Chapter 153: Against Agares
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Jeremias teleported Hilda to their side in the span of a second. Saving her from being beheaded by the savage Agares. Even though he was sealed and now belonged to Anna, he could still control and shape the space within the castle to an extent. Although its range and control had been weakened, it was still very useful.
“She’s fine; she’s just out of mana,” Dimitri said, quickly pouring a mana potion over her mouth, making Hilda cough like crazy.
“Cough, cough—Ugh, you brute! Did you have to pour the damn thing inside my mouth?!” Hilda was about to smack the cowboy’s head with her hammer. “Urgh… Anna? Everyone… You came.”
“We barely made it.” Anna sighed.
“Sorry for being so late!” Baihe smiled back at her. “Rest for now; we’ll take care of this.”
“We’ll properly take down one of these bastards with a party... The reason why they were separating us is because they know that if we’re together, their chances lower quite a lot.” Kevin smiled, holding his golden spear.
“Hmm, now things are finally a bit more even, isn’t it, Apostle of Death?” Sara asked, her body exuding a powerful spectral aura.
“Dimitri, Violet, Snow, protect Hilda,” Anna said. “The rest of us, let’s beat this bastard to death.”
“Yeah, leave her to me.” Dimitri grabbed Hilda and started running away. “Oof, woman, you’re so heavy! Maybe stop eating too many burgers?”
“W-What?! I’m all muscle!” Hilda smacked his head with her hammer and almost knocked him down if it wasn’t because his hat was actually magically enhanced to resist blows.
“Ouch! I’m dropping you if you do that again!” Dimitri roared angrily.
“Then stop being so rude!” Hilda complained.
As Anna heard them fighting as they moved farther away, Agares slowly started moving towards them. His Demonic Aura wrapped around his wound as he regrew another pair of arms with his crimson aura alone.
“{Demonic Aura Manifestation}!” He muttered. “With my Aura alone, I can replace my limbs. It doesn’t matter if I lose a few! Now, what do I have here? A bunch of bastards that stole my prey, huh?”
“You’re awfully confident after I saw you trembling in fear when we showed up,” Anna said, finishing to eat a red apple.
A mysterious divine power surged from within her body the moment she finished consuming it, surging from the deepest area of her Soul, where all her strength combined into one.
Where her Dao was beginning to slowly form…
Ding!
[You have consumed the [Fruit of Awakening]!]
[Divine Energy of Awakening is rushing through your soul; your still germinating Dao is beginning to react!]
[A Dao Branch is forming ahead of time!]
From within the still-germinating Dao, a small branch of pure cosmic energy surged, spreading as if there was a tree inside Anna’s soul.
It was a beautiful and mystical sight for her, and it was something everyone would eventually experience, as they continued their Ascension…
However, thanks to the fruit Odin gifted her, she got to experience this ahead of time, even when her own Dao had yet to develop!
FLASH!
Everyone felt her soul grow stronger; even Agares started to wonder what was happening, and once he realized it, he was dumbfounded.
“What the…?!” He muttered. “How come a human that has only gone through a Single Awakening… is Developing a Dao Branch?!”
Anna’s eyes shone with bluish and golden light, and sparks resembling stars surged from them, as the growth of her first Dao Branch ended.
It was incredibly small, weak, and looked faint; her own Dao hadn’t even developed, so the Branch itself was almost illusory, as if it were a phantom of a real one.
Ding!
[Because you have yet to develop a {Dao Foundation}, the resulting {Dao Branch} has become a {Dao Branch Phantom} instead.]
[Once you develop a true {Dao Foundation}, the {Dao Branch Phantom} will evolve into its true form.]
[Your {Dao Branch Phantom} has produced its first {Radiance}!]
[The {Radiance} resonates with your own Tale; an Epic has begun across the Countless Worlds of the Realm Beyond.]
[You have developed your First Two Traits: [Reader (??? Grade)] and [Princess (Epic Grade)]!]
Traits, a special power that Dao Branches could produce and boost. They had incredibly strong, law-defying abilities that grew alongside their masters.
Usually, they emerge inside the Dao Foundation, but because Anna’s own Dao Foundation had yet to begin, it emerged within her small branch instead.
Their power was limited, but still, the Aura they exuded was enough to make Agares begin to wonder what was going on!
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[Reader (??? Grade)]
This Trait's true Grade cannot be shown at this moment.
This Trait has been boosted by the power of [], giving it a boost to its {Memory} Ability.
You are the Reader of this story, you know how the story begins, and how it will end.
By channeling Mana into your mind, you can rapidly remember information about the story with incredible precision.
Your senses of pain are dulled, you cannot feel fear, you are not amused by fantastical scenes, and you possess confidence and a powerful will.
You can think clearly, even in the worst scenarios, and make quick decisions without doubting yourself.
