Chapter 301: Famine & Humility 1

Before the end of the world, it first started its movement in impacting the crops and lowering their quality. Some say that the weather never grew cold, and the sky remained dry, giving no rain and no nutrients for the plants. Starvation drove the people to desperation and once many died on this occasion many came to know the name of Famine

“I like what you’ve done to the place. Is this some of an angelic tradition? Instead of recuperating you instead made a stadium,”

The Knight of Famine descended from the very bottom of the ravine created by the fall of his foe mixed with his poison. He was dumbfounded to see his foe awaiting his entrance and the sight of a magnificent colosseum. The chances of such a thing buried beneath the ground were impossible so the most logical he ever thought was the angels doing

“Have you forgotten? I’m the Virtue of Humility. Caring for myself is unbecoming… I prioritize someone higher! This stadium is but an offering, as I show my loyalty to Lord Deus herself as I smite thee. You should be grateful or else you wouldn’t be standing here running your mouth like the filthy heathen you are,”

Blake knew that wasn’t a threat but the reality that was yet to occur for as he entered he felt masses of heavenly aura. Such volatile potency aimed at the entrance and yet not a single one moved signifying Raphel’s overwhelming confidence. On the other hand, Blake had his Scales set and waited for the right moment he’d wield the authority sealed within

“The both of us know that’ll badly end with our attacks leading to a stalemate. Because of that, you waited. Very well I’ll gladly join along with this charade. I’ll honor my victory by praising both the Demon King and the god that I served,”

[Ooh this is the first time I’ve seen you so serious! Where did my calm Avatar disappear to? And who is his double?]

’Lord Apothecary would you please stop it with your unnecessary gags? You know my life’s on the line? I need to focus,’

[Well don’t get so worked up, Blakey. Just act as you are. Have you forgotten about the transformation you’ve undergone?]

’Well the sole reason why I’m calm has to do with a guarantee…. just sit and watch. This battle will be mine for the taking,’

[What do you mean by that?]

’You’ll see,’

The Knight of Famine stepped forth and just as promised the arena was no trap but a pledge of each other’s sincerity. Their wish was a clean, and peaceful duel among champions of opposing sides in this long-standing war. A barrier made by their oath stands as a symbol of both fairness and cruelty as only one shall remain at the end of their bout

“Now that the barrier has finished forming allow me to introduce myself-”

“That won’t be necessary. Pardon if that may have sounded rude. We can learn about our names as one of us dies. So this isn’t a greeting per se, it’s a goodbye, seeing as we’re sending one of us to the afterlife. Don’t you think that very much fits our standing?”

Raphael nodded and smiles

“Departure rather than greetings? I thought so as well but chose to accommodate. It’s a pity you would’ve made a fine friend,”

Raphael then fetches his whip and upon its reveal, a mere graze on the ground left a deep and precise cut that of a blade

“Likewise, but then again this is war, the time for building one’s relationship has no room in a time of death and decay,”

The scale in his possession began to float and Raphel noticed that the object was nothing more than a symbol. It held no power but what it represented was unknown and its balance suddenly disappeared as the left scale descended. Raphael was so fixated on the sight that he didn’t sense that his foe had already attacked throwing a pouch in his way

“You devil! Seizing the moment when I’m most vulnerable? But you should’ve done more than a mere tease, for an ambush,”

The pouch broke before it could reach him and the gas exploded whilst its contents fell flat on the floor

“Our leader once said… that the most apparent attack is sometimes the deadliest ambush. And I think he’s onto something,”

The contents of his failed ambush were then revealed to be a packet of seeds and as it escaped its confines it twitched. The gas wasn’t a means of an attack but a way to preserve and store these seeds till the time of their usage arrived. Humongous roots burst from the seeds and vaulted at the nearest existence within its range that being the Raphael

“Overclock…” Through sheer brute force, Raphael escapes the roots before the authority of his foe has decayed its entirety

“I expected no less… so it seems your authority works as a pacifier. Humility, humbleness but in religion its meaning changes, to think less of oneself and more of their god? Your body should’ve been in shambles by forcing your way out by exerting all your power but you remain stable?”

Raphael looks above at the scale and it remains unchanged which means that his authority requires a trigger

’The scale remains unchanged…? The two of us are fighting for our lives but he hasn’t used the right part yet? Is it something powerful? No, that’s impossible. Why would his authority be represented as a scale if that were the case? Hahahahaha… so that ability is locked? It seems he needs the requirements for it to be functional in combat?’

“Seeing as I already know your whole gimmick is adding decay in everything you desire isn’t it straightforward? But I’ll have to say it’s quite deadly, I nearly died if I hadn’t tended to my wounds in a matter of seconds. Since I know your ability, mine allows me to exert a greater amount of strength the more I think less of myself,”

’So his virtue is a power-up of sorts? It grants him unimaginable strength so long as he holds no care for his life. Thinking of God even when your body is crumbling? Just what kind of lunatic have I been paired with–’

Blake suddenly summons a wall entirely made of roots upon sensing the peril that lies ahead which blocks Raphael’s whip

“I guess this means our idle chatter has come to a close–”

He leaps toward his rear as his temporary defense crumbles and Raphael comes charging and prepares another attack

“Always has been!!!”

Counting the pressure he accumulated from his authority along with the mixture of divinity he prepares for a killing blow. But his foe wasn’t something to belittle as beneath the frail demeanor of this cloaked demon hides the gruesome truth. The former general of the Demon King presently known as the Knight of Famine was a mixture of monstrosity

[Blake are you alright?]

“That cloak… I’ve knitted that myself. Do you know how long it took to replicate Mr. Morris’s cloak!!!? I’ll fucking kill you!!!”

The horns of a demon, the eyes of a dragon, the exoskeleton of the monstrous centipede, and the face of a crow. From his back burst a pair of black wings and in his fit of rage the exoskeleton contracts and exudes demonic energy. Raphael quickly notices but his exit is seized upon the slight sensation of a tail impairing his movement

“Chimeric release; Punch of Decay!!!” The pressure he receives from Raphael’s whip is stored in his body and in his desire it is released along with his authority

“This is bad. I’ll have to block whatsoever. Try it! My fate is stronger than your Decay!! Lord Deus is watching over me–”

Raphael raised his arms to guard his face but what he didn’t know was that Blake’s Decay can also be applied to his divinity. The oozing demonic energy that his body seeps is no weakness but a defensive maneuver for those who attempt to strike. His foe’s arms crumbled and with nothing blocking his way he pushed forth sending a direct clash at his head

“Divine protection!!!” Just before his attack could make contact a wall made of heavenly aura hindered his attack slowly it faded away

“Everything I touch will rot!!!”

The shield only lessens the impact but Raphael’s true intent is a distraction, as he creates the shield he cuts Blake’s tail. Additionally, Blake’s less powerful attack sends him flying giving him enough time to recover his decayed limbs. Although their exchanges were brief, the tension was unusually high, as these two opposing warriors were equally matched

[This is insane! Just as how you see through his onslaught he as well saw through yours. It feels like fighting you–]

’Myself? Well what gave it away? But I’ll have to say what Mr. Jin spoke of it accurately. The enemy before me behaves similarly to my own. But if that’s the case then I can surely become the victor, nobody knows myself more than I,’

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