Chapter 796: Wolf of Destruction
Chapter 796: Wolf of Destruction
The two men fell through the starry sky, with Eragon holding the emperor's arms. As for the amplification the emperor had before, it was no longer useable against the Sin of Wrath, Ageless Breaker. Thus, he was helpless once caught by Eragon.
"Unhand me at once!" roared the emperor as he struggled to break free. However, since his absorptive powers have been disabled, Arthur could use his runes again. Thus, golden mana exploded to counterattack the emperor's strength, although the difference was still significant.
"Feel… my… wrath…" said Eragon in a hoarse voice before pulling the emperor toward himself and kicking him with both feet in the gut. His stomach caved in before the emperor coughed up blood and was sent flying downward.
"I WILL NOT LOSE!" roared the emperor before he slammed into the floating city of Ayaz, breaking the giant structure into two halves. Eragon descended after him, black lightning still forming his body, before landing on one of the buildings.
The floating city was swinging from side to side as the water divided it into two. As for the emperor, he was still holding the pavement while his body dangled toward the seas. Eragon, and Arthur, beside him, watched from above.
"Lift me!" shouted the emperor toward the curious knights in the city and the injured citizens. Blood was still leaking from his mouth, proving that Arthur's attack had injured him.
The knights were hesitant as they stared around, trying to recognize the man. Once the first one did, he rushed to the emperor's aid and pulled him to safety. As the emperor reached solid ground, he started vomiting blood.
"How can you… hold so much strength?" asked the emperor with confusion. "Even with your wrath and that goddamn golden mana, I should be stronger than you are!"
Eragon was silent as he stared at the emperor. Then, the black lightning started crackling around his body, bringing a rumbling sound as it covered the city. Then, Eragon unhinged his jaws.
"Choose… a… side…."
His words were not meant for the emperor, and the latter realized it. Instead, he was addressing the knights who have been rescuing the citizens all this time. All of them glanced at each other with confusion.
"These are my subjects!" shouted the emperor while standing. "All these brave men and their commander answer to me, the Light Emperor!"
Joseph Voldor seemed scared of losing his men and hurried to announce his identity as if these men had no eyes. After his words, all knights aimed their weapons at Arthur.
Eragon was silent before he descended from the building and soundlessly landed on the street. The pavement caved under his feet, marking two large holes which Eragon stepped out from. His jaws let out steam as he took a step toward the knights.
Illuminated by the countless lanterns, the city was divided into two. With his black lightning, Eragon stood on one side, and the other had the emperor with his knights. Far behind Eragon stood other knights, who were too scared to advance.
"My brave, loyal knights! This is a monster that threatens the safety of our empire and is here to kill its citizens. We must unite to apprehend him!"
The Light Emperor seemed to know that Arthur Silvera had already saved this city once and that revealing his identity would make the knights even more hesitant. Therefore, he labeled him as nothing more than a monster, and these knights had no idea of the truth.
"Our blades are with you, Emperor of Light! For light!" chanted the knights in unison. "For light! For light!"
The knights formed a barricade around Eragon, who turned out to be the enemy of Ilios. However, even from Arthur's perspective, there was no way around hurting these men. After all, they served the emperor.
"You… chose," said Eragon with his harsh, hoarse voice before raising his face toward the sky. The blood eyes stared at the gathering clouds, and the starry knight before a droplet of blood tear streamed from them.
As the droplet of blood fell on the pavement, it lit up like a small fire. From it came crackles of black lightning, which turned the well-lit city into an ominous dungeon. The black lightning started surrounding Eragon like a pond.
"Something is coming!" shouted one of the scouts on the roofs. "I sense a great aura coming from the enemy! Knights, retreat!"
As his words finished, the black lightning exploded from around Eragon to morph into a giant creature that occupied the street. The first thing to form was its claws, which slammed into the pavement and shook the city. All four of them formed before its body started to take shape.
"A giant… wolf?" muttered one of the knights as the wolf's big and menacing teeth finished forming. It was black except for the red eyes staring at the knights with rage.
