Holy flames sizzled as they struck the wall of verdant miasma and erupted. White-glowing flames burst in all directions, burning everything in their path. Yet, as the flames expanded, they never reached their intended target.

Mere centimeters separated the flames from the humanoid, covered in poisonous-green scales, when a similarly scaled tail swept forward. The scaled humanoid raised his claws and cleaved through the flames, tearing them apart. The pristine, white-glowing flames split up and seemed to decay as tinges of yellow-green energy infested them, corrupting the flames.

“What the hell is that thing?!” Frederick, Vessel of the Holy Flame, cursed, right before releasing another volley of holy fireballs.

The white balls of searing heat tore through the poisonous miasma and incinerated the Corrupted Undead near the humanoid lizard, but even his strongest flames failed him.

He cast [Divine Flame], [Flame of Retribution], [Blazing Core], and [Sacred Hex of the Flaming Goddess], yet no matter how many Corrupted Undead he killed, the humanoid lizard—or was that a serpent?—prevailed. Frederick’s flames, strong enough to burn through the hide of powerful Gold-ranked creatures, failed to harm his adversary. It was almost… almost like they had returned to fight the Void Sapling.

It was just that the Void Sapling had been slower and weaker.

“Do not worry. You are not the weakest I have faced.”

A deep, guttural hiss rang through the poisonous miasma as it surged once again. Holy flames burned through the miasma, yet the white-glowing fire appeared less effective than before. How could that be?

“Don’t listen to that thing, old man!” Silas, Holy Knight of the Heavenly Faction, shouted.

He was coated in [Sacred Aura] and cast [Holy Judgement], [Sacred Aura], and [Divine Sword], while also relying on [Natural Resistance], [Holy Titan Constitution], and [Charge of a Thousand Bulls] to push past Frederick and arrive before the humanoid lizard.

The poisonous miasma did not seem to affect the Holy Knight much as he lifted his vibrantly glowing sword to attack. He smashed into the humanoid lizard, forcing it to take two steps back, and slashed down.

Words of Power resounded behind Frederick, and he knew right away that Nadja, the Saintess, had accessed the Law bestowed upon her by the Holy Goddess. Silas roared at the top of his lungs as power flooded him. The poisonous-green miasma dispersed instantaneously, whereas the Corrupted Undead within the range of the Saintess’s Words of Power collapsed.

Frederick watched as imprisoned souls escaped the undead’s bodies. While he did not have time to observe their return to the Cycle, he smiled at the sight of the tortured souls reclaiming their right to freedom.

The Saintess’s Law was powerful and of exceptional use. It was stronger than his Holy Flame—though that was to be expected. The Law belonged to the Holy Goddess, after all!

It exiled nefarious entities from the plane of existence and granted the poor and helpless the peace they deserved. Of course, the Words of Power and her Law could do a lot more, but Saintess Nadja did not speak about either. Not with him, at least, though Frederick doubted the Saintess spoke to Silas much either—especially not after what happened with the Void Sapling.

Frederick shuddered. Just thinking about those days several months ago pulled him back into the downward spiral. They may have only been stuck in that dark, evil place for a short time, but it had been terrifying. Death had never been as appealing as it had been in that place.

Shaking his head, Frederick discarded the bad thoughts and focused back on the battle. The Holy Knight’s attack had succeeded with the Saintess’s help. His blade sank deep into the lizard’s body and cleaved through it, nearly splitting the humanoid in two. Twisting his blade in the humanoid, Silas ripped it out, pulled back, and shifted gears to attack once more.

He used [Knight’s Honor], [Champion Knight], [Sacred Aura], and [Heavenly Tribunal] as he attacked again, moving faster than ever as the Saintess’s Words of Power reached him. [Superior Holy Blessing], [Burning Lifeforce], and [Divine Haste] applied all at once, granting him far more strength and speed than his body could handle.

His lifeforce was already boiling, but it was not set ablaze. He screamed through gritted teeth but moved on, trying to dispel the pain permeating every inch of his body as he used every bit of power to kill the humanoid lizard once and for all. It had already survived for too long, caused too much damage, to be left alive.

It was the last chance they had.

Too many Champions had died at the hands of that creature—torn apart, killed, and devoured.

If they did not kill him now, the Heavenly Faction based on the Earthen Union would cease to be.

***

William saw the first attack, but he did not evade it. He went as far as to lower his guard, allowing the knight clad in heavy-plated armor to strike. The blade carved through him and nearly split him in half. It should have been painful—incredibly so—but William didn’t feel a thing.

