CHAPTER 74: | THE WRATHFUL THUNDER GOD

  ---

  It’s been like this since the first day I met him, the day I swore my loyalty to him as my god.

  He… he was the one who carried everything without any complaints.

  He had said that he would deal with one of the overseers while we handled the other, but he took the both of them without any rest.

  What was the difference between us?

  That has always been a question that has plagued my mind for years.

  Just like now, he was dealing with the Thunder God Zypher, the incarnate of Indra from a faraway land.

  Why couldn't I do better than this?

  Just why am I so useless that he didn't even consider my help after my failure earlier?

  Was my training not enough?

  Were all of my efforts not enough for you, my cruel master?

  Just why?

  Just why do you trust this woman?

  Just what did you find in me?

  Just what talent do I have to catch your attention?

  Solia questioned her existence as something evil faintly resided in her aura, and her pupils slowly darkened.

  She clenched her fists as static electricity exploded from her body uncontrollably, her gaze fixed on the battle between these two monsters.

  Their forms flickered into a blur as they exchanged tens of blows in seconds, as their battle was in a tense stalemate.

  Zypher's lightning armaments moved with lightning speed.

  As his master, Alister himself, predicted his opponent's attacks with his superior mastery in the World of Intent.

  He read his opponent's intent, then predicted his every movement.

  Solia was amazed and ashamed of her incompetence.

  Even with her years of training, she had only reached the fifth stage of the World of Intent, [Solidification of Intent].

  She felt her talent was lacking, that she was nothing more than a pitiful worm clinging to the dream of vengeance...

  Vengeance for herself and her tribe against the deceitful goddess who had trapped them in this accursed world, the very goddess she had once served as an apostle while posing as the saintess of her people.

  She felt infuriated as she stomped the ground hard enough that a small crater formed.

  Then a surge of static electricity exploded outwards, wiping out the stalks of bladed grass and turning them to dust.

  She clenched her teeth until her gums bled.

  "Damnit! Just why am I so uselessly powerless!"

  She lamented her weakness, her shoulders slumping as she lowered her head.

  She gazed at her hands, which had turned into pure electricity, and muttered.

  "This isn't enough…"

  ---

  Time passed in an instant.

  An hour later, the place where we fought was reduced into a wasteland, and the entire floating island was nothing but a wreck, falling apart.

  Zypher’s lightning armaments threw a relentless barrage, destructive enough to shatter a boulder.

  But they were intercepted by my fist as he chanted and then drew a magic circle with his hands, shouting.

  "Lightning Dragon!"

  The magic circle glowed intensely as a dragon burst out from it, pouncing toward me.

  My eyes sharpened, and taking a stance, I muttered low.

  "The Heavenly Claw of the Mad Demon: Tripod Barrage."

  My own armaments, or what I had called a soul stand, blurred into a streak of silver light.

  Then it unleashed a storm of punches that could pulverize a tripod made of mithril in a matter of seconds.

  Zypher's lightning armaments were pulverized into the ground as his lightning dragon was squished to death.

  He clicked his tongue, as killing intent gleaming in his eyes, then twisted his body in an instant to release a powerful kick.

  But my armaments caught it before it could hit me, which made Zypher flustered.

  Then he lost his balance, and that was when I countered him with a powerful punch to the thigh.

  He screamed in pain.

  "Damnit!"

  His screams echoed, his eyes bloodshot, but before he could cast a spell, countless spikes had already skewered his neck.

  His face was blood-stricken, as he coughed violently.

  "Cough... cough...! it seems you're more capable than expected, human, but don't underestimate the power of dragons!"

  His form turned into a mote of red lightning, which then gathered meters away from me, forming back into his body.

  He then pointed his glowing hand at me.

  "Zypher originality: Lightning Pillar."

  The clouds above darkened as lightning gathered, ready to strike.

  Zypher flicked his finger, and chains made of lightning latched onto my limbs.

  He muttered.

  "Return to dust."

  My life flashed before my eyes as a pillar of lightning descended at a rapid rate.

  Solia appeared above and shouted,

  "Lightning Witch originality: Heavens Barrier!"

  A barrier made of white lightning appeared above as red lightning descended from the sky to judge the ignorant.

  Solia smiled, confident in her defense.

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  But in the next second, the two forces collided.

  Then Solia's face was struck with horror as her body trembled and blood gushed from her nostrils.

  Her Heavens Barrier broke apart in three seconds, and she was sent crashing into the ground like a ragdoll.

  Even with her physique, which was that of a titan, her bones were shattered into pieces, her tendons snapped apart, and her muscles twisted grotesquely.

  Her neck was twisted in an eerie way.

  But she muttered with tears flooding her face.

  "I'm really useless, aren't I, Master?"

