Credits: Ruzzzy
Crash!
But Medusa's movements were even faster!
Her petite figure weaved through the Chains of Heaven, narrowly avoiding each chain. Just as Kingu was about to reach Alaric, she intercepted him in the nick of time!
"Don't even think about getting closer—"
Even though it was Merlin's request, Medusa still fought with all her strength to protect Alaric.
For that reason, she would never let Kingu approach Alaric again!
Seeing this, Kingu scoffed coldly and stopped attempting to force his way closer to Alaric. Instead, he said, "It seems you've all forgotten what binds him!"
Before Kingu's voice even fell, Alaric, pierced through the limbs by the Chains of Heaven, suddenly felt his entire body sink. Not only did the chains tighten, but a deadly surge of magical energy began emanating from them.
Crackle!
Green arcs of magic transformed into electricity, surging through the Chains of Heaven. The currents instantly entered Alaric's body, rampaging through his limbs and bones with frenzied intensity!
It was as if he had been struck by a massive electric shock. Alaric broke out in a cold sweat, his entire body trembling with a numbing pain.
If not for his incredibly strong body, this single attack would have rendered him unconscious on the spot.
"Not bad—"
Clenching his teeth, Alaric's pale-gold vertical pupils locked onto Kingu, who was being held at bay by Medusa. A strange emotion surged in his heart.
Since Kingu had given him such a generous gift, it was only fair to return the favor!
Feeling the imminent arrival of the Heavenly Vessel, Alaric decisively stopped using his magic to fortify his body, allowing Kingu's mana to run wild inside him. Instead, he focused all his energy on his dragon heart, gathering magic with all his might!
And this action triggered a shocking phenomenon.
The pitch-black magic surged skyward as if a massive dragon was rising, devouring the surrounding energy!
Even though Alaric was still pierced through the limbs, bound in place like a prisoner, he unleashed an overwhelming aura at that moment.
"Merlin, get further away!"
Hearing Alaric shout, Merlin, who had already fled to a safe distance, called back cheerfully, "I'm hiding well, you know!"
Though he didn't know what Alaric was planning, Merlin chose to trust him—or rather, trust his ability to handle the aftermath.
As long as Alaric could free himself, Merlin was confident he could get him to safety!
Unlike Merlin's confidence, Alaric was filled with anticipation and excitement for what was about to come.
Time passed quickly. After dozens of seconds, Medusa was overwhelmed by the rapidly increasing number of Chains of Heaven and forced to retreat.
At last, Kingu found his opportunity and charged toward Alaric again!
But at that moment, a streak of black light descended from the sky.
With only a few dozen meters separating Alaric and the Heavenly Vessel, the connection between them grew incredibly close.
In that instant, Alaric raised his head, locking eyes with the approaching Kingu and curling his lips into a smirk.
"Block this properly—"
The next moment, heavenly light descended.
Reconnecting with the Heavenly Vessel, Alaric unleashed all the stored mana reserves in one fell swoop, accelerating the process to simulate a holy judgment.
Because the Heavenly Vessel itself was inherently a bow, it allowed for a more structured and powerful release!
A pitch-black celestial beam expanded instantly, enveloping the ten-meter area around Alaric in a pillar of deathly light.
"Tch."
Kingu immediately retreated, creating distance to avoid being contaminated by the ominous magical energy.
But this retreat caused the intense heat from the beam to destroy the Chains of Heaven piercing Alaric's limbs, successfully freeing him.
Although the cost of this freedom was staggering—Alaric's skin was charred black, and large patches of carbonized flesh fell off with every movement—he didn't feel pain. Instead, he was filled with exhilaration.
His pale-gold vertical pupils now burned with a brilliant light, and his dragon heart pumped magic into his body with unrelenting intensity.
The Holy Lance he summoned once again fed mana back into him, causing his magic reserves to climb rapidly despite the aftermath of the battle.
His recovery was visible to the naked eye!
"You shouldn't have let me go, Kingu!"
Now free, Alaric radiated excitement. Even though the bloody holes in his limbs hadn't healed and still affected his movements, his fighting spirit was unshaken.
Even Merlin, observing from a distance, was a little surprised by his fervor.
"It doesn't matter. Whether there's one of you or a hundred, the result will be the same."
Kingu's expression remained cold and indifferent. To him, Alaric and his allies were nothing but weaklings, incapable of posing any real threat. His earlier retreat had only been to avoid the ominous magic.
"That may be true," Alaric replied, grinning, "but I'm still going to give you a big surprise—"
Before the words were fully spoken, Alaric, guided by the Heavenly Vessel, ascended to the skies. He now stood high above, in absolute dominion.
From the ground, Kingu slowly raised his head to watch him.
At this moment, Alaric's smirk widened as he gazed down at the green-clad figure below. He gently swept aside his pure-white hair and declared:
"No one is born standing at the heights of the sky, whether it's you, me, or even the gods themselves.
But finally, the intolerable vacancy on the throne of the heavens has come to an end."
Amid a chant that no one could comprehend, Alaric activated the Heavenly Vessel by his side.
The Heavenly Vessel, a gift from Gilgamesh, was equipped with a magazine mechanism identical to Ishtar's divine vessel, Maanna, allowing it to serve as a bow.
However, Alaric could not extract conceptual elements to use as arrows, which resulted in reduced effectiveness when firing pure mana blocks. He might have been better off using the Holy Spear Rhongomyniad to deliver a holy judgment.
The bow-like function of the Heavenly Vessel seemed unnecessary for Alaric—at best, it was a tool for self-destructive attacks like the one he had just used to escape.
But after unleashing his full-power judgment at the North Wall, Alaric had a new idea—or rather, a wild inspiration that had struck him from the start.
He drew upon the ultimate archery techniques passed down from the legendary Persian hero, Arash: the belief that anything could be fired as an arrow.
He loaded the Holy Spear Rhongomyniad into the Heavenly Vessel's magazine, wrapped it in massive mana reserves, and prepared to fire!
Even though the mysteries and divine authority of the spear had long since faded and only a shell remained, it was still the Holy Spear Rhongomyniad—a divine weapon symbolizing the Tower at the End of the World!
And most importantly, Alaic's ability to project Ishtar's godlike aura was the true foundation of his daring plan.
High in the sky, Alaric released the spear. The Holy Spear Rhongomyniad, now transformed, began to compress itself. In mere seconds, its spiral-shaped spear shaft contracted, turning into an impossibly thin and long arrow.
"Heavenly Vessel—loading."
The Heavenly Vessel, functioning as a massive bow, didn't even require Alaric to draw it manually. As soon as the transformed Rhongomyniad was placed into the bow, two-thirds of Alaric's mana reserves poured into the Heavenly Vessel. The bow was drawn to its full extent in an instant.
"I'm going to destroy this entire land along with you!"