Chapter 147: Chapter 147 : Avatars of an outer god (2)

Ethan stood firm, golden flames crackling around his body as the forest trembled beneath his feet.

In front of him stood two figures—identical in appearance and equally unsettling.

A boy and a girl, seemingly only a few years older than Ethan. Both radiated a maddening, pressure that warped the space around them. Their jet-black hair shimmered unnaturally under the flickering battlefield light, and their eyes—bottomless voids—seemed to swallow all light and warmth.

Good-looking. Ethereal. But the thing that truly chilled Ethan to the bone was the maniacal grin on both their faces. It wasn’t joy.

It was hunger.

Sadistic, gleeful hunger.

’They look human… but every cell in my body is screaming otherwise.’

The girl tilted her head, a childlike pout on her lips as she glanced at her brother. Then, without warning, her expression twisted into something vile.

“Veyron, looks like Master was right,” she cooed sweetly, her voice at odds with the battlefield’s brutality. “This guy does look powerful.”

Her eyes gleamed with twisted lust.

“But with that kind of body…” She licked her lips. “Would you mind if, after beating him half to death, I dragged him to my bedroom and had a little fun with him?”

Ethan’s face contorted in revulsion.

Veyron sighed, scratching the back of his head. “You and your weird kinks with pretty guys…”

Then he turned—just slightly—toward the earthen dome sheltering Ethan’s friends.

A glint sparked in his obsidian eyes.

“Oho~ Looks like there are some pretty girls too,” he murmured, running his tongue along his lip. He looked back at Ethan and grinned.

“Hey. Those your friends?”

Ethan didn’t answer.

“Would you mind,” Veyron said coolly, “if I made some of them my whores?”

That did it.

Ethan’s heart thundered in his chest. A wrath unlike anything he’d ever felt began to rise. Not fear—fury. A sun roaring to break free.

’How… dare you.’

The Celestial Sunblade flared to life in his hand, its radiant edge vibrating with divine fury.

“You talk too much.”

He vanished.

CLANG!

Vyera’s bow blocked the incoming slash just in time, sparks cascading across the battlefield.

Her grin widened. “Feisty~ I like that.”

BOOM!

Ethan spun, his foot igniting the air as he lunged at Veyron with a flaming arc that sent the boy skidding backwards. But the twins retaliated instantly.

A barrage of arrows infused with darkness—twisting like poisoned serpents—rained down from above. Each one carried a foul energy that hissed through the air, aimed to pierce not just flesh, but soul.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

He ducked.

Weaved.

Parried with swift, practiced slashes, his blade igniting in golden fire. Shadows grazed past his cheek, tearing through trees behind him.

Then he struck back.

With a roar, he launched upward—an uppercut cloaked in phoenix fire trailing behind his fist.

“RAAAAGHH—!”

BOOOOM!

Golden flames erupted from his core, engulfing him in divine brilliance. His wings burst outward in a radiant flare, slicing the darkness with sheer light. The battlefield ignited—trees scorched, the earth split, shadows recoiled.

Vyera shielded her face, skidding back with a laugh. “Ooh~ He’s getting serious now.”

Ethan didn’t stop.

He surged forward, becoming a comet of flame and fury.

His blade danced, slashing through arrows mid-air, carving flaming arcs into the ground as he blitzed between the twins. His speed blurred.

He struck Vyera across the ribs—sending her crashing through a stone pillar.

Veyron retaliated from behind, but Ethan spun, wings deflecting the incoming blow before answering with a blazing roundhouse that knocked Veyron off balance.

For a heartbeat—just one—Ethan stood tall, divine flames cloaking his form, wings spread wide like a god descending.

It looked like he was winning.

But then…

They started laughing.

Still grinning.

Still unshaken.

They didn’t even look fazed.

“Aww, is that all?” Vyera taunted.

Then they moved.

Together.

Perfect synchronization.

Vyera leapt back, nocking a darkness-forged arrow that shimmered with corrupted intent. Veyron’s sword coiled with void energy.

They attacked in tandem—arrows raining from above, while Veyron charged from below like a reaper with a blade that split the ground.

Ethan blocked, ducked, countered. His blade screamed in protest as it clashed with shadow. He blasted forward, slamming his fist into Vyera’s stomach—sending her flying.

Veyron intercepted him.

Too slow.

Ethan’s palm surged with divine energy.

“Burn.”

BOOOOOM!

