R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 73 (Patreon)

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 73 (in editing-v6)

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Euphoria.

The moment Orion activated his Title, he experienced a level of bliss that he could barely describe.

It was a strange sensation, he had thought, as he instinctively used his Title’s abilities to block several attacks from the sword-wielding human he had encountered inside the Sanctum.

It was as if a piece of him that had been missing his entire life had suddenly been found.

All was right with the world.

And…

He hated that.

Alas, the First Lord found scant time to come to terms with his Title as, in the midst of fending off yet another rebel to his will, an enormous Skeletal Dragon obliterated what was left of the Sanctum and attacked him.

One decidedly unpleasant moment later, and Orion found himself covered in dust, bits of bone, and grime, standing atop an enormous, half-shattered wing of bone.

“Dragons. It always comes back to Dragons.” The First Lord grumbled as he tried and failed to wipe away a layer of dirt on his face.

A split second later, a wave of lightning swept over his body, destroying the dust and grime that had coated his body

A loud, guttural shout interrupted Orion’s thoughts as the First Lord found himself face to face with said enormous behemoth of bone: a Draconic Lich.

“You.” Orion’s eyes narrowed as he recognized the creature.

Energy practically vibrated off the monster in waves, dark Mana channeled directly into the bones of the long-dead lizard. The giant undead Drake’s eyes pulsed in the air in front of the First Lord as it charged at him, moving deceptively fast.

“I should have killed you centuries ago.”

The world exploded.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

Gregor Mantorel stood alone.

Blood dripped down his face as he struggled to remain conscious, his breathing ragged and torn. His body was covered in injuries, from cracked bones to bloody cuts to seared burns.

A lesser man would have died long ago… but he was no lesser man.

The Lord Justiciar grunted as he raised his sword and held it at the ready. Despite the brutal beating he had taken, his weapon was in a far better state, a treasure forged from Blood-Refined Mithril.

‘I cannot let it end this way.’

Gregor tried to scan his surroundings as he gathered his bearings, but was met with a bitter truth.

He was now blind.

‘That monster must not meet my people.’ He could already picture what would happen.

They would be led like lambs to a slaughter.

Orion Thunderfist was the single most powerful being Gregor had ever encountered.

Gregor focused inward, rousing the last dregs of his powerful Primordial Giant Bloodline to give himself strength. He then spread his senses outward, wincing at the loud ringing that was ever-present in his ears.

His eyeball had burst from repeated shockwaves formed at close range, while his eardrums had partially ruptured. His left lung had been punctured by a broken rib, and his right leg’s bones were severely cracked.

The fact that he was standing was a testament to his sheer, unrelenting power of will.

‘I should have brought more of the Shad- no. Numbers mean nothing to a beast like this.’ Gregor shook off the thought, focusing his thoughts entirely on the present.

Orion Thunderfist must die.

Or… lacking that…

‘An arm or a leg.’ Gregor began to gauge how best to trade his life, accepting that he was to die here.

If he couldn’t kill this monster, then he damn well better at least cripple him.

It was the only way his people would stand a chance.

Gregor activated the power of his Bloodline, using it to create a sort of ‘resonance’ that showed the locations of all nearby living creatures. He immersed himself in this feeling, allowing himself to see the world in a different way.

Gradually, over the course of several tense seconds, the Lord Justiciar began to ‘see’ again.

‘This will do.’ It couldn’t truly replace his lost sight or damaged hearing, but…

It was enough.

Orion’s life signature blazed like a bonfire in his newfound ‘vision,’ fighting against what he could only describe as a ‘void’ of life, an unnaturally empty hole that seemed to suck up all life around it.

‘Ah. The Dragon Mountains.’ Gregor recognized the creature, a monster that haunted the lands to the south of his people.

Rippling explosions set Gregor’s senses to tingling as he felt, rather than saw, the undead Dragon fight with the First Lord. The crackle of lightning sounded off in his damaged ears, shuddering through the air as it seared dead bones.

And, just as Gregor prepared himself to take action…

He felt a familiar presence off to his left.

‘Surely not…’ The Lord Justiciar paused, caught off guard.

His doubt washed away as he heard the voice of the same human Swordmaster that had saved the Wise Lady Myla Hannis speak.

“Gregor, can you talk?”

“Micheal. This is… unexpected.” Gregor rasped, his deep voice cracked and his throat injured.

