Chapter 146: Chapter 146 : The Avatar’s of an outer god.

The air shifted. A terrifying pressure pressed down on the battlefield like a divine curse. Dozens—no, nearly a hundred—Expert-rank soldiers descended in unison from the hovering warship. Their armor gleamed, their weapons hummed with dense mana, and their synchronized steps sent tremors through the earth itself.

Alden’s grip on his sword tightened.

’This… this pressure. So many high-level auras all at once…’

Beside him, Charlotte’s face paled. Even her usually sharp tongue fell silent for a moment as the sheer weight of the enemy numbers overwhelmed her.

Draven blinked rapidly, his previous grin from the win nowhere in sight.

Ava, already wounded, nearly stumbled as her knees buckled under the invisible weight of impending death.

Their instincts screamed one thing:

’Run.’

But none of them moved.

They couldn’t.

Just a few meters behind them, nestled under a sturdy dome of hardened earth, were over a hundred terrified civilians. Ethan had cast it in haste, using a rare spell to create a temporary sanctuary. But even they knew—it wouldn’t last. Not against even one of the soldiers now surrounding them, let alone an entire army.

Inside the dome, terror reigned.

A mother held her two children close, rocking them as they cried silently into her robes. An elderly man gripped his prayer beads tightly, whispering hymns to the Goddess of Light under his breath.

“We pray for deliverance… for mercy… for protection…” dozens of voices murmured together.

An adolescent boy bit his lip until it bled, his eyes darting to his unconscious younger sister lying beside him. A teenage girl sobbed, clutching a photo of her family.

Faint tremors shook the dome. The muffled echoes of battle—the clashes, the roars, the screams—all seeped into their refuge like a slow-moving storm.

Back outside, Draven broke the silence.

“…What do we do now?”

No one answered immediately.

Then, Seraphina stepped forward. Her blue hair whipped in the breeze, her icy gaze set on the enemy formation.

She took a deep breath.

“We fight.”

Charlotte’s head snapped toward her, disbelief written all over her face.

“Are you insane?!” she snapped. “Don’t you see their numbers?! That pressure?! That’s not a wall we can climb over, that’s a tidal wave—we’ll get flattened in an instant!”

Seraphina met her glare, unfazed.

“So you want us to run away and let those innocent people behind us die?” she asked coldly.

Charlotte’s lips trembled, but her voice remained defiant. “I’m saying we think rationally! Ava is exhausted—she almost died just moments ago!” She gestured toward the brown-haired girl, who was clutching her side, blood staining her clothes. “Do you expect her to survive another battle like this?”

Seraphina faltered.

For the first time, she couldn’t respond.

A heavy silence fell between them.

Then—

“…Looks like we don’t have much of a choice,” Alden muttered, stepping forward with a wry grin, fire already crackling in his eyes. “We’re already surrounded.”

The moment he said it, the soldiers finished forming a full circle around them. There was no escape. No hole in the net.

Alden clicked his tongue. “Tch. Bastards really know how to make an entrance.”

Then—

WHHHHHHHHHSSSSSSHHH!

Ice erupted outward as Seraphina raised her hand. A massive frozen dome formed instantly around the earthen barrier and their small group. It shimmered with blue light, thick with mana.

She poured everything she had into it.

Her legs buckled the moment it stabilized. Seraphina collapsed to her knees, sweat dripping from her brow. Alden and Charlotte rushed to support her.

“This barrier…” she gasped. “Won’t last. Two… maybe three attacks… that’s all it can take.”

No sooner had she said that, the soldiers surrounding them began chanting in eerie unison. The air thickened. Dark runes glowed at their feet. Mana surged.

A massive black orb materialized—dense, humming with volatile energy.

It launched forward.

BOOOOOOOM!

The first impact shook the ground like a meteor strike. Cracks spread across Seraphina’s barrier. The second shot struck, and the cracks deepened—spiderwebbing all over the dome.

The third—

CRAAASH!

The barrier shattered with a resounding blast, shards of frozen mana scattering like glass.

“Agh—!” Seraphina winced, the backlash hitting her.

