Chapter 316: Keepers of Corruption

Leno continued rising slowly into the air, preparing to face the unfathomable threat waiting for him to arrive. All three Keepers had different colored skulls.

One of them was crimson red who wore a silk white cloak around their body. They didn’t have any notable weapon on them which made Leno consider the possibility of mental or elemental attacks.

The second skull was beautiful sapphire color that reflected Leno’s bright rays off its head. They were wearing a reinforced set of spiked armor that looked like it was constantly fighting to stay in this realm of existence. Its color was a deep yellow which helped hide the golden axe that was strapped to its back.

The last skull was a neon green color. It was wearing an elegant ballroom dress that puffed outward near the bottom. No matter how much Leno stared at them, he could not manage to figure out what they could be capable. That alone made them the biggest threat.

Suddenly, the blue colored skull opened its jaw and allowed words to flow into Leno’s pure mind.

“Hmm. The Great Serpent blesses us with their presence again after all these years. To think you were still alive was an incalculable outcome. My plans are always flawless, yet you evaded an unavoidable death. It makes me most curious how you stand before us.”

Leno shook his head.

“I am no serpent. I do not know any of you here. What I do know is that Zalo is a problem in this world. He has slaughtered millions for this conquest of power. I have come to put a stop to it.”

The green skull giggled to themself.

“You are no serpent, yet you attempt a silver tongue. You plead for the lives of humans, yet you don’t understand their traitorous tendencies. You are a hypocrite.”

“I am a human, just like them.”

The red skull answered next.

“You are a god. You nothing like those waiting for you to kill us. What’s stopping you from fighting right now? Are you aware of how outmatched you are?”

Leno tilted his head.

“Oh? I’m the one who is outmatched?”

The blue skull raised his hand.

“No. We mean our father. You may be able to take us on, even by yourself, but there is no winning against father. His death here means the death of all existence as we know it. Only Zalo knows how one power can exist without the other. You would be a fool to slay him if you were ever capable.”

“Your father lies. He claims to have lived without his opposite, yet here I stand in front of you. I am living proof of your creator’s deceit.”

The skulls remained silent for a moment.

“We can sense the powers of this world. All of us can. There was no light in this world. That fact you exist is a mere fluke.”

Leno laughed.

“A fluke? Hm… I wouldn’t call it that. I think a better word for it would be… destiny!”

The blue skull walked on air over to Leno. He towered over his figure, glaring down at him with his empty sockets threateningly.

“Destiny, you say?”

He grabbed his golden axe and held it against Leno’s neck.

“Do you believe it your destiny to win this fight?”

The golden axe felt cold against Leno’s skin as if it had a sentience of its own trying to pull away his soul. Leno smiled while staring back into the empty eyes of his opponent.

“I do.”

A cold exhale escaped the skulls mouth.

“Then it’s a good thing my axe can cut through destiny.”

He raised his axe to bring it down on Leno as the other two skulls danced around him preparing attacks of their own. Leno covered himself in a blinding radiance before manifesting himself far away from his opponents.

As he was getting ready to charge, a thundering voice rippled the fabric of reality.

“Wait.”

All three skulls were just upon Leno, completely frozen. They were so still they looked like statues.

Suddenly, Zalo’s body began to move. He kneeled over slightly to bring his infinitely black skull up close to everyone close together. Zalo opened his mouth, but no words came out. Suddenly, Leno heard the voice again.

“Serpent.”

Leno was drowning in Zalo’s presence. It felt like he had the entire cosmos pressing against his chest, restricting his breathing. However, he forced himself to stand strong and talk back to the all-powerful deity.

“Do I look like a serpent to you?”

Zalo’s ice-cold voice spoke once more.

“I feel, not see. To me, you are the Serpent. My opposite. I am not mistaken.”

Leno stood his ground and talked back.

“You decided to show your face just to say hi? Go back up in the sky. I’ll be with you right after I kill your keepers.”

Zalo’s bones rattled as a hand teleported around all the keepers. Not a single one held a reaction as they were brought towards his mouth.

“My vessels of power. You can thank your dragon acquaintance for this decision.”

Suddenly, Zalo threw every single keeper into his mouth. The celestial bones of his strongest warriors crackled in his jaw like rocks. Leno felt sick to his stomach at the sight. He could feel each one’s power draining into Zalo, already fueling his infinite reserve of dark energy.

“As I speak it, all of you are no more.”

With the wave of his hand, all existing life in the world had died instantly. Leno could feel their energy drain from their bodies as they collapsed to the ground in one large swoop. However, his attack didn’t appear to affect anyone in his group. Zalo’s teeth clattered together.

“Hm. You are not a serpent after all.”

“You wiped out the life on this planet except for us. Why?”

Zalo twitched slightly, refusing to answer. Leno’s brain moved at light speed.

‘He has no reason to keep us alive anymore. There was no doubt he absorbed those keepers to pull off an attack of that scale. However, I can sense his shock. Even if he tries to hide it, I can tell.’

“You were trying to kill just now, but you couldn’t, could you?”

Zalo shrunk his height so he could stand up to Leno face to face. His body rippled with cosmic power. Leno was suffocating being so close, but he refused to act weak in front of his enemy.

Zalo opened his jaw, a low reverberating voice leaving it for all the world to hear.

“I command you all to di-“

“RELEASE THE LIGHT!!”