…
A few moments ago…
Bzzzzt…! Zeeeut!
Astratis’ figure constantly appeared at different locations on the battlefield as he employed his Six Thunderous Paths.
Swoosh! Crrrrckle!
Whenever the Son of Thunder moved, a trail of vicious lightning would form.
After several movements, the lightning converged to a single point, creating a thunderous sphere.
The gathering spot of the thunderous sphere was not random. Not far away from its position was none other than the Progenitor of the Flow, Kyvernos.
“Hmph, you want to use speed to overcome me? Boy, you are too arrogant. Did you forget that it is I alone who controls the flow?” Kyvernos gathered sinister energy at the tip of his index finger.
All of a sudden, a brilliant ray of light descended from the sky. It was as though a giant spotlight had abruptly found its way to Kyvernos.
However, this was no ordinary light. The instant the light came into contact with the sinister energy at Kyvernos’ fingertip, it caused it to waver. In addition, Kyvernos could feel an overlapping wave of destructive force descend upon him in a seemingly neverending cycle.
Kyvernos’ expression darkened as his eyes turned cold.
“I grow weary of your interference, Illioreas. Do you think that I will not cast you into the Na’Ei Cha?” Kyvernos stated.
The mysterious light that encompassed Kyvernos was the work of the Progenitor of the Sun, Illioreas.
The entire time, Illioreas had been keeping the full might of Kyvernos’ attacks at bay. He did not make a move unless Kyvernos made a move. And, even then, only if that move would prove somewhat difficult for Astratis and Tal’Nis to face head-on.
This heightened focus on defense and interception made Illioreas even more troublesome to deal with than Kyvernos originally anticipated.
“Grow weary all you like. My life no longer moves to your will.” Illioreas responded.
He then continued, “The day after we took care of that nightmare, ever since that moment you have changed, brother—and, not for the better. Did you forget the promise we made that day when our two brothers sacrificed themselves to extinguish that nightmare? We promised to never allow a monster like that to exist again. Therefore, brother, even if you despise me as a result—I have every intention of keeping the promise I made that day.”
Illioreas’ expression seemed somewhat saddened as he spoke. In the depths of his heart, he hoped that his brother would slowly change over the cycles. But, even if his brother failed to change of his own will, at the very least, Illioreas planned to gain enough strength to force that change himself.
However, he knew that using such a method was only a delusion he trapped himself in. Not because Kyvernos’ current strength exceeded his own, but rather due to the fact that one could not force change upon someone who was unwilling to take the journey.
“For numerous cycles, I have been fooling myself into believing that which I have wanted to believe—even if it was far from the truth that was right in front of my eyes all along.” Illioreas thought to himself.
“For the sake of our brothers… And, for your sake as well, brother—I will no longer turn a blind eye to the truth of our world.” Illioreas declared.
The next moment, Astratis appeared next to the thunderous sphere and took it into the palm of his hand, crushing it.
BOOOOM!
Upon crushing the thunderous sphere, the earth trembled as a devastating explosion consumed the surrounding one hundred meters!
Oooooom!
Not long after the massive explosion, the cloud of dust was blown away into the sky as the sinister aura around Kyvernos exploded.
“For my sake? You think too highly of yourself, brother.” Kyvernos said mockingly as he seemed completely unphased by Astratis’ attack.
Or, at least, that’s how it appeared at first glance.
“Hm?” Kyvernos felt something warm run down the left side of his neck as he reached his hand up to touch it.
He looked down and saw some thick black liquid on his fingertips that caused him to narrow his eyes.
Just now, he was absolutely certain that he thoroughly crushed Astratis’ attack and dispelled any foreign ethos in the atmosphere around him. Therefore, even though it was not a serious or life-threatening injury, Kyvernos was genuinely surprised by his wound.
“Oh? It’s not healing?” Kyvernos thought to himself as he could feel the wound on his neck pulsating while showing no signs of recovery.
As the Son of Harvest, Kyvernos was able to “harvest” ethos itself. This, in turn, boosted his regenerative abilities to an unbelievable level. Even if one of his limbs were severed, it would immediately attach itself back to him using the ethos in the atmosphere. And so, a small injury like that one on his neck should have closed in a fraction of a second. Yet, this was not the case at all.
