Chapter 176 – Divinity

 “Oh my G.o.d.”

Balis muttered with stupor, gazing at the dark orb in the sky above. With the sun utterly eclipsed by the artifact, the city seemed to be enveloped by an eternal shadow.

The whole area around the palace was empty save for the numerous corpses scattered on the ground. Everyone was afraid to come near the palace gates.

“Zarvel, what have you done… ?”

It was not possible for Zarvel to own a Deity artifact unless he was a.s.sociated with one of the Deities themselves. A Deity who wanted to control the mortal world could only be one belonging to the Infernal Faction.

The battle was most likely still ongoing inside the palace, but Balis had to destroy the dark orb before he went inside. With that Deity artifact active, none of the tower lords would be able to fight against Zarvel, hence it was imperative that Balis exterminated the orb.

*clink*

Balis leapt off into the sky and punched the orb with all his might. However, the artifact was immune to any damage and besides the dull sound of his fist colliding against the orb, nothing changed.

This looks troublesome.

Balis mustered a large majority of his essence into a ball of condensed tornados and prepared to smash it at the orb. After his strenuous journey from the Order’s headquarters, Balis’ essence reserves were almost dry, but he had no choice if he wanted to defeat Zarvel.

“HAAAH!”

The ball made of violent gales struck the dark orb, and Balis fueled the attack by using more of his essence.

*kacha*

Finally, a small crack appeared on top of the gla.s.sy orb. But it was not enough to destroy the Deity artifact.

“No… ”

Balis descended to the ground, crestfallen at not being able to execute his task. He was almost completely out of essence, and could not coalesce another attack on par with his last one.

“Rest, old man. We’ll take it from here.”

A deep voice sounded behind Balis, causing the exhausted man to turn around to see who the visitors were.

Balis’ eyes widened in shock at the sight unfolding in front of his eyes.

There were around twenty warriors gathered around three middle-aged men. What shocked Balis was not their numbers, but the power currently being displayed by the three men in front. Countless bolts of lightning gathered above their bodies, all aimed at the dark orb in the sky.

The reinforcements from the Raizel clan were finally here.

………………………………

How are you here!?

Calron inquired the voice inside his mind. The sensation reminded him of Ezkael, filling the void that existed in his soul after his Teacher’s departure.

I don’t have much time, child. In order to come here, I had to sacrifice a part of my divinity so listen carefully to what I’m about to say.

The golden-eyed man stated in a serious tone.

I cannot defeat the creature in front of us, but I can definitely scare him away. I need you to channel the Azure Lightning into me, so I can utilize its power to sustain the illusion. We only have a few minutes left, so let’s make it count. 

Since he was going to die anyways, Calron had no qualms with summoning the Azure Lightning once again. All of this conversation happened in the span of a second.

“LEAVE THIS PLACE, BEAST.”

The golden dragon’s voice rumbled, its ancient eyes glaring down at Zarvel. Compared to the gigantic fifty-meter dragon, Zarvel looked like a small plant while the others seemed like ants.

Calron’s body shivered as he transferred the power of the Azure Lightning into the golden dragon.

It’s cold.

Calron could sense his heartbeat slowing down as death rapidly approached him.

“I am not afraid of a Deity, dragon. My master is one of you as well, so you’ll have to face him if you continue to stand in my way.”

Zarvel was unfettered by the colossal dragon looming over him and responded calmly to his threat.

Flashes of dark blue lightning darted across the golden dragon’s scales, as it bent its head down and breathed onto Zarvel’s miniscule body.

“WHO SAID I WAS A MERE DEITY?”

Right at that moment, Zarvel’s eyes fluttered in shock and his body began to quiver uncontrollably. Even the pupils in his eyes rolled back as the winged beast collapsed to the ground and started to twitch.

NO! STOP!

Zarvel bellowed in his mind, feeling his soul being slowly torn apart by sharp claws. 

This was not the sheer power of a Deity! 

It was a whole realm above it!

Calron, I have used the last bit of my divinity so the illusion of the dragon will fade away in a moment. I am sorry, but this is the extent of what I can do with my avatar in the mortal world.

The golden dragon’s regretful voice echoed inside Calron’s head.

He had managed to injure Zarvel by ripping a part of his soul, but it was not enough to kill the beast.

Child, after I leave, you will need to inform the Patriarch and prepare for the impending war. You only have a few years until the Shadow G.o.d makes his move, so you’ll need to be ready by then.

War? And who is this Shadow G.o.d? 

Calron’s mind was befuddled by the information just revealed to him.

I wish our circ.u.mstances were not like this, as I had planned to tell you about them slowly in the following months. Your Patriarch already knows about the situation, so he’ll tell you more about it later.

The golden dragon sighed inside Calron’s mind. He did not expect Calron and the city to be attacked so soon, and was forced to consume his divinity to save them from the enemy.

It doesn’t matter anymore… if you haven’t noticed yet, I am dying.

Calron forced out the thought, feeling the coldness seep into his bones.

