Break for me!!!!!!!
-Clash!!!
Aamon’s hands bounced off the surrounding space as the influence of the Heavenly Gates blocked the very fabric of reality around the area, refusing to yield no matter how violently he struck it.
Gritting his teeth, Aamon, the Demon King of Destruction, continued to fly straight ahead in an unknown direction, his figure cutting through starry sky with reckless speed, leaving distorted ripples behind him.
He only wanted to escape the influence of the Heavenly Gates. As long as he could open a crack in space and enter the void beyond the universe, he was confident that he could escape his current predicament.
Encountering such a troublesome Angel was really my bad luck, tsk. And it was my weakness that I could not kill him in a single blow.....
His mood was completely soured by the situation he had found himself in. He had believed that nothing would stand in his way after acquiring the Rune of Destruction, yet now the Rune itself was on the verge of being exposed to the Heavenly Realm.
He could already sense the presences of the Angels slowly emerging from the Heavenly Gates behind him. Although every single one of them was weaker than him individually, it brought no relief to his heart, nor did it put a smile on his face.
Aamon, the Demon King of Destruction, did not possess exact information about the Heavenly Gates. After all, the Gates of Heavens were not summoned very often, and very few had ever survived long enough to properly study them.
The last recorded summoning of the Gates had occurred thousands of years ago, according to the information he had gathered. But Aamon, along with his wife and Orien, had only arrived in this realm two or three centuries after that event.
Because of this, his understanding of the Heavenly Gates were incomplete. Even so, he still possessed a decent grasp of their basic influence and danger.
If only I had not come here...
As the thought surfaced, Orien came to his mind. The reason he had appeared here in the first place was because he had sensed Orien’s life force disappearing. Yet even as a father, he had left him behind, deep within the den of Angels.
Still, he knew Orien would be fine. As long as he did not awaken too soon and continued to feign death, nothing would happen to him.
Before he could think any further...
He felt a vast presence manifest far behind him, spreading across the world of Akumia. A few seconds later, another equally terrifying presence followed, overlapping the first.
Sigh...
Realizing that a demi god had stepped out of the Heavenly Gates, Aamon made a difficult decision and then without any hesitation, he began burning his bloodline to forcefully increase his speed. Even though he himself was a half step demi god, the gap between a true demi god and a half step one was still immense.
Black and crimson energy erupted around his body, completely shrouding him as his speed nearly doubled, approaching the speed of light, though still falling very short of it. Knowing that Angels specialized in light based movement, he understood clearly that being caught was not just possible, but inevitable.
Even so, he did not give up.
His goal was never to outpace the Angels. His true aim was to shatter space itself and enter the void beyond the starry sky. As long as he could reach it, he was confident that no one could catch him, at least not a demi god.
This confidence stemmed from the artifact bound within his soul. It was the same soul bound artifact he had previously relied upon to escape from the Abyss and survive countless hunts near the True Abyssal Gates.
Aamon attacked the surrounding space again, his hands coated in the crimson energy of the Rune, but once more his palms rebounded as if striking an invisible wall.
This time, however, his eyes caught something different.
A very small, minuscule tear appeared in space where he had struck, smaller than even his thumb, barely noticeable unless one looked closely.
Aamon’s eyes brightened.
Seeing this, he immediately understood that he was slowly leaving the area under the influence of the Heavenly Gates. The pressure binding space itself was weakening, even if only by a small margin.
Alas, his comprehension of the Rune was still too low. If it had been even slightly higher, he could have shattered space outright, regardless of any external influence acting upon it.
His eyes gleamed as he burned his bloodline even further. He was not overly worried about the loss. Even though he would be severely weakened for some time. If he could escape, it would be worth it.
This bloodline had originated from him, and although it contained many powerful abilities, none of them were of any use in this moment.
As long as he escaped, there were countless ways to restore his bloodline. The simplest method was to absorb the fresh blood of thousands upon thousands of people. As long as he lived, everything could be reclaimed.
As his bloodline burned more intensely, his speed continued to rise, and the oppressive influence surrounding him began to weaken, slowly but surely.
But there was a saying known across the world.
’Everything that can go wrong will go wrong.’
In the next instant, two streaks of light rapidly closed in on him.
The moment he sensed their auras, Aamon’s face turned frost cold. Without hesitation, he burned his bloodline completely, forcing out every last fragment of power. His speed surged once more.
