Chapter 152: The Ancient Roots and the Descent of Divinity (Part 4)
The atmosphere in the Plaza of Origin became so dense that breathing felt like swallowing sand and glass. The previous ten monsters had established an overwhelming ceiling of power, but those who followed were destined to shatter even that firmament.
Vexia, feeling the oxygen scrape her throat, looked at the holographic list and raised her voice to be heard over the hum of the auras.
"Sequence 6! Elara Morningstar, The Frost Shadow!"
There were no footsteps. No one advanced from the formation.
The First. Samael's first disciple had never been in the line. Suddenly, the immense shadow cast by the Patriarch's own cloak rippled like the surface of a black lake. From it, fused with the mist to her Master's right, emerged Elara.
Her transformation was subtle but biologically terrifying. Her skin was as pale as the winter moon, cold to the touch and devoid of mortal heat. Her jet-black hair ended in tips of liquid silver that floated around her, as if she were eternally submerged in water. Her eyes possessed silver vertical pupils; pure dragon eyes that were always active, scanning the world, judging who deserved to live a second longer.
Physically, Elara was the perfect anatomy of a predator. She possessed a slender, elegant, and athletic figure that did not hinder her at all in close combat or when using daggers. Her breasts were of a small-to-intermediate size (B-Cup), firm and proportioned, filling the hand and clearly noticeable under her tight assassin clothing, though they were not the main feature of her silhouette. Her true lethal appeal lay in her lower body: a very prominent, high, and perfectly round "bubble-shaped" (O) rear that stretched the fabric of her dark pants, accompanied by a tiny hourglass waist. An absolutely perfect balance.
In her day-to-day life, Elara was playful. She loved teasing Violeta, constantly picking on her because it annoyed her that Violeta was more voluptuous than her in the bust, and she was extremely affectionate, almost clingy, with her Master and her inner circle. But in battle, her mind "clicked." She transformed into a sadistic, silent, and ruthless assassin. She had a tail of condensed mist that moved lazily behind her, betraying her bloodline.
"Daughter of the Mist," Samael said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, unfazed by her sudden appearance. "You are my eyes."
Samael reached into his inventory and handed her two daggers that were barely visible to the naked eye. They were translucent, forged from the very bone of a Void Beast and Lament Steel, a metal that looked like frozen smoke. They were the [Daggers: Phantom Fangs (High Saint Grade)].
"They do not reflect light. They do not cut the air," the Patriarch explained, as Elara took the weapons by their Shadow Dragon Bone hilts, carved in the shape of a spine. "They cut life directly. They possess a passive Intangibility Phase; they will pass through defenseless armor without causing harm until you decide to anchor them in reality to stab the heart. Their Poison of Oblivion not only bleeds the target; it erases the Qi from the affected area, collapsing meridians to prevent escapes or regeneration. And, being soul mates, if you throw one, you will be able to swap your physical position with it mid-flight."
Elara took them with devotion and disappeared in a blink of icy mist. She reappeared instantly on the other side of the dais.
"Always at your back, Master," she whispered, with a chilling smile. The daggers emitted a "Phantom Scream," an inaudible high frequency that caused vertigo among the ranks of recruits.
[CLAN INVESTMENT SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
«Critical Probability: ABSOLUTE.»
«Critical Reimbursement x10,000!»
«You have received: [Eyes of Truth (Ocular Ability - Allows seeing through any illusion or conceptual lie)]. User Note: "Vital for Tournament politics."»
Samael assimilated the new ocular capability and sent two spheres of spectral light into the assassin's mind.
Elara received the [Execution of the Umbral Sigh: The Kiss of Inner Winter], an infiltration technique where she dissolved into freezing mist, flowed into the enemy's lungs through their breath, and anchored the dagger directly into their heart from the inside. The enemy would see their own eyes freeze white before a black dagger emerged from their chest from the inside. She also assimilated the [Veil of the Phantom Breeze: Silver Dispersion], a phase evasion where, millimeters from receiving an attack, she turned into silver mist at Absolute Zero, freezing the attacker and blinding them while she swapped positions with her twin dagger. With the synergy state "Mist Requiem," she could saturate the air and multiply her daggers illusorily, attacking with shadows that became real upon impact.
