Hero of Darkness

Kahn and the rest of their party hastily retreated from the battlefield as the tumultuous clash of saints erupted, leaving Maximus to confront the formidable adversaries on his own.

The opponents he faced were no ordinary foes.

Sylvana, holding the rank of a 1st stage saint, radiated an aura of raw power.

Zolvik, a 2nd stage saint, harnessed the very essence of darkness.

Chimera, a 3rd stage saint, unleashed his primal might.

Melisandre, a 4th stage saint, exuded an air of beguiling authority.

Towering above them all was Kaaldrum, a 5th stage saint, whose strength seemed nearly insurmountable.

Despite the glaring disparity in their ranks and the fact that, due to the suppression enacted by God's Domain, Maximus was reduced to the equivalent of a 1st stage saint, he stood resolute and unwavering.

It was a one-against-five battle, with four of his adversaries boasting higher ranks. Kaaldrum, the 5th guardian, outshone Maximus in power by a staggering twentyfold.

Most individuals placed in such dire circumstances would have been overcome by sheer terror, their spirits broken as they accepted the inevitability of their defeat.

However, Maximus was no ordinary warrior. He displayed no hint of resignation, as though the very concept of 'fear' had been erased from his psyche.

In response to Maximus's solitary defiance, his formidable foes unleashed their devastating powers with unwavering determination. Their actions showcased a chilling display of might:

Sylvana, embracing her 1st stage saint abilities, assumed her towering 200-meter-tall Dryad form. The very earth seemed to tremble beneath her colossal presence as she loomed over the battlefield.

Zolvik, the master of darkness, exerted his dominion over the nearby 10 kilometers of space. His darkness element transformed the once tranquil area into a foreboding and sinister battleground, shrouded in an impenetrable veil of obscurity.

Chimera, manifesting his 3rd stage saint powers, underwent a startling transformation, morphing into a ferocious, 100-meter-tall behemoth. With calculated skill, he eroded the terrain, giving rise to treacherous lakes of venom that added an element of treacherous peril to the battleground.

Melissandre, known as the Beguiling Queen, harnessed her 4th stage saint abilities with an air of commanding authority. She used the very essence of her aura to conjure a malevolent storm of red, boiling blood.

In the ominous sky above, 3000 razor-sharp spears, forged from highly volatile blood, materialized, poised to pierce through any armor that dared to challenge them.

Finally, Kaaldrum, the 5th stage saint, exhibited his overwhelming power. He summoned five colossal, 1-kilometer-tall towers positioned strategically in different directions around Maximus. These towering structures enclosed Maximus from various angles, creating an inescapable prison of immense proportions.

This entire setup was actually Kaaldrum's Domain.

From these towering structures, thousands of 10-meter-long arrows rained down, firing from vertical openings as they relentlessly homed in on Maximus. The onslaught was unrelenting, a barrage of death aimed squarely at the lone warrior.

In the face of such overwhelming power, Maximus stood unflinching, his resolve unwavering. His defiance against these insurmountable odds was a testament to his unparalleled courage and indomitable spirit.

Maximus in his titan knight form was surrounded by enemies far beyond his current strength and capabilities he could face at the moment based on common sense.

And despite his perilous situation, he gave the tyrannical look of a fearless warrior as he asked in an overbearing tone…

"Do you truly believe that only this much is enough for me?" 

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Meanwhile, Kahn was running away from the saints and thanks to Maximus being the center of attention for now, they managed to run out of the battlefield range.

"Atreus, what did Maximus talk about?" asked Borat who ran beside Kahn.

Atreus quickly cast a dome-like structure made of permafrost and hid their existence in the white desert, using the camouflage of the battlefield in their favor.

"Alright, listen to me very carefully." gasped Kahn and spoke in a serious tone.

"There is a plan for situations like this. Maximus being Maximus… he already made plans when circumstances arose that forced him to garner all the attention of powerful enemies which the rest of us could not face." he spoke somberly.

"And whether you like it or not, all of us will have to put our lives in danger if everyone was to come out alive from such an ordeal." he forewarned.

Everyone's expressions turned grim after he told them his plan.

"Are you out of your mind?! This is goddamn suicide!" yelled Rolakan in shock.

