R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 77 (Patreon)

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 77

(After much planning and thought (+ a couple mental days off), CH 77 was made into CH 77 + CH 78)

(Ch 78 is ~half written as of posting this chapter)

-

For a brief, minuscule moment, Orion stared down at his fallen arm, shocked to his core.

‘How?’

He had just killed a man.

‘How?’

And now that man was alive again.

‘How?’

And he just chopped off Orion’s left arm.

Almost automatically, the First Lord cauterized and sealed his wound, using a layer of Ki and Elemental Lightning to prevent any further blood loss. It had been a clean slice, sheared straight through flesh and bone without any jagged edges.

In the same moment, a cocoon of gray fog swarmed around the First Lord defensively, forming an impenetrable wall.

Orion was stuck with the scent of burnt flesh and torn air as he steadied himself, trying to comprehend the situation.

‘My senses are failing me.’ For the second time, now, in this fight, his senses had failed to warn him.

‘No, it’s not my senses.’ Orion frowned, his mind racing ahead of him, as experience built up over centuries came together.

‘It’s my intuition.’

The First Lord correctly identified the problem.

‘But how?’

Simply knowing where a problem existed did not magically give him the answer.

If he was a normal Dark Wraith, he could channel Elemental Energy to create a Domain and use that to flush his enemies out.

Orion, however, had taken over a corporeal body. He had good reasons for it, avoiding the detection of Sion Swordsoul and extending his lifespan, but this left him unable to create a Domain.

A quiet grunt worked its way out of Orion’s mouth as a wave of exhaustion swept through him.

‘My Ki is flagging.’ He realized to his dismay, his injuries far more serious now than at almost any other point in his life.

A dizzy sensation swept through his mind for a moment before Orion focused, his eyes glowing gray as he tested something out.

Gradually, the gray fog that covered him drew closer and closer, until it touched his body. Orion’s pupils glowed with light briefly, before parts of that same gray fog began to seep into his body.

“Arrgh.” For a brief moment, agony swept through Orion’s mind, pain that he quickly shut out as he focused.

Bit by bit, that pain dropped away.

As it faded, however, so too did the exhaustion plaguing his body, the dizzying sensation that had swept through him vanishing.

Slowly, a grim smile appeared on Orion’s face.

He had Ruined his exhaustion, leaving him alert and able.

The power granted to him by his Title defied reason, it seemed.

Quite useful, that.

What exactly he had done to his body, he wasn’t certain, but all that mattered was that he could still fight.

Over the course of the next split second, a lump of gray fog condensed on the gaping hole where Orion’s left arm had been. That lump morphed into a copy of Orion’s left arm.

However, when the First Lord tried to move the lump, it drooped sluggishly, unable to follow his commands.

Orion frowned, sweat dripping from his forehead as he focused.

‘I’ll have to use my Ki again.’

A splitting headache wormed its way into the First Lord’s head as a vast network of energy began to form where his missing arm had been. Ki and Elemental Lightning crackled together, forming a second replacement arm.

‘It’s too much.’ Orion grunted as he felt his Ki wobble, before his eyes glowed gray for a second time.

He then Ruined his Ki exhaustion.

And...

His smile widened.

His headache was gone and, now his body had recovered a sizable portion of his lost Ki.

‘My arms, though.’ Orion frowned.

Energy constructs could never function as effectively as real flesh and blood.

‘It all went downhill after fighting that Celestial.’ The loss of two fingers on his left hand had significantly impacted his technique, more-so after he lost his right arm and was forced to rely on his left.

“It doesn't matter.” Orion was calm, emotionless despite his smile.

The wall of gray fog that surrounded Orion began to spread out and fade, his glowing fists held at the ready as he stepped forward.

“I killed him once…” The First Lord grunted, tiny wisps of gray fog fluttering out of his lips.

“I’ll do it again.”

The fog faded and…

Orion came face to face with Micheal once more.

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

Losing an arm would cripple most warriors.

Losing two arms would fell even the greatest of men.

Orion Thunderfist didn't flinch.

‘Still, all that matters is that this is working.’ Micheal’s eyes gleamed as he jumped back, avoiding the bubble of fog that had swarmed around Orion.

Two Life Orbs emerged near his back, slowing his momentum to arrive just a few meters away from Orion.

He needed to be ready to strike at any moment.

As he steadied himself, he forced himself to fight off a wave of exhaustion.

‘The Crown’s power has run out.’

