Chapter 141: Astaroth’s Rematch
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By combining the amazing synergy between the Celestial Mark and the Demonic Stigma, I converted all the damage and pain I gained into a raw attack, unleashing an ultimate attack with Gram.
SLAAASH!
“UAGH!”
Astaroth screamed in utter agony as his entire body was sliced into two halves, his blood and insides splattering everywhere, followed by a tremendous explosion of Demonic and Celestial Energies!
“J-Just how…!”
BOOOM!
“D-Did you manage?!” Sara asked in utter surprise. “T-That was amazing, Anna! You’re so strong—no, your equipment as well; it is top-notch!”
“Well… I guess so. Hilda helped me make it and reinforce it.” I smiled slightly, confidently. “Now, we should gather the materials left-”
“KRIEEH!”
Suddenly, Violet grabbed me and Sara seconds before a gigantic claw made of what seemed to be red flesh, black scales, and miasma slammed where we were with incredible force and lightning speed!
CRASH!
“He’s not dead?!” Sara gasped as Violet left us.
“If it wasn’t for your amazing speed, we wouldn’t have been able to evade that blow. Thanks, Violet.” I sighed, caressing his large, bug-like face. “Now, why did you not die, Astaroth? I’m fairly sure that I not only destroyed your core, but I also shattered a part of your soul.”
“Heheh… Hahahaha… Because I am more than just the same dragon you fought before, you damn brat.” Laughed Astaroth. “Ugh, you reek like a damn celestial, yet you also hold our powers! Just what is this nonsense?!”
The smoke dissipated to reveal his body; his two halves had blown up into minced meat, yet they had unified as a mass of slimy flesh and broken bones.
Dozens of limbs, claws, and tentacles grew out of it as it took the shape of his dragon form, but it was amorphous and horrendously ugly, with flesh and bones exposed and many extra limbs.
Spider-like legs started growing from his back, making him look even more creepy, while the heads of several black jackals appeared behind his back, roaring back at me furiously.
This power he’s using... Don’t tell me!
[The Apostle of Death Astaroth has activated his [Constellation’s Pseudo-Incarnation Transformation] Skill!]
[A Fragment of the Authority of every Constellation sponsoring him has been summoned into his body, transforming him into an aberrant being!]
[The Power of Death surges through his body. Lethal wounds are no longer lethal; his body has transformed into a Pseudo-Undead being!]
[The Power of Spiders and Venom rushes through his body. His body is slowly taking on the shape of an aberrant Spider Monster!]
[Several other Minor Fragments are enhancing his power greatly! All of his Stats have increased by +300%!]
“Are you scared yet…?!” He smiled with his monstrous dragon face, his flesh melting constantly. “This is the power of the gifts my beloved sponsors have given me! With this, I will surely kill you! Hahaha! You shouldn't have made so many fucking enemies, Anna!"
[The Cosmic Throne {Black Jackal that Judges the Death} laughs maniacally! He is eagerly expecting your death now!]
[The Cosmic Throne {Cursed Eight-Legged Maiden} smiles, saying that this will be your rightful punishment for having stolen Annabelle from her claws.]
[The Cosmic Throne {Queen of the Underworld} can’t wait for you to truly die, as she will quickly drag your soul into her Underworld and torture it for an eternity!]
[Several other ominous Constellations are spectating what’s happening with great interest.]
[Many have begun bidding against your favor with other Constellations.]
“Huh.” I smiled with a bit of disbelief over the situation I found myself in. “I guess you might be right in that... Or not.”
“Or not?!” Astaroth laughed. “You’re being delusional!”
“I never considered them my enemies; they’re nothing but trash on the road. I just have to kick them away whenever they get in the way.” I smiled more confidently than ever before, boasting like a damn selfish and reckless b*tch.
Yeah, I wasn’t going to be intimidated by what was happening right now. I couldn’t let them get me. Even less when I had my sponsors, and a very dangerous one too.
[The Seamless Abyss] glares at the many Constellations desiring your demise in silence.]
