Divine Emperor of DeathDivine Emperor of Death
*Bzzz!~*
Level Seven Autarch undulations hung in the air.
Autarch Elluro Coldwing made the last slash and watched the Divine Emperor of Death turn into mincemeat and splatter into a bloody mess. His body, which was rumored to have been tempered by chaotic energy, was unable to defend against his sword strike imbued with heavenly energy.
The heavenly energy when he cut the Divine Emperor of Death's neck should've made its way up and struck the soul without fail. His sword strike also imbued a karmic attack, making sure the Divine Emperor of Death couldn't survive his deadly swing. That was how thorough he was.
However, his brows squinted heavily.
Something strange happened in his field of view.
A few pieces of flesh refused to fall down to the surface. They strangely hovered as though powered by some strange phenomenon. Among them, one flesh flashed with a blinding light from within, coloring it deep crimson.
"Is that his soul sea…?"
Autarch Elluro Coldwing lightly harrumphed, unable to believe it wasn't destroyed, "Unfortunately, you will not survive this ordeal."
He raised his hand and slashed again. The sword beam struck the glowing piece of flesh.
*Bang!~*
However, the sound of it slicing through flesh couldn't be heard. Instead, there was a resounding bang, and the sword beam appeared to be unable to slice through that piece of flesh even though the other pieces were practically vaporized within the sword beam.
As the sword beam faded, an iridescent wheel appeared as it enlarged. The strange black-white wheel possessed the image of a dark wolf and a white fox at its opposite ends vaguely. It spun slowly before picking up speed, and at the same time, the flesh within its embrace began to grow. The blood spilled on the ground began to float. The flesh scattered soared above and fused with the piece of flesh hovering in the sky.
Autarch Elluro Coldwing's gaze flickered as he guessed that the Divine Emperor of Death could be reviving.
"You refuse to die?"
Feeling a vague sense of unease, he unleashed his full might again.
Level Seven Autarch undulations reverberated, causing the surroundings to tremble as though the formation couldn't hold. With his dense undulations far more than what it appeared to be, he jumped and soared before slashing down on the Divine Emperor of Death, a radiant heavenly sword light striking down with a prowess that was as much as five levels higher, reaching the absolute ceiling of the Third Layer.
*Bang!~*
His sword light slashed the iridescent wheel, creating an enormous crack within the wheel.
It still didn't lose its light, but he was able to recognize a strange aura radiating from it. With this close, he was able to sense what powered the iridescent wheel and was shocked to sense the terrifying black-white stone resting with his soul sea.
Although he couldn't perceive it, he could sense its resonation and the energy it unleashed to keep the iridescent wheels spinning.
Autarch Elluro Coldwing retreated and took two steps back, his expression solemn.
Not only was the iridescent wheel reviving the Divine Emperor of Death, but it was also defending him. He madly wondered what kind of otherworldly technique this was to be capable of doing two things at the same time. He had killed people capable of healing themselves from near death, but this was his first time encountering a person- no, a physique that was both reviving and defending itself.
Still, Autarch Elluro Coldwing didn't appear to be out of choices as he raised his hand and made a grabbing motion towards the soul.
"In the name of the heavens, do not revive!"
An intense authoritative aura spread as the power of mandate condensed and imbued within the soul. The resulting shockwave caused the soul to tremble and the piece of flesh to lacerate at the edges, the revival stopping. However, the interruption only happened for a moment.
The power of the black-white stone surged more as the iridescent wheel recovered and spun faster. Cells began expanding from the piece of flesh, reconstructing the body.
Autarch Elluro Coldwing didn't falter. He used his other hand to reach out and clench.
"Strange treasure, come to me!" His voice was filled with the power of the Mandate Laws. The authoritative intent of the heavens traversed through his voice and wrapped around the piece of meat.
At that moment, the black-white stone abruptly appeared in the air. It floated before the iridescent wheel, looking like it was going to be stolen away as it moved towards Autarch Elluro Coldwing.
Autarch Elluro Coldwing's lips curled. However, his expression suddenly froze.
His white-purple eyes reflected the face of a dark skeleton.
"Hahaha~"
An evil, malevolent cackle resounded as the sinister face of the Divine Emperor of Death appeared. His dark and vile eyes glowed with a purplish-black light, staring down at him as he laughed.
"A Ghost Will!"
Autarch Elluro Coldwing growled. His grasp tightened around the black-white stone, but he was unable to pull it towards him. It trembled as though caught between two forces, the other force being a sheer remnant Will manifesting into something of ghostly nature.
He recognized this aura. It was that of a dead soul. But how vengeful or unrelenting did the soul need to be to reach this level soon after death? It was inconceivable.
He suspected the Ghostly Will was even self-aware.
Autarch Elluro Coldwing couldn't understand. He was certain he didn't hold back and unleashed his full prowess, killing the Divine Emperor of Death in one move. The rest of the sword slashes were just to make sure that his body didn't remain so that he could not curse the world with his maleficent remnant Will.
Now, even death wasn't a release for this vile Anarchic Divergent?
