Chapter 199

Arc 17 - Shadowy World - Part 9

On that day, Earth:

Baros, the half angel and half mortal, held the body of the God in his arms as he watched a human make a deal with Celestials.

The human said, “If Nazar were alive, would you and your kind spare us? Spare humanity?”

And the Celestial replied, “As unlikely as it is, yes.”

Baros winced at the question of the human and the answer of the Celestial.

A man was dead, and this is what they were thinking about.

With anger overflowing within him, Baros stood in one place. In the back of his mind, vivid images of this world being sliced in half by his sword flashed.

Baros never cared for humanity, he never respected them, but seeing how happy most people were at his death, Baros wanted this world to end.

It didn’t deserve to survive.

It didn’t deserve to live.

Baros stood in his place for a long time to come, he waited so his mind was satisfied. He waited to absorb the suffering of these puny creatures so his mind could be sated.

If he were to leave this place now, he would return not too long to this world and reduce it to ashes.

While standing in one place, above him, he heard sounds of military planes roaming around.

And he knew why they were here.

The humans wanted the body of a God.

Damn these humans...

He could sense the intentions of everyone above him, and it made him furious.

The humans wanted the body of the God for themselves, they were ready to start wars among themselves.

The body of a God, even a dead one, is a valuable source of power and energy, it could bring about the end of the worlds or create new ones. And these ugly creatures wanted it all for themselves, they wanted the power of a billion exploding big bangs for themselves.

They wanted to weaponize it, wage wars on one another and become the rulers of this pathetic blue planet.

Baros gritted his teeth in anger as the veins in his body popped.

This world was terrible, and the people living here were even worse. And he could not stand them.

He slammed his foot into the ground and shot himself into the blue sky, flying past beyond the military jets and the Celestial.

I won't let any of you defile the body of our king.

Baros travelled so fast and far through the dark space, he felt as if he tore apart the very fabric of space.

He had never moved this fast before, so this sensation was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

And before he could realise, he had already reached Chias.

Oh… Oh no!

The speeds at which he was travelling was far too fast, so fast he would not be able to slow down in time.

If he doesn’t slow down and land anywhere on the planet, it could be obliterated into the tiniest of pieces.

I need to slow down...

The distance between him and the floating city was less than a few thousand miles, but no matter how hard he tried to slow down, his momentum was unaffected.

Combine his inhumane speed with the increased gravity of this planet made it harder for him to slow down.

But no matter what, he had to slow down.

He had to or else all he held dear would be gone in a matter of a moment.

So, he clenched his teeth.

He narrowed his eyes.

「Repulse.」

The universe consists of a variety of forces, natural forces that give this lifeless nature a life.

And Baros could control them.

The weak force, the strong force, electromagnetism, and gravity.

I must… Baros clenched his teeth so hard he could taste his own blood in his mouth. I must...

The gravitational force of the planet that touched Baros was decreased by a considerable number, leading to the force pulling him becoming weaker.

Then the weak force and the strong force clashed - originating from the planet and Baros himself - caused his body to be propelled backwards, but even then, the speed at which he was travelling was far too much.

「Repulse.」

He was pushed back again.

「Attract.」

The nearby star pulled him in, and then he forced his body against the overwhelming force of the repulsion.

Good.

Baros cancelled the natural forces of the universe and in a slowed down state, he landed safely on the floating city.

That was reckless, he thought angrily.

Landing inside the castle, Baros walked forward into the throne room with Nazar’s body.

He placed the dead body in front of Nazar’s throne and stepped back weakly.

His emperor was dead, the man who saved this empire was dead.

And…

“...Huh?”

He sensed that everyone in this city had taken shelter, they were hiding.

But from what?

In a state of worry, Baros encased Nazar’s body inside a fifth dimensional barrier of non-existence - a form of space where neither space nor time existed, a state of Void.

He floated away slowly and left the throne room.

In the garden of the castle, Baros looked up, only to find his breath sucked into him.

His heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed his thick saliva.

“What…?!”

His eyes widened in horror as he looked at the sky full of alien entities.

Billions upon billions of different factions were floating above the planet, some in their spaceships and others under their own power - but each one held a gun at this floating city.

Their power and evil irradiated the sky pitch black.

How did I miss...

Baros' thought spiralled out of control as a surge of angry emotions washed over him.

These devils!

In his palm, his sword materialised.

He was ready to fight back.

“”

“”

“”

“”

This is bad…

Above him, there was nothing but evil aliens. Their bloodlust could be sensed by anyone in the vicinity.

I am outnumbered and outgunned, I do not think--

There are only two people in this empire who can even remotely do something in this situation: Baros and Lian.

And to make matters worse, Lian is not at full strength, so she cannot be helpful in this situation.

This is bad. Unbelievably bad.

