Chapter 674
Adele's Strangeness, the Power of the Past!
But that wasn't the most troublesome thing. What really set Erebus's alarm bells going off was another feeling.
Every attack Cohen made, whether or not blocked by his armor or greatsword, seemed to carry a trace of extremely subtle power, like a leech, penetrating the surface of his defenses and quietly seeping into the depths of his past self.
It's not the burning of flames, nor is it a pure physical impact; it's more like a continuously accumulating "potential."
This "momentum" was constantly accumulating, like a flood rising behind a dam. Although each rise seemed insignificant, the total amount accumulated made him feel a sense of threat, as if it would erupt at any moment.
As his dark divine power circulated within his body, he began to feel sluggish, as if countless tiny barbs had been buried inside him.
Can't wait any longer!
If this entanglement continues, this past self, which carries a portion of his will, will likely be defeated by this mortal.
This is not just a simple loss of a bet; it is a trampling of his dignity as the supreme Dark God!
This ridiculous game must end. We must crush this annoying bug with overwhelming force.
A chilling will far surpassing anything before erupted like a dormant volcano.
"Mortal... your tricks end here!"
Erebus's hoarse, cold voice resounded throughout the entire alternate dimension, no longer concealing his anger and murderous intent.
He no longer maintained the legendary mage's fighting stance, and even gave up attacking with the dark greatsword.
His arms suddenly shot out, and the hideous dark armor expanded violently as if it were alive.
boom--!!!
Centered on him, boundless dark divine power, no longer restricted by the "legendary past self," poured out violently, instantly engulfing the space within a radius of several thousand meters, completely transforming this battlefield into his absolute divine domain.
In the heart of this darkness, an indescribable, terrifying phantom began to rapidly coalesce.
The phantom had a blurry humanoid outline, yet it was hundreds of meters tall, and wore a crown that seemed to be woven from the endless night sky.
The phantom's face was a blur, except for a pair of eyes burning with eternally cold purple flames, like two stars suspended in a dark abyss, mercilessly looking down at Cohen, who was like an ant below.
The gods have descended!
Even if it is just a highly diluted phantom induced by a wisp of will, the essential pressure of the dark godhood it carries far surpasses that of a legend.
That was an absolute difference in the level of life and the control of rules. The moment this temporary extradimensional space appeared, it began to tremble violently, with countless fine spatial cracks appearing, as if it would collapse completely at any moment.
Erebus, the god of darkness, disregarded all pride and directly used the true divine power he could currently command during the wager.
He would use his absolute divine power to crush Cohen, along with all his resistance, into dust!
"Erebus! How dare you—!"
In the prime plane, the goddess of light, Aetheril, revealed undisguised shock and anger.
A dazzling holy light erupted around him like the sun, blurring his figure instantly. He was about to step into the light screen reflecting the battlefield and forcibly interfere with the battle in the other-dimensional space.
However, the true form of the God of Darkness was prepared and immediately appeared between Aetheril and the light barrier, forming an insurmountable barrier.
Just as the two main gods were about to begin their divine war, within the other-dimensional space, the phantom of the dark deity summoned by Erebus had already taken shape.
The phantom's dark greatsword, seemingly capable of cleaving the world, wielded a terrifying power capable of ending everything, ignoring the concepts of space and time, and slashed down at the tiny Cohen below.
Wherever the sword passed, space shattered like fragile glass, revealing the raging void turbulence behind it.
This attack targeted Cohen's very existence, transcending the concepts of speed and defense.
However, faced with this terrifying attack that seemed capable of annihilating everything below the level of a god, Cohen showed no fear or despair whatsoever.
hold head high--!!!
A vast, ancient, and majestic dragon's roar, seemingly traversing the endless river of time, suddenly resounded in front of Cohen.
It didn't come from his throat, but from the depths of the "Dragon Kingdom" domain around him, which had always been fighting against the dark realm.
The earthen-yellow halo suddenly burst forth with dazzling golden light, and an unimaginably enormous phantom of a dragon abruptly rose from the halo, completely sheltering Cohen beneath it.
This dragon phantom was completely different from any dragon phantom that Cohen had summoned before.
Its scales are imprinted with primordial runes that seem to have created the world, its eyes hold the light and shadow of the birth and destruction of stars, and its aura is ancient, wild, and majestic, as if it were the source of all dragons, the progenitor that carries the concepts of "power" and "protection" of the world!
May the First Emperor protect you!
Originating from the deepest layer of the "Dragon Kingdom" realm, this ultimate protective power is an absolute defense transformed by Cohen by combining the rule skill "Divine Protection" with the bloodline of the dragons of this world and his understanding of the rules.