But, just as he was about to escape the influence of the Heavenly Realm, and his hands were on the verge of tearing space apart, his movements suddenly slowed.
Two domains descended at the same time, powered by the Divine Souls of demi god realm Angels. The combined pressure crushed down upon him, slowing his momentum to a halt before he could even react.
His head was suddenly grasped from behind, massive fingers locking around it with terrifying strength. At the same time, a Divine sword halted directly in front of his neck, its edge radiating killing intent.
Aamon was forced to bear the full aura of both demi gods. Being only at the half step demi god realm, the Demon King was completely powerless to resist.
He could only remain still, the crimson energy retreating from his hands. Yet his mind raced at an impossibly fast speed, desperately searching for any path of escape. Even as the Angels spoke, his attention remained solely on finding a way out.
With his small build, the hand of the Angel gripping his head completely enveloped it, as if it wished to crush it to pieces, yet deliberately holding back.
Even the Divine sword before him was larger than his entire body.
"That was a nice attempt to escape, little demon."
The demi god restraining him from behind spoke calmly. Hearing those words, Aamon’s lips almost twitched in frustration.
Little?
He was at least thousands of years old by the greedy gods.
Still, he said nothing.
"Now, hand over the Rune."
The demi god holding the sword was clearly the more impatient of the two. He did not bother with pleasantries and went straight to the point that truly mattered.
Aamon remained silent, but he did not dare to test their patience for long. Slowly, he raised both of his hands. They trembled slightly, his eyes showing a hint of fear mixed with deep reluctance.
"I-I don’t have any Runes..."
Suddenly, intense pain assaulted his head as crushing force descended upon his skull. Yet he did not grit his teeth or hold back. Instead, he screamed freely, his agonized cry echoing through the universe for a considerable distance.
"Do you think we are fools? I clearly sensed that crimson energy. It was unmistakably the energy of a Rune. Remove the Rune from your soul and hand it over if you want to live."
Aamon’s mind churned violently.
What? A Rune can be removed from the soul? But how?
He was genuinely bewildered. The ruins where he had discovered the Rune of Destruction had never mentioned anything about Runes being detachable from the soul. To his understanding, once fused, a Rune became an inseparable part of one’s existence.
His small hands reached up and wrapped around the massive hand gripping his head, tapping weakly against it as if begging for the force to lessen. Seeing this, the demi god reduced the pressure slightly.
"I-I don’t know h-how to do that. Please don’t kill me."
Aamon spoke with fearful eyes, his voice trembling. Seeing this, both demi gods understood that he was not lying. After all, attempting deception in front of them was meaningless. They could sense falsehood with ease.
By now, the other Angels had also arrived, surrounding the area. Even Remiel was slowly closing the distance. Before long, Aamon was completely encircled in the vastness of outer space.
Stars and celestial bodies hung silently in the void, and amidst them, hundreds of Angels surrounded Aamon, a lone Demon King. It was as if he were hoarding a priceless treasure, and in truth, he certainly was.
The two demi gods exchanged a glance and began communicating telepathically.
{He truly has no idea. What do you think?}
{It does not matter. Once we bring him back to the Heavenly Realm, we can forcibly extract the Rune from his soul.}
{I know that. But doing so will destroy his soul completely, and we will never learn how he obtained the Rune or how he was able to recognize one. There must be a secret behind it. If we uncover that secret, we could acquire many Runes. I doubt he would tell willingly.}
The demi god with the sword fell silent for a moment before responding.
{Then should we bring him back and teach him the method to detach the Rune himself? The problem is whether he will cooperate.}
{That is irrelevant. Our task is to bring the Rune bearer to the Heavenly Realm. What happens afterward will be decided by those above us. This matter is of great importance, even our God will certainly intervene.}
{True.}
Their exchange was swift, concluding in an instant.
The demi god with the sword sheathed his weapon and summoned an artifact. It resembled a large seal, roughly the size of an adult’s hand, adorned with two angelic wings, one golden and one white.
It was a sealing artifact, used to imprison the dangerous criminals across the universe. Holding it firmly, the demi god prepared to activate it.
But....
-SHATTTERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Space beside them burst open as an overwhelming presence descended upon the surroundings.
From the shattered space stepped two newcomers, one woman and one man.
The moment they appeared, every Angel except the demi gods retreated instinctively, their expressions twisting with shock and unease.
***