Chapter 503.2: Time to Die (2)
Chapter 503.2: Time to Die (2)
…
Flooding Death had given up its dominant position in the sky, but Roel and the others knew that it wasn’t trying to escape. Rather, this was its final desperate struggle.
Despite its contraction in size, Flooding Death emanated ridiculously powerful mana pulsations incomparable to before. This was the madness of the ancient monster that had been forced to a corner for the first time in ages. It had noticed the implacable killing intent Roel carried toward it, so it decided to fight back with all it had.
Watching as the ancient monster landed on earth, Roel’s face turned grim. Every historical record that had mentioned Flooding Death described it as an unreachable calamity looming in the sky, but for some reason, this lofty monster had chosen to ground itself this time around.
Roel didn’t know whether Flooding Death’s change was the result of his encirclement or its determination to remove its threats as soon as possible. However, he did know that this was going to be the real battle.
While Flooding Death couldn’t withstand Grandar’s powerful punches in its spread-out, gaseous form, there was a slim possibility that it could slip away by exploiting its elusiveness. However, that was no longer possible now that it had condensed itself and descended to the ground.
Of course, it could try seeping through the minuscule pores of the earth to make its escape, but that would take far too long. Roel wouldn’t simply watch while it attempted to make its getaway.
Killing Roel was its only shot at survival now… and that might have been the wisest move for it.
Roel might seem to have the decisive advantage right now, but the truth was that he was nearing his limits. His body was in its frailest ever state after having depleted his life force for a month, but he was still ambitiously trying to simultaneously sustain the highly mana-consuming Time Devourer, Glacial Touch, and Grandar, especially the blood crown on Grandar’s head.
Grandar wasn’t affected by the frost aura because the Crown’s Stones had misrecognized him to be Roel, an effect Roel had created by infusing his blood into the blood-red crown in Grandar’s head. However, he needed to continuously supply his blood to the crown in order to sustain the effect.
It was clear by now that Roel possessed the strength to kill Flooding Death, but he needed the power of the Crown’s Stones, brandished with Grandar’s colossal strength, in order to outdo Flooding Death.
The question now became how much longer could he last. Would he be able to kill the terrifying calamity before burning out?
On the ground, Flooding Death released an unimaginable amount of mana, ready to fend against Roel’s attacks. With its intelligence, it understood that victory would be its as long as it was able to draw out the battle long enough, which was why it was no longer holding back anymore.
In its condensed mass of darkness, a human silhouette rose to its feet and gazed in Roel’s direction.
On the other hand, Grandar glanced at Roel to make one last silent confirmation.
Flooding Death believed that Roel was nearing his limits, but Grandar, who had a clear sensing of Roel’s condition, knew that he had already surpassed his limits. Every second he remained standing with that tattered body of his was a miracle in itself.
Roel knew that it was risky for him to continue the fight, but that didn’t change his mind at all.
His face was as pale as a sheet of paper, but his eyes continued glowing brightly like candlelight. He looked at the calamity manifested in front of him and calmly muttered.
“… It’s time for it to die.”
His placid voice sounded as if he was merely relaying a fact. Grandar nodded at the confirmation and got rid of his hesitation.
The final showdown began under the starry night sky.
The desperate Flooding Death had condensed its body to the extent that it was nearly solid, and the sounds it verbalized sounded increasingly eerier. It took a moment to familiarize itself with its new form before releasing numerous floods of black curses with a roar.
This attack was on a completely different scale from the earlier cursed rain.
Floods condensed with the vilest of curses gushed toward Roel from all directions, leaving little room for him to defend himself.
In response, Roel channeled his mana to its limits. His Crown Origin Attribute resonated with fervor like never before, and the Crown’s Stones glowed with unprecedented brightness. The frost aura he had scattered around quickly receded to form a clear ice barrier.
It looked as if countless terrifying black monsters were lurking in the silvery fog around Roel.
All of a sudden, a flood of curses crashed into the ice barrier with a loud bam, but it was blocked off by the ice barrier. More floods followed soon after, but Roel correspondingly raised more ice barriers to block them out.
The violent clashes between the two powerful forces were spectacular, but neither seemed to have an advantage over the other. It didn’t matter anyway since these were a mere distraction.
Behind these clashes, Flooding Death was preparing its true move.
A crevice had appeared in its black body, and it was focusing all of its mana there. Countless curses flowed toward that single area, compressed endlessly until they formed the equivalent of a sphere of death.
As the conceptualization of death, Flooding Death’s true strength lay not in spreading curses but bestowing death. At its peak, a mere glance was all it needed to bring about death. Its existence naturally led everything to swiftly spiral to its end.
Death Bestowal—this is the true ability of Flooding Death, as well as its final form.
The unprecedented threat from Roel convinced it to pay a heavy price to temporarily reach its mature state, a process that would have otherwise required over a thousand years of growth.
The tremendous accumulation of its mana looked dull and lackluster, but the power it harnessed was beyond imagination. This unprecedented scale of mana pulsation and the ominous vibes coming from it attracted everyone’s attention. Knowing that something bad was going to happen, the fighting soldiers began to tighten their defense formation.
At the same time, Grandar started gathering all the strength he had. The blood-red crown on his head glowed brighter than ever. He knew that it was not just a symbol of his own glory but Roel entrusting his life to him too. That made him more determined than ever to win this battle.
A spatial crack appeared behind him, manifesting a desolate sunset plain that hadn’t appeared for a long time. Under the cheers of the deceased warriors, the Giant Sovereign raised his arm and channeled his mana toward it, imbuing his fist with blinding light reminiscent of the sun.
Flooding Death released the ray encapsulating the purest concept of death with a snarl, whereas Grandar hurled his blinding fist that lit up the night sky downward. With the screams of the dead and the roars of warriors, the forces of black and white finally collided.
The vast plain violently shook under the shockwave.
The clash of the two forces induced ripples that changed their surrounding environments. Half of the battlefield transformed into a barren land where everything immediately withered, whereas the other half was instantaneously encased in ice.
This standstill only lasted for a brief instant before the white light engulfed everything in a spectacular explosion.