[CLAN INVESTMENT SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
«Investment: 2 Atmospheric Infiltration and Conceptual Assassination Martial Arts.»
«Critical Probability: HIGH.»
«Multiplier Obtained: x490.»
«You have received: [Dew of the River Styx (Extreme Cultivation Material - Upon assimilation in the Dantian, the user's Qi acquires karmic erasure properties, making their attacks completely undetectable to premonition)] and [Beast Egg: "Shadow Panther of the Nine Mists" (Minor Saint Grade Assassin Beast - Capable of walking through the Umbral Plane, ignoring physical barriers to shred souls)].»
"Sequence 5!" Vexia announced, and the air of the plaza was abruptly charged with static electricity and a crushing sovereignty. "Xylia Morningstar, The Empress of Thunder!"
The dais seemed to bow in reverence when Xylia advanced. Her presence was not that of a soldier or an assassin, but that of an absolute monarch; a Reincarnated Empress. She had long silver hair, crowned by a simple jade diadem, and her electric purple eyes emitted sparks that burned the oxygen. Her skin was fair, almost luminous. She wore impeccable dark blue and purple robes.
Xylia possessed the "perfect curve" that bards sang of in royal epics. An absolutely perfect and balanced body with a voluptuous and round chest (C-Cup) that maintained perfect harmony with the rest of her figure, striking and very feminine. This was accompanied by a lower body with "bubble-shaped" (O) buttocks, a very prominent, high, and round rear that was clearly noticeable from any profile, accentuated by a tiny hourglass waist.
She emanated the aura of an Empress: calm and charismatic. But, deep down, her mind was hyper-calculating, cold, and analytical. Her past trauma from betrayal had made her deeply observant; she trusted no one outside the high command of the Morningstar Clan.
"Indra asks for blood," Samael said, his deep voice resounding like divine thunder.
From the Sovereign's hand uncoiled a whip of pure gold. It looked liquid, alive. Composed of segments of Storm Dragon Bone connected by a core of pure energy, it broke the sound barrier with a violent CRACK! that left a trail of ozone. It was the [Whip: Indra, the Celestial Punishment (Mid Saint Grade)].
Xylia caught it with imperial grace. The plasma whip wrapped itself docilely around her arm, purring like an electric cat.
"This weapon is designed for torture and absolute control of the battlefield," Samael warned her. "When it touches the enemy, it will not only tear their flesh. Its Meridian Scourge will inject high-frequency electrical Qi directly into their channels, causing a network overload that will make their own techniques burst inside them. Indra can 'smell' fear, Xylia. If the enemy hesitates, it will coil itself around their neck."
Xylia caressed the electric obsidian handle.
"They will learn the price of betrayal and weakness, Patriarch."
[CLAN INVESTMENT SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
«Critical Probability: ABSOLUTE.»
«Critical Reimbursement x10,000!»
«You have received: [Hammer (Mjolnir - Divine Replica)].»
Samael, with the fury of thunder now stored in his vault, handed her doctrines to her: the [Decree of the Imperial Hydra: Judgment of a Thousand Nerves], a biological control technique where the whip split into multiple plasma tips (Lightning Fangs) that injected voltage into nerve nodes, hijacking the opponent's motor system and forcing them to obey their own screams of collapse as their bones broke from the contractions. She also assimilated the [Domain of the Electric Throne: Plasma Stasis Field], where Indra spun around her creating an unbreakable magnetic repulsion disk, stunning those who approached with the Voice of Thunder. With the synergy "The Spear of Divine Law," she could condense the entire shield into a single lightning spear that erased the enemy's will to live instantly.
[CLAN INVESTMENT SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
«Investment: 2 Neural Biological Control and Plasma Martial Arts.»
«Critical Probability: HIGH.»
«Multiplier Obtained: x485.»
«You have received: [Tyrannical Thunder Lotus (Sacred Cultivation Material - Purifies and mutates the Dantian's lightning element, permanently transforming it into liquid plasma that does not burn, but atomically disintegrates)] and [Passive Sutra: "Crown of the Absolute Empress" (Mid Saint Grade Aura - Generates a constant mental pressure that forces beings of lesser will to feel reverential terror or physically kneel in the user's presence)].»
"Sequence 4!" Vexia's voice instinctively grew cautious. "Cedric Morningstar, The Emperor of Seals!"