The stone resisted his pull, vibrating violently as though rejecting the divine mandate of the heavens. The wheel, still spinning at blinding speed, pulsed with an eerie light that surged around the stone, encasing it in a layer of iridescent energy. The power behind it felt ancient, primordial—a force not bound by the rules of life and death.
Eventually, he was pushed back as he was unable to stop the iridescent wheel from spinning or steal the black-white stone that seemed to be powering the whole process from the Ghostly Will.
"Haha- Ahahaah!"
But then, the Divine Emperor of Death's laughter grew louder, echoing like a death knell increasing in resonance.
From the iridescent wheel, tendrils of crimson energy—darker than blood, tinged with black—spilled forth, intertwining around the flesh and coalesced into a fleshly outgrowth. The stone responded, glowing with a deep, pulsating black-white light that mirrored a heartbeat.
At that moment, Autarch Elluro realized with sharp clarity that the black-white stone was not merely a treasure forged from an apex treasure. It wasn't neutral. It wasn't indifferent. It was bound to the very soul of the Divine Emperor of Death, becoming a part of him as though it was an artifact bound for a long time with immense compatibility.
Suddenly, the black-white stone shot back into the fleshly outgrowth.
The moment it rejoined, a deafening crack split the air, and the iridescent wheel began to spin so fast that it became an intense blue, covering the space with a blinding light.
Autarch Elluro Coldwing was forced to close his eyes, but within the blinding speck, he was able to see the flesh floating and rolling within. They began to reassemble at a terrifying speed.
Without wasting another monument, Autarch Elluro Coldwing sent out another sword slash filled with heavenly might. However, the sword light was repelled before it could even make it.
"Curses!"
Autarch Elluro Coldwing roared, his eyes blazing with indignation and fury as he kept attacking, yet his strikes kept bouncing off as though there was an invisible barrier.
However, he kept his cool, instantly stopping and switching to another type of effective attack.
He cupped his hands, shaping his fingers with strange symbols, and drew out a spirit formation. A triangular-shaped light structure abruptly flew and contained the space around the remnants of the Divine Emperor of Death.
"Divergent Freezing Tricold Seal!"
Instantly, ice began to cover the space within. The sealing spirit formation was as strong as a Peak-Level Autarch with a prowess that was two levels higher.
*Bang!~*
But the next second, it shattered, making Autarch Elluro Coldwing clench his teeth as he took a step back from the backlash.
The Divine Emperor of Death's fleshly amalgamation was now more solid than before. It began to fully emerge, expanding outward. His form grew, muscle, veins, and bones knitting together as his chaotic aura reverberated. His flesh pulsed with a tremendous amount of martial immortal energy, seemingly having nothing lost.
In fact, it appeared even stronger than before for some reason, making Autarch Elluro Coldwing take a step back.
"Level Four Immortal Emperor…?"
His eyes flickered with apprehension as he realized the depth of the strange resurrection unfolding before him. This was not only a resurrection but also a tempering session for the soul and the body. The Ghostly Will's aura disappeared as of this moment, making his heart sink.
"…!"
At that same moment, the Divine Emperor of Death's eyes finally snapped open, pitch black as though containing the depths of the abyssal darkness. His mouth curved into a wicked smile.
"Amazing…"
He raised his hands, scanning his palm and his naked body.
"Nine seconds until complete resurrection… a bit too long, but I can probably decrease the time required with practice… but even my body is fully restored with full energy… this is crazy… but wait… oh- it just collected the energy that was scattered around me because of the trapping formation… that's fine but still… amazing…"
As the Divine Emperor of Death rambled on as though he was high, Autarch Elluro Coldwing's eyes turned sharp and deadly. He was about to make a move when those pitch-black eyeballs abruptly glanced at him, shaking his heart.
"Not a bad plan… I guess I should be honored to make a Heaven's Warrior use dishonorable means to kill me instead of a frontal battle. But with this, you understand, don't you?"
A purple robe appeared on the Divine Emperor of Death. He spread his hands, looking smugger than a narcissistic madman.
"All you people can do is kill me but never end me!"
With a wave of his hand, the black-white stone appeared. A deathly slash escaped from his hand and pierced through the barrier. The barrier shattered and revealed the outside world.
"…!"
Autarch Elluro Coldwing's eyes went wide.
Autarch Helmi was on the ground, and so was the other Autarch. They were not moving.
As for the other Empyreans and Autarchs, they were being held back by two corpses, Death Puppets. On another battlefield, three women were utterly causing devastation, burning, ripping, and devouring ruthlessly left and right, killing tens and hundreds of Heaven's Warriors.
What was supposed to be a massacre of the Divine Emperor of Death and his people was twisted and thrown back at him!
All this made him wonder if he should make a tactical retreat when suddenly an amused voice echoed out.
"Oh-ho- Don't even dare think about leaving…"
Without warning, Davis shot forward faster than Autarch Elluro Coldwing could react. His hand, now wreathed in the same deathly energy that came from the black-white stone, thrust towards the Autarch's chest, intending to destroy his dantian as a malevolent light erupted in Davis's eyes.