When faced with a life-threatening crisis, the will of the Ancestral Dragon can be briefly invoked, granting absolute invincibility and immunity to all forms of damage, corruption, and rule obliteration.
Even if the attack was launched by the phantom of a god's will!
Boom-! ! ! !
The phantom of the dark greatsword struck the head of the roaring ancestral dragon phantom squarely.
After a deafening roar that sent shivers down one's spine, the dark god's power, capable of cleaving space and annihilating rules, crashed into the seemingly illusory phantom of the ancestral dragon and shattered.
The phantom of the dark greatsword shattered inch by inch, starting from its tip, transforming into primordial dark energy turbulence, which was dispelled by the even more ancient and majestic golden light emanating from the phantom of the Ancestral Dragon.
The hundred-meter-tall phantom of the dark deity seemed to suffer a backlash, dimming violently for a moment and emitting a silent roar.
"what?"
Within the alternate dimension, Erebus's soul, filled with shock and rage, reverberated through the darkness.
He simply couldn't understand how a mortal's domain could summon such an ancient protective power that could even withstand a direct attack from the phantom of a god he had summoned.
Cohen, however, gave him no time to be shocked or to regroup.
The moment the illusory dragon blocked the fatal blow, the "adding fuel to the fire" rune power within Cohen's body, which had been quietly accumulating with each attack, finally found the perfect eruption point, like a volcano that had been suppressed to its limit.
At the same time, the effect of the "Blade Waltz" rune was pushed to its limit. His body seemed to lose weight and the restraint of inertia. With a series of physics-defying trajectories, he pierced through the dissipating dark energy turbulence and the swaying phantom of the dark deity, instantly appearing in front of Erebus's "past self".
Timing, angle, power, will... everything reached perfect unity at this moment, after countless attacks and the illusory dragon creating the opportunity for a fatal blow.
Cohen was engulfed in golden flames, his hands covered in a pearly sheen (the destructive power of the "Pearl Gauntlets" was also stacked to the extreme). Before Erebus could make any effective reaction, he punched the dark armor on his chest that had been attacked countless times.
No sound.
Or rather, the sound was instantly swallowed up by the extreme heat and explosion.
Only a pure, extreme white light exploded outwards from the point where the fist landed.
Then came the silent collapse.
The hideous dark armor on Erebus's body silently melted away the moment the white light touched it.
Beneath the armor, the body that belonged to the "past incarnation" of the God of Darkness was reduced to ashes in the incandescent flames.
The towering, hundred-meter-tall phantom of the dark deity seemed to have lost its foundation, trembled violently, and completely dissipated in the raging energy turbulence.
The white light slowly dissipated.
On the otherworldly battlefield, only Cohen's heavily panting figure remained. He maintained his punching stance, but there was nothing in front of his fist.
Only the lingering, not fully healed, spatial cracks remain in the air.
The Dark God Erebus, the legendary "past self" who wagered his divine will in a gamble, along with the divine phantoms he summoned, was utterly crushed and burned to ashes by Cohen, a "mortal" without divinity, divine nature, or divine power, with mortal strength, all under the watchful eyes of the gods and countless powerful beings!
……
The prime plane, above Florence.
The light screen reflecting the battlefield faithfully presented the final burst of white light, the dissipation of the dark phantom, and the complete annihilation of Erebus's past self.
Then, the image freezes on Cohen's figure, who is panting heavily but still standing upright.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators, whether humans, elves, dwarves, or other intelligent races, whether powerful superhumans or ordinary soldiers and civilians, were all as if an invisible giant hand had choked them, rendering them unable to utter a sound.
Their eyes were wide open, as if their brains couldn't process the information they had just received.
The fluctuations representing the exchange of divine thoughts among the gods also came to a complete standstill.
The mist surrounding Madora, the god of prophecy, solidified.
The thunderclouds beside Sirova, the god of the sky and storms, stopped churning.
The flames on Fjorn, the god of fire and magma, were frozen in the moment of their ascent.
Aion, the god of books and knowledge; Elon, the ancient sage of wisdom, history, and knowledge… all the gods, regardless of their stance, allegiance, or relationship with Cohen or Erebus.
At this moment, everything seemed to be frozen by the most powerful time magic, maintaining a solidified posture.
shock?
No, that word is no longer enough to describe how they feel at that moment.
It was horrifying, absurd, and a tremendous shock from the complete subversion of cognition.
Even a true supreme god wielding a powerful divine office was still defeated after using "divine descent"!
