CHAPTER 747: PREPARE TO DIE

Ethan didn’t dare let his guard down for even a second.

He surged forward again, fists hammering down with everything he had—blow after blow, each one shaking the air with raw, destructive force.

He didn’t stop until the enemy’s body was reduced to nothing but shattered remnants, its life force utterly extinguished.

Silence fell over the battlefield.

Then, almost at the same moment, the three of them felt it—a surge of power flooding into their bodies.

They had just taken down an enemy who wielded over a dozen Bloodline Powers. The feedback was immense.

Ethan, Elira, and Andona—now fully synchronized—felt their fusion level spike, climbing all the way to the peak of 24 Tier.

One more push. One more surge of power strong enough... and they might just break through to the legendary 25 Tier.

Ethan drew in a deep breath. His chest rose and fell with the effort, but his expression was steadier than ever—calm, focused, and burning with anticipation.

"Let’s keep going."

The army regrouped behind him, and together, they stepped into the next level.

...

Not long after, they reached the 98th floor of the Sky Citadel.

The moment Ethan set foot on it, he felt it—an oppressive weight in the air, thick and heavy like a storm about to break.

He looked out across the vast expanse.

Rows upon rows of Sky Citadel troops stood in perfect formation, stretching farther than the eye could see. There were more soldiers here than on any floor they’d faced before—by orders of magnitude.

At the center of it all, a throne floated in midair, forged from pure golden light.

And on that throne sat an Angel wearing a mask.

But this one—this being—was unlike anything they’d encountered so far.

His power didn’t explode outward. It didn’t scream or flare.

It ruled.

Silent. Absolute. As if the very laws of this place bent around him.

Just one glance was enough to stir a primal urge to kneel.

Ethan didn’t need a system scan to know who he was looking at.

The High Lord of the Sky Citadel.

But he didn’t flinch.

He steadied his breath, stepped forward—one foot after the other—and unleashed every ounce of his power in response.

BOOM.

The High Lord finally lifted his head.

"No outsider has ever made it this far," he said, voice deep and resonant, like the toll of an ancient bell.

"You are the first."

A pause.

"And the last."

As the words echoed out, the sky above them trembled.

The entire Sky Citadel seemed to awaken, its energy drawn by some unseen will, surging toward the High Lord in a torrent.

In that instant, his power erupted—rising straight to the early stage of 25 Tier.

But Ethan saw through it almost immediately.

That wasn’t a true Tier breakthrough.

It was a resonance—an amplification, drawn from the core of the Sky Citadel’s world itself.

If this had been a real 25 Tier being?

He wouldn’t be standing here.

He’d have turned and run without hesitation.

Because from 24 Tier onward, every step up was a chasm.

The gap between 24 and 25 Tier?

It was the difference between mortal and god.

Ethan locked eyes with the High Lord of the Sky Citadel, gaze unwavering.

He knew—

There was no turning back now.

Vmmm—

The sky trembled.

Power surged from the High Lord like a tidal wave, and in his hand, a sword began to take shape—radiant, divine, and terrifying.

But this was no ordinary weapon.

Embedded along the blade were countless blood-red orbs, strung together like living runes. Each one pulsed with a savage, ancient energy that made the air itself shudder.

Just looking at it was enough to bring lesser warriors to their knees.

Ethan steadied his breath, raised both hands, and summoned every drop of energy in his body.

In the next instant, power exploded outward from him, coalescing into a long sword of pure force—its glow sharp and electric, like lightning carved from the night.

They struck almost simultaneously.

BOOM—!!!

The moment the holy sword met Ethan’s energy blade, the entire Sky Citadel shook.

Power rippled out in waves, crashing and folding into itself, warping the space around them like glass melting in a furnace.

Cracks spiderwebbed through the air, as if the world itself was about to split in two.

At the same time—

The armies on both sides collided in full.

Energy surged like a flood. Blades, claws, magic, and bloodline powers tangled into a single, deafening chaos.

And in the heart of it all—

Ethan’s body began to look... strange.

He was visibly larger, bulkier than before.

That was the result of his fusion with Auri and Idra—he’d entered an overdrive state, pushing his body past its natural limits.

Feylora clung to his back like a living talisman, pouring every ounce of Fey energy she had into him, flooding his system with raw power.

From a distance, Ethan looked almost clumsy, weighed down by his own mass.

But only he knew—

This was the strongest power-conduction form he could currently achieve.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He became a bolt of lightning, flashing through the sky. Each strike he landed on the High Lord sent up bursts of blinding light.

But—

The High Lord was too strong.

He didn’t need to charge up. Didn’t need to wind up.

He barely had to move.

Just a flick of his fingers—

Snap.

The energy sphere Ethan had built with everything he had—

Shattered instantly.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Each clash sounded like the heavens colliding.

At first glance, it looked like they were evenly matched.

But look closer—

And it was clear Ethan was being pushed back.

Bit by bit, his power was being forced into retreat.

Until finally—

The High Lord swung his holy sword in a wide arc.

The force came down like a mountain.

CRASH!!!

Ethan was hurled through the air, slammed into the ground with bone-cracking force, carving a massive crater into the battlefield.

Feylora, still clinging to his back, took the brunt of the shockwave.

Her blood surged wildly, her body unable to take the strain—

Splurt!

She coughed up a mouthful of blood, her aura dimming in an instant.

Ethan gritted his teeth and forced himself upright.

But when he looked up—

The High Lord was already floating high above, wings fully unfurled.

Each feather looked forged from sacred metal, gleaming with a light sharp enough to tear the sky.

Power gathered around him from every direction, drawn in like the entire Sky Citadel was bowing to his will.

"Vermin belong in the dark, damp corners of the world," the High Lord’s voice boomed, echoing across the heavens.

"You dared step into my domain—

Now prepare to die."

The holy sword began to hum.

Vmmmmmm—!

Power tore through the seams of space, flooding into the blade, swelling it to several times its original size.

...