Chapter 286
Considering Arthur the main threat and sensing the great danger coming from him as his dark blade vibrated and the man"s aura increased, the Divine Beast wriggled its body fiercely, trying to get rid of the white chains holding it down .
The chains started shaking intensely as the White Tiger struggled and did its best to shake off Curtis" shackles . It was apparent that it knew that Arthur"s next attack is his final one and it could kill it if it didn"t retaliate in a proper manner, not with this chains immobilizing it thus rendering it an open target, completely defenseless .
Makaze started showing signs of breaking as a seven-colored light covered it whole, the light then surrounded Arthur . It was unknown whether the dark blade would handle the pressure from the fifth wave but Arthur decided to trust his partner and unleash this skill .
The first four waves of [Thousand Waves] are, without a doubt, very powerful, however, started from the fifth one, their might and potential jump to another level . The cost and the Realm requirements are what is bothering Arthur, to even dream of successfully executing the tenth wave, he needs to be at a Realm even beyond Sovereign .
Even with his G.o.dly physique from earlier, it is still unknown if he could successively execute all ten waves . Arguably, he could unleash the tenth one but even if it"s possible, he has to discharge its predecessors, in order, too .
The reason [Thousand Waves] is this absurdly strong is thanks to ordering and improving of sword skills the System automatically did when he ascended to the Divine Realm . It is the pinnacle of sword skills to the point that even his copy was full of praises for it .
The fifth wave, Supernova, is as the name suggests, an explosion of the star but instead of a star, it"s the blade itself . It"s an unstoppable burst of rainbow-colored sword Energy .
Arthur held the sword with both hands and slowly raised, preparing to slash at the White Tiger, which was a considerable distance away from him .
Panicked and afraid, the White Tiger couldn"t sit idly and watch death come right at it . Its eyes pulsated with a red light as its body became larger and a golden mantra appeared on its body .
The white chains were being pulled forcefully, Curtis was slowly yet surely being dragged to the beast . He struggled and applied more strength but he couldn"t fight against the monstrous strength the tiger was showing .
"Yo-"
Curtis was just going to urge Arthur to hurry but by the time he glanced at the latter, an enormous white shadow pa.s.sed by him, completely ignoring his existence and heading straight for its main foe, who finally swung down his sword .
The sky split in two and the burning flames below were cut down from the sheer power of the dark blade . The clouds and s.p.a.ce itself were cut down instantly when Arthur slashed down and executed the final wave .
A rainbow blast of razor-sharp Sword Energy burst out of Makaze, cutting down everything in its way . Though the length of this blast was merely several meters, nothing in comparison to its target, there"s no denying that it was terrifying .
The White Tiger, which almost reached Arthur, roared loudly and emitted an intense golden light that transformed into its mantra .
The strange rune was twice the size of the tiger as it blocked the seven-colored energy, it stood motionless in the air, exuding a light brighter than the sun and a celestial aura akin to the heavens .
As for the Divine Beast, it hid behind the mantra and turned vibrated parts of its body to protect its vitals, just in precaution .
Surprisingly, half of Arthur"s blast pa.s.sed through the mantra without meeting any resistance, however, when the other half was going to pa.s.s, it froze in mid-air, clearly being restricted by the tiger"s rune .
"It is a seal, and a strong one at that . "
The copy notified Arthur as it witnessed what"s happening, the latter wasn"t showing any worried expression, he tightened his grip on the dark blade and swung down again, releasing an even greater blast that clashed with the rune and broke it instantly, causing it to disperse into countless golden sparks .
The two didn"t merge as expected, the first one, which was a bit weaker than the second, hit the tiger in its chest, easily bypa.s.sing its tough fur and st.u.r.dy defenses and stabbed its heart along with a third of its body .
The Divine Beast turned crazy once its heart was injured, the sword energy was invading all of its body and destroying every bit of it, leaving nothing but blood in its path .
It no longer cared about its life as it opened its b.l.o.o.d.y mouth and spat a spike similar to the one formed from its fur, however, this one was different as it was made from a white light and was half the size of the original .
The speed of the tiger"s attack was rather unexpected, it"s as if it existed in a different s.p.a.ce, it wasn"t affected by the second blast which was a split second away from the first one .
The moment the spike made of white light was spat by the tiger, Arthur"s blast reached its target . It beheaded the Divine Beast like it was nothing and even continued for thousands of miles before it dispersed . The body of the White Tiger fell into the flaming abyss and disappeared from the area within seconds .
Arthur"s focus was pointed at the dead beast but on the strange white spike which reached him before even the tiger was beheaded . Though the spike was lengthy, it wasn"t overly large, still, it was enough to cut him in two pieces or burst his head .
The speed of the attack wasn"t like anything Arthur has ever seen, by the time he sensed the danger and decided to react, it was already in front of him .
