Chapter 134 – The Apostle's Power

KWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA!

Immediately after Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Stride unfolded across the entire Celestial Sky Path, the Celestial Sky Path’s descent accelerated even further.

Spiderweb-like Rifts spread across the lands forming the outer edges of the Celestial Sky Path, shattering them to pieces.

Only the area around the arena, which had been designed to withstand battles even involving 11-Star Transcendent Awakeners, was barely holding on.

The fact that the arena area could hold out like this was probably because the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord had been downgraded to 11-Star upon entering the Corrosion Zone.

But that didn’t mean we could defeat the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord.

Becoming an Apostle meant he had already fought and defeated a previous Apostle back when he was 11-Star.

[Insects… How dare you. Touch the Heavenly Palace Tournament?]

The Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord’s voice, tinged with annoyance, spread out.

At the Apostle’s arrival, the expressions of the Promising Candidates gathered on one side of the arena brightened.

Conversely, the expressions of the Unchain Four Stars from Beyond the Heavens turned grave.

“KUUUUUUUUUAAAH!”

Arhat, his face twisted in a grimace, roared and strained to push back the oppressive force pressing down from the sky.

Because he had Celestial Body Transformation and grown gigantic, being in the highest position, Arhat was bearing the brunt of Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Stride’s power.

If he hadn’t primarily absorbed the pressure of Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Stride first, the Twilight Orbs enveloping the Celestial Sky Path by Lycan and the Beast King would have shattered in an instant.

“Who do you think you’re telling to kneel!”

Crackle— Crackle—

Arhat’s [Star-Shattering Fist] caused fissures in the Mental Image of the collapsing sky manifested by Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Stride.

But.

Thud.

KWA-A-A-A-ANG!

As the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord took another step, the power of Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Stride dominating the area doubled.

Ssskree— Zzzzing—

If the Black Knight’s Heart Sword and the Fallen Angel’s Black Radiance hadn’t swiftly swept away the pressure stemming from the first step, Arhat too would have had to kneel.

The Beast King, fused into the Twilight Orb, seemed to have no leeway to help Arhat, as he had to withstand Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Stride across the entire Domain where his Authority was active.

Still, he was barely maintaining his Authority and guiding the falling Celestial Sky Path somewhere.

Thump— Sssluuurp.

With a slight bumping sensation as the guided Celestial Sky Path made contact with something, it seeped into the interior of another Reverse World.

By now, the scenery of Japan, known to have sunk, was visible below where they were falling.

Mount Fuji and the Aokigahara forest sea spread across its northwestern foothills came into view.

‘So this is the Reverse Side of the Corrosion Zone.’

The Otherworld that had corroded Japan’s archipelago on Earth was the sea terrain in the eastern part of Arthalia.

It was an archipelago with more sea than land, so most of the area where the Celestial Sky Path had been floating in reality until just now was a region corroded into sea in the Otherworld.

Of course, it had been a long time since even vast lands, let alone Mount Fuji, had disappeared from reality.

The very existence of the newly appeared Mount Fuji proved this was the Reverse Side World.

It seemed that instead of the Otherworld’s sea, which should exist on the Reverse Side in the original Dungeon form, the Japanese archipelago that existed in reality had taken its place on the Reverse Side.

[You insist on pointless resistance.]

The Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord sneered, having discerned the Beast King’s intent in guiding the Celestial Sky Path here.

Thud thud thud.

Just three steps.

Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Stride instantly repeated three times, and the pressure crushing the Celestial Sky Path grew eightfold.

Its structure was such that its power doubled with each step.

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP!

On the third step, the Twilight Orb shattered forcibly, and the Beast King was slammed into the ground.

On the fourth step, the Fallen Angel, who had been flapping his wings against gravity, plummeted.

On the fifth step, Arhat knelt.

Only the Black Knight, who had straightened his body with the Formless Sword, did not kneel.

Of course, the Black Knight merely avoided kneeling; being unable to move was the same.

Right after the Four Stars from Beyond the Heavens were incapacitated.

KWA-A-A-A-A-ANG!

Only then did the Celestial Sky Path, colliding with the ground, collapse even its remaining form.

The only area intact was where the arena had been.

Amidst the aftermath of the collision, losing their balance, almost everyone fell.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, sunlight as intense as noon poured down on them from above.

It seemed the Sun Star King had also entered the Reverse World.

[What, you finished dealing with Leviathan?]

[Couldn’t kill him. His [Invidia] doesn’t have good compatibility with me, you see. I just entered without fighting.]

From the conversation between the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord and the Sun Star King, I realized why the Sun Star King was a bit late.

The strongest in eastern Arthalia was the Eastern Divine Beast Leviathan, revered by the Haedong faction.

It seemed Leviathan, who crossed over to Earth when Japan was corroded, had briefly held back the Sun Star King.

[But why are you still keeping those guys alive?]

The Sun Star King’s gaze turned towards the Four Stars from Beyond the Heavens subdued by Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Stride.

[I was just about to deal with them.]

