CHAPTER 184: A SHOWDOWN

[: Daniel’s POV :]

As I stared at the ten Gates above us, I couldn’t help but feel...excited.

And honestly? A little amused.

Ten massive Gates with each larger than a city and hung in the sky like some kind of celestial circus.

And the colours... gods, the colours.

One was pitch-black, another star-blue, another burning gold, one purple, one molten red, one pure white, one shimmering silver, one cracked green, one twilight-violet, and it was like a ridiculous shimmering rainbow that I swear was mocking me.

"It feels like I’m looking at rainbow Power Rangers," I muttered.

"All that’s missing is a dramatic theme song."

My mother sighed beside me.

"Daniel... this is not the moment to be amused."

"I can’t help it, Mother. They came to destroy the world, but they’re arriving like a parade."

Demon King Xerath folded his arms, lips twitching. "You know... he has a point."

Lilith elbowed him. "Dear, don’t encourage him!"

"Honestly? This is the most Daniel thing ever. You should’ve seen him as a kid. Nearly died once and still laughed because he said the pain ’felt weird’." Kiel snorted.

"Hey!" I pointed at him.

"It was a confusing moment!"

Rika placed her hand on her hip. "Brother, you attract danger like bees to honey. If you’re laughing, that means you’re planning something stupid."

I grinned. "Always."

Above us, the dozens, no, hundreds of Apostles finally finished their ridiculous introductions.

One by one. Slowly.

Dramatically. Like they rehearsed it.

I blinked up at them.

’’...So... have all of you had enough introducing yourselves like a bunch of idiots?"

A ripple of outrage burst from the Gates.

"How dare you speak in such a tone, lowborn!" one of the Apostles roared, a massive figure clad in black scaled armour, wings of void-black flame erupting behind him.

Definitely serving the Black Dragon Sovereign.

I couldn’t help it.

I laughed.

Like, stomach-hurting, tear-forming kind of laugh.

Xerath let out an amused exhale.

"Can’t believe you’re laughing in a situation like this."

Kiel shook his head.

"No, no, this is normal. If he laughs, it means he’s already decided to kill them."

Mother placed her hand over her forehead.

"Daniel... please tell me you are not provoking these world-ending forces at once."

"I am absolutely provoking ten sovereign-level forces at once."

Lilith groaned. "Wonderful. Just wonderful."

Even the Elf Empress, Caelira, pinched the bridge of her nose.

"At least let him do it with style..."

Aeriwen whispered to Rika, "Shouldn’t we stop him?"

Rika shook her head immediately.

"No. No, you don’t stop Daniel. You just... prepare."

Thrain, the dwarf king, actually started munching on something.

"Aye, lad’s about to blow something up. Might as well enjoy the view."

Brynja slapped the snack out of his hand.

"Not now!"

Sylthara folded her arms, tail flicking.

"Let the boy speak. He’s the one they want, anyway."

I took a breath, letting my laughter fade into a cold grin.

"No... I really can’t help it," I said softly.

"You all came here boasting about annihilating the world... again. And every time, you believe you can destroy everything without effort."

My voice dropped.

"But you’re wrong."

The Apostles stirred, some insulted, some smirking, some already preparing spells or weapons.

One Apostle from the Constellation of Whispering Stars sneered.

"You think your words matter? You think your resistance means anything?"

Another from the Seraphic Order raised his flaming spear.

"This world belongs to our Lords. Hand over the Nexus Heart, mortal."

Another, this one from the Nova Galactic Empire, pointed at me with an entire mechanical arm glowing like a star reactor. "Refusal means erasure."

And then the one I’d been waiting for stepped forward.

An Apostle of the Sovereign of Apocalypse, armour cracked with crimson fissures, aura dripping pure destruction, glared down at me.

"This world dies today," he hissed.

"For killing my brethren. For killing our Lord Avatar. For insulting our Sovereign."

Ah. I get it, all of them have some sort of Lord-Mummy Issues.

I stepped forward, and they all felt it.

Even my allies, my mother, the Apostles and even Mika.

The moment my foot touched the ground, an incomprehensible wave of force erupted outward, shattering clouds, bending space, and rattling the ten colossal Gates themselves.

The Apostles staggered back.

Some gasped, some fell silent, and some even trembled.

Mother whispered, eyes wide, "His aura... grew this much...?"

Xerath let out a low whistle. "Well. Guess we’re going all out today."

Kiel grinned savagely. "About damn time, brother."

Rika’s hand lit with golden beast-aura. "Let’s go wild then."

Sylthara’s eyes glowed with draconic fire.

"Show them the mistake of crossing this world."

Even the Caelira raised her bow, whispering, "A storm is about to begin..."

I raised my head toward the Gates, toward the armies of Apostles who came to take what wasn’t theirs.

"And you think your numbers scare me... scare us?"

Silence.

Nothing but the crackle of my aura tearing the air.

"No," I said, voice like thunder. "Let me correct that."

I looked them dead in the eyes.

"You should be afraid of us."

The Gates trembled.

The Apostles stirred uneasily.

I took another step forward, my aura exploding again, strong enough that some Apostles flinched as they got punched.

"Because today..."

My grin widened.

"You’ll learn why this world is protected."

[: Aura of Annihilation + Oblivion Pulse + Essence Devouring + Supreme Coat of Annihilation :]

The moment I activated all of these skills at the same time, something snapped through the sky.

It was not a crack, but a cosmic rupture, like existence itself exhaled and realised it was prey.

And the ten Gates, each the size of a damn city, began trembling like frightened animals.

