Chapter 431: As Big As Stars

Caelus played the final part again.

The Heavenly Lord walked through the opening with Bane and Jeffrey in his hands. Behind him, the ruined world burned without anyone left to call for help.

Bane had refused to fight in another war.

That refusal had cost his people their lives.

Caelus closed the recording and flew back to John. He kept the device in his hand as he looked once more at the dead planet.

"What did you find?" John asked.

"Someone from the Heavenly Faction destroyed this place and took the Ender of Fate."

John’s face lost its color.

"The Ender of Fate was here?"

"He was, and he didn’t want any part of their war."

Caelus could not forget the ease with which the Heavenly Lord had beaten him. Worse, that had only been a clone.

What were they trying to gain by making the Enders fight?

He had expected enemies and old grudges. He had not expected someone to hunt them down and force a war even when they refused to take part.

His thoughts returned to Sylvia and Freya.

The Heavenly Lord would have to get through him first.

"Find the person you were tracking," Caelus told John. "Let me know as soon as you have anything."

"I’ll keep the search going."

Caelus was about to leave when John received another message.

He read it, then looked toward Caelus.

"The Administration found someone connected to the Heavenly Faction. A team is following him now."

"Where?"

John sent the location.

It lay in a stretch of space beyond the dead planet. Caelus checked the route and left with him at once.

John contacted the team as they traveled.

"We’re on our way. Keep your distance and send us any changes."

A voice answered through the connection.

"We’ve reached the last position, but there’s nothing here. He just disappeared in front of us."

"Don’t approach any farther."

"We’re checking the area from—"

The voice cut off.

John tried again, but no one answered.

Caelus increased his speed.

By the time they reached the location, every member of the team had stopped responding. There were no ships or planets nearby, only distant stars surrounding a patch of empty space.

John called the team once more.

Nothing.

Caelus spread his senses while checking the coordinates.

This was the right place.

"Stay behind me."

He lifted his hand toward the empty stretch ahead.

[Skill Activated: Chaos Bolt.]

A bright bolt shot from his palm and crossed the void.

BOOM!

It struck something that should not have been there.

Golden lines spread across empty space before fading. Caelus watched the last of them disappear and raised his hand again.

"So that’s where you’re hiding."

[Skill Activated: Star King’s Sword Vault.]

Golden portals opened behind him. Starlight swords poured out and struck the hidden barrier from every direction.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The golden lines returned, covering a much larger area this time. Cracks spread between them as more swords struck the same points.

A voice roared from beyond the barrier.

"Stop attacking at once!"

Caelus sent another wave.

CRAAACK!

The barrier broke apart.

Several golden planets appeared before him, surrounded by rings of floating palaces. Light connected the worlds, forming bright paths through space.

So much for one weak planet.

Figures emerged from the nearest palace and flew toward the broken barrier.

They wore white and gold armor over scaled bodies. Curved horns rose from their heads, and golden flames burned through their thick manes.

These were Qilin Yaoguai.

The Celestial Geese he had killed were nothing compared to them. Every one of these creatures stood at the peak of Origin Lord Rank with ten thousand Combat Score.

"Who dares enter the celestial grounds without permission?"

The largest Qilin stepped ahead of the others. His eyes passed over Caelus before settling on John.

"An Overseer? Has the Star King Administration forgotten its place?"

Caelus moved between them.

"Where is the Heavenly Lord?"

The Qilin’s expression changed.

Two others glanced toward the planets behind them before returning their attention to Caelus.

"What does that have to do with you?"

"Answer the question."

The Qilin bared his teeth.

"You break our barrier and demand to meet our lord? Kneel before I tear your limbs off."

Caelus looked past him at the golden worlds.

The search team had disappeared here. These people served the same man who had wiped out a planet and carried its ruler away.

He had heard enough.

"Alright. If that’s your answer, you can die."

The Qilin raised his arm, but Caelus’s body had already begun to change.

Blue scales covered his skin as his fingers grew into claws. His wings spread behind him and kept growing as his human form disappeared beneath them.

The Qilin lowered his arm.

"What is this?"

Caelus’s head rose above the nearby palaces.

His horns stretched through the darkness as his body grew larger than the nearest moon. Then the moon looked like a pebble beside his claw.

The Qilin backed away.

"Attack him before he finishes!"

Weapons formed in their hands and shot toward Caelus. Golden spears struck his scales and broke into scattered sparks.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

He barely felt them.

His body continued growing until the planets no longer filled his sight. They hung beneath him like small globes, each one dwarfed by the blue dragon blocking the stars.

John fled farther back.

Caelus kept track of him while spreading his wings beyond the golden worlds. Their light reflected across his scales, but none of it reached the darkness inside his opening mouth.

[Ding! You’ve entered Dragon Transformation]

[x6 Stats Amplification applied]

[+150 Combat Score]

[Combat Score: 10,150 (Origin Lord 10)]

One of the Qilin dropped his weapon.

"A Chaos Dragon..."

"Run! Return to the transfer gates!"

The largest turned toward a palace, abandoning the others before they could move.

Caelus opened his jaws wider.

The nearest palace tore free from its place and rushed toward him. Its light stretched into thin trails as the Qilin were dragged backward.

"Stop! We serve the Heavenly Lord!"

"We can tell you where—"

Caelus moved forward.

His jaws closed around them and the worlds beyond.

BOOOOOOM!

Golden light flashed between his teeth.

The planets vanished into his maw along with the palaces and the fleeing Origin Lords. Their voices ended before the last fragments of the broken barrier faded.

Caelus remained there for a moment, watching the empty space where the celestial grounds had stood.

Then his body shrank.

When he returned to his human form, John was still staring at him. The Overseer tried to speak but could not seem to find the words.

"The Heavenly Faction. What a pain in the ass."

Caelus turned toward him.

"Let’s go back."

John swallowed before managing a reply.

"Yes, Lord Caelus."