Extra's Death: I Am the Son of Hades

Neo's POV

Neo looked down at Kevin.

His gaze shifted to Severant, then to the halberd and the greatsword floating around Kevin.

Both weapons gave off a heavy, unnatural pressure.

They weren't normal.

They were Demons, just like Severant.

Neo could tell from the way the space around them twisted slightly.

And if they were Demons, they had Authorities.

Which ones, though?

He didn't know.

A wave of World Energy erupted from Neo's body.

He planned to swallow Kevin and pull him into his Cosmos.

He used to be cautious about who he brought inside.

Back then, a peak Stage 5 God could cause trouble inside his Cosmos.

But after seeing the memories of Ancient Dragons, those worries were gone.

'Hades will take care of it,' Neo thought.

The version of Hades living in his Cosmos might only be an Intent, but that was enough.

That Intent was strong enough to suppress any Apostle or Stage 6 God that dared to act up inside.

Kevin spoke suddenly. "You shouldn't get distracted during a fight."

The greatsword behind him thrust forward.

It hit Neo's World Energy wave as if it were solid, and the entire wave froze for a second.

Neo's eyes narrowed.

'That Demon can detect weaknesses and strike them directly. It's a guaranteed hit Authority.'

But it didn't matter much.

If the weakness wasn't fatal, the Authority's effect would be limited.

Neo's World Energy froze for a moment, then started to surge again.

Kevin moved fast, swinging Severant.

The blade cut into the solidified World Energy, slicing it apart into so many pieces that Neo lost control of it.

Throughout that time, Neo didn't counterattack.

Then, Kevin grabbed the halberd.

He swung it downward, and a wave of corruptive energy flew toward Neo.

Neo frowned.

The energy felt strange.

It wasn't like the corruptive nature of the Void, which caused uncontrolled evolution.

This one destroyed from within.

It corroded everything in its path, even the concept of self.

Neo raised his hand and summoned a Black Sun in front of him.

Then, the space was folded, creating a small Independent Space around the explosion.

The two energies — of the corruptive Authority and Black Sun — collided.

A violent detonation filled the sealed space, but the Independent Space contained it.

Kevin didn't stop. He

kept attacking from all directions.

The greatsword, the halberd, and even Severant moved with perfect rhythm.

The halberd released more corruptive slashes.

The greatsword spun and tore open small rifts in space, trying to trap Neo.

Severant followed, slashing through those openings, turning the rifts into blades of destruction.

Neo blocked one attack with Obitus, letting the blade sing.

Another attack was swallowed by a shadow barrier.

A third one disappeared into his Cosmos.

In a normal situation, facing three Demons and an Apostle at the same time could've been dangerous.

But Neo didn't feel danger.

That was what bothered him.

He wasn't tense. He wasn't even slightly worried.

Why?

Was it confidence? Or arrogance?

He couldn't tell.

But the thought didn't leave his mind.

'Am I not taking this seriously because I know I can win?'

That didn't feel right.

The Demons had Authorities.

He should've been more cautious.

'Wait… what are Authorities really?' Neo thought.

From what he'd seen, Authorities were absolute powers that guaranteed certain outcomes.

For example, if a water mage and a fire mage fought, normally, the one with higher mastery would win.

But if the water mage had a Water Authority, he'd always win, no matter how high the mastery of fire mage was.

The Authority always had the final say.

'Then how did I destroy the corruptive energy from the Demon's Authority just now?'

Neo thought about it.

'Can an Authority be overpowered if there's enough firepower?'

He shook his head.

That shouldn't be possible.

Then how could he do it?

What was different about him.

'I'm a Heavenbreaker.'

Heavenbreakers were special. They broke the limits of the Cosmos itself.

'The Authorities of these Demons must be given to them by the Celestial Worthy.'

That would mean a Heavenbreaker could create Authorities.

Was this true?

No, for the moment, Neo decided to believe this was true.

Obitus had an Authority too.

A Partial (incomplete) Authority, but an Authority nonetheless.

The Authority of End.

'But what makes an Authority so special?' Neo wondered.

Neo didn't understand.

He felt like he was missing something basic.

He tightened his grip on Obitus and swung.

A black arc shot out.

The incomplete Authority of End clashed with the corruptive Authority of the Demon.

The black arc was pushed back almost immediately.

Neo felt the difference.

His Authority was incomplete, so it couldn't win.

That raised a question, how could he overpower an Authority?

Was the answer to complete his own Authority?

That once again made him question what an Authority was, and that in turn made him question who could wield an Authority.

This time, Neo decided to think that Authority was not limited to Heavenbreakers.

It made sense.

After all, if Authorities were strongest, then Demons and Witches wouldn't have been defeated by Hades, who had no Authority and wielded pure strength.

How could Hades defeat an Authority of a Witch?

By a powerful technique?

No, Neo instinctively knew only an Authority could defeat an Authority.

So, how did Hades win?

'Hades had an Authority too.'

But how?

Hades should have a Singularity, since he was a Devil. His Singularity was Un-Death.

At that moment, Neo recalled something.

'As Gods rank up more and more, they become similar to Heavenbreakers.'

Elemental Supremes had an Elemental Universe.

Their Elemental Universe had its Laws and Concepts.

'As one reaches the rank of Supreme, they can start creating an Authority,' Neo realized.

If Elemental Supremes and Heavenbreakers could create an Authority, why could Neo not do it?

He was both.

'The reason I cannot create my Authority is because I don't have a Golden Domain.'

Neo still hadn't reached Second Step Heavenbreaker rank, despite being at the peak of First Step Heavenbreaker rank.

Heavenly Records told him that he needed to create a Golden Domain — a special area within his Cosmos that was rich in resources and qualitatively much better than his Cosmos' other area.

A Golden Domain functioned as a concentration point of a Cosmos/Universe, which was why it was necessary to fuel the Cosmos and act as a stabilizer to hold the Cosmos in place while it grew.

Neo had made his Cosmos the best he could.

This meant he still couldn't come up with how to create an area that was even better and would be designated as his Golden Domain.

It was why he couldn't reach Second Step Heavenbreaker rank.

'A Golden Domain's formation is necessary to be able to create an Authority.'

Why?

Neo didn't know of that.

But he was sure of his conclusion.

Because if not for it being true, he should've surely been able to create Authorities.

A Golden Domain was likely a foundation upon which the Authorities were built.

Conversely, couldn't Authorities be damaged if the Golden Domain was destroyed?

Neo's eyes went to the three Demons supporting Kevin.

He decided to try his theory on them.

To see if he could remove their Authority.