Cedric advanced with impeccable elegance. His silver hair, short and messy, contrasted with his steel-gray eyes, sharp and inscrutable. He wore white and gray robes covered in complex runes. Cedric was the Supreme Strategist on the battlefield, a covert regressor whose mind processed realities and timelines like a chessboard. He was cautious, friendly on the surface, but ruthlessly strategic. He always had a plan A, B, and C, and had no moral qualms about getting his hands dirty and smashing skulls in close combat if the tactic required it.
"Your matrices are absolute, you are a master," Samael said, watching Cedric stop before the throne. "Now, your physical attack must be crushing. You must be the barrier and the battering ram."
Two massive, square gauntlets of an opaque black color that seemed to devour the surrounding light floated toward him. They were so immense they looked like small rectangular shields attached to his fists, forged in Blind Meteorite Steel with micro-runes of "Negation." They were the [Siege Gauntlets: Matrix-Breakers (Mid Saint Grade)].
Cedric inserted his arms and slammed his fists together in front of his chest.
The low-frequency shockwave made the solid jade dais tremble. The disruption crystals on his knuckles buzzed, cracking the air itself.
"Nothing will move me, Patriarch," Cedric said. His voice was calm, but the incandescent core in the palm of his gauntlets promised absolute structural destruction. With Contact Sovereignty, he could now grab enemy magic with his bare hands and crush it like glass. And, weaving his Emperor's Manual over the metal, every punch would embed siege formations into the enemy's body.
[CLAN INVESTMENT SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
«Critical Probability: ABSOLUTE.»
«Critical Reimbursement x10,000!»
«You have received: [Wall of Jericho (Divine City Defense Artifact)]. User Note: "Perfect. This will be the new outer barrier of the Realm".»
Samael nodded with tactical satisfaction and transmitted the supreme arts to his strategist: the [Execution Seal: Great Collapse of the Golden Matrix], a transmutation offensive where each impact injected marks of negation. Upon clenching his fist, Cedric would form a micro-matrix of collapse inside the rival's armor or organs, turning them into inert metal statues that crumbled under their own weight. This was followed by the [Architect's Mantle: Sovereign Interference Network], a spherical network of deflection matrices where any spell touching the perimeter would "disassemble" into harmless runic diagrams, allowing Cedric to grab the magic and deflect it to the ground, mutating it into steel platforms for his advantage. Under his "Sovereignty of the Metallic Horizon" state, he could hack and turn any enemy formation within a one-kilometer radius against its creators.
[CLAN INVESTMENT SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
«Investment: 2 Massive Deconstruction and Redirection Martial Arts.»
«Critical Probability: HIGH.»
«Multiplier Obtained: x480.»
«You have received: [Crystal of Comprehension of a Thousand Matrices (Psychic Cultivation Material - Amplifies the brain's logical processing capacity to divine levels, allowing deciphering and nullifying Holy King Grade enemy formations in microseconds)] and [Beast Egg: "Stellar Celestial Rune Tortoise" (Minor Saint Grade Siege Beast - Its immense shell passively generates impenetrable defense matrices for entire military squads)].»
The King of the War Gods watched his inventory overflow with siege beasts, celestial walls, and materials that defied common sense. The Emperor's Harvest inside him was a burning sun of raw power. He was arming his roots, forging the cavalry of the apocalypse.
The sky darkened. A wave of sickly heat and cosmic cold swept the plaza simultaneously.
The sky above the Plaza of Origin went completely mad. A wave of infernal heat that threatened to melt the marble clashed violently against a cosmic cold that froze the air itself.
"Sequences 3 and 2!" shouted Vexia, her voice about to break from the combined pressure. "Eris Morningstar, The Flame of Ruin! And Violeta Morningstar, The Blade of the Winter Void!"
Samael's biological twins advanced in unison. Although their elemental presences were completely opposite poles, they shared an identical and devastating physique that stole one's breath. Both exhibited a voluptuous, full, and round chest (C-Cup), which remained in perfect harmony with the rest of their body, being striking and deeply feminine without becoming exaggerated, the very standard of the "perfect curve." Their waists were tiny, hourglass figures that gave way to a lower body with "bubble-shaped" (O) buttocks; a prominent, high, and perfectly round rear that stretched the fabric of their light blue and red garments.
