The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

[A few minutes before the battle - Klaus vs Blue]

After the pairing, where Klaus was already aware of who his opponent would be, thanks to Icon’s spy work, he decided to plan and prepare for anything...

The first thing he did was have his sweet Icon spy on the Executioner, since they couldn’t find anything on Crimson Inferno that would suggest why he was paired against him.

Icon tried but couldn’t find anything tangible.

In the end, Klaus assumed the worst, and so he reached out to his pal Blue, who was lazily resting in his hotel room but paying attention to everything.

Since he is a Supreme, nobody noticed his presence, not even those paying attention to Klaus.

”Buddy, I need a favor.”

Blue smiled and asked, ”What do you need? Don’t ask me to help you kill a few fries. I have become a Supreme, so show me some respect.”

Klaus smirked but decided not to curse at his bro. Blue is shameless by nature, so he let him have this one. ”I just want you to use that skill on me.”

”You want me to create an afterimage of you? Why?”

”I don’t know yet, but I have this nagging feeling someone will double-cross me during the battle, and I am going to be counting on my afterimage to take the full hit.”

”Oh, I see. Don’t worry, I will use it when the battle starts. Just be ready to pull a vanishing act before anybody notices.”

”Leave that to me.”

After he finished his talk with Blue, he waited for the battle to start. If his suspicions were right, then he would be killing two birds with one stone.

---

[A few seconds before his counterattack]

As he was suspended in the air by the neck, a dagger sticking out of his chest, Klaus remained in the void, a smile playing on his lips.

He waited for the famous words to be said, and that was when he made his move.

Everyone froze when, out of nowhere, Klaus appeared, his spear piercing through the Executioner’s back.

One went through his heart, so he was as good as dead.

However, to make sure he died truly, Klaus waved his hand, and eight more spears appeared, piercing through his body. He is dealing with an Immortal Lord after all.

His grip loosened on the version of Klaus he was holding. When it fell, its body shattered like glass, revealing he was an afterimage all along.

Many instantly wondered just how any of that was possible.

”Clearly, this is my first time seeing someone use an afterimage like that.”

”Same here. This begs the question, just how many heaven-splitting techniques does he have?”

”I wonder the same. From the day he appeared in the blood tournament, he never ceased to reveal one shocking thing after another.”

”No wonder that idiot Supreme measured him against the Renegade Hunter and even the Paragon. He indeed has the means to compete with people like them.”

”I wonder how far he would rise in the Criminal Underworld.”

While many were having their small talks, Klaus used his Spirit Master abilities to lift the Executioner into the air and suspend him for all to see.

”One thing you or your stupid Supreme will never seem to grasp is that even if he himself comes here right now, killing me will be impossible. I cannot be killed because, guess what, I have already made sure that no matter what, I will escape.” He smiled and shook his head slightly.

Up in the VIP booth, Lord Varkos became uneasy. Seeing the tables turn made him start to panic. However, since he made no move to save Klaus when he was attacked, he knew he couldn’t do anything to save this person either.

So he could only watch and hope his secret remained with the Executioner, since he seemed to already be at death’s door.

”You know, when that useless Supreme of yours targeted me for reasons I still don’t know, I expected him to do something like this, so before coming here, I asked a friend for a favor, and he granted it.

In short, you cannot kill me even if you want to.

My dream is to become the greatest criminal the universe has ever seen. I know it will be chaotic, but that is my dream, and I will do everything in my power to make it happen.

Of course, for a criminal to rise to the peak, he would have to accomplish something grand, something big, something that would put his name at the top. Initially, I only planned to kill the Renegade Hunter since he had become everyone’s favorite.”

A grin formed on his face. ”I still do. However, now I have a different mission. Because of you, the Warrior Temple has now become my enemy. So, standing by my words today, I declare that I, Blood Sword, have officially declared war on all warriors.

I know it is laughable at best, but if I were able to identify their spies hidden in our ranks, who knows what I could do once I make up my mind to hunt them down.”

Everyone felt chills run down their spines. The fact that Blood Sword had just revealed himself as the mastermind behind the recent leak on the Warrior Temple spies made them all change their opinion about him.

”You losers decided to make me a legend when I never asked for it. So relax and wait for me...When I am done with you all, even the Paragon will look like a joke.”

After saying that, Klaus snapped his fingers, and the Executioner was lit with red flames, his screams spreading far and wide. In under a minute, his body was reduced to ash.

Afterward, Klaus turned his head slowly and smiled at Lord Varkos. Then, to everyone’s shock, he surrendered...

”I am done with this joke of a tournament. If the one we all respected could collude with the Warrior Tower to attack a contestant, then I don’t know what I am even competing for.”

As if to prove a point, everyone started receiving video messages showing the meeting between Lord Varkos and the now-dead Executioner.

Seeing that he took a bribe to make sure Blood Sword was matched against Crimson Inferno, the whole stadium erupted into chaos.

Lord Varkos exploded with anger; however, before he could make a move, he noticed Klaus had already left the stadium.

Seeing he missed his chance to kill him, he rushed away and headed to his personal docking bay. The five guards behind followed, their expressions filled with anger.

Right now, ensuring their boss’s safety was their priority. So they led him to the SS-class spaceship. In less than a second, it took off and vanished into the clouds.

In the underworld, one thing everybody hates is colluding with the enemy (the righteous faction) to hurt one of their own. What he had done was unforgivable, so he ran.

After he left, the tournament came to a stop, and since Blood Sword was also nowhere to be found, the rest of the living contestants also decided to walk away.

In the span of an hour, Blood Sword had single-handedly destroyed an entire cartel and declared war on the Warrior Tower.

Even Blue was shocked when he heard what Klaus said during the final moments of the blood tournament.

However, while all this was happening, something else was brewing in the background that would shake the entire universe to the core.