That should be more than enough. Neither Zachariah nor William is nearby, nor is their Portaligist.

William watched several members of his Cohorte—undead avian beasts—roam nearby. Dozens of Seertures, undead vultures capable of marking and pursuing their target, had already marked the Portaligist and followed her everywhere. But she was still in the Dwarven Sanctuary, working hard alongside a Swordsman and other humans—useless creatures.

Nobody seemed to understand the severity of what was happening. If anything, everyone appeared satisfied and happy with their lives since the creatures from beyond the End had disappeared. Sure, William had located a few in the last few months, but Zachariah killed them swiftly, giving the Voidlings and Void-infected Nests no leeway.

The survivors, on the other hand, savored the peace. They embraced it and started to rebuild what they had lost through the integration of the Pantheon.

It was disgusting. Utterly so.

Why would anyone be willing to go back to how everything had been before the integration when they could grow stronger and become gods instead? There was no need to rebuild the Earthen Union when it would be consumed in the future either way.

William didn’t need the Earthen Union—he didn’t need anyone. All he sought was power. Enough power to survive what awaited them. And maybe enough strength to fight the Pantheon and the Pandemonium. To defeat and devour them.

Consuming Minor Gods, Major Gods, Ancients, and the Old Ones sounded like a dream come true. But even better was the thought of devouring the Beast Gods. Zephyr, in particular.

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Every Fallen was a loss to the Origin and a win to the End. As bad as that may seem, William never wanted the End to emerge victorious. He would not allow it to win. Instead, he would consume it once he had accumulated enough Divinity Fragments to form a proper Divinity. And to create a Divinity, he needed more Fragments. He had to kill more Champions or Sworn. Even ordinary beings were fine, as long as they had accumulated some power. That was all they needed to strengthen him in their death.

William watched the knight in boredom as the plated figure, glowing like a lightbulb, attacked him once again. His scales clattered as a tendril of the Weave manifested, and a hiss escaped his wide mouth.

Words of Power—gateways that allowed mortal beings to access and manifest the Weave—were cumbersome. Used on Skills or Intents, they were already a frustrating ordeal to deal with. Manifesting an Intent through the Weave’s power burned the soul out, weakening it for a long time depending on how the Words of Power were used. But used alongside a Law? It was a pain in the ass and actually dangerous.

William hissed and accessed the Law that manifested after he’d consumed the 20th—no, maybe the 30th, or even 40th—Champion. Words of Power rolled from his split tongue and only ceased as the knight’s sword impacted, cleaving through his scales, cutting him in half—if he had still been there.

The lack of resistance took the knight by surprise. All the momentum he’d accumulated was released at once, pulling him forward, and he nearly toppled over his own feet and crashed to the ground. The knight caught himself at the last moment and jerked upright.

His eyes flicked to the scales that were no more than shed skin, and a guttural roar escaped his lips.

“He is fleeing. We need to find him!” he roared, only to freeze as a mocking hiss resounded in his ears.

The knight froze momentarily, but his head flicked to his right shoulder after a moment, only to locate a small snake the size of his pinky sitting there, staring directly at him.

Others would probably think of it as a cute pet, but the knight blanched—and the snake disappeared a moment later. He felt something scratch his ear and did not hesitate to smash his gauntlets against his right ear, but it was already too late.

“Fleeing? You are as funny as you are foolish.” William’s voice resounded in the knight’s ears… within him. It was laced with joy and mockery. “I will enjoy this. A lot. You, on the other hand… I don’t think you will notice much. Not for long, either way.”

A hiss that resembled devious laughter rang out within the knight as he bashed his ear over and over again.

“Blast my head off, Nadja! He is inside me. Get rid of him!” he roared, but the Saintess wasn’t moving.

The knight froze one moment and began to spasm the next. Not even a full second later, a glistening globe of white flames struck the knight in the face—and exploded.

A scream escaped the Saintess’ lips as the knight collapsed to the ground, his head still burning.

“Try to heal him,” the Mage wielding the white flames growled, looking unperturbed by his own action.

William watched it all in glee. He hadn’t often relied on the Law of Change or the Intent of Transformation and Adaptation, but it was certainly interesting. Sure, it felt a bit too narrow when constrained by a human’s mind—or while stuck in a snake’s skin. Still, playing with the Champions was enjoyable. It was one of the few things he could still enjoy other than the ecstasy of power and growth.