[Ah, you waited for me. Thanks.]

The moment the killing intent of the two Apostles was about to descend upon them.

Rustle—

A Projection resembling Mirinae, yet not Mirinae, appeared before Lee Hanseong.

Möbius, with half her hair turned pure white, as if revealing part of her Constellation Grade.

“Quite arrogant for someone who stole a Usurper’s seat.”

She gazed coldly at the two Apostles and activated the Authority of Primordial Fusion.

Deng— Deng— Deng— Deng—

With the sound of a temple bell ringing four times, the Grades of Seras, Asta, Fenrir, and the Sword Demon began to fully unfold even on Earth.

The Grades of Jin Yuseong and Yu Sehee, who had Contracts with them; Lycan transformed into Fenrir; and the Sword Demon, who was undergoing Divine Possession through the Formless Sword Demon Armor, all simultaneously rose to 12-Star.

Naturally, the Unchain Four Stars from Beyond the Heavens, who were treated as Avatars due to being tainted by them, were also in a state where they could draw out more power.

[What…?!]

[Four 12-Star Spirits?!]

Radiance, Golden, Moon Shadow, Darkness.

The records of the four Constellations existing in the Parallel World descended here in their entirety, ignoring the differences between worlds.

Thanks to the Authority of Primordial Fusion, restrictions like the intersection of Otherworld and Earth, or whatever, which limited connections to Constellations, didn’t function at all.

The core of Primordial Fusion was the ability to exert full strength in any environment.

The first to move was the Black Knight.

“You said Leviathan’s [Invidia] doesn’t have good compatibility with you, Luke.”

Ripple—

The Formless Sword unfolded by the Black Knight turned pitch black, then contained a new Authority within it.

Constellation Authority [Darkness].

The Apostle’s Prerogative, allowing him to borrow the Authorities of all Divine Spirits belonging to the Darkness Constellation, was imbued into the Black Knight’s sword.

And Leviathan was a being belonging to the Darkness Constellation.

“I’ll make you pay for flapping your mouth carelessly. [Invidia].”

Leviathan’s Authority [Envy: Invidia] was also one of the Authorities the Black Knight could wield.

SWISH!

Before long, the Dark Formless Sword imbued with the Authority of Envy was swung towards the Sun Star King.

[How are you using the Constellation’s power here…?]

The Sun Star King seemed flustered by the Black Knight’s sudden change, but as if proving he was an Apostle for nothing, he responded without delay even amidst his surprise.

FWOOSH!

Authority [All for One].

An Authority where power amplifies in proportion to the number of subjects ruled as a sovereign.

With the activation of All for One, the energy contained by the Sun Star King surged, exhibiting output at the 12-Star level even though he had been downgraded to 11-Star.

It was power gained thanks to the hundreds of millions of believers belonging to the Sun Church being judged as the Sun Star King’s subjects, but.

Clatter—

As he himself had said earlier, Leviathan’s Authority Envy had poor compatibility with All for One.

Envy is a primal emotion that makes those below pull down those above.

Its ability, manifested as an Authority, naturally had to be of the debuff category.

The core of Invidia was to pull down even a higher-Grade existence to one’s own level.

The power the Sun Star King amplified with All for One was reduced by Invidia.

All of the Sun Star King’s abilities, thus lowered, fell to a level equal to the Black Knight’s.

[How truly annoying.]

Even though the Black Knight, treated as an Apostle’s Avatar, could use 11-Star Rank power despite being 10-Star, his actual Grade was 10-Star.

The Sun Star King, downgraded to the 11-Star level, now had his abilities restricted to the 10-Star Rank by Invidia.

But even in his weakened state, the Sun Star King was merely annoyed, not feeling any sense of crisis.

Only the output he could draw out at once was lowered; the amount of power gained through All for One itself still remained.

And to restrict the power amplified by All for One, the Black Knight would have to focus solely on maintaining Invidia.

Sure enough.

Flutter!

—KYAHAHAHAHA!

In place of the Black Knight, who was focusing all his strength on maintaining Invidia, the Fallen Angel flew towards the Sun Star King.

Along with Seras’s Innate Authority [Annihilation Lamp], he also unfolded the Constellation Authority [Radiance].

[Just like Icarus. If you think you can defeat me just because you can use an Apostle’s Authority, you are greatly mistaken.]

The Sun Star King, looking down at the Fallen Angel approaching him, drew a bow.

He nocked an arrow made of Divinity on the string and shot it.

PEEEEW—YOONG!

The Divine Artifact of the fire god Agni, which the Sun Star King had made his own.

[Agneyastra]

The arrowhead had two or more magic cores fixed in a state just before triggering a fusion reaction, so upon hitting its target, it caused an explosion as if summoning the sun.

The moment Agneyastra, having closed the distance in an Instant, was about to pierce the Fallen Angel.

—Hmph!

The Fallen Angel borrowed one of the Authorities of the Seven Luminaries belonging to the Brilliance Constellation using the Authority of Radiance.