Baros could request the help of his fellow Galactic Council members, but he is unsure if the Vanaha Empire or Duluria Empire would answer his call. After all, he is aware of the new developments in their empires.

That leaves only Weq.

From one side of the universe to another, Baros sent a psychic distress signal, but it was not answered.

Usually, it would have been picked up by Weq, but there was no response.

Baros had expected the worst, so he was not surprised.

And he could not waste even a second thinking about that.

At any given time, these fiends will attack and Baros must be ready to stand mighty against them, even if he loses.

Death does not scare him; defeat doesn't scare him.

But not fighting for his empire is what scares him.

I don't want to repeat history, never again!

He is alone against an endless number of tyrants.

“”

“”

“”

“”

I could create a planetary shield that will protect us but--

“- Ba-s. Ch--hi-a Em-- -”

On his hand, the communicator blinked a few times as he received a message from someone, however, he could not tell who it was.

But he had an idea whom it could have been.

{Afshahan, what is it? What is the problem?}

{This is bad, really bad.}

Afshahan's voice was calm and clear, there was no hint of distress in it.

{The entire empire, every corner of it, has been attacked. My people are protecting as many as we can, but I am not sure if we are enough to cover every inch of your empire, especially the colonies in other galaxies. I can try, don’t get me wrong, but I cannot guarantee the survival of all. Just the majority.}

As I assumed...

{I understand, Afshahan, please continue protecting the worlds you can. I… I must take care of things here myself.}

{Hmm, I see. Good. But...}

Galaxies away, Baros felt a sudden chill run through his entire body as he felt something odd.

{What… What are you doing, Afshahan?}

Baros swallowed his thick saliva as he began to expect the worst.

Had Afshahan turned his backs on this empire too?

{It is time to stop holding back, and...}

Baros' body flinched as he felt a sudden surge of power in a nearby star system.

"What was..."

Baros feared the worst, he thought a new enemy had entered the fray.

And so, the chances of his empire's survival thinned.

{A-Afshahan? Do--}

The universe trembled as time and space was touched by someone like it was a piece of paper.

Everyone across the entire universe could feel a cold hand reach them and their surroundings.

It touched everyone and everything.

{Haha! Don’t worry, Baros, your emperor has paid me dearly, and I always fulfil my contracts.}

Space itself, billions upon billions of light years of space was pulled like a rug and the enemies began to lose their balance.

They felt as if they were falling off from a wobbly bridge - and they were.

The entire universe felt like a wobbly bridge and select people began to fall off it. They fell into another place.

{As I said, I can save most of it but not all. However...}

Baros saw his enemies blink out in an instant.

What is happening? How could this be happening?

{Let’s just say if Silent Shadows saved ninety percent of your empire, can you save the remaining ten percent?}

{...}

“Hmph,” a faint glitter of hope lit up inside his heart.

{Of course.}

Baros shot out his white wings as a halo spun fast over his head.

Stabbing his foot in the ground, he shot himself towards the dark space.

{Lian,} he knows how hurt she is, how weak she is right now, but even then, he needed her help.

Lian, far from here, could sense the pain in his voice.

{Of course.}

{Thank you.}

She was weak, she was hurt, but even then, she was the ultimate weapon of this entire empire.

Baros hated that he had to force her at such a vulnerable time, but he couldn’t help it. He had no other option.

As soon as he left the stratosphere of the planet, a powerful shield covered the entire planet.

As he glanced back, he realised someone had strengthened her shield.

It seems a certain other wannabe leader does not want to die either, good.

Baros shot himself towards the invaders while Afshahan wrapped most of them inside the time-space continuum.

It was as if this entire universe were nothing but plastic and he could use it in any way he wished. It was as if he were the master of time and space.

Baros feared a power like that, it was not something a mortal should hold. But then again, it is what was saving him and his empire.

{I have created a different subspace for these people, I have pulled them away from your empires, and now…}

A low and evil laughter reverberated in the thoughts of Afshahan.

{Did you ever want to go all out, Baros? Don’t hold anything back?}

{...}

{That’s what I wanted to hear… Good. Now then...}

Baros was pulled into this separate subspace.

The universe which radiated with stars was no more, instead, a universe with neon lights took its place.

What is this?

Dark blue and cyan colours mixed with green, then purple and pink gave this new universe a beauty like nothing Baros had witnessed in his long life.

It did not feel like a universe, it felt as if it were something else. Something less natural.

All around him, he could see nothing but neon lights - occupying various shapes, from stars to straight lines.

As if his sight was forcefully moved, his eyes fell upon a demonic figure in a black armour whose back was to Baros among these neon lights.

The man turned his head ever so slightly and smiled - or at least Baros thought he did.

“Welcome to my domain, Baros.”

The neon lights flashed around him.

He was the master of time and space, and this universe was his stage to shine upon.

