Chapter 500: The Executioner’s Arsenal

I read the description and focused first on the effects I understood. The resistance, the essence absorption, the unlocking of my Celestial-tier ceilings. Those were significant, the kind of upgrades that would change everything for me going forward, a true elevation of what Demon Slayer had given me.

Then I turned to the new abilities. Nine Heaven Pillars, Abyssal Judgment, and Executioner’s Mark.

I reached for the first one.

[ Nine Heaven Pillars — Mythic Ability ]

[ The Seven Earth Gates make a Celestial. Through the Nine Heavenly Pillars, a Celestial ascendeth unto the peak. ]

[ The sole trial by which a Celestial may reach the summit of creation. ]

[ The bearer may construct nine Pillars of Miracles, each one anchored to a different aspect of their being. Each pillar raised elevates the bearer’s Celestial rank. ]

[ Current Pillars: 0 / 9 ]

[ Requirements for the First Pillar: unavailable until the Seventh Earth Gate is opened. ]

Ah. So the path of the Celestial does not stop when I complete the Seven Earth Gates. It would appear that this was only the beginning, the true path I needed to climb if I wanted to reach the summit of creation, or whatever that meant.

"Of course," I said. "Of course there is more."

∞

The second ability was, well... interesting.

[ Abyssal Judgment ]

[ The bearer may pronounce judgment upon any demonic entity below Transcendental Tier (this limit will be raised when the bearer reaches the Transcendental Tier). This judgment is absolute. The target is marked for death, and all damage dealt to it by the bearer is increased by 500%. The judgment cannot be resisted, cannot be dispelled, and cannot be escaped. ]

[ Current Judgment: None ]

[ To pronounce judgment, the bearer must speak the target’s true name. ]

[ Once judged, the target remains marked until death. The bearer always knows the location of a judged target, regardless of distance or dimensional barriers. ]

This one was strange, and I did not know how useful it would be when its core requirement was knowing the true name of my target. The only time I had ever seen the True Name tag on my status screen was when I was in the void outside the planet.

Whatever a true name was, it was clearly important, and perhaps I would understand more when the time came.

With nothing more to see there, I checked the third ability.

[ Executioner’s Mark ]

[ The bearer may place a mark upon any demonic entity they have killed. This mark persists beyond death, binding the core of the demon’s soul to the bearer’s command. ]

[ Note: Requires at least one Pillar of Miracles. ]

[ Current Marks: 0 ]

[ Effects of the Mark: ]

— The bearer may summon a spectral copy of any marked demon to fight alongside them for a limited time. The duration may be extended by sacrificing essence.

— The spectral copy retains all abilities and memories of the original demon.

— The spectral copy cannot be killed permanently. If destroyed, it can be resummoned after a period of recovery.

— The bearer may maintain a maximum of nine spectral copies at any time.

[ Marked demons cannot be resurrected by external forces. Their essence belongs to the bearer. ]

I stared at that description and shuddered at what I had just been given.

I could turn my enemies into my soldiers, and the irony was not lost on me. After all the demons I had killed, I had been handed a tool to bind their souls to me.

I could see how useful this was. No, how broken. There were three Transcendental Grade demons on my world, and with this power I could make them my weapons.

I closed the Title screen and took a breath, trying not to let my attention scatter. There was no point thinking about this power until I had built my first pillar, and for that I needed all seven Earth Gates.

Barely any time had passed since I opened my status screen, and the pressure of the Pale Matron had not eased. There was one more thing I needed to do before I opened the Sixth Earth Gate.

My two equipped Titles were Lightning Arcanist and Abyssal Executioner, formerly Demon Slayer. I switched out Lightning Arcanist for one of my newest, Godslayer, and the memory of its description flashed through my mind.

[ Godslayer — Mythic Title ]

[ Acquired by: the confirmed solo kill of a divine entity, and the absorption of its essence and Natal Weapon. ]

[ The bearer ended a god while sealed, and without the sanction of any power. ]

[ The System records no precedent. ]

[ Effects: ]

— Divine authority exerted upon the bearer is reduced in proportion to the bearer’s will.

— Immunity to compulsion, decree, edict and command issued by any divine-ranked entity below the bearer’s own rank.

— All damage dealt to divine entities increased by 100%.

— The bearer cannot be unmade by divine decree.

— Enhanced resistance to divine forces.

— Divine concealment: bearer is unreadable to gods below Class Six.

— Moderate chance upon future kills of acquiring a Divine skill.

— New Ability: Pantheon’s Bane. [ Consume the Divine Spark of a god to generate active Law fragments. ]

There was a reason I switched to this Title at that moment, and it was to confirm a suspicion of mine.

The pressure inside me was unbearable, and I let go.

∞

When I carried Demon Slayer, the essence I used to break open the Earth Gates poured into the Title and was channelled into the gates, and the essence forced them open.

This time the process had changed. Abyssal Executioner treated the Earth Gates differently. Maybe it was because I was in a higher position, or because this Title did not regard the Gates with the same reverence.

All of the demonic essence poured into my new Mythic Title, and it gathered into a vast glowing shape that took the form of an axe.

The axe was enormous, and as it formed, the aura coming off it made the gate blocking my path begin to crack. It seemed I would not even need to break the gate down. Simply being near this thing was enough to erode it.

My intent was in every drop of demonic essence I had gathered, and that intent was to shatter the gates that stood between me and the prize I had fought and bled and died for.

The axe followed my intent, and it swung.

It struck the Sixth Earth Gate, and the gate, already buckling under its weight, shattered like glass.

The axe did not stop. It kept going.

My perception was dragged into the unknown space behind the gate. I tumbled through darkness, and then I saw it.

The winged figure made of a billion stars. A mortal would think they were looking at a constellation. In that place, I was looking at the heavens, and I think I was seeing a true Celestial, and the axe was speeding towards it.

Not towards it, exactly. Towards the star inside its body that I felt was connected to me. The last time, when I opened the Fifth Earth Gate, the demonic essence had poured into that star, and I was rewarded with vast Celestial essence that elevated my body to Sovereign and reforged my soul.

Now I wondered what would happen if this axe tore into it.