Those who attempt to corrupt your mind might have theirs corrupted instead.
To unlock more Abilities, strengthen your {Dao Foundation}.
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[Princess (Epic Grade)]
An Epic Grade Trait, born from your journey so far, has been helped by many Constellations. Their very recognition of your existence makes it an Epic Grade already.
You are a princess, born into nobility, spoiled, and silver-spooned.
You possess great beauty, grace, and charisma. People often tend to like you and will trust you more easily.
You have the natural ability to control, rule, and command others, especially if their minds are much weaker than yours.
Those you command will receive a great boost in their own growth, both physical and magical, and might even develop new talents.
However, you will never feel like what you have is enough, and you will endlessly pursue more.
To unlock more abilities, strengthen your {Dao Foundation}.
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Their descriptions are much simpler and more personal than skills; they don’t show numbers or anything like that. But those words are much stronger than the description of a skill.
But why?
It is because they’re written within the Endless Cosmos of the Realm Beyond that they’re “laws” that encompass Anna.
It means that they’re absolute powers, even if they seem mildly boring and simplistic. They are absolutes.
This means that by merely channeling their {Radiance}, her Aura transforms, twisting Reality to a small extent!
Traits are the very foundation on which mortals can begin their Ascension into Constellations!
FLUOSH!
Anna’s power increased even if her Stats remained mostly the same… Except for one. Her Cosmic Energy, since she was growing a Dao Branch, increased by around 10 per second.
When it finally ended, she had gained +120 Cosmic Energy, not just the maximum value; this quantity was also refilled.
Ding!
[Your {Radiance} has refined your Soul; Cosmic Energy is flowing through it.]
[The [Title: Hero] has halved the penalties of a mortal possessing over 300 Cosmic Energy.]
[You have received a Penalty.]
[-100 To All Stats.]
[You gained +120 Cosmic Energy.]
“A fair trade…”
Penalties could go from mere stat reductions to being struck by divine lightning and turned into ashes; Anna received a rather lax penalty that didn’t affect her that much.
And well, 120 Cosmic Energy was much more worthy than 100 Stats for all her parameters! She would gladly exchange thousands if she could; Cosmic Energy was that valuable!
“T-That’s Cosmic Energy…” Agares muttered. “So you possess it too, huh?!”
Death Apostles could also wield it, and they used it to channel their Demonic Energy and evolve it into its next stage…
“But can you take this?!”
Infernal Energy!
“{Crimson Demon’s Death Charge}!”
BOOOM!
An enormous inferno of crimson-red flames surged from Agares' entire body, his centaur legs galloping quickly towards Anna and her group, his multiple weapons swinging rapidly against her, tearing through space itself!
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
Anna’s eyes shone as bright as stars, and her two swords, Gram and the weaponized Aim, absorbed her powers as she swung them against Agares the moment both of them met.
“{Thousand Blades}: {Demonic Lightning Cross}!”
CRASH!
A cross-shaped lightning attack stopped Agares’ barrage of deadly blows, electrifying his entire body as he gritted his teeth in agony, forced to step back!
“Urgh…! W-What the…?!” He muttered, noticing how he was vomiting blood. “That was no mere lightning, and did she mix Demonic and Celestial Energy inside?! But if that was the case, my {Crimson Aura} should have blocked the damage…! It feels as if it was done… internally?!”
All Apostles of Death developed their own Dao Foundations already and possessed a few Dao Branches, alongside the Dao Roots.
However, when reduced to Vessels, they could only use a part of their original strength, Agares chose to wield his strongest Trait [Crimson Demon Barbarian].
This Trait allowed him to wield any sort of Crimson-Colored Energy while giving him an incredible boost to his physical strength, weapon mastery, and more.
Above all, the simple authority to control all Crimson Energies was much more than one could imagine. It allowed him to conjure flames without having an affinity for them, to evolve his demonic energy into infernal energy with ease, and to even wield the power of Vampires, Blood Energy, without being one himself!
“This is bullshit… There’s no way!” He roared, incapable of believing what Anna had done. “You… a mere little girl…! {Demonic Blood Serpents}!”
FLUOSH!
Suddenly, Agares Aura transformed, channeling Blood Magic as hundreds of gigantic serpents made of Blood Energy and Demonic Energy emerged from his body, reaching Anna and her friends!
“SHAAAAAHHH!”
“Careful, these things can drain your blood and life force if they bite you!”
Anna commanded her friends; her trait as a [Princess] was showing itself; everyone trusted her judgment; and even felt a boost to their power by merely trusting her.
This wasn’t just an effect of her Cheerful Rally Privilege; this was the manifestation of her {Radiance}!
Agares was planning to drain them of their energy to heal the wounds Hilda left on him; his snakes were part of it.
“Gotcha!”