[Their endlessly swirling abyssal body wiggles and shrieks, making incomprehensible noises. It could mean they’re angered… or not.]
[The Constellations spectating your demise begin to shiver in horror before the presence of a Void Ruler.]
[Many have begun to quickly escape the scene!]
“Hoh, sponsored by a Void Ruler...” Astaroth laughed a bit. “I guess your confidence does have some sort of basis... But even then, don’t ever think they are on your side. They’re beings that feed and are born in Chaos, they’re Outer Gods beyond your comprehension. You might think they’re favoring you, but they might be simply finding amusement in what you do—a temporary amusement at that.”
“Yeah, you might be right.” I nodded, my Auras quickly beginning to converge together, my appearance changing into half Celestial and half Demonic. “That’s why I’ve got to give them a really good show, right?!”
FLASH!
Suddenly, I disappeared out of thin air as I activated the Gauntlet’s Special Ability!
[You have activated the {Void Veil} Ability over your body; a Fragment of [The Seamless Abyss] {Authority} is hiding your very presence from everything!]
[The {Absolute Invisibility} buff has been activated, alongside increasing your Dexterity and Agility by +250% and imbuing the Void Element into any of your attacks!]
[However, your Ki and Mana are being constantly drained!]
“…She disappeared?!”
Astaroth suddenly felt completely flabbergasted by the power of my gauntlet. Not even the Constellations were able to sense my presence, even less a damn Death Apostle that was already beaten once before.
Not only did this power give me an amazing invisibility buff, but I also acquired an enhancement to Dexterity and Agility, making my movements incredibly fast!
With that speed alone, I reached his back in a split second, and that wasn’t all!
FLASH!
My eyes glowed with a black light, which Astaroth could not hear nor sense, yet it affected him! His entire body started weakening severely as several status ailments stacked over him.
“UGH…?! WHAT THE…?! ARGH!”
Yeah, someone like him could have immunity to them, but this ability simply canceled most immunities!
He started grabbing his many heads and squeezing them in agony!
[You have activated the [Abyssal Gaze] Ability! Your target has been inflicted with {Madness}, {Paralysis}, and {Curse: Weakness to Void and Darkness} for 30 Seconds!]
[Additionally, All Stats have dropped by -30% for 5 Minutes.]
His screams were because an already insane being like him, was being inflicted with Madness, something that shouldn’t even be possible.
Yet the powers of the Void Rulers could even make the Death Apostles go mad!
“AAARRGGHH…! T-THE VOID…! THE SEAMLESS ABYSS! IT SWALLOWS ME!”
Astaroth started screaming like a little girl as he started hitting the ground while crying from his eyes. The Constellations sponsoring him were left even more speechless.
And now…
[You’ve gathered a large quantity of Abyssal Energy!]
[You’ve spent a large quantity of Abyssal Energy to summon {Abyssal Flames}!]
FLUOSH!
Purple and Black Flames emerged, covering Gram’s entirety, and fusing into my very Aura, these were the flames that burned in the depths of The Seamless Abyss stomach.
The Abyssal Flames are capable of digesting souls themselves by burning them!
“{Thousand Blades}: {Abyssal Sun}!”
Without waiting anymore, I unleashed hundreds of slashing attacks at once against Astaroth’s back, all of this happening in only a couple of seconds!
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Each slash combined together as I unleashed the attacks, the waves becoming spheres of Abyssal Flames, resembling small black suns that exploded on contact.
An utterly devastating attack, bombarding Astaroth with everything I had!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
“S-STOP!”
Astaroth’s entire body was being constantly torn to pieces and regenerating from his torn-apart body parts, his body constantly shapeshifting as he found me out, eight spider legs emerging from his stomach and attacking me, each one as tough as SS Rank Spears!
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
“You’re not going to win, Astaroth!” I gritted my teeth as I held my ground, quickly blocking some of his barrage of attacks while constantly burning his body with the Abyssal Flames, Celestial Flames, and Demonic Flames combined!