"AWOOOOO!"
Then, the giant wolf raised its maw toward the sky and howled. Its wrathful howl was so loud that it knocked off some of the weaker knights. Then, it reached all of Ilios, then the rest of the world.
The city shook under the wolf's howl, and even the Light Emperor covered his ears. He stared at the wolf with confusion because not even their knowledge about the sins contained such a creature. Then, as it finished its howl, the wolf lowered its head and stared at the emperor.
For the first time in his life, Joseph Voldor felt the imminence of death. The pair of red eyes stared at the emperor with rage as the giant maw, which could fit a whole man, unhinged.
"Fake… Emperor…" called the giant wolf with Eragon's voice, and then it sprinted forward. Its huge claws stomped on the pavement, ripping it apart like butter before bouncing on the emperor.
"Attack!" shouted the emperor with fear, snapping the knights out of their own. Then, giving a shout that could only serve to hide their fears, the knights rushed toward the giant monster.
The wolf reached the edge of the gash and jumped, crossing the ten meters as if they had never existed. Then, it landed on the other side when the knights reached him. In one swift motion, the wolf clawed its enemies and sent them flying. None of them stood up again.
Screams echoed as the knights flew left and right, and some flew toward the emperor. In response, Joseph raised his hand and caught the knight by the neck. He expected to see a corpse, but when he turned the knight around, he found him unharmed except for being unconscious.
"There is no wound," the emperor said with confusion as he stared at the wolf, which had stopped its march because of the raining attacks. Countless knights used their abilities on it, and the wolf had to disable them. "Is it an ethereal monster, but no more?"
The joy of such a revelation appeared on the emperor's face as a smile crept to his face. Then, he threw the man away as if he was discarding garbage. At that moment, the wolf howled again before slamming its head to the ground.
The city shook, and the exploding aura knocked off those closest to the wolf. Then, it bounced forward, but the emperor did the same. He was convinced that all the wolf could do was knock off his men, which won't hurt him!
"Die, vile beast!" shouted Emperor Joseph before he bolted toward the wolf. His aura pushed his knights aside as strings pierced their bodies and rendered them without mana. Then, without anyone's notice, the emperor stole their elements and used them to strengthen himself.
As the man of light and wolf of darkness drew closer, each attacked the other. The emperor used his fist against the wolf, while the monster used its claws. As the two collided, each pushed the other in the first instant.
The next instant, blood gushed out. The emperor was sent flying as the claw ripped his hand and chest, causing deep and big gashes across his chest.
Like a broken kite, the emperor arched his way across the street before slamming into his men. They were dragged across the ground for several meters before stopping, with the ruler sprawling over his men.
As for the wolf, it stopped attacking, as did the knights. They all stared with fear as their strongest was ripped to shreds like paper. The emperor twitched before he opened his eyes and tried to stand.
"How… is this… possible…?" asked the emperor as blood leaked from his mouth. He fell to the ground, and blood started to pool under him. "My men… are unhurt. Yet, I…"
The emperor had many questions, but no one answered them. Instead, the giant wolf was still growling at him while it advanced. Each claw was as giant as a man, and one at a time, it inched toward the Light Emperor.
"Stop it," said the emperor weakly to his men, but no one could move. Instead, all of them were paralyzed with fear. "Anyone!" shouted the emperor before he coughed blood.
As the monster drew closer, and the emperor stared at it with fear, a white meteor flashed across the sky. It then arched and landed between the man and the wolf, causing a dust cloud to rise.
"I never expected to see this form of yours, Eragon," said the newcomer, who emerged from the dust cloud and walked toward the emperor. "Not even I could win against The Wolf of Destruction."
"What are you doing here, Sin of Pride?" muttered the emperor. The white being lifted him using the stone platform beneath him. "You should have been…."
"Frozen," said Cassius as he stared down at the emperor. "However, a certain man undid what that queen did to me and asked me to save you. You should figure out who it is."