Hero of Darkness



So far, the two other heroes chosen by the gods whom Kahn had encountered were quite the characters, based on his personal experience.

The Hero of Fire proved to be a ruthless and narcissistic psychopath. It seemed that the lives of everyone around him held no value whatsoever. His actions and demeanor reflected a complete disregard for the well-being of others.

On the other hand, the Hero of Life displayed a complete lack of manners and consideration towards anyone, even when the whole world was watching. He appeared to place no importance on anyone or anything beyond himself, exhibiting a self-centeredness that was difficult to ignore.

However, in his guise as Atreus, Kahn finally encountered the Hero of Nature.

To his surprise, this hero made a conscious decision to fight for the people, despite not having any obligation to do so. Rather than fleeing to preserve his own life, he valiantly battled until the bitter end, pouring every ounce of his being into the fight.

And for what purpose did he endure such hardships?

Kahn was no longer oblivious to the dire situation that Maximus Gladius, the Hero of Nature was in. 

His master, Romulus Lykaios, had already informed him about the constant surveillance the Hero of Nature had been subjected to by the highest authorities of the Nadue Empire. This scrutiny had commenced from the very first day of his summoning in Vantrea nearly 8 years ago.

On the surface, the Hero of Nature was treated as a savior and even regarded as royalty by the imperial rule. However, beneath this facade of adoration, he was nothing more than a prisoner.

Every action he took, every step he made, was meticulously planned by the top echelons of power. Even his public appearances were carefully orchestrated with underlying political propaganda. He possessed a semblance of freedom in name only, as others dictated when and where he was allowed to go.

In such circumstances, it would be understandable for anyone in his position to harbor bitterness towards the authorities and the people of the Beast Empire. Yet, surprisingly, he continued to fight for the very people who were not even his own, and perhaps never truly liked him due to his identity as a human hero.

This revelation struck Kahn deeply, causing him to question his previous assumptions. It became abundantly clear that the Hero of Nature was cut from a different cloth altogether.

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10 Minutes Later…

As Maximus continued his prolonged battle with Cherufe, Atreus utilized his dual skills as a magician and an artificer. He vanished from the battle scene and reappeared in a solitary location, located about 15 kilometers away.

With his vast reserves of world energy, he began to imprint runes and magic formations on various surfaces such as the ground and water. Each formation was massive, spanning dozens of meters and varied in color, shape, and pattern.

Like terminal points in a grid circuit system, the formations started to glow, filling gradually.

At last, after much effort and focus, Atreus managed to create a circular legendary rank magic formation, Spirit Solitary.

This formation had a diameter of 25 kilometers and was designed to trap and halt the target's ability to phase shift through objects.

"Excellent, step one is complete." Atreus muttered to himself.

"Now, it's time to finish what only I can do."

[Time for you to go all out.] he informed Maximus telepathically.

In the midst of the battlefield, where thousands of hands surrounded him, Maximus began his frantic assault on the Cherufe. Unlike before, the monster could no longer phase-shift through objects and was forced to face Maximus head-on.

"It's working." Maximus said as he continued his lethal onslaught.

Just as he was about to launch the decisive strike that would have ended the monster's life, a sudden disturbance interrupted his attack.

Blip!

The ginormous 1 kilometer tall mythical monster disappeared from the battlefield.

Soon, in a dimension where everything was black and gray while time itself moved 10 times slower, the massive body of the crystalline Cherfufe appeared.

This was one of the main reasons why Maximus was not able to finish the killing blow because the Cherufe had absconded to was… the True Dimension. 

Beneath the Cherufe's seemingly invincible phase-shifting abilities lay a far more formidable trump card: its ability to temporarily enter the True Dimension when it neared the brink of death.

Within this realm of existence, where time flowed at a sluggish pace, the Cherufe always underwent a process of recuperation and self-healing, restoring itself to a perfect state. Once its time in the True Dimension was complete, it would reemerge into the real world, appearing completely unscathed.

The true extent of the Cherufe's abilities remained shrouded in mystery, primarily due to the species' extreme rarity even among legendary and mythical monsters. Its unique attributes and the secrets held within the True Dimension made it an enigma, leaving those who faced it unaware of the immense challenges they truly faced.

