Chapter 352: World-Shaking Calamity Axe – Atlas!

The soldier screamed as his body began to burn away and rapidly disintegrate. Pieces of scorched armor and flesh scattered from him, only for new muscles and tentacles to surge out of the wounds.

His body continued mutating, swelling into a towering giant as the damaged parts were replaced. Although his new form was strange, it was not as twisted or ugly as the other examples Riven had encountered.

Large, feathered wings grew from the soldier’s arms, spreading wide enough to cover much of the chamber. His legs disappeared completely, leaving his enormous body floating high above the cracked floor.

His hair turned gold and silver, rising around his head as psychic power gathered through every strand. A large, rainbow-colored eye opened on his forehead and blinked at Riven, while long horns grew upward from his skull.

“Ahhhh! Riven, you’re truly special, aren’t you? Willheim told me about you. Since then, I’ve been excited to finally meet you!”

“What the…?! Who the hell are you? Answer me!”

Riven roared as he clashed against him again, refusing to give the transformed soldier any time to recover. Their powers collided in front of them, shaking the dungeon as cracks spread across the walls and ceiling.

RUMBLE!

TRUUUM!

Vladimir slipped behind the giant and attacked from his blind spot, helping Riven push back against the immense titan descending toward them. Even with both of them fighting together, the soldier’s strength continued forcing them downward.

Riven tightened his grip around Cagliostro and poured every spell and form of magic he could control into her. Her glistening light shone brighter with each passing second, while elemental symbols appeared across her surface and began spinning around the weapon. Cagliostro trembled in his hands as her shape expanded, then she finally transformed.

Synergy: Heavy Weapon Mastery + Divine Axe Art…

All of Riven’s Elemental Powers, Magic, and more condensed around her, transforming Cagliostro into a gigantic, ten-meter-tall axe composed of every element at once.

Fire burned along one edge while water and ice flowed across the other.

Light and shadows twisted around the handle, stone and soil reinforced the massive blade, and plants wrapped around it like living chains.

Winds gathered around its head as thunder flashed through the weapon, making the entire dungeon tremble before Riven even swung it.

“World-Shaking Calamity Axe – Atlas!!!”

RUMBLE!

“Oh!”

The soldier’s eyes widened as Riven brought the gigantic axe down with both hands. Psychic power erupted from the titan’s body, forming several layers of barriers around him. He swung his massive, muscular, feathered arms forward and caught the axe with all his might.

For a moment, he stopped its descent, but the elemental properties within the weapon activated at once. Countless preloaded spells poured over him from every direction, burning, freezing, crushing, and electrocuting his body while the enormous blade continued pressing him toward the floor.

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

The barriers and auras surrounding the soldier’s hands shattered one after another. Flesh and blood were torn apart once more as the enormous axe finally struck his torso and dug deep into him.

His body bent beneath the impact, yet the rainbow-colored eye on his forehead continued gleaming. Instead of screaming, the soldier laughed as blood poured from his wounds. His smile was sickening and full of madness.

“Hahaha…! This has truly been a fun battle, but I suppose this meat puppet cannot hold even a percentage of my power… However, why not take this farewell gift?!”

Before Riven could react, the rainbow-colored eye opened wide. A beam of psychic energy erupted from it, pierced through Riven’s chest, and blew a large hole through his body. Since this body was made of shadows, the damage should not have mattered.

The missing section immediately began pulling itself back together, but then a sharp pain struck his soul and spread through his mind. His vision blurred, and his control over the shadow body faltered. This was not an attack meant for the body standing before the soldier. It had been aimed directly at Riven’s main body.

“Ugh?!”

Inside the other dungeon he was exploring, Riven’s main body stumbled and groaned, clutching his chest despite there being no wound. His surroundings vanished beneath a flood of foreign images forced into his mind.

He suddenly saw the hidden depths of a laboratory, where Willheim laughed while dozens of soldiers were injected with a perfect serum.

The number continued growing before his eyes. Dozens became hundreds, and hundreds became thousands.

One after another, the soldiers convulsed as their bodies transformed into Super Soldiers, each gaining features that resembled him… and someone else.

Amidst everything, there he was. The one behind all of this stood beyond the rows of glass chambers, staring directly at Riven with a gentle smile, as if he knew Riven could see him.

His long, glistening silver hair moved with the air flowing through the laboratory, while his blue eyes glowed with an unnatural green light.

His face looked almost identical to Riven’s, but he was taller and slenderer. His features were prettier, almost angelic, ephemeral, shaped with such precision that he seemed less like a human and more like someone’s idea of perfection.

He wore a long black coat and matching boots, both untouched by the blood and chemicals covering the laboratory floor. In one hand, he carried a long sword that gleamed with ancient spiritual energy. Riven recognized its presence even through the vision.

It was an L Rank Relic from Japan, the legendary Masamune.

Somehow, this man had been there the entire time, working alongside Willheim and helping him produce the Super Soldiers.

No, their relationship went further than that. As more memories forced themselves into Riven’s mind, he understood the truth.

The man had been raised by Willheim, shaped by him from a young age, and prepared for whatever purpose this experiment served.

Willheim spread his arms before the thousands of transformed soldiers, his laughter echoing through the laboratory as the machines continued operating behind him.

“Hahahaha! Do you see this now, son?! Look at what you have helped us accomplish! Humanity… humanity has finally evolved into its next stage! Aren’t you glad? Aren’t you happy, Zephyrus?”