“Bear the responsibility? What arrogant and ignorant words.” Yia scoffed.
He slid his uninjured arm behind his back and continued, “You and your siblings are an ungrateful bunch. We permitted you to live under the same sky as us, but you were unsatisfied and coveted our authority. We should have put all of you down the day you were brought into this world.”
“Ungrateful? Don’t make me laugh! Are you saying my brothers and sisters should be grateful for letting them rot away inside that monstrosity?” Astratis spoke in a darkened tone as his gaze turned cold.
At the same time, a new set of thunder clouds formed in the sky overhead as the lightning Ethos that encompassed Astratis flared about fiercely.
“If not for the sacrifice our mother made hiding me away at birth, my brothers and sisters would still be rotting in that forsaken place. I was fortunate to have not gone through the same hardship as my siblings; however—I will not allow you to make light of their suffering!” Astratis roared as the lightning Ethos erupted from his body.
Crrrrckle! Boom! Rmmmmble!
The sound of a violent thunderstorm reverberated throughout the Fourth Heart of the World as lightning rained down from the skies!
A constant flow of lightning filled Astratis’ eyes and caused the hair on his head to stand as the Son of Thunder’s hands became coated in wildly destructive lightning.
Clap!
Astratis slammed the palm of his hands together, causing the lightning he gathered in his palms to disperse.
The following moment, Astratis slowly pulled his hands apart as a small spark of lightning could be seen flowing in between his palms.
“My, raising your voice to your elders—how unruly. It appears you need to be taught… A valuable lesson!” Yia exclaimed.
Swoosh!
Out of nowhere, the dark ring Yia conjured earlier appeared a few meters above Astratis and expanded outward until it reached a diameter of nearly 100 meters!
The instant the dark ring finished expanding, it transformed into a bright ring of light.
The ring of light spun at an extreme speed and, in a flash, it was as though the dim Fourth Heart of the World had gained a miniature sun that lit up the gloomy night-like atmosphere.
“Light of Divergence: False Illusory Daybreak,” Yia called out as a giant cylinder of light shot down from the rotating ring.
The cylinder of light obstructed Astratis’ view and plunged him into a world of brilliant light.
However, the Son of Thunder did not panic as the lightning element between his palms grew severalfold in intensity.
Suddenly, the lightning jumped to Astratis’ right forearm, coiling itself around it like a serpent before extending a bit more than half a meter out from his hand.
By the time the lightning settled down, it formed a lightning gauntlet with a serrated-like blade made of the element at its end.
Unlike the usual lightning Astratis called forth, this one was much more vicious and condensed down into a concentrated form.
“One of the celestial three great treasures crafted by the Enati Cyclops, the Lightning Ruler’s Gauntlet. Another group of ungrateful rebels. When this is over, I will be sure to personally remove their hands and pluck that eye of theirs so that they may never craft again in this lifetime.” Yia’s voice echoed from every direction within the brilliant field of light.
“To get to those under my protection—I’m afraid you’ll have to step over my lifeless body to do so,” Astratis stated as he stabbed the serrated blade of his gauntlet into the earth.
When his blade pierced into the ground, several pillars of lightning rose up on both sides of Astratis.
“Temple of the Lightning King: Upward Flash.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
All of a sudden, a chain of thunderous explosions erupted as the pillars of lightning released a powerful discharge that covered the entire area!
…
Meanwhile…
BANG! Rmmmmmble!
Hakros intercepted Ourami’s fist with his own, causing the ground around them to rupture and making an upheaval occur.
The pressure from the shockwaves they generated by their collision alone was enough to casually blow away most players in RML.
A large grin formed on Hakros’ face as the veins on his arm could be seen bulging from his skin.
The look in his eyes was wild to the point of being almost bestial; however, Hakros had not lost control for a second. After all, if he gave in to such instincts, how could he enjoy this fight to its fullest?
“Heaven’s strength? What a joke! If this is all you can do, just hand that title of yours over to me. I’ll put it to good use!” Hakros released a ferocious battle cry as the blood of the ancient behemoth in his veins boiled in excitement.
“Insolent. My title was gifted to me by the world—you are not worthy to claim it.” Ourami said coldly.
The following moment, the impact of their collision sent both Hakros and the pillar back several meters.
“Worthy? We’ll just have to wait and see which of us is worthy or not when one of us is dead! Hahahaha!”
As Hakros released a boisterous laugh, he lifted his left foot before stomping the earth with tremendous force, sending out a series of powerful quakes from his position.
“To think there would come a day when, I, who gained the title of Heaven’s Strength, would meet someone with a physique blessed by the world like my own. Are all the residents of their world this strange?” Ourami internalized as he, too, crushed the ground under his feet and sent out a countering force to Hakros’ attack.
Although the pillar did not want to accept it, he knew that relying on the base strength of his physique alone to overwhelm Hakros may not be possible. And, he was correct.
Ourami was unaware of it, but Hakros was the natural bane of his existence.
Due to the blood of the Ancient Behemoth Okath that flowed through Hakros, even if Ourami was at the peak of the legendary realm, it was virtually impossible to overwhelm him by relying on physical strength alone.
However, Ourami could not accept that there was someone, especially from another world, who was capable of rivaling his strength.
Out of nowhere, the atmosphere around shifted as the air in the surrounding became thick and heavy, making it difficult for one to breathe.
“Oh? Are ya finally getting serious? Bring it on, ya bastard.” Hakros grinned as he gestured for Ourami to attack him.
“I do not know how things work where you’re from, but in the Fourth Heart of the World—no, within the entirety of this world—what I willed has always come to pass,” Ourami said as his outer appearance began to undergo a transformation.
Ancient and mysterious silver markings appeared under both of the pillar’s eyes as he loosened the top part of his ruler’s attire as it hung loosely from his waist, revealing an incredibly refined physique.
In terms of size, he was not as muscular as Hakros; however, the power contained within his physique seemed to be compressed down into a full-bodied state.
Along the back of the Ourami’s arms was something that resembled silver scales that ran all the way from his shoulders to the back palm of his hands.
“Since you are so eager to leave this world, I will lend you a hand,” Ourami stated.
“If you want me to leave this world, then make me using your fists!” Hakros roared as he kicked off the ground and charged toward Ourami with incredible momentum.
This was the same charging tactic he used to run through one of Ourami’s Keepers of the Megada race. All those who stood on its path were blown away!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Every step Hakros took caused the earth to tremble as the gravity around him seemed to increase the closer he approached Ourami.
However, something strange happened as Hakros charged ahead.
Ourami, who was just several meters away from him, had abruptly vanished.
“Where are you looking?” Ourami’s voice sounded from next to Hakros.
But, before Hakros could respond, a tremendous force slammed into his body, sending him flying and sliding across the earth in a similar matter to how he greeted Ourami earlier.
However, not even half a second went by before Hakros emerged and the ancient behemoth aura around him unleashed a mighty battle cry.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOAR!
“AHAHAHAHAHA! That’s more like it! If you’re gonna be called Heaven’s Strength, it’s gotta be at least this much! AHAHAHAHA!” Hakros’ excitement seemed to have overtaken him as he could no longer contain himself.
He raised his arms into the air and struck the ground.
The moment he performed this action, the earth bent in a strange way as it curved up towards the sky and resembled a tsunami as he rushed out towards Ourami!
Ourami stared at the tidal wave of the earth in his path as he held out the palm of his hand.