  I chuckled as I gazed at her mental state, her belief in her Dao heart shattered into pieces in this one fight.

  I walked away, not giving her an answer, as it would do her more harm than good in her enlightenment.

  Solia, watching me leave, cackled in a hoarse voice, shouting in despair and realization.

  "Kahahahaha… I see… I see, Master! It seems that this servant of yours was just too blind! Too blind to see her answer, too ignorant to acknowledge it!"

  She realized her ignorance of her own weakness, and why her master deemed her a failure with nothing but her superiority in stage.

  She now knew why she was powerless in front of absolute power. It wasn't her that was at fault, it was her will, her intellect, and her confidence that were lacking.

  Now knowing this, she gained an enlightenment.

  She snapped her finger, and her mangled body rearranged itself as she sat in a lotus position with her eyes closed.

  ---

  Time passed in an instant.

  Finally, my tool had realized her shortcomings, and I couldn't have been happier for her enlightenment.

  I punched harder and harder as Zypher blocked my every attack with his fists.

  The ground quaked from the impact of our exchanges as sediment rose, forming a smokescreen.

  The ground began to crack violently, splitting into countless pieces.

  Zypher, now bored with our exchanges, muttered in annoyance.

  His gaze, carrying the arrogance of a dragon, peered at me.

  "How bland... this exchange has been nothing but tasteless, don't you think so, human?"

  I smiled at his exclamation.

  That he found our battle, one that many envied or dreamed of, to be bland.

  I shook my head, then chuckled.

  "I guess this kind of intensity is bland for a being of your stature... then how about we get serious?"

  Zypher smiled.

  He ceased his attacks, and so did I.

  Then he jumped around like he was skipping ropes, then stopped.

  "A good idea, nonetheless, you fool, since you're far too weak, human."

  I know how weak I am, but don't you think that saying it in front of my face is kind of rude?

  I chuckled at my thought as the colors of Zypher's lightning changed from blue to a vibrant, angry red.

  He then took off from the ground and vanished.

  In an instant, he closed the distance from me as a draconic hand, covered in red static electricity, appeared inches away from my face.

  "..."

  Crash!

  Before it could reach my handsome face, my own armaments had already intercepted his attacks in a split second.

  They then unleashed a series of explosive punches in his stomach, connecting into a combo.

  I then used [Void Step] and kicked his stomach at the last second, sending him flying away from me.

  But Zypher was completely unhinged.

  As a smile formed on his face as he clenched his stomach, and before he could recover, I had already appeared inches away from him, my fist ready to strike thanks to [Void Step].

  His own lightning armaments intercepted all of my punches as he muttered.

  "Cough... cough... that tickles."

  Then his eyes glowed eerily and turned crimson red, as did his wings and horns.

  His lightning armaments also transformed into a fiercer form, with red lightning spewing from them.

  In the next moment, Zypher's punches became stronger, heavier, and more powerful.

  He unleashed a series of connected barrages that could obliterate my body if they'd hit me.

  But luckily, they didn't, since my own armaments intercepted them.

  Sacred earth rose from the ground at my will, then covered my armaments mid-clash to increase their defensive properties and destructive power.

  Then I unleashed another series of combos, connecting all of it with every random hook, jab, uppercut, and liver shot, again and again.

  But Zypher’s eyes followed my every movement as he manipulated his armaments to intercept my every attack.

  His armaments sent out a ripple through the air, as if he was preparing something massive.

  His face twisted, then he shouted.

  "Take this!"

  Red lightning phased in and out of existence as his fist met mine.

  In a moment, it exploded violently, pulverizing my armaments in that instant, as he was aiming for a liver shot.

  But it was too obvious and stupid.

  I easily tore through his attacks with a single palm strike that was amplified with [Bull Gang] and [Mad Gate] to reduce the damage dealt to my palm.

  I then twisted my body 360 degrees and let out a powerful kick that was amplified with [Demonic Dragon Claw] at its initial stage.

  Zypher was sent crashing into a pillar that I erected at the last moment, which then buried him inside it.

  I smiled as I had gained a few seconds, enough for me to unleash a single spell.

  I shouted.

  "Rise!"

  The earth rose into the sky, then formed into lances by the thousands, radiating with divinity.

  I then closed my eyes as I muttered coldly.

  "Cradle of Death."

  Red lightning seeped in from the pillar as time seemed to stop.

  Then the sound of a tsar bomb exploding reverberated into the air as the pillar exploded, and sediment rose into a smokescreen as Zypher broke free.

  "How foolish..."

  But before he could finish his words, thousands of lances had already skewered his form.

  Then he muttered with disbelief in his voice.

  "How... how could a mere stage 1 wield such power?"