From the looks of it, the tiger died before it was even beheaded, it literally sacrificed itself to unleash such an attack, this attack was like an a.s.surance for itself, knowing that it"ll Arthur down with it when it dies .
In that split seconds, before it hit his head and kills him, countless thoughts were rampaging inside Arthur"s head .
"Should I teleport away? Create a Dark Barrier? Block it with my arms? No, it"s too late for that . "
No matter the solution he thought of, it was too late to execute it, he was left with nothing and he was a split second away from meeting his maker .
From inside his consciousness, his copy"s voice rang in his ears, instructing him and telling him what to do . In such a desperate position, he was left with no choice but to unconsciously followed what the copy said .
"Use your skill points, one in your eyes and one in the Death Seal, quickly!"
Immediately, Arthur followed his words by actions, ordering the system to upgrade his skills . The moment he did that, he sensed an intense coming from his eyes as if they were being pulled out from their sockets .
Time resumed and the white spike was going to penetrate his skull and turn his head into splattered brain matters yet at the last possible second, his eyes, which were causing him unbearable agony, flashed with an extremely bright blue light that illuminated the whole continent .
The white spike which was about to kill him, was frozen with only a few centimeters separating it from him . He could see the sharp edge it, his eyes were concentrated on it, forcefully freezing time and allowing him to gain a moment of clarity .
"What are you dazing there for! Use the Death Seals!"
His body followed the orders, his hands sprang forth as they turned illusory from the continuous fast movements and like that, one Death Seal after another, double the size of the original, appeared around the white spike .
The glued themselves on the white light and diminished some of it while causing the spike to become smaller in size with every Death Seal landing on it .
After releasing ten Seals, Arthur was dumbfounded to see that his Nether Energy was completely depleted, his mind was also feeling dizzy and unstable .
He didn"t know what happened to the death seal skill when he upgraded it but one thing is for sure, the cost became insanely absurd .
He used the fifth wave but he still had some energy to spare, to empty the pool so quickly, it can only mean that either his eyes or death seals are consuming large amounts of Nether Energy continuously and it"s not just a one-time cost .
After half a minute pa.s.sed, Arthur only managed to add another seal, thus reaching the number of eleven seals . They enveloped the white spike and caused it to became a fourth of its original size but they weren"t able to change its direction or lock it away .
Time resumed after a whole minute pa.s.sed, Arthur found himself exhausted both physically and mentally, which surprised him as it"s the first time he feels physical fatigue thanks to his Infinite Stamina .
This confused him but he didn"t dwell on it for it wasn"t time for that, unlike last time, he could move his body and get away from the spike .
"It"s not slowing time but freezing it, you cannot move if time is frozen, the laws of time still apply to you . "
With such a shallow explanation, Arthur could only resign and prepare himself as he cast a Dark Barrier protecting his body .
The spike made of white light crashed into the mix of watery surface and Dark Barrier and wasn"t able to bypa.s.s them like the sword energy, although they were durable defense layers, against such an attack, the barrier and druid"s skill weren"t able to last for long .
Barely a second, enough for Arthur to use [Faster Than Death] and retreat 150 meters away . Unfortunately, to dodge such an attack wasn"t as easy as this, after all, it was the Divine Beast"s last struggle .
Like the tiger"s trick earlier, the spike followed Arthur with a teleport too . It appeared in front of him and twirled as it made its way toward his head, ready to finish him .
Unable to freeze time again, Arthur could only bend his body in an unusual manner, breaking his spine and several other bones . Luckily, he didn"t feel pain but he could still feel his body grumbling and about to fall . Despite his last-second evasion, a small light that accompanied the white spike still managed to his face, slas.h.i.+ng it and causing a b.l.o.o.d.y wound to appear on it .
His left eyes were injured too as a deep b.l.o.o.d.y cut that went from his chin to his eye appeared . With a tired mind and body, Arthur could only let his body fall below, traveling through the flames and even hitting the ocean that was way below the surface .
Curtis had already returned guarding his soul and the blue wolf and the blood servant were exhausted and injured to they quietly slumbered inside his consciousness .
Hundreds of miles under the abyss and even the sea below it, Arthur laid on the sand with a b.l.o.o.d.y back and a scarred face . He fell unconscious at last after this long and tiring fight . The threat of the Divine Beasts was gone and he could finally rest, even for a second .
A long silence pa.s.sed before a Dark light fell from above, cutting down the sea in two and engraving itself on the sand near Arthur . Upon a closer look, it was none other than Makaze, the dark blade, which broke after the fifth wave . Half of it was gone in the process and it looked nothing like before, with a broken edge and a weak, almost nonexistent aura, it joined its master and partner in this deep abyss, away from the rest of the world .