Authority [Endurance: Patientia].

HUM!

A rainbow sphere that made one wonder if raising Hanna’s Protection to Authority level would be like that enveloped the Fallen Angel.

FLASH!

Agneyastra was blocked there, exploding just in front of the Fallen Angel.

Explosions similar to Dual Polar Annihilation continued endlessly, creating a small sun.

KUGUGUGUGUGU!

Immense heat, blinding light, and a storm raged in the sky.

—KYAHAHAHAHA!

But the Fallen Angel laughed heartily, perfectly fine even within the explosion.

Patientia’s barrier had perfectly blocked all that damage.

This was the pinnacle of defensive-type Miracles, the Authority of Endurance.

SHOOOOO!

The Fallen Angel, having ascended straight through the sun created by Agneyastra, withdrew the Authority of Endurance and unfolded a new Authority of Radiance.

Likewise, one of the Seven Luminaries, [Purity: Castitas].

—I reject your existence! Luke Meyer!

WHOOSH!

Swish—Scrape—Swish—Scrape—

The scenery touched by the light of Purity began to cleanly Annihilate as if erased by an eraser.

All existence not permitted by the Fallen Angel was treated as foreign matter before the light of Purity and purified.

The pinnacle of purification-type Miracles was acting like an attack-type Miracle in itself.

[Ha! Do you not know that the sun is an immortal life?]

However, the Sun Star King, even when erased by the light of Purity, would often be perfectly restored the very next moment.

A vitality that allowed restoration even after being Annihilated by an attack that should prevent resurrection.

That was another Prerogative of the Sun Star King, who had Grasped the Divinity of the sun.

—I know well. But in the Instant you’re erased, you can’t do anything either, can you?

[……?]

Timing it during the repeated process of being erased by the light of Purity and restoring again, the Fallen Angel replaced the borrowed Authority with another of the Seven Luminaries.

The pinnacle of binding-type Miracles.

Authority [Temperance: Temperantia].

—Seal! Bind!

CLANK CLANK CLANK CLANK!

The seal of Temperance, unfolded aiming for the single moment of defenselessness when the Sun Star King was Annihilated and then restored.

Coincidentally, when the Fallen Angel had attacked the Celestial Sky Path, he had been trapped in Lee Hanseong’s Six Directions Sealing Prison.

This time, the Sun Star King was trapped in the Fallen Angel’s seal.

However, there was one difference: the seal of Temperance drew its power from the trapped target itself, making it impossible to escape alone.

* * *

Meanwhile, if the Black Knight and the Fallen Angel had taken on the Sun Star King.

Arhat and the Beast King had taken on the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord.

“Dokgowol—!”

Arhat, now able to use the Authority of [Golden], borrowed the Authority of Atlas, the previous Golden Constellation Apostle from the Parallel World where Asta existed.

Authority [Soaring Celestial Sphere].

Sssuuuuk.

Pushing back the power of Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Stride that was suppressing him, Arhat rose to his feet.

The Monstrous Strength of a Giant God holding up the sky dwelled within Arhat’s Celestial Body.

His bent knees and waist straightened, his hunched shoulders spread.

Crackle crackle— BOOM!

After fissures spread across the arena ground he was standing on, his gigantic body vanished from sight in an Instant.

The next moment, Arhat appeared right in front of the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord.

The power that had left scars on the arena, which had withstood True God Rank destructive force, was manifested directly as speed.

“Star-Shattering!”

Arhat, with Atlas’s Monstrous Strength dwelling within him, swung a Star-Shattering Fist towards the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord.

He thrust his fist with the thought of ending it with a single strike containing the will to shatter stars.

Though it was simple physical force, perhaps its magnitude was too great; as his fist, beginning to emit a golden light, was about to crush the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord.

[Indeed, your strength alone is remarkable.]

KAGA-GA-GA-GA-GAK!

The Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord’s Transcendent Divine Artifact revealed itself and clashed with Arhat’s fist.

A pitch-black black sword, similar to the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword but slightly different.

[However, all things with form are destined to decay.]

The Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord’s Authority [Three Calamities Sword], manifested through the Three Calamities God-Slaying Sword, began to destroy Arhat’s Star-Shattering Fist while scattering the three great calamities said to arrive when the world perishes.

[Perish.]

Fire Calamity (fire disaster), the conflagration burned the Starlight carried by the Star-Shattering Fist.

Water Calamity (flood), the flood melted the Celestial Body containing the Star-Shattering Fist.

Wind Calamity (Wind Disaster), the storm dismantled the principles forming the Star-Shattering Fist.

“I’m… being pushed back?”

Arhat muttered as if he couldn’t believe the sight of his attack, combined with the two Authorities of Soaring Celestial Sphere and Star-Shattering Fist, failing to overcome a single Authority of the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord.

The Three Calamities Sword, having shattered the Star-Shattering Fist and still having power to spare, advanced with the momentum to erase Arhat himself.

“KHEU-HEU-HEUNG!”

The Beast King intervened to help Arhat.