Overwhelming Firepower

Lucen was thrilled to watch the anime-like battle before him. The Heavenly Demon, whom he had read about in numerous martial arts novels, was fighting that Cthulhu-like cosmic horror.

Then there was that equally powerful martial artist, who, unlike the Heavenly Demon, who seemed to be crushing everything with brute force, had a more subtle, elegant feel.

’Should be something like the Martial Alliance leader or a Martial God, or perhaps both.’

As Lucen continued to watch the battle, the fear he felt was getting weaker and weaker.

It was not because the creature had become any less terrifying. The pale eyes covering the sky still made his thoughts feel sluggish whenever they moved, while the mouths opening across its body revealed darkness deeper than space.

What had changed was Lucen’s belief that nothing could resist it.

The Heavenly Demon proved that its flesh could be severed. The other martial artist showed that the smaller creatures emerging from its wounds could be destroyed.

The terror that had once seemed invincible was now facing something capable of fighting back.

The Heavenly Demon charged through another swarm. Chaos swept horizontally, leaving a black line across the sky. Every creature caught within it separated into countless pieces.

The man in white followed with Serenity. Blue light flowed between the falling fragments. Their movements slowed before becoming completely still. The madness inside their eyes disappeared, and their bodies dissolved without reaching the streets below.

”To think such beings exist in reality!”

Lucen continued to watch the battle, and it was at that moment he noticed something. The two fighting above seemed to be moving at incredible speed, but for some reason he was able to follow their movements somewhat.

’Am I awakening or something?’

***

While Lucen was trying to figure things out, the Heavenly Demon and the Martial God were already nearing the being in the sky.

”Hahahaha! This is so much fun!” The Heavenly Demon raised his sword and used one of his signature techniques, [Annihilating Star].

The blood-red energy surrounding the Heavenly Demon rushed into Chaos.

Instead of spreading outward, it condensed along the black blade. The energy became increasingly dense until the surrounding light bent toward it.

A small blood-red sphere appeared above the tip of the sword.

Despite being no larger than the Heavenly Demon’s fist, it radiated enough pressure to distort the sky surrounding it. Its surface burned like a dying sun, while black cracks spread across the light within it.

The Heavenly Demon swung Chaos, and the sphere shot forward. The avatar directed thousands of limbs toward the attack. Mouths opened across their undersides, each attempting to swallow the blood-red light before it could reach the main body.

The Annihilating Star passed through them. Anything that touched its surface vanished. There were no severed limbs or falling pieces of flesh. The mouths, eyes, and black limbs were reduced to nothing before they could regenerate.

The Martial God moved at the same time. He too used one of his signature moves, [Ocean of Stars].

Countless points of blue light appeared around Serenity.

They spread across the sky until they resembled stars reflected upon the surface of an endless ocean. Blue currents flowed between them, transforming the heavens into something that existed between a sea and a night sky.

The Martial God lowered Serenity. The Ocean of Stars descended with it.

Unlike the Annihilating Star, the technique did not destroy everything it touched. Blue currents passed through the avatar’s constantly changing body, slowing its movements and preventing its flesh from taking new forms.

It was at this moment that the being in the sky was starting to fade. ”The connection to this realm is being severed. Just a little bit more and we’ll be able to stop it from coming.” The Martial God spoke to the Heavenly Demon.

”Then it’s time to go all out!”

As the Heavenly Demon roared in excitement, everything started to shake; the ground was splitting apart, and the clouds became darker as the Heavenly Demon got ready to unleash his strongest attack allowed with the restrictions in place. The Martial God was also doing the same.

The reason for this is because of the rules placed on them as deities, which do not allow them to unleash their full power, similar to the avatar they were facing now.

Neither of them could draw upon the complete power of their true selves. Divine laws prevented deities from descending into the physical plane without restraint, just as the Outer God could only send an avatar through the weakened connection.

However, even the greatest power permitted to their spiritual projections was enough to make the illusion buckle.

The Heavenly Demon took a deep breath, [Secret technique: Heaven’s End].

The Martial God also took a deep breath, [Secret technique: Unity between Heaven and Earth].

The Heavenly Demon and the Martial God slashed downward, but the effects of their strikes were very different.

