Chapter 6
The air grew thick, the wind turbulent, carrying crimson petals that numbered in the billions, covering the Plains of Vabos.
With unnatural grace, they gathered upon the stone pillar Vabon had created, coalescing into a magnificent, bloody tree. The petrified golem figures took to the sky, blood pouring from their bodies as they shifted form.
They took on the likeness of Solos, but what stood out were their three wailing faces: one wept bitter tears, another wore a grotesquely wide smile, and the last was a mask of pure wrath. Their auras burst forth, skyrocketing at a rapid pace. Solos stretched his hands apart, and strings of energy erupted from his back, connecting him to the tree and his summons.
In that moment, space itself shifted. The sounds of beasts and monsters vanished, replaced by an oppressive silence.
"I welcome thee to my domain," Solos declared. "As my lord has spoken, I shall do."
The summoned clones knelt in prayer behind him.
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Throughout this, Dax caressed his blade, watching Solos with a scholar's intensity. "You are strong. Very strong. I would love to study you. Ohh, how you will look under my scalpel." His true nature slipped out, a mad gleam in his eyes. "I can't wait. I must catch him. I have never caught a fourth-dimensional being."
He wasn't called the Black Doctor for no reason.
In a blink, the sound of clashing weapons reverberated, shaking the very fabric of space. In a matter of seconds, thousands of blows were exchanged in a simple, brutal test of strength.
Dax looked at his fist, watching blood seep from his knuckles, but he felt no pain. Deep down, his mind screamed at him.
Killing Series: 1st Form: Covered in Blood.
Killing intent erupted from him, covering Dax head to toe and presenting him as a man drenched in gore. The entire plain was now shrouded in his depressive aura, a wretched miasma that released the phantom images of dead souls.
"Thee cannot be human. What art thee?" Solos demanded.
Dax moved, leaving a shockwave in his wake. He placed his palm on Cil, drawing the blade in a wide, devastating arc.
But Solos was not idle. He reacted with insane speed, blocking the sword with his hardened wings. The three summons behind him moved in perfect sync: the archer flew high above the clouds, while the mage positioned itself behind Solos, chanting.
Danger!
Like a flash, Dax vanished. But as he moved, the largest blood golem flapped its stone wings, matching his speed.
"Just because you are stone doesn't make you limited." Dax squeezed his fist, and the golem halted mid-stride, its body slowly compressing under immense telekinetic pressure.
The angel could only watch, his curiosity piqued. He had never seen anything like this. Dax opened his palm, hurling the compressed stone golem back at its master.
Solos bent his head to the side, dodging it casually. The same could not be said for the chanting mage golem, which was crushed to dust.
Before Dax could make another move, a sound tore through the air, breaking the sky apart.
Thunk!
An arrow pierced Dax's chest, then multiplied. A storm of bloody arrows followed, thrashing his body around like a rag doll.
"Combust." Solos squeezed his hand, and every arrow embedded in Dax's body exploded.
As Dax was thrown by the concussive force, a wide, ecstatic smile split his face. "Hahahahahahah! I can't control my body!" he screamed in delight.
Tumbling through the air, Solos appeared in a flash, his blood sword cutting a lethal path.
Boom!
Dax fell to the ground like a comet, landing on his feet and creating a deep crater. His muscles tensed, bulging with power.
Cil hummed, communicating with her master. With a nod of understanding, Dax placed the dull back of the katana against his own neck.
"Your power is dominance over blood," Dax stated, his voice cold and clear. "And I am the Slaughterer. Slaughter cannot be completed without blood."
"Today, I will slaughter the very essence and root of slaughter… and that is blood."
"Yes. Today, I will kill blood."
His killing intent flowed into Cil, traveling through her cold edge. A fundamental shift occurred. The scream of a familiar, cosmic beast echoed across the plains.
"A sonar?" The angel looked to the sky but saw nothing.
Then his eyes locked onto the changing blade in Dax's hand, and he saw it—the phantom image of a terrifying, planet-sized whale entity.
"My god, what have we provoked?" Solos was in utter shock. He couldn't believe his eyes; the weapon itself was the source of this overwhelming pressure.
"A scythe?" Dax marvelled at his glorious weapon. "You are beautiful, Cil."
A beautiful, terrifying scythe took form. Runic drawings of the World-Devouring Whale were etched into its deep black rod, and its edge was a perfect, vicious crimson, the color of fresh blood.
In a final display of defiance, waves of arrows rained down on Dax.
"You lack respect." Gently, he held Cil by the end of her rod and drew a single, beautiful, and absolute arc.
Silence reigned over the battlefield.
Then, the world began to tremble.
First, the massive blood tree slid cleanly from its roots, collapsing to the ground.
Then, the entire "Blood World" domain cracked like glass, shattering and returning them to reality.
Solos's eyes widened in disbelief. From start to this point, this human has destroyed my understanding of this world.
He has to die. I cannot let him grow stronger than this. For the sake of my god, I will wipe out this future obstacle, even if it costs me everything.
He clenched his fist.
Dax himself was stunned by the power of his own attack, but his mind didn't linger on it. There was still an enemy before him.
He vanished, clashing with Solos once more. Unbeknownst to them in their chaotic display of power, their battle had shifted locations, and they now found themselves…
…In Mount Gahena.