But before the deathblow could fall—

THUUUUUMMMMM—

A new dome snapped into place around them.

This one shimmered faintly—not with magic, but with refined technology. Glowing panels extended from a disk embedded in the ground, forming a shield with humming circuitry.

Everyone turned to Draven.

He grinned, holding up a small remote. “I built it myself. Holds against Expert-rank attacks for a while. Not forever, but it’ll give us time to breathe.”

“You… what?!” Charlotte and Seraphina just gawked.

Then Charlotte said, “Even top-tier companies struggle to build tech like that!”

Ava nodded with tired eyes. “You saved us again…”

Alden smirked. “You know… you’re kinda awesome in your own way. You know that?”

Draven scratched the back of his head, clearly blushing. “C-C’mon guys, it’s not that big of a deal.”

Then Alden’s smirk turned sharp. “No wonder that bastard Alex works you like a slave.”

Draven’s smile twitched.

—

Meanwhile

Ethan clashed against Sephira’s blazing whip and James’s space affinity along with his uncanny daggers.

The sky trembled with every impact.

Black and red flames crackled. Ribbons of distorted air bent space itself.

Sephira screamed as Ethan’s fist slammed into her gut, sending her hurtling backward, crashing through three trees.

James came in from behind, slashing at Ethan’s neck with a dagger infused with dark energy—

CLANG!

Ethan caught it between two fingers.

“Nice trick,” he said, his voice unnervingly calm. “Too bad it doesn’t work on me anymore.”

BOOM!

His palm ignited in golden flame, sending James flying back with a sonic boom.

All the cuts on Ethan healed instantly. Bruises vanished.

Both Sephira and James lay battered, their clothes singed, blood trickling from lips and limbs.

They stared at Ethan with wide eyes.

’What… what the hell is he?’ Sephira thought, horrified. ’Nothing we do works. He regenerates… almost instantly and he doesn’t seem to get tired at all!’

The skies wept fire. The forest trembled.

Ethan hovered, dark wings flaring behind him, his gaze never leaving the enemy below.

But then—

WHRRRRRRRM…

From the warship’s hull, dozens of Expert-ranked soldiers descended in perfect formation. Their synchronized movement made the world feel suffocating. The pressure they exuded was a choking blanket of death.

Sephira, coughing blood, grinned maniacally.

“You see that? Your doom has arrived. And soon, the Heralds will also come,” she rasped, flames flickering around her charred arm. “No matter how strong you are… you’re alone.”

James, blood trailing from his cracked lips, chuckled beside her.

“You’ll be captured again. Just like last time,” he sneered. “Used. Sliced open. Dissected. You and all your little friends will also become lab rats.”

They both laughed, unhinged.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed, voice ice-cold. “I’m not the same as before.”

He dashed forward, trying to break away and reach his friends.

But—

CLANG!

Sephira’s whip coiled around his leg.

James appeared instantly, blade slashing across Ethan’s path.

Ethan parried, fire erupting from his palm.

BOOM!

James was launched away—but Sephira followed with a flaming cyclone.

Ethan cut it apart mid-air, trying to bolt toward the now-exposed dome—

SHNK!

James reappeared again, a dagger grazing Ethan’s cheek.

Sephira screamed and slammed down her whip, explosions crackling.

Ethan took the hits. He didn’t care.

“I don’t have time for you!” he growled, blasting both away with a pulse of golden fire.

He surged forward again.

But they returned. Again. And again.

’Tch—why won’t they just stay down?!’ Ethan thought in frustration. ’Every time I move, they’re there. No matter how hard I hit them—they’re like roaches!’

He knocked Sephira into the dirt with a flaming uppercut.

He broke James’s arm with a brutal twist mid-parry.

But still—they rose. Blocking his path.

Then it happened.

His gaze darted past them—

And his blood froze.

The ice barrier Seraphina had cast—it shattered.

And through the smoke, a blur moved.

Fast. Silent. Deadly.

’No…’

Daniel.

The Master-rank Ethan had downed unconscious in two hits earlier.

He was running toward the civilians at full speed, eyes locked on the earthen dome.