For one heartbeat, everything fell silent.

Then...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

A black shockwave erupted from me, expanding outward like a devouring sun of pure emptiness.

The sky twisted, space folded inward, and every speck of mana in the atmosphere was forcibly dragged toward me like a starving beast feasting.

The invaders, millions of soldiers, beasts, constructs, celestial troops, didn’t even have time to scream.

They simply ceased.

Their bodies disintegrated into dust.

And then their dust disintegrated into nothing.

And even that nothing was swallowed by the Essence Devouring spirals swirling around me.

From below, the world itself trembled.

Even the Apostles, those arrogant, galaxy-treading messengers, staggered backwards, shielding themselves with layers of divine authority as the shockwave tore through reality.

Behind me, I heard gasps, curses, and even a choked scream.

"Holy Fuck!" Xerath cursed as he was stunned.

His demonic pressure surged for a moment, then dropped as if he realised it was pointless.

Lilith grabbed his arm, her eyes wide.

’’You have to know...that those invaders aren’t normal, yet he could annihilate them as though they’re nothing’’

Melira, my mother, was the only one who didn’t step back.

But even she whispered under her breath.

"My son...how far is the length of your powers?’’

Kiel, of course, grinned like a maniac.

"That’s the Daniel I know! When he goes serious, everyone else goes extinct!"

Rika let out a whistle.

"Brother, you sure you’re not secretly a calamity pretending to be a prince?"

"Not a calamity," I murmured, stepping forward as the void tore reality under my feet.

"Just annoyed."

Across from me, the remaining Apostles, hundreds of them, rose back into formation, their figures trembling with disbelief.

One, an Apostle draped in scales of obsidian under the Sovereign of Black Dragon, roared.

"W–What manner of power—?!"

Another, from the Radiant Dawn, shielded its face as if blinded.

"Impossible...! A mortal bearing such annihilative force—!!"

A Constellation Apostle pointed at me with a shaking finger.

"He... he erased an entire armada in one pulse!"

Xerath snorted behind me.

"To be fair, he warned you all while insulting you. You should’ve taken the hint."

Kaelgor folded his arms.

"I almost pity them. Almost."

Selena chuckled.

"Look at their faces, someone clearly wasn’t ready for the prince’s ’welcome gift’."

Even the usually stoic Sylthara narrowed her draconic eyes.

"I thought dragons were the epitome of existence in this world, but I guess I was wrong’’

I shrugged.

What else was I supposed to do? Let the invaders monologue so long that the world dies of boredom?

The Apostles clearly didn’t appreciate my inner thoughts.

Their leader, one from the Sovereign of Apocalypse, stepped forward, trembling with barely contained rage.

His armour was cracked, his authority flickering, but his eyes, yeah, those were the eyes of someone who REALLY hated me.

"YOU...! You again..."

His voice was low, venomous.

I tilted my head.

"Oh? You’re mad?’’

"You slaughtered our brothers... our legions... even our Avatar!" he roared, voice breaking.

"You killed the Apocalypse’s Manifested Will!"

"Ah, right."

I snapped my fingers.

"That guy who screamed a lot and died even louder."

Behind me, Kiel immediately broke into laughter.

"PFFFF— Daniel, stop, you’re gonna make them cry at this point."

Melira sighed, pretending to be dramatic.

"Sweetheart... maybe tone down the mockery? But I liked it’’

Lilith snickered.

"Kiel, your brother’s comedy is going to start a universal war one day."

"It already did," Aeriwen whispered.

But the Apostles were far from laughing.

Especially the Apocalypse Apostle.

He trembled, voice shattering into anguish and fury.

"You dare... You dare mock the Sovereign of Apocalypse Himself—?!"

"Pretty sure I already did," I said casually.

"And I’ll do it again."

"What gives you the right?!"

"Simple."

I stepped forward, and the space under my foot collapsed completely.

"The moment you stepped into this world... the moment you pointed your swords at my people... you gave up your right to live."

A crushing silence fell.

Behind me, even the rulers of the realms stayed quiet.

Not because they feared the Apostles, but because they feared me.

The Apostles tried regaining their posture.

One from the Iron Colossus Legion pounded its chest.

"We are hundreds! We are the chosen arms of the Sovereigns! We will tear this world apart!"

Another from Radiant Dawn shouted desperately:

"You cannot fight all of us!"

I lifted a brow.

Oh?

So they hadn’t realised yet?

I raised my hand.

The world darkened again.

Void spirals swirled, reshaping the sky.

The Apostles froze as the pressure increased tenfold, then fiftyfold, then to the point their knees cracked.

"My son", Melira said gently.

"Don’t overdo it." Mother wasn’t trying to tell me to show mercy to them, but rather, she was concerned that I might overuse my own powers.

But I’m not.

This was not even a sweat.

"I’m not."

I grinned.

"I’m just getting started."

One Apostle screamed.

"STAY BACK! YOU MONSTER—!"

"Monster?" I laughed.

"No, no... if anything..."

Void ignited around me like a black supernova.

"You colourful idiots are the ones who walked into a death flag."

Xerath whispered to Kiel.

"Should we... uh... say something?"

Kiel grinned.

"Father, this is Daniel. The best thing we can do is cheer from the sidelines."

Rika pumped her fist.

"Give ’em hell, little brother!"

Thrain clapped his hands.

"Lad! Make the sky regret being sky!"

And Melira, with a small, proud smile:

"Show them why you are my son!"

I raised my hand.

The Apostles braced.

And the void... obeyed.

This was, after all, a showdown.