Chapter 189: Defying the Inevitable (1)

Death, clad in magnificent gold.

A colossal sword descended from the heavens like a towering pillar, threatening to crush Ethan and every hunter who had set foot inside the cathedral. The sheer amount of mana contained within the blade made Ethan tremble, leaving him powerless to do anything, even with the help of Legendary Weapons Master.

"I can't stop this…"

The desperate words escaped his lips as little more than a whisper, his head still tilted toward the heavens.

"RUN, BOY!! DON'T LET IT HIT YOU!!"

Asterion's roar struck like a thunderclap as he concentrated his strength into his legs and launched himself upward. The old man was desperately trying to give Ethan and the others whatever chance of survival he could, but his current condition was nowhere near enough to withstand an attack of such overwhelming magnitude.

"Run? Where the hell am I supposed to run?"

Ethan looked around desperately, searching for somewhere to escape. Even if he fired his grappling hook and propelled himself away at his maximum speed, he would still be caught within the Golden Dawn Knight's attack.

He gritted his teeth, gathering every ounce of strength he had left just to remain standing.

"You're the one who should run, damn old man!! you're the only one who has a chance!"

Ethan shouted furiously as the golden radiance pouring from the sword swallowed his figure.

And he wasn't wrong.

With King's Step, Asterion possessed enough speed to escape the attack's range. If he wanted to save himself alone, doing so would be relatively easy, but it would mean abandoning every other hunter inside the cathedral, including his two granddaughters.

And Asterion would rather die than allow that to happen.

"I already lost one daughter without being able to do a damn thing about it!"

The Red Demon's crimson eyes blazed fiercely, reflecting the last remnants of his strength.

"And i won't let the same fate repeat itself!!"

'Moon… Luna…'

'You two are all the family I have left, apart from Sol and Star. Even now, I still see your mother's ghost, and pieces of her in each of you.'

'I can't change the past in which I lost your mother, but I can still change the present and the future. If my life is the price I must pay to save you both, then I'll pay it without hesitation!'

The Uncrowned Emperor had made his decision.

He was prepared to sacrifice himself to give the next generation a chance to survive.

By unleashing the explosive power of his concentrated aura, Asterion was confident that he could stop the colossal sword. However, doing so would drain him completely, consuming every last drop of mana remaining in his body.

And once the Aura Armor keeping him alive disappeared, the wounds he had forcibly sealed would immediately reopen, causing him to bleed to death.

That was his plan.

Unfortunately, he had made a grave mistake.

He had neglected the monster responsible for unleashing that terrifying attack in the first place.

The Golden Dawn Knight appeared out of nowhere, positioning himself directly between Asterion and the descending sword.

"It's useless, old hunter! Accept your fate! all of you will die today!"

Aldrich's voice thundered from within the Golden Dawn Knight as the latter attacked with his divine sword.

Asterion caught the blow against the back of his rusted blade, attempting to force the knight aside and rush toward the colossal sword.

But his opponent refused to budge.

'Impossible…'

Asterion's eyes widened.

'He should have exhausted most of his aura creating that sword! How the hell can he still hold me back like this?!'

At this point, the situation was becoming ridiculous.

No matter how much mana a person possessed, the Golden Dawn Knight had exceeded every reasonable limit, despite being the same rank as Asterion.

In truth, the old hunter's assumption hadn't been wrong.

The Golden Dawn Knight really had exhausted most of his remaining aura to create that enormous sword.

However, the Uncrowned Emperor had overlooked something else.

Something that was now glowing brilliantly in the Golden Dawn Knight's hand.

'That… His strength is coming from the sword?'

From the very beginning, the divine sword wielded by the Golden Dawn Knight had been anything but an ordinary weapon. It possessed a powerful Ash of War capable of storing its wielder's aura and amplifying it.

As a result, the Golden Dawn Knight could continue fighting far longer than he otherwise should have, even after exhausting his own reserves.

After another rapid exchange of blows, he forced Asterion back to the ground, trapping him in a swordfight of terrifying speed.

Meanwhile, the colossal sword was already directly above them.

The pressure alone caused the entire ground to tremble violently, and the cathedral began collapsing under the resulting earthquake before the blade had even reached it.

Whatever happened when it finally struck the ground would be infinitely worse.

The final exchange between Asterion and the Golden Dawn Knight lasted barely a few seconds.

And only a few more remained before the end.

Asterion fought desperately to get past the knight in that brief window of time, but his opponent never yielded an inch.

"You'll die with us, you fool!!"

Asterion roared as their swords collided once again.

"You're standing right under it too!!"

Aldrich's laughter echoed in response.

"Perhaps you're right. But the Golden Dawn Knight possesses extraordinarily powerful armor, capable of withstanding even the strongest attacks."

"And besides, that sword was created from his own power in the first place. No matter how much damage he suffers, it will be far less than what the rest of you endure."

His laughter grew louder.

"And even if he dies… that doesn't mean I'll die with him! Hehehehehe!"

Aldrich laughed, utterly convinced of his victory, while Asterion continued fighting ferociously, desperately searching for some way to salvage the situation.

But there was another hunter.

One who had already leaped high into the golden sky, wearing a suit of pitch-black armor as he moved to confront death itself.

Upon looking closer, Asterion realized that the hunter was none other than Ethan.

"NO, BOY!! DON'T DO IT!!"

Asterion roared as his body began glowing with even greater intensity, as though the molten lava within him were about to erupt.

"You'll die if you get any closer!!"

The old man had decided to play his final card.

The attack he had been holding back until that very moment was finally about to be unleashed.

The Golden Dawn Knight immediately retreated several steps upon sensing the horrifying surge of aura erupting from Asterion's body.

It was as though a volcano were on the verge of exploding.

"No, Asterion!!"

Ethan's desperate voice rang out from above.

"Don't use your final card to save me!"

"You're the only one who can kill him! no matter what it costs, you can't fall before he does!!"

There was no longer any room for retreat.

The colossal sword was directly above Ethan now, radiating a magnificent golden light like a nuclear bomb on the verge of detonation.

Before that golden catastrophe, Ethan extended his right hand toward the blade, placing the last of his trust and faith in Legendary Weapons Master.