Chapter 1051 Death to the Gods I
1051 Death to the Gods I
Pure Aether gushed through his pores, covering his claws and fangs as Michael applied Emperor Qi on them. He kicked the space underneath and transformed into a flash.
The Major Gods and others saw his movements, but the Minor Gods among the Primal Pantheon couldn't follow his moves. Michael separated the Minor and Major Gods via Seer and True Vision. He inspected everyone's reaction to his charge and learned enough about the gods to know whom he could attack and which gods were strong enough to block his attacks.
He'd activated the Death Seals, the Serpent Seals, and the Cursed Seals but had yet to use any Soul Techniques or Soullife Arts. Michael chose to keep them hidden a little longer while getting rid of the Minor Gods. That was exactly what he did. Michael manifested hundreds of Imperial Barriers to block the Major Gods for a second or two as he appeared before one of the Minor Gods. The Divinities of the three God Curses burst out of Michael, shrouding the Minor God and restraining him. Michael's fangs, coated in Pure Aether and Emperor Qi, pierced deep into the Minor God. The fangs cut deep into the Minor God's heart, which was enough for Pure Aether to deal the finishing blow.
The Minor God groaned in pain and went as white as a sheet when Michael twisted the fang in his heart. Michael went one step further as an idea popped up in his mind. He shifted the Pure Aether and transformed the tip of the serpentine fang into a hook. All it took was enough brute force, which Michael possessed, to rip the Minor God's heart out of his chest while he was still alive.
Grotesque sounds reverberated throughout the vicinity, but Michael cared little about them. He shapeshifted the Pure Aether again to remove the heart from the fang and turned around while studying every little move around him. Michael saw an opportunity when a Minor God gathered his Essence to do something. The Essence accumulated in the chest of the Minor God was enough to harm a Major God and thus required his full attention.
Michael slipped behind the Minor God, breaking the god's concentration. He was about to spin around, but it was already too late. Michael's claws pierced through the Minor God's neck. The tips of the claws jut out from the other side, and again, Michael shapeshifted the Pure Aether within the enemy and twisted it.
"Isn't that way too slow?" Michael commented lightly as he ripped the Pure Aether-clad claws out of the Minor God's neck. The Minor God was severely injured, but a few holes in his neck and throat weren't enough to kill him. That's how Michael ended up retracting the fangs and claws, transforming them back to how his hand would have looked if it was only shrouded in the serpent scales.
Michael's hands reached out, the serpent scales cracking as he stretched his blood-covered hands lightly. The corner of his lips twirled upward when silver liquid poured from his palms. The Pure Aether trembled violently as it gushed into the surrounding space before it was pulled together and compressed into two sabers. The transformation didn't last long. Only a quarter of a second elapsed before his hands had transformed back to their original appearance, and two Pure Aether Sabers appeared in them. However, that was enough time for some Major Gods. They shattered the Imperial Barriers and set off to attack Michael. However, the Rebels blocked their advances before they could reach Michael.
Michael took advantage of that and used Foundation Break, the Perfect version of the Soul Technique Heavenly Beast Physique, and applied several layers of Perfect Enhancement to his body.
He could have added the Authorities and Laws of his Divinities, but he left that job for his God Curses. Even then, his God Curses didn't have to waste much of their precious Essences against the Primal Pantheon. Their Essences were needed against the Primal. That being said, the God Curses consumed a portion of the Death and Essences provided by the Rebels, who had sacrificed themselves.
The rest fused with Michael and his Divinities, slowly empowering him permanently.
Michael's presence skyrocketed once he used the Soullife Arts and Soul Technique simultaneously. He had more than enough Soul Power to use both and more Soul Techniques for weeks. Still, he tapped into a little bit more power to increase the power output of Foundation Break and created a massive explosion the moment he kicked the space underneath him. Nôv(el)B\\jnn
His presence and actions spread shivers down the spines of everyone in the vicinity, but Michael cared little about their reaction. He whisked past one of the Major Gods engaged in a fight with Loki and cut through his neck and deep into his chest with the two Pure Aether Sabers. Michael shot past the Major God but used Slipstream to appear on the other side next to him again. The second attack was enough to sever the Major God's head and pierce his heart. A moment later, Michael teleported back to the Minor God with a few holes in his neck and dealt the finishing blow as well. Every attack he executed stirred the fabric of space and reality. His movements send shockwaves into the surrounding, no matter how little he moved.
Michael didn't notice it, but he could clearly tell the vigilance with which the surrounding gods looked at him. However, instead of paying much attention to that, Michael focused on his fight. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Michael used his body's full potential. He was stronger than the Minor Gods even without the Soul Techniques, Soultraits, and Soullife Arts, but with them actively utilized, Michael appeared next to the Minor Gods, the sabers stuck in their hearts and throats even before they realized what was happening.
The Death were absorbed by Hel, while Swallow Domain was unleashed whenever one of the gods died. Their Essences threatened to disperse into the surroundings and integrate into the weave, but that wasn't possible. First, the weave was separated from this planetary system for a few minutes, holding the Primal back, and second…Michael devoured the gods' corpses before their Essences could spread.
Once consumed by Swallow Domain, Extraction jumped into action, removing the Essences within the gods' corpses. The Essence was extracted and inserted into Michael's body, where they were annexed, transforming Michael's body.
Maybe the corpses of more than 100 gods – Minor and Major – weren't enough to transform him into an existence overflowing Essences, but it would surely narrow the distance to the Primal!
That was what Michael did. He flashed through the planetary system, his top speed increasing with every second as he got used to the constant, yet subtle, increases in power. He didn't even stop to kill the Minor Gods of the Primal Pantheon. All Michael did was to let his velocity, power, and the Pure Aether Sabers – enhanced and sharpened with Unlimited Enhancement and Emperor Qi – to behead the Minor Gods, cut them in half, and pierce through their hearts.
The Essences of the Minor Gods stirred in a desperate measure to block Michael's assaults but they failed miserably.
Not even a full minute elapsed since Michael started for real when the last Minor God fell victim to Pure Aether.
All that left was the Minor Gods.
They were the next to die.
Only the Primal were left after that!