Chapter 341: The Beginning Of The End [III]

Fwoosh…!

The moment the words left his lips, frost exploded outward, webbing across the walls and ceiling of the white room in an instant.

The ground cracked, and the temperature dropped so fast that the gods could see their own divine light flicker from the cold.

Cracks spread like spiderwebs beneath Aestrea’s feet.

One of the gods, the one with white hair and glowing yellow eyes, stepped forward. Sparks ran up his arms, and lightning began to dance around his body.

The second drew two long blades from his back, both made of divine steel that shimmered with golden light.

The last one didn’t even move much.

Space around him bent slightly, rippling like water. Small cracks opened and healed in the air, but Aestrea could see that his Authority of Space was already active.

A god of lighting, of swords, and space…

“Three at once, huh…”

He exhaled cold breath, then gripped [Midnight] tightly as frost climbed up its blade.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

『 Reverse! (✦ Bloom of the Ice Lotus! ✦) 』

FWOOOSH!

He dashed forward in a blur, slashing horizontally—a storm of icy lotus petals spread from the swing, sharp as knives.

The Sword God crossed his blades and blocked it, but the impact forced him back several steps, his boots scraping the frozen floor.

The Lightning God raised his hand.

“Tch, don’t get cocky!”

KRAK-BOOOOM!

A bolt of thunder shot down from the ceiling of the domain, smashing into Aestrea’s position. The flash blinded everything for a second, but Aestrea was already gone.

A sharp chill brushed behind the Lightning God’s neck.

CLANG!

Sparks flew as the Sword God blocked Aestrea’s strike just in time, the ice-covered blade clashing with divine steel.

“Fast…!” the Sword God muttered, pushing back with both hands.

Aestrea’s boots slid on the frost, but he twisted his body, letting the momentum carry his sword in a full circle.

CRASH!

He kicked the Sword God in the chest, sending him flying back into a wall. Frost exploded around the impact point.

But right then…

BOOM!

A lightning spear shot toward Aestrea’s side.

He turned quickly, swinging his sword down to cut through it, but the blast still sent shockwaves through the room, cracking the floor even more.

“Tch…” he wiped the blood from his lip, frowning slightly.

Then the air behind him twisted.

The Space God appeared from thin air, aiming a strike at Aestrea’s back.

CRACK!

Aestrea blocked it just in time, their weapons grinding against each other. The force bent the air around them, creating a small ripple that shattered one of the ice pillars nearby.

“You’ve got guts, kid!” the Space God mouthed, though no sound came.

Aestrea pushed off the clash, spinning his sword once before slamming it into the ground.

The ice on the floor surged upward like waves, forming hundreds of sharp spikes that rushed toward all three gods.

The Lightning God shattered them with bolts, the Sword God sliced through them in fast arcs, and the Space God warped some away, but the air was still filled with mist and frost, hiding Aestrea’s next move.

Suddenly…

SWISH!

He appeared behind the Lightning God, swinging down with a cold, glowing blade.

ZIIIING!

The Sword God intercepted again, crossing his blades to catch Aestrea’s slash. The clash sent both of them sliding backward, the ground beneath cracking open.

Then a fist of lightning came flying straight toward Aestrea’s face.

BOOM!

He blocked it with his forearm, ice spreading from his skin to absorb part of the hit, but it still sent a wave of pain up his arm.

Steam rose from the frost.

The three gods regrouped in front of him, standing side by side.

Aestrea tightened his grip on [Midnight], frost crawling up his right arm as he stared at the three figures.

Surprisingly… they were even.

Aestrea’s eyes glowed faintly as he lowered his stance again.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

『 Third Move! (✦ Moonlight’s One Flash ✦) 』

The moment he whispered those words, his form vanished.

Fwip!

A single flash of silver light cut across the battlefield. The Sword God barely crossed his blades in time.

CLANG!

But the impact was too sharp, too fast. His armor split open at the chest, a fine cut of frost tracing the wound.

“Tch—!” He stumbled backward, cold vapor bursting from the slice as ice started spreading across his torso.

The Lightning God roared silently, thrusting out both hands.

CRACKLE!

ZZZZKT!

Bolts rained down from above like a storm, but Aestrea didn’t stop. His figure flickered again, reappearing behind the Lightning God mid-strike.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

『 Fourth Move! (✯ Lunar Collapse ✯) 』

The ground of the domain cracked open. A wave of freezing light exploded from his sword, crushing down like the moon itself had fallen.

The shockwave froze everything it touched, lightning, air, even the ripples of space itself.

The Lightning God was thrown back violently, his body skidding across the floor and smashing through a frozen pillar.

The Space God tried to intervene, bending reality itself to slow Aestrea’s movements, but the frost was already crawling through his distortion, spreading like a disease.