Baihe, Sara, and Kevin nodded, quickly stepping into battle, evading the snakes as they came, and beginning to take care of them with their abilities and techniques.
“{Frost Touch}!”
Baihe touched the snakes, beginning to freeze them on the spot; her freezing powers were now enhanced with Astaroth’s arm, giving her temporary Demonic Energy, which seemed to be incredibly compatible with her powers.
After all, she was destined to be a villain who wielded the power of a Demon as their Incarnation! Such talent never went anywhere, and now Baihe was finally beginning to discover it.
“RAAAH!”
At the same time, Kevin flashed through the corridors like a blur of golden light, his spear quickly piercing the half-frozen snakes several times, cracks emerging across their bodies and collapsing one after another.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
“{Spectral Rush}!”
Sara’s body was divided into many clones made of spectral and phantasmal energies, as she used them as bait for the snakes, catching them off guard and slicing their heads before blowing them up with phantom flames in the rest of their bodies.
BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!
“Heh…” However, this was merely a distraction. Agares hands raised into the skies, and an even bigger spell emerged.
“{Blood Drain}!”
RUMBLE!
A bright ray of crimson energy surged from his hands as a wave of pure blood energy and demonic energy surged from his hands, the bastard attempting to drain everyone’s life force by merely letting them touch the shockwave!
“I’ve fought someone even worse than you,” Anna said, Gram suddenly changing into its form into the Celestial Mode, an Aura of Protection encompassing her body, as she conjured barriers of light around her friends through the Celestial Mark. “I know how your powers work!”
BOOOM!
The wave of crimson energy hit everyone, except that they were left with almost no damage, Anna absorbed a large quantity of the damage, and Gram’s Demonic Stigma activated.
All the Damage she took from her Celestial Mark turned into Power and Damage, as she flashed towards Agares while his spell was still active, resembling a spirit of lightning made entirely of thunder.
The Demon’s eyes were filled with utter disbelief.
“{Thousand Blades}: {Blood Revenge}”
A blood-colored orb in her hands glowed brightly—the Spell Orb she acquired as one of her rewards from completing her Subclass Changing Trial, which contained a few unique spells and techniques of the Vampires.
Among them, there was Blood Revenge, which dealt more damage to a foe the more blood a Vampire lost… Anna merged its power with her Thousand Blades, stacking the slashing attacks into a single, gigantic crimson sword.
SLAAASH!
“W-What the- URGH! AARGH!”
Agares barely managed to block the enormous attack with all his arms, and his Crimson Aura, the blade made of blood, however, kept piercing through his barriers and defenses, slicing through his shoulder and cutting his two other arms, before he managed to run away with his life!
CLASH!
“T-This can’t be… My other arms are gone now?!” Agares lamented, keeping his distance from Anna as he regrew new arms using his Aura, made of Blood and Infernal Energy. “That damn brat, she’s too ridiculously overpowered for a mere human that hasn’t even gotten their Second Awakening!”
“Oh? You’re the one running away now?” Anna asked, quickly chasing him.
Agares realized he had been unwillingly escaping from her! He was galloping away, trying to make some distance.
This scene reminded him of how he chased down Heckert and mercilessly killed him after he ran away like a coward.
Now, he was the prey being chased around!
“Baihe, slow him down! Kevin, keep him busy!”
Anna commanded; her Aura shared itself with her friends, the {Radiance} strengthening them as she shared little bits of Cosmic Power with them.
“On it!” Baihe roared.
“{Accursed Abyssal Frost Prison}!”
FLASH!
Baihe touched the ground, and a purple demonic frost emerged from her hands, quickly rushing towards Agares and freezing his horse-like legs on the spot, all while cursing him, lowering his stats, and draining his mana.
“W-What…?!”
As Agares was trying to process what happened, Kevin reached him, resembling a blinding star of pure golden light. His spear hit his armor in several areas that were already cracked, making it crumble in seconds.
“{Starlight’s Spear Strikes}!”
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
Crack, crack…!
CRASH!
His armor crumbled into pieces, and as Agares was exposed to the next attack, an enormous scythe made of phantasmal flames descended upon him, wielded by Sara.
“{Death Scythe}!”
This was an ability she learned from her possession by Hel: by channeling and combining her phantom energy and her phantom flames, she had the ability to create a deadly temporary weapon capable of hurting souls!
SLAAASH!
Agares screamed in agony; his soul suddenly felt like it was split into two halves! He could barely hold his breath as his weapons clashed against his attackers.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
He blew them all away from his surroundings, catching a breather as his entire body was bleeding all over. Anna swiftly rushed towards him.
“Let me relieve you of your exhaustion!”
“As if!”
Agares screamed back at Anna; his entire body channeled his {Radiance} into his Aura, Crimson Flames emerging from within them alongside Blood Energy.
“{Blood Calamity}!”
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