A chaotic will battered at him, attempting to hold him down once more, but Gaius could no longer feel the suppression of the familiar spirit’s Divine Territory. The maddened Demigod stared at him, and within his insanity, Gaius could still feel a touch of disbelief.

But it was just a touch.

The boy had understood many things from that little talk he had. The higher one’s cultivation level was, the more they surrendered to Weiwu…and the mad abyss formed by the great gods of true Orb. With the right trigger, these Demigods could be easily infected by the self-same madness, and that would be the end of them.

How far back this went, Gaius wasn’t too sure. But if his understanding was correct, the moment the great gods of old combined, they vanished from history entirely. Which meant that their existence was probably older than the great gods of the current Orb.

Just how many Demigods had fallen to this madness, then?

The boy, now freed from his restraints, banished those thoughts. Now, as a…Knight, his own will was surrounding his body, the makings of a Lord’s fief. Imbued within it, however, was the chaotic will of the abyss, only that it was a few magnitudes thicker than what his foe was giving off.

In fact, the presence of his will alone was beginning to collapse the Demigod’s Divine Kingdom. Eyes, purple eyes, were popping up all around the air, each of them radiating a hostile fury. Within moments, the Divine Kingdom popped like a bubble, and his injured foe reeled.

The insanity in his eyes faded for a moment. “What are you?!”

“Someone that must end you.” Gaius looked at the Demigod, pity in his heart. His final job, as the would-be Abyss Sovereign, was to suppress the insanity the Crying Abyss emanated for all time. This Demigod had stepped onto the path of no return…in a way, this was his first true encounter with his job scope.

My job scope… job my ass. I just signed myself to prolonged indentured servitude.

Gripping the Terminus tightly, Gaius blinked over to the frightened Demigod. Flesh and blood flew out, followed by yet another anguished howl. The fear Gaius had struck into the Demigod was enough to overwhelm his madness for a moment, but the change was permanent. If left alone, the familiar spirit would soon rampage upon the world, reaping lives like wheat.

But any claims that Gaius was doing it for the world’s sake would be false.

No.

The boy just wanted to kill anyone who was a danger to his loved ones.

That was all. Red tainted his vision, and the boy stabbed outwards at a frightening speed. The crippled Demigod didn’t move to dodge this time, his eyes flickering with multiple wills as he looked straight at Gaius.

The air hissed once more, and the end of the Terminus pierced through the Demigod’s throat. Gaius watched quietly as his lifeblood drained out, drip by drip, and then withdrew the Terminus. His rage ebbed, along with the chaotic will that had served to resist the Demigod’s Divine Territory. Clarity, a terminal clarity, returned to the familiar spirit’s face, and lightning split the skies.

Thunder echoed as the boy looked at the dying Demigod in the eye.

“You,” Gaius asked. “Where is your homeland?”

The familiar spirit, who had no way of talking, turned to the west, a small smile on its face. It would seem that the great gods of this Orb had indeed chosen their followers from Demigods who were willing to serve, instead of manufacturing false gods from somewhere. The process had probably sealed or damaged their memory, but now that death was knocking, their minds were their own once more.

Ether welled up, swirling around Gaius’ hands. Whatever qi that was once in his body had been replaced entirely as ether, and as he grew in power, they would eventually be replaced by divinity.

Pressing it into the unmoving familiar spirit, the boy scattered its body to the winds.

“Be on your way.”

Motes of light — the final proof of the Demigod’s existence — began to wink out, one after another. A shadow, which had been hidden within them, tunnelled into Gaius’ body, joining his reforged will with fervour. A few emotions flooded his mind, ebbing away a moment later, along with his strength.

Gaius clutched his upper body, where the Demigod’s longsword carved out quite a bit of flesh, and then rippled out of existence. Within a few blinks, he had caught up to the Unity, and with one final exertion, he reappeared inside one of the many empty rooms inside the ship.

Paragon Shizo had probably escaped by now, but compared to the safety of Nakama, Isabelle and now Xanadu, he didn’t matter. Dark spots filled his vision, and the boy removed his left hand, only to see it soaked with blood. The Saviour’s healing ability, which he had assimilated long ago, been long over-taxed, and now that he was completely out of danger, all his Abilities were powering down.

“Nexus,” Gaius called out in his mind. “I’m back. And I’m about to fall over. Hurry up and get me.”

“Master Gaius?! Hold on, I’m getting Isabelle over now!”

Gaius slumped onto the ground. The Demigod had done quite the number on him. Even without that gaping wound, the familiar spirit’s attacks had been backed by extreme force, jolting his insides at the very least. The fact that he was still alive and breathing was already quite the miracle.

The last time he was that injured was when he attempted to assassinate the Last Star, taking over a few hundred attacks from his guards in the process. This time, however, he’d walked away with a win, at a huge cost.

But it was all worth it.

His head continued to spin, but that didn’t stop him from thinking more positive thoughts. At some point in time, his vision had stopped working; all he could see was a still image, which itself was beginning to darken.

From the sounds of things, someone had already entered the room. As a warm set of arms picked him up, a black curtain fell, taking his consciousness with it.

[End of Book 8: Power Talks]