Chapter 420.2: My Fate (2)

Angels.

They were known as Sia’s aides in the ancient era, and they had always prided themselves as the Goddess’ Envoys. Many races viewed them with reverence. However, just like how different humans had vastly different degrees of talents, a hierarchy existed amongst the angels too.

The Xeclydes were the result of the angels’ hope to sustain their bloodline, so the Angel Bloodline they had inherited was naturally the most superior one. It granted them utmost power to survive no matter how chaotic the environment was.

Every member of the Xeclyde House wielded great latent potential. Their bloodline awakening was a journey for them to search for their own ‘roots’, to reconnect with their angel lineage in their own way and inherit its power. That was why every member of the Xeclyde House had a different power after awakening.

Holy Eminence John had inherited the bloodline from one of the Seven Archangels of the ancient era, making him an irrefutable powerhouse even amongst the Xeclydes. However, Nora, who had undergone Restoration of Primordial Bloodline, was in a much more special position.

“Angel King.”

Peytra quietly murmured the origin of the young woman’s power, causing Roel to widen his eyes in astonishment.

In certain ways, Nora could be considered as a nascent form of a god, a Race Sovereign just like Peytra and the others. That was the reason why the three ancient gods were so wary about her.

Furthermore, in terms of attributes, the power of the angels was quite troublesome to deal with. Among the three ancient gods, only Grandar’s undead attribute could hope to curb it.

Roel’s face turned solemn as he came to understand how dire the situation he was in.

In the sky, Nora began to make her move. She gazed at Roel with glowing eyes before gracefully arching her body forward, as if she was leaning in for a tender kiss. But what came instead was terrifying killing intent.

Boom!

With a sonic boom, Nora pushed herself against the air and propelled herself forward with a furious outpour of mana toward her light wings. She descended like a falling comet toward Roel.

This unexpected maneuver caught Roel, Grandar, and the others by surprise.

Is she giving up her aerial advantage for a close-quarter fight?

After a brief moment of doubt, the Primordial Earth Goddess made use of this opportunity to unleash her power. She forcefully created an eruption between Roel and Nora, ricocheting huge shattered rocks into the sky as if an army of catapults. At the same time, she tightened her serpent body tightly together before bolting toward the descending comet.

The earth flames and massive stones had blocked Nora’s path of retreat while the Primordial Earth Goddess waited in front of her with her humongous mouth opened, ready to devour Nora alive.

However, the latter remained unfazed, choosing to neither decelerate nor avoid Peytra. In fact, she charged right into the World Serpent’s mouth.

“Hm?”

Peytra was surprised that she was able to devour Nora that easily. The Witch Queen also frowned in confusion as well. The two of them couldn’t understand why the enemy would voluntarily enter the Primordial Earth Goddess’ Body.

One must know that Peytra was the incarnation of the earth. It was impossible to destroy her from within. That was her authority as a god.

Yet, the ironclad rule revealed signs of collapsing the next moment.

A tinge of golden aura started glowing from Peytra’s body. From a weak flickering gleam, it swiftly permeated her body like a contagious disease. Cracks appeared all over the World Serpent’s body, and everything started crumbling with a loud explosion.

Boom!

“This is bad!”

The collapse of Peytra’s body alarmed the Witch Queen. She didn’t think that Nora would wield such terrifying assimilatory angelic power that allowed her to thoroughly invade a god’s body and break it down. Roel was also shocked as well. Years of battle experience made him cognizant of a fact.

I won’t be able to hold my ground against her. 

The powers Nora had gained after undergoing Seraphication were Assimilation and Decimation.

That was the reason for the mutilated carcasses Roel had encountered along the way. Even without her personally making a move, all that came into contact with her mana would become pervaded by it before being decimated.

In the sky, the World Serpent that was split into two plummeted to the ground with a pained cry. The angel who broke out of its body unfurled her light wings and charged forward once more. At the same time, she began conjuring light arrows and unleashed them at Roel.

Grandar stepped forward to block the light arrows. He was able to counter the assimilatory nature of Nora’s mana thanks to his attribute of undead reanimation, thus allowing him to stand his ground for the time being.

With a furious roar that shook the night, Grandar released a huge burst of death aura and hurled it toward the falling angel with a powerful punch. The sheer might of the Giant Sovereign finally cracked the angel’s nonchalant expression as she opted to evade his attack.

This was the first time that Nora was forced to back away in the battle, but this small win meant nothing in the larger scale of things. After retreating to the sky, she raised her palm and summoned a flood of blinding light, turning the entire sky golden.

Her mana pulsated with incredible intensity as she channeled it down upon the Giant King. In response, Grandar gathered his death aura and unleashed it in the form of a punch.

The two forces clashed, producing a massive explosion that swiftly irradiated Tark Prairie, vanquishing the shadows of the night. All of the demonic beasts in the vicinity frantically escaped from the area, and the bloodthirsty deviants dared not to approach in the face of such frightening might.

It looked like both sides were equally matched at the moment, but Roel knew that the situation wasn’t optimistic.

Bit by bit, Grandar’s mana was being assimilated by the angelic power. A countdown was already placed on how much longer he could fight for. On top of that, Roel was also running low on his mana.

“My hero, allow me to kill her.”

Artasia turned to Roel and spoke with an earnest plea.

“It isn’t your fault. It’s impossible to save her from the Seraphication of the Angel King. At this rate, we’ll all die,” said the Witch Queen.

None of them had expected that Nora’s Seraphication would be tied to the Angel King. It was an unintended situation, as well as Nora’s own fate.

Countless transcendents had been destroyed by their own talents since the ancient era. Nora wasn’t the first, and she wouldn’t be the last either. It was understandable why Roel wanted to save her, but there was no point for him to give up his life in futility.

It was rare for Artasia to use conventional standards to construct an argument that few could refute, but Roel simply looked ahead of him quietly.

Is she really not worth me putting my life on the line for?

Time seemed to have stopped as such a doubt surfaced in Roel’s mind. He could keenly sense the overwhelming danger he was in as if someone was pressing a knife against his neck, but the thought of Nora’s lifeless corpse made him feel as if someone was ripping out his chest.

For the longest time, his goal had been to live on.

But what did it mean to truly live?

Was killing someone whom he cared for and living his life out in regret count as living? Would slaying the final hope of the Theocracy and spending the rest of his life watching the death of his brethren count as living?

He could survive if he chose to kill Nora, but he thought that it would be no different from being dead. He had a part to play in Nora’s Seraphication, and he strongly felt that he had to save her no matter what it took.

“Artasia, I forbid you to kill her. I won’t let anyone take her away.”

Under the brilliant light, Roel looked at the Witch Queen and spoke with a composed voice. His eyes glowed as brightly as candlelight, reflecting his unwavering determination.

“She’s not someone whom I can forsake. If it’s her fate to be destroyed by the Angel King, it’d be my fate to drag her back from his clutches!”

With Roel’s forceful words, the Crown Origin Attribute began glowing brightly amidst crackling lightning. His mana started to surge as he began walking forward.

“She’s only asleep. I’ll wake her up.”