Chapter 401: An Inescapable Downfall  

As Aurus muttered out those words in front of the four that remained in the tower, they could not help but shudder in great fear as they looked at the being that had just appeared in front of them with terror. In their minds, the thought of Aurus heading to where they were did not cross their minds at all. It was as if they thought that they would be safe as long as they were inside the tower.

Unfortunately for them, that was not the case.

With that, all of them were frozen in their spots, with even the slightest thought of moving away from where they were being hard to do as their legs were doing all they can to lift up their weight while trembling in fear. Aurus, on the other hand, did not care as to whether or not they moved from their spots. In his mind, they would still be killed by him in the end anyway.

As such, he did not mind spending a bit more time on this tower, sensing that not much of an impact has been made by him destroying this city as he had not seen anyone call out for help or reinforcements yet. Well, even if they did, after rediscovering the fact that he had ways to improve his strength to inane degrees or the fact that he had the ability to create decoys of himself, he was more assured of his chances of escape, though he still opted to not engage with them.

Seeing as the being in their worst nightmares was not moving, the four eventually regained the strength to move once more as they found a bit of courage amidst the terror. Hastily, they huddled up with one another as they wondered as to what they should do now that their backs were against the wall. Unsurprisingly, the only conclusion they ended up with was the fact that they would have to go all out when fighting against Aurus.

Realizing this, Krabel could not help but let out a sigh as he muttered, “To think this would be how I would die, rather than dying with honor on the battlefield.”

Though, a few seconds later, his eyes gained a glint of determination and pride as he continued, “Then again, I guess this is a sort of honor in itself. Whether I die in the battlefield or die stalling this catastrophe from moving any further, I have still contributed to the continent I live on.”

With that, Krabel hastily circulated all of his energy as the beating of his heart gradually got louder. With his heartbeat resounding throughout, Krabel looked at Aurus, who was still standing all this time, with a hint of killing intent as his heartbeat now sounded similar to cannons being fired. After that, he unbuttoned the shirt he wore as he madly dashed towards Aurus, an intangible aura surrounding him in the process.

Whoosh!

Bang!In an instant, Krabel appeared in front of Aurus before punching out with his right fist, concentrating all of his strength on it. In response, Aurus redirected all of the energy in his body towards enhancing the strength of [Impenetrable Shield of Nil]. Then, he punched out the same way as Krabel, wanting to nullify the effect of the attack.

Surprisingly, rather than the attack being nullified, Aurus was instead affected by the punch Krabel sent, prompting him to take a few steps back as he felt a reverberating wave of force envelop his body for a bit. Realizing this, he could not help but take Krabel and the others a bit more seriously, wondering if they also had some sort of intangible power like Krabel under their sleeves.

Unfortunately for Aurus, the others did indeed have something like what Krabel had done, with Joaquim muttering among them, “It seems he’s not holding any back just to stall for more time. Although I’m proud that his Idea of Force has reached the highest level it could have, there’s still no hope for his survival, given that we’re facing against a calamity here.”

In response to Joaquim’s words, Gabriela and Nikolas lightly nodded as they let out a light sigh filled with sadness. Being the leaders of their own respective fields, as well as the fact that they were leaders in cities, all of them had broken through the Heavenly Barrier, becoming elite Rank 6 class holders. As for Joaquim, he had gone a step further, becoming a Rank 7 class holder.

Once a person at Rank 5 breaks through the Heavenly Barrier, they would become a Rank 6 class holder and gain experience regarding a certain universal force that governs the world they live in. For Spiriveritae like Aurus, that universal force would be their Epiphanies. As for those at Rank 6 and above, they would only be able to take control over a small part of it, yet that small part would make or break a supreme Rank 6 class holder. Those small parts of that universal force are called Ideas.

For Krabel, he had comprehended the Idea of Force, given his military background. At the moment, he was using his comprehension of the Idea to its limit, even breaking through his previous limits in the process. However, rather than be happy that he was being pushed to a greater level, he instead focused on using the strength he had gained towards Aurus, sending a flurry of punches towards Aurus, imbuing all of them with the Idea of Force.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

As Krabel continued to punch out towards Aurus, wanting to find an opening that he could take advantage of, Aurus gradually reallocated the energy he used on [Impenetrable Shield of Nil] towards [Dark Universal Blade], gradually reducing his defense in exchange for greater strength. With that, he was gradually not being forced to step back. Instead, as time passed, the punches he sent out to nullify Krabel’s attacks were forcing the latter to take steps back.

Seeing that his attacks were being overpowered, Krabel let out a hoarse yell as he pierced his chest with his right thumb, sending a wave of force into his body that forced his body to pump out more blood. As he hastily retracted his right thumb, blood slowly started to trickle out of it as the force behind his attacks had become more aggressive. Nevertheless, the others knew that Krabel was possibly going to die soon from blood loss.