’Not them. NOT THEM!’

Ethan let out a roar and tried to break through.

But once more—

CRACK!

James appeared, slashing through Ethan’s side.

Sephira flanked him, her whip coiling like a serpent.

’Enough of this…’

Ethan gritted his teeth.

’I could’ve ended this ages ago… but I was holding back. I thought I didn’t need it. I thought I could save it. But not anymore. Not if it means losing them…’

He closed his eyes.

And spoke.

“Let there be light. In its brilliance, I ascend beyond flesh and time—one with the eternal flame, reborn as the one true God… the Luminarch.”

BOOOOOOOM—!

The skies cracked open.

Golden flames erupted behind Ethan, wings of phoenix fire stretching across the heavens. Scaled, draconic armor engulfed his body—shimmering gold over radiant muscle and celestial heat. His hair grew long, flowing like molten sunlight.

Every step shattered the earth.

Every breath pulsed with divine wrath.

He looked like an angel of judgment.

A god of war descended upon a sinful world.

James and Sephira froze, their blood running cold.

’What… is that form…?!’ James thought in terror.

’W-We need to run—!’ Sephira’s instincts screamed.

But they couldn’t move.

Because Ethan did.

In a golden blur, he was already behind them.

SHHHHNK!

James screamed as his shoulder was impaled by a golden blade.

Celestial Sunblade—a legendary weapon, once wielded by the First King of Humanity—now gleamed in Ethan’s hand.

Ethan twisted the blade.

CRACK!

James’s shoulder dislocated, blood spraying.

Before Sephira could react—

BANG!

A kick to her spine sent her flying through a boulder.

She crashed. Rolled.

CRACK! SHNK! BOOM!

Ethan didn’t stop.

He appeared again. And again.

Every time Sephira or James tried to escape—he was already there.

Bones broke. Swords slashed.

Their screams echoed through the forest.

Their limbs twisted unnaturally. Ribs cracked. Flesh scorched.

“Didn’t you want to dissect me?” Ethan whispered, voice like divine judgment. “Let’s see how you like it.”

He turned—eyes locking onto Daniel.

The man was just meters away from the civilians.

“Not today,” Ethan growled.

He raised his hand.

“Inferno Bind!”

A golden circle expanded from his palm.

Chains of searing flame burst from the heavens, wrapping around Daniel’s limbs.

“AAAAAAGHHHHH!” Daniel screamed.

The divine fire ignited his body bit by bit—burning through armor, flesh, even mana defenses.

He fell to his knees—bound. Screaming. Burning alive.

Ethan turned back to James.

He raised his blade—ready to end it.

But then—

KRRRRRRRRRRRNNNGGG—!

The ship’s hull opened again.

And this time—it wasn’t soldiers.

It was power.

A crushing, unnatural aura flooded the entire forest.

The skies dimmed. Birds fled. The ground itself trembled.

Even James and Sephira—bloody and broken—laughed.

“Finally…” Sephira coughed, grinning with bloodied teeth. “They’re here.”

Ethan froze. “Who?”

James looked up, a manic grin spreading across his fractured face. “You didn’t think we’d come unprepared, did you?”

He chuckled.

“You’re not the only one who’s an avatar of a god.”

Then—two black blurs shot out of the ship.

Moving faster than sound.

Ethan’s eyes widened. ’What the—?!’

At the same time, he saw it—

The flames binding Daniel?

Breaking.

’No way. That spell shouldn’t be breakable—not unless—’

A voice echoed in Ethan’s mind.

[My heir. You must retreat. Immediately.]

He blinked. “What—?”

[The two approaching… are avatars of an Outer God.]

Ethan’s heart pounded. “You’re saying… they’re blessed too?”

[Yes. And their synchronization with their divine essence is far more advanced than yours. You’ve only awakened recently. They… have mastered their powers.]

Ethan felt sweat trickle down his face despite his divine form.

’So that’s what this is…’

He gritted his teeth as two figures stood in front of him—an aura radiating from their bodies so intense it cracked the air itself.

———–

A/N:

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