“Now then,” the man in a shiny black armour strode forth against countless enemies. “We are lucky the weak ones showed up first, they always do, so it should be simple…"

Afshahan was light years away, yet Baros could hear him as if they were standing next to one another.

"But in case stronger ones pop up...” Afshahan snapped his fingers.

A man who looked just like Nazar - albeit his hair was more colourful, and his eyes were purple - teleported next to him.

That was the Nazar of Universe-1228.

“Summon them.”

Nazar nodded.

And then…

And then…

And then…

“!!” Baros found his eyes and mouth gaped open widely - again. “...”

Countless incarnations of Nazar - or the ones who looked like him - teleported into this subspace.

If the invaders of the Chochica Empire today were a billion, then its protectors were more than a trillion.

“I always fulfil contracts,” Afshahan said to Baros without turning around.

Baros, who was overwhelmed by all he saw today, heaved a loud sigh of relief as if the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulder.

Was Nazar expecting this to happen? Is this why he chose Afshahan over other mercenaries?

He threw away the questions in his mind and tightened his grip on his mighty sword as he flew closer to Afshahan.

“Some of the enemies might still be left behind, but-- Well, let’s just hope they don’t do a lot of damage.”

“Or you could send some of your men there.”

Afshahn turned around abruptly and faced Baros.

“...”

It was as if Afshahn wanted to say something, but then he lowered his index finger and sighed softly.

“Good idea, actually...”

He looked at Nazar (of Universe-1228) and said, ”Please send a few thousand of your summons to the main universe and have them protect those worlds.”

Nazar nodded and relayed Afshahan’s message to the right team and their number reduced greatly, but it was still far above the number of their enemies.

“Now then, Afshahan, let’s end this.”

The ascended human and the son of angel stood side by side as their bodies radiated with power.

“Let’s save my empire and our…”

“Friend.”

He was dead, but they had to protect his body.

“Yes!”

And so, the two of them shot at these enemies and sliced through them with a powerful roar that shook galaxies.

လလလ

Present:

Baros sat on his throne as comfortably as every politician and generals kneeled before him.

“”

It sounded simple and childish, but they understood how heavy his words were.

“”

He is a hire for money, who says he won’t attack this empire the moment his contract ends?

“” Krum, the leader of the opposition party, chuckled.

He was also the only one not kneeling before Baros.

“” Baros sounded annoyed.

He did not try to hide the fact that he hated Krum.

“” Krum said dramatically. “”

Baros rolled his eyes and said slowly, “”

Krum snorted in displeasure.

“” Baros narrowed his eyes. “”

Krum laughed comically.

“”

“” Baros’ fierce eyes stabbed into the frail heart of this old snarky man.

“”

Baros smiled softly and continued to speak to the audience.

“”

He was a leader and he had physical power, but he was not politically intelligent nor was he a weapons master, so he wanted his subordinates to fill the gaps in his mind.

“”

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

The World:

Like a mad titan, a hand broke through the surface of the planet and crawled out.

A woman, who was wearing dark skin-tight clothes, crawled out of this ugly surface.

She was smaller than an atom, than a sub atom. So small, she could never be seen by anyone.

“Huh...”

She could not see anything but pitch blackness.

Everything was dark, she could neither see nor understand anything around her.

“What...”

So, she moved.

She flew around the darkness and flew. She flew for what seemed like an eternity, yet she hadn’t made any progress.

“Hmm.”

She forced her body to increase infinitely in size.

“Oh...”

The darkness began to vanish slightly, she could see faint glitters in the far skies.

I must be getting close. I must overcome this wall.

And so, she continued to increase her size. The more she grew, the more light she could see.

After a while, she began to see shapes.

Even an atom seemed bigger than anything she had ever witnessed in her long life.

“Oh.”

Her understanding of the atomic structure of the cosmos was immaculate, so she was able to understand what was going on her, she was able to understand she was small.

A soft smile spread on her snow-white face, “Ah, I understand.”

Her size continued to grow and after a long time, she managed to see the world like a normal person did.

“Ah…?”

She tilted her head in a confused manner.

This was the World; the heaven for Celestials like her.

It was the realm beyond the Aleph-∞, a plane unreachable by anyone.

Yet...

“This…”

She ascended to the World, she reached the plane of existence, which was meant to be impossible, and yet she did it.

She reached the place she always wanted to reach, but it did not feel like it. Her mixed feelings regarding the way this place looked caused her to not feel a sense of achievement.

“Oh, this is not good. Not good at all...”

The empty plains in front of her went on forever, and it reminded her of a certain world - a world she knew very well.

“You are right, dear,” in front of her, a white-haired and red-eyed monster floated like a genie.

The man smiled thinly, so very thinly and so very evilly.

“This is not good at all.”