"Correct! It's like willingly leaving your head under a guillotine and hoping that it doesn't fall." spoke Conan.

"This… this is madness." said Speki with an incredulous countenance, clearly unhappy.

However, there was one individual lost in thoughts.

"Although as dangerous as it seems, it is the most plausible plan we can work with based on our diminished strength as semi-saints." spoke Borat with a thoughtful expression.

Then, it was Kahn aka Atreus who spoke…

"This is the only way we can survive this. Because if Maximus falls, all of us are good as dead anyway." he stated firmly.

"But what if the plan fails?" asked Speki.

"You better hope that it doesn't… for all of your sakes." said Kahn and started working on his plan.

In actuality, this wasn't Maximus' original plan but rather the one Rathnaar told Kahn. The latter was only using Maximus' name to make all the other members of the Hero's Party comply.

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BOOM!!

Amidst the relentless confrontation, a colossal explosion of energy erupted from the battlefield, as Maximus intercepted a surging, beam-like attack launched by Melisandre. The impact of their clash was nothing short of cataclysmic.

Even Maximus, in his towering 200-meter-tall Titanic Knight form, found himself forcefully propelled back a staggering 300 meters. The sheer power of this High Vampiress, a 4th stage saint despite her human-sized stature, had proven to be an overwhelming force. The shockwaves rippled through the battlefield, a testament to the incredible might at play in this battle of saints.

"I am Maximus Tiberius Gladius! The 10th Hero of Nature and the one who is going to end this war against the Demon God.

If you want to kill me, you will have to do better than this!" proclaimed Maximus.

The incredible attack Maximus had just deflected came from an opponent who, by all calculations, should have been 15 times stronger than him. In the realm of logic, it was an attack that should have been lethal, capable of ending his life on the spot. However, to everyone's astonishment, it merely pushed him back. Maximus had survived an assault that even other 1st stage saint-ranked Heroes would have struggled to withstand, emerging from it unscathed.

Rumble! 

The ground trembled as thousands of colossal and thorny vines erupted from the sandy terrain. Sylvana, with her formidable skills, wove these vines into existence, seeking to entwine and overpower Maximus. The battlefield itself seemed to respond to her will, transforming into a perilous arena where the very earth conspired against him.

Shoot!

Shoot!

At the same time, a volley of thousands of black metallic arrows barraged Maximus from five directions.

Clink!

Clang!

These multitudes of arrows hit their target incessantly and kept barraging the titan like a swarm of ants befelling prey.

Regrettably, Maximus found himself in a dire situation where he couldn't access his Terra Domain or Thousand Hands Battlefield. The former required him to attain the rank of a legitimate 5th-stage saint, while the latter demanded the use of World Energy, a resource he had no access to.

Thud! 

Maximus's haggard state was painfully evident as he resembled a porcupine, with thousands of needle-like spikes piercing his battered body. The battle had taken its toll, leaving him in a state of anguish and suffering as the formidable forces arrayed against him continued their unrelenting assault.

BOOM!!

Maximus let out a burst of mana, throwing off all the arrows from his body using his sheer aura alone. And before the next attack even came…

Stomp!

With a hard stomp of his feet, the titan lunged high in the air and his raised his greatsword in the air.

Slash!

Without wasting his moment, he made a strong vertical slash attack and his target was none other than Sylvana.

RIP!!

Before the Dryad Summoner saint could even move, the Hero of Nature cut her entire 200-meter-tall being into two halves.

Crackle!

Crackle!

Maximus wielded a greatsword forged from the elements of Darkness and Lightning, two of the most destructive and potent forces in the realm of reality. With a single powerful slash, he dispatched a legitimate 1st stage saint who stood as large as himself. The sheer might of his blade left no room for defense or escape.

Before the wood elemental Dryad could begin the process of regeneration, Maximus swiftly took action. He released his shield from his left hand and placed two fingers beneath his lips, a subtle yet calculated move that hinted at a hidden strategy or power yet to be revealed.

He then took a deep breath and filled his massive lungs made of earth and magma as he prepared for his devastating attack that would end the dryad summoner saint…

"Sage Arts: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"