It is too soon for you to die, Calron, as your destiny is not tied down to this mortal world. I will transfer the last vestiges of my divinity into you, so your body can rejuvenate its internal organs from their fatal injury. Take care of yourself, child.

The dragon’s body started to fade, rousing everyone’s attention.

NO! I don’t want you to sacrifice your life for mine!

Calron protested, seeing the illusion of the fifty-meter dragon distort in the air.

I am still alive, Calron. I only sent my avatar to the mortal world. Once you transcend to the Heavenly stage, the mysteries of the Divine Realm will be open to your eyes, and then we can meet again.

*dhak dhak*

A refreshing sensation coursed throughout Calron’s body as a mysterious energy flowed inside his heart. His heartbeat gradually regained its rhythm and pumped the new divine blood into his flesh and bones. The numerous cuts and bruises on his skin rapidly healed along with the crushed internal organs reverting back to their original form.

Why?

Tears flowed down Calron’s cheeks as he glanced up at the almost translucent form of the golden dragon.

Because I made a promise to my brother.

The dragon’s gazed fondly at Calron with its gentle golden eyes for the last time, before completely disappearing.

Calron clenched his fists tights with rage. He had to once again witness the death of yet another family member. 

“GRUAAH!”

Zarvel had returned back to his human form and was screaming in pain on the floor. He would probably recover in a moment due to the death of the golden dragon’s avatar.

The others were all still on the ground despite the destruction of Zarvel’s Heavenly Domain. Some of the tower lords were slowly getting back up on their feet, but no one was in the condition to fight with Zarvel.

“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”

Calron growled, charging at Zarvel with full force.

His fists moved in a flurry as Calron took out all his rage on the enemy who caused so many deaths today. Zarvel was still under the effect of the soul attack, so he could not defend himself against Calron’s attacks.

All of a sudden, Calron’s instincts warned him of a threat. Without hesitating for a single second, Calron quickly activated the best defense he could muster.

“TI… TAN’S FURY!”

Right then, a dark claw abruptly slashed at Calron’s neck in a lightning-fast movement.

“Impressive.”

Zarvel chortled as he stood up from the ground and stared at the crimson-skinned teen in front of him. Bursts of steam spurted out from Calron’s body as his blood was being consumed by the Blood Legacy every second.

“I have never met someone like you, kid. Your cultivation does not tell the truth of how powerful you really are… join me or die.”

Zarvel extended his semi-transformed claw towards Calron. His long dark hair fluttered behind him, as his vicious eyes bore into the teen.

“I pick neither.”

Calron rasped in a hoa.r.s.e voice, withdrawing t.i.tan’s Fury and returning Zarvel’s stare with a slight smile.

“I do not like your answer.”

Zarvel detected something strange in Calron’s smile. The teen should be afraid of him, but why was he smiling then?

s.h.i.t!

Realization dawned upon Zarvel when he finally discovered why the boy was so confident.

The dark orb had been shattered!

“Surrender yourself Zarvel, my clan has surrounded the palace and you will never be able to escape alive.”

A deep voice rumbled, as the Patriarch of the Raizel clan walked towards Calron with Asra and Harol supporting him on the side.

Calron felt the presence of other clan members outside the palace, so he knew that reinforcements had finally arrived.

Panic spread across Zarvel’s face when he saw the Patriarch standing up. It was not only the Patriarch, but the other tower lords also seemed to be regaining their strength. He could defeat them with the dark orb’s ability, but fighting against the tower lords with their full strength was basically suicide.

However, Zarvel composed himself as he calmed down and contemplated his situation. The palace was too large for a small clan like Raizel to cover, so the Patriarch’s words were definitely a ploy to capture him.

“Alright, I surrender.”

Zarvel stated evenly, drawing looks of astonishment from everyone. No one thought that he would surrender so easily.

BOOOOOOM!!

While everyone was taken aback by his statement, Zarvel punched the ground underneath him to destabilize the floor and leapt off into the air as his body reverted into the giant winged creature.

He destroyed the ceiling above and swiftly made his escape from the palace.

“Don’t let him run!”

Calron yelled, beginning to shape-shift into his beast form to chase after Zarvel.

“Let him go, it’s too late.”

The Patriarch placed his hand on Calron’s shoulder, preventing him from moving.

“We are all injured and need to help those who are bleeding. Even if the orb is gone, we still haven’t regained our original strength yet. Also, thank you kid.”

The Patriarch ruffled Calron’s hair and walked towards the other tower lords.

Calron continued to look at the hole in the ceiling, wishing to go after Zarvel and bring him down.

“Let’s go, brother.”

Asra said as he followed behind the Patriarch. Harol gave him a pat on the back and left as well.

“… prepare for the impending war… ”

The golden dragon’s words rang inside Calron’s mind as his azure eyes glanced at the backs of his clan members.

I’ll be ready.

Calron promised, taking a step forward and walking towards the others.

Unbeknownst to Calron, a vein deep inside his heart was slowly turning gold and within a few seconds, all of the veins enveloping his heart were now a celestial golden color.

The veins exuded the same aura of divinity as the golden dragon.