Chapter 116: Only Hope
The city of Selense was barely a kilometer away. If Zarria and several of the strongest Theocheiróses hadn't arrived on time, this lively city would have been turned into a total wreck by now.
Luckily, they were fighting it in a forest where no humans lived. And of course, this once lush forest was now looking like a ravaging storm had just swept through it.
Zarria and the others couldn't stop the behemoth from unleashing the destructive sonic wave this time. She dashed away from the line of attack with blinding speed and successfully dodged what might have just caused her second death.
Once she was standing in the side direction of the behemoth, Zarria cast a massive fireball that exploded upon contact with the monster's tough skin. It was so powerful that it managed to budge the behemoth's mountainous body.
If the circumstances were different, Zarria would have used Divine Retribution by now. But ever since Zarria experienced death for the first time, something about her changed.
She now avoided risking her life more than ever. Something about being dead really didn't sit right with her. No matter how much she thought about it, there was a terrifying feeling about crossing to the other side that she couldn't explain in words.
But one thing was certain. She really, really feared the concept of death itself. So much so that simply watching an insect die reminds her of the futility of life and that eventually, she would return to the arms of the inescapable death.
And that's why, having her brain melt inside her skull was suddenly not worth it.
She would much rather work hard for her victory this time. If she wished to stand with Dhein, becoming strong enough without risking her life was essential, too.
Jovian used earth magic to bind the behemoth's legs to the earth, immobilizing it. The other Theocheiróses poured all of their celestial energy into strengthening that earth chain.
It was Zarria's cue to cast the most devastating attack of all.
And so, she began praying.
"O, Xantheus, god of the roaring skies..."
"...bless me with the power which you have given to the mighty storms..."
"...to wash the earth of its impurities and flood the old sins, so that the beautiful world may start anew!"
The portal of storm's wills opened up before her. What was on the other side of it was an absolute mystery to even the most brilliant mind in the worl.
On the other side, it was as if a thousand raging ghouls were crying and begging to be unleashed. Winds strong enough to erode a rock in an instant swirled constantly in that endless dimensional rift.
And mere moments later, the portal unloaded the otherworldly force of Xantheus' power.
It wasn't an energy known to man. The beam of a color foreign to the human eye lashed out from the portal and hit the behemoth directly in the body before it could break free from its earthly chains.
The force wasn't a force. And even though many called it a mysterious energy, it wasn't that either. The beam didn't look like it was a moving collective of particles or an intense radio wave. It was... unknown. To this day, no one understood the physics behind the lethality of Xantheus' given skill. But it tore through everything like an unstoppable force. Everything it touched just seem to give way without resistance, bending and moving away from the storm's will.
And just like that, the behemoth's seemingly indestructible skin now had a bloody gaping hole at the side of its shoulder.
Still, Zarria was expecting the divine skill to do more than that. The fact that it wasn't enough to kill the behemoth was a testament to the ancient creature's insane toughness.
Then suddenly, Zarria heard footsteps coming from behind her. She briefly turned and, after seeing who just arrived, a new hope ignited in her heart.
"Father!" she cried.
Axerion caught his daughter when she almost collapsed due to sleepiness.
"How's the situation?" he asked.
Shaking her head, Zarria replied.
"We've tried everything we can but that thing just doesn't die!"
The leader of divinity looked up to the rampaging behemoth.
He then said:
"There are now more things to try then."
Axerion also recited the divine prayer for Xantheus' power and unleashed the will of the storm. It hit the behemoth right in the head and severely damaged its neck in the process.
In return, Axerion got paralyzed from the neck down...
He fell to the ground with a hearty laugh.
"Shit..." he muttered.
Jovian, his little sister walked over and looked at his miserable state.
She then remarked:
"Looks like the gods are favoring you less and less, Rio."
Axerion laughed even more.
"Oh I would like to see you try the same thing, my dear little sister."
Jovian scoffed and went back to battle, leaving Axerion and Zarria alone.
"I won't be able to move for about three hours," Axerion said.
"I'll just be cheering for you here on the sidelines, Zarria my dear. Hehe."
Zarria gave him a disappointed look before lifting her father up and taking him to safety. It crossed Zarria's mind that maybe Axerion only did this to have an excuse to be thrown to the side...
***
Three hours had passed. And just like he said, Axerion was able to move again. He immediately joined the battle which prolonged for several more hours.
Somehow, the battle against this ancient creature was even harder than the one against the immortal Demon King. The strongest Theocheiróses were giving it their all, casting their most powerful attacks only for the behemoth to tank them with ease.
The Divinity Clan's members were able to use all elemental magic except light which was exclusive to Luxiers. Still, the elements they could use was already powerful in their own. Not to mention that Zarria was able to use high tier spells to all of the elements, making her a grand mage herself.
The sun had set, a day had passed yet again. But the grueling battle with the legendary behemoth was still far from over. Adventures of Selense Kingdom watched from afar the war that would determine their fate being fought by someone else for them. The scale of power and destruction present in that battle made them realize how tiny and powerless they really were in the grand scheme of things.
The behemoth stomped its legs and let out a roar. The sonic wave distorted the space in front of it and destroyed everything in its path. Axerion and the others were fast enough to dodge this deadly attack and immediately countered with their own destructive skills.
A gigantic portal opened above the sky which where the diamond hands emerged. It formed a fist and repeatedly bashed itself against the behemoth's back.
The skill only the Godhand could use only caused earthquakes without really dealing any significant damage to the behemoth. And each time Axerion targeted the head, the monster moved extremely fast and bit on the diamond hand, shattering the divine providence into smithereens.
Just like Dhein had super strength and clairvoyance and Axerion had the diamond hand, Zarria had some special skills of her own. One of them was the passive skill, defensive invisible blade which protected her from malicious forces coming at her. The other was also provided by the god of blades.
Zarria used wind magic and flew high into the air. Then, she opened up her arms, summoning divine thunder all around her which made her glow a bright yellow, affecting the light that surrounded her body.
Everyone looked up at the daughter of divinity. With awe, they watched as a golden line appeared in front of her, gradually forming a familiar yet fantastical figure.
It was a giant golden sword. Blessed by both the Valkyrie from her Valkin Tribe blood and the Divinity coursing through her veins, she summoned the holy blade used by the god of blades himself. The Sunderour.
The gigantic sword let itself be held by Zarria's hand. She raised it to the sky like a pole that reached the heavens, and then let the blade fall towards the behemoth like a divine judgement.
The Sunderour successfully cut the behemoth's tough flesh, blood pouring from the open wound on its back. As Zarria fell from the sky, the behemoth thrashed around and caused even more tremors to the ground.
Axerion caught Zarria mid air and they both successful landed to the ground. The sheer amount of celestial energy Zarria used was enough to make her faint.
She opened her eyes and saw that the massive son of a gun was still alive and kicking!
"How the heck do we beat this thing?!" Axerion exclaimed, stressed out.
Then suddenly, they heard footsteps with a certain familiar rhythm.
It was the calm, collected and deliberate steps of unmistakable confidence that they only ever knew one person emitted.
Zarria and the others turned their heads to the source of the sound and immediately, upon seeing who had just arrived, they collectively decided that the behemoth's fate had been sealed.
Dheinyrus Theocheirós was here.
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