Defeated by a mortal, defeated so thoroughly that even the vessel that carried his will was completely burned, and even the last phantom of the god was defeated head-on!
This surpassed all their knowledge and experience regarding "gods" and "mortals" accumulated throughout their endless divine lives. Mortals, relying on runes, domains, and combat skills… could actually defeat the will of a god in direct combat?
How did Cohen survive an attack by a god descending upon the gods, an attack capable of annihilating demigods in an instant?
The light screen reflecting Cohen's figure became incredibly glaring to every deity at this moment.
A few minutes later, the light screen reflecting the battlefield shattered silently as Cohen's figure slowly stepped out of the dimensional rift, as if it had completed its mission. It turned into specks of dark red light, which were then swallowed up again by the blood-red aura surging around Ares, the God of War.
However, the end of the battle did not mean the end of everything.
On the contrary, the real storm may have only just begun to brew.
Om-! ! !
A dull, oppressive, and extremely painful soul fluctuation emanated from Erebus's body.
At the moment when his "past self" was completely incinerated by Cohen, Erebus suffered a violent backlash from the rules of the "Time Corridor," the ancient artifact used to summon the Time God who carried his past self.
The boundless darkness that represented the true form of Erebus, the god of darkness, visibly dimmed.
Although the darkness quickly stabilized and coalesced again, the momentary weakness and injury could not escape the perception of any of the gods present.
A supreme god, whose past self, carrying his will, was directly defeated, resulting in damage to his divine artifacts and a backlash against his original self.
This is an extremely rare and shameful event, even in the long, almost eternal lives of the gods.
All eyes, whether on the gods high in the sky or on the hundreds of thousands of creatures on the plains holding their breath and looking up, were turned to the figure who had just stepped out of the spatial rift and reappeared in everyone's sight—Cohen Corleone.
Cohen was clearly not in good shape either; his clothes were torn in many places, revealing burn marks and signs of darkness beneath.
His face was slightly pale, and the runes on his body that had been shining with various lights had dimmed, as if they had exhausted their power. The aura of the Triple Legendary Domain had also subsided.
However, his back remained ramrod straight, and his eyes were calm and deep, as if the thrilling, epic battle that had just taken place was merely a slightly intense warm-up.
He hovered silently in mid-air, facing the deathly silence of the entire world and the unreadable gazes of the gods high in the sky.
Just as Cohen returned to the main plane, a holy and warm light completely enveloped him, repairing the injuries within his body.
At the same time, the goddess of light, Aetheril, appeared almost the instant Cohen appeared, shielding him completely behind her.
Aetherel's beautiful face was now covered with a layer of cold frost, and her eyes, which were like the purest light element, were burning with undisguised anger, fixed on Erebus not far away.
Just moments ago, the instant Erebus shamelessly used "Divine Descent," the outline of a magnificent kingdom composed of pure holy light and angelic phantoms faintly appeared behind Aetheril.
If Cohen hadn't ultimately used "Ancestral Dragon's Blessing" to confront the phantom of the deity and successfully counterattacked with his accumulated power, this Goddess of Light would probably have disregarded everything and directly launched her divine kingdom, engaging in a true, life-or-death divine war with the God of Darkness above the prime material plane.
Only when he saw Cohen emerge unharmed did the anger in Aetherel's eyes subside slightly.
She said nothing, simply standing there quietly, her warm holy light completely enveloping Cohen, and also blocking out the gaze of the God of Darkness and any other potentially hostile eyes.
After a brief silence, Madora's voice slowly rose again:
"The outcome is decided. The God of Darkness, Erebus, in his past life, made a bet with Cohen Corleone to settle his old grudge with Vilekis."
Now, Erebus's past self has been decisively defeated and utterly annihilated by Cohen.
Madora's gaze calmly fell upon Erebus, the god of darkness:
"According to the wager, Erebus, the god of darkness, has lost."
From this day forward, all past grievances between you and Virekis, the first mortal elf queen, will be settled.
You, and the dark pantheon you represent, are prohibited from pursuing or persecuting Virekis for any reason or in any form.
This covenant, witnessed by all the gods present and recorded by the Council of the Supreme Gods, is not to be violated.
Madora's voice sealed the deal in this dramatic bet.
The rules have been set, and there are many witnesses; even the God of Darkness can no longer openly renege on them.
Not far away, a slight energy fluctuation came from the area of light belonging to the elven pantheon.
The ancient sages of wisdom, history, and knowledge, Elon Wise Words, and Lyra Chanting, the goddess of art, poetry, and music, all relaxed considerably.