The Artifact needed time to reset after his intense usage, leaving him tired and drained. Thankfully, all of the serious injuries, like ruptured veins, cracked bones, and torn muscles that should’ve also accompanied the Artifact’s ending runtime were skipped due to his use of a Life Orb.

A tense moment went by as Orion huddled inside his foggy cocoon, hiding away from the world as he no doubt processed the loss of his last arm.

In that moment, Micheal abruptly realized that his Soul was experiencing a strange, warm sensation, sweeping over it.

After another split second, Micheal’s battle-focused mind realized what it was.

‘I used Grandmaster Sword Energy for the first time in this timeline… my Soul is undergoing a baptism of energy from that.’

The sharp energy serenaded his Soul, piercing through it in part, but also imbuing into it in part. The powerful current found itself welcome in his Soul, forming a familiar home. The energy was slightly unstable, his Soul not yet strong enough to freely support it, but it settled nonetheless.

It was a consequence of his decision to use his Grandmaster Sword Energy, but Micheal had no regrets.

You could not kill a Titled Deity by holding back.

It was here, as Micheal pulled out the Scythe of Chains, that the fog between Micheal and Orion dispersed.

The bloodied Deity had once more reshaped energy to replicate his missing arm, displaying an understanding of energy that few could match. Despite the brutal beating Orion had taken, the man seemed full of life and energy, his eyes glowing as he began to stride towards Micheal.

In return, Micheal held Lightshorn out before him in one hand, while the Scythe of Chains began to activate in another.

A wave washed over Micheal, then, tingling through to his intuition.

This would be their final clash.

One of them would die here.

‘And death is no issue to me.’

Micheal smiled.

Orion leapt.

Light flashed and the air shook.

And it was then…

At this exact moment…

Director Prime launched his surprise attack.

The blonde-haired man appeared out of thin air, drawing on a powerful Invisibility Artifact he had scrounged from Baron Fortuna’s corpse.

He stood mere millimeters from Orion, perched right in front of the First Lord, intercepting his leap towards Micheal.

Micheal recognized Prime at the same moment that Orion noticed him, in far less than a fraction of a second…

But by that point, it was too late.

No matter how amazing Orion’s senses, no matter how incredible his skills…

He couldn’t react to anything if he was dead.

By the time Orion realized Prime had appeared before him, the Director’s attack had already landed.

Draconic Blood burned within Prime’s body, coating him a burning, golden Aura as the warrior attacked with all of his power, moving forth with nigh unstoppable might.

Two black swords, coated in hideous, corrosive purple energy, pierced forward straight into Orion’s body.

One stabbed through his skull, immediately destroying his brain.

The other pierced his heart, instantly spreading a wave of corrosive purple energy that flowed through the unique pressure points all Toren Physiques possessed, destroying every single vein and joint in the First Lord’s body.

It was the plan of a thousand steps, the culmination of thousands of hours of practice and planning, spread out in moments frozen in time.

A plan that, in this frozen moment, brought Micheal face to face with Director Prime.

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

“We meet again.” Director Prime sighed as he looked at Micheal.

Micheal didn’t reply... because he couldn’t.

Director Prime stood alone, in a world frozen in time, talking quietly to himself as he assessed the results of his plan.

“First things first.” Prime turned away from Micheal impassively,

“Are you dead?”

The Director began to dissect Orion’s body, taking notes and comparing what he saw to the notes he had written previously. He spent several minutes meticulously studying the Toren body, cutting through flesh to examine the state of Orion’s veins, muscles, and bones.

In the Titled Deity’s body, Prime found traces of gray fog interspersed within the First Lord’s musculature. The fog resisted the effects of the corrosive energy Prime had coated his weapons in, a variation of Malwa Poison Energy obtained from someone possessing the rare Poison Ruler Type Ability.

However, that fog was not enough.

Prime’s exacting detail and planning saw to it that the energy poison swept through Orion’s entire body in an instant, dissolving his very muscles, flesh, and bones, in a precisely engineered attack that could not be blocked or predicted.

“He’s dead.” Finally, after nearly 40 minutes of excruciating testing and study, Prime came to his conclusion.

His plan had worked.

Orion Thunderfist, the First Lord, and a newly minted Titled Deity… was dead.

“Finally…” Prime muttered as he collapsed backwards, sitting down on a chair he pulled from his Spatial Ring. He hadn't yet received a Point's Notification, but the state of Orion's mind and body was now irreparable.

“Finally.” The Director’s hands shook as he laughed out loud.

