Chapter 387: The Power Of An Emperor

Malazakar’s amber eyes shot upward, and Lena and Mark Twilight quickly followed his gaze, their bodies freezing in place as a single figure floated above them.

Caelus Kross descended slowly from the sky with blue energy swirling around him like a storm waiting to be unleashed.

His dragon horns curved from his forehead while circuit-like patterns of blue light pulsed along their surface. His eyes glowed like twin stars, their vertical slits burning with power that made the air itself tremble.

Moments later, he landed on the ruined rooftop across from them, his feet touching down without a sound. However, the ground beneath him still cracked under the sheer weight of his presence.

His gaze swept across the figures of Malazakar and Mark before finally landing on Lena who stood far away from them. Just then, a casual smile spread across his face.

"Long time no see, Lena."

The moment she heard his voice, Lena’s entire body went rigid. Her eyes widened, her lips trembled, and a flood of emotions crashed through her all at once, so overwhelming that she couldn’t process a single one.

"CAELUS!!!"

She burst into tears, her scream echoing across the ruined city as her entire body trembled uncontrollably.

Caelus blinked in confusion.

What was happening right now? Why was she shouting his name like she had just found her long-lost lover? Weren’t they supposed to be enemies?

He stared at her for a moment, genuinely unsure how to respond. In the end, he decided not to think about it any further and simply ignored her.

Immediately after, he turned his attention toward Malazakar and Mark as he teleported towards them.

"What’s up, folks."

His tone was light, almost friendly, as if they weren’t standing in the middle of a ruined city surrounded by death and destruction.

"You guys sure did a number here, huh?" He casually gestured toward the destruction stretching across the horizon before grinning. "Pretty cool, I gotta admit."

Malazakar’s face twisted with disbelief as he stared at him.

"You! Caelus Kross!" He stepped forward, dark energy crackling around his body. "What is that power level of yours? How did you reach this height in just one month? Where have you been hiding? What technique did you use to grow this fast?"

The questions spilled from his mouth one after another, each one carrying more disbelief than the last.

Hearing this, Caelus merely tilted his head slightly.

"You don’t need to know, mate."

Malazakar’s expression darkened with fury.

"If you think you can win, you are naive!" He spread his arms wide, gesturing toward the destruction surrounding them. "The demons are everywhere! They have spread across every continent, every city, every corner of this planet! You cannot stop what has already begun!"

Caelus listened to his rant with a bored expression. Then, just as Malazakar finished speaking, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Oh yeah?"

He casually raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

BOOM!

In an instant, every demon within his sphere of influence simply ceased to exist.

Their bodies disintegrated into countless particles of light before scattering into the wind like dust. Thousands of demons, tens of thousands of them, vanished from existence within the span of a single heartbeat.

Across the world, the humans who had been fighting desperately for their lives suddenly found themselves standing on empty battlefields.

In Queens, Chad watched in complete disbelief as the demons surrounding his guild vanished into nothing. His sword hung limply at his side as he stared at the suddenly empty street.

"What just happened?"

At the same time, in Washington, Dickenson slowly lowered his fists.

The demons he had been fighting moments earlier were gone. They hadn’t been defeated, nor had they retreated.

They had simply been erased from existence.

Commander Valeria stood beside him with her mouth slightly open as she stared at the sky.

"This power..." she whispered. "It reminds me of the two beings that descended into the Tier 1 World before."

Dickenson’s face immediately turned pale as realization struck him.

"The power of an Emperor."

Meanwhile, in Rome, Lunari fell to her knees.

The demons that had been assaulting the Vatican’s ruins had vanished completely. Holy energy still swirled around her hands, but there was nothing left for her to fight.

Marcus quickly helped her back to her feet, and the two stared toward the split sky.

"Has Caelus reached Emperor-Rank?" Marcus asked in disbelief.

Lunari slowly shook her head.

"It’s only been a month. That should be impossible."

However, the evidence was right in front of them.

Back at the Demonic Headquarters, Malazakar stumbled backward, his face having gone completely pale.

"Impossible..." he muttered, his voice trembling. "You couldn’t have reached this level... in just one month..."

Caelus didn’t bother responding.

Instead, his aura abruptly exploded outward.

Blue energy erupted from his body like a tidal wave, slamming toward Malazakar with the force of a collapsing star. The demon lord immediately tried to raise a barrier, but the defense shattered like glass under a hammer.

Before Malazakar could react, Caelus disappeared.

Immediately afterward, he appeared directly in front of him.

His fist crashed into Malazakar’s chest and sent the demon flying backward through three buildings. Stone and steel crumbled as his body tore through wall after wall.

Malazakar forcefully stopped himself in mid-air before dark energy rapidly gathered around his hands.

"Demon Energy Palm!"

A wave of pure darkness erupted from his palms and rushed toward Caelus with enough force to level an entire city block.

However, Caelus merely raised one hand.

Golden light exploded from his palm and collided with the darkness in mid-air. The two forces clashed violently, sending powerful shockwaves rippling across the ruined city.

Then, with a simple push of his hand, Caelus overwhelmed the darkness completely.

The golden light tore through Malazakar’s attack as if it were nothing but paper. Before the demon lord could react to the destruction of his technique, Caelus appeared directly in front of him once again.

Another fist slammed into his chest.

Malazakar was sent flying backward, crashing through three more buildings before finally skidding to a stop on the broken street below.

He coughed up blood before forcing himself back to his feet.

"Impossible! Your power shouldn’t be this high!"

Caelus slowly walked toward him, blue energy crackling around his body.

"You talk too much."

Hearing this, Malazakar roared and immediately launched himself forward. Dark claws extended from his fingers as he slashed toward Caelus with everything he had, each strike carrying enough force to split mountains.

Caelus casually dodged the first strike by tilting his head slightly.

Immediately after, he caught the second claw with his bare hand.

"W-What?!"

Malazakar tried to pull his arm back, but Caelus’s grip was like iron.

"This is my talent," Caelus said calmly. "Gravity Domain."

The moment those words fell, the air around Malazakar suddenly became impossibly heavy.

His body slammed into the ground with tremendous force, and cracks rapidly spread outward beneath him like a spiderweb. He immediately tried to push himself up, but the gravity pressing down on him abruptly increased tenfold.

"With this talent, I can control gravitational forces within my domain," Caelus explained calmly. "I can crush enemies under their own weight, pin them to the ground, or send them flying into the sky."

As he spoke, Caelus crouched beside Malazakar’s struggling form.

"Right now, you’re experiencing ten times normal gravity. Your bones should start breaking any second now."

During the time he had spent in the Path To Worlds, his Gravity Domain had grown from five times to ten times.

Just then, the sound of cracking bones echoed through the ruined street.

CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

Malazakar screamed as his ribs shattered one after another under the overwhelming pressure.

"W-Wait! We can negotiate! I have information about the Demon Realm! I can tell you everything!"

Hearing his desperate plea, Caelus tilted his head slightly.

"No thanks."

Immediately afterward, he increased the gravity once again.

CRACK!

Malazakar’s body went still as the overwhelming gravitational force crushed him completely against the broken street.

Caelus stared at the corpse for a brief moment before turning toward Mark Twilight.

The moment their eyes met, Mark began shaking uncontrollably.

His entire body trembled as he stared at the corpse of his leader. His legs finally gave out beneath him, and he collapsed to his knees.

"We’ve never met face to face, have we?" Caelus slowly walked toward him. "I’m assuming you’re Mark Twilight, considering Lena is close by."