Chapter 2197: Making the Champions lower their heads in submission
The arc of lightning appeared between Cain and the three Champions of the Root, so sudden and sharp that even his heightened senses barely registered it before impact.
A heartbeat later, it detonated—an expanding crescent of annihilation that erased matter, energy, and spiritual essence with the clean precision of a blade. For an instant, it looked as if a lightning sun had bloomed in the void, a newborn star forged entirely from devastation.
The eruption swallowed the Scarlet King and the Champions of the Root whole. And due to the vibration of the energy, the lightning sun acted as a form of cage, keeping those inside trapped so they would be pulverized until there was nothing left.
For a moment, there was only blinding white, but then a figure emerged.
Cain carved his way out of the lightning sun a breath later, thanks to the formidable endurance of his body. Of course, he did not come unscathed.
His skin sizzled, thin ribbons of smoke curling from where the electric force had burned him, making his eyes sharpen with genuine awe.
Harming his body was harder than burning through an Early Alpha-Omega Overgod treasure, yet that lightning arc was able to achieve it.
The Scarlet King's gaze snapped toward the origin, and what he saw made a menacious light appear in his eyes.
A member of the Deus Behemoth Race stepped from a newly formed golden gate of the Universe Will. He hovered weightlessly amid a storm of crackling lightning, every inch of his body wrapped in churning, electric light. His eyes glowed like two white-blue suns, burning with destructive intent.
Sleek, angular armor fused with his muscular frame, appearing like an extension of himself. A long tail lashed behind him, its tip split like a trident of pure electricity.
The Deus Behemoth was in his Resurreccion Form, and there was no doubt of his power. Yet what drew Cain's attention wasn't the man himself.
It was the spear.
Even from afar, the weapon radiated the unmistakable aura of a Natural Inherence, something born spontaneously from cosmic forces rather than crafted. However, what was even more shocking was the fact that it carried a resonance even greater than the dagger that once plunged the Second Realm of the Crimson World into chaos before ending up in the hands of a Neo-Angel.
Cain's eyes narrowed as a wild idea came to his mind. "An Empyrean World Treasure…?"
That was the only explanation that fit. A weapon born in the heart of an Empyrean World would indeed stand on a tier above normal Alpha Omega Overgod Natural Inheritances.
But even those thoughts did not soften the coldness in Cain's eyes. The Dyes Behemoth had unleashed a vast sea of destruction without warning, and regardless of intentions, that could not be ignored.
Still—there were priorities. Internal problems could be addressed only after the present calamity was dealt with.
The lightning sun still trapped the three Champions of the Root, its light locking them in place like insects frozen in amber. Cain took advantage of the moment, flashing toward the Heart of the Root with lethal precision, determined to continue weakening the monstrous tumor so the Matrix could finally force it back.
"CRACK!"
Just as Cain reached striking distance, a new fracture echoed through the void—an internal rupture from within the world-sized tumor. A figure surged out, moving with speed that mocked reason, closing the distance before Cain could fully react.
It struck.
Cain barely managed to raise an arm before the blow landed.
The impact blasted him backward through the void, tearing a shockwave through reality itself. His arms trembled violently as he tried to stabilize himself. A moment later he staggered, his body shivering as he spat a mouthful of blood into the empty darkness.
Shock flashed across his eyes.
Even after all the injuries he had accumulated, the idea that a single strike could inflict enough internal damage to make him vomit blood was almost unthinkable. Yet here he was, reeling.
His gaze snapped toward the source.
The being that had emerged dwarfed him in height—nearly four times larger. Its fully exposed musculature looked like something sculpted from raw, living anatomy: thick cords of muscle twisting around limbs and torso in grotesque, exaggerated ropes. Several arms stretched forward, layered with bulging fibers that seemed to forge a neck holding an alien head. From its shoulders grew massive, lidless eyes capable of perceiving every shift in reality.
Its presence was a grotesque display of refined power.
And most striking of all—the decay aura around it was different.
Not weaker. Not absent. But mastered. Controlled with a precision far beyond Kukulkatz, Emprik, or the sharpshooter.
Without sparing Cain a glance, the muscular abomination turned its focus to the raging lightning sun. Vitality surged into its limbs.
Then it punched.
It was a simple motion, almost elegant in its straightforward brutality.
Yet the force behind it shattered the lightning sun in an instant, dispersing its annihilating energies as though they were nothing more than mist.
The three Champions of the Root tumbled out of the collapsing sphere, their bodies cracked and smoking from the attack.
The Deus Behemoth stared wide-eyed at the abomination, gripping his spear tighter. That lightning sun had been one of his strongest techniques. Cain surviving it was impressive but not unexpected.
But for the abomination to destroy it with a single punch?
Mind-shattering.
The abomination ignored the disbelief radiating from both Cain and the Deus Behemoth. His attention was fully on the Champions. His eyes glowed, and the tendrils linking them to the Heart of the Root pulsed violently. A torrent of vitality erupted from the tumor, flooding into the trio. Their wounds closed at speeds visible to the naked eye; torn muscles knitted, broken bones reformed, lost mass regrew in seconds.
Confusion flickered across their faces for only an instant before they recognized the towering muscle-bound entity before them.
All three Champions trembled.
Their expressions shifted from awe to dread.
Slowly, instinctively, they lowered their heads in submission.
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