Chapter 416: The Beginning Of The End [LXXVIII]

For a single second, everything went completely silent.

The wind stopped.

The screams died in their throats.

Even the remaining gods seemed frozen in place as an overwhelming sense of danger crashed down upon them, far heavier than any killing intent before.

Aestrea disappeared.

One moment, he was above them, and in the next, he was standing directly in front of the massive crowd.

Splurt!

A thin, silver line flashed across the battlefield, stretching from one side to the other.

At first, nothing happened.

The gods remained standing, eyes wide, weapons still raised, their expressions frozen in confusion and disbelief.

A few of them instinctively tried to move, to shout, to activate their authorities again.

Crack… crack…

A soft, unsettling sound echoed through the air.

From their right shoulders, a clean diagonal line formed, cutting straight down across their bodies toward the left side of their waists.

And slowly… their upper halves began to slide.

Blood welled up along the cut, spilling out in a delayed wave as their bodies finally understood what had happened.

Splurt!

The upper halves slipped free completely, sliding off and collapsing forward, hitting the ground with wet, heavy sounds.

The lower halves remained standing for a split second longer before falling apart as well, collapsing into the growing sea of blood.

Every single god caught within his path had been cleanly severed in half, the cut so precise and smooth that not a single one had felt pain before it was over.

A healing light flickered instinctively across some of the severed bodies… but of course, Aestrea wouldn’t let that happen.

『 Bleed 』

SPLUUUUURTTT!

Every wound burst open violently, the diagonal cuts tearing wider, flesh splitting apart even further as blood sprayed uncontrollably across the ruins.

Any attempt at recovery only hastened their deaths, their authorities collapsing under the strain as their bodies failed them completely.

The ground was instantly dyed crimson.

Clink…

Clatter!

Shattered armor clattered uselessly as lifeless halves slid and toppled over one another. Weapons fell from severed hands, embedding themselves into the broken floor with dull clangs.

And of course, Aestrea didn’t even look back.

His back faced the fallen crowd, having both of his swords lowered at his sides, dripping with the blood from the couple of hundred gods behind him.

A faint silver glow still clung to him, slowly fading like the moonlight at dawn.

[Ding!]

“Phew…”

He let out a small breath as he tilted his head to the right lightly.

[You’ve killed one hundred and fifty-two 4✯ True Gods!]

[You’ve killed two hundred and seventy-nine 5✯ True Gods!]

[You’ve killed thirty-eight 6✯ True Gods!]

[You have absorbed all of their authorities!]

[The Authority of Karma has reached the limit!]

[The Authority of Ice has reached the Mythical Grade!]

Aestrea took a single glance at the notification before moving on. His opponent was going to be a tricky peak 7✯ True God, so he needed to be a little careful.

Truthfully, Aestrea had the power to one-shot at 7✯ True God, but the person he was going to face was the God of Control, someone who had probably more than two-hundred escape plans in case something was wrong.

Before long, he arrived at a strange location.

The entrance ahead looked like a set of abandoned ruins, cracked stone pillars, half-collapsed walls, and faint traces of old formations barely clinging to existence.

The place felt wrong.

Still, Aestrea stepped inside.

Fwip!

A sword shot straight toward his head without warning.

Clang!

Aestrea raised his blade and deflected it instantly, sparks scattering as the weapons collided.

“… An early 7✯ True God…” he muttered, his eyes narrowing slightly.

His gaze shifted past the attacker.

‘So these are his personal bodyguards…’

Crackle!

Suddenly, flames burst to life around the enemy’s sword, crawling up the blade and roaring outward as divinity surged violently.

BOOOOM!

The space around them shattered.

The surroundings twisted and collapsed before reforming entirely into something else.

Solid ground became scorching sand beneath their feet, the air growing heavy and suffocating.

In the distance, and all around them, countless volcanoes erupted at the same time, spewing lava and ash into the burning sky.

Heat flooded everything.

“Domain of Flame: Swallow!”

The man shouted, pointing his sword at Aestrea as he dashed forward without hesitation.

BOOOOM!

At that exact moment, the lava erupting from the volcanoes suddenly shifted direction.

Like living creatures obeying a single command, massive streams of molten rock curved through the air, shooting toward Aestrea from every direction, sealing off all possible paths of escape.

To this, Aestrea simply raised his gaze.

“So this is how you want to start,” he said calmly.

The moment the lava was about to touch him…

Crack.

A soft, chilling sound echoed outward.

Aestrea finally released his Authority of Frost.

Silver-white frost burst from his body in a silent wave, spreading far faster than the lava itself.

The air temperature plunged instantly, heat being stripped away at an absurd rate. Space fogged over, the burning sky dimming as snow and ice bloomed midair.