“Oh...” Seeing a familiar face, her expressions softened. “Arosus, I did not expect to see you in this world.”

“I was in the vicinity; thought I should greet you.”

“Or stop me?”

Arosus chuckled, “It is quite sad when no one can understand me.”

“Aww,” a pitiful sound left her lips.

Then she spread her arms forward as a soft smile spread on her face.

“Do you want mommy to kiss you? To make you feel better?”

Arosus shook his head as he laughed.

“In any case,” the Queen lowered her arms and her old expressions returned to her face, “why are you really here, Arosus?”

“Indra and Ryu, without them, your conquest is useless - it will not yield any results.”

“I know,” she replied without hesitation.

“So, I am here to tell you, go back - go back to being small and insignificant before you lose your mind.”

“Leaving that aside, love, how are you so… calm?”

“Nazar believed us eternals cannot overcome our grief as easily as the mortals, but I believe otherwise.”

“But... Without your light, will you not lose your way?”

Arosus landed on the solid ground.

He looked the Queen in her purple eyes and said, “I have been lost since the day I was born.”

“Hm.”

“She was the glitter of light I kept around, but… Compared to me, she was also a mere mortal. Her death was bound to occur one day.”

She scoffed mockingly, “Hm, perhaps it was I who tried to destroy the entire omniverse over her death.”

Arosus’ cheek twitched slightly.

“Return to the lower world before it is too late, you cannot handle this plane,” he ordered her.

“And if I refuse?”

Arosus’ red eyes flared brightly as his face was ripped in half with a thin evil and sadistic smile.

“Then I have no choice but to put an end to this charade of yours.”

Arosus did not move, he did not even have to think, but the Queen found herself feeling an intense pain.

"!?!"

From inside her, she heard wet sound of her organs shredding apart.

“Hrk?!” she coughed blood as she leaned forward weakly.

Her legs lost balance and her bones broke into cinders.

“I like you; I do. You seem like an interesting entity, so I will let you live, I will let your charade continues in the lower planes, but here… I cannot let that happen. So...”

Once again, he did not have to move or even think, but her concept was forced to shrink down, she was reduced to her earlier state and sent back to the plane she came from.

The barrier which separated the World and lower planes was also restored.

“The stars die, the skies break, and the light fades.”

In front of Arosus, a dark dust began to swirl up.

Like smoke, it began to form something.

“Darkness.”

The dust formed a humanoid shape, a human made of nothing but blackness.

“All roads lead to darkness.”

Arosus smiled at the entity before him.

“Null, what do you say?”

『Judgement day nears, Lord Arosus.』

Arosus knew that.

Arosus knows.

Arosus knows everything.

『The Queen’s onslaught will be hefty, I am unsure if I will survive, unless...』

“As I said, I don’t wish to be involved in such… small matters.”

『The stars die, the skies break, and the light fades.』 Null repeated Arosus’ words. 『But so do darkness.』

“And that, my friend, will be glorious,” Arosus spread his arms excitedly. “Oh, so glorious, so beautiful. The final void… It will be gorgeous. Don't you think?”

『...』

Null hesitated to speak for a moment.

『If that is your wish, Lord Arosus.』

“Yes, as the highest authority in the omniverse, I say...” his tone suddenly turned cold as his excited smile was replaced by a deathly smile. “Let there be an end.”

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

??? - ????:

Zombies growled on every corner of this large world, a world, which was once a utopia, was now nothing more than a wasteland.

And in this wasteland, there was only one person remaining.

Her name is unimportant, but her skills should be praised.

She was a thief since she was young and trained herself for every possible outcome.

Except for zombies.

However, she managed to adapt to her world rather easily.

As soon as the zombies attacked, she began to run away and hide in the bunkers of a rich person.

The place was a safe haven from any form of attack and could sustain someone for decades.

But she misunderstood one thing about this place, it needed electricity to provide sustenance and shelter for an extended period of time. And she did not know about that.

So, after a few weeks, everything went dark, and then…

She ran outside, ran away from the nearly dead shelter, and only to run into a horde of hungry zombies.

Hundreds of zombies were standing around her, no matter what she tried, she would die.

And die she did.

The zombies growled and pounced, eating her limbs and head, leaving nothing but an ugly corpse behind her.

There was nothing she could do to fight back, no matter what, her death was written by the stars.

လလလ

Once she died and her physical form joined the other people as zombies, the woman found herself in a dark place, where a zombie angel was waiting for her.

“!!”

She thought she would never see their kind again, but she was wrong.

She died to them once, so she did not want history to repeat itself.

So!

She ran away, she ran in the opposite direction.

Or so she tried.

The angel growled as it flapped its wings.

Swiftly, it flew in like an eagle and picked up its prey.

“NOOOO--”

The eagle ate the prey, killing her forever.