“SHUT UP!!!”
With a furious roar, his entire body transformed into a gigantic black fist, clashing against my entire body with tremendous strength and throwing me several meters away! I ended up destroying dozens of walls until I fell into the floor and shattered that too, reaching the floor right below.
“Hahhh… Hahahh…” I, however, laughed.
[You’ve received a large quantity of Damage!]
[Blood Energy is gathering within your Armor in immense quantities!]
[You’ve already reached the maximum capacity of Blood Energy: 10000/10000]
At the same time that happened, I saw through my Abyssal Gaze how Sara and my Familiars attacked Astaroth with everything they had.
“{Phantom Rush}! {Abyssal Dagger Barrage}!”
Sara transformed only halfway through into a Specter, raining down countless slicing and stabbing attacks against Astaroth, targeting not his endlessly regenerating flesh but the soul connected to it!
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Phantasmal Flames started burning him completely as he roared angrily, his fist-shaped body quickly taking the form of an aberrant half-spider dragon.
“BEGONE!”
With a furious roar, he unleashed a devastating breath attack of pure poison and darkness, blowing Sara away in that very instant, while Violet, Snow, and Shiro attacked him with their own attacks.
“KRIEEEH!”
Violet’s claws slashed through his body, while his poison melted his flesh, also weakening his stats through their curse-like effect.
“KYUUH!”
Shiro fired dozens of Celestial Light Beams, burning through his soul and body and leaving countless holes in his flesh.
“AWOOO!”
And Snow helped them deal even more damage as he constantly attempted to freeze his body, making it both slower and weaker.
“You pathetic little pets! GET AWAY!”
Astaroth gave a mighty draconic and demonic roar, and a destructive shockwave flew all my Familiars away from the scene while devastating hundreds of small rooms all around us, leaving a gigantic, open area where he landed his eyes on me.
My body was constantly bleeding and gathering Blood Energy, which I started using right away. Dozens of Blood Puppets were summoned around me, each costing 1k Blood Energy.
“Another petty trick?” Astaroth asked. “It is useless... I have become Immortal thanks to Anubis and Hel’s powers!”
“Hahaha, this is not just a petty trick.” I laughed.
[You have summoned several {Blood Puppets}!]
[Because they are made from your blood, they share 50% of your Stats and can use a few of your abilities!]
“Go.”
The dozens of Blood Puppets holding a slight resemblance to my shape rushed towards Astaroth as he furiously leaped down to confront me and my little army, swinging his many claws and spider-like legs!
“USELESS TRASH!”
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
However, the moment his attacks landed on them, they resisted and blocked the blows, making Astaroth incredibly uncomfortable.
“W-Wha…?!”
“…!”
The Blood Puppets didn’t say a word; they couldn’t speak but quickly rushed towards him to attack. They summoned swords similar to Gram's out of their own blood; a storm of Slashing Waves descended upon him, continued by Sunshine Beams, Black Stars, and Chaos Swords.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
“AAARRGGHHH…! Y-YOU PESTS!”
Astaroth kept taking constant damage as he fought back against them, trying to tear them apart with his claws. I used that moment of distraction to quickly conjure Void Veil and reach him.
“Now…!”
My hands started overflowing with all the Blood Energy I had as I released it all right above the stupid lizard-faced demon.
“{Blood Maiden}!”
FLUOSH!
My body quickly started overflowing with a ridiculous amount of Power from all the Pain and Damage I had taken—one of my armor’s amazing abilities!
And then…
“{Bleeding World}!”
RUMBLE!
Everything was quickly painted crimson red. Astaroth was incapable of fighting back, consumed by an endless, bleeding world.
“W-What is this?! What is this magic?! ARRGGHHH…!”
His body started being torn to pieces constantly as his soul was finally revealed to me while the powerful Magic Spell was activated.
“This soul… I hope you don’t mind if I touch it a bit.”
With a devious smile, I grasped his soul tightly.
“T-This…!”
FLASH!
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