Chapter 786: Power of Pride
Chapter 786: Power of Pride
Arthur always knew that despite his dwindling emotions, his rage was unaffected. It was the same rage against his father that never faded. This rage knew no bounds, which Arthur found familiar. He felt this rage against Amelio, too, when he attacked Kera.
It was now rising from within his heart, boiling his blood and scorching his skin. Arthur felt like he had swallowed jet fuel, which was now burning within his vessels.
His mana grew chaotic as his vision narrowed to see nothing but Cassius standing there. The arrogant creature further enraged Arthur, making him want to tear that face apart.
The last thought surprised Arthur and made him snap back to reality. His rage dissipated as he reigned it inside, wondering what overtook him. Although he wanted to kill before, he never wanted to inflict pain or torture his opponents.
Arthur shook his head and took a deep breath. Cassius was silent as he stared at him, and his expression frowned. His entirely black eyes seemed to see more than any human can, and they didn't like Arthur.
"What are you…." muttered Cassius before shaking his head. "It cannot be. But, regardless, you need to die for this world to start moving again."
"Moving toward its end?" asked Arthur with a smile as he held his head in pain. "You are a foolish man, Cassius. If the rulers wanted to serve you, they wouldn't have planned to frame me for releasing you."
"Lies!" said Hartman as he tried to stand, but the aura coming from The First Sin made him fall to the ground again. "We planned to show the world his evil intentions before declaring that you would be our ally, Great Eternal Ruler!" he hurried to explain. "The broadcast has already begun!"
However, the valley was silent to an eerie degree. Hartman was confused as he looked around, looking for whatever artifact would do the transmitting. Arthur knew this was coming, so he had already made the Scholar Mansion disturb the signals.
"Your plan is not going to work, Hartman," said Arthur as he took a step forward. "Release the astral venom, or I have to do it myself. My methods will not be as peaceful."
"You look down on The First Sin, Arthur Silvera!" said Hartman with a laugh. "He is far stronger than anyone ins this world! If you want to save that woman, then you have to kill me!"
The rage returned, now stronger than ever. It had a pulse that overshadowed Arthur's heart, pumping the dark feeling through his body. It was getting stronger and stronger, even though Arthur was trying to suppress it.
"You seem distressed, Outsider," said Cassius while squinting his eyes. His body was still levitating, allowing him to look down on Arthur. "There is something that has been bothering me."
Cassius started descending to the ground, allowing the soil to rise to form stairs for him. The change in tone allowed Arthur to regain his composure as the calamity walked toward him. The aura clashed against Arthur's golden mana, surrounding him like the deepest oceans.
"You hold the same powers as the Outsider, who imprisoned me thousands of years ago. In the Battle of Gods, The Creator, Wanderer Guardian, and Scholar Guardian managed to split the world in two against us. Yet, I sensed no emotions from you even in that battle."
"What are you aiming at, Pride?" Arthur asked, grabbing his pale forehead. "Are you reminiscing about your defeat?"
"I had plenty of time to reminisce that and even more time to plan this return," said Cassius before he raised his index finger and pointed at Arthur. "What I did not expect to find the creator to have changed. There is something different about you, and it sickens me."
Arthur gritted his teeth and stomped his foot on the ground. It dug into the soil before he bolted forward, raising a dagger of denaturing sharpness against Cassius. The whitish being, over two meters tall, grinned in response.
"This is what I mean. You have emotions now that can overtake your judgment. The first attack was yours despite knowing I can defeat you."
Arthur was rushing toward Cassius, who kept talking. A moment later, Arthur realized the earth he was running atop was moving backward, making it impossible to reach the calamity.
"Have you forgotten already, Outsider?" smiled Cassius as he spread his arm. "This whole world listens to my command. If I ask something to move, then it moves. For example, even the stars."
Arthur stopped rushing forward and chose to release his dagger and use a different rune. His body started levitating, making the calamity unable to push him backward. However, Cassius was pointing toward the sky after delivering his piece.
"…a true god," muttered Hartman as he stared at the sky. A flash of light tore the sky in two as it came toward them, inching closer to the valley. "These are the powers of a true god…."
Arthur looked above him, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw a meteor cutting through Earth's atmosphere and heading toward them. His eyes turned back toward the Eternal Ruler, guiding the meteor with his finger.
"This world listens to the commands of those above it," said Cassius as his black eyes turned toward Arthur. The latter realized that there were stars in the black eyes, and he learned a crucial fact about Cassius.
The Sin of Pride reached a realm unknown to humans.
The meteor whistled and boomed simultaneously, its large area pushing air apart. It was catching flames as it descended toward earth with a size twice the valley they were standing. Arthur gulped down as he stared at the meteor crashing toward them.
"What are you going to do, Outsider?" asked Cassius with a grin welcoming his meteor. "This meteor is too big to be teleported and descending with such force that it cannot be blocked. You can escape, but the nearby city will be destroyed."
Hartman paled as the words fell on his ears. If the calamity murders an entire city, it will be impossible to recover from such a mass-scale disaster. Even if the empire blamed Arthur Silvera, the citizens would never trust them anymore.
"Great One, please wait! An attack of this level is…."
"I spared you because the outsider wants you dead," said Cassius without turning toward the one-armed man. "If a foul human like you dares command me again, I will grant you a thousand deaths."
Hartman closed his mouth, and Cassius gave Arthur a smirk. The calamity knew that Arthur would never allow a massacre, so he either had to block it or stop it. The star-lined eyes seemed to see through his feelings, as Cassius didn't attack himself.
A creature with such a power had no reason to crush the ants beneath him, though, Cassius. If he wanted, then he could kill whoever he desired. However, the killing stopped making him feel superior.
"Beg for mercy, Outsider, and I will stop this meteor," said Cassius with a grin. "Beg and ask for forgiveness for what you have done, or the people and the woman will die. Beg!"
Arthur finally got to see the complex this calamity had. It was more frightening than Amelio, who wanted to grow stronger no matter what. His greed was understandable, but this man was not called the First Sin without reason.
Pride is the mother of all sins because it wraps the user's mind until all left is themselves. It could turn into greed, envy, lust, and every other sin. However, Arthur would never cave into his desires.
His mana brightly burned as Arthur used his rune to soar toward the meteor. It was still far from the ground since it came from space. However, Arthur estimated the collision would happen in two minutes, given its acceleration.
"You should have chosen to run, creator!" roared Cassius before letting out a maniacal laugh. Arthur ignored him and rushed toward the meteor and tried to think of a rune that could help him. But, first, Arthur used his telekinesis rune to throw himself toward the meteor before releasing it.
There was a powerful rune that Arthur used against a different calamity, which was Kar, Lord of Vampires. It was one of the strongest runes that Arthur had, which worked to disintegrate matter using mana to break it down.
[Obliterate]
The rune appeared in his hand, glowing with golden mana. It devoured his mana like a hungry beast, which was why Arthur rarely used it. It used half of his mana in return for absolute power, but it depended on the target's size.
The meteor was as big as a city, and turning it to dust was impossible. Arthur could attempt to use his chain of order, which turned anything it touched to dust, but using it on this target might turn his body into runes.
Although the process was reversible, it took time and left him vulnerable. Therefore, Arthur had no choice but to sacrifice his mana and think of a method to beat the calamity with over half of it gone.