The Heavenly Demon’s strike reached the sky first. A black line extended from the edge of Chaos.

It possessed no overwhelming radiance or enormous sword wave. Wherever the line passed, the clouds, surrounding darkness, and limbs of the avatar simply ceased to exist.

The technique Heaven’s End did not simply cut; it erased.

The avatar gathered thousands of limbs before itself. Mouths opened across them, revealing distant stars as they attempted to consume the approaching attack.

The black line passed through the first row of limbs.

They did not separate or fall toward the city. The mouths, eyes, and black flesh simply vanished wherever Heaven’s End touched them.

More limbs moved into its path. They folded together until they formed a wall large enough to cover the horizon. Thousands of mouths closed around the black line, but they could not stop the approaching slash.

However, the technique slowed as it approached the center of the avatar’s body. The darkness within its chest opened, revealing countless violet strands extending into something far beyond the illusion.

As the attack was about to reach the avatar, it looked like reality warped and the attack disappeared. It was at this moment that the Martial God’s attack arrived.

The Martial God’s slash did not produce a wave of destructive energy. Unlike the Heavenly Demon’s attack that erased all in its path, this one was a true slash that cut down space and time.

The Heavenly Demon’s attack created a minuscule opening, which was enough for the Martial God’s own attack to bypass the avatar’s defenses.

The opening existed for only an instant, but that was more than enough for the Martial God. His slash passed through it before the avatar could close its defenses.

That strike severed the connection between the avatar and the main body. The second that happened, the Martial God quickly made his move and halted the illusion, waking Lucen up.

***

Lucen opened his eyes and felt his head aching horribly. As he was still trying to get a hold of himself, he heard the system’s notification.

[You have survived an encounter with an avatar of ******]

[To celebrate your achievement, you may select one of three skills]

[Please select one skill.]

Three additional screens appeared before Lucen.

***

[Skill: Aerial Arsenal]

[Type: Active]

[Summons magical rifles that float around the user.]

[The rifles automatically aim at targets designated by the user. Each rifle fires a single mana-formed round before disappearing.]

[The number of rifles that can be summoned and fired is limited only by the user’s available mana.]

***

[Skill: Focused Barrage]

[Type: Active]

[Designates a single enemy as the user’s primary target.]

[Each consecutive hit that strikes the designated target increases the force of the next hit.]

[The accumulated effect disappears if the user misses or designates another target.]

***

[Skill: Disruption Round]

[Type: Active]

[Disrupts the flow of mana or aura within a struck target, temporarily interfering with their ability to use energy-based skills.]

Lucen could not concentrate on the screens in front of him as his head was still aching. It was at this point that he heard a familiar voice.

”Hey brat, are you planning to stare into empty space for the rest of the day?”

Lucen slowly turned toward the voice. The Heavenly Demon stood beside the altar with his arms crossed, while the Martial God calmly observed him from nearby.

Lucen attempted to sit upright, but the pain inside his skull immediately intensified.

”You should remain still; your mind and spirit have been through quite the ordeal.” The Martial God moved beside Lucen and spoke.

Lucen pressed a hand against his forehead. ”How long was I out of it?”

”You’ve been in the illusion for several days now.”

”That long? Why does my head hurt, and why don’t I remember anything about the illusion?”

”Heh, something interesting forced its way into your illusion and refused to let you wake up.” The Heavenly Demon responded.

”?...” Lucen tilted his head a little in confusion.

The Martial God then explained what had transpired in the illusion. Hearing the explanation, Lucen could not help but widen his eyes in surprise.

’Based on what they’re saying, isn’t that an Outer God or something similar? Why was something like that appearing in my illusion? Was that Outer God the reason I died in my past life, and why I can’t remember how I died?’

The numerous swirling thoughts in Lucen’s mind made his head ache even more. Lucen decided to stop thinking about that question again and instead asked a question that could be answered.

”Where are Cael and Alexander?”

”We sent the brats out to do some errands while we deal with your problem.” The Heavenly Demon responded.

”... I see... Thank you.” Despite his throbbing headache, Lucen thanked the two martial deities and bowed his head.

”Hmph, I did not help you; I simply did what I thought was the most interesting, so I don’t need your thanks.”

’Truly a tsundere.’ Lucen could not help but chuckle.