Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1606: New horrors

Lord Blind Sword’s blade cut far more than matter. Actually, its sharpness was only a superficial representation of his real nature. The Royal Guard dealt with killing rather than severing, and his non-existent weapon embodied that aspect of his existence.

So, the flurry of sharp energy that blew from the shattered invisible blade cut deeply, reaching into ethereal layers of existence that blurred the scene as a whole.

The sky itself was being killed. The air, light, shades, and very structure of that chunk of atmosphere twisted and shattered in countless pieces, distorting anything inside, making any kind of inspection impossible.

Nevertheless, everyone on the elite team was an expert to a certain degree. Few understood those fields like Liiza or Lord Enforcer, but the scene had provided enough details to draw reliable conclusions.

Lord Mighty was in the middle of that killing storm. He was sturdy, far sturdier than the average Thilku, but his physical prowess couldn’t cover for the entirety of what the released energy affected.

The no-mana rule was also still in full force, meaning that Lord Mighty had no way of summoning his energy to reinforce himself in ways that went beyond the physical. He was basically facing the attack with his body alone, and everyone could guess how it would end.

Moreover, due to that very no-mana rule, the experts could understand that what Lord Blind Sword had unleashed wasn’t a spell. He couldn’t have cast a similar attack in that environment, leaving only one option.

As if to confirm what everyone had already guessed, Lord Blind Sword fell to his knees, his red complexion growing paler by the second. Something seemed to have broken in his very being, and his physical figure showed the consequences of that reckless action now.

Lord Blind Sword couldn’t rely on his mana, but his existence still belonged to him, so he could blow up his accumulated power before the True Chaos’ annihilating force weakened it.

However, the sacrificial play sadly had little effect. As powerful as it was, it failed to touch upon the superior realm where that opponent reigned.

Everything suddenly stabilized. The killed atmosphere instantly fixed itself, as if no attack had ever expanded inside it.

Yet, the scene in the sky had changed. The God was still there, in the same spot as before, but his right arm was now stretched, holding what was left of Lord Mighty.

Calling Lord Mighty’s condition terrible wouldn’t do it justice. Both his legs were gone, severed at different levels. His right arm was nowhere to be seen, too, and his left one had lost its forearm.

Moreover, cuts littered Lord Mighty’s torso and face, leading to many missing pieces. What was left of his body was in shambles, seemingly too far gone even to attempt to heal.

The God seemed to reach a similar conclusion since True Chaos blew out of his hand, enveloping the thick neck he was holding before spreading over the rest of the mangled Thilku.

Lord Mighty burned inside the flickering smoke before his fuming figure condensed into a glowing, darker-than-black sphere that flew back to the God, fusing with him.

The Royal Guard had just died before the elite team’s eyes, but their problems were far from over. Before any of the experts’ perceptions could catch up with the event, the God appeared among them, standing in front of the kneeling Lord Blind Sword.

Liiza and the others only managed to turn when the God had already tapped on Lord Blind Sword’s forehead, setting his body aflame with his pitch-black smoke, turning his dwindling existence into another sphere that glowed with dimming light.

Countless thoughts ran through Liiza’s mind while the sphere floated toward the God to fuse with his figure. She didn’t know why that superior being was wasting time when he could have killed them all in an instant. He probably had an agenda she couldn’t grasp, but that could work in her favor.

Liiiza didn’t know what Khan was going through. Still, as long as he was alive, he would return to her. She was certain of that. The problem was to find a way to delay the God until that happened.

Lord Blind Sword had even given Liiza an idea. She couldn’t resort to such suicidal methods since her life wasn’t her own to give anymore, and she carried another in her womb.

However, Liiza’s expertise could probably allow her to find a middle ground. Her element might also help develop that new technique. Still, her mind was within what the God could see, and he intervened before she could harbor additional thoughts.

Without Liiza realizing it, the God materialized in front of her, his hand already around her throat. That vicinity with the superior being deprived Liiza of all her strength. She lost any control over the mana inside her body, and her consciousness even began to darken.

"[Your foundations are needed to elevate my True Chaos’ ranks]," The God said through a mental message, those few words explaining the entirety of his plan to everyone in the area.

The only one who couldn’t understand what the God was up to was Liiza. The darkness expanding inside her mind had already overwhelmed her, eliminating most of her mental functions.

That process was ready to reach its end when True Chaos blew out of the God’s hand, spreading over Liiza’s neck. Yet, a scarlet light suddenly appeared behind that darkness, blowing it away, even making the God release Liiza and step back.

Liiza breathed loudly as her mind recovered. Something deafening had roared in her brain, reawakening it, forcing her to become aware of the strange strength that had flooded her very blood.

The event also had a visual counterpart. Liiza lowered her glowing eyes, only to find that scarlet spiderwebs had covered her skin, flowing all over her body and enveloping her in a red halo.

Something foreign but that belonged to Liiza had invaded her, altering her blood, gradually bringing more changes to her whole body. She was being tainted, but the process came from inside her, or rather, from the mixture of genes in her womb.

And, as shocking and unexpected as the event was, Liiza understood what was happening. Thunder resounded through the mental connection, almost silencing her thoughts, but she still realized what that halo meant, and tears fell from her white eyes.

"[I guess I was afraid]," Liiza gasped, using her native language and emotions, a smile broadening on her face as she reached for her falling tears. "[Until the end, I was afraid]."

The God didn’t move. He was quite surprised at his own instinctive reaction, but the red halo and whatever was happening inside Liiza claimed his full attention.

"[Because his father sacrificed himself for him, and my mother sacrificed herself for me]," Liiza continued, wiping out her happy tears. "[Because his pain was unavoidable, he thought he could be the only one to suffer]."

The tears didn’t end despite Liiza’s best attempts. It seemed that worry had truly weighed heavily on her, but it was gone now.

"[But he chose us in the end]," Liiza sniffed, lifting her gaze at the God, showing her genuine smile, which grew more deadly as she brought her hands to her waist. "[All hail the new horrors]."

A shattering noise followed Liiza’s statement. The sound wasn’t loud, but it spread everywhere nonetheless, as if the world couldn’t help but echo it.

And everyone but Liiza turned toward the source of that sound, lifting their gazes at the sky, spotting the jagged hole that had opened in its fabric.