The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 2341: I am inevitable!

Time seemed to slow to a crawl for the Ancient One as the bullet flashed toward the point between his brows. The force field forged by the Power of Negation was unable to slow it in the slightest, and as it reached his flesh, he felt his entire face on the verge of unraveling. In less than a fraction of a second, the shot would destroy his head, then his brain, and finally his soul.

Even if his True Name survived, the loss would be inconceivable, and all the plans that spread for more than a billion years would collapse into nothing.

At that instant—when the scythe of death brushed against his neck—the Ancient One erupted with power greater than ever before.

White plasma wings burst forth from his back, making the Matrix of Origin Island react violently. Shock filled the eyes of both the Scarlet King and the Crimson Exarch as they recognized those wings. They were the same as theirs.

Yet that realization was pushed aside as time itself froze at the heart of Origin Island.

Under the horrified and astonished gazes of the brothers, the bullet began to move backward—rewinding itself through time.

The Ancient One could not block the shot; it had been forged specifically to pierce his powers and defenses. However, even that overwhelming force could not overcome the reversal of time itself.

Of course, the universe was fair.

Such immense power demanded an equally immense price.

"BOOM!"

The Ancient One’s left eye exploded into fragments, white blood spraying outward. The agony contorting his face was soul-wrenching, the kind of pain that surpassed the physical and struck directly at existence itself.

Yet he endured.

Pushing forward through the pain, he forced the bullet to rewind just enough. The instant time resumed its normal flow, the Ancient One twisted his body aside and narrowly dodged the shot.

Violent coughs followed as mouthfuls of blood spilled from his lips. The backlash from that technique was horrifying. The white plasma wings faded almost instantly, and his aura weakened drastically.

Still, when he turned his gaze toward the duo who had pushed him into such a desperate state, his remaining eye radiated pure brutality and glacial coldness. Cain and the Crimson Exarch felt an icy current race down their spines.

They had taken their shot at a king.

They had wounded him.

But they had failed to kill him.

That failure was a death sentence.

Even as every instinct screamed of overwhelming danger, the eyes of the Scarlet King and the Crimson Exarch burned with cold resolve. Their final Big Crunch Shot had failed, and there was nothing they could do to change that. Their only option was to press forward and hope to find a solution within the disaster they now faced.

Cain slashed with his sword, scarlet flames blazing forth in a roaring arc. At the same time, the Crimson Exarch unleashed a concentrated beam of the Light of the Flow.

Now free from the fear of a killing shot, the Ancient One relied on the terrifying endurance of his body. He pushed aside the sword with brute force and tanked the beam head-on, allowing him to close the distance and land a devastating blow straight into the face of the Crimson Exarch.

The sound of cracking bones echoed as the Crimson Exarch was blasted away into the distance.

Cain clenched his teeth at the sight of that ferocity. His eyes filled with killing intent as his Wings of Chaos flared wildly.

He had already unleashed Ragnarök twice.

Even with the immense improvements granted by his cultivation breakthrough and the insights gained from the pyramid, a third use of the Chaos Art would place him in extreme danger. Still, there was no other choice.

Unfortunately for Cain, just as his Chaos Wings began to summon the power of the Matrix, the Ancient One pointed his hand toward him.

Tendrils of shadow erupted forth, countless eyes opening along their surface.

Summoning that appendage made the Ancient One’s bleeding intensify, but he showed no concern. The tendrils ensnared Cain instantly, halting his body and freezing the circulation of his energy. A moment later, Cain was smashed violently into the ground.

Without wasting a second, the Ancient One extended his left hand toward the Crimson Exarch, unleashing another mass of shadowy tendrils. The Crimson Exarch had not yet recovered from the brutal punch when he was captured midair.

With a single violent pull, the tendrils retracted, dragging both Cain and the Crimson Exarch back toward the Ancient One. He seized them by the chest and slammed them into the ground with such force that the earth cracked and trembled, forging a massive crater as blood spilled from their mouths.

Agonizing pain flared through both of them as it felt like the weight of the universe crushed their chests, collapsing their lungs. They could neither breathe nor fight back, the sealing power of the countless eyes locking them firmly in place.

"You two."

The Ancient One’s rage and loathing were laid bare, yet behind those burning emotions lay an even more terrifying coldness in his remaining eye.

"You could have lived like kings by my side. Above all lifeforms in the universe, and only beneath me. Yet you chose to stand in my path."

The pressure on the chests of the Scarlet King and the Crimson Exarch intensified, blood pouring freely from their mouths. Even then, neither of them showed fear. Their gazes remained resolute as they stared directly at the Ancient One.

That defiance only fueled his fury further.

"Hmph. Ants," he sneered. "My arrival is written in the stars. I am inevitable!"

"BOOM!"

The Ancient One’s words had barely left his mouth when a golden palm slammed into his back, blasting him away into the distance and freeing the duo from his grip.

Cain and the Crimson Exarch finally drew deep, desperate breaths as they rolled in the shattered ground. As they focused on the figure who had intervened, small smiles formed on their faces.

The one who had appeared was the only one who could face the Ancient One head-on.

The Demon King.