CHAPTER 186: | HOLY WAR | 1
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"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!"
Abigail couldn't help but shout those words in her deep dismay. For how could a mere human, who hadn't even undergone some genetic evolution, a kind of evolution that humankind had discovered through the process of augmenting the flesh of a demonic beast into their weak form to reach a state higher than mankind could ever tread.
To possess potential far beyond the limits of humans? To the point of having capabilities akin to that of a god? She was utterly shocked and disbelieving. Her mind was reeling from the impossibility. This opponent displayed powers defying all known human boundaries. Powers that elevated her to godlike status in Abigail's eyes.
Unbeknownst to her, the woman that she was facing, or Solia herself, wasn't a human at all. For she was a titan whose physical capabilities were only second to the likes of wharks, dragons, and taurvanh.
Though weaker than those mighty beings, she still possessed the required amount of strength to stop not just Abigail's arrows, that generated a force of a zen, but also all of the combined arrows of Abigail's men in a single strike.
Solia's true nature as a titan meant her strength was immense and unmatched among mortals. It allowed her to halt such devastating attacks effortlessly, a fact hidden from Abigail's knowledge.
"Nothing is impossible... it's just that you're too weak."
Solia whispered those words as she stared at Abigail straight in the eyes. Then, she released an extremely vile murderous aura that swept throughout the entire battlefield, for all of her enemies to feel. But before her murderous aura could fully reach her enemies, all of the soldiers didn't even panic in the slightest.
They remained completely composed, as the templar holding the banner of the empire and the holy see lifted it high in the sky. She shouted with rage visible in her voice.
"FEAR NO EVIL FOR GOD TELLS US!!!"
Without a moment of hesitation, the world seemed to distort at the action of the templar, as she struck the pole to the ground with all of her might. The priests standing at the center of their formation all sung in prayer.
"HEAVENS IS THE HOME OF GOD, THE SANDS OF THE ENDLESS DUNES IS THE WEALTH OF GOD..."
They chanted with unified devotion. Their voices rose in solemn harmony to invoke divine protection.
Divine energies could be seen leaving the priests' bodies, as the particles of divinity took the form of an extremely small sphere that gently hovered in the sky, like the great constellation of the world, which is the sun whose radiance cannot be overshadowed.
Nor could any existence be capable of swallowing its glorious light, not even god himself could suppress its light. This sphere embodied the unyielding brilliance of their faith. It was a light so pure and dominant that no force, divine or otherwise, could dim it or consume it entirely.
"THE CONTINENT IS THE HOME OF GOD, SO LET HIS GLORIOUS LIGHT PROTECT US!!!"
The priests continued their chants with fervor. Their voices were filled with passionate zeal, as the sound similar to that of an armageddon could be heard the moment the pole of the banner struck the ground.
The sphere of radiance, born from the divinity of their one true god, exploded into a torrent of light that showered the world with its brilliance. It enveloped everything in a cascade of holy illumination.
"LET THERE BE LIGHT IN DARKNESS!!!"
The moment the templar said those words, the world itself seemed to distort for a moment, as bluish particles gathered all over the place, no, mana particles gathered all over the regions that were within the scope of the Evernight Church.
But then they vanished, as the templar reached out her hands into the empty space. The mana particles that enveloped the whole region clustered at her frail hands, like they had found their rightful place, drawn inexorably to her command.
"LET THE BLESSINGS OF THE ONE TRUE GOD PROTECT US..."
She continued her chant in her usually loud yet deft voice, as she stared at the bluish sphere of destruction at her palm.
"THE GOD.... GLORY TO HIM..."
Said the templar in a solemn voice, as she lifted her hand. Then, she let the clusters of mana in her palm go to their rightful place. She watched their departure with reverent focus.
The world seemed to lose its color, as the balance of it, no, the fairness of it, had been modified to favor the crusaders of the Lahaina Empire and the crusaders of the Holy See. Whilst it oppressed those who had shown hostility against them.
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The tranquility of this small miniature world was truly destroyed, when a sphere of divinity exploded in the bare open field, followed by a cluster of mana in the next moment, as their particles covered the entire region without fail. This altered the very essence of reality to benefit the faithful and hinder their foes.
"THE GOD DIDN'T FORSAKE US... SO PERISH, HERETIC!!!"
The templar said those words in utter disgust, as the murderous aura of Solia encroaching towards them was repelled by a brilliant light. Ten gargantuan shields formed at their frontlines, as their marksmen loaded their bows yet again.