Eris was war incarnate. Her silvery-white hair ended in red tips, and her inverted heterochromia—one eye crimson red and the other neon violet with red notes—burned with a controlled madness. Dressed in red and white robes, she was the complete opposite of her sister: explosive, loud, a whirlwind of emotions, and an absolute lover of battles. She acted on pure instinct, but her instinct was lethal. Her red and black aura consumed the oxygen.
Beside her, Violeta simply floated. Her hair was purely silvery-white, and her heterochromia—one neon violet eye and the other diamond blue—spun with ancient runes. She wore light blue and silver robes. She was cold, calculating, and deeply Tsundere. She only showed her kind and emotional side with her twin, Samael, Lilith, Seraphina, and Celeste. With her enemies, she was an icy executioner without the slightest remorse. Her skin was pale as snow, and the space around her was literally broken, cracking from the instability of her monstrous power.
Samael looked at Eris first.
"You do not want defense, little beast. You want annihilation."
A black halberd, with a blade that looked like an open mouth full of teeth of fire, appeared in his hands. It was the [Sun Devourer (High Saint Grade)], forged in Collapsed Star Iron and Solar Obsidian. Eris took it with a savage smile and spun it; the black fire traced a circle in the air that did not extinguish, sucking the light from the surroundings. From the spear's pommel sprouted ethereal links of black fire and molten gold, the Chain of Dusk, which fused with her skin into an incandescent tattoo.
[CLAN INVESTMENT SYSTEM ACTIVATED: x10,000]
Object: Fire Halberd.
Reimbursement: [Banner of the Blood Legion (War Artifact)].
Samael's Note: "Grants frenzy to 10,000 soldiers. Vital for the Tournament. To the War Vault."
Samael injected into Eris's mind the [Lotus of Extinction], a technique that emitted pulses of black gravitational and thermal waves that decomposed and devoured enemy organs from the inside; and the [Slash of True Destruction: Singularity of the Eternal Dusk], an attack that did not cut flesh, but created a hole in causality, erasing spatial defenses and undoing the existence of Holy Kings until they became stellar ash.
The Patriarch then turned to Violeta.
"Your ice is perfect. Your space is unstable. You need an anchor."
Samael handed her a thin, almost invisible rapier, forged from compressed ice in pure void. Embedded in its fractal snowflake pommel throbbed a Stabilized Spatial Gem. It was the [Needle of Absolute Zero (High Saint Grade)]. Violeta took the sword, and instantly, the spatial distortion around her calmed. She now had total control. The needle wouldn't push matter; it would displace it to another dimension, and its vibration would halt the movement of atoms.
[CLAN INVESTMENT SYSTEM ACTIVATED: x10,000]
Object: Spatial Rapier.
Reimbursement: [Portal Key (Transport Artifact)].
Samael's Note: "Allows opening doors between realms. Fundamental for logistics."
Violeta immediately assimilated the [Lotus of Absolute Zero: Execution of Singularity Petals], a thrust that leapt across dimensions, multiplying in space to inject atomic vibration and turn the rival's circulatory system into solid crystal; and the [Prison of Astral Frost: Horizon of Immobility], a cosmic spiderweb network that stopped all kinetic energy within a 50-meter radius, where Violeta could phase like an untouchable ghost.
[CLAN INVESTMENT SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
«Simultaneous Investments Processed...»
«Critical Probability: HIGH.»
«Multipliers Obtained: x499 (Eris) / x495 (Violeta).»
«You have received: [Heart of a Dying Supernova (Absolute Cultivation Material - Permanently grants the Authority of Ruin, allowing its flames to devour other magics)] and [Passive Sutra: "Mantle of the Goddess of Destruction" (Disintegrates sneak attacks before physical impact)].»
«You have received: [Comet Fragment of Absolute Zero (Extreme Cultivation Material - Expands the Dantian, allowing the physical fabric of local space and time to be frozen)] and [Beast Egg: "Nine-Tailed Fox of the Winter Void" (Minor Saint Grade Dimensional Beast - Capable of walking through spatial folds and creating void shields)].»
As Samael finished distributing the rewards, his mind wandered for a second. He looked closely at his twin sisters, and then his gaze passed over Elara, Xylia, Lyra, Elowen, Aylin, and the other girls...
