Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Twenty minutes into my wait, rapid explosions rocked the forest as I noticed a figure shooting high above the forest, spinning in a while, obliterating as many vines as he could with his fire, but it was impossible.
If William destroyed a hundred vines a thousand more would follow—it was endless. Suddenly, jagged teeth-shaped rocks exploded from the sky, reaching high into the air.
The first was unexpected and William. Barely had enough time to react, he used his shield to block only to be sent hurling higher into the air by the attack.
Quickly countless vines followed up, lashing at him from all sides. They bound him, leaving only his head visible, and before William could respond, more jagged teeth rock protrusions erupted from all sides, ramming into him at the center.
"Ouch!" I squinted. "That must have hurt like hell."
{I bet it did.} Lin agreed.
To think an earth and plant type creature would be able to deal with an airborne for so
Haaaaaaaaa!
William's defiant cry boomed as an explosion rocked the sky, destroying the rock protrusions and vines as he dropped to the ground.
That was my cue.
It was clear William was probably running in steam; his defeat was certain, and the scorching heat that kept me away from the forest had faded, so I walked forward.
How do I feel about confronting a beast at least ten times more powerful?
Excited!
I wasn't sure if I was doing this out of confidence or just lack of fear but none of that mattered at this moment. More explosions rocked the forest, followed by groans and cries—all belonging to William.
The man was probably experiencing the ass-whooping of a lifetime.
As I neared the clearing, William hurled toward my direction, striking a tree,e, and sturdy roots erupted from the ground, binding him to the tree.
He had lost consciousness due to the impact of the collision; I doubt he noticed I had arrived. William had cuts and bruises all over his body. He looked paler than usual, and even in unconsciousness, a tired look wore on his face.
A man this age shouldn't be out on the field.
"It seems the goddess of fortune is on my side. First William, now the little brat. Getting rid of both of you at once will leave me with the church to deal with." Mrs. Lotus's voice caught my attention.
I turned to see that the brunette woman now had snow-white hair with crimson-red eyes. Seated on the shoulder of a towering creature of pure nature, I could see two white and red fluffy tails dance around her.
"Boring," I commented and shifted my attention to the real star of the show.
The 15-foot-tall humanoid monster is made of vines, rocks, a black tree, and emerald crystals. This thing was a force of nature itself.
"Impressive." I clapped out of pure admiration.
Fear aside, this magic beast was the most breathtaking sight a peasant could come across, even more impressive than the waterfall I came across.
"STATE YOUR NAME, HUMAN!"
The magic beast's voice boomed from all the trees, blades of grass, and rocks in the vicinity. I had to squint in pain while it spoke. When it was done, I gave it a look and said;
"Lower your tone."
Not bothering with the beast, I turned to William, and I placed my palm on the tree, binding him.
Buzz!
While my sclera turned pitch-black, my green eyes burned brighter and the tree dried up, shriveled, and died in barely a second. I felt the vitality of the tree flowing through my veins while the roots binding William suffered the same fate.
I caught William before he could hit the ground. Glancing over my shoulder I noticed dead roots and vines scattered everywhere. They must have tried to attack me while I wasn't paying attention but that was useless.
When using the death magic; I noticed two very important things. The first is that I automatically absorb the life force of everything within a fifty-meter radius unless I intently want to spare the life of something, like William over here.
The second is that as soon as I use the death magic I become a different person. It was still me, but my personality changed and the change came with an untamed madness that worsened the longer I used it.
I am in control but I'm not the one steering the wheel. It's strange, I don't know how to explain it.
Whatever drives me does not act beyond my primary goal. However, it decides what route is better for achieving my goal. I have never used the death magic for a prolonged time and I am curious to see what will happen when I do.
"Wait here. I drop him off where it's safe and come back to take your lives." I said as I turned to meet the gaze of the magic beast.
It was silent, glaring at me with murderous intent like I was its fated enemy. The animosity coming from it was more monster than intelligent, it felt like the beast was returning to its animal instincts.
Even Mrs. Lotus was not sitting anymore. She crouched on its shoulder and all the hairs on her body stood like a cat about to pounce.
However, one thing both of them had in common was fear. I couldn't understand why they were afraid of me, especially since I was just a weak mortal realm cultivator.
{Look to your side.} Lin said and I looked only to see an angel of death standing by my right.
I looked to my left and it was the same.
{You are Death. While their fate shows they have another decade or more to live, you can rewrite that. Only you change the fate of all living things. This battle destined to end in victory for them will end in a brutal defeat. All because you chose to stand by this human's side. That is the kind of power you possess!}
The more he said, the brighter my eyes glowed. The indifferent look on my face cracked with a crazed smile, as my lips spread wider than humanly possible.
"The only thing promised in life is death—Me!"
"I understand now…"
"It seems the Will of one of the four pillars had found a new host. Unfortunately, you found me before you could fully bloom. I will put an end to you before you attain your full power and revive the event of ten thousand years ago, Vito swears this!" Vito roared with unquenchable fury which left me confused.
