Son of the Hero King

Chapter 729: DEUS (2)

As Sol grew in power and reached the threshold of the Demigod rank, he started looking inwards, into his very essence, and in turn, observed the power system that this world was built around.

Out of all the realms that one could walk on the path to godhood, the Duke realm particularly intrigued Sol because it seemed to have limitless potential.

The Zone…

It was bringing one’s inner world and truth into reality.

It was not something that beings at a higher rank would usually do. King realm and beyond had no more need for their Zone.

It was nothing special. When one reached a high rank, they were busy altering the laws of the world and incorporating them.

However, as a Dimensional mage, Sol saw things differently due to his inherent traits and uniqueness.

A zone could be, in many ways, a world entirely on its own.

* * *

A world was the harmony of all its elements: the earth, the wind, water, fire, and quite literally all of nature and everything in it. They were all different things when viewed separately, but together, they formed a complete world.

A world needed harmony to function, even if that harmony was in chaos.

“And do you know what happens when that balance is distorted?”

Four lights of different colors shone on Sol's fingertip before fusing in a perfect white light, and he pointed his finger at Asura as if he held a gun.

He mouthed, “Destruction.”

❰ Miniature Light of Destruction ❱

Now that Sol had reached an adequate level of mastery over his powers, it was possible to use the Light of Destruction in such a fashion. Each attack lacked the overwhelming power of the base attack but it came with the advantage of needing no time to charge whatsoever. This allowed Sol to fire miniature versions of the attack rapidly.

At first, he only fired a single ray of light from his palms. Soon, however, a dozen more followed, and Sol, now akin to a Machine gun, never let Asura leave his sight.

Booom!!!

A massive explosion erupted, so enormous that it connected heaven and earth.

Thousands of Light of Destruction detonated at once, distorting, shattering, and tearing the very fabric of reality itself.

Where once the mountain stood tall, proud, and unyielding… nothing but a giant crater remained. Everything within a few miles had been erased from the face of the world.

Well… Nearly everything…

“Still alive, are we?”

The answer came not in words but in a frenzy of steel.

Space itself was sliced apart in the wake of the metallic fury’s screech. Sol swiftly stepped back, and the sword strike tore through the place where he previously stood.

Hovering in the air, he looked down at the bloodied Oni.

“So you also survived that?”

Asura’s eyes burned fiercely with a burning desire for a worthy battle. He ignored all of his wounds and asked, “I thought you were about to show me the might of your True Name? If this is all you are capable of, then I will be sorely disappointed. I am almost starting to feel like a fool for getting my hopes up, you see.”

Without even letting his words sink in, Asura launched a veritable assault of his own. His six swords all moved simultaneously in a massive omnidirectional slash. He had no name for this technique. He needed no name for it either.

Sol snapped his finger… hundreds upon hundreds of Light of Destruction detonated, intercepting the Asura’s attack before disrupting it in its entirety. They did not just stop there, homing in on the former god of struggle with their full might.

Asura did not stop either. A series of chaotic, twisting, and erratic slashes serrated out of his blades, tearing through space and time. A gleam of ecstasy flickered across Asura’s face, prompting him to burst out in a peal of joyous, raucous laughter.

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“CONTINUE! Hahaha!”

Crack~!

Space fractured like cracked glass, on the verge of breaking into millions of shards. His sword was powerful and deep, his technique mighty, yet it held no philosophy, nor any of its wielder’s unique intent.

It made sense when one considered that Asura was inherently not a swordsman, merely a user of the weapon.

He was nothing but a madman who happened to be able to swing a sword in well-coordinated attacks due to his inhuman battle sense. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Using a slight, nigh imperceptible, gap he was able to perceive, Sol launched two projectiles at extreme speed toward his chest.

With a sickening sound, a hole gaped open in Asura’s chest, burning his internal organs and reducing them to ashes.

“GOTCHA!” Asura screamed at the top of his lungs, using this momentary pause, he swung his sword with all of his godly might. Two of his arms elongated and traced a dizzying arc.

Sparks flew as they came into contact with Sol’s scales. One blade grazed the side of his head. Strands of severed hair were scattered in the air. The other bit into his arm, cutting his flesh and severing his arm.

Asura snickered, “You are truly strong. But you are still too young. Sadly, you will have no chance to learn from your mistakes. You should never have defied a god.”

