Kyle’s voice was crisp and sharp.
Nathaniel’s calm smile finally fell. In the next moment, he was already in front of Kyle’s kneeling form, staring into his eyes, his fingers tightening around his neck.
The other Rulers mentally lit a candle for Kyle—this arrogant man still had the gall to continue running his damn mouth despite his grim state! It was as if he felt no fear!
Nathaniel’s voice was hoarse as he finally revealed his true nature, hidden behind the calm smile. Every word he uttered dripped with venom, sending a chill through the air as if even the very atmosphere feared him.
"You really know how to run your mouth."
But he didn’t snap Kyle’s neck. After all, that would have been far too merciful a death. It also wouldn’t extinguish the flames burning in his heart. Instead, he grabbed him by the hair, slamming the head that had dared to stay held high all this time into the ground.
The impact reverberated through the air with a loud bang as the land splintered.
Dust and debris erupted, mingling with crimson blood. Kyle’s gaze chilled as he caught the metallic tang on his tongue.
Under the immense pressure on his body, he had to focus on not being crushed. On top of that, he was also secretly forming a massive array beneath the ground, utilizing the power of the few small particles of cold essence his fake body contained to bypass Nathaniel’s power, aiming to send Ares and the rest to a safer place in the surroundings while keeping Nathaniel’s focus on himself, leaving him very powerless to fight back.
But he counted each blow, feeling them reverberate through his whole body. Heh. When was the last time someone struck him so brutally—and he couldn’t retaliate?
It had been a while... The last time was when he had faced Azazeal head-on. His fists clenched, coiling with restrained fury. Just one opening—just a tiny one—and he would unleash everything he had, showing this person the true meaning of regret.
Not noticing the glowing green eyes that were growing emptier with each moment, Nathaniel moved. With a swift motion, he raised his foot and kicked, sending Kyle’s body across the clearing until he crashed into a distant tall door, bursting it open.
Nathaniel aimed to shatter his majestic aura and crush the confidence radiating from him, forcing him to beg for mercy.
He repeated each word he had spoken earlier. His voice was sharper and colder, every syllable cutting, as his swift figure appeared beside Kyle’s bloodied form.
"Really know how to run your mouth!"
Yet, the Celestial, far weaker than him and already on death’s door, still dared to meet his gaze. His eyes held an emptiness that shook Nathaniel to the core. Kyle’s voice trembled, yet it held a stubborn firmness.
"What? D-Does the truth taste bitter?"
Nathaniel staggered.
The truth? Of course—it burned bitterly.
His own power, compared to the ones he had stolen, was worthless—nothing at all!
He was born with a pitiful power! Was he supposed to remain weak his entire life?
No—he had stolen to rewrite his future!
And he felt no remorse!
If more opportunities arose in the future, he would seize even more, without hesitation!
This was the path to shine, to sit above all—a future he had forged with his own hands!
"Haha..."
"Ha...hahaha."
He laughed maniacally, quickly grabbed Kyle by the collar, and began beating him without any concern for his image, almost as if he had lost his mind. For the first time in his long life, he felt this shaken. And the cause of it was this weakling? He couldn’t comprehend it. Everyone submitted to him. Everyone feared him. But why couldn’t he detect even a trace of fear in Kyle’s bright eyes, despite everything?? Just why?!
His brutal violence was seen by all.
The Rulers snickered at Kyle’s state, finally satisfied as the anger in their hearts slowly dispersed. Nathaniel could have killed Kyle with ease, yet he chose not to. Instead, he deliberately used his immense strength to humiliate him and show the big difference between them, making him wish for death.
Only Lui looked away, unable to bear the sight. With Nathaniel’s focus completely fixed on Kyle, some of the weight on Ares and the others eased—albeit only slightly.
But it was enough to complete the vast array Kyle had been weaving beneath the ground, spreading out like a tightly drawn net that encompassed everything below.
Even while being beaten, his focus never wavered. Although he couldn’t send them out of this realm because of the creeping darkness thickening in the air, he could at least send them far away from Nathaniel.
A brilliant light pulsed beneath the earth, subtle yet deadly. Every strike he endured bought him time. Just as his palm spread to rest on the ground to activate the finally completed array, letting the tiny particles of his essence slip from his fingertips toward it, the one beating him abruptly paused.
Kyle froze. Had he noticed?
No—he couldn’t afford to fail! Before Kyle’s heart could sink, he heard Nathaniel mutter, his voice finally regaining a trace of calm.
"What’s that?"
Only then did Kyle force his blood-clouded eyes to focus, realizing the man above him was staring into the tall door his body had slammed into earlier—now lying wide open.
Forgetting the pain in his throbbing, likely deformed head—if not for his exceptional healing ability, he was certain he wouldn’t have even stayed conscious—he followed Nathaniel’s gaze with his senses to know what the man was looking at and froze.
Almost instantly, the words of the elderly woman, who had told him about the first three Celestials, flashed through his mind.
These were the three Celestials who had first attained the powerful Celestial rank, each bestowed with a symbol by nature.
The first symbol was an hourglass, which Kyle had stolen from the giant and sent to his real body. The second was a crimson crown, which he realized had already been claimed by Azazeal; and lastly... a flower.
That very same flower Nathaniel was staring at currently with bated breath.
Kyle cursed his luck. He hadn’t really done so in a long time, and the irony was brutal.
No, no—he had to crash so coincidentally into the one door among countless others that held the last remnants of the power of the First Three Celestials! Just damn it all!