The lava streams instantly froze solid in place.

Thick pillars of molten rock were locked in frozen motion, transformed into massive black-and-silver ice sculptures suspended all around him.

Steam exploded outward as the remaining heat was crushed, the violent hissing filling the domain.

Crack, crack, crassshhh!

One by one, the frozen lava pillars shattered, collapsing into countless chunks that slammed into the sand below.

The volcanic ground froze next.

The burning sand hardened into glacial crystal, spreading outward in every direction until the entire area beneath Aestrea’s feet was transformed into a frozen wasteland.

The sudden contrast was overwhelming.

The God of Flame skidded to a halt several dozen meters away, his expression finally changing.

The confidence on his face twisted into disbelief as he stared at the frozen remains of his attack.

“…Frost Authority,” he said through clenched teeth.

Aestrea exhaled slowly, a thin mist of cold air leaving his lips.

“Is that all?”

Before the flame god could reply…

BOOOOOOOM!

Five powerful presences erupted across the frozen landscape.

Space distorted as figures emerged from blazing circles of fire, one after another.

Each arrival caused the air to tremble, waves of heat crashing outward as their auras spread without restraint.

Five more Gods of Flame.

Each of them radiated the same overwhelming pressure.

Early 7✯ True Gods.

Their appearances differed; some wore blazing armor, others wielded spears, swords, or massive greatblades formed entirely of fire, but their eyes were identical.

‘…Are they some kind of siblings that the God of Control slaved?’

Fwooosh!

They spread out immediately, moving with clear coordination. Without exchanging words, they took up positions around Aestrea, forming a wide circular formation.

Their auras connected, flames rising and intertwining as their authorities synchronized.

The frozen land beneath them began to melt.

Crimson cracks formed in the ice, heat pushing back as their combined divinity pressed down relentlessly.

“Formation complete,” one of them said calmly.

The first flame god, the one who had activated the domain, stepped forward, his sword still burning fiercely.

“Six against one,” he said coldly.

“Even if you are stronger, you won’t be able to leave this domain alive.”

Aestrea looked around himself.

Six early 7✯ True Gods, each one perfectly coordinated with the others.

He nodded slightly.

“I see.”

THRUUUM!

The ground trembled ashe six gods raised their weapons at the same time, their flames exploding upward.

The sky above the domain ignited, turning into a swirling inferno as layers of fire overlapped and compressed.

The temperature rose again, and slowly, the flames began to rotate.

Swish!

A massive vortex of fire formed overhead, pressing downward like a crushing furnace.

At this, Aestrea stepped forward, the frost beneath his feet spread instantly, sharp crystalline patterns racing across the melting ground.

Wherever his frost touched the flame, the fire weakened, struggling violently before being suppressed.

“That isn’t enough to kill me,” he raised Midnight.

The six flame gods moved at once.

Three charged forward, their blades wrapped in condensed flame, while the other three remained back, pouring divinity into the vortex above to suppress Aestrea’s movement.

Swoosh!

A flaming greatblade came down toward his head.

Clang!

Aestrea parried it cleanly with Midnight, frost bursting outward at the point of impact. The flames sputtered violently, losing stability as the blade was forced aside.

He twisted his wrist and countered.

Fwip!

A shallow slash carved across the god’s chest.

The wound closed instantly under flame authority, however…

『 Bleed 』

The cut tore open again, fire and blood erupting outward together as the god staggered back with a snarl of pain.

Before the others could adjust, Aestrea stepped in, flowing between the attacks, and when a spear of flame stabbed toward his side.

He leaned aside and sliced across the wielder’s forearm using the Heaven Swallowing Sword to erase the divinity protecting his body.

Fwip!

『 Bleed 』

The arm split open from wrist to elbow, flame dispersing as blood spilled out. The god roared and fell back, formation shaking slightly.

“Don’t heal!” one of them shouted.

‘…Stupid.’

Aestrea turned toward the third frontline god.

Ckang!

Their blades collided repeatedly, sparks and frost scattering with every strike. Then Aestrea slipped inside the guard and slashed across the thigh.

The wound didn’t heal this time, as they probably thought that his power had something to do with healing.

But unfortunately for them… it wasn’t.

『 Bleed 』

The leg buckled.

SPLURT!

Taking the chance, Aestrea thrust Midnight forward, piercing straight through the god’s heart.

One fell.

The formation trembled again.

The remaining flame gods poured more power into the vortex, the flames screaming madly as they tried to overwhelm his frost entirely.

Aestrea raised his gaze.

Silver frost surged outward once more, climbing the vortex like creeping death. The flames resisted violently, but they were slowly eaten away, frozen layer by layer.

“Five remaining.”

His voice was as cold as the frost beneath his feet.

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