CHAPTER 182: SWORD OF JUDGEMENT!

The fifth bolt tore through the sky and slammed into his dome with a deafening crack. His mystical eyes narrowed, glinting with a sharper, colder resolve than before.

For the last two times, he solidified the dome. He continued, yet even when the dome didn’t get completely destroyed, the fifth strike had almost crumbled it entirely. The hole on the top of the dome, from which he could see a small part of the sky, was proof of the increasing difficulty. Besides that, the time was getting shorter and shorter—it was not even giving him 10 seconds to prepare now.

This is the sixth strike. The third one had previously made me stronger, so I expect this one to have the same effect.

He wasn’t able to tell if the third strike’s judgment had any difference because of being inside. Still, he had the feeling this was going to completely destroy the dome either way, knowing the increase in strength and the time reduction.

In four seconds, he completely repaired the wall, thanks to his increased intelligence stat.

He stopped focusing on the dome altogether and drank two Vials of Second Breath, the elixir, along with a mana potion to recover his mana. His eyes were sharp, his nerves on full alert, ready to assert his dominance over his space and life affinity once the first collision of lightning occurred on the dome.

This was it — every breath, every wound, every trial until now had led to this moment. If he failed here, there would be nothing left.

Come on then, heaven. Let’s see what you’ve got.

I will not bow. Not now. Not ever.

An earth-shattering sound — CRACK! — entered his ears as the ground shook from the terror of the thunderbolt. The air split with a deafening KRA-KOOM! The sharp tang of ozone burned his nose. Leon’s eyes fixated on the top of the dome, which turned burning red for a second, and in the next moment—

BOOM!

The whole dome crumbled like ice. Shards of stone spun through the air. Dust choked his lungs.

Pieces of rock hurtled toward him, but his eyes stayed locked on the golden lightning coming at him.

"ARRRRGGGHHH!" A shout of defiance erupted as the spatial energy inside his body worked at full force, nearly freezing the space itself.

The thunderbolt struck — ZZZRAKK! Sparks tore the air apart. Each one burned like molten steel on bare flesh. Leon’s eyes were sharp, teeth gritted, as the lightning was too powerful, yet he held on.

No matter how much it burns, I will hold until the very last spark fades.

He had to drink another potion in between to carry on. His fingers twitched from the strain, muscles jerking without his command. The lightning was dispersing around him, but at the same time, the golden bolt kept coming closer and closer, the space around him trembling, threatening to break.

Sweating, his eyes shaking, body trembling, exhausted, he finally dispersed the whole lightning bolt with the help of the potion and his spatial mastery.

The ground where the bolt had struck was no longer earth — it was blackened glass, warped and cracked from the heat.

He felt the space element was more effective, yet without the dome made of an astronomical amount of mana, it would have been nearly impossible to hold back heaven’s judgment.

He was breathing heavily, barely catching his breath, as ancient golden symbols appeared all around him in even greater numbers than before.

A smile appeared on Leon’s face as one of the most important weakness of his was getting fixed.

Hah! At least I’m getting something worthwhile out of stopping the lightning. My body’s strength from the previous transformation was already beyond what I could have guessed.

Haha, I’m looking forward to this. I knew this one would have an even more powerful effect than the last.

Thin strands of something resembling lightning appeared around Leon, their quantity three times the previous amount. A burning-hot sensation, as if he were being cooked in an oven, spread through him, but only grunts were released as he had grown too familiar with the pain.

Pain had been following every step I took; I couldn’t even be bothered to scream at this point.

Steam rose from his body as the golden lightning entered him, transforming him from the inside out.

Yes! This is it, this feeling!

Leon could feel the transformation in his bones; every inch of his body was being strengthened.

This transformation took much longer than the previous one. During that time, no thunderbolt descended on him, which made him release a sigh of relief.

After the transformation was done, the lingering effect of the Vial of Second Breath made the slight burns on his body disappear completely.

He didn’t even have the chance to check his strength or any other changes in his body before the next thunderbolt was ready to unleash its fury on him.

Crakle! BOOM!

And it happened. Drinking another Vial of Second Breath for safety, Leon quickly used his spatial element to block the bolt of golden light when it came closer. Still, it was not enough in the middle. Despite recovering his mana through the potion, he couldn’t contain the beast.

BOOM!

The impact rattled his bones. The taste of iron flooded his mouth.

He was smothered by lightning, but it didn’t turn him into ashes. Instead, it burned him severely, almost bringing him to the brink of death.

But he survived, as the Vial of Second Breath worked its wonders, healing all the injuries on his naked body.

I know my body has been transforming, as if it’s been struck by lightning, leaving behind the aftermath of heaven’s judgment. This is something to behold.

The earth where the strike had landed smoked and hissed — sssshhh

— thin cracks spiderwebbing outward as if the ground itself was retreating from him.

—

Leon had survived another strike, and now it was the ninth strike. He waited with a serious look on his face, but it never came. For a moment, a thought appeared in his mind.

Is it finally over?

But the thought left as quickly as it came, as the massive grey thundercloud stretching over at least 10 kilometers, crackling with ominous golden lightning, still had not disappeared.

The silence was making him feel good—it was a dreadful silence that could change everything.

His eyes shook as he saw movement in the cloud.

The golden lightning.

It was not descending now.

Instead, it was being condensed together. He couldn’t make out what it was, but could see a massive amount of lightning gathering at a single point in the sky.

It took only two seconds for his eyes to widen in surprise and his body to shudder at the looming death upon him.

A massive sword forged from golden lightning was forming in the air, its direction pointing at him. The size, already 10 meters long, continued to grow, without stopping for a moment.

The crackling never stopped. Never slowed. Each pulse was the heartbeat of an executioner.

The very air trembled, pressing against his skin. The scent of rainless lightning rolled over him, sharp and suffocating.

Leon’s breath halted as he gazed at the final product of death in the sky—the sword of condensed golden lightning stretched a hundred meters long.

His instinct told him nothing could hold that monster back. If some miracle didn’t happen, he would die again, and this time, he wasn’t sure he’d be lucky enough to come back, as the phoenix feather was no longer something he trusted.

He wasn’t even sure if it had been used or not.

No, I can’t die like this. Having come this far, I have a lot of things to do.

Not when I’ve yet to protect what matters. Not when my dream is still out of reach.

His expression hardened as there was only one thing on his mind that could stop the monstrosity in the sky. Even if he had failed before, this time he would succeed; if not, he would die.

Seraphine would be sad, his life would be over, and his dream would be a mirage. There are countless wonders in this cosmos left for him to see; he can just give up on them.

"COME!!!!" His voice was filled with resolve, emotion, and desperation.

As if accepting the challenge, the Sword of Judgment started descending as a flash of light toward him.