“Hmph, brat… You’ve gone and learned something rather interesting. I wonder—how did you come by such a technique?” Kyvernos said as his gaze locked onto Astratis, who was currently covered from head to toe in his lightning-type armor.
Although Kyvernos appeared to be unmoved on the surface, beneath it all, Astratis could feel the sudden shift in attention to him. To most, it would be an unbearable feeling of suffocation; however, Astratis remained steady and calm.
“I have nothing to say to a monster taking the form of man,” Astratis replied seriously without hesitation.
“All my efforts have not been wasted.” Astratis thought to himself after seeing that his attack on Kyvernos succeeded.
The Lightning Ruler’s Ordinance of Execution—with some hints from Illioreas, this was the technique Astratis came up with to one day rid the world of Kyvernos.
Kyvernos was able to freely manipulate the ethos in the atmosphere to not only heal himself but also obtain virtually limitless strength.
Astratis understood that as long as he had no way to interrupt that connection, his chances of victory were infinitely close to zero. Therefore, he created a technique that took the natural destructive power of the lightning element, recklessly amplified it, and converted it into a well-condensed form.
This form was the lightning armor he currently wore. And, the recklessly amplified lightning element fed on itself in an endless loop. This made it so that whenever Astratis attacked, as long as a part of it connected to his target, it would destroy any ethos present in that area. In addition, the destructive force was so concentrated that no other ethos could freely flow near that contaminated area.
This was the power of the technique Astratis poured his blood, sweat, and tears into—the Lightning Ruler’s Ordinance of Execution.
Illioreas’ brows rose when he witnessed the wound Astratis left behind on Kyvernos’ neck.
“He already completed it? A few years have not yet passed since he approached me about it. He made this much progress in such a short amount of time?” Illioreas internalized.
“In the end, even with the disconnect that exists between them… I suppose he is still his father’s son.” Illioreas said to himself as he released a heavy sigh.
Astratis’ monstrous talent reminded him of his own brother, Kyvernos. It was due to this fact that, at first, Illioreas was hesitant to assist Astratis. In his heart, Illioreas feared that if Astratis succeeded, he might one day follow in his father’s footsteps.
“No, this time… I will prevent such a tragedy from occurring.” Illioreas thought to himself.
Meanwhile, Kyvernos wiped the thick black liquid on the cloth at his side.
Illioreas interference, Astratis’ technique, and a sense of wariness towards the woman who did not belong to their world—these were all things Kyvernos did not foresee.
Regardless, he would not permit anyone to step over the authority of the One Decree. Even if he had to tear apart the entire Fourth Heart of the World in the process, then so be it.
“Old monster! Today is the day you pay for your atrocities!” A voice boomed as the sound of something sharply whistling through the air could be heard.
…BANG!
Right in between Kyvernos and Astratis, a long black spear with markings carved into the side pierced into the earth, flattening the area it arrived at and sending tremors throughout the surroundings.
Then, in the blink of an eye, a flickering silhouette appeared standing atop the spear that quickly came into focus.
When Astratis saw this figure, at first, his heart ached. However, soon after, a feeling of relief washed over him.
“Allow me to share this burden with you.” The figure said without looking back towards Astratis—almost as if they were ashamed to face them.
The one who appeared before Astratis was the Daughter of the Lawful Order, Nomii.
“Sister, it is good to see you,” Astratis said as he let out a sigh of relief under his lightning helmet.
His gaze naturally landed on Nomii’s missing arm and could not help but feel somewhat responsible. After all, it was his decision to have Nomii deal with the Pillar of the North, Myania.
But, Astratis did not comment on Nomii’s missing arm. He knew that the last thing his sister wanted was his sympathy or to appear weak in front of him. Not to mention, it was not as though they had time to have an idle chat.
Nomii gave a small nod in response to Astratis. However, from the moment she arrived, her gaze never once left Kyvernos.
A dense layer of killing intent erupted from Nomii as a look of revulsion and scorn formed on her face.
“This child—what a disobedient looking you’re giving me,” Kyvernos said indifferently.