“Where’s Serena?!” The Lord Justiciar’s heart dropped as he sensed only the presence of the Nirvana Saint, and two other humans next to Micheal.

He vaguely felt another human presence, around 20 meters to his right and hidden in rubble, but that one vanished almost instantly from his senses.

“She’s… she’s going to be fine. She’s not here with me right now, but she’s fine.” Micheal shook his head.

Gregor noticed the catch in Micheal’s voice, but didn’t press the issue. The human had long since earned his trust, he would take him at his word.

“Gregor? Gregor. You can’t fall now.” Micheal’s words cut through Gregor’s thoughts, rousing him.

“I-” The Lord Justiciar stuttered, only now realizing that he had nearly fallen unconscious.

‘Focus.’ His shock at meeting Micheal here had made him slip up.

“You’ve fought him, close up.” Micheal cut right to the chase as he grabbed Gregor’s shoulder and handed him several Healing Pills.

Gregor nodded and swallowed the pills, gingerly feeling warm, healing energy wash through his bones.

He was far too severely injured for something like this to cure him, but every bit helped.

In the background, explosion after explosion shook the air as the First Lord fought the Draconic Lich. Gregor held no hopes that the undead drake would fell Orion, but it was at least enough to distract the warrior.

“Quick. Tell me everything you’ve picked up about him.” Micheal’s eyes gleamed as he began the first step to killing a Titled Deity:

Obtaining knowledge.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

A subtle shift of his hand and light twist of his body redirected the force from the Draconic Lich’s attack, sending the massive creature hurtling into the ground. There was no dust left to kick up from the torn earth, but the massive impact was enough to crater the ground even more.

Orion moved instinctually, his body covered in a faint glow as he landed atop the undead Dragon.

‘Thunder King’s Martial Art - 3rd Chapter, 7th Passage.’

‘Shatter the Earth.’

The Draconic Lich screamed as its wings shattered, an enormous shockwave spreading out and sending it even further into the ground. Shards of magic-enhanced bone shot out, piercing through the air and littering the nearby ground.

“I showed you mercy, because we shared a mutual enemy.” Orion spat, his eyes cold.

The undead Dragon growled out something incomprehensible, but Orion ignored its response, instead activating his ‘Shatter the Earth’ technique a second time.

Another shockwave flew out as he crushed the shoulders and ribs of the undead Drake, while Elemental Lightning seared the dark Magic bindings that kept the Blue Drake alive.

In the midst of this, the power of Ruin gradually seeped into the bones of this Draconic Lich, causing it to collapse internally.

“No more.”

Cognitively, Orion knew the undead Dragon was probably attacking him because of his new body. He now possessed the appearance of a Toren, even his energy signature had morphed to match his new body.

Nevertheless, the betrayal of a creature he had spared irritated him, regardless of reason.

And… just as he was in the midst of crushing the Draconic Lich…

The world seemed to slow down around him as his senses kicked into overdrive.

In that brief moment, he could feel everything.

He sensed several humans and the Lord Justiciar off several dozen meters to his right, no doubt conspiring against him.

He sensed the corpse of Baron Fortuna, noting that the Artifact the man used to turn invisible was now missing.

He sensed the ragged breaths coming from Great Wizard Shahsta’s body, the Rakkonian stubbornly clinging to life despite her horrific injuries, unconscious on the ground.

It was a strange moment where his senses were dialed up to the extreme, caused by the keen intuition he had built up over a lifetime of experience.

And... he soon realized why.

Silently, coated in a strange Aura, appeared none other than the silver-haired man that had punched him into the Sanctum, rocketing through the air at a speed that defied reason.

Yvvtal the Destroyer had made his attack.

The Celestial Aura Yvvtal controlled granted the man incredible speed.

Orion recognized that Aura, now that he’d had time to process it.

In the ruins of several Draconic Inheritances he had plundered, he’d read records of creatures from mysterious lands, possessing strange powers that accelerated the ‘Time’ they lived in.

Celestials.

Now, that strange Celestial had returned to attack him again, blazing through the air faster than even Orion could react.

In a split second, Yvvtal reached Orion.

Immediately, he began to attack, unleashing punch after punch in a rapid series of strikes over the course of 0.1 seconds. This flurry of attacks set the air to trembling, kicking up a great storm of wind from the sheer force of each punch.

