knocking him backwards. Instead of being flung away hundreds of meters, Zero likewise rebounded off the glowing light of Sun Wukong’s Aura.
His body then transformed into what Dorian would call a pinball as Zero was knocked back and forth across Sun Wukong’s Aura more than a dozen times.
Blood spurted out of Zero’s lips as he tanked the hit. His face ran flush with blood as his body reconciled the impact, nearly causing the powerful lion to fall unconscious.
8 of his ribs were broken, and all of the other ones were cracked. His left lung had been punctured, and most of his organs had sustained serious damage, all from a single blow.
Despite the vicious injuries he’d sustained, as Zero managed to force himself to fall to a halt, a blood-soaked smile appeared on his face.
For he was not the only one injured in that exchange.
