Chapter 2229: The End of the Road? |
A shadowy figure stood before the stellar vortex, towering over a mortal man, yet not quite reaching the colossal scale of a Titan. Its body remained motionless, but by merely brushing its hands against the illusory cosmos, it summoned bizarre mechanical creations and unleashed an array of spells never seen before, repelling the attackers one by one.
Jenkins was already upon it, leaping through the void with his spiraling greatsword in hand. He brought the blade down in a two-handed diagonal slash, while amidst the fiery embers, the phantoms of numerous heroes created an opening for his assault.
The towering figure casually blocked the onslaught of heroes and demigods with one hand, raising the other to meet Jenkins and his blade.
Behind Jenkins, the phantom of a leering demon materialized. But instead of lunging forward as it usually did, it simply extended a massive claw and pointed.
The bald, towering figure's arms instantly exploded in a blast of demonic flame. At the same time, a soft crack echoed from Jenkins's own arms.
The Twin Demons ability was a unique power that belonged to demonkind. In Jenkins's hands, it could only be used as a high-powered bomb, but its true function was to use demonic fire to detonate any entity, physical or ethereal, within his line of sight.
Twin Demons, twinning all creation. The "twin" aspect meant that once the explosion destroyed an entity, a weakened version of the damage was reflected back onto the user—a perfect reflection of the insane nature of demonic powers. But the feedback was negligible; even other high-level Enchanters would pay it no mind, let alone Jenkins.
With the towering figure's arms obliterated, the heroes moved to stall its regeneration. The demigods' ranged attacks struck its chest first, followed swiftly by Jenkins's sword hacking into its shoulder.
Without a moment's hesitation, he quickly touched the last two emblems hovering before him: the green of the World Tree and the white of the Undying Man. A dual-colored radiance surged into him, and the sheer life force it unleashed nearly turned the flames licking at his greatsword a vibrant green.
At last, the blade tore through the figure guarding the vortex, shattering it into nothing. And though he could not fly, Jenkins strode through the sea of stars until he stood directly before the swirling maw.
A jet-black beam erupted from the vortex, a blast of pure sin, but Jenkins batted it aside with his sword. Swarms of metallic gnats poured out next, only to be intercepted by the combined might of the heroes. From the starry expanse behind him, clusters of tentacles slithered out from the shadows of celestial bodies, and the indescribable form of a massive metal carapace materialized in the cosmic gloom, but the demigods held it at bay.
He leveled his sword at the vortex, the flames on its blade seeming to burn with enough heat to cleave the very river of time.
Suddenly, a chain lashed out from the vortex. The attack was simple, yet the chain seemed to carry the weight of an entire world. A blinding black spiritual light pierced straight through Jenkins's heart, but he remained completely unaffected.
The power of the Undying Man was limited by Jenkins's own spirit, but for a true immortal, not even the end of the world spelled the end of life. The only thing that could defeat an Undying Man was the Undying Man himself.
"This is the last strike!"
Jenkins roared, startling the nervous yet excited Chocolate on his shoulder. His sword cleaved through ages, slicing through time itself, seeming to point from the present to the past, from this very moment into the future.
Everything seemed to dissolve in the fiery trail of the blade, and every eye in the sea of stars was fixed upon this single, final moment.
Behind him, the phantom of a steel World Tree finally solidified. Green, gray, and bronze light flickered around it, and the glow on the spiraling greatsword intensified into a chaotic, primordial flame.
"Can he do it?"
Pops Oliver muttered, his eyes fixed on his apprentice's back. He could hardly believe that only one year ago, the boy had just become an Enchanter.
"He has to succeed!"
Mr. Gilbert told himself, breathing in ragged gasps. Not even the endless swarm of mechanical monsters in the cosmos could draw his gaze away.
"Losing is not an option!"
The old keeper from the Church of Death and End replied to Pops, certain he was about to witness the most incredible sight of his entire life.
This single strike contained all of Jenkins's power at its absolute peak. Unless he ascended to godhood, not even the fabled potion of the Lord of Blossoms could grant him such strength. All the experiences, all the training, all the knowledge he had gained over the past year was concentrated into this one attack. The sword touched the vortex—but then, a brass-colored arm extended from within.
The arm stopped Jenkins's blade dead.
The towering phantom emerged once more, identical to the one before. Around its gleaming, bald head, seven heart-shaped diamonds rotated slowly, seeming to emanate the arcane wisdom of the entire world.
It gripped the spiraling greatsword, wrenched it from Jenkins's hands, and hurled it into the cosmic depths. Then, it threw a punch. Jenkins pressed the cat down on his shoulder with one hand and met the blow with his other.
A force akin to striking the world itself sent him hurtling back toward the circular platform. Pops and the others rushed to catch him, but the lingering impact slammed into them all, making each feel as if they had been punched squarely in the gut.
Though the nine emblems on the ground remained, the perfectly synchronized powers of the Savior had vanished. The heroes faded away, the crystal crown dissolved, the stage collapsed, and the demon retreated into the void.
Only the tall figure remained, returning to its post before the vortex. It crossed its arms before its chest, its brass-colored eyes gazing down upon the mortals in the sea of stars.
"Savior Williamette..."
The voice reverberated through their minds, grand and powerful. This was the might of a Calamity Beast.
"The power of a Savior is still the power of a mortal. I am Calamity itself, an existence that transcends the mundane. Why would you ever believe a nine-in-one Savior could defeat me? Tell me, what power do you have left? What makes you any different from a common mortal now?"
"Meow!"
Chocolate struggled frantically. Though a cat's face can't exactly flush with exertion, it felt its heart hammering against its ribs. This was the perfect moment to strike. But Jenkins held it down tightly. Chocolate could have easily broken free, of course, but it couldn't bear the thought of hurting him.
"You gathered the seven heart-gems for me, mended the flaws in my soul, and accelerated my fusion, allowing me to become the Calamity Beast one step ahead of schedule. You gave me the opportunity to ascend, so I shall give you one in return."
"Join me. Join me. Join me, and together we shall witness the dawn of the Land of Steel."
"I've said it before," Jenkins retorted. "Don't even think about it."
Though he had taken the worst of the damage, Jenkins was, paradoxically, the first to recover. He released Pops's trembling arm and strode to the very edge of the glowing, circular stone, staring across the brilliant sea of stars at the towering phantom.
"After everything I've been through, you think I'd give up so easily?"
"It has only been a year since you stepped into the extraordinary world," the voice droned. "Even by the fleeting standards of a human life, that can hardly be called 'everything'."
"But for me," Jenkins said, his voice quiet but firm, "it's more than enough."