Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 313 Lilith and Syris II

Varis lifted a brow, startled by the rage emanating from the young man in front of him. He grinned savagely.

"I'll kill you," Varis declared, circling Altair through the air. "Do you think you're special or something? That you have the right to disobey the elders?" he sneered, tearing off his tunic to reveal the cruel scars that lined his hulking figure. "You're not special. Your just a fucker with a bit of luck."

From his scaffold, Lu Chen watched. A frown threatened to rise across his thinning lips. He'd warned them of the rules of his floor. Yet his words seemed to have gone in one ear and out the other.

The Awakeners training over the courtyard all began to lift their heads, noticing the rising discord of intent clashing against the other. They all turned to Lu Chen only to notice that he did not act. His actions confused them, but none more than Yu Yan staring at her senior brother, curious about what he was thinking.

'Is he waiting to see who'd strike first?' she wondered when a Soul Whisper from Lu Chen caught her attention.

'Let them duke it out. It'll be good for the others to see what Peak Awakeners are like.'

She frowned, replying, 'To what end, Senior Brother? The rules are being broken.'

'Master wishes to see their battle,' Lu Chen revealed, staring at the System Message before him.

[Divine Being, Reigning Lightning, employs you to allow this battle.]

Yu Yan's frown deepened. "You're the patriarch, not your master. He—"

"It's fine." Lu Chen waved her off, a more curious gleam rising across the blacks of his eyes when he saw the sigil of the obsidian black trident Varis held on his belt. He'd never seen the sigil before, and yet there was a strange magic about it. A hidden awareness coalescing over its surface.

He'd caught a glimpse of it last time but never placed it in his eyes until Raijin spoke up. 'There had to have been a reason for the battle, right?'

"Elder Grim," Varis said, " has grown curious about your lack of cooperation on Earth. He wonders about your loyalty to the cause."

"The cause," Altair scuffed, opening a palm as a Vale Sword raged like a Venerable Lord of Lightning. Veins of Vale Qi buzzed and roared, seeking to tarnish the sun and moon. It's unmerciful power writhing like a living creature.

Just then, Varis moved or rather lunged forward like a battering ram toward Altair, thrusting his arm forward like a spear. The blow alone could shatter mountains, uproot ravines, and decimate continents. None of that happened when it clashed with the Emperor's Vale Sword.

Ripple across space shone as his almighty resistance absorbed nearly half the force while the darker-than-black sword ate the rest.

Varis's expression turned to astonishment, along with the rest of the awakeners below, as a gust of wind lashed across their robes and tunics, pushing them back dozens of meters. Even Lu Chen looked surprised, having been aware of the difference in 'Strength' between Altair and Varis. The differences weren't small but massively large.

'Monster…' Yu Yan said quietly.

"Is that all?" Altair asked coldly, a coldness brewing across his face. "If you're not going to use Mana to augment your attacks, then this'll be a quick fight."

Varis pivoted back, standing at his full length, 8 feet 6 inches. "You're better than I thought," he said, opening a palm to reveal a vicious-looking spear.

The Emperor did not look impressed as his Spirit Domain began to coalesce, marking the smallest speck of his awareness. The Vale began to rise from off his being like a black flame, robbing life like Primal Death. The Sun and Moon dimmed, robbed of their glory as an ancient force permeated the space.

The elements began to rot, buried beneath the Vale, and a foul sensation embedded itself into Varis. It turned his gut to water as if he stood once more in the Lake of Rot. The sensation was visceral, turning his face slightly pale.

He roared, flaring his mana to defend his soul, which he felt was being attacked. The sensation vanished, but only for a second before it returned stronger than before. He charged, blitzing the Emperor on his flank; he drove his spear towards his head, throwing the idea of returning with an intact body away.

'Rule,' Altair invoked, absorbing the full force of Varis's spear into his Vale Sword. He grinned, unbothered by the unmatched power tearing the skin off his palm as the Vale Sword seemed to reach near transcendent might.