"My my… you are so shameful."

Suddenly, a ghastly voice resonated in the true dimension.

Kahn, in his resplendent blue cosmic form, stood alongside his 4 cosmic replicas, patiently awaiting the moment when the Cherufe would enter the True Dimension.

How did he possess knowledge of this hidden ability?

It was through the experiences of Romulus, who had encountered a Cherufe in the past during his time as a member of the 8th Hero of Darkness' party, back when the Abyss Empire still existed.

In a fierce battle against the mythical creature, they had narrowly managed to emerge victorious. However, it was a fellow party member, well-versed in the study of space law and having attained the 3rd enlightenment in it, who had uncovered the Cherufe's hidden ability.

This revelation became the reason why Romulus entrusted the task of stopping the monster to Kahn alone. Because without the 3rd enlightenment in space law, even those who cultivated the profound knowledge of this law would find themselves powerless against this mythical beast.

BOOM!!

Five auras, each emanating from a fifth-stage saint, erupted simultaneously, sending shockwaves rippling through the surrounding area. As the ground shook beneath their feet, a massive 500-meter-long greatsword, an exact replica of Lucifer, materialized in the true dimension.

Unlike the usual practice of Kahn, who fused different elements to create his weapons, all of these swords were made entirely of pure cosmic aether. The sheer power they emanated was enough to strike fear into even the bravest of souls.

But the terrified Cherufe didn't even get a chance to react. Kahn, now the de facto leader of the true dimension, launched a full-scale attack on the monstrous being with all his speed and might.

"Slay all… Dimensional Judgement!"

Slash!

Slash!

Inside the true dimensions, the five beings unleashed a barrage of hundreds of slashing attacks upon the Cherufe, slicing through its formidable defenses before it even had a chance to contemplate escaping this realm. 

Shatter!

Shatter!

As Kahn unleashed his newly developed attack skill, the very fabric of space ruptured and shattered like glass on a tiled floor. The energy released from the attack cut through everything on an atomic level, leaving nothing untouched in its wake. The power of the attack was such that it seemed to defy the laws of physics, as the very essence of reality trembled and broke apart under its might.

Dimensional Judgement… a skill that worked only in the true dimension was performed perfectly.

Thanks to the 3rd enlightenment in Space Law, even Kahn's doppelgangers aka cosmic replicas could also use Dimensional Cut skill that was impossible for his duplicates before since none of them had any space force of their own. 

But that was no longer the case for these replicas as they were made of cosmic aether, a higher form of space force itself. 

Crack!

Crack!

However, this was not the end as the creature's defeat was not yet complete.

The body that Kahn had destroyed was merely a dimensional state of the original body, similar to how Kahn had his cosmic replicas made of cosmic aether.

What he truly wished to accomplish was to seal Cherufe's ability to phase shift and take refuge in the true dimension. And with both options now eliminated, the Cherufe had no choice but to return to the real world.

Crack!

Through a space rift, the real Cherufe finally reappeared in the real world.

BOOM!!

However… there was someone eagerly waiting for it.

Rumble!

Rumble!

"Grant me the strength to uphold justice. Give me the fortitude to safeguard peace."

A deafening roar reverberated through the heavens and the earth, as if the entire universe was responding to the hero's plea.

In an instant, all of the world energy present in the Thousands Hands Battlefield vanished. 

Meanwhile, the titan Hero of Nature stood tall with his right fist clenched, as if he had gathered all the energy within as the elements of reality aligned in perfect synergy; a surge of energy both dreary and blinding rose to its zenith.

Maximus, poised for battle, clenched his fist, his eyes locked on Cherufe as the crystalline mythical creature reappeared.

"Grant me the strength to overcome destiny..."

Woosh!

With a deafening warcry, the hero unleashed his ultimate attack, pouring all of his strength and world energy into a single devastating blow.

Before the mythical creature could even react, it saw the final blow hurtling towards it. The one that would bring about its downfall...

"INFINITY SMASH!!!"