A radiant flare exploded, swallowing both figures in blinding light. When the dust cleared, Ethan stood—barely upright, breathing ragged.

’S-So fast… too coordinated. They’re reading my movements.’

He growled through clenched teeth. ’No choice. Time to go all in.’

His sword pulsed.

“Dawnbreaker Judgement—First Form: Radiant Edge.”

The blade transformed.

Golden light condensed along the edge, humming with celestial power. With one step, Ethan slashed.

A brilliant arc of light tore through the forest, cleaving the battlefield in two. Trees turned to ash. The shockwave sent the twins flying—but they dodged with monstrous reflexes and landed on their feet, laughing.

Vyera twirled her bow. “Ooh~ pretty lights. Got anything stronger?”

Ethan didn’t answer.

His aura blazed.

“Dawnbreaker Judgement—Seventh Form: Solar Cataclysm.”

The ground quaked.

His wings stretched wide, forming a blazing halo.

A massive glyph appeared behind him—twelve radiant circles spinning together, each etched with ancient solar runes. The heavens opened above.

Veyron’s smile finally faded. “Tch. Did this guy really awakened just a week ago?”

Ethan raised his sword skyward.

“Burn away, everything.”

He swung.

A beam of divine sunlight, compressed into a scythe-shaped arc, slashed downward.

KA-KOOOOOM!

The explosion shook the heavens. The forest evaporated. Even space trembled as time itself bent.

When the light faded, craters stretched miles across. Everything was gone.

Everything—except them.

Ethan blinked in disbelief.

The twins stood within a spherical void barrier, untouched.

Vyera’s dress was singed. Veyron’s arm bled.

But they were still smiling.

“Aww~ that hurt a little,” Vyera pouted. “You really are fun.”

Veyron’s eye twitched. “I’ll admit… that stung. So now we kill you.”

They raised their weapons again.

Ethan’s body wavered.

He couldn’t feel his legs. His divine core sputtered. His vision blurred.

“ETERNAL FEAR!”

A wave of oppressive light burst from him, aiming to shatter their minds.

It hit.

And shattered.

Vyera giggled. “You think that can work on us? We’ve faced horrors your mind can’t even comprehend. We’re blessed by Him—the darkness itself.”

“Let us show you,” Veyron whispered, “what real power looks like.”

Their aura pulsed.

Reality warped.

THUNK!

Ethan gasped.

A black arrow pierced his chest. He tore it free—only to feel the pain spiral through his nerves.

’What…?’

Then—

It hit him.

Visions. Screams.

Not from this battle.

From the past.

The lab. The steel. The restraints.

Laughter. Pain. Torture.

“No…”

He dropped to his knees.

“I escaped that… I…”

Vyera’s voice slithered into his mind.

“Amazing~ You’re still trying to resist. You’re perfect.”

Veyron strolled toward him. “Strong body. Strong will. Let’s see how long it lasts…”

More arrows formed.

The shadows on Veyron’s blade pulsed.

Ethan’s hands trembled.

Blood leaked from his eyes.

A voice echoed in his mind.

[My heir. Escape. Let me help you. Your life is far more valuable than your friends.]

“SHUT UP!” Ethan roared, punching the ground. “They’re my friends! I won’t leave them! NEVER!”

But inside—

Cracks formed.

Trauma surged like a flood.

And the twins stood before him, laughing.

“Break, little hero,” Vyera whispered. “Break for us.”

——-

Meanwhile

Inside the barrier constructed by Draven’s tech, tremors echoed like drumbeats of doom.

Massive fireballs exploded against the dome, shaking the ground with blistering heat. Earth boulders the size of small cars slammed down like falling mountains.

Wind blades howled, slicing across the surface of the shield, and electric arcs crackled with thunderous fury. Attacks from every elemental affinity imaginable poured from the skies in a relentless storm.

The barrier flickered each time it was struck, pulsing blue as it absorbed the devastating assaults.

Charlotte flinched. “They’re trying to level us before we even get a chance to fight back.”

Alden gritted his teeth, sweat forming on his brow as he clutched his sword tighter. The very air inside the barrier trembled with each impact.

“How long will this thing hold, Draven?”

Draven’s face was tight with tension, his hand tapping furiously on the side of a hovering console that showed the barrier’s integrity in real time.

“At the rate they’re hammering us… ten minutes. Maybe.”

Everyone froze.