And… like Yvvtal’s previous attack, his unbelievable speed meant Orion wasn’t fast enough to respond.

Or, at least… that was what Yvvtal had expected.

As punch after punch shot forward, each imbued with a staggering amount of Ki, the Fallen Deity found himself at an impasse.

Each attack he made was met with a calm patch of gray fog, spawned into the air between his fist and Orion.

Despite the fog’s intangible appearance, every blow that connected with it failed to pass through, his fists stopped in their place.

“What?” Yvvtal muttered as he leapt backwards, sweat pouring down his forehead. Drawing this heavily on his body’s Celestial Aura was incredibly draining, even for a being with as powerful a Soul as him.

A second later, the fog around Orion dispersed.

In that moment, as Orion’s eyes were revealed, he and Yvvtal locked gazes.

And then…

Orion began to smile.

“You are nothing without your speed, Celestial.”

Orion took a step forward, his golden, now gray, body practically oozing Elemental Lightning.

Yvvtal prepared to fall back, turning to retreat before abruptly coming to a halt.

For, behind him, now appeared a large, gray wall of fog, cutting him off from escaping.

As Yvvtal turned his head around, he realized all around him and Orion, several large walls of gray fog had materialized, boxing him in.

This fog was different then the other fog, he instinctively noticed, as his body shied away from it.

It was dangerous, extremely dangerous.

Yvvtal’s eyes flickered, both up and down, before returning his gaze towards Orion.

“So be it.” Yvvtal grinned back, his eyes tinged with a hint of madness.

“You… you’ve haunted me. For years, and years, and years more.” Yvvtal began to speak, his voice harsh and cutting, as he gathered every iota of Celestial Aura and Ki he possessed.

Orion’s eyes narrowed, lightning crackling around him, as he stared at Yvvtal.

“I’ve never even met you.”

Yvvtal’s grin widened at Orion’s response.

“You have now.”

Orion leapt forward and, in that same moment, Yvvtal charged to meet him.

‘Thunder King’s Martial Art - 3rd Chapter, 1st Passage.’

‘Thunderous Assault.’

A great flash of light soared through the air as the two warriors collided. Energy crackled and the ground shook as two forces clashed.

In the end, Yvvtal’s body flew out, crashing through the gray fog and collapsing in a heap, in the midst of the Sanctum’s rubble.

Orion stood the victor, resplendent with power in a world of gray.

On his face, however, stood a frown.

“Clever bastard.” Orion grunted as he stared down at his left hand.

On it, now, were two gaping holes where his ring finger and his smallest finger had been, ripped from his body in a single, frantic second.

“You sacrificed everything… for this?” The First Lord muttered, his voice calm.

As he spoke, two dots of lightning cauterized the injuries. A moment later, the gap where his fingers had been were replaced with a network of lightning that gradually coalesced into mirror images of his missing fingers.

Orion flexed the new digits, still frowning.

They would do for now, barely acceptable as a replacement for his flesh.

“At least you were no coward, Celestial.”

This was the first serious injury he had sustained ever since he started this battle, at least in his eyes.

“I see. I get it.” Orion muttered as he shifted focus, glancing at the fog that was slowly dispersing in the air around him.

The power of Ruin truly obeyed his commands.

He was twisting the very laws that guided reality…

Like a God.

Another bout of euphoria tried to make its way through his psyche, one that he instantly suppressed.

‘Control.’ Orion’s emotions swirled about as he fought down that strange happiness.

He forced those emotions away with a vengeance, purging them from his mind as soon as he felt them.

‘I will not be controlled.’

It didn’t matter why he had been granted this power.

All that mattered was that it was his.

It would not control him.

Nothing would control him.

Orion's eyes glowed as he reasserted himself.

He was Orion Thunderfist.

The First Lord, last of the Dark Wraiths, and Ruler of the Ancient World.

He was power.

He was discipline.

He was order.

‘And…’ He thought, his eyes glinting as he envisioned the future, playing out before him.

He would bring justice to a troubled world.

Justice that even Gods could not resist.

And it was here, in the midst of his musings, that a brilliant laser beam shot through the air, narrowly missing his head.

The First Lord turned to the side, his gaze piercing forward like daggers.

“You.”

The Nirvana Saint smiled back.

“Me.”

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