They released another volley after volley of arrows at their opponents without rest, blanketing the whole sky with darkness, as arrows rained down at the city of the Evernight Church. Abigail, fifth in rank among the superhumans of the empire, fired hundreds of volleys at Solia's head with the intention to kill her this time. She murmured.
"Volleys of Death."
Her attack was relentless and deadly. It was aimed precisely to end the threat once and for all.
...
"This is getting boring..."
Lumicor said, as he stood from his throne. Then, he pulled his spear from his inventory, as he stared at the sky, thinking that he could cut the sky in half if he so wished it. But now was not the time to admire the blue sky, for the troops of their enemies piled up like ants in the distant hill of the dunes. Their numbers were overwhelming and persistent.
Lumicor pondered, he pondered on what method he should use to incapacitate the crusaders' cannon fodders in a single move. Since he didn't want this battle to be that of a battle of attrition.
The crusaders that surrounded them from all directions had greatly outnumbered them in the hundreds of times, so that even if it were night, where the savants of Samantha were at their strongest, all of them would still die at the hands of the crusaders.
For their numbers could topple them without mercy. He considered his options carefully. He weighed the need for a decisive strike against the sheer volume of foes.
He let out a weary sigh, not in defeat, for Lumicor didn't see his death in this lowly place. No mortal had been born yet that was able to wound him in this mortal plane, so how could he even die in this place?
This was his firm belief, that even when a god itself appeared right at this moment, he would still remain ever victorious. So Lumicor, witnessing their enemies' great numbers, could only sigh in regret that he didn't have the capacity to wipe these ants out of the face of the earth in an instant. His confidence was unshaken despite the odds.
Lifting his spear high up into the sky, as he decided that he would split the world in half right at this moment, something inexplicable happened to him, as he felt the weight of a mountain bearing down on his shoulder to stop him from continuing his actions.
But Lumicor, ever willful, merely snorted as he forced his arms to raise the spear in his grip. He defied the unexpected resistance with sheer determination.
Confusing as it may seem, when the supposedly neutral world didn't just explicitly suppress him, but also resisted his attempt to gather a cluster of mana to enhance his physical strength altogether, like he was an existence that possessed a threat to it.
Even though it was confused, for how could a mere mortal possess a threat to it, when it was the entire world? The world reacted with bewilderment. It was unable to comprehend how a simple mortal could endanger its vast being, something even self-proclaimed gods couldn't achieve.
Even when the world was extremely confused in its situation, it didn't understand that a mere mortal could possibly possess a threat to its mighty existence, that even those self-proclaimed gods couldn't leave a dent in its surface.
Nevertheless, the world didn't give the suspicious mortal a chance to lift its spear, as it increased its suppression against the mortal, even amidst its confusion. It escalated the pressure to prevent any potential harm.
Lumicor, feeling the increase of the atmospheric pressure pressing against his skin, like an entire mountain pressing against his back, merely grinned like a maniac. Since how could he not grin, when he was met with a challenge worthy of him? He relished the opposition. His excitement built as the world's force tested his limits in a way few things ever had.
Not wanting to lose against the world's will, Lumicor tensed his muscles to their limits, until he felt pain from how compacted his muscles had become, as he lifted his gilded spear a millimeter, then another, in a steady advancement without faltering.
Even when his muscles exploded from the pressure. Even when his joints snapped at the atmospheric pressure that the world pressed against his skin. His resolve pushed him forward inch by inch. He ignored the agony as his body strained beyond endurance.
His consciousness was failing him... Lumicor was gradually losing his grip on his spear, as his eyes became hazy the more he lifted his spear, as the pressure bearing against his back didn't feel like he was lifting a mountain.
Instead, he was lifting an entire world the more he defied its will. Although he had already lost his consciousness moments earlier, Lumicor still lifted his spear, as his body remembered the training that he had undergone himself into: to lift his spear then to slash it downward again and again. Even when his palm bled.
Even when his skin was shredded at the force of his attacks that continued for months, he continued to slash his spear. So even when he was unconscious, Lumicor was already in a realization, in a trance, in a state of enlightenment. His instincts guided him through the ordeal.
"To lift a spear cluelessly is like lifting nothingness... now I lift a spear with a grand aspiration... does it mean that I had to lift an entire world?"
Lumicor said those words while in a deep trance, as he stayed motionless until... he brought his spear to the ground. And the world seemed to shake for a split moment, as a singular golden line could be seen slashing through the empty space of the world... then the world split in half.
"Eclipse..."