For an instant, his Primordial Dragon bloodline roared inside him. His blood boiled, and his state of obsession showed slightly. His violet eyes darkened suddenly, becoming like two black holes devouring light. Upon seeing how his sisters and disciples were increasingly transforming into divine beauties capable of toppling realms and empires, he observed the thick auras of red destiny above their heads. They were walking calamities. Magnets for disaster. And all of them, without exception, were touched in the head, sadistic, or psychopathic in battle.
What if I lock them all in this mini-world and never let them out again? Samael thought, feeling the territorial and overprotective urge of his inner beast. Ummm... not a bad idea, right? That way I wouldn't have to spill so much blood from the bastards and insects who dare try to get close to them.
The darkness in his eyes vanished as quickly as it arrived. Samael blinked, regaining tactical control, and let out a long, inaudible sigh.
Father... what a massive problem you left me, he lamented in his mind. I know I said as a kid that I would kill any bastard and keep them away, but at this rate... I think I'll end up making a lake of blood in my own backyard. I'll send a lot of idiots to you so you can finish them off in hell, old man. Heh.
Several kilometers away, on the immense terrace of the Upper Palace, Seraphina and Lilith observed the ceremony in detail.
Both women noticed the fleeting change in Samael, and both burst into an elegant laugh at the same time. Seeing his posture and who their husband and nephew was looking at, they realized Samael's homicidal and overprotective thoughts instantly.
Lilith covered her lips with a black fan, her crimson eyes shining with amusement.
"My dear nephew is going to have a lot of headaches... HAHAHAHA."
Seraphina laughed sweetly as well. At the same time, she turned her face to observe little Celeste, who was peacefully asleep in the room, and then caressed her own belly maternally.
"And they won't be the only ones..." Seraphina murmured with a smile that mixed pride and comic pity.
Lilith, following the empress's gaze toward her belly, smiled slightly.
"Yes, you're right, Sera. And there are also those two little girls you're carrying in your womb. They will be other empire-toppling beauties. My nephew will definitely not have it easy. HAHAHAHA... Let's start digging an immense lake beneath the palace, hehehe."
Down in the plaza, the Patriarch's silence concluded the sisters' display of power.
And finally, they moved on to the last of all 45. After the 24 of the New Generation of Dante and company, and after the 20 sequences, only the Absolute Boss remained. The leader of them all.
"Sequence 1: Kael Morningstar," Vexia announced, and the air stopped feeling heavy, becoming painfully sharp instead. "The King of the Sword!"
Kael stood, unusually calm. He did not emanate any expansive aura. He looked like a normal human with dark red hair and peaceful golden eyes, wearing dark red and black combat robes. His expression was serious yet noble; a born leader who remained calm in crises, even if deep down he was an impulsive, bloodthirsty lover of fights.
But Dante, watching him from below, had to physically look away. Looking at Kael was like looking directly at the sun through a magnifying glass. Kael was, in every sense, a sheathed sword.
"Kael," Samael said. "You have reached the limit of what your mortal body and your Dragon bloodline can do on their own. Your Sword Heart is awake, but hungry. Your Magma Sword Physique is forged, but untempered."
Samael pulled out the final object. It wasn't a seed or a pill. It was a sphere of grayish light that literally cut the retina. The edges of the sphere were not defined, because reality itself was being sliced around it.
It was the [COMPLETE LAW: SWORD INTENT OF NIRVANA (LEVEL 3 - MASTERY)].
A transcendental will that did not seek simply to destroy, but to extinguish cause and effect. The user stopped cutting flesh to begin cutting energy's "attachment" to the physical world, causing an absolute void where nothing could be reborn. It caused Annihilation of Cycles, where no pill or healing magic would ever work; Ego Suppression, where the clash of swords drained the enemy's will to fight; and Causality Severance, causing magical attacks to vanish from existence upon being touched.
"This is not blind destruction," Samael explained, holding the Law with extreme care, as the world around him lost saturation until it turned pale gray and silent. "This is the understanding that everything has an end, and you are that end. Fuse it with your Magma Fang. Fuse it with your soul. And ascend."
