A cold smile played on Phaethon's lips.
He had never expected this single thrust to slay a god.
What he wanted, was propulsion!
"BOOM——!!!"
The immense kinetic energy erupted completely, like the vault of heaven collapsing, like a reversed torrent of stars.
It was not penetration, but propulsion!
As if the entire weight of the sky came crashing down, shoving the Titan's mountainous body into a violent backward retreat!
It plowed backward along the fissure Phaethon had cleaved, rocks shattering, earth shaking, mountains quaking, as if the whole world trembled with its retreat. Until it slammed into the very end of the fissure—
Right at that moment.
Another figure descended like lightning splitting chaos!
Phainon.
The "Dawnmaker" longsword in his hand was already brimming with edge sharp enough to sever mountains. A flash of sword light, space-time seeming to freeze—only that one supremely sharp arc remained, striking the Titan's neck with absolute precision!
*CLANG——!*
The sound of metal striking stone pierced the ears, sparks flying like bursting stars.
The Dawnmaker's blade had only cut a few feet into that divinely wrought scaly hide. Golden divine blood seeped slightly, yet under the frantic nourishment of the surrounding Earth Authority, it visibly healed at a rapid pace.
In pain, the Titan let out a roar that shook the cosmos. The sound brimmed with wrathful fury at this desecration. It abruptly opened its eyes—those eyes no longer held the radiant light befitting a deity, only the seething, churning Black Tide!
But in the instant it raised its head.
Phainon and Phaethon locked eyes across the distance.
No words were needed; their minds were one.
The Infinity Gate boomed open. Phaethon stepped across space-time, arriving simultaneously with Phainon on either side of the Titan's skull. Together, they grasped the colossal horn that seemed to prop up heaven and earth.
"UP——!!!"
They roared in unison. Muscles corded on their arms, tendons roaring like dragons. A force vast enough to overturn the mortal world erupted forth.
That dragon-like divine body, hundreds of meters long, heavy as mountain ranges, was forcibly, completely, wrenched from the embrace and prison of the Earth Mother!
Countless rocks and earth cascaded from its body like tears of mourning.
For the first time, it was utterly separated from the depths that had both birthed and imprisoned it.
And then—
The Infinity Gate opened once more, like the maw of the firmament yawning wide, swallowing the Titan whole and casting it into the boundless high sky!
"The Earth Titan…" Phaethon looked up at the sky, his gaze like a cold blade cutting through the heavens. "... should be killed in the sky."
The next moment, Authorities fully unleashed, all phenomena answering his call!
[Ocean] coiled all moisture for dozens of miles around. Beneath the firmament, a magnificent suspended sea abruptly appeared, waves raging, mirroring the sky's light;
[Sky] summoned a violent storm-eye sweeping through all phenomena. Thunderclouds coiled and roared like billions of dragons, electric serpents dancing wildly;
[Passage] continuously flickered open and shut in the air. Countless spatial portals arrayed like stars, warping space-time;
[Romance] wove countless glittering golden threads, converging into a Path of the War God stretching from the mortal realm straight to the firmament, paving the way for conquest with glory.
The Titan struggled madly in the sky, roaring, trying to break free and return to the earth.
But every assault was deftly redirected by the profound Gates, ruthlessly torn by the violent storm and thunder, repeatedly washed and pounded by the vast suspended sea.
Phaethon and Phainon trod the golden-threaded path, ascending step by step, like rebels marching against heaven.
Every strike was a cataclysmic combination. Storm and tidal wave surged with their will; space folded at their intent.
Rock crystals continuously shattered. The Black Tide violently vaporized. Golden divine blood rained down like a torrential downpour.
They fought their bloody way to the very pinnacle of the firmament—the apex of Amphoreus, a place the Earth Titan had never touched before.
In the moment the end descended upon it.
It seemed to finally shake off a shred of the Black Tide's corruption. It lowered its massive head, gazing down at the world below, which it had tortured into a ravaged ruin.
In the instant the Black Tide receded, a brief flicker of clarity belonging to the ancient deity surfaced in its eyes.
It was the final rally of Earth.
Not a trace of hesitation remained in Phaethon's eyes, only resolute mercy.
The Infinity Gate opened one last time. A gargantuan blade, seemingly condensed from all the strife and warfare in the world, slowly materialized—the blade of fury.
It fell, carrying the resolve of judgment.
It pierced, bearing the mission of conclusion.
It impaled, erupting with light that tore through the divine core.
It severed the Titan's head!
The agonized roar finally ceased.
Golden divine blood fell like a warm, torrential rain, drizzling down upon all of Amphoreus .
It was the blood of a god, and also the vitality for all things' rebirth.
Where the rain fell, scorched earth regained verdant life, withered trees sprouted new buds, and delicate new blooms, never seen before, blossomed amidst the ruins.
In a daze, all surviving children of man upon the earth seemed to hear a distant, deep, yet relieved sigh.
It was the sigh of the earth finally able to rest in peace.
...
In a corner of the assembly hall, two city-state representatives, richly dressed but unable to conceal their anxiety and scheming, conversed in low tones. The pure gems on their fingers reflected their uneasy faces.
"What does the Empress intend this time? Convening a citizens' assembly so suddenly… my homeland cannot withstand any more upheaval." A plump, rotund city-state representative complained under his breath, his silk robes seeming to lose their luster from his agitation.
"Your homeland? Wasn't that the famous major grain-producing region? How could it not withstand upheaval?" A tall, thin representative with shrewd eyes chimed in, his tone carrying a hint of probing.
"Major grain-producing region? Hmph!" The fat representative seemed poked in a sore spot, his fleshy face trembling. "Precisely because of those hateful Black Tide creations! Tens of thousands of acres of fertile fields outside the city, ripe for harvest, were trampled into ruin overnight by monsters appearing from who-knows-where! Not a single grain was saved! Do you have any idea how many Balance Coins I lost?!"
His voice grew shrill with heartache, then he forcibly lowered it again. "What's more infuriating is that agriculture supervisor I promoted from among those mud-legged peasants—he's a complete and utter fool! At this critical juncture, he actually dares talk about opening the granaries and distributing grain to relieve those lowborn wretches!"
"Hah?" The tall, thin representative let out a exaggerated snort of derision. "Those of lowborn origin truly have such limited vision! Doesn't he know that precisely now is the time to tightly seal the granaries, wait for grain prices to skyrocket, and then reap the last Balance Coin from those wretches? This is a prime opportunity to make a fortune!"
"Exactly!" The fat representative spat angrily. "I sent him packing on the spot, told him to go home and feed himself! But guess what? That fool with no regard for his life actually dared incite a bunch of lowborns starving red-eyed to storm my private granary! The audacity!"
"Oh? It came to that?" The tall, thin representative's eyes flashed with wariness. "How did you resolve it? Didn't leave any lasting trouble, did you?"