With that, Gabriela and Nikolas entered the fray, utilizing the comprehension of their Ideas to the fullest extent as well, just like Krabel. In an instant, Gabriela dashed forward as sparks of lightning covered her body, sending a karate chop that was imbued with lightning at Aurus’s neck. At this moment, it was apparent that Gabriela had comprehended the Idea of Lightning, or to be more exact, the Idea of Lightning Bolts.

As for Nikolas, rather than face against Aurus head-on just like Krabel, he instead shot out a barrage of dark red flames out of his fingertips, acting as support fire from the rear lines. Given how he was the greatest blacksmith that lived in Nachthexen City, it did not take too long for one to figure out that Nikolas had comprehended the Idea of Flames…or the Idea of Small Flames.

Nevertheless, with Gabriela and Nikolas supporting Krabel’s frantic and aggressive attacks, they were gradually pushing Aurus back, instilling them with more and more confidence as time passed. Surprisingly, as if the heavens have heeded their calls, the Night Mage Regiment, which used to chase Aurus throughout the whole city before stopping at the tower, had finally gotten over their initial rage, regaining their mental clarity as they also gave support fire from the windows.

Fwoosh! Bang! Crackle!

At this moment, the battle looked more like what one would see in a bullet hell game rather than in a real fight, given how there were multiple beams of dark light and multiple wisps of dark red flames heading for Aurus. However, such a sight did not last for too long.

Swoosh!In less than an instant, the entire surroundings had turned eerily silent as the Night Mage Regiment that were hovering outside the windows…suddenly fell. To be more exact, all of their heads were decapitated as their bodies fell first. As to how it was done…only Aurus knew the answer to that.

Seeing as how the Night Mage Regiment was destroyed in one move, Krabel, Gabriela, and Nikolas stopped attacking as the fear that consumed them earlier had returned yet again. But of course, with them using up all of their strength, even going so far as to utilize the entirety of their comprehended Ideas, it wasn’t too hard for them to find the will to fight once more.

It’s just that…Aurus did not give them a chance anymore.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

As three faint yet sharp sounds of something cutting against something else, all three stood still in their places as thin lines of blood started to appear from the necks. A few seconds later, their heads gradually slid off their necks as a puddle of blood started to be made around where Aurus stood. On the other hand, Aurus looked at the now dead corpses of the three with a gaze of indifference as the blade he had hastily conjured disappeared off into thin air.

After that, he looked at Joaquim, the only one alive other than Aurus in this current situation. Although Aurus was being surrounded by a large swath of Wind energy particles thanks to him killing three Rank 6 class holders at once, the malicious and evil aura surrounding him still affected Joaquim, making him hastily make a decision as to whether he should fight against Aurus to the bitter end or just give up.

Thud. Thud.

Unexpectedly, Joaquim started to kneel on the floor, ignoring the blood that was trickled from the corpses of the people that used to work for him. For a brief moment, the intangible aura that stemmed from the comprehension of an Idea gradually surrounded him, but in the end, he dispelled it as he let out a long sigh.

Giving off the feeling that he had fully given up on the thought of resisting what was the inevitable, Joaquim instead looked at Aurus, who was gradually walking to where he was. On the other hand, the primal instinct controlling Aurus was confused as what the man was doing. Fortunately, it did not take too long for it to understand, prompting Aurus to ask in his hoarse and grim voice, “Are you certain of your choice?”

“Well, what’s the point of resisting something that’s bound to be inevitable?” Joaquim answered, a wry smile seen on his face while his eyes were filled with the feeling of sadness. “Out of all of those that were in Nachthexen City, I’m the only one remaining. Even the support team of those mages interfering in your fight have died due to the connection they had.”

“I may be a Rank 7 class holder, but in front of you, who was able to kill three Rank 6 class holders going all out in one move, then it just seems foolish for me to harbor thoughts of fighting. Even if I escape, you’ll still end up killing me, so what’s the point,” he continued.

After letting out a long sigh, he then looked at Aurus one last time before asking, “Before you do what you do, just let me ask you this.”

“Why are you doing this?”

Hearing such a question, Aurus went silent for a few seconds as his primal instinct seemed to ponder over the question with great interest. Although more and more reasons had appeared the more Aurus killed, he still hadn’t forget the main reason as to why he started to kill in the first place.

Eventually, Aurus looked at Joaquim, replying with the tone of seemingly giving Joaquim the honor he deserved as he said, “To become stronger.”

Swish!

Plop!

In less than an instant, a sword with a dark streak in the middle was conjured as Aurus used it to decapitate the man. Though, rather than having an expression of regret on his face, the expression on his face instead…

…was contentment.