The Realm of the Dawn, sensing Samael's intentions, and the Stellar World Tree, concentrated all the Qi of the realm directly on Kael, gifting him with the purest and densest energy in the universe.
Kael took the Law. He did not eat it. He violently shoved it against his chest, straight into his heart.
SHIIING!
A sharp metallic sound echoed throughout the Realm of the Dawn. Kael closed his eyes. His body began to glow, his skin turning translucent and showing bones that looked forged from incandescent divine swords. His blood pumped liquid magma at absurd speeds. The Qi of the Realm swirled toward him, descending in a visible tornado 10 kilometers high.
[KAEL MORNINGSTAR: BREAKING LIMITS...]
[SWORD HEART: 100% AWAKE.]
[MAGMA SWORD PHYSIQUE: COMPLETED.]
[RANK ACHIEVED: SWORD SAINT (STAGE 1 - SOLID).]
Kael opened his golden eyes. A giant projection of a magma sword appeared behind his back, piercing the red clouds. He took a step forward and unsheathed his sword, the ["Reborn" Magma Fang (High Saint Grade)].
Upon unsheathing, his Semi-Domain reacted to his Saint state. The Realm of the Crimson Ash Lotus unfolded. The air became strangely silent, filling with lotus petals made of red ash that fell slowly. Any technique launched against him within this domain would vanish into red ash before arriving, extinguishing its own cause, and the air itself would become spiritual sandpaper for those with hostile intentions.
Kael knelt before Samael.
"The blade is ready, Patriarch."
[CLAN INVESTMENT SYSTEM ACTIVATED: x10,000]
Investment: Complete Sword Law (Invaluable).
Recipient: The Prodigal Son of the Sword. Critical Probability: ABSOLUTE.
FINAL CRITICAL REIMBURSEMENT: [You have received: ORIGINAL SCRIPTURE "THE SWORD GOD WHO CUT TIME" (TRANSCENDENT GRADE)].
Samael's Note: Samael felt dizzy. This... this was beyond the Emperor Realm. It was a technique that touched the laws of Time through cutting. "I'm keeping it. This is my ace up the sleeve against the old monsters."
Samael concluded by handing his first Saint the [Crimson Slash: The Extinction of the Blood Lotus], a causal annihilation technique that vibrated at such a frequency that matter fell apart before being touched, sealing wounds with liquid metal blood to prevent regeneration; and the [Dance of the Crimson Dragon: The Step of the Igneous Void], a movement of absolute displacement where Kael turned into atomic friction, flowing through dead space and leaving a trail that calcined the air.
[CLAN INVESTMENT SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
«Investment: 2 Causal Annihilation and Absolute Displacement Martial Arts.»
«Multiplier Obtained: x500 (Maximum Cap of the Retribution System Reached).»
«You have received: [Stellar Core Magma Lotus (Supreme Cultivation Material - Permanently raises the base temperature of the bearer's Qi to solar coronal levels, granting passive cosmic burn damage)] and [Saint Body Sutra: "Unbreakable Sword Body of Nirvana" (High Saint Grade - Reforges the user's spinal cord and skeleton into perfect sword conduits, allowing them to project pure Sword Intent with bare fingers)].»
Samael Morningstar slowly turned toward his immense army.
Before him stood the Legion of the end of the world. 21 Imperial Dragons. The absolute boss Kael as the first Saint; the remaining 20 Sequences solidly established as half-saint calamities. The 24 armed elite New Stars led by Dante, and 1,000 lethal disciples ready to tear realms apart. That, without counting the elders and the 30,000 immortal soldiers of the Dead Blood Legion commanded by Vexia.
Samael walked toward the Obsidian Throne and sat down. The echo of silence in the realm was absolute.
"The outside world... the great sects and the old empires believe we are an upstart clan playing at war," Samael said, his voice crossing the immensity of the plaza with a deadly calm. "Let them keep sleeping in their stupid ignorance."
The Patriarch leaned forward, his eyes shining with a promise of absolute devastation.
"The gates of the Realm will not be opened. Starting this exact second, I declare absolute Closed-Door Training for the entire clan within the Mini-World. You will swallow the purest Qi of the Tree of Life and assimilate every drop of blood and every divine law until your bones break and are forged anew. No one leaves. And when the gates finally open and they wake up... they will realize that the apocalypse flies a black and red banner."