High above, the neutral deities who were not directly involved in the event but were merely witnesses focused most of their attention and divine senses on Cohen.
"Incredible...They really did it..."
"To defeat the will of a god with a mortal body... even with Erebus suppressing his power, this is still an unimaginable feat."
“Those runes…and that final phantom of the Ancestral Dragon…His Majesty’s judgment is probably correct; there is indeed the aura of ‘Creation Runes,’ as well as the ancient blessing of the Time-Space Dragon lineage…”
"As expected of that person... even after being trapped in the cycle of rebirth for ten thousand years and reincarnated as a mortal, they can still create such a... miracle!"
“Erebus has truly lost all face this time.”
To be suppressed once again in this way by one's former 'enemy'... Ha, how interesting!
Erebus, the god of darkness, known for his ruthlessness and domineering nature, seems to never gain the upper hand when it comes to matters involving the "god of shadows."
Even if the other party has been reincarnated and lost their divine status and power.
But this seemingly destined suppression was confirmed once again at this moment in such a dramatic and humiliating way.
On the plains, hundreds of thousands of lives remain immersed in unparalleled shock and bewilderment.
They may not be able to fully comprehend the clash of wills between gods, but they witnessed a mortal defeat a god in the presence of the gods.
Regardless of the limitations and rules involved, the very act of defeating the incarnation of a god was enough to overturn their understanding and become a mythological chapter that would be passed down through the ages.
At the center of all this storm and the convergence of gazes, Cohen simply stood there quietly, behind the warm and steadfast barrier of holy light of the Goddess of Light, Aetheril.
His chest rose and fell slightly as he adjusted the power within his body that had been nearly depleted but was now slowly recovering.
He could feel the soreness in his muscles, the emptiness in his magic circuits, and the residual fluctuations left by the over-stimulated enhancement runes.
But all of this is within a controllable range.
He raised his head, his gaze calmly sweeping over the divine radiance of various meanings in the high heavens, finally settling on the true form of the Dark God Erebus, who still churned with cold rage, yet could not conceal a hint of weakness.
Several streaks of light swiftly flew down from below, and the girls, including Adele, Isabella, and Windsordler, arrived behind Cohen.
Cohen gave them a slightly tired smile, gently shook the girls' hands, and silently conveyed the message that "I'm fine" through his actions.
But just as he was about to say something, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He keenly sensed a slight unnatural disorder in the aura flowing around Adele. He looked into Adele's eyes, about to speak.
Adele gently shook her head and reached out to stop him from asking the question he was about to ask.
She tilted her head slightly and lowered her voice:
"Just now, seeing that you seemed about to be unable to withstand Erebus's final attack, I tried to draw upon some of my past power."
"It's okay, it's just a little awkward, it'll be fine in a bit."
She spoke casually, but Cohen's heart felt as if it had been gently bumped by something.
He knew Adele all too well, and he understood what she meant by "the power of the past."
Without a doubt, Adele was also the reincarnation of a deity, in a similar situation to him.
Cohen didn't know why Adele could still mobilize the power from her past life, but he knew that mobilizing such power always came at a huge price.
Her nonchalant tone at this moment was simply to avoid worrying him.
A warm feeling welled up in Cohen's heart. He didn't say anything, but instead squeezed Adele's hand, which was still not withdrawn, even tighter.
Then, he took a deep breath, suppressed his turbulent emotions, raised his head again, and his gaze became sharp and calm once more as he looked up at the high sky.
The darkness that represented Erebus's true form continued to churn silently.
But Madora, the god of prophecy, had just pronounced his judgment, and the silent yet clear attitude of the surrounding gods acted like invisible chains, binding this enraged god of darkness.
With everyone watching, the outcome of the bet already decided, and the gods as witnesses, he had few other options:
"I will no longer dwell on this matter!"
When Erebus, the god of darkness, uttered these words, it meant that the bond of the wager had officially come into effect.
From this moment on, at least on the surface, the God of Darkness and his forces could no longer pursue or retaliate against the first Elf Queen, Virekis, for any reason.
That feud that lasted for ten thousand years was brought to a forced end under the witness of the gods.
Not far away in mid-air, Vilekis floated quietly, the vines and petals formed by the natural spiritual light on her body swaying silently.
Her stunningly beautiful face held an unusually complex expression.
There was a sense of relief and satisfaction at being forced to submit to a formidable enemy, but more than anything, there was a palpitation that even she herself found unfamiliar.
Did he really...do it?
That man, Cohen Corleone, truly faced a genuine, powerful god for her sake! (End of Chapter)