“Is that so?”

Sol looked at the arm flying in the air and the blood flowing from his body. The pain registered, but he was able to control it almost effortlessly. It was but a minor wound for him. Though Asura’s divine power seemed to hinder his healing factor, his arm would eventually grow back. It always did.

Holding his bleeding stump, he spoke, “Since you so graciously gave me a lesson. Let me share one with you as well. My greatest strength has never been my body.”

Declaring in an almost mocking tone, he glanced over toward Wukong and Lilith, who were watching the combat in the distance, unable to intervene due to Asura’s divine authority. Eyeing the duo, he gave them a simple yet absolute order.

Close your eyes and flee.

The two immediately flew away at their highest possible speed. They did not know why Sol had given them such an order, but their instincts were screaming at them that they truly did not want to know why.

… This was perhaps the best decision of their lives.

Asura noticed the two fleeing at top speed, and a foreboding feeling started to grow in his mind, but it was already too late. The die had already been cast.

“... My greatest strength is my soul.”

And so, Sol shed his mortal body and displayed his divine soul. A giant made of ominous light that seemed to cover heaven and earth took his first step in the world, a thousand eyes covering his body, witnessing the past, present, future, and the dimensions and times beyond.

DEUS.

The power and stature of a god and the price of looking at the true form of a god were something worse than death.

《Be afraid.》

From Asura’s seven orifices, blood started to burst.

This was something that should never be described. Something that should never be witnessed.

However, he saw it. Heard it. Felt it.

And in that moment, he tried to understand what he was looking at,

His mind screamed and twisted and tore.

Once a god, he was now nothing but a mortal, and a mortal could not understand divinity.

Eyes? Mouth? Holes? They stared at him. They whispered, screamed, and sang. A mixture of young and old, men and women. A litany with no end.

“Arghhh!!!”

Asura screamed and trashed wildly. The man who had laughed even as a hole pierced his chest was now reduced to a crying mess. A pain beyond anything he had ever felt was tearing his soul and his very existence apart.

Had he been a simple mortal, his own existence would have already been extinguished, granting him the sweet release of death. But as a god, his soul was sadly strong enough not to collapse immediately.

The price of laying his eye on Sol’s soul directly was actually quite simple to describe. His soul began to melt out of existence and become one with the vast nothingness that was Sol.

* * *

Deus watched the one called Asura. There was no joy, no sorrow, no interest. Only complete and absolute indifference.

Deus knew. Though he was now weak, that puny thing was once a divine entity, and given enough time, the shock of witnessing his true form might calm down.

But Deus would never give the muscle head god the chance to recover.

Though the Almighty He did not remember why He was fighting Asura, that was of interest to Him.

A puny entity had dared to defy Him.

Erasing his existence was only but a fitting action.

The white light started to turn black. Deus’ giant palm fell on Asura, covering him, devouring him, absorbing him.

That inconsequential bug screamed. Even with the power of the End being used, it managed to survive for some time.

That was only because Deus was still inexperienced.

However, in that split moment, the consciousness of Asura, now submerged in the power of End and the body of Deus, saw something.

Within the endless abyss of Balance, he witnessed countless truths that transcended the very Boundaries of this world.

At the very end of it all, he saw something that could not be described. Something that came from nothing and yet was the Origin of all things.

It was not something a fledgling demigod could possibly withstand. In a desperate attempt to survive, he locked himself in his own mindscape and yet this was still not enough.

They said Knowledge was power.

But too much knowledge was poison.

And now that very poison was devouring his soul inside while his body was getting devoured by the power of the End outside.

Deus continued to bombard Asura with an infinite surge of information. The authority of the Omniscient God.

Asura’s awareness screamed. He severed his memories and dissolved his ego, and only after halting his thoughts and dissolving his very self was he finally able to escape the pain and suffering Deus was inflicting on him.

In that very moment, in a last flash of lucidity, Asura understood. The one he was facing was related to Adam or maybe Adam himself. He was before his Father.

Fear and regret filled his heart when he understood that the best thing he could have done was to never involve himself with Sol.

Sadly for Asura, it was already too late.

And so was erased Asura, the God of Struggle.

His ego shattered, his divinity devoured, and his existence erased.

There would be no third chance for him. Not before the End of All.