NABC Chapter 228: Creating A Dark World (3)
Chapter 228: Creating A Dark World (3)
Chapter 228: Creating A Dark World (3)
She had grown.
The appearance of a young girl had vanished without a trace, and she now stood as a mature woman. Her blue hair cascaded down past her waist, and her blue eyes shone brilliantly.
Minerva stepped onto the earth.
The trembling wind circled around her, and the air itself settled next to Minerva.
Nature itself submitted to her.
An overwhelming presence engulfed the entire world.
She turned her gaze. With a somewhat cold look in her eyes, she smiled faintly.
“It seems like a very long time.”
“It hasn’t even been an hour.”
“Is that all? How strange.”
She examined her fingers. They were slender and beautiful.
“It felt like a very long time to me.”
“Hahaha!”
Hazzak burst into laughter, inserting himself between the two. He looked at Minerva excitedly.
“Spirit King! Spirit King! Once a weak being I believed in!”
He, too, was a human of Arulia. In his childhood, he worshiped the Spirit King and devoted absolute faith to that being.
But not anymore.
“To me now, you are nothing! Just die buried!”
He had contracted with a great being, rivaling gods.
In fact, Hazzak had easily suppressed the power Minerva had shown with her fury.
Even if the Spirit King had grown, nothing would have changed for Hazzak. He unleashed shadows. The shadows swallowed everything and charged at Minerva.
Minerva, with a cold gaze, spoke.
“Begone.”
The wind blew. What started as a small gesture soon became a massive storm that descended upon the earth.
Crack!
The raging storm blew away and erased the shadows. Hazzak, with a stiff face, wrapped himself in darkness. The wind engulfed him.
“Aaagh!”
For the first time, pain filled his voice.
“Hmph.”
Minerva coldly laughed.
When the storm had subsided, the shadows that had engulfed the entire land had vanished without a trace.
[Truly a definitive Spirit King.]
The ghost murmured. Taesan also realized. Having seen the Fire Spirit King, he could immediately compare them.
Minerva now possessed the perfect power of the Spirit King.
A power that could penetrate even the deepest depths alone, a power that the current Taesan, even if facing her with dozens of himself, could not guarantee victory against.
Status, power, and the qualifications that matched that status—all were embodied in the current Minerva.
“I’d like to tear you apart right now but...”
Minerva’s eyes narrowed. A murderous intent enveloped Hazzak.
“O-”
Hazzak swallowed his breath. Shadows wrapped around his body for protection.
Merely by showing her emotions, Hazzak felt a tangible pressure.
“That won’t do.”
Minerva looked up at the sky.
Thunder!
Taesan had been too preoccupied with fighting Hazzak to notice, but beyond the sky, purple energy and light continued to collide.
A power wave that could be felt even from the distant ground.
It was the clash between a high god and a spirit god.
Barkaza arrived belatedly. He bowed respectfully towards the Spirit King.
[Your Majesty. Congratulations on becoming complete.]
“Yes, Barkaza.”
Minerva, with an affectionate look, stroked Barkaza’s head and spoke.
“Taesan. I must go to aid my mother. So, it seems you will have to deal with this one.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Don’t make me laugh! How dare you ignore me!”
Hazzak shouted in anger.
Not even considering him an opponent worth dealing with and attempting to leave, Hazzak’s pride couldn’t accept that.
With emotion, the shadows swallowed the entire earth as they surged forward.
Minerva scoffed at Hazzak.
“Indeed, the power you wield is a threat to me.”
The shadows directly contracted with the high god were literally the power of the high god. It’s not something even the Spirit King’s power could take lightly.
“But in the end, you’re just a human wielding it.”
Minerva clenched her fist. The approaching darkness shattered like a mirror.
“That incomplete power cannot reach me. ...But it might reach him. It would be a threat. Without help.”
Minerva turned her gaze to Taesan.
“I’m sorry.”
She spoke softly.
“I asked not to kill him, so the high god intervened.”
“It doesn’t matter. He would have intervened anyway.”
“No, this is a matter of my heart.”
She extended her hand toward Taesan.
“I am the king of all spirits and the guardian of Arulia. The Spirit King of the wind, Minerva.”