The only place I have heard the word the four pillars was in regards to the church of Four Pillars, before the Dark Ages. What the hell does that have to do with me?
{The church of four pillars belonged to the original four deities of this world. Amongst them was the God of Death, the being you wield his power now.} Lin explained.
Oh.
But wait, doesn't that mean the forbidden elements are the powers of the original deities?
I frowned as I started piecing things together, unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury to dwell on those thoughts for long as Vito made his move.
Vito raised his massive feet, dragging roots off the ground before stomping.
Rumble!
The valley trembled as I sensed danger all around me. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed the forest was moving, drifting farther from me while forming a thick wall to prevent escape. Meanwhile, Mrs Lotus has separated from Vito and circled like a predator waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce. She was probably looking for an opportunity to reach the unconscious William—I bet she would fail.
"This preparation means nothing," I said with a blank expression.
I keep saying this but they don't understand. I don't blame them because they cannot see what I see. I see the living and the dead; I see the thin line between both realms and realize how simple it is to send someone to the other side.
Everything I do, every power unleashed is designed to snuff that life out.
"In the face of the absolute, all forms of technique and preparations are useless." I stretched my hands forth and a dark green magic array appeared on my palm.
Death Magic: Hell Fire.
BUZZ!
Chilling dark green flames poured out of my palm, racing toward Vito while painting the battlefield an eerie green. Not even a second later, a jagged shield of stone rose from the ground, its surface rough yet sturdy.
Unlike a typical barrier, this shield had a pointed crest at its center, splitting into slanted sides that angled outward. The design wasn't just for defense—it was meant to redirect. When my hell flames crashed against it, they didn't strike with full force. Instead, the slanted edges guided the fire along its surface, diverting it to the sides like a splitting wave.
While this happened I watched chunks of rock being pulled out of the earth by vines and getting attached to Vito's body.
"Rock is harder to rot than plants so it plans to depend on it to fight me." I chuckled at his plan.
{It's not a bad plan if you ask me. Just futile.} Lin sighed.
From the corner of my left eye, I could see the fox sneaking around with her hands covered in fox flames but I paid no attention to her because when using this power, the dark elements would protect me, even when I wish to be harmed.
She tossed an explosive sphere of fox fire, but it was intercepted by a wall of bone that protruded from the ground.
"You can't stop me!" I heard her yell as she circled and tossed more fox fire explosive spheres but it was pointless.
Killing the silly fox was never the problem, she was the easiest to deal with. The problem was the oversized rock golem hurling through the air—aimed to crash land on my location.
"I'm running low on mana," I mumbled.
The towering bone walls covering my blindspot were built off my mana and summoning the flames of hell doesn't come cheap either. However, my death magic gave me a substitute for mana—life force.
As long as someone dies in battle I can easily feed off his or her life force. And in dire situations like this, where there is no dead, I can only rely on feeding off nature.
I know it hurts but I don't care.
"Watch me create my first spell, for dealing with pesky beasts like this, Lin!" I laughed hysterically as a magic array appeared beneath my feet.
"From abyssal depths where lost souls weep,
I summon anguish, bound and steeped."
Raising my right hand above my head, all forms of vegetation hundreds of meters radius began withering and dying while gray life force converged on the surface of my palm.
My grimoire hovered beside me, flipped open to an empty page, and began scribbling down my words like a historian recording history.
"With fire unholy, with torment untamed,
Wail and seek, your sorrow unchained!
Hunt, haunt, and claim your due—
Wailing Requiem, burn them through!"
Death Magic: Wailing Requiem
Buzz!
Shadows coil around the fist-sized skull-shaped wisp of life force before getting engulfed in a burst of dark green unholy flames. The skull trembled and let out a shrill, bone-chilling wail.
Without hesitation, I unleashed my little devils and raced towards the airborne earth golem. However, this magic beast was smart and perceptive. It sensed danger and quickly unleashed vines from the gaps in its stone armor, which abruptly changed his movement and propelled him to the right.
I could see the satisfied gleam in its eyes. Vito believed he had dodged my attack, but the chilling cries that persisted, accompanied by my psychotic grin, made him realize something was wrong.
"My spells are crafted with the souls of the living. Their only release from this torment is death, is obliterating their target." I giggled devilishly.
Not only was I killing this magic beast, but I was also making his precious forest suffer in ways even William couldn't.
"DEMON!" Vito was enraged!
Just like I hoped he would.
As soon as it hit the ground he sprang towards me with incredible speed. His reasoning was he could end me before my burning skull reached him.
At the same time, there was a fox behind in mid-air, with a dazzling sphere of fox fire the size of a small comet. Since my walls protected Williams perfectly she had decided to launch an aerial attack.
But here is the kicker; my Wailing Requiem was never meant for Vito. Draining the life force of some trees to cast a spell was never enough to harm Vito but It could end Mrs. Lotus, who has a quality soul which would create a Wailing Requiem
ten times stronger than what I already have.
All I had to do to achieve this goal was to survive the joint attacks of this duo with nearly no mana left.
"This God accepts your challenge!"