Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1822: A Raised Hand

The moment Sylas wasn't using the Scorned Wraps so heavily anymore, it was like a heavy mountain sitting right on top of his Will vanished.

It flooded out in pools of emerald and gold into the surroundings.

The pressure his arm was under was tremendous, but over 90% of it was held up by his telekinesis alone.

Sylas took deep, slow breaths.

So, this was what it meant to be a God?

The suppression of a world wasn't simple. The Real World hated Demons, and the Demon World hated existences of the Real World. If a suppression was taking place, it was always upwards of 90% or more.

This was especially so when it was deemed as interference in something particularly important.

Sylas had never faced Demon World Suppression because he had Demonic Will, so he hadn't even known how bad it would be until he saw it himself. His conservative estimate had been 50%.

If it really had been 50%, maybe he would already be dead. Meikai was truly a monster.

Unfortunately, he had no interest in losing today or ever, for that matter.

Sylas' arm moved. With a shift, he pinned Meikai's tail under his armpit and roared, lifting her up as though he couldn't feel the nuclear energy ripping into his cells and eating him alive from the inside out.

He stood tall and proud, leaping into the air and pulling her right over his shoulder.

He didn't pull on the Scorned Wrap at this moment. He comprehended that Meikai would sense it and slip out in time. That wasn't what he wanted.

BOOM.

Meikai's body was imprinted into the ground, but it vibrated once and everything of substance around her was eradicated as though a solar flare had passed by.

She ripped herself out and practically formed her snaking body into a spear as she thrust upward to meet Sylas' fist.

BOOM.

The air rocked and swayed under their collision.

Both separated and then rushed forward once again.

They completely forgot about the battle going on around them. In fact, every blow between the two seemed to wipe out another large segment of the Azurex, even some of the D-tiers that had followed after Meikai.

It was clear that Meikai was on a level all her own.

But so was Sylas.

Streaking emerald and green met against solar flares of silver and blue. The violent uprising in the skies looked more like a battle of Heavens themselves rather than two living beings.

At some point, they both forgot entirely about skills and dexterity. They met again and again. One tiny human clashing against the waves of a God Beast who stood taller than skyscrapers and roared with the violence of a star in her belly.

BOOM.

Sylas landed on the ground with a shockwave, his knees bending as a pulse of golden light came from his crown of horns. His hair danced in the air.

'Okay,' he thought silently to himself as though deciding that about this much... was enough.

Sylas slapped his palms together and the Life Seal materialized. It separated out into countless iterations, almost like a single circle had been separated into millions of pieces and then stratified.

The layers exploded like a nebula and Sylas put his arms through them.

With a flash, he disappeared.

Meikai's blow missed and Sylas appeared above her head again, punching down.

But somehow, this blow felt completely different from all the others. Meikai felt like her soul itself was being punched.

She coughed up her first mouthful of blood. It was painted with flecks of silver and blue, sparkling as though a star was combusting within it.

All of a sudden, it was like the chains suppressing her had deepened despite their characteristics not changing in the slightest.

In her shock, she couldn't react to Sylas hitting her again.

She coughed up another mouthful of blood and crumbled to the ground.

ROAR.

This time, the furious call wasn't coming from Meikai at all. Instead, it was coming from the surrounding Azurex.

They hadn't even cared when the residual effects of Meikai's battle were killing them. But now that she was dying, they were all furious.

If nothing else, the Azurex were true warriors in that way, even the weakest of them.

Unfortunately, they still crawled on their bellies just like all snakes did.

Sylas had no interest in doing such a thing. His palm slammed down.

BOOM.

Meikai's body twitched. She didn't understand. What had happened?

It felt like her foundation was being chained one step after another, and as it was restricted, she became weaker, more feeble.

How... how was he doing this?

BOOM.

Sylas landed on her snout heavily, her teeth fragmenting and shattering as they were forced to grind together.

He heaved for breath, his own blood pouring down his body. But he knew that it was over.

Sylas looked into Meikai's eyes. It was unfortunate that she was a D-tier. But honestly, even if she wasn't a D-tier, contracting such a beast was impossible.

It was likely that the only God Beasts Sylas would ever have were the ones he raised himself unless Vipermancy reached the Legendary Grade.

The pressure Meikai put on him was too great. Without the suppression of the Secret Realm, if he Contracted her even at E-tier, his Will would shatter and he would likely die.

It was better she die. Maybe he could learn something interesting from her corpse. Even if not, her corpse would probably instantly become the most valuable thing he owned.

Sylas raised a hand, unmoved by the fierce glare in Meikai's eyes.

To her credit, she didn't beg or whimper. Her wings formed of a solar-flare-like energy still flapped as she tried to use the last of her energy to do something, anything.

The howls of the Azurex only grew denser, but one would have thought that Sylas couldn't hear a single one of them.

Just as Sylas was about to end the battle, though, he heard a whimper in his ears.

He frowned. That wasn't coming from Meikai, and certainly not from himself.