Power flowed from the tips of her fingers.
That power enveloped both Taesan and Minerva.
“Staking my birth and demise as a spirit, I contract with you to become your companion in life.”
It was a contract. Once made, it could not be broken without the consent of both parties, bound by an unbreakable rule.
“Will you accept?”
Taesan looked at her solemnly.
“I thought you said you don’t make contracts?”
He could handle it, but his proficiency was far too insufficient to properly tune it with the other powers.
The power rose due to the King’s Vessel.
The Soul power he had built up.
Mana.
Magic.
Various powers within him shook.
Taesan quickly decided. He couldn’t harbor all these powers now.
The pure white ring shone brilliantly.
Wooong.
Tinged with elegance and mystery, the pure white ring shone.
Its effects were to assist the inherent Soul and store power.
The authority and vessel filling Taesan due to the activation of the King’s Vessel flowed towards the ring. The ring quietly absorbed all that power.
Wooong.
The power contained in the ring stabilized.
Taesan was slightly surprised at the ring accepting all powers.
“Even this?”
[Consider the material of that ring. Shouldn't it be able to accept even the power of the Spirit King itself without a problem?]
A good miscalculation. Taesan synchronized with the ring. A manageable amount of power began to inhabit his body.
“Phew.”
Taesan, having completed all his preparations, caught his breath.
“What a strange feeling.”
[Is everything ready, Master? I'm reaching my limit.]
Hazzak was manifesting power in a frenzied state. The barrier that Barkaza had been desperately maintaining was starting to crumble.
“It’s done now.”
Taesan stepped forward.
Clang!
The barrier shattered. Hazzak bared his teeth.
“Take this!”
Darkness surged toward him.
Taesan clenched his fist.
Synchronizing with the ring, he summoned power and released it.
Kwaang!
A forceful blast erupted.
The shadows were obliterated by the power.
“What, what?”
Taesan’s lips curled into a smile. He felt satisfaction coursing through his body from the power.
“Very good.”
“This can’t be happening!”
Hazzak screamed in disbelief.
“I, I have been granted the power of gods! I have received the power that defies the laws of this world!”
He believed he had surpassed the limitations of a mortal. He couldn’t accept that his attack, from someone who believed so deeply in his own power, was thwarted by a mere Spirit King, by the human standing before him.
Chwararak!
Driven by his emotions, shadows surged. Countless forms of darkness in various shapes attempted to engulf Taesan.
Taesan drew his sword.
Kagagagang!
With a swing of his sword, the shadows were repelled. They tried to cling to the sword and corrode it but were driven back by a mere exertion of power.
“Ha.”
Taesan couldn’t suppress his laughter.
‘With this power.’
Taesan waved his hand.
[You have activated the Ember of Calamity.]
The Ember of Calamity, the darkness wielded by the wolf that had brought destruction upon the world.
Taesan had previously been unable to control this flame due to insufficient power.
Hwaruruk!
The flame flickered. Taesan moved his hand decisively. The crimson flame, destined to lead the world to ruin, obeyed its master’s will and incinerated the shadows.
Taesan clenched his fist. The crimson flame condensed into the shape of a sphere.
Hazzak hastily enveloped himself in shadows.
Chiieeek!
“Aaaack!”
The shadows were trampled by the crimson flame, engulfing Hazzak’s body in fire.
[$#@! took 753 damage.]
Taesan’s lips curled up in satisfaction.
Finally, normal damage was being inflicted.
“You, youuuu!”
Hazzak, barely extinguishing the flame, glared with bloodshot eyes. Shadows extended in strands, targeting Taesan.
[You have activated the Kin of the Wolf.]
Wolves made of his spiritual power materialized.
[Keuheng!]
The wolves ferociously tore at the shadows.
The shadows began to tear apart and disappear.
“This, this...”
“Nice.”
Taesan raised his hand, and darkness began to swirl around him, descending.
“Then, will this also work?”
[You have activated the Spreading Branches of Curse.]
A technique used by the apostle of a high god, defeated by Taesan. A power directly bestowed by a high god to the apostle.
It was now manifested by Taesan’s authority.