He snapped his fingers, trying to open a rift to escape, but the ice sealed it before it could expand.

“Fuuu…”

Aestrea’s shadow loomed over him.

The Sword God recovered just in time to join the fight again, golden blades burning with divine fire to counteract the cold.

He slashed horizontally, and Aestrea met him head-on.

CRASH!

Clang, shing!

Sparks and ice shards filled the air.

Then, Aestrea suddenly stopped.

His body stilled completely, and the mist around him began to swirl violently.

The temperature dropped so fast that even the gods felt their divine energy slow down for a second.

“Moonlit Ice Lotus Sword Art…”

『 Fifth Move! (✯ Thousand-Lotus Guillotine ✯) 』

The moment Aestrea whispered it, time itself seemed to slow. His muscles tensed, veins glowing faintly with silver light as his aura surged upward like a storm about to break.

SHING!

Aestrea moved.

In that instant, [Midnight] blurred out of sight.

His body twisted and turned, each motion perfectly controlled, one thousand sword swings executed within a single millisecond.

The air cracked apart.

Each slash carried a thin arc of moonlight, so fast and sharp they overlapped, blooming together like a field of glowing lotuses made from pure killing intent.

Fwip, fwip, fwip, fwip, fwip, fwip!

A thousand cuts tore through space, each one finding its mark.

The three gods barely had time to react.

The Sword God raised his twin blades, blocking dozens of invisible strikes, sparks exploding around him.

The Lightning God’s divine armor shattered under the flurry, bolts scattering like dying stars.

The Space God’s distortion wavered, fracturing under the sheer force.

Swing…!

When the final swing ended, silence returned, and behind Aestrea, the air was filled with shining petals of energy, slowly fading into cold, silver dust.

The three gods were barely standing.

Their armor was broken, skin torn open, blood dripping onto the white floor of the silent domain.

Every breath they took came out ragged, heavy, filled with disbelief.

Aestrea stood a few meters away, his robes cut in several places, blood running down his arm, as he exhaled lightly.

His sword was lowered, black energy faintly curling around its edge.

Crackle…!

“Y-you… bastard…” one of the gods mouthed, lightning flickering weakly across his body.

“We’re not… done yet!”

He turned to the other two, and all of them nodded at once.

Then, all three of them suddenly roared, their divine power bursting out in a single, blinding flash, causing Aestrea to close his eyes for a moment.

BOOOOOOM!

Space cracked apart as their authorities merged…. lightning, swords, and space energy twisted together into a massive beam of destruction.

The air screamed as the ground tore open, white light swallowing everything in front of it.

And strange, Aestrea didn’t move.

He calmly sheathed [Midnight] back into its scabbard, resting his hand on the hilt at his waist.

“…What is he doing?!”

“He’s insane! He’ll die!”

The three gods shouted in disbelief as the huge beam crashed into him. The entire domain shook violently, and light exploded everywhere, swallowing Aestrea’s body whole.

KAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!!

The blast roared for several seconds before finally fading into smoke and dust.

The three gods laughed breathlessly, barely holding themselves up as the domain had cracked, and now, they could even talk.

“Hah… stupid fool… thought he could take that head-on—”

But their laughter stopped.

The smoke started to clear.

Standing in the middle of the ruined ground was Aestrea, completely untouched. His hair flowed upward as a strange, glowing energy rose from his body.

Half of it was white like moonlight, the other half black like a shadow.

Both twisted upward into the sky, forming a massive yin-yang spiral above him.

Their eyes widened in horror.

“T-that’s… impossible…”

“The Authority of Karma…”

“And he already used the Authority of Ice… that means—he’s—!”

“The Fallen God…”

Before they could even take a step back, Aestrea lifted his right hand.

A small sphere began to form at his fingertip, half black, half white, spinning slowly, humming with quiet power.

He looked at them blankly.

His eyes were empty as the frozen abyss.

“『 ✯ Authority of Karma ✯ 』”

He flicked his finger lightly.

The small orb instantly shot forward, almost soundless.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A blinding explosion swallowed the three gods instantly.

The entire domain shook as white and black energy tore through everything, devouring the ground, shattering their bodies, erasing their divine cores in a single instant.

When the light finally died out, only Aestrea stood.

The domain was silent once again, white petals of energy falling slowly around him like snow.

“…Three down.”

[You’ve killed three 5✯ True Gods!]

[You have absorbed the Authority of Space, Sword, and Lightning!]

[The Authority of Karma has been strengthened.]

[The Authority of Ice has been formed and strengthened!]

[You have reached the 3✯ True God Realm!]

[The Domain of Silence has entered a 48h cooldown!]

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