’Ten minutes? That’s all we’ve got?’ Alden’s mind raced. ’We’re sitting ducks in here…’

The color drained from Charlotte’s face. Ava looked down, her hands shaking. Even Seraphina remained silent, her jaw clenched.

Alden broke the silence, voice low and bitter. “What the hell are we supposed to do with ten minutes? Die gracefully?”

Charlotte inhaled deeply, brushing her sweat-soaked hair from her eyes.

“We have no choice but to stall. The necklace I’m wearing… it’s embedded with a tracer. If I go missing, my father will come looking for me. We just have to hold out until then.”

Just as her words faded—

BOOOOOOOM.

An overwhelming pressure slammed down on them like a divine hammer.

All five of them dropped to their knees, gasping as the barrier strained under the sheer weight of the aura.

“W-What the… this pressure…” Ava whispered.

“It’s like back at the academy,” Draven muttered, eyes wide. “When Ethan used his Luminarch form…”

Seraphina’s face turned pale. “That means… something’s happened. Something bad. He only uses that when he has no other choice.”

The tremors intensified—waves of mana rippling through the ground like earthquakes.

All of them turned their heads toward the battlefield in the distance.

And froze.

Two figures fought Ethan toe-to-toe, shadows and flames clashing with divine radiance. The sky crackled. The earth cracked. Trees were torn from the ground like twigs.

But Ethan—was losing.

He was breathing heavily, being pushed back with every exchange.

Alden clenched his jaw. “No… not even Ethan can win against them?”

Draven’s voice cracked. “We dealt with one… and then another came… now these two… and they’re worse. It never ends!”

Suddenly—

CRAAACK!

A spear—no, a javelin laced with dark energy—slammed into the barrier.

The dome flashed red.

Draven’s eyes widened. “That hit… took out 30% of the remaining energy.”

A moment later, three terrifying figures emerged from the smoke and light.

Daniel. Sephira. James.

Their presence alone was suffocating.

All five—Alden, Seraphina, Charlotte, Ava, and Draven—collapsed to the ground under the sheer weight of their auras.

The barrier shattered with a hiss of steam and light.

“Hah… pathetic,” Daniel scoffed.

Sephira’s eyes scanned them like a predator staring at cornered prey. She stepped forward and yanked Ava by her hair, forcing her to look up.

“Because of that bastard Ethan,” she growled, “I lost an arm.”

Ava whimpered, tears streaking down her cheeks.

“So I’ll make you all scream until I feel better.”

James and Daniel walked around them slowly, grinning ear to ear.

James’s eyes narrowed on Seraphina and Charlotte. “Top-tier beauties, huh? Would be a waste to hand them over to the lab right away.”

Daniel licked his lips, chuckling. “Yeah… why not have a little fun first?”

Charlotte’s breath hitched, and Seraphina’s hands trembled at her sides.

Sephira clicked her tongue. “Horny bastards.”

Stepping back, she gave them a wicked grin. “Fine. Make it quick. I want my share of fun too.”

James grinned. “Don’t worry. We’ll warm them up for you.”

Both men began to step forward, eyes gleaming with twisted anticipation.

Ava burst into tears. “Please! S-Someone help us!”

Charlotte tried to move, to crawl away—but her limbs wouldn’t respond. Her body was frozen in terror.

’Not like this… please, not like this…’

Seraphina just stared in wide-eyed horror.

Suddenly—

“Sir! We found another survivor!”

A soldier approached, dragging a limp figure.

“He was hiding. Looks like he used some kind of tech to cloak himself, but… his condition’s weird. His skin’s turning black. He’s not waking up at all.”

Sephira raised a brow. “Bring him here.”

The soldier obeyed—tossing the body to the ground like trash.

The moment the figure hit the dirt, silver hair spilled over his shoulder.

Daniel stared down at the silver-haired boy lying limp in the dirt. His body was still—too still—but the spreading black veins beneath his skin told another story. Steam hissed off him in faint wisps, and the air around his form shimmered unnaturally.

His face, once handsome, was now disfigured by crawling corruption—inky tendrils creeping from his neck up his jaw, curling toward his left eye like cracks in porcelain.

James wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“Ugh… who the hell is this ugly guy?” he scoffed, giving his body a light kick.

Then—

The boy fingers twitched.

————–

[Your physique is adapting to the Abyssal Corruption.]

[Progress: 95%]

———–

A/N:

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