Three Vale stars flashed across Altair's brow like a crown as he sneered. "After I'm done with you. That little bitch that is watching us below. Julia or whatever." —He grinned devilishly—' The things my demons will do to her will make even the gods weep. If you're still alive, I'll send you a video."

Altair vanished, or rather, his sword did right under the eyes of Varis. It shot across his shoulder and embedded itself there, lashing through several inches of flesh, barely missing bone, before Varis managed to pull away.

Blood painted the Giant's shoulders as he growled, clutching his wound that began to heal at a visible rate. After a second or two, the wound was gone. Altair nearly thought he, too, had Ashen Blood.

Still, he smiled, waving a palm across his obsidian blade, 'Necrotic Flame,' he said, giving birth to a foul emerald flame that illuminated the skies with a profane presence.

"How many bloody powers do you have," Varis growled, fixing his stance.

"If I were you. I'd worry about how you'll survive. I'm not taking prisoners today." Altair decreed.

Varis sneered, vanishing with his movement art, Black Flash. He materialized above the Emperor's head, thrusting his spear down into an afterimage of Altair. The next moment, Altair appeared to his rear; he smiled, his sword weaving into a profane arc of madness.

Giant Instincts (C)

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In the moment that constituted life and death, Varis's body reacted most instantly as he threw the end of his polearm behind his back to throw Altair off. It did, but only for a second as several small wounds lashed against his back.

He spun to face the emperor, opening himself to his bloodline, causing the mana to flail like a maelstrom.

Spear Light and Sword Light clashed, spinning into intricate semi-arcs and circles as they spun through the skies, uprooting the Earth below.

Just then, Altair's scarlet eyes glowed, spinning to his left and right, marking all the Giant's movements as if they were moving in slow motion. His wrist was sore, and a few of his bones had fractured, thanks to Varis's inhuman strength, but nothing that his ashen blood couldn't mend. He had the advantage when it came to raw skill.

Parrying into a counterstrike, Varis nearly pale, pushing himself back before he was split in two. When he pushed forward again, giving up on competing in terms of skill. With his off hand, he grabbed at space.

Altair's eyes went wide when he felt space contract around him. He wanted to flare his Vale Qi to break through but decided against it. He couldn't risk burning the majority of his power when he didn't need to.

Varis grinned. His entire being suddenly erupted in a golden radiance that coated the skies with brilliance beyond the dawn. Annihilating energy erupted around him, forming a massive spear the size of a mountain, a mile long as it was wide.

"God Shattering Spear!" Varis howled, stifling the air as it bore down on Altair in a pillar of light. A fiendish glow fried itself from the Sea of Heavens, lashing onto Altair's very being as his domain began to expand. Maddening laughter tore from his throat as infernal lightning and his Vale Sword merged. He swung, sweeping through space and time, an upward sword arc amidst the sword Path.

So perfect his Sword Stroke, Lu Chen straightened, enlightened by the blade that seemed to transcend the limit to touch upon the Dao of the Sword.

Severing Edge

The earth-shattering force that erupted forced Lu Chen to personally get involved, erecting the sect barrier as the clash of the two reached a level seen only by ninth circles. The realm shuddered as mountains that stretched on infinitely in the distance began to crumble beneath the annihilating energy falling like rain across the skies.

As the maelstrom of energy cleared, Altair stood with one arm while Varis had a cruel gash across his chest, revealing a vicious scar across his rib cage. Altair's arm regrew in a blinding flash, but the wound on Varis's chest refused to close.

"This is fun… It's been a while since I could cut loose. So…So long… Oi… Don't die on me yet." Altair pointed his sword at him.

Panting Varis winced, glancing down at his injuries. Aside from the lethal one on his chest, the rest of them were flesh wounds, but even so… He'd never seen someone who could survive the First Technique of the Godslayer Tactics. He'd face hundreds in the Golden Crucible to show his power. Killed all he'd face, but Altair had been the first to survive.

He frowned when he saw another sword materialize behind Altair and a strange tome rising in his left hand.

"I hope you don't die. I've never gotten the chance to go all out since my return to the surface."