This battle had been one of the most difficult trials he had faced in his life.

He was constantly drawing on his Telekinetic Push Ability to aid his allies, from creating a last second protective layer of psychic energy to prevent Yvvtal from dying to pushing and prodding every attack anyone made, every step taken, to support or deny in return, from his allies to Orion.

Prime went so far as to draw on anything he could find in his surroundings to increase his odds of victory, seizing hold of the powerful Invisibility Artifact Fortuna had used before perishing.

Every step Prime took had to be precisely hidden to escape from Orion’s keen senses, using his Telekinetic power to still any movement he made, carefully concealing his existence. He moved extremely slowly, accounting for every movement Orion made before he even made them.

Dodging the Deity’s deadly gray fog had proven troublesome, but he managed to get by by setting up circles of wind using his psychic energy. Such actions drew attention and forced him to move slower, but he was nothing if not careful.

And, here he stood now.

Victorious.

That was his story thus far… and how he came to stand face to face with a man he’d rather not see.

Micheal Care.

“You.” Prime sighed, interlocking his fingers behind his back as he stood up and faced Micheal.

“How could I possibly forgive you?” He muttered quietly, the pain of losing those he truly cared for haunting him, regardless of how wrongheaded, foolish, or manipulated they had been.

“How could I possibly forget?” He shook his head. Thanks to his Abilities, he now had a nearly perfect memory, though that didn’t stop him from his habit of meticulous note-taking.

“But…” Prime sighed for the third time, exasperated, as he spoke out loud the conclusion he had come to many years ago.

“Tolerate, I must.”

For the good of mankind. For the good of humanity.

For now, their grudges would be set aside.

Until the day the Human Race was no longer in a fight for its very survival.

He would wait.

Because that was the right thing to do. 

He sighed for the last time.

“Let’s end this.”

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

Micheal blinked as he lurched to a halt, his senses tingling as he witnessed the truly unexpected.

From seemingly thin air, Director Prime had appeared before him and stabbed Orion Thunderfist through the skull and through the heart, killing the monster in a split second.

Reality stood still as Prime pulled the blades free from Orion’s fleshy, corroding corpse, tossing the body down and stepped back. Blood began to pool underneath the First Lord’s body, sifting down into several cracks in the rent earth.

A poignant silence dominated the air as Micheal and Prime faced off for the briefest moment.

That moment abruptly ended as a loud shout broke through the air.

“Yo, awesome!” In the background, Shin’s voice echoed as he yelled from afar.

“Top notch stabbing!”

The tension in the moment fled as Micheal snorted, nodding sharply towards Prime.

“I appreciate the assist. Is he dead?” Micheal took a few cautious steps forward, keeping his weapons at the ready. It never hurt to be careful and double check.

“Yes.” Prime nodded, turning back towards Orion’s corpse.

“I’ve confirmed that he’s truly dead. His neural stem, his spinal cord, veins, everything is gone.” Prime motioned towards the dead body and-

Then he froze.

Orion was dead.

Prime was sure of it.

However…

Gray fog began to stir.

“Impossible.” Prime muttered, his gruff voice echoing in the rising air.

“He is dead. He…” The Director’s voice trailed off as he watched gray fog begin to encompass Orion’s corpse, forcing Micheal and himself to step backwards.

“I believe you. It appears, however…” Micheal muttered, his eyes growing dull.

“He has Ruined death.”

‘Damned Titled Deities.’

They were the hardest things in existence to kill.

From deep within the fog, incomprehensible sounds began to emerge, and Micheal began to act.

“Shin! Saint!” Micheal frowned something fierce as he yelled out loud, his voice carrying behind him.

“We’re switching to Plan B!”

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

On a distant rock, covered in sweat and dust, stood none other than Shin, concentrating intensely as he held his hands together, looking out into the distance. Not far from him stood Sophia, standing watch and guard, while controlling the wind to shield them from Orion's fog.

“I’m on it, Micheal!” Shin yelled as he heard Micheal’s call out.

An instant later, the Nirvana Saint appeared next to Shin, teleporting to stand next to him. The Leader of the Purgatory Church then opened his golden book, turning till he landed on a page near the front.

As soon as it opened to that page, the Nirvana Saint’s eyes turned bright yellow, glowing with powerful energy. The man responded by immediately placing his hand on Shin’s back.

Instantly, that energy suffused Shin’s body and…

Shin began to smile.

“Showtime, baby.”

.