  His shock and disbelief were understandable, as to how a mere human could manipulate a spell of such a scale.

  It was impossible, and he knew that those primitive apes called humans couldn't possibly manipulate such a spell of such a scale.

  So he doubted this human's existence, wondering whether to call him a dragon in disguise or a monster impersonating a human, since he didn't have the scent of a dragon.

  So he asked a question that seemed foolish.

  "Human... no, tell me, are you a human?"

  Hearing the words of a dragon, who was too boastful and prideful for his own good, asking a human about his own identity couldn't be more interesting than expected.

  So I asked back.

  "Then tell me what I am… oh mighty dragon?"

  Zypher, as if mocked for his lack of knowledge, snorted as he stretched out.

  He then gazed at the island named Sky Burial, a name he had come up with since none had come out alive after entering this place.

  He was quite shocked by the audacity of this morsel, but now was not the time for him to wallow and whine about his hurt pride as a dragon.

  Since there was a more pressing matter for him, a good fight after an eternity of waiting.

  He now didn't care if he had to lower his power output just to enjoy a fight of the century.

  But before he could do the unthinkable, the human before him pointed his index finger at him.

  "Stop what you're doing, young dragon... I don't need your pity just so I could win! Fight me with everything you've got, for I've yet to go all out!"

  Zypher closed his eyes.

  A serene expression could be seen on his face as he had now acknowledged this human before him as an equal.

  "You... you're worthy to witness my true form, that only he, the God of Water, has witnessed."

  He then flicked his hand, and his lightning armaments that were floating in the air shifted.

  They turned into a halo floating behind his back as he then muttered.

  "Zypher originality: Thunder God."

  His form transformed into pure lightning.

  Zypher had now become the embodiment of thunder itself and a god worthy for me to go all out.

  So I asked.

  "Is that all you've got?"

  Zypher shook his head as he then compressed the thunder all over the place, be it the remnants of Solia’s thunder or his own.

  He compressed it into his hands and head, then extended all of his hands into the empty air and clenched it as a spear formed in his grasp.

  He then swept it into the ground, and a sharp wind cut through the air, striking the ground as he muttered.

  "Zypher originality: Thunder God Indra."

  Zypher was now an Asura, the incarnate of Indra, the god of storm, ready to destroy an entire empire with a swing of his spears.

  He then pointed a spear at me and muttered.

  "Show me... your true strength."

  I chuckled at his provocation.

  I cracked my neck, then jumped like I was skipping ropes, and then stood still on the ground as I muttered.

  "Fallen Lord Descension."

  As the skill activated, divinity flooded into the air, then formed into semi-corporeal hands, each one donned with a gauntlet.

  Closing my eyes, I sighed, as it was finally time for me to fuse with the [Fallen Lord Descension] and become the Fallen Lord. I muttered.

  "Fuse."

  "..."

  The semi-corporeal hands floating in the air then deconstructed into motes of light as they buried themselves into my skin.

  My body then slowly transformed.

  My skin, or rather, my armor, interlocked into a tight suit as divine light bathed my body, strengthening it fivefold.

  In the next second, a gauntlet slithered onto my skin and settled in as I flexed it.

  I felt that my punching power had increased by tens of times as I chuckled.

  "Impressive... but this isn't enough!"

  Yes, this wasn't enough for me to face him, since Zypher himself was stronger than I had expected, stronger than those five combined.

  So I needed to take a drastic measure that was far from normal, since winning this was more important than my life right now.

  It was my pride, my belief, my very Dao heart, telling me that if I retreated from this ordeal, it would mean that I'd be stuck at this level for the rest of my life.

  I was nervous about what I was about to do.

  I gulped with nervousness as Zypher asked, reading my intent.

  "What are you fearful of, human?"

  I bit my lips, then gulped again, as I was not ready for this.

  I inhaled and exhaled as adrenaline pumped through my veins, and I finally muttered.

  "Torrent of Extinction."

  A miniature sun the size of my fist appeared on my palm.

  In the next second, it unleashed its destructive properties, which made me hesitate to do what I intended to do, as Solia shouted.

  "It can't be!"

  But I ignored her.

  Zypher, who was nervous now, staggered from the sheer destructive power of the miniature sun on my palm.

  He felt an instinctive sense of the danger it brought, that it could pulverize him in this very instant.

  I opened my mouth.

  Gulp.

  "..."

  A deafening silence echoed as Zypher gazed at the human in front of him with confusion and doubt, wondering if this being was sane enough to swallow a sphere of compressed energy to enhance his own capabilities.

  His smile broke as he pointed his hand at the human before him, who was burning from the inside, and saw his body slowly disintegrating into fine dust.

  "You... you're insane."

  Maybe give it a try? ??