Kizaru and Aokiji, without prior agreement, simultaneously activated their Overload Barrage Mode!
The twin energy cannons mounted on each of their shoulders lifted upward, locking tightly together above their heads. With a twist, the two barrels shifted from single-fire mode into parallel bombardment.
At the muzzles, Kizaru's signature golden light and Aokiji's icy-blue radiance flared brilliantly. In the span of a single breath, they drew forth and condensed the maximum amount of subspace energy their core drives could extract and convert within unit time.
The next instant—gold and blue! Two subspace particle beams, each as thick as a barrel, lanced out from the conjoined barrels at an angle, blasting straight toward Gars's head!
The beams were so fast that even Kizaru and Aokiji themselves failed to react before they detonated thunderously on either side of Gars's skull.
Though the barrage lasted barely a second, it carried with it the power of a stellar-level detonation!
And although this attack left both men paralyzed and unable to restart their systems for ten minutes, they cared little.
Surely, not even that monster could withstand a twin Overload Barrage!
Indeed, Gars barely managed, in that lightning-flash moment, to raise his greatsword and block with his left arm and hilt—deflecting the brunt of the subspace energy impact.
But at such magnitude, blocking was meaningless— even a glancing blow would be enough to unravel everything!
The tremendous recoil of the overloaded cannons hurled the powerless Kizaru and Aokiji backward through the void.
Flying in the opposite direction was Gars himself, blasted by the twin strikes.
Almost simultaneously with the barrage exploding against Gars's face, Griffith's chest was pierced by another Overload Energy Cannon.
It was Thor—who, despite every effort, could not wrest Mjolnir back from Griffith's grasp. On Nuwa's command, he had aimed directly at the bizarre, enormous red eye embedded in Griffith's chest and unleashed his Overload Cannon without hesitation!
For less than two seconds, a torrent of stellar-flare energy was compressed and focused into a space no larger than a clenched fist—hitting dead center on that crimson eye!
The eyelid's smiling visage twisted instantly into a grim frown as the subspace beam streaked in. It was forced to release the tip of Gungnir, which it had been biting down on with stubborn ferocity.
Then, as though straining with all its might, its mouth swelled grotesquely before spitting forth a single, needle-thin blood arrow—no thicker than a toothpick.
And yet—this minuscule blood arrow inconceivably stopped Thor's Overload Cannon cold, dispersing energy that could have obliterated a planet into nothingness!
Thor stared in shock, the recoil sending him hurtling away.
But Odin had no time for such daze. Gungnir flared once more with dazzling golden lightning, thrusting straight toward Griffith's true eyes!
That monstrous red eye in his chest might have resilient eyelids—but surely his own flesh-and-blood eyelids could not bite down on Gungnir as well?!
At that same moment, Athena, abandoning her futile struggle with Griffith's Chaos Blades, released her chains and hurled herself forward.
Her intent was clear: to use her own body as a shield, intercepting the two metallic arms that would be freed by Thor's withdrawal—clearing the path for Odin's killing thrust!
Griffith's central arms hammered relentlessly—over a hundred blows crashing against Athena's armored frame.
Yet Athena drove her thrusters to maximum, enduring the endless barrage with unyielding will.
Gungnir streaked past her shoulder, bypassing the arms she held at bay, and shot toward Griffith's face!
And at last—Griffith opened his eyes!
Yes, until now, through all the desperate battle—even when pierced nearly to the forehead by Mars's Primordial Calamity—he had never once opened them. But now, for the first time, his eyes opened wide!
They were breathtaking azure, but filled only with bottomless terror—like those of a five- or six-year-old child, possessed by fear before Odin's death-laden spear.
Even Odin, hardened by countless brushes with death, found his killing intent utterly shattered in that instant. Those pure, terrified eyes stripped him of all will to strike. He forgot completely that this was no innocent child, but the dreaded Fourth Demon King of the Undying Dynasty of Necrons!
And though Odin's intent faltered, Gungnir's trajectory did not.
Yet time itself seemed to freeze.
The Mythic Squad ceased all action.
Even Nuwa, no matter how fiercely she urged her psionic links, could neither send nor receive any mental transmissions.
The psychic bond between them all was severed by some unknown force!
Every member of the squad stood entranced, lost in Griffith's azure gaze—failing to notice as his skin darkened into a blackness deeper than the cosmic void itself.
Even the bio-metallic wings upon his back melted and warped like wax, darkening into that same abyssal black.
In but an instant, Griffith completed his transformation—into the Wings of Darkness Form!
And his eyes, once azure, now burned a bewitching crimson, more soul-snaring than ever before!
His long-bowed head rose proudly, his posture exuding divine arrogance as he faced the Mythic Squad anew.
Without moving, without ascending, his very presence pressed downward—crushing Nuwa's body, mind, and psionic core beneath his overwhelming aura.
Despair clawed once again into every heart.
For now, their lives all hung upon Griffith's whim.
"GRIFFITH!!!"
The sound erupted suddenly in the silent cosmic void—a roar of rage and hatred!
It shattered all barriers of matter and subspace, piercing directly into each of their souls!
The most painful memories, the fiercest hatred, the wildest fury—all ignited in that one roar!
And with it, every ounce of energy within their bodies flared violently!
None could resist. All of them poured their raging power into their weapons, unleashing a desperate, all-out assault upon Griffith!
At the forefront—stood Gars!
With his flesh-and-blood right arm gripping the massive sword, clumsy yet unstoppable—Gars charged onward!
Please drop some power stones support me at my
PS: Access the complete/finished chapters/series at Patreon: NanamiTL