He didn’t listen to the screaming Saintess or the emotionless Mage and unleashed the Intent of Adaptation once more, using the trace of power he had taken from one of the Pantheon’s Champions to appear behind the old man. Being a snake and using another Champion’s Intent to hide in the old man’s presence without attracting any suspicion, William watched the old man warn the Saintess that he hadn’t received a kill notification for ‘the humanoid lizard’ as she rushed to the knight. He was already dead, but his soul had not left his body. If she could heal the vessel fast enough, the Saintess could most certainly resurrect him.

Could she do that? William was curious and waited—not long enough for her resurrection to succeed, just long enough to know that she could, theoretically, do it.

That will come in handy. I will put your power to great use. William snickered inwardly as the Saintess started to chant, initiating the resurrection of the Holy Knight. The holy flames dispersed and the knight’s head began to regrow. The Weave revealed itself to the Earthen Union once more, but William did not move this time. Not yet, at least.

He watched and waited until he felt the knight’s soul stir and anchor itself back into the bodily vessel. That was all he needed to know.

Dispersing the Law of Change once again, William transformed back into his humanoid form. The Intent of Stealth belonging to one of his Champion victims was still active, but William did not wish to waste more of its precious, scarce power for someone like the Heavenly Faction. They were not worth the loss of Stealth.

So he moved swiftly, pulled one of his claws above the old man’s mouth, and ripped his throat out with his other. The old man stirred and tried to scream, yet only a muffled, desperate plea reached William’s ears as the Mage’s strength faded.

William dispelled Stealth and kicked the ground hard to arrive beside the Saintess. She was too busy to notice him, tears trickling down her cheeks. The Saintess said something, her soft hand caressing the knight’s cheeks as soon as his head had fully recovered.

It was surprising how fast the knight responded to impending death. Even so, he was too slow. His eyes snapped open to William’s claws piercing through the Saintess’s back. The claws coiled almost gently around the woman’s heart and pushed further, ripping her still-beating heart out of her chest. Blood was everywhere. It dripped down William’s claws and arm; it spurted onto the Holy Knight, his eyes widening in rage and terror.

“Surprise,” William hissed, casting [Poison Spray], a simple low-Tier Skill, alongside [Compress Liquid], [Venomous Hose], and [Liquid Death].

A mass of liquid green and yellow burst into the knight’s face, mixing poison and venom to create a high-pressure gun of liquid death.

The knight screamed and thrashed, cursing William and his ancestors, but the Venomancer could only watch in glee as the heartless Saintess collapsed on top of the knight. She didn’t even scream and died, her eyes wide in terror as life faded—beside her beloved—as he succumbed to the Venomancer’s torture.

William dispelled the Skills and didn’t even bother glancing at the corpses as he bit into the still-beating heart.

The heart of a Champion. A Saintess, even!

It was delicious and was bound to grant him great power.

His gaze drifted to the Saintess and the knight as he devoured the rest of the heart with a second bite, and he licked his blood-covered claws in delight as the first traces of power flooded him.

“That’s what I’ve been waiting for,” he mumbled, his attention drifting to the rest of the battlefield covered in Corrupted Undead and hundreds of Sworn of the Heavenly Faction. And a few lesser Champions. They were of little importance, but they would empower him nonetheless.

Slow but acceptable. A familiar voice resounded in his mind, throughout his very being. It was Zephyr, yet it also sounded a little bit like himself.

I want you to defeat the Prime Champion next.

There was no delay. His next order was already there, etched into his mind and waiting to be completed.

“Again? The Dwarven Sanctuary survived the last attack.”

But you did not attack them.

That was right. He hadn’t attacked the Dwarven Sanctuary directly. His Cohorte and the Sacred Beast had, and they had suffered the consequences.

“What about David and Zachariah?”

The voice did not answer him right away. Pulling the Major Champions of the Heavenly Factions—those born in the Earthen Union—away from the Dwarven Sanctuary had already been cumbersome. It was especially annoying since nobody should know about William’s actions. But he had failed. His actions were known, and more than a dozen powerful Champions had gathered in the Dwarven Sanctuary. He had seen them all, and he was watching over them. Nonetheless, David and Zachariah were his worst adversaries.

David was… David, and Zachariah was even feared by the Poisonous Beast God.

They’re elsewhere, and they won’t return for a while. I will take care of that.

The voice went silent for a moment and then added:

Prepare yourself thoroughly. Do not fail me—or you will be the one consumed.